Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground LXXXIV

[Heliomance]

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

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

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


Iron Gamer

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

Chairwoman: We unveil the ingredient!

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

Chairwoman: Let's switch things up a bit this time! A monstrous class, in an unusual environment... This month's theme is... Waverider! ALLEZ OPTIMISER!


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

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

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

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

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

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

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, February 21st, 2017 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairwoman, Heliomance. Please put the name of your build in the subject line of your PM. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, March 7th, 2017 to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

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

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

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



Code immediately below (spoiler).

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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

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

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

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

The Builds

Past Competitions

Iron Chef I: Entropomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142470)
Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146583)
Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148584)
Iron Chef IV: Stonelord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150595)
Iron Chef V: War Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152543)
Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156876)
Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158633)
Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160266)
Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162702)
Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164381)
Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166539)
Iron Chef XII: War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9426386)
Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172233)
Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174434)
Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176049)
Iron Chef XVI: Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178202)
Iron Chef XVII: Ardent Dilettante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182492)
Iron Chef XVIII: Unseelie Dark Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186097)
Iron Chef XIX: Dread Pirate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190607)
Iron Chef XX: Incandescent Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10976416)
Iron Chef XXI: Ghostwalker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198921)
Iron Chef XXII: Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206576)
Iron Chef XXIII: Divine Crusader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071)
Iron Chef XXIV: Tactical Soldier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214198)
Iron Chef XXV: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217441)
Iron Chef XXVI: Shadowdancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220956)
Iron Chef XXVII: Mindbender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224008)
Iron Chef XXVIII: Cryokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227304)
Iron Chef XXIX: Consecrated Harrier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229688)
Iron Chef XXX: Initiate of Pistis Sophia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233346)
Iron Chef XXXI: Shadow Sentinel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236908)
Iron Chef XXXII: Temple Raider of Olidammara (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239786)
Iron Chef XXXIII: Drow Judicator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243052)
Iron Chef XXXIV: Dragon Disciple (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246072)
Iron Chef XXXV: Death Delver (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249542)
Iron Chef XXXVI: Acolyte of the Skin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252923)
Iron Chef XXXVII: Justiciar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13865473)
Iron Chef XXXVIII: Hand of the Winged Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255215)
Iron Chef XXXIX: Renegade Mastermaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260333)
Iron Chef XL: Nightsong Infiltrator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263173)
Iron Chef XLI: Geomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266709)
Iron Chef XLII: Shadowblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270196)
Iron Chef XLIII: Bladesinger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274122)
Iron Chef XLIV: Urban Soul (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279116)
Iron Chef XLV: Talon of Tiamat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15216595)
Iron Chef XLVI: Cipher Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287314)
Iron Chef XLVII: Cold Iron Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291294)
Iron Chef XLVIII: Shadow Sun Ninja (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297327)
Iron Chef XLIX: Thrall to Orcus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302487)
Iron Chef L: Corrupt Avenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307823)
Iron Chef LI: Black Flame Zealot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312773)
Iron Chef LII: Anointed Knight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317934)
Iron Chef LIII: Zerth Cenobite (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325164)
Iron Chef LIV: Osteomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330890)
Iron Chef LV: Mountebank (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?336373-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LV)
Iron Chef LVI: Dwarven Defender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342807-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVI)
Iron Chef LVII: Darkrunner (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?349040-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVII)
Iron Chef LVIII: Spellsword (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?357412-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVIII)
Iron Chef LIX: Fleet Runner of Ehlonna (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?364667-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LIX)
Iron Chef LX: Lasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?371835-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LX(II): Acolyte of the Ego (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?372145-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LXII: Dungeon Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?376810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXII)
Iron Cheff LXIII: Witchborn Binder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?382632-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIII)
Iron Chef LXIV: Slime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?387166-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIV)
Iron Chef LXV: Thunder Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394981-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXV)
Iron Chef LXVI: Dwarven Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVI)
Irogn Chef LXVII: Gnome Giant Slayer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406613-Irogn-Chef-Optimisatiogn-Challegnge-ign-the-Playgrougnd-LXVII)
Iron Chef LXIX: Fang of Lolth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?412530-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVIII)
Iron Chef LXIX: Shiba Protector (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420165-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIX)
Iron Chef LXX: Order of the Bow Initiate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?425634-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXX)
Iron Chef LXXI: Silver Key (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?431484-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXI)
Iron Chef LXXII: Spellfire Channeler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439020-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXII)
Iron Chef LXXIII: Flux Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448596-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIII)
Iron Chef LXXIV: Crinti Shadow Marauder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?458711-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIV)
Iron Chef LXXV: Thief of Life (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472831-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXV)
Iron Chef LXXVI: Legacy Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477153-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVI)
Iron Chef LXXVII: Great Rift Skyguard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?482249-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVII)
Iron Chef LXVIII: Risen Martyr (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?487560-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVIII)
Iron Chef LXXIX: Black Blood Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?492923-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIX)
Iron Chef LXXX: Master of Many Forms (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498359-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXX)
Iron Chef LXXXI: Serene Guardian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?502666-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXI)
Iron Chef LXXXII: Elocator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?505762-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXII)
Iron Chef LXXXIII: Winterhaunt of Iboorighu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?510581-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIII)

[Heliomance]

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

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

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

Q: Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources?
A: The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is allowed, but the subsequent books for Dragonlance are considered 3rd party, and are therefore not eligible, despite the "WotC approved" status of those books. The same holds for Oriental Adventures (1st party) and the subsequent Rokugan books (3rd party). Materials from Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, and Kingdoms of Kalamar are considered 3rd party for purposes of this contest, and are therefore not allowed.

Q: What about online sources in general?
A: If the online source is a) published by WotC, and b) not replaced by an updated version at a later time, it is eligible. Use it, link it.

Q: Where's the line drawn with "acceptable/unacceptable" for Unearthed Arcana? This will likely vary a bit from Chairman to Chairman. Item Familiars and Gestalt have always been verboten, since before IC migrated to GitP; don't expect that to change. Flaws have similarly always been noted as warranting a deduction; while I am Chairman, I'm extending that to Traits, though they warrant 1/2 the penalty in Elegance that a Flaw would because they're roughly 1/2 as useful. Alternate spell systems, alternate skill systems and alternate crafting rules all create an uneven playing field, and as such, will be disallowed for as long as I am Chairman. In a similar vein, LA buyoff and fractional BAB are also disallowed. Bloodlines and the Retraining options presented in the PHB2 are ripe for abuse, and will be strongly discouraged as long as I am Chairman. Note that judges are allowed to look askance at any use of Unearthed Arcana not specifically mentioned above, at their discretion, and otherwise penalize Elegance according to their preference.

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

Q: What's the minimum score in a category?
A: Assuming an entry is legal, the minimum score in any category is 1. If a judge is convinced that an entry is mechanically illegal by the RAW, the judge may give the build a score of 0 in Elegance, and proceed to judge the entry as if the offending material was not included. Failing to meet a special requirement for a prestige class does not merit a 0, but may qualify for a penalty, at the judge's discretion. Because this contest focuses on Player Characters, an entry that is not technically allowed for a PC, but is viable as an NPC, counts as a legal entry, but may receive a minimum score at the judges' discretion.

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

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

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

One Mistake, One Penalty

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

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

Skills

Allowed:

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


Not allowed:

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



Prereqs

Allowed:

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


Not Allowed:

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



Other general things that are no longer allowed:

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


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

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

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


Q: Do you only have to have the Aquatic subtype if you're an outsider?
A: No, you should consider that bit a separate clause. You need to be a fey, humanoid, monstrous humanoid, or outsider, and you also need to have the [Aquatic] subtype.

[weckar]

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef LXIX. Woooo! Time Travel!

Silly question scrubbed...

[remetagross]

What a strange class...

Does the Wavedancing ability at level 9 actually grants the mount a land speed equal to four times its swim speed?

[weckar]

What a strange class...

Does the Wavedancing ability at level 9 actually grants the mount a land speed equal to four times its swim speed?
I THINK that refers to the distance they can be away from water?

[Korahir]

Oh boy, I am not so sure that is what I wished for ;) Let's what I can do :D

[Heliomance]

What a strange class...

Does the Wavedancing ability at level 9 actually grants the mount a land speed equal to four times its swim speed?

...you're right, that's a very oddly worded ability. Actually, most of the class is terribly worded - I foresee a lot of rules queries!

I'm going to interpret that one as you have to start your movement in water, I think, as the interpretation that hurts my brain the least.

[LordOfCain]

Surf's up, dudes! A prereq. for the class is Ride (an aquatic animal), is that changed to just Ride?

[Heliomance]

Surf's up, dudes! A prereq. for the class is Ride (an aquatic animal), is that changed to just Ride?
Yes indeed.

[remetagross]

Another question, Chairwoman. How would you interpret in 3.5 terms the Full Mounted Attack ability?

[WhamBamSam]

What a bizarre mess of a class. Well, we'll see what I can do with it.


...you're right, that's a very oddly worded ability. Actually, most of the class is terribly worded - I foresee a lot of rules queries!

I'm going to interpret that one as you have to start your movement in water, I think, as the interpretation that hurts my brain the least.You are prescient indeed.

1. What does Full Mounted Attack actually do? What did it do back in 3.0? Usually when 3.0 stuff gets updated 'partial action' becomes 'standard action.'

2. I'm still confused about your reading of Wavedancing. What, exactly, does it allow us to do?

[PrismCat21]

WoohooHOO!!!! :D
I think I'm going to like this round. :elan:
For some strange reason, this prestige class has always held a special place in my heart cavity. :D

[MisterKaws]

World-Record-Supermount-PTSD intensifies

[Heliomance]

What a bizarre mess of a class. Well, we'll see what I can do with it.

You are prescient indeed.

1. What does Full Mounted Attack actually do? What did it do back in 3.0? Usually when 3.0 stuff gets updated 'partial action' becomes 'standard action.'

2. I'm still confused about your reading of Wavedancing. What, exactly, does it allow us to do?

1. I... have no idea. It almost looks like it's trying to give Mounted Pounce or something. I'm open to suggestions.

2. I'm thinking, so long as you start your movement in the water, your mount can do a great lunge that carries them out of the water and use their momentum to maneuver effectively, allowing to move up to four times their normal swim speed over land. You're not required to end your movement back in water, but it is advised to not beach yourself.

[PrismCat21]

1. I... have no idea. It almost looks like it's trying to give Mounted Pounce or something.
2. allowing to move up to four times their normal swim speed over land.

1. I've always read it as effectively granting Ride-by-Attack. You use a standard action to attack normally at some point during your mounts movement.
Or... An argument could be made that it allows you a Full Attack during your mounts move.

2. Nothing about the class has anything to do with land.
With Wavedancing, you are using the waves of water to augment your speed while in the water.
Breach, Skim, and Wavedancing are all about attacking opponents not currently submerged in open water. They are either walking across the water, or flying above it in some manner.

Think of a horse on land jumping up as high as it can to reach an opponent on top of a cliff or flying. That's essentially what those abilities are letting the Waverider do. Only instead of a cliff, it's the open air above the water.

I hope my wording was clear. All of it's abilities take place in or above water.

[remetagross]

Full Mounted Attack granting the effects of the Ride-by Attack feat, if not the feat itself, seems to be in the spirit of the ability!

[PrismCat21]

Also, :)
Concerning the Waverider Mount ability, I suggest treating it like a Druid's Animal Companion.
All the listed animals appear on the core list for Druid Animal Companions. I say we should treat as a Druid for when it can gain access to more powerful mounts.
Waverider level 1 for Porpoise and Sea Lion
4 for Large (or medium) Shark (and Hippocampus?)
7 for Elasmosaurus
10 for Orca Whale and Huge Shark

If you decide Waverider stacks with Effective Druid level, that'd be cool as well, but maybe OP a bit barring a feat for it...?

[Darrin]

1. I... have no idea. It almost looks like it's trying to give Mounted Pounce or something. I'm open to suggestions.


I am befuddled as well. Partial actions is a reference to the 3.0 mounted combat rules, but even in 3.0, attacking on a partial action and making a standard action attack are functionally identical. I looked up the 3.0 mounted combat rules in my 3.0 PHB to see if they are significantly different from 3.5, but as far as I can tell they aren't all that different:

"If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a partial melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can't make a full attack."

If we go by strict RAW here, then the Waverider text does make sense, but it's meaningless as a class ability: you can already make a standard action attack if your mount moves more than 5' even if you weren't a Waverider. Oddly enough... the 3.0 Cavalier in Sword & Fist has the same wording. So I'm going to chalk this up to "the designers never bothered to playtest the mounted combat rules."

Ok... we're dealing with 3.0/3.25 rules, so I think we can use the "minor adjustment" clause from DMG p. 4. Full Mounted Attack appears in several other 3.5 PrCs (Cavalier, Halfling Outrider, and Ashworm Dragoon), and the wording is very consistent:

"Full Mounted Attack (Ex): At 8th level and higher, a halfling outrider may make a full attack when her mount moves more than 5 feet but no more than a single move action. The character cannot combine this full attack with a charge action."

"Full Mounted Attack (Ex): At 6th level and higher, a mounted cavalier can make a full attack when his mount moves more than 5 feet but no farther than a single move action would carry it. The cavalier cannot combine this full attack with a charge."

"Full Mounted Attack (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, you can make a full attack when your mount moves more than 5 feet but no farther than its speed as a single move action. You cannot combine this full attack with a charge action."

So we can just use the same wording here:

Full Mounted Attack (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, a waverider can make a full attack when her mount moves more than 5 feet but no farther than its speed as a single move action. The waverider cannot combine this full attack with a charge action.

[Venger]

wow, I've never even heard of this class before. it's really annoying to qualify for. probably down to cook.

[Heliomance]

2. Nothing about the class has anything to do with land.
With Wavedancing, you are using the waves of water to augment your speed while in the water.
Breach, Skim, and Wavedancing are all about attacking opponents not currently submerged in open water. They are either walking across the water, or flying above it in some manner.

Think of a horse on land jumping up as high as it can to reach an opponent on top of a cliff or flying. That's essentially what those abilities are letting the Waverider do. Only instead of a cliff, it's the open air above the water.

I hope my wording was clear. All of it's abilities take place in or above water.
That makes more sense, I guess. So Wavedancing quadruples your mount's speed so long as you are at the surface of the water, rather than underwater.


I am befuddled as well. Partial actions is a reference to the 3.0 mounted combat rules, but even in 3.0, attacking on a partial action and making a standard action attack are functionally identical. I looked up the 3.0 mounted combat rules in my 3.0 PHB to see if they are significantly different from 3.5, but as far as I can tell they aren't all that different:

"If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a partial melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can't make a full attack."

If we go by strict RAW here, then the Waverider text does make sense, but it's meaningless as a class ability: you can already make a standard action attack if your mount moves more than 5' even if you weren't a Waverider. Oddly enough... the 3.0 Cavalier in Sword & Fist has the same wording. So I'm going to chalk this up to "the designers never bothered to playtest the mounted combat rules."

Ok... we're dealing with 3.0/3.25 rules, so I think we can use the "minor adjustment" clause from DMG p. 4. Full Mounted Attack appears in several other 3.5 PrCs (Cavalier, Halfling Outrider, and Ashworm Dragoon), and the wording is very consistent:

"Full Mounted Attack (Ex): At 8th level and higher, a halfling outrider may make a full attack when her mount moves more than 5 feet but no more than a single move action. The character cannot combine this full attack with a charge action."

"Full Mounted Attack (Ex): At 6th level and higher, a mounted cavalier can make a full attack when his mount moves more than 5 feet but no farther than a single move action would carry it. The cavalier cannot combine this full attack with a charge."

"Full Mounted Attack (Ex): Beginning at 7th level, you can make a full attack when your mount moves more than 5 feet but no farther than its speed as a single move action. You cannot combine this full attack with a charge action."

So we can just use the same wording here:

Full Mounted Attack (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, a waverider can make a full attack when her mount moves more than 5 feet but no farther than its speed as a single move action. The waverider cannot combine this full attack with a charge action.

Agreed.

[Darrin]

That makes more sense, I guess. So Wavedancing quadruples your mount's speed so long as you are at the surface of the water, rather than underwater.


I'm not sure I agree with this. Here's the text:

"Wavedancing (Ex): On reaching 9th level, a mounted waverider can maneuver very effectively out of the water. Rider and mount can move up to four times the mount’s swim speed out of water and can make charges, including Ride-By Attacks if the waverider has this feat (normal charge rules apply). In addition, she can now use her breach, sound, and skim abilities in consecutive rounds."
(emphasis added)

I am most likely deliberately misreading this, but "out of the water" in my mind means "on land". By RAW, I am not seeing any requirement that Wavedancing be done anywhere near the water.

Of course, if we want to be deliberately silly about this... there's no requirement that the mount and rider move together. One could say that once the waverider reaches 9th level, the waverider's land speed is reset to 4x his mount's swim speed, even if the rider/mount are acting independently. Which would be awesome... but silly. And even though it might make the builds not so useful in actual play... I like silly.

[Heliomance]

I am most likely deliberately misreading this, but "out of the water" in my mind means "on land". By RAW, I am not seeing any requirement that Wavedancing be done anywhere near the water.


It could also mean "in the air", but I think we can agree it's pretty nonsensical for the ability to suddenly grant a fly speed.

[Technetium43]

It could also mean "in the air", but I think we can agree it's pretty nonsensical for the ability to suddenly grant a fly speed.

I guess you could say that the definition of that ability is... in the air? :smallcool:

...

Okay that one was low-hanging fruit. Regardless, this is definitely an interesting PrC, and I can already think of some interesting things to do with it.

[Sian]

trying to get myself to submit a dish after having dithered around for the last many contests ...

A much more simple question through

The ride check bonus, is that of any specific type or is it to be considered untyped hence stackable with everything?

[PrismCat21]

I'm not sure I agree with this. Here's the text:

out of the water.

Context matters. Both Breach and Skim also say "out of the water", while Sound says "underneath the water". It's an either/or, separating which side of the water suface you're on. Either "out of the water" above the surface, or "underneath the water" below the surface.
Breach mentions submerging again when attacking "out of the water", and Skim describes "skimming over the surface" (of the water) when charging opponents "out of the water" and submerging again.
No mention of land anywhere.

Wavedancing specifically multiplies potential "swim speed". This ability is about traveling and mobility when not submerged.

[WhamBamSam]

Also note that Wavedancing doesn't actually change your mount's speed. It just allows it to move 4x its speed. So it doesn't grant the bonus on jump checks (like those required for the class features) that high movement speed would ordinarily give you.

This class is a big hot mess of Savage Species, but I think I've got an idea.

[Thurbane]

Interesting ingredient. Never really read it before. Real life permitting, will try to get an entry in.

[Zaq]

I've only skimmed the text (and I have to run out to work), but on a first read, I have no idea how to parse half of the class's abilities. I think we're going to need a lot of interpretation before we can figure out what the hell these abilities actually let you do.

[The Viscount]

Also note that Wavedancing doesn't actually change your mount's speed. It just allows it to move 4x its speed. So it doesn't grant the bonus on jump checks (like those required for the class features) that high movement speed would ordinarily give you.

This class is a big hot mess of Savage Species, but I think I've got an idea.

This class is hilarious, I'm so ready to cook with it.

Given that wavedancing follows and enhances skim, it seems like it's talking about moving on the water rather than in it, but it's highly confusing.

The text about jumps and distance and the like probably needs to be either more explained or changed.

[Sian]

Another fun thing ... Unless the rules were different in 3.0 (can't recall to be honest), thrown weapons are unable to be used underwater, unless there is a specific source trumping DMG p93

[Amechra]

So... where are the stats for a Sea Lion?

[WhamBamSam]

So... where are the stats for a Sea Lion?I'm not sure if there were any at the time the class was written, but there's a Sea Lion printed in Stormwrack.

[Darrin]

I'm not sure if there were any at the time the class was written, but there's a Sea Lion printed in Stormwrack.

There was. The 3.0 Monster Manual has the Sea Lion as a 6 HD large beast. In the 3.5 MM, it was renamed "Sea Cat", became a magical beast (with no magical/supernatural abilities), but has nearly identical stats to the 3.0 Sea Lion. (The 3.0 version was a hold-over from previous editions, and was one of Gygax's "monsters based on a pun or joke" creations.)

The Stormwrack version is a 3 HD large animal based on the real-world pinnipeds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lion).

Helio, could we get a chair ruling on whether the 3.5 Sea Cat is a valid selection for a waverider mount?

I am disappointed with the companion selection for smaller Waveriders. They get much weaker companions by HD with no discernible trade-off. Then again, there's no explicit rule that says your companion selection is restricted by size, and there's no penalty that I'm aware of for having an oversized mount.

[Thurbane]

Since Sea Cat (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/seaCat.htm) is called out as an alternate paladin mount in the DMG, I think it would make sense here, on top of the reasons already given above.

[Venger]

There was. The 3.0 Monster Manual has the Sea Lion as a 6 HD large beast. In the 3.5 MM, it was renamed "Sea Cat", became a magical beast (with no magical/supernatural abilities), but has nearly identical stats to the 3.0 Sea Lion. (The 3.0 version was a hold-over from previous editions, and was one of Gygax's "monsters based on a pun or joke" creations.)

The Stormwrack version is a 3 HD large animal based on the real-world pinnipeds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lion).

Helio, could we get a chair ruling on whether the 3.5 Sea Cat is a valid selection for a waverider mount?

I am disappointed with the companion selection for smaller Waveriders. They get much weaker companions by HD with no discernible trade-off. Then again, there's no explicit rule that says your companion selection is restricted by size, and there's no penalty that I'm aware of for having an oversized mount.

The only penalty is not being able to fast mount/dismount if that was part of your strategy at all. otherwise, no.

[Vaz]

Is it Fey, Humanoid, etc with the Aquatic subtype, or just Outsider with Aquatic Subtype?

[Technetium43]

The former. Check the second post.

[Vaz]

Grazie amigo. Missed that!

[Zaq]

So I took a little bit more time and read the class abilities again, and I still have no idea how the hell most of them work. (And I think I'm pretty decent at parsing WotC's rules text overall, but perhaps that's immaterial.)

n.b.: I'm pretty sure that I don't have a copy of the 3.0 PHB, so if any of these abilities hinge on rules that were different back in 3.0, I'm going to be at a disadvantage here.

First, let's look at Breach. "The mount makes a Jump check [. . .] to make a 'running' high jump as part of a charge, with a maximum height distance of twice its length." This seems to just use the default PHB rules for a high jump (DC with a running start = 4 per foot of desired height), only it puts a maximum on it based on "its length." I'm not sure what "its length" actually means. I think by RAW it means that the mount can't jump higher than twice its own creature length (so for a Large critter, typically 10' length doubled to a 20' maximum?), but that seems weird and arbitrary. It's a PrC from Savage Species, of course, so weird and arbitrary shouldn't come as a surprise, but there you have it. That said, this ability doesn't seem to actually let you do much that you couldn't do already, unless I'm wildly confused about what it actually does. It does seem to be intended to let you leap out of the water and attack a foe there (and then, presumably, dive back into the water, though it doesn't say how far you go or how you plot your trajectory, since a charge is normally in a straight line), but it doesn't actually explicitly say that you have to be underwater to use this ability to start. Not sure what we want to make of that, since it seems like you can be riding a normal, non-aquatic horse on dry land, use Breach to attack an opponent who is "out of the water," and then end your turn "once again submerged." (The use of "once again submerged heavily implies how this is supposed to work, but again, the rules don't actually say.) Also, does the rule on pg. 85 of Stormwrack (which didn't exist when Savage Species was printed) stating that there's a –10 penalty on a Jump check to make a high jump to breach the surface of the water have any bearing on how this works?

My initial impression upon reading Breach was that you basically make a long jump and still go vertically with it (which would make the height maximum make a little more sense, since it's way easier to get long jump check up that high than a high jump check), but that doesn't seem to match the actual rules text.

Next, Sound. It's clear that the target must be underwater and that we're going to end up underwater, but it is absolutely unclear where we have to be to start using Sound. What does this Jump check represent or allow? The sentence "the mount makes a Jump check . . ." doesn't actually seem to be connected to anything. Is it intended that we start on dry land (with our presumably aquatic mount?) and the Jump check allows a dive into the water? Are we starting at the surface of the water and diving down (if so, what's up with the Jump check)? Are we starting submerged and just diving deeper (and if so, what the hell's up with the Jump check)? I think it seems to be the case that the Jump check is being used as a weird sort of substitute for a Swim check, and again, we've got an arbitrary distance maximum (which will actually likely be much, much shorter than we'd normally get on a charge, but perhaps that's by intent), but as I keep saying, that's not entirely clear. Also, it doesn't seem to me that there's any hard rules text saying that you can't go up during a Sound attack, so long as both you and your target are submerged the whole time. (That's not what "sound" means as a verb, and the ability does refer to diving, but again, there's definitely some gaps here.)

Full Mounted Attack has been brought up already, and I'm in favor of ruling it that we can make a full attack when the mount moves, as that's completely in keeping with similar abilities.

Moving on to Skim. Once again, I don't know what this actually does, and I especially don't understand what it does that Breach doesn't do. Is it possible that Breach is intended to only let you charge straight up at something directly above you, while Skim does something similar but allows for both vertical and horizontal movement as part of the same charge? Nothing in Breach seems to put that limitation on us (at least not by my reading), but that's why we're having this discussion, no? Skim has the same "once again submerged" phrase, gently indicating that we're likely supposed to be submerged (and not at the surface of the water) to start, so how is the portion of the movement that is between the submerged starting point at the edge of the water affected by this ability, particularly considering that a charge is supposed to be in a straight line? (And I still don't understand how we're supposed to plot our movement back into the water after jumping up and attacking an opponent out of the water, since nothing in the ability tells us how to reconcile our jumping arc with the fact that charges are in a straight line.) These abilities are really confusing, to be honest.

And I'm in the same boat (or riding the same fish) as everyone else when it comes to Wavedancing. If I had to guess the intent from the context, I think the idea is that you go up to the surface of the water (but not on dry land and not airborne), you move around really fast up there (faster than you would while fully submerged), and you can even charge or use Ride-By Attack at the surface of the water (though I don't see why you couldn't do that already). However, that doesn't necessarily seem to be what the rules actually say, so I don't know how we want to officially rule it. The sentence about using Breach/Sound/Skim in consecutive rounds is clear, at least.

There are even some other abilities that I find questionable, but I think I might PM those to Heliomance rather than possibly trigger the speculation clause. Overall, though, this class is a grade-A rules mess, and I really want some more explanations before I commit to anything. If we can get some clarity, this class does seem to have a few interesting tricks, but both cooking and judging will be a nightmare if we aren't on the same page.

(Also, does "Waverider" sound like a kenning to anyone else, or is it just me?)

[WhamBamSam]

So I took a little bit more time and read the class abilities again, and I still have no idea how the hell most of them work. (And I think I'm pretty decent at parsing WotC's rules text overall, but perhaps that's immaterial.)

n.b.: I'm pretty sure that I don't have a copy of the 3.0 PHB, so if any of these abilities hinge on rules that were different back in 3.0, I'm going to be at a disadvantage here.


First, let's look at Breach. "The mount makes a Jump check [. . .] to make a 'running' high jump as part of a charge, with a maximum height distance of twice its length." This seems to just use the default PHB rules for a high jump (DC with a running start = 4 per foot of desired height), only it puts a maximum on it based on "its length." I'm not sure what "its length" actually means. I think by RAW it means that the mount can't jump higher than twice its own creature length (so for a Large critter, typically 10' length doubled to a 20' maximum?), but that seems weird and arbitrary. It's a PrC from Savage Species, of course, so weird and arbitrary shouldn't come as a surprise, but there you have it. That said, this ability doesn't seem to actually let you do much that you couldn't do already, unless I'm wildly confused about what it actually does. It does seem to be intended to let you leap out of the water and attack a foe there (and then, presumably, dive back into the water, though it doesn't say how far you go or how you plot your trajectory, since a charge is normally in a straight line), but it doesn't actually explicitly say that you have to be underwater to use this ability to start. Not sure what we want to make of that, since it seems like you can be riding a normal, non-aquatic horse on dry land, use Breach to attack an opponent who is "out of the water," and then end your turn "once again submerged." (The use of "once again submerged heavily implies how this is supposed to work, but again, the rules don't actually say.) Also, does the rule on pg. 85 of Stormwrack (which didn't exist when Savage Species was printed) stating that there's a –10 penalty on a Jump check to make a high jump to breach the surface of the water have any bearing on how this works?

My initial impression upon reading Breach was that you basically make a long jump and still go vertically with it (which would make the height maximum make a little more sense, since it's way easier to get long jump check up that high than a high jump check), but that doesn't seem to match the actual rules text.I think Breach is supposed to allow the mount to charge while leaping out of the water, which might otherwise violate the rule about charging in a straight line. So basically, it let's your mount charge like this (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/1b/7a/bc/1b7abc548efcfc5e542e44359a680779.jpg), which it might or might not have been able to do under the standard rules. It also lets the mount use the rider's jump ranks, which is helpful, as none of the mounts get jump as a class skill, and removes the normal AC penalty from enemies outside of the water.

As for how high out of the water you can go (assuming you can achieve the necessary jump check result), I'm not sure.


Next, Sound. It's clear that the target must be underwater and that we're going to end up underwater, but it is absolutely unclear where we have to be to start using Sound. What does this Jump check represent or allow? The sentence "the mount makes a Jump check . . ." doesn't actually seem to be connected to anything. Is it intended that we start on dry land (with our presumably aquatic mount?) and the Jump check allows a dive into the water? Are we starting at the surface of the water and diving down (if so, what's up with the Jump check)? Are we starting submerged and just diving deeper (and if so, what the hell's up with the Jump check)? I think it seems to be the case that the Jump check is being used as a weird sort of substitute for a Swim check, and again, we've got an arbitrary distance maximum (which will actually likely be much, much shorter than we'd normally get on a charge, but perhaps that's by intent), but as I keep saying, that's not entirely clear. Also, it doesn't seem to me that there's any hard rules text saying that you can't go up during a Sound attack, so long as both you and your target are submerged the whole time. (That's not what "sound" means as a verb, and the ability does refer to diving, but again, there's definitely some gaps here.)I think that sound is just a normal swimming charge against an enemy at a distance of at most whatever '6 times its length' means in context. One might interpret it as requiring that the enemy be below you in the water based on the word 'dive,' but it might just always work so long as you're both submerged. The jump check tells you how far you can move as opposed to the usual rules of moving up to twice your speed. Assuming you get enough jump distance to reach your target, the rider's charge attack gets the bonus on their attack roll increased to +4 and increases their damage multiplier, but the penalty to their armor class increases to -4.


Full Mounted Attack has been brought up already, and I'm in favor of ruling it that we can make a full attack when the mount moves, as that's completely in keeping with similar abilities.That seems to be the way Heliomance is ruling it to work.


Moving on to Skim. Once again, I don't know what this actually does, and I especially don't understand what it does that Breach doesn't do. Is it possible that Breach is intended to only let you charge straight up at something directly above you, while Skim does something similar but allows for both vertical and horizontal movement as part of the same charge? Nothing in Breach seems to put that limitation on us (at least not by my reading), but that's why we're having this discussion, no? Skim has the same "once again submerged" phrase, gently indicating that we're likely supposed to be submerged (and not at the surface of the water) to start, so how is the portion of the movement that is between the submerged starting point at the edge of the water affected by this ability, particularly considering that a charge is supposed to be in a straight line? (And I still don't understand how we're supposed to plot our movement back into the water after jumping up and attacking an opponent out of the water, since nothing in the ability tells us how to reconcile our jumping arc with the fact that charges are in a straight line.) These abilities are really confusing, to be honest.Skim appears to do very little that Breach does not. I think it lets you charge further in the horizontal direction but not the vertical one along the surface of the water.


And I'm in the same boat (or riding the same fish) as everyone else when it comes to Wavedancing. If I had to guess the intent from the context, I think the idea is that you go up to the surface of the water (but not on dry land and not airborne), you move around really fast up there (faster than you would while fully submerged), and you can even charge or use Ride-By Attack at the surface of the water (though I don't see why you couldn't do that already). However, that doesn't necessarily seem to be what the rules actually say, so I don't know how we want to officially rule it. The sentence about using Breach/Sound/Skim in consecutive rounds is clear, at least.I think it does just allow you to move faster along the surface of the water and use the other charges in consecutive rounds. Other than that, you're right, it appears to only give you things that the rules allow you to do anyway.




I think my build is largely set, despite the rules confusion. I just have to sort out one or two details.

[The Viscount]

Can we talk about how strange it is that this PrC gives jump as a class skill, despite jumping not working in water.
Or... does jumping work in water? If it does that's its own hilarity.

[Inevitability]

Can we talk about how strange it is that this PrC gives jump as a class skill, despite jumping not working in water.
Or... does jumping work in water? If it does that's its own hilarity.

If it didn't, quite a few of its abilities would become worthless.

[The Viscount]

I know that the class features make use of jump I just mean that for a regular character swimming around in the water jumping seems nonsensical.

[Troacctid]

Jumping in Water: Creatures that have natural swim speeds use that speed to determine how they jump when in water. They take a –10 penalty on high jumps from water, the final result measuring how high the jumper’s feet or tail is out of the water after the jump. Creatures that lack a natural swim speed can’t jump while in water.
Rules Compendium page 94.

[Darrin]

I know that the class features make use of jump I just mean that for a regular character swimming around in the water jumping seems nonsensical.

As Troacctid pointed out, every instance of Waverider mentioning jump appears to be the mount jumping out of or on top of the water. As with jump while flying, the rules are utterly silent on whether you can jump while completely submerged.

I can't quite make up my mind on this issue. On the one hand, the RAW answer is yes, because there's no indication in the rules that Jump checks are restricted to a particular terrain, environment, or movement mode. On the other hand, this seems like a pretty clear "Common Sense" issue where the designers thought it would be obvious how this should work. On the gripping hand, I'm *really* annoyed that none of the suggested mounts has Jump as a class skill.

[Thurbane]

I've got the bare bones of a build laid out in a table. I'm not sure it's revolutionary, but I'm happy with the basic concept. Now just to gte all the feats and skills locked away, write up a backstory, and get it all in order...

[WhamBamSam]

On the gripping hand, I'm *really* annoyed that none of the suggested mounts has Jump as a class skill.That's probably why the class features let you use the rider's jump ranks instead of the mount's.

[Sian]

got a build I don't dislike, but I'm positive that someone else is going to do the same trick ...

[Darrin]

got a build I don't dislike, but I'm positive that someone else is going to do the same trick ...

Yeah, I have the same Vizzini problem. But every time I convince myself that someone else will use this idea, I'm wrong.

And if I'm not wrong... Well, if it's a good idea and I execute it well, then it should still be in the running.

[Sian]

thats the issue ... I'm not at all convinced that it actually is a good idea :S

[Darrin]

thats the issue ... I'm not at all convinced that it actually is a good idea :S

Yeah, that's pretty much where it all falls apart.

For the last ingredient, I thought I had a good idea, but the more time I spent on the build, the more I found myself pointing out flaws and trying to excuse some of the weaker parts of it.

[Korahir]

Yeah, that's pretty much where it all falls apart.

For the last ingredient, I thought I had a good idea, but the more time I spent on the build, the more I found myself pointing out flaws and trying to excuse some of the weaker parts of it.

I'd be happy to enter this stage with this ingredient. I am still stuck in: nothing remotely interesting comes to mind. Usually this is the stage where I start to read random source books for inspiration.

[daremetoidareyo]

Are there sinking rules anywhere for inanimate objects?

[Zaq]

I feel like this class would be surprisingly interesting to use in a live game, especially if you can go back and forth with your GM about what the abilities do, don't do, should do, and shouldn't do. That said, I haven't yet thought of anything unique to do with it from an Iron Chef perspective (everything I've come up with is paint-by-numbers at best).

I haven't given up yet, though. It's been too long since I had a good entry, and this class is weird enough that I keep feeling like there's some potential I'm missing.

I will say that I am highly dissatisfied with the mount it gives you. We can stop there, but it's got some flaws that are hard to get around.

[KrimsonNekros]

*Listens to the crickets.*

[Thurbane]

Have to say, with three days or so left to go, not sure I'm going to get a build in.

[Amphetryon]

Waiting on the chairperson.

[The Viscount]

I was similarly waiting for some clarification to the previous questions, but in light of the deadline and what I've cobbled together so far I think I'm going to press on.

[Zaq]

I have some half-formed ideas (with at least one build idea going full [REDACTED], though I don't have anything firm enough to call a build skeleton yet), but there's less time left than I had hoped, and I have some very important job-related things to prepare for between now and Tuesday. It's not terribly likely that I'll compete, though stranger things have happened.

[Venger]

I would also appreciate some official rulings on how most of the features work, having been holding off on the nitty gritty til then. This class is a real mess

[Heliomance]

trying to get myself to submit a dish after having dithered around for the last many contests ...

A much more simple question through

The ride check bonus, is that of any specific type or is it to be considered untyped hence stackable with everything?

Yes, it's untyped. Stacks with everything.


There was. The 3.0 Monster Manual has the Sea Lion as a 6 HD large beast. In the 3.5 MM, it was renamed "Sea Cat", became a magical beast (with no magical/supernatural abilities), but has nearly identical stats to the 3.0 Sea Lion. (The 3.0 version was a hold-over from previous editions, and was one of Gygax's "monsters based on a pun or joke" creations.)

The Stormwrack version is a 3 HD large animal based on the real-world pinnipeds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_lion).

Helio, could we get a chair ruling on whether the 3.5 Sea Cat is a valid selection for a waverider mount?

I am disappointed with the companion selection for smaller Waveriders. They get much weaker companions by HD with no discernible trade-off. Then again, there's no explicit rule that says your companion selection is restricted by size, and there's no penalty that I'm aware of for having an oversized mount.

Sea Cat is fine as a mount.

As for Breach, Sound, and Skim:

Breach allows you to make a vertical jump check out of the water, to attack an opponent directly above you. Probably only useful for attacking flyers, but I expect there are some edge cases - someone hanging from rigging, maybe. I'm going to rule that the -10 to jump checks for jumping out of the water doesn't apply to it.

Sound can be considered a sort of underwater Leap Attack, I guess. You make an underwater charge with distance determined by the standard jump rules as they would normally work on land. If your jump check gets you far enough to reach your target, your charge bonus and penalty are both doubled.

Skim lets you do long jumps out of the water, attacking an enemy en route. This lets you do things like jumping over a ship, for example, assuming you jump hard enough. Again, the -10 penalty doesn't apply.

Due to the multitude of rules queries and my tardiness at responding to them, I'll extend the deadline another week.

[Thurbane]

Due to the multitude of rules queries and my tardiness at responding to them, I'll extend the deadline another week.

Cool, I might still get my entry in after all. :smallsmile:

[Heliomance]

Incidentally, because I'm a total nerd, I did some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations on how fast you'd have to swim to be able to jump out of water. Neglecting the water resistance (and thus producing a lower bound on the result, the actual value would be higher), I estimate that a human-sized swimmer would need to be able to swim at approximately 4.43ms-1. Michael Phelps, for comparison, so far as I can tell peaks at a swimming speed somewhere around 2-2.5ms-1. So it would seem to be impossible without an actual swim speed.

4.43ms-1 equates to about 14.5ft/s. We'll round to 15. 15ft/s is 90ft over a six second round, which means a swim speed of 45'.

Medium creatures with a swim speed of less than 45' should not be able to leap out of the water.

(Calculation based on requiring a 2m displacement to get a vertical adult figure sufficiently clear of the water from underwater to count as a jump. Pose could change this - as in the high jump, a horizontal pose would result in less total vertical displacement of the center of mass required. Given the difficulties of modelling such a change in pose, and the fact that it's a fudge factor working in the opposite direction to neglecting water resistance, I'm comfortable in sticking with that figure as a reasonable ballpark estimate)

[KrimsonNekros]

Incidentally, because I'm a total nerd, I did some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations on how fast you'd have to swim to be able to jump out of water. Neglecting the water resistance (and thus producing a lower bound on the result, the actual value would be higher), I estimate that a human-sized swimmer would need to be able to swim at approximately 4.43ms-1. Michael Phelps, for comparison, so far as I can tell peaks at a swimming speed somewhere around 2-2.5ms-1. So it would seem to be impossible without an actual swim speed.

4.43ms-1 equates to about 14.5ft/s. We'll round to 15. 15ft/s is 90ft over a six second round, which means a swim speed of 45'.

Medium creatures with a swim speed of less than 45' should not be able to leap out of the water.

(Calculation based on requiring a 2m displacement to get a vertical adult figure sufficiently clear of the water from underwater to count as a jump. Pose could change this - as in the high jump, a horizontal pose would result in less total vertical displacement of the center of mass required. Given the difficulties of modelling such a change in pose, and the fact that it's a fudge factor working in the opposite direction to neglecting water resistance, I'm comfortable in sticking with that figure as a reasonable ballpark estimate)


Aquaman, he's more badass than you'd think when you start doing the physics.

[Troacctid]

Incidentally, because I'm a total nerd, I did some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations on how fast you'd have to swim to be able to jump out of water. Neglecting the water resistance (and thus producing a lower bound on the result, the actual value would be higher), I estimate that a human-sized swimmer would need to be able to swim at approximately 4.43ms-1. Michael Phelps, for comparison, so far as I can tell peaks at a swimming speed somewhere around 2-2.5ms-1. So it would seem to be impossible without an actual swim speed.

4.43ms-1 equates to about 14.5ft/s. We'll round to 15. 15ft/s is 90ft over a six second round, which means a swim speed of 45'.

Medium creatures with a swim speed of less than 45' should not be able to leap out of the water.

(Calculation based on requiring a 2m displacement to get a vertical adult figure sufficiently clear of the water from underwater to count as a jump. Pose could change this - as in the high jump, a horizontal pose would result in less total vertical displacement of the center of mass required. Given the difficulties of modelling such a change in pose, and the fact that it's a fudge factor working in the opposite direction to neglecting water resistance, I'm comfortable in sticking with that figure as a reasonable ballpark estimate)
Relevant xkcd (https://what-if.xkcd.com/124/)

[Thurbane]

Aquaman, he's more badass than you'd think when you start doing the physics.

He a lot more badass than a lot of folks realized.

It's a common trope to have a comic or similar: "Ha ha Aquaman, I'm not near water, what are you going to do now?"
"Um, bend you into a pretzel with my superhuman strength?" (Depending on who's writing the comic, he can bench about 80 tons or so. About 8 times stronger than Spiderman, for reference).

[KrimsonNekros]

He a lot more badass than a lot of folks realized.

It's a common trope to have a comic or similar: "Ha ha Aquaman, I'm not near water, what are you going to do now?"
"Um, bend you into a pretzel with my superhuman strength?" (Depending on who's writing the comic, he can bench about 80 tons or so. About 8 times stronger than Spiderman, for reference).

Not to mention how tough he is considering the amount of pressure, heat, and friction he can withstand going that fast at the bottom of the ocean.

[WhamBamSam]

My build is in. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and I'm glad I managed to complete it this time, after missing the last few despite having ideas I liked. I have a few other ideas floating around in the old noggin, but probably won't bother fleshing them out into full builds. I'll post them after the reveal if no one else does anything similar.

[The Viscount]

Everyone remembering their ranks in Aquan to use the capstone?

I'm strongly fearing Vizzini will tank me this time.

[WhamBamSam]

I did not, and I had just sent in an edit to my build too. Ah well, it's an easy enough fix.

I got a second build in as well. I don't think it's as good as the first, but I've had judges prefer the build I liked less before, and it might prove the poisoned cup for some other contestants' vizzini-ing.

[Zaq]

I have a stupid (and yet kind of oddly functional) idea. I also do not have nearly enough time to make it pretty, since I have several rather important things clamoring for my attention today.

I'm going to make an attempt, at least, but if not, I'll post an explanation of what I had in mind after the reveal.

[Heliomance]

I currently have three entries (spread over 7 PMs). Looking like this might be the smallest round ever!

[WhamBamSam]

I'm responsible for two of the entries and six of the PMs (I made several revisions). Well, I'm excited for the reveal, even if barely anyone else seems to be.

[The Viscount]

That makes me all the more excited, since I'm the remaining PM. Fewer builds mean less chance of us overlapping and bringing the other down.

[PrismCat21]

I had two fun ideas I wanted to build. I got most of them down on paper but didn't have time to copy them to a computer.
Oh well. I've always really liked this class. I'm excited to see what y'all did :)

[Zaq]

Now I wish I'd gotten my act together and finished a build, but such is life. I really did have a lot going on these past couple of weeks, but what's done is done (and more importantly for today, what's not done is not done).

I'll share my goofy idea after the reveal. To be honest, it was less a build and more of an elaborate prank. More so than usual, I mean.

[Amphetryon]

The chairperson's response to my query functionally quashed my idea, and I couldn't find a second concept that seemed original and appealing.

[Technetium43]

I had a very good concept! But... couldn't fit in enough of the PrC to be worth it. Also, ya know, depression killing my ability to do creative writing. I'll gladly share my idea after the reveal though.

[The Viscount]

That's too bad. I'll be waiting to see your ideas nonetheless.

[Thurbane]

Work, personal, and DMing commitments mean I won't be able to get my entry in. I will post a stud after the reveal...

[Technetium43]

Work, personal, and DMing commitments mean I won't be able to get my entry in. I will post a stud after the reveal...

... Are you channeling LordDrako? Should we expect shirtless hunky sorcerers? :smalltongue:

[Thurbane]

... Are you channeling LordDrako? Should we expect shirtless hunky sorcerers? :smalltongue:

LOL! :smallredface:

...let's assume I typed "stub". My entry really wouldn't have been particularly hunky. :smalltongue:

[The Viscount]

... Are you channeling LordDrako? Should we expect shirtless hunky sorcerers? :smalltongue:

Do not utter his name! You will summon him back from beyond the veil.

[Heliomance]

This isn't almost a week late what are you talking about



Galahad Galapagos
N Changeling Totemist 6/Warshaper 5/Waverider 9

Life Finds a WayA greyish mass of flesh crawls out from the sea onto the shore. Gills and fins fade away and it swells, drawing breath upon dry land.

***

Claws extend from the ends of the creature’s digits, and it slashes at its adversary with new lethality.

***

Springing forth with its powerful limbs, the beast pounces. Red in fang and claw, it rends the flesh of its quarry.

***

Longer than it appears, the creature’s appendage stretches out to pierce its prey, successfully bringing down the day’s meal.

***

Leaping from the cliff, it spreads wide limbs which slow its descent, allowing it to glide upon the air and land safely on the earth below.

***

The creature beats its wings and lifts itself higher into the sky, soaring through the air as easily as a fish swims through the sea.
EvolutionAbility Scores32 Point Buy: 16 Str, 14 Dex, 16 Con, 12 Int, 10 Wis, 8 Cha
All increases go to Str. Warshaper gives +4 to Str and Con.
Build Table


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


1st
Totemist 1
+0
+2
+2
+0
Ride +4 (4), +4 Spot (4), +4 Handle Animal (4), +2 Survival (2) +1 Swim (1), +1 Concentration (1)
Racial Emulation
Wild Empathy, Illiteracy, Draconic Rite of Passage* (Blood Wind 1/day)


2nd
Totemist 2
+1
+3
+3
+0
+1 Ride (5), +1 Spot (5), +1 Handle Animal (5), +1 Survival (3), +1 Concentration (2)
-
Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Capacity)


3rd
Totemist 3
+2
+3
+3
+1
+1 Ride (6), +1 Spot (6), +1 Handle Animal (6), +1 Survival (4), +1 Swim (2)
Mounted Combat
Totem’s Protection


4th
Totemist 4
+3
+4
+4
+1
+1 Ride (7), +1 Spot (7), +1 Handle Animal (7), +1 Survival (5), +1 Climb (1)
-
-


5th
Totemist 5
+3
+4
+4
+1
+1 Ride (8), +1 Spot (8), +1 Handle Animal (8), +1 Survival (5), +1 Listen (1)
-
Chakra Binds (Crown, Feet, Hands)


6th
Totemist 6
+4
+5
+5
+2
+1 Ride (9), +1 Spot (9), +1 Handle Animal (9), +2 Listen (3)
Mounted Archery
Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Meldshaper Level)


7th
Warshaper 1
+4
+7
+5
+2
Jump +3 (3)
-
Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons


8th
Warshaper 2
+5
+8
+5
+2
Jump +3 (6)
-
Morphic Body


9th
Waverider 1
+6
+10
+5
+4
Ride +3 (12)
Share Soulmeld
Waverider Mount, Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (Trident), Trident Charge


10th
Warshaper 3
+7
+10
+6
+5
Jump +3 (9)
-
Morphic Reach


11th
Warshaper 4
+8
+11
+6
+5
Jump +3 (12)
-
Morphic Healing


12th
Warshaper 5
+8
+11
+6
+5
Jump +3 (15)
Open Lesser Chakra (Shoulders)
Flashmorph


13th
Waverider 2
+9
+12
+6
+6
Ride +3 (15)
-
Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (Javelin/Harpoon), Ride Bonus +2


14th
Waverider 3
+10
+12
+7
+6
Ride +2 (17), Jump +1 (16)
-
Breach, Mounted Weapon Bonus +2 (Trident)


15th
Waverider 4
+11
+13
+7
+7
Ride +1 (18), Jump +2 (18)
Ride-By Attack
Sound, Mounted Weapon Bonus +2 (Javelin/Harpoon)


16th
Waverider 5
+12
+13
+7
+7
Ride +1 (19), Jump +1 (19),
-
Improved Mounted Archery, Mounted Weapon Bonus +3 (Trident), Ride Bonus +4


17th
Waverider 6
+13
+14
+8
+8
Ride +1 (20), Jump +1 (20), Spot +½cc (9.5)
-
Full Mounted Attack, Mounted Weapon Bonus +3 (Javelin/Harpoon)


18th
Waverider 7
+14
+14
+8
+8
Ride +1 (21), Jump +1 (21), Spot +½cc (10)
Spirited Charge
Skim, Mounted Weapon Bonus +4 (Trident), Ride Bonus +6


19th
Waverider 8
+15
+15
+8
+9
Ride +1 (22), Jump +1 (22), Spot +½cc (10.5)
-
Superior Mounted Archery, Mounted Weapon Bonus +4 (Javelin/Harpoon)


20th
Waverider 9
+16
+15
+9
+9
Ride +1 (23), Jump +1 (23), Spot +½cc (11)
-
Wavedancing, Mounted Weapon Bonus +5 (Trident), Ride Bonus +8

*Can be taken later if necessary (say after getting +4 Con from Warshaper to help with the Concentration check).

Meldshaping

Level
Soulmelds
Essentia
Chakra Binds


1
2
1
0


2
3
2
1


4
4
3
1


6
4
4
2


12
4
4
2+1*


15
4
6
2+1

*Can only be used on the shoulders chakra.

Out of the SeaECL 5Galahad starts off as a primitive, illiterate Totemist on an island somewhere. His feats aren’t the greatest, but Incarnum is front loaded, so he should be able to manage alright. Racial Emulation lets him acquire subtypes from the forms assumed with Minor Shapechange, so he can get the Dragonblood subtype to shape Draconic Soulmelds, or the Acquatic Subtype when he needs to breathe underwater (the rules say it should give him a swim speed as well, but it’s not clear what that speed should be, so ask your DM). It also allows him to pose as a kobold and undergo the Draconic Rite of Passage for Blood Wind 1/day, which may come in handy when he can’t close with an opponent or just wants a full attack. He could have taken Halfling Totemist substitution levels as well, but frankly they aren’t great and despite wanting Jump later, he doesn’t really need it as a class skill just yet.

ECL 10
Changeling Warshaper is a classic and despite having two classes with medium BAB, Galahad finally qualifies for Waverider, conveniently right on time for a feat, which goes to Share Soulmeld so that his Waverider mount can reap the benefits of some of his melds. His mount should be a Sea Cat for its superior full attack routine and land speed. The full attack routine can be kicked up a notch with extra natural attacks from various soulmelds, pounce from the Sphinx Claws hand bind, and being able to share the 1/day Blood Wind SLA, while the ability to leave the sea can be improved with the Dread Carapace foot bind (which lets it increase its land speed by 60ft+10ft/essentia once per minute as a swift action) or the Pegasus Cloak Totem Bind (average flight at 10ft/essentia). Unfortunately, Galahad only has so many soulmeld slots available, so exact layout is going to be something of a day-to-day decision. Waverider also provides us with Trident Charge, which is a bit of an odd duck, as a lance gives bigger damage dice and reach. However, a Trident is a true one-handed weapon as opposed to a two-handed weapon that can be wielded one-handed while mounted, which makes it a valid choice for a weapon graft. So Galahad now has a natural weapon trident which can be boosted by various soulmelds and Warshaper abilities. Morphic Weapons and Morphic Reach at least get it on par with the lance.

ECL 15
Waverider mounts scale with character level not class level, so Galahad goes back to Warshaper after the first level of the SI. Fast healing is always nice, and he even sticks around to complete the class for Flashmorph, meaning he can go from Aquatic to non-Aquatic or vice-versa as a move action, and hence basically never has to worry about holding his breath again. If your DM claims that he loses class abilities when he doesn’t have the Aquatic Subtype, he can switch back and forth to take a breath within the span of a round and regain the abilities before anything really has a chance to happen. Were this the case, it might also cause his mount to lose and regain several HD, which might in turn allow for the reselecting of some of its feats (Martial Study (Wolf Fang Strike) and Martial Stance (Leaping Dragon Stance) are the default choices, but Improved Flight, Flyby Attack, Swim-By Attack, Rapidstrike, Travel Devotion, and many others make for good options, especially if they can be changed out on a whim). After that, he returns to Waverider for good, and starts to get into the meat of its flat bonuses and the first two of its special charges. The bonus to Ride checks stacks with the insight bonus from the Riding Bracers soulmeld, as well as any competence bonus item Galahad might have, making his Ride checks for Mounted Combat formidable, and encouraging enemies to attack into his high HP and Fast Healing instead. Ranged attacks are a backup option, but the Mounted Archery boosts can be used in conjunction with his Blood Wind SLA or with the Manticore Belt totem bind.

Galahad also now has his shoulder chakra open, which can be used on things like the Pegasus Cloak to give his mount flight while keeping the totem chakra open, the Totem Avatar for an extra effective size increase on top of Morphic Weapons, or the ever useful Phase Cloak to pass through obstacles (and possibly even do fun things like Breach through the hulls of ships or Sound through reefs if you can sort out line of sight issues).

ECL 20
Mounted Full Attack is online, which is handy for Galahad’s potentially long full attack routine and existing static bonuses continue to improve. Spirited Charge is now online as well, and while he’s no Ubercharger, he should be able to manage decent damage output on that front. Galahad doesn’t quite make it to the Call of the Deeps capstone, but it’s honestly pretty mediocre, and he doesn’t really care about the Javelin/Harpoon Mounted Weapon Bonuses.


The OriginComplete Warrior: Warshaper
Draconomicon: Rapidstrike
Dragon Magic: Draconic Soulmelds
Magic of Incarnum: Totemist, Open Lesser Chakra, non-Draconic Soulmelds
Races of Eberron: Changeling, Racial Emulation
Races of the Dragon: Draconic Rite of Passage
Races of the Wild: Improved Flight
Savage Species: Waverider
Spell Compendium: Blood Wind
Stormwrack: Swim-By Attack
Tome of Battle: Martial Study, Martial Stance, Maneuvers
Everything else should be in the SRD.

[Heliomance]

Of course, even with the extra time


Sai-don, Knight of the Tide
LN Aquatic Human Psychic Warrior 6/Warblade 4/Waverider 10
“When an opponent comes forward, move in and greet him; if he wants to pull back, send him on his way.”
– Morihei Ueshiba

In the Court of the Sea King“Enter!”

The delegation strode into the throne room as though they still were upon dry land, magically inured against the water’s usual impediments upon their lungs and locomotion. All around, the lords and ladies of the Sea King’s court floated silently, glaring at the outsiders with evident disdain. At the end of the hall, the warmth of a volcanic vent swirling round him, the monarch himself spoke in an imperious voice which flowed clearly through the water and crashed over the land-folk like waves on the shore.

“State your purpose, and be quick about it.”

A handsome elf stepped forward. Though the waters would not carry his words, magic would, and they rang through the throne room without so much as a ripple. “We come as emissaries of the city of Finport. Our lord’s patience for your piracy against our trading vessels is exhausted.”

“Piracy?” The king asked in bemusement. “Your ships are crossing our waters. We exact our toll.”

The elf sneered. “Your waters are down here bottom-feeder. If you reach up to the surface again, you’ll have to contend with our navy.”

The king said nothing in response, but turned instead toward a figure floating near the top of the chamber sitting astride a hulking shark. “Sai-don.

“Yes, Highness?” the rider replied.

“Should the navy of Finport sail upon us in force, the Waveriders will be there to welcome them, will you not?”

“Of course, Majesty.”

“And should this one,” the king inclined his head toward the messenger, “be amongst the host, I hope you will greet him personally.”

“As I would any chum,” the rider said with a slight smirk.

“I’ll not stand for this!” shouted a man standing behind the elf, drawing an axe as he rushed toward the king. But after mere feet, the shark had cut off his path, and his body hung impaled on the prongs of the rider’s trident. Blood and viscera blossomed out into the water, the shark snapping them up voraciously.

“See them back to their ship Sai-don,” the king said with a dismissive wave.

The Flow of the TideAbility Scores16 Str, 12 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 16 Wis, 8 Cha
All Increases go to Str.
The Build


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


1st
Psychic Warrior 1
+0
+2
+0
+0
Jump 4, Concentration 4, Ride 4
Linked Power, Metapower (Linked Synchronicity)H, Mounted CombatB
-


2nd
Psychic Warrior 2
+1
+3
+0
+0
Jump 5, Concentration 5, Ride 5
-
Mantled Warrior (Magic Mantle)


3rd
Psychic Warrior 3
+2
+3
+1
+1
Jump 6, Concentration 6, Ride 6
Power Attack
-


4th
Psychic Warrior 4
+3
+4
+1
+1
Jump 7, Concentration 7, Ride 7
-
-


5th
Warblade 1
+4
+6
+1
+1
Jump 7, Concentration 8, Ride 8cc, Speak Language (Aquan) 1cc
-
Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude


6th
Warblade 2
+5
+7
+1
+1
Jump 9, Concentration 9, Ride 9cc, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
Mounted Archery
Uncanny Dodge


7th
Waverider 1
+6
+9
+1
+3
Jump 10, Concentration 9.5cc, Ride 10, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Waverider Mount, Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (Trident), Trident Charge


8th
Waverider 2
+7
+10
+1
+4
Jump 11, Concentration 10cc, Ride 11, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (Javelin/Harpoon), Ride Bonus +2


9th
Waverider 3
+8
+10
+2
+4
Jump 12, Concentration 10.5cc, Ride 12, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
Psionic Meditation
Breach, Mounted Weapon Bonus +2 (Trident)


10th
Waverider 4
+9
+11
+2
+5
Jump 13, Concentration 11cc, Ride 13, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Sound, Mounted Weapon Bonus +2 (Javelin/Harpoon)


11th
Waverider 5
+10
+11
+2
+5
Jump 13, Concentration 12cc, Ride 14, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Improved Mounted Archery, Mounted Weapon Bonus +3 (Trident), Ride Bonus +4


12th
Waverider 6
+11
+12
+3
+6
Jump 13, Concentration 15, Ride 14, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
Martial Study (Ruby Nightmare Blade)
Full Mounted Attack, Mounted Weapon Bonus +3 (Javelin/Harpoon)


13th
Waverider 7
+12
+12
+3
+6
Jump 15, Concentration 15, Ride 15, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Skim, Mounted Weapon Bonus +4 (Trident), Ride Bonus +6


14th
Waverider 8
+13
+13
+3
+7
Jump 17, Concentration 15, Ride 16, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Superior Mounted Archery, Mounted Weapon Bonus +4 (Javelin/Harpoon)


15th
Psychic Warrior 5
+13
+13
+3
+7
Jump 18, Concentration 15, Ride 18, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
Ride-By Attack, Spirited ChargeB
-


16th
Waverider 9
+14
+13
+4
+7
Jump 19, Concentration 16, Ride 19, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Wavedancing, Mounted Weapon Bonus +5 (Trident?), Ride Bonus +8


17th
Waverider 10
+15
+14
+4
+8
Jump 20, Concentration 17, Ride 20, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Call of the Deeps, Mounted Weapon Bonus +5 (Javelin/Harpoon)


18th
Psychic Warrior 6
+16
+15
+5
+9
Jump 21, Concentration 18, Ride 21, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
Martial Study (Distracting Blow)
-


19th
Warblade 3
+17
+15
+6
+10
Jump 21, Concentration 20, Ride 22cc, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)


20th
Warblade 4
+18
+16
+6
+10
Jump 23, Concentration 21, Ride 23cc, Speak Language (Aquan) 1
-
-

H denotes the Bonus Feat Aquatic Humans get at 1st level.
B denotes a bonus feat from a class level.
Waverider MountThe best mount choices are whales for the 120ft Blindsight, but some DMs may not like the idea of a medium creature being able to fight while mounted on a huge or larger creature. In this case, then a large Shark is the best option for its Blindsense and Keen Scent, and the fact that it has the most HD of the possible large mounts. In any case, it will have between 15 and 20 HD, meaning either 6 or 7 feats. Those feats should be the following if we can choose all of the mount’s feats either by default or by purchasing Psychic Reformations.

1: Power Attack
3: Improved Bull Rush
6: Cometary Collision
9: Shock Trooper
12: Martial Study (Shadow Garrote)
15: Martial Stance (Island of Blades)
18: Swim-By Attack

The most important thing for the mount to have is the Cometary Collision feat, and by extension its prerequisites of Power Attack and Improved Bull Rush. If the DM says that the standard feats for a creature of your mount’s kind are locked in, then we choose a mount that requires the fewest additional HD to get those three feats. This means foregoing the whales’ blindsight, as their base HD are all divisible by 3. None of the mount options have 3n+2 base HD, but the Elasmosaurus (10 HD), large Shark (7 HD), huge Shark (10 HD), and Hippocampus (4 HD) are all at 3n+1. The Hippocampus is a tad underwhelming, but it only has a single feat listed for its 4 HD, as a relic of the old 3.0 rules from when Savage Species was written. This has not been given an official update, to my knowledge, so we might be able to lobby for an extra feat of our choice (especially as Hippocampi possess intelligence greater than 2 before becoming Waverider mounts, and Power Attack isn’t a particularly unconventional choice). If your DM completely quashes any control over the creature’s feats prior to becoming a Waverider mount, then a Shark is probably the best option for Blindsense and Keen Scent.
Subsystems
Psionic Powers


Level
PP
New Powers Known


1
0
Synchronicity


2
1
Expansion


3
3
Mighty Spring


4
5
Hustle


15
7
Moment of Insight*


18
11
Extend Reach*

Does not include bonus PP for a high Wis score.
*If a whale or shark mount isn’t in the cards for whatever reason, then take Extend Reach at 15th level and Strength of My Enemy at 18th.

Manuevers/Stances


Level
Maneuvers Readied
Maneuvers Known
Stances Known


5
3
Wall of Blades, Action Before Thought, Emerald Razor
Leading the Charge


6
3
Wall of Blades, Action Before Thought, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer
Leading the Charge


12
3
Wall of Blades, Action Before Thought, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer, Ruby Nightmare Blade
Leading the Charge


18
3
Wall of Blades, Action Before Thought, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer, Ruby Nightmare Blade, Distracting Blow
Leading the Charge


19
3
Wall of Blades, Action Before Thought, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer, Ruby Nightmare Blade, Distracting Blow, Moment of Alacrity
Leading the Charge


20
4
Wall of Blades, Action Before Thought, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer, Ruby Nightmare Blade, Distracting Blow, Moment of Alacrity, White Raven Tactics*
Leading the Charge, Tactics of the Wolf

*Consider taking Flanking Maneuver or Elder Mountain Hammer instead.

Synchronized SwimmingLevel 6Sai-don starts out life as a Psychic Warrior. There are slight variations on the standard power selections, but the old standby of Expansion is still there, and I doubt Linked Synchronicity shenanigans are much of a revelation. The Magic Mantle is known cheese as well, but I felt it was in fact the least cheesy way to accomplish a reasonable but deeply necessary thing for the build. At 5th level we shift from PsyWar into a few levels of Warblade, right on time to snag the standard list of 2nd level Warblade maneuvers, along with Leading the Charge.
Level 10
We’ve entered the SI, so let’s talk Magic Mantle. It allows us to treat Magic and Psionics as identical. Every definition of identical that I can think of will allow us to share powers with our Waverider mount just like we can share spells, even though the standard transparency rules do not. You could also go by the reading that states Psionics count as Spell-Like Abilities, which Waverider mounts explicitly share, but I'd argue that's even cheesier than Magic Mantle abuse. It is admittedly seemingly out of step with RAI, but as I suspect most DMs would be okay with ruling that the Waverider mount’s Share Spells extends to powers anyway, hopefully the cheese doesn’t smell too bad.

With that out of the way, what does sharing powers achieve? Well, shared Expansion, in addition to being a good buff for both mount and rider in general, allows us to make use of that buff without becoming too large for our steed. Sharing Mighty Spring grants the +10 to Jump to the mount, which helps it to make the checks required for the class features. But the real prizes are Synchronicity and Hustle, which now grant actions to both mount and rider. The latter grants a move action, which Sai-don himself will generally use to regain (or at this point, without the benefit of items, attempt to regain) Psionic Focus via Psionic Meditation, while his mount will move normally to ferry him to wherever he needs to go. Synchronicity is the real star of the show, however. When it’s manifested, both mount and rider are given a readied action, and for an augment cost of 2, you don’t even have to specify what those actions are. As with Hustle, the mount will generally be using its action to move us where we need to go, but it does have one nifty wrinkle with regard to that trick. Assuming you can get control of all your mount’s feats, it will have Cometary Collision by this point (if base feats are locked in, then you’ll have to wait a while). Cometary Collision lets it use a readied standard action (like the one from Synchronicity) to make a charge (potentially of the special charges from Waverider class features) against a charging opponent. Said opponent is denied their charge bonuses, but is still charging, so when Sai-don uses his readied action to make some manner of attack (such as a strike maneuver) against the same enemy with his trident, he deals double damage for setting the trident against a charging foe. Moreover, because of the way the mounted rules work, since the mount is charging, Sai-don’s attack counts as a mounted charge, and gets an extra multiplier from Trident Charge. Even with the mount just using its action to move, this can still get Sai-don into the grill of enemy spellcasters to disrupt their casting and otherwise make him a pain to deal with.

Thanks to the wonders of Linked Power and Metapower, things can get even wackier. You have a manifester level of 4, so with Metapower (Synchronicity) you can link an augmented Synchronicity up to any power with a PP cost of up to 3 (including another augmented Synchronicity), and can link Hustle up to any power costing a single PP. Linked Power still expends your Psionic Focus, even with Metapower, so if you’ve got another Synchronicity on deck with Linked Power, you need to regain Psionic Focus before it tries to manifest. Fortunately, Linked Power doesn’t say when on your turn the linked power manifests, so it’s probably a case of “most beneficial order,” and we should be able to burn our move action to refocus before that issue arises, and if necessary (say if the Concentration check fails, we want to make a full attack, or once the Concentration check to gain Psionic Focus is trivialized, refocus then set up another linked power to go off next round off our swift action) Hustle for another move action with which to do so. Each of these linked powers is also shared with our Waverider mount as well.
Level 15
Martial Study (Ruby Nightmare Blade) offers us another damage multiplier which we can use in conjunction with Sound, Trident Charge, and the Trident Cometary Collision trick mentioned previously, as well as getting Concentration as a class skill for Waverider. We’ve now achieved the ranks in Concentration necessary to trivialize the check result with just a masterwork item (if you can’t get one, then get to 17 Concentration ranks before returning to focus on Jump and Ride), so all our refocusing is working smoothly, and we’re free to get more adventurous with Linked Power.

Assuming our mount is a whale or shark, we also pick up Moment of Insight as a new Power Known. A whale doesn’t really need to share it, but as its Blindsight allows it to charge even against foes that ordinarily have concealment, Sai-don will greatly appreciate removing that obstacle to his own attacks (since the mount is charging, his attacks count as charge attacks, so against anything short of full invisibility he can charge unimpeded). If the mount is a shark, then concealment will prevent charging, but shared Moment of Insight will allow both mount and rider to attack foes that ping on Blindsense. If charging is shut down, Mounted Full Attack provides a decent alternative.
Level 20
We finish up the SI, increasing our static bonuses and snagging Wavedancing. Being able to use the fancy charges in successive rounds is cool, and the sped up movement synergizes with the extra move actions the mount gets from shared Hustles. Call of the Deep is a tad underwhelming, but as a Su ability, it’s a standard action, and hence can be an unspecified readied action if you just want to throw a large creature into a space to mess with your opponents’ plans. It’s even possible that by throwing the elemental into the fray so suddenly, we’ll be able to get it to act according to our wishes out of instinct and so get out of paying it.

Finally, we close out with a 6th level of PsyWar and a few more levels of Warblade for high-level maneuvers. One of those is Moment of Alacrity, which usually is a bit unwieldy, but as readied actions change initiative count, there will frequently be occasion to bounce back to the top of the order. Sai-don’s maneuvers are unfortunately not shared with his mount, but a Hustle might be able to give it a move action to work with, a Shared Synchronicity action (one of which should be available somehow) certainly will, and even in the worst case scenario, shared Synchronicity will get them back onto the same initiative count when they take their readied actions together. We also pick up Disrupting Blow to add an extra chance to interrupt casting and the like, and White Raven Tactics and Tactics of the Wolf at 20th level. Assuming full control of the mount’s feats, it now has the Island of Blades stance to use alongside Tactics of the Wolf, though the damage bonus is lower than Leading the Charge, so unless you’re looking to buff other, non-charger allies, it’s likely not as effective an option.

UoSI
Prerequisites: Mounted Archery is largely just a feat tax and the BAB requirement is just a tiny bit irksome, but Ride is maxed and Mounted Combat should see a lot of use. Assuming control over the mount’s feats, it should have Shock Trooper and be regularly tanking its AC on charge attacks, including Cometary Collision charges which will frequently force charging enemies to attack it. Mounted Combat, along with Waverider’s sizable bonus to Ride checks largely solves these problems.
Waverider Mount: Picking up the Magic Mantle allows Sai-don to share powers with his mount. Assuming the mount is a shark or whale, he can also piggyback off of its Blindsense/Blindsight against enemies with concealment by using the Moment of Insight power.
Mounted Weapon Bonus: A higher attack bonus means the ability to Power Attack harder, which is always nice. On the receiving end of attacks, the bonus improves Sai-don’s chances to parry a blow with Wall of Blades. The +5 with Harpoons is also effectively proficiency, which might come in handy for say, running down and catching enemies fleeing by mundane means (which Sai-don and his mount are pretty good at with Wavedancing and shared Hustle and Synchronicity giving the mount extra chances to move).
Trident Charge: This is largely the motivation behind this entire build. Under ordinary circumstances, the higher base damage and reach make it a strictly better choice (especially from a Large or larger mount, which allows you to occupy any square on it and hence hit adjacent enemies with reach weapons as well). However, with shared Synchronicity and the mount having the Cometary Collision feat, Sai-don can be simultaneously making a mounted charge and setting his trident against a charge for an extra damage multiplier. We can also get reach back if we really need it via the Extend Reach power.
Ride Bonus: As mentioned above, Mounted Combat should see a lot of use, so a decently sized untyped bonus to Ride is welcome.
Breach/Sound/Skim: The mount can make use of Sai-don’s maxed Jump ranks, and he can boost its check further by sharing the Mighty Spring power. The mount’s Cometary Collision feat and shared Hustle for positioning also offer more opportunities to use the various charges. Sound warrants special mention for offering yet another damage multiplier in conjunction with the above Trident Charge tricks and Ruby Nightmare Blade (that’s a total of x6 on a readied Ruby Nightmare Blade against an enemy the mount is making a Sound charge against with Cometary Collision) to really milk the flat damage bonuses from Power Attack and Leading the Charge for all they’re worth.
Improved/Superior Mounted Archery: The only time Sai-don is likely to make a ranged attack is when attempting something like the example given for a use of the harpoon weapon bonus, riding down a fleeing enemy, which will involve a lot of movement on the part of the mount. If ranged attacks come up, these abilities likely will as well.
Full Mounted Attack: While Sai-don favors charging or readying with Synchronicity, Full Mounted Attack is certainly nice to have. Once Moment of Alacrity comes online, Sai-don may springboard to a new turn higher in the initiative count without his mount. The mount is likely to receive a Synchronicity action with which to move from Linked Power, which will not be sufficient to charge, but will be enough for it to move Sai-don into position to full attack. Full Mounted Attack also opens up options like moving the mount with a shared Hustle, full attacking to take out one enemy, then having the mount charge a different one, and as a Warblade, Sai-don will likely have occasion to want to make a normal full attack so that he can refresh maneuvers.
Wavedancing: Being able to move faster at the surface of the water is handy with all the extra movement the mount gets to do via shared powers, and being able to use the fancy charges in consecutive rounds is nice, especially when action economy cheese may result in multiple charges in some rounds.
Call of the Deep: A Water Elemental of up to 12 HD that you have to pay is pretty underwhelming by the time you get the ability, but as a Su ability it is at least down to a standard action. With Synchronicity, you can throw a large creature into an inconvenient space in the middle of opposing turns at no cost. If your DM allows you to call elementals currently in whirlpool form, even better.


Riding the WavesComplete Psionic: Linked Power, Metapower, Magic Mantle, All non-SRD Powers
The Mind’s Eye (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a): Mantled Warrior ACF
PHB II: Cometary Collision
Races of Stone: Knockback
Savage Species: Waverider
Stormwrack: Swim-By Attack
Tome of Battle: Warblade, Martial Study, Martial Stance, Maneuvers
Everything else should be in the SRD.

[Heliomance]

I only got four submissions



The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/b/blueraja.jpghttp://img0.liveinternet.ru/images/attach/c/4/122/977/122977230_bscap0055.jpg
CG Shalarin Warblade 4/Fighter 1/Waverider 10/Warblade 9

Stats (With Racial Adjustments)
Str 18 (22) increases here
Dex 10 (14)
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 8
Build


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


1st
Warblade 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Intimidate 4, Jump 4, Ride 2 (4), Tumble 4
Power Attack
Battle Clarity (Reflex saves), Weapon Aptitude


2nd
Warblade 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Diplomacy 5, Intimidate 5, Jump 5, Speak Language (Aquan) 2, Tumble 5

Uncanny Dodge


3rd
Warblade 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Diplomacy 6, Intimidate 6, Jump 6, Ride 3 (2), Tumble 6
Mounted Combat
Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)


4th
Warblade 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 7, Jump 7, Knowledge (Local) 2, Tumble 7




5th
Fighter 1
+5
+6
+1
+1
Ride 7
(B)Mounted Archery
Bonus Feat


6th
Waverider 1
+6/+1
+8
+1
+3
Jump 9, Ride 9
Brutal Throw
Waverider Mound (Cachalot), Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (Trident), Trident Charge


7th
Waverider 2
+7/+2
+9
+1
+4
Diplomacy 8, Intimidate 8, Jump 10, Ride 10

Mounted Weapon Bonus +1 (Javelin/Harpoon), Ride Bonus +2


8th
Waverider 3
+8/+3
+9
+2
+4
Diplomacy 9, Intimidate 9, Jump 11, Ride 11

Breach, Mounted Weapon Bonus +2 (Trident)


9th
Waverider 4
+9/+4
+10
+2
+5
Diplomacy 10, Intimidate 10, Jump 12, Ride 12
Point Blank Shot
Sound, Mounted Weapon Bonus +2 (Javelin/Harpoon)


10th
Waverider 5
+10/+5
+10
+2
+5
Diplomacy 11, Intimidate 11, Jump 13, Ride 13

Improved Mounted Archery, Mounted Weapon Bonus +3 (Trident), Ride Bonus +4


11th
Waverider 6
+11/+6/+1
+11
+3
+6
Diplomacy 12, Intimidate 12, Jump 14, Ride 14

Full Mounted Attack, Mounted Weapon Bonus +3 (Javelin/Harpoon)


12th
Waverider 7
+12/+7/+2
+11
+3
+6
Diplomacy 13, Intimidate 13, Jump 15, Ride 15
Aquatic Shot
Skim, Mounted Weapon Bonus +4 (Trident), Ride Bonus +6


13th
Waverider 8
+13/+8/+3
+12
+3
+7
Diplomacy 14, Intimidate 14, Jump 16, Ride 16

Superior Mounted Archery, Mounted Weapon Bonus +4 (Javelin/Harpoon)


14th
Waverider 9
+14/+9/+4
+12
+4
+7
Diplomacy 15, Intimidate 15, Jump 17, Ride 17

Wavedancing, Mounted Weapon Bonus +5 (Trident), Ride Bonus +8


15th
Waverider 10
+15/+10/+5
+13
+4
+8
Diplomacy 16, Intimidate 16, Jump 18, Ride 18
Power Throw
Call of the Deeps, Mounted Weapon Bonus +5 (Javelin/Harpoon)


16th
Warblade 5
+16/+11/+6/+1
+13
+4
+8
Jump 19, Ride 19 (2), Tumble 11
(B)Quick Draw
Bonus Feat


17th
Warblade 6
+17/+12/+7/+2
+14
+5
+9
Jump 20, Ride 20 (2), Tumble 14

Improved Uncanny Dodge


18th
Warblade 7
+18/+13/+8/+3
+14
+5
+9
Diplomacy 17, Intimidate 18, Jump 21, Ride 21 (2)
Hurling Charge
Battle Cunning (Damage)


19th
Warblade 8
+19/+14/+9/+4
+15
+5
+9
Diplomacy 19, Intimidate 19, Jump 22, Ride 22 (2)




20th
Warblade 9
+20/+15/+10/+5
+15
+6
+10
Diplomacy 20, Intimidate 21, Jump 23, Ride 23 (2)
(B)Improved Initiative
Bonus Feat



Maneuvers
1st Douse the Flames, Sudden Leap, Wolf Fang Strike(trade at 6), Steely Strike (trade at 4)
2nd Battle Leader’s Charge (trade at 8), Wall of Blades (at 4)
3rd Iron Heart Surge (at 6)
5th Dancing Mongoose
6th Rabid Bear Strike, War Leader’s Charge (at 8)
7th Swarming Assault
Stances: Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance
Backstory
In the swirling murky darkness near the seafloor, the calm of the ocean is disturbed by the harsh gurgling of two Sahuagin raiders.
“Are you sure it’s going to be here, Bulubba?”

“Do you doubt my ability to read the waves, Khalash? Our raiding party sank the ship three leagues east this morning, and while the rest busied themselves eating sailors, the chest with the tributes went under, so the currents should carry it down to this reef.”

“And why do we care about some chest of tributes from the humans?”

“I told you, because some human leader is paying us handsomely to make sure that it doesn’t reach its destination in the neighboring kingdom, and double if we can bring it back to him.”

“But didn’t he send it in the first place? Why would he want it back?”

“Something about betting his drinking buddy that the queen wouldn’t be wearing the jewels at the next ball, or trying to find an excuse to start a war with his neighbors, some kind of human nonsense. I honestly stopped listening pretty fast. He promised coin, and that’s all I care about. Here it is! Quick, grab the other end.”

“Not so fast, fiends! Your little plan may have been clever but your wicked ways have now led you to a perilous situation! You find yourself between….THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA!”

The Sahuagin blinked several times in surprise and befuddlement as they beheld a lanky, finned figure wielding a trident and a dashing, slightly crooked grin. They floated that way for several seconds before looking at each other and giggling in a gurgling way.
“Who’s this clown?”

“You gonna put a stop to us tough guy? Two on one doesn’t look like good odds for you.”

“Guess again, villains! The Deep Blue Sea never fights alone!”
At this a deep basso rumbling made the two turn their heads to behold an immense sperm whale that had somehow crept up on them while they were distracted by the fool in front of them.

“Bulubba what do we –“
His question was cut short as a trident lodged itself in his chest, followed by several more in other parts of his body. Bulubba himself was already in the process of fleeing before he was caught in the whale’s massive jaws and swallowed up in the blink of an eye.

“Well done devil, we dispatched them with great speed. Now, to ensure a certain someone isn’t underdressed for the party!”

***
The Beluga had been searching for any trace of the missing messenger ship, but their efforts were proving fruitless. As the sun was setting the captain decided it was time to turn back and report their failure, when a hand in the crow’s nest cried out that something was fast approaching.
“Whale off the port bow, closing fast! Turn off before he hits us!”

But as the captain ran to the wheel, the whale was upon their ship and leaping over it, barely clearing the main mast. A small chest plummeted from the top of the whale onto the deck below, narrowly missing the crew scattering about on the deck. Moments later a trident flew down to the deck, pinning a large note under its tines.

The queen was supposed to get this delivery. Evil forces have tried to prevent it, but they have been thwarted once again by the valiant efforts of the ocean’s protectors…THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA!

The captain and first mate read the note slowly a few times over, then looked at the chest, then each other. After a few moments of stunned silence the first mate turned to the captain.
“Cap’n, who on earth was that fool?”
Level 5
Shalarin is an aquatic humanoid from Monsters of Faerun, boasting a 40 ft swim speed, darkvision, and +4 Dex and Str. In the update for the book they received an official LA of +0, so a prime target for the SI. We begin with a mix of Fighter and Warblade to get all of our prerequisites lined up.

Power Attack allows us to toss on some extra damage. Remember that underwater combat is a nightmare, so only attacks with piercing weapons are as normal. To that end the trident is a solid choice, you can two-hand it for the extra bonus when power attacking, and of course will come in use later. Because we’re taking Mounted Combat, we’re going to invest ranks in ride for the rest of our career in order to protect our mount.

In terms of maneuvers, we’re going to avoid Stone Dragon because it requires contact with the ground, which isn’t exactly common in aquatic combat. Douse the Flames prevents your enemy from making AoOs so can be used before you do something like charging. Due to the wording of sudden leap, you can actually still use it in the water. It can also be used as a sort of fast dismount for when you have a Waverider mount. Wall of Blades is always powerful and can deflect even rays. Battle Leader’s Charge means no AoOs on your giant mount and deals extra damage. Note that because you use an attack roll, the weapon bonus from the SI will apply. Punishing Stance isn’t too exciting, but extra damage is extra damage. Far more interesting is Leading the Charge, which gives allies IL to damage when charging. Your mount certainly benefits, but remember you are your own ally. This should be your default stance, and switch if you won’t be charging for whatever reason and don’t need your swift for anything.
Level 10
Five levels deep into the SI and our setup has changed. Firstly, you now have a mount from a chosen list. We’re going to have some fun and select the Cachalot Whale. It’s got a good movement speed, is Gargantuan, has 2 attacks with good damage, and starts with a high strength score for those sweet jumps. Let’s not forget most importantly, it has blindsight out to 120 feet, so there is no hiding from the whale. We’ll assume for our purposes you can’t select its feats, and it’ll just get more of the same sorts of things when it gets more HD. You’ve got the ranks in Ride cover for his AC, especially with the bonus from the SI. Attack bonus and double damage on charge are all the more incentive to make use of the trident.

Now let’s talk about breach. It’s an overlooked Chris Cooper drama. Just kidding, it’s a highly bizarre ability. Use the whale’s blindsight to pick out your targets while below the water, then jump to get them. The Whale’s jump modifier uses your skills, but presumably its own strength, so its mod at this point will be 13 (ranks) +13 (Str) +4 (speed)=30. That’s a clearance of 7 feet minimum, 12 feet maximum. It mentions that it makes contact to trigger the charge, so this suggests to me not to use the vertical reach rules. That works out, since you share your creature’s space you can easily make an attack with your trident at the end of your charge. It’s honestly not clear whether he also makes an attack, if he does it’s more damage (remember to add leading the charge) if not no big deal. If we do use the vertical reach rules it means you won’t be attacking, but your mount adds on 64 feet of reach, enough to hit even pretty high fliers, and you’re still helping him with your stance. Don’t ask me how a 20 foot long creature reaches 64 feet into the air, he just does. By RAW that’s his reach since he’s not a quadruped, but your GM may downgrade it to 32 feet.

Sound means you cover a lot of distance with your charge, based on your check you cover between 30 and 50 feet, so good on the end of a charge. Again if we use “contact opponent” to mean ignoring the whale’s reach, make a nice charge attack with X3 damage with your trident. Again your whale may be able to add on his attack to the pile.

Improved mounted archery is useful for when you spot someone out of the water you want to hit but can’t breach or are recharging. You can double move your mount up to the surface and down in a parabola and toss a javelin while surfaced, at only a small penalty. Brutal Throw lets you be purely Str based when throwing, which makes life easier.
Level 15
Now that we’ve finished the SI things have progressed from nutty to absolutely bananas. As we’ve discussed, full mounted attack lets you make a full attack once your mount has moved over to bring you into range, so make use of that when you’re not charging. You’re not adding damage from Leading the Charge so you can use Punishing Stance here if you’re making melee attacks. Your mount has gained enough HD from the Si that according to its monster chart, it is now Colossal. This adds a further +8 Str and +4 Con, reach goes up to 20 feet. By the SI his speed is now 50 feet. AC is unimportant since you’re rolling ride against attacks with a mod of 24.

Skim discusses the madness that is 3.0 jump rules, so we’ll assume they use the 3.5 long jump rules where the height is 1/4th the length. At this point he’s jumping at a mod of 18(ranks) + 19(Str) + 8(speed)=45, covering 45 feet minimum and 65 feet maximum, still well within the limits, a fair amount of your charging speed. If jumping vertically that’s between 11 and 16 feet (if he gets to use vertical reach that’s another 128 feet or 64 if your DM is applying the “quadruped” rule.)

Let’s now talk about what really matters: throwing. The SI has given you a helpful and very broadly worded ability at level 8. Read it carefully. Notice they have not included any limitations or discussions of the penalties negated, as they did with Improve Mounted Archery. As such I am compelled to exploit this to the fullest, and we’re starting now. Aquatic Shot lets you make thrown weapon attacks underwater (you cannot without this feet) albeit at the steep penalty of -2 per 5 feet. A penalty to ranged attacks? You ignore it while mounted. Power Throw lets you take a penalty to attack rolls to gain the bonus on damage as with Power attack. A penalty to ranged attacks? Ignore it while mounted, so go for highest damage bonus. Unless you have something preventing you, your attacks should be thrown to apply full Power Attack at all times.The trident has a range increment of 10 feet, so throwing farther than this invokes penalties, which you ignore, so throw the full 50 feet (remember you share space with your mount so can throw from anywhere in his 30 foot cube). You might find it advantageous to use javelin at times for its 150 foot max range. Is two weapon fighting possible with thrown weapons? Yes it is, and you take the penalties as appropriate, except you don’t so do it whenever you want. Carry lots of tridents and javelins, they’re very cheap. Luckily you don’t have to figure out what kind of weapon javelin counts as for TWF since the penalty doesn’t matter.

Wavedancing is useful when you need to make a mega move and then turn some guy into a pincushion, covering 200 feet and then throwing up to 150 feet beyond that. Does that quadruple land speed interact with charging to mean you can charge up to 400 feet? It’s not clear, so maybe!

Call of the Deeps can get you a Large and Medium Water Elemental, 3 Mediums, 6 Smalls, or some mixture thereof. Note that a Large one can capsize a 40 footer or halt an 80 footer. Good thing we invested those ranks to speak Aquan.
Level 20
We’ve gone back into Warblade for more great maneuvers and that tasty free feat, just what we need to put the finishing touches on our dish. Quick Draw means you can make a full attack when throwing so you can turn your enemies into pincushions, and Hurling Charge means you can throw a weapon during a charge, and it draws everything together. This will be a trident in order to get the double damage from it, and you will be taking full power attack because the penalty disappears. That means the damage from a typical hurling charge will be (1d8+8(str)+20 (PA)+14(stance))X2, average 77 plus the melee attack with some smaller PA bonus since you’ll actually have to deal with the penalty, say 5 gives a total of 140. If you’re using Sound, this damage jumps up to 210. This is using conservative estimates for the second attack, the attack bonus from the SI means you can probably afford to gamble for higher damage than this, and based on the charge rules you might be adding your cachalot’s bite on for another 6d6+19+14=average 64 damage. Remember you can charge with all 4 of your abilities. Hurling Charge importantly means that if for “contact” during Breach and others your mount can use his reach, that’s perfectly fine since you can make a thrown attack to end the charge, and since you’re 20 feet away from your target they can’t make any AoOs.

Your jumps for the special maneuvers are operating for 50-70 feet horizontal and 12-17 feet vertical (don’t forget vertical reach). Ask your DM if you can use the +5 attack bonus when you’re rolling for Wall of Blades. If someone attempts to attack your mount, they’re rolling against you, and you have a +29 mod.

Now let’s talk maneuvers. Iron Heart Surge is a must to deny ongoing effects, Dancing Mongoose adds 2 extra attacks when you’re TWF with thrown tridents, War Leader’s Charge is an upgraded Battle Leader’s Charge. Could you use Hurling Charge with this? It’s not clear, but that would certainly be great and would add another 140 points of damage. Rabid Bear Strike is a good straight damage dealer, and also can be used with throws. Swarming Assault is a neat little bow to finish things off. You attack, and everybody threatening gets a free attack, so your cachalot and summoned water elementals can gang up on a guy with you.
Sources
Shalarin: Monsters of Faerun and Update (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20040313a)
Warblade: Tome of Battle
Brutal Throw, Power Throw: Complete Adventurer
Aquatic Shot: Stormwrack
Hurling Charge: Miniatures Handbook
Fighter, Power Attack, Point Blank Shot, Mounted Combat, Mounted Archery, Quick Draw, Improved Initiative, Cachalot Whale: srd

[Heliomance]

And here's the last one. Get judging!


http://orig02.deviantart.net/3090/f/2011/128/5/b/with_great_power____by_nashya-d3fw86c.png
Iridessa Danlianthol (Silverpearl)
Champion of Deep Sashelas
LG Aquatic Elf Ranger 1, Fighter 2, Cloistered Cleric 4, Prestige Paladin 2, Waverider 10

Iridessa is a follower of the great Deep Sashelas, God of Aquatic Elves and all good and honorable sea creatures. Growing up, Iridessa had no particular desire to serve Deep Sashelas beyond typical deference of her people. All Aquatic Elves when they approach adulthood must seek to find their path in life. Ultimately, Iridessa is a warrior at heart and prefers the company of beasts and Elves over that of other creatures. She sampled different ways to serve her community, from tracker, to soldier, to the clergy. She finally found her path when is combined all her teaching and knowledge and became a holy warrior of Deep Sashelas, a mighty Paladin. She now seeks to protect her people and surrounding sea life from the hated Sahuagin that always threaten the goodly races under the sea. Wielding the symbolic weapon of her patron, a mighty trident, she journeys the seas with her animal friends and seeks out evil to vanquish and injustice to fight.


Str – 12 (4 points)
Dex – 14 (4 points, +2 racial)
Con – 12 (4 points)
Int – 12 (6 points, -2 racial)
Wis – 14 (6 points)
Cha – 14 (6 points)

Mounts/Cohorts
Squid (Medium) (14 HD) – Wild Cohort
Shark (Large) (13 HD) – Paladin Mount/Animal Companion
Cachalot Whale (Gargantuan) (20 HD) – Waverider Mount

I originally didn’t believe I’d have time to make a build. When the deadline was extended I had a small window where I could actually sit down and transfer everything from paper to laptop. Unfortunately I ended up following asleep in the middle of it the night before the deadline, and rushed to McDonalds in the morning to upload it in time. All I was able to complete in time is the build table, basic description of the concept, and short description of the sweet spot.
Oh well. It’s simple and sweet. Enjoy :)

This table is not quite right. I miscalculated how many levels of Prestige Paladin I needed but do not have the time to fix it. There should be a third level of Prestige Paladin at character level 8 with everything beyond shifted down 1 slot, leaving only 1 level of Cleric after Waverider instead of 2.

Handle Animal is kept max'd out throughout the build and receives a few extra bonus. The idea is that Iridessa befriends every animal she can, and if necessary, recruits who she can to fight beside her.
Ride is just shy of max
d out until the very end
Jump stays pretty high for all the fun jumping and surfing abilities of Waverider. :elan:



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


1st
Ranger 1 (d:8)
+1
+2
+2
+0
Ranks: Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Heal 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(Nat.) 4, Listen 1, Ride 4, Spot 1, Survival 4, Swim 4
Track(Ranger), Skill Focus: Handle Animal(1), Point Blank Shot(Elf Domain)
Favored Enemy: Monstrous Humanoid (Aquatic), Wild Empathy


2nd
Fighter 1 (d:10)
+2
+4
+2
+0
Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Heal 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(Nat.) 4, Listen 1, Ride 5, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 4
Mounted Combat(F)



3rd
Fighter 2 (d:10)
+3
+5
+2
+0
Handle Animal 6, Jump 5, Heal 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(Nat.) 4, Listen 1, Ride 6, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 4
Mounted Archery(F), Wild Cohort(3)



4th
Cloistered Cleric 1 (d:6)
+3
+7
+2
+2
Handle Animal 7, Jump 5, Heal 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 1, K.(Rel.) 1, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 7, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 4
Knowledge Devotion, Water Devotion
(Cha increase), Turn Undead, Lore


5th
Cloistered Cleric 2 (d:6)
+4
+8
+2
+3
Handle Animal 8, Jump 5, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 2, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 7, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 4




6th
Prestige Paladin 1 (d:10)
+5
+10
+2
+3
Handle Animal 9, Jump 5, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 3, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 8, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 4
Devoted Tracker
Detect Evil, Smte Evil 1/day, Turn Undead, +1 level divine casting


7th
Prestige Paladin 2 (d:10)
+6
+11
+2
+3
Handle Animal 10, Jump 5, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 3, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 8, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

Divine Grace, Lay on Hands(P. Pally level +3), Special Mount


8th
The Beastmaster (d:10)
+7
+13
+4
+3
Handle Animal 11, Jump 5, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 10, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

(Cha increase), Animal Companion(BM level +3), Wild Empathy


9th
Waverider 1 (d:10)
+8
+15
+4
+5
Handle Animal 12, Jump 6, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 11, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5
Natural Bond
Waverider Mount, Mounted weapon bonus +1 (trident), Trident Charge


10th
Waverider 2 (d:10)
+9
+16
+4
+6
Handle Animal 13, Jump 7, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 12, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

Mounted weapon bonus +1 (javelin/harpoon), Ride bonus +2


11th
Waveider 3 (d:10)
+10
+16
+5
+6
Handle Animal 14, Jump 8, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 13, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

Breach, Mounted weapon bonus +2 (trident)


12th
Waverider 4 (d:10)
+11
+17
+5
+7
Handle Animal 15, Jump 9, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 14, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5
Power Attack
Sound, Mounted weapon bonus +2 (javelin/harpoon)


13th
Waverider 5 (d:10)
+12
+17
+5
+7
Handle Animal 16, Jump 10, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 15, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

Improved Mounted Archery, Mounted weapon Bonus +3 (trident), Ride bonus +4


14th
Waverider 6 (d:10)
+13
+18
+6
+8
Handle Animal 17, Jump 11, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 16, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

Full Mounted Attack, Mounted weapon bonus +3 (javelin/harpoon)


15th
Waverider 7 (d:10)
+14
+18
+6
+8
Handle Animal 18, Jump 12, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 17, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5
Touch of Healing
Skim, Mounted weapon bonnus +4 (trident), Ride bonus +6


16th
Waverider 8
+15
+19
+6
+9
Handle Animal 19, Jump 13, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 18, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

Surperior Mounted Archery, Mounted weapon bonus +4 (javelin/harpoon)


17th
Waverider 9 (d:10)
+16
+19
+7
+9
Handle Animal 20, Jump 14, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 19, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5

Wavedancing, Mounted weapon bonus +5, Ride bonus +8


18th
Waverider 10 (d:10)
+17
+20
+7
+10
Handle Animal 21, Jump 15, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 1, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 20, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5
Divine Might
Call of the deeps, Mounted weapon bonus +5 (javelin/harpoon)


19th
Cloistered Cleric 3 (d:6)
+17
+20
+8
+10
Handle Animal 22, Jump 15, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 5, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 22, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5




20th
Cloistered Cleric 4 (d:6)
+18
+21
+8
+11
Handle Animal 23, Jump 20, Heal 1, K.(A&E) 1, K.(Arc.) 1, K.(Dung.) 1, K.(Local) 1, K.(Geo.) 5, K.(His.) 1, K.(Nat.) 5, K.(N&R) 2, K.(Rel.) 5, K.(Pla.) 1, Listen 1, Ride 23, Spot 1, Survival 5, Swim 5






Definitely the Sweet Spot of the build. At level 9, Iridessa has 3 companions that travels and fights with her just about everywhere she goes. The weakest is by far her Squid Wild Cohort at only 8 HD. She primarily uses her as a look out/guard when needed, and uses her ink cloud ability to help escape when a fight turns south.
The Whale only has 14 HD at this point, but massive strength and size. He’s got the intelligence to follow strategies and the raw power to both dish out the pain and take it. Iridessa rides him into battle most often.
Overbite( the shark), is her most trusted ally and partner. Iridessa knows she’d only get in the way of her friends tactics and trusts her to handle herself. Overbite is smart and vicious, and at 13 HD has a few combat feats to throw around. As well as increased natural armor, strength, and dexterity. Blindsense and keen scent ensures that nothing will be able to sneak up or hide from her.


Player’s Handbook
Dungeon Master’s Guide
Monster Manual
Complete Adventurer – Devoted Tracker, Natural Bond
Complete Champion – Touch of Healing
Complete Warrior – Divine Might
Faiths and Panteons – Deep Sashelas
Stormwrack – Deep Sashelas, Aquatic Elf
Savage Species - Waverider
Unearthed Arcana – Cloistered Cleric, Prestige Paladin
Wizards.com Archive – Wild Cohort

[Technetium43]

Okay so, I didn't end up finishing my submission for three reasons. One, depression being terrible. Two, I'm bad at creative writing. Three, I couldn't even justify fitting 10 levels into my build. I'll go ahead and post what I had in the spoiler below, though.


http://i.imgur.com/nfss8Fl.jpg
Riptide and Undertow
CN Amphibious Dvati Aquatic Wildshape Ranger 5/Windrider 7/Waverider 7



Attribute
Base
Racial
Level
Total


Strength
16
-
4
20


Dexterity
14
-2
-
12


Constitution
14
-
-
14


Intelligence
12
-
-
12


Wisdom
14
-
-
14


Charisma
8
-
-
8





Level
Class
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Skills
Feats
Class Features


-
Dvati LA 1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


1st
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Handle Animal 4 (4), Jump 4 (4), Knowledge (Nature) 4 (4), Ride 4 (4), Spot 4 (4), Survival 4 (4), Swim 4 (4)
Track, Wild Cohort
Fast Movement, Favored Terrain (Aquatic) +2, Track In Water, Wild Empathy


2nd
Ranger 2
+2
+3
+3
+0
Handle Animal 1 (5), Jump 1 (5), Knowledge (Nature) 1 (5), Ride 1 (5), Spot 1 (5), Survival 1 (5), Swim 1 (5)
-
-


3rd
Ranger 3
+3
+3
+3
+1
Handle Animal 1 (6), Jump 1 (6), Knowledge (Nature) 1 (6), Ride 1 (6), Spot 1 (6), Survival 1 (6), Swim 1 (6)
Endurance, Mounted Combat
-


4th
Ranger 4
+4
+4
+4
+1
Handle Animal 1 (7), Jump 1 (7), Knowledge (Nature) 1 (7), Ride 1 (7), Spot 1 (7), Survival 1 (7), Swim 1 (7)
-
Distracting Attack


5th
Ranger 5
+5
+4
+4
+1
Handle Animal 1 (8), Jump 1 (8), Knowledge (Nature) 1 (8), Ride 1 (8), Spot 1 (8), Survival 1 (8), Swim 1 (8)
Favored Terrain (Aquatic) +4, Favored Terrain (Underground) +2, Wild Shape 1/day (Small or Medium only)
-


6th
Windrider 1
+6
+6
+4
+3
Handle Animal 1 (9), Jump 1 (9), Ride 1 (9)
Mounted Archery
Appraise Mount, Chosen Mount, Empathic Link, Mount Proficiency (4 HD)


7th
Waverider 1
+7
+8
+4
+5
Handle Animal 1 (10), Jump 1 (10), Ride 1 (10)
-
Mounted Weapon Bonus (Trident) +1, Trident Charge, Waverider Mount


8th
Waverider 2
+8
+9
+4
+6
Handle Animal 1 (11), Jump 1 (11), Ride 1 (11)
-
Mounted Weapon Bonus (Javelin/Harpoon) +1, Ride Bonus +2


9th
Waverider 3
+9
+10
+4
+7
Handle Animal 1 (12), Jump 1 (12), Ride 1 (12)
Ride-By Attack
Breach, Mounted Weapon Bonus (Trident) +2


10th
Waverider 4
+10
+10
+5
+7
Handle Animal 1 (13), Jump 1 (13), Ride 1 (13)
-
Sound, Mounted Weapon Bonus (Javelin/Harpoon) +2


11th
Windrider 2
+11
+10
+6
+7
Handle Animal 1 (14), Jump 1 (14), Ride 1 (14)
-
Mount Assistance, Mount Feat 1


12th
Windrider 3
+12
+11
+6
+9
Handle Animal 1 (15), Jump 1 (15), Ride 1 (15)
Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack
Mount Healing


13th
Windrider 4
+13
+12
+6
+10
Handle Animal 1 (16), Jump 1 (16), Ride 1 (16)
-
Mount Proficiency (8 HD)


14th
Windrider 5
+14
+12
+6
+10
Handle Animal 1 (17), Jump 1 (17), Ride 1 (17)
-
Mount Feat 2, Mount Friendship


15th
Windrider 6
+15
+12
+6
+10
Handle Animal 1 (18), Jump 1 (18), Ride 1 (18)
Shock Trooper
Mount Proficiency (12 HD)


16th
Windrider 7
+16
+13
+7
+11
Handle Animal 1 (19), Jump 1 (19), Ride 1 (19)
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Harpoon)
Mount Link


17th
Waverider 5
+17
+14
+8
+12
Handle Animal 1 (20), Jump 1 (20), Ride 1 (20)
-
Improved Mounted Archery, Mounted Weapon Bonus (Trident) +3, Ride Bonus +4


18th
Waverider 6
+18
+14
+8
+12
Handle Animal 1 (21), Jump 1 (21), Ride 1 (21)
Spirited Charge
Full Mounted Attack, Mounted Weapon Bonus (Javelin/Harpoon) +3


19th
Waverider 7
+19
+14
+8
+12
Handle Animal 1 (22), Jump 1 (22), Ride 1 (22)
-
Mounted Weapon Bonus (Trident) +4, Ride Bonus +6, Skim



Total Skill Ranks: Handle Animal 22, Jump 22, Knowledge (Nature) 8, Ride 22, Spot 8, Survival 8, Swim 8

Ranger Spells/Day


Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


1st
-
-
-
-


2nd
-
-
-
-


3rd
-
-
-
-


4th
0
-
-
-


5th
0
-
-
-


6th
0
-
-
-


7th
0
-
-
-


8th
0
-
-
-


9th
0
-
-
-


10th
0
-
-
-


11th
0
-
-
-


12th
0
-
-
-


13th
0
-
-
-


14th
0
-
-
-


15th
0
-
-
-


16th
0
-
-
-


17th
0
-
-
-


18th
0
-
-
-


19th
0
-
-
-



Notable Spells:

1st - Bloodhound (SC), Jump, Primal Hunter (DrM), Quickswim (SW), Rhino's Rush (SC), Webfoot (SW), Wings of the Sea (SC)

For Wands:

2nd - Hunter's Eye (PHB2), Lion's Charge (SC), Nature's Favor (SC), Primal Instinct (DrM)
3rd - Primal Senses (DrM), Scales of the Sealord (SW)
4th - Primal Speed (DrM)

Windrider Spells/Day


Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


1st
-
-
-
-


2nd
-
-
-
-


3rd
-
-
-
-


4th
-
-
-
-


5th
-
-
-
-


6th
0
-
-
-


7th
0
-
-
-


8th
1
-
-
-


9th
1
-
-
-


10th
1
0
-
-


11th
1
0
-
-


12th
1
1
-
-


13th
1
1
-
-


14th
1
1
0
-


15th
1
1
0
-


16th
1
1
1
-


17th
1
1
1
-


18th
2
1
1
0


19th
2
1
1
0



Notable Spells:

1st - Endure Elements, Remove Fear, Speak With Animals
2nd - Magic Fang, Mage Armor, Shield Other
3rd - Pass Without Trace
4th - Freedom Of Movement, Greater Magic Fang, Greater Magic Weapon

Flotsam (Wild Cohort, Windrider Chosen Mount, Level 18)

Huge Shark
CN Huge Animal (Aquatic)
Init +3 (+3 Dex); Senses Blindsense 30' (Underwater), Scent 180' (Can detect blood from up to a mile); Listen +61, Spot +59
Languages none

AC 29, touch 11, flat-footed 26 (+3 Dex, -2 Size, +18 Natural Armor)
HP 21d8+42
Fort +14, Ref +15, Will +7 (Base F+12, R+12, W+6)

Speed 60' Swim
Attack Bite +21 (2d6+14)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Attack +15; Grapple +31

Abilities Str 26, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Special Qualities Evasion, Empathic Link, Blindsense, Keen Scent
Feats 1st - , 3rd - , 6th - , 9th - , 12th - , 15th - , 18th - , 21st - , Waverider Bonus 1 - Run, Waverider Bonus 2 - Fleet of Foot
Skills -


Jetsam (Waverider Mount)

Huge Shark
CN Huge Animal (Aquatic)
Init +3 (+3 Dex); Senses Blindsense 30' (Underwater), Scent 180' (Can detect blood from up to a mile); Listen +61, Spot +59
Languages none

AC 22, touch 11, flat-footed 19 (+3 Dex, -2 Size, +11 Natural Armor)
HP 18d8+36
Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +13 (Base F+14, R+12, W+12)

Speed 60' Swim
Attack Bite +21 (2d6+14)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Attack +15; Grapple +31

Abilities Str 26, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 2
Special Qualities Improved Evasion, Empathic Link, Share Spells, Speak with Creatures of Its Kind, Fast Movement, Spell Resistance, Share Saving Throws, Blindsense, Keen Scent
Feats 1st - , 3rd - , 6th - , 9th - , 12th - , 15th - , 18th -
Skills -


-

-

-

-

Complete Warrior - Shock Trooper
Dragon Compendium - Dvati
Dragon Magic - Primal Hunter, Primal Instincts, Primal Senses, Primal Speed
Masters of the Wild - Windrider
Online - Wild Cohort (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)
Player's Handbook 2 - Distracting Attack, Hunter's Eye
Savage Species - Waverider
Spell Compendium - Bloodhound, Lion's Charge, Nature's Favor, Rhino's Rush, Wings of the Sea
Stormwrack - Amphibious Creature, Aquatic Ranger, Harpoon, Quickswim, Scales of the Sealord, Webfoot
Unearthed Arcana - Favored Terrain, Wildshape Ranger

Basically, the main thing I noticed with Waverider is the dichotomy of ranged offense and charging. Rather than try to cram that all into one build, I decided to make one build that could make use of both of them at the same time. So, Dvati it was. I ended up grabbing Wild Cohort and Windrider to have two powerful mounts, and have an empathic link between all four 'characters'. The build also fit in Rhino's Rush, Shock Trooper, Sound, and Spirited Charge, allowing it to have x5 full power attack charges, with no attack penalty. Meanwhile, the other twin would throw harpoons at the other enemies (because there's no way whatever the charger hits is living), to prevent them taking advantage of Shock Trooper's AC penalty.

Unfortunately... the build only needed 4 levels of Waverider to work. The rest was just numerical bonuses, and 3 levels of Windrider would work much better for the build, so I couldn't justify finishing it.

[daremetoidareyo]

Unfortunately... the build only needed 4 levels of Waverider to work. The rest was just numerical bonuses, and 3 levels of Windrider would work much better for the build, so I couldn't justify finishing it.

You should have submitted it. It may not have won, but it sounds like a super fun build. I'm gonna steal it and run it against the PCs. They just need to get to that level.

[Thurbane]

My entry was going to be a whale riding seal:

http://static.inspiremore.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/09051129/SEAL-RIDES-A-WHALE.jpg



Selkie Humanoid 3/Fighter 1/Sworsdsage 4/Shapeshifter 1/Waverider 10/LA +1

...I gave up after I couldn't find much interesting or fun to do with wild shaping and maneuvers to complement Waverider.

[daremetoidareyo]

daremeto will judge.

[Technetium43]

I also really wanted to make a build based on this image:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8f/98/53/8f98535624c0f3be3f6e387edef42db9.jpg

Some sort of bear warrior/were-bear whatever.

[Amphetryon]

I wanted to use a Silverwood Outrider build, but the verbiage on how its Wild Cohort prerequisite interacts with the SI was deemed too vague.

[Darrin]

My idea: Duskblade 1/Fighter 2/Totemist 2/Bonded Summoner 5/Waverider 10

The idea was to swim around inside a huge-sized water elemental, diving in/out of the water to charge adjacent opponents. But in order to have enough room to charge, I had to use a medium-sized mount... and the porpoise or shark just weren't strong enough to do anything interesting. The geometry was also all wrong... if I "jump" out of the water 15' over my opponent's head, how do I turn that into a charge attack? So I thought I'd try Share Soulmeld with Girallon Arms, give the shark four whip daggers and maybe do a full attack from 15' away, but I lost interest at that point. Given the extra time, I should have fiddled around with a large-sized mount (5' swimming + 5' jump out of the water = 10' for a charge?), but I'd lost my enthusiasm at that point.

I will start judging later today. I have posted judging criteria before, but mostly it consists of "Eyeball it. Be specific enough to give a number, but vague enough to avoid disputes."

[WhamBamSam]

I also really wanted to make a build based on this image:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8f/98/53/8f98535624c0f3be3f6e387edef42db9.jpg

Some sort of bear warrior/were-bear whatever.There's the old "Thirsty Bear" trick, but unfortunately, Waverider doesn't get to Call of the Deeps until its eaten too many levels for Elemental Scion of Zilargo 7.

I toyed around with trying to get some manner of Earth Glide ability, since the designers invariably describe such things as moving through the ground "like a fish swims through water" or somesuch, and it seemed like a way of taking the class onto dry land. Unfortunately, the lowest level such thing I could find is Xorn Movement which still requires 5th level spells. There's also the Underdark Knight Paladin 12 ability, which at least doesn't feel as bad as abandoning a full caster progression to go Waverider, but couldn't be shared with the Waverider mount. What felt best was trying to go for some PrC with its own casting, like Chameleon or Suel Arcanamach, and losing a lot of Waverider in the process, and that in turn felt worse than either of the two ideas I ended up submitting.

Another castery trick I thought about trying was using Snowcasting+Energy Substitution (Fire) to give spells the [Fire] descriptor so they'd hopefully count as magical fires which the called Water Elementals could dispel for me. Specifically, I wanted to screw around with dispelling Weapon Shift so that I could shift between the three different weapons that the SI wants you to use without spending my own actions. But it wasn't really doing much for me, especially as I wasn't sure I could count javelins or harpoons as melee weapons (even with Tormtor School allowing for melee attacks with javelins), and it didn't really accomplish anything for me (I thought I might be able to Trident Charge, dispel the Weapon Shift to turn the weapon back into a javelin, then use Tormtor School to throw it, but that probably doesn't count as doing melee damage with a javelin).

[Sian]

I was looking into trying to get a Nereid (Stromwreck) Fighter 4 / Scaled Horror 2 / Waverider 6 /RandomStuff+2 to work, but couldn't figure out why I would want Waverider

[remetagross]

I wanted some Aquatic Huma Feat Rogue 3/Fighter 2/Master Thrower 5/Waverider 10. The idea was to use the ability of the harpoon to deal damage when it is pulled out from an opponent. My idea was both strenuous on the RAW and on the RAI: I wanted to mount the Cachalot for its Str 36, grab a bunch of roped harpoons, and knot the trailing ropes to the saddle of the cachalot. Using Aquatic Shot, Brutal Throw, Power Throw and Weak spot, I would have charged an ennemy with one harpoon for one melee attack at my highest BAB with all the charge multipliers, then, as my mount was getting away from the opponent, throw all of my other iteratives as touch attacks when I was only 5ft away from my opponent. The cachalot, since it was attached to all the trailing ropes, would have then forcefully pulled out all of the harpoons with its massive Strength (which is totally not RAW, but so cool I'd allow it as a DM).

Since it was kinda wonky and that the underwater thrower has been done by someone else, I have no regrets :smallbiggrin:

[Thurbane]

I also really wanted to make a build based on this image:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8f/98/53/8f98535624c0f3be3f6e387edef42db9.jpg

Some sort of bear warrior/were-bear whatever.

If Dragon mag material was allowed, you could take a Were-bear/Urskin/Anthro Bear Paladin, and grab the Secret of the Firebrands feat, which allows you to make and use guns! :smalltongue:

[The Viscount]

I half expected somebody to throw in Berserk for this round for the sheer goofiness of a whale on a whale.

[KrimsonNekros]

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/8/8b/Skeleton_Diver_Appears.png/revision/latest?cb=20160126131544

This is what my brain initially leaped to. Unfortunately between not being able to makes sense of the class, and the inability to use undead I couldn't do anything with it.

[daremetoidareyo]

I half expected somebody to throw in Berserk for this round for the sheer goofiness of a whale on a whale.

That was my original idea, but it didn't really have any other neat tricks. my other idea was to use basilisk mask and share soulmeld to make people sink to death but I couldn't find any satisfactory rules on rocks sinking.

[WhamBamSam]

I half expected somebody to throw in Berserk for this round for the sheer goofiness of a whale on a whale.I thought for sure we'd get an Anthro-whale on a whale.

[danielxcutter]

I assume no one was thinking of a whale druid riding his whale animal companion while summoning whales?

I'll see myself out.

[Sian]

If Dragon mag material was allowed, you could take a Were-bear/Urskin/Anthro Bear Paladin, and grab the Secret of the Firebrands feat, which allows you to make and use guns! :smalltongue:

Or just use Urskan from Frostburn ... although they have 5HD,LA+4 ... and need to get Aquatic subtype somehow :D

[Zaq]

I had an idea that was rather similar to one of the builds that was posted, so I'll back off on the details until after judging is completed.

With only four entries, I might be able to find time to judge, but I can't promise anything right this second.

[Thurbane]

daremeto will judge.


With only four entries, I might be able to find time to judge, but I can't promise anything right this second.

Depending on DMing, work and other RL commitments, I'll try to judge as well.

[The Viscount]

Or just use Urskan from Frostburn ... although they have 5HD,LA+4 ... and need to get Aquatic subtype somehow :D

All you'd need is the amphibious template, which I also definitely expected to see in this round.

[Technetium43]

All you'd need is the amphibious template, which I also definitely expected to see in this round.

I would've used it, but I also totally expected other people to use it. I was willing to take that Elegance hit though.

[Inevitability]

How do we feel about Eunuch Warlock next round? It's an absolute mess of a class (both requirement-, fluff-, and mechanics-wise), but I've got a plan or two for it.

[remetagross]

Wow, what a bizarre class! Never heard of it before. Ah, but if it is chosen as a Secret Ingredient, we'll get Vizzini on who will and who will not put an image of Varys for their presentation, in addition to the Vizzini on the build itself :smalltongue:

[Venger]

How do we feel about Eunuch Warlock next round? It's an absolute mess of a class (both requirement-, fluff-, and mechanics-wise), but I've got a plan or two for it.

I would be all in for a eunuch warlock round.


Wow, what a bizarre class! Never heard of it before. Ah, but if it is chosen as a Secret Ingredient, we'll get Vizzini on who will and who will not put an image of Varys for their presentation, in addition to the Vizzini on the build itself :smalltongue:

Are the dishes' portraits all pictures of the eunuch from Game of Thrones?

It Varys.

[The Viscount]

I love Eunuch Warlock just like I love all of OA's Prestige Classes. I would be down so long as this time we actually use the class itself and not the update in Dragon.

[Venger]

I love Eunuch Warlock just like I love all of OA's Prestige Classes. I would be down so long as this time we actually use the class itself and not the update in Dragon.

I would second that. Its weird bonus slots thing is really the only interesting thing about the class.

[Thurbane]

I love Eunuch Warlock just like I love all of OA's Prestige Classes. I would be down so long as this time we actually use the class itself and not the update in Dragon.

I would second that. Its weird bonus slots thing is really the only interesting thing about the class.

Thirded.

Of course, obligatory votes for Watch Detective and Dragon Samurai.

[Venger]

Thirded.

Of course, obligatory votes for Watch Detective and Dragon Samurai.

thrilled you're onboard. I would be delighted with watch detective. dragon samurai leaves me cold. am I missing some aspect of its appeal?

[Thurbane]

thrilled you're onboard. I would be delighted with watch detective. dragon samurai leaves me cold. am I missing some aspect of its appeal?

Just that I think it's "that bad", I'd be genuinely thrilled if someone made a decent build out of it. Morbid curiosity I guess.

[danielxcutter]

I wonder when we're going to do Blackguard.

[Inevitability]

I wonder when we're going to do Blackguard.

When I brought it up, the counter-argument was that it's 'trade in levels' feature would cause problems with tables.

[Vaz]

When I brought it up, the counter-argument was that it's 'trade in levels' feature would cause problems with tables.

Really? No, lol.

[WhamBamSam]

Blackguard was done in the old version of the contest on BG or something. It's also just sort of too well trodden a field of optimization in my opinion. There's a thread asking how to optimize a Blackguard about once a week.

Since this round is a pet-granting class, I'll ease off of my usual baying for Beast Heart Adept for the moment. My preference would be Doomlord, but I'd also be happy with Demonologist, Bayushi Deciever, Rage Mage, Oozemaster, Visionary Seeker, Life Eater, Defiant, and several others I'm forgetting as well as the aforementioned Watch Detective and Dragon Samurai.

I'd be cool with cooking a pre-update Eunuch Warlock, but if we're going to be using the Dragon update for OA, it seems odd to make exceptions. I suppose it's more of a grey area than, say, 3.0 OotBI (which is significantly better and more interesting than the 3.5 version), but even so.

[Venger]

Blackguard was done in the old version of the contest on BG or something. It's also just sort of too well trodden a field of optimization in my opinion. There's a thread asking how to optimize a Blackguard about once a week.

Since this round is a pet-granting class, I'll ease off of my usual baying for Beast Heart Adept for the moment. My preference would be Doomlord, but I'd also be happy with Demonologist, Bayushi Deciever, Rage Mage, Oozemaster, Visionary Seeker, Life Eater, Defiant, and several others I'm forgetting as well as the aforementioned Watch Detective and Dragon Samurai.

I'd be cool with cooking a pre-update Eunuch Warlock, but if we're going to be using the Dragon update for OA, it seems odd to make exceptions. I suppose it's more of a grey area than, say, 3.0 OotBI (which is significantly better and more interesting than the 3.5 version), but even so.

I also don't think blackguard is that good a choice for an iron chef ingredient.

While its level trading mechanic is a bit complex, people use blackguard often enough in iron chef that there are many ways to represent it in a way that's easy to understand.

Those are all good choices. Life eater is amazing.

The rationale is that it'd only be pre-update eunuch warlock. we'd be using the 3.5 update for all other OA material. The interesting thing about the class is its odd slots ability like dragon disciple. if it's just another casting class, there's far less of a reason to pick it as a secret ingredient.

[Sian]

I'd offer Knight of the Weave (Champions of Valor) as an interesting pick ... self-sustained caster with easy access and interesting spell list

[Troacctid]

Blackguard was done in the old version of the contest on BG or something. It's also just sort of too well trodden a field of optimization in my opinion. There's a thread asking how to optimize a Blackguard about once a week.
I can't remember the last time I saw such a thread. I don't think the class is that common.


I'd be cool with cooking a pre-update Eunuch Warlock, but if we're going to be using the Dragon update for OA, it seems odd to make exceptions. I suppose it's more of a grey area than, say, 3.0 OotBI (which is significantly better and more interesting than the 3.5 version), but even so.
I mean I was opposed to that Dragon Magazine rule in the first place, but if we're going to use it, I don't see why we shouldn't use it consistently.


The rationale is that it'd only be pre-update eunuch warlock. we'd be using the 3.5 update for all other OA material. The interesting thing about the class is its odd slots ability like dragon disciple. if it's just another casting class, there's far less of a reason to pick it as a secret ingredient.
Okay but you realize the updated version ALSO gives extra spell slots, right?


I'd offer Knight of the Weave (Champions of Valor) as an interesting pick ... self-sustained caster with easy access and interesting spell list
I would support this.

[remetagross]

There was one around the time of the reveal for the VC XVIII, probably inspired by the fact that two entries used Blackguard (including mine). It didn't gain a lot of traction though.

[The Viscount]

Okay but you realize the updated version ALSO gives extra spell slots, right?

The thing is that the updated version is 9/10ths casting, and it's frustrating to optimize around, because it means there's the option to enter as T1 and finish with 9ths. That's a level of power that it's going to be difficult for many not to take. It doesn't feel to me like satisfying optimization, because the base is good without me doing anything. But if the class only gives extra slots, I have to think about what I'm going to use it on, how I'm going to do so, and yes it lowers my easy ceiling somewhat.

I want to use the old OA version for the same reason that Thurbane wants to use Dragon Samurai: It's worse. I want to work with that, and that's why I am also totally down for Dragon Samurai. Its not something I would say about any of the other OA classes because the others don't make such major changes.

[daremetoidareyo]

Just an update. I'm finished the equivalent of 2 categories. But the final two categories require some more extensive book diving for powers and initiator maneuvers.

[ZamielVanWeber]

I found use for the old OA Eunuch Warlock in highly specific situations but I never took the entire class (and I admit never tested those builds). I was annoyed a touch by the update since it got turned into a generic casting class that gets lost in a sea of them with there being greater standouts for fluff/coolness/power (sometimes multiple categories at once).

[daremetoidareyo]

All scores start at 2.5 and gain and lose points according to judgements. Except Elegance, which starts at 5 and works downward.

I eyeball the UoSI more than any other single category, so I think we are most likely to be at an impasse when it comes to disputing that one. I'll still hear you out. But that category is more of a feeling about the zeitgeist that waverider as a prestige class says to me. Feelings are hard to render into objectivity. I ain't no spock.



Elegance
Devil in the Deep Blue Sea (DitDBS) Qualifies for SI, feats. -.25 for out of the water blindsense shenanigans, most real life DMs are gonna nix that. Free power Throw at full BAB? Good Sleuthing cheesey Sir: -.25 At least mentions capstone. What's the deal with diplomacy being preserved throughout the build? 4.5
Sai-don Qualifies for SI, feats. If I'm totally honest, the magic mantle legitimizes your share spells/psionics better than if you didn't have it. psychic reformations will cost about 3000gp to simply get cometary collision onto the whale, assuming that you meet the psion/wilder with the abilities, which isn't guaranteed. If you can't find that manifester, you are left with power stones or Dorjes...which is fine, except that you have no use psionic device or psicraft skill points, nor any gear mentions to allow you to use those skills untrained or with a bonus. -.25. The linked power metapower combo is both elegant and cheesily abusive of the action economy, so that's a wash. 4.75
Iridessa Qualifies for SI, feats. How do you have point blank shot via the elf domain as a 1st level ranger? I'm going to assume that it's a formatting mistake that was supposed to be on cloistered cleric 1. Beastmaster dip on table but not in write up. All that, paired with the inconvenience of having to move prestige paladin into the table, leads to a -.75 for elegance for making this a pain on the judge. 4.25
Galahad Qualifies for SI, feats. -.5 for the fact that you can't be aquatic subtype and a kobold at the same time for the blood wind ability. Trident as a weapon graft? cheesy. -.25. 4.25

Originality
DitDBS: An Archerfish riding a whale. Weirdly good race. Nice find. +.5. Ranged combat specialist, indeed unexpected. +.75. Free power Throw at full BAB? Good Sleuthing observant Sir: +.5 Other ranged attack penalties you can subvert: being prone, using a footbow, using an improvised weapon. The total negation of ranged weapon penalties is worth another +.5 I wish tormtor school could fit on this build, seeing as how you could hurling charge, attack, and tormtor throw. What I'm not fully understanding is the absence of bloodstorm blade on this build. I'm assuming that you were gunning for more attacks and better maneuvers, which is fair; I mean, gloves of endless javelins can cover the difference. 2.5 +.5 +.75 +.5 +.5: 4.75
Sai-don: Aquatic Human psychic initiator. Nothing special about aquatic human, sometimes you need (a) webbed feat. Magic mantle to use share spells on a special mount is a cool trick: +1. What I like about this build is that it appears like it shouldn't be anything too special, but in the end, the warblade maneuvers deftly synergize with the psychic warrior levels, and the psychic warrior levels make the wave rider levels unworthless by giving your mount a ridiculous number of actions. +.5
2.5 + 1.0 + .5 = 4.0
Iridessa: Sea Elf Dipfest. I see wild cohort, a paladin special mount, and waverider's mount, and a Beastmaster cohort. And a water elemental from water devotion. I don't know what devoted tracker applies to. You're a mundane minionmancer! +.25 I imagine a sea-elf paladin might be an archetypical waverider, what you brought that deviates from that aquatic mounted fighter expectation is extra mounts! Consider Teamwork benefits (available as an animal trick) and a companion spirit (DMG2 and PH2) and your team is it's own aquatic strike force. Your entry is thematically right on the nose and it's got a gimmick. 2.5 + companionfest 2017 +.5 Cute names and rough tactics for team +.5=
2.5 +.25 + .5 +.5 =3.75
Galahad: Changeling with racial emulation for entry, thus allowing you to be able to take part in land adventures. Lamia belt on your totem chakra + share soulmeld allows your mount to have feet, and therefor adventure with you on land, assuming you can figure out a way to get them to breath, unless of course, you're mount is a marine mammal ;) Alltogether, that's like +1.25. Trident as a weapon graft, clever +.25. Share soulmeld + pounce shenanigans, just letting you know that I see you, but you belong more in the power category. Share soulmeld + Gorgon mask grants you trample, which is weird, can you use it during your jump? Basilisk mask allows you to turn your opponents into fast sinking anchors in water environments, and the extra mount gives you a second chance to petrify. Aquatic subtype feat rearrange maneuver on the mount +.5 for turning lemons into lemonade. 2.5 +1.25 +.25 +.5: 4.5


UoSI
DitDBS: Enters level 6. All ten levels. Free power Throw at full BAB? Good Sleuthing waveriding Sir. At least mentions capstone. Embodies the class despite no capitalization on sound or spirited charge. 4.75
Sai-don: Enters at level 7. All ten levels. You used spirited Charge! +.25 At least mentions capstone. Embodies the class well despite psychic and initiator flavors being very robust and overpowering. 5.0
Iridessa: Enter's at level 9. -.25. All ten levels. What beyond the mount is being used here? Doesn't mention capstone -.25. Insufficient Jump ranks at the levels that mattered to really knock'em dead, despite highest skill allotment of all entries. -.25. Embodies the traditional expectation of the class and adds a few more aquatic buddies. 4.25
Galahad: Enter at level 9. -.25. Nine levels of waverider. Trident as a weapon graft? You used spirited charge. Transforms the class into an extension of the changeling totemist, ignores capitalization on sound/skim abilities other than providing mad ride/jump ranks. 4.5

Power
DitDBS: Free power Throw at full BAB? Good Sleuthing cheesey Sir: +.25. Total negation of all ranged penalties? +.5 Maneuvers round out defensive and offensive opportunities +.25. Good whale jump analysis. Full ranged attacks rounds from 150 away, moreso if you have magic equipment built for making ranged weapons go further. Two weapon fighting hurling + maneuvers to make them more numerous +.5
2.5 + .25 +.5 +.25 + .5: 4.0
Sai-don:Shame about the tight skill points, because the dismount attack skilltrick from complete scoundrel works so well with your build. Linked Meta syncronicity is powerful, adding additional standard actions in between your turn +.5. Hustling and sharing it with your mount is ridiculous +.5. Charge multipliers are amazing here: +.5. 4.0
Iridessa: No selected spells? I'm not super knowledgable about spells. Tell me about how a few of those spells can make you a more powerful combatant or contributor to a party and I can foresee up to +.5; (rather than make you use a dispute for an ability that I capped, I'm going to just assume you Ace it and apply that .5 now. Where other builds invested in action economy of the self, you've invested in the action economy of your watery allies. +.5. You can heal, track, and smite, and you have extensive skills compared to other waverider builds that I've seen. Granting you a level of versatility at expense of damage per round. +.75: 4.25
Galahad: Penalty to elegance becomes a bonus to UoSI: Trident as a weapon graft? +.25 This build is ridiculously versatile, and capable of using many of its features on land, something that no other build can do without outside help. +1. You also have a pounce option available to yourself and your mount which brings you up to the relative power of some of the other builds in this particular contest +.5. Lastly, you invested in shoulders chakra for phase cloak, which again, affects your versatility. +.25.
2.5 +.25 +1 + .5 +.25: 4.5

So, in total.

DitDBS: 18 (4.5 + 4.75 + 4.75 + 4)
Sai-don: 17.75 (4.75 + 4 + 5 + 4)
Iridessa: 16.5 (4.25 + 3.75 + 4.25 + 4.25)
Galahad: 17.75 (4.25 + 4.5 + 4.5 + 4.5)

[WhamBamSam]

Thanks for judging!

[The Viscount]

Much obliged for the judgings! Thanks for tabulating at the end.

[Thurbane]

Real life is very hectic and stressful right now: I won't commit to completing judging, I'll just have to see how it goes.

[Darrin]

I'm at 2/4. At this pace... I might be done by Friday. But I'm juggling a few different writing projects, so I'm going to be ambiguously vague about *which* Friday.

[Darrin]

Ruminations of a judgmental nature forthwith:

Galahad 17.5

Originality: 4.5
Whenever there's a racial requirement on an Iron Chef ingredient, Changeling + Racial Emulation should immediately spring to mind. However, you surprised me here. And you're doing a lot more with it than just picking up the Aquatic subtype (Rite of Draconic Passage, Draconic Soulmelds). I was hoping to see Totemist/Share Soulmeld, but Warshaper was unexpected.

Power: 4
You solved the Charge/Pounce problem with the Sphinx Claws soulmeld. The other soulmelds offer interesting possibilities: Manticore Belt for ranged attacks, Pegasus Cloak for flight, Phase Cloak for attacking through walls. Your build is lacking in some of the raw firepower of, say, a more straightforward Power Attack Ubercharger build, but you make up for it with the versatility and flexibility of your soulmelds.

Elegance: 4.5
You mention using a trident as a weapon graft, but didn't take the Graft Flesh prerequisite... however, it's a cool idea, so I'm going to let it slide. The closer I look at this build, the more "dovetailing" I discover, where a design decision complements something else in the build in a way I didn't expect. The best example is probably: Sea Cat is a magical beast with two claw attacks, which works with Rapidstrike, which works with the Pounce from Sphinx Claws.

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4.5
A couple of the other entries struggled to find something to do with Mounted Archery, but you came up with... Blood Wind! Only 1/day, but that's just really darned clever. You don't quite finish the SI, which is a bit disappointing. This might be fixable by taking Totemist 4/Fighter 1 instead of Totemist 6, which frees up a feat for Open Least Chakra, but this incurs an XP penalty. (Maybe Feat Rogue 1 instead?)



Sai-don 14.5

Originality: 3
Aquatic human, Psychic Warrior, and Warblade... not all that particularly interesting. The only thing that stands out as unusual is Cometary Collision, which I haven't really seen anyone use before.

Power: 3.5
Sharing powers with your mount... I like this. Cometary Collision... this is a nifty idea, but it depends a great deal on your opponents deciding to charge. I was disappointed not to see Pounce in there somewhere, but I suppose it doesn't really work here: mounted rider can't pounce, and your mount doesn't get iterative attacks. I really like how you stack Tactics of the Wolf with Island of Blades. Ruby Nightmare Blade... well, if you only get one melee attack, better make it count! x6 multiplier with bonus damage from Power Attack, Leading the Charge, and Tactics of the Wolf can dish out some pretty decent butthurt. Outside of combat or off his mount... well, skill-wise he's still pretty one-dimensional, but the psionic powers and Warblade maneuvers give him a certain degree of utility.

Elegance: 4
Synchronicity is not on the Psychic Warrior list. I'm not sure how you're getting it as your 1st-level power, unless you're customizing the Magic Mantle powers? That wasn't clear from your write-up. Anyway... yeah, that's a bit dubious, as synchronicity is a better fit for the Time mantle than the Magic mantle. Knockback is listed in the sources but I don't see it in the build...? (Doesn't count against you, I'm guessing it was left-over from an earlier idea.)

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4
All 10 levels, and you make a good effort at using everything except the Mounted Archery stuff. Your mount has more ranged attacks than you do (Shadow Garrote). You're using the class the way it was intended but... not doing much beyond that.



Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 17.5

Originality: 4.5
Shalarin is a fantastic find! Str +4 and Dex +4 for no LA? Just add Amphibious for Dex -2 and you've got a magnificent chassis for a melee bruiser. Throwing a bunch of tridents from the back of a whale? Excelsior!

Power: 4
The crux of the build relies on a dubious interpretation of a badly-worded ability: that "takes no penalties" literally means no penalties of any kind. The build lives or dies on whether a copacetic DM agrees with that interpretation. However, this what I like to call "Swinging for the fences", and you NAILED a long bomb to deep center. Nicely done! I am a little disappointed that you didn't stack more penalties on there, such as Combat Expertise or Stone Power... but not by much. Outside of whale-riding or trident-tossing, you're still mostly a Warblade and, oddly enough, a bit of a Face (with Diplomacy and Intimidate). On land or away from his mount, he still looks like a useful and effective party member.

Elegance: 4.5
Bonus points for the Blue Raja pic. "Well, if you want the tail to wag the dog..." I have an issue with bonus HD increasing the cachalot whale's size to colossal. In general, bonus HD from class features do not increase a mount's size, and I see no indication in the Waverider text that specifies otherwise. Minor quibble... Quickdraw is kinda important, so I'm puzzled why you waited until 16th level for it. I am disappointed you are using the TWF rules but didn't actually take any TWF feats. Background fluff was entertaining.

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4.5
Ok, so, the geometry of a 60-foot whale trying to jump out of or across the water makes my head hurt, and I think you've got a much better grasp of the math than I do. You have 10 levels, you're using most of the class abilities, and you're using the class exactly how it was intended, but you also found a loophole with thrown weapons and leveraged that into a much more interesting build.



Iridessa Danlionthol 14.5

Originality: 4
I'm not sure if I've seen Prestige Paladin used in Iron Chef before. This looks like what I'm tempted to call a "Pet Shop" build, where you create a walking zoo of animals to swarm your opponents. You've got three "pets" here, which is manageable without being an overly annoying time-suck, and all three appear to be "toothsome", so I'm going to score this category "above average". Also, Overbite is a great name for a shark.

Power: 3.5
The biggest chunk of your power score derives from your "pets". In your early levels, this is just the medium-sized squid, which feels a bit underpowered until the large shark (7th level) and cachalot whale (9th level) comes along. In your mid-level ranges, these pets are punching well above their weight largely because you've selected mounts with the highest HD. However, at the higher levels... they're still mostly animals doing vanilla melee damage. Outside of an open aquatic environment where there's enough room for all your pets to move around, I don't see much here to deal with asymmetric non-meatbag threats: DR, SR, flying, invisible, ethereal, or basically anything with something moderately interesting in the SA or SQ line of the monster block could be a problem for creatures whose only option for dealing with any adversity is to "bite it harder". Iridessa herself doesn't appear to do much other than ride around on her pets, although she eventually winds up with 3rd level Cleric spells.

Elegance: 3.5
Dips don't bother me so much. Solid concept, execution is a little shaky, but overall I like the idea. I have some quibbles, mostly with the cachalot whale. This is *suggested* for Large-sized waveriders, although that's not an explicit requirement. Also, the primary food of cachalot whales is squid, so having one in close proximity could be problematic. There are some issues with your build table, as you noted with the last two levels, and the Elf domain is out of place (should be at 4th level), but those are handwaveable. I was a little disappointed that the squid and whale do not have cool names.

Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3.5
My main problem here is anything you could do with your class abilities is overshadowed quite a bit by the fact that you're riding on top of a 60-foot gargantuan meatbag full of hit dice and teeth. Some of your class abilities are actually more difficult to use due to the size disparity, such as trying to make charge or full melee attacks as a medium-sized creature (1 square) from the back of a gargantuan-sized creature (4 squares x 4 squares). Mounted Archery is less problematic here, but there's not much support for that in the rest of the build. Iridessa largely fulfills the design goals of what this class was intended to do, but doesn't go much beyond that outside of adding a couple more dollops of minionmancy.

[Darrin]

Scores After Two Judges




EntryPlacedaremetoidareyouDarrinTotal

Galahad Galapagos (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775365&postcount=84)Gold18.2517.535.75

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775399&postcount=86)Silver1817.535.5

Sai-don (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775374&postcount=85)Bronze17.7514.532.25

Iridessa Danlianthol (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775402&postcount=87)Fourth16.514.531

[The Viscount]

Two judges in a short turnaround! Thanks lots, Darrin!

[Heliomance]

Quick pair of disputes to be getting on with, then I think we can wrap this one up.


Just one minor thing from me.


-.5 for the fact that you can't be aquatic subtype and a kobold at the same time for the blood wind ability. I'm of the opinion that Galahad only has to emulate a kobold while performing the ritual, not to actually use the SLA, and similarly, only needs to have the dragonblood subtype when shaping draconic soulmelds, not to maintain them. However, if he does need to be a kobold when casting his SLA, there is in fact an Aquatic Kobold (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#aquaticKobolds) variant.



Everything looks good to me. :)
You gave me more consideration and credit than I believed I deserved for an unfinished build. Thank you :D

I'm glad you enjoyed the concept and loved your enthusiasm with all the builds :elan:

No disputes here.

[daremetoidareyo]

Iridessa. Thanks


Galahad. Negate that penalty then. +.5

[Darrin]

Galahad. Negate that penalty then. +.5

Table updated.

I think we can stick a fork (trident?) in this one.

Beast Heart Adept is a little too close to Waverider. Maybe something from the DMG... Arcane Archer or Duelist?

[Venger]

Table updated.

I think we can stick a fork (trident?) in this one.

Beast Heart Adept is a little too close to Waverider. Maybe something from the DMG... Arcane Archer or Duelist?

we might wait a bit since the ranking just got shook up.

those classes are painful. I wouldn't know what to do with duelist besides seeing if there are feats I could take to optimize how hard I can cry.

[Sian]

... ranking didn't get shaken up Venger ... first place just got further ahead

[Venger]

... ranking didn't get shaken up Venger ... first place just got further ahead

yes it did. gold and silver switched places.

[Sian]

ah, i missed that Darrin had updated the table ... disregard me

[The Viscount]

we might wait a bit since the ranking just got shook up.

those classes are painful. I wouldn't know what to do with duelist besides seeing if there are feats I could take to optimize how hard I can cry.

extract water elemental or elemental scion of zilargo/warrior might help. Or a bit of flux adept?

[Venger]

extract water elemental or elemental scion of zilargo/warrior might help. Or a bit of flux adept?

solid ideas all. would probably like one that doesn't literally kill me. I think ocular adept covers your whole body with eyes or something, so that'd be helpful in helping me cry more

[WhamBamSam]

I could cope with Duelist. Arcane Archer is problematic in that your UoSI arguably gets worse with each level taken after 2nd.

[Inevitability]

Still waiting for Eunuch Warlock...

[Venger]

Still waiting for Eunuch Warlock...

I'd be down for eunuch warlock

[WhamBamSam]

So seeing as this round is winding down, here's another Waverider build that just occurred to me.

NE Aquatic Kobold Incarnate 2/Fighter 2/Crusader 3/Warrior of Darkness 3/Waverider 10 Dedicated to the Leviathan
1. Incarnate 1 - Mounted Combat, Willing Deformity
2. Incarnate 2
3. Fighter 1 - Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Iron Will (Otyugh Hole)
4. Fighter 2 - Power Attack
5. Crusader 1 - Deformity (Obese)
6. Crusader 2 - Mounted Archery
7. Waverider 1
8. Warrior of Darkness 1
9. Warrior of Darkness 2 - Share Soulmeld
10. Waverider 2 - Deformity (Eyes)
11. Waverider 3
12. Waverider 4 - Open Lesser Chakra (Arms)
13. Waverider 5
14. Waverider 6
15. Waverider 7 - Bonus Essentia, Beloved of Demons
16. Waverider 8
17. Waverider 9
18. Waverider 10 - Expanded Soulmeld Capacity
19. Crusader 3
20 Warrior of Darkness 3 - Vile Feat

The basic idea here is that the Incarnate Weapon arm bind is potentially pretty good from the saddle of an intelligent mount, as it makes use of your otherwise unused move action. The weapon choices aren't great for mounted combat though. Standard operating procedure would be to Weapon Shift it into a lance, but if you somehow get it the Morphing property, it can turn them into a trident as they're all one-handed weapons. Enter Warrior of Darkness, which can grant a +1 equivalent bonus to an already magical weapon for hours/level. As a meldshaping build, Share Soulmeld is a given, but it becomes awkward when your key Soulmeld is a weapon your mount can't weild without hands. But wait! It's possible to grant a creature hands that can wield weapons through feats. Specifically the Prehensile Tail feat, and as it happens Cachalot Whales have a tail attack. Problem is, that requires TWF, which they don't quite have the Dex for. But with Deformity (Gaunt) from an Elder Evil feat, it reaches the required 15 Dex. They likely won't actually use it for anything but qualification, however, unless you want to mess around with armor spikes. The Dragon Tail soulmeld (which a kobold, as a dragonblooded creature, can shape) gives them an extra tail/hand with which to do so, but two-handing the Incarnate Weapon tail flail is generally going to be preferable. Other tricks include Deformity (Eyes) see invisibility so the rider can see and attack things that ping on the whale's blindsight, Riding Bracers for Ride boosting and shared Draconic Rite Blood Wind like Galahad, and a few nice things from Crusader maneuvers.

I've also been thinking about whether the ability to share SLAs could result in something interesting, as that's something sort of unique about Waverider mounts. This leads toward Warlock, DFA, Truenamer, and maybe a few others. Warlock can bring the mount onto dry land by sharing its at-will Spider Climb, which is sort of funny. DFA can accomplish a similar result by sharing Draconic Flight or, more hilariously, Humanoid Shape. I don't really know what could be done by sharing utterances, if anything.

[The Viscount]

I had considered trying to bring the mount out of the water by gaining flight and then simply having the carrying capacity to lift the thing, then saying i'm just lifting it with my legs, but good mounts get pretty heavy and it seemed highly unlikely if I could still count as mounted in such a situation.

[Venger]

I had considered trying to bring the mount out of the water by gaining flight and then simply having the carrying capacity to lift the thing, then saying i'm just lifting it with my legs, but good mounts get pretty heavy and it seemed highly unlikely if I could still count as mounted in such a situation.

you might've rolled a quadrapedal race with good strength, but that's tricky without LA. even centaur puts a dent in it and qualifying for this class makes it pretty much impossible

[Sian]

(Lesser) Bariaurs from Planar Handbook perhaps? ... Quadrupled with +2Str for a 'mere' +1LA

[Heliomance]

One last dispute - my inbox is now closed.


For daremetoidareyou
Let me clarify some stuff that wasn't clear.
On Diplomacy and Intimidate being present throughout: Two reasons, the first being the dearth of useful SI skills, the second being a construction of the image of a Silver Age type hero, attempting to be dashing but often coming off quite goofy.

On Bloodstorm Blade: It's something I wrestled with, but ultimately it came down to the fact that thunderous throw counting as melee attack would, by my reading, negate my trick of ignoring penalties. Lightning Ricochet would have been a feature, but it would be the only meaningful one in those levels, and since I already needed quick draw, it's simpler to just use quick draw to get full thrown attacks instead, since gear is not a major part of the build. FWIW I didn't use tormtor because the damage bonus on trident was too appealing.

For Darrin
Very glad you liked my build. I wasn't sure about the HD with the mount and size due to the SI's weirdness and oldness. It changes the numbers that I provided, but it doesn't really change the way that anything in the build works. As for not having other feats to exploit this or TWF, or taking quickdraw earlier, there's a simple reason for that, and that's how locked in irons I was for feats. Every feat is used up in constructing my trick (Aquatic shot was particularly painful since it has a tax and is absolutely the only way to throw underwater) and Warblade's bonus feat can only be used on a very short list. I couldn't replace quick draw with any of the other feats, so it had to come at the 5th level of warblade, and I prioritized earlier entry. Hope that explains my madness.

[Darrin]

As for not having other feats to exploit this or TWF, or taking quickdraw earlier, there's a simple reason for that, and that's how locked in irons I was for feats. Every feat is used up in constructing my trick (Aquatic shot was particularly painful since it has a tax and is absolutely the only way to throw underwater) and Warblade's bonus feat can only be used on a very short list. I couldn't replace quick draw with any of the other feats, so it had to come at the 5th level of warblade, and I prioritized earlier entry. Hope that explains my madness.


I was expecting Warblade 5 earlier, either right after Warblade 4 or maybe after Waverider 1. I don't place too much importance into getting into the SI as quickly as possible, but that's really a personal preference thing.

I'm currently reworking your idea into a Ranger 2/Fighter 10/Waverider 8 to see just how many TWF/Rapid Shot feats I can get into the build, although now I'm dealing with all the feat problems you were having. I'll probably post what I've got after the reveal.

[daremetoidareyo]

Ditdbs Thanks for the clarity. No change to score

[The Viscount]

Well now that that's wrapped up we can move on, sorry for holding us up, all.

[Heliomance]

Sorry for the delay, folks; here's the reveal!




EntryChefPlacedaremetoidareyouDarrinTotal

Galahad Galapagos (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775365&postcount=84)WhamBamSamGold18.2517.535.75

Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775399&postcount=86)The ViscountSilver1817.535.5

Sai-don (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775374&postcount=85)WhamBamSamBronze17.7514.532.25

Iridessa Danlianthol (link) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21775402&postcount=87)PrismCat21Fourth16.514.531


Congratulations to WhamBamSam and The Viscount for medalling!

[Inevitability]

Congrants WhamBamSam, Viscount and... WhamBamSam again, I guess.

[Darrin]

Ok, so... the Deep Blue Raja

Race: Aquatic Humanoid
1) Ranger 1. Feat: Mounted Combat. Bonus: Track. Human: PB Shot.
2) Ranger 2. Bonus: Rapid Shot.
3) Fighter 1. Feat: Aquatic Shot. Bonus: TWF.
4) Fighter 2. Bonus: Quickdraw.
5) Fighter 3.
6) Fighter 4. Feat: Improved TWF. Bonus: Mounted Archery.
7) Waverider 1.
8) Waverider 2.
9) Waverider 3. Feat: Power Attack.
10) Waverider 4.
11) Waverider 5.
12) Waverider 6. Feat: Brutal Throw.
13) Waverider 7.
14) Waverider 8. Superior Mounted Archery.
15) Fighter 5. Feat: Power Throw.
16) Fighter 6. Bonus: Greater TWF.
17) Fighter 7.
18) Fighter 8. Feat: Combat Expertise. Bonus: Improved Combat Expertise.
19) Fighter 9.
20) Fighter 10. Bonus: {???} (Maybe EWP Harpoon).

I am tempted to finish off the last six levels with Warblade 2/Bloodstorm Blade 4, but this mostly just saves some money, allowing you to use the same two weapons for all your ranged attacks.

Oh wait... something just occurred to me... Thunderous Throw + Avalanche of Blades. Would that work? Swift action to activate Thunderous Throw, full round to activate Avalanche of Blades... I know Thunderous Throw allows thrown weapons to be treated as melee attacks, but are those attacks also still considered "ranged" attacks? Hmm. The text doesn't really say.

However, I'm not sure we need Thunderous Throw here. Avalanche only specifies melee in the "Range:" line and for the first attack. After that, "make another attack" doesn't specify ranged or melee. By RAW, you could make a melee attack with a javelin/trident/shortspear, then all your subsequent attacks could be ranged attacks. So long as you hit the first time, you can ignore the -4 penalty on all the subsequent attacks.

IL 13 is a bit tricky... Warblade 5/Waverider 8/Warblade +4 gets there around ECL 17ish.

Or... maybe skip Waverider altogether with Tormtor school: "You take no penalty when making a melee attack with a javelin." Avalanche of Blades + Tormtor School = keep rolling attacks until you roll a "1".

[The Viscount]

That's a fascinating tweak to the build, glad that you were able to draw some inspiration from my build. Congrats on the double medals, Sam.

[WhamBamSam]

Good round all. Congrats to Viscount. I liked your build a lot. As is becoming a pattern for my builds, the idea I liked less and put less effort into ended up doing better. Of course, that's not altogether surprising given the glaring error I made on Sai-don.


Synchronicity is not on the Psychic Warrior list. I'm not sure how you're getting it as your 1st-level power, unless you're customizing the Magic Mantle powers? That wasn't clear from your write-up. Anyway... yeah, that's a bit dubious, as synchronicity is a better fit for the Time mantle than the Magic mantle.Yeah... Really embarrassed about that one. My eyes just sort of unfocused and read 'Psychic Warrior' instead of 'Psion/Wilder' every time I looked at Syncronicity. Did the same thing back in Acolyte of the Ego, and somehow managed to see 6 instead of 9 for the skill prereq every time I looked at it.

Substitute Mantle is an Ardent ACF, so I wouldn't have tried using that. If you go by the interpretation that Psionics are Spell-Like Abilities and can drop Mantled Warrior, then you get an extra feat and can resolve the issue with Hidden Talent or Expanded Knowledge and a little rejiggering. Also, I suppose if I were playing the build in a real game I'd probably only take 4 levels of Waverider to make room for more Warblade, which could free up the Martial Study feats to help sneak Expanded Knowledge in as well.


Knockback is listed in the sources but I don't see it in the build...? (Doesn't count against you, I'm guessing it was left-over from an earlier idea.)Yeah, the original feat setup for the whale had it before I decided to go for Martial Study/Martial Stance.


Sharing powers with your mount... I like this. Cometary Collision... this is a nifty idea, but it depends a great deal on your opponents deciding to charge. I was disappointed not to see Pounce in there somewhere, but I suppose it doesn't really work here: mounted rider can't pounce, and your mount doesn't get iterative attacks. I really like how you stack Tactics of the Wolf with Island of Blades. Ruby Nightmare Blade... well, if you only get one melee attack, better make it count! x6 multiplier with bonus damage from Power Attack, Leading the Charge, and Tactics of the Wolf can dish out some pretty decent butthurt.Since the readied actions from augmented Synchronicity don't have to be specified, the mount can just move instead if you aren't up against a charger. It costs Sai-don his charge bonuses, but things like suddenly riding up into a spellcaster's grill and stabbing them when they're trying to cast are handy too. And of course he can fit in normal charges on his turns as well, especially since the Linked Power cheese and shared powers load up a lot of actions in rounds after the first.

[Venger]

Or... maybe skip Waverider altogether with Tormtor school: "You take no penalty when making a melee attack with a javelin." Avalanche of Blades + Tormtor School = keep rolling attacks until you roll a "1".

Or use imbued healing and just never stop rolling attacks.

[Zaq]

Ugh. Totally lost focus on this one.

Anyway, I had a build idea that was basically an elaborate prank. Not a joke—a prank. I was basically doing what one of the other chefs did and trying to abuse the wording on Superior Mounted Archery to use ranged equivalents to Power Attack to grab giant damage bonuses without attack penalties. Then, when the judges inevitably docked me points in Elegance for using a cheesy misreading of the rules, I was going to rebut that with an argument that SMA specifically prevents me from taking any penalties while using ranged weapons while mounted, so therefore I couldn't be assesses penalties in Elegance by RAW. I was even going to fire up the old Phoenix Wright "OBJECTION!" generator and everything. But I just couldn't get it together in time, which is probably for the best.

[Venger]

Ugh. Totally lost focus on this one.

Anyway, I had a build idea that was basically an elaborate prank. Not a joke—a prank. I was basically doing what one of the other chefs did and trying to abuse the wording on Superior Mounted Archery to use ranged equivalents to Power Attack to grab giant damage bonuses without attack penalties. Then, when the judges inevitably docked me points in Elegance for using a cheesy misreading of the rules, I was going to rebut that with an argument that SMA specifically prevents me from taking any penalties while using ranged weapons while mounted, so therefore I couldn't be assesses penalties in Elegance by RAW. I was even going to fire up the old Phoenix Wright "OBJECTION!" generator and everything. But I just couldn't get it together in time, which is probably for the best.

That is hysterical. better luck next time. then again, you'd have to find a way to make our current SI actually do something

[The Viscount]

That would have been uproarious. Good to see somebody else read the ability the same way, and it wasn't just me trying to break things.