Holiday challenge: let's build Santa Claus

[Pleh]

Maybe this has been done before, but I was watching Miracle on 34th Street and I was thinking of Santa as a PC.

Clearly, any caster with enough optimization could just choose to be Santa, but I thought it might be fun to do an Iron Chef style challenge to see how creative people can get building Santa Claus.

Points for usual stuff, less emphasis on how powerful and more on how many aspects of Santa are captured. Examples: does he have elves? Flying reindeer? Saintly class features?

Could have some fun allowing Santa variants as well, the Futurama Santa would be fun if someone wanted to build an evil Santa.

Any interest? While I had the idea, I don't really have much experience playing or facilitating these games.

[Technetium43]

I'm pretty sure you could basically reverse the concept of Darrin's Lightning Thief (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?142080-3-5-The-Lightning-Thief-Epic-Sleight-of-Hand-Abuse), to make someone who can accomplish all of the 'santa-ly' actions (taking cookies and milk, delivering presents, visiting every house in the world) in 1 round.

[Muggins]

As always, I am compelled to refer requests for a well-built Santa to the Iron Chef (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=14384481&postcount=71) creation by rockdeworld.

Is there something more accurate? Maybe. Is it a nice point of reference? Definitely.

[Eno Remnant]

As a helpful point of reference for Santa and his abilities, Wizards made a Santa for 3.0. Here (https://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Santa.pdf) is the pdf.

[Bad Wolf]

Id make him a Neutral Good Demigod, with 20/20 levels of Druid and Cleric. Doesn't grant spells.

[curious-puzzle]

Going in a completely different direction, I threw a Santa Balor at my players one silly Christmas game. His reindeer were greater Nightmares, and said Santa Balor may have decapitated several characters (with a twinkle in his horrific eyes of course).

I'm not allowed to run "christmas" games anymore...

[Kelb_Panthera]

Didn't somebody build a santa clause expy for one of the Iron Chef competitions?

[Technetium43]

Didn't somebody build a santa clause expy for one of the Iron Chef competitions?

It's in the thread already. Third post.

[Kelb_Panthera]

It's in the thread already. Third post.

Huh. Missed that, somehow.

[Thurbane]

I can't help but think a Midgard Dwarf might be useful here...

[Zanos]

The guys over at penny arcade made a winter fey spirit for 4e, and an associated strip series. (https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/12/07/the-vault-of-winter-part-one)

https://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-vq7NdJF/0/O/i-vq7NdJF-M.jpg

https://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-fsx54C9/0/O/i-fsx54C9.jpg

[Muggins]

I can't help but think a Midgard Dwarf might be useful here...
Midgard Dwarf is definitely appropriate.

[Xuldarinar]

Going off of the Saint upon whom he is based, I'd peg him as a Human (possibly Caldaru under pathfinder) Cleric/Wizard/Mystic Theurge, with solid ranks in Craft, and feats towards item creation.

If we want to go with the jolly old elf, then... Drop human, slap him with elf, and we got a good start there. Or... maybe perhaps a different race, as elves don't get beards. Then again, maybe he didn't grow it and it is actually a magic item?

[Ranged Ranger]

I'm actually in the middle of creating a project along these lines...

Santa is a Spring Child (Bastards & Bloodlines - Dryad Mom/Humanoid Dad)
Santa's type has changed from Humanoid to Outsider (Native).
He has Divine Rank 1.
Ranger* 20 /Cleric 2 /Wizard 3 /Mystic Theurge 5 /Contemplative 1 /Arcane Hierophant 9.
Feats include Criminal Background, Weapon Focus (Quarterstaff), Quarterstaff Master (Pathfinder), Two Weapon Fighting**, Item Familiar, Leadership, Extra Followers, and more.

Casts as Wizard 17/Cleric 17/Ranger 20.

Santa's Cohort is a Yeti named Phil Rogue/Ranger/Artificer.
Phil has a Gelf(V)*** Cohort named Bernard Rouge/Artificer.
Bernard has a Gelf(E) Cohort named Judy Bard/Archivist/Master Alchemist
Judy has a Gelf(V) Cohort named Hermey Bard/Healer
Hermey has a staff that gives once/day use of 8 mouth related spells.
Phil, Bernard, and Judy all have Leadership, Improved Cohort, and Extra Followers****.
Phil, Bernard, Judy, and Hermey have Divine Rank 0.

Phil's followers are Yetis.
Santa's 8 highest leveled followers are Druid Stelibou. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?506184-Small-Intelligent-Caribou-Race-CR-LA-help)

The Stelibou know this ritual. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?508732-Druid-True-Ritual-Dawn-Racer%92s-Swiftness)
The rest of Santa's followers are Gelves.
Bernard and Judy's followers are Gelves.

*Ranger is Wild Defender from Dragon 324 + Change 2nd lvl woodland stride to snow stride at 3rd and ice stride at 5th (woodland stride to snow and ice is on a druid in Drag 311)
**either a homebrew that merges some of the feats on this tree or add additional feats from the tree.
***Santa's "Elves" are actually half-elf/half-gnomes; some statted as Vetters (Completist's guide to Humanoid Characters), some as Elome (Races of Consequence).
****Yes, I realize chaining leadership is incredibly cheesey :P

[LordOfCain]

Hm... I would say Midgard Dwarf going into Crusader with a lot of White Raven Tactics.

[Eldan]

There's a lot of versions of Saint Nick, is the thing.

The historical Nikolaos of Myra... human expert, around level 3 or 4? LIke a lot of humans, really. Improved Unarmed Strike to punch Arians at the Council of Nikaia.

The mystical bishop, that is the church-approved version over here... Cloistered Cleric, with a divination focus and a lot of ranks in intimidate against children. Also, angels as cohorts, probably devas, so has to be high level. His spells include True Resurrection, create food and water,

The forest spirit is difficult to pin down. On the one hand, he doesn't really do much that's mystical. He's fairly wise and charismatic, and he has one or several human ranger cohorts. He has his book that contains everything children do or think, but that may be an artefact. INsufficient data. May secretly be Odin, so a greater diety.

That weird American version that has a bit of every mythology built in... leadership, for a group of gnome artificers (they don't have anything in common with D&D elves), diviner levels, to know everything, and some stealth and escape artist to come down chimneys. And either an artefact-level bag of holding or just a bag that is a portal or ring gate back to his pocket dimension.