Schattenbach
2016-10-13, 02:04 PM
Hello,
I'm currently working on one NPC (though I might also recycle it for some high powered worlds or for deity vs deity plots as PC, which means that it has to actually be playable over the course of its career) that, over the course of the plot, might end up as some Creator Type Greater Deity (or possibly even Divine Rank 24 Overdeity-class existence) with 20 Outsider RHD & 40 Class levels that is, more or less, that's more or less based around the concepts of Night and Genesis as well as inspired by deities such as Nyx as well as slightly more eldritch (outer god themed) deities. I'm not only looking for optimization in regard to advantages both inside and outside of combat but also in regard to optimization RP aspects, style and fluff (i.e. things that might improve the character's concept RP wise).
As things are, I'm stuck because I cannot narrow down to what races and templates to apply as well as what classes to use and what domains to apply ...
As such, I'm looking for suggestions and/or help in that regard.
Especially when it comes down to ...
... what Race+Templates to make use of,
... Divine Salient Abilities to decide on,
... what Domains to choose and
... what character classes & PrCs to pick,
... some suggestions for created artifacts fix whatever major issues remain & that improve its strong points even further.
Race+Templates is the most important point, I guess, then Divine Salient Abilities (that indirectly already limit domain selection and class selection), next is
domains (though that point already indirectly affects the Divine Salient Abilities as it might be necessary to take the Extra Domain Divine Salient Ability) and after
that the actual character class & PrC choices (that are, more or less, limited by the choices made beforehand).
Note1: No homebrew if possible ... only source official material.
Note2: I'm still not sure how I'm going to actually going to apply those 20 Outsider HD (if there is some ruling that applys here, I missed it) ... maybe right at the beginning by
adding up enough RHD through Races or Templates while not letting the LA explode through the roof (would result in the greatest boost that way as races with high RHD usually sometimes
also offer nice things ... and if the character has to have 20 Outsider RHD anyway, they might as well come combined with nice things that tag along, too ... so might as well make the
most out of them even if thos Outsider HD aren't that bad to begin with) and then add whatever Outsider HD remain (maybe I#m also slapping Divine Rank 0 onto it then, but well,
whatever)... i.e. the character construction starts out with 20 Outsider HD and 40 Class levels get slapped on top of that later on ... maybe I'm letting the character start out with
whatever RHD its Race and/or Templates provide, add all class levels on top of that, and then slap the divine rank as well as the remaining Outsider HD on top of it (that's only
relevant because of the point noted below ... that the character has to be theortical viable ... i.e. the character has - with some outside help and "level grinding" (like farming
extremely high level but fundamentally flawed opponents like Devastation Insects) taken into the account - to be able theoretically be able to actually reach at least 30 class levels
through RP (anything beyond that just requires time as well as excessive use of Epic Spellcasting) and didn't suddenly appear out of thin air with 20 RHD+40 Class levels (though as
creator deity, that wouldn't be strange at all as there are plenty of "self-created" deities in mythology) as the construction of the character should follow reasonably fair rules.
Note3: The character is supposed to be an NPC but as noted beforehand, I'm also interested in recyceling it for some extremely high powered games as player character (which, as result, also influences points listed under note2).
Some infos about what general limitations apply to the character ...
# 32 point buy ...
# permanent +5 through Wish on every stat (and by itself no additional free ability score boni only for being some kind of deity, as it is sometimes suggested) at lest as soon as it reaches epic levels
# 20 Outsider HD + 40 Class levels (class levels have to be mostly caster and/or manifester based, i.e. wizard, archivist, druid, psion, wilder ecetera though I'm not quite sure what to
pick yet; CHA based casting/manifesting is quite compatible with Divine Salient Abilities, though ... I'm also not quite sure if I would actually like to see that character with
cleric or bard levels and such)
# LA +5 up to and including +10 ... for race stuff + Templates (although it would be nice if LA stays at around 5, if can be higher if the tradeoff might be worth it). If whatever is
provided by the race and/or Templates is really worth it (that's unlikely, though, as such high LA is hardly ever worthwhile, isn't it?), then the max LA might go up to LA +20.
# RHD have to be Outsider Type or changed into Outsider Type by some means and/or Template and it has to be possible for these RHD to count towards the 20 Outsider HD deities usually
possess.
# Has to possess reasonably beautiful and dignified medium sized (or very close to medium sized ... more sopecifically close to something between 4 feet and 7 feet ... if the character - somehow - has something like snake tails or otherwise nonhuman body lower body section - like the Lillend - then this size limitation more or less only applies for the upper body section as long as the lower body ection isn't particulary oversized) quasi humanoid-like standard form (Fey, Outsider, ecetera are fine as
far as race goes, too) that lacks obvious monstrous or excessive findish traits (celestial traits are just fine). No undeads or warforged (though if there are some futuristic
living constructs/intelligent artifact/divine construct that are close to being human-like/humanoid in terms of physiology, mentality and intellect, that might be interesting). As long
as it isn't weird or disgusting, base creatures and/or templates that already are quite a bit transcendent and/or eldritch (without being possessing outright alien forms or minds or
forms or minds that are otherwise troublesome) might be fine as well, depending on how compatible it actually is with the character concept and such.
# Has to be either neutral, chaotic neutral, neutral good or chaotic good after all inherent/inborn Template have been applied as well as after that.
# Has to somehow get its INT and CHA stats (through templates and/or race + levelup stat increase, ecetera) both up to at least 29 (possibly higher ... depending on build)
without excessively dumping other stats in the process (STR can be as low as 8 after race & templates have been applied ... all other stats have to be at least 10 after race & templates are all applied).
# After becoming sufficiently strong, has to be able to be completely self-sufficient regardless of if the character's divine rank (for plot reasons and whatever reasons) is 0, 10, 19+ and has - at the divine ranks I mentioned before - be able to operate without excessive trouble in anti-magic fields, wild magic zones or in case the setting's magic suddenly becomes unreliable.
# The build has to make sufficient sense fluff/RP flavour and also isn't just build on the foundation of using dubious worded RAW and/or outright fishy interpretations to argue one's case.
# Has to (somehow) have access the following divine abilities (as long as the sufficient Divine Rank requirments are met): Alter Reality, Rejuvenation, as well as all important
object/entity creation powers and all important shape/form alteration powers)
# Has to have access to epic spellcasting or epic powers.
# As Deity has to possess at least possess some means to notice it when someone messes with the Multiverse/Space-Time/Reality/Existence too much ... idealy before something exceedingly bad
happens ... portfolio sense might apply here, though, as might other things.
# Something comparable to Hypercognition (to actually make good use of high Int stats) as means of evaluating information and coming to decisions about complex issues as well as something like
Psychic Reformation (to change some build details, if necessary) would be nice perks if they can somehow fit into that build (well, that's only necessary if it cannot be freely be
copied through Alter Reality or Miracle or, well, Limited Wish/Wish, that is).
# Has - after stepping into the realms of greater deities or overdeities - to (somehow) be able to create planes or entire worlds or cosmologies (either through spellcasting/powers or through Divine Abilities ... well that or through dubious "administrative authority") as a creator deity on the scale of Overgods should be able to as has to be able to create live and objects as well just fine (though the Divine Salient Abilities cover that second point just fine).
# About salient divine ability suitable for supreme portfolios (like "Life and Death", "Mass Life And Death", "Possess Mortal", "Divine Splendor", "Divine Creation"), I've decided
that there isn't much of a need for Deities to possess more than two of those before reaching the realm of Overgods. As such, because the character is supposed to possess the
"Divine Creation" salient divine ability, taking more than three additional supreme salient divine abilities obviously aren't really an option. ((With divine rank 24, the character thus
got access to up to four of those salient divine abilities.))
# There's only limited and/or shared access to Magic Domain (as that domain is, for the most part, split in control among a few powerful Overdeity-class entities ... as such it's more difficult to abuse the system).
# With Divine Rank 24, the character has to be able to hold other deities (of Divine Rank 20 and below) in line as well as to suppress epic casters (trying to abuse epic spellcasting
too much or to critically endanger the world), epic monsters (including Great Wyrm epic dragons with class levels and possibly Divine Rank 0 through Dragon Ascendant, Elder Titans,
and somesuch, ecetera), pesky mortals that dare to use modern or futuristic weapons - including nukes and more - against the character, otherworldly horrors like Abomination,
Elder Evils, Great Old Ones - as well as Outer God-like entities (though that's asking for a bit too much when considering how incredibly powerful they are; most of them are at least
Hyperdimensional, after all) - and other Overgods of the same or slightly higher divine rank. It would obviously be nice if most of these feats could be accomplished beforehand, though.
Portfolio ... (incomplete) ...
((Night?, Genesis?, Supreme?)), Creation, Darkness, Knowledge, Dreams, Secrets, Life, Mind, Death, Luck, Fate, Destiny, Time, ((Freedom?)), Craft, ((Sky?)), ((Stars?)),
((Magic)), ((Shadow)), ((Illusions)), ((Technology?))
### Races & Templates ###
Some races that caught my eye are the ones below ... theoretically, it might also work out to find some high powered humanoid (or monstrous humanoid or whatever else) race and slap
plenty of templates on top of it to change its apperance, mentality, RHD and whatever else to fix it up ... though, anyway, I think that humanoid-shaped (medium sized) Outsider or
Fey might be the most suitable option in terms of flavour and such, and that the LA should only be going anywhere near 10 when it's worth it.
Some notes about Stat modifiers and such ...
... average stat modifiers for the creature's combined LA & RHD are potentially bad as not only does it imply that they#re too high or due to some eventually ouclassed feature but also ...
... because makes it difficult to also (besides whatever INT & CHA 29 provide) qualify for stuff like Supreme Initiative or Divine Dodge that require 29 DEX (those are actually worth
the investment, I guess, as they're really strong) as well as difficult to qualify for stuff that requires 29 CON - which makes it necessary to somehow pick up the Fast Healing special
quality to qualify for Divine Fast Healing that is necessary for the self-revival Divine Salient Ability - as well as for Increased Damage Reduction (that isn't really necessary, but
well ... but its not like more CON is going to be useless as it allows for more breathing room ... and with 60 HD, 10 to 16 less CON already result in 250 to 350 fewer HP ... and thus
lower safety & less chance to abuse backslash loaded features like Epic Spell backslash or the Cosmic Descryer's Cosmic Connection or in regard to getting nuked by some mean things) as well as to reach 25 STR that allows to get access to Annihilation Strike (which isn't really necessary ... but True Shapeshifting + Annihilation Strike still seems quite viable for options against which regular means to take care of don't work; i.e. ... other Deities or scary stuff with Divine Rank 0/scary stuff that cannot simply be finished of through the use of "Life and Death" ... though to make that actually work, there's reasonably high need to optimize to actualy allow to make use of Annihiation Strike that way) ... 29 WIS doesn't provide anything particulary oustanding as far as I've
noticed, but Clearsight isn't that bad I guess and Extra-Sense Enhanchment can be useful as well (though as the list of divine salient abilities contains already too many worthwhile
abilities, aiming for those two might not be worth it, to begin with, as it means missing out on better things ... and other Salient Abilities can replace their effects to some degree,
too). INT 40 provides True Knowledge (if there's also ten levels in some class that provides bardic knowledge-like skills ... like bard or seer psion), but if there isn't any reason
in particular to pump the INT stat that high, expect if it somehow happens as side effect of one of the races and/or templates, then there'd not be much reason to increase it
much beyond 30 to begin with expect for INT when focusing on basic requirments or Divine Salient Abilities.
Anyway ... Here is the list thus far (I somewhat prefer the first two choices, i.e. Sylph and Tulani, in terms of flavour but it would be nice if their issues are somewhat fixed up):
Sylph race ...
(Small sized ... though I read some descriptions about them being about 5 feet tall, which is already medium size, as small size is up to 4 feet ... has anyone any data
about their actual height ... because if it was in MM2 then I missed it somehow?)
3 Outsider (with Air Subtype) HD, LA +5
Sylph Stat mods reduce strength & Con, slightly boost Dex, moderately boost Int and decently boost Wis & Int
Provides natural? flight with 90 ft (good) fly speed (is it actually natural flight or not?)
Spellcasting: Sorcerer Casting of HD + 4
SLAs: Improved/Greater Invisibility at will
Other noteworthy stuff: The usual outsider stuff - provides no immunities and also no other outstanding features - as well excellent flying
capabilities ... does the SR scale beyond its regular progression?
Note: So the main benefits of the Sylph (besides its low amount of Outsider HD at the start - thus making it actually playable, though thanks to its spellcasting capabilities, that
point is somewhat moot - and its outsider traits + Greater Invisibility at will as actually useful SLA + above average flight + passable boost to important stats that should be enough
to let both CHA and INT reach 29 + them not being evil or weird by nature) ... is - if I understood it right - the net gain of +24 levels (29 or more when using classes/prestige classes
like Cosmic Descryer, that don't fully advane casting) of sorcerer spellcasting progression (on that note, when using the interpretation that the spellcasting provided by the Sylph actually stacsk on top of the one provided by regular class levels in such a way that it vastly goes beyond its ECL, i.e. 30/40
class levels of sorcerer progression + 54/64 levels of sorcerer progression due to overall HD = 84/94 levels of sorcerer progression?)? Does their sorcerer casting needs material components
(its entry doesn't say it doesn't so it likely does)? Their flavour is reasonably decent, too. The only real downside (mechanical advantages of small size aside) is that they're quite
small (though it would be nice if someone has some infos about how "small" exactly) and that there might be an even better deal out there in both build optimaziation and character
fluff. With LA +5, there's also still some room to add on a few templates on top of it, too ... preferably some that, as part of their cost, force one to apply Outsider HD, as they
would've to be applied in the end anyway. Anyway, the only serious issue the Sylph (besides its size) seems to have is that its stats are somewhat lacking when compared to most other
races listed here ...
Anyway, the most important things the templates ought to isn't just to somehow make use of and/or fill these 17 wasteful RHD by providing access to useful features but also to increase
the stats (as the Sylph's stats itself are only passable for her LA & RHD) of the Sylph further ... with focus on CHA, DEX (enough to increase it to 29, if that's not possible without
wasting too much resources, I guess it can be ignored) as well as - to some degree - CON as focus ... and, if there's breathing room or if they come as simple addition together with the
Templates, STR (if its possible to make it reach 25 ... thought in tge first place, without also accounting that Salient Ability in the class build, Annihilation Strike isn't going to
be that effective, anyway) and WIS (if its possible to make it reach 29) as well. INT 30 should be more than sufficient for maxing out most skills that matter, so there isn't much use
in increasing it beyond that point ... anyway, with 14 Points from Advancing to 20 RHD and 40 class levels used up, theoretically, it requires no epic feats & templates to allow the Sylph to reach the required 29 DEX, INT & CHA
Tulani race (Eladrin race from Book of Exalted Deeds) ...
(Medium size ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
18 Outsider HD (typical Eladrin subtypes) + LA +10
Tulani Stat mods ... high in general (though I have no idea what stats array they use - if standard array or something else as their stats are all even - .. their overall stat
boost likely outclasses every creature listed here (expect ... maybe ... the Pleasure Devils and Lillitu), so basically like the Erinyes below but with slightly more Dex & Con,
much more Int & Cha and noteably higher Wis as well ... with those stat mods, it would be quite difficult not to reach the minimum stat requirments for pretty much all Divine Salient
abilities expect those that require 40 in some specific stat)
No natural flight in humanoid form ... excellent flight in its globe form.
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: Several extremly powerful and/or useful ones as at will as well as a few powerful ones as 1 use per day. Overall by far one of the strongest list of SLAs of the creatures listed
here. But ... if the caster level doesn't somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the at least DC scale with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s
racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it set to be at some fixed value?
Other noteworthy stuff: Plenty of stuff that doesn't scale well ... otherwise, Tulani also get Bardic Music (though I guess that one doesn't scale any further, hm) at decent level
... its globe form turns it incorporeal but doesn't allow spellcasting in it (does that include manifesting, too?), while still allowing access to spell-like abilities & supernatural
abilities (should include Divine Salient Abilities, too, right?) ... which isn't that bad, I guess, but still, losing spellcasting hurts quite a bit, though if it actually
stacks with Divine Dodge, that would be extremely powerful (though then again ... the True Shapechange Salient Ability also allows to turn into incorporeal forms. Otherwise ... they
get the usual average darkvision as well as the usual Celestial-like immunities that are outclassed by Divine Rank 0/Divine Rank 1 and such.
Note: Extremely overwhelming stat boni ... though charisma still gets the highest boost in the end, I guess, while Strength isn't increased to uselessly high heights, so the stat spread
is quite usefuö. There isn't much irritating to say about this choice expect that it lacks spellcasting (though its powerful SLAs make a bit up for that) and that it grows to large
size later on. I don't dislike their fluff & flavour in general so there isn't anything wrong with them in particular (moreover, in cases were one is able to ignore their high RHD, they
completely outclass both Bralani as well as Ghaele ... despite the Ghaele's spellcasting capabilities) and their subtypes aren't (as it is the case with fiends) irritating, either.
With powerful domain selection, the value of decent/powerful SLAs trops even further (especially if they don't scale ...) as Deities can cast all the domain spells they can grant as
SLAs at will (and some domain spells are just outright scary). (Theoretically) lacking quite a bit behind in spellcasting is irritating, though, but as the 18 Outsider HD probably won't
matter in the end and the LA is range of at most 10, I guess this one of the quickest (and laziest) picks as race (though it leaves not really much room to slap a few templates on top
of that).
Succubus race ...
(Medium size ... 6 feet tall)
6 Outsider HD (Chaotic, Demon, Extraplanar, Evil), LA +6
Succubus Stat mods ... Str +2, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +6, Wis +4, and Cha +16, for a total modifier of +32
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: A few reasonably excellent SLAs - like
charm monster, detect thoughts, ethereal jaunt, suggestion and greater teleport - as at will ... but if the caster level doesn't
somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the DC scale at least with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability
modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it set to be at some fixed value that's only increased by CHA?
Other noteworthy stuff: Does the energy drain DC scale ("10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability modifier"?) and is it actually
possible to switch it off? If its one of the two or both, then it won't be an annoyance, I guess. Tongues, Change Shape, decent spot and listen
boni, average darkvision, useable telepathy, 0815 immunities and resistances that are reasonably useful (though will become redundant or irrelevant
with Divine Rank 1+) ... does the SR scale? Te wings aren't particulary impressive, but at least there's some means of flight
Note: Quite the overwhelming stat boni ... though mostly to charisma. If it's just for sheer CHA stat, this might be one of the best picks ... some of those subtypes are irritating
though, and such is the "always" (that means most of the time, but still) character alignment, guess that's to be expected when succubi are one of the
manifestions of chaotic evil itself. I don't dislike their flavour itself (besides their natural CE tendencies) and that charisma boni is very
overwhelming ... so chaotic neutral sorcerer or wilder (as well as to get more millage out of some Divine Salient Abilities) definitively one of
the better choices, I guess. With powerful domain selection, the value of decent/powerful SLAs trops even further (especially if they don't scale ...) as Deities can cast all the domain
spells they can grant as SLAs at will (and some domain spells are just outright scary). (Theoretically) lacking quite a bit behind in spellcasting is irritating, though, and as the
6 Outsider HD probably won't matter in the end and the LA is range of at least 5 and at most 10, I guess this is one of the the quickest (and laziest) picks as race (also leaves room
to slap a few templates on top of that).
Compared to other options: Provides no spellcasting and is, in that respect, much inferior when compared to those that do because its useful SLAs, while at will,
are - even if they scale - in no way strong enough to compensate for that later on. While the high charisma boost is nice as well as very important for plenty and stuff, the other stat
boosts are also only seem average or even below average for its LA, and thus make it difficult to reach the required minimum ability scores to aquire certain DEX or WIS based
Divine Salient abilities. In that regard, the likes of the Erinyes (though Erinyes are, in return, outclassed in that regard by the vastly superior stat boosts provided by Tulani ...
as well as by the obviously superior stat boosts provided by Pleasure Devils or Lilitus, both of those aren't playable, as far as I could tell. Anyway, the Erinyes provides high enough
all around stat boosts to potentially allow CON, DEX, INT, WIS and CHA to reach 29), , Word Archons (provides around twice as much overall stat boosts when compared to the Succubus but
lacks decent additional characteristics expect its dubious Truename magic. It is lacking quite a bit behind when it comes to CHA, though, only providing a boost of +6) outclass it and.
Even some of those races that provide actual casting, like the Trumpet Archon (14 level cleric casting as well as slighty lower stat boosts when compred to the Word Archon) or Lillend
(a few levels of bard casting as well as uselessly high Str boni) either outclass it in terms of overall stats (though both of those two also boost strength by quite a bit, which is
quite useless for this character) or come reasonably close to it (i.e. the Nymph, that in addition to its minor perks, provides slightly lower overall stats as well as half the CHA boni
the Succubus provides), so its not like the succubus outclasses its peers by that much ... and if it has to be the need to apply succubus flavour (which isn't exactly the case),
there's still the Half-Succubus template.
Erinyes
(Medium sized)
9 Outsider (Baatezu, Evil, Extraplanar, and Lawful) HD + LA +7
Erinyes stat mods ... Str +10, Dex +10, Con +10, Int +4, Wis +8, Cha +10, for a total modifier of +52
((Erinyes Stat block ... Str 21, Dex 21, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 20))
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: Only a few SLAs, some of them are quite good, though (overall, the succubus has better ones). It's pretty much the same issue as with the succubus, though, in that if the caster
level doesn't somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the DC scale at least with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the
relevant ability modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it only their CHA modifier + some some fixed value?
Other noteworthy stuff: Automatic True Seeing, Tongues, Change Shape, decent spot and listen
boni, average darkvision, useable telepathy, 0815 immunities and resistances that are reasonably useful (though will become redundant or irrelevant
with Divine Rank 1+) ... does the SR scale? The wings aren't particulary impressive, but at least better than the succubus ones.
Note: Very overwhelming stat boni ... to most stats. If it's just for sheer overall stats, this might be one of the best picks ... some of those subtypes are irritating though,
and such is the "always" (that means most of the time, but still) character alignment, guess that's to be expected with the Erinyes's devilish nature. I don't dislike their flavour
itself (besides their natural LE tendencies) and those stat boni are, as said beforehand, very
overwhelming ... so neutral sorcerer or wilder (as well as to get more millage out of some Divine Salient Abilities as well as to get access to the likes of "Supreme Initiative" or
"Divine Dodge") definitively one of the better choices, I guess. With powerful domain selection, the value of decent/powerful SLAs trops even further (especially if they don't
scale ...) as Deities can cast all the domain spells they can grant as SLAs at will (and some domain spells are just outright scary). (Theoretically) lacking quite a bit behind in
spellcasting is irritating, though, and as the 9 Outsider HD probably won't matter in the end and the LA is range of at least 5 and at most 10, I guess this is one of the quickest
quickest (and laziest) picks as race (also leaves room to slap a one or two templates on top of that).
Compared to other options: Provides no spellcasting and is, in that respect, much inferior when compared to those that do because its useful SLAs, while at will,
are - even if they scale - in no way strong enough to compensate for that later on. The overall stat boost is nice, though, as well as very important for plenty and stuff, the other stat
boosts are somewhat reasonable for its LA, and thus potentially allow it to reach pretty much allow 5 out of six Ability scores to reach at least 29 (for example, DEX, CON, INT, WIS,
CHA ... which are actually the important ones). In that regard, only the likes Pleasure Devils or Lilitus - both of those aren't playable, as far as I could tell - are obviously
superior and while the Word Archon isn't bad as far as stat boosts go, it focuses too much on strength.
As far as I could tell thus far, only the races that provide actual casting, and there only the like the
Trumpet Archon (14 level cleric casting as well as slighty lower stat boosts when compred to the Word Archon and Erinyes) either outclass it in regard to some stats or are even
inferior one way or another all around (i.e. the Nymph, that in addition to its minor perks, provides around half the overall stats as well slightly lower CHA boni the Erinyes
provides), so when it comes to stats, it isn't really outclassed its peers by that much but actually surpasses them in most ... .
Nymph race ...
(Medium sized)
6 Fey HD, LA +7
Nymph Stat mods ... Str +0, Dex +6, Con +2, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +8, for a total modifier of +28
No natural flight.
Spellcasting: Druid Casting +7
Note: Although I'm not a fan of druid spellcasting in itself and selecting the Nymph as base race would also make it
necessary to apply some template to get her Fey RHD changed to Outsider (preferably so that they actually get recalculated as good Outsider HD), flavour wise its quite fitting indeed.
I'm not actually sure if its CHA modifier to AC and Saves properly stacks with Deity boni and also not sure about if her Druid Spellcasting
properly stacks with Druid class levels. Do the DCs of her abilities and such scale with CHA or level and such?
Trumpet Archon
(Medium size ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
12 Outsider (Archon, Extraplanar, Good, Lawful) HD + LA +8
Trumpet Archon stat mods ... Str +10, Dex +6, Con +12, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +6, for a total modifier of +46
((Trumpet Archon Stat block Str 20, Dex 17, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 16))
Provides natural flight speed of fly 90 ft. (good).
Spellcasting: As level 14 cleric
((Gets typical Archon stuff))
Others ...
Archon, Word ...
(Medium sized ... though 7 feet is quite a bit too much already)
10 Outsider HD (Archon, Extraplanar, Lawful, Good) + LA +6
Archon, Word stat mods ... Str +12, Dex +12, Con +12, Int +12, Wis +6, Cha +6, for a total modifier of +60
((Archon, Word Stat block ... Str 22, Dex 13, Con 23, Int 22, Wis 16, Cha 17))
((Typical Celestial/Archon/Angel stuff as well as Truename-Magic stuff))
Ghaele (Eladrin) ...
(Medium sized ... 6 feet tall ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
10 Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Good) HD + LA +10
Ghaele Stat mods ... Str +14, Dex +2, Con +4, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +6, for a total modifier of +38 (way to little for LA +10 ... or to justify being ECL20)
Provides natural flight with 150 ft (perfect) speed while in its alternate form
Spellcasting: 14 level of cleric
((Gets Ghaele stuff and such ... nothing expectionally outstanding and the alternate form entry says outright that spellcasting doesn't work in it. That light ray beam it can fire of doesn't scale, either, as far as I could tell up until now.))
Bralani (Eladrin) ...
(Medium sized ... 6 feet tall ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
6 Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Good) HD + LA +5
Bralani Stat mods ... Str +8, Dex +8, Con +6, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +4, for a total modifier of +32
((Bralani Stat block ... Str 18, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 14))
Provides natural flight with 100 ft (perfect) speed while in its whirlwind form
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: Blur, charm person, gust of wind, mirror image, wind wall at will as well as some unimportant stuff with limited uses per day ... but if the caster level doesn't
somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the DC scale at least with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability
modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it set to be at some fixed value?
Other noteworthy stuff:
Tongues, average darkvision, 0815 immunities and resistances that are reasonably useful (though will become redundant or irrelevant
with Divine Rank 1+), its weak Whirlwind Blast and Alternate form that allows it to fly and such but doesn't do much else ... does the alternate form hinder spellcasting
and such? Does the SR scale?
Lillend
(Large sized ... thus at least feet tall/long ... becomes huge later on, though,although I guess most of it is gained in terms of length)
7 Outsider HD (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Good) + LA +6
Lillend stat mods ... Str +10, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +4, Wis +6, Cha +8, for a total modifier of +44
((Lillend stat block ... Str 20, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18))
Spellcasting: 6 level of bard spellcasting
((Gets some mostly unimpressive SLAs as well as a bit of melee stuff ... as well as average Darkvision 60 and immunity to poison.))
Some noteable Templates ...
Phrenic Creature Template LA+2 (Provides augmented Psionic Subtype)
Half-Celestial Template LA+4 (turns into native outsider but doesn't really anything to fix whatever the crappy RHD of non-Outsiders messed up)
Half-Succubus Template LA+4 (the alternate web version of the Half-Fiend) (turns into native outsider but doesn't really anything to fix whatever the crappy RHD of non-Outsiders messed up)
Half-Fey Template LA+2 (changes creature Type to Fey)
Half-Nymph Template LA+2 ...
Half-Titan Template LA+8 ...
Radiant Creature Template LA+3 ... (boosts CHA & DEX + various bonus stuff and turns into native outsider but doesn't really anything to fix whatever the crappy RHD of non-Outsiders messed up)
Shadow Creature LA+2 ...
Sanctified Creature Template LA+2 ... (only reasoanbly useful main feature is its capability to modify evil Character Alignment)
Spellwarped Creature Template LA+3 ...
Dark Creature Template LA+1 ... (provides some minor changes and allows to modify evil Character Alignment)
About a few races ...
Pleasure Devil looks excellent stat wise but I didn't find any LA for them ... Lilitu ... yeah .... those don't have any LA, correct?
Opinions or helpful suggestion in regard to races and/or templates mentioned above would be nice ... the same also applies in regard to suggesting races and/or templates I didn't take
into consideration / somehow overlooked.
Some Templates / other stuff that might be useful (as I didn't find any good ones in that regard) but that might also proof unnecessary (depending on what race it ends up as):
# Templates that change the Type to Outsider (while recalculating the crappy RHD in the process if possible).
# Templates that reduce and/or increase the natural size if the character.
# Templates that provide huge stat boosts or offer features that are extremly useful but not easily replaced/made useless by Divine Salient abilities.
# Powerful Races and/or Templates that fullfill the criterias mentioned at the beginning of this post... with up to 20 RHD (Outsider HD if possible or with enough ) but with LA+10
at the very highest ...
# Templates that reduce LA in some way or another (to allow to stuff even more things into the template)
# Templates that increase the RP related flavour
# Templates that modify Character Alignment (if necessary) ... preferably away from CE/NE/LE towards Neutral (or Good ... though I don't like LG that much, either).
### Divine Salient Abilities ###
List of divine salient abilities I've taken note of ... :
... divine salient abilities that should be put in if there's no reason to not put them in (12 in total):
Alter Reality Divine Ability,
Divine Fast Healing Divine Ability (requires: Con 29 or the fast healing special quality; can be taken several times),
Rejuvenation (Divine Ability),
Create Object Divine Ability,
Create Greater Object (Divine Ability),
Divine Creation (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Craft Artifact (Divine Ability),
Master Crafter (Divine Ability),
Avatar (Divine Ability),
Alter Size (Divine Ability),
Shapechange (Divine Ability),
True Shapechange (Divine Ability)
... divine salient abilities that could possibly be put in if there's no reason to not put them in (10 in total):
Gift Of Life (Divine Ability),
Divine Blast (Divine Ability),
Mass Divine Blast (Divine Ability),
Life And Death (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Mass Life And Death (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Possess Mortal (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Supreme Initiative (Divine Ability) (requires: Dex 29 & Improved Initiative),
Divine Dodge (Divine Ability) (requires: Dex 29),
Power Of Luck (Divine Ability) (requires: Luck domain) (note: This salient ability scales pretty weak, though, once the numbers start going crazy, doesn't it?),
Know Secrets (Divine Ability)
... Some other Divine Salient Abilities that might fit in but also not ...
Divine Spellcasting (Divine Ability) (requires: Spellcaster level 20th; not sure about adding magic to the portfolio, though),
Extra Domain (Divine Ability) (can be taken several times, should be taken a few times if necessary),
Divine Air Mastery (Divine Ability) (requires: Air domain),
Automatic Metamagic (Divine Ability) (can be taken several times),
Divine Shield (Divine Ability),
Area Divine Shield (Divine Ability) (note: Actually allows to protect mortrals for some time from a few annoying divine salient powers),
Divine Recall (Divine Ability) (can be taken several times),
See Magic (Divine Ability) (requires: Magic Domain),
Lay Quest (Divine Ability),
Call Creatures (Divine Ability) (note: can be taken several times; this one, while nice, might actually be outclassed by several other options, though ... at least they serve happily...
there's an HD=Divine Rank limit but no ECL limit so it should be possible to stack as much templates as reasonably possible on top of them ... even without Template stacking,
the HD limit is still high enough to summon things on the scale of Solars ... as well as pretty much anything else with 22 HD or less. There's Epic Leadership, though ...
and summoning ... or simply creating servant creatures, though it would be necessary to make them sufficiently loyal first.),
Control Creatures (Divine Ability) (note: can be taken several times; this one, while nice, might actually be outclassed by several other options, though ... there's a save - which can be
lowered from far away by some means or another - but at least there's no HD limit; though this somewhat conflicts with Divine Possession - that has the same save - and is stronger
overall but affects fewer creatures and allows saves once those creatures are supposed to do something they don't like at all),
Extra Energy Immunity (Divine Ability) (requires: resistance to the energy type selected; can be taken several times),
Clearsight (Divine Ability) (requires: Wis 29),
Annihilating Strike (Divine Ability) (requires: Str 25 as well as base attack bonus +20),
Instant Counterspell (Divine Ability),
Arcane Mastery (Divine Ability) (requires: Spellcaster level 1st, Spell Mastery; the wording confuses me slightly, what can this ability actually do?),
Divine Spell Focus (Divine Ability) (requires: Spellcaster level 20th; not sure if I will actually add magic to the portfolio, though),
Increased Damage Reduction (Divine Ability) (requires: Con 29),
Instant Move (Divine Ability) (requires: Dex 29),
Extra Sense Enhancement (Divine Ability) (requires: Wis 29; can be taken several times),
Divine Inspiration (Divine Ability),
Increased Spell Resistance (Divine Ability),
True Knowledge (Divine Ability) (requires: Int 40, bardic knowledge or lore class feature and 10th level in the class that grants the ability, Knowledge domain),
Life Drain (Divine Ability) (requires: Death domain; note: mostly unnecessary while possessing access to "Life and Death" ... though does that Cloud stay around forever?)
Questions about various salient divine abilities ...
# about Arcane Mastery: What exactly does that salient divine ability actually do?
# about Rejuvenation: Does it work in case the deity killed itself (through backslash like from Overchannel, Cosmic Descryer's Cosmic Connection or Epic Spell Backslash damage)?
# about "Life and Death": How exactly is a mortal defined here ... everyone with limited lifespan (which makes it quite tricky in regard to the likes of outsiders, feys as well as
undead)? Everyone that lacks divine rank? Does immunity against death effects and/or necromancy still apply?
# how many Salient Divine Abilities would deities of various ranks have access to? For example ... Divine Rank 16 greater Deities ... is it 21 (16 + 5 ... 5 bonus abilities due to
being an greater deity) salient divine abilities or is it 27 (16 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 ... 11 bonus abilities due to all those boni accumulated for lower classes of
deities) salient divine abilities?
# how to estaminate the number of domains an overdeity has access to (to evaluate if the extra domain Divine Salient Ability is necessary or not)?
# the Divine Creation Salient Ability is only restricted by the amount of class levels it can provide, right? But there's no restriction in regard to RHD or LA, right
(which means it's possible to create ECL 100+ creatures or slap as much templates as one feels like it on them) expect for the fact that the resulting CR is used for
calculations in regard to how much rest is necessary?
# How does the Divine Spellcasting Salient Ability interact with epic spellcasters and the spells per day they would naturally obtain due to their class progression and such?
# Can the Divine Splendor (though I don't like that one to begin with, it somewhat fits into the greek theme about the true form of gods being lethal to mere mortals) Salient Ability be switched off or is it necessary to change into a (slightly altered) form to prevent it from killing things around the character?
# I wonder what type of event would be the most ideal choice to select to make Divine Recall useful?
# About "Gift of Life" & "Life and Death" ... "Life and Death" specifies that it revives "mortals" (which implies it cannot revive deities and such?) ... so as revival tool, it
seems strictly inferior to Gift of Life that not only can (with the cooperation of deity in charge of the realm the soul ended up) creatures against their will but is it -
possibly - also capable of reviving deceased deities (they're Outsider and, as I suspect, don't fit the "mortal" definition)?
# So once there's no soul left (destroyed or otherwise no longer exists), even "Gift of Life" & "Life and Death" cannot revive a creature?
# Do the "non-magic" restorative powers of deities do the job when it comes fixing specific types of permanent penalties some epic monsters inflict (automatic aging) or permanent
damage they cause (like the HP lost through Lavawights) that cannot be restored/healed by regular magic or (in some cases) magic in general?
### Domains ###
Some domains that look decent in terms of fluff (though I might've forgotten or overlooked some) ...
Knowledge
Creation
Protection
Darkness
Lust
Oracle
Celerity
Dream
Liberation
Pact
Time
Fate
Luck
Destiny
Pride
Pleasure
Life
Death
Craft
Truth
Lust
Air
Charm
Sloth
Healing
Planning
Rune
Magic
Though I'm still not sure how many Domains to hand over to Overgods, though. If I go with the basic suggestion of 3 + some additional ones (maybe through Divine Salient Abilities), it would be quite troublesome, though, as that would eat up quite a lot of Divine Salient Abilities.
### About Equipment / Artifacts ###
As the character can freely print (= create) money and craft things by itself later on ... lets just assume that most or all of its equipment is made up of things at least on the level of
major artifacts or of at least comparable quality.
I'm currently working on one NPC (though I might also recycle it for some high powered worlds or for deity vs deity plots as PC, which means that it has to actually be playable over the course of its career) that, over the course of the plot, might end up as some Creator Type Greater Deity (or possibly even Divine Rank 24 Overdeity-class existence) with 20 Outsider RHD & 40 Class levels that is, more or less, that's more or less based around the concepts of Night and Genesis as well as inspired by deities such as Nyx as well as slightly more eldritch (outer god themed) deities. I'm not only looking for optimization in regard to advantages both inside and outside of combat but also in regard to optimization RP aspects, style and fluff (i.e. things that might improve the character's concept RP wise).
As things are, I'm stuck because I cannot narrow down to what races and templates to apply as well as what classes to use and what domains to apply ...
As such, I'm looking for suggestions and/or help in that regard.
Especially when it comes down to ...
... what Race+Templates to make use of,
... Divine Salient Abilities to decide on,
... what Domains to choose and
... what character classes & PrCs to pick,
... some suggestions for created artifacts fix whatever major issues remain & that improve its strong points even further.
Race+Templates is the most important point, I guess, then Divine Salient Abilities (that indirectly already limit domain selection and class selection), next is
domains (though that point already indirectly affects the Divine Salient Abilities as it might be necessary to take the Extra Domain Divine Salient Ability) and after
that the actual character class & PrC choices (that are, more or less, limited by the choices made beforehand).
Note1: No homebrew if possible ... only source official material.
Note2: I'm still not sure how I'm going to actually going to apply those 20 Outsider HD (if there is some ruling that applys here, I missed it) ... maybe right at the beginning by
adding up enough RHD through Races or Templates while not letting the LA explode through the roof (would result in the greatest boost that way as races with high RHD usually sometimes
also offer nice things ... and if the character has to have 20 Outsider RHD anyway, they might as well come combined with nice things that tag along, too ... so might as well make the
most out of them even if thos Outsider HD aren't that bad to begin with) and then add whatever Outsider HD remain (maybe I#m also slapping Divine Rank 0 onto it then, but well,
whatever)... i.e. the character construction starts out with 20 Outsider HD and 40 Class levels get slapped on top of that later on ... maybe I'm letting the character start out with
whatever RHD its Race and/or Templates provide, add all class levels on top of that, and then slap the divine rank as well as the remaining Outsider HD on top of it (that's only
relevant because of the point noted below ... that the character has to be theortical viable ... i.e. the character has - with some outside help and "level grinding" (like farming
extremely high level but fundamentally flawed opponents like Devastation Insects) taken into the account - to be able theoretically be able to actually reach at least 30 class levels
through RP (anything beyond that just requires time as well as excessive use of Epic Spellcasting) and didn't suddenly appear out of thin air with 20 RHD+40 Class levels (though as
creator deity, that wouldn't be strange at all as there are plenty of "self-created" deities in mythology) as the construction of the character should follow reasonably fair rules.
Note3: The character is supposed to be an NPC but as noted beforehand, I'm also interested in recyceling it for some extremely high powered games as player character (which, as result, also influences points listed under note2).
Some infos about what general limitations apply to the character ...
# 32 point buy ...
# permanent +5 through Wish on every stat (and by itself no additional free ability score boni only for being some kind of deity, as it is sometimes suggested) at lest as soon as it reaches epic levels
# 20 Outsider HD + 40 Class levels (class levels have to be mostly caster and/or manifester based, i.e. wizard, archivist, druid, psion, wilder ecetera though I'm not quite sure what to
pick yet; CHA based casting/manifesting is quite compatible with Divine Salient Abilities, though ... I'm also not quite sure if I would actually like to see that character with
cleric or bard levels and such)
# LA +5 up to and including +10 ... for race stuff + Templates (although it would be nice if LA stays at around 5, if can be higher if the tradeoff might be worth it). If whatever is
provided by the race and/or Templates is really worth it (that's unlikely, though, as such high LA is hardly ever worthwhile, isn't it?), then the max LA might go up to LA +20.
# RHD have to be Outsider Type or changed into Outsider Type by some means and/or Template and it has to be possible for these RHD to count towards the 20 Outsider HD deities usually
possess.
# Has to possess reasonably beautiful and dignified medium sized (or very close to medium sized ... more sopecifically close to something between 4 feet and 7 feet ... if the character - somehow - has something like snake tails or otherwise nonhuman body lower body section - like the Lillend - then this size limitation more or less only applies for the upper body section as long as the lower body ection isn't particulary oversized) quasi humanoid-like standard form (Fey, Outsider, ecetera are fine as
far as race goes, too) that lacks obvious monstrous or excessive findish traits (celestial traits are just fine). No undeads or warforged (though if there are some futuristic
living constructs/intelligent artifact/divine construct that are close to being human-like/humanoid in terms of physiology, mentality and intellect, that might be interesting). As long
as it isn't weird or disgusting, base creatures and/or templates that already are quite a bit transcendent and/or eldritch (without being possessing outright alien forms or minds or
forms or minds that are otherwise troublesome) might be fine as well, depending on how compatible it actually is with the character concept and such.
# Has to be either neutral, chaotic neutral, neutral good or chaotic good after all inherent/inborn Template have been applied as well as after that.
# Has to somehow get its INT and CHA stats (through templates and/or race + levelup stat increase, ecetera) both up to at least 29 (possibly higher ... depending on build)
without excessively dumping other stats in the process (STR can be as low as 8 after race & templates have been applied ... all other stats have to be at least 10 after race & templates are all applied).
# After becoming sufficiently strong, has to be able to be completely self-sufficient regardless of if the character's divine rank (for plot reasons and whatever reasons) is 0, 10, 19+ and has - at the divine ranks I mentioned before - be able to operate without excessive trouble in anti-magic fields, wild magic zones or in case the setting's magic suddenly becomes unreliable.
# The build has to make sufficient sense fluff/RP flavour and also isn't just build on the foundation of using dubious worded RAW and/or outright fishy interpretations to argue one's case.
# Has to (somehow) have access the following divine abilities (as long as the sufficient Divine Rank requirments are met): Alter Reality, Rejuvenation, as well as all important
object/entity creation powers and all important shape/form alteration powers)
# Has to have access to epic spellcasting or epic powers.
# As Deity has to possess at least possess some means to notice it when someone messes with the Multiverse/Space-Time/Reality/Existence too much ... idealy before something exceedingly bad
happens ... portfolio sense might apply here, though, as might other things.
# Something comparable to Hypercognition (to actually make good use of high Int stats) as means of evaluating information and coming to decisions about complex issues as well as something like
Psychic Reformation (to change some build details, if necessary) would be nice perks if they can somehow fit into that build (well, that's only necessary if it cannot be freely be
copied through Alter Reality or Miracle or, well, Limited Wish/Wish, that is).
# Has - after stepping into the realms of greater deities or overdeities - to (somehow) be able to create planes or entire worlds or cosmologies (either through spellcasting/powers or through Divine Abilities ... well that or through dubious "administrative authority") as a creator deity on the scale of Overgods should be able to as has to be able to create live and objects as well just fine (though the Divine Salient Abilities cover that second point just fine).
# About salient divine ability suitable for supreme portfolios (like "Life and Death", "Mass Life And Death", "Possess Mortal", "Divine Splendor", "Divine Creation"), I've decided
that there isn't much of a need for Deities to possess more than two of those before reaching the realm of Overgods. As such, because the character is supposed to possess the
"Divine Creation" salient divine ability, taking more than three additional supreme salient divine abilities obviously aren't really an option. ((With divine rank 24, the character thus
got access to up to four of those salient divine abilities.))
# There's only limited and/or shared access to Magic Domain (as that domain is, for the most part, split in control among a few powerful Overdeity-class entities ... as such it's more difficult to abuse the system).
# With Divine Rank 24, the character has to be able to hold other deities (of Divine Rank 20 and below) in line as well as to suppress epic casters (trying to abuse epic spellcasting
too much or to critically endanger the world), epic monsters (including Great Wyrm epic dragons with class levels and possibly Divine Rank 0 through Dragon Ascendant, Elder Titans,
and somesuch, ecetera), pesky mortals that dare to use modern or futuristic weapons - including nukes and more - against the character, otherworldly horrors like Abomination,
Elder Evils, Great Old Ones - as well as Outer God-like entities (though that's asking for a bit too much when considering how incredibly powerful they are; most of them are at least
Hyperdimensional, after all) - and other Overgods of the same or slightly higher divine rank. It would obviously be nice if most of these feats could be accomplished beforehand, though.
Portfolio ... (incomplete) ...
((Night?, Genesis?, Supreme?)), Creation, Darkness, Knowledge, Dreams, Secrets, Life, Mind, Death, Luck, Fate, Destiny, Time, ((Freedom?)), Craft, ((Sky?)), ((Stars?)),
((Magic)), ((Shadow)), ((Illusions)), ((Technology?))
### Races & Templates ###
Some races that caught my eye are the ones below ... theoretically, it might also work out to find some high powered humanoid (or monstrous humanoid or whatever else) race and slap
plenty of templates on top of it to change its apperance, mentality, RHD and whatever else to fix it up ... though, anyway, I think that humanoid-shaped (medium sized) Outsider or
Fey might be the most suitable option in terms of flavour and such, and that the LA should only be going anywhere near 10 when it's worth it.
Some notes about Stat modifiers and such ...
... average stat modifiers for the creature's combined LA & RHD are potentially bad as not only does it imply that they#re too high or due to some eventually ouclassed feature but also ...
... because makes it difficult to also (besides whatever INT & CHA 29 provide) qualify for stuff like Supreme Initiative or Divine Dodge that require 29 DEX (those are actually worth
the investment, I guess, as they're really strong) as well as difficult to qualify for stuff that requires 29 CON - which makes it necessary to somehow pick up the Fast Healing special
quality to qualify for Divine Fast Healing that is necessary for the self-revival Divine Salient Ability - as well as for Increased Damage Reduction (that isn't really necessary, but
well ... but its not like more CON is going to be useless as it allows for more breathing room ... and with 60 HD, 10 to 16 less CON already result in 250 to 350 fewer HP ... and thus
lower safety & less chance to abuse backslash loaded features like Epic Spell backslash or the Cosmic Descryer's Cosmic Connection or in regard to getting nuked by some mean things) as well as to reach 25 STR that allows to get access to Annihilation Strike (which isn't really necessary ... but True Shapeshifting + Annihilation Strike still seems quite viable for options against which regular means to take care of don't work; i.e. ... other Deities or scary stuff with Divine Rank 0/scary stuff that cannot simply be finished of through the use of "Life and Death" ... though to make that actually work, there's reasonably high need to optimize to actualy allow to make use of Annihiation Strike that way) ... 29 WIS doesn't provide anything particulary oustanding as far as I've
noticed, but Clearsight isn't that bad I guess and Extra-Sense Enhanchment can be useful as well (though as the list of divine salient abilities contains already too many worthwhile
abilities, aiming for those two might not be worth it, to begin with, as it means missing out on better things ... and other Salient Abilities can replace their effects to some degree,
too). INT 40 provides True Knowledge (if there's also ten levels in some class that provides bardic knowledge-like skills ... like bard or seer psion), but if there isn't any reason
in particular to pump the INT stat that high, expect if it somehow happens as side effect of one of the races and/or templates, then there'd not be much reason to increase it
much beyond 30 to begin with expect for INT when focusing on basic requirments or Divine Salient Abilities.
Anyway ... Here is the list thus far (I somewhat prefer the first two choices, i.e. Sylph and Tulani, in terms of flavour but it would be nice if their issues are somewhat fixed up):
Sylph race ...
(Small sized ... though I read some descriptions about them being about 5 feet tall, which is already medium size, as small size is up to 4 feet ... has anyone any data
about their actual height ... because if it was in MM2 then I missed it somehow?)
3 Outsider (with Air Subtype) HD, LA +5
Sylph Stat mods reduce strength & Con, slightly boost Dex, moderately boost Int and decently boost Wis & Int
Provides natural? flight with 90 ft (good) fly speed (is it actually natural flight or not?)
Spellcasting: Sorcerer Casting of HD + 4
SLAs: Improved/Greater Invisibility at will
Other noteworthy stuff: The usual outsider stuff - provides no immunities and also no other outstanding features - as well excellent flying
capabilities ... does the SR scale beyond its regular progression?
Note: So the main benefits of the Sylph (besides its low amount of Outsider HD at the start - thus making it actually playable, though thanks to its spellcasting capabilities, that
point is somewhat moot - and its outsider traits + Greater Invisibility at will as actually useful SLA + above average flight + passable boost to important stats that should be enough
to let both CHA and INT reach 29 + them not being evil or weird by nature) ... is - if I understood it right - the net gain of +24 levels (29 or more when using classes/prestige classes
like Cosmic Descryer, that don't fully advane casting) of sorcerer spellcasting progression (on that note, when using the interpretation that the spellcasting provided by the Sylph actually stacsk on top of the one provided by regular class levels in such a way that it vastly goes beyond its ECL, i.e. 30/40
class levels of sorcerer progression + 54/64 levels of sorcerer progression due to overall HD = 84/94 levels of sorcerer progression?)? Does their sorcerer casting needs material components
(its entry doesn't say it doesn't so it likely does)? Their flavour is reasonably decent, too. The only real downside (mechanical advantages of small size aside) is that they're quite
small (though it would be nice if someone has some infos about how "small" exactly) and that there might be an even better deal out there in both build optimaziation and character
fluff. With LA +5, there's also still some room to add on a few templates on top of it, too ... preferably some that, as part of their cost, force one to apply Outsider HD, as they
would've to be applied in the end anyway. Anyway, the only serious issue the Sylph (besides its size) seems to have is that its stats are somewhat lacking when compared to most other
races listed here ...
Anyway, the most important things the templates ought to isn't just to somehow make use of and/or fill these 17 wasteful RHD by providing access to useful features but also to increase
the stats (as the Sylph's stats itself are only passable for her LA & RHD) of the Sylph further ... with focus on CHA, DEX (enough to increase it to 29, if that's not possible without
wasting too much resources, I guess it can be ignored) as well as - to some degree - CON as focus ... and, if there's breathing room or if they come as simple addition together with the
Templates, STR (if its possible to make it reach 25 ... thought in tge first place, without also accounting that Salient Ability in the class build, Annihilation Strike isn't going to
be that effective, anyway) and WIS (if its possible to make it reach 29) as well. INT 30 should be more than sufficient for maxing out most skills that matter, so there isn't much use
in increasing it beyond that point ... anyway, with 14 Points from Advancing to 20 RHD and 40 class levels used up, theoretically, it requires no epic feats & templates to allow the Sylph to reach the required 29 DEX, INT & CHA
Tulani race (Eladrin race from Book of Exalted Deeds) ...
(Medium size ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
18 Outsider HD (typical Eladrin subtypes) + LA +10
Tulani Stat mods ... high in general (though I have no idea what stats array they use - if standard array or something else as their stats are all even - .. their overall stat
boost likely outclasses every creature listed here (expect ... maybe ... the Pleasure Devils and Lillitu), so basically like the Erinyes below but with slightly more Dex & Con,
much more Int & Cha and noteably higher Wis as well ... with those stat mods, it would be quite difficult not to reach the minimum stat requirments for pretty much all Divine Salient
abilities expect those that require 40 in some specific stat)
No natural flight in humanoid form ... excellent flight in its globe form.
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: Several extremly powerful and/or useful ones as at will as well as a few powerful ones as 1 use per day. Overall by far one of the strongest list of SLAs of the creatures listed
here. But ... if the caster level doesn't somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the at least DC scale with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s
racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it set to be at some fixed value?
Other noteworthy stuff: Plenty of stuff that doesn't scale well ... otherwise, Tulani also get Bardic Music (though I guess that one doesn't scale any further, hm) at decent level
... its globe form turns it incorporeal but doesn't allow spellcasting in it (does that include manifesting, too?), while still allowing access to spell-like abilities & supernatural
abilities (should include Divine Salient Abilities, too, right?) ... which isn't that bad, I guess, but still, losing spellcasting hurts quite a bit, though if it actually
stacks with Divine Dodge, that would be extremely powerful (though then again ... the True Shapechange Salient Ability also allows to turn into incorporeal forms. Otherwise ... they
get the usual average darkvision as well as the usual Celestial-like immunities that are outclassed by Divine Rank 0/Divine Rank 1 and such.
Note: Extremely overwhelming stat boni ... though charisma still gets the highest boost in the end, I guess, while Strength isn't increased to uselessly high heights, so the stat spread
is quite usefuö. There isn't much irritating to say about this choice expect that it lacks spellcasting (though its powerful SLAs make a bit up for that) and that it grows to large
size later on. I don't dislike their fluff & flavour in general so there isn't anything wrong with them in particular (moreover, in cases were one is able to ignore their high RHD, they
completely outclass both Bralani as well as Ghaele ... despite the Ghaele's spellcasting capabilities) and their subtypes aren't (as it is the case with fiends) irritating, either.
With powerful domain selection, the value of decent/powerful SLAs trops even further (especially if they don't scale ...) as Deities can cast all the domain spells they can grant as
SLAs at will (and some domain spells are just outright scary). (Theoretically) lacking quite a bit behind in spellcasting is irritating, though, but as the 18 Outsider HD probably won't
matter in the end and the LA is range of at most 10, I guess this one of the quickest (and laziest) picks as race (though it leaves not really much room to slap a few templates on top
of that).
Succubus race ...
(Medium size ... 6 feet tall)
6 Outsider HD (Chaotic, Demon, Extraplanar, Evil), LA +6
Succubus Stat mods ... Str +2, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +6, Wis +4, and Cha +16, for a total modifier of +32
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: A few reasonably excellent SLAs - like
charm monster, detect thoughts, ethereal jaunt, suggestion and greater teleport - as at will ... but if the caster level doesn't
somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the DC scale at least with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability
modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it set to be at some fixed value that's only increased by CHA?
Other noteworthy stuff: Does the energy drain DC scale ("10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability modifier"?) and is it actually
possible to switch it off? If its one of the two or both, then it won't be an annoyance, I guess. Tongues, Change Shape, decent spot and listen
boni, average darkvision, useable telepathy, 0815 immunities and resistances that are reasonably useful (though will become redundant or irrelevant
with Divine Rank 1+) ... does the SR scale? Te wings aren't particulary impressive, but at least there's some means of flight
Note: Quite the overwhelming stat boni ... though mostly to charisma. If it's just for sheer CHA stat, this might be one of the best picks ... some of those subtypes are irritating
though, and such is the "always" (that means most of the time, but still) character alignment, guess that's to be expected when succubi are one of the
manifestions of chaotic evil itself. I don't dislike their flavour itself (besides their natural CE tendencies) and that charisma boni is very
overwhelming ... so chaotic neutral sorcerer or wilder (as well as to get more millage out of some Divine Salient Abilities) definitively one of
the better choices, I guess. With powerful domain selection, the value of decent/powerful SLAs trops even further (especially if they don't scale ...) as Deities can cast all the domain
spells they can grant as SLAs at will (and some domain spells are just outright scary). (Theoretically) lacking quite a bit behind in spellcasting is irritating, though, and as the
6 Outsider HD probably won't matter in the end and the LA is range of at least 5 and at most 10, I guess this is one of the the quickest (and laziest) picks as race (also leaves room
to slap a few templates on top of that).
Compared to other options: Provides no spellcasting and is, in that respect, much inferior when compared to those that do because its useful SLAs, while at will,
are - even if they scale - in no way strong enough to compensate for that later on. While the high charisma boost is nice as well as very important for plenty and stuff, the other stat
boosts are also only seem average or even below average for its LA, and thus make it difficult to reach the required minimum ability scores to aquire certain DEX or WIS based
Divine Salient abilities. In that regard, the likes of the Erinyes (though Erinyes are, in return, outclassed in that regard by the vastly superior stat boosts provided by Tulani ...
as well as by the obviously superior stat boosts provided by Pleasure Devils or Lilitus, both of those aren't playable, as far as I could tell. Anyway, the Erinyes provides high enough
all around stat boosts to potentially allow CON, DEX, INT, WIS and CHA to reach 29), , Word Archons (provides around twice as much overall stat boosts when compared to the Succubus but
lacks decent additional characteristics expect its dubious Truename magic. It is lacking quite a bit behind when it comes to CHA, though, only providing a boost of +6) outclass it and.
Even some of those races that provide actual casting, like the Trumpet Archon (14 level cleric casting as well as slighty lower stat boosts when compred to the Word Archon) or Lillend
(a few levels of bard casting as well as uselessly high Str boni) either outclass it in terms of overall stats (though both of those two also boost strength by quite a bit, which is
quite useless for this character) or come reasonably close to it (i.e. the Nymph, that in addition to its minor perks, provides slightly lower overall stats as well as half the CHA boni
the Succubus provides), so its not like the succubus outclasses its peers by that much ... and if it has to be the need to apply succubus flavour (which isn't exactly the case),
there's still the Half-Succubus template.
Erinyes
(Medium sized)
9 Outsider (Baatezu, Evil, Extraplanar, and Lawful) HD + LA +7
Erinyes stat mods ... Str +10, Dex +10, Con +10, Int +4, Wis +8, Cha +10, for a total modifier of +52
((Erinyes Stat block ... Str 21, Dex 21, Con 21, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 20))
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: Only a few SLAs, some of them are quite good, though (overall, the succubus has better ones). It's pretty much the same issue as with the succubus, though, in that if the caster
level doesn't somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the DC scale at least with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the
relevant ability modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it only their CHA modifier + some some fixed value?
Other noteworthy stuff: Automatic True Seeing, Tongues, Change Shape, decent spot and listen
boni, average darkvision, useable telepathy, 0815 immunities and resistances that are reasonably useful (though will become redundant or irrelevant
with Divine Rank 1+) ... does the SR scale? The wings aren't particulary impressive, but at least better than the succubus ones.
Note: Very overwhelming stat boni ... to most stats. If it's just for sheer overall stats, this might be one of the best picks ... some of those subtypes are irritating though,
and such is the "always" (that means most of the time, but still) character alignment, guess that's to be expected with the Erinyes's devilish nature. I don't dislike their flavour
itself (besides their natural LE tendencies) and those stat boni are, as said beforehand, very
overwhelming ... so neutral sorcerer or wilder (as well as to get more millage out of some Divine Salient Abilities as well as to get access to the likes of "Supreme Initiative" or
"Divine Dodge") definitively one of the better choices, I guess. With powerful domain selection, the value of decent/powerful SLAs trops even further (especially if they don't
scale ...) as Deities can cast all the domain spells they can grant as SLAs at will (and some domain spells are just outright scary). (Theoretically) lacking quite a bit behind in
spellcasting is irritating, though, and as the 9 Outsider HD probably won't matter in the end and the LA is range of at least 5 and at most 10, I guess this is one of the quickest
quickest (and laziest) picks as race (also leaves room to slap a one or two templates on top of that).
Compared to other options: Provides no spellcasting and is, in that respect, much inferior when compared to those that do because its useful SLAs, while at will,
are - even if they scale - in no way strong enough to compensate for that later on. The overall stat boost is nice, though, as well as very important for plenty and stuff, the other stat
boosts are somewhat reasonable for its LA, and thus potentially allow it to reach pretty much allow 5 out of six Ability scores to reach at least 29 (for example, DEX, CON, INT, WIS,
CHA ... which are actually the important ones). In that regard, only the likes Pleasure Devils or Lilitus - both of those aren't playable, as far as I could tell - are obviously
superior and while the Word Archon isn't bad as far as stat boosts go, it focuses too much on strength.
As far as I could tell thus far, only the races that provide actual casting, and there only the like the
Trumpet Archon (14 level cleric casting as well as slighty lower stat boosts when compred to the Word Archon and Erinyes) either outclass it in regard to some stats or are even
inferior one way or another all around (i.e. the Nymph, that in addition to its minor perks, provides around half the overall stats as well slightly lower CHA boni the Erinyes
provides), so when it comes to stats, it isn't really outclassed its peers by that much but actually surpasses them in most ... .
Nymph race ...
(Medium sized)
6 Fey HD, LA +7
Nymph Stat mods ... Str +0, Dex +6, Con +2, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +8, for a total modifier of +28
No natural flight.
Spellcasting: Druid Casting +7
Note: Although I'm not a fan of druid spellcasting in itself and selecting the Nymph as base race would also make it
necessary to apply some template to get her Fey RHD changed to Outsider (preferably so that they actually get recalculated as good Outsider HD), flavour wise its quite fitting indeed.
I'm not actually sure if its CHA modifier to AC and Saves properly stacks with Deity boni and also not sure about if her Druid Spellcasting
properly stacks with Druid class levels. Do the DCs of her abilities and such scale with CHA or level and such?
Trumpet Archon
(Medium size ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
12 Outsider (Archon, Extraplanar, Good, Lawful) HD + LA +8
Trumpet Archon stat mods ... Str +10, Dex +6, Con +12, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +6, for a total modifier of +46
((Trumpet Archon Stat block Str 20, Dex 17, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 16))
Provides natural flight speed of fly 90 ft. (good).
Spellcasting: As level 14 cleric
((Gets typical Archon stuff))
Others ...
Archon, Word ...
(Medium sized ... though 7 feet is quite a bit too much already)
10 Outsider HD (Archon, Extraplanar, Lawful, Good) + LA +6
Archon, Word stat mods ... Str +12, Dex +12, Con +12, Int +12, Wis +6, Cha +6, for a total modifier of +60
((Archon, Word Stat block ... Str 22, Dex 13, Con 23, Int 22, Wis 16, Cha 17))
((Typical Celestial/Archon/Angel stuff as well as Truename-Magic stuff))
Ghaele (Eladrin) ...
(Medium sized ... 6 feet tall ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
10 Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Good) HD + LA +10
Ghaele Stat mods ... Str +14, Dex +2, Con +4, Int +6, Wis +6, Cha +6, for a total modifier of +38 (way to little for LA +10 ... or to justify being ECL20)
Provides natural flight with 150 ft (perfect) speed while in its alternate form
Spellcasting: 14 level of cleric
((Gets Ghaele stuff and such ... nothing expectionally outstanding and the alternate form entry says outright that spellcasting doesn't work in it. That light ray beam it can fire of doesn't scale, either, as far as I could tell up until now.))
Bralani (Eladrin) ...
(Medium sized ... 6 feet tall ... becomes large later on, though, and thus at least 8 feet tall)
6 Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Good) HD + LA +5
Bralani Stat mods ... Str +8, Dex +8, Con +6, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +4, for a total modifier of +32
((Bralani Stat block ... Str 18, Dex 18, Con 17, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 14))
Provides natural flight with 100 ft (perfect) speed while in its whirlwind form
Spellcasting: None
SLAs: Blur, charm person, gust of wind, mirror image, wind wall at will as well as some unimportant stuff with limited uses per day ... but if the caster level doesn't
somehow scales later on, then several of those will become less and less valuable ... does the DC scale at least with "10 + 1/2 the attacker’s racial Hit Dice + the relevant ability
modifier" (which would allow them to keep some value) or is it set to be at some fixed value?
Other noteworthy stuff:
Tongues, average darkvision, 0815 immunities and resistances that are reasonably useful (though will become redundant or irrelevant
with Divine Rank 1+), its weak Whirlwind Blast and Alternate form that allows it to fly and such but doesn't do much else ... does the alternate form hinder spellcasting
and such? Does the SR scale?
Lillend
(Large sized ... thus at least feet tall/long ... becomes huge later on, though,although I guess most of it is gained in terms of length)
7 Outsider HD (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Good) + LA +6
Lillend stat mods ... Str +10, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +4, Wis +6, Cha +8, for a total modifier of +44
((Lillend stat block ... Str 20, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18))
Spellcasting: 6 level of bard spellcasting
((Gets some mostly unimpressive SLAs as well as a bit of melee stuff ... as well as average Darkvision 60 and immunity to poison.))
Some noteable Templates ...
Phrenic Creature Template LA+2 (Provides augmented Psionic Subtype)
Half-Celestial Template LA+4 (turns into native outsider but doesn't really anything to fix whatever the crappy RHD of non-Outsiders messed up)
Half-Succubus Template LA+4 (the alternate web version of the Half-Fiend) (turns into native outsider but doesn't really anything to fix whatever the crappy RHD of non-Outsiders messed up)
Half-Fey Template LA+2 (changes creature Type to Fey)
Half-Nymph Template LA+2 ...
Half-Titan Template LA+8 ...
Radiant Creature Template LA+3 ... (boosts CHA & DEX + various bonus stuff and turns into native outsider but doesn't really anything to fix whatever the crappy RHD of non-Outsiders messed up)
Shadow Creature LA+2 ...
Sanctified Creature Template LA+2 ... (only reasoanbly useful main feature is its capability to modify evil Character Alignment)
Spellwarped Creature Template LA+3 ...
Dark Creature Template LA+1 ... (provides some minor changes and allows to modify evil Character Alignment)
About a few races ...
Pleasure Devil looks excellent stat wise but I didn't find any LA for them ... Lilitu ... yeah .... those don't have any LA, correct?
Opinions or helpful suggestion in regard to races and/or templates mentioned above would be nice ... the same also applies in regard to suggesting races and/or templates I didn't take
into consideration / somehow overlooked.
Some Templates / other stuff that might be useful (as I didn't find any good ones in that regard) but that might also proof unnecessary (depending on what race it ends up as):
# Templates that change the Type to Outsider (while recalculating the crappy RHD in the process if possible).
# Templates that reduce and/or increase the natural size if the character.
# Templates that provide huge stat boosts or offer features that are extremly useful but not easily replaced/made useless by Divine Salient abilities.
# Powerful Races and/or Templates that fullfill the criterias mentioned at the beginning of this post... with up to 20 RHD (Outsider HD if possible or with enough ) but with LA+10
at the very highest ...
# Templates that reduce LA in some way or another (to allow to stuff even more things into the template)
# Templates that increase the RP related flavour
# Templates that modify Character Alignment (if necessary) ... preferably away from CE/NE/LE towards Neutral (or Good ... though I don't like LG that much, either).
### Divine Salient Abilities ###
List of divine salient abilities I've taken note of ... :
... divine salient abilities that should be put in if there's no reason to not put them in (12 in total):
Alter Reality Divine Ability,
Divine Fast Healing Divine Ability (requires: Con 29 or the fast healing special quality; can be taken several times),
Rejuvenation (Divine Ability),
Create Object Divine Ability,
Create Greater Object (Divine Ability),
Divine Creation (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Craft Artifact (Divine Ability),
Master Crafter (Divine Ability),
Avatar (Divine Ability),
Alter Size (Divine Ability),
Shapechange (Divine Ability),
True Shapechange (Divine Ability)
... divine salient abilities that could possibly be put in if there's no reason to not put them in (10 in total):
Gift Of Life (Divine Ability),
Divine Blast (Divine Ability),
Mass Divine Blast (Divine Ability),
Life And Death (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Mass Life And Death (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Possess Mortal (Divine Ability) (note: supreme),
Supreme Initiative (Divine Ability) (requires: Dex 29 & Improved Initiative),
Divine Dodge (Divine Ability) (requires: Dex 29),
Power Of Luck (Divine Ability) (requires: Luck domain) (note: This salient ability scales pretty weak, though, once the numbers start going crazy, doesn't it?),
Know Secrets (Divine Ability)
... Some other Divine Salient Abilities that might fit in but also not ...
Divine Spellcasting (Divine Ability) (requires: Spellcaster level 20th; not sure about adding magic to the portfolio, though),
Extra Domain (Divine Ability) (can be taken several times, should be taken a few times if necessary),
Divine Air Mastery (Divine Ability) (requires: Air domain),
Automatic Metamagic (Divine Ability) (can be taken several times),
Divine Shield (Divine Ability),
Area Divine Shield (Divine Ability) (note: Actually allows to protect mortrals for some time from a few annoying divine salient powers),
Divine Recall (Divine Ability) (can be taken several times),
See Magic (Divine Ability) (requires: Magic Domain),
Lay Quest (Divine Ability),
Call Creatures (Divine Ability) (note: can be taken several times; this one, while nice, might actually be outclassed by several other options, though ... at least they serve happily...
there's an HD=Divine Rank limit but no ECL limit so it should be possible to stack as much templates as reasonably possible on top of them ... even without Template stacking,
the HD limit is still high enough to summon things on the scale of Solars ... as well as pretty much anything else with 22 HD or less. There's Epic Leadership, though ...
and summoning ... or simply creating servant creatures, though it would be necessary to make them sufficiently loyal first.),
Control Creatures (Divine Ability) (note: can be taken several times; this one, while nice, might actually be outclassed by several other options, though ... there's a save - which can be
lowered from far away by some means or another - but at least there's no HD limit; though this somewhat conflicts with Divine Possession - that has the same save - and is stronger
overall but affects fewer creatures and allows saves once those creatures are supposed to do something they don't like at all),
Extra Energy Immunity (Divine Ability) (requires: resistance to the energy type selected; can be taken several times),
Clearsight (Divine Ability) (requires: Wis 29),
Annihilating Strike (Divine Ability) (requires: Str 25 as well as base attack bonus +20),
Instant Counterspell (Divine Ability),
Arcane Mastery (Divine Ability) (requires: Spellcaster level 1st, Spell Mastery; the wording confuses me slightly, what can this ability actually do?),
Divine Spell Focus (Divine Ability) (requires: Spellcaster level 20th; not sure if I will actually add magic to the portfolio, though),
Increased Damage Reduction (Divine Ability) (requires: Con 29),
Instant Move (Divine Ability) (requires: Dex 29),
Extra Sense Enhancement (Divine Ability) (requires: Wis 29; can be taken several times),
Divine Inspiration (Divine Ability),
Increased Spell Resistance (Divine Ability),
True Knowledge (Divine Ability) (requires: Int 40, bardic knowledge or lore class feature and 10th level in the class that grants the ability, Knowledge domain),
Life Drain (Divine Ability) (requires: Death domain; note: mostly unnecessary while possessing access to "Life and Death" ... though does that Cloud stay around forever?)
Questions about various salient divine abilities ...
# about Arcane Mastery: What exactly does that salient divine ability actually do?
# about Rejuvenation: Does it work in case the deity killed itself (through backslash like from Overchannel, Cosmic Descryer's Cosmic Connection or Epic Spell Backslash damage)?
# about "Life and Death": How exactly is a mortal defined here ... everyone with limited lifespan (which makes it quite tricky in regard to the likes of outsiders, feys as well as
undead)? Everyone that lacks divine rank? Does immunity against death effects and/or necromancy still apply?
# how many Salient Divine Abilities would deities of various ranks have access to? For example ... Divine Rank 16 greater Deities ... is it 21 (16 + 5 ... 5 bonus abilities due to
being an greater deity) salient divine abilities or is it 27 (16 + 1 + 2 + 3 + 5 ... 11 bonus abilities due to all those boni accumulated for lower classes of
deities) salient divine abilities?
# how to estaminate the number of domains an overdeity has access to (to evaluate if the extra domain Divine Salient Ability is necessary or not)?
# the Divine Creation Salient Ability is only restricted by the amount of class levels it can provide, right? But there's no restriction in regard to RHD or LA, right
(which means it's possible to create ECL 100+ creatures or slap as much templates as one feels like it on them) expect for the fact that the resulting CR is used for
calculations in regard to how much rest is necessary?
# How does the Divine Spellcasting Salient Ability interact with epic spellcasters and the spells per day they would naturally obtain due to their class progression and such?
# Can the Divine Splendor (though I don't like that one to begin with, it somewhat fits into the greek theme about the true form of gods being lethal to mere mortals) Salient Ability be switched off or is it necessary to change into a (slightly altered) form to prevent it from killing things around the character?
# I wonder what type of event would be the most ideal choice to select to make Divine Recall useful?
# About "Gift of Life" & "Life and Death" ... "Life and Death" specifies that it revives "mortals" (which implies it cannot revive deities and such?) ... so as revival tool, it
seems strictly inferior to Gift of Life that not only can (with the cooperation of deity in charge of the realm the soul ended up) creatures against their will but is it -
possibly - also capable of reviving deceased deities (they're Outsider and, as I suspect, don't fit the "mortal" definition)?
# So once there's no soul left (destroyed or otherwise no longer exists), even "Gift of Life" & "Life and Death" cannot revive a creature?
# Do the "non-magic" restorative powers of deities do the job when it comes fixing specific types of permanent penalties some epic monsters inflict (automatic aging) or permanent
damage they cause (like the HP lost through Lavawights) that cannot be restored/healed by regular magic or (in some cases) magic in general?
### Domains ###
Some domains that look decent in terms of fluff (though I might've forgotten or overlooked some) ...
Knowledge
Creation
Protection
Darkness
Lust
Oracle
Celerity
Dream
Liberation
Pact
Time
Fate
Luck
Destiny
Pride
Pleasure
Life
Death
Craft
Truth
Lust
Air
Charm
Sloth
Healing
Planning
Rune
Magic
Though I'm still not sure how many Domains to hand over to Overgods, though. If I go with the basic suggestion of 3 + some additional ones (maybe through Divine Salient Abilities), it would be quite troublesome, though, as that would eat up quite a lot of Divine Salient Abilities.
### About Equipment / Artifacts ###
As the character can freely print (= create) money and craft things by itself later on ... lets just assume that most or all of its equipment is made up of things at least on the level of
major artifacts or of at least comparable quality.