Villainous Competition X: Henchman are Villains too

[Korahir]

Welcome to Round 10 of the Villainous Competition!

Previous Competitions
Round One: Leader of Armies (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395046-Villainous-Competition-Or-Optimize-my-BBEG!)
Round Two: Nature's Revenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400517-Villainous-Competition-Round-2-Or-Give-me-something-evil!&p=18868986)
Round Three: Double Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406015-Villainous-Competition-3-Or-No-Holds-Barred!)
Round Four: Grave Keeper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?413480-Villainous-Competition-IV-or-The-Truth-is-in-the-(Blood)-Pudding)
Round Five: Crime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420704-Villainous-Competition-V-A-Contest-You-Can%92t-Refuse)
Round Six: Ultimate Predator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?430650-Villainous-Competition-VI-Clever-Girl)
Round Seven: Wicked Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?444478-Villainous-Competition-VII-Double-Double-Toil-and-Trouble&p=20099077)
Round Eight: Master of the Tundra (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?461482-Villainous-Competition-VIII-The-Weather-Outside-is-Frightful”)
Round Nine: The Power of Villainous Thinking (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?474230-Villainous-Competition-IX-The-Power-of-Villainous-Thinking&p=20267761)


We're a little different than most of the optimization threads. We run on CR instead of ECL.

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

Secret Laboratory: 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. Item Familiars and Taint are also banned from the competition. We don’t want to make this too easy, do we?

Some monstrous characters can technically qualify for Epic feats as soon as their ECL is over 20. While regular Epic feats will be allowed, Epic Spellcasting and all other Epic feats that affect spells, psionic powers, or item creation are not permitted. Including these would give an unfair advantage over standard characters. For Incarnum characters, Epic Open Chakra feats are allowed; other Epic Incarnum feats are not. The Essentia Capacity increases for Epic capacity as described on p. 212. For all characters, please note that Racial Hitdice do not count towards Epic Progression; use the regular progression even if the BAB ends up higher than 20.

Contestants will have until 23:59 GMT Friday March 4th to create their builds and PM them to the Supreme Chancellor (short time replacement Korahir). Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 23:59 GMT Friday March 25th 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, Build Elegance, Competence and Power, Memorable Villainy.

Keep these questions in mind when judging each category:
Originality - Is it unexpected?
Build Elegance - Is it mechanically pretty?
Competence and Power - Can it do what the concept asks of it? Is this a powerfully-built character?
Memorable Villainy - Is this a villain with style? Will it be the minion that outshines the BBEG?

Build Elegance: Builds that are fully monstrous are usually allowed at no penalty, but see limitations for this round specifically.

All class levels are to be added on as associated class levels.

Amount of sources can be penalized, but obscurity of sources should not be penalized. Count the three Core books as one source. Unearthed Arcana can be penalized for elegance if the specific feature seems unnecessary or makes the playing field unfair (In this case, you can give a 0 if it makes the field unfair.)
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. As the Iron Chef competition states, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.


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!

Using the table below, the easiest way to use it is to go to the top left of the private message, and click the little a/A icon. It allows you to see what you're writing.
Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their 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


You can use the below table for Spells.

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,
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
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-




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.

Get ready to share those Evil thoughts. This edition’s villain is:


The Henchman
For the anniversary edition i picked up Dire_Stirge's suggestion for those villains, who usually don't shine: the guys in the backranks, the errant boys. In Dire_Stirge's words: antagonists who for whatever reason aren't quite the most powerful kids on the block.

Limitations:
The character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaper levels. The character may have more initiator levels and there are no restrictions on truespeak characters.
The character may only cast (or initiate) spells, powers and maneuvers of 5th level or lower. Meldshaper may only bind Soulmelds to chakras enabled in the first ten levels of the class.
The character may not use any method to cast (or initiate) higher level spells, powers or maneuvers other than Use Magic Device or Use Psionic Device. This limitation includes possible summons, familiars, animal companions and so on.
Base creature limitations: inherited templates maximum +2 CR, base creature max 2 CR and 4 RHD.
The character must serve an evil Overlord, organisation or any other evil power, but must not be in any commanding position within this organisation.
As always, must have an Evil alignment.


We will award 1st through 3rd places, and a possible Honorable Mention.


For this special henchman only: use standard array (11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10) !

Tips for submitting your entry, provided by Weaselguy:


- Use capitalization and punctuation, correctly.
- Make good use of Spoilers, for cleanliness.
- Don't forget your sources. If it's something that can be found in the contents section, then book title seems to be fine. Obscure stuff, may want to include page number too.
- DeviantArt has about 9 billion pictures that you can reference, I can almost guarantee you can find one there to fit your character.
- Make good use of tables. In addition to the Build table and the Spells table, I like doing on e for my Ability Scores, just to keep it neat.
- Do a build stub at the top of your Build Table, something like Wizard 2/Fighter 3/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 10


So, start your evil plotting!

To standardize Entries, please use this format when sending it in:

PM: Korahir
Subject: Villainous Competition 10, Name of your Entry

For Revisions and disputes, do the same thing. It makes it easier for me finding the entries in my mail box.

More questions? PM me with Villainous Competition 10 Questions in the header.

I hope i picked limitations you can work with. Feel free to point out blatant mistakes or possible abuses within those limitations and most important: Let's keep it nice: this is all just in good fun.

[Troacctid]

When you say "Normal array," do you mean the standard array, or the nonelite array?

[ben-zayb]

Does the minimum level adjustment include templates (ie combined LA total must be 2 or less), or does it work off CR increase?

[Troacctid]

Yeah, we haven't actually been using LA in these competitions, so I'm not sure that restriction makes sense.

[Korahir]

I meant the nonelite array and i will rewrite the LA increase to CR. Are you fine with the rest?

[Muggins]

In regards to the +2 CR, what exactly does this mean in regards to races? The passage states "may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2," but creatures (AFAIK) don't have any CR adjustments built in.

[WhamBamSam]

In regards to the +2 CR, what exactly does this mean in regards to races? The passage states "may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2," but creatures (AFAIK) don't have any CR adjustments built in.I assume the creature+template CR can't exceed 2 before class levels, or more accurately (what with weirdness of having 1/2 or 1/3 CR or whatever before class levels), that 18 of your CR have to come from class levels.

I have some thoughts on this. We'll see if I can find time to put something together.

[JyP]

This will be fun :smallsmile:

a few questions there :

use nonelite array (11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10) !
The nonelite array is: 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 ?

•The character cannot have more than 4 Racial Hit Dice and may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2.
I think you mean inherited templates maximum +2 CR, base creature max 2CR and 4 RHD. (to not have powerful base creatures)

We can add acquired templates as part of the build ? Becoming lycanthrope, vampire, using savage species rituals to become another monster....

•The character may not use any method to cast (or initiate) higher level spells, powers or maneuvers other than Use Magic Device or Use Psionic Device. This limitation includes possible summons, familiars, animal companions and so on.
Gaining those through class feature , spell-likes or extraordinary abilities is also a no-go then ?

[AtlasSniperman]

I've never done one of these before. Do we include both stats and character arch or just stats?

[sengmeng]

What's the goal for building a 20th level henchman? Is he supposed to be weak, so that you don't feel bad throwing ten of him at the party at once, or is he supposed to be unique dumb muscle for the big boss? I don't really get the theme here.

[Korahir]

This will be fun :smallsmile:

a few questions there :

use nonelite array (11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10) !
The nonelite array is: 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 ?

Sorry seems like I've used the wrong term for over a decade now. I meant the stats posted which would translate to the standard array.



•The character cannot have more than 4 Racial Hit Dice and may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2.
I think you mean inherited templates maximum +2 CR, base creature max 2CR and 4 RHD. (to not have powerful base creatures)

Exactly, thanks for translating my gibberish.



We can add acquired templates as part of the build ? Becoming lycanthrope, vampire, using savage species rituals to become another monster....

Yes, I'll leave this to the judges whether they think it fits the henchman or not.



•The character may not use any method to cast (or initiate) higher level spells, powers or maneuvers other than Use Magic Device or Use Psionic Device. This limitation includes possible summons, familiars, animal companions and so on.
Gaining those through class feature , spell-likes or extraordinary abilities is also a no-go then ?
That is exactly my intention. At first I thought to ban polymorph, but I think this rule circumvents a lot of polymorph shenanigans.



What's the goal for building a 20th level henchman? Is he supposed to be weak, so that you don't feel bad throwing ten of him at the party at once, or is he supposed to be unique dumb muscle for the big boss? I don't really get the theme here.

I don't think dumb muscle is the only option. I don't want to spoil the ideas of the contestants but I think there are way more options than that.

[WeaselGuy]

So, I have an idea, but I'm not 100% on if what I build as a "Henchman" would be accurate for this competition. "Cannot hold a leadership position within the organization", would that mean basically a grunt? Or would a specialist within the ranks merit a build? Not necessarily a lieutenant or captain, but somebody that's just a cut above the general rank and file is what I have in mind.

[Korahir]

So, I have an idea, but I'm not 100% on if what I build as a "Henchman" would be accurate for this competition. "Cannot hold a leadership position within the organization", would that mean basically a grunt? Or would a specialist within the ranks merit a build? Not necessarily a lieutenant or captain, but somebody that's just a cut above the general rank and file is what I have in mind.

I'd say go with it and leave to the judges to see if they like it. I chose this restriction to exclude right hand man and second in command kind of characters.

[daremetoidareyo]

I'd say go with it and leave to the judges to see if they like it. I chose this restriction to exclude right hand man and second in command kind of characters.

Ok. Follow up question, are we to assume that all of the henchmen have roughly the same stats as the one being submitted? Like, are we crafting the rank and file soldier whereas the lieutenants and BBEG are the truly differentiated.

[AvatarVecna]

When you say "Henchman", do you mean something that could be a high-level mook, or do we have enough freedom to make what TV Tropes refers to as "The Dragon"? To give an example, if we were making a Henchman for the Star Wars universe, would we be limited to "Stormtrooper Of The Year", "The Emperor's Bodyguard", or "Darth Vader"?

[WeaselGuy]

When you say "Henchman", do you mean something that could be a high-level mook, or do we have enough freedom to make what TV Tropes refers to as "The Dragon"? To give an example, if we were making a Henchman for the Star Wars universe, would we be limited to "Stormtrooper Of The Year", "The Emperor's Bodyguard", or "Darth Vader"?

The way I'm reading this thread, it seems like we should be building something more in line with "Stormtrooper of the Year".

[Inevitability]

Am I correct if I assume there's no limit on the CR increase from acquired templates?

[Korahir]

What i was aiming for picking up the star wars theme:

stormtrooper of the year or emperor's bodyguard or specialist (boba fett)

but not: darth vader (or tv tropes the dragon) as basically the second in command.


I don't want to limit you on the mooks and bruisers, specialists are also fine. If you take a typical dungeon: everyone in the dungeon is fine as long as he is not the BBEG and not "the dragon" (tv tropes) or second in command.

I feel like my english is hitting its limits to express my thoughts. Hope you can follow.


@Dire_Stirge
You are correct. I just wanted to exclude strong base races.

[AtlasSniperman]

What i was aiming for picking up the star wars theme:

stormtrooper of the year or emperor's bodyguard or specialist (boba fett)

but not: darth vader (or tv tropes the dragon) as basically the second in command.


I don't want to limit you on the mooks and bruisers, specialists are also fine. If you take a typical dungeon: everyone in the dungeon is fine as long as he is not the BBEG and not "the dragon" (tv tropes) or second in command.

I feel like my english is hitting its limits to express my thoughts. Hope you can follow.


@Dire_Stirge
You are correct. I just wanted to exclude strong base races.
Extrapolation and repetition to explain what I think you mean by this:
Evil organizations tend to have three tiers
Leader
Henchmen
Minions

This is about Minions that have had a chance to develop; i.e. they ran away from the PC's the first couple times and have gained levels. Sadly in most cases when a minion does this they become a Henchman and gain some measure of leadership inside an evil organization. The right hand man can be reached by this survivability notion.

So what you're asking for is a minion who levels up to 20. But... wouldn't any minion who gets to the level to compete with henchmen either become a henchman or leave and start his own evil organization?

[AvatarVecna]

So not the rank and file, but not really even the lowest of the high leadership, hmm? Lieutenants and Sergeants, then...I've got a couple ideas.

[Venger]

This will be an interesting round. very thorough restrictions. down to cook.

[ben-zayb]

By "less than 10 Caster/Manifesting/Initiator level", are you referring to class levels, or the CL/ML/IL variable itself? Because some class have less CL/ML/IL than their level, and some have more.

[Korahir]

The variable itself.

Also assume that any methods to circumvent the 5th level spells, power etc. restrictions doesn't work. If entries manage to pull of tricks like that, i encourage judges to penalize them for it.

[Inevitability]

Standard array really hurts for what I'm planning. Can we still get the elite array at a +1 CR cost?

[Korahir]

Standard array really hurts for what I'm planning. Can we still get the elite array at a +1 CR cost?

I know it's a thorough restriction and I am a little torn, but I won't allow that workaround. Let's see this one through wit the standard array.

[Inevitability]

I know it's a thorough restriction and I am a little torn, but I won't allow that workaround. Let's see this one through wit the standard array.

How about the nonelite array?

[Korahir]

How about the nonelite array?

Same ruling, won't allow it this time.

[Inevitability]

Same ruling, won't allow it this time.

Darn it. Back to the drawing board it is...

[Thurbane]

Question about base CR HD/CR - if you advance a creature by HD, and the base monster starts within the 4HD and CR 2 - is it OK to have ir advance by HD?

[ben-zayb]

Question about base CR HD/CR - if you advance a creature by HD, and the base monster starts within the 4HD and CR 2 - is it OK to have ir advance by HD?

To further expound, I'd also point out that CR increase upon HD advancement isn't always a 1:1 ratio. Depending on type, it could be a 4:1, 3;1, 2:1, or 1:1 ratio.

[Korahir]

Question about base CR HD/CR - if you advance a creature by HD, and the base monster starts within the 4HD and CR 2 - is it OK to have ir advance by HD?



To further expound, I'd also point out that CR increase upon HD advancement isn't always a 1:1 ratio. Depending on type, it could be a 4:1, 3;1, 2:1, or 1:1 ratio.

Improving a monster by HD isn't restricted in the limitations. I wanted to avoid powerful base creatures stacked with a lot of templates or starting with a lot of HD. If you add them later, just find a nice story why your henchman is the biggest, baddest of its type and still not the BBEG.

For the CR increase ratio refer to the table in the MHB p. 294. CR increase by HD is indeed dependent on the original type.

[Inevitability]

Dragon compendium is allowed, right? It's an official 3.5 book and Iron Chef allows it too.

[Jormengand]

Dragon compendium is allowed, right? It's an official 3.5 book and Iron Chef allows it too.

We actually went over this in the first thread, where it was ruled that it was allowed.

[Korahir]

Dragon compendium is allowed, Dragon magazines disallowed, same as in Iron Chef.

[Inevitability]

Good to know. Build has been submitted!

[Thurbane]

Went over a couple of ideas, but I believe I have one I will work on.

Depending on real world commitments, I'll try to get an entry in.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Geez. Those are some harsh restrictions, but forcing us to make an elite mook is the worst. I'm not sure I'll do anything for this one—it's not playing to my strengths or interests.

I kinda wish you went with the Bigger Bad idea...

[Deadline]

Geez. Those are some harsh restrictions, but forcing us to make an elite mook is the worst. I'm not sure I'll do anything for this one—it's not playing to my strengths or interests.

I kinda wish you went with the Bigger Bad idea...

The restrictions are what makes the competition fun, at least to me. Anyone can build a competent villain with no restrictions. Making something with rough restrictions, not so much. That said, these restrictions in particular are hard. The one idea I had runs up against the Racial HD and LA bit, but only barely. I'll keep ruminating to see what I can come up with.

[ben-zayb]

The restrictions are what makes the competition fun, at least to me. Anyone can build a competent villain with no restrictions. Making something with rough restrictions, not so much. That said, these restrictions in particular are hard. The one idea I had runs up against the Racial HD and LA bit, but only barely. I'll keep ruminating to see what I can come up with.
This! I love the restriction aspect of the Villain contests, but the array in this one is killing me. It's still a miracle that I managed to finish my crunchy bits with such limits!

[AvatarVecna]

This! I love the restriction aspect of the Villain contests, but the array in this one is killing me. It's still a miracle that I managed to finish my crunchy bits with such limits!

Seconding; that array makes this harder than normal, especially with the other requirements in place (since casters are about the only thing that doesn't need more than one stat).

[Korahir]

I promise, the next one will be way less restrictive and I am fully aware that the array is the hardest part. So far I got 4(edit: 5 already) entries, so there is something that can be done.
I am also aware that i can't pick restrictions that everybody will like but i try to give you guys something interesting and challenging.

[Tiri]

Does 'The character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaper levels' mean that the character may not have more than 10 of each, or that the character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaping levels in total?

[Korahir]

Does 'The character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaper levels' mean that the character may not have more than 10 of each, or that the character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaping levels in total?

More than each.

[GreatWyrmGold]

The restrictions are what makes the competition fun, at least to me. Anyone can build a competent villain with no restrictions. Making something with rough restrictions, not so much. That said, these restrictions in particular are hard. The one idea I had runs up against the Racial HD and LA bit, but only barely. I'll keep ruminating to see what I can come up with.
I, for one, don't give a crap about the mechanical restrictions. The fact that it has to be little more than a mook, though? That kills it for me. Maybe if there was some indication of what their boss was like, but as-is...

[Tiri]

I, for one, don't give a crap about the mechanical restrictions. The fact that it has to be little more than a mook, though? That kills it for me. Maybe if there was some indication of what their boss was like, but as-is...

Well, I think it was said earlier that it doesn't have to be a mook (although the lower-CR versions might be), just a character that doesn't occupy a 'special' position in a villainous organization. Also, since competitors get to write their entries' backstories, what their boss is like could certainly be included in that.

[AtlasSniperman]

Well, I think it was said earlier that it doesn't have to be a mook (although the lower-CR versions might be), just a character that doesn't occupy a 'special' position in a villainous organization. Also, since competitors get to write their entries' backstories, what their boss is like could certainly be included in that.

See, this is the part that trips me out. What organization would have a mook at level 5, that manages to reach level 15 or 20 and;
1) Stays in the organization
2) Doesn't get any sort of "special position" at all?

[Telonius]

Argh, just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in ... I'll probably have a build for this one.

[Tiri]

See, this is the part that trips me out. What organization would have a mook at level 5, that manages to reach level 15 or 20 and;
1) Stays in the organization
2) Doesn't get any sort of "special position" at all?

Well, by special 'position' I meant something like being the main villain or the main villain's second-in-command. Probably by the high levels the so-called henchman would be a high-ranking figure in the organization, but would have a few others of the same rank around them and still be subordinate to the main villain and whatever inner circle he or she keeps.

[AtlasSniperman]

Well, by special 'position' I meant something like being the main villain or the main villain's second-in-command. Probably by the high levels the so-called henchman would be a high-ranking figure in the organization, but would have a few others of the same rank around them and still be subordinate to the main villain and whatever inner circle he or she keeps.
I could understand that interpretation, that'd be fine, but the OP says specifically:



Limitations:
SNIP
The character must serve an evil Overlord, organisation or any other evil power, but must not be in any commanding position within this organisation.
SNIP



If you can command someone, you are in a commanding position. If he/she is in some tier of the organization below the Inner circle, he/she is sill in command of positions below them. The only position where this isn't the case is lowest tier footmen.
Hence my being tripped out by this request. But I'm not saying anyone else shouldn't build for this

[ben-zayb]

My assumption is that this "can't command" doesn't include ones like summon/called monsters, familiar/psicrystal/special mount/animal companion, and those you can forcefully command via special abilities or skills.

[daremetoidareyo]

I could understand that interpretation, that'd be fine, but the OP says specifically:



If you can command someone, you are in a commanding position. If he/she is in some tier of the organization below the Inner circle, he/she is sill in command of positions below them. The only position where this isn't the case is lowest tier footmen.
Hence my being tripped out by this request. But I'm not saying anyone else shouldn't build for this


The character must serve an evil Overlord, organisation or any other evil power, but must not be in any commanding position within this organisation.


You can totally be a commander of a smaller (or bigger) organization that runs coterminus with the main organization. Like you could have a hobo army like sherlock holmes or some other resource that allows you to excel, but not gather so much notoriety that you are targetted by the actions of those who hate the BBEG. And, depending on the organization, you may be an independent contractor and thus provide your own mount or pets which you can use as a contactor in that evil organization.

[Tiri]

It could be interpreted that the position the higher-ranking henchman is in is technically a higher rank than some others (thereby giving them the power to command lower ranks, in theory), but the actual position isn't one meant to put its holder in a situation where he or she actually gets much opportunity to command. Therefore it is not a commanding position in that they don't technically have anyone under their command.

[Telonius]

So to put it in Order of the Stick terms, Monster in the Darkness would be okay, but Redcloak would not?

[Tiri]

So to put it in Order of the Stick terms, Monster in the Darkness would be okay, but Redcloak would not?

Well, I'm not sure if MitD is a great example. He doesn't really do much, but something like that, yes.

[Inevitability]

How about the demon roaches? :roach:

Actually, I can see that working. A fiendish giant cockroach, barely sentient, who's been taken in by some goblins and now guards their warren in exchange for bits of food...

[ben-zayb]

MiTD proably has high CR/HD too, so I doubt it.:smallamused:

[GreatWyrmGold]

Well, I think it was said earlier that it doesn't have to be a mook (although the lower-CR versions might be), just a character that doesn't occupy a 'special' position in a villainous organization. Also, since competitors get to write their entries' backstories, what their boss is like could certainly be included in that.
I said little more than a mook. Your description sounds like a mook to me, and straining at the contest's limitations would make it a little more. But a minion with a unique statistics block is still ultimately a mook.
That's very nice and all...but I'd rather focus on the boss.


My assumption is that this "can't command" doesn't include ones like summon/called monsters, familiar/psicrystal/special mount/animal companion, and those you can forcefully command via special abilities or skills.
...So?

[ben-zayb]

...So?What do you mean? I was responding to AtlasSniperman on the difference between "having commanding position within the organization" and "having commanding capability".

Anyway, nobody is forcing anyone to participate. Who knows? Maybe next edition will fortunately require being some sort of boss-type; as if we don't have, what, three variations of that already? Let's see: Leader of Army, Criminal Boss, and Psionic Overlord...all perfectly viable as bigger bads too!

[Korahir]

This came up in a question via PM and i think i may effect some ideas:

SLAs do use their own CL. If the caster level of a SLA is higher than 10 it is still allowed, although CL is restricted to 10 since it is not the creature's CL. Please remember still no 6th level or higher SLAs.

on Mooks:
MotD would be perfectly fine, Redcloak would not.

[Muggins]

MotD would be perfectly fine, Redcloak would not.
Or a MotW (Monster of the Week)? :smallbiggrin:

[WhamBamSam]

This came up in a question via PM and i think i may effect some ideas:

SLAs do use their own CL. If the caster level of a SLA is higher than 10 it is still allowed, although CL is restricted to 10 since it is not the creature's CL. Please remember still no 5th level or higher SLAs.

on Mooks:
MotD would be perfectly fine, Redcloak would not.Wait, I thought we were allowed spells and such of up to 5th level?

[Thurbane]

Wait, I thought we were allowed spells and such of up to 5th level?

That was my understanding too.


Limitations:
The character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaper levels. The character may have more initiator levels and there are no restrictions on truespeak characters.
The character may only cast (or initiate) spells, powers and maneuvers of 5th level or lower. Meldshaper may only bind Soulmelds to chakras enabled in the first ten levels of the class.

[Korahir]

That was my understanding too.

Very sorry, i should not answer to this thread at 6 am in the morning. Fixed.

[Muggins]

How do the restrictions on caster, manifester, and meldshaper levels interact with races that innately gain such levels through gaining hit dice? What about spellcasting/manifesting/meldshaping/etc restrictions?

[Korahir]

How do the restrictions on caster, manifester, and meldshaper levels interact with races that innately gain such levels through gaining hit dice? What about spellcasting/manifesting/meldshaping/etc restrictions?

If yo gain i.e. casterlevel by gaining HD, you cannot have more than 10 HD. Honestly I am not understanding your second question?

[GreatWyrmGold]

What do you mean? I was responding to AtlasSniperman on the difference between "having commanding position within the organization" and "having commanding capability".
I know. What do summoned creatures and familiars have to do with that?


Anyway, nobody is forcing anyone to participate.
"No one's forced to participate, so who cares if it's a poorly-designed contest"? I've never found that sort of argument compelling.
People should try to make the best things they can, regardless of how important those things are. Other people should be able to let those people know how well they did, regardless of if their lives are seriously affected by it. I mean, nothing on this website really matters to anyone's lives, but does that mean people shouldn't talk about why they do or don't like the current Order of the Stick arc?

[Muggins]

If yo gain i.e. casterlevel by gaining HD, you cannot have more than 10 HD. Honestly I am not understanding your second question?
"Hit Dice" refers to all HD, not just Racial Hit Dice (i.e. those gained from being a monstrous race). And, due to the RHD and CR restrictions of this round, it won't be possible to have a legal build which has CR 20 without having more than 10 HD.

The second question links into the first one; spellcasting capabilities are not always synchronous to caster level. For example, spell-like abilities are assumed to scale with total level, even if it's based on a first level spell like Colour Spray; does that break the rules of the competition?

There are two ways to deal with this, I think. The first option is to have CL 10 and SL 5 as a hard cap for all such abilities; abilities which break the SL cap are ignored, and abilities which improve beyond the CL cap don't progress past 10. The second option is to just blanket ban anything that could grant abilities higher than SL 5 or CL 10, including many races or templates. Just looking for some clarification.

[Deadline]

I know. What do summoned creatures and familiars have to do with that?

Presumably because people are concerned that "no commanding position" may preclude command of any kind, including that over familiars and summoned or charmed creatures? I don't think it does, but I can easily see where the confusion could arise.


"No one's forced to participate, so who cares if it's a poorly-designed contest"? I've never found that sort of argument compelling.

Unless I missed something, I think you are the only one who has voiced that particular opinion (that it's poorly-designed). For what it's worth, I disagree. The concept is not a common trope, which means there isn't a ton of material or ideas to pull from, and that's hard (at least it is to me). The restrictions make it even harder, but not impossible. It took me way more time than I'm used to, but I've got something brewing up now that I think fits. I'd be really surprised if I was the only one.

It's unfortunate that you aren't coming up with any inspiration for this one, but that happens to all of us. If you are coming up dry for entering, why not judge?

http://shirtminion.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Judge-Dredd-Minion.jpg

@Muggins - I think the clarification Korahir offered refers to spell-like abilities as a racial thing. Let's say you have a creature that has 3 spell-like abilities (and still fits within the competition restrictions of no more than 4RHD). One is ... Cure Light Wounds (at CL 5) 3/day, one is Mage Hand (at CL 3) at-will, and another is Bigby's Interposing Hand (at CL 12) 1/day. The creature would still be valid (despite the CL 12 on the one spell-like ability), but if it used Bigby's Interposing Hand, it would be limited to using it at CL 10. Basically, the CL of a spell-like ability doesn't interact with the "no more than 10 caster levels" restriction. I think.

[Korahir]

"No one's forced to participate, so who cares if it's a poorly-designed contest"? I've never found that sort of argument compelling.
People should try to make the best things they can, regardless of how important those things are. Other people should be able to let those people know how well they did, regardless of if their lives are seriously affected by it. I mean, nothing on this website really matters to anyone's lives, but does that mean people shouldn't talk about why they do or don't like the current Order of the Stick arc?

I appreciate your feedback and honestly i thought way more would walk away from this round because of the restrictions. Picking a theme and restrictions people can relate to will always be tricky, so I appreciate every suggestion.




@Muggins - I think the clarification Korahir offered refers to spell-like abilities as a racial thing. Let's say you have a creature that has 3 spell-like abilities (and still fits within the competition restrictions of no more than 4RHD). One is ... Cure Light Wounds (at CL 5) 3/day, one is Mage Hand (at CL 3) at-will, and another is Bigby's Interposing Hand (at CL 12) 1/day. The creature would still be valid (despite the CL 12 on the one spell-like ability), but if it used Bigby's Interposing Hand, it would be limited to using it at CL 10. Basically, the CL of a spell-like ability doesn't interact with the "no more than 10 caster levels" restriction. I think.

That is exactly what i meant with my previous clarification. What i thought muggins was asking about, are monsters who's stat block gives them spell casting and which can be advanced by racial hit dice. I guess i was completely wrong here?

[Muggins]

That is exactly what i meant with my previous clarification. What i thought muggins was asking about, are monsters who's stat block gives them spell casting and which can be advanced by racial hit dice. I guess i was completely wrong here?
Unless otherwise stated, spell-like abilities progress by total hit dice, not just racial hit dice. Races with spellcasting abilities (e.g. "Casts spells as a Xth level sorcerer/bard/cleric/whatever") are usually fixed, although there are exceptions.

I asked about creatures who innately gain things like caster levels or meldshaper levels via their race or template, so I was after a response to that. If the answer is "if something would progress past 10th level, it stays at 10th level instead," that's easy enough.

[Korahir]

Unless otherwise stated, spell-like abilities progress by total hit dice, not just racial hit dice. Races with spellcasting abilities (e.g. "Casts spells as a Xth level sorcerer/bard/cleric/whatever") are usually fixed, although there are exceptions.

I asked about creatures who innately gain things like caster levels or meldshaper levels via their race or template, so I was after a response to that. If the answer is "if something would progress past 10th level, it stays at 10th level instead," that's easy enough.

You answered it yourself. Curious though: I feel like the majority of SLAs isn't related to total hit dice. Can you give me some example monsters? if it would spoil your entry, just pm me.

[Troacctid]

You answered it yourself. Curious though: I feel like the majority of SLAs isn't related to total hit dice. Can you give me some example monsters? if it would spoil your entry, just pm me.

That's how the caster level is calculated when it's not otherwise specified.


If no caster level is specified, the caster level is equal to the creature’s Hit Dice.

Anything marked as (Sp) without specifying a caster level has a caster level equal to the character's total hit dice.

[Korahir]

That's how the caster level is calculated when it's not otherwise specified.



Anything marked as (Sp) without specifying a caster level has a caster level equal to the character's total hit dice.

Is it just me or are these rather rare? this is what i meant.

[Muggins]

Is it just me or are these rather rare? this is what i meant.
Not rare at all. Many of the half-X templates grant spell-like abilities which scale like this, for example.

[Troacctid]

It's also very common for class abilities, such as those of the Paladin or Bard.

[Telonius]

Build submitted!

[Deadline]

Build submitted!

I'm hot on your tail. Got the build and background all settled, just need to finish up with the rest. Should be able to submit it before Friday.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Presumably because people are concerned that "no commanding position" may preclude command of any kind, including that over familiars and summoned or charmed creatures? I don't think it does, but I can easily see where the confusion could arise.
I'm pretty sure no one is concerned about that. They're more concerned about command over separate beings. you know...the kind that puts you in a position above a glorified mook.


Unless I missed something, I think you are the only one who has voiced that particular opinion (that it's poorly-designed).
So? Just because it's a minority opinion I shouldn't express it?
And, of course, the people who aren't interested are less likely to post, so it's hardly fair to say that just because I'm the only one who has problems with the contest who was still interested enough to post I must be the only one with any problems, period.

[Troacctid]

So? Just because it's a minority opinion I shouldn't express it?
And, of course, the people who aren't interested are less likely to post, so it's hardly fair to say that just because I'm the only one who has problems with the contest who was still interested enough to post I must be the only one with any problems, period.

It does reduce my interest in the round as well. Mostly because making a 20-level build for a single minion doesn't seem to make much sense--who uses fully-built 20th level characters as minions? Also, you can have a 20th level character as your minion, but you can't have a CR 3 ogre because it would be too powerful? I dunno. Kinda weird. A little tough to work with.

[Deadline]

So? Just because it's a minority opinion I shouldn't express it?

No, where are you getting that?


And, of course, the people who aren't interested are less likely to post, so it's hardly fair to say that just because I'm the only one who has problems with the contest who was still interested enough to post I must be the only one with any problems, period.

I never said that you were the only one who has problems with the contest, just that you were the only one who voiced that opinion (that the contest is poorly designed).

Have I said something to upset you? Because it sounds like I have, but I'm at a loss as to what it is. Feel free to PM if that's the case.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Have I said something to upset you? Because it sounds like I have, but I'm at a loss as to what it is. Feel free to PM if that's the case.
Well, to start with, I thought you were the guy who said the "no one's forcing you to participate" line. When I don't pay enough attention to when people change like that, lumping together opinions expressed by different people can lead to unpleasantries.

[Thurbane]

Real life has been crazy, doubt I will get my build in. I'll post the stub after reveal if I don't get an entry in...

Comp closes roughly 10am Saturday my time...I will make an extra effort to get my entry in, since I'm quite happy with the concept

[ben-zayb]

Well, to start with, I thought you were the guy who said the "no one's forcing you to participate" line. When I don't pay enough attention to when people change like that, lumping together opinions expressed by different people can lead to unpleasantries.
Yes, but putting words in my mouth is an equally endearing response. Contrary to what you assumed that I don't care about, I don't see this in the first place as really an objectively poorly-designed contest, the same way that I don't see every other contest in the playground with ridiculous restrictions and/or occasionally bottom-of-the-barrel-limits as poorly-designed. It may shock some people, but restrictions aren't necessarily put in place because people love it. It's okay to dislike them, it's okay to express dislike over them, and it's even okay to not participate in a contest whose premise/restrictions you don't like. Not every contest will cater to every single person's taste, and I don't even think doing so is required, much less possible.


Additionally, even just in the villainous contests editions that aren't Crimelord/Psi-overlord/Army Leader: Sure, plenty of those are solo operators, but do people really see more submissions fitting the "big boss of organization" mold than the "unwitting pawn" or "specialist mook" mold?

[Jormengand]

GWG, see if any of these options inspire you:


Some kind of hitman? I mean, you wouldn't necessarily have a rank or even be technically part of the organisation at all, even if you were one of the most powerful people kicking about.
Another kind of specialist. Explosives technician? Not that I know how you'd do that, but some kind of special job that makes you Equal But Different to everyone else.
Someone who could easily be a higher rank than they are now, but they're just biding their time, possibly waiting to betray the organisation.
Someone who's infiltrating a good organisation (while still working for an evil overlord) and that's why they don't have an explicit rank.


There are probably way more, but this is just off the top of my head.

[Tiri]

It does reduce my interest in the round as well. Mostly because making a 20-level build for a single minion doesn't seem to make much sense--who uses fully-built 20th level characters as minions? Also, you can have a 20th level character as your minion, but you can't have a CR 3 ogre because it would be too powerful? I dunno. Kinda weird. A little tough to work with.

Actually, the ogre would be ok. The restrictions allow a maximum of 4 RHD.

[Muggins]

Actually, the ogre would be ok. The restrictions allow a maximum of 4 RHD.
And a restriction of base CR 2, which the ogre breaks. So no.

[Tiri]

And a restriction of base CR 2, which the ogre breaks. So no.

Oh. Right. Missed that.

[Randomguy]

By "less than 10 Caster/Manifesting/Initiator level", are you referring to class levels, or the CL/ML/IL variable itself? Because some class have less CL/ML/IL than their level, and some have more.


The variable itself.

Also assume that any methods to circumvent the 5th level spells, power etc. restrictions doesn't work. If entries manage to pull of tricks like that, i encourage judges to penalize them for it.

So this means no taking 10 levels of a casting class and then taking the practiced spellcaster feat, correct?

[Thurbane]

Hit a major snag with my build (stupid, arbitrary class restrictions, grrr!) but I still hope to get an entry in.

[daremetoidareyo]

Hit a major snag with my build (stupid, arbitrary class restrictions, grrr!) but I still hope to get an entry in.

Same here.

[GreatWyrmGold]

GWG, see if any of these options inspire you:


Some kind of hitman? I mean, you wouldn't necessarily have a rank or even be technically part of the organisation at all, even if you were one of the most powerful people kicking about.
Another kind of specialist. Explosives technician? Not that I know how you'd do that, but some kind of special job that makes you Equal But Different to everyone else.
Someone who could easily be a higher rank than they are now, but they're just biding their time, possibly waiting to betray the organisation.
Someone who's infiltrating a good organisation (while still working for an evil overlord) and that's why they don't have an explicit rank.


There are probably way more, but this is just off the top of my head.
If they're freelance, they don't serve the power. At best, you're stretching the rules to make something clearly outside the spirit of the rules. I might as well make a golem or monster created by the organization.
This is fantasy, not sci-fi. I guess I could make a magical lab assistant, but I don't know what would be good for that. I'd basically be making a magician or what-have-you, but with funky fluff. That just feels...wrong. The mechanics and the fluff should be at least partly interrelated, not totally segregated. Something so core to the character's function as their job should have at least some reflection in their abilities, no?
So, basically a Starscream-in-training, a potential Big Bad or at least Dragon. Definitely outside the spirit of the rules.
...Why wouldn't they have a rank in their own organization? Real-world spies and the like do, as do their equivalents from less legal or formal organizations (as much as they have any ranks, at least). Besides, being in a commanding position of another organization feels like a spiritual violation of the rules.

[Deadline]

I've been there, no inspiration, and any idea you come across just doesn't float your boat. You could just skip this round and enjoy reading the various entries. That's what I've done for a number of the Iron Chef rounds. Not every ingredient calls to everyone.

That reminds me, I've got to finish up my entry here so that I can try to get a judging done for the current Iron Chef round. Blerg, not enough hours in the day. Well, there are, but my frail mortal body requires at least some sleep. :smalltongue:

[GreatWyrmGold]

I've been there, no inspiration, and any idea you come across just doesn't float your boat. You could just skip this round and enjoy reading the various entries.
Thank you for dismissing my issues with the contest and the serious problems with the counter-arguments for said issues by telling me that I can do what I have planned to do for weeks. You're very helpful.

[Jormengand]

Thank you for dismissing my issues with the contest and the serious problems with the counter-arguments for said issues by telling me that I can do what I have planned to do for weeks. You're very helpful.

When you're quite done being rude to everyone, let me point out that not only have you been openly antagonistic to everyone, but you've also shut down without a thought all attempts that have been made not only to help you, but also to help anyone else. I think it honestly makes everyone very much disinclined to try to help you when you respond with flippant "So?" responses and misrepresent at least three different things that have been said just to make yourself feel like a victim. If you'd stopped doing that, then more than one of us might actually have been convinced to help you find inspiration. As it is, I think your opinion has been well and truly heard and noted, and I'll bet whatever you like that Deadline was not attempting to dismiss anyone or anything.

I'll say it again for those in the back: just because something doesn't inspire you, personally, doesn't mean there's something terribly wrong with it and it must be antagonised and shouted down, and its flaws played up.

If you feel like getting a character in, and quickly, here are some additions to my previous suggestions:


The assassin may still serve the power but not have an explicit rank; they may not officially exist. Plus, why not make a golem or monster created by the organisation (assuming you can find some kind of creature that fits the CR/HD restrictions)? As long as it's tailored to be - in some way - useful to them, you can probably do something interesting.
The specialist may also not have an explicit rank; ranks may be military-only and your specialist does something non-military? Also, you can think of a reason why the specialist is particularly good at being a minion in a large organisation. Maybe they're a spellcaster who provides artillery support that would be impractical for an actual big bad?
The "Potential big bad" may not actually ever end up being a big bad: maybe some aspect of their plan is flawed, or maybe the heroes cut their plans off without ever realising how important they could, potentially, have been. I, for one, wouldn't take points off use of theme if you did this: in fact, you could easily use their low rank as a motivation or as part of their plan.
The organsation doesn't have to work like a real one; it may not give its spies ranks. The spy doesn't necessarily need to hold a rank in the organsation it's infiltrating either: a normal soldier or member of a mages' guild (even an apprentice) can potentially acquire key secrets.

[Korahir]

If they're freelance, they don't serve the power. At best, you're stretching the rules to make something clearly outside the spirit of the rules. I might as well make a golem or monster created by the organization.
This is fantasy, not sci-fi. I guess I could make a magical lab assistant, but I don't know what would be good for that. I'd basically be making a magician or what-have-you, but with funky fluff. That just feels...wrong. The mechanics and the fluff should be at least partly interrelated, not totally segregated. Something so core to the character's function as their job should have at least some reflection in their abilities, no?
So, basically a Starscream-in-training, a potential Big Bad or at least Dragon. Definitely outside the spirit of the rules.
...Why wouldn't they have a rank in their own organization? Real-world spies and the like do, as do their equivalents from less legal or formal organizations (as much as they have any ranks, at least). Besides, being in a commanding position of another organization feels like a spiritual violation of the rules.

As the creator of this round, I disagree mostly:

Freelancer serve a power even if it is only for a limited time. Maybe a judge penalizes you for it maybe not.
While explosive technician may be a stretch, specialists of any kind would be fine. Also maybe someone else builds a fine magical lab assistant.
Here I'll agree, that would be a stretching the term mook, but still it is up to the judges in the end.
I can imagine an organisation full of spies. So your rank would be "spy" and technically you would be a mook.



Thank you for dismissing my issues with the contest and the serious problems with the counter-arguments for said issues by telling me that I can do what I have planned to do for weeks. You're very helpful.

And here you have crossed a line. This is snarky, salty and in no way in the spirit of this contest. Let me be very clear here: If you cannot restrain yourself from comments like that, please don't comment. This is not me telling you what to do, this is me asking you to restrain yourself.

[Thurbane]

Still hoping to get an entry in...I've got a bit over 20 hours left by my reckoning...

[Deadline]

Huzzah! I managed to get my entry in! That means there will be at least two builds for the reveal tomorrow. I'm not going to be able to get my second idea done, but I will post the idea after the reveal if any one is interested. Good luck all!

[Korahir]

Build complete, but the formatting is killing me.

I've tried copying the OP, but not having any luck.

Anyone else having this problem? Honestly, I copied Telonius post and I am pretty sure the table worked for me. Maybe try the Iron Chef table?

I'll probably won't be able to reveal until saturday morning because of RL occupations. So some more hours for you.

[Thurbane]

Anyone else having this problem? Honestly, I copied Telonius post and I am pretty sure the table worked for me. Maybe try the Iron Chef table?

I'll probably won't be able to reveal until saturday morning because of RL occupations. So some more hours for you.

I don't think it's an issue with your code, just me having a meltdown :smalltongue:

[Troacctid]

WYSIWYG mode helps a lot.

[daremetoidareyo]

I'm not gonna make it.
Boo!
I had sooo many ideas that eventually got killed by the restrictions or really inconvenient limitations. At least my thesis will be finished up today

[WhamBamSam]

I'm not gonna make it.
Boo!
I had sooo many ideas that eventually got killed by the restrictions or really inconvenient limitations. At least my thesis will be finished up todayYeah, I just didn't have time to write my idea up either. I'll post the stub after the reveal.

[Tiri]

My submission's story section got cut in half by word limits. :smallfrown:

[WhamBamSam]

My submission's story section got cut in half by word limits. :smallfrown:You can send it in two parts.

[The Viscount]

Whoo, right down to the wire, but it's in.

[ben-zayb]

I'm not gonna make it.
Boo!
I had sooo many ideas that eventually got killed by the restrictions or really inconvenient limitations. At least my thesis will be finished up today

Korahir said there'll be some free hours after the deadline due to RL commitments, so hopefully you'll get an entry in.

[daremetoidareyo]

Korahir said there'll be some free hours after the deadline due to RL commitments, so hopefully you'll get an entry in.

Nah. I'll consider judging.

[Tiri]

I feel bad about resubmitting so many times... Poor Korahir is going to have to go through all of those.

[Korahir]

Thanks for all the submissions!

Due to my inbox being flooded and there are quite some resubmissions and corrections I'll have to figure them out first before the reveal.
(Also at this point I am pretty sure, I deleted the real entry of one contestant in my inbox and kept the correction notes by accident.)

So bare with me, I hope I'll get everyone's entry in correct. So if you have anything else than "got it" or the equivalent as a PM by me please read it and answer ;)



.... Please do not post, until further notice reveal incoming....

[Korahir]

Mozz'rat the Imp Hunter
CE Quasit Rogue 8/Assassin 10
Build



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


2 (3HD)
Quasit
+3
+3
+3
+3
Bluff 6, Disguise 4, Hide 6, Knowledge(The Planes) 5, Listen 6, Move Silently 6, Spellcraft 3, Spot 6, Tumble 3cc
Weapon Finesse, Darkstalker
Poison (Injury, Fortitude DC 13, initial damage 1d4 Dex, secondary damage 2d4 Dex), 2 Claws (1d3), 1 Bite (1d4), 20ft/Fly 50ft(perfect), +8 size bonus to Hide, Alternate Form (Monstrous Centipede and Wolf), DR 5/cold iron or good, darkvision 60ft., fast healing 2, immunity to poison, resistance to fire 10, Detect Good, Detect Magic, Invisibility(self only) at will, Cause Fear(30ft radius from the quasit, DC 11) 1/day, Commune 1/week.


3 (4HD)
Penetrating Strike Rogue 1
+3
+3
+5
+3
Bluff 7, Hide 7, Listen 7, Move Silently 7, Spot 7, Tumble 7

Sneak Attack +1d6, trapfinding


4 (5HD)
Penetrating Strike Rogue 2
+4
+3
+6
+3
Bluff 8, Hide 8, Listen 8, Move Silently 8, Spot 8, Tumble 8, Use Magic Device 3

Evasion


5 (6HD)
Penetrating Strike Rogue 3
+5
+4
+6
+4
Bluff 9, Hide 9, Listen 9, Move Silently 9, Spot 9, Tumble 9, Use Magic Device 6
Weapon Focus(Light Crossbow)
Sneak Attack +2d6, Penetrating Strike


6 (7HD)
Assassin 1
+5
+4
+8
+4
Hide 10, Listen 10, Move Silently 10, Spot 10, Tumble 10

Sneak Attack +1d6, Death Attack, Poison Use, Spells


7 (8HD)
Assassin 2
+6
+4
+9
+4
Hide 11, Listen 11, Move Silently 11, Spot 11, Tumble 11

+1 Save against poison, Uncanny Dodge


8 (9HD)
Assassin 3
+7
+5
+9
+5
Hide 12, Listen 12, Move Silently 12, Spot 12, Tumble 12
Crossbow Sniper
Sneak Attack +2d6


9 (10HD)
Assassin 4
+8
+5
+10
+5
Hide 13, Listen 13, Move Silently 13, Spot 13, Tumble 13

+2 Save against poison


10 (11HD)
Assassin 5
+8
+5
+10
+5
Hide 14, Listen 14, Move Silently 14, Spot 14, Tumble 14

Improved Uncanny Dodge, Sneak Attack +3d6


11 (12HD)
Assassin 6
+9
+6
+11
+6
Hide 15, Listen 15, Move Silently 15, Spot 15, Tumble 15, Use Magic Device 7
Point Blank Shot
+3 Save against poison


12 (13HD)
Assassin 7
+10
+6
+11
+6
Hide 16, Listen 16, Move Silently 16, Spot 16, Tumble 16, Use Magic Device 8

Sneak Attack +4d6


13 (14HD)
Assassin 8
+11
+6
+12
+6
Hide 17, Listen 17, Move Silently 17, Spot 17, Tumble 17, Use Magic Device 9

+4 Save against poison, Hide in Plain Sight


14 (15HD)
Assassin 9
+11
+7
+12
+7
Hide 18, Listen 18, Move Silently 18, Spot 18, Tumble 18, Use Magic Device 10
Woodland Archer
Sneak Attack +5d6


15 (16HD)
Assassin 10
+12
+7
+13
+7
Hide 19, Listen 19, Move Silently 19, Spot 19, Tumble 19, Use Magic Device 11

+5 Save against poison


16 (17HD)
Rogue 4
+13
+7
+14
+7
Hide 20, Listen 20, Move Silently 20, Spot 20, Tumble 20, Use Magic Device 16

Uncanny Dodge


17 (18HD)
Rogue 5
+13
+7
+14
+7
Hide 21, Listen 21, Move Silently 21, Spot 21, Tumble 21, Use Magic Device 21
Craven
Sneak Attack + 3d6


18 (19HD)
Rogue 6
+14
+8
+15
+8
Bluff 13, Hide 22, Listen 22, Move Silently 22, Spot 22, Tumble 22, Use Magic Device 22




19 (20HD)
Rogue 7
+15
+8
+15
+8
Bluff 17, Hide 23, Listen 23, Move Silently 23, Spot 23, Tumble 23, Use Magic Device 23

Sneak Attack +4d6


20 (21HD)
Rogue 8
+16
+8
+16
+8
Bluff 21, Hide 23, Listen 23, Move Silently 23, Spot 23, Tumble 23, Use Magic Device 23
Dead Eye
Improved Uncanny Dodge




Ability Scores

Final Ability Scores:

Str - 10 (8)
Dex - 11 (19)
Con - 10
Int - 11 (14)
Wis - 11 (13)
Cha - 10

Levels 4, 8, and 12 go to Int, Levels 16 and 20 go to Dex


Spells per Day/Spells Known

Spells per Day/Spells Known


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


6th
-
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
-
2
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
-
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
-
3
2
0
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th
-
3
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th
-
3
3
2
0
-
-
-
-
-


13th
-
3
3
3
1
-
-
-
-
-


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


15th
-
3
3
3
3
-
-
-
-
-


16th
-
3
3
3
3
-
-
-
-
-


17th
-
3
3
3
3
-
-
-
-
-


18th
-
3
3
3
3
-
-
-
-
-


19th
-
3
3
3
3
-
-
-
-
-


20th
-
3
3
3
3
-
-
-
-
-



Spells Known:
1st Level: Black Bag, Death Grimace, Shock and Awe, Sniper's Shot
2nd Level: Alter Self, Fell the Greatest Foe, Fire Shuriken, Undetecable Alignment
3rd Level: False Life, Magic Circle Against Good, Nondetection, Wraithstrike
4th Level: Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Dimension Door, Glibness, Sniper's Eye


CR 2
Mozz'rat is a lowly Quasit. He serves his superiors in the Blood War as a messenger and scout. He's unlikely to be encountered alone as a scout, and will likely be in a group with 1-2 other Quasits. He's certainly the best coward among his peers, however, and will put that talent to use by sneaking away or fleeing if it looks like his scouting party will encounter trouble the can't handle. That said, he loves to inflict pain and suffering, and will happily dish out a crossbow bolt in the back whenever possible.

While a large swath of Demons serve in the Blood War under J'zzalshrak, the Errant General, Mozz'rat is a pathetic worm beneath her notice. His best hope at this CR is to prove himself the worthy servant of one of her lesser commanders.

Possible Encounters:
Demonic Envoy (EL 2) - A Succubus spymaster is looking to secure regular weapon shipments for the war effort from an unscrupulous merchant in Sigil. She is short on available resources and can only afford to send a small envoy. She sent Mozz'rat alone to negotiate terms. The merchant, having found out that the Succubus is short handed, is now price gouging on the needed weaponry. Desperate to not displease his mistress, Mozz'rat has resorted to trying to hire the party as "a show of force" to frighten the merchant into going back to the original deal.

Interrupted Skirmish (EL 3-4) - The party comes across a small group of Quasit scouts(3) and Imp messengers(3) in mid-battle. The PC's can wait for one side to finish the other before engaging the survivors, aid one side in overcoming the other, fight everyone at once, or leave while they are still unnoticed. One of the Quasits is Mozz'rat, and he more so than his companions relishes tearing into the Imps. If the fight goes poorly however, he's the first one to flee.


CR 5
Mozz'rat has proven himself to be a resourceful scout, excellent sneak, and able to lay a surprisingly deadly ambush. He is now trusted with more valuable tasks. He is frequently tasked with hunting down enemy messenger Imps, which has earned him his 'Imp Hunter' nickname. While he loves nothing more than killing or torturing an Imp, he's also an efficient guerilla fighter. He's a great hit-and-run attacker, and can harry a group of enemy scouts for days on end. He always tries to start a fight Invisible, and then takes full advantage of that to get a sneak attack off with his crossbow before hiding and turning Invisible again. He's a surprisingly good sniper as well. He has a +20 Hide check before magic items at this point, which means his hide check after sniping is an even d20 roll. He'll snipe a target using poisoned bolts until he's finally spotted, then he'll turn invisible and flee to a safe distance before repeating it again. If moderately injured or worse, he'll retreat for the day and heal up before returning to continue his hit and run tactics if needed.

Possible Encounters:
Trespassers Will Be Shot, Survivors Will Be Shot Again (EL 7-8) - The party are travelling through an area containing supplies guarded by a Babau commander, Mozz'rat, and a few Dretch(4). Fearing what his master will do to him if they steal the supplies, Mozz'rat will gleefully begin a hit and run attack on them in order to drive them away, force them into his compatriots, or to lead them away from the supplies. He is happy to do this for days if necessary. Once it seems clear that the party is no longer in danger of taking the supplies, Mozz'rat will flee and return to his post. If it appears that he cannot stop the party and they prove capable of possibly killing him, he does not fight to the death. He prefers to flee and leave his Babau commander to die. He's also no stranger to groveling and bootlicking when it comes to staying alive, and will be more than happy to blame the lost supplies on the now deceased Babau.


CR 10
Mozz'rat is earning a name for himself now. He's a much better scout and infiltrator now (Alter Self and Undetectable Alignment are incredibly useful for killing and then impersonating an enemy spy). He also likes to capture Imps and torture them for fun, when he has the time. He's a ruthless stalker, sniping with poisoned bolts from the shadows, and his Death Attack, despite being melee and having a low DC, is still quite useful when not dealing with something that can see through his invisibility and overcome his hide check. He doesn't do well in a stand up fight, but when he can sneak up and deliver sneak attacks at range, he can deal a surprising amount of damage with +5d6 sneak attack and half his dex bonus to damage from Crossbow Sniper. He's now mostly tasked with hunting down specific targets, or infiltrating enemy camps and stealing their secrets.

Possible Encounters:
Ambush the Assassin (EL 10) - A local noble hires the party to defend him against a demonic assassination plot. A devil provided him information about the plot, but could not say when or where the attempt would happen, only who the assassin was (Mozz'rat). Now the party must try to find the assassin and foil the assassination attempt.


CR 15 Sweet Spot
A gifted infiltrator and sniper, Mozz'rat is an infuriating opponent. With Woodland Archer and Hide in Plain Sight, he can happily snipe and relocate himself repeatedly in a fight. He starts fights invisible and hidden before opening with a ranged Death Attack, and then continues to take pot shots at his opponents while remaining well hidden. He's now a danger to many different types of devils, although he still delights in torturing, maiming, and killing Imps. He's earned enough rewards to have very nice customized gear, and is primarily geared for murdering Lawful creatures. Sniper's Eye lets him deliver his Death Attacks at range, and he's got a nice variety of spells that aid him in infiltration and information gathering. He also has Dimension Door, which gives him a low quality imitation of the greater teleport ability of his superiors. At this point, he probably personally serves the Errant General herself, or at least one of her inner circle.

Possible Encounters:
Death in the Shadows (EL 15) - The party has foiled a major demonic offensive, and in doing so have drawn the attention of the Errant General. She has dispatched Mozz'rat to kill one of them as a warning message to the others. He is much less likely to flee in this encounter, given that he serves such a powerful and prestigious master. However, as always, he won't fight to the death, and prefers to flee to either continue the fight after healing, or find a new powerful master to serve if he can't complete his task.


CR 20
The last few levels of Mozz'rat's career see him pick up the Craven feat and Dead Eye feat, along with +2d6 more sneak attack. All of that really helps him pack a punch. He also maintains his excellent sneaking and scouting skills. In all likelyhood, should he reach these lofty heights, it's highly likely that he'll be thrown back in the primordial soup of demonkind and "promoted" to a higher form of demon. It's also possible that, given his remarkable cowardice, he continues to serve the most powerful master he can as a spy and assassin for centuries to come.

Encounters with Mozzie are best if he can flee and have the party bump into him repeatedly in their adventuring careers. While they'll undoubtedly hate him for his hit-and-run tactics, he's unlikely to actually successfully kill a PC until well after the point that they can afford to fix such a condition. And if you play him up as a cowardly sadist who has absolutely no shame, he may even become endearing to the PC's. There's also the possibility that you could decide to have Mozzie become the familiar of a PC wizard, if they can show that they are a powerful master (or at least more powerful than his previous master).


Henchmen Gearing Up! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j73gYxsxRrs)
What sort of treasure does a henchman carry? Well, not much, to be sure. But as Mozzie grows in skill, he inevitably picks up a few trinkets here and there as spoils from his victims, or rewards from his superiors. On page 51 of the DMG under "Monsters with Class Levels", it states to use the NPC gear values for monsters with class levels which seems appropriate here, using CR in place of level on the chart. Here is some notable treasure Mozzie carries with him at each of the above breakpoints (please note that any spare NPC WBL is spent on level appropriate stealth enhancing items, standard ability score items and standard defensive items).

CR 2 - As per the monster manual, basic Quasits generally don't have treasure. Mozzie, being the best coward, has managed to scrounge up a few goodies however. He's got a masterwork light crossbow sized for him, a silver dagger sized for him, some silver crossbow bolts, and a couple of useful defensive 1st and 2nd level potions.

CR 5 - At this point Mozzie has likely added a Mithril Chain shirt, or had his crossbow enchanted. He still carries a few useful potions, has started to carry some useful poisons to apply to his bolts, and may have a 1st level wand with a utility spell.

CR 10 - Due to his success, he's been well rewarded. His armor is now magical, his crossbow is not only magical, but also carries the Sizing enchantment on it so he can use it when he casts Alter Self to assume a larger form. If he knows who his targes are in advance, he'll likely pick 2-3 Bane arrows that will be useful against them.

CR 15 - Mozz'rat's Crossbow is now Anarchic, to better damage any Lawful creatures he comes across. His assortment of Wands has grown, and likely includes a few Eternal Wands of some of the more useful buff and utility spells. A mithrilmist chain shirt is a likely candidate for armor.

CR 20 - Mozzie's a dangerous sniper, and would do well to include the Shadow and Silent Moves enchantments to his armor. His UMD score is high enough to reliably activate most potent spellcasting items, so he'll flesh out his treasure hoard with several wands and staves.


The Henchman


No more than 10 caster, manifester, or meldshaper levels - Mozz'rat has 10 Assassin levels, which give him a Caster Level of 10. As per Korahir's ruling, the caster level of Mozz'rat's racial Spell-like abilities don't violate this rule, and are capped at CL 10 for purposes of evaluation for this contest. The only effect his has is that it reduces the duration of his Commune spell-like ability from 12 rounds to 10 rounds (he still only gets 6 questions), and it limits the forms he can take with his Alternate Form ability to 10 HD or less.
No ability to cast spells, initiate maneuvers, or manifest powers higher than 5th level, no souldmelds bound to high level chakras - The highest level spell he can cast is his Commune spell-like ability, which is a 5th level spell.
UMD and UPD are the only method available to use higher level spells or powers - Mozzie's got a solid UMD score from mid-levels on up to take full advantage of this.
Inherited templates maximum +2 CR, base creature max 2 CR and 4 RHD - As a Quasit, Mozzie has a max base CR of 2 and 3 RHD.
Must serve an evil Overlord, organization or any other evil power, but must not be in any commanding position - Mozzie spends his entire career serving successively more powerful commanders in the Blood War, all of whom report to J'zzalshrak, the Errant General and one of the main demonic generals in that conflict. And he spends his entire servitude as a messenger, guard, scout or assassin, none of which gives him any sort of commanding position.
Evil Aligned - Not only is Mozzie evil aligned, he even has the [Evil] subtype! You can't get much more evil than that. :smallwink:




References

Monster Manual - Quasit
Player's Handbook - Rogue, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Point Blank Shot, Alter Self, Undetectable Alignment, False Life, Magic Circle Against Good, Nondetection, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Dimension Door, Glibness
Player's Handbook II - Crossbow Sniper
Dungeon Master's Guide - Assassin
Lords of Madness - Darkstalker
Dragon Compendium - Dead Eye
Spell Compendium - Shock and Awe, Sniper's Eye, Sniper's Shot, Fell the Greatest Foe, Fire Shurkien, Wraithstrike
Book of Vile Darkness - Black Bag, Death Grimace
Races of the Wild - Woodland Archer
Champions of Ruin - Craven

[Korahir]

Mr. Harvey B. Hench
Elf (Note: elves can have painted-on beards)
NE
Soulknife 10/ Shadowdancer 10
http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab105/iansneade/Coldfire_zpsee5d9544.jpg


Mr. Hench grew up always wanting to be a henchman. Not just any henchman, though: Henchman of the year. His father was a henchman, and his father before that, and his father before that...and so on. His father was one of the great henchmen, serving villain after villain, evil plan after evil plan, having romantic bouts with the villain's Lieutenants and sometimes even the Big Bad themselves. After all, everyone knows that the most loyal henchmen always gets the girl (or guy, depending on the orientation of your boss). Sure, those relationships never last for long, but it looks good on the resume when you apply to work for the next Big Bad. His mother only stayed with his father for a year, at most, helping out with a demonic ritual!

And, in that way, Mr. Harvey B. Hench applied for his first job as a henchman. Due to his natural psi-sword abilities and his pedigree, he was accepted in as a low-level grunt. He was a pretty good one, too! Sneaking around, following and capturing would-be heroes, obtaining information from both captured heroes and through the long bureaucratic processes of the government, and fetching fresh coffee for his superiors from the marketplace. (After all, big villains can't go out and visit the marketplaces; they'd be recognized almost instantly.) And then pretending he was a clueless brute who was tricked into going along with the plan, before going off and finding a new villain to hench for.

Finally, after a lot of hard work, traversing through sewers, surviving through heroes (one way or another), and romantic flings with employers, Mr. Hench finally worked his way up to his dream: Henchman of the Year. He had reached his father's level. He was happy. He could retire, if he ever got bored with henching.




Base Str: 10
Base Con: 11 -2 = 9
Base Dex: 11 +2 = 13
Base Int: 10
Base Cha: 10
Base Wis: 11
Level 4 ability score increase: Dex
Level 8 ability score increase: Con
Level 12 ability score increase: Wis
Level 16 ability score increase: Str
Level 20 ability score increase: Str




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


1st
Soulknife
+0
+0
+2
+2
4 Autohypnosis, 4 Concentration, 4 Hide
4 Move Silently
Combat Reflexes
Mind blade, Weapon Focus (mind blade), Wild Talent


2nd
Soulknife
+1
+0
+3
+3
5 Autohypnosis, 4 Concentration, 4 Hide
3 Move Silently, 2 Perform(Dance)

Throw mind blade


3rd
Soulknife
+2
+1
+3
+3
5 Autohypnosis, 6 Concentration, 5 Hide, Spot 1
3 Move Silently, 2 Perform(Dance)
Dodge
Psychic strike +1d8


4th
Soulknife
+3
+1
+4
+4
5 Autohypnosis, 6 Concentration, 5 Hide, Spot 3
3 Move Silently, 3 Perform(Dance)

+1 mind blade


5th
Soulknife
+3
+1
+4
+4
5 Autohypnosis, 7 Concentration, 7 Hide, Spot 4
3 Move Silently, 3 Perform(Dance)

Free draw, shape mind blade


6th
Soulknife
+4
+2
+5
+5
5 Autohypnosis, 7 Concentration, 8 Hide, Spot 4
5 Move Silently, 1 Tumble, 3 Perform(Dance)
Mobility
Mind blade enhancement +1, Speed of Thought


7th
Soulknife
+5
+2
+5
+5
5 Autohypnosis, 7 Concentration, 9 Hide, Spot 6
5 Move Silently, 2 Tumble, 3 Perform(Dance)

Psychic strike +2d8


8th
Soulknife
+6/+1
+2
+6
+6
5 Autohypnosis, 8 Concentration, 9 Hide, Spot 6
6 Move Silently, 2 Tumble, 4 Perform(Dance)

+2 mind blade


9th
Soulknife
+6/+1
+3
+6
+6
5 Autohypnosis, 8 Concentration, 9 Hide, Spot 7
6 Move Silently, 3 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)
Improved Critical (mind blade)
Bladewind, Greater weapon focus (mind blade)


10th
Soulknife
+7/+2
+3
+7
+7
5 Autohypnosis, 8 Concentration, 10 Hide, Spot 8
8 Move Silently, 3 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Mind blade enhancement +2


11th
Shadowdancer
+7/+2
+3
+9
+7
5 Autohypnosis, 10 Concentration, 13 Hide, Spot 8
8 Move Silently, 4 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Hide in plain sight


12th
Shadowdancer
+8/+3
+3
+10
+7
5 Autohypnosis, 10 Concentration, 15 Hide, Spot 8
10 Move Silently, 5 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)
Improved Initiative
Evasion, darkvision, uncanny dodge


13th
Shadowdancer
+9/+4
+4
+10
+8
5 Autohypnosis, 10 Concentration, 15 Hide, Spot 10
12 Move Silently, 7 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Shadow illusion, summon shadow


14th
Shadowdancer
+10/+5
+4
+11
+8
5 Autohypnosis, 10 Concentration, 16 Hide, Spot 10
14 Move Silently, 10 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Shadow jump 20 ft


15th
Shadowdancer
+10/+5
+4
+11
+8
5 Autohypnosis, 12 Concentration, 17 Hide, Spot 10
16 Move Silently, 11 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)
Weapon Specialization (mind blade)
Defensive roll, improved uncanny dodge


16th
Shadowdancer
+11/+6/+1
+5
+12
+9
5 Autohypnosis, 12 Concentration, 18 Hide, Spot 11
18 Move Silently, 13 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Shadow jump 40 ft, summon shadow


17th
Shadowdancer
+12/+7/+2
+5
+12
+9
5 Autohypnosis, 14 Concentration, 19 Hide, Spot 13
19 Move Silently, 13 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Slippery mind


18th
Shadowdancer
+13/+8/+3
+5
+13
+9
5 Autohypnosis, 15 Concentration, 20 Hide, Spot 14
20 Move Silently, 15 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)
Greater Weapon Specialization (mind blade)
Shadow jump 80 ft


19th
Shadowdancer
+13/+8/+3
+6
+13
+10
5 Autohypnosis, 16 Concentration, 21 Hide, Spot 16
21 Move Silently, 16 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Summon shadow


20th
Shadowdancer
+14/+9/+4
+6
+14
+10
5 Autohypnosis, 18 Concentration, 23 Hide, Spot 16
23 Move Silently, 16 Tumble, 5 Perform(Dance)

Shadow jump 160 ft, improved evasion





Level 5: Having recently began henching, Harvey B. Hench is slowly working his way up in the favor of superiors, obeying their orders even when it might lead to failure or embarrassment. This is largely because he doesn't know better.

Level 10: Through experience, Harvey B. Hench has learned when it's better to obey to the letter of the orders and when it's better to get creative or disobey. When the one who gave the orders will obviously lose, it's in his self-interest to push himself out ahead. Torturing, sneaking around, and other information-gathering methods, he can be more creative in and decide when to pull out and when to push further.

Level 13 ("Sweet Spot"): This is the obvious sweet spot during his henching career, largely because Harvey B. Hench has finally worked his way up into the sexy leather level of henching. He has several romantic relationships with multiple larger villains and evil leaders, and so he receives a lot of favor from them.

Level 15: At this point, he's so experienced in henching and has henched for so many villains that he can give very useful advice every so often to the villains. Obviously not too frequently, though, or otherwise he might be used as a fall-guy if it fails.

Level 20: Finally Henchman of the Year, Harvey B. Hench is more of a legend than an actual 8-5 henchman. Sure, he still works for a myriad of villains, but it has come to the point that people vie for his services as a henchman. Many villains see him more as a status symbol of their villainry and their success if he henches for them, even part-time. And so, he has connections and relationships and everything all over the place.

[Korahir]

Filia

http://i67.tinypic.com/1ijxps.jpg

"One day you see a strange little girl look at you
One day you see a strange little girl feeling blue
She'd run to the town one day
Leaving home and the country fair
Just beware
When you're there
Strange little girl"


She can’t remember her Mommy, it was so long ago, but she does remember her leaving her alone day alone in the woods. The nights were so cold, and there was no food to eat. She waited for Mommy, but she never came back.

One night, she fell asleep, and then woke up…different. She wasn’t cold anymore, and she wasn’t hungry. Well, not exactly. She always felt a kind of emptiness in the pit of her stomach, but she knew it wasn’t food that she needed.

She dwelled in that dark forest for such a long time. Winters came and went.

She didn’t like the animals and creatures of the forest – they seemed so warm and yucky. Sometimes she would encounter a woodsman, or a traveller. They reminded her of the bad Mommy who abandoned her, so sometimes she would bite them to make them sick. Sometimes she would trick them with a fake image of herself, leading them into spider lairs. Other times she would make them go all funny in the head, and that always made her giggle.

Then one day, while she was lurking in her woods, she met Daddy! He was a tall, pale man. He was warm, but not like the others. Something about him felt comforting. And he wasn’t afraid of her. He smiled at her, and called her "Filia". She had another name, before, but she couldn’t remember what it was. Filia felt…right.

Daddy was so good to her. Her taught her about magic, and awakened the dormant power in her. Daddy said she must have some dragon blood back in her family, and that’s why the magic came to her so easily.

She didn’t like the company of most of daddy’s other friends, except for one. An old hobgoblin called Maelgynym. He used to shout orders at daddy’s servants, but he was always nice to her. He even taught her how to give orders to the servants like he did.

When she wasn’t with Daddy (which wasn’t very often) she would sit in her room. Something from her past long ago tickled at the corner of her mind. An almost forgotten memory of making baskets with Mommy, before Mommy went and left her alone. She amused herself by weaving little baskets and other odds and ends to fill in the time.

One day, Daddy told her he was going to change, and become more like Filia. He told her not to be scared, and that even though she mightn’t be able to feel his life force like she used to, his ugly little familiar Jebel the Imp would still be there, and she could feel his life force instead.

Daddy became cold and powerful, but to Filia he was just the same Daddy he has always been…and oh, what wonderful and wicked adventures they would have!


Advanced Evolved Phantom Slaymate Undead 8/Sorcerer 6/Marshal 3/War Weaver 5

HD 8d12+11d4+3d8+23 (116 hp)

Starting abilities: Str 12 (+2 Evolved) Dex 12 Con - Int 11 Wis 13 Cha 15 (+2 Evolved); all increases go to Cha.

Final abilities: Str 14 Dex 12 Con - Int 11 Wis 13 Cha 22



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


1st
Undead 1 - CR 2
+0
+0
+0
+2
Hide +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Spot +4
Improved Turn Resistance
Darkvision 60 ft, Pale Wasting Disease, Undead Pale Aura, Undead Traits


2nd
Undead 2 - CR 2
+0
+0
+0
+3
Hide +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1
-
-


3rd
Undead 3 - CR 2
+1
+1
+1
+3
Hide +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1
Trickery Devotion
-


4th
Undead 4 - CR 2
+2
+1
+1
+4
Hide +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1
-
-


5th
Undead 5 - CR 3
+2
+1
+1
+4
Hide +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1
-
-


6th
Undead 6 - CR 3
+3
+2
+2
+5
Hide +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1
Improved Toughness
-


7th
Undead 7 - CR 3
+3
+2
+2
+5
Hide +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1
-
-


8th
Undead 8 - CR 3
+4
+2
+2
+6
Hide +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1
-
-


9th
Evolved Template - CR 4
+4
+2
+2
+6
-
-
Fast Healing 3, SLA: Confusion (1/day)


10th
Phantom Template - CR 6
+4
+2
+2
+6
-
-
Incorporeal Jaunt, Phantom Defense, Phantom Strike, Vulnerability to Ghost Touch


11th
Sorcerer 1 (Spell Shield Variant) CR 7
+4
+2
+2
+8
Craft (basket weaving) +2
Lifebond
Spell Shield, Spells


12th
Marshal 1 - CR 8
+4
+4
+2
+10
Knowledge (arcana) +4
Skill Focus (diplomacy)
Minor Aura (motivate dexterity)


13th
Marshal 2 - CR 9
+5
+2
+2
+11
Bluff +2, Knowledge (arcana) +2
-
Major Aura +1 (resilient troops)


14th
Marshal 3 - CR 10
+6
+5
+3
+11
Bluff +4
Enlarge Spell
Minor Aura (determined caster)


15th
Sorcerer 2 - CR 11
+7
+5
+3
+12
Craft (basket weaving) +2
-
-


16th
Sorcerer 3 - CR 12
+7
+6
+4
+12
Craft (basket weaving) +2
-
-


17th
Sorcerer 4 - CR 13
+8
+6
+4
+13
Concentration +2
Dragontouched
-


18th
Sorcerer 5 - CR 14
+8
+6
+4
+13
Concentration +2
-
-


19th
Sorcerer 6 - CR 15
+9
+7
+5
+14
Concentration +2
-
-


20th
War Weaver 1 - CR 16
+9
+7
+5
+16
Concentration +2
Spell Focus (transmutation)
Eldritch Tapestry

21st
War Weaver 2 - CR 17
+10
+7
+5
+17
Concentration +2
-
Quiescent Weaving 1

22nd
War Weaver 3 - CR 18
+10
+8
+6
+17
Concentration +2
-
Quiescent Weaving 2

23rd
War Weaver 4 - CR 19
+11
+8
+6
+18
Concentration +2
Ability Enhancer
Quiescent Weaving 3

24th
War Weaver 5 - CR 20
+11
+8
+6
+18
Concentration +2
-
Enlarged Tapestry, Quiescent Weaving 4




Spells Known:

Sorcerer 1: 0 - Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Touch of Fatigue; 1 - Mage Armor, Ray of Enfeeblement
Sorcerer 2: 0 - Resistance
Sorcerer 3: 1 - Blockade
Sorcerer 4: 0 - Dancing Lights; 2 - Wings of Cover
Sorcerer 5: 1 - Feather Fall; 2 - Invisbility
Sorcerer 6: 0 - Ghost Sound; 3- Haste
War Weaver 2: 1 - Grease; 2 - Eagle's Splendor; 3 - Fly
War Weaver 3: 0 - Mage Hand; 4 - Polymorph
War Weaver 4: 2 - Cat's Grace; 3 - Heroism; 4 - Greater Mirror Image
War Weaver 5: 0 - Open/Close; 5 - Wall of Force


Sources (non-core/SRD):

Complete Champion - Trickery Devotion
Complete Scoundrel - Blockade
Dragon Compendium - Ability Enhancer
Dragon Magic - Dragontouched
Dungeonscape - Spell Shield (Sorcerer ACF)
Libris Mortis - Evolved template, Improved Toughness, Improved Turn Resistance, Lifebond, Slaymate
Monster Manual V – Phantom template
Player's Handbook II - Greater Mirror Image
Races of the Dragon - Wings of Cover



Filia is the cohort to a Human Dread Necromancer.

She reduces the metamagic cost of his Necromancy spells with her Undead Pale Aura. With her Marshal Minor Auras, she adds her considerable Charisma bonus to allies rolls to overcome spell resistance (most offensive Necromancy spells are SR: Yes), and also on Dexterity check (which obviously includes Initiative rolls). These bonuses increase when she uses her Ability Enhancer boosted Eagle's Splendor on herself.

Her spellcasting is somewhat limited, but mostly there to provide support for the Dread Necromancer and his allies, as well as for self defense. War Weaver allows her to gift more of her allies with spell effects, but annoyingly, this only works with living allies. This would include the Dread Necromancer before his ascension to Lichdom, and also his Imp familiar. It seems entirely likely that a caster with intentions of conquest and personal power would also have allies such as evil Humanoids and Outsiders, who could also benefit from an Eldritch Tapestry. If this seems a far stretch, Filia's build could drop War Weaver in favour of a full casting progression PrC, and pick up an extra level of Marshal for Grant Move Action.

When her "Daddy" becomes a Lich, she moves her Lifebond feat over to his Imp familiar.

She has plenty of defensive options: becoming incorporeal, undead immunities, fast healing, creating a diversion with the Trickery Domain, reducing damage with Spell Shield, and spells such as Wings of Cover (which she can share with allies due to the Dragontouched feat), Invisibility and Greater Mirror Image.

The father/daughter relationship between Filia and her Dread Necromancer adds a little creepiness, great for a horror campaign.

[Korahir]

The Storyteller

http://pre15.deviantart.net/8d72/th/pre/f/2007/298/c/b/cb1b89da189f87c8.jpg



LE changeling ranger 3/swashbuckler 1/ranger4/zhentarim spy 5/cabinet trickster 5/master of masks 5


str 10
dex 11
con 10
int 11 (bonuses here)
wis 10
cha 11

starting languages: common, giant


Thank you very much, sir, for that rousing introduction. Far more than I deserve, I’m sure. Are you all quite comfortable? Welcome to the Wolf’s Pup Inn. Finest accommodations around.

Me? Oh, my name’s not important.

Gather round and I’ll tell you a tale of the last foolish upstart who threatened our way of life.

Well, sure, you might know how it ends, but it’s all in the execution, isn’t it?

Our story begins when the young man in question, Fredas, of the clan Tare. No, don’t worry, I won’t start with him as a baby.

He drew the attention of our beloved leader when he triumphed at a tournament. The old, rusted sword he’d come in with, a hand-me-down from a dead relative of some sort —this part’s a little fuzzy, mind you— began to glow in a way that let everyone around know the boy holding it was important.

It wasn’t long before he fell into disreputable company. You know the kind of company I’m talking about. Rebellious company. He got it in his head he was meant to bring change to our country.

No, I’m not sure how either.

He began his journey and stopped at an inn. This inn, as a matter of fact! He came across a comely young barmaid. Quiet in the back, please.

He told her all about his ignoble quest and she was all too happy to listen. After, shall we say, a brief interlude, Fredas was on his way without so much as a backwards glance.

That sword of his needed a tune-up. His liaison led him to the blacksmith around these parts. The barmaid’s father, as a matter of fact.

The old man scraped all the rust off the thing and sent Fredas on his way. He couldn’t pay the fellow, of course. Hard to make change when the only currency around is destiny, after all.

Fredas trekked his way through the mountains and came to the swamp surrounding our leader’s stronghold. When he was there, he needed a guide.

Luckily for him, he found one. Yes, I know, it’s quite unlikely, sir, please hold all questions until the end, thank you very much.

They fought their way through the swamp, the guide foolishly sacrificing himself to some horrible creature while Fredas went on.

Indeed, I don’t think much of that either.

By now, he was badly wounded from the journey through that swamp. He was hardly in any condition to face our great leader.

No, sir, not that I’m saying he would’ve been a match for him if he were healthy.

Barkeep, no more for him. Thank you. Behave. Yes, I’ll have another.

All together now, ‘as luck would have it,’ very good. As luck would have it, he came upon an old crone—no, not in the same sense as the barmaid—and bought a potion from her to heal his wounds and give him the strength of ten men. That’s nearly half as strong as our great leader, you know.

Fredas faced off against him and was scantly able to draw his sword, so filled with fear at our great leader’s presence. He quaffed his cowardly potion and felt a chill in his gut. His blade made only the barest scratch on our great leader’s armor—fine stuff, made locally—before his head was torn right off his body by our great leader’s bare hand. Yes, there are replicas in the gift shop.

Why did he go down so easily? Well, you know none can stand up against our leader.

No, wait, don’t leave yet, you haven’t heard the best part. That’s more like it.

Aren’t you curious to know how I found all these things out? That’s what I thought.

Fredas didn’t fail all on his own. He had a little help. He could’ve gone in the swamp because that was the best way to approach his fool’s errand. Or his guide could’ve taken him the wrong way to give our great leader time to prepare himself. His sword might’ve failed in its task because of our armor’s superior craftsmanship. Or maybe it was because the blacksmith blunted his blade. He very well could’ve been overcome by fear standing in our great leader’s presence. Or the apothecary could’ve given him poison.

How do I know? Oh, that’s easy. You’ve guessed by now. No?

Because I was that barmaid. That blacksmith. The guide and apothecary too.

Of course, our great leader was never in any real danger. But it’s our duty to do everything we can to take these petty concerns off his mind. He’s got more important things to think about.

Thank you, thank you, you’re too kind. Just put the coins in this hat, if you will.

Please, everyone, enjoy your stay and remember to tip your barmaids. You never know who’s watching.

But what do I know? I’m just an old drunk.




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


1st
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
craft (epic) 4, disguise 4, forgery 4, gather info 4, sm 4, tumble 4
city slicker
Favored enemy (arcanists), track, voice of the city


2nd
Ranger 2
+2
+3
+3
+0
craft (epic) 1 (5), disguise 1 (5), forgery 1 (5), gather info 1 (5), sm 1 (5), tumble 1 (5)

combat style (two weapon fighting)


3rd
Ranger 3
+3
+3
+3
+1
craft (epic) 1 (6), disguise 1 (6), sm 1 (6), speak language (abyssal), speak language (draconic), tumble 1 (6)
Deceitful
Endurance


4th
Swashbuckler 1
+4
+5
+3
+1
bluff 5

Weapon finesse


5th
Ranger 4
+5
+6
+4
+1
craft (epic) 1 (7), disguise 1 (7), jump 3, sm 1 (7), tumble 1 (7)

animal companion


6th
Zhentarim Spy 1
+5
+6
+6
+3
umd 7
persona immersion
cover identity


7th
Zhentarim Spy 2
+6/+1
+6
+7
+4
balance 2, disguise 2 (9), umd 3 (10)

sneak attack +1d6, undetectable alignment


8th
Zhentarim Spy 3
+7/+2
+7
+7
+4
balance 3 (5), disguise 2 (11), tumble 1 (8), umd 1 (11)

poison use, unlikely cover


9th
Zhentarim Spy 4
+8/+3
+7
+8
+5
bluff 1 (6), disguise 1 (12), tumble 4 (12), umd 1 (12)
staggering strike
slippery mind, sneak attack +2d6


10th
Zhentarim Spy 5
+8/+3
+7
+8
+5
bluff 4 (10), disguise 1 (13), tumble 1 (13), umd 1 (13)

deep cover


11th
Cabinet Trickster 1
+8/+3
+7
+10
+7
craft (epic) 7 (14)

Detect thoughts 2/day, doppelganger insights


12th
Cabinet Trickster 2
+9/+4
+7
+11
+8
perform (act) 8
craven
Thought trick (daze), bonus feat (quick change)


13th
Cabinet Trickster 3
+10/+5
+8
+11
+8
bluff 3 (13), craft (epic) 2 (16), disguise 3 (16),

Detect thoughts 4/day, thought trick (disrupt)


14th
Cabinet Trickster 4
+11/+6/+1
+8
+12
+9
bluff 4 (17), craft (epic) 1 (17), diplo 2, disguise 1 (17)

Thought trick (confuse), bonus feat (racial emulation)


15th
Cabinet Trickster 5
+11/+6/+1
+8
+12
+9
bluff 1 (18), craft (epic) 1 (18), diplo 5 (7), disguise 1 (18)
wanderer’s diplomacy
Change shape, detect thoughts at will, thought trick (stun)


16th
Master of Masks 1
+11/+6/+1
+8
+14
+11
bluff 1 (19), craft (epic) 1 (19), disguise 1 (19), sleight of hand 5

Persona Masks, 2 masks: gladiator and faceless


17th
Master of Masks 2
+12/+7/+2
+8
+15
+12
bluff 1 (20), craft (epic) 1 (20), disguise 1 (20), sleight of hand 5 (10)

3 masks: gladiator, faceless, and assassin


18th
Master of Masks 3
+12/+7/+2
+9
+15
+12
bluff 1 (21), craft (epic) 1 (21), disguise 1 (21), sleight of hand 5 (15)
boomerang daze
Mask specialist


19th
Master of Masks 4
+13/+8/+3
+9
+16
+13
bluff 1 (22), craft (epic) 1 (22), disguise 1 (22), sleight of hand 5 (20)

4 masks: gladiator, faceless, assassin, lich


20th
Master of Masks 5
+13/+8/+3
+9
+16
+13
bluff 1 (23), craft (epic) 1 (23), disguise 1 (23), forgery 3 (8), sleight of hand 3 (23)

Many faces (2, move), 5 masks: gladiator, faceless, assassin, lich, savage





You function as a pretty straightforward ranger. Swashbuckler dip helps you forgo reliance on strength and keeps your base attack up.

City slicker provides all the skills you’ll ever need.

You’re primed for zhentarim spy next levl, laying valuable groundwork with your background in crafting epics.

Bonk people with two weapons and enjoy your base attack. There’s no animal companion you particularly need, so it’s probably fine to go with swindlespitter.


Congratulations, you’re all done with zhentarim spy. You’ve got some sneak attack, activating staggering strike. Persona immersion’s up and running. When people try to find out what you’re up to, you can feed them false intel.

You’ve got poison use to sneak up n your enemies and get the upper hand. deep cover is active meaning no one can see through your disguise at all.

This also helps shore you up for your later cabinet trickster levels.


You’re now into and out of cabinet trickster. You have change shape now, so have fun with that. Skulk around, read minds, stun enemies, and stay undercover. Racial emulation and quick change are operational, making your shapeshifting even more powerful. You now shift as a move action and don’t take a penalty for impersonating another race, along with gaining their subtypes.

Craven’s boosting your damage, and wanderer’s diplomacy makes you a more capable face, letting you communicate with even more creatures, in tandem with voice of the city, putting your huge bluff to work for you, and even helping out with shopping.


You’re now in master of masks. Congratulations. You gain a variety of cool powers from your masks. Faceless blocks divination for the rare times you’re not in deep cover. Gladiator, faceless, assassin, lich, and savage bring their skills to bear. Gladiator gives proficiency with all martial and exotic weapons, so go dig up whatever weird item you want and have fun. Faceless gives a nondetection effect. Assassin boosts your sneak attack and skulk skills. Lich gives you some slas, cause fear, detect undead, and false life, in addition to letting you pas as an undead for divination, and giving passive cold resist 10. Savage gives you some claws, so that’s nice to get you more precision damage. You can also wear two at once and swap them as a move, so enjoy your versatility.Boomerang daze lets you daze enemies when you damage them with talenta or xen’ drink boomerangs, so take advantage, and remember sneak attack will greatly boost the DC.


srd: ranger
cityscape web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a): voice of the city, skilled city dweller
complete mage: arcane hunter
races of destiny: city slicker
races of eberron: persona immersion, cabinet trickster, boomerang daze
player’s guide to faerun: zhentarim spy
complete warrior: swashbuckler
complete scoundrel: master of masks
champions of ruin: craven
phb2: wanderer’s diplomacy

[Korahir]

http://pre15.deviantart.net/cea7/th/pre/f/2015/014/f/5/hobgoblin_by_aleksandratrezvina-d8dyk4n.png
Source (http://missswarm.deviantart.com/art/Hobgoblin-507176807)
Bolphunga, Right Hand of the Blood Duchess
NE Hooded Pupil Sunscorch Hobgoblin Crusader 9/Binder 1/Incarnate 3/Death’s Chosen 3/ Devoted Defender 3

Stats
Str 13
Dex 11
Con 13 (increases here)
Int 10
Wis 14
Cha 12

Build


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


1st
Hooded Pupil




+2 to Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot
Alertness, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
Str +2, Wis +2, Cha +2, +2 Natural Armor, Clutch of Orcus 1/day, Drink Blood, Resist Cold 5, Spider Climb


2nd
Crusader 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Balance 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Spot 2(4), Tumble 4
Weapon Focus (Greatsword)
Steely Resolve 5, Furious Counterstrike, Skilled City Dweller (Ride->Tumble)


3rd
Crusader 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Balance 5, Intimidate 2, Tumble 5

Indomitable Soul


4th
Crusader 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Intimidate 5, Tumble 6
Stone Power
Zealous Surge


5th
Crusader 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Intimidate 7, Jump 1, Tumble 7

Steely Resolve 10


6th
Crusader 5
+5
+4
+1
+1
Intimidate 8, Jump 3, Tumble 8




7th
Crusader 6
+6/+1
+5
+2
+2
Intimidate 9, Jump 5, Tumble 9
Shards of Granite
Smite 1/day


8th
Crusader 7
+7/+2
+5
+2
+2
Intimidate 10, Sense Motive 1(2), Tumble 10




9th
Crusader 8
+8/+3
+6
+2
+2
Intimidate 11, Sense Motive 2(2), Tumble 11

Steely Resolve 15


10th
Crusader 9
+9/+4
+6
+3
+3
Intimidate 12, Sense Motive 3(2), Tumble 12
Martial Stance (Press the Advantage)



11th
Binder 1
+9/+4
+8
+3
+5
Intmidate 13, Sense Motive 4

Soul Binding (1 Vestige)


12th
Incarnate 1
+9/+4
+10
+3
+7
Knowledge (Religion) 6

Aura of Evil, Detect Good


13th
Incarnate 2
+10/+5
+11
+3
+8
Knowledge (Religion) 8
Open Lesser Chakra (Arms)
Chakra Bind (Crown)


14th
Incarnate 3
+10/+5
+12
+3
+9
Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Knowledge (The Planes) 1

Expanded Soulmeld Capacity +1, Incarnum Radiance 1/day


15th
Death’s Chosen 1
+11/+6/+1
+14
+3
+9
Spot 4
(B)Endurance
Shield of the Master, Vigor of the Chosen


16th
Death’s Chosen 2
+12/+7/+2
+15
+3
+9
Search 2
Open Lesser Chakra (Shoulders)
Will of the Chosen


17th
Death’s Chosen 3
+13/+8/+3
+15
+4
+10
Search 4

Bravery of the Chosen, Unnatural Aura


18th
Devoted Defender 1
+14/+9/+4
+17
+6
+10
Spot 6

Harm’s Way


19th
Devoted Defender 2
+15/+10/+5
+18
+7
+10
Spot 8
Open Lesser Chakra (Brow)
Defensive Strike


20th
Devoted Defender 3
+16/+11/+6/+1
+18
+7
+11
Spot 10

Deflect Attack +1



Maneuvers:
1st: Crusader’s Strike, Douse the Flames (trade at 8), Charging Minotaur(trade at 4), Leading the Attack, Vanguard Strike (trade at 6)
2nd: Foehammer, Tactical Strike (at 4)
3rd: White Raven Tactics, Revitalizing Strike (at 6)
4th: Divine Surge, Covering Strike (at 8)
5th: Flanking Maneuver
Stances: Martial Spirit (at 1), Leading the Charge (at 2), Thicket of Blades (at 8), Press the Advantage (at 10)
Backstory
It’s our 10 year anniversary today. Ten long years of busting my hump to keep her happy. I don’t think she noticed. I didn’t remind her, because I knew she wouldn’t care. She’s always saying this is a relationship built on mutual trust and dependence, but it always seems to me like I’m giving more than she is. I have to guard her in the day while she sleeps, I got to help her troll for prey at the taverns. I have to open up a vein to feed her when she’s got the blood shakes. I got to jump in front of her when some nutjob with a stake and hammer tries to do her in. I’m not bitter, though. I don’t resent her, or anything. I know that I need her, too. In the 10 years since we met, she’s stayed beautiful as ever, but I’m starting to feel the creak in my bones after a long day of standing guard. If I’m going to last several more decades, I’m going to need more than a taste of her. I’m going to need someone to elevate me to that life beyond life, and she’s the only one I know that can do that.

I know she will, eventually. It’s only a matter of time before she realizes what I have. I’m not getting any younger, and the older I get the harder it’s going to be for me to protect her. She may be endless, but she doesn’t know how to take care of herself like I do. I have the battle skill to keep her safe in this rough world. My lifespan’s nothing compared to hers. It’s only a matter of time before she realizes I’ve earned it, with all I’ve done for her. She needs me too much.
Level 5
Let’s start off with Hobgoblin. All the hobgoblins we see have CR as determined by their class levels, so we can infer it is a CR 0 race, which boosts stats, and with Sunscorch you gain access to draconic soulmelds. Hooded Pupil adds 1 CR, and is acquired so you can add whenever you want, I’ve added it at the beginning to reap the benefits of the stat boost, and spider climb to escape fights. It’s mostly for flavor of a vampire’s lackey, though the other things don’t hurt.
Crusader makes for a tough, survivable character. Maneuvers chosen here are focused for teamwork, working alongside and helping his master in combat. Of note is the fact that the healing maneuvers you have can benefit both you and your vampire master.

Stone Power adds immense survivability especially with delayed damage pool, and Shards of Granite saves you a few maneuvers by having always-available options.
Level 10
More Crusader means better maneuvers. Press the Advantage is worth spending a feat on, especially since your progression isn’t set up to give you 5th level stances. From here on things will get more involved
Level 15
A level of binder here is for the primary purpose of access to Naberius, who heals 1 point of ability drain every hour. This means that you can support your vampire master’s need for blood as a bottomless source, provided they don’t drink too greedily. This is especially useful if your vampire master is a lifedrinker.
Incarnate adds a large amount of utility in its wide variety of soulmelds. We can’t advance maneuvers anymore, so we’re going to focus our efforts on progressing binds. Of note here are the necrocarnum circlet, which can give you some zombie allies to benefit from your maneuvers, and the vitality belt, which gives you more health in the form of temporary hitpoints. You can juggle them combined with healing to get maximum benefit and keep yourself topped up. It’s unclear whether the open chakra feats give you more binds to work with or just the ability, but they offer plenty of power either way. Detecting good also helps find those who would oppose your master, and Incarnum Radiance boosts your melee damage rolls, which is very nice.
After we will enter Death’s Chosen. The biggest benefit here is at first level. Needing less food and sleep is a cool symbol of increasing link to vampirisim. Shield of the Master lets your vampire master choose not to affect you when it does its thing. Best if your vampire is a spellcaster, so they can carpet bomb areas with AoEs while you’re in the thick of it.
Level 20
Finishing Death’s Chosen still gives some good things. Boost to saves, attack and damage essentially always on since you’re hanging out with your master. Unnatural Aura is as much a crunch ability as it is a neat fluff one. This automatically panics any animals that are brought within 30 feet of you, with no save. This means that animal companions are essentially taken out of the fight, and there’s no real way to end it other than them leaving. As we see from Predator’s Cry, if someone is riding an animal that becomes panicked they have to succeed on DC 25 Ride check to keep it from running away, so most mounts will be gone, too.

Now we enter Devoted Defender, the ultimate in buddy protector roles. First is Harm’s Way, where you simply switch places with your master and take an attack before it happens if you stay close. Note that the attack does not automatically hit you, and with the AC bonus from this and Hooded Pupil, it may not. If you can’t stop it, you can still retaliate with Defensive Strike. Remember it’s an AoO, so if you kill them then the hit never happens. Finally we close out with Deflect Attack, which allows you to simply make an attack not hit when standing next to your master. It’s based on Reflex save, so you can boost it with the impulse boots. Because of wording, if Deflect Attack fails, you can then take the blow for your master with Harm’s Way. All the other levels are just numerical bonuses to these, so we’re not missing out.

[Korahir]

the Adzorok flock
http://josephnewton.com/images/sized/images/work/1KexpSpektorDoves-440x587.jpg
Background
"What is this...form? We made a pact!", whispered Azorok while looking at her spectral body. She would've gasped, except she no longer finds the urgent need to breath.

"Oh, verily we did. And your reward shall come, after your service to the Jade Minister! Once she has this material plane wrapped around her finger, your soul, as does many others who share your faith in her, shall leave their fragile coil and be reborn on the same immortal form as us." The fiend was shrouded in thick, sickening, green smoke, though the deep, gravelly voice behind is audibly clear.

"But I've already done so. I even died in her service!" She protested, despite having already realized that she's been perfectly tricked.

"And apparently, even death isn't strong enough to break your honor and conviction to our cause! Admirable. Although, if that's not your intention, maybe you should've read the fine print first, comrade. However, consider this: I can guarantee you that by the time you ascend to immortal existence, you'll be fully prepared and accustomed to our culture, on a plane that would now be dominated by our own master! Not to mention, you'll be far more useful to us and even far more powerful like this." The infernal voice replied confidently, and Adzorok could've sworn some sense of reassurance and thoughtfulness in his tone.



Adzorok fled from the fiend, intent on taking her own life to finally get her reward, only for her soul to reconstitute days later. Many times over she fled again and took her life, and many times over she has failed. She was stuck inside this broken shell, never resting and never getting her true immortality until the pact has been fulfilled.



Using the Adzorok Flock
Like the Baatezu hierarchy that she serves, Adzorok operates subtly, which means she is best used in a campaign on encounters that rely on heavy social interactions, puzzles, goose chases, and murder mysteries. Plot-critical scenarios involving capturing key people and macguffins can also be used on the Adozrok flock. While combat encounters are best served for other baatezu minions that specialize on brute force, the Adzorok flock isn't no slouch in combat, and will have options other than escape whenever the PCs finally uncover her scheme.

At higher levels, a realistic approach would be that the PCs will only face a small part of the Adzorok flock (unless they are in a very high-op, possibly TO campaign), in the specific quest where the PCs are involved in. Fluffwise, it could be assumed that other bands of heroes are doing their own quest, although facing the same Adzorok flock that the PCs are plagued with. Indeed, the end game of the Jade Minister is to conquer the entire world from multiple fronts of her actual, battle-worthy forces, while having all bands of heroes distracted with quests related to many other (and possibly insignificant to this campaign) macguffins by the adzorok flock.
LE Ghostwise Halfling
Ghost (CR+2) / Ranger 5 / Master of Many Forms 8 / Warshaper 5


Abilities
Total
Score
Stand.
Array
Race/
Template
Level
Bonus
Aging
STR-10-2-1
DEX1110+2-1
CON-10-1
INT1211+1
WIS1211+1
CHA2011+4+4+1



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


2
Ghost






Malevolence, Draining Touch, Energy DrainMon88, Lore LM151, +4 to Knowledge (Arcana/Dungeoneering/Geography/Local/Religion) checksLM151


3
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Bluff* 4,
Gather Information* 4,
Knowledge: Arcana 1(CC),
Knowledge: Religion 1(CC),
Listen 4,
Search 4,
Sense Motive 4,
Spot 4
Apprentice (Criminal)DMGII177,
Urban TrackingCi64
Favored Enemy (Construct, Undead), Urban TrackingCi (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a), Voice of the CityCi


4
Ranger 2
+2
+3
+3
+0
Bluff 5,
Gather Information 5,
Handle Animal 1,
Listen 5,
Search 5
Sense Motive 5,
Spot 5




5
Ranger 3
+3
+3
+3
+1
Bluff 6,
Gather Information 6,
Knowledge: Local 1,
Listen 6,
Search 6,
Sense Motive 6,
Spot 6
Ghostly GraspLM27,
EnduraceB
Endurance


6
Ranger 4
+4
+4
+4
+1
Bluff 7,
Gather Information 7,
Knowledge: Geography 1,
Listen 7,
Search 7,
Sense Motive 7,
Spot 7


Urban CompanionCi (Raven)


7
Ranger 5
+5
+4
+4
+1
Bluff 8,
Gather Information 8,
Knowledge: Dungeoneering 1,
Listen 8,
Search 8,
Sense Motive 8,
Spot 8


Wild Shape (1/day)


8
Master of
Many FormsCAd58 1
+5
+6
+6
+1
Disguise 5
MindsightLoM126
Shifter's Speech, Improved Wild Shape (Humanoid)


9
Master of
Many Forms 2
+6
+7
+7
+1
Disguise 10(+5)

Improved Wild Shape (Giant; Large)


10
Master of
Many Forms 3
+7
+7
+7
+2
Bluff 11(+3),
Disguise 11,
Gather Information 9

Fast Wild Shape, Improved Wild Shape (Monstrous Humanoid)


11
Master of
Many Forms 4
+8
+8
+8
+2
Bluff 12,
Disguise 12,
Gather Information 12(+3)
Ability Focus
(Malevolence)
Improved Wild Shape (Fey; Tiny)


12
Master of
Many Forms 5
+9
+8
+8
+2
Bluff 13,
Disguise 13,
Gather Information 13,
Spot 10(+2)

Improved Wild Shape (Vermin)


13
Master of
Many Forms 6
+9
+9
+9
+3
Bluff 14, Disguise 14,
Gather Information 14,
Spot 12(+2)

Improved Wild Shape (Aberration; Huge)


14
Master of
Many Forms 7
+10
+9
+9
+3
Bluff 15,
Disguise 15,
Gather Information 15,
Spot 14(+2)
Alertness
Extraordinary Wild Shape, Improved Wild Shape (Plant)


15
Master of
Many Forms 8
+11
+10
+10
+3
Bluff 16,
Disguise 16,
Gather Information 16,
Spot 16(+2)

Improved Wild Shape (Ooze)


16
WarshaperCW89 1
+11
+12
+10
+3
Balance 3

Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons


17
Warshaper 2
+12
+13
+10
+3
Balance 5(+2),
Bluff 17
Combat Reflexes
Morphic Body


18
Warshaper 3
+13
+13
+11
+4
Gather Information 19(+3)

Morphic Reach


19
Warshaper 4
+14
+14
+11
+4
Bluff 20(+3)

Morphic Healing


20
Warshaper 5
+14
+14
+11
+4
Bluff 21,
Gather Information 21(+2)
Robilar's GambitPHBII82
Multimorph

Note: Skilled City-DwellerCi is always used whenever applicable except for Gather Information.
* These assume that the feat Apprentice (Criminal) is applied first before purchasing ranks. If that's not the case, lower them to 2 ranks each.

Wild Shape: 11/day, duration is either 15hrs (based on Wizard CustServ's statement on MoMF stacking duration) or 5hrs (default)
Spells per Day (starting CR6): one 1st level spell

CRCR Breakdown
5
Yet again my vision showed me the darkness that's about to consume our lands, my children. The corruptors are already making their move as I speak: plotting, gathering, building, maneuvering their pawns. Their kind is the craftiest and most deceitful, so keep your eyes, your ears, your mind, open and keened. The enemy's greatest strongholds are the souls of those they subvert, so make sure that the words you speak, thoughts you contemplate in, and deeds you act on, are none but yours.

As our forefathers did, we must keep the Ordughan safely away from their hands, lest the others fall.At this point, Adzorok is a novice special operations agent with: 1. massive subterfuge via skills, telepathic communication, incorporeality, malevolence, and ethereal travel, 2. unparalleled information dump via skills, malevolence+bluff, and Lore, and 3. solid scouting via skills, urban tracking, and ethereal travel. She can also stow things away by using Ghostly Grasp to put them on her person, even letting her "hide" them in the ethereal plane.

She prefers to avoid combat, which is easy when you are nigh untouchable. Still, she has Energy Drain for 2 negative levels per touch, and Malevolence for control and minionmancy. In fact, the combination of Malevolence, Energy Drain, Drain Touch, and enough supply of living creatures enables a steady source of wight minions.Step 1: Use Energy Drain to kill someone, turning its corpse into a wight (call it W1) that isn't under control.
Step 2: Use Drain Touch to bring W1 to 0 Wisdom, so that Malevolence now has a 90% success rate against it.
Step 3: Slay another humanoid while possessing W1, which will trigger Create Spawn. The new wight (call it W2) is now under W1's control.
Step 4: As W1, "Transfer control" by ordering W2 to completely obey the ghost that will come out of "your body", as though that ghost is W1.

Great! Now Adzorok has a wight spawn completely under her control. Repeat steps 3-4 as needed to increase W1's "flock".While this pretty much implies that Adzorok is capable of bringing total wightapocalypse, doing so is a stupid waste of time and resources, and will just attract too much attention from higher-level PCs/gods/etc too soon. Her far more powerful master, who is fully capable of crushing her fragile wights anyway, guides her on how to methodically utilize her resources on missions for optimal use.
10
We went from being one of the most peaceful major cities to having these series of jailbreaks, thefts, kidnappings, and murders within a span of a year...of the high profile variety, no less! Oh, what a glorious time to be alive!

I want these criminals discovered, found, and tried, and all stolen cargos back to the merchant ships. A-SAP, of course, or it will be your neck in the noose! I'm telling you, this city is just an unsolved murder or two away from enforcing a witch-hunt that our allied cities have already done to find their mystery criminals!

Get all your cronies to work on this, and, I dunno, feel free to hire specialists that are actually competent enough to do your job. I'm not even paid enough to deal with this kind of crap.Mindsight for 20ft. is invaluable in her espionage. Raven Urban Companion is a great addition, as it more or less doubles up her good skillmonkeying, provides a body to possess for situationally more superior espionage than being in ghost form, and is an easily availablde/replaceable (24hrs, no XP loss) source of living body for 1st-generation-wight* creation, and is a decent meat shield (3/4 her HP) chassis for utilizing Wild Shape (see below).

Adzorok also gets MoMF and Wild Shape to greatly increase her versatility (Small to Large Animal/Humanoid/Giant/M.Humanoid up to 8HD). These make blending in, gathering information, and scouting easier. Unlike cookie cutter MoMFs, Adzorok combines her Wild Shape with her ghostly abilities and takes them to new heights.After using Malevolence on a creature, use Wild Shape to transform its body. Furthermore, if the possessed creature is an ally, Adzorok can exit the body to let the creature control their own Wild Shaped selves while she gets her full complement of actions for doing something else.

So, what are its most obvious uses for Adzorok?

This gives another layer of defense that keeps her combat-viable if needed. Possessing a high HP creature (such as her raven) is the optimal choice for this.
This can be used to take advantage of the possessed creature's type/subtype and retained abilities, such as undead immunities, or her wight's Create Spawn and Energy Drain automatic abilities (provided that the new form still has a Slam attack).
This gives an easy means of disguise for things such as covert insertion or retrieval of other creatures. Who would suspect an eagle or two? Or a nondecript possessed commoner with a generic mule (wild-shaped wight)?
This can direct blame/suspicion of hostility towards an unsuspecting possessed creature, giving more subtlety to her operations.
This gives her a "nova" strategy for creating her "flock", which is a specialized party of Wild-Shaped allies. Possess an ally (such as her wights), use wild shape, and then exit the body; repeat as necessary. So now, instead of having a single powerful Wild Shaped body via MoMF, Adzorok can have up to four powerful Wild Shaped body at the same time. The downside is any fragility of possessed creatures, which means this will be more useful in situations where either the possessed creatures have high HP, taking damage won't be an issue, or Adzorok will try to quickly take out the opposition before it can retaliate.

* Since a wight's appearance is a weird and twisted reflection of the form it had inlife, Adzorok's custom raven-wight could look like this (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AsFhbolNSQ8/TWM1Wys_w1I/AAAAAAAAmZM/gM9WMrD7yPU/s1600/swan.PNG). Additionally, the Wight-Flock tricks becomes more flavor appropriate, since the "matriarchs" moving forward will be raven-wights.
15
Just when I thought we've finally managed to capture Baron Chebyshev, an important pillar of our community, he managed to escape and jump off our ship! I've heard rumours about prominent people even in distant kingdoms acting very strangely as of late and all sorts of wild conspiracy theories trying to make sense of such phenomenon, but it doesn't even take a bright man to realize there's nothing but death falling hundreds of feet down. We've recovered four of the seven amulets he's stolen from the Royal Vault, but it appears he's managed to keep the rest from us.

If that wasn't unsettling enough, we've seen a disturbingly increasing amount of ravens heading northwards for a few days now. I've honestly no idea when it started, exactly, but when you see scores of them, and then eventually hundreds, you start paying attention. Our chief navigator, as do most of us here, took it as an ill omen of sorts by the time the sages in our ship number them to at least a thousand, and decided to steer off their direction. Just the thought that the late Baron heading on the same direction not being mere coincidence sends shivers down my spine...On her own, Adzorok now has Alertness even without her Urban Companion, her Malevolence improves, her specialty skills linearly improve, and her Wild Shape exponentially increases versatility by adding Extraordinary Abilities and allowing Tiny to Huge Animal/Humanoid/Giant/M.Humanoid/Fey/Vermin/Aberration/Plant/Ooze forms of up to 13HD. The sheer surge of Wild Shape options and the 11/day limit increase also directly improve her Malevolent Shape trick.

Most importantly, however, the Adzorok flock becomes fully realized at last on the high point of the build (Level 15). So, what is the Adzorok flock, you ask? It's an unkindness of innumerable ravens blotting out the sun, all at her master's disposal, to be sent on any mission where the flock's specialty will be needed.Step 1: Use the Malevolent Shape trick on raven, turning it into a Black Pudding with the Split(Ex) ability.
Step 2: Have the body take slashing/piercing damage, to Split into two duplicates of itself except with half HP. Do note that due to how Malevolence works, the HP halved isn't Adzorok's, it's her raven's. Since these are duplicates of the original, there will now exist two "Half-HP Raven being possessed by Adzorok, and currently being Wild Shaped for X hours into a Black Pudding", which means there will also be two Adzoroks that can leave each raven's body (although the Wild Shape form to Black Pudding remains until X hours passes).
Step 3: Each Adzorok kills its half-HP raven (possibly by repeating Step 2 until the latest generation of raven dies) and gets a new full-HP raven after 24hrs.

That's it--a means to exponentially multiply Adzorok without harming her own health, using easily replaceable raven urban companions as "hosts". Unlike her initial multiperson Malevolent Shape nova, each individual of the Adzorok flock is now rocking 13d12s, each is a master of many forms with full complement of daily abilities, and each is a ghost capable of using energy-drain/malevolence/ability-damage. Adzorok basically becomes an entire spy network and special operations division for her master.

Also if you are into this sort of thing, the Adzorok flock officially sets the record of gathering as much rangers as possible, decisively beating this one (https://youtu.be/vr6O3ch50WY?t=165).
The trick above also shows that the Adzorok flock can be used as a force multiplier, capable of duplicating any and all of the master's forces at the cost of such forces having halved hit points: basically trading quality for quantity. This is actually far more useful for certain creatures, like Legion Devils (FCII122) that pool their HP anyway and still get massive perks for being near more Legion Devils. Did I mention that the Adzorok flock's master happens to be a Duke of Hell?
20
"The light of day brings people new hope", so I've often read, and so have the elders taught me centuries ago. What, then, does this eternal darkness mean?

We paid scant thought to the unfound rumours and the ancient prophecies, laughed at the ramblings of the mad sages, ignored all terrible omens, and paid no heed to the warnings of even our most learned monks.

Is it any surprise, that apocalypse struck us in the blink of an eye? Wars ignited in all corners of the world, the oldest alliances and friendships were broken in bids for power, massive armies of heaven and hell and earth plowed through bloody fields and ruined cities, and iron fists of tyrants tightened their grip on lands where anarchy doesn't reign. Our mightiest heroes remain scattered on multiple fronts, each with their own battles against these threats--or this singular threat, as many such heroes postulated. Even the countless ravens that filled the sky swoop down to feast on our fallen, their shapes constantly changing into terrible and grotesque forms.The addition of Combat Reflexes and Robilar's Gambit will further improve the flock's combat capability, and using Malevolent Shape even negates one the "Gambit" part of the feat. Energy Drain from Ghost or Wight (using Morphic Weapon to create a slam attack), which is actually retained while Wild Shaped, can even be combined with these feats to have AoOs grant negative levels.

Most importantly, Multimorphs means the flock can change their shape as often as they like to further increase their flexibility. The Adzorok flock finishes on a high note with a +14 BAB, which is just a +1 lower than straight-classed average-BAB characters, +14/+11/+4 saves, and 18d12s.SRD: Ranger, Shape-changing Ranger, Ghost, Wight, Raven familiar
Complete Adventurer (CAd): Master of Many Forms
Complete Warrior (CW): Warshaper
Races of Faerun (RoF): Ghostwise Halfling
Monsters of Faerun (Mon): Ghost ability (Energy Drain)
Libris Mortis (LM): Ghostly Grasp, Sagacious Ghost abilities (Lore, Knowledge check bonus)
Cityscape / Web Enhancement (Ci (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)): Urban Tracking, Skilled City-Dweller, Urban Companion, Urban Tracker, Voice of the City
Dungeon Master's Guide (DMGII): Apprentice (Criminal)
Lords of Madness (LoM): Mindsight
Player's Handbook II (PHBII): Robilar's Gambit

[Korahir]

http://i.imgur.com/qy95Wo1.jpg?1

Servitor 241

Kuo-Toa Ardent 9/Cleric 9 (double amputee)



Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Knowledge (religion) 4, Spot 4, Move Silently 4

Feats
Class/Racial Features


1st
Kuo-Toa RHD
+1
+0
+2
+2
Knowledge (religion) 4, Spot 4, Move Silently 4

Iron Will, Alertness (bonus)
Lightning Bolt, Adhesive, Electricity Resistance 10, Immunities, Keen Sight, Slippery, Light Blindness


2nd
Kuo-Toa RHD
+2
+0
+3
+3
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5

-
-


3rd
Ardent
+2
+0
+3
+5
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 1, Concentration 1, Knowledge (arcana) 1

Quick Recovery
Assume psionic mantles (2)


4th
Ardent
+3
+0
+3
+6

Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 2, Concentration 2, Knowledge (arcana) 2

-
Assume psionic mantle


5th
Ardent
+4
+1
+4
+6
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 3, Concentration 3, Knowledge (arcana) 3

-
-


6th
Ardent
+5
+1
+4
+7
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 4, Concentration 4, Knowledge (arcana) 4

Reserves of Strength
-


7th
Ardent
+5
+1
+4
+7
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 5, Concentration 5, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
Assume psionic mantle


8th
Cleric
+5
+3
+4
+9
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 2, Concentration 6, Knowledge (arcana) 5

Extend Spell (bonus)
Rebuke Undead, Planning Domain, Blackwater Domain, Divine Restoration ACF


9th
Cleric
+6
+4
+4
+10
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 4, Concentration 7, Knowledge (arcana) 5

Persist Spell
-


10th
Cleric
+7
+4
+5
+10
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 6, Concentration 8, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
-


11th
Cleric
+8
+5
+5
+11
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 8, Concentration 9, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
-


12th
Ardent
+9
+6
+6
+12
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 6, Concentration 10, Knowledge (arcana) 5

Overchannel
-


13th
Ardent
+10
+6
+6
+12
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 7, Concentration 11, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
-


14th
Ardent
+11
+6
+6
+13
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 8, Concentration 12, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
-


15th
Ardent
+11
+7
+7
+13
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Autohypnosis 9, Concentration 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5

Divine Metamagic (Persist Spell)
-


16th
Cleric
+11
+7
+7
+13
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 10, Concentration 14, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
-


17th
Sea Mother Whip
+11
+9
+7
+15
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 12, Concentration 15, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
Watery Death Prestige Domain


18th
Sea Mother Whip
+12
+10
+7
+16
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 14, Concentration 16, Knowledge (arcana) 5

Metapower (Persisted Bite of the Weretiger)




19th
Sea Mother Whip
+13
+10
+8
+16
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 16, Concentration 17, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
Independent Lightning Bolts


20th
Sea Mother Whip
+14
+11
+8
+17
Knowledge (religion) 5, Spot 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 18, Concentration 18, Knowledge (arcana) 5

-
Inspire the Faithful




Str: 10+2=12
Dex: 10
Con: 11+2=13
Int: 10+2=12
Wis: 11+4=15
Cha: 11-2=9

All level increase go into Wisdom.




Cleric
Spells per Day at 20th level (including bonus)


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


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


2nd
4
4+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


4th
5
5+1
3+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


6th
5
5+1
4+1
3+1
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


8th
6
6+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
-
-
-
-
-


9th
6
6+1
5+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-




Ardent
Power Points per Day by level (including bonus)

[tr]
Level
PP


1st
3


2nd
9


3rd
14


4th
15


5th
32


6th
47


7th
60


8th
74


9th
90

[tr]

Ardent Powers Known
Level 1: Expansion, Bite of the Wolf
Level 2: Hustle
Level 3: Numbing Sphere
Level 4: Alter Self
Level 5: Greater Magic Fang
Level 6: Kelgore's Grave Mist
Level 7: Create Magic Tattoo
Level 8: Dragon Breath
Level 9: Bite of the Weretiger
Ardent PP at level 20: 94
Mantles: 1st level: Magic, Physical Power
2nd level: Freedom
5th level: Elements



Magic
1 Metaphysical Weapon
2 Create Magic Tattoo
3 Dispel Psionics
5 Power Resistance
6 Analyze Dweomer, Psionic
6 Null Psionics Field
8 Protection from Spells, Psionic


Physical Power
1 Expansion
1 Bite of the Wolf
1 Vigor
2 Animal Affinity
3 Greater Magic Fang
5 Bite of the Weretiger
5 Psychofeedback
7 Oak Body
8 True Metabolism

Freedom
1 Dimension Hop
1 Invisibility
2 Hustle
2 Greater Invisibility
2 Alter Self
4 Dimension Door
4 Freedom of Movement
5 Teleport, Psionic
6 Evade Burst
8 Teleport, Psionic Greater

Elements
1 Control Flames
1 Elemental Steward
2 Numbing Sphere
2 Kelgore's Grave Mist
3 Breathless
4 Dragon Breath
5 Adapt Body
6 Blackstone Hammer
9 Tornado Blast

[Korahir]

http://i.imgur.com/tCNq492.jpg?2
Servitor 241 woke from a dream. He looked around himself, unsure of where he was for a moment, then reality reasserted itself. He had been fallen asleep on one of the Library’s stone shelves, when he was supposed to be delivering some books to the personal quarters of one of the higher-ranked priests. Not surprising, given the new timetable he had been following recently. His sleep periods had been completely displaced. A wave of fear swept through him as he thought of what his superiors might do if they found him sleeping on the job. Likely he would have been demoted, taking into account his recent acceptance into the ranks of Blibdoolpoolp’s clergy just a week ago. Then he would have been one of the group called Slaves again, those Servitors who had not yet been deemed worthy to enter the priesthood, just one more bit of manual labour or some errant adventurer’s sword-repository, albeit with the small amount of magical training he had already been subject to. After all, there were many Slaves vying for the next promotion. Any of them could easily take his place. Brushing the thought aside, he slipped the bag of carved stone slabs over his body and swam off through the Library’s cavernous hallways.
As 241 swam, he pondered the meaning of his dream. In it, he had had four limbs. It was a strange thought, having two limbs just for holding things and another two to propel himself through the undersea complex the Servitors of Blibdoolpoolp called home. Strange dream, he thought. Still, it was just a dream. He had always had two webbed appendages, no more, no less. He probably ought to focus more on getting out of his assignment to the Library. Not that it wasn’t pleasant enough, but it was pretty much a dead end. As he made his way through a communal area, he passed a group of Servitors slightly more senior than himself. He recognised one of them. 187 had been in a similar position to his a couple of months ago, and would likely have stayed there if he hadn’t managed to catch the notice of some of the higher-ups by emerging the sole survivor in one of the many unavoidable confrontations with the people who lived on the coast near the Servitors’ complex.

241 wondered if that might be a possible route of advancement; engineer a disturbance and start a fight. Nobody would know, if he managed to make sure there were no other survivors. Then again, though, who was to say luck would favour him in such a conflict?

Swimming on, he passed the caves of the Giants. The Giants were curious creatures. Outwardly, they resembled naked Servitors, with slightly thicker skin and larger stature, but their name came from their ability to spontaneously grow to immense sizes. They were incredibly stupid, though, making them easy to control. Their eventual purpose was to serve as the vanguard of the island invasion.

Next, he passed the Temple. During services, the whole population of the complex would cram into this hall with its high ceiling and scattered altars. Now, however, it was deserted, with only a pair of Slaves cleaning the walls and floor.

Eventually, he reached the rooms of Servitor 73, the head librarian. He knocked, but there was no answer, so he left the bag of slabs outside the door. No Servitor would disturb what was meant for another of their kind. Shaking himself awake a little, 241 set off back towards the Library.

At this point, a Servitor can attack with its Bite of the Wolf and grow to Large if space allows it. Numbing Sphere can be used to attack from a distance. Servitors will try to target character who look less likely to dodge the sphere (A.K.A. make a reflex save). At this point, 241, the randomly-chosen protagonist of this little story, doesn't have many distinguishing features.


http://i.imgur.com/9gp9Bif.jpg?2
Servitor 241 lay on his side in the dirt, blood leaking from his body through a thousand small cuts and stab wounds. One big one in his underside, too. His hood and a good portion of his face had been burned off by that accursed arcanist’s acid spell, and was still stinging an indeterminate time later. A few hours ago, he had awoken in a pool of his and Servitor 306’s blood, in the middle of a small, out-of-the-way path. He had rolled the other Servitor’s body into the bushes and crawled in to hide after it. As he lay there, his wounds slowly congealing, he thought about the events that had led him into this situation.

Just half a year ago, he had been in the lowest tier of priesthood, stuck in the Library keeping records. There were brief alleviations of his boredom here and there, mostly a stray human or two on the beaches that he could hunt down without risking notice, or feeding the captured humans to the Giants. Then, an opportune death in the aerial division of the Servitors had opened up a new path for him. None of the Servitors could manage more than a fast waddle with their unwieldy limbs, so they had turned to magical flight as a more efficient means of movement above the water’s surface. It was easier to stay out of sight, too, most islanders passing them off as large birds from a distance. Mishaps of varying degree were common, so it was generally the expendable members of the Servitors who were assigned to it, and at the time there had been few more expendable than 241, who was the one of the newest members of the clergy and had yet to show any particular usefulness at anything. There was another candidate for the position, Servitor 273, a slightly more recent addition to the priesthood, but he had succumbed to food poisoning the day after 241 had first heard of Servitor 187’s unfortunate crash-landing into the side of a mountain.

To his own surprise, 241 had taken to soaring though the air with relative ease. He already knew how to harness some supernatural power from the training he had received in the Temple of Blibdoolpoolp, but being taught the ability to grow wings for himself and soar through the open air, for one who had barely set foot on land before, had added a whole new dimension to his existence. In the aerial division, he had even gained sufficient prestige to be taught the special prayers that allowed him to channel power directly from his god. 241 had never felt so empowered in his life.

Servitor 241 had joined the aerial division just when the invasion plan had shifted into a crucial phase. The fliers had begun the task of ambushing the wagons of supplies and messengers to and from the mainland, cutting the island off from the rest of the kingdom it belonged to. That would make it easier for the islanders to be overwhelmed, and then the holy War of Reclamation would begin. The High Priests said that Blibdoolpoolp itself had told of how the surface had once been a much more hospitable place, wetter and darker than it was before the other gods had intervened and chased Blibdoolpoolp’s old people, the kuo-toa, into the seas. They had tried many times to retake it, but the kuo-toa had failed, said the High Priests, and Blibdoolpoolp had forsaken them, creating a new, superior people to conquer the surface world in its name.

Attacking the carts and caravans with savage fanaticism, the fliers would slaughter the humans and their horses, stealing food and pitching the rest, including messages to the human capital, into the sea. It had gone wonderfully at first, and flying high above the human town, he could see fights breaking out over food and other resources. One day, however, he and 306 had attacked the wrong people. The figures on foot had seemed ordinary enough, easy targets, and the initial attack had gone well. The pair circled downwards, felling one of the travellers with several well-aimed lightning bolts, but when one of them uttered an incantation, the words of power carrying on the wind, both their wings had disappeared mid-dive. The two Servitors crashed to the ground, badly wounded already, and the humans had set about hacking them to bits. 241 had managed to take down the one of them, a burly individual with a large bladed weapon of some sort, ripping his heart out with a well-placed bite, but then a ball of undiluted acid splashed into his face, the burning pain pushing him into unconsciousness.

Now, he lay in the dirt, the body of his dead comrade beside him. He couldn’t help but feel forsaken by his deity, like the disgraced kuo-toa. He tried to banish the blasphemous thoughts, but they returned with every throb of pain through his body. He tried to stand, but as he took a step towards 306’s body, his limbs failed him, sending him crashing to the ground in an unconscious heap.

At level 10, the Servitors can fly using Alter Self to become gargoyles, and buff their attacks with Greater Magic Fang. They can also have two bites at once from Bite of the Wolf and Alter Self, but you could just pass that off as one, devastating bite. They now have 2nd level cleric spells too and can use spells like Lesser Vigor and Cloud of Knives to help with combat, things like Substitute Domain for versatility, Silence to hinder casters and many more. Basically, the cleric list is so versatile it would better for the person actually using these henchmen to decide what to prepare. Since they can fly now, they will favour ranged attacks, and stay close to each other in numbers, so they can launch lightning bolts at enemies. They also have Extend Spell, to help lengthen some of their buffs (increasing ML to the needed level with Reserves of Strength and recovering with Quick Recovery if in combat). 241 and the other fliers in particular are likely to be encountered far from the sea and his faith in his deity is at its highest, so he will fight nearly to the death (his sense of self-preservation is still too strong).


http://i.imgur.com/EqGBWPM.jpg?2

Servitor 241 swam at breakneck speed through the corridors of the complex, mind racing with the revelations that had shaken the very foundations of his life to the core. Weeks earlier, he had returned to the Servitors of Blibdoolpoolp, healed from his wounds but with an irreparably scarred face. Not that the face really mattered. All the Servitors and Slaves wore face-concealing hoods in public. After burning what was left of Servitor 306, he had cut his way through the dense forest that the island was replete with, avoiding human trails and fighting off wildlife, all the way to the shore.

His return was strangely uneventful. He was given a precursory check for signs of enemy mind control, then sent back to his quarters, where a Slave had delivered a message stating that he had been reassigned to the Breeding Pits.

The Breeding Pits were a source of constant speculation within the Servitors, as only the High Priests and a small number of trusted Servitors were allowed inside. There were 32 Pits in total, with one attendant to Pit. It was known that this was where the young Servitors, known as Slaves until they managed to enter the priesthood, and treated as such, were spawned. Now, it appeared that 241’s recent display of resilience and the informative report he had given on those dangerous humans had not gone unnoticed. Although being a Pit attendant was more prestigious a position than being in the aerial division, he found the prospect of having to spend extended periods of time underwater again distasteful. How could he go back after experiencing the pure freedom of flying unhindered through the air? However, it was his duty to his god, and he felt a need to repent for certain…unacceptable thoughts he had had while abandoned in the wild.

Before he had entered Pit 27 for the first time, he had been warned by one of the High Priests not to let what he saw within shock him. If his faith could survive the ordeal he had recently been through, it could survive what he was about to see, the High Priest had said.

Steeling himself, he turned and spoke the command word to open the doorway to the Pit. Then he entered, and discovered how wrong the High Priest had been.
The Pit didn’t look that bad at first glance. It was a large, circular room with a deep pit in the centre whose bottom he could not see. To the left was an alcove with a strange contraption nestled in it. Looking into the pit, he recoiled in horror. Within it were two of the beings the Servitors despised most. Two kuo-toa, one male, strapped to the floor and a female shackled to him. Stunned, he edged his way over to the contraption, There was a stone tablet nestled under the contraption. Reading it, he realized that it was instructions on how to use the device to amputate the lower two limbs of a kuo-toa hatchling, and wrench the upper two limbs into a more central position. Healing magic was then to be applied. He stared at the tablet in horror, at the diagrams and at his own body. He had seen images of kuo-toa before, and had always thought that they looked like twisted, inferior versions of a Servitor. Only now did he realise that it was the other way around.

Silently, Servitor 241 floated down into the pit and settled at the bottom. It was covered with jellylike eggs. He dropped the stone tablet at their feet and looked at them. Their mouths had been sewn shut. Well, that was wonderful, he thought sarcastically to himself. What could he possibly get out of them?
As he fumed, thought processes slowed by the sheer mental weight of what he had just seen, he heard a faint scratching. Emerging from the cocoon of his thoughts, he looked up. The female was scratching a number through the dust and hardened slime that lined the pit and the male gesturing frantically at him, then at the writing on the floor. He stared for a moment, then looked at the numbers, seemingly confused. Suddenly, comprehension dawned on him. He knew what these numbers were-they were the numbers of a shelf in the Library.

Soon, he had reached the entrance to the Library. Passing through the rough granite archway, he searched frantically for the right shelf. Instead, he found only a blank space where the shelf should have been. He cast a few cursory divinations in its directions, and was rewarded with a surprisingly strong magical aura. He concentrated for a moment, and released a thought, charged with power, to strip whatever protections the area had. He hadn’t expected what came next. There was the sound of a muffled explosion from within, and the walls crumbled down, releasing a rush of warm, dust-filled water at him. There was a small room behind it, occupied by a bedroll, a book on a table, an old kuo-toa skeleton and a bowl. Snatching up the book, he resealed the stone wall with a surge of divine energy and fled back to Pit 27 under the veil of invisibility. Time to find out the truth.

At level 15, the Servitors have finished the Ardent class and have enough ML and PP to Persist powers like Dragon Breath for an all-day offensive weapon, and things like Expansion and Bite of the Wolf, using Overchannel, Reserves of Strength, Magic Tattoo (brought up to 13th level by those two feats and Adept Spirit to get their ML high enough. They can also use DMM in conjunction with Eagle's Splendor and Substitute Domain (Charm) to get their Charisma high enough for six turning attempts. Then they can have whatever buff is the most useful up the whole day. If 241 is encountered now, his zeal is more tenuous and if he is found in his Breeding Pit, he will defend the breeders but, failing that, escape through a pre-prepared escape route (maybe bored out with acid Dragon Breath). He may also try get PCs to investigate 'Blibdoolpoolp' if encountered before he learns the truth. This is probably the 'sweet spot' of the build, before it becomes a mentally retarded slave.

Servitor 241 was on the surface, where the War of Reclamation had officially started. The Giants led the charge, each with a pair of Servitors on its back, directing it and loosing bolts of lightning at the fleeing humans. The rest of the Servitors followed close behind, the fliers picking off human combatants from high up. 241, as a high-ranking Servitor, had the privilege of being allowed to watch from the back with the High Priests and others of similar stature.
Three months ago, 241 had learnt of something that changed his view of the world forever. He was not, as he had thought, a member a race created by Blibdoolpoolp, god of kuo-toa, to succeed where the kuo-toa had failed-in retaking the surface. He, and all the other Servitors of Blibdoolpoolp, were simply kuo-toa twisted and mutilated at birth for unknown reasons, lied to about their god and their very purpose in life. A kuo-toa prisoner had led him to a book, hidden in a room, hidden in the great Library of the Servitors. It was a book, like the humans used, but with pages covered in a waterproof film of some sort. He had smuggled it back to Pit 27, a place only he could go. While plucking up the courage to actually read the thing, he had gotten to know his captives better. It wasn’t their mating season, so they mostly just lay around and murmured. He had to feed them through little pipes in their throats and watch the eggs mature. Relaxing, really, compared to his last job. Despite his doubts, he still prayed to his god. He was used to it. Until he finally opened the covers of the book and read the truth.

The book, it seemed, was a text on the true Blibdoolpoolp, a goddess the kuo-toa had revered as the Sea Mother. The more he read, he knew that this so-called goddess was something he could never worship. The book itself seemed an unwitting treatise on madness, the Sea Mother being described as a some nude human female with crustacean extremities tacked on to her. Pure lunacy! Then, at the back of the book, he found the uneven scribbling that detailed the rise of the Blibdoolpoolp he knew, and it was no better. His ‘Blibdoolpoolp’ was nothing more than a mad aboleth who had deluded itself into thinking it had usurped the goddess’ name and powers after destroying an animated statue. Seething, he threw the book onto the floor, cursing and blasting indiscriminately with magical power. No matter what society he had been born into, he would have been forced into service to false idols and blind priests.

241 concluded that there was no such thing as a god. Or goddess. There was nothing more than the insane idols of diseased minds. Filled with rage at the falsehoods he had built his life upon, he formulated a plan to topple the false god from its position. He would wait for the invasion, and when the High Priests were outside commanding the battle, he would return to the Temple and confront the aboleth, but first, he would turn the High Priests still inside the temple to his side. He knew protocol called for two High Priests to occupy the inner sanctum of the Temple at any one time. Perhaps they knew of the aboleth’s deception, or they did not. Most likely they did. No matter. When he showed them the book, they would see how insane the very idea of a deity was, how they could no longer allow the rogue aboleth to command them as it did. The three of them together could certainly overpower one mad aboleth, and if he did not succeed, then at least he would have died knowing the truth, unlike all the ignorant fools throwing away their lives in service to a lunatic oversized fish.

In the midst of all the fighting, all he had had to do was step out of sight for a moment and cloak himself in invisibility. Then, he dived into the ocean for possibly the last time in his life and swam towards the gates of the complex. Reaching the gates, he found them locked and guarded by six Servitors. Calling up supernatural power from within himself, he opened mouth and spewed a giant spray of vitriol in the direction of the gates. The guards were killed instantly, the gate melting off its hinges.

The halls and corridors of the complex were mostly deserted, he swam past the few Servitors who remained invisibly. Reaching Pit 27, he retrieved the book, and tucking it under his coat, set off again. He soon found himself in front of the stone doors of the Temple’s inner sanctum. The outer areas were wide open spaces punctuated only by the occasional pillar or altar, but the doors to the inner sanctum looked utterly impassable. He battered the doors with all the magical might he could bring to bear, but they stood unmoving, barely scratched. He floated in place for a moment, feeling slightly foolish, when there was a creaking noise and the great, elaborately carved slabs of stone swung inwards. He paddled slowly in, wary of his surroundings. He was in a vast stone chamber, devoid of furnishing or a light source.
Suddenly, both his limbs were grabbed by oily black tentacles which twined round them and had him fast. The book tumbled out from under his cloak and landed with a thump on the floor. The two High Priests swam out from behind the opened doors. Struggling, he snarled and cursed at them, but suddenly a high-pitched piercing noise filled his head. Recoiling in pain and struggling against the grip of the tentacles sprouting from the floor, looked around for the source. His heart almost stopped there and then when, in the shadowy depths of the chamber, three red, glowing, slit-pupiled eyes opened, the ends of slimy green tentacles flailing out of the darkness. Words boomed inside his skull, and knew that only he could hear them. “So, you thought you could blaspheme against me, Blibdoolpoolp?”
“No!” screeched 241, struggling against his bonds, already inwardly cursing for his plan’s rapid failure. “There is no blasphemy! There are no gods!”
“You are wrong, my creation,” said the voice. “I will make it so that you never doubt my divinity again.”
“You are not-“ was as far as Servitor 241 ever got. After that, he remembered nothing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servitor 347 stood at the summit of the hill overlooking the dragon’s cave. The invasion of the island had been successful, and the Servitors now controlled the entirety of it except for one small area. A pesky black dragon had made its lair in the cave in the valley below, and so far had slain all who dared approach. There was good news, though. The dragon seemed reluctant to leave its home and his little group, consisting of Numbers 318, 362 and 403 had received word that a new Giant was on its way to help flush the beast out. A new Giant, he thought. Where did those come from?
A few kilometres away, a Giant plodded through the forest, grown to about the size of an elephant. There was a single Servitor perched on its back, directing it with sharp jabs with a wooden stick. The duo were headed assist in a spot of dragon-extermination. As the Giant moved through the trees, its head protruding just above the treetops, its limited mind tried to process the strange memories within it. Images of rows and rows of stone patterns, walking through the air, making noises. Noises that somehow meant more than noise. It remembered anger too, the source of which it was unsure of. It felt frustrated at its own inability to divine the meaning of its recollections, but was getting nowhere and soon abandoned the attempt.

At this point, the aboleth Blibdoolpoolp has enslaved any Servitors powerful enough to challenge him or who discover his secrets by turning them into living zombies. This happens at 18th level in 241's case, but it can be applied at any time after 15th level if so wished. Most of any Servitor's character will be non-existent at this point. DMM Persist is no longer a viable option due to the Charisma decrease, but Bite of the Weretiger (or a different power if you want, just select a different 5th-level power to Metapower) can now be persisted, making the Servitor doing so much more formidable in combat. The Servitors at this point also have 5th-level cleric spells, although the intelligence decrease means he is less likely to use it intelligently, probably just preparing something simple like Righteous Might. 241 is now spends most of his time with a persisted augmented Expansion on.

Apart from Core and the SRD, sources are
Sea Mother Whip, Watery Death: Underdark
Ardent, Metapower: Complete Psionic
Overchannel: Expanded Psionics Handbook
Reserves of Strength: Dragonlance Campaign Setting
Blackwater: Stormwrack
Divine Restoration: Dungeonscape
Planning Domain: Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
Magic Mantle lets powers be persisted.
Feel free to give the Servitors legs.

[Korahir]

Ezekiel, the Celebrant
Request for an image has been DENIED by the Church of the Chosen One. Information is classified on this person. Please contact the Arbiter for further information. Glory to the Chosen One.

Ezekiel Origen is a humble priest of a tyrannical regime... nominally. He works in a perfectly ordinary Evil ChurchTM but apart from that, doesn't appear to do much interesting...

...but of course, he does.

Every night, someone is taken from the city by the high priest, and Ezekiel takes the hapless creature into a back room, and they never leave. No-one asks what happens there, and honestly, no-one wants to find out.

Of course, Ezekiel isn't actually the boss of anything. Technically, he's actually a fairly low-ranking priest in his church. Of course, that doesn't really matter when his power far exceeds any of the others, except for the strange being known as the Arbiter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=19519772&postcount=46), who leads the church. Together, they serve the Chosen One, a lawful evil deity of unknown origin and little following...

...until now.

Due to Ezekiel's non-formidable personal power, his battle strategy tends to be "Call someone stronger and get them to handle it." Fortunately for him, there's always someone on call for the right price...Illumian(RoD) Truenamer (ToM) 20. Oh, by the way, anything that isn't core is ToM if it doesn't say otherwise.

Stats start as 11 STR/CON/INT and 10 DEX/WIS/CHA. Fortunately, truenamers haven't got the weird minimum casting stat minimum that casters and manifesters do, so hurrah. Of course, everything goes in INT. The illumian sigils boost your INT and DEX (If you don't feel like cracking open RoD, I end up with +1 to all skill and stat rolls (including initiative) per level up to 3rd, when it stops (The feat adds the extra one on third level; normally it only goes to second).

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


1st
Truenamer 1

+0

+0

+0

+2

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 4, Truespeak 4,

Skill Focus (Truespeak)

Known Personal Truename



2nd
Truenamer 2

+1

+0

+0

+3

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 5, Truespeak 5,

-

Knowledge Focus (Religion)



3rd
Truenamer 3

+2

+1

+1

+3

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 6, Truespeak 6,

Enhanced Power SigilsRoD

-



4th
Truenamer 4

+3

+1

+1

+4

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 7, (The Planes) 1, Truespeak 7

-

-



5th
Truenamer 5

+3

+1

+1

+4

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 8, (The Planes) 2, Truespeak 8

-

-



6th
Truenamer 6

+4

+2

+2

+5

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 9, (The Planes) 3, Truespeak 9

Truename Research*, Craft Wondrous Item

-



7th
Truenamer 7

+5

+2

+2

+5

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 10, (The Planes) 4, Truespeak 10

-

Knowledge Focus (Religion)



8th
Truenamer 8

+6

+2

+2

+6

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 11, (The Planes) 5, Truespeak 11

Recitation of Mindful State*

-



9th
Truenamer 9

+6

+3

+3

+6

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 12, (The Planes) 6, Truespeak 12

Extend Utterance

See the Named



10th
Truenamer 10

+7

+3

+3

+7

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 13, (The Planes) 7, Truespeak 13

-

Knowledge Focus (Religion)



11th
Truenamer 11

+8

+3

+3

+7

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 14, (The Planes) 8, Truespeak 14

-

-



12th
Truenamer 12

+9

+4

+4

+8

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 15, (The Planes) 9, Truespeak 15

MortalbaneBoVD

-



13th
Truenamer 13

+9

+4

+4

+8

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 16, (The Planes) 11, Truespeak 16

-

Sending



14th
Truenamer 14

+10

+4

+4

+9

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 17, (The Planes) 13, Truespeak 17

-

Knowledge Focus (Religion)



15th
Truenamer 15

+11

+5

+5

+9

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 18, (The Planes) 14, Truespeak 18

Recitation of Vital State, Empower Utterance

-



16th
Truenamer 16

+12

+5

+5

+10

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 19, (The Planes) 15, Truespeak 19

-

-



17th
Truenamer 17

+12

+5

+5

+10

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 20, (The Planes) 17, Truespeak 20

-

Speak Unto The Masses



18th
Truenamer 18

+13

+6

+6

+11

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 21, (The Planes) 19, Truespeak 21

Quicken Utterance

-



19th
Truenamer 19

+14

+6

+6

+11

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion) 22, (The Planes) 21, Truespeak 22

-

-



20th
Truenamer 20

+15

+6

+6

+12

Knowledge (Arcana, Nature, Religion, The Planes) 23 (Local) 1, Truespeak 23

-

Say My Name and I am There




*Truenamer bonus feat. Of course two of them appear at the same level you got a feat anyway.

(Truename research gives +2 to checks to research a true name, which barely anyone bothers doing.
Mortalbane allows you to add 2d6 to a SLA's damage against living creatures 5 times/day/SLA
Recitation of Mindful State gives you a level/3 bonus on craft checks and a bunch of others you don't care about.
All the metautterance feats do exactly what you'd expect, but add +5/level adjustment to the DC
Recitation of Vital State neutralises disease on you.)
LevelEvolving MindCrafted ToolPerfected Map1stUniversal Aptitude--2ndInertia Surge--3rdHidden Truth--4thTemporal TwistKeen Weapon-5thArcher's Eye--6thEnergy Negation--7thSeek the SkyAnalyse Item-8thGreater Speed of the Zephyr-Fog from the Void9thModerate Word of Nurturing--10thMagic Contraction--11thSpell RebirthRebuild Item-12thWord of Bolstering-Energy Vortex13thMorale Boost--14thSensory Focus--15thGreater Energy NegationTransmute Weapon-16thEssence of Lifespark-Master the Four Winds17thGreater Seek the Sky--18thMystic Rampart--19thBreath of RecoveryMetamagic Catalyst-20thEther Reforged-Conjunctive Gate

Yeah, you're basically kitted out as a support build. Which is fine; you stand at the back of the church surrounded by low-level clerics, adepts and whatever else and start throwing buffs out, or debuffing the enemies with things like reversed mystic ramparts. Of course, you can throw down mean things like the 20d6 (later 40d6*1.5) damage from mortalbane reversed energy negation (later empowered and extended) as well, but you're mainly a buffing type of person.

Oh, except for the part where you kidnap people and feed their souls to a hungry god. Yeah, about that...Pretty much all of this section is BoVD.

Ezekiel's Knowledge (Religion) bonus starts as 10 (With Universal Aptitude) at level 1, and ends up as 56 (With Universal Aptitude and Hidden Knowledge). Also, if you sacrifice a good creature with at least one hit die on an altar on unhallowed ground for an hour, you get a +7 on the check. This means that Ezekiel can quickly start calling up planar allies or making dark craft materials which means he's gonna be rich! Or rather, he can make his own stuff, given that Recitation of Mindful State and Universal Aptitude give him a decent bonus to craft checks (he ends up getting a +11) so he can make decent stuff without even needing to roll. Also, he can make his own Greater Amulet of the Silver Tongue, and (with several rolls to get dark craft stuff) make it early. The sad part is that you can only apply a single type of dark craft material to one thing, but crafting makes money anyway, so he can just farm for experience and use that to make much money.

Weirdly, I can retry failed sacrifices so long as I have enough victims. Also, the victims don't even have to be sapient, only sentient, so I can sacrifice, I dunno, puppies. Or my own planar allies if they annoy me. Not that I'm going to be trying to strap a pit fiend to an altar any time soon, but shh.

As far as the restrictions on high-level spells goes, it's quite clear that you are never the one casting the spells; your god casts them on you, for you, or as directed by you. He nearly always uses his own caster level of 20 and has a fetish for persist spell, which I'm entirely okay with, but it's definitely not me casting the spells because I can't even cast spells! Also, the "You get the service of a fiend" things aren't even spells, they just serve as described in a spell.

I get that this seems odd, but that's okay. We know that lots of things like divine power and lesser planar ally are okay, even if control weather and limited wish are out (though you get into a third layer of confusion if you use the limited wish to emulate lower level spells...), so tactics can be adjusted accordingly.Until 4th level, I freely admit that you are basically an aristocrat in combat. Even at 4th, you don't have a great deal going for you. However, that's not really the point. If anyone threatens you, set a CR 5 Barbazu on them. Go on, it'll be fun! With your +23 on Knowledge (Religion) checks, plus your altar and other nice stuff, you can actually hit a DC 30 and throw a CR 11 Hamatula at your enemies instead! Whoever said the BoVD sacrifice rules were overpowered?

At this point, Ezekiel is just some guy who summons up devils to help with the effort to rebuild his smashed-up church, which his boss has just decided that they're going to move into. If the PCs speak to Ezekiel, he seems absent-minded, friendly enough but a little bit elsewhere. He carries a book on the Chosen One, and is happy to produce copies for the PCs if they choose to side with the church. Ezekiel uses his universal aptitude ability to aifd with the reconstruction, or to aid his master's notorious lack of social skills. He also wears an odd mouthpiece; it happens that the book and the mouthpiece are masterwork tools for knowledge (religion) and truespeak, fashioned by his own hand.Level 6 gets you your ridiculous 20d6 whatever damage, at level 7 you can fly and stop other people flying (also at-will identify only better, but that's just gravy at this point), at 8th you can throw haste on people - oh, and you also get access to at-will solid fog, so I hope your PCs enjoy their newfound 5 foot movement rate (oh, and you can drop an Archer's Eye on someone so they can shoot (or make ranged touch attacks against) the occupants with impunity - at 9th you can throw fast healing 5 out like cotton candy (do people throw out candyfloss? I dunno), at 10th level you can give people spell resistance or empower all of someone's spells (or your own utterances, in case your mortalbane reversed thingamijig wasn't looking deadly enough already. Also by this point we can get practically any listed sacrifice effect without too much fuss. Pit fiend? Pit fiend. Yes, this is a CR 20 encounter that you can throw at people, without fail, when your own CR is about a third of that. Problem, officer?

If Noone is trying to attack the PCs, Ezekiel will use Solid Fog to block off doors, and throw a devil at someone. He may also seek the sky on Noone's wolf, because nothing, I repeat nothing, beats sailing through a window with a lance on a flying wolf. Hey, it's Noone's spotlight, not Ezekiel's. Hasting Noone is also a possibility, but it can't charge and get the extra attack, so... haste the wolf? Oh, and remember to empower all Noone's spells, because apparently automatic quickening isn't enough. Stupid battle blessing, who thought that feat was a good idea?Spell Rebirth and Rebuild Item may not necessarily be amazingly powerful, but they are possibly the coolest utterances in existence. I can't tell you off the top of my head any other abilities that actually undispel or undestroy things. Also you can just use reversed spell rebirth to dispel anything the PCs can cast on you or your allies. Or your pit fiends. Or anything that in any way affects a creature you can target. Including the PCs themselves.

Speaking of which, we're approaching "Cannot fail limited wish" territory, and also control weather. Control weather is a fun spell to make the PCs have to fight through raging winds to get to wherever. We're a bit fuzzy on where the range is measured from - is it measured from the celebrant? The deity? Not measured at all? - but whatever, we can make it fit. If it's not available, we can instead throw out magic weapons, divine powers, and all that, and go on a killing spree with our assembled congregation.

Oh, the rest of out utterances are largely buffs, but energy vortex is a nice damage dealer - an area of effect version of our other killer utterance, and they stack (not to mention that you can use your Solid Fog effect to trap people inside) - and transmute weapon may or may not be able to turn a weapon into paper, uranium, caesium, etcetera. Even if it can't, greensteel (damage as one size higher) or adamantine are nice buffs, whereas bone and gold are good nerfs. I think there's an ice special material that melts except at freezing temperatures too.

Reversed Greater Energy Negation, unfortunately, is not a better version of reversed energy negation, but it does deal 20 damage to anyone who attacks you with a nonreach weapon (which in true WotC-bad-wording style, of course includes ranged weapons, though assuming you're a sane DM, you won't inflict that - literally - on your players). Yes, you can mortalbane it.

Ezekiel may by this point have reason to fight the PCs, in which case he'll buff his master with reversed greater energy negation, throw down energy vortices and solid fogs with reckless abandon, and come to the aid of any priests who need it. If not, he is present when his master attempts to kill the PCs (again), so he can use the same tricks on it and its wolf as he did last time, give it a greensteel lance, and generally blow up anything that tries to kill it back.By now we understand that you can basically sacrifice for whatever you like. Go crazy.

Master the Four Winds is nice for taking the tops off random buildings, especially since perfected map utterances are basically at-will. Reversed Essence of Lifespark is one of only two abilities that I know of that can inflict no-save negalevels from a distance, the other being the psionic power stygian conflagration. It only inflicts one, but it drains a second spell from the hapless PC targeted. I've officially given up on deciding whether or not that's deliberate. Greater Seek the Sky is basically an air superiority thing - throw the good version on your allies and drop your enemies on the floor with the bad version. Mystic Rampart can increase or reduce all saves by 5. Also, enjoy your newfound ability to quicken it. Breath of Recovery cures anything or paralyses people. Metamagic Catalyst is another one of those cool abilities - one of the clerics is trying to cast a spell off a scroll? Oh, now it's maximised. Have fun.

Ether reforged is a really silly utterance because it's duration instantaneous, meaning that you can make your entire congregation able to attack corporeal creatures, and then shunt them all to the ethereal plane. Of course you're not meant to be able to do that, but honestly, I'm not sure how the utterance is meant to work. Can you see a common theme?

Ugh, remind me why I'm using truenamer... oh, yeah, gate. Conjunctive gate. Fourth-level utterance. I guess I'll just drop a 40-HD big beastie onto the battlefield... Dream Larva would be obvious, but it kills me if I get within 30 feet. Uhm, an infernal! Yeah, let's gate in an infernal! And it can summon 4 pit fiends to join in the fun! Unfortunately, the infernal can't use most of its spell-like abilities, but whatever. It can just, like, animate dead or whatever. That would be a neat boss fight: an infernal, four pit fiends (or five, if I grab another one from sacrificing), and all the undead from the corpses of sacrifice victims. An utterly lethal boss fight, of course, but a fun one nonetheless.

So I guess Ezekiel will either be sitting back protecting the church, sending stuff to help his boss, or both. If Noone dies, Ezekiel will try to take command of the city himself. When the PCs close in on him, he will defend the church to the last... or at least, until the fight no longer favours him, in which case he'll wander through a conjunctive gate and skip town. Or rather, skip plane. I hear Mechanus is nice this time of year...

[Korahir]

The Mage-Hunter
It is too terrible to behold, and none may witness it until the time is right.

This creature looks like a human gone badly wrong. Its hair is thin and frail, its body bloated, its mind fractured. It wields a massive piece of spiked chain in its long arms, sweeping its foes off their feet before they can even reach it. Practically impervious to magic, and mocking of those who attempt it, the mage-hunter is an experiment gone terribly wrong, and yet terribly right...

Commander Vayne looked at the creature before him. "Corporal, what is this?"

"The alchemists say it's their newest invention, sir. Apparently it's for tracking down mages."

Vayne considered. Yes, he supposed that something like this would do for his army. After all, enemy spellcasters disrupting his formations was something that wouldn't do at all.

"I do speak Common, you know," hissed the... thing. It looked as though it might once have been human, or something similar in basic precepts to a human, anyway. Vayne was slightly taken aback. "Some invention. Corporal, why are the alchemists experimenting on... no, scratch that, why can it still speak?"

"Sir, I'm not sure. I would recommend lodging it as a special unit, sir, if I may be so bold."
"You may, but I'm not sure whether it's so bold. Uhm, do you have a name?"
"No. They didn't give me one."
The commander and the corporal side-eyed each other.

"Well", supposed Vayne out loud, "I can't make you work for me, but I can promise to be a good leader."
"That, and the head of the alchemist responsible." Bargained the creature.

Vayne smiled. "See to it, Corporal. You're dismissed."Chaotic Evil ProtoBoK-KarsiteToM Ranger (Arcane Hunter)CA 5/Occult SlayerCW 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 10/Monk (Spell Reflection)CA 3

Proto-creature is utterly bizarre about how the CR works, which is why three of the CRs are doubled-up on the table, because I have the same CR with or without the level increase. Positively absurd. Oh well.

STR 11(+4), DEX 11, CON 10(+4), Int 10(-2), Wis 11, Cha 10(-2) are my starting stats and racial adjustments. All bonuses go to Wis.

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


1st
(Karsite)
-
-
-
-
-
-
Spell Resistance, Damage Reduction, Magic-Draining Attacks, Spell Healing


2nd
Arcane Hunter 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Hide 3, Move Silently 3, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 3, Survival 3, Spellcraft 2
Track*, Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Spiked Chain
Favoured Enemy (Arcanists +2)


3rd
Arcane Hunter 2
+2
+3
+3
+0
Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Hide 4, Listen 3, Move Silently 3, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 3, Survival 4, Spellcraft 2
Rapid Shot*
Combat Style (Archery)


4th
Arcane Hunter 3
+3
+3
+3
+1
Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Hide 4, Listen 3, Move Silently 3, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4, Survival 4, Spellcraft 3
Endurance*, Improved Initiative
-


Also 4th
Arcane Hunter 4
+4
+4
+4
+1
Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Hide 5, Listen 5, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Survival 4, Spellcraft 3
-
Animal Companion


5th
Arcane Hunter 5
+5
+4
+4
+1
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Survival 5, Spellcraft 3
-
Favoured Enemy (Arcanists +4, Humans +2)


6th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 1
+6
+4
+4
+3
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Survival 5, Spellcraft 4
Weapon Focus: Spiked Chain
Magical Defence +1, Weapon Bond


7th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 2
+7
+4
+4
+4
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Survival 5, Spellcraft 5
-
Vicious Strike, Mind Over Magic 1/day**


Also 7th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3
+8
+5
+5
+4
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Survival 5, Spellcraft 6
-
Auravision, Magical Defence +2


8th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1
+8
+5
+5
+6
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Survival 5, Spellcraft 6
Hyena Tribe HunterSS,Improved Trip*
-


9th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 1
+9
+5
+5
+8
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 4, Survival 5, Spellcraft 6
-
Favoured Enemy (Psions +2), Enemy Sense


10th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 2
+10
+5
+5
+9
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 8, Survival 5, Spellcraft 6
-
Brain Nausea


11th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 3
+11
+6
+6
+9
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 12, Survival 5, Spellcraft 6
Knock-Down
Lucid Buffer


12th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 4
+12
+6
+6
+10
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 6, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 15, Survival 6, Spellcraft 6
-
Favoured Enemy (Psions +4)


Also 12th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 5
+13
+6
+6
+10
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 8, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 16, Survival 6, Spellcraft 6
-
-


13th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 6
+14
+7
+7
+11
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 8, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 17, Survival 6, Spellcraft 6
Abberation BloodLoM
Cerebral Blind


14th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 7
+15
+7
+7
+11
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 8, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 18, Survival 8, Spellcraft 6
-
Favoured Enemy (Psions +6)



15th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 8
+16
+7
+7
+12
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 9, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 19, Survival 9, Spellcraft 6
-
Breach Power Resistance


16th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 9
+17
+8
+8
+12
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 10, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 20, Survival 10, Spellcraft 6
Inhuman ReachLoM
Cerebral Immunity


17th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 10
+18
+8
+8
+13
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 6, Listen 11, Move Silently 5, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 21, Survival 11, Spellcraft 6
-
Blast Feedback, Favoured Enemy (Psions +8)



18th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 10/Monk 1
+18
+10
+10
+15
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 8, Listen 11, Move Silently 8, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 21, Survival 11, Spellcraft 6
Improved Unarmed Strike*, Stunning Fist*
Unarmed Strike, Flurry of Blows


19th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 10/Monk 2
+19
+11
+11
+15
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 10, Listen 11, Move Silently 9, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 21, Survival 11, Spellcraft 6
Deflect Arrows*, Extended ReachSS
Spell Reflection


20th
Arcane Hunter 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 10/Monk 3
+20
+11
+11
+16
Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Hide 11, Listen 11, Move Silently 11, Search 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Spot 21, Survival 11, Spellcraft 6
-
Fast Movement, Still Mind



*Bonus Feat.
**As written, Mind Over Magic is pointless unless you cheat and do something complicated involving using it while talking. I assume you're meant to be able to take the free action outside of your own turn.The powers learned by this character are Expansion, Prevenom Weapon, Chameleon, Animal Affinity, Psionic Lion's Charge, Prowess, Dimension Slide, Vampiric Blade, Greater Concealing Amorpha, and Truevenom Weapon. You get them at CR 8 and 10-17 at a rate of 1/level.Early on, the mage-hunter is just a slightly odd ranger. Its spiked chain allows it to disrupt spellcasters, and it's also resistant to magic. It also gets bonuses against you if you cast spells, and is honestly nasty against human wizards.

At this point, you're best off standing near Commander Vayne and trying to kill or trip anyone who's vaguely threatening (or rather, threatened - that is, by your 10 ft inclusive reach).Now we have enemy sense, allowing you to know the location of each spellcaster, psionic creature and human in 60 feet, which, yes, is practically everything. You also get a +2 on saves against spells to go with your spell resistance, deal even more damage to casters, can reflect spells and - how could I forget? - you get a special ability that stops people eating your brain!

Yeah, that ability is oddly specific. Never mind that the capstone (which you don't have yet) only works against one specific ability.

At this point, you're actually legitimately good at tripping, since improved trip (fun fact: Hyena Tribe Hunter removes all the prerequisites for improved trip) allows you to hit someone and knock them down. There's also a MiC weapon enchantment to improve your trip checks, which is nice. Consider getting that.

Your psionics can make you bigger, or make your weapon poisonous, rapidly knocking down a creature's constitution which is the main source of caster hit points.At CR 11, you get access to an absolutely mean trick, whereby you use Knock-Down to get a free trip, use the free trip to trigger your free attack from Improved Trip, ad infinitum. Yep, so long as you can consistently deal 10 damage or more (easy enough against one of your favoured enemies, especially if they're a caster too or you're near enough you Vayne that he can buff you) you can keep doing this. You'll miss or fail the trip eventually, so it's not actually an infinite loop, but nasty enough on a full attack because you can stick your enemy in a big loop 3 times, or 4 times from CR 15.

You also get more neat anti-caster stuff, but your psionics are the real MVP, allowing you to make a full-attack charge from a ridiculous distance away, and take an extra attack of opportunity at that. Oh, and healing half the damage you deal can't hurt.

Right now, you want to be rushing up to casters, knocking them about a lot, throwing attacks of opportunity/readied actions (also, your readied actions deal double damage because of your 2nd-level occult slayer ability), and essentially locking the enemy down.You have a 30-foot reach. It can go up to 70 feet with your psionics. Just in case you wanted to know. By this point, you can possibly afford the everwhirling chain, which is an utterly ludicrous bit of gear which lets you lock down a field of enemies. If not, you can just sit there deflecting arrows, spells, and people to your heart's content. You're immune to three schools of magic and two psionic disciplines. You move fast enough to chase down anyone who can get away from you. You're a monster in every sense of the word. Plus, if someone disarms you, you still have a 15 foot reach, so go ahead and stun them in the face. Or, because you're a monk, your fist counts as a weapon for truevenom, so feel free to take off 1d8 points of constitution with each hit.

At this point, the mage-hunter is Commander Vayne's special weapon, used only on special occasions. The mage-hunter makes a serious mess of anything it fights, especially with its commander watching over it...

[Korahir]

http://i.imgur.com/C5Wtai1.png

Xerth, the Ghost in the Machine
Male CE Draconic Trap Haunt Kobold Wilderness Rogue 2/Dragonblooded Sorcerer 3/Combat Trapsmith 5/Unseen Seer 7

Do you work to unlive, or unlive to work?

Over two centuries before Xerth's birth, a young black dragon going by the name of Krogathamar stumbled upon an abandoned swamp temple. The dragon, quite pleased with his discovery, made his lair in the temple's deepest reaches, where he lived unbothered for years.

Krogathamar pillaged nearby towns, hunted crocodiles, turtles and the occasional dire toad, and slowly attracted a number of loyal kobolds. The dragon grew older and older, his hoard greater and greater, and rumors of his presence spread further and further.

Krogathamar's lair was filled with gold, guarded by a dragon, and only a few days' travel from a nearby town, so when adventuring parties started swarming towards the dragon's lair, no one was surprised.

The dragon didn't mind. The adventurers were a nice distraction and a good source of magical loot. And sure, a few kobolds died in every attack, but who cared? They were just kobolds.

In the 269th year of Krogathamar's reign over the swamp, Xerth was born. From the moment of his birth, it was plain the kobold was different from his brethren. His scales were harder, his eyes a little brighter, his features more dragon-like.

When the tribe's shaman announced that the child possessed sorcerous power, the tribe rejoiced. A sorcerer would protect them from the adventurers. A sorcerer would guide them. A sorcerer would make them great.

And Xerth himself? He grew up in the ruined temple, always exploring and playing with scraps of metal. The kobold learned how to fight with his claws, how to set traps, and how to spot danger before it spotted him. And Xerth was happy.

Then, Xerth came of age.

Xerth looked around. Many kobolds had gathered in what had once been the temple's main hall. Now, it was an overgrown ruin.

"Xerth Dragontouched" the shaman spoke. "Today is the day you come of age, and today is the day you embark on your fated path. Your blood is the blood of a dragon. Your breath is the breath of a dragon. Your claws are the claws of a dragon. Will you accept my help, and let me learn you to master this power?"

Xerth knew he had to agree. Everyone expected him to agree. Becoming a sorcerer would mean he'd be respected and obeyed. It meant he'd wield strange and mighty powers. More than that, it was his duty to the tribe. Yes, agreeing was the only reasonable choice.

Yet it would also mean he'd have to learn of spells and rituals. It would mean he could not longer explore the swamp as he pleased. It would mean his entire further life would be determined by others. Xerth didn't like that.

"Xerth Dragontouched, do you accept my help?" the shaman asked again. Xerth turned, and knew he would have to decide now. Freedom or power? Xerth prepared to give the answer that would determine his future.

"I shall..."

"ADVENTURERS!" the cry came. Xerth turned and saw one of the sentries running through the crumbled gate. A moment later, an elf, a dwarf, a halfling, and what looked like the hypothetical offspring of a fey and a human charged in and started flinging spells and throwing axes. The other kobolds drew weapons and attacked.

--------------------------------

"Oh great Krogathamar, lord of the swamp, terror from the temple, after a fierce battle we repelled the intruders but at great..."

"How many dead?" the dragon bluntly asked. He wasn't really interested, though, but the sooner this conversation was over the better.

"Twenty-seven good kobolds were killed, sir. Oh, and that young dragontouched kobold, Xerth, is missing. He probably got blasted to pieces by that damned elf."

"Yes, yes, very tragic. Bring me the adventurers' items and bury the dead. Now leave, you're disturbing my slumber."

Krogathamar turned away from the kobold and went to sleep.

Xerth woke up as the moon rose. He walked over to the pool, drank some water, then went to check his traps, just like he had done every day for the past decades. Today, he'd captured three lizards and a fat toad; not bad at all.

When he was about to start eating, however, Xerth heard something behind him. The kobold turned quickly, and drew his sword, ready to fight whatever monster had tried to ambush him. To his surprise, it was another kobold.

Why was there a kobold in this part of the swamp? He'd gone here to avoid them! They weren't supposed to know he was here!

Panicked, Xerth rushed forward and stabbed the other kobold. He stabbed and stabbed and stabbed, driven by some primal desire to remain hidden, until at last his discoverer was dead.

Only then did Xerth realize there had been others. In the trees above him, something moved and muttered a few words in draconic.

I should just have learned magic... Xerth thought before losing consciousness.

When Xerth finally came to, he was back in the temple's main hall again, with hundreds of kobolds staring at him. The faces had changed, but it was a familiar scene.

"Xerth the Traitor. You have abandoned your tribe when they needed you. Because of you, we were left without leader when the shaman died. Our tribe grew weak, and we were forced to travel further and further to keep our food supplies from running out. Ironically, it was such on such a trip that we found you, but what did you do? You murdered one of us, one of your own brethren."

"You have betrayed, deceived and killed. By all laws of kobold and dragon, you deserve death."

"Yet, we are prepared to give you a second chance. Descend into the temple's catacombs and be taught to master your magic. Protect us, fortify us, and kill our attackers, and you shall live. Even if you serve us well, you will never be free, you will never leave the tunnels, and you will never have a mate and young. Neither death nor age shall free you from servitude."

"However, should you refuse, you shall die slowly and painfully."

Xerth swallowed. Fifty years ago, he had escaped from this question at the last possible moment. This time, there was no such respite. He would have to choose right here, right now. Fear and pride clashed within his draconic heart. Fear won.

"I... I shall serve." Xerth spoke. The words disgusted him.

Xerth spent many years underground. He learned how to master his sorcerous powers. He developed his trapmaking skills. Day after day, week after week, year after year was Xerth forced to create traps. When Xerth's frail body was spent, he was forced to craft an item that would reinvigorate him.

His tribe grew great and powerful, protected from adventurer attacks, but Xerth was not happy.

Then, one day, everything changed.

The aged kobold fastened the last cord, and looked at his creation with satisfaction. To call it a mere trap would be an insult. This was death in machine form. It wasn't a trap, it was a Trap.

For the first time in years, Xerth felt happy. With this, with this he truly had outdone all other trapmakers that had ever existed.

A scream sounded from down the corridor, and Xerth turned. A moment later, the kobold guard tasked with keeping him from escaping dashed down the corridor. Another moment later, something that looked like the hypothetical offspring of a half-ogre and a minotaur jumped into his darkvision's range and chopped the guard in half with a single swing of his axe.

Adventurers, Xerth thought. The kobold looked around desparately, but found no exit but the one blocked by the ogretaur. There was no escape.

The brute started charging down the corridor. Xerth knew he couldn't win in a fight. He was old, weak and unarmed, and the only trap in this room was plainly visible.

The trap.

For decades, Xerth had been locked in. No escape had been possible. Now, however, he realized that all this time, escape had been easy. He had merely been too cowardly to acknowledge this fact.

With the half-minotaur-quarter-ogre-quarter-human only a few feet away, Xerth took a step back, right into the trap's mechanic.

The kobold had been right. It was indeed perfect. He barely suffered as the trap's steel jaws crushed him.

---------------------
"Why didn't I prepare Shivering Tou... AAAAAAAAARGH!"

With a blast from his breath weapon, Krogathamar destroyed the last intruder. These had been quite powerful. In fact, the dragon didn't recall any other parties actually coming close to killing him.

A kobold, perhaps a descendant of the one from a few decades ago, told him fifty-nine kobolds had died, including some prisoner they'd been keeping. Krogathamar didn't really care. After all, they were only kobolds. The dragon yawned, commanded the kobold to add the loot to his pile, and went back to sleep.

The thing that had once been Xerth awoke. It perceived gears, bolts, and bars around itself. A strange desire for freedom seized the being, and it floated through the bars. Ecstatic with its newfound mobility, the being slowly floated up, towards the ceiling. It moved through the stone, faster and faster. Finally, it would be free!

Then it stopped. Something... something was keeping him here. Why? The being screamed, but none could hear it. It thrashed about, but its claws touched nothing. It tried to destroy itself, but reappeared time after time.

In that moment, Xerth knew the true extent of his punishment.

Searching for those who had survived the adventurers' attack, a pair of kobolds entered his room. Xerth immediately killed them and animated their bodies.

The sudden display of power had scared the other kobolds away. A few days later, one returned with a simple message from Krogathamar.

'Continue your work and I may grant you freedom one day. Continue to oppose me, and I will seal this room, destroy all passages that lead to it, and forbid the kobolds from ever speaking of you again. You would be imprisoned here forever, with no one but your zombies to keep you company.'

Xerth calmed down then. What choice did he have? The kobold had agreed to return to his ancient task: create traps and protect other kobolds. And so he did. Slowly, more and more traps littered the kobold warren, and adventurers died by the dozen trying to get past them.

Four centuries have passed, and yet Xerth still dilligently crafts in the deepest tunnels of the temple. Unaware of the passage of time and the world outside the small room he inhabits, the kobold waits until he is finally given his freedom: one way or another.

Starting array:

STR: 10
DEX: 10
CON: 11
INT: 10
WIS: 11
CHA: 11

Racial modifiers + draconic template:

STR: 8
DEX: 12
CON: 9
INT: 10
WIS: 11
CHA: 13

Middle-age (CR 2):

STR: 7
DEX: 11
CON: 8
INT: 11
WIS: 12
CHA: 14

Ability increase (CR 5):

STR: 7
DEX: 11
CON: 8
INT: 11
WIS: 12
CHA: 15

Old age (CR 6):

STR: 5
DEX: 9
CON: 6
INT: 12
WIS: 13
CHA: 16

Ability increase + Venerable (CR 9)

STR: 2
DEX: 6
CON: 3
INT: 13
WIS: 14
CHA: 18

Trap Haunt template (CR 9)
STR: 2
DEX: 6
CON: -
INT: 3
WIS: 14
CHA: 18

Ability increase (CR 15)

STR: 2
DEX: 6
CON: -
INT: 4
WIS: 14
CHA: 18

Ability increase (CR 19)

STR: 2
DEX: 6
CON: -
INT: 5
WIS: 14
CHA: 18



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


1
Draconic Template
-
-
-
-
-
-
+2 STR, +2 CHA, +1 natural armor, low-light vision, +4 on saves against sleep and paralysis, +2 on intimidate and spot checks


2
Wilderness Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Craft (trapmaking) 4, Disable Device 4, Hide 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Spot 4, Survival 4, Use Magic Device 4
Craven
Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding


3
Dragonblooded Sorcerer 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Craft (trapmaking) 5, Spellcraft 1
Draconic Heritage (black)B
-


4
Dragonblooded Sorcerer 2
+1
+0
+2
+3
Craft (trapmaking) 6, Spellcraft 2
Versatile Spellcaster
-


5
Dragonblooded Sorcerer 3
+1
+1
+3
+3
Craft (trapmaking) 7, Spellcraft 3
-
-


6
Wilderness Rogue 2
+2
+1
+4
+3
Craft (trapmaking) 8, Disable Device 6, Search 6, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 5
-
Evasion


7
Combat Trapsmith 1
+2
+3
+6
+3
Craft (trapmaking) 9, Craft (alchemy) 2, Search 8
Craft Wondrous Item
Combat Trapping, Trap Sense +1


8
Combat Trapsmith 2
+3
+4
+7
+3
Craft (trapmaking) 10, Craft (alchemy) 4, Spot 8
Skill Focus (Craft (trapmaking))B
-


9
Combat Trapsmith 3
+4
+4
+7
+4
Craft (trapmaking) 11, Craft (alchemy) 10
-
Trap Sense +2


10
Trap Haunt Template
+4
+4
+7
+4
-
-
Incorporeal Undead, 30 ft. fly speed (perfect), charisma to AC, incorporeal touch attack (1d6 cold)


11
Trap Haunt Template
+4
+4
+7
+4
-
-
Animate Dead, Animate Trap, Chill Aura, Energy Drain, Bonded Trap, Invisibility, Turn Resistance, ability score adjustments


12
Combat Trapsmith 4
+5
+5
+8
+4
Craft (trapmaking) 12, Craft (alchemy) 11
Ghostly Grasp
Improvised Materials


13
Combat Trapsmith 5
+5
+5
+8
+4
Craft (trapmaking) 13, Craft (alchemy) 12
-
Expert Trapsetter, Trap Sense +3


14
Unseen Seer 1
+5
+5
+8
+6
Craft (trapmaking) 14, Hide 5
-
Sneak Attack +2d6


15
Unseen Seer 2
+6/+1
+5
+8
+7
Craft (trapmaking) 15, Hide 7
Practiced Spellcaster, Silent SpellB
Advanced Learning (See Invisibility)


16
Unseen Seer 3
+7/+2
+6
+9
+7
Craft (trapmaking) 16, Hide 9
-
Divination Spell Power +1


17
Unseen Seer 4
+8/+3
+6
+9
+8
Craft (trapmaking) 17, Hide 11
-
Sneak Attack +3d6


18
Unseen Seer 5
+8/+3
+6
+9
+8
Craft (trapmaking) 18, Hide 13
Extra Spell (Glyph of Warding)
Advanced Learning (Lesser Telepathic Bond), Guarded Mind


19
Unseen Seer 6
+9/+4
+7
+10
+9
Craft (trapmaking) 19, Hide 15
-
Divination Spell Power +2


20
Unseen Seer 7
+10/+5
+7
+10
+9
Craft (trapmaking) 20, Hide 17
-
Sneak Attack +4d6



The CR at which each spell or trap is learned is given in parenthesis.
Spells known:
Level 0:
-Acid Splash (CR 3)
-Caltrops (CR 3)
-No Light (CR 3)
-Mending (CR 3)
-Detect Magic (CR 4)
-Launch Item (CR 14)
-Mage Hand (CR 16)
-Prestidigitation (CR 18)
-Ghost Sound (CR 20)

Level 1:
-Create Trap (CR 3)
-Magecraft (CR 3)
-Golem Strike (CR 5)
-Blockade (CR 15)
-Sticky Floor (CR 17)

Level 2:
-Unseen Crafter (CR 14)
-Ghoul Glyph (CR 15)
-See Invisibility (CR 15)
-Greater Alarm (CR 17)
-Arcane Lock (CR 19)

Level 3:
-Explosive Runes (CR 16)
-Skull Watch (CR 17)
-Glyph of Warding (CR 18)
-Lesser Telepathic Bond (CR 18)
-Sepia Snake Sigil (CR 19)

Level 4:
-Wall of Salt (CR 18)
-Halaster's Fetch I (CR 19)

Level 5:
-Fabricate (CR 20)

Traps:
-Glitterburst (CR 7)
-Scorcher (CR 7)
-Entangler (CR 8)
-Spiderweb (CR 9)
-Sleeper (CR 12)
-Flashbang (CR 13)

CR 2.
Xerth isn't as much a 'villain' as he is a random encounter. At this level, he's got a weak sneak attack and some trapmaking skills, but compared to his CR Xerth is easy XP. The PC's might stumble in Xerth's traps as they travel through the wilderness, but are unlikely to actually encounter him.

CR 5.
At this level, Xerth has already been imprisoned, but his spells are put to good use by his brethren. While the dragonblooded sorcerer levels remove Craft from your skill list, being a kobold returns it to you. Create Trap helps him secure the warren (with Versatile Spellcaster, he can make four traps last all day). Alternatively, Xerth could focus on mundane crafting aided by Magecraft. It's unlikely to come up, but if he's ever attacked by a construct Xerth can cast Golemstrike and sneak attack away.

CR 9.
Xerth takes a few levels in Combat Trapsmith, which lets him create traps as a full-round action that last for one hour. He also gets skill focus (craft (trapmaking)) for free, so his trapmaking check is through the roof (+1 intelligence, +11 ranks, +2 racial, +3 feat, +2 masterwork tools, + up to 30 from a magic item he can craft). Also note that Xerth can create both alchemical items and poisons, to further enhance his traps. He can also craft magic items should the situation call for it, and will probably need one to keep himself from dying (a scroll of Bear's Endurance (easy to get at this level) will let him craft an amulet of health).

CR 15.
Becoming a Trap Haunt has somewhat changed how Xerth operates. he can no longer walk around the warren, so he now relies on other kobolds to provide him with supplies for his traps. And speaking of traps, Xerth has a small army of Unseen Crafters ready to help him (and who, through an amusing rule quirk, are actually better crafters than he is).

Xerth has also started protecting his own chambers. A bunch of Ghoul Glyph castings will paralyze all intruders but leave Xerth and his zombies unbothered, and Greater Alarm will prevent even ethereal creatures from sneaking up to the kobold.

On top of all that, Xerth is a decent combatant. He gets four attacks per round, with each getting 2d6 points of SA damage (yay permanent invisibility!), another +13 points of damage from Craven, and a negative level. Alternatively, Xerth can hide in the walls or floor and quickly use Combat Trapsmith features to place traps in the room above him. As the traps appear in an adjacent square, he can place them without leaving full cover. Oh, and did I mention he returns 2d6 rounds after being killed, unless someone figures out his life essence is linked to one of the room's many traps and smashes it before Xerth rises again.

CR 20.
Xerth just keeps getting new tricks. Arbitrary numbers of Explosive Runes, a mobile detection system through Skull Watch, infinite gold with Wall of Salt, and large numbers of fiendish critters to use for poison-harvesting or as expendable scouts.

Also interesting is the rate at which Xerth can now produce traps. With Fabricate and (again!) Versatile Spellcaster, he can create four traps per day (even during combat) as long as a standard action as he possesses the raw materials. Guess what a dragon-controlled kobold city has in spades? Oh, and those four traps are before taking his own crafting and that of his Unseen Crafters and zombies into account.

A quick note: while Xerth can be used in the entire CR 2-20 range, he takes several centuries to fully develop. Consider what power level he has reached in your campaign, and know he'll stay there for most of the story.

CR 5.
"That black dragon and its kobolds have been causing trouble lately. You guys think you could take care of them?"
-Nordam Pornumitnat the random unimportant farmer.

At this level, Xerth possesses a few tricks, most noticeably the already mentioned ability to keep four traps semi-permanently summoned. Still, apart from the dungeon being somewhat trap-heavier, nothing really sets this apart from your standard slay-a-dragon-and-his-kobolds adventure. You might want to make Krogathamar a young or juvenile dragon if you're planning to use Xerth this soon.

CR 9.
"These traps are exceptionally well-made, guys. I'm not sure if I can disarm this one..."
-Last words of Finn the rogue.

Xerth's warren is now filled with a bunch of Trapsmith traps, too, and Xerth has a few defensive abilities in case he is located. However, being an aged kobold his chances of winning a fight are miniscule. Krogathamar should probably be a (young) adult dragon.

CR 15.
"So apparently there's a trap-making spirit that guards the underground tunnels? Well, doesn't sound like anything we can't handle."
-Borgror the Berserker, deceased leader of the Courageous Company.

Xerth's network of traps continues to grow. He may be unmoving now, but anyone trying to kill him is going to have a hard time. Zombies, Ghoul Glyphs, and 'normal' traps all guard him. Krogathamar should be old or very old by now.

CR 20.
"How did all those kobolds get poisoned weapons? Where did they get those magical skull guardians? Why did that book explode the moment I picked it up? And why are there so. many. traps. here?"
-Yrgulf, Theurge of Shadowvalley

At this point, Xerth's city is nearly impregnable. Skull Watches continuously hover around and report every non-kobold entering their field of view with shrieks. Every intruder is swarmed by kobolds wielding poisoned weapons (thanks to Halaster's Fetch calling centipedes and vipers). Those who reach the tunnels that lead to Krogathamar (a great wyrm) find that those are trapped, too. Even worse, most of the 'loot piles' are littered with Sepia Snake Sigils, Explosive Runes, Glyphs of Warding, Arcane Locks, and a few cursed items Xerth made.

Even if someone makes it to Xerth's sanctum, they are immediately attacked by dozens of traps and undead. The kobold will probably seal off escape with a Wall of Salt, then use Fabricate to create traps in his opponent's squares, remaining invisible throughout the fight.

Finally, Xerth can cast Lesser Telepathic Bond on a kobold and have him walk around the warren to get a better understanding of what to craft, or just to coordinate counter-adventurer assaults.

Rogue, Sorcerer, Skill Focus, Craft Wondrous Item, Silent Spell - Player's Handbook
Kobold - Monster Manual + Races of the Dragon
Trap Haunt - Dragon Compendium
Draconic, Dragonblooded Sorcerer, Draconic Heritage, Versatile Spellcaster - Races of the Dragon
Wilderness Rogue - Unearthed Arcana
Unseen Seer - Complete Mage
Combat Trapsmith - Complete Scoundrel
Craven - Champions of Ruin
Ghostly Grasp - Libris Mortis
Extra Spell, Practiced Spellcaster - Complete Arcane
Spells that I'm not going to find and name separately - various sources

[Korahir]

Tom Thomsen
Lawful Evil Human
Commoner1/Human Paragon3/Rogue3/Swordsage2/Spymaster1/Exemplar10

http://previews.123rf.com/images/h4nk/h4nk1110/h4nk111000044/11068303-Circus-Acrobatic-Stock-Vector-circus-acrobat-cartoon.jpg


Tom looked around to be sure that his brothers weren’t watching. He took a few steps back, and rushed forward, planting his hands firmly on the ground and springing up in a forward flip. He stood up confidently. The pigs and chickens didn’t seem impressed. But as he picked up the slop-bucket, he was startled by the sound of slow clapping. Standing a few feet from him was the Bard from the county fair a few days back.

“Well done, Tom Thomsen,” said the man, the bells on his multicolored outfit jingling in time to his applause.

“Y-you know my name? Who are you?” stammered Tom.

“Zandor the Acrobat, at your service,” replied the Bard, bowing with a flourish. “It’s my business to know things. Also my business to scout for talent. And you, Tom? You have a talent, a talent like a precious pearl. And that talent is being thrown before swine. I have an offer. One time only. You come with me. You join my act. I train you. You’ll be the envy of every acrobat from here to the Capital. You leave the pigs behind forever. No more beatings from your brothers, or your father. Why, you might even send some money back to that girl – Priscilla, her name is, I believe? Mark wouldn’t be able to compete with that.”

Tom’s cheeks flushed. “I could join your act? I could really be Tom the Tumbler?”

Zandor forced a smile as he put an arm around Tom’s shoulder. “We’ll have time to work on the stage name.”

Str 10
Dex 10
Con 10
Int 11
Wis 11
Cha 11




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


1st
Commoner 1
+0
+0
+0
+0
Jump 4, Listen 4, Tumble 2, Diplomacy 2
Able Learner, Skill Focus (Tumble)
-


2nd
Human Paragon 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Jump 5, Listen 5, Tumble 5
-
Adaptive Learning


3rd
Human Paragon 2
+1
+0
+0
+3
Tumble 6, Balance 1, UMD 1, Listen To This (trick)
Skill Focus (Bluff), Weapon Finesse
Bonus Feat (Weapon Finesse)


4th
Human Paragon 3
+2
+1
+1
+3
Tumble 7, Balance 2, UMD 2, Bluff 1, Diplomacy 1, Disguise 1
-
+2 Dexterity (Paragon), +1 Intelligence (level-up)


5th
Rogue1
+2
+1
+3
+3
Tumble 8, Balance 3, UMD 3, Bluff 2, Diplomacy 2, Disguise 2, Gather Information 1, Sense Motive 1, Hide 1, Move Silently 1
-
Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding


6th
Rogue 2
+3
+1
+4
+3
Tumble 9, Balance 4, UMD 4, Bluff 3, Diplomacy 3, Disguise 3, Gather Info 2, Sense Motive 2, Hide 2, Move Silently 2
Craven
Evasion


7th
Rogue3
+4
+2
+4
+4
Tumble 10, Balance 5, UMD 5, Bluff 4, Diplomacy 4, Disguise 6, Gather Info 3, Sense Motive 3
Feats
New Class Abilities


8th
Swordsage1
+4
+2
+6
+6
Bluff 6, Disguise 8, Forgery 2, Gather Info 4, Sense Motive 4
-
Int +1 (level-up), Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus): Shadow Hand


9th
Swordsage 2
+5
+2
+7
+7
Bluff 8, Forgery 4, Diplomacy 5, Gather Info 5, Sense Motive 5, UMD 6
Adaptive Style
AC Bonus


10th
Spymaster 1
+5
+2
+9
+7
Tumble 13, Bluff 13, UMD 7, Diplomacy 6
-
Cover Identity, Undetectable Alignment


11th
Exemplar 1
+5
+2
+9
+9
Tumble 14, Bluff 14, UMD 10, Diplomacy 7, Hide 4, Move Silently 4
-
Skill Artistry (Tumble), Skill Mastery (Bluff, Tumble)


12th
Exemplar 2
+6
+2
+9
+10
Tumble 15, Bluff 15, UMD 11, Diplomacy 8, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Know (Nobility) 1
Shadow Blade
Int +1 (level-up). Skill Mastery (hide), Lend Talent (one-half penalty)


13th
Exemplar 3
+7
+3
+10
+10
Tumble 16, Bluff 16, UMD 13, Diplomacy 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Know (Local) 1
Improved Initiative
Skill Mastery (Move Silently), Bonus Feat (Improved Initiative)


14th
Exemplar 4
+8
+3
+10
+11
Tumble 17, Bluff 17, UMD 14, Diplomacy 10, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Concentration 3
-
Skill Mastery (Diplomacy), Skill Artistry (UMD), Sustaining Presence


15th
Exemplar 5
+8
+3
+10
+11
Tumble 18, Bluff 18, UMD 15, Diplomacy 11, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Concentration 6
Darkstalker
Skill Mastery (Listen), Persuasive Performance


16th
Exemplar 6
+9
+4
+11
+12
Tumble 19, Bluff 19, UMD 16, Diplomacy 12, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Concentration 9
Blind-Fight
+1 Dex (level-up), Skill Mastery (Sense Motive), Bonus Feat (Blind-Fight)


17th
Exemplar 7
+10
+4
+11
+12
Tumble 20, Bluff 20, UMD 17, Diplomacy 13, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Concentration 12
-
Skill Mastery (Balance), Skill Artistry (Bluff)


18th
Exemplar 8
+11
+4
+11
+13
Tumble 21, Bluff 21, UMD 18, Diplomacy 14, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Concentration 15
Improved Toughness
Skill Mastery (Climb), Intellectual Agility, Lend Talent (equal to penalty)


19th
Exemplar 9
+11
+5
+12
+13
Tumble 22, Bluff 22, UMD 21, Diplomacy 15, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Concentration 16
Acrobatics
Skill Mastery (Swim), Bonus Feat (Acrobatics)


20th
Exemplar 10
+12
+5
+12
+14
Tumble 23, Bluff 23, UMD 23, Diplomacy 16, Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Concentration 18
-
+1 Dex (Level-up), Skill Mastery (Forgery), Perfect Self, Skill Artistry(Concentration)




Swordsage 1 (initiator 4, max lvl 2): 6 maneuvers, 1 stance
Distracting Ember (DW Boost), Cloak of Deception (SH Boost), Shadow Jaunt (SH other), Drain Vitality (SH strike), Counter Charge (SS counter), Baffling Defense (SS counter), Flame’s Blessing (DW stance)
Swordsage 2 (initiator 5, max lvl 3): 1 maneuver, 1 stance
Mind Over Body (DM counter), Assassin’s Stance (SH stance)
Typically readied: Distracting Ember, Shadow Jaunt, Mind Over Body, Cloak of Deception
Tom is typically in Assassin's Stance unless he knows that he will be facing Fire dangers.

Tom Thomsen was a lowly Commoner. His amateur attempts at Tumbling caught the attention of Zandor the Acrobat, a well-known performer and not-so-well-known spy for the Thieves’ Guild. Seeing a little man with big dreams ready to be exploited, Zandor took him under his wing and began his training for the Guild. At first, his training was almost entirely legitimate. Zandor’s well-rounded Bardic background gave Tom a range of education that would have been impossible back on the pig farm. But as time wore on, Zandor gave Tom increasingly questionable assignments, culminating in serving as a distraction while Zandor carried out a theft for the guild. He was in too deep to turn back, and truth be told he enjoyed the prestige that came with his new life.

At level 5, Tom has just taken his first level in Rogue. He is hampered by a much lower Dexterity than the average mob underling, but the extra ability points from Human Paragon help a bit. While his intelligence is too low to be a true Skillmonkey, he has an extensive list of class skills. Tom is not a serious threat to a CR 5 group, and should not appear as a stand-alone encounter. His “Listen to This” skill trick makes him a reasonable snitch for a higher-level member of the Thieves’ Guild (such as Zandor), so including him as a social encounter could make sense.

"Last night was divine, Priscilla. I know that I am absent more than I would like to be, but alas, my training must continue. We set out tomorrow. Please know that my heart is always with you,” wrote Tom. He set down his pen, sealed the envelope, placed it in his waistcoat, and picked up his rapier. He would send it out presently. A week after Priscilla received the message, word would spread that his caravan had been attacked by bandits. Alas, no survivors. He made a quick cycle through his combat forms. His bags were packed, and the carriage to the capital would be waiting in a few minutes. “Cynthia? Almost time.” He glanced at his partner, who was adjusting her undergarments.
“Patience, lover,” she said with a grin. “You don’t have as many buckles. The Guild won’t skin us if we’re late, but it won’t do for the Baron’s new maid to start out with a scandal.”
“A bit late for that,” he said with a smirk.

By level 10, Tom’s combat options have broadened significantly, and he has severed ties with his old life. He is a “made man.” Levels of Swordsage (for Distracting Ember and Cloak of Deception) combined with the Craven feat (taken at 6th) give his attacks some punch that had been seriously lacking. His high ranks in Bluff, Undetectable Alignment (from Spymaster), and Cover Identity (also from Spymaster) make him ideal for infiltration. He’s gained some renown as a performer (going by the stage name “Brand Aurelius”), and could be used to spy on a CR-10 party. He would prefer to avoid direct combat, but would be able to carry out individual assassination missions. His Shadow Jaunt maneuver might be used to quickly flee if pursued. His Concentration is not yet high enough to help with his Fortitude saves, but it will become so later on. If he knows he will be fighting enemies that use fire tactics, he typically switches to his Desert Wind stance, to gain a benefit from his high ranks in Tumble. At this level, Tom might appear as part of a Thieves’ Guild team pulling off a job as a combat encounter, or alone as a social encounter.

“Bravo! Bravo!” shouted the Duke, clapping heartily. “The Golden Sunfire Troupe never fails to entertain. Brand Aurelius, you are masterful!”
Tom broke into a wide grin. “Many thanks! And to the rest of my lords, my ladies – your support, as always, is humbling. And, though I wish we could remain here forever, tonight will be our last engagement in Tarinia. The wind blows us on to the next destination!”
A few hours later, when the rest of the Golden Sunfire Troupe believed he had gone to bed, he was back in Cynthia’s room. The Duke’s ancestral jewels were tucked safely in a Bag of Holding, and they were both enjoying a glass of wine. “Another perfect performance, I take it? It’s almost gotten too easy. Those guards were … ” her voice trailed off. She tried to steady herself, but fell to the ground. She looked to the side, seeing a strange flame; then back to Tom. “No … ”
Barely an eyeblink passed, and a deep red spot began to spread on her blouse. Tom cleaned his rapier, reached into her purse, and drew forth a single emerald – a small piece of the Duke’s collection. He sighed sadly as he tossed it aside. The guild did not tolerate skimming, and Zandor’s orders had been clear. He left the poisoned wine-glass where it had fallen, and put his own in the Bag of Holding. When Cynthia’s body was found in her room tomorrow along with the emerald, the duke would assume a theft gone bad. And no one – no one – would ever suspect Brand Aurelius.

At Level 15, Tom has just taken his 5th level of Exemplar, gaining the ability to make a Persuasive Performance. He is now a famous and beloved tumbler, so any accusations made against him would likely be met with a large amount of disbelief. Tom uses this to his advantage, hiding his illegal activities well behind a squeaky-clean façade. His Concentration skill is now high enough to make Mind Over Body a better choice than a Fortitude save. Shadow Blade helps to provide a minor bonus to damage. On the skills side, his numerous Skill Masteries can help him with many opposed checks, and Skill Artistry increases his already-impressive Tumble and UMD checks.
At this level, Tom would likely be found in the middle of a plan to rob a major nobleman, an espionage operation against a mob rival, or a high-stakes con to swindle an important merchant.

Very good, your highness!” said Tom.
The prince wiped his brow. “All thanks to you, Master Aurelius. I don’t know what it is, but I always seem to do better with you watching me.”
Tom waved his hand. “Your own skill and hard work, Prince Raymond, nothing more. So, you’re ready for the masquerade ball tonight?”
“Absolutely! These lessons have helped with my dance steps, too. And will you be there?”
“I’m afraid not. I have next week’s floor routine to plan for Her Majesty.”
The prince nodded. “Of course. You know, since father died, your performances seem to be the only things that bring a smile to her face.”
“That’s very kind of you, your highness. Bringing happiness is what this art is all about.”
When the prince had gone, he retired to his quarters, making sure to be seen by the guards. Poor Queen Alyssa. To lose a husband and a son, one after the other; it would be a tragedy for the ages. And when the colors of Tarinia were found with Prince Raymond’s body? War would follow soon – and all the profits that came along with that. Master Zandor would be pleased indeed.

By level 20, Tom’s skills in Tumbling are truly the stuff of legends. He has gained the Outsider (Native) type, and can no longer be targeted by spells that affect humanoids. His Dexterity has increased by another two (from levels 16 and 20), giving a minor bump to attack and damage. His UMD is effectively +27 (thanks to Skill Artistry); meaning he can activate up to 8th-level scrolls automatically, 9th-level scrolls on a roll of 2 or better, and emulate an alignment on a 3 or better. His stealth skills are also maxed out, and benefit from Skill Artistry. His low-ish Dex score, poor hit points, and middling BAB still make him a vulnerable combatant, but he can still do some serious damage if he gets off a sneaky hit (thanks to Craven).
At this level, Tom is known throughout the kingdom and is universally-beloved. He can provide a way in for anyone the Thieves’ Guild wants to target. The party might encounter him in anything from a major assassination plot, an attempt to spark a local war, or as a smokescreen to nearly any major criminal operation. Or, in a social context, he would almost certainly be the headliner in a major performance before royalty – or even extraplanar entities.



DMG: Commoner NPC class
Unearthed Arcana: Human Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/racialParagonClasses.htm#humanParagon) class
Complete Adventurer: Exemplar prestige class, Spymaster prestige class
Complete Scoundrel: Listen to This skill trick
Races of Destiny: Able Learner feat
Champions of Ruin: Craven feat
Tome of Battle: Swordsage class, Adaptive Style feat, Shadow Blade feat, stances and maneuvers

[Korahir]

The Sacred Assassin
If you've seen her, well, something's already gone horribly wrong...

The star was overhead. A small creature, draped in the robes of some obscure order, looked out of her window and up at the star. Ah, yes, now was the time... she felt herself fill with divine power.

Now, time to move. She knew where to go. The star told her... the star tells all...

Concentrate, came the voice in the back of her head. She shuddered; it spoke to her directly? This must be important. She must be important. She smiled at the thought, and went about her business. And of course, her business was death.

Though, she had her own methods, more subtle than a knife in the dark... and yet, somehow less subtle. Whichever way around, it mattered little. And yet, someone would soon find out how much little could matter...Neutral Evil JermlaineMM2/AUB Druid 9/WarshaperCAdv 4/BeastmasterCW 7

Jermlaine are hard to get your hands on, and not just because they have +5 to their touch AC. You'll need the monster manual II and the Accessory Update Booklet to make sense of them, so I'm just going to tell you up front that they're -6 Str +6 Dex -2 Con -2 Int +6 Wis -6 Cha, tiny 40 ft move fey, who have low-light vision and can Speak With Rats at will. Isn't that fun? So, we start with the ludicrous:

5 STR/16 DEX/9 CON/8 INT/17 WIS/4 CHA

Of course, we put everything we can into wisdom. Why would we not?The sacred assassin didn't know that Brightness wasn't really a star. He told her that he was a star-god. And she worshiped the star-god. Fortunately for him, and perhaps unfortunately for her, she never tried taking divine power from him - no, instead, she just got it from the stars: all of them. After all, why did nature have to mean plants and trees and rocks and boring things like that? No, the stars were the real wonder. After a lifetime underground, after all, you get used to mud, decaying plant matter, and other less appealing parts of nature.

Of course, at least her eagle friend was with her. She had been saddened to give up her rat, but she understood the necessity. Nevertheless, she longed for an excuse to get another. Maybe she would get two, even. She gripped the reins of the adorned eagle - heraldry that no-one would recoginse even if they had a chance to read it draped over the creature's body - and took flight.

Someone would die tonight.

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


1st
Druid 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
Concentration 4, Handle Animal 4, Survival 4
Greenbound SummoningLEoF
Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy


2nd
Druid 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
Concentration 5, Handle Animal 5, Ride 1, Survival 4
-
Woodland Stride


3rd
Druid 3
+2
+3
+1
+3
Concentration 6, Handle Animal 6, Ride 2, Survival 4
Searing SpellSSt
Trackless Step


4th
Druid 4
+3
+4
+1
+4
Concentration 7, Handle Animal 7, Ride 3, Survival 4
-
Resist Nature's Lure


5th
Druid 5
+3
+4
+1
+4
Concentration 8, Handle Animal 8, Ride 4, Survival 4
-
Wild Shape (1/day)


6th
Druid 6
+4
+5
+2
+5
Concentration 9, Handle Animal 8, Ride 6, Survival 4
Natural Spell
Wild Shape (2/day)


7th
Druid 7
+5
+5
+2
+5
Concentration 10, Handle Animal 8, Ride 8, Survival 4
-
Wild Shape (3/day)


8th
Druid 8
+6
+6
+2
+6
Concentration 11, Handle Animal 8, Ride 10, Survival 4
-
Wild Shape (Large)


9th
Druid 9
+6
+6
+3
+6
Concentration 12, Handle Animal 8, Ride 12, Survival 4
Skill Focus (Handle Animal)
Venom Immunity


10th
Druid 9/Warshaper 1
+6
+8
+3
+6
Concentration 13, Handle Animal 8, Ride 12, Survival 4
-
Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons


11th
Druid 9/Warshaper 2
+7
+9
+3
+6
Concentration 14, Handle Animal 8, Ride 12, Survival 4
-
Morphic Body


12th
Druid 9/Warshaper 3
+8
+9
+3
+6
Concentration 15, Handle Animal 8, Ride 12, Survival 4
Natural BondCadv
Morphic Reach


13th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4
+9
+10
+4
+7
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 12, Survival 4
-
Morphic Healing


14th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 1
+10
+12
+6
+7
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 15, Survival 4
-
Animal Companion, Wild Empathy


15th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 2
+11
+13
+7
+7
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 18, Survival 4
Alertness*, Sculpt SpellCA
-


16th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 3
+12
+13
+7
+8
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 19, Spot 2, Survival 4
-
Speak with animals 1/day


17th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 4
+13
+14
+8
+8
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 20, Spot 4, Survival 4
-
Extra animal companion (-3)


18th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 5
+14
+14
+8
+8
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 21, Spot 6, Survival 4
Fell DrainLM
Low-light vision


19th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 6
+15
+15
+9
+9
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 22, Spot 8, Survival 4
-
Speak with animals 2/day


20th
Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 7
+16
+15
+9
+9
Concentration 16, Handle Animal 8, Ride 23, Spot 10, Survival 4
-
Extra animal companion (-6)



(The FAQ states that "The bonus from Practiced Spellcaster applies whenever it would be most beneficial to the caster. A 4th-level cleric/4th-level fighter with the Healing domain and Practiced Spellcaster would cast Conjuration (Healing) spells as a 9th-level caster (base caster level 4th, +4 from Practiced Spellcaster, +1 from
the Healing domain)." Presumably this is true of Natural Bond and increased animal companion level. If not, I use it to buff one of my other animal companions when I get them.)Normally, the Sacred Assassin uses star-themed spells, but she can't quite let go of her underground past. Therefore, on the one hand, she uses spells like produce flame, faerie fire, flame strike, and so forth (unfortunately she never learns sunbeam or sunburst). On the other, she still summons creatures and uses plants to aid her.At low levels, the PCs have few enough hit points that lobbing a produce flame or several through the window is a valid enough assassination tactic, and if it fails, just fly off on an eagle and try again tomorrow. Throwing a CR 4 greenbound hippogriff at someone from level 3 shouldn't be possible, but is. Hell, at first level you can summon a greenbound dire bat who uses his one round of existence to cast a wall of thorns, dealing 25-AC damage to each creature caught in its (unfortunately small) area of a type that's hard to resist (especially at level 1!), save none SR no, and then you can always chuck a produce flame at the wall to trap the creatures inside a burning wall of death that lasts for 10 minutes.

At later levels, flame strike becomes available. Using that to obliterate not only the PCs but the building they're standing in is quite funny. You can also wild shape into some kind of big beastie and eat the PCs, with the help of whatever you summon, and a surprisingly powerful eagle. We recommend jumping off the eagle before turning into a big beastie. However, you preferably want to stay out of it, using your crazy greenbound stuff and occasional blasts of divine fire to keep enemies in check. Oh, if you don't know where the enemies are, scry them.

When you approach the level where your blasty spells don't quite cut it, then you go in yourself and start hammering things, although you take some greenbound guys in too. Oh, and burn the building first, because why not? Trapping all but one of your enemies in walls of thorns and then murdering the one left outside is potentially a thing you could do.

By 20th level, you've got two pet rats and a pet eagle. Or maybe you decided to follow the star's advice and get more flying creatures. Or perhaps you decided, screw it, I'm having a dinosaur. It depends on how the story plays out, of course. But anyway, now your greenbound summons are less powerful in comparison to the enemy (though still not bad!), but you, yourself, are a powerhouse, and so are your companions. Go and kill things, and look awesome doing it...

...and remember, the star is watching.

[Korahir]

And that should be everyone. So judge away!

[Thurbane]

Impressive array of entries! After some of the comments early on, I am pleasantly surprised at the numbers. :smallsmile:

[Tiri]

This round actually has the highest number of entries in this competition so far, assuming my basic addition skills haven't malfunctioned.

Also, I just spotted a few grammatical errors in my submission. Not surprising, since I stayed up until 7AM completing it.

[ben-zayb]

Holy justice league, that was a massive one! Truly something special to commemorate the 10th edition!:smalleek:

[Thurbane]

An even dozen, by my count.


Mozz'rat the Imp Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502192&postcount=110) Quasit Outsider 3/Rogue 8/Assassin 10
Mr. Harvey B. Hench (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502194&postcount=111) Elf Soulknife 10/ Shadowdancer 10
Filia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502199&postcount=112) Evloved Phantom Slaymate Undead 8/Sorcerer (Spell Shield) 6/Marshal 3/ War Weaver 5
The Storyteller (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502204&postcount=113) Changeling Ranger 4/Swashbuckler 1/Zhentarim Spy 5/Cabinet Trickster 5/Master of Masks 5
Bolphunga, Right Hand of the Blood Duchess (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502207&postcount=114) Hooded Pupil Sunscorch Hobgoblin Crusader 9/Binder 1/Incarnate 3/Death’s Chosen 3/ Devoted Defender 3
The Adzorok Flock (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502211&postcount=115) Ghost Ghostwise Halfling Ranger 5/ Master of Many Forms 8/ Warshaper 5
The Servitors (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502212&postcount=116) of Blibdoolpoolp (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502215&postcount=117) Monstrous Humanoid 2/Kuo-Toa Ardent 9/Cleric 5/Sea Mother Whip 4
Ezekiel, the Celebrant (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502218&postcount=118) Illumian Truenamer 20
The Mage-Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502224&postcount=119) Proto Karsite Ranger (Arcane Hunter) 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 10/Monk (Spell Reflection) 3
Xerth, the Ghost in the Machine (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502228&postcount=120) Draconic Trap Haunt Kobold Wilderness Rogue 2/Dragonblooded Sorcerer 3/Combat Trapsmith 5/Unseen Seer 7
Tom Thomsen (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502229&postcount=121) Commoner1/Human Paragon 3/Rogue 3/Swordsage 2/Spymaster 1/Exemplar10
The Sacred Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502231&postcount=122) Jermlaine Druid 9/Warshaper 4/Beastmaster 7

[daremetoidareyo]

I'll be a judge.

[Korahir]

I'll be a judge.

Great! I was already worried that 12 entries may scare people away from judging.

[daremetoidareyo]

Great! I was already worried that 12 entries may scare people away from judging.

I plan on developing a system to make it easy.

Assemble all the pre-reqs to make sure they have a legal build.
Make sure they fall within the contest prohibitions
Judge elegance.
Judge competence & power

Judge how well they really embody the concept of a villainous henchman.
Judge originality & sticking power; how likely is a PC to remember them.

Report score
Capitulate on nothing that I'm not wrong about.

I'm on a road trip this week however, so expect nothing until after the monday after next.

[Deadline]

12 entries for the hardest Villainous Competition so far.

I love this forum. :smallbiggrin:

[Inevitability]

12 entries for the hardest Villainous Competition so far.

I love this forum. :smallbiggrin:

It's like that with the current Junkyard Wars, too. Prohibit most base classes and suddenly people get interested. :smalltongue:

[WhamBamSam]

My idea was going to be something like NE Xorvintaal Exarch [Undead?] [Race?] Druid 6/Totemist 2/Crusader 2/Sorcerer X/Stuff Y. Never really had time to hammer out the details. The idea was to use Vermin Wild Shape with Assume Supernatural Ability or Metamorphic Transfer to turn into a Lesser Knell Beatle which the Xorvintaal Dragon could heal with its Sonic Breath Weapon, Roar, and Energy Aura. That along with Rageclaws and perhaps some undead variety would keep the thing from being destroyed while it peppered enemies with Manticore Belt spines, with Defensive Rebuke+Fell X Ghostly Tail punishing adventurers who attacked its master after being struck by the spines. Throw on 100 mile Mindsight (and a few other Exarch abilities) for added giggles.

[ben-zayb]

It's like that with the current Junkyard Wars, too. Prohibit most base classes and suddenly people get interested. :smalltongue:
Yeah, I'm looking at your sig that quoted flickerdart. Just saying.

I'm honestly surprised at the lack of a warforged entry. That's probably one of the mookiest races in my experience, although not as mookish as reptilians and goblinoids.

[Venger]

I plan on developing a system to make it easy.

Assemble all the pre-reqs to make sure they have a legal build.
Make sure they fall within the contest prohibitions
Judge elegance.
Judge competence & power

Judge how well they really embody the concept of a villainous henchman.
Judge originality & sticking power; how likely is a PC to remember them.

Report score
Capitulate on nothing that I'm not wrong about.

I'm on a road trip this week however, so expect nothing until after the monday after next.

that sounds good. take a look at OMG PONIES's rubric he uses to judge iron chef, it sounds like it lines up with what you want and will help you streamline stuff.

thanks for judging.

[Jormengand]

I'm quite surprised by just how different everything is: a straight assassin, a teleporting mind-bladeing thing, a ghost sorcerer who inspires people to kill harder, a master of masks who is everyone, a goblin who made the terrible mistake of marrying a vampire, a flock of crows or something who all get to be one character because hax, a bunch of servitors who all get to be one character because hax, a truenamer who sacrifices things and gets demons to eat them (and apparently serves my villain), a crazy experimental mage-eating... thing (who apparently serves the first winner), a kobold who always wished he was a dragon, a skillmonkey acrobat who is also pretty good at combat, and a jermlaine who's decided that hey, stars are cooler than underground (and apparently serves the last winner). Not bad for the horribly restrictive round.

[Thurbane]

I'm quite surprised by just how different everything is: a straight assassin, a teleporting mind-bladeing thing, a ghost sorcerer who inspires people to kill harder, a master of masks who is everyone, a goblin who made the terrible mistake of marrying a vampire, a flock of crows or something who all get to be one character because hax, a bunch of servitors who all get to be one character because hax, a truenamer who sacrifices things and gets demons to eat them (and apparently serves my villain), a crazy experimental mage-eating... thing (who apparently serves the first winner), a kobold who always wished he was a dragon, a skillmonkey acrobat who is also pretty good at combat, and a jermlaine who's decided that hey, stars are cooler than underground (and apparently serves the last winner). Not bad for the horribly restrictive round.

That sums it up very well...it's a great field. No two entries are particularly stepping on each other's toes.

No duplication of races or templates, and only minimal duplication of classes (and even these are generally all different ACF variants). Who expected Truenamer or Commoner to be in there? I'd never even heard of Sea Mother Whip before.

[Tiri]

a truenamer who sacrifices things and gets demons to eat them (and apparently serves my villain), a crazy experimental mage-eating... thing (who apparently serves the first winner), a kobold who always wished he was a dragon, a skillmonkey acrobat who is also pretty good at combat, and a jermlaine who's decided that hey, stars are cooler than underground (and apparently serves the last winner)

Well, it makes sense that some people who already have a master villain for their henchmen to serve would rather use their already winning villain than invent a new one.

[Deadline]

My two unused ideas were a kobold trap make and force multiplier, and a male drow Demonbinder/Bard.

There are some amazing builds here, and I think mine may wind up on the bottom of the heap this time. Still good luck to everyone! :smallbiggrin:

[Muggins]

I had been working on something, but the submission date crept up on me somewhat. I blame timezones.

The pitch was a Choker Totemist/Scout/Monk/Ranger. Manticore belt synergized perfectly with having two standard actions in a round, granting about twelve attacks a round thanks to the Choker's Quickness. Each received +4d6 skirmish damage, and Arcanists were a favoured enemy. Enemies were grappled in multiples (and silenced) without hindering the Choker via Improved Manygrab. He could dismantle a party in seconds.

Alas, not enough time. Would've been a no-name door guard in some miserable Drow dungeon, with the Shadow and Lolth-Touched templates to even out his Hit Dice with his CR.

[Jormengand]

Who expected Truenamer or Commoner to be in there?

I expected possible commoner/survivor hacks, and the "No restrictions on truespeak characters" was always gonna be tempting, especially if you're me (it's especially cool that the truespeak character ended up serving my villain).

[Tiri]

I expected possible commoner/survivor hacks,

Well, I wouldn't exactly call those hacks. Neither comonner or survivor is particularly powerful, considering what you give up to take them.


the "No restrictions on truespeak characters" was always gonna be tempting, especially if you're me (it's especially cool that the truespeak character ended up serving my villain).

Unless you turn out to be the one who built it.

[Jormengand]

Unless you turn out to be the one who built it.

I'll tell you for free that my entry was one of the others, though I won't tell you which.

[ben-zayb]

Wouldn't it be rude to use one's work without asking permission first? So I'm guessing that the three winners at least actually know who the ones paying homage to their respective works are (whether themselves or someone else).

[Jormengand]

Wouldn't it be rude to use one's work without asking permission first? So I'm guessing that the three winners at least actually know who the ones paying homage to their respective works are (whether themselves or someone else).

I know that Zaq's Thief of Life build went around eating previous Iron Chef winners, and I don't know whether or not he asked. I also know that the Homebrew Chef doesn't require that you ask people to use their homebrew. After all, we're posting things on the forum for people to use; I don't mind people consequently using them.

[Tiri]

I won't tell you which.

Well, that goes without saying.


After all, we're posting things on the forum for people to use; I don't mind people consequently using them.

Well, using someone else's idea in a private game and including it as part of your own concept in a public event are slightly different. Although I imagine few people in this forum would do the latter without asking.

[daremetoidareyo]

I recently found the unique abilities for NPCs section of the DMG2 on like page 159 or so. I figured this was the tool to get around the limitations of the round.

My first idea was to put vestigial twin on a synad, give that synad a vestigial twin, and then load up of ally buffs, under the assumption that the additional actions this guy could grant would be crazy useful.

passive way monk 1/marshal 4/squire of legend (reikhardt) 2/mythic exemplar (reikhardt) 3/ warchanter 5/Mythic exemplar (reikhard) for the rest

Then I read more carefully, and synad twin can't perfrom actions that involve speech and the vestigial twin has an explicit list of the standard actions they can perform, none of which involved bard or marshal abilities.

My second idea revolved around the prophet unique ability. Cleric 3/human paragon 3/divine prankster 5/divine oracle 3/divine prankster 5

Prophet (Su): The NPC was born on a day of great astronomical significance. His eyes are solid white with no pupils, yet he can still see as a normal creature of his race. In times of distress, he often has strange visions that duplicate the effect of an augury spell (caster level 20th). If the NPC wishes to have a vision relating to a specific topic, he can use divination as a spell-like ability once per week (caster level 20th), but if he does so, he gains two negative levels, which last for 24 hours. The NPC constantly functions as if affected by a foresight spell (caster level 20th).

That’s right, 20th level Augury spells any time the henchman is “in times of distress.” Which, is great and all, but what happens when you take the feat Prophet of the Divine (p. 49 of Power of Faerun)

“When you communicate with your deity using spells such as augury, commune, commune with nature, or divination, you receive an answer in the form of a loud booming voice accompanied by a visible manifestation of the deity'y power, such as a nimbus of colored light in a hue favored by the deity. In the 3 round after such a display, you receive a +4 sacred (or profane for followers of evil deities) bonus to the DC of compulsion spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities.”

So whenever you get stressed out by the PCs, this loud booming voice intervenes, compelling you towards the best course of action 90% of the time. The only problem is that you need to have an initiate feat, and only a few initiate feats are acceptable at 1st level. And only a few initiate feats are good of a character of such flatlined stats. So, after much equivocation, I chose Initiate of Gond, the god of master smithing, knowledge and planning. Then, I thought, wouldn’t it be funny if you were a heretic whose god interrupts you constantly when you’re in danger. You could gather followers, easily, but you wouldn’t quite be the leader. The leader is the voice that tells you what to do. All it takes is a sufficiently humble and capricious normal guy of medium to dim intelligence to subtly twist the augury results towards one’s own desires. So heretic of the faith is added. I like to imagine the god trying to answer in such a way to steer the prophet back towards doing things correctly, but the petty nature of the henchman around the booming voice always twists the interpretation towards the most personally enriching and chaotic result.

Then there were all of these sweet synergies. Wieldskill and master's touch is like a +9 to any skill. Enrage enemies is the only aggro that makes a caster attack you.

Then I remember the caster level prohibitions from the round. grrrr.

[The Viscount]

I had been working on something, but the submission date crept up on me somewhat. I blame timezones.

The pitch was a Choker Totemist/Scout/Monk/Ranger. Manticore belt synergized perfectly with having two standard actions in a round, granting about twelve attacks a round thanks to the Choker's Quickness. Each received +4d6 skirmish damage, and Arcanists were a favoured enemy. Enemies were grappled in multiples (and silenced) without hindering the Choker via Improved Manygrab. He could dismantle a party in seconds.

Alas, not enough time. Would've been a no-name door guard in some miserable Drow dungeon, with the Shadow and Lolth-Touched templates to even out his Hit Dice with his CR.

Interesting idea. Were you using girallon arms and the like to beef up your grapple?

I regret to inform you that Rules Compendium slammed precision damage and volleys, so it only applies to the first.

[Muggins]

Interesting idea. Were you using girallon arms and the like to beef up your grapple?

I regret to inform you that Rules Compendium slammed precision damage and volleys, so it only applies to the first.
Girallon Arms with what little essentia the character had left over, yes. Figures that the Rules Compendium would have something to say about it, but I suppose using something like Dissolving Spittle instead would be a reasonable alternative.

Mught judge, but I don't actually know how to handle some of the builds this round (like the one with more HD than CR).

[ben-zayb]

Girallon Arms with what little essentia the character had left over, yes. Figures that the Rules Compendium would have something to say about it, but I suppose using something like Dissolving Spittle instead would be a reasonable alternative.

Mught judge, but I don't actually know how to handle some of the builds this round (like the one with more HD than CR).

From what I remember, including firsthand experience, the previous judges didn't have an issue with 21+ HD entries. Our previous evil chancellor, Telonius, even introduced contest clarification/guidelines on access to epic feats and other epic features such as increased essentia capacity.

I also believe that the ability to toy with HD/LA due to NPCs being CR-based is the secondary selling point of the Villainous Competition, opening up new creative design space for us optimizers.

[Thurbane]

By my reckoning, there's three entries with more HD than CR. :smallwink:

And yes, basing a comp on CR rather than ECL is a big part of the appeal of this comp - which can mean going over 20 HD.

In the land of Iron Chef, ECL is king, and puts some fairly hard limits on what races are viable for an entry. Although, having said that, I've seen some pretty bold IC entries that manage to do very well with high RHD/LA entries.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Fascinating how this contest, which squelches making an interesting character, got so many more responses than prior ones.

Anyways, despite your attitudes towards me and my issues with the contest, I've decided to judge. Before looking at the entries, I'm adjusting my prior

Originality
Was its concept surprising to me? (1.5 points)
Was its build surprising to me? (0.5 points)
Does it and its plan fall into common villain tropes or stereotypes? (0.5 point)
Does it involve some kind of clever trick or plan? (1.5 points)
How long of a phrase or sentence does it take to summarize your character? (1 point)

Build Elegance
Is the progression smooth enough to allow play at all levels? (1 point)
Is everything legal and consistent? (1 point)
Did you fulfill contest requirements? (0.5 points)
Did you avoid dips? (1 points)
How easy is it for a GM to run the villain as written? (1.5 points)

Competence and Power
Villains are divided into three categories—schemers, brutes, and forces of nature. Schemers are villains designed for adventures or campaigns focused more on investigation, roleplaying, and foiling the villain's plot; brutes are villains designed for combat and destroying the villain personally; and forces of nature are.
How capable is the villain of achieving its goals, with or without PC intervention? (1.75 points for Schemers, 0.75 points for Brutes and Forces of Nature) NOTE: For this contest, I'll instead be judging based on if the villain can fulfill its stated position.
How difficult is it to reach the villain, whether due to its lair, its minions, or unusual slipperiness? (1.5 points)
How much of a fight can the villain put up when the climatic final battle comes, between personal power, minions, and special factors? (1 point for Schemers and Forces of Nature, 2 points for Brutes)
Does the villain make any classic villainous blunders? (0.5 points)
A Force of Nature villain has an additional criterion, worth one point, based on how well it functions as a "force of nature".

Memorable Villainy
Is the villain a character, or at least more than a list of statistics? (1.5 points)
Would I, personally, like to run the villain? (0.75 points)
Does the villain have a sensible goal and a plan which could reasonably succeed, which consistently fits with the villain's personality? (1 point) NOTE: For this contest, I'll instead be judging based on if the villain has an independent motivation for working with the Big Bad.
Does the villain inspire strong negative emotions when the players recognize and understand it? (0.75 point)
What scale would defeating the villain be? Encounter, adventure, short campaign, long one?* (1 point)

*This is not the same as the set of levels a villain is viable for. A goblin rogue is a suitable "villain" for any level from one to epic but might not have enough of a plot to occupy the players for more than a session; an elder elemental druid probably won't work except at high CR, but with good planning can be the basis of a campaign which lasts twenty levels. Or from another point of view—Miko would work as the Order's "villain" at any level despite low staying power in the plot, but Xykon can work at every level despite not being himself without a high CR.

Finally, I'm adding an additional category—Suitability. This was previously a small entry under Memorable Villainy, but I decided that it deserves its own category. (All scores will be listed with and without this category, in case it's judged to be against contest rules.) Sub-categories are:
Does it meet the spirit as well as the letter of contest requirements? (0.5 points)
Is the villain's build suited to the contest's theme? (1.5 points)
Is the villain's concept suited to the contest's theme? (2 point)
Do the build and concept suit each other? (1 point)




Originality (X/5 points)
Was its concept surprising? (X/1.5 points)
Was its build surprising? X/(0.5 points)
Does it and its plan fall into common stereotypes? (X/0.5 point)
Does it involve a clever trick/plan? (X/1.5 points)
How long does it take to summarize it? (X/1 point)

Build Elegance (X/5 points)
Is the progression smooth? (X/1 point)
Is everything legal? (X/1 point)
Did you fulfill contest requirements? (X/0.5 points)
Did you avoid dips? (X/1 points)
How easy is it to run the villain? (X/1.5 points)

Competence and Power (X/5 points)
Schemer/Brute/Force of Nature
How capable is the villain of fulfilling its objectives? (X/#.75)
How difficult is it to reach the villain? (X/1.5 points)
How much of a fight can the villain put up? (X/# points)
Does the villain make any classic blunders? (X/0.5 points)
(If applicable) How effective of a force of nature is it? (X/1 points)

Memorable Villainy (X/5 points)
Is it a character? (X/1.5 points)
Would I like to run it? (X/0.75 points)
Does it have a sensible motivation? (X/1 point)
Does the villain inspire strong negative emotions? (X/0.75 point)
What scale is the villain? (X/1 point)

Suitability (X/5 points)
Does it meet the spirit of requirements? (X/0.5 points)
Is the build suited to the theme? (X/1.5 points)
Is the concept suited to the theme? (X/2 point)
Do the build and concept suit each other? (X/1 point)

[Inevitability]

Fascinating how this contest, which squelches making an interesting character, got so many more responses than prior ones.

I actually think it's the harsh restrictions that made this contest more popular. Past rounds of Junkyard Wars and Iron Chef show that the harder it is to successfully use an ingredient, the more people will try to. I guess people just like a challenge?

[Deadline]

I actually think it's the harsh restrictions that made this contest more popular. Past rounds of Junkyard Wars and Iron Chef show that the harder it is to successfully use an ingredient, the more people will try to. I guess people just like a challenge?

Indeed. To me, this contest didn't discourage making interesting characters, just mechanically viable threats. I've seen a similar response when we've had an extraordinarily bland ingredient in Iron Chef, like Cipher Adept. So many neat and off the wall ideas there.

[Tiri]

I actually think it's the harsh restrictions that made this contest more popular. Past rounds of Junkyard Wars and Iron Chef show that the harder it is to successfully use an ingredient, the more people will try to. I guess people just like a challenge?

I don't think it's just that. Most of the past Villainous Competitions have been about creating a main villain, the person in charge. Having one about all the little minions and henchmen under them is probably refreshing.

[The Viscount]

For me in this round as well as in Cipher Adept part of the reason I made something was the restriction freed me from analysis paralysis. While I have less things to work with, I like having some guiding frame or else I'll spend forever trying to make sure I'm making best use of my freedom.

[Venger]

For me in this round as well as in Cipher Adept part of the reason I made something was the restriction freed me from analysis paralysis. While I have less things to work with, I like having some guiding frame or else I'll spend forever trying to make sure I'm making best use of my freedom.

Same. I prefer noncaster rounds of iron chef for exactly this reason.

[Jormengand]

I think we scared off most of the potential judges...

[daremetoidareyo]

I think we scared off most of the potential judges...

Just got back from road trip last night. I'll start in earnest tomorrow

Edit @ 3/16 01:10: 5 down. So far, so good.

[daremetoidareyo]

Just got back from road trip last night. I'll start in earnest tomorrow

Edit @ 3/16 01:10: 5 down. So far, so good.

Only 4 more left to go. And then I cross-compare the scores to make sure the power category is equilibrated. I should finish them up tomorrow. I'll post right into the forum.

[daremetoidareyo]

Mozz'rat the Imp Hunter
CE Quasit Rogue 8/Assassin 10

I hate when the first entry I review is good. Do I set this as the standard by which to judge other entries? Anyway, I am blown away by the quality of this entry.

Build is legal. Skill points line up. Prerequisites met. No points lost there. I don’t penalize for number or rarity of sources. But dude, what happen to your sneak attack dice?! Those things hit the blender.

Classic assassin/thief build chassis. Nothing weird about how that all works out. But, compared to some other entries, this one is pretty flipping powerful.

I was expecting a familiar somewhere in the entries, but you made this guy a blood-warrior, a henchman’s henchman, and pretty gosh darned powerful to boot. The worst aspect of the build is the Assassin death strike DC, which peaks at about 24. So the levels where it is actually a threat are the same levels where raising dead characters is just a little too flipping expensive.

I like how the henchman here can be individually hated, especially if they are harrying the PCs. Three solid sneak attacks, stretched over a few other encounters, and then he disappears until later in the day.

Also, I love your adventure hooks at each CR. Classy touch.

Originality-5
Elegance-5
Competence & Power-4.5
Memorable villainy 4.5
Total: 19

Mr. Harvey B. Hench
Elf NE Soulknife 10/ Shadowdancer 10

Cute. Build is legal. It’s a little…unexciting. Which, paired with this dude actually perceiving theirself as a “henchman,” contributes to this whole “meta”-feedback loop. He kinda stinks, has some shadow striking skills, but hilariously low HP for the amount of XP he grants. Like, if you met him and a bunch of cronies of the same level, you aren’t singling him out as the largest threat. But…he is different, and thus stands out.

It’s like he was cast for the venture brothers.

Anyway, He’s original. Good for use in a self aware D&D game, like one that makes the kind of jokes OOTS makes. But he won’t be that memorable. [/SPOILER]

Originality-5
Elegance-4
Competence & Power-2.5
Memorable villainy 1.5
Total 13


Filia
Advanced Evolved Phantom Slaymate Undead 8/Sorcerer 6/Marshal 3/War Weaver 5

Flavor text! Boo! Don’t you know that I got like 12 of these to grade. Oh yeah, that’s right, you didn’t know how many other people were submitting. I’ll let it slide this time. Nice writing by the way. I wish that you discussed mechanics a little more instead.

Template stacking. Let me just open these PDFs. Sweet, your sources section listed where everything is! Thanks for that. :)

Slaymate is weird. That bite disease is crazy. Nice touch with the pale aura. Evolved template; legal. Confusion as a 1/day option. Very thematic, especially in light of your spell choice. Between Trickery devotion and mirror image, this horror cutie is a horror trope in a can. Well, it’s creepy Korean ghost child horror crawling out of that can. Well done. Phantom template; well that bite just got scarier, didn’t it? This is a powerful henchthing. I like what you did with the caster boosting in your marshal’s aura’s. Although it makes the dread necro a little weird for taking the directions of a snotnosed poison fanged phantom child. But maybe daddy is lichloved and this is a complicated relationship.

Lifebond is a nice thematic and mechanically logical choice.
Then things get weird. Why are you dragontouched? I don’t see a service for you mechanically. I mean, The basket weaving is cool. It makes her even creepier. And it also helps with the eldritch weaving…But seeing as how meticulously you put everything else together, why that feat at that level? Is this about wings of cover? Man, how much overkill are you going for that you gave up a whole feat slot? You’re trickery devotion mirror image who can eldritch tapestry that exact spell to cover all of the undead minions around yourself, on top of being incorporeal. The chances of targeting the correct you is like 25% at best in the first place.

Your saves are pretty good for a henchman. This is a very solid build.

Originality-4
Elegance-4.25
Competence & Power-5
Memorable villainy 5
Total 18.25

Story Teller
LE changeling ranger 3/swashbuckler 1/ranger4/zhentarim spy 5/cabinet trickster 5/master of masks 5

Spoiler alert; Nice twist ending on your flavor text.

You are the most changeling changeling ever to change. Nice approach to the ultimate henchman. They can be any lame old henchman of non-importance, all at the same time as being a very important henchman.

However, If I’m totally honest, the lack of adventure hooks makes this guy hard to implement against PCs who aren’t locked down to a specific urban campaign. There, you can drop storyteller in anywhere on his own mission (magic item shopkeep?) that has nothing to do with the PCs.

Build is legal.

Why favored enemy arcanists and not favored enemy human? Why did you keep the animal companion and not take distracting attack, because you have no handle animal skill to speak of. Plus the animal companion would be a give away. Distracting attack would be killer with the boomerang daze combo with master of masks. You hit them with your boomerang, and whether or not you daze them, they are now considered flanked, and you are considered your own ally, as per the PHB glossary, and thus, with two weapon fighting, you have another boomerang, now sneak attack empowered, coming in next.

And brother, if you think wanderer’s diplomacy is good for languages, well You got another thing coming (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472308-Optimize-This-Feat-1-Wanderer-s-Diplomacy). You are like Red from Shawshank redemption, you can get anything from anywhere. Or track small unique objects across town. Also, you can standard action diplomacy check with a bluff check.

Master of masks is what makes this henchman even identifiable as an entity for the PCs to worry about. The assassin who puts on a luchador mask and then proceeds to Xena stomp the living daylights out of folks in hand to hand combat. It’s a delicious role shift from spy to combatant. This will increase their memorable villainy. And it’s mechanically devastating with the right gear.

Originality-4
Elegance-4.
Competence & Power-4
Memorable villainy 4
Total: 16

Bolphunga, Right Hand of the Blood Duchess
NE Hooded Pupil Sunscorch Hobgoblin Crusader 9/Binder 1/Incarnate 3/Death’s Chosen 3/ Devoted Defender 3

That’s a weird template. OK. So it’s the living lackey of a powerful undead, with a dash of intimacy. You made some flavorful choices. Devoted defender isn’t a great class but the ability to AOO anyone who attacks your master is good. Death’s chosen is a great flavorful choice. Incarnate 3, and then feats to open chakras is great for theme (can summon 3HD of zombies) but at the level they occur, 3HD of zombies is kinda stank. Hopefully gear can compensate? Binding naberius to diminish con damage is clever for feeding a vampire.

Build is legal.

You chose all of the best crusader defensive abilities, which means that this guy is mighty mighty for the first 10 levels. The following 10 level result in a slow power slide, which is a neat thing if the PCs interact with this henchman a couple of times over the levels. As he gets closer to the undead, he loses his combat edge. It’s almost like his dependancy on the vampire increases with time, even though he started out as pretty tough and able to go the full distance in a warlord facility by his own right at level 1.

Encountering this dude is easy, he’s the vampire’s body guard and lackey He delivers messages and invitations to people. He is a harbinger that the PCs have to deal with this vampire again. DM can even throw a few hob-gobs or zomb-gobs as underlings. He is especially interesting if other hobgoblins interact with him because of the whole being so undead focused thing.

Originality-4
Elegance-5.
Competence & Power-3.5
Memorable villainy 3
Total: 15.5

The Adzarok Flock
LE Ghostwise Halfling Ghost (CR+2) / Ranger 5 / Master of Many Forms 8 / Warshaper 5

Question: Isn’t this A if not THE big bad?

Build is RAW legal, and crazy as all get out. In fact, the only way that I can see a group of PCs handling this guy at all is to read that section of libris mortis p. 144, where via DM fiat and plot building can the PCs lay the flock to rest. I don’t suggest using the adzarok flock in a campaign that doesn’t have a spirit shaman or some sort of sacred exorcist type character or access to those types of characters as NPCs or Cohorts at the parties ECL. You know, some measure of defense against possession/wildshaping etc.

So this entry puts me in a weird place because it is quite powerful, quite elegantly assembled, original as all hell, it’s definitely memorable but it doesn’t legit feel like a henchman or a henchman’s henchman. It’s like multiple man were combined with edgar allen poe’s raven as a leader for alfred hitchcock’s the birds, with a nasty case of the body snatching. The reliance on being a henchman for an archduke of hell just isn’t enough to overcome how tough this creature is. Maybe if a more concrete subservient role, function, or pathos was explicit, I wouldn’t be as dismissive of adzarok as a “minion.”

I love what you did. This enemy is almost an environmental menace. They can literally fill up all available space on the table and spread themselves as a ghostocalypse. You can literally build an entire campaign around this one critter.

Originality-5
Elegance- 3.5
Competence & Power-5
Memorable villainy 4.5
Total: 18.

Servitor 241
Kuo-Toa Ardent 9/Cleric 9 (double amputee)

Armless psionic frogmen clerics. Weird.

Actually this build runs afoul of RAI vs RAW. Not in the D&D game but in the limitations of this particular competition. “The character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaper levels.” And this character has 18 total manifester or caster levels. Now, linguistically speaking, this can be interpreted differently, as each system (magic, psionic, initiator, meld shaping) may get their own 10 level limit. I’m not sure how to proceed in light of that. And I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t notice if this build hadn’t pushed on the edges it did (maxed out the limits and has the magic mantle to blur the lines even more). In light of that, I am going to proceed as if the latter interpretation were the case, because there is a reasonable and valid interpretation that makes your build a legal entry into this competition.

That aside, the build appears as legal.

Despite the gross amount of manifesting and spell ability, this guy still feels like a minion. Maybe it’s because his name is a number. Maybe it’s because he isn’t super exciting. But lets hack through it.

Servitor 241 is the support mook. He’s the caster behind the fighters. And although your prescription often called for biting hyjinks, he is a potent buffer of his kuo toa kin, especially with the persists. I wish you put a little more focus on buffing has his main combat ability. The armless-ness of his presence makes him stand out to PCs who encounter him, especially if the other servitors are able bodied. 241 is the caster that the ranged PCs target first. So 241’s psionics serve as self protection while the cleric side can do most of the buffing.

Edit: Power level has been recalibrated in light of power levels of other entries. It should be noted however, that there is no means for 241 to cast spells with a somatic descriptor

Originality-5
Elegance- 4
Competence & Power-4.5
Memorable villainy 3
Total: 16.5

Ezekiel, the Celebrant
Illumian(RoD) Truenamer (ToM) 20.

I see truenamer, let’s see what you got! It looks like you accounted for how to hit true name DCs with your sacrifice abuse and craftin'. Nice.

Build is RAW legal. But BOVD sacrifice rules are known cheese.

You didn’t name your sigils. (Naen & Uur) And Seeing as how I had to open up races of destiny to figure that out, they boost to +2 at level 2, and up to +3 with the enhanced power sigil feat.

You do seem limited to one or two guaranteed utterance per utterance per day. At level 20, your bonus to your truespeak check is around +40-+50, depending on gear. (23 skill ranks+10 amulet, +5 item, circumstance bonus, ability score modifying bonuses from items, +6 skill focus and sigil).
Truename DC: DC 15 + 2x CR = 55 at level 20. You will be eating a 20-40% chance of any utterance not working. Why no item familiar? Edit: because it's banned altogether

Anyway, I like what you did with what you had. This henchman is another behind the line magical being who needs meatshields. And whom the ranged PCs will want to target first. Especially if he gets a devil to join in the fray and begins a second sacrifice.

The problem with the altar as a circumstance bonus to sacrifice checks is that it is a fixed location, and thus this guy will tend to get flushed from there. But, as a henchman, he will be memorable if the PCs have to fight through a hoard of devils, while the guy on the black dias of corruption with neon signs swirling about his crown kills children one round after the next to summon a new devil. Which, as an encounter, is pretty awesome. Especially with a few cleric blasters at his back.

But, I like your moxie in trying to make a true namer float with this terrible ability score disbursement. You should have aged him.

Edit: Power Score adjusted to reflect later level abilities rather than unfairly weight the first 5 levels of truenamer suckitude. Score updated

Originality-5
Elegance- 4
Competence & Power-4.25
Memorable villainy 4
Total: 17.25

Mage Hunter
Chaotic Evil Proto-Karsite Ranger (Arcane Hunter) 5/Occult Slayer 3/Psychic Warrior 1/Slayer 10/Monk (Spell Reflection) 3

BoK? What is that? *searches internet*
I’m sorry to inform you that the Bestiary of Krynn is not a first party source. It’s an officially licensed source, but is not indeed printed by WOTC. That aside, let’s dig into this bad boy.

Edit: It appears that this doesn't actually matter. Scores adjusted

The proto template does weird stuff. Wipes all supernatural and spell likes off of a critter, adds madness and barbarians rage. And the body melts at -10 hp.

Karsite after having the SU and SP abilities wiped, have DR 5/magic and spell resistance. And they cannot cast spells. Actually the proto-template wipes the spell resistance too. Page 89 BOK. What a terrible template. It actually undermines most of your build. Karsites are treated as humans, and thus you do qualify for hyena tribe hunter.

The build is an ubertripper. Nice alignment of feats. The tripping plus reach is well done. Although why choose rapid shot? Doesn’t matter much, 2WF is a bit lost on this guy anyway. Switch hitting I guess. I

What is your animal companion?
Weapon bond and vicious strike is nice with all the reach optimization you put into this. 3rd level is a good break point for occult slayer. Slayer, huh? Never noticed that class before. A few more immunities. Advancement of the ranger stuff. Terrible terrible capstone. And then 3 levels of monk for spell reflection. Why didn’t you grab the durable variant from UA for a stacking DR and also the decisive strike ACF, seeing as how you can’t flurry with a spike chain anyway?

How is this spiked chain guy significantly different than other henchmen who are spiked chain guys? Don’t get me wrong, this is a good ubertripper build that you have assembled, and even without spell resistance, he is a pain in the rear to hit with magic.

Originality-4
Elegance- 2.5
Competence & Power-3
Memorable villainy 3
Total: 12.5

Xerth, the Ghost in the Machine Male CE Draconic Trap Haunt Kobold Wilderness Rogue 2/Dragonblooded Sorcerer 3/Combat Trapsmith 5/Unseen Seer 7

What’s a henchman competition without a kobold?

Build is legal. Except for one thing; “Note that trap haunts cannot use equipment.” Which totally means that you are either using all ghost touch trap supplies, or you need that feat from libris mortis that I learned about in Filia’s entry. Granted all of the trap based spells and abilities still work, but you can’t actually build the physical traps that you’re tasked with…

Edit: Failed Spot check. Ghostly grasp is right there, plain as day. Score updated.

Weird how you didn’t go dragonwraught. Nice. An acorn of far travel, (or a self resetting trap of that particular spell) would do a lot for this lil guy. Although, that might mean you need an oak tree in the middle of the dungeon swamp.

However, rather than being a head honcho kobold, you did a good job of relegating him to henchman status.

Originality-4
Elegance- 4.5
Competence & Power-4.0
Memorable villainy 3.5
Total: 16


Tom Thomsen
Lawful Evil Human
Commoner1/Human Paragon3/Rogue3/Swordsage2/Spymaster1/Exemplar10

It’s a human covert agent working for the thieves guild. While I tend to think of assassin’s as independent contractors, I reckon an assassin is a specialized role for a mook. I do enjoy him more as a cat burglar, but alas…no climb skill.

No skill tricks?

The lending talent ability makes for an interesting dynamic, with Tom Thomsen making it possible for a fire giant to tumble around willy nilly. This character plays like an evil batman. Millionaire tumbling playboy by day, burglar and assassin by night.

I imagine the PC encounter this guy if they stumble across him and his crew breaking into somewhere. And Tom stands out by tumbling right past them to escape.

This isn’t a high powered build, but it is good at what it does do.

Originality-4
Elegance- 5
Competence & Power-2.5
Memorable villainy 3
Total: 14.5

The sacred assassin
Neutral Evil JermlaineMM2/AUB Druid 9/WarshaperCAdv 4/BeastmasterCW 7

Another shape changer. This one is a bit of a pyromaniac…

I like how your tactics change over the course of the evolution of this guy.
Natural bond works the way you think as far as I’m concerned.

Build is legal. Elegant. And a little more powerful than it’s CR.

I’m having trouble again with this particular challenger being a henchman. It seems like a lone wolf. The agency that he works for is…in his own head? I’m suffering from a lack of context.

Edit: Context supplied, scores adjusted

Originality-4
Elegance- 4
Competence & Power-4
Memorable villainy 4.25
Total: 16.25

[Jormengand]

Now, linguistically speaking, this can be interpreted differently, as each system (magic, psionic, initiator, meld shaping) may get their own 10 level limit. I’m not sure how to proceed in light of that.
It was mentioned earlier that the limits are separate, IIRC.


Why no item familiar?
If I had to guess? I'd say probably the fact that it's banned. Which is a scourge on truespeak characters across the land.


It’s an officially licensed source, but is not indeed printed by WOTC.
The OP says official source, not 1st party source.


I’m having trouble again with this particular challenger being a henchman. It seems like a lone wolf. The agency that he works for is…in his own head? I’m suffering from a lack of context.

I think that one's meant to be Brightness, given that it calls out Brightness' name in the text. They were last round's winner.


You've left all the Sacred Assassin's sources in, but lost the superscript, so they look odd.

That's all the obvious actual-rules stuff I can catch; dispute will occur at some other point if I actually feel like disputing.

[Inevitability]

I’m having trouble again with this particular challenger being a henchman. It seems like a lone wolf. The agency that he works for is…in his own head? I’m suffering from a lack of context.

Take a look at the winning build from VC IX. Or take a shortcut via the link in my signature. :smallwink:

[Korahir]

Thanks for judging, dareme!

Also, the first disputes:




-Xerth does actually have 'that one feat from Libris Mortis' (he even gets it as soon as possible). It's called Ghostly Grasp, and he gets it at CR 12. Xerth can build physical traps just fine.
-Could you please elaborate on the scores a bit? In three out of four categories, I feel like you just said 'you did well enough here' and proceeded to give me a 3.5. It's a bit confusing and it makes it hard for me to see if you have any wrong assumptions about my build.






* Dragontouched comes online as Filia advances her Sorcerer casting - many sorcerers say their power comes from a latent touch of dragon's blood. Sure enough, it could easily be swapped around with Lifebond or Enlarge spell to emerge earlier in her Sorcerous career - although Lifebond specifically comes online when Filia is "adopted" by Daddy. I don't think Wings of Cover would be legal in an Eldritch Tapestry (being Range: Personal], so it allows her to protect Daddy (and even his familiar) from Attack as well as herself as an immediate action.
* Just curious on originality: 4 is a very respectable score, and there are certainly entries with more obscure race/template/class combos, but surely Slaymate is pretty original, and a solid fit as a henchman. As you point out in your judging, some of the others could be BBEGs in their own right, but Filia's symbiotic relationship with Daddy seems a pretty original and fitting concept for a henchy IMHO.




Elegance: Ok, I'd just like a bit more elaboration on why you gave certain scores. I'm not sure why Elegance has a 4. Normally I wouldn't argue since it is a pretty good score, but other builds got the same or higher score even when the amount of classes and dips was much larger, and if it's about the thing with caster levels, as someone already said, it's legal. As is the Magic mantle. Unless it's because of the 'biting hijinks'. In that case, however, I have to remind you that an armless (well, ok, the way I did it was having what used to be his arms essentially be his legs, but still) character doesn't have many options for engaging in melee. Of course, there might be other reasons this got the score it did, but if there are it would be nice if you elaborated a bit more.

Power and Competence: I also have to take issue with the Power and Competence score. 3? The Servitors get 5th-level spells/powers from two different classes, and can Persist them. Say what you like, but spellcasting is very powerful, yet builds that completely lack it can get 4s and others with similar spellcasting 5s. 3 is closer to things like the build with Commoner and Exemplar in it (although granted those are not the only things in there) and the one with Soulknife and Shadowdancer (which are notoriously underpowered classes). I just think that given the power level of the other builds, the Power score deserves at least one or two more points.

Memorable Villainy: I suppose I can't control what you might find memorable or not, but 'Armless psionic frogmen clerics' aren't exactly something one forgets. In your own words, 'Weird'. I would at least argue that, coupled with the story I wrote surrounding 241, it's at least as memorable as an imp assassin or an evil priest, citing examples of some other builds that scored higher in that area. Although, at the end of the day, what you find memorable is not the same as what I might.

I would also like to say thanks for judging.

[Tiri]

I have to say that the judging criteria seem a bit obscure. Many builds seem to have been given scores in various sections for reasons not stated. Not that the judging is bad or anything like that, just a little confusing.

[Jormengand]

I have to say that the judging criteria seem a bit obscure. Many builds seem to have been given scores in various sections for reasons not stated. Not that the judging is bad or anything like that, just a little confusing.

Yeah, that's what's giving me grief with disputing. All the ones after, let's say mage hunter, for example, seem to be a lot shorter and have no real context, while even those that do it's not enough to comment on them properly.

[daremetoidareyo]

I sifted around everyone's feedback.

My major problem with the judging rubric is that there is no category for appropriateness of theme. Yeah, it's subjective, but we can all agree that a thrall herd isn't a minion. But things get weird when what makes a good henchman can't be mechanically stipulated. So, in order to compensate for the lack of feeling like a henchman, I rolled that primarily into the elegance score. The elegance score for me is weird because I love splat diving, and most elegance penalties that I see are for illegal, or cheesy, or because the number of sources was a pain in the butt. So long as your build looked legal, (you qualify for prestige classes, templates and feats) you started at max score for elegance. Stuff like random alignment shifts, reliance on nebulous readings, unaccounted for or discarded class features, cheezy power grabbing (as judged by me) or not appearing to be very henchman-like were how this score became adjusted downward. Most of you did a great job on the mechanical end. And elegance scores were mostly a judgment of how henchmanlike you were, and most of the scores are crazy high because of the quality of the entries. BUT you need to look at memorable villainy and how flipping tricky that is as a judging parameter this contest.

Unfortunately, for a henchman competition, memorable villainy is a different beast than in other villainous competitions. The henchmen have this weird push pull where they shouldn't overshadow the main BBEG, but should stand out to the PCs. They provide context for the BBEG. And thus, there is a weird visual and tactical element to calculating memorable villiany. What makes this minion stand out against their fellow henchfolk? And will the PCs remember encountering and fighting this guy? Will they even care what the deal with that minion even was? I think that is why so many of these entries emphasized defense. These minions need to hold their ground before waffling. What is perplexing are the builds wherein the henchman is undistinguishable from literally any other person. It gives them utility for the BBEG, but it naturally degrades their memorable villainy...unless the PCs put together that the same guy has cover identities. So you have to balance how memorable the possibility that such a minion is unraveled in the correct way to make them memorable. Even though in practice, they are very very helpful for a bad guy to have on staff. But so is a master blacksmith...

Also, after using some other people's rubrics in judgings, I really disliked breaking each category of judgment down to a thoroughly designed point system. Partially because it breaks down in light of caster supremacy, partially because you, as a judge, have to eyeball the possibility of the encounters going the way an average or good DM planned.

As a judge, if you have to justify everything that you hunch, it's easier to just ignore that wisdom altogether, or try to justify it within a point system, where it seems like you are arbitrarily harping one thing or another to justify why you didn't award points. Which means that you cannot judge an individual build on its merits, holistically, you have to dock the same points for the same thing on a different build, even if it doesn't necessarily hurt that other build the same way it hurt the dissenting entrant.

Seeing as how this entire board and competition is predicated on maximizing the highest extent possible within what has been written, and how that skill and game theory is applied in other avenues, I don't feel that posting a rubric or even defining point values for a rubric leads to an outcome that is superior to not doing so. A biased judge skews that system just as much, all that it does is offer the illusion to the entrants that they have more control over the process. Entrants made something and offered it to the world to judge, once it leaves their hands, it stands for itself.

The freedom to judge the entry as compared to similar builds within it's own Schtick and then against PC abilities is really constrained within the rubric point addition/docking style. With a standardized rubric, I don't have the time or brainpower to anticipate all of the different permutations thrown around to craft a good rubric that satisfies a sense of fairness for all types of entries. A weaker henchmen who is strong for a rogue, comes from a unique and original story and mechanical workings, who is very memorable will still fail in the power category compared to a mage who has all of the exact same traits. But narrative needs for villains don't prioritze power over all things or versatility over all things, they prioritize uniqueness, role niches, and visual aesthetic. Some entries offered none of that explicitly, and in that vaccuum, I was tasked with trying to use the character as I would as a DM. And some entries fell flat on that because I wasn't inspired by any of the specifics of the character.

You want arbitrariness in your judges. Otherwise all we could do with this competition is compete for the highest BAB, AC, HP, and saves. But we choose themes. You may disagree, but you are totally free to. If that's the case, You make a standardized rubric that you want to be judged on, get other people to agree to it, and sure, I'll do it. And we'll watch as the metagame of the competition changes. With my system the metagame is convince the judge that your character is a cool and cinematic henchman with a build that is legal, not too cheesy, and definitely not in command. You convince me, with your entry.

So, all of that in place, let's look at the disputes that I'm not altering points for.

Xerth: Hopefully, the elaboration above help you to understand my approach. I was excited to see a trapsmith, but the build isn't super powerful, nor original. I understanding that missing the 12th level feat has shaken your trust in me as a judge, but I corrected for that. I'm afraid that there is no way to appease your need to know what I know about your build's strengths after making that mistake. I'm sorry about that, I should have triple checked the feats.

But holistically, Xerth is more of a piece of dungeon terrain than a henchman. And although frustrating to deal the number of trap like spells, he can be turned by like any cleric or paladin and then the 30' of space he controls is overcome. I didn't see an avenue for the PCs to get his backstory, and if the pc's are going after something in the kobold warren at 15th to 20th level, they simply would ignore the ghost and traps. Those considerations, in the possibility matrix of how PCs will encounter the villain, lead me to think that this particular character is slightly more memorable than an average kobold with class levels and a hackneyed backstory and personality.

Filia: So dragontouched was a bit more flavor choice. I was just asking because it seemed unthematic. You're all undead all day, and then all of a sudden: DRAGONS. Especially within the horror context that you cultivated very well with your use of mechanics. I was just commenting, I didn't dock anything for this.

As far as the originality score is concerned, I didn't assign any bonus points for rarity of critter chosen. And when I compared what she did thematically, she was a creepy ghost girl who made things terrible for the PCs. I absolutely loved the character, but she filled the role of a trope, (and well) but it didn't feel totally fresh and new. Better than average, but the mold already existed. And at the risk seeming like a terrible person, I had to import all the ways to use those features into her. My enjoyment of the character was imbued by what I put into thinking about her. You built her, you made great choices in the build, but you didn't tell how to use her abilities and tactics. So using her to her full potential was left to the imagination and system mastery of the judge. And in my imagination, Filia crosses a border between henchman and surrogate daughter and thus deviated a bit. The marshal class levels definitely helped that reading.

Servitors of Blibdoolpoolp
The elegance score stands. Your dude definitely feels like a henchman. The major sticking points for myself on that were the lack of mechanical support for armless-ness. "Use your imagination" you might retort and my imagination goes towards an inability to use spells with somatic components and a difficulty presenting the holy symbol as a divine focus. It can be worked around, but it went unacknowledged. What you maximized in power you lost me on appreciating the build. You needed still spell or surrogate spellcasting more than you needed reserves of strength. Unless of course, you were using magic mantle to somehow not worry about somatic components; just spitballing here.

Power score has been re-assessed. But, I'm not seeing any super powerful ardent powers that aren't compensating for the lack of ability to wear rings, gloves, gauntlets, or bracers. You're a weak spellcaster, unless of course, the magic mantle is making your caster level twice what the rules were allowing them to be by stacking ardent levels on top of cleric levels as one catch all caster level. If that's what you were going for, I can adjust the elegance score, but it's going downward. But due to clerics casting mechanics, and the apparent shut down of the most reliable spell database for 3.5 with sorting filters, I wasn't going to go looking for the spells that you can persist that don't have somatic components. And no specific spells were offered as typically prepared (cloud of knives (VSM), Lessor vigor (V,S) or craft magic tattoo with no ranks in any craft skill) were legal options for a cleric without hands (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#components). What could be done with that? Assume 241 had a rod of still spell? That was on you to render explicitly.

Memorability: I struggled with this one a bit. 241 stands out because of a disability. And the spellcasting from behind the minions. But I don't think that the PCs will remember him without a plot reason to do so, therefor, Normal anti-spellcaster tactics apply. He's just the opposing group's spellcaster.

[daremetoidareyo]

I have to say that the judging criteria seem a bit obscure. Many builds seem to have been given scores in various sections for reasons not stated. Not that the judging is bad or anything like that, just a little confusing.

Rather than dock a set amount of points for subcriteria within a category (memorable villainy, elegance, etc), I just looked at the build as a whole for each judgment category and judged it against average (2.5) terrible (1) and nearly flawless (5). I pointed out the things I noticed within each category, (or didn't notice in Xerth's case) as a thing that I was thinking about while going over the entry. I prefer this method over previous a rubric's.

If you don't like the methodology, which I discuss ad nauseum above, just toss out my judgements and wait for great worm gold's contribution to judging. That's fine by me.

But keep in mind, if your complaint is arbitrariness, or supposed bias, think about that as you debate each point and sub point of Great worm Gold's rubric. Have you really reached a fairer conclusion just because you could debate with finer granularity...over someone else's opinion? Or have you just prolonged the competition in order for a higher chance at manipulating a win from a person who doesn't like your build? And lastly, what does that do for you? I'll postulate that it doesn't help with arbitrariness much. Why not make a section of the contest where we smacktalk competitor's builds? You might get a better judgments than this opt-in self-advocacy system that demands reasons with point values attached...with justification enough to silence the dissent. A system which extends the process of judging by HOURS. A system by which there are many free loaders, to whom it costs nothing to dispute.


Yeah, that's what's giving me grief with disputing. All the ones after, let's say mage hunter, for example, seem to be a lot shorter and have no real context, while even those that do it's not enough to comment on them properly.

I'll re-assess those three entries with fresh eyes tomorrow, not today, and see if your criticism holds water. Those three entries did seem easier than the rest. I assumed it was because of either 1. learning curve on my behalf, 2. they weren't as stimulating as other entries or 3. a combination of both.

I'll revisit after another day to see if perhaps judging fatigue drove those scores down. Right now, I'm going to the gym

[Korahir]

From Ezekiel:

You didn’t name your sigils. (Naen & Uur)
True, but I told you they were int sigil and dex sigil, which is enough information to work it out. A player unfamiliar with RoD would get more information from that then calling them Uur and Naen.



And Seeing as how I had to open up races of destiny to figure that out, they boost to +2 at level 2, and up to +3 with the enhanced power sigil feat.

That's what I said:


(If you don't feel like cracking open RoD, I end up with +1 to all skill and stat rolls (including initiative) per level up to 3rd, when it stops (The feat adds the extra one on third level; normally it only goes to second).


You do seem limited to one or two guaranteed utterance per utterance per day. At level 20, your bonus to your truespeak check is around +40-+50, depending on gear. (23 skill ranks+10 amulet, +5 item, circumstance bonus, ability score modifying bonuses from items, +6 skill focus and sigil).
Truename DC: DC 15 + 2x CR = 55 at level 20. You will be eating a 20-40% chance of any utterance not working.

Well:


You can get a competence bonus from a custom item; given that it's a very common kind of custom item (compare Ring of Jumping).
I can join the Paragnostic Assembly from level 8 for a nice old +10 bonus, especially since you can rapidly raise your affiliation score by summoning things and going "Lookit, a demon" at them.
Other random little items can raise it.
Universal Aptitude for a +5.
+4 to self-utter.



Anyway, I like what you did with what you had. This henchman is another behind the line magical being who needs meatshields. And whom the ranged PCs will want to target first. Especially if he gets a devil to join in the fray and begins a second sacrifice.
True, though he does have his energy shieldy thing that will blast anyone who tries to shoot him and also he can hide behind the altar.


The problem with the altar as a circumstance bonus to sacrifice checks is that it is a fixed location, and thus this guy will tend to get flushed from there.

Yeah, but by a half-decent level I can make them with no altar anyway. Plus, I'm sure there's a portable altar... ah yeah, from DotF. Cheap, too.


You should have aged him.

I don't like aging my characters just to optimise them; plus he needs that constitution.

I'm having trouble figuring out exactly what I lost points for; you say I'm super memorable but I only get a 4; I can't see how I'm particularly inelegant either.

[ben-zayb]

Fo what it's worth, GreatWyrmGold already has a rubric for sticking as close as possible to the theme, which actually looks like a good thing the comp could adapt in future rounds.

Personally, I think such category can be classified under memorable villainy, at least in this round, for the same reasons daremeto already mentioned. Moooks are intended to be anonymous, 1-dimensional, and faceless (literally, even) by design to keep audiences from sympathizing everytime they got beaten up or even casually killed en masse. At the same time, you have mooks that breaks the mold, makes themselves stand out than your average mooks, and these are most likely the ones that are most memorable and ones audiences will have more reaction to (both positively and negatively) once they get their due. Most recent example of the latter that I can think of would be TR8R.

[Tiri]

But keep in mind, if your complaint is arbitrariness, or supposed bias, think about that as you debate each point and sub point of Great worm Gold's rubric. Have you really reached a fairer conclusion just because you could debate with finer granularity...over someone else's opinion? Or have you just prolonged the competition in order for a higher chance at manipulating a win from a person who doesn't like your build?

I'm definitely not complaining about those things. Nothing about your judging seems overly arbitrary or biased in any way. I just thought some things needed a bit more explanation. Sorry if I offended you in any way (because in my mind the above response sounds a bit heated).


Why not make a section of the contest where we smacktalk competitor's builds? You might get a better judgments than this opt-in self-advocacy system that demands reasons with point values attached...with justification enough to silence the dissent. A system which extends the process of judging by HOURS. A system by which there are many free loaders, to whom it costs nothing to dispute.

Well, extending the judging by mere hours wouldn't be that bad, and it doesn't cost anyone anything to dispute in any case. However, I do agree that such a system would be a little too complicated for most people's liking. Which is probably why these competitions don't use it.


So, all of that in place, let's look at the disputes that I'm not altering points for.

I'd just like to point out that technically, you altered the points of two of three of those builds. Sorry, I just like nit-picking like that.


apparent shut down of the most reliable spell database for 3.5 with sorting filters

Assuming you mean dndtools.eu, it's back up in the form of dndtools.pw. Hope that helps.

[Korahir]

One more dispute:



Hi again. I see that most of your problems were with 241 (or any other Servitor who was modified in the same way) having no hands and thus not being able to cast spells with somatic components and wear a large number of magic item types. However, if you read the story section closely (apologies for making it rather long), in particular the CR 15 section, you will see that what appears to be 241's feet are, in fact, his hands. This means that he only loses access to boots, which is a lot less debilitating. He can also cast spells with somatic components due to this. So hopefully that addresses your concerns over the disability.You got me on the Magic Tattoo thing, though. I forgot to give him a rank in a Craft skill. That's easily remedied, but I did screw up a bit there. As for him being a weak spellcaster, he can boost his caster level with Reserves of Strength and use Quick Recovery to just not worry about it next round, since he has Hustle if he really needs to move.

As for memorability, yes, I agree that it will be mostly plot reasons that make 241 (or any other Servitor) memorable. On the other hand, isn't that the reason for most encounters with any enemy being memorable? I did write a whole story around him and his organisation, if that helps, with moments where he can encounter the PCs in memorable ways (imagine being attacked by flying double-amputee psionic fish clerics). Also, he doesn't just have to be a spellcaster. His various spells/powers make him pretty good in melee, too. Imagine defeating all the meleers and starting after what you thought was a weak spellcaster when suddenly it expands to twice its previous size and starts clawing and biting. Although again, my definition of memorable probably doesn't mesh perfectly with yours.

[Korahir]

Another dispute for dareme:

First of all, major props for critiquing 12 builds! Thank you for stepping up.

1. May I know how much weight did the inappropriateness to the theme influence the elegance score? The whole 1.5? 1.0? 0.5?
2. If the flocked wasn't fully docked 1.5 due to it, this is less a dispute and more a clarification on what I think makes the Adzorok flock very henchmanlike. I think the flock managed to decently hit some of the core concepts of a mook, based on this trope (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Mooks) at least.
their lack of an identity allows them to be beaten, mauled, shot or otherwise disposed of in creative ways without guilt
it is generally considered "bad form" for mooks to be given any sort of detailed backstory or personality (beyond broad strokes)
for the purposes of heroes continuing to be seen as heroes, and to avoid a major mood swing, mooks generally have no girl/boyfriends, children, parents, grandparents
they don't belong to church groups or non-profits that might miss them
they generally die quick, semi-painless deaths (blood and gore optional)



and another one:


I'm gonna have to ask where I might have lost points, because right now I have no real indication.

[Jormengand]

Out of curiosity (new here, sorry), are judges obligated to respond to disputes?

I think they're largely expected to; I know we have before got to the point where after multiple rounds of dispute from the same person (usually me) the judges have felt it within their right to stop responding.

[Troacctid]

We have excluded judges from the scoreboard before because they didn't respond to valid disputes, so I would say it is required. (I believe the chair simply doesn't post disputes if they are rude or obviously frivolous.)

Of course there's no obligation to change the scores.

[Tiri]

I believe the chair simply doesn't post disputes if they are rude or obviously frivolous.

Not that we would know if the chair does so or not. For obvious reasons.

[Korahir]

Another dispute:


In answer to your last question first, I'm gonna say that most ubertrippers don't have all of the psionics and other reach malarkey and poison and favoured enemy stuff (not to mention enemy sense, which is a hilariously powerful ability if you have levels in ranger, which I do).

My animal companion is whatever it needs to be. Probably wolf for more tripping goodies, I guess?

I didn't grab all the monk variants because I didn't actually realise they were things. Also, I like having speed and AC bonuses.

I'm not seeing really where I'm getting individual scores from, so it's hard to dispute individual values.


On the subject of not posting rude disputes: So far nothing hit me as particularly rude. I hope it will not come up.

[daremetoidareyo]

Mage Hunter
As stated previously, I used the good ole fashioned eyeball method, with a score of 2.5 being average, and 5 being nearly flawless. You weren’t docked points on the animal companion or the monk acfs.

Elegance took a hit because you could have definitely taken a better template for simple score boosts, and it wiped away your spell resistance. Slayer + psychic warrior fits within the rubric of no more than 5th level powers, but technically, and technically only, you have 11 manifester levels, unless that first level of slayer doesn’t count because it doesn’t directly advance manifesting, but the text of the powers known makes it hard to be too lenient: “This essentially means that she adds the level of slayer to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly.”

Originality isn't a five because the uber tripper with reach optimization is a known combo. And although the karsite race is good find, and the other bonuses (favored enemy manifesters and archaists) is ok.

Competence and power: This is where this henchman takes a hit. It’s a direct opponent that is difficult to target with magic, but assuming he encounters an equivalent or greater direct melee component, especially one that can get a large size, going toe to toe, he’s just average. The bonuses for favored enemy aren’t super great either. On reappraisal, however, maybe he’s a cut above average. Add .5 points to power.

Memorable villainy: I’m sticking to my guns on this one. I don’t think players are going to remember any one spiked chain wielder build over another. Even if he might be a bit meddlesome to affect with direct magic. And I didn't get enough of a sense of the personality of the guy to really set him apart as fresh.

+.5 power

Adzarok Flock

In addition to non-appropriatenes to theme, the ooze ex ability to entirely clone the entire ghost possession as well as the being being possessed, is a bit cheesy. Legal. Great. Well researched. But cheesy as all get out.
I see your points about how this enemy can fill a henchman’s shoes. And they would be true if I were convinced that a group could entirely defeat this guy at a CR appropriate level, but that window shuts by the time this thing gets a few wild shape forms.

No score change.

Ezekiel:
No points lost from the sigil stuff, I doubt you were actually worried and you were just covering your bases.

The elegance took a hit from relying so strongly on the sacrifice rules, a source of known cheese, for viability. The rest of the scores just sort of follow out from what the build is capable of. Full points for the gonadal fortitude to push a true namer, BOVD sacrifice rules put a hit into elegance because the build literally relies on it for everything to fix the true name deficiencies.

In light of that, there is a power dip in the middled levels 9-15, if the celebrant is limited to CR appropriate devils, and if that limitation isn’t there, this guy is out of league with the PCs at every level. Which again goes back to elegance. Late game, when he can gate a few times, the PCs have the tools to try to contend with that, but he is powerful for a summoner type.

And the memorable villainy score is a good one. If the scene goes down as planned, this guy is absolutely an environment in and of himself, if the PCs laterally approach the guy however, he’s toast. I think that another component is that the write up didn’t give me adequate insight into a driving urge of him other than death cult guy with a twist on the source of his powers.

Sacred assassin and blibdooploop, I don’t have time for ya’ll right now. But I’ll touch base on the disputes when I’m free again.

[Jormengand]

“This essentially means that she adds the level of slayer

I'm pretty sure that means that you add that specific level (eg "Slayer level 2" or "Slayer level 3" or "Slayer level 4") to the psywar level, not that you add your number of levels in slayer to your psywar level. Alternatively, you could argue that the "Beginning at 2nd level," is more primary than anything that starts with "Essentially" and overrules it. I'm certain that you don't have a RAW or RAI leg to stand on this one, sorry.

I'll leave the rest to any dispute that gets leveled on that basis, but I'm pretty sure you're just wrong on this one, sorry.

[Thurbane]

Might have missed comments, but any indication of other judges/judging to come?

[Tiri]

Might have missed comments, but any indication of other judges/judging to come?

GreatWyrmGold said he would judge, but the judging deadline is creeping up on us. I hope he makes it.

[Korahir]

Can you dispute the judgement of someone else's build?

Not while I am chair. The disputes are meant for clarification between contestant and judge. So really no third party should be involved.
Also i am afraid that such a ruling would end up in hundreds of PM for me to go through and disputes to answer.

[Jormengand]

Not while I am chair. The disputes are meant for clarification between contestant and judge. So really no third party should be involved.
Also i am afraid that such a ruling would end up in hundreds of PM for me to go through and disputes to answer.

I hope that my rules disputes which were not always directed at my own entry were considered acceptable, given that they were mainly disputes based on the actual content of sourcebooks or the competition itself.

[Deadline]

Thanks daremetoidareyou for judging!


I hope that my rules disputes which were not always directed at my own entry were considered acceptable, given that they were mainly disputes based on the actual content of sourcebooks or the competition itself.

I don't know how the chair feels about this, but I'd prefer that folks didn't respond in thread to those things, even if it's just for rules clarifications. A PM to the judge may be appropriate (if the entry isn't yours), but otherwise our dispute process should be sufficient to handle these things.

Speculation, build discussion, and disputes in-thread has not gone well, historically (as you are well aware).

Edit - Don't forget to PM an honorable mention vote to the Chair (do we do those in this contest?).

[Korahir]

I hope that my rules disputes which were not always directed at my own entry were considered acceptable, given that they were mainly disputes based on the actual content of sourcebooks or the competition itself.

I would have said so if they bothered me. I just wanna shut out disputes via PM and a more tiresome dispute process for the judges than it already is.

@greatwyrmgold: any judging update from you? would be great to know if you need an extension of the judging deadline.

[ben-zayb]

Edit - Don't forget to PM an honorable mention vote to the Chair (do we do those in this contest?).If the entire judging process isn't fully resolved yet, but the submission I liked the most is already on the current top 3, should I still vote for it?

[Deadline]

If the entire judging process isn't fully resolved yet, but the submission I liked the most is already on the current top 3, should I still vote for it?

I think we've seen medal winners also take the Honorable Mention before, but I'm not sure.

[Troacctid]

I don't know how the chair feels about this, but I'd prefer that folks didn't respond in thread to those things, even if it's just for rules clarifications. A PM to the judge may be appropriate (if the entry isn't yours), but otherwise our dispute process should be sufficient to handle these things.

Speculation, build discussion, and disputes in-thread has not gone well, historically (as you are well aware).

Edit - Don't forget to PM an honorable mention vote to the Chair (do we do those in this contest?).
I think it's fine to discuss it in the thread. None of the builds or judgings are confidential, and if it's not your own build, it doesn't threaten your anonymity either.

[Deadline]

I think it's fine to discuss it in the thread. None of the builds or judgings are confidential, and if it's not your own build, it doesn't threaten your anonymity either.

Well, we saw it blow up in spectacular fashion just last thread. I'd just like to avoid that kind of unpleasantness when possible for what amounts to a silly internet competition.

That said, I've got a leathery hide that grants me DR 15/Compliments, so ... :smallbiggrin:

[Troacctid]

Well, we saw it blow up in spectacular fashion just last thread. I'd just like to avoid that kind of unpleasantness when possible for what amounts to a silly internet competition.

What happened last thread as a result of discussing other people's builds?

[Telonius]

I'd be kind of iffy about responding to a critique in-thread. I know there are probably a few builds where you can kind of figure out who did what, and people are usually pretty mature about it. But I'm not sure I see the point of anonymous submission if people are "outing" themselves before the judging is finished.

[Deadline]

What happened last thread as a result of discussing other people's builds?

Start on Page 3 of the last thread (linked in the OP).

Although looking at it, I'm not sure there was a whole lot of discussion in-thread. It was more an example of the dispute process getting heated (but working as intended). That said, I can't fathom how the situation would have been improved if we encouraged that discussion to happen in-thread, rather than via PM or through the Chair.

[Korahir]

Honestly I expect everyone to be mature enough to handle the voting on an honorable mention in the thread. If i should be mistaken, we can revert to PM voting.

[Deadline]

Honestly I expect everyone to be mature enough to handle the voting on an honorable mention in the thread. If i should be mistaken, we can revert to PM voting.

That wasn't what I was referring to upthread, I was referring to rules disputes/clarifications being answered by folks in-thread rather than using the dispute process.

I PM'd my Honorable Mention so as to avoid narrowing down which entry was mine. If that's not a concern, I'm happy to put my vote here. My Honorable Mention vote goes to the Adzorok Flock. Such a neat idea. :smallbiggrin:

[ben-zayb]

I think we've seen medal winners also take the Honorable Mention before, but I'm not sure.
Alright. In that case, my vote goes to Filia. It's a pretty creepy character, and IMO manages to skirt around or play with its far more disturbing implications, just enough for me to not be outright horrified and vote someone else.

[Tiri]

My Honorable Mention vote goes to Storyteller.

[The Viscount]

My HM goes to Storyteller.

[Venger]

I nominate Shoshon. Bolphunga

[Tiri]

I nominate Shoshon.

I don't think any of the entries are called that, but I might be wrong.

Also, I really hope GWG manages to get his judging in before the deadline. Although seeing as his last activity was five days ago, the chances of that happening don't seem too high.

[Venger]

You are correct. I got a wire crossed. I meant Bolphunga.

[daremetoidareyo]

Wait, so is the contest auto-ended when the deadline is up? Or do we have to wait for judges to finish replying to disputes?


Typically, the judging deadline is the deadline to render the first round of judgments, to which disputes can be made thereafter, and the contest closes once the disputes are dispatched.

I should get to finish up the rest of them today.

[Tiri]

I just hope GWG gets his judging in. Or doesn't. The inconclusiveness coming from that direction is just unbearable.

[Korahir]

The contest ends when all disputes are dealt with by the judge(s). By the looks of it, daremetodareyo will finish before the deadline. If no other judge shows up you can expect the announcement of the winners for saturday as well as the post for the follow up contest.

Feel free to pitch in some ideas, if you have some for contest themes.

[ben-zayb]

Suggestions

Fallen: Someone from team good who went straight south of the moral alignment axis, for good (I mean, for bad?).
Byronic: Everything he does and believes in is based on his own, twisted alignment system, which in this competition translates to doing evil stuff.
Faust: Someone whose powers partly or wholly came from some morally ambiguous or downright evil sources (including those related to bloodline/lineage/family-curse).

[Troacctid]

We still haven't done the Pyro or the Gadgeteer.

[Inevitability]

Perhaps a villain based entirely around deception? I've got an idea I think is pretty neat.

[Deadline]

Fallen: Someone from team good who went straight south of the moral alignment axis, for good (I mean, for bad?).

Oooh, I like that one.

Some other suggestions:

The Evil Clown
The Voice in Your Ear/Devil on your shoulder
The Dealmaker
Vice Given Form

[Inevitability]

Some other suggestions:

The Evil Clown
The Voice in Your Ear/Devil on your shoulder
The Dealmaker
Vice Given Form

Going to second 'the dealmaker'. After a round of arctic savages, a round of distant overlords, and a round of unimportant henchmen, I think having some builds focused on social skills will be pleasant.

[Troacctid]

We did already do the Crime Lord and the Double Agent.

[Inevitability]

We did already do the Crime Lord and the Double Agent.

Yes, but those took place quite some time ago, and I think many people here haven't participated in either.

I continue to support Dealmaker.

[Tiri]

Yes, but those took place quite some time ago, and I think many people here haven't participated in either.

I continue to support Dealmaker.

I think Dealmaker would be harder to use than the two already mentioned, because there aren't many ways to directly affect PCs with deals. Of course, the villain could always make deals with entities separate from the PCs, but that diminishes the deal-making aspect of the character from the players' point of view.

[Troacctid]

Yes, but those took place quite some time ago, and I think many people here haven't participated in either.

Still, it would be nice to hit some new themes before cycling through similar ones again.

[Tiri]

Suggestions

Fallen: Someone from team good who went straight south of the moral alignment axis, for good (I mean, for bad?).
Faust: Someone whose powers partly or wholly came from some morally ambiguous or downright evil sources (including those related to bloodline/lineage/family-curse).


I think I like these two the most so far. Maybe leaning towards Faust a bit.

I suppose it's a little late now to hope for GWG to deliver on his promise of judging. Too bad. It's always interesting to see different opinions on the builds.

[Jormengand]

I think Fallen is probably my favourite suggestion so far, though I like the idea of a villain with their own personal fortress/sanctum that you have to break into as a challenge.

[daremetoidareyo]

Hi again. I see that most of your problems were with 241 (or any other Servitor who was modified in the same way) having no hands and thus not being able to cast spells with somatic components and wear a large number of magic item types. However, if you read the story section closely (apologies for making it rather long), in particular the CR 15 section, you will see that what appears to be 241's feet are, in fact, his hands. This means that he only loses access to boots, which is a lot less debilitating. He can also cast spells with somatic components due to this. So hopefully that addresses your concerns over the disability.You got me on the Magic Tattoo thing, though. I forgot to give him a rank in a Craft skill. That's easily remedied, but I did screw up a bit there. As for him being a weak spellcaster, he can boost his caster level with Reserves of Strength and use Quick Recovery to just not worry about it next round, since he has Hustle if he really needs to move.

As for memorability, yes, I agree that it will be mostly plot reasons that make 241 (or any other Servitor) memorable. On the other hand, isn't that the reason for most encounters with any enemy being memorable? I did write a whole story around him and his organisation, if that helps, with moments where he can encounter the PCs in memorable ways (imagine being attacked by flying double-amputee psionic fish clerics). Also, he doesn't just have to be a spellcaster. His various spells/powers make him pretty good in melee, too. Imagine defeating all the meleers and starting after what you thought was a weak spellcaster when suddenly it expands to twice its previous size and starts clawing and biting. Although again, my definition of memorable probably doesn't mesh perfectly with yours.

I'm not compelled to change the memorability score do to that fact that I'm seeing little to make them feel memorable.

+.25 power for having hands

[sacred assassin]

Originality-4 - A shapechanging fey that worships a warforged spy satellite. Typical wildshape build elements, with a slight amount of beastmastery focusing on rats. It's different, but I didn't feel like all of the pieces fit together other than to stat up a powerful beasty in a small package, with prestige classes designed around extending more druid class features.

Elegance- 4 4.5- There isn't anything particularly inelegant about this entry. I remedied the lack of context from earlier. There is an element of being a misguided cultist of a false god that doesn't quite ring as henchmanly where it resounds more like a zealot. -1 point is bit harsh with that feel however. So add another .5.

Competence & Power-4 - This guy is competent, and assuming the DM doesn't triple down on shapechange cheese, they are an appropriate challenge for an adventuring group after the first 10 levels. He is competent in what he designed to do, I just wasn't blown away with the amount of power brought to the table by him.

Memorable villainy 4.25 - the stands for what it does. This is a career arsonist/assassin, so PCs encounter his hijinx, hunt him down, have a blow out fight or several, and each time are hinted to look into the star god. He is good for setting up the star, but in his own right, doesn't peak out in the memorable department, not more than any other high level thrall of a psion.

[Korahir]

The last dispute of the contest, after that we are moving on:



First of all, I'm sorry for disputing a lot. This will probably be the last one from me. I just feel that there are some valid points to argue.

You gave me the Elegance score that you did for the main reason that my entry's sample character had no hands, if I understand you correctly. However, after I resolved the issue by showing that he does, in fact, have hands, you did not increase the Elegance score. I'm not saying you have to change it, of course. Just that it seems inconsistent from my point of view.

Then there's Power. As I already said, many other builds have the same amount or less of casting ability, and spellcasting is a powerful thing. In fact, my entry has casting/manifesting from two different sources, which gives it a lot more versatility (Cleric can change spells every day for utility while Ardent focuses on self-buffs and damage), not to mention the fact that with a few Persisted buffs, the Servitors can be as good in melee as many fighting-oriented characters, too. Yet, despite all this, aforementioned builds have higher scores in Power. Ok, not much higher, but still. Two whole different casting classes, and it can still score less than, for example, Filia, with only one, or Adzorok, with no casting ability at all. Ok, they have incorporeality, but a Cleric can deal with that easily, using Spiritual Weapon or other force spells, or summoning up something that can, even if unable to become incorporeal himself.

Finally, thanks for taking the time to judge all the builds and deal with the disputes. Especially given the number of entries this round.


Also it would be very helpful if someone could post final scores on all builds to make sure I don't miss any changes in scores. Guess I am spoiled by Ponies and others over in Iron Chef :P

[ben-zayb]

EntryScoreRank
Mozz'rat the Imp Hunter19.001st
Filia18.252nd
the Adzorok flock18.003rd
Ezekiel, the Celebrant17.254th
The Sacred Assassin16.755th
The Servitors of Blibdoolpoolp16.755th
The Storyteller16.007th
Xerth, the Ghost in the Machine16.007th
Bolphunga, Right Hand of the Blood Duchess15.509th
Tom Thomsen14.5010th
Mr. Harvey B. Hench13.0011th
The Mage-Hunter13.0011th


Looks it'll be raining fallen heroes next round. Oh, and I'll be pleasantly surprised if the 3 tribute entries turn out to be from different contestants each.

[Korahir]

[table="class:head"]

Looks it'll be raining fallen heroes next round. Oh, and I'll be pleasantly surprised if the 3 tribute entries turn out to be from different contestants each.

Thanks for the table and thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I am pleasantly surprised that we think alike any many suggestions crossed my mind too.

[Korahir]

Just a bump. One last dispute still pending.

[daremetoidareyo]

Blibdoolploop

The scores are not solely dictated to what I have bothered to describe. In my judgement, your elegance score is lower because the henchmanliness wasn't up to my tastes. No change to the score.

In power, either I just give all casters a five for power, or I peg their comparative power level to other things. If your hands are your feet, I take it then that you are prone whenever you are casting? Unless you are only casting while flying. I am not changing the power level because your entry is more versatile than powerful, and that versatility changes day to day considering the cleric casting mechanic. No score change. I'm not impressed with the power of this character enough to give it a higher score. Regardless of how much you disagree. Without flight, this guy stinks in melee, as he spends most of his time prone, or he has a single bite attack, and why even bother with that option?

And as for memorable villainy; he isn't super memorable. He's a mook caster, and even if you roleplayed the heck out of this mook caster, his story is uncompelling to a PC. Players won't appreciate him the same way that they'd appreciate any caster with more personality or panache. This guy is literally a number, which is fine for a henchman, but this guy doesn't standout amongst other henchmen. I'm bored by him. I was bored when I first read through the entry. So the score doesn't change.

[Tiri]

In power, either I just give all casters a five for power, or I peg their comparative power level to other things. If your hands are your feet, I take it then that you are prone whenever you are casting? Unless you are only casting while flying. I am not changing the power level because your entry is more versatile than powerful, and that versatility changes day to day considering the cleric casting mechanic. No score change. I'm not impressed with the power of this character enough to give it a higher score. Regardless of how much you disagree. Without flight, this guy stinks in melee, as he spends most of his time prone, or he has a single bite attack, and why even bother with that option?

I'd just like to point out that there are no rules saying you can't use your hands as 'feet'. So he would not be prone. Technically.

Also, the entry in question can Alter Self into a Gargoyle, which has claws and a bite, along with his last power giving him another set of claws and a bite. Now that I think about it, he could technically put all those bite-powers together and have a really visually-weird looking thing with many bite attacks. So he doesn't look as horrible in melee as you think he does. Or actually looks pretty horrible. Visually. You know what I mean, though.

Of course, that's all moot, seeing as the contest is over.

EDIT: I just looked it up and it turns out Gargoyles get a gore too.

[daremetoidareyo]

I'd just like to point out that there are no rules saying you can't use your hands as 'feet'. So he would not be prone. Technically.

Also, the entry in question can Alter Self into a Gargoyle, which has claws and a bite, along with his last power giving him another set of claws and a bite. Now that I think about it, he could technically put all those bite-powers together and have a really visually-weird looking thing with many bite attacks. So he doesn't look as horrible in melee as you think he does. Or actually looks pretty horrible. Visually. You know what I mean, though.

Of course, that's all moot, seeing as the contest is over.

If you use your hands as your feet, you can't cast. The text base of the judgements are not the sole contributors to the end score.

[Tiri]

Why not? A somatic component is 'a is a measured and precise movement of the hand'. No reason the hand can't be on the ground while making said movement.

[daremetoidareyo]

Why not? A somatic component is 'a is a measured and precise movement of the hand'. No reason the hand can't be on the ground while making said movement.

then the surrogate spellcasting and still spell feats are worthless...

[Tiri]

then the surrogate spellcasting and still spell feats are worthless...

I think they were just designed with different 'feat-takers' in mind. Surrogate is for those beings that, for whatever reason, lack hands but possess suitably dextrous appendages to cast spells. Still is for casters who need to cast without making movement necessary. A legless-handwalking-swimming-flying-cleric-fish thing is just a very unusual case which doesn't happen to need either of those.

[daremetoidareyo]

I think they were just designed with different 'feat-takers' in mind. Surrogate is for those beings that, for whatever reason, lack hands but possess suitably dextrous appendages to cast spells. Still is for casters who need to cast without making movement necessary. A legless-handwalking-swimming-flying-cleric-fish thing is just a very unusual case which doesn't happen to need either of those.

Then the description should have included tapdancing, it would have helped with memorability too.

[Tiri]

Then the description should have included tapdancing, it would have helped with memorability too.

Well, sure. I just thought it was a little unfair to score them lower for a weakness (the aforementioned prone-ness) that wasn't actually there by RAW. And the stuff about natural weapons too, although that seemed less glaring.

[Korahir]

Final scores after one judge:



Entry
Score
Rank
Name


Mozz'rat the Imp Hunter
19.00
1st
Deadline


Filia
18.25
2nd
Thurbane


the Adzorok flock
18.00
3rd
ben-zayb


Ezekiel, the Celebrant
17.25
4th
Jormengand


The Sacred Assassin
16.75
5th
Jormengand


The Servitors of Blibdoolpoolp
16.75
5th
Tiri


The Storyteller
16.00
7th
Venger


Xerth, the Ghost in the Machine
16.00
7th
Dire_Stirge


Bolphunga, Right Hand of the Blood Duchess
15.50
9th
The Viscount


Tom Thomsen
14.50
10th
Telonius


Mr. Harvey B. Hench
13.00
11th
Mahonri Violist


The Mage-Hunter
13.00
11th
Jormengand



Honorable Mention goes to Storyteller (Venger). Congrats to everybody.

New round will be up later today. I'll try to improve the initial posts readability.

[ben-zayb]

Congrats to Deadline! Props to Thurbane and Venger too, whose entries I liked the most.

[Tiri]

Well, it's over. Congratulations to everyone who is some degree of happy with their place. Thanks to Korahir for managing this round and our only judge for judging.

Also, I find it impressive that one person managed to submit three builds.

[daremetoidareyo]

Well, it's over. Congratulations to everyone who is some degree of happy with their place. Thanks to Korahir for managing this round and our only judge for judging.

Also, I find it impressive that one person managed to submit three builds.

I noticed who was exempt. Sour grapes are sour. Why not judge some rounds?

[Korahir]

@Tiri and daremetodaryo:
There seems to be some bad blood. Both of you put hours into submission and judging, respectively. Try to respect the others point of view. Please continue your quarrel via PM, if you feel the need to discuss this further.

[Tiri]

What? No. I am in fact extremely grateful to daremetoidareyo for both judging and putting up with my disputes and arguments. When I said 'only judge', I was referring, of course, to the only judge. Which was you, daremetoidareyo. Sorry if that message was not properly conveyed.

[daremetoidareyo]

What? No. I am in fact extremely grateful to daremetoidareyo for both judging and putting up with my disputes and arguments. When I said 'only judge', I was referring, of course, to the only judge. Which was you, daremetoidareyo. Sorry if that message was not properly conveyed.

All Cleared up. I apologize for the thin skin

[Jormengand]

Also, I find it impressive that one person managed to submit three builds.

I hope you noticed my exceptional wordplay surrounding whether or not I'd made Ezekiel, as well. :smalltongue:

But yeah, this round was actually a big inspiration for me, despite others' reservations. I would happily have made a build for each winner if Korahir hadn't politely suggested I stop. :smalltongue:

[Korahir]

I hope you noticed my exceptional wordplay surrounding whether or not I'd made Ezekiel, as well. :smalltongue:

But yeah, this round was actually a big inspiration for me, despite others' reservations. I would happily have made a build for each winner if Korahir hadn't politely suggested I stop. :smalltongue:

You had three builds submitted in the first week ;) I had to ask how many would follow as I have to be concerned with the poor judges ;)

[Tiri]

I hope you noticed my exceptional wordplay surrounding whether or not I'd made Ezekiel, as well. :smalltongue:

Indeed I did.

[Telonius]

Thanks to the other competitors and the judge! Tom was close to the bottom of the heap for scores, but I really had a lot of fun building him.

[Venger]

Congrats to Deadline! Props to Thurbane and Venger too, whose entries I liked the most.

Thanks! I did quite poorly, but like Telonius said, I had a blast with this character. I like using this and iron chef to experiment with style and try new things. Here, it was a one-sided conversation inspired by this (http://gregstolze.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/OneSided.pdf) which was something I hadn't done before. I loved it.

Can't wait to see what the next round is

[Thurbane]

Thanks everyone.

I'm pretty stoked with 2nd place for my first ever completed entry to a GaintITP comp. :smallbiggrin:

Thanks especially to daremetoidareyo for the judging (Filia's "disputes" were really just minor quibbles, and I was very happy with the judging), and also to ben-zayb (and anyone I missed) for the honorable mention! :smallsmile:

[Deadline]

Wow! I did not expect to sneak away with the gold on this one. I'm glad our one judge (thank you for judging!) liked Mozzie, he was fun to build. I'm also delighted to see some of my fellow Iron Chefs hopping in here!

Competitions with only 1 judge are rough, to be sure, and I'm relatively certain that Mozzie would have done worse with more than one judge. That said, congrats to Thurbane, ben-zayb, and Venger! There was a whole host of awesome this time around, and I'm looking forward to seeing more for the next competition.