Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground LXXV

[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 Faiths of Eberron.

Chairwoman: This month's theme is... Thief of Life! 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 endeavour to create an optimized and flavourful 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, January 17th, 2016 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, January 31st, 2016 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)
Iron Chef LXXIV: Crinti Shadow Marauder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?458711-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIV)

[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.

Q: Do you have any other rules and guidelines on how to judge?
A: We do, actually, designed to try and avoid unpleasantness we've encountered in past contests. The things we've come up with to avoid repeating this are given below.

One Mistake, One Penalty

Judges are only allowed to penalise once for a given mistake. If someone messes up their skills and doesn't qualify for a PrC, ding them as hard as you like. Once. In one category. You don't then get to declare that because they didn't qualify for that PrC, they don't get those levels, and thus don't qualify for anything else. If Ranger is a common ingredient, ding them for Originality. Once. Don't also take off points for Two-Weapon-Fighting being a common ingredient.

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

Skills

Allowed:

Giving a penalty for miscalculating the number of skill points gained
Giving a penalty for not having enough ranks to meet a prerequisite
Increasing the harshness of a skill miscalculation penalty if it affects critical skills including prereqs


Not allowed:

Giving separate penalties for miscalculating skill points and for non-qualification where the non-qualification is solely caused by the miscalculation



Prereqs

Allowed:

Giving a penalty for not meeting prereqs
Scaling the penalty depending on how important the item that the build failed to qualify for is
Giving minimum score in UotSI for not qualifying for the SI
(Trial, may be disallowed later)Not giving credit for (note: not the same as penalising for) tactics using feats or classes other than the SI that were not qualified for (but see below)


Not Allowed:

"Cascading" failures to qualify - declaring that because a build doesn't qualify for a feat, for example, it also doesn't qualify for anything using that feat as a prereq
Treating a build as having fewer levels than it does because of FtQ for classes



Other general things that are no longer allowed:

Penalising because someone has chosen to build a tribute to an existing creative work
Deciding that a backstory has not met a fluff prerequisite well enough, or because its method of meeting it is "unrealistic". You may penalise if a fluff prereq is not addressed at all, but not for how well it is addressed.


Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.

Q: Do you have any contest house rules or clarifications to ambiguous rules?
A: Some that have come up in previous contests and needed answers to:

All creatures are proficient with any natural weapons they may have or acquire.
Bonus feats that are granted even if you do not meet the prerequisites do not require you to meet the prerequisites in order to use.
Able Learner's benefit applies to the level you take it.

[Troacctid]

FYI, this round's secret ingredient is also available online here (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060911a&page=3).

[Amphetryon]

Competing; I'd probably already have submitted if FoE were on a certain spreadsheet (not intended as any sort of snipe at the Chair).

[Heliomance]

Competing; I'd probably already have submitted if FoE were on a certain spreadsheet (not intended as any sort of snipe at the Chair).

I think custom class functionality still works in the current main release...

[Sian]

too many V's

[Heliomance]

too many V's

You saw nothing

[WhamBamSam]

Well, I've got some ideas swirling, but this one's going to be something of a task.

[JyP]

Got some idea... and questions for Heliomance, but seems her PM box is full :smallsmile:

[riccaru]

Posting for the sub.

[The Viscount]

All right all right, this one's going to be some fun.

[GilesTheCleric]

Posting for the sub.

If you'd like to subscribe to a thread, there's a button called "thread tools" on the top right of each thread. It has an option that will allow you to subscribe to a thread, and even receive notification alerts!

[WeaselGuy]

I might see if I can come up with something this go 'round.

[Sian]

Got two or three different ideas although one of them could probably be derided as being to much of a rehash of a former character i made for another contest

[deathbymanga]

Is the Spider Companion Feat allowed? It doesn't give the player the ability to get a companion, but allows for your existing companion to be a Spider instead

EDIT: Also, I'm going to compete, please

[Sian]

Might i suggest not publicly asking to specific questions which could easily make people able to identify your build? ... PM the chair, and if Chairs inbox is full, note as such in the thread and wait a half-day or so.

[WeaselGuy]

Clearly, we should all just use Spider Companion...

[Deadline]

Clearly, we should all just use Spider Companion...

Gah! There goes my only shot at Originality!

[WhamBamSam]

Is the Spider Companion Feat allowed? It doesn't give the player the ability to get a companion, but allows for your existing companion to be a Spider instead

EDIT: Also, I'm going to compete, pleaseAnimal Companions and Familiars are completely kosher. It's just Leadership and direct analogues thereof (Dragon Cohort, Undead Cohort) that are banned. Wild Cohort is singled out in the no leadership rule mostly because its name is misleading. It's an animal companion in all but name. Modifying an existing animal companion (probably for the worse) is not remotely comparable to leadership so Spider Companion is absolutely allowed.

Ideas are coming along. Not sure I'm 100% happy with any of them, but I'm getting somewhere.

Seeing as the SI deals with Incarnum but doesn't give you soulmeld or chakra bind advancement, it's pretty much inevitable that Incarnum feats are getting involved. The Iron Chef ruling for Shape Soulmeld and Open Chakra was that they give you an extra meld/bind that can only be used on the meld/chakra in question, right? That is to say, a non-meldshaper can use them as intended and a meldshaper doesn't have to use the limited melds or binds from their class to make use of them?

[Sian]

The Iron Chef ruling for Shape Soulmeld and Open Chakra was that they give you an extra meld/bind that can only be used on the meld/chakra in question, right? That is to say, a non-meldshaper can use them as intended and a meldshaper doesn't have to use the limited melds or binds from their class to make use of them?

I seem to rememeber that thats the way it was ruled back in ... Witchborn Hunter i believe?

[WeaselGuy]

Well, I've got the crunch done on mine, now just need to write up the fluff!

[Amphetryon]

I seem to rememeber that thats the way it was ruled back in ... Witchborn Hunter i believe?

From the Witchbon Binder FAQ, by Heliomance:

How do Shape Soulmeld and Open X Chakra work? Shape Soulmeld grants an extra meld slot that can only be used for that soulmeld. Note that it still counts towards the limit determined by your Con score. The Open X Chakra feats essentially make binding to the opened chakra free.

[Sian]

From the Witchbon Binder FAQ, by Heliomance:

Witchborn Binder then ... so sucky a class that i appearently delibirately forgot its name

[ben-zayb]

As with the Crinti Shadow Marauder, must our Thief of Life entry be also strictly tied-in to the the default Eberron fluff?

[WeaselGuy]

As with the Crinti Shadow Marauder, must our Thief of Life entry be also strictly tied-in to the the default Eberron fluff?

In short, yes. Unless you have an extremely compelling reason why someone not in Eberron would have an Eberron-specific PrC.

[Deadline]

As with the Crinti Shadow Marauder, must our Thief of Life entry be also strictly tied-in to the the default Eberron fluff?

Most judges (including myself) have criteria regarding this. I include it under Elegance, as not all DM's intrinsically make setting specific material available in all settings.

[Heliomance]

Got some idea... and questions for Heliomance, but seems her PM box is full :smallsmile:

Inbox cleared.


As with the Crinti Shadow Marauder, must our Thief of Life entry be also strictly tied-in to the the default Eberron fluff?

Up to each individual judge, but they're absolutely allowed to penalise for not following the fluff.

[OMG PONIES]

Clearly, we should all just use Spider Companion...

Plot twist: my entry is a Spider Companion!

[Inevitability]

Plot twist: my entry is a Spider Companion!

Ah yes, I remember making that build. Good times.

[Deadline]

Ah yes, I remember making that build. Good times.

Man, how did it go for you? It didn't turn out all that well for me in the Bladesinger round. :smalltongue:

[Inevitability]

Man, how did it go for you? It didn't turn out all that well for me in the Bladesinger round. :smalltongue:

The round ended up never getting judged. Yay for spending three hours on trying to find a way to give a mindless creature intelligence!

[Inevitability]

Build submitted!

[WhamBamSam]

I've got a trick that I really like for this SI, but I can't seem to make it dovetail into a build that feels worthwhile overall. It's vexing.

Tangentially related, whatever happened to the Mind of an Iron Chef idea?

[WeaselGuy]

The round ended up never getting judged. Yay for spending three hours on trying to find a way to give a mindless creature intelligence!

Reminds me of JW:XI that never got judged. I spent way too many hours on that one, and I like to think it was one of my best works. :smallannoyed:

[WhamBamSam]

Reminds me of JW:XI that never got judged. I spent way too many hours on that one, and I like to think it was one of my best works. :smallannoyed:I think that's the round he's referring to. Improved Familiar+Magical Darkness-Wizard, yes?

[WeaselGuy]

I think that's the round he's referring to. Improved Familiar+Magical Darkness-Wizard, yes?

Heh, yeah, same round. It'd been so long, I had forgotten there was a Spider Companion as an entry. A lot of good builds that round...

[Inevitability]

I think that's the round he's referring to. Improved Familiar+Magical Darkness-Wizard, yes?

Indeed it is.

[Deadline]

Tangentially related, whatever happened to the Mind of an Iron Chef idea?

I got promoted and consequently now do effectively two jobs. It sadly doesn't leave much free time for me. I intend to revisit it as some point. Perhaps I'll make it my new years resolution.

[Amphetryon]

I got promoted and consequently now do effectively two jobs. It sadly doesn't leave much free time for me. I intend to revisit it as some point. Perhaps I'll make it my new years resolution.

Allow me to express my congratulations and condolences.

[ben-zayb]

Reminds me of JW:XI that never got judged. I spent way too many hours on that one, and I like to think it was one of my best works. :smallannoyed:Yeah, I remember my first time entering these contests had my entry unjudged. Must be my beginner's luck

[Lagren]

I got promoted and consequently now do effectively two jobs. It sadly doesn't leave much free time for me. I intend to revisit it as some point. Perhaps I'll make it my new years resolution.

This sounds interesting. What was the idea?

[Kazudo]

My gods. These are still going on, two years later.

[Lagren]

My gods. These are still going on, two years later.

Junkyard Wars is still alive too! Go judge! :smallbiggrin:

[Kazudo]

Junkyard Wars is still alive too! Go judge! :smallbiggrin:

You WHAT NO WAY *goes, immediately*

[OMG PONIES]

Kazudo?! Welcome back!

[Kazudo]

Ponies! Your mane still flows like the rainbows of yore!

[OMG PONIES]

Ponies! Your mane still flows like the rainbows of yore!

And forsooth, thine noodly appendages do still wiggle like the firstborn worms of spring!

[Vaz]

The round ended up never getting judged. Yay for spending three hours on trying to find a way to give a mindless creature intelligence!

My business management tutor tried and failed in much the same way. Just over a much longer period

Tentatively interested. Love a bit of Incarnum.

[Akal Saris]

I'm tentatively interested as well - I like the flavor for this class and have a decent idea for it :)

[Lagren]

Argh. I really love this build, but it requires a really cheesy interpretation of a feat in order to work. It's awkward. :smallannoyed:

[Korahir]

I am still baffled people voted for this mess. I have a lot of ideas for this, but pretty much everything lacks a certain flair.

[Piggy Knowles]

This ingredient is literally the reason I came out of hiding. I've had an idea simmering in the back of my head for this one for at least 2-3 years. Definitely in to cook - especially since it looks like some other old faces might be cooking too.

(Now here's hoping I remember all the tricks involved - the pressure is on!)

[deathbymanga]

this is a rather boring class mechanically, but its got great flavour. going to stick with the sneak attack and focus there

[WhamBamSam]

Might want to edit that. We prefer not to have people speculate on possible builds or reveal too much of how they plan to optimize a class.

As an example of how we usually indulge our desire to discuss our progress or lack thereof...

What was almost a really slick cohesive idea fell just flat because [redacted], though [redacted] may have also been an issue. It might still be a serviceable build, but it doesn't quite stick the landing to my satisfaction, so I'll probably end up going with one or two of my other build ideas.

[Amphetryon]

This ingredient is literally the reason I came out of hiding. I've had an idea simmering in the back of my head for this one for at least 2-3 years. Definitely in to cook - especially since it looks like some other old faces might be cooking too.

(Now here's hoping I remember all the tricks involved - the pressure is on!)

Welp, there go my chances to medal. :smallwink:

[Vaz]

Just realised it has [redacted] so I can't use [redacted].

Fjeiaug[redacted]

[Korahir]

The usual [redacted] banter:

I already have build stubs around [redacted], [redacted] and [redacted]. Still looking for a way to optimize [redacted]. Seriously hoping Piggy or some one else found a way to do exactly that. At this point I think I won't submit anything, maybe judge again.

[WeaselGuy]

Whelp, there's mine in! I don't think it's my greatest work, but I think I did okay with it. I always struggle with the fluff, but we'll see how well it sits with the judges!

[riccaru]

I always want to build for these competitions but I keep thinking that everything I come up with is totally underpowered. I know that's kind of the point but for some reason I can't shake the feeling that I'll be below the bar.

Guess I just have to throw it in anyway and see where it falls.

[Inevitability]

I always want to build for these competitions but I keep thinking that everything I come up with is totally underpowered. I know that's kind of the point but for some reason I can't shake the feeling that I'll be below the bar.

Guess I just have to throw it in anyway and see where it falls.

Just remember, Power is only one of the four categories. If you sacrifice a point in power for 0.5 extra in all other categories, you still have a net gain of half a point.

[Lagren]

*Vizzinis wildly*

[The Viscount]

I always want to build for these competitions but I keep thinking that everything I come up with is totally underpowered. I know that's kind of the point but for some reason I can't shake the feeling that I'll be below the bar.

Guess I just have to throw it in anyway and see where it falls.

That's the spirit. I often build for Originality and Elegance focus anyway, myself. It seems especially viable to not shoot for highest power in a round with Akal Saris and Piggy Knowles, since they likely have some potent stuff brewing.

[OMG PONIES]

It seems especially viable to not shoot for highest power in a round with Akal Saris and Piggy Knowles, since they likely have some potent stuff brewing.

Here's the secret about GitP legends like those two: they're people. Maybe they like Doritos. Maybe they don't (just kidding, everyone does). Maybe they speak 4 languages. Maybe they got Cs in English. My point is, they're just ordinary folks who sometimes have amazing ideas.

So are you :smallwink:.

[ben-zayb]

Also IMO, the most referenced or memorable entries stand out as wildly, crazily, original, such as Gazebo Jones and Spoons McGee.

[Deadline]

Indeed. The participation in this round by such august personalities has me thinking that I need to try and test my mettle this round. Time to shake off the rust and build ... something. :smallwink:

[Piggy Knowles]

I wouldn't fret about it; I don't think I have ever submitted a build without at least one mistake. Also, I almost always tend to go for a neat character concept rather than specifically going for power (or any single category, for that matter). I'd much rather submit an entry that tells a good story and that I think would be fun to play than one that is strictly built to score well on some arbitrary rubric - especially since that rubric will shift from judge to judge anyhow.

[kestrel404]

Yeah. I'm usually the one to build for pure power. Also, for 75, I'll jump in the pool. Hey all.

[OMG PONIES]

I wouldn't fret about it; I don't think I have ever submitted a build without at least one mistake.

Me niether :smallwink:.

[riccaru]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. It's really cool to see people like this on the internet:smallsmile:

I might make 2 builds for this if that's alright. I have one in mind but it's pretty simple. I want to have something a little more "out there" as well, and it looks like I have some time to think on it.

[WeaselGuy]

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. It's really cool to see people like this on the internet:smallsmile:

I might make 2 builds for this if that's alright. I have one in mind but it's pretty simple. I want to have something a little more "out there" as well, and it looks like I have some time to think on it.

There's no limit to the number of entries you can submit. In fact, I've seen numerous competitions where the same person takes multiple medals! Best of luck to you!

[WhamBamSam]

We have a limit of two entries per person, actually. Helps keep the judges from getting scared away.

[arclance]

This seems to have be lost in the last thread so I am going to repost it here.


I guess I'm asking to be entertained, if that's not awful to say. Putting in a work week worth of time judging is so much more fun when we've got good stories to read along the way.
No it is not too much to ask but it does show a certain lack of ability to see wanting that through the eyes of someone who does not find writing easy or enjoyable.
It will drive some people away from entering if they know that a essay back-story is expected, let alone a entertaining back-story, even if it is not strictly required by the contest rules.

I understand that sometimes a back-story is needed to explain fluff contradictions between build elements but I feel that expecting a good or long (more than ~8 sentences) written back-stories in a contest about optimizing character builds comes close to discriminating against those with poor or non-existent writing skills since build optimization and writing ability have nothing to do with each other.

I know that I personally will never enter anything as long as that is expected from the majority of judges (and currently it seems to be) since I hate writing anything at all but I despise doing creative writing of any kind.
Anything that is not in conversation form (like a forum post) or involves me explaining something that is longer than about 4 sentences is nearly depressing for me to write.
My creative writing sucks anyway since I could never pad my writing with useless words and sentences, which if English class taught me anything is supposed to be in every form of writing except Technical Documents even to some extent Scientific Papers, or come up with any kind of original story on a schedule anyway.
It would probably take me longer than the allowed build time to just write the kind of back-story you have scored well in the past if I was able to do it at all.

[OMG PONIES]

I guess I'm asking to be entertained, if that's not awful to say. Putting in a work week worth of time judging is so much more fun when we've got good stories to read along the way.

No it is not too much to ask but it does show a certain lack of ability to see wanting that through the eyes of someone who does not find writing easy or enjoyable.

A lack of ability? What I said was the equivalent of, "I really like a good ribeye and kind of want one when I come to this restaurant." Would that show a lack of ability to empathize with vegans? If I said "I like a good ciabatta more that that gluten-free stuff," does that demonstrate a failure to put myself in the shoes of someone with Celiac disease? We can disagree about whether writing is fun and whether it's important to have a good backstory, but I'm confused why this is becoming about my ability to see through the eyes of others. Or am I reading that comment too strongly? :smallconfused:


It will drive some people away from entering if they know that a essay back-story is expected, let alone a entertaining back-story, even if it is not strictly required by the contest rules.

A few points of order:

I'm just one judge. Please don't let one judge determine what anyone does or don't submit.
I don't expect an essay--chefs can write one line if it's an interesting line.
That being said, what I'm saying is there are "things that are required to be a legal entry" and "things that can set an entry apart from the pack." Is a backstory required to be a legal entry? Not at all! Is one required to set yourself apart from the pack? Yes.


I understand that sometimes a back-story is needed to explain fluff contradictions between build elements but I feel that expecting a good or long (more than ~8 sentences) written back-stories in a contest about optimizing character builds comes close to discriminating against those with poor or non-existent writing skills since build optimization and writing ability have nothing to do with each other.
Again, not to sound pedantic but I've never asked that the backstory be long. If you can give me a good glimpse of your character in three words, I'm all for it (and in fact I think I may have penalized for saga backstories that went on too long in the past).

Saying A.) that backstories shouldn't have to be good and B.) that it's tantamount to discriminating against those without good writing skills seems very contrary to what we're trying to do here. First of all, the only way we can communicate with each other on this forum is through writing. So if someone with poor writing skills doesn't properly explain the mechanics of their awesome trick, should they receive full points so as not to discriminate?

On the idea that the backstory doesn't need to be good: this is a competition. Everything you submit should be good, from the picture you select (if any) to your write-up straight through your bibliography. As an example, I'm a hiring manager in an insurance company for a role that doesn't require a lot of written communication. However, I still expect resumes submitted to me will contain proper grammar and highlight relevant experience. Why? Because there are multiple individuals trying to stand out among their peers. The case is the same here, so I expect every aspect of an entry to be good. Am I asking too much?


I know that I personally will never enter anything as long as that is expected from the majority of judges (and currently it seems to be) since I hate writing anything at all but I despise doing creative writing of any kind.
Anything that is not in conversation form (like a forum post) or involves me explaining something that is longer than about 4 sentences is nearly depressing for me to write.
My creative writing sucks anyway since I could never pad my writing with useless words and sentences, which if English class taught me anything is supposed to be in every form of writing except Technical Documents even to some extent Scientific Papers, or come up with any kind of original story on a schedule anyway.
It would probably take me longer than the allowed build time to just write the kind of back-story you have scored well in the past if I was able to do it at all.

I'm sorry to hear that this is the main detractor to your participation in this competition. I'd encourage you to post without a backstory at all (or with whatever level of one you're comfortable) just to see how you score. You may be surprised to find that you are your own worst critic (at least, I know that happens to me constantly).

I, too, dislike useless words and sentences (though you might not know that from my style). However, just because something is "creative" doesn't mean it's also "useless." For instance, in this round being a member of the Blood of Vol is a prerequisite of the ingredient. A very brief background telling how an entry came to join the Blood of Vol may be creative, but would not be useless.

[Sian]

although, i fully argee that some judges (none mentioned, none forgotten ... mainly because i can't off the top of my hat remember any specific one :smalltongue:) do have to high demands for creative juices in Originality, to the point where the box is used more of a "how creative of a background writer are you" than a "how original is the build from the point of classes/feats used". Sure both extremes (only looking at background, not looking at it at all) is probably bad, but its certainly a valid concern that the weight might be to heavily on the creative writing.

I'm certainly one that might well be easily identified with a rather lackluster Background ... For me it often take half the total ammount of time to get a background done, whereas the rest is used on building.

[Zaq]

Hmm. I have a very gimmicky idea for this. I have absolutely no meat to the build beyond the initial gimmick, and there's definitely a rules pitfall or two lurking therein, but I'm tempted to see if I can slap together a build just to see the reaction to the gimmick.

No promises yet. We shall see.

[The Viscount]

Gimmick builds have been some of my favorites. My build for Spellfire Channeler was immensely gimmicky.

[WeaselGuy]

although, i fully argee that some judges (none mentioned, none forgotten ... mainly because i can't off the top of my hat remember any specific one :smalltongue:) do have to high demands for creative juices in Originality, to the point where the box is used more of a "how creative of a background writer are you" than a "how original is the build from the point of classes/feats used". Sure both extremes (only looking at background, not looking at it at all) is probably bad, but its certainly a valid concern that the weight might be to heavily on the creative writing.

I'm certainly one that might well be easily identified with a rather lackluster Background ... For me it often take half the total ammount of time to get a background done, whereas the rest is used on building.

I'm almost the complete opposite, ish. I can normally do the crunch of the build relatively quickly, then converting everything to forum code takes a bit longer. I spend the longest working on the fluff. Unfortunately for me, I feel I have the same result as you, that being a lackluster Background :smallconfused:

[Sian]

I'm almost the complete opposite, ish. I can normally do the crunch of the build relatively quickly, then converting everything to forum code takes a bit longer. I spend the longest working on the fluff. Unfortunately for me, I feel I have the same result as you, that being a lackluster Background :smallconfused:

:smallconfused: How's that complete opposite? ... sounds rather the same to me

[WeaselGuy]

:smallconfused: How's that complete opposite? ... sounds rather the same to me

I said opposite ish. I spend more time on the fluff than the crunch, you spend more time on the crunch than the fluff. But we still get the same result (in our own respective opinions), that being a lackluster background.

Unless I read your post wrong, which is entirely possible since I just woke up about an hour ago.

[Sian]

I said:


For me it often take half the total ammount of time to get a background done

Which fairly explicitly aren't the same as saying that i used much more time on crunch than i did on fluff ...

[WeaselGuy]

I said:



Which fairly explicitly aren't the same as saying that i used much more time on crunch than i did on fluff ...

well, what do you know. turns out I read it wrong in my post-sleep stupor. my most sincere apologies.

[arclance]

A lack of ability? What I said was the equivalent of, "I really like a good ribeye and kind of want one when I come to this restaurant." Would that show a lack of ability to empathize with vegans? If I said "I like a good ciabatta more that that gluten-free stuff," does that demonstrate a failure to put myself in the shoes of someone with Celiac disease? We can disagree about whether writing is fun and whether it's important to have a good backstory, but I'm confused why this is becoming about my ability to see through the eyes of others. Or am I reading that comment too strongly?
I think you are reading it too strongly.
To me it is like this:
Most people who like or are good at writing can't understand how people who don't like or are bad at writing feel about writing.
To me this is very similar to how most Extroverted people can't understand how Introverted people feel about social interaction.

Statements like these indicate to me you probably fall in the "can't understand how people who don't like or are bad at writing feel about writing" category.


Is a backstory required to be a legal entry? Not at all! Is one required to set yourself apart from the pack? Yes.

Saying A.) that backstories shouldn't have to be good and B.) that it's tantamount to discriminating against those without good writing skills seems very contrary to what we're trying to do here.

On the idea that the backstory doesn't need to be good: this is a competition. Everything you submit should be good, from the picture you select (if any) to your write-up straight through your bibliography. As an example, I'm a hiring manager in an insurance company for a role that doesn't require a lot of written communication. However, I still expect resumes submitted to me will contain proper grammar and highlight relevant experience. Why? Because there are multiple individuals trying to stand out among their peers. The case is the same here, so I expect every aspect of an entry to be good. Am I asking too much?





A few points of order:

I'm just one judge. Please don't let one judge determine what anyone does or don't submit.
I don't expect an essay--chefs can write one line if it's an interesting line.
That being said, what I'm saying is there are "things that are required to be a legal entry" and "things that can set an entry apart from the pack."

Again, not to sound pedantic but I've never asked that the backstory be long. If you can give me a good glimpse of your character in three words, I'm all for it (and in fact I think I may have penalized for saga backstories that went on too long in the past).

This was not directed completely at you.
Some judges do (consciously or not) take length and/or quality of the writing in the backstory into how they score originality.




First of all, the only way we can communicate with each other on this forum is through writing. So if someone with poor writing skills doesn't properly explain the mechanics of their awesome trick, should they receive full points so as not to discriminate?
Well written backstories and clearly written entries have nothing to do with each other.
How many easy to understand instruction manuals were written in a style that would pass as good if it was sold as a fantasy story?
You can write a clear and easily understood entry while still writing a poor (from a writing style not clarity critique point of view) backstory.



On the idea that the backstory doesn't need to be good: this is a competition. Everything you submit should be good, from the picture you select (if any) to your write-up straight through your bibliography. As an example, I'm a hiring manager in an insurance company for a role that doesn't require a lot of written communication. However, I still expect resumes submitted to me will contain proper grammar and highlight relevant experience. Why? Because there are multiple individuals trying to stand out among their peers. The case is the same here, so I expect every aspect of an entry to be good. Am I asking too much?

Beyond wanting correct (more or less) grammar/spelling and something that explains the fluff of possibly conflicting build options or fluff requirements?
In my opinion yes you are, this is primarily a build optimization competition not a writing contest.



I'm sorry to hear that this is the main detractor to your participation in this competition. I'd encourage you to post without a backstory at all (or with whatever level of one you're comfortable) just to see how you score. You may be surprised to find that you are your own worst critic (at least, I know that happens to me constantly).
No my English teachers were my worst critiques.
I had a long line of pedantic grammar nazi style teachers who were unable to understand I was unable to pad my writing to meet arbitrary length requirements even if I met the content requirements.
I always got accused of plagiarism when I tried to pad things since I am so bad at creating extra filler sentences so I tend to be very brief when I writing anything.
I always though I wrote OK but over 10 years of negative reinforcement of that kind stopped that along with any desire to write I ever had.



I, too, dislike useless words and sentences (though you might not know that from my style). However, just because something is "creative" doesn't mean it's also "useless." For instance, in this round being a member of the Blood of Vol is a prerequisite of the ingredient. A very brief background telling how an entry came to join the Blood of Vol may be creative, but would not be useless.
As I said before I have no problem with needing a short backstory to meet fluff requirements or resolve fluff contradictions.
But as long as the quality of the writing of that backstory plays a roll in how an entry is scored I have no desire to enter anything.

[OMG PONIES]

And now, only because I'm tired, loopy, and feverish, a response in the style of HK-47.


I think you are reading it too strongly...Statements like these indicate to me you probably fall in the "can't understand how people who don't like or are bad at writing feel about writing" category.

Friendly rebuttal: To your point, in this competition, I don't tend to side with those who dislike creative writing. That does not mean that I (and others) can't. Perhaps I'm splitting hairs over semantics, but it's important to me that you and others in your situation understand: I get it. I've put myself in your shoes. There are things I lack skill and/or confidence in that I'm faced with daily, and it's awful. I don't have a desire to do them for fun, so I get the lack of desire to entire this competition based on the creative writing component.

Since I originally read it as "I believe you are unable to empathize with people who don't/can't write creatively," and you reinforced here that the intent in writing was "tell PONIES that some people--him included--are unable to empathize with people who don't/can't write creatively," I'd say my interpretation was accurate, if taken a bit too personally. You weren't saying I was crazy; you were saying that I and everyone like me was crazy :smallwink:.


Some judges do (consciously or not) take length and/or quality of the writing in the backstory into how they score originality.

Folksy simile: Much like some put dill in their deviled eggs and others don't, you can't know until you take a bite. Similarly, some judges do consider backstory...but others don't.


Well written backstories and clearly written entries have nothing to do with each other.

Correlation: those with well-written backstories are often (though not always) clearly written entries overall.


How many easy to understand instruction manuals were written in a style that would pass as good if it was sold as a fantasy story?
You can write a clear and easily understood entry while still writing a poor (from a writing style not clarity critique point of view) backstory.

Confirmation: Agreed.
Clarification: I think my fundamental disagreement here is the assumption that said entry wouldn't fare well.
Encouragement: I'm a naive optimist who says give it a shot anyway. :smallcool: <--rose colored.


Beyond wanting correct (more or less) grammar/spelling and something that explains the fluff of possibly conflicting build options or fluff requirements?
In my opinion yes you are [asking too much], this is primarily a build optimization competition not a writing contest. As I said before I have no problem with needing a short backstory to meet fluff requirements or resolve fluff contradictions.
But as long as the quality of the writing of that backstory plays a roll in how an entry is scored I have no desire to enter anything.

Empathetic exhortation: I understand your concerns and lack of desire. I've just had so much fun with this competition that I'd encourage anyone fearful to submit something anyway. If it's atrocious, you get some [hopefully constructive] criticism, but then the Sands of Time move on and all but the best entries fade into mediocrity and one line among hundreds in my archive spreadsheet. Damn, I meant for that to sound more encouraging than it wound up :smalltongue:.


I tend to be very brief when I writing anything.
I always though I wrote OK but over 10 years of negative reinforcement of that kind stopped that along with any desire to write I ever had.

Validation: Yeah, 100% negative reinforcement isn't too good for the soul. Ignore them; you've written clearly enough for me--a total stranger--to understand you. Hopefully here we're a lot that can balance it with the positive, but I can imagine how an experience like that would sour you on "giving it a shot." All I can say is...most of us aren't English teachers. :smallbiggrin:

[Sian]

All I can say is...most of us aren't English teachers. :smallbiggrin:

Hell, I'm somewhat confident that most of us don't have English as first language

[Inevitability]

Hell, I'm somewhat confident that most of us don't have English as first language

Guilty as charged. :smalltongue:

[Korahir]

Guilty as charged. :smalltongue:

Whatever he said.

[Zaq]

I have come across a build idea. A very, very stupid build idea. The kind of build idea that keeps making me giggle. It's definitely going to be an undertaking.

[WhamBamSam]

Speaking only for myself, it's entirely possible to get a 5 in Originality under my criteria with no backstory. Well written fluff (which is to say fluff that I enjoy) is worth a quarter point, which can help you out, but if you came up with something sufficiently cool and unexpected mechanically, you won't need it (I'm pretty sure I've given out such a 5 at least once, though it might have been in Zinc Saucier).

From the competitor's side of things, I'm not sure that I see much correlation between how much backstory I write (or how florid my language) and the entry's success, or at least not as much as one might expect.

My Silver-winning entry had the worst backstory I've ever written for an IC build and I wrote an even smaller, worse one for a Junkyard Wars gold medal entry. In both cases I was doing the write-up in something of a rush, and fluff was what seemed the most sensible thing to cut.

I did write a fair bit of fluff for my one gold medal IC entry, but it didn't actually help, as I don't think any of the 4 judges actually gave out any points for fluff that round.

I did write a few paragraphs worth of fancy words for my bronze medal entry, and Ponies judging did reward me for it. However, he also penalized me for not addressing the fluff requirement for Soul Eater, so fluff was pretty much a zero sum game for me that round.

I recently had a 5th place (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19555553&postcount=301) behind a tie for third (and from what I can tell, Honorable Mention) in the OotBI round. Fluff did not contribute to the judging, but may have contributed to HM votes. But despite the story involving whaling, I wasn't exactly channeling Melville. I wrote everything in first person from the perspective of a character of average intelligence and little education or social grace, and tried to make it sound as colloquial as possible. You can count the number of words with more than two syllables in my fluff on both hands, and that's for a SI with "initiate" in the class name.

Some of the perceived importance of fluff may be due to sampling bias. Piggy and Ponies are our best optimizers, and also happen to be among our best creative writers. I'd encourage you not to worry too much about fluff if it's not your thing and see how you do.

[daremetoidareyo]

I've only judged in the villainous competition, but I hate excessive fluff. Important play notes, motivations and whatnot are great. But if I have to read excessive and unapplicable flavor while judging, I get frustrated. I don't penalize for it, but loquaciousness doesn't help me appreciate a build. I definitely have a bias towards cleverness, so I like seeing that.

[arclance]

Speaking only for myself, it's entirely possible to get a 5 in Originality under my criteria with no backstory. Well written fluff (which is to say fluff that I enjoy) is worth a quarter point, which can help you out, but if you came up with something sufficiently cool and unexpected mechanically, you won't need it (I'm pretty sure I've given out such a 5 at least once, though it might have been in Zinc Saucier).
That is my main problem with the way most (but not all) judges score originality right now.
As long as someone with writing skills has the possibility of squeezing the little bit more they need to take a higher place in an optimization competition based on the quality and/or enjoyability of their writing I won't want to enter it.
I don't feel that it is worth my time to put an entry together because I won't be able to compete on an equal basis with other entries by people who are able to write well enough to get those points.


From the competitor's side of things, I'm not sure that I see much correlation between how much backstory I write (or how florid my language) and the entry's success, or at least not as much as one might expect.
From a longtime observers viewpoint entries without a backstory (even those with otherwise well explained entries) score lower, sometimes much lower, than entries that do have backstories.

This does vary from Judge to Judge but I personally can only remember one time that a Judge said they did not care at all about an entries backstory unless they needed to check for fluff qualifications.


Some of the perceived importance of fluff may be due to sampling bias. Piggy and Ponies are our best optimizers, and also happen to be among our best creative writers. I'd encourage you not to worry too much about fluff if it's not your thing and see how you do.
I don't think that will happen.
In addition to what I have already said I rarely get build ideas without actually sitting down and thinking about it.
I think the last time that happened was for Shadow Sun Ninja a little over 2 years ago.
I am in three games (Pathfinder, D&D 5th Edition, Marvel Superheros RPG) and running a fourth (Sam and Fuzzy RPG) right now so I don't really have time to rack my brain for ideas but if I had a sudden idea I could fit it in if I did not need days and days to write a backstory.

[Deadline]

That is my main problem with the way most (but not all) judges score originality right now.
As long as someone with writing skills has the possibility of squeezing the little bit more they need to take a higher place in an optimization competition based on the quality and/or enjoyability of their writing I won't want to enter it.
I don't feel that it is worth my time to put an entry together because I won't be able to compete on an equal basis with other entries by people who are able to write well enough to get those points.

1. You are competing on as equal a basis as possible in the competition. There are numerous ways to gain and lose points for every judge, from optimization ability, your tricks, how funny your idea is, etc. Unless you are really terrible at every single thing involved in this contest (which I sincerely doubt), I can't quite figure out why this is a non-starter for you. Heck, I know (and have demonstrable proof) that I'm not as good at optimizing as PONIES and Piggy, but I've done pretty well in the competition anyway. Does my lesser optimization ability mean that I'm not starting on an equal basis?

2. You are, rather dramatically, overinflating the importance of any sort of creative writing ability in this contest. Full stop.

3. Only enter this contest if you think it would be fun. That's why the rest of us are all here, I think.


From a longtime observers viewpoint entries without a backstory (even those with otherwise well explained entries) score lower, sometimes much lower, than entries that do have backstories.

As a longtime observer, chef, and (occasional) judge, I know that most of those since Bladesinger without backstories scored low because they suffered a multitude of problems. Lack of backstory was not the cause of their scoring low. Please find me one you think was knocked out of the running based on a minor penalty assessed because of some backstory issue.


This does vary from Judge to Judge but I personally can only remember one time that a Judge said they did not care at all about an entries backstory unless they needed to check for fluff qualifications.

I think the backstory helps to give the judge an idea of what your entry is supposed to be and who they are, but it seems to be vanishingly rare that anyone penalizes much (or at all) for a poorly written backstory. We had one judge who had some bizarre rubric regarding how many sentences you should have and how many paragraphs was too many, etc. But that's far from the norm.

And, to my knowledge, we've only got one English teacher who is currently active and participating in this contest. He mostly cooks, so you are unlikely to need to fear his red pen. :smallbiggrin:


I don't think that will happen.
In addition to what I have already said I rarely get build ideas without actually sitting down and thinking about it.
I think the last time that happened was for Shadow Sun Ninja a little over 2 years ago.
I am in three games (Pathfinder, D&D 5th Edition, Marvel Superheros RPG) and running a fourth (Sam and Fuzzy RPG) right now so I don't really have time to rack my brain for ideas but if I had a sudden idea I could fit it in if I did not need days and days to write a backstory.

Well, if inspiration strikes, I encourage you to enter. The idea is that not everybody wins a silly internet trophy, but everybody should have a good time.

[Sian]

(I'm pretty sure I've given out such a 5 at least once, though it might have been in Zinc Saucier).

You did ... Thraincaxhe (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18241309&postcount=62) got a 5 even though the fluff was nothing :p

[arclance]

1. You are competing on as equal a basis as possible in the competition. There are numerous ways to gain and lose points for every judge, from optimization ability, your tricks, how funny your idea is, etc. Unless you are really terrible at every single thing involved in this contest (which I sincerely doubt), I can't quite figure out why this is a non-starter for you.
A big part of it, which I don't like to talk about, is the 10 years of negative reinforcement about creative writing from my English teachers I mentioned before came from about 8 of them being this kind of English teacher.

We had one judge who had some bizarre rubric regarding how many sentences you should have and how many paragraphs was too many, etc.
I literally had teachers who took off a letter grade if your essay was not the correct number of paragraphs and had at least a certain number of sentences in each paragraph regardless of how well your writing address the assigned subject.
They did not just kill my desire to write creatively they likely instilled a diagnosed mental issue about writing in me that causes problems when I try to write anything that is not pure conversation like this forum post is.


2. You are, rather dramatically, overinflating the importance of any sort of creative writing ability in this contest. Full stop.
You seem to be reading more into that than I intended or though anyone would think I intended.
I was talking about how my being unable to complete on one commonly used scoring criteria makes me feel that I cannot compete equally with other entries written by those who can because they will be able to score those points and I cannot.


3. Only enter this contest if you think it would be fun. That's why the rest of us are all here, I think.
I have been explaining the biggest reason that it would not be fun for me and why it is stands out to me.
This "why do you hate writing this much you are overreacting" reaction is not uncommon because people don't understand it is possible to hate something so common as much as I do.
In my experience that reaction is worse in those who write for pleasure or have a academic understanding of the English language.
It also sucks the fun out of anything associated with that reaction for me.


As a longtime observer, chef, and (occasional) judge, I know that most of those since Bladesinger without backstories scored low because they suffered a multitude of problems. Lack of backstory was not the cause of their scoring low.
Yes most entries without backstories have other problems but I clarified that I was not talking only about those when I qualified my statement with "even those with otherwise well explained entries".
Those entries with no backstory but are "otherwise well explained" generally do OK but tend to crop up in the middle to low part of the scores and not near the top.
Notice I say "tend to" and not "always do" as I am not stating that this is always true as you seem to have interpreted my last post to mean.


Please find me one you think was knocked out of the running based on a minor penalty assessed because of some backstory issue.
Off the top of my head and if we are only talking about backstory issues of any kind I will direct you to the previous Iron Chef.
There were several backstory issues in Judging but I am not going to go into specifics since I don't think anyone wants to overflow that discussion into this thread.
I would need a day or two to go back and read previous Judgings to find a specific example from farther back than that.

This is not a "Knocked out of the running" example but is an example of the kind of judging of backstory writing that makes me not want to enter. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19747092&postcount=306)


Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground LXXI: Silver Key
Aludra Giantbane– 11.5
Your backstory might be enough to sit down at the gaming table and play with, but at Iron Chef we expect a bit more. (0)

Jinx– 13
I’ll give you fluff points for the scene of disarray in the hobgoblin camp. It helps that Jinx has some style. (+0.25)

Ina– 16.75
The fluff passage could have perhaps done with a quick bit of proofreading, but it gives a voice and identity to the character all the same. (+0.25)

Barton d’Kundarak– 14.5
I do enjoy a nice little bit of poetic fluff. (+0.25)
Note how all but one entry got "fluff points" as the Judge called them.
In this case the Aludra Giantbane entry (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19719127&postcount=161) had other problems (it is very sparse making it hard to tell what the build is supposed to do) so this did not knock it out of the running or anything but its backstory is about the quality I could come up with after a few days of thinking about it.

I don't think this really needs to be discussed more in the thread, PM me if you want to continue it.
I only brought it up because OMG PONIES asked a question about Judging Originality and I had a response to it that I did not feel needed to be brought up unless the subject was brought up by someone else.
I don't bring it up from no-where because most people can't wrap their head around my viewpoint because they don't have my issues about writing and usually I can't communicate well enough for them to understand it unless they have a similar issue to compare it with themselves.

[Deadline]

You seem to be reading more into that than I intended or though anyone would think I intended.
I was talking about how my being unable to complete on one commonly used scoring criteria makes me feel that I cannot compete equally with other entries written by those who can because they will be able to score those points and I cannot.

Ah, fair enough. I'm sorry you feel that way. Believe it or not, I (much like PONIES), do understand that feeling. I may not have personally experienced it to the degree you seem to have, but I do get it.

I'm happy to chat with you via PM, but it sounds like maybe we've hashed out the meat of it. However, feel free to PM me whenever if you want to talk or just straight up vent frustration. I can listen with the best of 'em. :smallwink:

I did want to address one thing publicly in the thread, if only so that I could make my point clear to other potential new contestants in the thread who may be reading. My point about the scoring is that (to use the example you posted), the fluff literally had 0 impact on the build placing so low. Even if you default to giving the low scoring build the .25 points (according to the judges rubric) for fluff and took it away from the other three, it changes nothing. Ergo, the low score for Aldura didn't come from fluff, it came from other areas. That's what I was driving at. I get now that you already understood that, and the relative minor value of the fluff doesn't really factor into the equation for you because of your past experiences.

And, because I want to make it clear here (just like I do in my judgings), every dish submitted is a jewel of awesome in this contest, and an accomplishment to be proud of. It's an honor to step into kitchen stadium every round with you talented folks. :smallbiggrin:

Edit - OH HEY! I judged the round you cited your example from. I completely spaced that! If you've got any questions regarding why anything was scored the way it was, feel free to ask!

[OMG PONIES]

I have come across a build idea. A very, very stupid build idea. The kind of build idea that keeps making me giggle. It's definitely going to be an undertaking.

When anyone says that, I get excited...but when Zaq says that, I get downright giddy.


Piggy and Ponies are our best optimizers, and also happen to be among our best creative writers.

Heck, I know (and have demonstrable proof) that I'm not as good at optimizing as PONIES and Piggy, but I've done pretty well in the competition anyway

I am flattered, but resist the characterization as one of our best optimizers. I just loudly voice my opinions and refuse to go away, so after a while anyone who knows I don't know what I'm talking about gives up and walks away :smalltongue:.

In all seriousness, though, I'm constantly impressed by the ingenuity of others and consider myself, at best, to be our 14th best optimizer among our group of regulars. The list of chefs who consistently intimidate me with their prowess and cleverness includes, but is not limited to: Akal Saris, Heliomance, WhamBamSam, Fax Celestis, Chronos, Curmudgeon, Amphetryon, Zaq, Darrin, dysprosium, Macabaret, daremetoidareyo, and yes--even you--Deadline, whose constant self-deprecation is just a ruse.

But I can't fight you on Piggy. Damned fine optimizer and one hell of a storyteller to boot. I'd put Curmudgeon up there as one who not only has a penchant for mechanics, but can weave some lovely yarns and concepts. Aprilius Foolius and The Amazing Spider-Jermlaine are two of my recent favorites.

Anyway, back to sigging all the shameless compliments! :smallcool: Checks are in the mail, Sam & Deadline...

[Amphetryon]

When anyone says that, I get excited...but when Zaq says that, I get downright giddy.




I am flattered, but resist the characterization as one of our best optimizers. I just loudly voice my opinions and refuse to go away, so after a while anyone who knows I don't know what I'm talking about gives up and walks away :smalltongue:.

In all seriousness, though, I'm constantly impressed by the ingenuity of others and consider myself, at best, to be our 14th best optimizer among our group of regulars. The list of chefs who consistently intimidate me with their prowess and cleverness includes, but is not limited to: Akal Saris, Heliomance, WhamBamSam, Fax Celestis, Chronos, Curmudgeon, Amphetryon, Zaq, Darrin, dysprosium, Macabaret, daremetoidareyo, and yes--even you--Deadline, whose constant self-deprecation is just a ruse.

But I can't fight you on Piggy. Damned fine optimizer and one hell of a storyteller to boot. I'd put Curmudgeon up there as one who not only has a penchant for mechanics, but can weave some lovely yarns and concepts. Aprilius Foolius and The Amazing Spider-Jermlaine are two of my recent favorites.

Anyway, back to sigging all the shameless compliments! :smallcool: Checks are in the mail, Sam & Deadline...
Aww, shucks. :smallredface:

[OMG PONIES]

Thinking I may be able to judge this round:

My Criteria
All builds will start with a base score of 12, representing 3 points in each category. Those category scores will change based on my answers to a series of questions, presented below. An answer of "Yes" will earn a +0.5 boost to that category, an answer of "No" will earn a -0.5 penalty to that category, while an ambivalent "Yes and no" will not change the score of that category at all. Thus, it is possible for a build to score anywhere between 1 and 5 points in each category. The questions are as follow:

Originality
Does the build present a compelling backstory or concept?
Does the build enter the Secret Ingredient through a method unique from the sample character in the source as well as other entries in this round?
Does the build make use of any interesting race, class, feats, or mechanical tricks that the judge hasn't seen in common use before?
Does the build avoid "known cheese" and overused optimization suggestions?

Power
Does the build utilize established power breakpoints and feat taxes for all classes and prestige classes taken?
Does the build function at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on "nova" powers?
Does the build thrive without requiring specific magic items, templates, or other "add-ons" to qualify for anything?
Does the build contribute significantly in terms of offense, defense, and utility?

Elegance
Does the build qualify for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient?
Does the build qualify for all feats taken?
Does the build avoid any rules errors, questionable rules interpretations, cross-setting material, or material specifically disallowed from this competition?
Does the build avoid multi-class penalties and excessive dipping (defined as taking 2 or fewer levels in 2 or more base/prestige classes)?

Use of the Secret Ingredient
Does the build qualify for the Secret Ingredient and make use of all entry requirements?
Does the build complete the Secret Ingredient or present a compelling reason why not doing so is actually a better use of the Secret Ingredient?
Does the build pair mechanical abilities of the Secret Ingredient with the rest of the build in unique ways (e.g. do something not every other entry can do)?
Does the build complement the concept of its chassis through use of the Secret Ingredient (i.e. does the entry feel like a Thief of Life)?

[Zaq]

When anyone says that, I get excited...but when Zaq says that, I get downright giddy.

Aww, you're just trying to flatter me now, aren't you?


In all seriousness, though, I'm constantly impressed by the ingenuity of others and consider myself, at best, to be our 14th best optimizer among our group of regulars. The list of chefs who consistently intimidate me with their prowess and cleverness includes, but is not limited to: Akal Saris, Heliomance, WhamBamSam, Fax Celestis, Chronos, Curmudgeon, Amphetryon, Zaq, Darrin, dysprosium, Macabaret, daremetoidareyo, and yes--even you--Deadline, whose constant self-deprecation is just a ruse.

But I can't fight you on Piggy. Damned fine optimizer and one hell of a storyteller to boot. I'd put Curmudgeon up there as one who not only has a penchant for mechanics, but can weave some lovely yarns and concepts. Aprilius Foolius and The Amazing Spider-Jermlaine are two of my recent favorites.

See above comment. That's quite a list of luminaries you've compiled there, and I consider myself honored to be on it. I'd have a hard time disagreeing about anyone else on there, too . . . we're quite a bunch, aren't we?

Anyway, as far as my entry goes, I've got the bare skeleton (feats, prereq skills, and order of levels) pretty well nailed down. Now I just need to do the write-up (that's going to be the big thing) and apply some polish here and there (like assigning non-prereq skills and what have you). The deadline's a wee bit closer than I might have hoped, but I'll make this happen one way or another. This idea's too goofy not to post.

[WhamBamSam]

I'm flattered Ponies. I feel like my builds are more chewing gum and duct tape than the others on that list, but perhaps that's just because I've only seen the inside of my own kitchen.

The gum and tape are failing me this time I'm afraid. Despite a full free Sunday of vision questing, the various threads of genuinely clever ideas that I've come up with obstinately refuse to tie together. The builds that actually work are a bit too workmanlike. Ah well, I thought the same of Driscoll when I submitted him and I've been pleading for this SI for too long not to get something in.

[OMG PONIES]

I'm flattered Ponies. I feel like my builds are more chewing gum and duct tape than the others on that list, but perhaps that's just because I've only seen the inside of my own kitchen.

Chewing gum and duct tape are all you need sometimes.

http://media.comicbook.com/2015/10/mcgyver-153787.jpeg

[Douglas]

And now, only because I'm tired, loopy, and feverish, a response in the style of HK-47.
That's not HK-47's style, you didn't call anyone a meatbag!:smalltongue:

[Heliomance]

The list of chefs who consistently intimidate me with their prowess and cleverness includes, but is not limited to: Akal Saris, Heliomance, WhamBamSam, Fax Celestis, Chronos, Curmudgeon, Amphetryon, Zaq, Darrin, dysprosium, Macabaret, daremetoidareyo, and yes--even you--Deadline, whose constant self-deprecation is just a ruse.

Wait, what? I've submitted builds to precisely three rounds! The first (Drunken Master) was a joke entry, which bombed, and the third (Lasher) I didn't exactly do brilliantly in. Sure, I won Anointed Knight, and I do love that build, but that can hardly be called consistent!

[OMG PONIES]

That's not HK-47's style, you didn't call anyone a meatbag!:smalltongue:

The fact that this is coming from a mod makes it all the more awesome.


Wait, what? I've submitted builds to precisely three rounds! The first (Drunken Master) was a joke entry, which bombed, and the third (Lasher) I didn't exactly do brilliantly in. Sure, I won Anointed Knight, and I do love that build, but that can hardly be called consistent!

I've seen your optimization skills on display outside of Iron Chef as well. I stand by my words :smallbiggrin:.

[Heliomance]

Only two entries so far, with three days to go. Come on, people!



I've seen your optimization skills on display outside of Iron Chef as well. I stand by my words :smallbiggrin:.

...you have? Weird, because I haven't!

[Sian]

got nailed heavily with two problems depending on what i try to build

Either its all to close to a previous character that I've created for a optimization challenge, or it lacks a couple of feats to be viable.

[Zaq]

Only two entries so far, with three days to go. Come on, people!


I'm coming, I'm coming. I'm like 90% done. Just gotta tidy up the skills, run another editing pass on the write-up, and get everything 100% formatted. Everything important's already in place, though.

[The Viscount]

Well you know how chefs like to cook down to the wire. Though I wouldn't object to having a smaller competitive pool. Here's hoping I can get it in.

[WhamBamSam]

I've been fooling around with build stubs instead of just trying to finish my functional idea. I'm going to resolve not to do any more fooling about with [redacted] or [redacted] until I've gotten my first entry submitted. I've got the table mostly done, so it shouldn't take long if I just focus.

[Vaz]

I'm scuppered. Unless I can get inspiration flash, i'm going to be down for judging.

[Darrin]

I had an idea about two weeks ago, but it wasn't going anywhere interesting. I gave up on it and was planning on judging.

Then today I found a work-around... but it's still only about 90% of something worth submitting, and I'm missing that last little tidbit of spice (or fromage) to get it over the top. I'm torn between trying to put together something at the last minute, or just waiting until after the reveal to post what I've got and see if the rest of you can help me find the missing piece.

[JyP]

Only two entries so far, with three days to go. Come on, people!
Build submitted :smallwink:

[Deadasadoor]

I just had a strike of inspiration. I think I will enter this after all, providing I have time to finish.

[WhamBamSam]

Well, tables are all done for the one build I'll be getting in. Just have to do the write-ups and the fluff.

[Piggy Knowles]

Submitted. Hope the old gears aren't too rusty. Good cooking, everyone!

[riccaru]

I have (finally) finalized a build. The only problem now is getting it put down.

The competition says it closes at 9:59 GMT is this AM or PM?

[Sian]

When not in USA, and its not explicitly said that its AM or PM, its a 24 hour time stamp ... so its called in 12 hours give or take a few

[Zaq]

Build submitted. I had a hell of a time focusing as I was putting the final bits of polish on, so I'm hoping I didn't do anything flagrantly stupid. But it's in, and that's what matters most. Now, of course, we wait. I can't wait to see the reactions and the discussion!

How many announced judges do we currently have?

[WhamBamSam]

Well, that was embarrassingly close to the deadline given how long we had this round. Ah well, build is in. I had a stroke of inspiration with about 3 hours to go which probably will end up costing me points, but I like the build better now, and that's what's important.

[WeaselGuy]

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 09:59 GMT on Sunday, January 17th, 2016 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, January 31st, 2016 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.


sooo... reveal time? since it's now 23:35 GMT?

[Heliomance]

sooo... reveal time? since it's now 23:35 GMT?

And once again I've failed to be around for the deadline, and it's past my bedtime. Tomorrow, guys.

Yes, this does mean you have a few extra hours if you need them!

[Heliomance]

Guys.

I said "open for a few more hours".

That didn't mean "flood my inbox with 16 PMs".

Seriously, guys.

[Heliomance]

Entry number 1:


http://i.imgur.com/SVXAS3K.png
Duran Mublen, Vol's Apothecary
LE Male Human Paladin of Tyranny 2/Urban Ranger 1/Cancer Mage 7/Thief of Life 10

1st-level:

STR: 16
DEX: 10
CON: 14
INT: 14
WIS: 10
CHA: 14

Ability score improvements go to strength, except for the 20th-level improvement, which is instead used for intelligence.

Ability scores at level 20 (before magic items):

STR: 20
DEX: 10
CON: 14
INT: 15
WIS: 10
CHA: 14





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


1st
Paladin of Tyranny 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Craft (Poisonmaking) 2, Heal 4, Hide 1, Knowledge (nature) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Move Silently 2, Profession (Apothecary) 2
Great Fortitude, Azure Toughness
Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Smite Good


2nd
Paladin of Tyranny 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Craft (Poisonmaking) 3, Heal 5, Hide 2, Profession (Apothecary) 3
-
Divine Grace, Deadly Touch


3rd
Urban Ranger 1
+3
+5
+2
+0
Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Gather Information 1
Poison Immunity, Urban Tracking (B)
Favored Enemy (Church of the Silver Flame), Urban Tracking, Wild Empathy


4th
Cancer Mage 1
+3
+7
+2
+0
Craft (Poisonmaking) 6, Heal 7, Profession (Apothecary) 6, Gather Information 2
-
Sneak Attack +1d6, Disease Host


5th
Cancer Mage 2
+4
+8
+2
+0
Craft (Poisonmaking) 8, Hide 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Move Silently 7, Profession (Apothecary) 7
-
Contagion, Cancerous Companion


6th
Cancer Mage 3
+5
+8
+3
+1
Craft (Poisonmaking) 9, Heal 8, Hide 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Move Silently 8, Profession (Apothecary) 7
Master of Poisons
Tatterdemalion, Poison


7th
Cancer Mage 4
+6/+1
+9
+3
+1
Craft (Poisonmaking) 10, Heal 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Profession (Apothecary) 9
-
Children of the Night


8th
Cancer Mage 5
+6/+1
+9
+3
+1
Craft (Poisonmaking) 11, Heal 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Profession (Apothecary) 11, Gather Information 5
-
Sneak Attack +2d6, Viral Agent


9th
Cancer Mage 6
+7/+2
+10
+4
+2
Craft (Poisonmaking) 12, Heal 12, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Profession (Apothecary) 12, Gather Information 9
Staggering Strike
Infect Wound


10th
Cancer Mage 7
+8/+3
+10
+4
+2
Craft (Poisonmaking) 13, Heal 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Profession (Apothecary) 13, Gather Information 12
-
Insect Plague, Insect Armor


11th
Thief of Life 1
+8/+3
+12
+6
+2
Craft (Poisonmaking) 14, Heal 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Profession (Apothecary) 14, Gather Information 14, Use Magic Device 2
-
Lifesense (5 ft.)


12th
Thief of Life 2
+9/+4
+13
+7
+2
Craft (Poisonmaking) 15, Heal 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Profession (Apothecary) 15, Gather Information 15, Use Magic Device 5
Darkstalker
Sneak Attack +3d6


13th
Thief of Life 3
+10/+5
+13
+7
+3
Craft (Poisonmaking) 16, Heal 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Profession (Apothecary) 16, Gather Information 16, Use Magic Device 8
-
Lifesense (10 ft.)


14th
Thief of Life 4
+11/+6/+1
+14
+8
+3
Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Heal 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Profession (Apothecary) 17, Gather Information 17, Use Magic Device 11
-
Borrow Vigor


15th
Thief of Life 5
+11/+6/+1
+14
+8
+3
Craft (Poisonmaking) 18, Heal 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Profession (Apothecary) 18, Gather Information 18, Use Magic Device 14
Martial Study (Cloak of Deception)
Immunity to Fear, Lifesense (15 ft.)


16th
Thief of Life 6
+12/+7/+2
+15
+9
+4
Craft (Poisonmaking) 19, Heal 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Profession (Apothecary) 19, Gather Information 19, Use Magic Device 17
-
Sneak Attack +4d6


17th
Thief of Life 7
+13/+8/+3
+15
+9
+4
Craft (Poisonmaking) 20, Heal 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Profession (Apothecary) 20, Gather Information 20, Use Magic Device 20
-
Immunity to Energy Drain, Lifesense (20 ft.)


18th
Thief of Life 8
+14/+9/+4
+16
+10
+4
Craft (Poisonmaking) 21, Heal 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Profession (Apothecary) 21, Gather Information 21, Use Magic Device 21, Concentration 2
Cerulean Will
Steal Vitality


19th
Thief of Life 9
+14/+9/+4
+16
+10
+5
Craft (Poisonmaking) 22, Heal 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Profession (Apothecary) 22, Gather Information 22, Use Magic Device 22, Concentration 4
-
Immunity to death effects, Lifesense (25 ft.)


20th
Thief of Life 10
+15/+10/+5
+17
+11
+5
Craft (Poisonmaking) 23, Heal 23, Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Profession (Apothecary) 23, Gather Information 23, Use Magic Device 23, Concentration 6
-
Sneak Attack +5d6, Steal Immortality




Cancerous Companion
11 intelligence.
Can communicate telepathically with Duran.
30 ft. blindsight
Can use a spell or spell-like ability of Duran four times per day.
Grants Duran Evasion.
Grants Duran Uncanny Dodge.
Mind-affecting spells and abilities have a 50% chance of affecting the Divinity Within instead of Duran.

Duran hadn't always been the person he is today. Long ago, he was just an ordinary village doctor in some remote part of Thrane. He was young, eager, and above all: ambitious.

One day, a group of humans dressed in black and purple visited his hometown. They made camp just outside the village, and started to educate all who visited them. They educated in life, in death, in the transition between those two; even in the nature of undeath.

Duran was interested in them. Life and death were things he was often confronted with, and too often did his simple medicines lack the power to prevent the second. And so, he started to attend the travelers' sermons. And one day, when they were preparing to leave, Duran declared he would join them.

And so, Duran became a member of this strange religion, called the Blood of Vol. He learned of life and death, but also to channel his inner power. Over time, he became a capable warrior, though not one who had forgotten his origins as a healer.

Then, one day, they were destroyed. Duran still wasn't sure why, but a group of warriors with the Silver Flame's emblems on their shields attacked out of nowhere, killed most of his friends, and set fire to their books. Duran managed to crawl to safety after taking a morningstar to the head.

He fled. First by foot, then by horse, and finally he reached Sigilstar. There, he bought a lightning rail ticket to Sharn, certain that there he could live without fear of the Silver Flame.

The long ride in the stuffy, dark carriage was one of the worst moments of his life. Time after time did he remember the carnage, the blood, the holy blood spilled... But he did remember something else. During the battle, he had Observed the assailants... and found they all carried a disease.


After arriving in Sharn, Duran created a small shop in herbal medicine on the city's lower levels. From time to time, he would employ his herbalistic talents for less legal purposes; selling poison to street gangs and other such people. It made for a nice source of income.

It also helped him cure the disease.

Duran Observed how the woman entered. The disease clung to her like cobwebs clinging to an old rotten chair. An apt comparison, Duran realized. While some might suggest trying to dust off the webs, any sensible person would just burn the chair and buy a new one.

The woman requested something against headaches. Duran glanced at the small bowls of ointment hidden behind the counter, took one, and gave it to the woman. He accepted the woman's silver, and watched her leave.

Duran smiled. The bowl did, in fact, contain headache medicine. What the woman didn't know was that it also contained a very effective medicine against her true disease.

It was called arsenic.

Duran groaned. How did this go wrong? He'd been mashing up roaches when his finger had slipped. It had been an experimental poison; one that contained both common venom and disease.

Now, he was lying in his bed, too sick to move. Staring at the ceiling, Duran wondered if he was going to die. He feared death. Spending eternity fading away in Dolurhh was a fate he did not desire, did not deserve.

Duran meditated. If only he was strong enough... if only his blood would expel this sickness... If only the Divinity Within...

Duran slipped back into unconsciousness. When he woke up, he was amazed to discover the disease had all but faded. Grateful, he thanked his own Divinity Within.

To his surprise, it spoke back.

Duran looked at the tower. For days now had he investigated it. He had Observed every resident and singled out the diseased ones. He had send spies inside, disguised as common illnesses, to further learn the tower's layout.

Now, he called out to the darkness. Twenty rats of unusual size and ferocity appeared, waiting for him to command them. Duran pointed out where the diseased lived, and watched the rats split up and climb towards their first targets.

Duran smiled, and talked to the Divinity Within. It praised him.

As the first screams of the diseased started to die away, Duran left. The locusts below his heavy cloak stirred for a moment before calming down again.

Duran watched the man enter the alley. For three hours now had he been stalking him, waiting for a good opportunity.

Once again, Duran Observed him. The disease was very strong in this man; but that could be expected for a servant of that accursed Flame. Duran quickly averted his eyes. He didn't want to have to look at the plague too much; it made him feel sick. Feeling his agitation, the bugs that crawled beneath his cloak stirred for a moment.

Duran touched his longsword for a moment, then entered the alley. The Divinity Within stirred, and he touched the tumor in an attempt to calm it. The thief of life approached the man quickly, and for a moment vanished completely. The man, having heard something, turned, and raised an eyebrow as he saw nothing behind him.

Duran never gave the man the chance to respond to him. A swing, another, and another, and the man was already groaning in pain. Another swing and the man was dead.

Duran smiled as another of the diseased was cured. He breathed deeply, and felt the man's soul empower him. The Divinity Within trembled in joy, and Duran stroked it slowly before leaving.

Duran plunged the sword into the paladin, and gasped. The soul... stronger than anything he had ever found, yet also diseased... It was almost overwhelming. With the combined will of him and the Divinity Within, he barely managed to consume it.

And a world opened up to Duran.

He was no more apothecary. He was no rank-and-file soldier of the Blood of Vol. He was no poisoner. He was no simple killer, no master of disease, no thief of life, nor had he ever been any of those things.

He was eternal. He was beyond human needs. He felt like going without food for a month, just to see what it was like, and surviving it.

He was the Bringer of Death.

And he was coming to cure this city.

Duran is just your typical paladin of tyranny at this level, except for his odd skill choices. Azure toughness represents his minor skill with manipulating souls, and together with his 12 hit points and armor proficiencies should keep him going throughout the day.

Duran Detects Good often and dislikes letting those who detect positively live, believing the very idea of 'goodness' to be a threat to developing the Divinity Within.

Duran has taken a level in urban ranger, has a nice bonus on all saving throws, and can track people through cities. He's also immune to Giant Roach Paste.

Things get really interesting when he starts taking levels in cancer mage. Sneak attack is nice, and combined with his hide and move silently scores lets him deal some extra damage in that surprise round, and the cancerous companion gives some pretty fun bonuses.

Blindsight is always nice, and the ability to channel spell-like abilities can help Duran determine if a foe he is fighting is Good, or just functions as a way to get free debuffs.

By this time, Duran has finished his cancer mage career. His plate armor has been exchanged for a healer's tattered robes with crawling insects beneath.

He's also gained some very nice abilities the past five levels. Viral Agent has its uses, and Children of the Night lets him play vampire and create a few dozen disposable scouts. Speaking about summons, he can also call some locust swarms once per day, though their lack of movement means they'll not be used much. During downtime, you can craft some poison or maintain your guise as apothecary.

In spite of those abilities, Duran is still a frontline fighter. His BAB is two points behind a fighter of this level, he can apply sneak attack to both attacks, and let's not forget staggering strike, which is just nasty. Oh, and there's Infect Wound, which has a rarely seen secondary effect but a primary effect that's decent in itself (no-save constitution damage aw yeaaaaaah).

Darkstalker is picked up, as is Martial Study. Cloak of Deception basically equals a free round of sneak attack.

Speaking about sneak attack, Thief of Life adds some. You also get Lifesense, which is very useful against other Darkstalkers, immunity to fear (good to have) and the ability to steal bits of other creature's souls and use them for a few temporary HP. Use Magic Device ranks let you use any magic items looted from foes.

The capstone of Thief of Life: free immortality as long as you kill one 20 HD creature per year. This should be trivial for an adventurer.

You also gain more sneak attack and two useful immunities. Additionally, you can shore up your poor Will by investing Incarnum in it.

At this point, Duran is more-or-less immortal and can constantly fight to eliminate all Good. He tries to get the drop on any of his victims, sneak attacking through flanking, surprise, and Cloak of Deception. His weapon are probably poisoned, and the Divinity Within will try to get off a few Poison or Contagion spells as well. Staggering Strike prevents the target from getting a full attack off.

Duran is Lawful Evil. His sheer hate of Good prevents any non-evil alignment, and his dedication to eliminating only a certain group of people and lack of interest in random slaughter or plunder is definitely Lawful.

The paladin of tyranny's code of conduct is the following:


A paladin of tyranny must be of lawful evil alignment and loses all class abilities if he ever willingly commits a good act. Additionally, a paladin of tyranny's code requires that he respect authority figures as long as they have the strength to rule over the weak, act with discipline (not engaging in random slaughter, keeping firm control over those beneath his station, and so forth), help only those who help him maintain or improve his status, and punish those who challenge authority (unless, of course, such challengers prove more worthy to hold that authority).

As stated before, Duran is LE. He won't be committing good acts. Selling medicine to others isn't Good but Neutral, as it is done out of greed rather than altruism.

Duran respects authority, acts with discipline (his slaughter isn't random), helps only those who help him maintain his status (in this case, his status of a respectable apothecary) and punishes those who challenge authority (in this case, the authority of the Blood of Vol).

Duran is not a character that fits in with standard parties. His sheer hate of Good should make that clear. In anti-Good parties, however, he can easy work.

In-combat, Duran is a frontline fighter who can hopefully sneak attack with the help of a flanking partner. His AC is respectable, his Fortitude save is through the roof, Reflex is good (just below a 20th-level rogue's reflex) and Will is low but improved through Cerulean Will.

Out-of-combat, Duran can craft poison, scout and send diseases to weaken enemies.

[Heliomance]

Entry number 2:



Brother Vorick Hellakanus
Disciple of the Bloody Fist
http://orig05.deviantart.net/2b2e/f/2014/137/e/0/pathfinder_darius_by_yamao-d7ip7zr.jpg

Human Monk of the Passive Way 2/Rogue 4/Thief of Life 10/Fighter 1/Assassin 3



"Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that's what we are."

Vorick Hellakanus had a rather unremarkable childhood. He was not an orphan, his parents were happily married, and neither did his father beat him nor did his siblings torment him. He didn't dissect squirrels in the back yard, and he didn't make it a habit to bully his schoolmates. His parents were not poor, but neither were they overly wealthy. His father served in the Karrnathi military, and was a graduate of the Rekkenmark Academy. His mother was a camp surgeon before having kids and settling down to care for the family.

And yet, there was just something always a little off about Vorick. It was never anything obvious, nothing to cause undue attention or concern, just something... different. At times he could be seen staring at the radial artery running through his wrist, counting his pulse under his breath. Other times he would spend hours pouring through his mother's medical textbooks, examining sketches of of the Human form and it's muscular and nervous systems. Thinking maybe a change of scenery would do the child some good, Vorick's family made a sizable donation to a Karrnathi Monastery and shipped Vorick off.

Even that act didn't really shake Vorick's oddness. If nothing else, the structured life of a monk only served to focus Vorick's drive and determination. Focused as he was on the duality of life and death, it should come as no surprise that it was only a matter of time before the Blood of Vol and their Cult of Life should take note of the young Brother Vorick, and offer him a place of acceptance and understanding within their ranks. And so would begin Vorick's journey within the cult.

"I have seen the movement of the sinews of the sky, And the blood coursing in the veins of the moon."

Indoctrination into the Cult of Life was an extremely quick and easy process for Brother Vorick Hellakanus. As soon as he finished his term with the Monastery, Vorick moved closer to a larger cultist cell and soon became a member of the clergy. While Vorick has no access to Divine magic, his monastic training and fervent attitude towards the Cult led to a perfect fit.

It was only a matter of time after becoming a Priest before Vorick was inducted into the inner levels of the Cult. After serving for a number of years, and demonstrating the appropriate levels of proficiency in arcane and religious studies, deception, and even combat, Vorick was offered a position amongst the Thieves of Life.

In his service as a Thief of Life, Vorick was responsible for seeking out valuable artifacts, escorting and protecting the more magically inclined members of the priesthood in finding Mabar manifest zones, and even infiltrating other political and religious organizations in the Church's quest for knowledge.

"Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins."

Risen to the ranks of Abactor and taking orders directly from the Crimson Covenant (and entrusted with even more truth about the inner workings of the Blood of Vol), Vorick spends the vast majority of his time travelling across Khorvaire. It is now his job to both ensure the maintenance of a safehouse for other cultists, and to Seek out new petitioners.

Vorick maintains a few different identities to help with travel across the continent, and continues to train as a martial artist. On occasion he even visits the Crimson Monastery in Atur, in order to help train new monks.

"The death clock is ticking slowly in our breast, and each drop of blood measures its time, and our life is a lingering fever."

Brother Hellakanus now reports directly to Lady Vol. He is one of the thirteen members of the Crimson Covenant, and knows the true identities of his fellow Covenant members. Every year, Brother Hellakanus is called upon to "excommunicate" a fallen member of the faith. The Cult of Life has only one method of excommunication, and that involves the death of the fallen priest. Shunted into an empty room and blindfolded, they are completely helpless and set up perfectly for Vorick's death attack. This serves the dual purpose of eliminating a non-believer, and also extending Vorick's life and delaying the aging process for another year.

And as the blood in the body circulates without cessation, so to does the cycle of the Cult of Life continue.




Attribute
Base
Racial
From Level
Total


Strength
15
-
5
20


Dexterity
16
-
-
16


Constitution
12
-
-
12


Intelligence
10
-
-
10


Wisdom
15
-
-
15


Charisma
9
-
-
8



Increases from level go into Strength.




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


1st
Monk of the Passive Way 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Heal 4, Hide 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Move Silently 4
Combat Expertise, Power Attack, Darkstalker
Bonus Feat, Improved Unarmed Strike, Flurry of Blows


2nd
Monk of the Passive Way 2
+1
+3
+3
+3
Heal 5, Hide 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 5, Move Silently 5
Improved Trip
Bonus Feat, Evasion


3rd
Rogue 1
+1
+3
+5
+3
Bluff 1, Disguise 1, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Use Magic Device 5
Ascetic Rogue
Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding


4th
Rogue 2
+2
+3
+6
+3
Bluff 5, Disguise 2, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Use Magic Device 7
-
Spell Reflection


5th
Rogue 3
+3
+4
+6
+4
Bluff 8, Disguise 5, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Use Magic Device 8
-
Sneak Attack +2d6, Penetrating Strike


6th
Rogue 4
+4
+4
+7
+4
Bluff 9, Disguise 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Use Magic Device 9
Stunning Master
Disruptive Attack


7th
Thief of Life
+4
+6
+9
+4
Bluff 10, Disguise 10, Hide 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Move Silently 10, Use Magic Device 10
-
Lifesense (5 ft)


8th
Thief of Life 2
+5
+7
+10
+4
Bluff 11, Disguise 11, Hide 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 7, Knowledge (Religion) 7, Move Silently 11, Use Magic Device 11
-
Sneak Attack +3d6


9th
Thief of Life 3
+6
+7
+10
+5
Bluff 12, Disguise 12, Hide 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Move Silently 12, Use Magic Device 12
Knock-Down
Lifesense (10 ft)


10th
Thief of Life 4
+7
+8
+11
+5
Bluff 13, Disguise 13, Hide 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 9, Knowledge (Religion) 9, Move Silently 13, Use Magic Device 13
-
Borrow Vigor


11th
Thief of Life 5
+7
+8
+11
+5
Bluff 14, Disguise 14, Hide 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 10, Knowledge (Religion) 10, Move Silently 14, Use Magic Device 14
-
Immunity to Fear, Lifesense (15 ft)


12th
Thief of Life 6
+8
+9
+12
+6
Bluff 15, Disguise 15, Hide 15, Knowledge (Arcana) 11, Knowledge (Religion) 11, Move Silently 15, Use Magic Device 15
Hazing Strike
Sneak Attack +4d6


13th
Thief of Life 7
+9
+9
+12
+6
Bluff 16, Disguise 16, Hide 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 12, Knowledge (Religion) 12, Move Silently 16, Use Magic Device 16
-
Immunity to Energy Drain, Lifesense (20 ft)


14th
Thief of Life 8
+10
+10
+13
+6
Bluff 17, Disguise 17, Hide 17, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Religion) 13, Move Silently 17, Use Magic Device 17
-
Steal Vitality


15th
Thief of Life 9
+10
+10
+13
+7
Bluff 18, Disguise 18, Hide 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 14, Knowledge (Religion) 14, Move Silently 18, Use Magic Device 18
Improved Critical (Unarmed Strike)
Immunity to Death Effects, Lifesense (25 ft)


16th
Thief of Life 10
+11
+11
+14
+7
Bluff 19, Disguise 19, Hide 19, Knowledge (Arcana) 15, Knowledge (Religion) 15, Move Silently 19, Use Magic Device 19
-
Sneak Attack +5d6, Steal Immortality


17th
Fighter 1
+12
+13
+14
+7
Intimidate 3
Snap Kick
Bonus Feat, Hit & Run Tactics


18th
Assassin 1
+12
+13
+16
+7
Bluff 20, Disguise 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Use Magic Device 20
Staggering Strike
Sneak Attack +6d6, Death Attack, Poison Use, Spells


19th
Assassin 2
+13
+13
+17
+7
Bluff 21, Disguise 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Use Magic Device 21
-
+1 Saves against Poison, Uncanny Dodge


20th
Assasin 3
+14
+14
+17
+8
Bluff 22, Disguise 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Use Magic Device 22
-
Sneak Attack +7d6




Spells per Day/Spells Known


Level
1st
2nd


18th
0/2
-


19th
1/3
-


20th
2/3
0/2


Spells Known:

True Strike, Disguise Self, Feather Fall
Alter Self, Undetectable Alignment

The ability to both know and cast spells is predicated upon having items to increase your Intelligence. However, the ability to cast these spells comes so late in the game that a) having an intelligence boosting item should be trivial, and b) the success or failure of this build is not dependent upon spellcasting.



Level 1-5: Early on, you play this character as a typical BFC Monk, setting yourself up for sneak attacks and trip attempts whenever possible, and using your stunning fist ability to keep opponents locked down. Spell Reflection and Penetrating Strike help you remain competent against spell casters and their pesky undead minions and constructs.
Level 6-10: In this level range, you still want to capitalize on Sneak Attacks of Opportunity in order to key your Knock-Down feat. When they try to stand back up, hit them again with an attack of opportunity, and knock 'em back down! In the event that you find yourself up against something that can't be sneak attacked, or against something with a truly prodigious AC, Disruptive Attack will help lower that AC by 5 points. In this level range, you also start working on the Secret Ingredient, Thief of Life. Lifesense helps you find hidden creatures, and gets more powerful the higher level you get. At level 10, you also get Borrow Vigor, which gives you temporary HP when you land the killing blow against your opponents, making it beneficial to wipe out some of those low HP mooks cluttering up the battlefield. We also get Hazing Strike, which makes our opponent unable to maintain nonmagical altered mental states, such as rage, psionic focus, and other similar abilities.
Level 11-15: Picking up more levels of Thief of Life in this range, we also get Immunity to Fear, Energy Drain, and Death Effects, our Lifesense ability increases up to 25 feet, and we get Steal Vitality, giving you immunity to exhaustion, sleep and fatigue effects for a number of hours equal to the slain creatures hit dice. We also pick up Improved Critical and Roundabout Kick, increasing our Critical Threat range and giving us a bonus attack on those critical strikes.
Sweet Spot: In my opinion, level 15 or 16 is about when this build reaches it's optimimum range of effectiveness. Your saving throws are all at a good range, at 16 you have 3 base attacks and all of your Thief of Life abilities, plus Roundabout Kick and all of your other BFC feats from earlier, plus on average around 70 hit points (before items). You aren't the tankiest person on the field, but you aren't the squishiest either. If you factor in the fluff of the prestige class, by the last level of Thief of Life, you are most likely a member of the Crimson Covenant, and thus "protected by the mightiest magic at Vol's disposal." This would probably mean, in the least, being provided a decent amount of magical defensive items (see the Magical Items section).
Level 16-20: At level 16, we finish off the Secret Ingredient, gaining another Sneak Attack die and Steal Immortality. Level 17 gives us a Fighter feat (Snap Kick) and another attack, plus Hit & Run tactics, giving us another small boost to our damage. The last 3 levels are all in Assassin, giving us poison use (not terrible), possibly some interesting spells, a couple more Sneak Attack dice, and Uncanny Dodge. We also get our last feat, Staggering Blow, which lets us put out more stunning blows whenever we land a critical strike.



As a melee front line character, you obviously benefit from the standard defensive items (Ring of Protection, Bracers of Armor, Vest of Resistance). A Monk's Belt is almost required for any Monk build, as is an Amulet of Mighty Fists. Wings of Flying are always useful, in order to deal with aerial opponents. Anklets of Translocation are useful for tactical movement, and all Monks can benefit from Strength, Dexterity and Wisdom boosting items.



SRD (www.d20srd.org) - Monk (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/monk.htm), Rogue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/rogue.htm), Fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/fighter.htm), Assassin (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/assassin.htm), Power Attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#powerAttack), Combat Expertise (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#combatExpertise), Improved Critical (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedCritical), Improved Trip (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedTrip)
Complete Mage - Spell Reflection ACF (p35)
Complete Adventurer - Ascetic Rogue (p106)
Complete Warrior - Roundabout Kick (p105)
Dungeonscape - Penetrating Strike ACF (p13)
Lords of Madness - Darkstalker (p179)
Deities and Demigods - Knock-Down (p51)
Unearthed Arcana - Passive Way Monk (p52)
Secrets of Sarlona - Hazing Strike (p117)
Tome of Battle - Snap Kick (p32)
Dragon Compendium - Staggering Blow (p109)
Dungeon Master's Guide/Magic Item Compendium - Magic Items
Drow of the Underdark - Hit & Run Tactics ACF (p58)
Faiths of Eberron (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060911a&page=3) - Thief of Life

[Heliomance]

Entry number 3:






Soot the Planar Thief
Stealing jink is only good for Clueless knights of the cross-trade - a true blood steals Power.

Rogue 1 / Swordsage 1 / Spellthief 1 / Thief of Life 10 / Hellbreaker 3 / Gatecrasher 4

http://rs585.pbsrc.com/albums/ss297/Ashdate/torment/Dustmen_by_Tony_Diterlizzi1996small.jpg?w=480&h=480&fit=clip


Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1 lesser tiefling rogue 1 +0 +0 +2 +0 Bluff 4, Disable Device 2, Hide 4, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Listen 1, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 4, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4 combat expertise Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
2 swordsage 1 +0 +0 +4 +2 Bluff 4, Disable Device 2, Heal 5, Hide 4, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Listen 1, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 4, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4 quick to act +1, discipline focus (Weapon Focus), 6 known maneuvers, 4 readied, 1 stance
3 spellthief 1 +0 +0 +4 +4 Bluff 4, Disable Device 2, Heal 5, Hide 4, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Listen 1, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 4, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 5, Spot 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4 improved feint Sneak attack +2d6 , steal spell (0 or 1st), trapfinding
4 thief of life 1 +0 +2 +6 +4 Bluff 6, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 4, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Listen 1, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 5, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4, Clever Improviser (disable + open 5) Lifesense 5-ft.
5 thief of life 2 +1 +3 +7 +4 Bluff 8, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 4, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 2, Listen 1, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 7, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4, Timely Misdirection (bluff 8) Sneak attack +3d6
6 thief of life 3 +2 +3 +7 +5 Bluff 8, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 4, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 4, Listen 1, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 7, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4, Group Fakeout (bluff 8) undo resistance Lifesense 10-ft.
7 hellbreaker 1 +2 +3 +9 +7 Bluff 10, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 4, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 4, Listen 1, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 10, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 10, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4 Mantle of darkness, telepathic static
8 hellbreaker 2 +3 +3 +10 +8 Bluff 11, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 8, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 3, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 3, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 11, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 11, Tumble 5, Use Magic Device 4 Steal spell-like ability
9 hellbreaker 3 +4 +4 +10 +8 Bluff 12, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 8, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 6, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 12, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 6, Use Magic Device 4, Spot the Weak Point (spot 12) martial stance (assassin's stance) Sneak attack +4d6
10 thief of life 4 +5 +5 +11 +8 Bluff 13, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 12, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 6, Use Magic Device 4 Borrow vigor
11 thief of life 5 +5 +5 +11 +8 Bluff 14, Disable Device 5, Heal 5, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 12, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 12, Use Magic Device 8 Immunity to fear, lifesense 15-ft.
12 gatecrasher 1 +5 +5 +13 +10 Bluff 15, Disable Device 15, Heal 5, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 5, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 12, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 12, Use Magic Device 8, Acrobatic Backstab (tumble 12) Planar Touchstone (Pillar of Skulls) Analyze Portal, bonus language
13 thief of life 6 +6/+1 +6 +14 +11 Bluff 16, Disable Device 15, Heal 5, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 11, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 16, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 12, Use Magic Device 8 Sneak attack +5d6
14 thief of life 7 +7/+2 +6 +14 +11 Bluff 16, Disable Device 15, Heal 5, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 17, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 16, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 17, Use Magic Device 8 Immunity to drain, lifesense 20-ft.
15 thief of life 8 +8/+3 +7 +15 +11 Bluff 18, Disable Device 18, Heal 5, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 18, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 18, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 18, Use Magic Device 10 Telling Blow Steal vitality
16 thief of life 9 +8/+3 +7 +15 +12 Bluff 19, Disable Device 19, Heal 5, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 19, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 19, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 19, Use Magic Device 17 Immunity to death effects, lifesense 25-ft.
17 thief of life 10 +9/+4 +8 +16 +12 Bluff 20, Disable Device 20, Heal 5, Hide 15, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 13, Open Lock 20, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 20, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 20, Use Magic Device 20 Sneak attack +6d6, steal immortality
18 gatecrasher 2 +10/+5 +8 +17 +13 Bluff 21, Disable Device 21, Heal 5, Hide 18, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 16, Open Lock 20, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 20, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 20, Use Magic Device 21 Headshot Comprehension
19 gatecrasher 3 +11/+6/+1 +9 +17 +13 Bluff 22, Disable Device 22, Heal 5, Hide 19, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 5, Knowledge (the planes) 14, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 19, Open Lock 20, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 20, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 20, Use Magic Device 22 Open Portal
20 gatecrasher 4 +12/+7/+2 +9 +18 +14 Bluff 23, Disable Device 23, Heal 5, Hide 23, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (local) 2, Knowledge (religion) 8, Knowledge (the planes) 15, Listen 5, Martial Lore 5, Move Silently 22, Open Lock 20, Profession (Guide) 4, Search 20, Sense Motive 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 12, Tumble 20, Use Magic Device 23 Summon spell dampening




Str 12, Dex 14+2, Con 10, Int 16+2, Wis 8, Cha 16-2

+1 Intelligence every 4 levels




LEVEL class Skill points sum allocation
1 rogue 1 (8+Int)x4 48 Bluff +4, Disable Device +2, Hide +4, Knowledge (local) +2, Knowledge (religion) +4 (cross-class), Listen +1, Move Silently +3, Open Lock +4, Profession (Guide) +4, Search +4, Sense Motive +4, Spot +4, Tumble +4, Use Magic Device +4
2 swordsage 1 6+Int 10 Heal +5, Martial Lore +5
3 spellthief 1 6+Int 10 Knowledge (arcana) +5, Spellcraft +5
4 thief of life 1 6+Int 10 Bluff +2, Disable Device +3, Open Lock +1, Search +1, Spot +1, SKILL TRICKS +2
5 thief of life 2 6+Int 10 Bluff +2, Knowledge (the planes) +4 (cross-class), Search +2, SKILL TRICKS +2
6 thief of life 3 6+Int 10 Knowledge (the planes) +4 (cross-class), Sense Motive +4, SKILL TRICKS +2
7 hellbreaker 1 6+Int 10 Bluff +2, Search +3, Spot +5
8 hellbreaker 2 6+Int 11 Bluff +1, Hide +4, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Listen +2, Search +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1
9 hellbreaker 3 6+Int 11 Bluff +1, Listen +2, Move Silently +3, Search +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1, SKILL TRICKS +2
10 thief of life 4 6+Int 11 Bluff +1, Hide +5, Move Silently +5
11 thief of life 5 6+Int 11 Bluff +1, Tumble +6, Use Magic Device +4
12 gatecrasher 1 8+Int 13 Bluff +1, Disable Device +10, SKILL TRICKS +2
13 thief of life 6 6+Int 11 Bluff +1, Open Lock +6, Search +4
14 thief of life 7 6+Int 11 Open Lock +6, Tumble +5
15 thief of life 8 6+Int 11 Bluff +2, Disable Device +3, Open Lock +1, Search +2, Tumble +1, Use Magic Device +2
16 thief of life 9 6+Int 12 Bluff +1, Disable Device +1, Open Lock +1, Search +1, Tumble +1, Use Magic Device +7
17 thief of life 10 6+Int 12 Bluff +1, Disable Device +1, Hide +2, Move Silently +2, Open Lock +1, Search +1, Tumble +1, Use Magic Device +3
18 gatecrasher 2 8+Int 14 Bluff +1, Disable Device +1, Hide +3, Knowledge (the planes) +5, Move Silently +3, Use Magic Device +1
19 gatecrasher 3 8+Int 14 Bluff +1, Disable Device +1, Hide +1, Knowledge (religion) +3, Knowledge (the planes) +4, Move Silently +3, Use Magic Device +1
20 gatecrasher 4 8+Int 14 Bluff +1, Disable Device +1, Hide +4, Knowledge (religion) +3, Knowledge (the planes) +1, Move Silently +3, Use Magic Device +1





Most orphan sods from the Hive are put in the dead-book quickly - engaging into the cross-trade for some bit of bread, blathering at the wrong end of Mercykiller pikes. Me ? Got my cred as a Light Bearer, then as a Tout for the Clueless. But I didn’t peel them - I asked to be on the ride, got out-of-touch pretty early - pretty curious as a youngster you see ? The Prime ain’t no wonder though, even the Clueless want to quit it. So I got some basher tricks and went back there, to pester the Guvners about their loopholes around reality, even though the Fated had feelers for yours truly. Factions can parade in the streets all they want though, I found the real chant through touring some bloods from out-of-town - the deal about Powers getting petitionners from the dead-book is a sodding bob, only barmies would pass all eternity stuck until they merge with Powers or whatever. So I joined like-minded cutters - we won’t hit the dead-book at all. Interested ?

If you don’t stomach Sigil’s cant (from there for example : http://mimir.net/cant/cant2.html): our Tiefling orphan is from the Hive, the poorest ward of Sigil, the Town of Portals. He survived as a rogue and town guide first, then accompanied adventurers back to the Material Plane - where he learned some swordsage tricks. He went back to Sigil and gained some spellthief powers through the Fraternity of Order - where sages search for loopholes in reality rules. As he continued to act as a guide for adventurers in Sigil, he made a contact with the Prolongers sect and was convinced - this is now his main belief that Death should be cheated as long as possible. And as all planars know, in the planes belief is power...

Prolongers are mortals who want to avoid death as much as possible - they have a dark reputation as they usually steal lives from others to keep going. So they usually hide their affiliation and pass as members of Sigil’s factions. In Planescape setting, you can use the factions & sects like Prolongers or Ring-givers as the main political organizations - so I feel this is a good equivalent of the Blood of Vol organization in Eberron setting, as an outsider or darker path - I effectively refluff Thief of Life for use in Planescape setting, with Prolongers membership replacing Blood of Vol membership. I did not change entry requirements otherwise to be in line with current challenge.

I use an archetypal Planescape Tiefling Rogue as a basis there, so it can be used as NPC to present the setting to material plane adventurers. You can have its appearance matching Sigil’s fashion, with a soot covered spiked leather armor, a jagged scythe on display as a twisted weapon (scythes and sickles as weapons are all the rage in Sigil), faction tattoo and so on. I fancy this Tiefling as a big smoker with a lot of cigars, who triggers its racial darkness spell-like ability by blowing smoke from his mouth. His infernal taint appears through his spiked hair which leaves soot if he does not wash frequently, and his cold smokey eyes. As for his personality traits : mainly a city dweller, poseur like most Sigil inhabitants, with cold and ruthless tendancies - this is a street urchin survivor after all.

Mechanically speaking, lesser tiefling must be used as thief of life doesn’t allow outsiders but only humanoids or monstrous humanoids. Swordsage is needed for heal as class skill, and can be used to show tricks from another world on the Material Plane, to confer a first glimpse of the Planes’ diversity. As for spellthief, it showcases that planar thiefs are not after gold - they steal other things. These 3 different base classes allow an early entry in Thief of Life, even if we have only the short range Life Sense, and sneak attack on par with a classic rogue - but with lower BAB. I want to simulate a Planar Thief on 20 levels, so more skills & planar features oriented.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Soot is proficient with all simple weapons, martial melee weapons plus the hand crossbow and shortbow. He is proficient with light armor, but not with shields.

Discipline Focus : Setting Sun (for associated weapon : quarterstaff, which was used by Soot in his teens as a Light Bearer. His jagged scythe has a folding blade to be used as a quarterstaff if needed).

Maneuvers known (4 first in the list prepared) : Burning Blade, Clinging Shadow Strike, Distracting Ember, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Sudden Leap, Wolf Fang Strike. Soot has ’misplaced’ some martial scripts (and more) when he ’left’ a monastery on the Material Plane, so he could have other maneuvers up his sleeve.

Stance known : Wind Stride to be able to flee if required. On feats side, we have a bit of dead weight as Combat Expertise needs higher BAB to be effective but it grants access to Improved Feint - these are prerequisites for a future prestige class.

On skills side, Bluff is maxed out with one skill trick to flee, Search is next, and a lot of thief's skills like open locks or disable device are at 5 for another skill trick. Our thief also dabbles in magic and martial lore. Please note that Knowledge (religion) and Knowledge (the planes) are bought as cross-class skills



Planar critters tend to have sharper senses and abilities than usual, so our thief is now able to chip spell resistance away, steal spell-like abilities and steal vigor with +6d6 sneak attack. Hellbreaker prestige class was used to provide some ability to hide effectively, even from telepathy - and quicker access to steal spell-likes than Spellthief.

Thieve's skills got the most point, with 2 skill tricks - Group Fakeout and Spot the Weak Point to be able to hit accurately even with the low BAB. Note that locks & traps skills did not evolve as Hellbreakers are more martial oriented.




I used Gatecrasher instead of continuing Hellbreaker to access thieve's skills, and to have more flexibility whenever travelling on the planes. My main focus is in fact to equilibrate class features, to have sneak attack every 4 levels and to have a true Planar Thief abilities otherwise. Hence Planar Touchstone to get more planar abilities, analyze portal to be able to go everywhere, but still some more sneak attack and immunities to give the laugh to devils & demons. Our Prolonger is now able to steal vitality - and add sneak attack damage on criticals with Telling Blow (I guess he kills vanquished foes with coup de grace, unfolding the blade of his quarterstaff to do scythe critical damage). Lifesense ability is a great advantage whenever our planar thief is "working" in extreme planar conditions, like the howling winds of Pandemonium or the low visibility on most Inner Planes.

On skills side, tumble is at max rank - as we accessed a last skill trick, acrobatic backstab, and to gain some mobility. Locks & traps can be handled again also.



Thief of Life capstone, to steal immortality, is attained at 17th level (it could have been as soon as 13th level, but Hellbreaker & Gatecrasher class features are required for the Planar Thief concept - you can switch class levels as you wish if you want to play Duncan MacLeod on the planes at lower levels). Headshot feat is a nice way to confuse a foe for one round at 18th level (in quarterstaff mode). Then I use Gatecrasher for planar travel (open any magic portal with open lock), to increase thieve's skills to be near maximum, and at 20th level as a way to prevent summonings - better not have the Blood War coming whenever the planar thief "execute" a contract. Remember this adventure seed in the Beastlands where some evil hunters came from other planes to hunt & kill dinosaurs ? I bet this would be a group of Prolongers on their annual "pilgrimage" - to keep their immortality by killing the big dummy beasts...




AD&D 2 Planescape setting (instead of Eberron setting). This is partially described in Manual of the Planes and Planar Handbook in D&D 3.
AD&D 2 Planescape Monstrous Compendium appendix II (Prolongers sect)
Complete Adventurer (Spellthief)
Complete Scoundrel (Head Shot, skill tricks)
Fiendish Codex II (Hellbreaker, undo resistance)
Manual of the Planes (Gatecrasher)
Planar Handbook (planar touchstone)
Player’s Guide to Faerun (Lesser Tiefling)
Player’s Handbook 2 (Telling blow)
Tome of Battle (swordsage, martial stance)

[Heliomance]

Entry number 4:





There is no god but man.

1. Man has the right to live by his own law—

to live in the way that he wills to do:
to work as he will:
to play as he will:
to rest as he will:
to die when and how he will.

2. Man has the right to eat what he will:

to drink what he will:
to dwell where he will:
to move as he will on the face of the earth.

3. Man has the right to think what he will:

to speak what he will:
to write what he will:
to draw, paint, carve, etch, mould, build as he will:
to dress as he will.

4. Man has the right to love as he will:—

"take your fill and will of love as ye will,
when, where, and with whom ye will." —AL. I. 51

5. Man has the right to kill those who would thwart these rights.

~Liber OZ, Aleister Crowley


http://autorbis.net/p/eliphas-levi.jpg
Alphonse Louise Constant, Hidden Seeker of Vol
NE Human, Psychic Rogue 1/Psion 4/Ebon Saint 5/Thief of Life 10

"Ordinary morality is only for ordinary people."




"What a lovely face. I think I might borrow it."



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


1st
Psychic Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Bluff 4 ranks, diplomacy 4 ranks, disguise 4 ranks, hide 4 ranks, move silently 4 ranks, sleight of hand 4 ranks, knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, heal 2 ranks, balance 4 ranks, knowledge (religion) 2 ranks1
Able Learner, Combat Expertise
Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding


2nd
Psion 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Bluff 1 rank (5), diplomacy 1 rank (5), hide 1 rank (5), move silently 1 rank (5), balance 1 rank (5), heal 1 rank (3)

Change shape, discipline (egoist)


3rd
Psion 2
+1
+0
+2
+3
Bluff 1 rank (6), diplomacy 1 rank (6), hide 1 rank (6), move silently 1 rank (6), heal 1 rank (4), knowledge (arcana) 1 rank (3)
Improved Feint



4th
Psion 3
+1
+1
+3
+3
Bluff 1 rank (7), diplomacy 1 rank (7), hide 1 rank (7), move silently 1 rank (7), disguise 2 ranks (6)




5th
Psion 4
+2
+1
+3
+4
Bluff 1 rank (8), diplomacy 1 rank (8), hide 1 rank (8), move silently 1 rank (8), disguise 2 ranks (8)




6th
Ebon Saint 1
+2
+1
+5
+6
Bluff 1 rank (9), diplomacy 1 rank (9), hide 1 rank (9), move silently 1 rank (9), disguise 1 rank (9), knowledge (arcana) 1 rank (4), sleight of hand 2 ranks (6)
Darkstalker
Dire strike, shadowfriend


7th
Ebon Saint 2
+3
+1
+6
+7
Bluff 1 rank (10), diplomacy 1 rank (10), hide 1 rank (10), move silently 1 rank (10), disguise 1 rank (10), sleight of hand 1 rank (7), Second Impression skill trick

Thought theft


8th
Ebon Saint 3
+4
+2
+6
+7
Bluff 1 rank (11), diplomacy 1 rank (11), hide 1 rank (11), move silently 1 rank (11), sleight of hand 3 ranks (10), Group Fake-Out skill trick

Mind interrogation, sneak attack +2d6


9th
Ebon Saint 4
+5
+2
+7
+8
Bluff 1 rank (12), diplomacy 1 rank (12), hide 1 rank (12), move silently 1 rank (12), sleight of hand 2 ranks (12), Mosquito's Bite skill trick
Metamorphic Transfer
Steal form


10th
Thief of Life 1
+5
+4
+9
+8
Bluff 1 rank (13), diplomacy 1 rank (13), hide 1 rank (13), move silently 1 rank (13), sleight of hand 1 rank (13), disguise 3 ranks (13), concentration 1 rank (1), Timely Misdirection skill trick

Lifesense (5 ft.)


11th
Thief of Life 2
+6/+1
+5
+10
+8
Bluff 1 rank (14), diplomacy 1 rank (14), hide 1 rank (14), move silently 1 rank (14), sleight of hand 1 rank (14), disguise 1 rank (14), concentration 3 ranks (4), Social Recovery skill trick

Sneak attack +3d6


12th
Thief of Life 3
+7/+2
+5
+10
+9
Bluff 1 rank (15), diplomacy 1 rank (15), hide 1 rank (15), move silently 1 rank (15), sleight of hand 1 rank (15), disguise 1 rank (15), concentration 3 ranks (7), Assume Quirk skill trick
Azure Talent
Lifesense (10 ft.)


13th
Thief of Life 4
+8/+3
+6
+11
+9
Bluff 1 rank (16), diplomacy 1 rank (16), hide 1 rank (16), move silently 1 rank (16), sleight of hand 1 rank (16), disguise 1 rank (16), concentration 1 rank (8), psicraft 4 ranks

Borrow vigor


14th
Ebon Saint 5
+8/+3
+6
+11
+9
Bluff 1 rank (17), diplomacy 1 rank (17), hide 1 rank (17), move silently 1 rank (17), sleight of hand 1 rank (17), disguise 1 rank (17), concentration 3 ranks (11)

Disappear from the mind


15th
Thief of Life 5
+8/+3
+6
+11
+9
Bluff 1 rank (18), diplomacy 1 rank (18), hide 1 rank (18), move silently 1 rank (18), sleight of hand 1 rank (18), disguise 1 rank (18), concentration 2 ranks (13), listen 3 ranks (3)
Practiced Manifester (Psion)
Immunity to fear, lifesense (15 ft.)


16th
Thief of Life 6
+9/+4
+7
+12
+10
Bluff 1 rank (19), diplomacy 1 rank (19), hide 1 rank (19), move silently 1 rank (19), sleight of hand 1 rank (19), disguise 1 rank (19), concentration 1 rank (14), listen 3 ranks (6), Listen to This skill trick

Sneak attack +4d6


17th
Thief of Life 7
+10/+5
+7
+12
+10
Bluff 1 rank (20), diplomacy 1 rank (20), hide 1 rank (20), move silently 1 rank (20), sleight of hand 1 rank (20), disguise 1 rank (20), concentration 1 rank (15), listen 3 ranks (9), Swift Concentration skill trick

Immunity to energy drain, lifesense (20 ft.)


18th
Thief of Life 8
+11/+6/+1
+8
+13
+10
Bluff 1 rank (21), diplomacy 1 rank (21), hide 1 rank (21), move silently 1 rank (21), sleight of hand 1 rank (21), disguise 1 rank (21), concentration 1 rank (16), listen 5 ranks (14)
Undead Empathy
Steal vitality


19th
Thief of Life 9
+11/+6/+1
+8
+13
+11
Bluff 1 rank (22), diplomacy 1 rank (22), hide 1 rank (22), move silently 1 rank (22), sleight of hand 1 rank (22), disguise 1 rank (22), concentration 1 rank (16), listen 5 ranks (19)

Immunity to death effects, lifesense (25 ft.)


20th
Thief of Life 10
+12/+7/+2
+9
+14
+11
Bluff 1 rank (23), diplomacy 1 rank (23), hide 1 rank (23), move silently 1 rank (23), sleight of hand 1 rank (23), disguise 1 rank (23), concentration 2 ranks (18), listen 4 ranks (23)

Sneak attack +5d6, steal immortality



STARTING STATS (32 PB): Str 8/Dex 14/Con 13/Int 16/Wis 13/Cha 14 (boost Int at each available level)

PSYCHIC ROGUE POWERS KNOWN:
1- Dimensional pocket

PSION POWERS KNOWN2:
1- Disable, control light, psionic grease, entangling ectoplasm, conceal thoughts
2- Chameleon, control sound, psionic knock/ego whip3, psionic tongues
3- Faint memory, time hop, psionic glibness, hustle
4- Metamorphosis, psionic freedom of movement, psionic divination, psychic reformation


PP/day (Does not include bonus PP from a high Intelligence or Azure Talent)

1- N/A
2- 2
3- 6
4- 11
5- 17
6- 17
7- 25
8- 35
9- 46
10- 46
11- 46
12- 46
13- 46
14- 58
15- 58
16- 58
17- 58
18- 58
19- 58
20- 58

Alphonse gets 0 PP from his Psychic Rogue class levels. However, his high Intelligence means he does draw bonus PP from here - one point to start, thanks to his base Intelligence of 16, but this increases to as much as 5 points by the end of his career (if we can assume 21 Int +5 tome +6 headband).

Assuming standard Intelligence boosting items, by level 20, Alphonse should have a total of 107 PP from his class levels and bonus PP, which is further augmented by Azure Talent and his Thief of Life abilities (see Build Snapshots below for more on this trick).


1The table assumes that Able Learner's benefit does NOT apply at first level. If it does in fact apply, the build picks up six extra skill points. These can be valuable for investing in trained-only skills such as Autohypnosis (which you currently don't pick up until level 20), or for freeing up skill points down the road to use for more skill tricks.

2After level 14, these are best considered sample powers, as psychic reformation means that many of these powers can be re-written when necessary. However, this power selection is meant to best augment your abilities, and should remain the most useful over your career.

3As many of the effects of psionic knock can be duplicated by time hop, this can subsequently be reformed via psychic reformation for ego whip (a potent save-or-lose).


"Dare to will, dare to act, dare to be silent."

LEVEL 5: Psychic Rogue 1/Egoist 4.

Though the bulk of your class levels are in a class not traditionally thought of as stealthy, you are quite the sneak. Your goal is to play as a spy and assassin, with excellent skills focused primarily on stealth and social interactions. The latter in particular is impressive, particularly thanks to the Change Shape ability you received at 2nd level, which functionally gives you disguise self at will. This is further augmented by your psionic powers: conceal thoughts lasts four hours and gives you a huge +10 bonus to your bluff checks (and helps you resist mind-reading magic that might reveal your true intentions) and psionic tongues ensures you can use these skills against anyone, while powers such as control light, control sound, psionic knock and chameleon heavily augment your stealth and infiltration abilities.

In combat, you are primarily an opportunist. You can use that impressive bluff skill in combat with Improved Feint to throw around sneak attacks, but primarily your goal should be to confuse and disable. You've got a few very useful combat-oriented powers such as psionic grease, entangling ectoplasm and disable to shut down opponents and either make your escape or assist your teammates in taking them out, and with your impressive bluffing and disguise skills, you can easily cause mayhem in combat by concealing you and an opponent with control light and taking their form.

LEVEL 10: Psychic Rogue 1/Psion 4/Ebon Saint 4/Thief of Life 1

By level 10, your stealth and social skills have evolved from impressive to extraordinary. Your raw skills have taken a sharp increase, as you expand beyond the standard bluff/diplomacy/hide/move silently and begin picking up things like disguise (further augmented by Change Shape and the Second Impression skill trick) and sleight of hand (especially nice alongside the psychic rogue power dimensional pocket). Your powers also help in this regard: psionic glibness stacks with conceal thoughts to give you a whopping +40 bonus, metamorphosis alongside Metamorphic Transfer gives you access to a whole host of new abilities for infiltration, and faint memory, time hop and freedom of movement make you exceedingly difficult to stop. Even more important, though, are your Ebon Saint abilities. In addition to the raw increase to your skills provided by shadowfriend, you have several dire strikes that can provide unique abilities. Thought theft and mind interrogation allow you to wrest hidden secrets from your opponent, with mind interrogation being especially powerful: on a successful attack, with no save, you can get the answer to any question (assuming they know the answer). This can be downright campaign breaking in the right hands, but even without going down that road, it is easily one of the most useful abilities for a spy. You can also use steal form to easily nab the forms of non-humanoids who are not easy targets of your Change Shape ability.

This combines well with one of your skill tricks, Mosquito's Bite. You can use Mosquito's Bite to activate a dire augment, causing your opponent to think you just swiped harmlessly at them - while your dire augment allows you to steal secrets from their mind or steal their form.

You also begin down the path of the Thief of Life. Your first ability, lifesense, is limited to a small 5' range at this point, but it allows you to get some sense of your surroundings without requiring vision. This can particularly help when you use the oft-overlooked ability of metamorphosis to change into an object. You can remain as an object for an hour per level, completely hidden, using your lifesense to detect when someone passes near - at which point you can attack or beguile your opponent.

LEVEL 15: Psychic Rogue 1/Psion 4/Ebon Saint 5/Thief of Life 5

It's easy to just mindlessly list your stealth and social skills here, and rest assured that they are fantastic, but I want to focus on a couple of other aspects of the build that you pick up in these levels.

First of all, the combination of Azure Talent and your borrow vigor ability means that each opponent you face helps restore your power points. Azure Talent grants you two bonus PP for each essentia invested into it, but ordinarily you can only invest essentia into it once a day and never change it. Borrow vigor allows you to ignore this restriction, granting you bonus PP throughout the day as you fell enemies.

Second of all, metamorphosis, Metamorphic Transfer and Practiced Manifester combine to allow you access to some truly terrifying abilities. A key choice includes the greater doppelganger from Monsters of Faerun, whose Consume Identity ability allows you to consume a victim's brain to permanently acquire its identity and abilities, but the opportunities are nearly boundless. Let that last one sink in, however: you can secretly sneak attack a target, steal its thoughts with your dire augment, sap its vigor to gain power points, and then eat its brain to make the transformation complete. After all, why waste a perfectly good resource?

Third, you gain access to a potent combination in psionic divination and psychic reformation. Now you can use divinations and fact-finding through your dire augments to tailor your powers and skills to a specific threat. While the XP cost means you probably won't be using psychic reformation every encounter, and the above build is what I consider an optimal layout for most days and times, this gives you nearly unequaled flexibility and power.

LEVEL 20: Psychic Rogue 1/Psion 4/Ebon Saint 5/Thief of Life 10

You finish out Thief of Life, giving you several interesting defensive abilities, giving you lifesense out to 25', and increasing your offensive capabilities by improving your sneak attack. With some decent sneak attack and the ability to pick up combat forms via metamorphosis, you actually have a neat trick with the Group Fake-Out skill trick. You can feint against an entire group of enemies and, using a combat form that has multiple attacks, get off your sneak attack against all of them.

Most importantly, however, you may now steal the very lifeforce from your opponents. Steal immortality is an incredibly cool ability that lets you prevent your enemies from being resurrected while extending your own life. It also gives your PP a huge shot in the arm, as now slaying a foe will almost always give you enough essentia to max out Azure Talent.

Also, you've probably noticed that many of your abilities simply don't work on the mindless undead. They're immune to your sneak attack, your attempts at mind control, your dire augments. Undead Empathy shores up this weakness by allowing you to use your social skills on the mindless undead (and giving you a bonus against intelligent undead), allowing you to convert these potential weak points into allies.



"Blasphemy? I know not the word."

Thief of Life was an interesting ingredient to build around. It's a bit difficult to showcase, because many of its abilities are passive (various immunities, decent skills, etc.). I knew from the beginning that I wanted to build around the fact that Borrow Vigor and Steal Immortality let you break the once per day cap on Incarnum feats, and I had an idea around using Lifesense to "see" when metamorphed into an object. But where to go from there?

In the end, I decided to think about what would make a quintessential Thief of Life. I wanted a character built around skills and stealth, a thief who stole not jewels or filthy lucre but life itself - someone who could steal your face, your personality, your deepest secrets, and finally, your life itself. Ebon Saint and the greater doppelganger provided cool ways to augment the Thief of Life's natural abilities. This was a stealthy character who could attack you without you ever knowing you were attacked, someone who would fade from your mind seconds after the blow landed. Without knowing that you gave anything up, it would steal your secrets, read your thoughts, transform into a duplicate of you. Then, it would kill you, absorbing your lifeforce, even consuming your brain, and the world would never even know you were gone.

This created an interesting tie-in with the Blood of Vol, that strange religion which worships no single God but rather the divine within us all. There is a secret sect within the Blood of Vol known as the Crimson Covenant, which secretly manages the church. Its members are all immortals and undead, and none but the Crimson Covenant themselves know of them. Alphonse Louis Constant, then, would be a hidden seeker, one who seeks out the mysteries of the Crimson Covenant by wearing the faces of others, and who seeks the immortality necessary to be a part of the Covenant.

I hope you enjoy the character. While it may not put out high numbers in terms of damage, I believe its unique abilities would be welcome in any campaign.



"You may spend your nights lying awake, dreaming of that which comes after death. But me? I worry not about such small matters, for I shall never die."


Psychic Rogue, Dimensional Pocket: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b
SRD: Psion, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint, Metamorphic Transfer, all spells/powers except those specified here.
Egoist ACF: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070314a
Races of Destiny: Races of Destiny
Complete Scoundrel: Skill tricks
Complete Psionic: Practiced Manifester, Ebon Saint
Magic of Eberron: Faint Memory, Psionic Glibness
Faiths of Eberron: Thief of Life
Eberron Campaign Setting: Undead Empathy
Magic of Incarnum: Azure Talent

[Heliomance]

Entry number 5:


CN -> NE Glimmerskin Halfling rogue 1/Thief of life 10/Bard 2/Warblade 2/bloodstorm blade4/master thrower 1


Str:6 (8 pre-racial)
Dex:20 (18 pre-racial) Put extra points here
Con:14
Int:12
Wis:10
Cha:12




You want to know my story? It all started on the road. I was a knife juggler for a small traveling circus. I would perform my act with a "wild" bear every night in different towns, throwing flaming knives on the bears back.

The big secret to the show was that the bear in question was none other than the travelling strongman, A werebear who had so far eluded capture. That was until a group of Silver Hand members decided to spend an evening at the grand circus and even in their drunken haze could tell that there was something bigger going on with the group and decided to take action.

Half drunk and with swords and chains in hands they took my best friend from me to the heirarchy of the church for trial. That's what pushed me to join them. The Blood of Vol, and my best chance at finding where my ally was being held. I became the bard at their request, allowing me to slip through towns undetected like the old days. Hearing and telling tales of great warriors on my road to the silver hand. Among those tales were daring acts of rebellion by those referred to as warblades, and talk of a man who could throw a sword and catch it after killing his enemy. I intended to find him for that trick.

I did eventually find the man and he taught me after hearing my story. I learned a great deal from my first real mentor and I owe him everything I am. Or I would if he hadn't tried to betray me. My path through the Blood of Vol was, well, bloody. I icked up a few tricks with my knives in my travels as well, making me the deadliest knife master around.

That's when I heard the news. An execution of the renegade werebear they had found months before. I made my way to the execution grounds, but was too late to make a difference. That's when it went downhill. I killed the executioner and the clerics in the immediate area and made my escape. Now I'm going to wipe out their entire clergy and make them pay for their crimes.





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


1st
Halfling Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Heal(4), Knowledge (arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(4), Sleight of Hand(4), Disable Device(4), Search(4), Use Magic Device(4), Hide(4)
Knowledge Devotion (Knowledge Arcana)
Ranged Sneak Attack +2d6, Melee Sneak Attack +0, Trapfinding


2nd
Thief of Life 1
+0
+2
+4
+0
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(5), Sleight of Hand(5), Disable Device(5), Search(5), Tumble(2), Use Magic Device(5), Hide(4)

Lifesense (5 ft.)


3rd
Thief of Life 2
+1
+3
+5
+0
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(6), Sleight of Hand(6), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(4), Use Magic Device(6), Hide(4)
Point Blank Shot
Sneak Attack +1d6


4th
Bard 1
+1
+3
+7
+2
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(7), Sleight of Hand(7), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(5), Use Magic Device(7), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3)
Feats
Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1


5th
Bard 2
+2
+1
+8
+3
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(8), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(6), Use Magic Device(8), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(3)




6th
Warblade 1
+3
+4
+8
+3
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(8), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(8), Use Magic Device(8), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(6)
Dragonfire Inspiration
Battle Clarity( Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude


7th
Warblade 2
+4
+5
+8
+3
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(8), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(9), Use Magic Device(8), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(10)

Uncanny Dodge


8th
Bloodstorm Blade
+5
+7
+8
+3
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(5), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(8), Hide(4) Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(11)

Returning Attacks, Throw Anything


9th
Bloodstorm Blade 2
+6/1
+8
+8
+3
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(8), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(12), Spot(4)
Improved Two Weapon fighting
Martial Blade, Thunderous Throw


10th
Bloodstorm Blade 3
+7/2
+8
+9
+4
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(8), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(13), Spot(8)
Precise Shot



11th
Bloodstorm Blade 4
+8/3
+9
+9
+4
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(8), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(14), Spot(12)

Lightning Ricochet


12th
Thief of Life 3
+9/4
+9
+9
+5
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(6), Search(6), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(15), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(14), Spot(12)
Weapon Focus (Dagger)
Lifesense (10ft.)


13th
Thief of Life 4
+10/5
+10
+10
+5
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(8), Search(9), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(16), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(16), Spot(12)
Borrow Vigor



14th
Master Thrower 1
+11/6/1
+10
+13
+5
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(8), Disable Device(8), Search(9), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(16), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(17), Spot(16)

Quick Draw, Thrown Weapon Trick (Palm Throw)


15th
Thief of Life 5
+11/6/1
+10
+13
+5
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(10), Disable Device(9), Search(10), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(18), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(18), Spot(16)
Greater Two Weapon Fighting
Immunity to Fear, Lifesense (15ft.)


16th
Thief of Life 6
+12/7/2
+11
+14
+6
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(10), Disable Device(12), Search(12), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(19), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(19), Spot(16)

Sneack Attack +2d6


17th
Thief of Life 7
+13/8/3
+11
+14
+6
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(10), Disable Device(15), Search(14), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(20), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(20), Spot(16)

Immunity to Energy Drain, Lifesense (20ft.)


18th
Thief of Life 8
+14/9/4
+12
+15
+6
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(10), Disable Device(17), Search(17), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(21), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(21), Spot(16)
Rapid Shot
Steal Vitality


19th
Thief of Life 9
+14/9/4
+12
+15
+7
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(10), Disable Device(19), Search(20), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(22), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(22), Spot(16)

Immunity to Death Effects, Lifesense (25 ft.)


20th
Thief of Life 10
+15/10/5
+13
+16
+7
Heal(4), Knowledge (Arcana)(4), Knowledge (Religion)(2)[cc], Balance(10), Sleight of Hand(10), Disable Device(22), Search(22), Tumble(10), Use Magic Device(23), Hide(4), Perform (Sing)(3), Concentration(23), Spot(16)

Sneak Attack +3d6, Steal Immortality





Spells Known


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


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


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


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


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


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


6th
3
0+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


20th
-
-
-
-
-
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Maneuvers
Readied 3

1st level Punishing Stance, Moment of Perfect Mind

2nd levelWall of Blades, Mountain Hammer



Spells Known


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


1st
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2nd
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3rd
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4th
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5th
4
-
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6th
5
2
-
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7th
-
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8th
-
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9th
-
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10th
-
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11th
-
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12th
-
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13th
-
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14th
-
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15th
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16th
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17th
-
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18th
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19th
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20th
-
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Note: You will need either a flaw to get two weapon fighting or Gloves of the master hand (Magic Item Compendium) I went with the item in this build but either work as well.


At this level you're a fairly basic rogue. Thief of life boosts your sneak attack just as much as a regular rogue, so you're 1d6 higher than the average rogue at level 3. At level 5 you add bard skills to it, bringing your sneak attack equal to an average rogue and giving you some spells as well as some cheap wands.


At this level you'll have dragonfire inspiration as well as your regular rogue abilities. Using bloodstorm Blade's throw anything will let you throw Kukri's instead of daggers which would be a straight upgrade to daggers due to the critical range. Warblade maneuvers help shore up your low will save and armor class.



Level 15 is a natural highpoint for the build. You get greater two weapon fighting at this level as well as palm throw at 14. Using standard dragonfire inspiration boosts can get you a load of damage dice combined with your sneak attack. You also have lightning ricochet which means you only need a total of two weapons for your character, letting you purchase more scrolls and wands for use magic device.



Rounding out your build gets you to +15 base attack bonus, the same as a straight rogue. You also have +5d6 sneak attack damage, a high use magic device, and rapid shot. This gives you 14 attacks before haste (depending on how you read rapid shot). Your trapfinding skills are also nearly maxed out, ready for epic.




SRDRogue, Bard, Feats
Faiths of Eberron Thief of Life
Dragon MagicGlimmerskin Halfling, Dragonfire Inspiration
Tome of BattleWarblade, Bloodstorm Blade, Maneuvers
Complete WarriorMaster Thrower
Complete ChampionKnowledge Devotion

[Heliomance]

Entry number 6:



Cocus Ferrea

"Always eat what you kill."

Neutral Evil Glimmerskin Halfling
Patron "Deity": Blood of Vol
Halfling Rogue 1 / Thief of Life 10 / Fang of Lolth 1 / Shadowdancer 1 / Thunder Guide 1 / Master of Masks 1 / Renegade Mastermaker 1 / Death Delver 1 / Acolyte of the Ego 1 / Acolyte of the Skin 1 / Ardent Dilettante 1


STORY:"The blood is the life! The blood is the life!" Every Seeker learns that early on, but I'm not sure they all get it, you know? I get it. I've always gotten it. What's more, some higher-ups in the Church knew that I got it. Pretty much as soon as I got out of school, I was kept in the church after services one Revelations Day and told that the Church wanted to teach me something. I was just a little stripling of a thing when they took me aside for training—barely knew the business end of a dagger, unless of course I was throwing it—but I understood from Day 1 that there's power in blood, and I understood it in a way that qualified me for some special training. Most Seekers get all hung up on their own blood—and don't get me wrong, my own blood is incredibly important to me—but I knew that you aren't the only one who can access the power in your blood. If there's power in my blood and power in your blood, how much power would I have if I could add yours to mine?

So they took me and they trained me. Ignore those who would seek to frighten you. Ignore those who would sap your life. Ignore those who would stop your heart without spilling your blood. Sense the blood, farther and farther away. Draw the blood with a quick blade (not actually that different from what I was doing from far away, just closer and better). And when the last drop of blood is drawn? That's when the fun part comes in.

Sure, every would-be cutthroat trying to sound tough talks about the "rush" they get after a successful kill, but they don't know what they're talking about. They get a little tawdry excitement from the spill of blood, like the common folk do when they watch a vulgar gladatorial match, but they don't know the power of it. When you understand blood the way I do, the excitement you feel comes not from the thump of body on ground but from the powerful communion of your blood with my blood. There's nothing like it. It alters the mind like an intoxicant, but it grants a feeling of perfect clarity instead of the stupor of wine. It wakes me up more perfectly than even the tea brewed by the dragons. It nourishes me more completely than anything House Ghallanda offers. I take what you're no longer using—your life guards my life, your soul energizes my reflexes, your mind bolsters my thoughts . . . you become part of me, and I am stronger for it.

They taught me how to do that in bits and pieces. I gobbled it up (I've always been a quick learner), but then they told me that they couldn't teach me any more. They said I held the secret of immortality already, and I was on my own to use it. So I did. I wandered about (mostly Arenal and Seren, but far and wide, really), sensing blood powerful enough to nourish my own and taking it whenever I found it. I had my share of close calls (even got dropped near death myself once or twice), but I made my way around. And nourish myself I did, though I didn't feel myself actually getting stronger as a result. I knew that I needed different fare if I were to make myself more perfect. And then one day I sensed someone who would qualify as just that—different.

They were hideous to look at with my eyes—a twisted mongrel of rat and spider, all arms and fangs and fur—but when I looked with my blood, I saw an aura about them. An aura of achievement, almost like a metaphysical wreath of laurels. Though my face's eyes clearly saw no such thing, I could swear that my blood's eye saw them holding a golden trophy. I knew right then and there that I needed to absorb their essence into my blood. They were everything I needed to be, this "Tchar-Lee Kuh-Lee (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19265673&postcount=75)," and I would make them mine. I hid, I pounced, I drew the blood—I had almost forgotten what sleep was by this point, except insofar as it makes for nice targets—and I absorbed the most delectable soul I had ever tasted. The feeling was indescribable. The spark of divinity in my blood resonated with the spark in their blood, and I understood what it was like to be Tchar-Lee, world-famed Fang of Lolth. My blow knocked loose a spider-like amulet from their neck. It took a bit of fiddling to figure out how to activate its magic, but I eventually succeeded—perhaps too well, because I've never been able to take the damn thing off! Immediately, I felt my whole form changing—my skin darkened, my teeth grew, my neck got hairy—and I knew that I had succeeded in becoming what Tchar-Lee represented. From that point, my path was clear—I would seek out other people with that same aura of achievement and absorb them into myself.

I researched where this aura of achievement might have come from, and I searched high and low for other people with the same quality. I heard tales of one "Sandamir (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=12203671&postcount=306)," and I sought them out. I had heard that they were the best Shadowdancer the world had to offer. My sources told me that they were undead, which stymied me a little bit. Undead blood just doesn't have the same pop to it. Still, I thought I'd give it a try, so I watched, I waited, I pounced, and—nothing. Sandamir just kind of looked at me, and then he asked what the hell I was thinking. A little bit of flattery never hurt, so I told him I was looking to gain the powers of the greatest Shadowdancer ever. He laughed and told me that there was no way I'd ever succeed against him, but he pointed me towards the second-best: a fellow named Lucian the Wanderer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=12203737&postcount=310). His blood was as alive as mine is (even if the trophy my blood sensed was silver rather than gold), and then it became exactly as alive as mine is (in so far as that it became mine).

The next one I found was higher-profile than I expected. Everyone knows Kole Naerrin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18787020&postcount=127) from the Korranberg Chronicle, right? Turns out he's one of these high achievers as well. What's more, it turns out he's nothing but a fake! All those tales he writes about his adventures in the Thunder Sea, serving as a Thunder Guide? They're nothing but fiction! He'd never, ever admit it, but his blood told me the truth as I staked him out and watched him. I threatened to expose him for the fraud he is, at which point he just bared his throat to me and told me he'd rather die. After getting what I came for (learning a new language in the process—funny what a person's essence can teach you), I saw no need to ruin the reputation of someone who contributed to the perfection of my blood. I probably did his estate a favor by boosting his book sales, anyway. (Why tell you this? Let's just say I'm not too worried about you spilling that secret.)

It took a bit of work to find another target worthy of my blood. I eventually saw one such fellow just walking around, not living the high life of luxury you might expect of someone so accomplished. I actually saw him in several different disguises and masks, but his blood stayed the same, and that aura never left him. No two people called him the same name (Genriyon? Jereth? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=8798025&postcount=127) I can't tell), but it seemed to me that the best way to get close to him would be to bump off someone he trusted and take their place, which I did. My disguise was flawless, and the poor sap's friends and associates didn't notice a difference, at least not for the brief time I was in character. Once I got close enough, I put my dagger in this Jereth's back, and that same rush of accomplishment overwhelmed me. If I live to be a thousand (and at this rate, I just might), I don't think I'll ever get tired of that. I thought that the masks I saw him wearing might have been magical, but they seemed completely useless when I tried to put them on. You'd think the world's best Master of Masks could make a magical one or two! Oh well. Got a few good ideas for making my own, though, and the ones I made seemed pretty magical to me. I'd gotten pretty good at making things.

It's actually a good thing that I'd been getting good at making things, because the next fellow I found seemed like a hard nut to crack. Thankfully, the energized divinity in my blood made it so that I didn't need to eat or sleep, so I had a lot of time on my hands to plan and prepare. Once a respected doctor but now the world's premier Renegade Mastermaker, AM-1468 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=14240897&postcount=93) (previously Dr. Antony Mallory) claimed to have transcended humanity and achieved "construct perfection." Now, I know that it's a little bit harder to get to the juicy bits of a construct, but that's why I had the foresight to make myself one of those Demolition Crystals you hear about. (Had to use a scroll to get the right spell, but that's not so hard.) I was willing to bet that AM-1468 still had enough blood in him to be interesting, if only I could get to it. I was right, of course! The blood never lies, even if it takes a bit of work to get to it. I absorbed his essence like all the others, and my mind opened to the possibilities that lay within the strange metal hand he had stuck on the end of his arm. Before he became part of me, I never would have thought of my own hand as being anything other than perfectly sufficient, but with his blood whispering to my own, I saw how easy it would be to become so much more. Part of me always becomes those I absorb; in this case, that just happened to be a bit more physically obvious than others. AM-1468, like me, planned to live forever; since his arm is now part of me, it looks like he's going to succeed. He lives on through this arm! That wasn't the only thing I found in his lair, of course. He had all kinds of blueprints drawn up for weird and crazy gadgets. Most of them didn't seem worth the effort to me, but I saw one for a crystal very similar to the one that had brought the mad doctor low, just tuned more to undead than to constructs. That, at least, let me get the last laugh on old Sandamir, even if his blood wasn't any use to me.

Not everyone tried to fight me, of course. Normally, I would stalk someone for days after finding that aura of achievement, hiding in the shadows and waiting for just the right time to get them alone. I tried to do just that with some motley-wearing entertainer who called himself Parsifal the Fool (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=13633110&postcount=140), but the first time I saw him alone, he turned and stared directly at my hiding place, just as though he could see me! "So you've come at last?" he asked me. He seemed to know exactly what I was planning, and he seemed alternately resigned and terrified at my presence. He explained that he knew that his prophecied hour had come, so he wouldn't try to fight me off. I figured it was a trick, but so far as I can tell, it wasn't—he took a few more stabs than I would have expected, but his blood became mine just the same. His last action was to have the oddly passive skeletons following him around plink out a requiem on their instruments, the comedic value of which was overwhelmed only by its poignancy. So ended the tale of the most celebrated Death Delver.

My next target, a gentleman by the name of Benjamin Nutt (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18265521&postcount=120), seemed incredibly prepared for a fight against a very specific foe. Thankfully, I didn't happen to be that foe. Honestly, he seemed shocked that I wasn't some wielder of Truename magic. He'd apparently risen to fame as an Acolyte of the Ego just to try to fight them. How someone so focused on that kind of thing ended up with that aura of achievement, I'll never know, but it was on him clear as day. As I took his essence into my being and felt was it was like to be him, I became aware of the name the universe has for me, which I've decided to go by ever since: Cocus Ferrea. (Or at least, that's a rough transliteration of it—even I have a hard time saying the proper thing out loud.) It probably means something in Celestial or Draconic or something. Still, I think it has a nice ring to it.

I had a bit of trouble finding another victim with that same aura of achievement. I had to employ some unusual methods, including working with some Wizards who liked to summon fiends and use them as sources of information. Those Wizards tended to be useless in their own nutty way, but some of the fiends they summoned were pretty neat. One such fiend told me to seek out a fellow known as The Sacred Demon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=13788239&postcount=101), apparently an esteemed Acolyte of the Skin. According to my demonic informant, The Sacred Demon was interfering in the plans of a certain Ta'ligul, a demon for whom my informant had some respect. I realized that I was probably advancing some kind of hidden agenda, but as long as I could get access to people with that aura of achievement, it didn't matter to me if I had to help out an unsavory character or two. A quick blade made just as short work of The Sacred Demon as all the others, but he didn't fall in a heap the way everyone else did—rather, he fell in two heaps. One was a desiccated humanoid corpse with a celestial air to it (not dissimilar to what I was expecting), but one seemed to be simply the skin of a demon. The demon skin seemed to be hollow, and it looked like I could wear it like a cloak—so I did. (What can I say, I have a habit of picking up trophies, and it usually works out, even if I still can't get this damn spider necklace off.) Long story short, I found Ta'ligul, and he's helping me out now. He says I'm a lot easier to work with than that Sacred Demon fellow. Something about fewer conflicts of interest.

Ta'ligul didn't have a ton of useful information for me (his suggestions mostly boil down to "KILL THEM ALL," which isn't really helpful for someone of my refined palate), but he did suggest that I take to the planes to see if I could find anyone else who would meet my needs. One thing led to another, and I found myself in Sigil. Practically everyone there seemed to belong to some kind of faction, and not all of them seemed like the most helpful sorts of people, but the folks who called themselves the Sensates seemed pretty easy to talk to. You can get away with asking them about damn near any sort of depraved thing, and a lot of them will just talk about how daring you are in the pursuit of sensation. (Plus, they didn't seem to care about my spiderlike features, my metal arm, my mask, or the demon riding around on my back.) They did, however, demand that I tell them about some various things I had experienced, so I humored them. I went up in one of their "sensoriums" and started talking about what it's like to commune with the blood of one of my targets. How sharp your vision gets, the sound of your heartbeat as their heartbeat stops, the feel of their vigor strengthening you, the scent of their fear, even the taste of their soul. The Sensates lapped it up and had me recount experience after experience . . . and I won't deny that it was fun to showboat a little bit for an audience who wouldn't judge the contents of my story so much as the telling. After I was done, a Sensate named Arleigh Skye (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=10175601&postcount=153) came up and congratulated me on weaving such a fine tale—at least, I assume that's what she was talking about, because I was a little bit distracted by being actively approached by one of the very luminaries I was seeking. She was what the Sensates call an Ardent Dilettante, and she was one of their very best. I concocted an excuse to get her alone—and she got to experience the new sensation of nourishing my soul.

There were others, of course. Old Lob. Little Starry-Eyes. Sortes. Nyldene and Lady Liandra. Jorath, Hand of Annihilation. More luminaries than I can count, each one worthy of praise in their own way. It's almost enough to make a Seeker want to revere some of those things the yokels call gods, because whoever was responsible for bringing those people into being deserves some kind of recognition. So long as I live, I'll seek each one out . . . and they will become mine.

TABLES:

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


1
Halfling Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Heal 4, K: Arcana 4, K: Religion 2, Hide 4, Move Silently 2, Perform: Dance 4, Perform: Act 4, UMD 4, Truespeak 2 cc
Education (bonuses to Arcana and Religion)
Trapfinding, Sneak Attack (ranged 2d6/melee 0)


2
Thief of Life 1
+0
+2
+4
+0
Concentration 1, Disguise 1, Hide +1 (5), Move Silently +1 (3), Truespeak +0.5 cc (2.5), UMD +1 (5)

Lifesense (5 ft)


3
Thief of Life 2
+1
+3
+5
+0
Concentration +1 (2), Disguise +1 (2), Hide +1 (6), Move Silently +1 (4), Truespeak +0.5 cc (3), UMD +1 (6)
Midnight Dodge
Sneak Attack (ranged 3d6/melee 1d6)


4
Thief of Life 3
+2
+3
+5
+1
Concentration +1 (3), Disguise +1 (3), Hide +1 (7), Move Silently +1 (5), Truespeak +0.5 cc (3.5), UMD +1 (7)

Lifesense (10 ft)


5
Thief of Life 4
+3
+4
+6
+1
Concentration +1 (4), Disguise +1 (4), Hide +1 (8), Move Silently +1 (6), Truespeak +0.5 cc (3.5), UMD +1 (8)

Borrow Vigor


6
Thief of Life 5
+3
+4
+6
+1
Concentration +1 (5), Disguise +1 (5),Hide +1 (9), Move Silently +1 (7), Truespeak +0.5 cc (4.5), UMD +1 (9)
Mobility
Immunity to Fear, Lifesense (15 ft)


7
Thief of Life 6
+4
+5
+7
+2
Concentration +1 (6), Disguise +1 (6), Hide +1 (10), Move Silently +1 (8), Truespeak +0.5 cc (5), UMD +1 (10)

Sneak Attack (ranged 4d6/melee 2d6)


8
Thief of Life 7
+5
+5
+7
+2
Bluff 2, Concentration +1 (7), Diplomacy 1, Disguise +1 (7), Truespeak +0.5 cc (5.5)

Immunity to Energy Drain, Lifesense (20 ft)


9
Thief of Life 8
+6
+6
+8
+2
Bluff +2 (4), Concentration +1 (8), Diplomacy +1 (2), Disguise +1 (8), Hide +1 (11)
Combat Reflexes
Steal Vitality


10
Thief of Life 9
+6
+6
+8
+3
Bluff +1 (5), Craft: Blacksmithing 1, Diplomacy +1 (3), Hide +2 (13), Perform: Dance +0.5 cc (4.5)

Immunity to Death Effects, Lifesense (25 ft)


11
Thief of Life 10
+7
+7
+9
+3
Craft: Blacksmithing +2 (3), Perform: Dance +0.5 cc (5), Truespeak +0.5 cc (6), Speak Language 1 cc (Elven)

Sneak Attack (ranged 5d6/melee 3d6), Steal Immortality


12
Fang of Lolth 1
+7
+7
+11
+3
Craft: Blacksmithing +5 (8), Truespeak +0.5 cc (6.5)
Craft Magic Arms and Armor
Skill Bonuses (+2 Climb, +2 Jump, +4 UMD)


13
Shadowdancer 1
+7
+7
+13
+3
K: Religion +1 (3), Perform: Act +4 (8), Truespeak +0.5 cc (7)

Hide In Plain Sight


14
Thunder Guide 1
+7
+9
+13
+3
Bluff +3 (8), Truespeak +0.5 cc (7.5)

Speak Language (Giant)


15
Master of Masks 1
+7
+9
+15
+5
K: Religion +1 (4), Truespeak +1.5 cc (9)
Craft Wondrous Item
Persona Masks (Assassin, Faceless)


16
Renegade Mastermaker 1
+7
+11
+15
+7
Spellcraft 4

Battlefist, Craft Master


17
Death Delver 1
+7
+13
+15
+9
K: Planes 2

Spells, Deathsense, Rebuke Undead


18
Acolyte of the Ego 1
+8
+15
+15
+9
K: Planes +4 (6)
Practiced Spellcaster (Death Delver)
Known Personal Truename


19
Acolyte of the Skin 1
+8
+17
+15
+11
Profession: Chef 2

Wear Fiend (natural armor +1, DEX +2, darkvision), Poison 1/day


20
Ardent Dilettante 1
+8
+17
+17
+11
Lucid Dreaming 6

Heightened Senses, Lore



32 point buy
Starting stats:
STR: 14 – 2 racial = 12 (6 points)
DEX: 16 + 2 racial = 18 (10 points)
CON: 14 (6 points)
INT: 10 (2 points)
WIS: 12 (4 points)
CHA: 12 (4 points)

Stat changes: All level-up stats go to DEX; +2 DEX from Acolyte of the Skin

Multiclass penalty: No

Starting Languages: Common, Halfling

Glimmerskin halfling traits (Dragon Magic pg. 9): Like PHB halflings except as follows:
Dragonblood subtype
Touch of Luck: Once per day, grant self or ally within 30 ft a +2 luck bonus to one saving throw as an immediate action
Heal is always a class skill
No Move Silently bonus

SPELLS:


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
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


18th
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


19th
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


20th
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-



STRATEGY AND DESIGN:The Secret Ingredient has prereqs that aren't that easy to meet in a traditional manner, but each element of them can be gotten around somehow. The SI requires Sneak Attack, so we're looking at a Rogue or a Rogue-analogue. Knowledge (Arcana) and Knowledge (Religion) aren't usually in-class for Rogues, but Education fixes that. Getting Heal as a class skill is as simple as being a glimmerskin halfling, and it just so happens that the RotW Halfling Racial Substitution Level for Rogues lets us get 2d6 Sneak Attack right off the bat. (Sure, it only works on ranged attacks, but it's still 2d6 Sneak Attack.) Once we're in Thief of Life, we pick up everything the class has to offer as soon as possible. Extra Sneak Attack never goes amiss, the immunities are always handy, and Lifesense is a relatively unique ability, especially so early in the game. Midnight Dodge gives us an essentia receptacle, so we can actually use the essentia we steal from people. Once we get the ability to devour people's souls, we pack it up and look elsewhere.

Fang of Lolth gives us useful skill bonuses, particularly UMD. Shadowdancer offers true Hide In Plain Sight, which is hugely important for a stealthy Sneak Attacker. Thunder Guide teaches us another language, which allows us to qualify for Master of Masks. Master of Masks gives us the Faceless mask for when we don't want to be found out and the Assassin mask to make our Sneak Attack even better. The Supernatural abilities from Thief of Life have no listed caster level, so as per the Monster Manual, the CL defaults to our HD, giving us the CL necessary to take Craft Wondrous Item and Craft Magic Arms and Armor, which lets us get into Renegade Mastermaker; Renegade Mastermaker in turn gives us a very nice semi-natural weapon that can't be taken from us (and that could conceivably be enchanted if we use Greater Magic Weapon/Fang to temporarily enchant it while it's being permanently upgraded, though that's really just a gimmick and not a primary strategy). Death Delver grants access to spells and to Rebuke Undead. The language we got from Thunder Guide also qualifies us for Acolyte of the Ego, the benefits of which are self-evident. Acolyte of the Skin gives us natural armor, increased DEX, and darkvision, along with a nice Poison effect once per day. Ardent Dilettante gives us more skill bonuses and a Bardic Knowledge-style effect. So as you can see, everything blends together in a natural way, and the end result clearly . . .

. . . Okay, yeah, I can't keep a straight face with that anymore. Being real for a minute, this is obviously more of a showcase build than a playable character. Once I realized that it was possible to qualify for the Secret Ingredient after level 1, I knew that I wanted to set a record of entering/completing the Secret Ingredient at the earliest possible level. (It's possible that one of the 5-level ingredients could have been completed first, but still, there's no way we've had an ingredient that can be entered sooner than I enter this one.) This also means that I have an entry who only needs 1 level in a base class, which should also be unique (not counting entries who rely mostly on racial paragon classes before the SI), which left me with some interesting possibilities. I figured that I might as well set another record by making an entry with the greatest possible number of Secret Ingredients. It may technically be possible to touch more Secret Ingredients, but there's no way to do that while still finishing the primary Secret Ingredient (and then using its powers to eat the souls of the other Secret Ingredients, though I hope that we never use Illithid Savant as a Secret Ingredient).

To be fair, though, the character does have some tricks that make them playable. Thief of Life gives us some cool immunities, and since we enter it so early, it's really hard to get those immunities any earlier while still being a living creature (especially for always-on immunity that can't be dispelled and that doesn't take an action). Lifesense is unique enough to be noticeable, and Steal Immortality (and its cousins) of course forms the heart and soul of the character. With the Assassin Mask active, we end up with a decent handful of Sneak Attack (6d6 ranged, 4d6 melee), and Shadowdancer gives us the good kind of Hide In Plain Sight. That's not going to smash any power records, but honestly, it's not bad; the character's late game might not be a whirlwind of competence, but they're actually pretty cohesive for a large part of their career.

In the end, I've accomplished my goal by simply constructing this build. I have entered and completed a Secret Ingredient at the earliest level that's physically possible (I dare you to beat that record), I managed to qualify for ten different Secret Ingredients (with 10 INT worth of skill points and zero bonus feats, I will add!), I squeezed in more Secret Ingredients than should ever be possible in a single build, I stuck religiously to my own fluff, and I got to eat the souls of a bunch of beloved champions. Thanks for reading, and I hope I made you smile.


SOURCES AND CREDITS:Rogue: Player's Handbook/SRD
Halfling Rogue Substitution Level: Races of the Wild
Thief of Life: Faiths of Eberron
Fang of Lolth: Song and Silence
Shadowdancer: Dungeon Master's Guide/SRD
Thunder Guide: Eberron Explorer's Handbook
Master of Masks: Complete Scoundrel
Renegade Mastermaker: Magic of Eberron
Death Delver: Heroes of Horror
Acolyte of the Ego: Tome of Magic
Acolyte of the Skin: Complete Arcane
Ardent Dilettante: Planar Handbook

Glimmerskin Halfling: Dragon Magic
Education: Eberron Campaign Setting
Midnight Dodge: Magic of Incarnum
Practiced Spellcaster: Complete Arcane
Mobility, Combat Reflexes, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item: Player's Handbook/SRD
Truespeak skill: Tome of Magic
Lucid Dreaming skill: Manual of the Planes
Other skills: Player's Handbook/SRD
Greater Demolition Crystal: Magic Item Compendium
Name: Google Translate

Many thanks and accolades to those responsible for my targets: The Viscount (Tchar-Lee Kuh-Lee), gbprime (Sandamir, Arleigh Skye), Piggy Knowles (Lucian the Wanderer, AM-1468, Parsifal the Fool), Chronos (Kole Naerrin), Draz74 (Jereth), Zaq (Benjamin Nutt), and The Dark Fiddler (The Sacred Demon). Kudos to all chefs and champions I didn't mention; I included as much as I reasonably could, but that doesn't mean that the ones I singled out are the only ones worthy of comment (or even necessarily the best of the bunch)! Eternal thanks (past, present, and future) to our judges and to our Chairpeople. Here's to 75 more rounds!

[Heliomance]

Entry number 7:



The Ageless Korraneleus d'Orien

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Korraneleus was struggling.

While his position within House Orien was far from pitiable, one more raid on the house’s caravans would have disastrous consequences for him. Not to mention his wife and son.

He drew back the lush curtain from the window of the carriage he rode in, well behind the wares. If you asked him exactly what he was transporting on this excursion, Korraneleus wouldn’t be able to tell you. After all, that was part of what the customer paid House Orien for. Any fool could deliver a package, but it required skill and training to do it discreetly.

These were the kind of shipments Korraneleus worried about the most. Whatever was in them was obviously in short supply in this part of Karrnath.

His coach slowed to a stop.

There was always the chance the coachman had merely spotted an obstacle on the road and they would be on their way once it was cleared.

Still, Korraneleus did not want to ask. The scream followed by the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the road let him know his worst fears had come to pass.

Korraneleus threw his knife to the floor, still in its sheath and put his hands in the air. If they wanted his wares, they could be replaced.

The highwayman outside pierced the curtain on the carriage with a sword. When he saw who sat inside, he threw open the door and dragged Korraneleus out by his doublet, hurling him to the ground.

Korraneleus did not run. He did not fight. He knew what was going to happen to him.

The highwayman before him drew a sacrificial dagger from a hidden compartment somewhere on his person. Korraneleus wasn’t paying attention to such things.

“Has the delivery been made?” Korraneleus asked the man who would soon be his murderer.

“All is well. You need to have more faith, Seeker. It’s all taken care of,” he said.

He took a step toward Korraneleus, drew the blade across his throat, and killed him.

***
This was the first time Korraneleus would witness Dolurrh. He knew it would not be the last.

The final word of power was spoken in the presence of Korraneleus’s corpse.

His spirit occupied the body before it was wholly together. Korraneleus knew this because for the briefest, most agonizing moment, he was aware of what it felt like to be alive without a body.

The moment his blood was called back from wherever it had gone, he was for the first time in his life aware of its presence. It was the first time he’d truly felt it flow within him. Heard its ebb and flow with every beat of his heart. While the sensation grew fainter with every pulse, he vowed he wouldn’t take it for granted again.

“Ah, good, you’re up,” said a dwarf standing by his side.

Korraneleus didn’t need to turn to see who it was. He would know Bartimeus d’Kundarak’s voice anywhere.

A short time ago, Barty had approached him with a contract from some, to put it mildly, shady characters. It stipulated that if the next shipment from House Orien were attacked, and Korraneleus met with any kind of unfortunate end, there would be a substantial compensation to his family (anonymous, of course.) They even agreed to throw in a free resurrection. True as well. All the bells and whistles. How could he refuse?

Barty had looked everything over and expressed in fluent legalese that it was indeed a good deal, especially since he had a much more depressingly thorough grasp of Korraneleus’s finances than he did. Korraneleus took his friend’s advice.

“Korry, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”

And now he was literally living to regret it.

The priest by his side gave Korraneleus a curt nod and held a stick of sealing wax to his ring finger. He pressed it in and stamped it on a document in Barty’s hand. Korraneleus’s signet ring had already made its mark on the paper.

Strange, why did it look so old?

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Korraneleus said.

Barty shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”

Korraneleus tilted his head toward the priest in his black and red robes, Vol’s symbol across the chest. “What’s he know?”

Barty shrugged. “Enough, but he’s got no reason to stick around. He’s done his part.”

With that, the priest shrugged off his robe, folded it into a bag of holding, and tossed it to Barty, who squirreled it away in a safe deposit box in the vault they were standing in.

“Good. I’ve got a lunch meeting across town in an hour. Orien got me covered?” he asked.

Barty waved his hand. “Yes, yes, it’s all taken care of. Someone’s waiting for you in the lobby. Don’t want to be late.”

Korraneleus cleared his throat. A bit awkwardly, he said “Thanks for saving my life, I suppose.”

The priest chuckled. “Nothing personal.” With that, he was on his way.

Korraneleus swallowed once they were alone.

“Barty, why did you promise him special favors within my house? That wasn’t part of our deal,” Korraneleus said.

Barty cleared his throat and handed him a new suit of clothes, his back still turned.

Korraneleus had had no body when he’d been returned to life, so of course he’d been naked. He got dressed.

“A few things had to change, you understand,” Barty said.

Korraneleus hopped off the makeshift dais he’d been placed on, steady as ever on his feet. A knock at the outside of the vault startled him.

“Sir? Are you done with the vault? Our next client needs it in a few minutes.”

“Just wrapping up,” Barty said and chuckled.

“Okay, I’m done,” Korraneleus said.

Barty turned around. There were streaks of gray in his beard. There hadn’t been the last time the two had spoken.

Korraneleus grabbed Barty by the shoulders. “How long have I been under?”

Barty swallowed. “Like I said, a few things had to change—“

“How long?”

“Let me put it this way: the next customer is your grandson.”

Before Korraneleus could react, the door to the vault swung open. A man who looked distressingly like he’d thought his son would when he was a man stood before him.

“Grandfather! How are you?” he said with a smile.

Korraneleus limply extended a hand. “I’m as good as can be expected, I suppose. Listen, ah—“ he reached for his name, feeling foolish for not knowing it.

“Andraias,” he said patiently. “No need to be embarrassed, grandfather. I’ll explain it all on the way.”

“Where are we going?” Korraneleus asked.

“Lunch, of course! I know I’m always famished after the boy brings me back,” Andraias said with disconcerting authority.

Korraneleus saw more than a hint of stubble on the young man’s cheek. Was his own grandson older than he was? How embarrassing.

And had he just referred to a priest of the Blood of Vol as “the boy?”

“I’m not sure I have much of an appetite, son,” Korraneleus said.

“Ah. Don’t worry, that’ll come back too. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

With that, the pair bid goodbye to Barty and were on their way.

The interior of the bank hadn’t changed much, but that was to be expected. Just as he stepped outside, he felt maybe he’d been too confident about how quickly he’d adjust.

Some enormous steel serpent lay before the bank, resting on a pair of iron slats.

“What is that?!” Korraneleus exclaimed.

“Relax, grandfather. It’s only the lightning rail. You ought to know. After all, you built it,” Andraias said.

“I what?” Korraneleus said.

Andraias stepped forward and showed some papers to what looked like a coachman, judging by the House Orien symbol on his lapel, even though it was no uniform Korraneleus recognized, and he had no idea where the poor man would sit on this steel contraption.

“Ah, yes, very good, sir. Your private car is right this way,” the coachman said. He tipped his hat to Korraneleus. “Nice to see you back, sir,” he said with a wink.

Something about the way he said it put Korraneleus on edge.

He stepped into the compartment after Andraias. Within, it looked not unlike a carriage, albeit a far more spacious one.

“Are we alone here?” Korraneleus asked.

Andraias chuckled haughtily. Korraneleus was annoyed. He’d hoped his son would do a better job raising his children than this, but realized it wasn’t as though he’d had much of a chance. He’d been little more than a child himself when Korraneleus had seen him last.

“Yes, quite. The whole car’s ours, or should I say yours, so by all means, make yourself at home.” Andraias poured them both large brandies from a crystal decanter.

Korraneleus gratefully accepted. He could certainly use one.

“Was that man outside a Seeker?” he asked.

“Oh, yes,” Andraias said. “Joined up last year, I think. Incognito, of course, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone. He’s what we call a conductor nowadays. He makes the lightning rail go from place to place.”

Korraneleus didn’t care for his grandson’s tone, but he was hardly in a position to complain.

“The lightning rail is like a caravan without any horses. It goes from place to place using electricity on steel tracks.”

Korraneleus nodded. So that was how the priest had planned to get across town so quickly. His next question, he had to pose more tactfully.

“What exactly is our standing in the church nowadays?” he asked.

When he’d been alive last was nowhere near lofty enough to treat priests capable of raising the dead like errand boys.

“We’re quite well off, grandfather. Rest assured if you need someone in the church to get something done, I’ll see to it.”

A piercing whistle came from outside. “All aboard that’s coming aboard!” shouted the conductor.

“Let’s sit down. Wouldn’t want you to spill your drink,” Andraias said.

Korraneleus sat down and sipped from his glass. It was much better than anything he’d drank in his day, but he was careful not to let his face show it.

“What else has changed? Is your grandmother still alive? Why have I been under so long?”

Andraias smiled indulgently, but then took on a more somber cast.

“I’m afraid the first question is a bit beyond what I can answer in our time together. The second, unfortunately, I can tell you now is no, I’m afraid grandmother is no longer with us. The third has an unfortunate, if interesting answer.”

The wheels on the lightning rail began to turn, and at once, they were off. By the scenery whizzing past, they were moving faster than the swiftest horse.

“You see, shortly after you were, well, I suppose the technical term would be ‘murdered,’ there was an investigation within House Orien. It seems a few of our less scrupulous members had been dealing with the Blood of Vol in exchange for the occasional kickback,” he said with a wink. Andraias finished his brandy.

Korraneleus scowled. “Those kickbacks were all that kept us going when times were hard. It paid for that drink in your belly, didn’t it?”

Andraias coughed and set down his glass. “I was only teasing, grandfather. Anyway, if you had been brought back too soon, even though everything was anonymous, it would look suspicious. Barty talked things out with father once he was old enough. The church offered us enough to improve our standing within the House. Mother had taken a turn for the worse, you see. In exchange for delaying things a while longer, they agreed to give us something of an installment for the short term.”

Korraneleus, unfortunately, was beginning to see the shape of things. “And I gather it continued in this fashion for some time.”

“You have to understand, a project like the lightning rail doesn’t just happen overnight. We were doing fine, sure, but almost all our operating capital was tied up in the project. When it stalled, we didn’t have much of a choice but to extend the contract”

“I’m sure,” Korraneleus said.

They arrived at their destination a frighteningly short time later. None of the restaurants Korraneleus suggested were still extant, so he reluctantly took his grandson’s suggestion about where to dine.

“You’ll love it,” he said. “It’s this charming little place called ‘The Empty Plate.’ The chef comes and manifests false sensory input on you and you have whatever you like.”

Korraneleus wasn’t sure quite how to respond to that.

Midway through an ineffable lobster bisque, Korraneleus glanced around the room.

“You know, perhaps I need to catch up a little. I could use some new clothes. I can show you to this wonderful tailor in Cyre—“

Andraias choked on his champagne. If he’d actually been drinking anything, it would’ve gone straight in Korraneleus’s face. As things stood in this modern world, he simply imagined his glass full and continued normally. He set it down and came over quite serious.

“I’m afraid that’s quite impossible, grandfather.”

Korraneleus was beginning to grow annoyed.

“Look, I’m getting sick of this.”

Andraias bit his lip. “We can’t go because there is no more Cyre.” He made some vague gesture to the Sovereign Host. They were in public after all.

Korraneleus laughed. Everyone in the restaurant gasped and then fell silent.

“Come on, you certainly could’ve come up with something better than that,” Korraneleus said. He reached forward to take another mouthful of soup, but found his bowl empty.

The chef, who had stood dutifully unnoticed with his back to the table, as any good servant should, turned to face him.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said.

Korraneleus couldn’t help but laugh again. “Oh, very funny. I suppose my grandson put you up to this.”

The chef clenched his fist so tight, the tendons stood out in his wrist.

“There are some things you just don’t do. My father was killed on the Day of Mourning. Get out, or I will throw you out.”

Korraneleus was about to retort when his grandson actually shushed him.

“I’m so sorry. Please, charge everything to House Orien as my way of recompense,” Andraias said. He left the restaurant.

Korraneleus was about to protest, when he heard a deep, bass hum from the back of his skull.

“I warned you,” the chef said. He wouldn’t.

He had.

Korraneleus knew he had about thirty seconds. He could already taste bile. He sprinted from the restaurant, his every nerve telling him to get as far away from it as possible. He dove for a plate glass window, his gift from Orien allowing him to slip at once to that space between spaces and appear unharmed on the other side, the glass intact.

On the sidewalk outside, he doubled over in pain and vomited into the gutter.

The bastard had made him averse to the restaurant.

“That was my fault, I should’ve told you earlier,” Andraias said without consideration of his predicament. “Something terrible happened there a while ago. Cyre was destroyed. It was just a few years before the war stopped.”

“The war stopped?” Korraneleus asked.

“Well, on paper. You know how things are. Don’t worry, business is still good.”

“The House or the church?” Korraneleus asked once he was sure no one was around. His nausea had passed, so he got to his feet.

“Oh, the House, to be certain. You saw those rails. We move much more than we ever could in the old days. Sorry, in your time.”

“And the church?” Korraneleus asked, ignoring the gibe.

“I can’t precisely be sure. While father and I have certainly benefited from your sacrifice on the church’s behalf, I’m afraid I personally never had much affinity for your branch,” Korraneleus said.

Andraias spoke of the Thieves of Life like they were some lodge.

“And your father?” Korraneleus asked.

“Oh, he’s on church business right now. Terribly hush hush. Or he’d have been here to greet you himself.” That, Korraneleus believed.

“Anyway, sorry about all this. I’ll tell you what, I’ll take you somewhere and get you something to cheer you up,” Andraias said with a pat on the back. At this point, Korraneleus knew better than to ask what it was.

They got off the lightning rail at the next destination. Andraias shepherded him into a shop where everything was gleaming metal. Korraneleus was afraid to touch anything, lest he leave a fingerprint. Old habits.

The merchant greeted Andraias as an old friend.

“What can I do for you today, young master?” he asked.

“Something for my grandfather. Can you believe he’s never had one?” Andraias said, as though it were a joke.

“No shame in that. What is sir’s pleasure?” he asked.

Korraneleus wasn’t sure how to respond.

“I’m sure whatever you select is fine,” Andraias said.

The merchant returned with a gleaming warforged in tow.

Korraneleus quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t really need a bodyguard, you know. I can take care of myself.”

Andraias snorted. “No, not a bodyguard. A, uh, well, you know, valet, dogsbody, something like that. I can’t be around all the time, I’m afraid,” he said as though Korraneleus would miss him.

“I see,” Korraneleus said. He extended a hand to the warforged. “Korraneleus d’Orien.”

“Jayvas,” the warforged said.

“There, see? I’m sure you’ll be the best of friends. Put it on the account,” Andraias said. “And with that, I’m afraid I must be off. House business to attend to. Let them know if you need anything. Our standing there’s improved quite a bit as well. If you see father, send him my regards. Ta.” Andraias disappeared without a trace.

The brat had Orien’s gift of teleportation. If Korraneleus was lucky, he would be far away by now.

“Where to, sir?” Jayvas asked.

“Somewhere else,” Korraneleus said.

“That, I think, can be arranged,” Jayvas said.

***

Korraneleus went back to the bank to discuss things with Barty. Jayvas waited outside.

They determined due to some intricacies of the law in this area, as long as Korraneleus was alive, he retained control of the assets that had passed to his descendants during the period of his death. It was a tricky area of the law, but it was why he’d kept Barty around all these years.

“You’ve got some work to do,” Barty said.

“I’ve not even been alive one single solitary damned day,” Korraneleus said.

Barty shrugged. “Hey, what can I say, the only thing you can count on is taxes. You’ve go the other thing all taken care of.” He handed him his envelope from the church.

Korraneleus read it, gathered the pertinent information on his target, and burnt it then and there. He wasn’t in the least surprised.

He emerged a short time later, Jayvas patiently waiting for him as a good servant should.

“Sir? Where are we going next?” he asked.

“Hunting,” Korraneleus said.

***

His standing within the house truly had improved. He had a member who could teleport beside him as soon as they got word that he needed it.

The site of his job was on the lightning rail, far away from where he’d ridden today.

His House Orien credentials got him onboard without needing to be officially added to the manifest. He got a compartment adjacent to the private car, which was in use. Big surprise.

He instructed Jayvas to wait for him, and send up an alarm should anything happen. Not that it should. His target was someone misappropriating church funds. They weren’t, as a rule, fearsome opponents.

The door to the private car was something even a silver key would have trouble circumventing. Fortunately, Korraneleus didn’t have to. Orien’s gift let him appear on the other side in an instant. He crept to the bedroom, his gift from Orien ensuring his feet never touched the floor. Korraneleus held a pillow over his target’s face and stabbed through it over and over with his bloodfang until whatever was underneath it stopped moving.

The soul of his prey flowed into him. He grew full of life. The same way he had felt his blood for the first time, he felt something like it again. The heartbeat of his victim pulsed within him for a moment until it was subsumed within his own. He had stolen another year. Fitting for an embezzler.

He hopped back outside and told Jayvas to summon another teleporter. They needed to return to the bank. He’d had an idea.

Barty was glad as ever to see him.

“That was fast,” he said.

“Is the church complaining?” Korraneleus asked.

“Nah.”

“Do they have a contract out on me?” Korraneleus asked.

“Hey, you know if they did, I’m the first guy you’d hear it from,” Barty said.

“Do you know if they’d like one?” Korraneleus asked.

“Are you crazy?” Barty said.

“Look, it’s like this: House Kundarak takes money from one person and gives it to another in another city when there’s need. Why not do that with years? I’m sure there’s someone else who needs to lie low once in a while. Why let that year go to waste? If someone needs to be out of the way, temporarily or otherwise, why not have one of us do it? We could even it amongst each other, even,” he said.

Barty looked shocked, intrigued, then excited. “That’s a great idea. It’s so simple.”

Korraneleus nodded. “And in desperate need of being made so complicated that only bankers can understand it. I can think of no better man for the job. Congratulations, Barty, you’re hired.”

Barty asked “As what?”

“As chair of the Blood Bank of Vol.”
***

One year later, when his borrowed time was up, they had indeed found a “buyer,” another Thief of Life who was eyeing the title of Ageless himself. Korraneleus was happy to make it happen for a price. In this way, he was able to further grow his fortune. In exchange for larger and larger payouts, he could be killed quite often, as could others in his network, since it would hardly do to resurrect the same man every day.

He’d been out for a while, awoken as ever by Jayvas, accompanied by another priest. He could scarcely tell them apart these days. This one was another distant scion of his. Neither was sure of the precise relation, so he just called him uncle on his way out wishing him a pleasant life. Neither was sure which life he was on now.

Jayvas accompanied him out into the street. He was wearing a tailored suit of his own now, like a man. Korraneleus did an admirable job of not laughing.

“Where did you get that suit?” he asked politely.

“I made it, sir,” Jayvas said.

“I didn’t know you sewed,” Korraneleus said. Jayvas shrugged.

“One picks things up as time passes. I have my own shop now, sir.”

By now, Korraneleus knew never to laugh when hearing something outrageous after being brought back.

“How?”

“We’re free now. Perhaps not in exactly the same way as you, but in our own way. I’ve come to say goodbye and to wish you well. I figured I owed you that courtesy. Please feel free to stop by any time you like, sir.”

Korraneleus was shocked, but not surprised. He shook Jayvas’s hand like he would a man’s and wished him well. Truthfully, he was in need of a new suit, as he always was upon emerging from Dolurrh, but having his old friend wait on him after his speech about being freed would be in poor taste. He shopped elsewhere.
***

Without Jayvas as a touchstone, or even Barty after his next dozen dozen contracts, the years began to blur. He slept longer and longer, the conditions he left with his executor about when to wake him becoming ever less specific: when an enemy of his died. When this descendent or that came of age. When something interesting happened.

House Orien arranged for a guide to shepherd him out into the world when he came back to life. By now, no one was sure how they were related, so they all called him grandfather and none of them understood why it always made him smile.

A distant scion of his picked him up. An orc, if such things can be believed. Full-blooded. Korraneleus had learned by now not to comment on such things. He caught him up on current events. Which houses were at Orien’s throat, the names of the current rulers, and things that were no longer acceptable to say in public. He suggested taking Korraneleus to a play. He had no reason to object.

Outside, the lightning rail was gone. The last time Korraneleus had been out, when he’d asked what time the rail arrived, people had laughed at him. House Orien had been teleporting people directly to their destination on large crystal pads for decades. It’d been as if he’d asked where to rent a horse, back when such things still existed. People scarcely knew what they were these days.

Korraneleus and his guide materialized in a playhouse in time for curtain. It was a play about a warforged, if such a thing could be believed. Korraneleus had long passed the stage where such things could scandalize him. Now he was merely amused. The actor wasn’t a real warforged, obviously, just an elf with his face done up in silver paints, screws and bolts glued here and there across his cheeks. The story of the principal character was common enough among their kind. After the war’s end, where they were declared sentient beings, he sought a life of some normal trade to escape his past. Things progressed, and he even worked as a tailor. What an amusing coincidence.

As the story continued, there began to be more similarities. It became clear this was based on Jayvas, even if the name were different. Korraneleus signaled to his descendant with the telepathic link groups attending the theater had put in place so they could converse without disturbing others.

“I think I know this chap,” Korraneleus said.

“Oh, grandfather, you’re so funny.”

Korraneleus had nothing to say after that.
***

Korraneleus awoke again. The priest murmured something about his guide being here for him. Korraneleus scarcely listened anymore.

The door opened and a warforged stood before him.

“Has my descendant been delayed?” Korraneleus asked, making sure to look the warforged in he eye.

“Good afternoon, grandfather,” it said.

Korraneleus blinked. It produced official papers, evidently having anticipated his reaction. They were genuine. The warforged was indeed a member of House Orien, having married his great-great-great-great granddaughter. It—he, Korraneleus reminded himself—suggested they go see a play. He couldn’t object.

It was the same one as the last time he’d been alive. Actual warforged climbed the boards. One played the lead, Jayvas, now credited and billed as the playwright, if one could believe such things. Some other members of the cast were warforged too, even those playing the human characters. It reminded him of how boys had used to play women in plays, something his descendant ten or eleven visits ago hadn’t believed when he had mentioned it.

The play was better the second time around. He and his descendent had much to discuss. He actually wanted to hear about Korraneleus seeing the original production. Their telepathic link hummed, even after the final curtain call.

When it was time to go back to the bank and fill out the forms, they came to the final section: “When would you like to be woken up?”

Korraneleus didn’t have to think twice before filling it out:

“Any time you like.”




TN silverbrow human rog 1/spellthief 1/ thief of life 4/ blade of orien 8/ thief of life 10



str 16 (increases here)
dex 10
con 14
int 10
wis 10
cha 16




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


1st
Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
balance 4, diplo 4, heal 4, hide 4, know (religion) 4 (2), spot 4, tumble 4, umd 4
draconic heritage (gold), least dragonmark (dimension leap)
sneak attack +1d6, mimic


2nd
Spellthief
+0
+0
+2
+2
know (arcana) 4, tumble 1 (5), umd 1 (5)

Sneak attack +2d6, steal spell (0 or 1st), trapfinding


3rd
Thief of Life 1
+0
+2
+4
+2
hide 2 (6), ms 4
orien battle stride
Lifesense (5 ft.)


4th
Thief of Life 2
+1
+3
+5
+2
disguise 1, hide 1 (7), ms 3 (7), umd 1 (6)

Sneak attack +3d6


5th
Thief of Life 3
+2
+3
+5
+3
diplo 4 (8), disguise 2 (3)

Lifesense (10 ft.)


6th
Thief of Life 4
+3
+4
+6
+3
hide 2 (9), ms 2 (9), umd 2 (8)
lesser dragonmark (dimension door)
Borrow vigor


7th
Blade of Orien 1
+4
+4
+8
+3
listen 2, spot 2 (6)

Heir’s mark, improved dimension leap


8th
Blade of Orien 2
+5
+4
+9
+3
spot 4 (10)

Swift leap


9th
Blade of Orien 3
+6/+1
+5
+9
+4
hide 3 (12) spot 1 (11)
greater dragon mark (overland flight)
Korran’s strength


10th
Blade of Orien 4
+7/+2
+5
+10
+4
listen 4 (6)

Orien’s grasp


11th
Blade of Orien 5
+8/+3
+5
+10
+4
spot 3 (14), listen 1 (7)

Olladra’s twist


12th
Blade of Orien 6
+9/+4
+6
+11
+5
listen 4 (11)
cerulean will
Dimensional push


13th
Blade of Orien 7
+10/+5
+6
+11
+5
spot 2 (16), listen 2 (13)

Orien’s wrath


14th
Blade of Orien 8
+11/+6/+1
+6
+12
+5
tumble 4 (9)

Shadow shift


15th
Thief of Life 5
+11/+6/+1
+6
+12
+5
umd 6 (14)
shape soulmeld (soulspark familiar)
Immunity to fear, lifesense (15 ft.)


16th
Thief of Life 6
+12/+7/+2
+7
+13
+5
bluff 6

Sneak attack +4d6


17th
Thief of Life 7
+13/+8/+4
+7
+13
+5
bluff 1 (7), diplo 5 (13)

Immunity to energy drain, lifesense (20 ft.)


18th
Thief of Life 8
+14/+9/+4
+8
+14
+5
tumble 6 (15)
staggering strike
Steal vitality


19th
Thief of Life 9
+14/+9/+4
+8
+14
+6
bluff 6 (13)

Immunity to death effects, lifesense (25 ft.)


20th
Thief of Life 10
+15/+10/+5
+9
+15
+6
bluff 1 (14), diplo 5 (18)

Sneak attack +5d6, steal immortality





Congratulations, you are in the secret ingredient as early as possible. You can begin stealing people’s lives right away. Your dragon blood allows entry by giving you heal as a class skill, and rogue and spellthief complement one another providing precision damage.

Mimic is there as a fun treat since spellthief’s trapfinding can’t be traded away, and disguise self is certainly better than nothing.

In addition to stealing lives, you can also steal spells via spellthief. This helps improve overall versatility and save on wands/scrolls.

Orien battle stride is up and running, helping you out on bullrush, overrun, and trips. we’re taking it early because that means there’s no delay of taking lesser and greater marks of passage. This means when you nab the lesser mark next level, you immediately gain the ability to make a 5 foot step as an immediate action (no aoos) any time an opponent misses you with a melee or ranged attack. The possibilities are limitless.

your dragonmark’s on too, providing access to dimension leap, offering valuable tactical teleportation. Remember you use character level to determine distance, providing more bang for your buck.

skulk around, stab people in the back, and claw your way to the top. it’ all uphill from here


borrow vigor is up and running, giving you additional bonuses in combat.
orien battle stride is up to it full potential now. you can make an immediate to take a 5 foot step any time someone misses with a melee or ranged attack. in addition, you now have dimension door in your repertoire, offering more combat and non-combat options for you and your pals.

You are now within the esteemed ranks of the blade of orien, providing a great deal of additional utility.

you gain more uses of dimension leap, can hop in 5 rather than 10 foot increments, can dimension leap as a move action, and can bring passengers along when you use dimension leap.

you now take to the skies with overland flight, the final gift your dragonmark has to give you. everything you do with teleportation now functions in three dimensions.

orien’s grasp let you call mall objects to hand, picking things up that’re on your person as a swift (no aoo) or even things that are held or attended after the enemy makes a will save (reliant on your cha, hence the points there.)


You are now immune to fear, and your lifesense extends to 15 feet. You also have a soulspark familiar handy. cerulean will shores up your saves, and provides valuable essentia for your later incarnum-related features.

when you invest essentia in it, it gains fast healing. use this in tandem with borrow vigor for a clean, sustainable source of essentia in between combat encounters.


blade of orien continues to bear fruit. olladra’s twist lets you switch positions with allies, or switch two friends around. dimensional pus lets you teleport your friends, orien’s wrath lets you even lets you teleport enemies around. thanks to shadow shift, your dimension leap and dimdoor no longer provoke aoos.

hop around the battlefield and shuffle everyone around to your liking.



the rest of thief of life rounds out the final needed ranks in umd to hit a 20 without failure, gives you the rest of your sneak attack, immunity to energy drain and death effects, beefs up your lifesense, and lets you steal both vitality and immortality. let slip the bonds of mortality and live on forever as you are now: death incarnate.

staggering strike’s up, so every time you peg someone with your sneak attack, they will be staggered, helping you move in for the kill. continue to teleport, kite, and finish off your prey


srd: rogue
races of the dragon: draconic heritage
complete adventurer: spellthief, staggering strike
exemplars of evil: mimic ACF
faiths of eberron: thief of life
dragonmarked: blade of orien
eberron campaign setting: least dragonmark, lesser dragonmark, greater dragonmark
magic of incarnum: shape soulmeld, cerulean will
dragon magic: silverbrow human

[Heliomance]

Entry number 8:


The Brothers Leech
LE Dvati Rogue 1/Cloistered Cleric 1/Totemist 6/Swordsage 1/Thief of Life 10
See the Blood Begin to Flow
My brother and I are of two bodies and yet of one soul.

How can this be so?

Each body has its own blood, and the teachings of Vol tell us that blood is life, that blood is the soul.

Then so too must we be of one blood.

Are then all bodies of one blood?

Blood is soul is it not? And do the souls of beasts not flow through us at our behest?

So it must be the same with blood.

Thus is the teaching of Vol.

Then it does not do to spill more blood than necessary, for we open our own veins in so doing.

We thus seek not to shed blood, but to mark it with the signature of our soul.

To stake claim upon it.

Upon Blood. Upon Soul.

Upon Life.
Blood BrothersAbility Scores32 Point Buy: 16 Str 10 Dex, 16 Con, 10 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
All stat increases go to Con

Build Table


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


1st+
Wilderness Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Jump 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4
Darkstalker
Poison Use (Replaces Trapfinding), Sneak Attack 1d6


2nd
Cloistered Cleric of the Blood of Vol 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Jump 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2
Knowledge Devotion (Geography), Incarnum Spellshaping, Extra Turning
Rebuke Undead, Knowledge Domain, Incarnum Domain, Undeath Domain


3rd
Totemist 1
+0
+4
+4
+2
Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Jump 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4
Divine Soultouch
Wild Empathy, Skilled City Dweller (Trade Ride for Tumble)



4th
Totemist 2
+1
+5
+5
+2
Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Jump 4, Tumble 5, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Collector of Stories
-
Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Capacity)


5th
Totemist 3
+2
+5
+5
+3
Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Jump 4, Tumble 8, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Totem’s Protection


6th
Totemist 4
+3
+6
+6
+3
Knowledge (Nature) 5, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Hide 5cc, Move Silently 4, Jump 4, Tumble 9, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
Shape Soulmeld (Gloves of the Poisoned Soul)
-


7th
Totemist 5
+3
+6
+6
+3
Knowledge (Nature) 5, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5cc, Jump 4, Tumble 10, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Chakra Binds (Crown, Feet, Hands)


8th
Totemist 6
+4
+7
+7
+4
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 6cc, Jump 4, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 4, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Meldshaper Level)


9th
Swordsage 1
+4
+7
+9
+6
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Jump 8, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 4, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
Martial Stance (Assassin’s Stance)
Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus: Tiger Claw)


10th
Thief of Life 1
+4
+9
+11
+6
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Jump 8, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 6, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Lifesense (5ft)


11th
Thief of Life 2
+5
+10
+12
+6
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Jump 9, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 9, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Sneak Attack 2d6


12th
Thief of Life 3
+6
+10
+12
+7
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Jump 10, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 10, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
Maiming Strike
Lifesense (10ft)


13th
Thief of Life 4
+7
+11
+13
+7
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Jump 12, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 12, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Borrow Vigor


14th
Thief of Life 5
+7
+11
+13
+7
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Jump 13, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 13, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Immunity to Fear, Lifesense (15ft)


15th
Thief of Life 6
+8
+12
+14
+8
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Jump 15, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 15, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
Expanded Soulmeld Capacity
Sneak Attack 3d6


16th
Thief of Life 7
+9
+12
+14
+8
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Jump 16, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 16, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Immunity to Energy Drain, Lifesense (20ft)


17th
Thief of Life 8
+10
+13
+15
+8
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Jump 18, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 18, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Steal Vitality


18th
Thief of Life 9
+10
+13
+15
+9
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Jump 19, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 19, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
Open Greater Chakra (Throat)
Immunity to Death Effects, Lifesense (25ft)


19th
Thief of Life 10
+11
+14
+16
+9
Knowledge (Nature) 6, Knowledge (Geography) 5, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Jump 21 , Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 21, Balance 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 1, Collector of Stories
-
Sneak Attack 4d6, Steal Immortality


SubsystemsMeldshaping

Level
Soulmelds
Essentia
Chakra Binds


3rd
2+1
2
0


4th
3+1
3
1


5th
3+1
3
1


6th
4+1
4
1


7th
4+1
4
1


7th
4+1
5
2


18th
4+1
5
2+1

The +1s denote specific soulmelds and chakra binds from feats which do not count against the numbers of soulmelds and chakra binds available to him from class levels.

Swordsage Maneuvers


Level
Initiator Level
Maneuvers Readied
Maneuvers Known
Stances Known


9
5
4
Claw at the Moon, Sudden Leap, Cloak of Deception, Shadow Jaunt, Distracting Ember, Strength Draining Strike
Island of Blades, Assassin’s Stance



Cleric Spellcasting
You get 3 Orisons, 1 1st level spell, and 1 1st level domain spell each day unless your Wisdom increases. The 1st level slot will most likely be Blood Wind, and the Domain spell must either be Detect Undead or Detect Incarnum. The 0th level slots will most likely go to Cure Minor Wounds


And My Blood is My Own NowECL 5BAB and a number of skills lag a bit behind where I’d like them, but you’ve got a reliable flanking buddy for your Sneak Attacking, Knowledge Devotion, and the advantages of Incarnum frontloading to help you out. Enhancement bonuses on weapons and competence bonuses to skills won’t be overlapping with gear much yet, so you can bolster your stealth skills by binding the Kruthik Claws and get your attack rolls up to par by investing essentia into whichever Totem meld seems good on a given day, with the ability to increase the essentia cap on your melds for 8 rounds each day with Divine Soultouch (so most likely the majority of rounds in the average 4 combat adventuring day).

ECL 10We’ve finally set to make our entry into the SI with Assassin’s Stance getting us to the Sneak Attack requirement and have the basics of what will be our primary strategy online. Our go-to Soulmeld setup will be to bind the Wormtail Belt to the Totem Chakra and the Gloves of the Poisoned Soul to the Hands (select your third meld to taste). With so many class features that are dependent on killing enemies, we want a way to save some of those enemies for later, hence ability damage to incapacitate enemies. The Wormtail Belt’s Str Poison can be delivered on the same action as a Strength Draining Strike (each twin gets a Strength Draining Strike readied each encounter, which is handy, and helps make up for the save DC being so low), and with Gloves of the Poisoned Soul as a finisher you’ll be able to severely debuff enemy bruisers and outright paralyze lower Str foes. You also have Poison Use, so feel free to apply any Str poisons that you get your hands on to your backup weapon or the weapons of any allies who can reliably make the DC 15 Reflex Save to not poison themselves on a natural 1.

If you or your allies do end up knocking an enemy you’d like to save for later into negatives you’ve got a few daily castings of Cure Minor Wounds to stabilize them.

ECL 15Of course, for some enemies, Str damage isn’t really a viable way of subduing them. If you’ve got access to the right poisons you might be able to bring them low with Wis damage with the help of Gloves of the Poisoned Soul, but Maiming Strike’s Cha damage is generally going to be a more reliable proposition. Apart from anything else, you’re unlikely to find a better HD/CR ratio than that of the Collossal Monstrous Scorpion, which has a whopping Cha score of 2, meaning you can drop one comatose with a single hit. Then you just have to work out how you intend to cart the thing around. I assume extra-dimensional space will be involved somehow.

We’ve entered the SI, and a few of its abilities are starting to pull some weight. Apart from the aforementioned Borrow Vigor, we’ve got a 4th dice of Sneak Attack (necessary for that 2 Cha damage Maiming Strike hit), and Lifesense. If you expect to fight invisible enemies or the like who you will only be able to detect with Lifesense, consider switching your second Chakra Bind over from the Gloves of the Poisoned Soul Hand Bind to the Basilisk Mask Brow Bind for Blind-Fight.

ECL 20 (Sweet Spot) Well, it took us long enough, but we’ve finally reached the capstone. Depending on where you choose to apply Expanded Soulmeld Capacity on a given day you can either pump your Wormtail Belt as high as 7 essenita, or another meld up to 6 with the help of Divine Soultouch allowing us to make good use out of the large essentia boosts from Steal Immortality. We also get a third bind at the Throat Slot, which means our wild card meld slot is now being filled by the Brass Mane. Now we don’t need to bother with trying to Blind-Fight enemies we can only detect by Lifesense, we just use the AoE effect from the Brass Mane’s Throat Bind. It would seem that only one twin can roar in a given minute, meaning you won't get enemies exhausted without help from an ally also using fatigue effects or some manner of other chicanery, but it's noteworthy that they don't risk fatiguing each other or being fatigued by an ally using a similar effect in tandem to exhaust foes thanks to Steal Vitality making them immune to the condition. Fatigue and Exhaustion come with Str penalties as well, making this tactic dovetail nicely with the earlier Str damage strategy.

Use of Secret IngredientPrerequisites – This is probably the weakest point, but at least all of the required skills are acquired as class skills and Knowledge Devotion and Collector of Stories get some mileage out of the Knowledge ranks.
Lifesense – Using the Basilisk Mask’s Brow Bind we can get Blind-Fight to strike at enemies we can detect but not see. At high levels the Brass Mane’s Throat bind gives an even more potent way to deal with such foes.
Sneak Attack[/u] – In the early levels the extra d6 on Totemist’s many attacks will come in handy and at later levels Maiming Strike can help to subdue foes without killing them to save the benefits of Borrow Vigor/Steal Vitality/Steal Immortality for later.
[b]Borrow Vigor – Dvati are a bit frail what with their divided HP and LA, so being able to pick up a little extra is nice. You’ll find a use for the essentia as well, though a single point for 4 levels isn’t much to write home about.
Immunity to Fear – This was always going to be more bug than feature on a rogue-type, but as the Brothers focus on subduing enemies to kill them later rather than bringing them down outright with HP damage, we don’t miss Craven as much as we otherwise might.
Immunity to Energy Drain – It’s hard to really do much with Immunities, but it’s nice to have I guess.
Steal Vitality – Here’s an immunity we can do something with. Immunity to Fatigue and Exhaustion keeps each brother safe from the other’s Brass Mane roar. As with Borrow Vigor, the extra HP is nice as well.
Immunity to Death Effects – Again, it’s nice to have, but hard to really optimize.
Steal Immortality – With the Totem Chakra’s +1 capacity, Divine Soultouch, and Expanded Soulmeld Capacity, the Brothers have high essentia capacity to make use of the large amount of essentia granted by the capstone in addition to their aforementioned use for more HP. Due to their Level Adjustment, they also have the ability to Steal Immortality from foes from the standard races with CR equal to their ECL, as such enemies will have more HD than the Brothers.

AdaptationsIf you're curious as to my flagrant disregard for multiclass penalties, or if you just hate Dvati, it may interest you to know that the build was modified from using Silverbrow Human as its race (either with the Dark Template or another Swordsage level at 20th) in the 11th hour. The primary difference in tactics (past lower levels where Claws of the Wyrm and Dragon Tail soulmelds are significant) was that the Throat Bind could conceivably be the Dragonfire Mask instead of the Brass Mane with a Crown of the North Wind (Dragons of Faerun) converting the fire breath weapon into the Gold Dragon's Weakening Gas. With Steal Immortality, it would have been possible to age the character to Venerable with no ill effects, meaning that their age category for the purpose of the breath weapon would be 4, an additional point of Str damage above what the crown will normally get you. I suspect that the original version of the build would actually have scored higher, but I felt the Dvati version more interesting. No regrets.


So Bring Me the Blood and Red WineCityscape Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a): Skilled City-Dweller ACF
Dragon Compendium: Dvati
Drow of the Underdark: Rogue Poison Use ACF
Exemplars of Evil: Maiming Strike
Faiths of Eberron (also Web (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060911a&page=3)): Thief of Life, Blood of Vol as a faith
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Magic of Incarnum: Totemist, Divine Soultouch, Expanded Soulmeld Capacity, Incarnum Spellshaping, Open Greater Chakra, Shape Soulmeld, Soulmelds, Incarnum Domain
Tome of Battle: Swordsage, Martial Stance, Maneuvers
Everything else should be in the SRD.

[Heliomance]

Entry number 9:


Vera Tolman d’Ghallanda

NE Glimmerskin Halfling Spellthief 1/Ninja 1/Thief of Life 10/Black Dog 5/Assassin 3

Stats (after adjustments)
Str 12
Dex 16
Con 14
Int 16 (all increases here)
Wis 10
Cha 10

Backstory
Vera was born a thief. She didn’t care that she was an innkeeper’s daughter and was supposed to be a good little girl. She knew in her bones that she was destined to pick pockets and take what she wanted from life. Her poor mother tried to wait it out in the hopes it was a phase, and that she would straighten herself out. But Vera never got better, only worse. By her teenage years she partook in the occasional mugging for pocket cash. Her mother obviously asked what she was doing this for; as an inkeeping family they had money enough to live comfortably. Vera just smiled her cold smile and said it was practice. As she grew older, spending less and less time at home, she became enamored with the Blood of Vol; its individualist teachings appealed to her incorrigible willfulness.

When Vera was a young woman she discovered that theft could go beyond petty cash. After cold cocking a nice young initiate from the mage’s college, she was sifting through his pockets when she felt a tingling in her fingers, suddenly manifesting as a bolt of energy shooting out into the alleyway. A clever girl like Vera realized what it meant, that for those with enough will, energy and magic could be lifted like a wallet. Vera was unsure of what to make of such a revelation, so did what many in her situation do: she consulted her priest. He was somewhat taken aback at hearing such a story, and defaulted to a rather standard personal sermon. He assured her as best she could that there are many things that are possible in the world, that destiny was what you made of it, and that this brief existence was all that you had. Vera, being Vera listened with one ear and heard what she wanted to hear. She took it as affirmation that she should explore the possibilities of her abilities as much as she could.

Time passed and Vera’s experimentation led her down the path of thievery and thuggery, as she always let life lead her the wrong way. She found that she could take a bit of life energy to fuel her own health and potency. She strengthened her resistances to assault on her mind and soul. She even figured out how to use another’s death to strengthen her own life. In short, she was a disgrace to house Ghallanda. People such as her are eventually found by those who have a use for them, and Vera was no exception. The higher ups of the Blood of Vol had been watching from afar, and sent someone to see if they could recruit her. The stranger explained to Vera that working for the Blood of Vol had perks, that they could teach her greater secrets, even that furthest of goals whispered in the back of all minds: immortality. In return for these secrets, they requested she put her unwholesome skills to work as a dagger in the dark. They planned to use her ancestry and house status to infiltrate the Black Dogs. It would be enormously useful for the Blood of Vol to be able to mask their assassinations behind the perfect disguise: assassinations by a different group. Vera willingly accepted at the thought of all the fun she could have in a life with no end.

She had eventually been accepted by the Black Dogs, though they were slightly reluctant to accept someone so bloodthirsty as a poisoner, but Vera was able to rein in her wildness enough to pass muster. She carried out assassinations for both groups, and when a conflict of commands arose she would of course side with Vol. She could always make up some excuse about visibility or being caught for the Black Dogs. She knew Vol would not be so forgiving of failure.

She was keeping herself relatively incognito, but she could not keep herself shrouded from otherworldly interests. A sinister little figure appeared to her on the road one evening, offering its assistance in furthering the great cause of the Blood of Vol. It explained its skill and boasted of its recuperative abilities, and propensity for subterfuge and espionage. Somewhere in the boasting it mentioned that in return it would want a favor down the line. She pretended to consider its offer while trying to stifle her laughter. They must have thought her simple to make such an offer. She knew that they had hopes for seizing her soul when her time had passed. Church doctrine said that no power could prevent souls from going to the gray place, and even if that was wrong, with her powers her time would never really be up. It was all win.

And so Vera Tolman sold her soul to a devil. She never did make good choices.

Build


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


1st
Spellthief 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Bluff 4, Heal 4, Hide 4, Jump 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Religion) 2(4), Move Silently 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4
Least Dragonmark (Hospitality,Prestidigitation)
Sneak Attack +1d6, Steal Spell (0 or 1st), Trapfinding


2nd
Ninja 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Disguise 3, Hide 5, Jump 5, Move Silently 5, Sleight of Hand 2, Tumble 5

Ki Power, Sudden Strike +1d6, Trapfinding


3rd
Thief of Life 1
+0
+2
+4
+2
Disguise 4, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Sleight of Hand 5, Tumble 6, Use Magic Device 6
Indigo Strike
Lifesense 5 ft


4th
Thief of Life 2
+1
+3
+5
+2
Balance 3, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Sleight of Hand 7, Tumble 7, Use Magic Device 7

Sneak Attack +2d6


5th
Thief of Life 3
+2
+3
+5
+3
Balance 5, Bluff 6, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Sleight of Hand 8, Tumble 8, Use Magic Device 8

Lifesense 10 ft


6th
Thief of Life 4
+3
+4
+6
+3
Bluff 9, Diplomacy 1, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Sleight of Hand 9, Tumble 9, Use Magic Device 9
Lesser Dragonmark (Hospitality, Create Food and Water)
Borrow Vigor


7th
Thief of Life 5
+3
+4
+6
+3
Bluff 10, Diplomacy 4, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Sleight of Hand 10, Tumble 10, Use Magic 10

Immunity to Fear, Lifesense 15 ft


8th
Thief of Life 6
+4
+5
+7
+4
Bluff 11, Diplomacy 8, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Sleight of Hand 11, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 11

Sneak Attack +3d6


9th
Thief of Life 7
+5
+5
+7
+4
Bluff 12, Diplomacy 12, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Sense Motive 1, Sleight of Hand 12, Use Magic Device 12
Obtain Familiar (Dung Snake)
Immunity to Energy Drain, Lifesense 20 ft


10th
Thief of Life 8
+6/+1
+6
+8
+4
Bluff 13, Diplomacy 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 13, Use Magic Device 13

Steal Vitality


11th
Thief of Life 9
+6/+1
+6
+8
+5
Bluff 14, Diplomacy 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Sense Motive 9, Sleight of Hand 14, Use Magic Device 14

Immunity to Death Effects, Lifesense 25 ft


12th
Thief of Life 10
+7/+2
+7
+9
+5
Bluff 15, Diplomacy 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Sense Motive 13, Sleight of Hand 15, Use Magic Device 15
Shape Soulmeld (Gloves of the Poisoned Soul)
Sneak Attack +4d6, Steal Immortality


13th
Black Dog 1
+7/+2
+9
+11
+5
Mosquito’s Bite Bluff 16, Diplomacy 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Sense Motive 16, Sleight of Hand 16

Heir’s Mark, Improve Hospitality, Poison Use


14th
Black Dog 2
+8/+3
+10
+12
+5
Bluff 17, Concentration 2, Diplomacy 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Sense Motive 17, Sleight of Hand 17, Tumble 13

Death Attack, Dhurinda’s Trick


15th
Black Dog 3
+9/+4
+10
+12
+6
Bluff 18, Diplomacy 18, Hide 18, Knowledge (local) 1, Move Silently 18, Sense Motive 18, Sleight of Hand 18, Tumble 16
Improved Familiar (Imp)
Create Poison, Refine Poison


16th
Black Dog 4
+10/+5
+11
+13
+6
Bluff 19, Diplomacy 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Sense Motive 19, Sleight of Hand 19, Spellcraft 1(2), Tumble 19

Empower Poison,Lost in the Crowd


17th
Black Dog 5
+10/+5
+11
+13
+6
Acrobatic Backstab, Conceal Spellcasting Bluff 20, Diplomacy 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Sense Motive 20, Sleight of Hand 20, Tumble 20

Dhurinda’s Touch


18th
Assassin 1
+10/+5
+11
+15
+6
Bluff 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Sense Motive 21, Sleight of Hand 21, Use Magic Device 19
Mortifying Attack
Sneak Attack +5d6, Death Attack, Poison Use, Spells


19th
Assassin 2
+11/+6/+1
+11
+16
+6
Bluff 22, Diplomacy 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Sense Motive 22, Sleight of Hand 22, Tumble 22

+1 Save Against Poison, Uncanny Dodge


20th
Assassin 3
+12/+7/+2
+12
+16
+7
Bluff 23, Diplomacy 23, Hide 23, Jump 7, Move Silently 23, Sense Motive 23, Sleight of Hand 23, Tumble 23

Sneak Attack +6d6



Spells
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
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


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


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


18th
-
0*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


20th
-
2
0*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-



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
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


19th
-
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


20th
-
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-



Spells Known
1st: Alibi, Shock and Awe, Mimicry
2nd: Getaway, Blade of Pain and Fear

Level 5
Look at how fast you’re into the SI! We’re getting a quick dose of our vegetables and then jumping straight to the cake. So first up we’re starting with 1 level of Spellthief followed by 1 of Ninja. The race we’re going with is Glimerskin Halfling for Heal as a class skill. It also sets up for Black Dog later.

Spellthief provides us with Knowledge (Arcana), and also gives us some normal sneak skills to get a start on being a slippery weasel. Sneak Attack counts at low levels so use it well. Trapfinding can’t technically be traded away because they want Spellthief to be sad. If your DM gives the OK you might trade it for mimic for disguise self 1/day, but it’s not necessary. Steal Spell is the signature, and it works even at low levels. If you give up 1 die of sneak attack when sneak attacking, you can steal a 0 or 1st level spell of theirs. It only lasts for an hour so use it quick. If you know a spell they have, you can choose to steal it. You can steal spells as long as your enemy has them. You use their stats, so don’t worry about your lack of caster level, but you can’t steal personal spells.

Ninja finishes qualifying for the SI via 1 die of sudden strike. Yes, sudden strike counts as sneak attack for qualifying for classes, there’s a sidebar in CAdv to that effect. It’s nice too, remember that enemies that haven’t acted in combat are flatfooted, as are enemies trying to balance without 5 ranks, which at level 5 you have. Marbles, oil and the like are your friend. Once again you cannot explicitly trade your trapfinding because they want you to be sad. Again trade it for mimic if you can, but it’s not a big deal. The AC bonus isn’t worth not wearing armor, and your stuff all works in armor, so we’ll ignore it. Ki Power is actually granted before you have anything to spend it on, so enjoy the +2 bonus to will saves you’ll always have.

Now SI time! Lifesense is very useful. While it is limited to only sensing living creatures, this means that you can use it as a crude divination for detecting other things. If a creature in your range doesn’t ping on lifesense but you can perceive them other ways, you know they’re undead or a construct, so know to switch tactics. And of course it means you know who is playing possum. When of course you’re fighting living creatures (most things at this point) it works like normal blindsense, so you can use it to thwart hiding, get around things that block your vision, etc. Sneak attack goes with sneak attack like peanut butter and more peanut butter: it’s all jam.

Least Dragonmark gives you prestidigitation 2 times per day. For now, this is just a great spell, doing tons of small-scale magical things that are great for distracting, entertaining, or otherwise film-flamming bystanders and foes, in addition to making your life easier. Indigo Strike provides a +2 bonus on sneak attacks right now from investing the 1 essentia the feat grants you. This is the second point, it grants you an essential pool for next level.

Level 10
More SI, more jam. First up we get borrow vigor, probably the most interesting of the features. If you knock someone to -1 hp you gain their HD in temporary hp, as well as 1 essentia, both lasting 1 hour. This is a great little bonus for when you beat someone (you’re going to be sneak attacking enemies to death anyway) but for really doing some fun things with it we’ll get back below.

The Lifesense range is now 20 feet, which is around the meaningful distance in combat, giving you a good view of the situation you’re in. Immunity to fear is useful since you’re low enough level that you can expect to encounter fear with some regularity. Same for immunity to energy drain, this is the level when death ward comes on for classes that have to spend slots on it like chumps. Steal Vitality is even more reward for doing what you do already (killing) this time with immunity to fatigue and exhaustion so you can run forever, sleep in your armor, etc. Getting sources for this is always pretty easy, animals often have rather high amounts of HD at low CR, so can provide you with what you need before a battle. Immunity to sleep is still helpful at this point for deep slumber, sleep motes, etc.

Lesser Dragonmark gives create food and water 1/day. It’s nice for when you’re hungry (or attracting those animals) but it’s mostly for other purposes. Firstly is raising your caster level for dragonmark SLAs from 1 to 6. This means that you can take the next feat: obtain familiar.

Obtain familiar is one of the most useful feats you can take if you qualify. You qualify via the arcane caster level for your spell like abilities. Familiar abilities are keyed off of levels in classes that let you cast spells. Spellthief is one of them, even though it didn’t give you spells yet. You don’t need the other abilities too much, the important thing is that you get a dung snake, because it has fast healing. Now begins the real fun. Fast healing on your living familiar works even at -1 hitpoints.

We’re going to be a bad person and mistreat an animal. Vera isn’t evil for nothing. When you smack your familiar down to -1 you get 1 essentia to invest (for now just in indigo strike). You also get its HD in hp. Is this an effect related to number of HD (in which case you use your HD)? I’d really like to think so. The important thing is that you can refresh your essential when it expires, and top off hp whenever you get hurt. 20 hp isn’t necessarily immunity, but a bottomless pad will cushion blows more often than you think, especially since you’ll top off in combat whenever you fell someone with a sneak attack. Use a low damage weapon to ensure you don’t take things too far.
Level 15 (Sweet Spot)
Last few levels of the SI first. Immunity to death effects is quite helpful, and prevents other black dogs, assassins, or thieves of life from trying to take you out. Steal Immortality is a fascinatingly useful ability. The immediate benefit is half their HD in essentia, easily enough to fill what you have. You have the bonus of making it quite hard to bring them back (not even possible for wizards and clerics at the level that you get it). It also makes you IMMORTAL (for 1 year per kill). Who doesn’t want that? For now you don’t have spells, so you don’t have to sleep. Even when you get spells, you can spend time in light rest or researching new targets instead of unconscious. Not needing to eat means that you can poison communal stewpots and the like without having to deal with the consequences.

The SI is over, time for icing on this cake. Welcome to Black Dog, a sneaky Halfling class about poisoning and death. At this point you have 3 extra uses of prestidigitation and poison use. What is this prestidigitation for? For Dhurinda’s Trick, where you put poison on some food or drink nearby. You can use Sleight of Hand to prevent people from seeing you do it, and you can use lifesense to make sure your targets are susceptible. Where do you get the poison? By burning uses of create food and water to make select poisons. You can purify them if you wish for a +2 DC.

Now let’s get to the big class feature: death attack. It lets you kill someone if you sneak attack them after studying them. Because death attack is a sneak attack, when someone dies from it, that’s a fast trigger for borrow vigor, steal vitality, and steal immortality all at once. Then you can use the hp and essentia to fight whatever enemies remain.

You can channel some of that essentia into Gloves of the Poisoned Soul. It’s great fun as a soulmeld, and allows you to produce a poison and inflict it with a touch attack. It deals 1 Wis damage +1 per essentia (so max 5), which is always useful since it reduces their perceptive abilities and potentially their spellcasting. Because it’s a poison, you can move it using Dhurinda’s trick into food and drink, and because it’s a soulmeld no-one can actually ever catch you with the poison; you don’t need any of the vials and syringes to move poison around. It’s also usable in combat if you want, since it’s a contact poison. This meld has a save. The way shape soulmeld is written it can’t tell you how to determine the save, Wis or Con, but I think Con is a safe assumption (since it is a Soulborn meld).

The increased caster level from Lesser Dragonmark means you can trade your dung snake for an imp. Imp also has fast healing, so the same trick works here as well, and the little bugger likely deserves it. Imp has the added benefit of being able to take an unassuming form like rat in addition to good combat form of boar (which is medium for flanking, and thus for sneak attack and death attack). Imp is intelligent on its own, can speak, and has little hands, so can use wands. Imp also makes a poison of its own, which targets dexterity. Certainly a nice addition to the toolkit, again meaning you don’t have to store poison on your person so you can’t get caught.

Mosquito’s Bite is a neat skill trick that lets you make your enemy believe you didn’t strike them, and instead missed. It’s useful for if you want to hit someone with a concealed dagger or the like (palm it with sleight of hand) and write it off as a drunken punch, then wait for poison to take its toll. Alternatively, strike confusion into your foes as they get killed by death attack but don’t even know they are dead!

Level 20
First let’s finish Black Dog. Empower poison is great on whatever poison you feel like using (that isn’t from the Gloves because they don’t vary) and helps get more bang for your buck. Lost in the Crowd is a wonderfully useful ability that means you can Hide while being observed and without something to hide behind as long as 3 creatures larger than you are within 10 feet. Your imp turned boar will be one (being small has perks), and your target is more likely than not the other, so if you ever get in a fight with 2 or more enemies, suddenly disappear from view. Hell, just bring a pony around with you and have it hang out while you fight. Any creature close enough lets you hide, and you can use that luxury to study for death attack or otherwise assess the situation. With your imp able to turn invisible itself you’ve got a recipe for sneaky goodness.

Dhurinda’s touch lets you hit a foe with a touch attack and dose them with poison of any kind, bypassing normal delivery. It’s time to break out whatever weird poison you like, or just stick with stuff like imp venom. Ask your DM if you can combine Dhurinda’s touch with an attack from Gloves of the Poisoned Soul in a single attack for double your pleasure. The ability to delay your poison’s effect is outstanding for establishing alibis. This is a wonderful use for Mosquito’s Bite, since you can pass off a missed touch attack as an attempt to tap someone’s shoulder, get a bug, or pick their pocket. Also feel free to use sleight of hand to steal something from them, then use the excuse of returning it as your chance to touch them and use poison. It says you can use a Bluff check to conceal your intent; do so. You didn’t max ranks for nothing.

Now to Assassin. More sneak attack is always welcome, uncanny dodge adds to your protections, and it stacks with black dog levels for determining DC of death attack. It also gives you spells. Specifically, it gives you: Alibi for making people think they met you to back up fake stories. Mimicry, to fake sounds for distraction, lies, stories, etc. Shock and Awe is cast during the surprise round and imposes a -10 penalty on initiative for the coming combat, meaning they’re likely to go after you and thus be flatfooted, and targets several creatures with no save. For level 2 spells you have Darklight and Blade of Pain and Fear. The blade makes touch attacks and deals good damage, so is a great way to sneak attack better, since it’s not subject to DR. It’s a melee weapon so you can death attack with it. Darklight creates a little sphere of darkness that can’t be seen through in either direction. However, you can use your lifesense to see through it and scope the situation while remaining unseen. Talk to your DM about whether it’s sufficient for studying for death attack.

Mortifying Attack is a fun little feat that makes it so that enemies who witness your death attack have to save or be shaken for several rounds and flatfooted for the next one. It makes for a great opening statement, giving you time to act before your enemies can. The DC is based off of damage dealt, so should easily be pretty good.

At this point you have Acrobatic Backstab, which renders a target flatfooted if you tumble through their square, which your tumble mod makes pretty easy. Conceal Spellcasting does just that, though it’s unclear whether it covers verbal as well as somatic components. Great if it does, though. At this point you have enough UMD ranks that success is guaranteed, so use all the wands you like. Share with your familiar, it’s the least you could do to repay it.

Sources
Spellthief, Ninja: Complete Adventurer
Thief of Life: Faiths of Eberron
Black Dog: Dragonmarked
Least Dragonmark, Lesser Dragonmark: Eberron Campaign Setting
Indigo Strike, Shape Soulmeld: Magic of Incarnum
Obtain Familiar: Complete Arcane
Dung Snake Familiar: Serpent Kingdoms
Mortifying Attack: Champions of Ruin
Darklight: Book of Vile Darkness
Alibi: Exemplars of Evil
Mimicry: Complete Scoundrel
Blade of Pain and Fear: Spell Compendium
Assassin, Improved Familiar: SRD

[Heliomance]

Right, that's all of them! Get judging!

[Venger]

That is quite a spread. This is a great round

[Sian]

The idea that i felt that i couldn't submit due to similarity with a previous dish, was a Dark Desert Kobold Rogue/Totemist/Thief of Life, focused on getting a stupidly big Hide checks so i could attack from hiding each and every turn with my 4 Claws (regular + Lamia Belt Bound to Totem), Bite (regular), Tail (Dragontail Feat from RotD) and Horn (Horned Helm from MIC), adding Sneak attack on all of them, and attacking with them all with pounce (via Sphinx Claws bound to hands) ... This is basicly the same character that i submitted to Junkyard 8 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18613497&postcount=50) and won with.

[Piggy Knowles]

I've had many, many ideas for this prestige class over the years. It's such a funny little nut to crack - so cool thematically, so disappointing mechanically.

One idea I had that I wish had panned out, but sadly did not, was to make the Thief of Life into a sort of vampire fanboy. The plan was to be a character who had taken Willing Deformity (Teeth) because he was so obsessed with vampires that he filed down his own teeth so that he might drink blood. The plan mechanically was to take Deformity (Teeth) and Deformity (Madness), plus some sneak attack feats that specifically made the target bleed, such as Arterial Strike and Disemboweling Strike. Then I'd build around Swashbuckler's Seduction ability from the Dead Levels article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20070227x), and play up a Patrick Bateman-esque scoundrel who would seduce people, then sneak attack them with his secret bite attack to make an arterial strike and drink their blood, using the Thief of Life abilities to gain some pseudo-vampire benefits from it.

It was a cool idea, but not actually particularly good mechanically. Still, I kind of wish I'd found a way to make it work to my satisfaction...

[Venger]

I've had many, many ideas for this prestige class over the years. It's such a funny little nut to crack - so cool thematically, so disappointing mechanically.

One idea I had that I wish had panned out, but sadly did not, was to make the Thief of Life into a sort of vampire fanboy. The plan was to be a character who had taken Willing Deformity (Teeth) because he was so obsessed with vampires that he filed down his own teeth so that he might drink blood. The plan mechanically was to take Deformity (Teeth) and Deformity (Madness), plus some sneak attack feats that specifically made the target bleed, such as Arterial Strike and Disemboweling Strike. Then I'd build around Swashbuckler's Seduction ability from the Dead Levels article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20070227x), and play up a Patrick Bateman-esque scoundrel who would seduce people, then sneak attack them with his secret bite attack to make an arterial strike and drink their blood, using the Thief of Life abilities to gain some pseudo-vampire benefits from it.

It was a cool idea, but not actually particularly good mechanically. Still, I kind of wish I'd found a way to make it work to my satisfaction...

That's hysterical. I'm reminded of your dish back in talon of tiamat who also made use of seduction.

[Amphetryon]

Vizzini'd myself right out of the Totemist build I started.

[OMG PONIES]

I kept coming back to the idea of an Ur-Priest for this round, simply given the theology of the Blood of Vol. On top of that, I really liked the flavor of a character who could use Steal Immortality, then offer the grieving loved ones a chance to purchase a casting of miracle, true resurrection, or wish...for a price. Mechanically, I wanted to find some bizarrely fascinating combination between Thief of Life's incarnum abilities and incarnum spells, but couldn't carve out the time to dig into the idea. Some of my other brief flickers of ideas came into being through our actual contestants, so it'll be fun diving in and seeing what they did where I couldn't.


I've had many, many ideas for this prestige class over the years. It's such a funny little nut to crack - so cool thematically, so disappointing mechanically.

Agreed on all counts.


One idea I had that I wish had panned out, but sadly did not, was to make the Thief of Life into a sort of vampire fanboy. The plan was to be a character who had taken Willing Deformity (Teeth) because he was so obsessed with vampires that he filed down his own teeth so that he might drink blood. The plan mechanically was to take Deformity (Teeth) and Deformity (Madness), plus some sneak attack feats that specifically made the target bleed, such as Arterial Strike and Disemboweling Strike. Then I'd build around Swashbuckler's Seduction ability from the Dead Levels article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20070227x), and play up a Patrick Bateman-esque scoundrel who would seduce people, then sneak attack them with his secret bite attack to make an arterial strike and drink their blood, using the Thief of Life abilities to gain some pseudo-vampire benefits from it.

This sounds like it would score a 5 in Fun.


It was a cool idea, but not actually particularly good mechanically. Still, I kind of wish I'd found a way to make it work to my satisfaction...

Some really fun builds haven't had a snowball's chance from a mechanical perspective.

Anyway, onto the more procedural stuff--here's a list of entries:

Duran Mublen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312734&postcount=122): Human Paladin 2/Ranger 1/Cancer Mage 7/Thief of Life 10
Vorick Hellakanus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312741&postcount=123): Human Monk 2/Rogue 4/Thief of Life 10/Fighter 1/Assassin 3
Soot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312748&postcount=124): Lesser Tiefling Rogue 1/Swordsage 1/Spellthief 1/Thief of Life 10/Hellbreaker 3/Gatecrasher 4
Alphonse Louise Constant (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312755&postcount=125): Human Psychic Rogue 1/Psion 4/Ebon Saint 5/Thief of Life 10
Silver Scourge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312793&postcount=126): Glimmerskin Halfling Rogue 1/Thief of Life 10/Bard 2/Warblade 2/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Master Thrower 1
Cocus Ferrea (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312808&postcount=127): Halfling Rogue 1/Thief of Life 10/Fang of Lolth 1/Shadowdancer 1/Thunder Guide 1/Master of Masks 1/Renegade Mastermaker 1/Death Delver 1/Acolyte of the Ego 1/Acoylte of the Skin 1/Ardent Dilettante 1
Korraneleus d'Orien (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312846&postcount=128): Silverbrow Human Rogue 1/Spellthief 1/Thief of Life 10/Blade of Orien 8
The Brothers Leech (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312855&postcount=129): Dvati Rogue 1/Cloistered Cleric 1/Totemist 6/Swordsage 1/Thief of Life 10
Vera Tolman d'Ghallanda (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20312864&postcount=130): Glimmerskin Halfling Spellthief 1/Ninja 1/Thief of Life 10/Black Dog 5/Assassin 3
Spreadsheet has been updated accordingly; I'm off to begin judging.

[The Viscount]

I've had many, many ideas for this prestige class over the years. It's such a funny little nut to crack - so cool thematically, so disappointing mechanically.

One idea I had that I wish had panned out, but sadly did not, was to make the Thief of Life into a sort of vampire fanboy. The plan was to be a character who had taken Willing Deformity (Teeth) because he was so obsessed with vampires that he filed down his own teeth so that he might drink blood. The plan mechanically was to take Deformity (Teeth) and Deformity (Madness), plus some sneak attack feats that specifically made the target bleed, such as Arterial Strike and Disemboweling Strike. Then I'd build around Swashbuckler's Seduction ability from the Dead Levels article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20070227x), and play up a Patrick Bateman-esque scoundrel who would seduce people, then sneak attack them with his secret bite attack to make an arterial strike and drink their blood, using the Thief of Life abilities to gain some pseudo-vampire benefits from it.

It was a cool idea, but not actually particularly good mechanically. Still, I kind of wish I'd found a way to make it work to my satisfaction...

I had considered making a wannabe vampire all the way back in slime lord using the ultimate wannabe vampire class, night mask deathbringer, with the idea of making other people think he's a vampire too, with fake charming gaze and fake vampire immunities. Never quite came together.

[daremetoidareyo]

I got an idea about 12 hours ago, which was too late to try

Skarn
rogue 3
totemist 2
thief of life 10
combat trapsmith 5

Improved initiative, telling blow, death blow, indigo strike, spit poison (SK), improved essencia capacity, improved web (SS)

Max handle animal, always travel with a series of bound live chickens until 15th level; any tiny creature actually, and sneak attack them for free essencia every hour. At 15th level and above, always travel with a purchased animal companion with the same number of HD as yourself, train them to be helpless or poison them. Before conflict, coup de grace them for a huge essencia bonus.

Bind phase cloak and use spit poison to do 1d4 str damage + 2d6 sneak attack str damage + indigo strike damage. If you drop the opponent to 0 strength, they are helpless. Also, the sleep trap renders opponents helpless, which can then have a standard action used to coup de grace, which, by the rules, counts as an automatic critical hit, which activates telling blow, which adds your sneak attack damage to the coup attack. Lastly, improved web from savage species interacts really strangely with combat trapsmith's web trap, allowing you to drop as many web traps up to 10 away from each other as you have points of dexterity bonus, which, hopefully, holds folks still enough to spit oodles and oodles strength draining sneaky poison in hopes that they fail their accursed fort saves. Set the webs afire, and then move in with coup de graces/sneak attacks.

If you get a friend to permanency an opened crown chakra, you can make an extra move action before setting all those traps with threefold mask of the chimera...Or set them and step away.

The write ups and calculating skill points to hold it all together would have taken way too long.

[Venger]

I had considered making a wannabe vampire all the way back in slime lord using the ultimate wannabe vampire class, night mask deathbringer, with the idea of making other people think he's a vampire too, with fake charming gaze and fake vampire immunities. Never quite came together.

The idea of a wannabe vampire (or wannabe anything) in dnd where all these things actually exist is really funny

Night mask death bringer is a painfully disappointing class

[The Viscount]

I got an idea about 12 hours ago, which was too late to try
Bind phase cloak and use spit poison to do 1d4 str damage + 2d6 sneak attack str damage + indigo strike damage. If you drop the opponent to 0 strength, they are helpless. Also, the sleep trap renders opponents helpless, which can then have a standard action used to coup de grace, which, by the rules, counts as an automatic critical hit, which activates telling blow, which adds your sneak attack damage to the coup attack. Lastly, improved web from savage species interacts really strangely with combat trapsmith's web trap, allowing you to drop as many web traps up to 10 away from each other as you have points of dexterity bonus, which, hopefully, holds folks still enough to spit oodles and oodles strength draining sneaky poison in hopes that they fail their accursed fort saves. Set the webs afire, and then move in with coup de graces/sneak attacks.

Unfortunately sneak attack doesn't become ability damage when that's the "weapon" being used. That and energy drain are pretty much the only exceptions to the general rule.

[Korahir]

Because of thief of life having the exact class skills needed for a detective kind of character I was cooking around that idea. Max. heal for determining what killed a dead creature (CAdv p. 101), Search with the Investigate feat and Knowledge Devotion for Knowledge Local with the already built in Knowledge Arcana and Religion. To top it off thief of life has spot, listen, sense motive, gather information and decipher script. I was also going for a LN detective/executioner style spinning names in my head around Judge Watson or Dr. Dredd or something along those lines. Finding the killer and executing him personally. Although the wording on Steal immortality makes me think coup de grace doesn't work unless you kill the creature with the initial damage and not the Fort save. I wasn't going for a very combat oriented build, rather a skillmonkey oddball. My stub was pretty much the same as many of the entries: early entry around 2-4 with all methods presented above.

But I always hit the same brickwall with this concept: what class to pick after the SI. Here is a list of things i considered and dumpstered: Justiciar, Bloodhound, Watch detective, The ravenloft base class (I think it is called detective), continue rogue, exemplar, uncanny trickster, switch over to factotum, swordsage, trapsmith, master of nine etc.

I think Rogue 3/Swordsage 2/Thief of life 10/trapsmith 5 is playable and Rogue1/ Spellthief 1/Swordsage 2/Thief of life 10/Uncanny Trickster 3/Exemplar 3 also but i just never came together. Maybe you guys know of a build that actually works.


My second brief idea was going wilderness rogue/cloistered cleric/thief of life/x and butchering animals, abusing handle animal and then animate their corpses. But Cleric and Thief of life simply never made sense on any level.

[Zaq]

I almost (almost!) wish I were judging this round. In no way do I regret submitting my build, but there's a lot of comments I want to make and things I want to point out (good, bad, and otherwise) about the other builds—but since I'm a chef and not a judge, that wouldn't be appropriate at the moment.

Definitely some interesting fluff this round. Not surprising for such a fluffy ingredient, of course. This was fun to cook. Maddening in a way, but still fun. There were quite a few things I was expecting and quite a few things I wasn't expecting, so I can't wait to see some of the discussion that follows.


Lastly, improved web from savage species interacts really strangely with combat trapsmith's web trap, allowing you to drop as many web traps up to 10 away from each other as you have points of dexterity bonus, which, hopefully, holds folks still enough to spit oodles and oodles strength draining sneaky poison in hopes that they fail their accursed fort saves. Set the webs afire, and then move in with coup de graces/sneak attacks.

That . . . that is wild. I really wish I'd thought of that first, because that is absolutely crazy. I would love to see a character based around that.

[daremetoidareyo]

Unfortunately sneak attack doesn't become ability damage when that's the "weapon" being used. That and energy drain are pretty much the only exceptions to the general rule.

Hmm...gotta cram maiming strike in there somewhere then...Maybe switch from skarn to azurin.

[Deadasadoor]

Not one Soul Eater... Color me surprised. My idea was a Tibbit Psychic Rogue/Soul Eater/ToL based on the myth that cats stole peoples breath/life. They would go under cover as a house cat and worm their way into a persons home, slowly level draining them and finishing them off when the time was right. Unfortunately, I didn't get the idea until Friday and wasn't able to finish off the details.

[Venger]

Not one Soul Eater... Color me surprised. My idea was a Tibbit Psychic Rogue/Soul Eater/ToL based on the myth that cats stole peoples breath/life. They would go under cover as a house cat and worm their way into a persons home, slowly level draining them and finishing them off when the time was right. Unfortunately, I didn't get the idea until Friday and wasn't able to finish off the details.
Soul eaters energy drain is so contentious many of us feel like the risks outweigh the rewards in situations like this

I like that idea a lot though.

[Deadline]

I've had many, many ideas for this prestige class over the years. It's such a funny little nut to crack - so cool thematically, so disappointing mechanically.

One idea I had that I wish had panned out, but sadly did not, was to make the Thief of Life into a sort of vampire fanboy. The plan was to be a character who had taken Willing Deformity (Teeth) because he was so obsessed with vampires that he filed down his own teeth so that he might drink blood. The plan mechanically was to take Deformity (Teeth) and Deformity (Madness), plus some sneak attack feats that specifically made the target bleed, such as Arterial Strike and Disemboweling Strike. Then I'd build around Swashbuckler's Seduction ability from the Dead Levels article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20070227x), and play up a Patrick Bateman-esque scoundrel who would seduce people, then sneak attack them with his secret bite attack to make an arterial strike and drink their blood, using the Thief of Life abilities to gain some pseudo-vampire benefits from it.

It was a cool idea, but not actually particularly good mechanically. Still, I kind of wish I'd found a way to make it work to my satisfaction...

I had a similar idea, but with a changeling being a wannabe Defacer. I also had an idea for a hunter of the most dangerous game, being less of an evil SOB and more of a 'eat to live' style character. Sadly, no time to enter this round. Also unlikely to have time to judge. If I find the time, I'll try to judge. If I can get my current project rolled out and my staff can handle things, I'm taking a week off. Earliest that could happen is the week of the 25th, so maybe.

The dishes this round are awesome. Well done all.

[WhamBamSam]

I probably should have toughened up and put together my secondary build idea, since in retrospect my issues with it were pretty minor and it's probably better than what I ended up submitting. Here's a stub for anyone who's interested.

Silverbrow Human Rogue 1/Spell-Reflection Decisive Strike Passive Way Monk 2/Totemist 2/Hit-and-Run Sneak Attack Fighter 1/Thief of Life 10/Heir of Siberys 3
1. Rogue 1 - Darkstalker, Combat Reflexes
2. Monk 1 - Improved Unarmed Strike, Combat Expertise
3. Monk 2 - Improved Trip, Knock-Down
4. Totemist 1
5. Totemist 2
6. Fighter 1 - Midnight Dodge
7. Thief of Life 1
8. Thief of Life 2
9. Thief of Life 3 - Defensive Throw
10. Thief of Life 4
11. Thief of Life 5
12. Thief of Life 6 - Shape Soulmeld (Mauling Gauntlets)
13. Thief of Life 7
14. Thief of Life 8
15. Thief of Life 9 - Heroic Spirit
16. Thief of Life 10
17. Heir of Siberys 1 - Action Surge
18. Heir of Siberys 2 - Cobalt Expertise, Feat
19. Heir of Siberys 3 - Feat


The big idea is to use the Dragon Tail's Totem Bind Tail Sweep to attack people who he couldn't see but who ping on Lifesense. Since foes take damage "as if struck by your Dragon Tail" which should include Sneak Attack, and going by the definition of melee combat from the Glossary, it seems it should be good enough to trigger Knock-Down as well. With Steal Immortality providing large amounts of essentia, I was hoping to fill my Dragon Tail along with Mauling Gauntlets (shaped to arms), Sphinx Claws (shaped to hands), and Cobalt Expertise. Since the only actual attack rolls I'd be making would be on Improved Trip attacks and AoOs, I could safely take large penalties for Combat Expertise and enjoy a sizable boost to AC between that and Cobalt Expertise. From there we've got Defensive Throw (with Midnight Dodge for even more AC) to trip more people who made the mistake of attacking me. Point Buy only requires 10 Int, as the build can age to Venerable after gaining Steal Immortality, and Combat Expertise/Improved Trip are taken as Monk bonus feats. The last two feats are either two Bonus Essentia or Bonus Essentia and Staggering Strike, depending on how much you can reliably get with Steal Immortality.

[Darrin]

My most promising idea was to use body outside body to provide an unlimited supply of bodies for Borrow Vigor/Steal Vitality/Steal Immortality. However, getting a 7th level Wu Jen spell into the same build with 10 non-caster levels was a bit tricky, even after I figured out how to get into Thief of Life at 2nd level. My first idea was Spellthief 1/ToL 10/Chameleon 9 with some Heighten/Versatile shenanigans to get a 7th level spell slot, but it sucked up so many feats I didn't have much room for anything else. I gave up for about two weeks, then managed to stumble into a better way to do it: Spellthief 1/ToL 6/Bard 2/Minor Bloodline 1/Sublime Chord 2/Ruathar 2/Wyrm Wizard 2/ToL +4 (Bloodline level is necessary to steal 7th level spells).

So I had an infinite source of duplicates to feed into Steal Immortality, along with an infinite supply of essentia, which I could then use for... uh. Hmm. Well, I could use it for... Ummmmm...

And that's when the build just sort of fell apart, as I couldn't figure out what to *do* with the essentia. If I just wanted to abuse body outside body, mining each duplicate for extra spells, then Spellthief 1/Wu Jen 19 was a much more effective than anything Thief of Life could bring to the table. Actually, what I wanted to use the essentia for was to create an army of necrocarnum zombies, but Necrocarnate is much more effective at harvesting essentia than anything Thief of Life could do.

However, now that I've seen the entries, I've got some much better ideas on what I could do with the body outside body combo.

I will probably wind up judging, but I'm being deliberately unspecific about when that might happen.

[Vaz]

My initial concept was to create a Bard or Exemplar to create the Pied Piper, who would extort towns for their wealth before leading off his group of people formed into mob template and kill them and become immortal, but I couldnt really think of a way to get it to work outaide of that. :(

And cheers guys. 9 entries? Real cheers...

[OMG PONIES]

Max handle animal, always travel with a series of bound live chickens until 15th level; any tiny creature actually, and sneak attack them for free essencia every hour.
The Chicken-Infested flaw says waddup (assuming you throw caution to the wind and use Dragon Magazine material despite contest rules to the contrary which you probably don't but still)!Must...not...be...pedantic...about...spelli ng...of...essentia.


At 15th level and above, always travel with a purchased animal companion with the same number of HD as yourself, train them to be helpless or poison them. Before conflict, coup de grace them for a huge essencia bonus.
PETA says waddup! As far as training them to be helpless, is there a "play dead" trick or anything similar for Handle Animal? I couldn't find one...Just one little letter. Could that cad be doing it on purpose?


Bind phase cloak and use spit poison to do 1d4 str damage + 2d6 sneak attack str damage + indigo strike damage.
As mentioned by others, the sneak attack dice in this case would deal negative energy damage rather than STR damage.


If you drop the opponent to 0 strength, they are helpless. Also, the sleep trap renders opponents helpless, which can then have a standard action used to coup de grace, which, by the rules, counts as an automatic critical hit, which activates telling blow, which adds your sneak attack damage to the coup attack.

Now this is interesting, but what's your damage output looking like? Thief of Life's abilities aren't just triggered by killing a foe, but bringing their HP to -10 or fewer.


Lastly, improved web from savage species interacts really strangely with combat trapsmith's web trap, allowing you to drop as many web traps up to 10 away from each other as you have points of dexterity bonus, which, hopefully, holds folks still enough to spit oodles and oodles strength draining sneaky poison in hopes that they fail their accursed fort saves. Set the webs afire, and then move in with coup de graces/sneak attacks.

That could have been your crown jewel--nice find on improved web plus the Ex ability of Combat Trapsmith!


If you get a friend to permanency an opened crown chakra, you can make an extra move action before setting all those traps with threefold mask of the chimera...Or set them and step away.

It would have to be the second one, as per the wording of the mask's crown chakra bind. Also, you'd be giving up some of your actions on your next turn.


The write ups and calculating skill points to hold it all together would have taken way too long.

We've all been there!


Because of thief of life having the exact class skills needed for a detective kind of character I was cooking around that idea...Finding the killer and executing him personally.

Ooh, interesting concept.


Although the wording on Steal immortality makes me think coup de grace doesn't work unless you kill the creature with the initial damage and not the Fort save.

Agreed.


But I always hit the same brickwall with this concept: what class to pick after the SI. Here is a list of things i considered and dumpstered: Justiciar, Bloodhound, Watch detective, The ravenloft base class (I think it is called detective), continue rogue, exemplar, uncanny trickster, switch over to factotum, swordsage, trapsmith, master of nine etc.

I think Rogue 3/Swordsage 2/Thief of life 10/trapsmith 5 is playable and Rogue1/ Spellthief 1/Swordsage 2/Thief of life 10/Uncanny Trickster 3/Exemplar 3 also but i just never came together. Maybe you guys know of a build that actually works.

You've laid out a few paths that could be tweaked into workable builds...are you more concerned about the detective flavor or the skill monkeying?


My second brief idea was going wilderness rogue/cloistered cleric/thief of life/x and butchering animals, abusing handle animal and then animate their corpses. But Cleric and Thief of life simply never made sense on any level.

Remember, you can always be a cleric of an ideal. Like taxidermy :smalltongue:. Also, I think just reading this concept is going to give me nightmares.


Not one Soul Eater... Color me surprised. My idea was a Tibbit Psychic Rogue/Soul Eater/ToL based on the myth that cats stole peoples breath/life. They would go under cover as a house cat and worm their way into a persons home, slowly level draining them and finishing them off when the time was right. Unfortunately, I didn't get the idea until Friday and wasn't able to finish off the details.

Others beat me to the concern around Soul Eater, but I love the flavor here.


I had a similar idea, but with a changeling being a wannabe Defacer. I also had an idea for a hunter of the most dangerous game, being less of an evil SOB and more of a 'eat to live' style character.

Funny that your mind went there--one of my initial non-mechanical stubs just had a note reading: "Aladdin. Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat?"


The big idea is to use the Dragon Tail's Totem Bind Tail Sweep to attack people who he couldn't see but who ping on Lifesense. Since foes take damage "as if struck by your Dragon Tail" which should include Sneak Attack, and going by the definition of melee combat from the Glossary, it seems it should be good enough to trigger Knock-Down as well.

This may have encountered some elegance concerns, as some may argue that, since Tail Sweep is automatic damage with the possibility to save rather than an attack, it doesn't trigger sneak attack damage.


My most promising idea was to use body outside body to provide an unlimited supply of bodies for Borrow Vigor/Steal Vitality/Steal Immortality. However, getting a 7th level Wu Jen spell into the same build with 10 non-caster levels was a bit tricky, even after I figured out how to get into Thief of Life at 2nd level. My first idea was Spellthief 1/ToL 10/Chameleon 9 with some Heighten/Versatile shenanigans to get a 7th level spell slot, but it sucked up so many feats I didn't have much room for anything else. I gave up for about two weeks, then managed to stumble into a better way to do it: Spellthief 1/ToL 6/Bard 2/Minor Bloodline 1/Sublime Chord 2/Ruathar 2/Wyrm Wizard 2/ToL +4 (Bloodline level is necessary to steal 7th level spells).

So I had an infinite source of duplicates to feed into Steal Immortality, along with an infinite supply of essentia, which I could then use for... uh. Hmm. Well, I could use it for... Ummmmm...

And that's when the build just sort of fell apart, as I couldn't figure out what to *do* with the essentia. If I just wanted to abuse body outside body, mining each duplicate for extra spells, then Spellthief 1/Wu Jen 19 was a much more effective than anything Thief of Life could bring to the table. Actually, what I wanted to use the essentia for was to create an army of necrocarnum zombies, but Necrocarnate is much more effective at harvesting essentia than anything Thief of Life could do.

However, now that I've seen the entries, I've got some much better ideas on what I could do with the body outside body combo.

I will probably wind up judging, but I'm being deliberately unspecific about when that might happen.

Forever creating the perfect reply to anyone who says something awful like "go kill yourself." Just keep in mind that killing one deals 10 points of damage to you--minimal, I know, but worth factoring in as we approach a larger and larger limit of duplicates created & killed. Also, I'd argue that you could have the duplicates kill each other to utilize Thief of Life abilities like Steal Immortality. Again, I'm left with no answer to the same question as you: what would they do with all that essentia?


My initial concept was to create a Bard or Exemplar to create the Pied Piper, who would extort towns for their wealth before leading off his group of people formed into mob template and kill them and become immortal, but I couldnt really think of a way to get it to work outaide of that. :(

Ooh, interesting concept as well!

[Venger]

My most promising idea was to use body outside body to provide an unlimited supply of bodies for Borrow Vigor/Steal Vitality/Steal Immortality. However, getting a 7th level Wu Jen spell into the same build with 10 non-caster levels was a bit tricky, even after I figured out how to get into Thief of Life at 2nd level. My first idea was Spellthief 1/ToL 10/Chameleon 9 with some Heighten/Versatile shenanigans to get a 7th level spell slot, but it sucked up so many feats I didn't have much room for anything else. I gave up for about two weeks, then managed to stumble into a better way to do it: Spellthief 1/ToL 6/Bard 2/Minor Bloodline 1/Sublime Chord 2/Ruathar 2/Wyrm Wizard 2/ToL +4 (Bloodline level is necessary to steal 7th level spells).

So I had an infinite source of duplicates to feed into Steal Immortality, along with an infinite supply of essentia, which I could then use for... uh. Hmm. Well, I could use it for... Ummmmm...

And that's when the build just sort of fell apart, as I couldn't figure out what to *do* with the essentia. If I just wanted to abuse body outside body, mining each duplicate for extra spells, then Spellthief 1/Wu Jen 19 was a much more effective than anything Thief of Life could bring to the table. Actually, what I wanted to use the essentia for was to create an army of necrocarnum zombies, but Necrocarnate is much more effective at harvesting essentia than anything Thief of Life could do.

However, now that I've seen the entries, I've got some much better ideas on what I could do with the body outside body combo.

I will probably wind up judging, but I'm being deliberately unspecific about when that might happen.

ah, the classic iron chef problem:

"I'll just build this, add that, and voila! oh no, I forgot the secret ingredient.

sounds like a pretty neat BBEG.

we'd certainly appreciate you as a judge.

[WhamBamSam]

The Chicken-Infested flaw says waddup (assuming you throw caution to the wind and use Dragon Magazine material despite contest rules to the contrary which you probably don't but still)!Must...not...be...pedantic...about...spelli ng...of...essentia.I got pretty darn close to throwing Half-Ogre Half-Minotaur on an Educated Glimmerskin Halfling Rogue so that I could go into Hulking Hurler after completing Thief of Life (as with my unsubmitted idea I wanted a means of hitting enemies I could detect but not see (Area Attack), and figured tripping with Knockdown Blow was an easy thing to optimize with the help of large quantities of essentia).

Iron Chef Optimization: Where you will occasionally become deeply frustrated with things like the fact that Halflings aren't large.

Another thing I got bent out of shape about was the Immunity to Fear. I got pretty close to just making a build that took Craven and saying that the character wore one of those butterflies from Dragons of Faerun that eat fear immunity in a cage around his neck.


This may have encountered some elegance concerns, as some may argue that, since Tail Sweep is automatic damage with the possibility to save rather than an attack, it doesn't trigger sneak attack damage.Maybe a little, but the phrase "as if they had been struck by your Dragon Tail" is a direct quote, so if they'd take Sneak Attack damage from a regular hit from the tail, it seems to me that they should take it from a Tail Sweep.

[Venger]

I got pretty darn close to throwing Half-Ogre Half-Minotaur on an Educated Glimmerskin Halfling Rogue so that I could go into Hulking Hurler after completing Thief of Life (as with my unsubmitted idea I wanted a means of hitting enemies I could detect but not see (Area Attack), and figured tripping with Knockdown Blow was an easy thing to optimize with the help of large quantities of essentia).
is there a half-ogre template out there somewhere? I thought half-minotaur was dragon magazine only.



Another thing I got bent out of shape about was the Immunity to Fear. I got pretty close to just making a build that took Craven and saying that the character wore one of those butterflies from Dragons of Faerun that eat fear immunity in a cage around his neck.

Maybe a little, but the phrase "as if they had been struck by your Dragon Tail" is a direct quote, so if they'd take Sneak Attack damage from a regular hit from the tail, it seems to me that they should take it from a Tail Sweep.


blessedly, it looks like everyone remembered not to take craven. focusing on precision damage and forbidding craven: that's why thief of life is an iron chef ingredient.

cool item. never heard of it before. I can't find it in dragons of faerun. what page is it on?

[Troacctid]

is there a half-ogre template out there somewhere?

Races of Destiny. It's a race, not a template.

[WhamBamSam]

is there a half-ogre template out there somewhere? I thought half-minotaur was dragon magazine only. Both are Dragon Magazine templates. I was saying it in response to Ponies' comment about throwing caution to the wind and using Chicken Infested.


blessedly, it looks like everyone remembered not to take craven. focusing on precision damage and forbidding craven: that's why thief of life is an iron chef ingredient.

cool item. never heard of it before. I can't find it in dragons of faerun. what page is it on?It's listed as a trap not an item. Pricing it could be a little awkward. Fear Moths, page 104.

[Sian]

It's listed as a trap not an item. Pricing it could be a little awkward. Fear Moths, page 104.

Aren't there rules for trap pricing in either DMG(2), Stronghold Builders Guide or Dungeonscape, which could let you reverse engineer your way into a reasonble range for the price tag? ...

It have a Proximity Trigger, it automatically resets, and it never misses. From the picture given in Dragons of Faerun, they seems to be at least tiny in size, hence way to big to have in a necklace, and more probable to have as vermin pets, so it should be possible to train them via Vermin Trainer (DotU p 53) or similar.

[Venger]

Races of Destiny. It's a race, not a template.Right, which is why I asked. I knew it was a race, but if it was using halfling as a base and "applying" half-ogre, I thought he meant there was also a template somewhere



Both are Dragon Magazine templates. I was saying it in response to Ponies' comment about throwing caution to the wind and using Chicken Infested.

It's listed as a trap not an item. Pricing it could be a little awkward. Fear Moths, page 104.

thanks for clarifying. I was looking in items.


Aren't there rules for trap pricing in either DMG(2), Stronghold Builders Guide or Dungeonscape, which could let you reverse engineer your way into a reasonble range for the price tag? ...

It have a Proximity Trigger, it automatically resets, and it never misses. From the picture given in Dragons of Faerun, they seems to be at least tiny in size, hence way to big to have in a necklace, and more probable to have as vermin pets, so it should be possible to train them via Vermin Trainer (DotU p 53) or similar.

the srd (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/traps.htm) is where trap pricing info is. you could just have a really big flava flav necklace with one of these things on it.

[JyP]

The write ups and calculating skill points to hold it all together would have taken way too long.
We've all been there!
First time I had to use Excel with formulas to check for prestige class prerequisites, maximum ranks per level and skill point per levels :smalleek:

I only needed Excel before while creating characters for The Dark Eye 5th edition and Rêve: the Dream Ouroboros, this is quite a feat :smallbiggrin:

So as I was here I even setup formulas to generate BB code used in this forum in it now - so a clean excel table is translated in code. I can share it for future challenges once this one is finished :smallsmile:

[WeaselGuy]

First time I had to use Excel with formulas to check for prestige class prerequisites, maximum ranks per level and skill point per levels :smalleek:

I only needed Excel before while creating characters for The Dark Eye 5th edition and Rêve: the Dream Ouroboros, this is quite a feat :smallbiggrin:

So as I was here I even setup formulas to generate BB code used in this forum in it now - so a clean excel table is translated in code. I can share it for future challenges once this one is finished :smallsmile:

I actually use Excel for all of my character builds! I made the spreadsheet myself, and it autocalculates AC, Ability Score modifiers, and even average hit points. There's a separate sheet in the book that I can put in item selections and their cost, and it will run a simple formula to tell me how much gold I have left for a 20th level build.

I haven't added in skill point per level calculations yet, but I'm thinking I might do it. Would have to add a column to the first page, and a formula to the skills page, but it shouldn't be too difficult...

[GilesTheCleric]

I actually use Excel for all of my character builds! I made the spreadsheet myself, and it autocalculates AC, Ability Score modifiers, and even average hit points. There's a separate sheet in the book that I can put in item selections and their cost, and it will run a simple formula to tell me how much gold I have left for a 20th level build.

I haven't added in skill point per level calculations yet, but I'm thinking I might do it. Would have to add a column to the first page, and a formula to the skills page, but it shouldn't be too difficult...

Do you mind sharing your character sheet? I always enjoy seeing what others have created.

[WeaselGuy]

Do you mind sharing your character sheet? I always enjoy seeing what others have created.

Yeah, I'll see what I can do about putting it on google docs and shooting you the link. Unless you wanna pm me your email address and I'll just send you the whole file.

[OMG PONIES]

Update: 3/9 builds scored.

[Piggy Knowles]

Thanks as always for galloping along, Ponies. Looking forward to seeing your scores.

[OMG PONIES]

Thanks as always for galloping along, Ponies. Looking forward to seeing your scores.
Update: 4/9 done.

[Muggins]

I really wanted to combine Thief of Life with the Master of Flies prestige class from Savage Species, but never found the time. The thought of a pseudo-biblical, life-stealing plague of locusts just seemed too good to pass up.

[The Viscount]

Fascinating concept. How were you going to apply SA to the swarm damage?

Aside: Go Ponies!

[Muggins]

Given that the swarm damage happens regardless of an attack roll, and insteads occurs whenever the swarm enters or stays within another creature's square, a soulmeld such as Lightning Gauntlets or Dissolving Spittle could've been used to deliver sneak attack damage. Alternatively, a bunch of totemist soulbinds - even Girallon Arms - could've been viable. Swarm creatures don't lack any limbs or anything, so any soulmelds used would basically have free reign.

A Changeling Totemist 2/Changeling Rogue 3/Master of Flies 5/Thief of Life 10 would fit the prerequisites quite nicely.

[OMG PONIES]

I really wanted to combine Thief of Life with the Master of Flies prestige class from Savage Species, but never found the time. The thought of a pseudo-biblical, life-stealing plague of locusts just seemed too good to pass up.


Given that the swarm damage happens regardless of an attack roll, and insteads occurs whenever the swarm enters or stays within another creature's square, a soulmeld such as Lightning Gauntlets or Dissolving Spittle could've been used to deliver sneak attack damage. Alternatively, a bunch of totemist soulbinds - even Girallon Arms - could've been viable. Swarm creatures don't lack any limbs or anything, so any soulmelds used would basically have free reign.

A Changeling Totemist 2/Changeling Rogue 3/Master of Flies 5/Thief of Life 10 would fit the prerequisites quite nicely.

So now I'm getting the mental image of a cloud of locusts forming into clawed arms made out of locusts to steal my life away. I didn't need to sleep peacefully tonight, right?

[The Viscount]

Just imagine them each with cute little arms of their own. That's better, right?

Very cool concept. Swarms using soulmelds definitely take advantage of the system.

[Sian]

While an extremely cool idea, I'm somewhat uncertain if it would work ... one of the definitions of a swarm in MM is that it have no discernible Anatomy, while MoI p169-170 explicitly says that those creatures having no discernible anatomy only have access to two Chakras, Heart and Soul.

[Muggins]

Depends on how you parse it. The sentence is "a creature with no limbs, head, or discernible anatomical structure (such as a mimic)," but locusts - for example - have both limbs and heads. Now that you point it out, though, I don't know whether the RAI is that a creature needs to fulfill all those stipulations (no limbs, no head, no discernible anatomy) or only one. Given that the chapter already has a separate entry for creatures with no limbs, I feel like the former might be the case - otherwise, why have a separate entry when they all fall under the "no limbs, no body, no anatomy" entry?

In any case, the character could probably just shape the Threefold Mask of the Chimera instead, bound to the Totem chakra. Theoretically, given that a Totem chakra isn't stated to occupy any part of the body, they'd still be able to access it. After all:

If in doubt, err on the side of granting the creature access to all chakras.

[JyP]

I really wanted to combine Thief of Life with the Master of Flies prestige class from Savage Species, but never found the time. The thought of a pseudo-biblical, life-stealing plague of locusts just seemed too good to pass up.
I see a great visual effect : a locust swarm with a few bright points within it, tracing a zodiacal sign (like for skills in Skyrim). It would be a different constellation for each meld... and would be a great "horror from beyond". More for BBEG threads though :smallbiggrin:

[Piggy Knowles]

I really wanted to combine Thief of Life with the Master of Flies prestige class from Savage Species, but never found the time. The thought of a pseudo-biblical, life-stealing plague of locusts just seemed too good to pass up.


Given that the swarm damage happens regardless of an attack roll, and insteads occurs whenever the swarm enters or stays within another creature's square, a soulmeld such as Lightning Gauntlets or Dissolving Spittle could've been used to deliver sneak attack damage. Alternatively, a bunch of totemist soulbinds - even Girallon Arms - could've been viable. Swarm creatures don't lack any limbs or anything, so any soulmelds used would basically have free reign.

A Changeling Totemist 2/Changeling Rogue 3/Master of Flies 5/Thief of Life 10 would fit the prerequisites quite nicely.


Depends on how you parse it. The sentence is "a creature with no limbs, head, or discernible anatomical structure (such as a mimic)," but locusts - for example - have both limbs and heads. Now that you point it out, though, I don't know whether the RAI is that a creature needs to fulfill all those stipulations (no limbs, no head, no discernible anatomy) or only one. Given that the chapter already has a separate entry for creatures with no limbs, I feel like the former might be the case - otherwise, why have a separate entry when they all fall under the "no limbs, no body, no anatomy" entry?

In any case, the character could probably just shape the Threefold Mask of the Chimera instead, bound to the Totem chakra. Theoretically, given that a Totem chakra isn't stated to occupy any part of the body, they'd still be able to access it. After all:

That is amazing and I am both impressed and a little jealous.

[Muggins]

That is amazing and I am both impressed and a little jealous.
Well that's a nice boost to my ego. Guess I really should step up and submit more often.

Since I didn't, I might try and do some judging. Seems like I've got the time for it.

[daremetoidareyo]

Well that's a nice boost to my ego. Guess I really should step up and submit more often.

Since I didn't, I might try and do some judging. Seems like I've got the time for it.

Stealing your basic premise for the optimize this feat competition. Your contributions to optimization have been noted.

[Zaq]

Well that's a nice boost to my ego. Guess I really should step up and submit more often.

Since I didn't, I might try and do some judging. Seems like I've got the time for it.

Go for it! When it comes to judging, the more the merrier!

[The Viscount]

Well that's a nice boost to my ego. Guess I really should step up and submit more often.

Since I didn't, I might try and do some judging. Seems like I've got the time for it.

We always appreciate more judges here.

[Jeriah]

Dang, I'm sad I missed entering this one. This is one of my favorite classes. :smallfrown:

[Muggins]

Judging Criteria
I will be judging in four categories; Originality, Power, Elegance and Use of the Secret Ingredient. Each category will have a starting score of 3, with case-by-case modifications made to a minimum score of 1 and a maximum score of 5 per category. As a result, the total scores will be between 5 and 20 points. A rough breakdown of each has been provided below.

Originality
Freshness and ingenuity. The choice of race, use of classes, and inclusion of certain tricks or cheeses, particularly in comparison to the other contestants. Do you have a unique identity, concept, or niche?
+0.5 for good fluff, +0 for barebones bluff, -0.5 for no fluff.
+0.25 for per unique class or race, -0.25 for per repeated class or race. Maximum of +0.5 and -0.5
+0.5 for unique build components or tactics, -0.5 for common components or tactics.
+0.5 for avoidance of cheese and overused optimisation tricks, -0.5 for the inverse.
Power
Strength and flexibility. Competence must be balanced with flexibility, both inside and outside of combat. If you lose access to one of your tricks, do you still function?
+0.5 for being augmented by levels of the Secret Ingredient, and -0.5 for being weakened by levels of the Secret Ingredient. (eg. whether continuation in other classes would've been superior to levels in the Secret Ingredient, whether the other classes are left at decent breakpoints)
+0.5 for all-day adventuring capabilities, -0.5 for a reliance on nova powers or a single trick.
+0.5 for having little reliance on items and equipment, -0.5 for being over-reliant.
+0.5 for being effective both in and out of combat, +0 for being proficient in one, -0.5 for failing to function well in either.
Elegance
Stability and clarity. Builds must qualify for their classes and feats, and should generally have a method to their madness. Do you still function under close inspection, or do you need DM fiat to get by?
-1 per flaw taken, as per the contest rules.
+0.5 for qualifying for all classes other than the secret ingredient, -0.5 for failing to qualify.
+0.5 for qualifying for all feats, -0.5 for failing to qualify.
+0.5 for no setting mixing, no questionable rulings and no miscellaneous building errors. -0.5 for the inverse.
+0.5 for avoiding multiclassing penalties and dipping, +0 for suffering from one of these, -0.5 for suffering from both.
Use of the Secret Ingredient
Integration and showcasing. The secret ingredient should either be the focus of the build or a natural extension of past class levels, not a tacked on addition. It should do something for you - the more, the better. The biggest question is always this: Why take levels in this prestige class?
+0.5 for qualifying for the SI and using its prerequisites somewhere else, +0 for just qualifying. Failing to qualify earns an instant failure in this category.
+0.5 for completing the secret ingredient, +0 for failing to complete the secret ingredient but justifying it (as in, how taking fewer levels makes the build a better SI), -0.5 for failing to finish the secret ingredient.
+0.5 for providing attention and focus on the SI's abilities while synergising other abilities, +0 for just one, -0.5 for providing neither.
+0.5 for "selling" the build in terms of race, classes and tactics, such that it feels like the SI (i.e. presentation). -0.5 for failing to do so.
Disputes are welcome.


With that, let the judging begin!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Duran Mublen, Vol's Apothecary: 17.5/20
Originality: 4.75/5
Some good fluff support for the special requirements of both the Cancer Mage and the Thief of Life. +0.5
Cancer Mage is definitely out of left field, and Paladin of Tyranny is a big surprise. Human is pretty standard, though. +0.25
The presence of your Cancerous Companion definitely gives you some unique abilities, and you even have some spell-like and supernatural abilities to use with it. +0.5
Move along, nothing cheesy to see here. +0.5

Power: 4.5/5
Thief of Life is an excellent continuation for the character, boosting your sneak attack and fueling a couple of Incarnum outlets to boot. +0.5
You work all-day, every day. You've got some limited-use abilities, but you're not reliant on them to do your thing and end up getting enough uses per day that it's not really an issue. +0.5
You've got a bit of a reliance on poisons that isn't really shored up anywhere, but you get by well enough without them that it's not actually that big of a deal. +0
You're a fair combatant with both frontline beef and caddish capabilities, with the special abilities of the Cancer Mage giving you a big bag of tricks to work with. Your base Will save isn't great, sure, but the combination of Divine Grace, Cerulean Will and the Cancerous Companion's pseudo-concealment against mind-affecting help you there. +0.5

Elegance: 3.75/5
You qualify for all of your classes and feats. Standard fare, I suppose. +1
You're not mixing settings and the build is, overall, rather clean and well-composed. However, your Cancerous Companion can't use your Contagion and Poison abilities until Cancer Mage level 9, which puts a big damper on the combat competency you were likely expecting to have. The Lifesense gained from Thief of Life is also stated to function as per Blindsense, so it can't actually find those pesky Darkstalkers you were worried about. And make sure to include a list of references next time. -0.25
That dip into ranger at level 3 is pretty awkward for an otherwise very elegant build. +0

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4.5/5
You've put the skill-based prerequisites of the Thief of Life to good use in qualifying for Cancer Mage, and there's some decent alignment synergy here (so to speak). Given that the Thief of Life actually has, this is a pretty good job. +0.5
You completed the entire secret ingredient. Good job. +0.5
While you do a good job of emphasising the Thief of Life's sneak attack damage, your support for its Incarnum abilities (two feats?) is somewhat lacking. As stated above, your Cancerous Companion's 30ft Blindsense and the Thief of Life's 25ft Lifesense are almost entirely redundant. +0
An immortal Seeker of Vol who sells medicines to the innocent in order to finance his poison- and disease-fueled quest to eradicate the Church of the Silver Flame. You've sold me. +0.5

Brother Vorick Hellakanus: 9.25/20
Originality: 2.25/5
There's some decent fluff support here for an Assassin of Vol, but the character's backstory feels rather antithetical to the "must kill someone for no other reason than to join the assassins" component of the Assassin's prerequisites. +0
Monk was a surprise, but human and rogue were staples for this contest. -0.25
There's a neat mundane battlefield control theme going on here, but nothing especially noteworthy. +0
Knockdown is a well-known, and somewhat controversial, chunk of cheese. -0.5

Power: 3/5
Thief of Life is a pretty clear boost for this character, as Vorick is primarily a Rogue as far as mechanics go; there's nothing else to be really gained from the Monk side of the equation. +0.5
You keep trucking all day, sure, but you haven't got any nova abilities to speak of and trip-immune enemies are going to give you immense trouble. You also seem to be missing the Combat Reflexes feat for your melee lockdown shtick. -0.5
You're reliant on an intelligence-boosting item in order to use any of your Assassin spells, but this isn't a major dealbreaker for the build. +0
You're good at punching things, but that's about it. Your middling intelligence and mediocre skill point allocation means that you're not good at much else, save for Bluff, and can't even use your spells without an item. +0

Elegance: 1/5
You technically don't qualify for Assassin, as you don't meet the special prerequisite. I'm also of the mind that the Drow Fighter ACF is racially exclusive. -0.5
You don't qualify for the Hazing Strike or Stunning Master feats, as you don't possess the Stunning Fist feat. There's also this thing with Knockdown and its various revisions, the latest two of which have it being seemingly exclusive to deities. -0.5
Your writeup is something of a mess; you refer to the Roundabout Kick feat, but don't have it; Hazing Strike might only work with Stunning Fist, rather than also working with Staggering Blow; and, interestingly, Staggering Blow is incorrectly referred to on the table as Staggering Strike (a completely different feat). Taking the Drow Fighter ACF as a non-Drow is somewhat questionable, and the Knockdown feat is an even bigger can of worms (but one that I'm not going to get into here). Relying on DM fiat to make your build work isn't a good way to be. -0.5
The fighter dip near the end of the build is really awkward, introduces a multiclassing penalty that you don't really want, and only gives you an extra 2 points of damage very late in the game. You could've just taken another level in Rogue (for another 1d6 sneak attack) or Assassin (for +1 BAB, +1 Reflex, and +2 vs Poisons) instead. -0.5

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3/5
You qualify for the Thief of Life and put its skill-based and alignment prerequisites to good use in the Assassin class and in the Staggering Blow feat. +0.5
You took all the levels of the secret ingredient. Good work. +0.5
There's nothing here, mechanics-wise, which actually melds well with the Thief of Life - aside from the sneak attack, for obvious reasons. Lifesense is handy, but anything or anyone decent at sneaking around is going to have Darkstalker anyways (like you!). You don't have an Incarnum abilities to make use of the temporary essentia, either. The immunities are neat, but could be gained elsewhere on a chassis more conducive to your trip-centric build - and the Sneak Attack could be gained elsewhere, like in the Rogue class you've already got levels in. I just don't see what Thief of Life is doing here. -0.5
Besides your whole tripping shtick, which doesn't seem particularly Blood of Vol-ish, there's nothing in your grab bag of other abilities which really screams "evil life-draining assassin" to me. From a storytelling perspective, he doesn't seem to have the same drive for knowledge, experience, or bloodlust that other Seekers do. In which case, why is he there? -0.5

Soot the Planar Thief: 16.5/20
Originality: 5/5
There's a fair snippet of fluff here, and you do a nice job of setting up this Blood of Vol analogue for the Planescape setting. It's well-handled. +0.5
Lesser tiefling? Hellbreaker? Gatecrasher? These are some very off-the-wall choices, and make for an interesting niche. +0.5
I'm pretty sure you're the only contestant with the ability to steal spell-like abilities and spell resistance in addition to lives. There's also that whole go-anywhere thing. +0.5
I don't see any cheese or loophole abuse here. +0.5

Power: 3.5/5
The Thief of Life gives Soot a clear mechanical edge in combat, and is fairly natural progression from his starting class levels. +0.5
Everything you have works all throughout the day - or whatever unit of time they use in Planescape. You don't have any aces up your sleeve if you find yourself out of your depth, though, and without the Darkstalker feat you're likely to be seen by many of the extraplanar threats you'll be thieving around/from/for. You don't have any in-build ways to deal with creatures who are immune to precision damage, either. -0.5
You're not reliant on any items or equipment in order to do your thing, so that's good. +0.5
Soot is a fair melee combatant, but seems to be far more capable out of combat with his knowledges, bluff, and rogue talents. If he can't land his sneak attack then he hasn't really got a whole lot going for him. +0

Elegance: 4/5
You qualify for all your classes. Pretty standard. +0.5
You don't qualify for Planar Touchstone at level 12, as you don't have 8 ranks in Knowledge (The Planes). +0
I can't see any questionable rules interpretations or other building errors. +0.5
There's a lot of dipping and multiclassing at play here, even if you don't have to deal with an experience penalty from it. +0

Use of the secret Ingredient: 4/5
You don't really use any of the Thief of Life's prerequisites anywhere else, save for a couple of feats. +0
You completed the secret ingredient. +0.5
The Thief of Life shores up your weaknesses (Death effects and energy drain, particularly), and you do a good job of emphasising the sneak attack with your feat selection. The lack of the Darkstalker feat and the lack of any Incarnum receptacles is a bit of a lost opportunity, though. +0
You steal lives, spell-likes, spell resistance, and maybe even a bit of coin on the side; you take everything, and you're damn good at it. +0.5

Alphonse Louise Constant, Hidden Seeker of Vol: 16/20
Originality: 4/5
There are snippets here and there, but not really enough to explain this character's membership in the Blood of Vol or his backstory. I would've liked to have seen a bit more, but I still like what's here. +0
Psionics are completely out of left field, even if you are a human on the inside. +0.5
As noted, psionics - especially in regards to shapeshifting and outright bodysnatching - is a highly unique niche. +0.5
Metamorphic transfer is a middling case, but it's not the sole focus of the build. +0

Power: 4.5/5
Sure, more manifesting levels would've made for a significantly stronger character overall, but you've done a fine job here of merging your psionics and your roguish talents. +0
You've got enough power points to go around that you're not worried about having to nova, and most of your powers are for utility purposes after the early levels anyways. Otherwise you function all day as a psionic thief-assassin. +0.5
You don't need any items or equipment to do your job. +0.5
Though Alphonse starts out as a rather middling fighter, he quickly becomes a rather scary combatant with some immensely potent abilities - Ego Whip and shapechanging antics, for example. His psionics also give him a huge toolbox to work with when paired with his skill ranks, resulting in a rather valuable character. +0.5

Elegance: 4/5
You qualify for all of your classes and feats. Well done. +1
It's a small thing, but Greater Doppelganger highjinks might not fly in an Eberron-exclusive game as the creature is only found in Faerun books. You might also need a DM ruling on whether the bodysnatching aspects remain after you exit metamorphosis; my gut says no. On an unrelated note, I don't think your Azure Talent trick works because the power points you gain from it aren't temporary, and therefore aren't used first (like how the constitution bonus on a Barbarian's Rage works). +0
The single level of Psychic Rogue you start out with is somewhat odd and ends up getting stranded for a while, even if you do need it to qualify for Ebon Saint and Thief of Life later down the line. +0

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3.5/5
You don't really use the prerequisites of the Thief of Life elsewhere, save for the sneak attack overlap between it and the Ebon Saint. +0
You completed the Secret Ingredient. +0.5
While you've got an obvious use for the sneak attack damage, you can't use the essentia for anything (see Elegance) and there remains the issue of the overlap between your Psion manifesting and the Thief of Life's class features. Blindsense is available as a second level power, and at higher levels a Psion gets easier immortality, better shapeshifting, and outright reality-warping; while your build is strong, it also raises the critical question of why it ever took levels in Thief of Life in the first place. In other words, you've overshadowed the dish. -0.5
That being said, this build does an excellent job of capturing the fluff and feel of a Seeker of Vol - or a certain kind of Seeker, anyways. Stealing minds in addition to stealing lives is a perfect addition. +0.5

Silver Scourge: 8.5/20 (Failure to Qualify)
Originality: 3.5/5
A little bit of fluff; not much, but enough. +0
We had a few halflings this round, but the throwing specialty is a neat little niche. +0
However, the build doesn't bring anything substantially new to the table. +0
No cheese or loophole abuse to speak of here. +0.5

Power: 1.5/5
Since the build is focused on throwing weapons from a range, the ability to successfully deal Sneak Attack damage or benefit from effects such as Borrow Vigor is greatly reduced. Similarly, the small range of lifesense renders it largely useless in the build's preferred method of combat. Instead of branching off into this pseudo-rogue build, the Silver Scourge could instead be a highly competent Warblade/Bloodstorm Blade, or even a WarBard. The inclusion of Thief of Life doesn't do anything for the build. -0.5
On the upside, though, the build runs throughout the day without a single hitch thanks to its refreshing maneuvers. Even if it's practically worthless in melee thanks to the lack of Weapon Finesse. +0
The build relies on an item (Gloves of the Master Hand) in order to be considered a legal build. It's either that, or a large penalty to Elegance for the use of a flaw. -0.5
The Silver Scourge is a frightening combatant - at least, for anyone without damage reduction. You might get sixteen attacks a round (After stats: 18/18/18/18/18/18/18/18/13/13/13/13/8/8/8/8), but you're only dealing base damage (Small daggers get 1d3, plus whatever enchantments you'd like to put on them). Your abilities outside of combat are rather pithy, too; you don't have Darkstalker, so you can't even sneak past a guard dog without it noticing you, and the only real out-of-combat skill you have is Disable Device. -0.5

Elegance: 2.5/5
Excluding its qualification for the Thief of Life, this build meets all of its prerequisites from classes. +0.5
The build doesn't qualify for either Improved Two-Weapon Fighting or Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, as it lacks Two-Weapon Fighting. It also doesn't qualify for Knowledge Devotion, as it requires 5 ranks in a knowledge skill. -0.5
Using an item to qualify for feats is questionable and leaves half of your build subject to DM approval - and it's a good way to lose half your abilities to a sunder attempt. It's also somewhat questionable as to whether the combination of "Sneak Attack 1d6" and "Ranged Sneak Attack 1d6" allow you to qualify for Thief of Life. -0.5
You've got six classes, four of which don't progress past second level. +0

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 1/5
Automatic Failure: This build fails to qualify for the Secret Ingredient.
This build does not qualify for Thief of Life because it lacks the required ranks in Knowledge (Arcana). The build attempts to use Knowledge Devotion to make Knowledge (Arcana) a class skill for the purposes of qualifying, but as Knowledge Devotion's prerequisites were not met the build cannot meet the skill rank requirement.
Had you qualified for the Secret Ingredient, these are the scores you would've gotten. Total: 2/5
The build qualifies for the Secret Ingredient but doesn't make use of any of its prerequisites elsewhere. +0
You completed the Secret Ingredient. +0.5
Aside from the sneak attack damage, you don't emphasise or focus on any of the Thief of Life's class features - even the sneak attack damage is just something you have, rather than a focus. You don't have incarnum, you're not using the temporary HP because you're attacking from the back of the group (and, hence, not taking hits), and the usefulness of your Lifesense is drastically reduced when running a ranged build. This is a Bloodstorm Blade build, not a Thief of Life build. -0.5
The idea of a pseudo-ranged assassin is neat, but I'm not really sold on the Silver Scourge's membership with the Blood of Vol. +0

Cocus Ferrea: 13.75/20
Originality: 4/5
A soul-sucking, prestige class-stealing Seeker of Vol? Sure. I'll go with that. +0.5
We saw a few halflings this round, but you get Style Points for all those prestige classes. +0.5
You mostly just do sneak attack stuff, like everyone else this round. -0.5
No cheese here. +0.5

Power: 2.5/5
The Secret Ingredient is a good power boost, if only because all you had beforehand was a single level in rogue. You practically waste all your other levels on a bunch of worthless dips in various other prestige classes, though. +0
You work all day, for what it's worth. You're almost no better than a commoner if your sneak attack gets shut down, though, and you don't have any methods to enable it in the first place. -0.5
You don't need any equipment! That's a surprise. +0.5
Unfortunately, Cocus' power drops off sharply after level 11. I wonder why. -0.5

Elegance: 3.75/5
You qualify for all of your classes and feats. Nice one. +1
Lolth isn't in Eberron, so I don't think it's possible to become a Fang of Lolth - check the backstory fluff in Song and Silence. Likewise for the Ardent Dilettante, as I believe Eberron has some odd extraplanar rules/mechanics/fluff compared to other campaign settings. It's also somewhat questionable as to whether the combination of "Sneak Attack 1d6" and "Ranged Sneak Attack 1d6" allow you to qualify for Thief of Life. -0.25
There are some obvious downsides to having so many dips. An elegance penalty is one of them. +0

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3.5/5
You've used the prerequisites of the Thief of Life elsewhere. Multiple times. In a chain. +0.5
Good job for completing the Secret Ingredient. I'm surprised you didn't take less levels just to get. +0.5
Cocus doesn't focus in or emphasise any of the features of the Thief of Life. Having a focus on Sneak Attack just because it's your only class feature doesn't count. -0.5
You haven't really sold me on this character's role in the Blood of Vol, but I get the impression that such a purveyor of fine souls would probably fit right in. +0

The Ageless Korraneleus d'Orien: 17.5/20
Originality: 4.5/5
Orien does what Orien wills. Adding the Blood of Vol to the mix is brilliant. +0.5
Blade of Orien is certainly unexpected, and makes up for the use of Human (Silverbrow, true) and Rogue. I'll call it a wash. +0
I was not expecting Dimensional Dervish-style tactics. +0.5
No cheese or loophole abuse here. +0.5

Power: 5/5
The Thief of Life levels definitely give this build an edge over its roguish roots, and add a new dimension (pun intended) to the Blade of Orien. +0.5
You've got enough daily uses of your Dragonmark abilities that running out shouldn't be a problem, and it's got such a wide variety of uses that you can even play a little bit of a battlefield control role. +0.5
I don't see any necessary pieces of equipment here. +0.5
You've got sneak attack, you've got maneuvering to get the sneak attack (of yourself, of your allies, and even of your foes!), and you've got some good out-of-combat skills. I'm impressed. +0.5

Elegance: 3.5/5
You qualify for all your classes. +0.5
You don't qualify for Draconic Heritage as you lack a sorcerer level of 1. You don't meet the prerequisites for Greater Dragon Mark as you don't have two skills with 12 skill ranks each. -0.5
The only point of contention with your abilities is that you can't farm essentia using the Thief of Life. Firstly, because it explicitly says that it doesn't stack; and secondly, because in this case you're farming from a Soulspark Familiar (which lacks a discernable anatomy, and is therefore not a valid target for your sneak attack). +0.25
You've got a pair of dips at the start of your build. Even if they have contributed to a rather fancy piece of work, that's still inelegant. +0

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4.5/5
You haven't really made use of the Thief of Life's prerequisites anywhere else. +0
You did take all the levels in the Secret Ingredient, though. +0.5
There's an obvious synergy between the battlefield mastery of the Blade of Orien and the sneak attack riders from the Thief of Life. You've even got a couple of incarnum outlets, even if they are a middling feat and a suboptimal soulmeld. Staggering strike is a classic. +0.5
Vol Incorporated trades in lives, and y'know what? I'm cool with that. +0.5

The Brothers Leech: 14.75/20
Originality: 3.5/5
A succinct, clear bit of text which tells me everything I need to know about the Brothers. +0.5
Dvati is always a surprise, and I'm glad to see a totemist in the mix. +0.5
Nobody else went for the natural attacks route, and even then you're centered around some decent martial-based ability damage. +0.5
Dipping Cloistered Cleric is some well-known cheese. -0.5

Power: 4.5/5
Since they're always flanking, Dvati naturally benefit from sneak attack damage and the Thief of Life is an excellent choice for them. Totemist adds some good beef to the build. +0.5
With your Incarnum and Maneuvers, you just keep on trucking all throughout the day. You can burn Turn Undead attempts for a bit of an Essentia boost, and can change between ability damage and sneak attack when needed. The chassis underneath is good enough that you can still power through those enemies who are immune to both, what with the action economy being largely on your side. +0.5
No reliance on items or equipment. +0.5
You're a middling combatant with a solid shtick, but outside of combat all you're really good at is sneaking around and pretending to be the party thief. +0

Elegance: 2.75/5
Looks like you qualify for all of your classes. +0.5
Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but it looks like you've taken an extra two feats at level 2. Please explain. -0.5
Using a stance to qualify for a prestige class is kinda iffy and leaves the legality of the build subject to DM approval. On another note, you've done some tricky things with the Dvati race (who are a big can of worms all on their own) which could easily be interpreted/ruled very differently between games. I'm pretty sure, for example, that only one of them would get to perform the Strength Draining Strike - but another judge or DM might rule otherwise. -0.25
You've got five classes, three of which are 1-level dips. +0

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4/5
You qualify for the Thief of Life, but don't really use its prerequisites for anything else aside from Maiming Strike. +0
You completed the Secret Ingredient. +0.5
There's some decent synergies going on here (e.g. The Brass Mane trick) and you have some use for the extra Essentia floating around, but nothing especially noteworthy. +0
Ability drain is well in-flavour for the Blood of Vol; go get 'em. +0.5

Vera Tolman d'Ghallanda: 17/20
Originality: 4.5/5
You do a good job of explaining the combination of Thief of Life, Black Dog, and Assassin with your fluff. +0.5
The inclusion of Black Dog adds a unique component, even if you are one of three halflings. +0
Vera's an excellent poisoner, and is truthfully the most roguish character in the whole competition. +0.5
I don't see any cheese or loophole abuse here. +0.5

Power: 4/5
Thief of Life is perfect for Vera, and her following prestige classes are excellent additions after the fact. +0.5
The only restriction on her abilities are the daily uses of her Dragonmark, but she gets plenty of uses on them for it not to be an issue - and even then, they're mostly used outside of combat. Her capabilities against enemies with sneak attack resistance or immunity to ability damage, however, are sorely lacking. +0
You really like your poisons, but you get all of them from your Dragonmark anyways. +0.5
You're okay in combat, but you're clearly more dangerous outside of combat with your sneak attack, poisons, social skills, and sleight of hand. If you had Darkstalker too, you'd be even more competent - but as-is, you're still great against all those pesky humanoids. +0

Elegance: 4/5
It looks like you meet the prerequisites for all your classes and feats. Nicely done. +1
I'm afraid that the Gloves of the Poisoned Soul won't work with any of your Black Dog class features - it's not an ingest poison for Dhurinda's Trick, and isn't a "dose" for Refine Poison or Dhurinda's Touch. The only way to deliver the poison from the Gloves of the Poisoned Soul is via the soulmeld's unique melee touch attack. Harvesting your own familiar for Essentia is also kinda iffy. +0
The two dips at the start of your build - level 1 Spellthief, and level 1 Ninja - feel like they're holding the build back. Rather than multiclassing again into Assassin, you could've filled out these two starting classes first. Maybe Rogue 3/Ninja 2 for some evasion and some swift-action invisibility? +0

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4.5/5
You don't really use the Thief of Life's prerequisites for anything else. +0
You took all the levels in the Secret Ingredient. Pretty standard. +0.5
You've got Sneak Attack, you've got Death Attack, and I'm glad to finally see someone take Indigo Strike. You've also got the Gloves of the Poisoned Soul soulmeld, which ends up tying your Thief of Life features into your Black Dog features - thematically, anyway. Since dead creatures have -10 HP, it seems fair to say that Death Attack triggers all your Thief of Life abilities. +0.5
To be completely honest, Vera feels like the epitome of what it means to be a Seeker of Vol. Weaken them, then take their essense for yourself. +0.5

[Sian]

Questions from the audience allowed? there's a couple of judge rulings that i believe i can disprove by pointing at specific books/pages

[Piggy Knowles]

Thanks, Muggins!

[Muggins]

Questions from the audience allowed? there's a couple of judge rulings that i believe i can disprove by pointing at specific books/pages
It's not unheard of; I, for one, would greatly appreciate it.

[Inevitability]

This may be a little early, but how about picking the Blackguard for the next competition? It's been a while (almost 20 contests, in fact) since we last used a DMG class, and the class itself has reasonable (though sleightly feat-heavy) entry requirements and has a few pretty neat abilities. I think quite some interesting things could be done with it.

[Jeriah]

I'd love to see something like Serene Guardian or Solar Channeler (with significant points off if you don't use the signature ability of the class). Both are from Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde.

[Sian]

While i could see Serene Guardian being an interesting SI, Solar Channeler have to little to offer (and, probably, to strong casting) to be a SI

My Audience Questions is as such, spoilered as so still ongoing judges don't see it.


Both Korraneleus d'Orien and Vera Tolman d'Ghallanda is variant subraces, which goes against implied ruling of Players guide to Eberron page 47 sidebar. While the sidebar only explicitly singles out sub-races Races of Stone, Races of Destiny and Monster Manual, it also says "However, the bloodlines of the dragonmarked houses only manifest in the most common subraces", which in my mind should be implicitly covering all subraces in any other book as well.

Secondly, I'm putting the question of Soot the Planar Thief, having a minor case of cross-setting specific templates/classes as 'Lesser planetouched' is from Players Guide to Faerun, and as far as i'm aware is only printed in that book, hence haven't been made setting neutral. Granted, given the nature of Sigil it could be argued that both Faerun and Eberron could meet up there (although, as per your mentions of Eberron's planar issues towards Cocus Ferrara, calling the question of Eberron linking up with a prestige class that hails from Sigil) but still, at the very least there's an inconsistency there.

[riccaru]

I was really looking forward too black blood hunter for the bloodborne feel of it:smallamused:

[OMG PONIES]

Looks like Muggins beat me to the punch! Here are...

My Criteria
All builds will start with a base score of 12, representing 3 points in each category. Those category scores will change based on my answers to a series of questions, presented below. An answer of "Yes" will earn a +0.5 boost to that category, an answer of "No" will earn a -0.5 penalty to that category, while an ambivalent "Yes and no" will not change the score of that category at all. Thus, it is possible for a build to score anywhere between 1 and 5 points in each category. The questions are as follow:

Originality
Does the build present a compelling backstory or concept?
Does the build enter the Secret Ingredient through a method unique from the sample character in the source as well as other entries in this round?
Does the build make use of any interesting race, class, feats, or mechanical tricks that the judge hasn't seen in common use before?
Does the build avoid "known cheese" and overused optimization suggestions?

Power
Does the build utilize established power breakpoints and feat taxes for all classes and prestige classes taken?
Does the build function at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on "nova" powers?
Does the build thrive without requiring specific magic items, templates, or other "add-ons" to qualify for anything?
Does the build contribute significantly in terms of offense, defense, and utility?

Elegance
Does the build qualify for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient?
Does the build qualify for all feats taken?
Does the build avoid any rules errors, questionable rules interpretations, cross-setting material, or material specifically disallowed from this competition?
Does the build avoid multi-class penalties and excessive dipping (defined as taking 2 or fewer levels in 2 or more base/prestige classes)?

Use of the Secret Ingredient
Does the build qualify for the Secret Ingredient and make special use of entry requirements?
Does the build complete the Secret Ingredient or present a compelling reason why not doing so is actually a better use of the Secret Ingredient?
Does the build pair mechanical abilities of the Secret Ingredient with the rest of the build in unique ways (e.g. do something not every other entry can do)?
Does the build complement the concept of its chassis through use of the Secret Ingredient (i.e. does the entry feel like a Thief of Life)?

My Scores
Duran Mublen: 15.5 (3.875 average)Originality: 3 He's a man on a mission…even if that mission seems to be one of pure evil (0.5). While human is never worth either a bonus or penalty from me and ranger is listed in the text itself as an expected entry, the use of paladin was unexpected and I really dug the inclusion of Cancer Mage to boost up your sneak attack (0.5). No race, class, feats, or tricks were new for me (-0.5). Cancer mage & Staggering Strike come up frequently in various handbooks, and the poison feats are also handbook fare (-0.5).Power: 4.5 You hit the right break points for ranger & paladin, and you picked up Darkstalker for your stealthiness…but once you're that far into Cancer Mage, going three more levels makes a world of difference. You would have been much more powerful for it (0). The build functions at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on nova powers (0.5). The build thrives without an undue emphasis on items, templates, or other add-ons for power (0.5). Offensively, you've got a lot of options to hurt your foes. Defensively, darkstalker pairs nicely with your maxed stealth skills and your poison defenses. In terms of utility, you can make poisons and heal folks as well as gathering information and tapping the potential of magic devices. Triple crown! (0.5).Elegance: 4 The build qualifies for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient (0.5). The build qualifies for all feats taken (0.5). While most questionable things were avoided, there was no list of sources (0). Multiclass penalties were avoided, but we have 2 dips (0).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4 The build qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and makes use of entry requirements by maxing Heal ranks, using Heal ranks to qualify for Cancer Mage, and using sneak attack to qualify for Staggering Strike (0.5). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). While some of the class features are mentioned, none receive any particularly unique synergy or optimization (-0.5). Having the Divinity Within guiding Duran's "mission of mercy" was an interesting way to bring in the Blood of Vol, and I loved that it was your cancerous companion (0.5).
Vorick Hellakanus: 12 (3 average)Originality: 3.5 Conceptually, we started off somewhere strong with Vorick's youthful fascination with anatomy and general strangeness…but as we went I lost sight of the concept and it seemed more like a pastiche of various scenes than a consistent character concept (0). Human is never worth a bonus or penalty from me, but monk & fighter had it leaning toward the bonus territory…until the inclusion of rogue (our most-used entry and sample entry) as well as Assassin 3 (which was attempted by another chef as well). Overall, it wound up a wash (0). Hazing Strike & Stunning Master were new ones for me, and I hadn't seen much use of disruptive attack before either (0.5). Staggering Strike is the big one for sneak attack builds, but we've otherwise avoided overused suggestions (0).Power: 4 Rogue 4 usually would have been an odd breakpoint, but your ACF comes online at that level so it makes sense (0.5). While you don't rely on them, your assassin spells like alter self are powerful but limited (0). You rely on an INT boosting item just to use your assassin spells. While you mentioned that it's not central to the build, it's otherwise a wasted class feature (0). Offensively, you have a bunch of options to keep your opponents down and make use of your sneak attack. Defensively, you've got spell reflection and the AC/save bonuses monks usually rock. In terms of utility, your ranks in Disguise and Use Magic Device give you useful options off the battlefield. Triple crown! (0.5).Elegance: 2 With no alignment listed, it is difficult to verify that you qualify for everything (0). Since you've chosen the Passive Way fighting style, you don't get Stunning Fist and therefore don't qualify for Stunning Master or Hazing Strike (-0.5). While this competition traditionally uses 32 point buy, I'm getting 33 point buy from your entry (-0.5). While using human's favored class on rogue helps to avoid multiclass penalties, we're still facing 2 dips (0).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 2.5 With no alignment listed, it's hard to tell if you qualify for the secret ingredient. You do use sneak attack to qualify for Staggering Strike, though (0). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). While some of the class features receive passing mention, none receive unique synergy or optimization (-0.5). Because I didn't get much of a picture of who Vorick really is, I didn't really understand why he went into Thief of Life (-0.5).
Soot: 12 (3 average)Originality: 4.5 I love love loved the inclusion of the planar flavor on this entry! Anyone who uses Cant and manages to make sure it still sounds cool deserves a bonus from me here (0.5). From your use of lesser tiefling to the inclusion of hellbreaker to continue the sneak attack & "stealing" theme straight through gatecrasher, you were heading for a bonus. Unfortunately, your stops in rogue, spellthief, and swordsage were thought of by others as well, and so those 3 little levels kept you from earning a bonus here (0). Undo resistance and head shot were new feats, and I hadn't seen anyone make use of Gatecrasher before (0.5). The build avoids known cheese and overused optimization suggestions (0.5).Power: 2.5 For swordsage and spellthief alike, more levels means more power. A 1-level dip in either are good, but could have been much better. Also, for a stealthy character you've got telepathic static…but a lack of Darkstalker means that a riding dog can still sniff you out (-0.5). The build functions at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on nova powers (0.5). This one's tricky, but your entire build is reliant upon the DM allowing the use of Lesser Planetouched races. Without that, you'd be an outsider and unable to qualify for the secret ingredient (-0.5). Offensively, you've got a bunch of sneak attack and ways to steal magic from your foes. Defensively, though, there's not much going for you. In terms of utility, you've picked up a smattering of skills and gatecrasher abilities that will help. Overall, you've got 2 out of 3 (0).Elegance: 1.5 Without an alignment listed, it's hard to tell whether you qualify for Hellbreaker & Gatecrasher. Also, I don't see any mention of speaking Infernal, which is required for Hellbreaker (-0.5). Unfortunately, you lack the required ranks in Knowledge: planes to qualify for Planar Touchstone (-0.5). Cross-setting material factors in heavily here (-0.5). No multiclass penalties, but 3 dips (0).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3.5 Without an alignment listed, it's hard to tell whether you qualify for the Secret Ingredient. You do use the required sneak attack to qualify for Hellbreaker, Telling Blow, & Headshot though (0). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). Had as much attention been placed into synergizing the class features as was placed into the planar flavor, you would have seen some points here (-0.5). I really love the mixture of Blood of Vol and the Prolonger sect--especially the idea of stealing life from others (0.5).
Alphonse Luise Constant: 16 17 (4 4.25 average)Originality: 4 Real-life occultist references are always interesting, especially given the perfect fit with the flavor of Blood of Vol. I'm a sucker for 19th & 20th century occultists in particular, so entirely as an aside here's a quote from your entry's namesake that also fits the Blood of Vol theme: "Magic is the divinity of man conquered by science in union with faith; the true Magi are Men-Gods, in virtue of their intimate union with the divine principle." (0.5). Human will never earn you a bonus or a penalty from me…but using Ebon Saint is one of my personal favorite underrated PrCs and psychic rogue kept you juuust shy of our oft-repeated rogue dip (0.5). Undead Empathy was a new one for me, and I really liked your combination of Mosquito's Bite with your Ebon Saint abilities. Your use of metamorphosis/metamorphic transfer/Practiced Manifester to snag the greater doppelganger was just scary good and fit perfectly with the flavor of the build (but see ever-so-minor elegance concerns below) (0.5). Metamorphic Transfer and Psychic Reformation, while not large parts of the build, come up very frequently on charop boards (-0.5).Power: 3.5 While Psion 5 would have snagged you a bonus feat, Ebon Saint 5 still got you a boost to manifester level and the much-cooler "disappear from the mind" (0.5). A psion build like this one could use more power points. While I appreciate your tricks to regain them (and they keep you from getting a penalty here), I'm still left feeling like we're a little sparse on that front, especially given how much using psionics to boost your utility was mentioned (0). The build thrives without an undue emphasis on items, templates, or other add-ons for power (0.5). Let's be honest--this build was meant to be a utility machine and you've got that in spades. While you've got sneak attack, you're far more interested in its interrogation uses than straight combat. Defensively, you'd rather talk, morph, or sneak yourself out of a pickle than take a hit. But you've got utility for days, with constant ways to contribute off the battlefield (-0.5).Elegance: 3.5 4.5 The build qualifies for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient (0.5). Since your manifester level is 4 at ECL9, you don't qualify for Metamorphic Transfer (-0.5) The build qualifies for all feats taken (+0.5). Oh how I wish the greater doppelganger hadn't been in a Forgotten Realms source! I love the trick, and I think you've got it buttoned up from a RAW perspective, but some folks could veto using a Faerun monster in an Eberron build (0). The build avoids multi-class penalties and excessive dipping (0.5).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 5 The build qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and makes use of entry requirements by using sneak attack to qualify for Ebon Saint (0.5). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). Metamorphosis into an object coupled with Lifesense is a fun way to spring traps on your opponents, and I really loved your combination of Borrow Vigor and Azure Talent. Group Fake-Out with multiple attacks also showed a dedication to using the sneak attack you've picked up along the way, and I appreciate that you tried to use a feat at the end to patch up your weaknesses against undead (0.5). Not only did you embrace the concept of what a Thief of Life is, but you elevated it by finding abilities that paired with the Ingredient and picked up where it left of while still oozing Thief of Life flavor. Good on you (0.5).
Silver Scourge: 10 (2.5 average)Originality: 3 I like the circus background (which fits with a knife throwing Bloodstorm Blade) and that the revenge trope here was more of avenging a fallen friend. Just to confirm, was the Silver Hand supposed to be the Silver Flame or were you creating something new? (0.5). Glimmerskin Halfling & a rogue dip were both repeats from our chefs this round, but luckily for you the bardblade thrower direction was an unexpected departure. It was also a great way to get some Tome of Battle in your build without the inclusion of swordsage that was all-too-tempting to others (0.5). No race, class, feats, or tricks were new for me (-0.5). Bardblades with dragonfire inspiration are frequent charop suggestions because of how well they can work, as are bloodstorm blades (-0.5).Power: 2 The one breakpoint properly followed here was Halfling Rogue 1--it was a really nice way to snag 2d6 sneak attack as soon as possible. Dragonfire Inspiration could have been used more times per day with more bard, especially taking it to level 6 for the always-useful Suggestion. More warblade (or delaying warblade to later levels) would have allowed for more powerful maneuvers. Bloodstorm blade just gets better with age--in fact, your background and motivations may have worked better with continued advancement in bloodstorm blade rather than Thief of Life. (-0.5). You've got a limited number of spells and maneuvers, as well as limited access to bardic music. The one thing that keeps this out of penalty territory is the warblade's unique recharge mechanic (0). Without Gloves of the Master Hand, you wouldn't qualify for Improved or Greater Two Weapon Fighting (-0.5). Offensively, you lack some oomph. Dragonfire Inspiration is only 2/day as mentioned above, you missed your last iterative attack by 1 BAB (which is important for TWF builds), and your entire TWF chain is predicated on access to an item. Defensively, you pick precisely the right warblade maneuvers to help shore you up though. In terms of utility, you've got trapfinding and UMD going for you, so I can say we wind up firmly in the territory of a wash here. (0).Elegance: 2.5 Since Wall of Blades is an Iron Heart counter rather than an Iron Heart strike, you don't qualify for Bloodstorm Blade. With two levels in Warblade, you'd have 4 known maneuvers and 1 known stance so you could pick up an Iron Heart strike, but none has been listed here (0). Since Knowledge Devotion requires 5 ranks, you can't qualify for it at first level (without dipping into cleric and swapping out a domain). (-0.5). While an alignment change isn't enough to warrant a deduction, some folks will shudder at it and cause issues at various tables. Me? I think it's a sign of any good dynamic character. Even still, the possible headache is enough to call it a wash (0). Multiclass penalties were avoided, but we have 4 dips (0).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 2.5 While I again applaud your use of Halfling Rogue to pick up 2d6 sneak attack with ranged weapons at first level, Knowledge Devotion does not work at that level to make Knowledge: Arcana a class skill for you. The deduction above was for failing to qualify for the feat; the deduction here is because, without it, you cannot enter the Secret Ingredient at 2nd level as presented (-0.5). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). None of the Secret Ingredient's class features receive unique synergy or optimization. Sneak attack is mentioned, but nothing unique is done with it here (-0.5). While I appreciate that your character joined the Blood of Vol to oppose the Silver Flame/Hand, that doesn't exactly scream Thief of Life to me (0).
Cocus Ferrea: 14.5 (3.625 average)Originality: 3.5 I love the concept and homages, especially because I'm vainglorious. So vainglorious, in fact, that I'm thinking through what a Cocus vs Sortes encounter would play out like (I win). Too kind of you. Also, the name is boss but wouldn't it be Archimagirus Ferrea or something? I thought Cocus was the verb "to cook." I'm pretty sure Ferrea is "of iron" but I could be getting…rusty *dons sunglasses* But damn was that thing long! As much fun as it was, self-editing can give us the tastiest parts and save some time. We'll call it a wash (0). You just couldn't resist stopping for glimmerskin halfling or that rogue sublevel, could you? Of course, as unoriginal as that was you managed to juke around every other class decision your fellow contenders made--which is all the more impressive considering the massive number of dips. Seriously--you made me add a column to the spreadsheet, which I haven't had to do since Aesh Duan Dee back in the Ardent Dilletante round! Also, bonus points for the fact that I didn't realize all your dips beside rogue were prior ingredients until I actually read your entry (0.5). No race, class, feats, or tricks were new for me (-0.5). The build avoids known cheese and overused optimization suggestions (0.5).Power: 3 While some of these classes function well as one-level dips, you're a mile wide and half an inch deep. Following some of them further would have yielded far greater power, but that wasn't your goal (-0.5). The build functions at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on nova powers (0.5). The build thrives without an undue emphasis on items, templates, or other add-ons for power (0.5). Utility is a no-brainer here with your bizarre smatterings of various skills and abilities. Defensively, you've almost convinced me of your kitchen sink approach--you may not be super strong against any one thing, but you're likely to have some way to cope with whatever life throws at you. Granted, there's a difference between coping and surviving where I'd like to see a little more dedication to a few of your defenses beyond just high saves (which would come down if fractional saves & BAB are used). Offensively, coping is the best you can hope for--with that +8 BAB I'm doubtful at high levels that you'll be able to do much in-combat life-thieving, especially against your chosen purebred targets. Catching them while they sleep may be your only option (-0.5).Elegance: 4 This is where you make me earn my wages checking sourcebooks. The story components were the one thing not consistently applied, but when you've got so many classes you'd need a book of a backstory to cover them all and you did get some of the big ones in there...however, I've got to be consistent (0). The build qualifies for all feats taken (0.5). The build avoids reliance on questionable rules interpretations, cross-setting material, or material specifically disallowed from this competition (0.5). We avoided multiclass penalties…but I'm going to need some chips to go with all these dips (0).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4 This is often the part where I commend you for unique qualification while at once taking points away for failing to make use of the required skills etc. to end up in a wash. But my WORD did you create a beautiful chain of class qualifications! My hat is off to you (0.5). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). You knew this was coming, right? None of the secret ingredient's class features were really the point for you, so you didn't do anything unique to synergize or optimize any of them (-0.5). At first I wanted to go with the whole "why take Thief of Life to 10 instead of leaving more room for Ingredients? After all, we've had 74 others!" routine, but your first paragraph of backstory hooked me. The Blood of Vol--and more specifically a Thief of Life--just made perfect sense even if you didn't optimize it (0.5).
Korraneleus Orien: 14.5 (3.625 average)Originality: 3.5 A sprinkle of Rip Van Winkle mixed with a good old conspiracy is always a fine recipe, especially when you mix in the dragonmarked houses. I also liked the idea of the Blood Bank of Vol, the selling off of bits of one's immortality, and the poignant slow process past inclusion to celebration of the warforged...but this was War & Peace. A good yarn is one thing, but please keep in mind that brevity is the soul of wit (0). Silverbrow managed to snag some points out of the usually vanilla human, and I was excited to see someone use Blade of Orien…but I was equally disappointed in the rogue & spellthief dips that cropped up here & there. Overall, it all balanced out to a flat 0 here (0). It was great to see Orien Battle Stride used, as I haven't seen many of the dragonmarked feats used before (0.5). We were close here, but Staggering Strike is such a charop board gimme on sneak attack builds that I can't give you a bonus here. No penalty either, so let's just call it a wash (0).Power: 3.5 Spellthief is notorious for being underpowered if you multiclass, but the real pity here was Blade of Orien. Two more levels in it and you could have unleashed Orien's Fury to get full attacks after your dimension leaps (-0.5). Thanks to your investment in Blade of Orien, your dragonmark powers become far more useful. The build functions at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on nova powers (0.5). The build thrives without an undue emphasis on items, templates, or other add-ons for power (0.5). Offensively, your 5d6 sneak attack and Staggering Strike alone w/ 3 iterative attacks alone won't contribute as much as you'd hope at high levels. When it comes to defense and utility, though, you use movement to maximum advantage. Your dragonmarked abilities alone snag you 2 out of 3, but there's not enough offensive oomph to earn you a triple crown (0).Elegance: 2.5 The build qualifies for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient (0.5). Without a single level of sorcerer, you don't qualify for Draconic Heritage. Also, without 12 ranks in 2 different skills by 9th level, you don't qualify for Greater Dragonmark (-0.5). Many DMs will look askance at a Silverbrow Human with a gold dragon heritage, and I hate to be pedantic but Dragon Magic's printing of Draconic Heritage supersedes the one in Races of the Dragon as it is a few months newer (-0.5). Multiclass penalties were avoided, but we're looking at 2 dips (0).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 5 The build qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and makes use of entry requirements by using sneak attack to qualify for Staggering Strike (0.5). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). Killing your own soulspark familiar to gain essentia via Borrow Vigor was a brutal way to gain 1 essentia and 2 temp HP regularly, but fit the flavor of your character. However, since the payoff is small I'm left wondering if it's worth all the fuss. Even still, a clever way to optimize the class feature. Also, the strength of your concept--stealing life to stay immortal and sell people parts of your life--was clever enough (and mechanically backed) that it carried you here (0.5). If you're going to sell off your own life, you'd better have a way to get more of it. For that, Steal Immortality works remarkably (0.5).
The Brothers Leech: 15.5 (3.875 average)Originality: 3.5 Interesting presentation of blood, souls, and unity between the twins…but it didn't really give me a peek into what you were after conceptually except telling me they're in the Blood of Vol because of their unique view of blood & souls (0). On the "yes" side, we've got dvati, cloistered cleric, and totemist. Usually, you'd see others make those selections but they were unique to you this time around. On the "no" side, though, we've got those two little levels in rogue & swordsage--design decisions that were unfortunately common in this round. Because the two balance each other out, we don't have a bonus or penalty here (0). Okay, hat tip on using one hit from a Maiming Strike to level a collossal monstrous scorpion and carrying it around to be a poison factory for you (0.5). The allure of Martial Stance to up your sneak attack by 2d6 was just too strong to resist, wasn't it? That little feat for that little stance is peppered everywhere sneak attack is discussed, but otherwise you stayed original (0).Power: 5 Cloistered cleric 1 is great when you're more in it for the domains than the spells (which is the case with you). Rogue 1 is perfect for sneak attack, and totemist 6 snags you most of the goodies you wanted (which you supplemented with feats). While I would have dug more swordsage (or delaying it to later), I know why you took it when you did and you made sure to supplement it with Martial Stance to pick up what you were really after (0.5). The build functions at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on nova powers (0.5). The build thrives without an undue emphasis on items, templates, or other add-ons for power (0.5). STR, CON (scorpion venom), WIS, and CHA damage all dovetail nicely with your other offensive options to make your twins a powerhouse. Swordsage maneuvers give you a lot of great defensive options, and between your skill ranks and soulmelds you've also got plenty of utility. Triple crown for you, which makes a 5 in Power--nicely done! (0.5).Elegance: 3 The build qualifies for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient (0.5). The build qualifies for all feats taken (0.5). Using the sneak attack from Assassin's Stance to qualify for Thief of Life will cause a scene at some tables, especially if you ever try to switch out to another stance. (-0.5). We've got 3 dips and some multiclass penalties to boot (-0.5).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4 The build qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and makes use of the entry requirements to qualify for Maiming Strike. You also tried with Knowledge Devotion/Collector of Stories, but I would have wanted to see more investment in the actual skill ranks to get those bonuses higher. Still, it wasn't your only synergy in the requirements so we're good (0.5). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). Using Borrow Vigor to keep your frail dvatis alive was nice, as was boosting soulmeld capacity w/ Divine Soultouch & Expanded Soulmeld Capacity to make sure you can use your free essentia. Lifesense + Basilisk mask was also cool, since finding them is only half the battle. I like how you later tied this in with Brass Mane's AoE--just wait for a ping from your lifesense and fire. Also, nice way to call out your dvati twin's immunity to fatigue from the Ingredient! (0.5). While your backstory/concept was interesting, I didn't really get Thief of Life from it (even though the mechanics were spot-on). This may have come from the general nature of your intro, but from a story perspective I still didn't really understand why Thief of Life was the choice for 10 levels instead of something like more swordsage (-0.5).
Vera Tolman d'Ghallanda: 14 14.5 (3.5 3.625 average)Originality: 3 I really enjoyed the aspect of one House disguising itself as another, as well as the fact that our badass anti-hero is really just a patsy for the higher powers in the Blood (0.5). I am one of the biggest fans of Black Dog for a poisoner build since I read Akal Saris' guide to the class a while back, and I was pumped that someone had the guts to use a level in ninja as their way of picking up precision damage. However, between glimmerskin halfling, spellthief, and assassin 3 we had a few design decisions repeated by others in this round, and it was juuuust enough to tip the scales into the negative (-0.5). While I've seen a lot of Black Dog use, I like the idea of using a medium familiar and your target to count as 2/3 of your creatures to allow you to hide (0.5). Black Dog is standard fare in the poisoner's handbook (and rightfully so because it's awesome), and the Obtain Familiar/Improved Familiar tree are also frequent suggestions (-0.5).Power: 3 Ninja's awful so you're right to bail ASAP, but Spellthief is notoriously underpowered if you multiclass. I'm glad to see Black Dog taken to completion, but a sneaky build without Darkstalker will easily be found out--even a dung snake could use their scent to locate you (-0.5). Assassin spells are VERY limited use, and while they weren't a cornerstone of the build they were mentioned in your tactics so I can't in full faith give a bonus here. No penalty either, though (0). The build thrives without an undue emphasis on items, templates, or other add-ons for power (0.5). Offensively, a Black Dog poisoner will always be able to mess up people's days. Defensively, you don't have too much going for you (especially without Darkstalker to reliably hide as a defense). In utility, though, you've got skills for days and a lot of versatility from your dragonmark so you'll never be left with nothing to do outside of combat. Overall, 2 out of 3 ain't bad (0).Elegance: 3.5 The build qualifies for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient (0.5). The build qualifies for all feats taken (0.5). First off, we've got some cross-setting material with our Forgotten Realms books here. Secondly, there are other ways to die besides HP damage…and death attack is one of them. Since your death attack kills the target outright rather than through HP damage, it cannot trigger Borrow Vigor, Steal Vitality, or Steal Immortality (clarified by Rules Compendium, pg 73). Also, Dhurinda's Trick only applies to "ingestable" poison, where it seems like Gloves of the Poisoned Soul create a contact poison since I'm not sure if anyone can ingest "condemned souls." Chat with your DM, but it's a questionable interpretation at best (-0.5). Multiclass penalties were avoided, but we have 2 dips (0).Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4.5 5 The build qualifies for the Secret Ingredient and makes use of entry requirements by using ranks in Knowledge: Arcana to qualify for Obtain Familiar and sneak attack to qualify for Mortifying Strike (0.5). The build completed the Secret Ingredient (0.5). I'll resist inappropriate jokes about beating snakes or choking any poultry, but knocking out your familiar is a unique way to obtain unending temporary HP and essentia. I just wish you had applied the same creativity to the other features of the Secret Ingredient as well. Instead, the real showcase here was Black Dog...though I have to give credit where credit is due for your fast healing familiar/Borrow Vigor trick (0) Also, your mention of using Death Attacks to spring your other class features into action is an interesting one (and one supported by the rules) (0.5). An assassin for the Blood of Vol is exactly the type of character that Thief of Life seems built for (0.5).

Your Standings
Final[?] Standings After Two Judges (Before Disputes):
EntryPlaceTotalAverage
Duran MublenGold32.54.0625
Alphonse Louise ConstantSilver324
Korraneleus d'OrienSilver324
Vera Tolman d'GhallandaFourth313.875
The Brothers LeechFifth30.253.78125
Cocus FerreaSixth28.253.53125
SootSeventh283.5
Vorick HellakanusEighth21.252.65625
Silver ScourgeNinth18.52.3125

Overall, this was a tight batch with some interesting concepts and mechanical tricks. Congrats to all chefs!

[WhamBamSam]

This may be a little early, but how about picking the Blackguard for the next competition? It's been a while (almost 20 contests, in fact) since we last used a DMG class, and the class itself has reasonable (though sleightly feat-heavy) entry requirements and has a few pretty neat abilities. I think quite some interesting things could be done with it.I could have sworn we'd done Blackguard already. Seems not. I'm not hugely enthused at the prospect, but I'd probably cook something.


I'd love to see something like Serene Guardian or Solar Channeler (with significant points off if you don't use the signature ability of the class). Both are from Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde.I'm warming a bit to the idea of Serene Guardian, but I'm a little iffy on Solar Channeler. I feel like the builds would be too similar, apart from all the other potential issues.


My Audience Questions is as such, spoilered as so still ongoing judges don't see it.


Both Korraneleus d'Orien and Vera Tolman d'Ghallanda is variant subraces, which goes against implied ruling of Players guide to Eberron page 47 sidebar. While the sidebar only explicitly singles out sub-races Races of Stone, Races of Destiny and Monster Manual, it also says "However, the bloodlines of the dragonmarked houses only manifest in the most common subraces", which in my mind should be implicitly covering all subraces in any other book as well.

Secondly, I'm putting the question of Soot the Planar Thief, having a minor case of cross-setting specific templates/classes as 'Lesser planetouched' is from Players Guide to Faerun, and as far as i'm aware is only printed in that book, hence haven't been made setting neutral. Granted, given the nature of Sigil it could be argued that both Faerun and Eberron could meet up there (although, as per your mentions of Eberron's planar issues towards Cocus Ferrara, calling the question of Eberron linking up with a prestige class that hails from Sigil) but still, at the very least there's an inconsistency there.Responses, similarly spoilered.

As I've argued (with you I think) in the past, the Dragon Magic subraces are explicitly stated to be identical to their PHB counterparts except in the ways that Dragon Magic says they're not. Identical means identical, and Dragon Magic makes no mention of whether or not they're able to have dragonmarks. Argue about the RAI all you like, but by RAW it is abundantly clear that dragonmarks can manifest in the dragonblood subraces.

I'd say that Lesser Planetouched should be in the same boat as the Eberron Education feat. There's nothing in particular tying the variant rule to Faerun. I'm of the opinion that things should only be viewed as setting specific if it's absolutely unavoidable, like a regional feat, dragonmark, or PrC specific to a certain organization or deity. This is more of a grey area, of course, and you're free to rule to the contrary when you judge.

[Piggy Knowles]

Thanks as always for judging, Ponies! Always a pleasure to read what you have to say, whether you're a judge or a contestant.

[Sian]

As I've argued (with you I think) in the past, the Dragon Magic subraces are explicitly stated to be identical to their PHB counterparts except in the ways that Dragon Magic says they're not. Identical means identical, and Dragon Magic makes no mention of whether or not they're able to have dragonmarks. Argue about the RAI all you like, but by RAW it is abundantly clear that dragonmarks can manifest in the dragonblood subraces.

I'd say that Lesser Planetouched should be in the same boat as the Eberron Education feat. There's nothing in particular tying the variant rule to Faerun. I'm of the opinion that things should only be viewed as setting specific if it's absolutely unavoidable, like a regional feat, dragonmark, or PrC specific to a certain organization or deity. This is more of a grey area, of course, and you're free to rule to the contrary when you judge.


Yes, we had a similar argument in ... Junkyard XII i think it was?

I guess its a question of Primary source/Secondary source and which one you deem most important ... In my mind the primary source is Eberron books as its them that have setting specific infomation (Dragonmarks), while i wouldn't except Dragon Magic which is a setting neutral book to go "It's like this, except for in Setting XYZ where it work in these ways and ABC where it works in another way, and 123 where it doesn't work at all". Also a very plausible reason why Dragon Magic races wasn't singled out was that PgtE was released in January 06, while Dragon Magic was in September 06

[Piggy Knowles]

I could have sworn we'd done Blackguard already. Seems not. I'm not hugely enthused at the prospect, but I'd probably cook something.

I believe Blackguard was done in the old version of the contest, back on the Brilliant Gameologists boards.

[Heliomance]

Disputes!



Thanks for judging Muggins. I've no real disputes, but felt I might as well clarify something you specifically asked about.


Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but it looks like you've taken an extra two feats at level 2. Please explain. -0.5Knowledge Devotion comes from trading in the Knowledge Domain, Incarnum Spellshaping is a bonus feat from the Incarnum Domain granted power, and Extra Turning is a bonus feat from the Undeath Domain granted power.


I completely blanked on the Knowledge Devotion prerequisite. I guess I should have went with Educated instead like I was thinking. I don't even know how I missed that:smallredface:.

As far as the power goes the build does have access to basic dragonfire inspiration and would want the usual items for inspire courage optimization giving it some more damage potential through that. While I do admit the damage is low compared to some builds it should be plenty, especially if you can pull off a sneak attack.

As far as improved and greater two weapon fighting, the build qualifies through use of the flaw or the gloves of the balanced hand. I did not take darkstalker deliberately as I don't see this as a primarily sneaky build but I do see why that may have potentially helped.

The background was put together pretty hastily but the main idea is that the build joined the blood of Vol in order to get more information and potentially allies against the silver hand.


Thanks for judging, PONIES! Just a minor query:


Since your manifester level is 4 at ECL9, you don't qualify for Metamorphic Transfer (-0.5).


At ECL 9, Alphonse's ML is actually 7, as Ebon Saint is boosting his Psion levels, not his Psychic Rogue levels. (Sorry if this wasn't clear from the build stub - but you can verify this by looking at the power selection and PP portions of my build.)



At every level above 1st level, you gain additional power points per day, an increase in manifester level, and access to new powers as if you had also gained a level in whatever manifesting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level. You do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If you had more than one manifesting class before becoming an ebon saint, you must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.

Four levels in Psion advanced by Ebon Saint 2-4 gives me ML 7, and therefore I qualify for Metamorphic Transfer (which requires ML 5).

(And one more Eliphas Levi quote for the road: "The Great Work is, before all things, the creation of man by himself.")

A reminder people - character names in messge titles when you send disputes please!

[WhamBamSam]

Thanks for judging Ponies!



Yes, we had a similar argument in ... Junkyard XII i think it was?

I guess its a question of Primary source/Secondary source and which one you deem most important ... In my mind the primary source is Eberron books as its them that have setting specific infomation (Dragonmarks), while i wouldn't except Dragon Magic which is a setting neutral book to go "It's like this, except for in Setting XYZ where it work in these ways and ABC where it works in another way, and 123 where it doesn't work at all". Also a very plausible reason why Dragon Magic races wasn't singled out was that PgtE was released in January 06, while Dragon Magic was in September 06The thing is, I don't see there being a disagreement between the sources at all. PGtE says that dragonmarks manifest in the PHB races, and the Dragon Magic races say that they're identical to those races. There's some evidence of intent for the disagreement to exist, I'll grant, but as written there isn't one.

[The Viscount]

Many thanks to Ponies and Muggins! Your judging is greatly appreciated.

A question on placing. I know ties in the medaling spots have come up before. Is there an official ruling on how to proceed? Like in this instance, is there a bronze medallist, or do we cap at top 3 and leave it there?

[Jeriah]

While i could see Serene Guardian being an interesting SI, Solar Channeler have to little to offer (and, probably, to strong casting) to be a SI
My thoughts on Solar Channeler are that its signature ability explicitly removes your ability to cast spells, use class features, or use items/equipment you carry, it outright swaps out your body for a different one, so any ongoing buffs/effects don't apply, and it burns both your swift action and 1 use of Turn Undead each round that it's active (at least until level 10). I can't even see how you'd make that work, and with that being the class's only real class feature, using it is mandatory to gain points for use of the Secret Ingredient. High amounts of casting progression aside, I don't see how the class wouldn't make for an interesting and unique round.

[daremetoidareyo]

My thoughts on Solar Channeler are that its signature ability explicitly removes your ability to cast spells, use class features, or use items/equipment you carry, it outright swaps out your body for a different one, so any ongoing buffs/effects don't apply, and it burns both your swift action and 1 use of Turn Undead each round that it's active (at least until level 10). I can't even see how you'd make that work, and with that being the class's only real class feature, using it is mandatory to gain points for use of the Secret Ingredient. High amounts of casting progression aside, I don't see how the class wouldn't make for an interesting and unique round.

There's ways to make that work. Bunch of ideas just hit me like a truck.

[Muggins]

Firstly, my thanks to our chefs and to the other judges. We had a good lot this round.

Now, to the builds.

The Brothers Leech
Thanks, I totally blanked on the bonus feats from your domains. I figured it was something really obvious.
+1 modification to Elegance score.
New Score: 15.75

Silver Scourge
You may have dragonfire inspiration, but you only have two uses per day as base and only get a pithy +1d6 damage. You may be able to improve your abilities through items, but so may anyone else - that's why the judgings need to assume no items. Your ability to pull off sneak attack is terribly limited by the fact that you're throwing your weapons, which means that you can't flank, and by your complete lack of other enablers (feinting, for example). Consistency is the lifeblood of a good build, and while you do get a lot of attacks per round there's nothing here to actually make those attacks count. On another note, your lack of Darkstalker is odd for a build with so many ranks in Hide and Move Silently - you're a Thief of Life, after all, and an adventuring one at that.
No modification to Power score.

As for your Two-Weapon Fighting, given that the use of flaws in this competition is worth a harsh penalty, I went for the lighter penalty in your reliance on items (the Gloves of the Master Hand). If this item doesn't exist in the game, then the build just doesn't work - and if the DM rules that you need to take the feat to qualify for the other feats, then it doesn't work there either. You could've just sucked it up and not taken Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, since your attacks at +8 probably aren't going to be hitting much at the later levels anyways.
No modification to your Elegance score.
No change to score. Ruling stands.


Your Standings
Standings After Two Judges (Mid-Disputes):
EntryPlaceTotalAverage
Duran MublenGold32.54.0625
Alphonse Louise ConstantSilver324
Korraneleus d'OrienSilver324
The Brothers LeechFourth31.253.78125
Vera Tolman d'GhallandaFifth313.875
Cocus FerreaSixth28.253.53125
SootSeventh283.5
Vorick HellakanusEighth21.252.65625
Silver ScourgeNinth18.52.3125

[WhamBamSam]

My thoughts on Solar Channeler are that its signature ability explicitly removes your ability to cast spells, use class features, or use items/equipment you carry, it outright swaps out your body for a different one, so any ongoing buffs/effects don't apply, and it burns both your swift action and 1 use of Turn Undead each round that it's active (at least until level 10). I can't even see how you'd make that work, and with that being the class's only real class feature, using it is mandatory to gain points for use of the Secret Ingredient. High amounts of casting progression aside, I don't see how the class wouldn't make for an interesting and unique round.


There's ways to make that work. Bunch of ideas just hit me like a truck.I'm not sure the bit about ongoing buffs is true. I think it'd require some adjudication as to how things that are more consequences of class features than features themselves (like spells, or, say, soulmelds that you shaped/bound while out of Solar form) work when in you change into a Solar.

I also have ideas, but they seem like others would come up with them. Apart from anything else, I don't think there are more than 3 ways to meet the Turn Undead prereq that allow you to complete the class pre-epic (up to some minor variations). The first of those is obvious as the intended entry, the second seems obvious to me for various reasons, and the third most likely involves one of the most well-known and contested cheeses in 3.5 (said cheese could be avoided, but I'm not sure there's sufficient incentive to do so).

[The Viscount]

I wouldn't be happy with Solar Channeler, but it does seem like the sort of thing we're going to have to get to eventually (like Shining Blade (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMUEqRx-C-g)).

Serene Guardian I find more intriguing. There's a little more to do here, a bit more of a defined scaffolding.

I am equally surprised we haven't done blackguard. I would always be down for such a round.

Unless our next round is Cloud Anchorite of course.

[Muggins]

I don't know if there would be enough variation for Solar Channeler to actually make it a good entry. It doesn't even do anything for the first four levels.

All you have to work with, basically, is having more attacks per round (like Divine Power, but worse because you have none of your other abilities), having a fly speed (which you could gain in any number of ways), and having swift healing spells. I'd dare say that it'd make about as good a secret ingredient as Duelist - which is to say, not at all.

[Heliomance]

I'm leaning towards having the insane skydiving dwarves soon. I've had a few ideas on how to make them marginally less terrible!

There are more disputes to come, as soon as I get on a proper computer.

[Sian]

Shouldn't the next couple of SIs be a setting neutrals? ... of the last 5 contests (including this) there have been 2 Eberron specific and 2 Faerûn specific, and while i don't particularly care (even though i'm much, much more at home in Faerûn), there's some that explicitly don't want setting specifics, and IIRC they tend to have a somewhat lower entry count.

[WhamBamSam]

I'm leaning towards having the insane skydiving dwarves soon. I've had a few ideas on how to make them marginally less terrible! My body is ready.

Going setting-neutral would be reasonable if people are clamoring for it, seeing as 5 or 6 of the last 8 have been setting specific-ish, though I don't really sweat the settings enough to personally care all that much.

[Sian]

[...]though I don't really sweat the settings enough to personally care all that much.

I don't care overly much either (although Eberron specific dishes is trickier for me by default as I'm most at home in Faerûn of any of the recognized settings), but I'm aware that some people are ...

Or if it has to be setting specific, how 'bout picking something from Dragonlance just to be annoying :smallcool:

[Jeriah]

I don't care overly much either (although Eberron specific dishes is trickier for me by default as I'm most at home in Faerûn of any of the recognized settings), but I'm aware that some people are ...

Or if it has to be setting specific, how 'bout picking something from Dragonlance just to be annoying :smallcool:

The problem there is that all the really interesting material is 3rd party. Only DCS is WotC. That said, anything from DCS would probably make for a decent secret ingredient.

[Sian]

The problem there is that all the really interesting material is 3rd party. Only DCS is WotC. That said, anything from DCS would probably make for a decent secret ingredient.

I know ... A Legendary Tactician with the ruling that no funny business is to be done with Leadership (maybe just blanket it with a 'no cohort') could be an interesting one.

[OMG PONIES]

I'm leaning towards having the insane skydiving dwarves soon. I've had a few ideas on how to make them marginally less terrible!

Do it; I dare you.


There are more disputes to come, as soon as I get on a proper computer.

In the meantime, how about I respond to the ones already brought? Not sure if Silver Scourge's dispute is directed at me, but I'll assume it was. Not only does it help to include your character name, but which judge(s) you're disputing :smallwink:.


I completely blanked on the Knowledge Devotion prerequisite. I guess I should have went with Educated instead like I was thinking. I don't even know how I missed that.

Indeed, at least one other build in this competition used the Education feat (and there are a handful of other ways to pick up the class skill aside from Knowledge Devotion). Scoring stands.


As far as the power goes the build does have access to basic dragonfire inspiration and would want the usual items for inspire courage optimization giving it some more damage potential through that. While I do admit the damage is low compared to some builds it should be plenty, especially if you can pull off a sneak attack.

Your build is judged as presented. Unfortunately, that presentation didn't go over any items to boost inspire courage. And your "basic" dragonfire inspiration is exactly that--+1d6 energy damage that can be used 2 times/day. Overall, the offensive oomph of this build is still low, which was part of my initial scoring; you haven't convinced me that I've missed any initial oomph presented. Scoring stands.


As far as improved and greater two weapon fighting, the build qualifies through use of the flaw or the gloves of the balanced hand. I did not take darkstalker deliberately as I don't see this as a primarily sneaky build but I do see why that may have potentially helped.

I think this one was directed at Muggins, since I recognized the qualification via item or feat (but I wish you would have gone with one as a definite answer). As it was, being unsure whether to penalize Elegance (for a feat) or Power (for item reliance), I went with the item since no flaw was presented in the build. Scoring stands.


The background was put together pretty hastily but the main idea is that the build joined the blood of Vol in order to get more information and potentially allies against the silver hand.

I'm still curious--is that the Church of the Silver Flame, or a different order you've created? Scoring stands.


At ECL 9, Alphonse's ML is actually 7, as Ebon Saint is boosting his Psion levels, not his Psychic Rogue levels. (Sorry if this wasn't clear from the build stub - but you can verify this by looking at the power selection and PP portions of my build.)

Of course it is. How embarrassing for me. +1 to Elegance.

Your Standings
Final[?] Scores After Two Judges (Mid-Disputes)
EntryPlaceTotalAverage
Alphonse Louise ConstantGold334.125
Duran MublenSilver32.54.0625
Korraneleus d'OrienBronze324
The Brothers LeechFourth31.253.90625
Vera Tolman d'GhallandaFifth313.875
Cocus FerreaSixth28.253.53125
SootSeventh283.5
Vorick HellakanusEighth21.252.65625
Silver ScourgeNinth18.52.3125

Still anybody's race...I'm excited to see what other disputes Heliomance has in store for us!

[Muggins]

Still anybody's race...I'm excited to see what other disputes Heliomance has in store for us!

I'm not. :smalleek:

[Heliomance]

Dispute time!



Hi Muggins, thanks a lot for judging !

only a few remarks on my side :

Power - without the Darkstalker feat you're likely to be seen by many of the extraplanar threats you'll be thieving around/from/for
I feel Darkstalker is more about campaigns in the Underdark, personnally - it's why I only used Mantle of Darkness in Hellbreaker to enhance hiding (it was more approriate for Sigil).

Elegance - You don't qualify for Planar Touchstone at level 12, as you don't have 8 ranks in Knowledge (The Planes). +0
Ooops, I missed this one, my bad. I will only say that you can update skill atribution at level 12 easily with no impacts though - there were 10 ranks for Disable Device at this level, easy to take 3 ranks for Knowledge (The Planes) instead - and do the reverse at level 18.

It'd be nice if you noted down your maneuvers (such as the one Shadow Hand maneuver you need to qualify for Assassin's Stance) or your choice of school for Swordsage (so that you qualify for Headshot). +0
They are noted down at the end of 'Design Notes' / 'CR 5' section.

That's all for me :smallsmile:




Hi Ponies, thanks a lot for judging ! You are a real blood :smallwink:

Power - For swordsage and spellthief alike, more levels means more power. A 1-level dip in either are good, but could have been much better. Also, for a stealthy character you've got telepathic static…but a lack of Darkstalker means that a riding dog can still sniff you out (-0.5).
Well spellthief grants interesting class features - but at a slower rate than Hellbreaker in fact. More swordsage felt not ok to me because Tome of Battle is all about wuxia flavor - and I needed Planescape flavor there (scythes & sickles or planar powers are not in scope in ToB). Otherwise I feel Darkstalker is more about campaigns in the Underdark, personnally.

Elegance - Without an alignment listed, it's hard to tell whether you qualify for Hellbreaker & Gatecrasher. Also, I don't see any mention of speaking Infernal, which is required for Hellbreaker (-0.5).
Argh - well, I sent a late update to Heliomance the last day - where I erased this in the title by mistake :

Lesser Tiefling, Chaotic Evil Medium Humanoid (planetouched, native from the Outlands, extraplanar on other planes)

Otherwise, you are right, I did not list languages anywhere, my bad. It felt too obvious to me that a tiefling in the City of Doors with max Intelligence would have no issues there, I will do better next time !

Unfortunately, you lack the required ranks in Knowledge: planes to qualify for Planar Touchstone (-0.5).
Ooops, I missed this one, my bad. I will only say that you can update skill atribution at level 12 easily with no impacts though - there were 10 ranks for Disable Device at this level, easy to take 3 ranks for Knowledge (The Planes) instead - and do the reverse at level 18.

Elegance - Cross-setting material factors in heavily here (-0.5).
Power - your entire build is reliant upon the DM allowing the use of Lesser Planetouched races. Without that, you'd be an outsider and unable to qualify for the secret ingredient (-0.5).
I feel a little like you are penalising my choice to go Planescape instead of Eberron twice there ? I don't think lesser planetouched races would be a problem in Planescape campaigns - from my point of view it's even better than default in this case.

Use of the Secret Ingredient - Had as much attention been placed into synergizing the class features as was placed into the planar flavor, you would have seen some points here (-0.5).
I agree - my choice was to do a Planar Thief able to steal a lot of things - a kind of debuffer in a team, not a standalone assassin. But I feel that this Planar Thief concept cannot work without the secret ingredient - what better proof that the secret ingredient is key ? :smalltongue:



Thanks for judging, PONIES.

I had a few questions:

I too lament not being able to have finished Blade of Orien. Orien's Fury is indeed a sweet prize, but it wouldn't have been possible without sacrificing 2 levels of the secret ingredient, in which case I surely would've been penalized for that instead.

Dragons often interbreed. It's certainly possible for someone to have mixed draconic heritage. Plus humans breed with everything, so one who mixed with one kind of dragon may have their line mix with another down the road. Plus change shape. After all, look at Sigismundo Celine.


I really appreciated your judgings. My disputes are mostly making sure that I made things clear and that there was no misunderstanding.

For Muggins
On Gloves of the Poisoned Soul: I did not mean to imply that you were to use Dhurinda's Touch on the Gloves when I mentioned them together, I had meant asking your DM whether you could use Dhurinda's Touch on an unrelated poison and deliver both with the same touch attack so you could use your move action. As for using Dhurinda's Trick on the Gloves, while they aren't categorized as an ingested poison, I was working under the idea that their status as a contact poison meant they could also be used as an ingested poison. I can't find any explicit statement to that effect, so I understand if you let the ruling stand.
The Gloves are also just meant to augment the build, not necessarily synergize with everything Black Dog does, using the Wis damage to reduce spot/listen checks as well as stack the odds for Mortifying Attack.

On harvesting from your familiar: Could you clarify what's iffy? I thought it watertight rules-wise for borrow vigor, the only vagueness being how many temp hp you get back. Did you mean whether a DM would accept it?

On dipping entry classes: My reason for only taking one level of each was twofold. Firstly, I wanted to enter the SI as quickly as possible while things like immunity to fear were still worthwhile. Secondly, Assassin levels, in addition to the presented benefits, stack with Black Dog for increasing Death Attack DC, a vital thing to keep it useful. I found Lost in the Crowd a satisfactory replacement for ghost step, and it also meant I didn't have to invest in Wisdom.

On death attack: I really should have clarified this one. I was going off of the rules as presented in rules compendium page 73, when it says that any dead creature has -10 hp. My thinking was that as a death attack is a sneak attack, and the now dead creature has -10 hp, so that sneak attack reduced them to it, so would trigger steal vitality and steal immortality. I fully plan to keep borrow vigor capped off by using my familiar, since the effects don't stack.
For Ponies
On cross setting material:Are you referring to the dung snake? It's just an animal with no particular ties to Forgotten Realms, which is why I hadn't really considered it an issue. Unless you were talking about something I missed?

On Gloves of the Poisoned Soul: When Dhurinda's Trick on the Gloves, while they aren't categorized as an ingested poison, I was working under the idea that their status as a contact poison meant they could also be used as an ingested poison. I can't find any explicit statement to that effect, so I understand if you let the ruling stand. I probably didn't make very clear that the gloves aren't just for dhurinda's trick, but also for general debuffing to reduce spot/listen checks and up the effective DC for Mortifying Attack.

On death attack: I really should have clarified this one. I was going off of the rules as presented in rules compendium page 73, when it says that any dead creature has -10 hp. My thinking was that as a death attack is a sneak attack, and the now dead creature has -10 hp, so that sneak attack reduced them to it, so would trigger steal vitality and steal immortality. I fully plan to keep borrow vigor capped off by using my familiar, since the effects don't stack.


To both judges


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.


I took this to include things like inspire courage items and useful wands. If I should be more specific next time let me know.

I do understand your judging and I definitely have learned a lot about what to do next competition:smallsmile:


To Muggins:


You say I have a low will by level 20. I disagree! At high levels (the moment you say my will defense is lacking) Duran can invest essentia in Cerulean Will for a +4 bonus to will saves. And yes, he has this essentia; just ask Steal Vitality. In other words, Duran's will save modifier is +9, more than for example the Silver Scrounge, who you didn't penalize for having low Will.

I don't see how I can 'have a host of tricks available to me' while at the same time 'lack versatility'. Duran can fight, sneak, summon expendable scouts/trap triggerers, craft poison, practice a honest trade, use magical devices, turn diseases into scouts, detect Good creatures, and the list goes on. He's able to fulfill several party roles, depending on what is necessary. And yet you say he lacks versatility?

Also, my cancerous companion can use my SLA's from ECL 5 on. You must have misread.

[Muggins]

Soot:
Mantle of Darkness won't protect you from anything with scent, blindsense, blindsight, or Temorsense though. Mantle of Darkness is, itself, a more restricted version of Hide in Plain sight - it doesn't actually do anything to protect you, it just lets you hide while being observed by creatures with Darkvision. That being said, you're focusing on the flavour, and while Darkstalker is pretty setting-neutral (in the underdark/surface/extraplanar/underwater/etc sense) I can understand why you wouldn't want to use it.
No modification to Power.

Your point in regards to skill ranks is noted, but it is my impression that judges are to grade builds as they are presented. It can be easy to point out simple modifications to the build so that its feat and class allocation is legal, but grading as such could set a precedent for modifying builds after the submission date; errata isn't our goal here.
My bad on missing the maneuver and focus school information, though.
+0.5 modification to Elegance score.
New score: 16.5/20

Vera Tolman:
In regards to combining Dhurinda's Trick and the Gloves, I believe you said this:

Because it’s a poison, you can move it using Dhurinda’s trick into food and drink
Which is false advertising. Dhurinda's Trick only works with ingested poison, and you even state in the next sentence that the Gloves are a contact poison. Regardless of whether your DM would allow it - something which you don't state or imply in your submission - this is, essentially, what Elegance is for. Same goes for using Dhurinda's Touch with the Gloves, as (by RAW) they are two completely different abilities. It is my impression that it is the role of the judges to establish an even playing field, and as I like to approach rules from a RAW perspective I make rulings accordingly. It's really not in my interests to give a build leeway for doing something that'd require DM fiat when another build might achieve similar levels of power or functionality wholly within the rules as-is.
No modification to Elegance.

As for the (quite literal) familiar abuse, I suppose the biggest issue is with the DM allowing it. It likely wouldn't be worth a deduction on its own, but when you're already looking for DM fiat with Dhurinda's Trick and Dhurinda's Touch it seems like just another structural weakness in the build. I don't know what the RAW is on a familiar leaving its master, or what the chances are of you accidentally killing it via your sneak attack damage (which would leave you without a familiar for a year), but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
No modification to Elegance.

A good explanation for why you chose to advance Assassin rather than Spellthief (which I called Rogue in my judgings by accident. Whoops!) or Ninja (which would've been redundant), though the point stands with regards to your numerous classes and two dips. Good find from the Rules Compendium; I'm not sure if it's really as simple as that, or whether Death Attack can really be considered to lower someone to -10 HP just because being dead is equivalent to having -10 HP, but I'll go for it. Consider it a consolation prize for your losses in Elegance.
+0.25 modification to Use of the Secret Ingredient.
New score: 17.5/20

While the reasons given by Vera Tolman could be applies to Brother Vorick Hellakanus, the penalties associated with his UotSI (In the 'use of abilities' section) are too great for it to impact his score.

Silver Scourge:
Generic equipment, from my reading, refers to items that anyone can use. Hence, stat-boosters and cloaks of resistance. Bardic music is, by its nature as a class feature, not an ability that most characters possess; as such, those items which would improve bardic music cannot be considered 'generic equipment.'
No modification to Power(?).
No change of score. Ruling stands.

Duran:
Some good questions here. Apologies.

You're right in regards to your Will save, but that's more because of Divine Grace than Cerulean Will. The Thief of Life's individual abilities don't stack, so Borrow Vigor will only ever get you an extra 1 essentia - and the only ways you have to trigger sneak attack are a) attacking with massive advantage against a weak target (a non-argument), b) using Cloak of Deception (Which you only get 1/encounter), or c) reducing them to 0 in ability scores other than constitution (at which point the combat's over, so it's a non-factor). It just doesn't seem like a reliable way to handle things, especially when at high levels you might have to deal with numerous Will-based save-or-die spells.

In regards to my treatment of the Silver Scourge (and Koranelleus), they at least had base Will saves higher than a level 20 fighter. Although the Silver Scourge, for one, has bigger issues with Power to deal with.

Lastly, in regards to your Cancer Mage powers; no, I didn't misread. Your Cancerous Companion can use your SLAs and spells but, without a reach of its own (until level 9), is incapable of performing the touch attacks necessary to use either your Contagion or Poison SLAs. If it didn't need reach or if it could already use your reach, then it wouldn't be outlined as an ability gained at level 9. It does give you a handy 50% pseudo-concealment against mind-affecting spells and effects, though, to be fair.
+0.5 modification to Power.
New score: 17.5/20


Your Standings
Final[?] Scores After Two Judges (Mid-Disputes)
EntryPlaceTotalAverage
Alphonse Louise ConstantTied for Gold!334.125
Duran MublenTied for Gold!334.125
Korraneleus d'OrienBronze324
The Brothers LeechFourth31.253.90625
Vera Tolman d'GhallandaFourth31.253.90625
SootSixth28.53.5625
Cocus FerreaSeventh28.253.53125
Vorick HellakanusEighth21.252.65625
Silver ScourgeNinth18.52.3125

It looks like we might just be left with two winners this round!

As an aside, my vote for "Least Offensive Build" goes to Cocus Ferrea. :smallbiggrin:

[OMG PONIES]

And now, it's time for...the Lightning Round!

http://45.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_loh11bJvMB1qir83io1_500.gif


Well spellthief grants interesting class features - but at a slower rate than Hellbreaker in fact. More swordsage felt not ok to me because Tome of Battle is all about wuxia flavor - and I needed Planescape flavor there (scythes & sickles or planar powers are not in scope in ToB). Otherwise I feel Darkstalker is more about campaigns in the Underdark, personnally.
On the spellthief front, I couldn't agree more...which is why, personally, I think you'd have been more powerful to go without that dip. My point on that class was that, at least to be powerful, you've got to take a lot of it or none at all. I also agree somewhat about the swordsage flavor, though it can easily be refluffed to feel more like a Lesser Tiefling tapping into his powers of darkness and such. Again, my point was around power and not flavor--more swordsage (or taking a dip as late as possible) means higher initiator level and better maneuvers. When it comes to Darkstalker, again I agree with your flavor comments...but that's essentially become a feat tax for sneaky builds. Since the first comment of my Power criteria is not about flavor, but power breakpoints and feat taxes, scoring stands.


Argh - well, I sent a late update to Heliomance the last day - where I erased this in the title by mistake :

Lesser Tiefling, Chaotic Evil Medium Humanoid (planetouched, native from the Outlands, extraplanar on other planes)

Otherwise, you are right, I did not list languages anywhere, my bad. It felt too obvious to me that a tiefling in the City of Doors with max Intelligence would have no issues there, I will do better next time!
I agree, it was an obvious assumption that a Tiefling in Sigl would know some Infernal (and would be either CE or CN at best), but you know what they say about assuming...include those in the build next time and you'll be right as rain. Scoring stands.


Ooops, I missed this one, my bad. I will only say that you can update skill atribution at level 12 easily with no impacts though - there were 10 ranks for Disable Device at this level, easy to take 3 ranks for Knowledge (The Planes) instead - and do the reverse at level 18.
Quite easy to fix. Unfortunately, my criteria is built around judging exactly as presented, since fixing the simple mistake of one chef can easily snowball into fixing the class qualifications of another, the gear of a third, and the class breakdown of a fourth. Scoring stands.



Elegance - Cross-setting material factors in heavily here (-0.5).
Power - your entire build is reliant upon the DM allowing the use of Lesser Planetouched races. Without that, you'd be an outsider and unable to qualify for the secret ingredient (-0.5).
I feel a little like you are penalising my choice to go Planescape instead of Eberron twice there ? I don't think lesser planetouched races would be a problem in Planescape campaigns - from my point of view it's even better than default in this case.
Neither of these deductions were actually about Planescape. The Elegance penalty is for the use of any setting-specific material outside of Eberron (Player's Guide to Faerun). On the other hand, the Power penalty is for the specific reliance upon the use of a variant rule within that book, listed in the Appendix beginning on page 190. This can make a lot of work for the DM, especially pesky lines like:

If you use these lesser racial versions in your campaign, you should use them across the board—for NPCs as well as player characters. Thus, a party that includes a lesser drow should never encounter drow from the Monster Manual in your game. Instead, all the drow in your campaign should be lesser drow.
While this is starting to sound more like an Elegance issue, here's where it becomes about power: if the DM said "I suppose Player's Guide to Faerun is okay, but not those races," then you'd have to play a regular Tiefling. Aside from the LA (which is minor), you'd now be an outsider and thus unable to become a Thief of Life. Because of that, you may lose a lot of class features (which is a whole separate Elegance debate) or just be unable to enter the class in the first place (leaving you driving down an unfinished road). Either way, your power suffers if that race isn't allowed. Scoring stands.


I agree - my choice was to do a Planar Thief able to steal a lot of things - a kind of debuffer in a team, not a standalone assassin. But I feel that this Planar Thief concept cannot work without the secret ingredient - what better proof that the secret ingredient is key ?
Indeed, Thief of Life lended a ton of flavor and ability to your planar thief--that's why you received a bonus in my last bullet point under UoSI. This bullet, however, was looking for you to do something with the mechanics of the class features themselves that the other entries couldn't do. We had some entries killing their own familiars for essentia or using the class features to fuel up their power points, etc. While I loved the overall flavor of Soot, there weren't any unique mechanical synergies on display. Scoring Stands


I too lament not being able to have finished Blade of Orien. Orien's Fury is indeed a sweet prize, but it wouldn't have been possible without sacrificing 2 levels of the secret ingredient, in which case I surely would've been penalized for that instead.
That's not so sure. If you peek at the second bullet point I've got under UoSI, you'll see that I allow for builds that don't finish the Secret Ingredient if they provide a compelling reason why doing so is a better use. If you had presented a case for why finishing Blade of Orien beats immunity to death effects, 5 more feet of Lifesense, +1d6 sneak attack, and Steal Immortality, you could have avoided a deduction. However, Steal Immortality was basically the star of your show. I get why you chose to finish Thief of Life instead of Blade of Orien--I applaud you for it--but there's no way around the fact that it makes for a build with less raw mechanical power. Ours is always a balancing act, debating what to give and what to take. Scoring stands.


Dragons often interbreed. It's certainly possible for someone to have mixed draconic heritage. Plus humans breed with everything, so one who mixed with one kind of dragon may have their line mix with another down the road. Plus change shape. After all, look at Sigismundo Celine.
Whether dragons interbreed is not being questioned. What I'm questioning is how kindly a wide variety of DMs would take to the idea of a character with Silver & Gold dragon mixed blood. Since there was some debate in this very thread about whether dragonblood races can even qualify for dragonmarks, I'd say we've already started down a path toward Elegance questions. When we bring in a variety of dragons it's not that it can't happen...it's just that it skirts ever-closer to things like a Half-Celestial Half-Troll Half-Dragon Halfling. Scoring stands.


On cross setting material:Are you referring to the dung snake? It's just an animal with no particular ties to Forgotten Realms, which is why I hadn't really considered it an issue. Unless you were talking about something I missed?

The deduction was for the use of Serpent Kingdoms and Champions of Ruin alike. I'm less concerned with the use of creatures/characters tied to specific Faerun names or locations, and more concerned with the fact that some DMs will disallow Forgotten Realms sourcebooks in their Eberron campaigns (and vice versa). Scoring stands.


On Gloves of the Poisoned Soul: When Dhurinda's Trick on the Gloves, while they aren't categorized as an ingested poison, I was working under the idea that their status as a contact poison meant they could also be used as an ingested poison. I can't find any explicit statement to that effect, so I understand if you let the ruling stand. I probably didn't make very clear that the gloves aren't just for dhurinda's trick, but also for general debuffing to reduce spot/listen checks and up the effective DC for Mortifying Attack.

I understood your logic, but unfortunately most poisons in D&D are lumped firmly into one category. Much like I could choose to slash someone with a short sword but it's only listed as piercing. Because of these categories, some DMs may fight you. Under elegance, I try to snag anything that might cause headaches. Scoring stands.


On death attack: I really should have clarified this one. I was going off of the rules as presented in rules compendium page 73, when it says that any dead creature has -10 hp. My thinking was that as a death attack is a sneak attack, and the now dead creature has -10 hp, so that sneak attack reduced them to it, so would trigger steal vitality and steal immortality. I fully plan to keep borrow vigor capped off by using my familiar, since the effects don't stack.

How about that! I had never seen that particular ruling, but it does clarify once and for all. My comment under Elegance will be removed (but the score will stand for the other items in that bullet). Being able to trigger your Thief of Life skills with a Death Attack, though, is worth a boost. +0.5 to Use of the Secret Ingredient.



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.
I took this to include things like inspire courage items and useful wands. If I should be more specific next time let me know.

I do understand your judging and I definitely have learned a lot about what to do next competition

Yes, please be more specific. "Useful generics" is for items like food, clothing, basic non-magical weapons, etc. If you're looking to leverage some magic items, please be sure to tell us which ones and just how badly you need them. In recent rounds, the vox populi has tended away from listing/using any specific gear so as not to be deducted for reliance upon it, but your mileage may vary.


Vera Tolman:
New score: 17.5/20

Somehow I'm getting 17.25 as your new score for her. Care to double-check my math?

Your Standings
Final[?] Scores After Two Judges (After Disputes)
EntryPlaceTotalAverage
Alphonse Louise ConstantTied for Gold!334.125
Duran MublenTied for Gold!334.125
Korraneleus d'OrienBronze324
Vera Tolman d'GhallandaFourth31.753.90625
The Brothers LeechFifth31.253.90625
SootSixth28.53.5625
Cocus FerreaSeventh28.253.53125
Vorick HellakanusEighth21.252.65625
Silver ScourgeNinth18.52.3125

Since it seems like all disputes are in and dust is settling, I've got to put in my Honorable Mention vote for Soot. Nailed the Planescape flavor as well as the whole vibe of a Thief of Life.

[Venger]

Good shooting!

Thanks for your speedy resolution.

When there is a tie don't we still do all the medals? I thought that's what we did in the past when this came up

[Heliomance]

Good shooting!

Thanks for your speedy resolution.

When there is a tie don't we still do all the medals? I thought that's what we did in the past when this came up

No, the way Ponies has it is right. There are two people in joint first place, there is no second place (as the top two scores are both first), then the next down is the third best, so gets bronze.

Ponies, that rule about dead creatures always being at -10 HP is in the PHB as well. I think it's tucked away in the rules for Death effects though, or somewhere stupid like that.

[Muggins]

Somehow I'm getting 17.25 as your new score for her. Care to double-check my math?

Since it seems like all disputes are in and dust is settling, I've got to put in my Honorable Mention vote for Soot. Nailed the Planescape flavor as well as the whole vibe of a Thief of Life.
It looks like an extra 0.5 slipped in there somehow, 0.25 of which was from an erroneous Power score. Dunno where the other half came from - all the other scores add up!

I'm inclined to give Soot my honourable mention, too. Definitely the most unique take this round.

Your Standings
Final[?] Scores After Two Judges (After Disputes)
EntryPlaceTotalAverage
Alphonse Louise ConstantTied for Gold!334.125
Duran MublenTied for Gold!334.125
Korraneleus d'OrienBronze324
Vera Tolman d'GhallandaFourth31.53.9375
The Brothers LeechFifth31.253.90625
SootSixth28.53.5625
Cocus FerreaSeventh28.253.53125
Vorick HellakanusEighth21.252.65625
Silver ScourgeNinth18.52.3125

[WhamBamSam]

Well, that would appear to be that. Do we call this one, then?

[Venger]

No, the way Ponies has it is right. There are two people in joint first place, there is no second place (as the top two scores are both first), then the next down is the third best, so gets bronze.

Ponies, that rule about dead creatures always being at -10 HP is in the PHB as well. I think it's tucked away in the rules for Death effects though, or somewhere stupid like that.
Huh. Ok. I guess it's been a while.

It's under the conditions summary for"dead. "


Well, that would appear to be that. Do we call this one, then?
Yeah. We were just waiting to see if it was a math or transcription error for vera to see whether she would share bronze so that's it.

Can't wait for the next round.

[OMG PONIES]

No, the way Ponies has it is right.

Just keep repeating that like a mantra.


Ponies, that rule about dead creatures always being at -10 HP is in the PHB as well. I think it's tucked away in the rules for Death effects though, or somewhere stupid like that.

What, now you expect me to do crazy things like read the rules? Sheesh, the nerve of you people...


It looks like an extra 0.5 slipped in there somehow, 0.25 of which was from an erroneous Power score. Dunno where the other half came from - all the other scores add up!

All good--math wins the day and the spreadsheet sighs contentedly.

[Darrin]

Ponies, that rule about dead creatures always being at -10 HP is in the PHB as well. I think it's tucked away in the rules for Death effects though, or somewhere stupid like that.

I was hoping someone would try to use the Rageclaws soulmeld to extend the threshold for death below -10 HP. Then you could Steal Vitality, but the target doesn't die (although how exactly they survive being shriveled up into a husk is a bit of a puzzler). Heal them up above -10 HP, and repeat as needed. Maybe Share Soulmeld with the dung snake familiar?

There's another way to get into Thief of Life at 2nd level: Silverbrow Human + Spellthief 1 + Dragonfire Strike.

[Venger]

I was hoping someone would try to use the Rageclaws soulmeld to extend the threshold for death below -10 HP. Then you could Steal Vitality, but the target doesn't die (although how exactly they survive being shriveled up into a husk is a bit of a puzzler). Heal them up above -10 HP, and repeat as needed. Maybe Share Soulmeld with the dung snake familiar?

There's another way to get into Thief of Life at 2nd level: Silverbrow Human + Spellthief 1 + Dragonfire Strike.
That's hysterical.

That wouldn't work. You don't have heal as a class skill

[WhamBamSam]

I was hoping someone would try to use the Rageclaws soulmeld to extend the threshold for death below -10 HP. Then you could Steal Vitality, but the target doesn't die (although how exactly they survive being shriveled up into a husk is a bit of a puzzler). Heal them up above -10 HP, and repeat as needed. Maybe Share Soulmeld with the dung snake familiar?

There's another way to get into Thief of Life at 2nd level: Silverbrow Human + Spellthief 1 + Dragonfire Strike.I actually considered some things to that effect, but got hung up on the shriveled husk bit. Seemed a bit too close to disintigration, and I couldn't decide whether I thought it was weirdly synergistic with survival below -10 or in fact a counter to such abilities (ie, a way to kill an enemy with HP damage despite his Delay Death effect). Since it doesn't explicitly kill them, something with regeneration, like the Dung Snake you mentioned might work.

Shame your familiar is considered to have the same number of HD as you, so you can't Steal Immortality this way. Maybe we could get some Inspire Greatness shenanigans in on this somehow?

[Venger]

Shame your familiar is considered to have the same number of HD as you, so you can't Steal Immortality this way. Maybe we could get some Inspire Greatness shenanigans in on this somehow?

sure you can:


The slain creature’s HD must equal or exceed your own for this power to take effect.
(emphasis mine)

[daremetoidareyo]

Imagine, for a moment, a medusa spellthief watching an ogre in the distance. She takes a moment, casts delay death her dung snake familiar, and then proceeds to smash its skull with a hammer. She then huffs the fumes, shapes a soulmeld and invests a little essencia everywhere, unleashes a soulspark familar maxed all out and then...

Titillated by the noise, the ogre approaches.

The spellthief picks up her limp dungsnake, and because she's proficient in "snakes", whacks him with the husk, modified by bloodwar gauntlet (+1 damage per essencia filled up), incarnate avatar (+2 melee damage filled up), and indigo strikes (essencia *2 additional damage) the dude with the soul spark flanking. I don't know how much damage a snake takes when being used as the WEAPON for a sneak attack, but I'm sure that it takes some damage. Which in turn...Well you know, you get all that essencia again...because the power activates "Whenever you reduce a living creature to —10 or fewer hit points with a sneak attack", the living creature being the disabled snake in your hands, as well as possibly the ogre itself...

Share soulmeld + Healing soul can be used to make your snake based weaponry gain a bunch of HP back as a swift action, although this would be...feat intensive.

[WhamBamSam]

sure you can:


(emphasis mine)Huh. I stand corrected. Reading Comprehension is a cruel mistress.

[The Viscount]

Imagine, for a moment, a medusa spellthief watching an ogre in the distance. She takes a moment, casts delay death her dung snake familiar, and then proceeds to smash its skull with a hammer. She then huffs the fumes, shapes a soulmeld and invests a little essencia everywhere, unleashes a soulspark familar maxed all out and then...

Titillated by the noise, the ogre approaches.

The spellthief picks up her limp dungsnake, and because she's proficient in "snakes", whacks him with the husk, modified by bloodwar gauntlet (+1 damage per essencia filled up), incarnate avatar (+2 melee damage filled up), and indigo strikes (essencia *2 additional damage) the dude with the soul spark flanking. I don't know how much damage a snake takes when being used as the WEAPON for a sneak attack, but I'm sure that it takes some damage. Which in turn...Well you know, you get all that essencia again...because the power activates "Whenever you reduce a living creature to —10 or fewer hit points with a sneak attack", the living creature being the disabled snake in your hands, as well as possibly the ogre itself...

Share soulmeld + Healing soul can be used to make your snake based weaponry gain a bunch of HP back as a swift action, although this would be...feat intensive.

Snakes to sticks. Outstanding build idea.

I think we are indeed done and ready for the next round then!

[WhamBamSam]

Imagine, for a moment, a medusa spellthief watching an ogre in the distance. She takes a moment, casts delay death her dung snake familiar, and then proceeds to smash its skull with a hammer. She then huffs the fumes, shapes a soulmeld and invests a little essencia everywhere, unleashes a soulspark familar maxed all out and then...

Titillated by the noise, the ogre approaches.

The spellthief picks up her limp dungsnake, and because she's proficient in "snakes", whacks him with the husk, modified by bloodwar gauntlet (+1 damage per essencia filled up), incarnate avatar (+2 melee damage filled up), and indigo strikes (essencia *2 additional damage) the dude with the soul spark flanking. I don't know how much damage a snake takes when being used as the WEAPON for a sneak attack, but I'm sure that it takes some damage. Which in turn...Well you know, you get all that essencia again...because the power activates "Whenever you reduce a living creature to —10 or fewer hit points with a sneak attack", the living creature being the disabled snake in your hands, as well as possibly the ogre itself...

Share soulmeld + Healing soul can be used to make your snake based weaponry gain a bunch of HP back as a swift action, although this would be...feat intensive.I thought about doing something with Shape Soulmeld (Incarnate Avatar) on a LE character to get both bonuses, but the damage bonus is so much less than Craven. With Craven on the table, things like Incarnate Avatar and Indigo Strike could have been nice on some manner of flat damage based build (probably some manner of crit fisher), but without Craven it just felt like trying too hard to regain lost ground.

You might be able to tie the familiar draining into my Dragon Tail Tail Sweep idea. If the familiar is riding on your shoulder it's technically adjacent to you by the rules, and you can designate it as an opponent to keep your essentia and HP up while still doing your thing against enemies.

[Heliomance]

Your Standings
Final[?] Scores After Two Judges (After Disputes)

Entry
Chef
Place
Total
Average


Alphonse Louise Constant
Piggy Knowles
Tied for Gold!
33
4.125


Duran Mublen
Dire_Stirge
Tied for Gold!
33
4.125


Korraneleus d'Orien
Venger
Bronze
32
4


Vera Tolman d'Ghallanda
The Viscount
Fourth
31.5
3.9375


The Brothers Leech
WhamBamSam
Fifth
31.25
3.90625


Soot
JyP
Sixth
28.5
3.5625


Cocus Ferrea
Zaq
Seventh
28.25
3.53125


Vorick Hellakanus
WeaselGuy WHO DID NOT PUT THE CHARACTER NAME IN THE ENTRY TITLE
Eighth
21.25
2.65625


Silver Scourge
riccaru
Ninth
18.5
2.3125



New policy: Publicly shaming anyone who doesn't put their entry name in the titles of their PMs. WeaselGuy very nearly didn't get credit for his build because I couldn't find it!

Congratulations to Piggy Knowles, Dire_Stirge, and Venger for medalling, and to Zaq's Cocus Ferrea for Honourable Mention! Well done, guys!

Next installment coming up. You said you wanted a setting neutral PrC, and I have just the one...

[Venger]

Great round!

Now the veil is lifted Zaq I was blown away by your guy.

I'm glad the judges liked my story. I was very proud of it. Kicking myself over somehow not meeting the dragon mark prereq. I don't know how that happened. I had conflated the dragon blood subtype with dragontoucheds ability to take draconic feats treating your cl as sorcerer level. Not making that mistake again.

[Piggy Knowles]

This was a really fun round! I've literally had the idea of a Thief of Life that steals minds and eats brains, including the Azure Talent + Borrow Vigor trick, kicking around in my brain for years - nice to finally get it down on paper. The balancing act was finding a way to have an effective character without actually overshadowing the ingredient... not entirely sure I succeeded there, but at least I hope I captured the flavor.

Speaking of flavor, in light of arclance's comments here and elsewhere (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20247466&postcount=72), I decided to test things a bit by submitting an entry with literally no backstory or "creative writing" at all. I actually ended up having a lot of fun with it, trying to capture the flavor of the character in the entry itself without falling back on backstories, cut scenes, character vignettes, in media res openings and other similar crutches. Not sure I'll do this every entry - writing is fun for me, often more fun than building - but it was certainly an interesting experiment.

Congrats to Dire_Stirge, Venger and Zaq! Zaq, I kind of thought Cocus Ferrea might be you based on your comments pre-entry, but I absolutely loved it all the same.

[Inevitability]

Piggy_Knowles, Venger, and Zaq, congratulations to all of you! I'm amazed I was able to perform on the same level as you did.

So, next competition. Blackguard or Serene Guardian?

[Sian]

So, next competition. Blackguard or Serene Guardian?

Its already up, Legacy Champion it appears

[Zaq]

Woot, Honorable Mention! As should be fairly obvious, HM was my real goal with Cocus Ferrea (there's no way I was expecting to actually score in the top three). As I said in my entry, on some level, I succeeded just by submitting the build. Let me tell you, that took a lot of research, so I'm super glad that everyone liked it.

I actually thought about taking a level in Assassin (I met many of the skill prereqs already, and it didn't require any feats), but I realized that I couldn't actually do that. Why? Because Assassin requires that you "kill someone for no reason other than to join the Assassins." Meaning that I couldn't use Steal Immortality and still qualify for Assassin, because if I used Steal Immortality, that would be a reason for killing other than joining the Assassins! And that, of course, just wouldn't do.

Naturally, when I made Cocus Ferrea, I was inspired by my own very first Iron Chef entry, Aesc Duan Dee from the Ardent Dilettante round (which is why, of course, I rounded out the build with a level of Ardent Dilettante as the final level). That was quite a few years ago, so I was wondering if anyone would catch the similarities. Leave it to PONIES, of course, Keeper of The Spreadsheet. Honest question, PONIES: once you realized that this build had some things in common with Aesc, did you figure out that it was mine?

But yeah. New record for earliest entry/completion and new record for Most Secret Ingredients. I just couldn't turn down an opportunity like that. I was terrified that someone else would use the same early entry tricks that I did. riccaru almost did, but not quite . . . and I'm curious, riccaru, why enter the SI at level 2 (plus or minus a glitch with qualifying for Knowledge Devotion) but finish it at 20? I may have taken the record for earliest entry and earliest completion, but I think you must have set a record for greatest distance between entry and completion.

Anyway, as I said before the builds were posted, this is the kind of idea that I just couldn't stop giggling about once it got lodged in my head, so I'm glad that I didn't screw anything up in the construction or the presentation. (I know the fluff was much longer than I usually like, but it just didn't seem right to devote less than a paragraph to each of my sacrificial victims, you know? They deserved that much.) And to everyone I killed: no, of course Cocus Ferrea couldn't have beaten you in a fair fight. (Well, maybe Kole Naerrin, even though the whole point of Kole was that he should never HAVE to get into a fair fight. :smallwink:) But you know what, that's not really the point. And besides, I ended up with 6 ranks in Lucid Dreaming, so maybe this is all in Cocus Ferrea's head.

But future champions? Cocus Ferrea is out there. Cocus Ferrea is hungry. Cocus Ferrea is waiting.

In conclusion, congrats to our medalists, many thanks to our judges, and I'm super happy that everyone liked my concoction. Here's to 75 more rounds!

[Darrin]

But future champions? Cocus Ferrea is out there. Cocus Ferrea is hungry. Cocus Ferrea is waiting.


Speaking of which... the Iron Chef PBEM (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?476454-3-5-The-City-Dreamless-An-Iron-Chef-Game&p=20348283#post20348283) is currently looking for fresh mea-- uh, recruits.

If you're reading this thread, consider yourself invited.

(I was going to say, Cocus Ferrea qualifies as an Honorable Mention, but I think we've been flexible on allowing non-medal entries. Still waiting to see Li'l Brudder...)

[Venger]

Speaking of which... the Iron Chef PBEM (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?476454-3-5-The-City-Dreamless-An-Iron-Chef-Game&p=20348283#post20348283) is currently looking for fresh mea-- uh, recruits.

If you're reading this thread, consider yourself invited.

(I was going to say, Cocus Ferrea qualifies as an Honorable Mention, but I think we've been flexible on allowing non-medal entries. Still waiting to see Li'l Brudder...)
Wow that sounds awesome. Thanks for the heads up

[The Viscount]

This was a very fun round to work with. So close and yet so far, but what builds to lose to!

I found Cocus Ferrea a really cool entry, and I was honored to be one of those whose soul he sampled. Onward and upward to the next round!

[JyP]

This was fun ! Congratulations to all :smallsmile:

I was aiming for top originality with Soot, and it worked greatly - even though there were 3 dumb errors I could have seen easily...

I was very impressed with Korraneleus d'Orien short novel - I don't know Eberron a lot and it was a great way to read about it like this.

A last intriguing point about Alphonse Louise Constant : Alphonse is a male name but Louise is a female name (in French at least)... So maybe there are other secrets to unfold there :smallwink:

[OMG PONIES]

Congrats again to all chefs!


There's another way to get into Thief of Life at 2nd level: Silverbrow Human + Spellthief 1 + Dragonfire Strike.


That wouldn't work. You don't have heal as a class skill

Perhaps Glimmerskin Halfling was meant, making Heal a class skill for all classes?


I was hoping someone would try to use the Rageclaws soulmeld to extend the threshold for death below -10 HP. Then you could Steal Vitality, but the target doesn't die (although how exactly they survive being shriveled up into a husk is a bit of a puzzler). Heal them up above -10 HP, and repeat as needed. Maybe Share Soulmeld with the dung snake familiar?

Not sure if that works, given that the text of Steal Vitality says things about draining all remaining vitality, the soul leaving the body, and all blood drying up in an instant. I could see debates raging about fluff vs crunch, but still sounds inelegant at best (even though I love the idea).


The balancing act was finding a way to have an effective character without actually overshadowing the ingredient... not entirely sure I succeeded there, but at least I hope I captured the flavor.

Did your other abilities overshadow Thief of Life? Well yes, you eventually become people with all their memories etc. However, Thief of Life still felt like an integral part of the build, and the other abilities built on your theme. I loved it.


Speaking of flavor, in light of arclance's comments here and elsewhere (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20247466&postcount=72), I decided to test things a bit by submitting an entry with literally no backstory or "creative writing" at all. I actually ended up having a lot of fun with it, trying to capture the flavor of the character in the entry itself without falling back on backstories, cut scenes, character vignettes, in media res openings and other similar crutches. Not sure I'll do this every entry - writing is fun for me, often more fun than building - but it was certainly an interesting experiment.

And how'd that experiment work out for you? :smallbiggrin:


Naturally, when I made Cocus Ferrea, I was inspired by my own very first Iron Chef entry, Aesc Duan Dee from the Ardent Dilettante round (which is why, of course, I rounded out the build with a level of Ardent Dilettante as the final level). That was quite a few years ago, so I was wondering if anyone would catch the similarities. Leave it to PONIES, of course, Keeper of The Spreadsheet. Honest question, PONIES: once you realized that this build had some things in common with Aesc, did you figure out that it was mine?

Nope. It took me until the elegant entry requirement chain, but at that point I had a pretty good idea.


And to everyone I killed: no, of course Cocus Ferrea couldn't have beaten you in a fair fight. (Well, maybe Kole Naerrin, even though the whole point of Kole was that he should never HAVE to get into a fair fight. :smallwink:) But you know what, that's not really the point. And besides, I ended up with 6 ranks in Lucid Dreaming, so maybe this is all in Cocus Ferrea's head.

Man, what a disappointing finale!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ILRYP5iV7ME/UWnVv54aYsI/AAAAAAAACIE/vW6m3DXJzH8/s1600/st-elsewhere_tommy-westphall-snow-globe.jpg


This was fun ! Congratulations to all :smallsmile:

I was aiming for top originality with Soot, and it worked greatly - even though there were 3 dumb errors I could have seen easily...

Eh we all get those. Soot nailed the Sigl flavor in a unique way, so I'd hang my hat on that accomplishment.


I was very impressed with Korraneleus d'Orien short novel - I don't know Eberron a lot and it was a great way to read about it like this.

Likewise! I know I docked it a bit in Originality because of length, but let me be clear--if that were the only thing I had to read, I'd soak it up and look for more. Well done, Venger.


A last intriguing point about Alphonse Louise Constant : Alphonse is a male name but Louise is a female name (in French at least)... So maybe there are other secrets to unfold there :smallwink:

Interesting indeed. Another secret is that Piggy is known for drawing inspiration from obscure literary and historical sources; this is the one time I think I picked up the reference right away. Eliphas Levi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliphas_Levi), born Alphonse Louis Constant.

[JyP]

Interesting indeed. Another secret is that Piggy is known for drawing inspiration from obscure literary and historical sources; this is the one time I think I picked up the reference right away. Eliphas Levi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliphas_Levi), born Alphonse Louis Constant.
... who found old occult history in the Solesmes Abbey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solesmes_Abbey) in 1839, which is just 30 kilometers away from my home :smallsmile:

[OMG PONIES]

... who found old occult history in the Solesmes Abbey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solesmes_Abbey) in 1839, which is just 30 kilometers away from my home :smallsmile:

That's pretty nifty! I wondered how close that was when I saw your location...

[Venger]

This was fun ! Congratulations to all :smallsmile:

I was aiming for top originality with Soot, and it worked greatly - even though there were 3 dumb errors I could have seen easily...

I was very impressed with Korraneleus d'Orien short novel - I don't know Eberron a lot and it was a great way to read about it like this.
Thanks a lot. Obviously I took some creative liberties projecting the future of house orien and the world at large but yeah Eberron is the best setting. B if you'd like to learn more about its history I recommend checking out the books. Dragonmarked and five nations are a great place to start


Congrats again to all chefs!

Perhaps Glimmerskin Halfling was meant, making Heal a class skill for all classes?
No that wouldn't work. You need the dragonblood subtype for Dragon fire strike


Likewise! I know I docked it a bit in Originality because of length, but let me be clear--if that were the only thing I had to read, I'd soak it up and look for more. Well done, Venger.
Wait you did? I'm glad you liked the content. Thanks a lot

I'm happy nonetheless everyone enjoyed it so much. I had a lot of fun with it. Writing stories is what I do for a living so it's great to know I've got an audience

[riccaru]

Thanks a lot. Obviously I took some creative liberties projecting the future of house orien and the world at large but yeah Eberron is the best setting. B if you'd like to learn more about its history I recommend checking out the books. Dragonmarked and five nations are a great place to start


No that wouldn't work. You need the dragonblood subtype for Dragon fire strike


Wait you did? I'm glad you liked the content. Thanks a lot

I'm happy nonetheless everyone enjoyed it so much. I had a lot of fun with it. Writing stories is what I do for a living so it's great to know I've got an audience


Glimmerskin halflings have the dragonblood subtype.

I took thief of life early because it was just a straight upgrade to rogue at those levels aside from skill points. The later levels didn't offer much besides more sneak attack and without craven being available (I attempted to look for a way to lose fear immunity) it seemed like sneak attack would always be fairly low. Unless you stacked sneak attack classes.

Entering more thief of life levels was more from a fluff standpoint or at least I tried. The halfling is now going to live forever, hunting down anyone affiliated with the church.

As far as the Silver Hand v. Silver Flame goes, I was pretty sure I read that the silver hand was a subsection of the silver flame, the ones who actually hunted down lycanthropes and used whatever means necessary to hunt them down, even were-bears. I can't for the life of me find it again.

[Muggins]

Wait you did? I'm glad you liked the content. Thanks a lot

I'm happy nonetheless everyone enjoyed it so much. I had a lot of fun with it. Writing stories is what I do for a living so it's great to know I've got an audience
Same goes here; I really do wish Korraneleus had ranked higher. I like to do a fair bit of writing myself, but I don't think I've ever had the pleasure to read about a character who was so time-addled, so to speak. Bravo.

[Heliomance]

Glimmerskin halflings have the dragonblood subtype.

I took thief of life early because it was just a straight upgrade to rogue at those levels aside from skill points. The later levels didn't offer much besides more sneak attack and without craven being available (I attempted to look for a way to lose fear immunity) it seemed like sneak attack would always be fairly low. Unless you stacked sneak attack classes.

Entering more thief of life levels was more from a fluff standpoint or at least I tried. The halfling is now going to live forever, hunting down anyone affiliated with the church.

As far as the Silver Hand v. Silver Flame goes, I was pretty sure I read that the silver hand was a subsection of the silver flame, the ones who actually hunted down lycanthropes and used whatever means necessary to hunt them down, even were-bears. I can't for the life of me find it again.

The Silver Hand are a bunch of fanatic werewolf-hunters in Skyrim, is that what you were thinking of?

[WhamBamSam]

I took thief of life early because it was just a straight upgrade to rogue at those levels aside from skill points. The later levels didn't offer much besides more sneak attack and without craven being available (I attempted to look for a way to lose fear immunity) it seemed like sneak attack would always be fairly low. Unless you stacked sneak attack classes.As some of us discussed earlier in the thread, there's a CR4 trap in Dragons of Faerun (Fear Moths, pg.104), which eats immunity to fear. You'd have to price it out with your DM based on the trap guidelines and construct some manner of apparatus to keep them close and safe, but it's a thing that exists.

[Jeriah]

The Silver Hand is also a pretty good novel, though completely unrelated to the discussion at... erm... at hand.

On another note, while I did miss this contest until after the submission date, I was working with my friend Rizban developing a homebrewed variant of this very class while the contest was running. Since you're all now pretty intimately familiar with the class, would any of you be willing to give the homebrew a look? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477258-The-Thief-of-Life)

[Venger]

The Silver Hand is also a pretty good novel, though completely unrelated to the discussion at... erm... at hand.

On another note, while I did miss this contest until after the submission date, I was working with my friend Rizban developing a homebrewed variant of this very class while the contest was running. Since you're all now pretty intimately familiar with the class, would any of you be willing to give the homebrew a look? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477258-The-Thief-of-Life)

Sure. I'll look at it now. Always nice to see more interest in thief of life