Villainous Competition XX​I: Yarr!

[Thurbane]

Welcome to Round 21 of the Villainous Competition!

Previous Competitions
Round One: Leader of Armies (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395046)
Round Two: Nature's Revenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400517)
Round Three: Double Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406015)
Round Four: Grave Keeper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?413480)
Round Five: Crime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420704)
Round Six: Ultimate Predator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?430650)
Round Seven: Wicked Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?444478)
Round Eight: Master of the Tundra (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?461482)
Round Nine: The Power of Villainous Thinking (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?474230)
Round Ten: Henchman Are Villains Too (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478068)
Round Eleven: The Higher They Rise The Harder They Fall (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?483052)
Round Twelve: Power Comes at a Price (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?488846)
Round Thirteen: The Gadgeteer - You Are Not Batman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?491932)
Round Fourteen: The Thing That Should Not Be (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?496091)
Round Fifteen: The Horsemen Are Drawing Nearer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?500829)
Round Sixteen: Burn Baby Burn (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503974)
Round Seventeen: It's Alive! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?507768)
Round Eighteen: This is Heresy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?511933)
Round Nineteen: He Slimed Me! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516535)
Round Twenty: Elder Evil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?521560)

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

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

Secret Laboratory:
Competitors will be free to use any official 1st party (WotC) 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon Compendium is allowed, but Dragon magazine is disallowed. Unearthed Arcana is allowed. Web-exclusive 3.0 or 3.5 materials by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Item Familiars and Taint are also banned from the competition. Leadership and all similar abilities are banned for sanity reasons.
Builds that are fully monstrous are allowed at no penalty. All class levels are to be added on as associated class levels.
Elite array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) is the assumed ability score generation method.
Some monstrous characters can technically qualify for Epic feats as soon as their ECL is over 20. While regular Epic feats will be allowed, Epic Spellcasting and all other Epic feats that affect spells, psionic powers, or item creation are not permitted. Including these would give an unfair advantage over standard characters. For Incarnum characters, Epic Open Chakra feats are allowed; other Epic Incarnum feats are not. The Essentia Capacity increases for Epic capacity as described on p. 212. For all characters, please note that Racial Hit Dice do not count towards Epic Progression; use the regular progression even if the BAB ends up higher than 20.

Deadlines:
Contestants will have until 23:59 GMT Wednesday July 5th to create their builds and PM them to the Supreme Chancellor. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 23:59 GMT Wednesday July 12th* 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 deadline is subject to extension as/if required.

Judging:
Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Build Elegance, Competence and Power, Memorable Villainy.
Keep these questions in mind when judging each category:
Originality - Is it unexpected?
Build Elegance - Is it mechanically pretty?
Competence and Power - Can it do what the concept asks of it? Is this a powerfully-built character?
Memorable Villainy - Is this a villain with style? Will it be the BBEG players long to finally kill and then talk about for weeks?
Unearthed Arcana can be penalized for elegance if the specific feature seems unnecessary or makes the playing field unfair (In this case, you can give a 1 if it makes the field unfair.)
Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. As the Iron Chef competition states, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
You may not judge if you entered the contest, unless you withdraw your submission.

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!

Note:
There is now a hard limit on two (2) entries per competitor.

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


Code immediately below (spoiler).

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


15[t/td]
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities


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


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


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


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


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


You can use the table below for Spells.

Spells per Day/Spells Known
Spells per Day/Spells Known


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


Code Immediately Below,
Spells per Day/Spells Known
Spells per Day/Spells Known


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


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


[td]2nd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



Speculation:
Please don’t post or speculate on possible builds until the reveal, in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.
Once builds are revealed, please do not comment on errors or rules issues on entries unless you are a judge. If you have such a comment, wait until the final reveal to post it.

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


Yarr!
Under jolly roger.



Limitations



Must be "pirate" themed. I'm going to leave this one deliberately fairly open to interpretation. It'll be up to individual judges to decide how well they think you stuck to the theme.
As always, must be Evil in alignment


We will award 1st through 3rd places, and a possible Honorable Mention.
So, start your evil plotting!

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

PM: Thurbane
Subject: Villainous Competition 21, Name of your Entry
For Revisions and disputes, do the same thing. It makes it easier for me finding the entries in my mail box.
More questions? PM me with Villainous Competition 21 Questions in the header.

Tips for submitting your entry, provided by Weaselguy:


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

As always: let's keep it nice.

I'll mention that again - LET'S KEEP IT NICE! Bickering, name calling and nasty comments on the entries or other forum members are not tolerated.

New competition rule: if I feel an individual has been overly disruptive during the course of competition discussion, I will not be accepting and revealing any entries from that individual, and they will also not be allowed to judge. Any judging they enter will not be taken into account for the final tally.

It's sad that it had to come to this, but here's a list of permanently banned (from this Villainous Competition) members:

Novolin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?148361-Novolin)

[Thurbane]

THIS ROUND'S ENTRIES:



Ulgaal, the planar corsair (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166049&postcount=94)
Daggadol (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166052&postcount=95)
Kyra the Taker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166058&postcount=96)
Tadashi Shirahama, “The Wave Man” (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166061&postcount=97)
The Sea Dirge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166064&postcount=98)
Thrashk Deadeyes, The Albatross (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166067&postcount=99)
Ebbeth Unyak (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166069&postcount=100)
The Bookthief (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166071&postcount=101)
Old Tommy Rawhead (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166074&postcount=102)
Colsonaes, the Hunted Daughter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166077&postcount=103)
Cilawar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=22166079&postcount=104)



Clarifications

In the OP, there is the following quote:


Leadership and all similar abilities are banned for sanity reasons.

This existed in the default text before I took over the chair position, and I'd never really noticed how relatively vague and broad this is.

I prefer the wording in the Iron Chef posts:


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.

My personal interpretation, in terms of the Villainous Competition, is that there is a hard ban on the feats Leadership, Undead Leadership and Dragon Cohort. Wild Cohort is a more grey area, but I've allowed it in the past. Any other, similar feats I have forgotten about are on a case by case basis. Assume if they are quite similar to the specifically listed feats, they are also banned.

I'll specify, due to some enquiries I've had, that the " all similar abilities" clause in the OP, is somewhat relaxed here, so if a class granted an ability that allows some kind of followers, but not specifically granting one of the banned feats, it is OK.

From next comp onwards, I will be modifying the text in the OP to better reflect what I believe is fair and reasonable.


On the subject of messaging the chair (me), a few guidelines:
- I am not here to give critiques on your build or guess how the judges might score it! I tend to get quite a few messages of this nature each round.
- For entries, please keep the entry to no more than 2 message, if at all possible.
- For entries, don't expect me to search through your entry and edit in or out material. Entries should be sent to me complete - if there is a later revision, re-submit the full build. PLEASE DON'T INCLUDE TEXT IN YOUR SUBMISSION YOU WANT ME TO EDIT OUT FOR THE POST - SUBMIT IT TO ME EXACTLY HOW I WILL POST THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
- Please make sure the name of your entry is clearly present in the message.




http://www.themonolith.com/wp-content/uploads/Running-Wild-Port-Royal-560x562.jpg

[danielxcutter]

YO HO HO new round I see! This is going to be fun...

[Thurbane]

YO HO HO new round I see! This is going to be fun...

I'm looking forward to this one.

..with a relatively "open" theme for entries, I'm anticipating a lot of "does this count as pirate themed" PMs. :smallbiggrin:

[Buufreak]

I would just post a heart, but that is 8 characters too few to meet forum guidelines...

[danielxcutter]

I'm looking forward to this one.

..with a relatively "open" theme for entries, I'm anticipating a lot of "does this count as pirate themed" PMs. :smallbiggrin:

Hey, pretty much anything is can be refluffed as pirate themed with a bit of imagination. I just thought of two - albeit rather bland ones - myself.

As a matter of fact, I might enter... who cares if it isn't super awesome?

[Inevitability]

Oh, I've been waiting for this for some time. This is going to be fun.

[Gellhorn]

Whelp I've got an idea which amused me, let's see how this goes! Now just to see about getting myself a boat...

[khadgar567]

well name is chosen but i dont know i build some thing for know

[GrayDeath]

Already have a really really ridicolous idea...now I just need to find out how to actually accomplish it mechanically.

[Tiri]

July 11thh*You made a typographical error here.

[daremetoidareyo]

Depending on the number of entries I might be down to judge this one.

[Deadline]

I ... may actually have to craft up a villain for this one.

[Madara]

I haven't touched a competition in ages. What's the standard view of Dragon Mag?


and I dug through the text a second time :smallredface:

[daremetoidareyo]

I haven't touched a competition in ages. What's the standard view of Dragon Mag?

Only the Oriental Adventures update from Dragon 318 is admissible as well as (iron chef mix up, sorry).

Only the dragon compendium Source book. everything else is forbidden

[remetagross]

Hehehe, dem pirates! Nice to see there is no obligation to have a ship...
I'll try to give it a go, though I will camping, and thus be unable to make any disputes, at the time the judges deliver...well, that just means I need to produce a perfect build :smallbiggrin:

[Tiri]

Nice to see there is no obligation to have a ship...

Well, even the official definition of 'pirate' that relates to the sea doesn't specify that a ship is required. A pirate is someone who attacks and robs ships at sea, but they don't necessarily need to own a ship themselves.

Also, I was just pondering what to make and inspiration for an idea I liked just struck. I'd actually forgotten what that felt like. I think my brain is producing a rush of endorphins.

[Florian]

Yarrr! the first competition I´ll add a pure PF character to. That disqualifies me, but will be a huge step for pirate-hood.

[Venger]

Looking forward to this round, gonna see lots of different guys. Down to cook.

[Thurbane]

Yarrr! the first competition I´ll add a pure PF character to. That disqualifies me, but will be a huge step for pirate-hood.

If you want to add a character that you know won't be legal for judging, I would request that you wait to post it to the thread until after the reveal, rather than submitting it as an entry. The judges can comment on it as they see fit, if feedback is what you're after.

I don't want to set a precedent where competitors knowingly use illegal sources in their entries.

[danielxcutter]

You know, I think this round has the shortest title.

[Technetium43]

Okay, I literally pre-built a character so that I would have the most time to work on writeups. Don't fail me now, brain!

[LordOfCain]

Hmmmmm... I'm a going to make a [REDACTED] pirate if I can pull together some spare time!!!! Mwahahahahaha!

[Telonius]

I've got a few ideas for this one. Off to AwesomeCon this weekend, but hopefully I'll be able to cook something up before the deadline.

[InvisibleBison]

I've got an idea that might work for this contest. I'll keep poking it for a while, and if it turns out to be decent I'll submit it.

[Buufreak]

A thought occurred, and I doubt it can be done without d20 modern. How would one go about being a pirater of movies in dnd?

[Inevitability]

A thought occurred, and I doubt it can be done without d20 modern. How would one go about being a pirater of movies in dnd?

Incantatrix who uses Snatch Spell on figments? :smalltongue:

[Tiri]

Hey, not too much speculation. For all we know someone is building that.

[Thurbane]

Hey, not too much speculation. For all we know someone is building that.

Agreed.

Even tongue-in-cheek speculation is still speculation.


I'm getting a slow but steady flow of entries.

I was really impressed at how quickly the first one came through. :smallsmile:


In the OP, there is the following quote:


Leadership and all similar abilities are banned for sanity reasons.

This existed in the default text before I took over the chair position, and I'd never really noticed how relatively vague and broad this is.

I prefer the wording in the Iron Chef posts:


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.

My personal interpretation, in terms of the Villainous Competition, is that there is a hard ban on the feats Leadership, Undead Leadership and Dragon Cohort. Wild Cohort is a more grey area, but I've allowed it in the past. Any other, similar feats I have forgotten about are on a case by case basis. Assume if they are quite similar to the specifically listed feats, they are also banned.

I'll specify, due to some enquiries I've had, that the " all similar abilities" clause in the OP, is somewhat relaxed here, so if a class granted an ability that allows some kind of followers, but not specifically granting one of the banned feats, it is OK.

From next comp onwards, I will be modifying the text in the OP to better reflect what I believe is fair and reasonable.

[danielxcutter]

Understood, Mr. Thurbane. That seems appropriate.

[Hackulator]

So I feel like the ban on leadership prevents us from being a pirate captain, am I wrong on this, or can we just be assumed to have hirelings if we want to go the captain route?

[danielxcutter]

So I feel like the ban on leadership prevents us from being a pirate captain, am I wrong on this, or can we just be assumed to have hirelings if we want to go the captain route?

It's possible to have allies without them, so probably the latter.

[AvatarVecna]

So I feel like the ban on leadership prevents us from being a pirate captain, am I wrong on this, or can we just be assumed to have hirelings if we want to go the captain route?


In the OP, there is the following quote:



This existed in the default text before I took over the chair position, and I'd never really noticed how relatively vague and broad this is.

I prefer the wording in the Iron Chef posts:



My personal interpretation, in terms of the Villainous Competition, is that there is a hard ban on the feats Leadership, Undead Leadership and Dragon Cohort. Wild Cohort is a more grey area, but I've allowed it in the past. Any other, similar feats I have forgotten about are on a case by case basis. Assume if they are quite similar to the specifically listed feats, they are also banned.

I'll specify, due to some enquiries I've had, that the " all similar abilities" clause in the OP, is somewhat relaxed here, so if a class granted an ability that allows some kind of followers, but not specifically granting one of the banned feats, it is OK.

From next comp onwards, I will be modifying the text in the OP to better reflect what I believe is fair and reasonable.

I've bolded the part of Thurbane's post that seems relevant to me. Given that the Dread Pirate PrC (hopefully it doesn't count as too much speculation to mention that building a Dread Pirate is a possibility in a Pirate-themed contest) gets a Leadership-esque ability as a class feature, and the ruling seems to call out class feature based Leadership as being acceptable, I think that allowing this kind of thing is an intended part of the ruling here.

[Tiri]

If Dread Pirate's Leadership-esque ability (followers only) is allowed, then I would argue a class that granted Leadership outright should be allowed to have it work in this way (followers only). It's still removing the most powerful part of the feat, and it means that the class's original power is not so reduced, especially when compared to a class with a Leadership-like ability that is not Leadership, like the Dread Pirate.

[daremetoidareyo]

Its wierd that we're discussing leadership for this competition and zero reference has been made of the one aspect that tanked a build in the last competition that is thematically appropriate for this comp and sheds light on the leadership rule of needing more nuance.

Great captain feat. It requires leadership and offers a unique ability that has nothing to do with any of the benefits of the leadership feat. It shares this distinction with literally one other feat with a leadership pre-req, blood of the warlord from races of faerun.

Copying the text from iron chef is a great way to avoid belaboring this point further while allowing thematically appropriate character design without requiring judges to preside over a melange of characters in a single entry instead of a singleton.

[Hackulator]

Should we have items, or generally not since these are monsters/CR based entries?

[daremetoidareyo]

Should we have items, or generally not since these are monsters/CR based entries?

Judges hate items. Post them if you can think of them anyway so they get over it eventually.

[Buufreak]

Should we have items, or generally not since these are monsters/CR based entries?


Judges hate items. Post them if you can think of them anyway so they get over it eventually.

Judges hate reliance on items. Especially me. If your build doesn't work without the items listed, then the build doesn't work.

My 2 cents, anyways.

[daremetoidareyo]

Judges hate reliance on items. Especially me. If your build doesn't work without the items listed, then the build doesn't work.

My 2 cents, anyways.

I see this. But as someone who prefers martials over magic users, that means magic users get a bump in power inherent to their base class choice while martials get hit in elegance for level appropriate gear.

[remetagross]

I see this. But as someone who prefers martials over magic users, that means magic users get a bump in power inherent to their base class choice while martials get hit in elegance for level appropriate gear.

It depends. A Wizard villain that is not supposed to rely on items has to content with a meager four spells in his spellbook per spell level, since he cannot rely on bought scrolls or other non-free means to improve his spellbook.

[daremetoidareyo]

It depends. A Wizard villain that is not supposed to rely on items has to content with a meager four spells in his spellbook per spell level, since he cannot rely on bought scrolls or other non-free means to improve his spellbook.

That seems like less of a travesty than having no absolutely no means of hitting an incorporeal enemy and zero recourse for adjusting that. And mentioning a tried and true option for accomodating that weakness means your score goes down?

Meanwhile, having a class feature like tower shield proficiency or heavy armor proficiency be actively weighed against a dish for deigning to suggest an optimal piece of equipment to fit into that slot. It's like being allowed to have spell slots but getting penalized for choosing what actually goes into those slots.

The "reliance"-on-items metric for a judge perpetuates caster supremacy, even in the pony show of build creation. 4 spells known per level for a wizard isn't even close to that level of constraint. Especially if you compare that contest limitation to sorcerers (no know stones, oh NO!!! However shall that builder be content?)

[AvatarVecna]

It depends. A Wizard villain that is not supposed to rely on items has to content with a meager four spells in his spellbook per spell level, since he cannot rely on bought scrolls or other non-free means to improve his spellbook.

Collegiate Wizard and/or Greyhawk Method (depending on if you think they stack or not) combined with Elven Generalist gives you quite a few extra spells in your spellbook...not that this is a particularly significant limitation. A recent thread had a poster put forth the idea that a Wizard 20 with literally nothing worth mentioning except Shapechange and Astral Projection is a great deal more powerful than all but perhaps the most optimized Fighter builds. At lower levels, the same is probably true of a Wizard with Scrying, Teleport, and Polymorph to a certain extent. While it's taking me some time to hunt down ATM, I recall putting together a pretty decent Wizard spellbook with nothing but the base number of spells all chosen from Core, that still had a significant amount of blasting, BFC, buffing, debuffing, and utility, and didn't even touch summoning spells except for Gate.

A pennyless wizard who can't turn cash into extra spells in their spellbook is still a mother****ing wizard. A fighter who can't turn cash into magic items is, in many respects, about as capable against high-level enemies as a commoner would be...unless they've used Leadership to pick up a Wizard cohort, I suppose.

EDIT: A Post of mine from another thread unrelated to spellbook size:


The minimum number of spells necessary to be flexible enough that you can T1 your way through things? Hmm...Command Undead, Animate Dead, Polymorph, Scrying, Teleport, and Contingency should do well. If you absolutely had to do it with three, I'd probably say Polymorph, Scrying, and Teleport: Scrying lets you gather information far in advance, giving you a bit of time to research possible specialized spells for defeating the foe in question (or at least specialized Polymorph forms for the same purpose), Teleport (particularly combined with Scrying) gives you greater control over the circumstances the fight will take place in, and Polymorph lets you play a giant game of Rock Paper Scissors where you get to make your choice after seeing your opponents. It won't always be perfect, but it doesn't have to be. But being T1, to my understanding, means having lots of different combos at various levels you could pull off for these three categories. I'm off to put together a few spells lists.

A post later in that same thread has a list of Core-only spells, separated out by level and by what category they really help with. There's some spells that are present in multiple categories because they're particularly useful, powerful, or flexible spells, but I have a feeling that you could squeeze all of them into the same spellbook (haven't checked yet, but I will soon, just to be sure).

[Buufreak]

Collegiate Wizard and/or Greyhawk Method (depending on if you think they stack or not) combined with Elven Generalist...

... which is just enough copy/pasta wizardry to tank an originality score to oblivion.

On the question of martials needing equipment, I've done my best to judge the power/competence bit far closer to the later. You are a full caster? You better really bring some a-game. Martial? Show me exactly what you can do beyond hitting with a shiny stick.

[AvatarVecna]

... which is just enough copy/pasta wizardry to tank an originality score to oblivion.

On the question of martials needing equipment, I've done my best to judge the power/competence bit far closer to the later. You are a full caster? You better really bring some a-game. Martial? Show me exactly what you can do beyond hitting with a shiny stick.

And as the rest of my post is pointing out, that's only necessary if you can't be satisfied with your basic 2 per level, which is more than enough to create a highly versatile and powerful mage.

EDIT: Besides, if that's how you're doing Originality (that is, originality of individual mechanics as far as thinktank goes), it becomes a choice between using stuff that comes up a lot in theorycrafting (and probably end up fairly eh at best power-wise), or use the things that are known to be good and abandon part of your originality to get some decent power. Part of why, when I'm judging, Originality is more about villain concepts than individual mechanics, to avoid making people pick between a rock and a hard place, or forcing them to find a path to significant power that's weird enough that it's rarely been done before in an edition that's practically old enough to drive a car.

[remetagross]

That seems like less of a travesty than having no absolutely no means of hitting an incorporeal enemy and zero recourse for adjusting that. And mentioning a tried and true option for accomodating that weakness means your score goes down?

Meanwhile, having a class feature like tower shield proficiency or heavy armor proficiency be actively weighed against a dish for deigning to suggest an optimal piece of equipment to fit into that slot. It's like being allowed to have spell slots but getting penalized for choosing what actually goes into those slots.

The "reliance"-on-items metric for a judge perpetuates caster supremacy, even in the pony show of build creation. 4 spells known per level for a wizard isn't even close to that level of constraint. Especially if you compare that contest limitation to sorcerers (no know stones, oh NO!!! However shall that builder be content?)

Fair enough, though all builds are generally considered to be stuffed with the big 6 magic items. That includes magic weapons, so that's for dealing with incorporeal foes. On the other hand, relying on very specific items, I can understand being frown on. Be that an Amulet of Ooze Riding or a scroll of some obscure 3.0 Oriental Adventures spell. Sure, a Wizard can pick it as a free level-up spell, but then that means renouncing to one of the must-have spells of that level.

[Buufreak]

And as the rest of my post is pointing out, that's only necessary if you can't be satisfied with your basic 2 per level, which is more than enough to create a highly versatile and powerful mage.

EDIT: Besides, if that's how you're doing Originality (that is, originality of individual mechanics as far as thinktank goes), it becomes a choice between using stuff that comes up a lot in theorycrafting (and probably end up fairly eh at best power-wise), or use the things that are known to be good and abandon part of your originality to get some decent power. Part of why, when I'm judging, Originality is more about villain concepts than individual mechanics, to avoid making people pick between a rock and a hard place, or forcing them to find a path to significant power that's weird enough that it's rarely been done before in an edition that's practically old enough to drive a car.

I understand that, and maybe I should refrain from posting from my phone because it is just so limiting. The easiest thing to say is I try not to overgeneralize, and look at everything subjectively, and not comparatively to one another. If at any point I say something like "well, you are mundane, and there is a full caster submitted..." it is safe to assume my account got hacked.

But my main point here is while no build is a perfect 20, I'm also not going to intentionally tank a score based on another. If you have an unoriginal idea, but are going about it an original way, you'll get the points that deserves. If you are using the same TO build crap that has flooded front page after front page, then expect me to score appropriately. Like I said, no build will be perfect, but as you strive for it, you will find greatness, and a score to match it.

[Venger]

So leadership allowed or what


My personal interpretation, in terms of the Villainous Competition, is that there is a hard ban on the feats Leadership, Undead Leadership and Dragon Cohort. Wild Cohort is a more grey area, but I've allowed it in the past. Any other, similar feats I have forgotten about are on a case by case basis. Assume if they are quite similar to the specifically listed feats, they are also banned.

I'll specify, due to some enquiries I've had, that the " all similar abilities" clause in the OP, is somewhat relaxed here, so if a class granted an ability that allows some kind of followers, but not specifically granting one of the banned feats, it is OK.

No leadership. No way. No how.

[Deadline]

Judges hate reliance on items. Especially me. If your build doesn't work without the items listed, then the build doesn't work.

My 2 cents, anyways.

This. When I judge (at least when I judge Iron Chef or Junkyard Wars), your build should work without items. I assume relevant WBL for all builds, which really just means those items can shake out of the decision making process entirely (i.e. all builds will have relevant stat boosting items, offensive, and defensive items). If your build has 12 Str and takes Power Attack (because you qualify while wearing your +2 Str item), that's where you are going to take a hit from me.

For VC, I'd probably do it a bit different, and be sure to note any important "Treasure" (items are Treasure on NPCs, right?:smalltongue:). I did this for my entry in the "Henchmen Are Villains Too" round - Mozz'rat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20502192&postcount=110).

Generally, look in the various Monster Manuals to see what I'm on about. Most will just say something like "Standard Treasure", but some entries specify an item or two.

[Hackulator]

How do you want us to format our entries if the creature doesn't easily fit into that table, IE I have a bunch of monster hit dice that get me to a certain CR and then class levels on top of it.

[daremetoidareyo]

How do you want us to format our entries if the creature doesn't easily fit into that table, IE I have a bunch of monster hit dice that get me to a certain CR and then class levels on top of it.

Many entrants add a column that differentiate HD from CR and put the monster race on the first row.
It's really easy in WYSIWYG mode (the top left button of the text prompt window). Click on your table and then click the insert column after button on the table toolbar (the bottom row of buttons on the text prompt window with a green arrow pointing down)

[Thurbane]

How do you want us to format our entries if the creature doesn't easily fit into that table, IE I have a bunch of monster hit dice that get me to a certain CR and then class levels on top of it.

You can always insert extra rows into the table in my OP.

Or, better yet, have a look at how previous entries have done this. There will be plenty of examples, and people have tackled it different ways.

I would also ask that speculation be kept to a minimum, even if a particular PrC seems an obvious choice for this particular round.

For Leadership etc. as I said earlier, I have clarified for the current comp in the 2nd post. For future comps, I will change the wording of the OP to be clearer.

[Jormengand]

As far as items are concerned, when judging (which I did exactly once, but shh) I don't mind reliance on items in general so much as specific items. If your build needs a magic melee weapon that's fine. If your build has specific +longsword feats and therefore really wants a magic longsword, that's fine becuase the build would work just as well with +battleaxe feats and a magic battleaxe. Hells, even if you absolutely need some kind of magic longsword, that's fine. I'd be a lot more wary of specifically need a holy flaming speed longsword +5 for some reason.

Also, I'd give a lot more slack to "I need magic swords" or "I need scrolls" or "I need +stat items" or "I need amulets of the silver tongue or rings of jumping" than I would give to "I need this specific item that does this incredibly odd thing."

Though it probably doesn't matter since I have a vague idea for a build in mind.

[Tiri]

For Leadership etc. as I said earlier, I have clarified for the current comp in the 2nd post. For future comps, I will change the wording of the OP to be clearer.

What do you think of my suggestion on how to handle Leadership? Just curious.

[Thurbane]

What do you think of my suggestion on how to handle Leadership? Just curious.

I'll give it some consideration, but to be honest, I won't be going far from what I've got in the second post.

It may be worth noting that we've had an entry win since I've been chair that had the Leadership feat.

The competitor asked me if it was OK (it was a req for a PrC), and I replied that it was his own choice, and the judges would score as they saw fit (or judge the build illegal).

[GrayDeath]

Damn, ran into a problem with my concept.

Say, if anyone reading this would like to help me find a very specific thing that would make or break m Idea (a noncompetitor/Judge of course) or, if h is one of these rare D&D Encyclopediaheads, tell me simply that it does not exist, then I would be very grateful.

As wasting roughly 8 hours searching has left me rather disheartened.

[Inevitability]

Damn, ran into a problem with my concept.

Say, if anyone reading this would like to help me find a very specific thing that would make or break m Idea (a noncompetitor/Judge of course) or, if h is one of these rare D&D Encyclopediaheads, tell me simply that it does not exist, then I would be very grateful.

As wasting roughly 8 hours searching has left me rather disheartened.

I think I'm going to miss out on this competition. Feel free to PM me.

Fairly sure this isn't against the rules: asking the same question on the boards for everyone to see wouldn't be either, even if you used the answer in your build, right?

[GrayDeath]

It would still mark my entry as mine clear as day, and probably influence others (be it judging or building), which I do not want.

But thanks for the offer, I`ll take it (and also thanks for those who already PM`ed me).

[danielxcutter]

Eh, think I won't make this one either. Now that I think of it there wasn't anything really special about it, and I don't have the motiviation or the time either.

[Telonius]

Mine is in - hope it's not victory by default.

[Thurbane]

Mine is in - hope it's not victory by default.

No, it's all good, we've got a relatively healthy amount of entries for this one, and I would anticipate more before the deadline.

As always, if anyone has a request for an extension, it will be considered.

[Buufreak]

Roughly at the 36 hour mark! I'm so super excited for this one, I can't even contain it!

[remetagross]

I'll have to pass on this one :smallfrown: I got an avalanche of work to sift through in the next few days, and my villain is still a simple build at the time...

Good luck to all though!

[Tiri]

Time to get started on my entry, I suppose.

[Thurbane]

I asked before but didnt get clear reply. Can you put RHD advance after getting class levels?


Just need to know

I've never seen it done that way myself, and I'm not sure of the RAW support for advancing that way.

All I can say is that there isn't a specific rule in the competition against it, and that the judges would score it as they saw fit.

[Hackulator]

Ok my entry is in. Hoping to at least get a nod for being the most original.

[The Viscount]

Pretty happy with my entry, looking forward to what everyone thought up.

[GrayDeath]

I have to work today, which is unexpected.
Since (thanks to some answers to my problems! ) I am almost done one day of extension would do for me, got a free day tomorrow :)

[Tiri]

With two others already asking I feel a little more comfortable asking for an extension too. The build I'm working on is relatively easy to re-purpose so not being able to finish the build wouldn't upset me too much, but It would still be nice to be able to get it in this round.

[Thurbane]

Extension granted: 3 extra days (Wednesday 5th 23:59).

I'll updated the OP.

(Work internet access is blocking the first page, probably due to an image there. I'll update when I'm Home from work in about 9 hours).

[Baby Gary]

Extension granted: 3 extra days (Wednesday 5th 23:59).

I'll updated the OP.

(Work internet access is blocking the first page, probably due to an image there. I'll update when I'm Home from work in about 9 hours).

what time zone?

[zergling.exe]

what time zone?

72 hrs from the previous deadline I would assume. Whatever time it was before but 3 days later.

[Buufreak]

72 hrs from the previous deadline I would assume. Whatever time it was before but 3 days later.

New date: Wednesday 23:59 GMT.

[Aka-chan]

Whew! I haven't participated in one of these in a long time, but I just sent a build in.

[Aka-chan]

Good luck. Which build you did before?

I made Olarys Jurgensdottir in the very first round (Leader of Armies), and Ogren Dellahunt for the Double Agent round.

[Thurbane]

I made Olarys Jurgensdottir in the very first round (Leader of Armies), and Ogren Dellahunt for the Double Agent round.

Glad to have you back on board. :smallsmile:

[Buufreak]

Is it too early to make suggestions for the next round?

[GrayDeath]

Sadly I ahve to admit Iwont finish it till tonight.

Unlike my original expectation I hav ebeen working nonstop since friday, and sleeping. Thats about it.

Too bad, had a cool (if a bit silly) concept for the round.......sigh....:(

[Hackulator]

Am I correct that the deadline is in less than 4 hours?

I'm interested to see what people did.

[TerrickTerran]

Wish I had time to have participated because I had a couple of fun ideas for it but alas been too busy with trip planning and work to do so but looking forward to the entries.

[Buufreak]

Wish I had time to have participated because I had a couple of fun ideas for it but alas been too busy with trip planning and work to do so but looking forward to the entries.

Well, if you find yourself with a bit of time this upcoming week, we always appreciate a few judges!

[Thurbane]

Am I correct that the deadline is in less than 4 hours?

I'm interested to see what people did.

The deadline is approximately 2 hours 17 minutes from now.

However, I won't be posting the reveal until I get back from work, in around 10 hours. Entries will be accepted up to the point of the reveal.

Off the top of my head, some of the other already suggested themes include:


Two Heads Are Better Than One
Pokemaster (cminionmancy without leadership)
Yin and Yang (uses two kinds of opposing themes/abilities)
Tag Team (two villains that work together)
Cult-related
Catch Me if You Can (villain based around being undetectable/untouchable)
The Politician
Evil Enemy Enhancer (villain that focuses on buffing henchman/minions)
Lone Wolf (additional restrictions on any abilities or spells that can gather minions or allies)

Fair warning - I more-or-less have the next theme locked in already. :smallwink:

[Buufreak]

The deadline is approximately 2 hours 17 minutes from now.

However, I won't be posting the reveal until I get back from work, in around 10 hours. Entries will be accepted up to the point of the reveal.

Off the top of my head, some of the other already suggested themes include:


Two Heads Are Better Than One
Pokemaster (cminionmancy without leadership)
Yin and Yang (uses two kinds of opposing themes/abilities)
Tag Team (two villains that work together)
Cult-related
Catch Me if You Can (villain based around being undetectable/untouchable)
The Politician
Evil Enemy Enhancer (villain that focuses on buffing henchman/minions)
Lone Wolf (additional restrictions on any abilities or spells that can gather minions or allies)

Fair warning - I more-or-less have the next theme locked in already. :smallwink:

Okay, cool, then I'll throw this out there for potentially the next NEXT one!

Potential Villainous Competition XXIII: For the Overmind
A single mind is a terrible thing to waste. But a connection of thousands, if not millions of minds, are down right terrifying. The rules would be simple, same old VC rules (pending any changes in the near future) but the entrant must in some form or fashion be linked to others in its species/colony/clan/etc, much in the way the above quoted "Overmind" is connected to all Zerg, and by extension, each Zerg to one another.

[mastermisha1]

As a spectator, I hope that round XXII is two heads are better than one. I would love to see how all the competitors approach that theme (mostly cause I may or may not be looking for such a creation for a campaign, but am not skilled enough to make onr myself.)

[Jormengand]

Okay, cool, then I'll throw this out there for potentially the next NEXT one!

Potential Villainous Competition XXIII: For the Overmind
A single mind is a terrible thing to waste. But a connection of thousands, if not millions of minds, are down right terrifying. The rules would be simple, same old VC rules (pending any changes in the near future) but the entrant must in some form or fashion be linked to others in its species/colony/clan/etc, much in the way the above quoted "Overmind" is connected to all Zerg, and by extension, each Zerg to one another.

The Overmind? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20332988&postcount=45)

[Deadline]

Why not just change deadline since this always happen

Dude, chill out. :smallcool: It's a silly internet contest with made up deadlines, restrictions, and judging criteria. Taking it too seriously will only lead to frustration, and that's just no fun for anybody.

In other news, since I have a few more hours, I should be able to finish up my entry, assuming nothing else jumps up needing immediate attention. :smalltongue:

[Inevitability]

Okay, cool, then I'll throw this out there for potentially the next NEXT one!

Potential Villainous Competition XXIII: For the Overmind
A single mind is a terrible thing to waste. But a connection of thousands, if not millions of minds, are down right terrifying. The rules would be simple, same old VC rules (pending any changes in the near future) but the entrant must in some form or fashion be linked to others in its species/colony/clan/etc, much in the way the above quoted "Overmind" is connected to all Zerg, and by extension, each Zerg to one another.

Ooo, hiveminds! Let us show the glory of this superior form of existence to all.

[Thurbane]

Without any further ado, here is the reveal.

Please refrain from posting until I give the all clear.

[Thurbane]

Ulgaal, the planar corsair




Quadruple Evolved Undead large Atropal Scion (27 HD)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Attributes:



Attribute
Elite Array
Racial Modifier
Size Change
Evolved Undead
Total
Bonus


Str
13
+2
+8
+8
31
+11


Dex
10
+4
-2
+0
12
+1


Con
- (8)
-
-(+4)
(+0)
-



Int
12
+6
+0
+0
18
+4


Wis
14
+12
+0
+0
26
+8


Cha
15
+10
+0
+8
33
+12






I decided not to provide a single row for every CR because it is pretty pointless. It is a simple Undead progression featured in the entry followed by four times evolved undead. So I picked the minimum CR and the sweet spots to do the table. Feats are listed in order taken.



CR
Undead HD
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Special Attacks and Special Qualities


11
9
4
+3
+3
+6
Listen +13, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (religion) +13, Knowledge (planes) +13, Move Silently +13, Spot +13, Swim +2.5, Use magic device +13
Apprentice (Spellcaster), Lifesense, Corpsecrafter, Nimble bones
Death gaze,
negative
energy aura,
spell-like abilities: 3/day—animate dead, create undead, cone
of cold, desecrate, dispel magic, invisibility, plane shift, speak
with dead, teleport
Damage reduction 10/
adamantine,
darkvision 60 ft.,
fast healing
8,
rebuke undead 11/day (+8, 2d6+17, minimal 8 HD or lower affected),
undead traits, unholy grace


14
17
+8
+5
+5
+10
Listen +21, Knowledge (arcana) +21, Knowledge (religion) +21, Knowledge (planes) +21, Move Silently +21, Spot +21, Swim +7, Use magic device +20
Destruction Retribution, Bolster Resistance
rebuke undead 11/day (+8, 2d6+25, minimal 16 HD or lower affected)


16
27
+13
+9
+9
+15
Listen +31, Knowledge (arcana) +31, Knowledge (religion) +31, Knowledge (planes) +31, Move Silently +31, Spot +31, Swim +12, Use magic device +30
Quicken Turning, Evil's Blessing, Planar Turning [Epic Feat], Undead Mastery [Epic]
rebuke undead 11/day (+8, 2d6+33, minimal 26 HD or lower affected)


20
4x Evolved Undead
+13
+9
+9
+15
Listen +31, Knowledge (arcana) +31, Knowledge (religion) +31, Knowledge (planes) +31, Move Silently +31, Spot +31, Swim +12, Use magic device +30

SLAs chosen from the Evolved Undead table: Haste, Greater Dispel Magic, Hold Monster and Greater Invisibility
rebuke undead 15/day (+12, 2d6+37, minimal 28 HD or lower affected)





Rebuking is very rarely used in games and honestly I have never optimized it before. It is in my humble opinion way to complicated but it is worthwhile for anyone who has a full (or almost full) progression of turn/rebuke undead which means mainly pure Cleric builds. The Atropal Scion counts as a cleric of its HD for rebuking undead. Paired with a very high charisma, the rebuke levels offer a lot. It increases our pool of undead we can control by another 27 HD. Animate dead states this exception explicitly.
The way rebuking works the most important thing is your effective rebuke level which you should try to boost as much as possible. a phylactery of undead turning (+4) out of DMG, a scepter of the netherworld (+3) in libris morts and almost funny: a sacred shield or armor adds +2 and although it is out of the book of exalted deeds there is no clause that it can't be used by an evil character. On top all these boni are untyped so wear sacred armor and a sacred shield if you like although you are not proficient with it but who cares about the attack penalty. So let's add up all the acquired boni and check what we command: our minimal level is 28+4 +3+2+2= 39 levels of rebuke. Maximum is 3 higher so 42 which we hit on a roll of 10+ with a d20. Let's check what we can command with these numbers and let me quote an K's revised necromancer handbook for that:

Rebuking by level and Source:
1 or less: Nothing!
2 Human Skeleton (MM), Ghostly Visage (FF)
4 Wolf Skeleton (MM), Kobold Zombie (MM)
6 Shadow (MM), Murk (LM), Raiment (LM), Tomb Mote (LM)
8 Ghoul (MM), Wight (MM), Troglodyte Zombie (MM), Slay Mate! (LM), Bone Rat Swarm (LM), Desiccator (LM), Skin Kite (LM), Vasuthant (MM3)
10 Deathlock (LM)
12 Allip (MM), Ghast (MM), Vampire Spawn(MM), Skulking Cyst (LM), Spectral Lyrist (LM), Voidwraith (LM), Spawn of Kyuss (MM2)
14 Wraith (MM), Brain in a Jar (LM)
16 Mummy (MM), Corpse Rat Swarm (LM), Entomber (LM), Plagueblight (LM), Bhut (FF)
18 Bodak (MM), Spectre (MM), Atropal Scion (LM), Crypt Chanter (LM), Quell (LM), Skirr (LM)
20 Bleakborn (LM), Blood Amniote (LM), Bloodmote Cloud (LM), Cinderspawn (LM), Crypt Thing (FF)
22 Bonedrinker (MM3)
24 Devourer (MM), Boneclaw (MM3), Ephemeral Swarm (MM3), Grimweird (MM3), Salt Mummy (MM3), Quth-Maren (FF)
26 Wheep (LM), Crimson Death (MM2)
28 Mohrg (MM), Forsaken Shell (LM)
30 Bone Naga (MM2)
32 Dread Wraith (MM), Visage (LM), Dust Wight (MM3), Plague Spewer (MM3), Abyssal Ghoul (FF), Hullathoin (FF)
34 Nightwing (MM), Boneyard (LM), Dream Vestige (LM), Ulgurstasta (FF)
36 Blaspheme (LM), Slaughterwight (LM), Blood Fiend (FF)
38 Entropic Reaper (LM)
40 Hulking Corpse (LM), Drowned (MM3)
42 Nightwalker (MM), Charnel Hound (MM3)

Bone Naga is a standout to me. Casts as a 14th level sorcerer and hitting 30 levels of rebuking is doable and very likely even without any magic items. The drowned is thematically very fitting and there are plenty of interesting things in there: Nightwing and Nightwalker, Ephemeral Swarm (also known as f*** off by players all around the world).

On top we have access to two Epic Feat. This may cause some ruckus whether or not a monster with 20 or more HD qualifies for epic feats but the build works just fine without it if you ban Epic things all together. Undead mastery is a simple boost in commanded undead, althougt a significant one (108 HD to 270 HD). Planar Turning is just gravy and adds to the interplanar piracy theme. Outsiders can be rebuked and half their spell resistance applies as turning resistance. Let's check some examples:
Balor (20 HD, 28 SR =14 turn resistance) equals 34 HD of rebuking. So with the items listed above we hit this number easily. We don't even need all of them. The scepter and the phylactery are more than enough. There isn't even a need to roll: the Balor cowers in fear before you for 10 rounds. Pit Fiends (18 HD, 32 SR) have the same target number (34 HD), so the same result. Now let's see what we can command: Erinyes (19 HD rebuke, 38 command), bone devil (20 /40), Kyton (17/34), Hezrou (20/40), Succubus (15/30) Vrocks (18/36) or a Cauchemar (15/30) are all within range and that was just the MM I and mostly just monsters that are very likely to meet. For those about to wish: Efreeti have 10 HD and no SR. Free wishes, hooray.
One more thing: Rebuking is a free action thanks to Quicken turning.



To those confused by the amount of necromancy involved let me tell you: YARRRR!!
On a more serious note: Necromancy and pirates go hand in hand regarding the many tales of ghost ships, zombie pirates and so on. The main reason I chose a dedicated necromancer is but a simple one: the bone creature template and its many many many abuses. Atropal Scions have Create Undead and Animate Dead as an SLA which solves one big issue with necromancy: the gems=GP needed. SLAs don't require material components. So free animating all day long. On top we can always reanimate as many 2 HD creatures that died because of our aura as Wights as we want. But let's talk about more stylish things than the "Wightocalypse". Ulgaal not only is a pirate. He even supplies other pirates with vessels minions or whatever they need. Thereby Ulgaal secures his position at the top. All the stuff he sells is undead and they are of better quality than any other undead because of the corpsecrafter line of feats.

Credit to Inevitability for the first stylish thing: my ride (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21159572&postcount=4) is cooler than yours. Pirates on squid jetbikes. Ulgaal can casually stroll by on his squid (320ft. per round) and effect anyone with his aura, rebuke as a free action, cast as a standard action and probably smile and wave as a move action. The item of constant levitate must be bought though.

The second cool ride is also not unknown in the playground although I found the thread only after I searched for Elsewhale + bone creature because I wasn't sure if someone would argue that once a bone creature loses all its flesh the mouth compartment is gone. Then I found this thread: the taxidermist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-415652.html). Seems like no one obliges.
Elsewhales are just amazing: among being able to planeshift 1/day, they can carry along 1 large, 4 medium or 16 small creatures in their mouth and best part: they are sold for 8.000 GP. Usually you have to pay another 50 GP per day but we will just slay it and reanimate it as a bone creature. Decorate it and finished is our pirate vessel. We won't bother with the whole winged/half-fey shenanigans and just use our Elsewhale as a submarine or ship. Because these things are amazing and probably the whole world envies you for your ship, it could be a good idea to start an Elsewhale farm. Sadly there is no word on reproduction in their entry but I assume that their availability as mounts means someone is breeding them. Find that someone and make him an offer he can not refuse. Or pay him 8.000 GP per Elsewhale. Reanimating it would cost you 6.000 GP anyway if you weren't an Atropal Scion and selling them as powered up bone creatures should raise the price. Of course you can also just command an evil aquatic Outsider to do the breeding for you.

More creatures worth looking at: the aforementioned Cauchemar or its little brother the Nightmare are also great as a bone creatures. Ulgaal isn't much of a rider but an undead still able to go on the astral and ethereal plane sounds promising as a gift or favour. Or simply sell it for loads of GP. Even at CR 11 the Nightmare is already an option because it only has 6 HD. Of course there are still the "standard" uses of Create Undead for Mummies and even Mohrgs can be useful if you "feed" them easy prey and they build their own zombie army but this is just poor compared to the natural Wight plague a Atropal Scion is capable of.


Ulgaal constantly tracks down other pirate crews and wants to show them his superior force. He is no fool though and only picks fights he knows he will win. For his vast undead horde he is constantly looking for gear and magical equipment to bolster their strength. His favorite battle method is attrition. He simply sends wave after wave of undead creatures until his enemies forces are weakened enough to deal the final blow. Often the pirates give in earlier and swear fealthy to Ulguul although most of them do it to the Bone Naga not realizing that she is a thrall too.


Ulgaal himself is a decent boss fight. Of course he shines most with some undead minions as his negative energy aura boosts them greatly. Usual he buffs himself with invisibility before the fight. Evil's Blessing doubles Charisma on all saves for 5 rounds but takes a standard action. This can be an important buff to bolster the saves. At CR 20 this means +24 on all saves before base bonus and usual attribute. AC also ends up decently high thanks to Cha to AC as well. The evolved undead template is one of the rare cases where everything stacks so Ulgaal ends up with fast healing 12 (this overwrites the fast healing of his aura and his own).
Ulgaal's offensive potential are definitely in his death gaze (Fort DC 26) and negative aura sprinkled with some SLA's. Thanks to his strength bonus grapple is also an option vs. medium and smaller opponents. Wands may be an excellent way to give Ulgaal more blasting power (UMD is high enough to pass anything out there except epic challenges). Although his cone of cold SLA thrice a day can be decent enough. All in all Ulgaal should be played as a coward and a grey eminence hiding behind his thralls. His ranks in swim should show his love for the ocean. Ulgaal simply likes swimming and at CR 20 he isn't half-bad at it either.


This is an example set up of Ulgaal's Fleet purely by the virtue of his ability to command undead and outsiders. This is a force for a classic pirate environment meaning an ocean with islands and coastlines like the material plane. I wanted to make a diverse fleet of Undead monsters and only partially look at the power of the monsters used.
Let's start with the 270 HD (ten times the level in HD) of rebuke/command. Undead created with Create Undead have to be controlled that way too:
15 HD for a Bone Naga
12 HD for two Succubi (6 HD each)
12 Bone Elsewhales for 144 HD.
8 Mummies (64 HD)
8 Ghasts (32 HD)
3 HD are unused.
Then Ulgaal has another 108 HD for zombies and skeletons created with animate dead. He uses 32 HD for 32 Pixie-skeletons and 32 HD for 32 Zombie-eagles. 12 HD for four medium Shark-skeletons and 32 HD for 32 small Dog-skeletons.

The Bone Naga is a great second in command. 15 HD for 14th level of casting seems like a great deal. She is the assumed leader for many enemies and serves as a proxy for Ulgaal who rarely reveals himself unless he is certain of victory or the fleet is in dire need. The two Succubi also fill a role Ulgaal cannot do himself: social interaction and infiltration, charming enemies and serve as proxy leaders is their main duty.
Each Elsewhale can be equipped differently according to their tasks. The flagship Elsewhale #1 is needed for the Bone Naga (she is large). This one is most likely equipped with magical equipment. Elsewhale #2 and #3 are each filled with the 4 Mummies. Mummies are just great front liners and are especially annoying once mummy rot gets contracted. #4 and #5 are filled with 4 Ghasts each. Those aren't the most effective creatures and surely not worth the HD but I wanted to diverse the crew.#6 and #7 are filled with 32 zombie eagles. Those flying buggers are especially annoying thanks to Destruction Retribution. #8 and #9 carry Pixie-skeletons. These are highly effective when equipped with longbows and either magical arrows or simply poisoned arrows. #10 carries 4 shark-skeletons. #11 and #12 are filled 32 small dog skeletons. Ulgaal himself uses mostly his own plane shift and the starts searching his spread forces (remember that crappy little detail in plane shift with scattered entry point).

For piracy on planes that require flying (i.e.e the astral plane) replace all Elsewhales with giant squid jetbikes, they also have 12 HD per bike and should offer enough riding space for creatures. Probably you will use more Humanoid Undead and more elite Outsiders to man the choppers than I have in my fleet example.
The two Succubi are installed as leaders of their own crews and thereby disguise their true master. Mostly Ulgaal first chooses a plane, transfers his whole fleet and then installs the Succubi among his enemies. They scout the power of the enemy and their strengths and weaknesses before Ulgaal strikes.
From Githyanki pirates on the Astral plane, to pirates on the abyssal seas or the material plane. Ulgaal is able to attack anyone anywhere. Just imagine standing on a coastline with 12 Bone Elsewhales surfacing at the same time spilling out Undead creatures left and right. For those who counted: 115 undead creatures to be precise, 127 if you count the whales and 128 if Ulgaal is present. Imagine an Astral Skiff full with Githyanki pirates being raided by a bone naga on a bone squid jetbike accompanied by zombie eagles who explode on death and then lastly imagine an ugly blob of unlife casually strolling by a Pit Fiend and making the poor guy cower in awe. No roll needed. Now imagine the PCs seeing this happen. Ulgaal truly can be a boss and your players will remember him. The world is yours to reanimate (and rebuke).




Atropal Scion, all corpsecrafter feats, quicken turning, lifesense, Evolved Undead: Libris Mortis
Undead Mastery, Planar turning: Epic level handbook
Apprentice feat: DMG II

[Thurbane]

Daggadol
Kraken Swordsage 1/Hulking Hurler 1/Swordsage 6

People turn to piracy for a variety of reasons. Some are motivated by greed, some see no other way to survive, and some simply long for violence. Daggadol the kraken, however, has a more unusual motivation: She has taken up piracy out of love.
Daggadol has fallen tail-over-tentacles in love with Trexidaraxes, a juvenile red dragon who has recently settled on a volcanic island near the kraken’s home. Trexidaraxes, who is remarkably greedy even by dragon standards, has accepted the kraken’s advances, as she continuously brings him lavish gifts to prove her affection.
It is this need to find gifts for her beloved that has inspired Daggadol to take to piracy, as finding treasure amidst sunken ships is a difficult and time-consuming effort. It’s far easier to simply force some sailors to load all their wealth into a boat and swim away with it!

Base Abilities: Str 14, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 13
Modified Abilities: Str 38, Dex 15, Con 28, Int 22, Wis 18, Cha 23
Ability increases: 24 HD (CR 16): Dex 16; 28 HD (CR 20): Str 39




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


12
Kraken Racial HD
+20
+12
+12
+6
Concentration 23, Diplomacy 23, Hide 23, Intimidate 23, K (geography) 23, Search 23, Spot 23, UMD 23
Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Improved Sunder, Improved Trip, Knock-Down, Point-Blank Shot, Power Attack
Improved grab, constrict, darkvision 60 ft, ink cloud, jet, low-light vision, spell-like abilities


13
Swordsage 1
+20
+12
+14
+8
Concentration 24, Hide 24, Intimidate 24, Listen 3, Search 24, Spot 24, UMD 24
Weapon Focus (javelin)
Quick to act +1, Discipline focus (weapon focus)


14
Hulking Hurler 1
+21
+12
+16
+8
Concentration 25, Intimidate 25, Listen 4, Spot 25, UMD 25
Snatch ArrowsB, Throw AnythingB
Catch weapon, really thrown anything


15
Swordsage 2
+22
+12
+17
+9
Concentration 26, Hide 26, Intimidate 26, Listen 6, Spot 26, UMD 26
-
AC bonus


16
Swordsage 3
+23
+13
+17
+9
Concentration 27, Hide 27, Intimidate 27, Listen 11, Spot 27, UMD 27
Adaptive Style
-


17
Swordsage 4
+24
+13
+18
+10
Concentration 28, Hide 28, Intimidate 28, Listen 16, Spot 28, UMD 28
-
Discipline focus (insightful strike)


18
Swordsage 5
+24
+13
+18
+10
Concentration 29, Hide 29, Intimidate 29, Listen 21 Spot 29, UMD 29
-
Quick to Act +2


19
Swordsage 6
+25
+14
+19
+11
Concentration 30, Hide 30, Intimidate 30, Listen 26, Spot 30, UMD 30
Extra Readied Maneuver
-


20
Swordsage 7
+26
+14
+19
+11
Concentration 31, Hide 31, Intimidate 31, Listen 31, Spot 31, UMD 31
-
Sense Magic




CR 13 – Ballista Throw, Comet Throw, Greater Insightful Strike, Hearing the Air (stance), Insightful Strike, Mighty Throw, Moment of Perfect Mind
CR 15 – Pearl of Black Doubt (stance), Scorpion Parry
CR 16 – Hydra Slaying Strike
CR 17 – Avalanche of Blades, Soaring Throw (replaces Mighty Throw)
CR 18 – Fool’s Strike, Stance of Alacrity (stance)
CR 19 – Diamond Nightmare Blade
CR 20 – Tornado Throw


Daggadol is a somewhat unusual BBEG, as she has no real goal to pursue. Thus, she works better as a complicating factor rather than a direct adversary.
In a pirate campaign, Daggadol makes an excellent rival for PC pirates. She could attack a particularly valuable ship that the PCs had their eyes on, stir up increased naval patrols through her frequent attacks, or rob the PCs outright – after all, there’s no honor among thieves! The goal should be to make Daggadol a nuisance to the PCs, so that they will try to hunt her down when they are (or think they are) strong enough to defeat her.
In a pirate-fighting campaign, Daggadol serves as an excellent final-boss type of villain. Rather than being directly in charge of the pirates the PCs are opposing, she’s simply creating opportunities for them to act by frightening all the normal anti-pirate patrols so much that they refuse to leave port.
Daggadol can also serve as a side-quest or a secondary villain for any nautical campaign; the PCs would simply take a session or three to hunt down the piratical kraken before moving on with their main concerns.
There is an alternative to simply killing Daggadol: Her beloved Trexidaraxes doesn’t actually care about her and is simply leading her on in an attempt to enlarge his hoard. Should the PCs be able to convince Daggadol of this she will be heartbroken and abandon her piratical activities entirely.

Daggadol is just a kraken at this point, albeit one with higher ability scores and different skill and feat selections than the standard MM kraken. This version of Daggadol is just getting started at piracy, but she’s developed the basic techniques that will serve her throughout her career. She’ll lurk near established shipping lanes, and use her jet ability to chase down any ships that look like they might be carrying a valuable cargo. When she catches up with the ship, she’ll demand they surrender their valuables. Should they refuse, she has a variety of techniques to bring about compliance: She could rip up the rigging or tear down the masts, break the ship’s rudder, use control winds to endanger the ship, or simply grab uncooperative sailors off the deck and devour them.
With a few class levels under her belt, Daggadol is significantly more dangerous. Her Setting Sun maneuvers give her a variety of ways to toss people about the battlefield, while her Hulking Hurler level lets her use grabbed sailors or ripped-off chunks of ship as projectile weapons (her light load is 12,800 pounds). Defensively, Moment of Perfect Mind covers her weak Will save, while Pearl of Black Doubt can boost her AC and Scorpion Parry can completely no-sell an attack.
While not otherwise more powerful than at CR 15, this is when Daggadol picks up Adaptive Style, which makes it possible for her to refresh her maneuvers in battle. This extra bit of endurance lets her keep her most powerful options in play through a long battle, making this her sweet spot.
Daggadol picks up a ninth-level maneuver this level, but her options aren’t that good. Tornado Throw is probably the best one available to her (and it’s certainly the most in keeping with her theme), but her slow movement speed limits its utility.

Swordsage, maneuvers, Adaptive Style, Extra Readied Maneuver: Tome of Battle
Hulking Hurler, Throw Anything: Complete Warrior
Knock-Down: Deities & Demigods
All the rest: SRD

[Thurbane]

Kyra the Taker
"Everything on this ship, everything in the entire ocean, belongs to me."

Kyra the Taker is a pirate whose very presence can panic foes into giving her what she wants. Failing that, she generally flanks her enemies, or just grabs them and pulls them underwater.

Having risen up from a simple dockyard thug, she started her career as a pirate while she was found to be good enough at fighting to punch most men to death in a single hit, and fearsome to boot, as well as competent enough at sailing to handle herself on a ship. Eventually, she ended up as a leader of her very own ship, and quickly found ways to take some more ships...

NE Darfellan [SW] SA Thug [UA] 9 (Zhentarim Soldier [CoV] 9)/Scarlet Corsair [SW] 10/Marshal [MHB] 1

STR 12 DEX 14 CON 13 INT 10 WIS 8 CHA 15

All bonuses go to CHA.

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


1
SA Thug 1 [UA]

+1

+3

+2

-1

Bluff 4, Climb 4, Intimidate 4, Profession Sailor 2, Swim 4

Improved Unarmed Strike

Sneak Attack 1d6



2
SA Thug 2
+2

+4

+2

-1

Bluff 5, Climb 5, Intimidate 5, Profession Sailor 2, Swim 5

-

-



3
SA Thug 3
+3

+4

+3

+0

Bluff 6, Climb 6, Intimidate 6, Profession Sailor 3, Swim 6

Scourge of the Seas (Not the class feature)[SW]

Sneak Attack 2d6



4
SA Thug 4
+4

+5

+3

+0

Bluff 7, Climb 7, Intimidate 7, Profession Sailor 3, Swim 7

-

-



5
SA Thug 5
+5

+5

+3

+0

Bluff 8, Climb 8, Intimidate 8, Profession Sailor 4, Swim 8


Sneak Attack 3d6



6
SA Thug 5/Scarlet Corsair 1 [SW]

+6

+5

+5

+0

Bluff 8, Climb 9, Intimidate 9, Profession Sailor 7, Swim 8

Imperious Command[DotU]

Improved Feint



7
SA Thug 5/Scarlet Corsair 2
+7

+5

+6

+0

Bluff 8, Climb 10, Intimidate 10, Profession Sailor 10, Swim 8

-

Sneak Attack 4d6



8
SA Thug 5/Scarlet Corsair 3
+8

+6

+6

+1

Bluff 8, Climb 11, Intimidate 11, Profession Sailor 11, Swim 8, Speedy Ascent [CS]

-

Corsair's Feint every 2d4 rounds



9
SA Thug 5/Scarlet Corsair 4
+9

+6

+7

+1

Bluff 8, Climb 12, Intimidate 12, Profession Sailor 12, Swim 8, Quick Swimmer [CS]

Superior Unarmed Strike[ToB]

Sailor's Step +2



10
SA Thug 5/Scarlet Corsair 5
+10

+6

+7

+1

Bluff 8, Climb 13, Intimidate 13, Profession Sailor 13, Swim 10

-

Scourge of the Seas (Not the feat)



11
SA Thug 6/Scarlet Corsair 5

+11

+7

+8

+2

Bluff 8, Climb 14, Intimidate 14, Profession Sailor 13, Swim 13

-

-



12
SA Thug 7/Scarlet Corsair 5

+12

+7

+8

+2

Bluff 9, Climb 15, Intimidate 15, Profession Sailor 13, Swim 15

Snap Kick[ToB]

Sneak Attack 5d6



13
SA Thug 8/Scarlet Corsair 5

+13

+8

+8

+2

Bluff 11, Climb 16, Intimidate 16, Profession Sailor 13, Swim 16

-

-



14
SA Thug 9 (Zhentarim Soldier 9) [CoV]/Scarlet Corsair 5

+14

+8

+9

+3

Bluff 11, Climb 17, Intimidate 17, Profession Sailor 13, Swim 17

-

Swift Demoralisation



15
SA Thug 9 (Zhentarim Soldier 9)/Scarlet Corsair 6

+15

+9

+10

+4

Bluff 11, Climb 17, Intimidate 18, Profession Sailor 17, Swim 17

Throat Punch[CS]

Sneak Attack 6d6



16
SA Thug 9 (Zhentarim Soldier 9)/Scarlet Corsair 7

+16

+9

+10

+4

Bluff 11, Climb 17, Intimidate 19, Profession Sailor 19, Swim 19

-

Corsair's Feint every 1d4 rounds



17
SA Thug 9 (Zhentarim Soldier 9)/Scarlet Corsair 8

+17

+9

+11

+4

Bluff 11, Climb 19, Intimidate 20, Profession Sailor 20, Swim 20

-

Sailor's Step +4



18

SA Thug 9 (Zhentarim Soldier 9)/Scarlet Corsair 9

+18

+10

+11

+5

Bluff 11, Climb 21, Intimidate 21, Profession Sailor 21, Swim 21

Deflect Arrows

Frightening Lunge



19
SA Thug 9 (Zhentarim Soldier 9)/Scarlet Corsair 9/Marshal 1 [MHB]

+18

+12

+11

+7

Bluff 14, Climb 21, Intimidate 22, Profession Sailor 21, Swim 22

Skill Focus (Diplomacy)

Minor Aura



20
SA Thug 9 (Zhentarim Soldier 9)/Scarlet Corsair 10/Marshal 1

+19

+12

+12

+7

Bluff 14, Climb 21, Intimidate 23, Profession Sailor 23, Swim 23

-

Sneak Attack 7d6



At this level, Kyra's abilities basically extend to the fact that any enemy captain which looks at her ship will probably attempt to bug out at all costs, leaving Kyra's crew to attack the fleeing ship, and also she has a neat UAS and probably also wields a longbow. Her sneak attack isn't very, well, sneaky, so she probably needs to feint to get SAs off at enemies.So this is when Kyra's other intimidate trick - which is also called Scourge of the Seas, just to annoy you - comes online. Now, Imperious Command is a vaguely standard thing which Samurai use along with move-action intimidates (usually from avenging executioner) use for lockdowns. The idea with that the target becomes cowerding for one round and then shaken for one round, meaning that if you can keep on using the ability every round, the target stays cowering forever. Scourge of the Seas (not the feat) turns that up to... well, whatever your charisma modifier is, because that's how long your intimidate effects now last. Oh, and you can intimidate everyone within 30 feet as the same action, because that's fair and reasonable.

A typical combat with Kyra will involve the captain of the enemy ship sailing away in fear, which lasts as long as they can see Kyra's ship, plus another d6*10 minutes. Kyra then leaps into the water and swims to catch the escaping ship, moving at 170 feet/round, faster than any ship in practically any conditions (especially if the ship needs to make an about turn in a hurry). She scales the side of the ship handily, then uses her standard action to make everyone nearby cower (the captain is already frightened and trying to run away). She then beats up the cowering enemies with her sneak attacks, making sure to refresh the cower effect every few rounds, and then takes control of the ship, managing to complete basic maneuvers even alone. If she can't win the fight on the ship, she'll happily jump into the water and escape.Her tactics remain as above, only she can now demoralise enemies as a swift action. So that's pretty good.Tactics remain the same, though it bears pointing out that Frightening Lunge can shake enemies forever.

The final boss fight should be played out as a ship combat, allowing Kyra to force the enemy captain to flee. The players then have the option of either trying to incapacitate the captain and take over or deal with the fact that they're running away rather than doing anything useful. Either way, they know that Kyra herself will show up somewhere. The DM should have her work out where on the ship it's useful for her to appear, intimidate some crew, and then murder them. If the PCs don't find a way to catch her, she'll show up on their faces eventually anyway, and start her lockdown nonsense: a PC with high wisdom might escape to fight her or free their allies, and because Scourge of the Seas (not the feat) is actually mind-affecting (unlike most intimidate uses) they can use mind blank to try to block it (though she can still force a PC to cower for a round as a swift action, and then sneak attack that PC five times fast). Ultimately, she won't stand up to four well-made PCs in close combat if she can't intimidate them all at once: her AC in a +5 chain shirt is still only 25, which shouldn't pose any difficulties for a real martial character.

[Thurbane]

Tadashi Shirahama, “The Wave Man”
Monk2/Samurai2/Unarmed Swordsage4/Ronin2/Drunken Master2/Scarlet Corsair 8
LE ->NE -> CE Human

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Tadashi was born into the noble Shirahama family, a powerful house along the coast. Like all members of his family, he grew up around ships, and had some familiarity with the basics of sailing. His lordly manner did not impress his lessers, and more than once he threw a hapless commoner overboard for a petty offense. In an effort to iron out his cruel streak, his family sent him to a master martial artist to train, but this only served to give him more tools to inflict suffering. When his training concluded, the time had come to swear an oath of loyalty to his daimyo, taking his rightful place as one of his lord’s Samurai.

After a short time serving at court, he was assigned to a naval vessel because of his experience at sea. He quickly learned new fighting techniques from his crew, but as his skills grew so did his cruelty. Things came to a head when he demanded the crew sail into a storm. They refused, and the entire crew mutinied. They managed to subdue Tadashi, but not before he had killed six of the mutineers. His temper had ruined the mission, and the crew brought him back to the daimyo bound and gagged. His shameful failure was met with a swift and terrible response: he was stripped of his title and expelled from the daimyo’s service.

Tadashi took to the waves again, trying to hire himself out as a crew member and marine guard to merchant vessels, and hoping to reclaim some of his lost honor; but his reputation followed him. He slumped into a deep depression, finding solace in alcohol. Eventually he shook himself out of his funk, and decided to embrace his new identity as a cruel and bloodthirsty pirate. He would sail the seas as The Wave Man, taking whatever he wanted; and woe to any who get in his way!


Str 15
Dex 14
Con 10
Int 13
Wis 12
Cha 8

+1 Int at level 4. +1 Str at level 8, 16, and 20. +1 Dex at level 12.





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


1
Monk1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Climb 4, Profession (Sailor) 4, Swim 4, Tumble 4, Intimidate 2, Bluff 2, Use Rope 2, Balance 2
Able Learner (human), Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike (Monk), Stunning Fist (Monk)
Bonus Feat, Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike


2
Monk2
+1
+3
+3
+3
Climb 5, Profession (Sailor) 5, Swim 5, Tumble 5, Balance 4
Combat Reflexes (Monk)
Bonus Feat, Evasion


3
Samurai1
+2
+5
+3
+3
Profession (Sailor) 6, Intimidate 5
Great Fortitude, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard sword) (Samurai)
Daisho Proficiency


4
Samurai2
+3
+6
+3
+3
Profession (Sailor) 7, Intimidate 7, Tumble 7, Climb 6
Two-Weapon Fighting (Bastard Sword/Short Sword only) (Samurai)
Two Swords as One, +1 Int


5
Unarmed Swordsage1
+3
+6
+5
+5
Profession (Sailor) 8, Intimidate 8, Tumble 8, Bluff 7, Climb 7
Weapon Focus (Diamond Mind)
Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus)


6
Unarmed Swordsage2
+4
+6
+6
+6
Profession (Sailor) 9, Intimidate 9, Tumble 9, Bluff 9, Balance 5, Swim 7, Climb 8
Improved Initiative
AC Bonus


7
Unarmed Swordsage3
+5
+7
+6
+6
Profession (Sailor) 10, Intimidate 10, Bluff 10, Use Rope 5, Climb 9, Speedy Ascent skill trick
-
-


8
Unarmed Swordsage4
+6
+7
+7
+7
Profession (Sailor) 11, Intimidate 11, Bluff 11, Tumble 11, Swim 8, Climb 9, Quick Swimmer skill trick
-
Discipline Focus (Insightful Strike): Setting Sun, +1 Str


9
Ronin1
+7
+9
+7
+7
Profession (Sailor) 12, Intimidate 12, Bluff 12, Tumble 12, Climb 9
Craven
Infamy, Sneak Attack +1d6, Alignment shift to NE


10
Ronin2
+8
+10
+7
+7
Profession (Sailor) 13, Intimidate 13, Bluff 13, Tumble 13, Swim 9
-
Banzai Charge


11
Drunken Master1
+8
+12
+9
+7
Profession (Sailor) 14, Intimidate 14, Bluff 14, Tumble 14, Climb 10, Swim 10, Balance 6
-
Drink Like a Demon, Improvised Weapons, Alignment Shift to CE


12
Drunken Master2
+9
+13
+9
+7
Profession (Sailor) 15, Intimidate 15, Bluff 15, Tumble 15, Climb 11, Swim 11, Balance 7
Staggering Strike
Stagger, +1 Dex


13
Scarlet Corsair1
+10
+13
+11
+7
Profession (Sailor) 16, Bluff 16, Tumble 16, Climb 12, Swim 12, Balance 9
Improved Feint
Bonus Feat


14
Scarlet Corsair2
+11
+13
+12
+7
Profession (Sailor) 17, Bluff 17, Tumble 17, Intimidate 16, Climb 13, Swim 13, Balance 10
-
Sneak Attack +1d6 (stacks to 2d6)


15
Scarlet Corsair3
+12
+14
+12
+8
Profession (Sailor) 18, Bluff 18, Tumble 18, Climb 15, Swim 15
Two-Weapon Pounce
Corsair’s Feint 1/2d4 rounds


16
Scarlet Corsair4
+13
+14
+13
+8
Profession (Sailor) 19, Bluff 19, Tumble 19, Climb 17, Swim 17
-
Sailor’s Step +2, +1 Str


17
Scarlet Corsair5
+14
+14
+13
+8
Profession (Sailor) 20, Bluff 20, Tumble 20, Disguise 4
-
Scourge of the Seas


18
Scarlet Corsair6
+15
+15
+14
+9
Profession (Sailor) 21, Bluff 21, Tumble 21, Disguise 8
Desert Wind Dodge, Lose Dodge for Hamstring
Sneak Attack +3d6


19
Scarlet Corsair7
+16
+15
+14
+9
Profession (Sailor) 22, Bluff 22, Tumble 22, Disguise 12
-
Corsair’s Feint 1/1d4 rounds


20
Scarlet Corsair8
+17
+15
+15
+9
Profession (Sailor) 23, Bluff 23, Tumble 23, Disguise 16
-
Sailor’s Step +4, +1 Str







Level
Maneuvers Known
Maneuvers Readied
Stances Known


5th
6
4
1


6th
7
4
2
[

7th
8
5
2


8th
9
5
2






Level 5 Swordsage1
Maneuvers:
Distracting Ember (Desert Wind boost)
Charging Minotaur (Stone Dragon strike)
Mighty Throw (Setting Sun strike)
Cloak of Deception (Shadow Hand boost)
Counter Charge (Setting Sun counter)
Wolf Fang Strike (Tiger Claw strike)
Stance:
Island of Blades (Shadow Hand stance)

Level 6 Swordsage2
Sudden Leap (Tiger Claw boost)
Stance:
Step of the Wind (Setting Sun stance)

Level 7 Swordsage3
Devastating Throw (Setting Sun strike)

Level 8 Swordsage4
Shadow Garrote (Shadow Hand strike)




Tadashi is starting out his career as a Monk-In-Training. His skill selection is a bit unusual thanks to his maritime upbringing and the Able Learner feat. Otherwise, he has all the strengths and weaknesses of a typical Monk.


With two levels of Monk, two of Samurai and one of Swordsage, Tadashi has a much broader range of options than most melee characters at this level. His Two Swords as One ability combined with Wolf Fang Strike allows him to pseudo-pounce. Diamond Mind weapon focus gives him a much-needed bump to attack with his Bastard Sword, and Island of Blades lets him coordinate attacks with any of his crew members or allies. His Unarmed Swordsage progression will advance his unarmed strikes; the lack of armor proficiency is taken care of by Samurai. He will typically wear light armor, so he’s still able to take advantage of the extra AC from his Wisdom score (from Swordsage) and Evasion (from Monk). This does mean that he loses Flurry of Blows; he spends the rest of his career not missing it that much. He will get a few extra Stunning Fist attempts as he levels up thanks to his Monk levels; this may come in handy later.


Tadashi has shifted alignment to Neutral Evil by this point. His Banzai Charge ability allows him to take a penalty to AC to give himself bonuses to damage. This is similar to Shock Trooper’s Heedless Charge ability, though without the doubled bonus if wielding a two-handed weapon. Sneak attack and Craven now combine well with Island of Blades, Cloak of Deception, Wolf Fang Strike, Shadow Garrote, and Distracting Ember. Two skill tricks, Speedy Ascent and Quick Swimmer, give him a few more thematic abilities when he’s on a ship or near the water.


This is the sweet spot. Tadashi has now completed his alignment shift to Chaotic Evil, taking on a new persona as “The Wave Man,” a bloodthirsty pirate. Drunken Master’s “Stagger” ability gives him much more options for mobility during a charge attack. In an environment with a lot of difficult terrain – such as the pitching deck of a ship – he might well be the only character who can charge. Two-Weapon Pounce gives him a powerful option if he wins initiative (or can manage to charge into a flanking position). At the risk of a massive penalty to AC, he might be doing +54+4d6 extra sneak attack damage. Corsair’s Feint is the Scarlet Corsair’s signature ability, and it’s come online. Between his maneuvers, Island of Blades, Stunning Fist, and Feinting, he should be getting sneak attack damage whenever he wants to; which means his opponents are going to be Staggered often (thanks to Staggering Strike). A high amount of sneak attack damage means this condition will be hard to resist; making his enemies waste a turn healing if they want to be rid of the condition.


The Wave Man has continued his rise to power as a Scarlet Corsair. Sailor’s Step means that he’ll be getting at minimum an extra +4 Dodge to AC (very nice, since the bonus stacks with everything). At level 18, the Wave Man selected Desert Wind Dodge as a feat. Thanks to the feat’s wording, he swapped out Dodge for Hamstring, making more trouble for his sneak attack victims. Since he’s often a mobile combatant, he’ll be getting another +1 dodge AC from Desert Wind Dodge much of the time.



Champions of Ruin: Craven feat
Complete Adventurer: Staggering Strike feat
Complete Scoundrel: Speedy Ascent and Quick Swimmer skill tricks
Complete Warrior: Samurai class, Drunken Master prestige class, Ronin prestige class, Hamstring feat
Players’ Handbook 2: Two-Weapon Pounce feat
Races of Destiny: Able Learner feat
Stormwrack: Scarlet Corsair prestige class
Tome of Battle: Swordsage class, stances and maneuvers, Desert Wind Dodge feat

[Thurbane]

The Sea Dirge


A strange sound had drawn Erik down to the shore. As the fog had rolled in from the see a deep, mournful keening had filled the air. Most of the villagers huddled inside their homes, but not Erik, he had nothing to lose. The great storm that had lashed the coastline had taken his fishing boat with it, and work was scarce. Not knowing why, he found himself wandering out onto the docks, head still swimming from the mead he had spent the last of his coppers on. Suddenly in the fog he saw a dim shape. As he blinked his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. the shape resolved into a ship materializing out of the fog. It was a thing of beauty, with sweeping lines that made it look like it was in motion even as it came to a stop by the dock. At the prow was a mighty figurehead, a warrior with his arms outstretch to the heavens.

"Hail, who goes there" Erik called out, but there was no answer. Cautiously he peered over the railing of the ship, but he saw no sign of any sailors. Not knowing why, he vaulted from the dock and onto the deck of the ship. The moment he did he felt....home. A great upwelling of wild joy filled his breast and strength flowed through his limbs. In the whispering winds he though he heard a single word....."Reave."

And why not, he thought. He had lost everything, but now he could take it back. With a ship such as this he could find a crew and together they would make the world pay.


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


There is a story told by the people who live on the coastlines of the world. A story of a ship of reavers, led by a captain of terrifying countenance and power. The captain, they say, is a Warrior and Magic-User of great strength. He empowers his crew with unearthly strength such that none can stand against them.

The truth is far, far stranger.

The Sea Dirge was created long ago by a reaving Skald of great Power. As his life drew to an end, he crafted a great spell to bring life to his raiding ship, filling it with his love of death and destruction. With his final breath he cast the spell, sacrificing his own life to power the spell and bringing his creation to life. Since that day, The Sea Dirge has terrorized coastlines and islands all around the world, finding crews where it can and using it's mystical abilities to make them undefeatable in battle.



The Sea Dirge

Chaotic Evil Gargantuan Animated Object Bard 10/Sublime Chord 3
(Bronzewood Boat)

Abilities
Str 27
Dex 8
Con -
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 18 (all stat bumps went here)



HD/CR
Class
BAB
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features


1/1
Animated Object
+0
+0
+0
+0
Prof(sailing)+4, Perform (Singing) +4, Survival +4, Bluff +4
Evil Devotion
Construct Traits, Darkvision 60 ft, Low Light Vision, Hardness 10, Blind, Constrict


2/2
Animated Object
+1
+0
+0
+0
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




3/3
Animated Object
+2
+1
+1
+1
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1
Travel Devotion



4/3
Animated Object
+3
+1
+1
+1
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




5/5
Animated Object
+3
+1
+1
+1
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




6/5
Animated Object
+4
+2
+2
+2
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1
Spell Focus: Enchantmant



7/5
Animated Object
+5
+2
+2
+2
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




8/5
Animated Object
+6
+2
+2
+2
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




9/7
Animated Object
+6
+3
+3
+3
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1
Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment



10/7
Animated Object
+7
+3
+3
+3
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




11/7
Animated Object
+7
+3
+3
+3
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




12/7
Animated Object
+8
+4
+4
+4
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1
Spell Focus: Illusion



13/7
Animated Object
+9
+4
+4
+4
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




14/7
Animated Object
+10
+4
+4
+4
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




15/7
Animated Object
+10
+5
+5
+5
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1
Greater Spell Focus: Illusion



16/7
Animated Object
+11
+5
+5
+5
Prof(sailing)+1, Perform (Singing) +1, Survival +1, Bluff +1




17/8
Bard 1
+11
+5
+7
+7
Spellcraft +4, Listen +2, Prof(astrology) +2

Bardic Music, Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1, Bardic Knowledge, Spellcasting


18/9
Bard 2
+12
+5
+8
+8
Knowledge(Arcana)+4,
Spellcraft +2, Prof (Astrology) +2
Melodic Casting



19/10
Bard 3
+13
+6
+8
+8
Knowledge(Arcana)+4, Spellcraft +2, Prof (Astrology) +2

Inspire Competence


20/11
Bard 4
+14
+6
+9
+9
Listen +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +4




21/12
Bard 5
+14
+6
+9
+9
Listen +4, Knowledge Arcana +4
Song of the Heart



22/13
Bard 6
+15
+7
+10
+10
Listen +4, Diplomacy+4

Suggestion


23/14
Bard 7
+16
+7
+10
+10
Listen +4, Perform (Singing)+4




24/15
Bard 8
+17
+7
+11
+11
Knowledge (History)+8
Windsinger
Inspire Courage +2


25/16
Bard 9
+17
+8
+11
+11
Spellcraft +4, Bluff +4

Inspire Greatness


26/17
Bard 10
+18
+8
+12
+12
Prof(Sailing) +4, Survival +4




27/18
Sublime Chord 1
+19
+8
+14
+14
Diplomacy+6

Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Music, Spellcasting


28/19
Sublime Chord 2
+20
+8
+15
+15
Spot +6




29/20
Sublime Chord 3
+20
+9
+15
+15
Spot +6









Spell Level
Spells Known
Spells/Day


0

3


1
Expeditious Retreat, Harmony, Inspirational Boost, Undetectable Alignmant,
4


2
Eagle's Splendor, Elation, Mirror Image, Suggestion
4


3
Glibness, Major Image, Invisibility Sphere, Haste
3


4
Dominate Person, Dimension Door
1









Spell Level
Spells Known
Spells/Day


4
Dominate Person, Phantasmal Killer, Fear, Repair Critical Damage
4


5
Overland Flight, Lesser Planar Binding
2


6
Mass Charm Monster
1





Magic Items: Decanter of Endless Water, Horn of Plenty (To avoid needed to carry supplies



The Sea Dirge is an animated ship with abilities focused on enchantment, misdirection and combat buffing. Using a combination of Bardic Music with Inspiration Boost and Harmony, Elation, Haste and Evil Devotion, The Sea Dirge can turn a crew of ordinary reavers into unbeatable terrors for almost any enemy crew. If a particularly powerful enemy is an issue, The Sea Dirge can kill it directly with Phantasmal Killer, or Charm or Dominate it. Additionally, the Sea Dirge can use Overland Flight and Invisibility sphere for an angle of attack nobody is prepared for.

The Sea Dirge cares nothing for treasure itself and wishes only to spread terror and misery across the land. However, it collects treasure as a way to keep its crew happy. It also has collected a few magic items including a Decanter of Endless Water and a Horn of Plenty to avoid the need for provisions. The Sea Dirge prefers to travel light, as it is theoretically possible for it to be weighed down to the point where it cannot use Overland Flight.

Using Lesser Planar Binding as well as a hired (or dominated) spellcaster, The Sea Dirge has negotiated an arrangement with a Succubus. The Succubus helps collect new crews and keeps them under control. In return, the Succubus gets at least half of all treasure each time the ship purges its crew, which it does from time to time.

Even when its crew is defeated, almost nobody ever realizes it is the ship and not the captain responsible for the magic. On many occasions, those who have conquered The Sea Dirge's reavers have simply become its new crew, slowly corrupted by its insidious whispers.

[Thurbane]

Thrashk Deadeyes, The Albatross

CE Water Orc Hexblade 6/Chaotician 3/Blessed of Gruumsh 1/Eye of Gruumsh 10

Stats (with adjustments)
Str 14 (18)
Dex 10
Con 12 (14) Increase at 16, 20
Int 8 (6)
Wis 13 (11)
Cha 15 (13) Increase at 4, 8, 12
Build


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


1
Hexblade 1
+1
+0
+0
+2
Knowledge (Arcana) 4
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Orc Double-Axe)
Hexblade’s Curse 1/day


2
Hexblade 2
+2
+0
+0
+3
Concentration 1

Arcane Resistance


3
Hexblade 3
+3
+1
+1
+3
Concentration 2
Power Attack
Mettle


4
Hexblade 4
+4
+1
+1
+4
Concentration 3

Dark Companion


5
Hexblade 5
+5
+1
+1
+4
Concentration 4
(B) Combat Casting
Bonus Feat, Hexblade’s Curse 2/day


6
Hexblade 6
+6/+1
+2
+2
+5
Concentration 5
Cleave
Prestidigitation


7
Chaotician 1
+7/+2
+2
+4
+5
Knowledge (Religion) 2

Chaotic Contagion, Scofflaw


8
Chaotician 2
+8/+3
+2
+5
+5
Knowledge (Religion) 3, Use Magic Device 1

Anarchic Grace 1/day


9
Chaotician 3
+9/+4
+3
+5
+6
Use Magic Device 3
Weapon Focus (Orc Double-Axe)
Babble, Clarity of Confusion


10
Blessed of Gruumsh 1
+10/+5
+5
+5
+6
Use Magic Device 4

Divine Blessing +1


11
Eye of Gruumsh 1
+11/+6/+1
+7
+5
+6
Use Magic Device 4.5
(B) Blind-Fight
Blind-Fight, Command the Horde, Rage


12
Eye of Gruumsh 2
+12/+7/+2
+8
+5
+6
Use Magic Device 5
Obtain Familiar (Parrot)
Swing Blindly


13
Eye of Gruumsh 3
+13/+8/+3
+8
+6
+7
Use Magic Device 5.5

Ritual Scarring +1


14
Eye of Gruumsh 4
+14/+9/+4
+9
+6
+7
Use Magic Device 6

Blinding Spittle 2/day


15
Eye of Gruumsh 5
+15/+10/+5
+9
+6
+7
Use Magic Device 6.5
Reckless Rage
Blindsight 5 ft


16
Eye of Gruumsh 6
+16/+11/+6/+1
+10
+7
+8
Use Magic Device 7

Ritual Scarring +2


17
Eye of Gruumsh 7
+17/+12/+7/+2
+10
+7
+8
Use Magic Device 7.5

Blinding Spittle 4/day


18
Eye of Gruumsh 8
+18/+13/+8/+3
+11
+7
+8
Use Magic Device 8
Mad Foam Rager
Blindsight 10 ft


19
Eye of Gruumsh 9
+19/+14/+9/+4
+11
+8
+9
Use Magic Device 8.5

Ritual Scarring +3


20
Eye of Gruumsh 10
+20/+15/+10/+5
+12
+8
+9
Use Magic Device 9

Sight of Gruumsh




Spells
Spells per Day/Spells Known


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


4th
-
0*/2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
-
0*/2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


6th
-
1*/3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


Spells Known: Charm Person, Karmic Aura, Protection from Good, Prestidigitation
Backstory
Every pirate knows that the sea can be a cruel mistress at times and a kind one at others, but lady luck is stronger at both extremes. Sailors are superstitious by their nature, and criminals are, too. So of course, that luck-consciousness goes double for pirates. There are many pirates who carry a good luck charm on them at all times, and a number of ships even have a lucky cannon or plank for the crew to touch in a rough storm. But if you look hard enough or are simply unfortunate, you’ll find the only pirate ship with a crewmember as a bad luck charm.

Thrashk was never smart, even by Orcish standards, but he had good strength of arm and was uncommonly winsome. The sea life was always in his blood, so after some time as a hired thug he was able to bully and bluster his way onto a leaky tub of a ship filled with fools as dangerous and bloodthirsty as he. His slow wits and his rather foul luck brought him more than his fair share of battle wounds and lashes from the boatswain, but a strong chest and a thick skin made him through the worst of it. He had the singularly poor luck to be consistently seasick, and the other pirates learned fast to move out of his way when he turned that shade of extra-green. Before long the crew noticed how much bad luck seemed to plague Thrashk, but they kept him on as it seemed (at least to their grog-addled minds) that he drew in all the bad luck to himself like a whirlpool, leaving the good luck for the rest of them.

With enough practice and stubborn determination, Thrashk learned some control over his luck. He didn’t learn to bring much in the way of good luck; that would be too hard. But he did manage to extend it, to share his misfortune with his enemies and exploit it for his benefit.

As a self-respecting orc, he sought to serve Gruumsh, though he did it with more eagerness than planning. He had heard about the Eyes of Gruumsh, those who gain power by putting out their eye, but of course when Thrashk attempted the ritual without research he was foolish or unlucky enough to choose the wrong eye. He was understandably cross when he found out, but it seemed Gruumsh gave him a touch of grace as a consolation prize. He sported an eyepatch to cover the socket and tried to hide his embarrassment. Thrashk was nothing if not determined, and so when he learned the proper ritual to serve Gruumsh, he went through it properly and put out his other eye. It made him very strong, and he seemed to be able to get along fine without his eyes. Some of the crew said it might have something to do with the canny and bright-eyed parrot he acquired at around the same time, but Thrashk of course denies it. Just the same, he doesn’t appreciate being the only pirate with two eyepatches, and it’s soured his mood, which wasn’t exactly sunny to begin with. There isn’t really a good side of Thrashk to be on, but it’s definitely in your best interest to keep of his… worse side, I guess.
CR 5
Welcome aboard, and batten down, this sea is rough. Water-Orc boosts those physical stats and gives you a swim speed to move between ships if you need to bail. Hexblade can provide a solid base to build on. Pirates are superstitious and luck-obsessed, so being able to inflict bad luck on others while maintaining fighting capability is a good idea. Mettle and Arcane Resistance with good hit die makes you pretty resilient. Dark Companion is a must to debuff enemies, and stacks with hexblade’s curse. You can use the Double-Axe if you like, or just go greatsword/axe for your power attacking. Two of your spells are for out of combat, and two are for just before, but you have a sufficient concentration mod to cast in combat well enough. Protection from Good is largely here to prevent against charm and compulsion, but you might get the other benefits from largely good adventurers, feel free to change it to Law if you want to emphasize the fight against the law, or even Chaos if he fights against other pirates a lot. Karmic Aura channels some bad luck against those that hit you. Charm can help for out of combat situations to manipulate others.
CR 10
Chaotician is a fun class to ramp up the chaos and craziness, emphasizing the pirate’s opposition to all things law. Chaotic Contagion presents another way to debuff targets (and the Orc-Double Axe might be useful here to switch between one and two-handing) and most targets have poor touch AC, especially against your full BAB. Scofflaw makes it harder to scry or learn about you, cloaking you in history and metaphorically blinding your enemies. Anarchic Grace turns fickle fate to your side, and they can’t circumvent the miss chance. Clarity of Confusion boosts saves for some common effects, many try to trick brutes with illusion.

Weapon Focus is a little bonus for the Orc Double-Axe, don’t feel compelled to use it. Cleave is a free attack, might come up if you’re hitting cohorts or animal companions for their lower health, then power through to attack the party.

Babble is where things get very fun. There’s no listed duration and they didn’t fix it, so your guess is as good as mine. All sound in 10 feet, including verbal components for spells and items (you’d be surprised how many have a command word) are uselessly garbled going both ways, for fun you can say it all becomes incoherent pirate gibbering. It doesn’t explicitly say it, but it seems like it should affect bardic music as well, think about it. Buff up before, jump into the fray, and scream like a maniac as nobody understands anything.

Blessed of Gruumsh gives you a constant luck bonus to AC which will help offset raging, and really stacks up with all the penalties. That bonus comes at a price, so you’re going to have to pop out your left eye. It means you can get a sweet eyepatch, though. Nothing more pirate than that.
CR 15
You really love Gruumsh, so it’s time for another PrC about him. Eye of Gruumsh gives all sorts of fun stuff, starting with rage. It functions as a barbarian, so you’ll have 3 uses by the time you finish the PrC. Command the Horde can help boost other orcish pirates on your ship before the fight; it’s not clear what type of action, it might be free since talking is free. Eye of Gruumsh specifies that you put out your right eye to enter it, so now you get two eyepatches! Even more pirate-y, right? Feel free to build on this theme and give Thrashk a hook hand, a few missing fingers, or a peg leg or two. You’ve got no eyes, but you gain blind-fight and explicitly have no penalties for losing this eye, so can see at least as well as a one-eyed orc. Swing Blindly is more strength in a rage for lower AC, but ritual scarring helps cover that. Blinding Spittle is a way to literally blind you enemies, and lasts until they rinse it out (again, don’t know what type of action). All the rum and limes on a choppy sea makes for some vile spew, which is Con based so gets stronger when you’re raging. Blindsight out to adjacent squares means you can see through sneaks, invisibility, and the like, without having to roll spot/listen.

Reckless Rage is more Str and more Con when raging for lower AC, and obtain familiar gives you a parrot to complete the pirate look. It uses raven stats, so it can talk, is actually smarter than you are, has some good health, and can have a go at using wands when it’s not scouring round or carrying your instructions or aiding your skills.
CR 20
Finishing Eye of Gruumsh gives you more of all the good stuff you entered for. Enjoy immunity to whips, even when unarmored! Sight of Gruumsh helps offset your AC penalty, boosts your saves further, and gives you a diehard effect. Your Blindsight now extends out to 10 feet, so you’ll have a perfect sense of what’s going on among the chaos from your Babble.

There are a lot of numbers flying around, so let’s summarize. At level 20, when raging, you gain a +10 bonus to Strength, a +6 bonus to Constitution, and a -6 penalty to AC. Ritual Scarring, Blessed of Gruumsh, and Sight of Gruumsh exactly balance that penalty, so you have a +6 to AC when not raging. You rage 3 times per day, and each rage lasts 9 rounds, after which you are fatigued, so a wand or other item might be helpful.

Mad Foam Rager is a super fun feat that allows you to ignore one attack, spell, or ability until the end of the next turn. You can get smart with this; there are certain effects like fatigue that you could wait until the beginning of your turn to activate this for, meaning you get 2 rounds of action. But of course the most dramatic way to use this is to simply ignore what should be a killing blow from the party and get in one last round of violence for hate’s sake.
Sources
Hexblade, Eye of Gruumsh: Complete Warrior
Chaotician: Planar Handbook
Blessed of Gruumsh: Dragon Compendium
Dark Companion, Mad Foam Rager: Players Handbook II
Obtain Familiar: Complete Arcane
Prestidigitation: Dead Levels II
Reckless Rage: Races of Stone
Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus, Power Attack, Cleave, Blind-Fight: srd

[Thurbane]

Ebbeth Unyak
NE Sea Kin Bard 6/Druid 7 of Talos/Stormsinger 7


"I am the storm, my lord. The first storm and the last."

Str: 8
Dex: 13
Con: 12
Int: 10
Wis: 18 (stat increases at levels 12, 16, 20)
Cha: 16 (stat increases at levels 4, 8)


Like most sea-kin settlements, Ebbeth’s hometown straddled the border between land and ocean. Some homes and businesses were built on stilts above the water; others were situated such that their lower floors would be submerged at high tide while the upper levels always remained dry; some families lived on ships or houseboats. Ebbeth’s family was one of the latter. Her parents operated a floating tavern that served not only the members of the community, but merchants from far-flung lands who came to trade. While their stories and goods were of some interest to Ebbeth, what truly fascinated her were their songs. She learned the shanties of humans, elves, and gnomes, and became skilled enough that her singing drew more custom to the tavern.

As a teenager, Ebbeth tried to sign on with one of the trading vessels that stopped at the settlement, but none of them would accept her, saying she was too young. Eventually, she stowed away on a ship whose crew seemed to have more wealth than average. This wealth, as it turned out, had not been come by honestly; the ship Ebbeth had chosen was a pirate ship. The pirates soon noticed the signs of a stowaway, and likely would have found her and thrown her overboard if they hadn’t been attacked by a ship of the royal navy. Assuming she would be hanged right alongside all the pirates if they lost the battle, Ebbeth emerged from her hiding place and joined the fight. To bolster her own courage, she began to sing a battle song—and was shocked to see that it appeared to be having an effect on her impromptu allies as well. The pirates won the fight, looted the other ship, and, recognizing Ebbeth’s magical power, accepted her as one of their crew.

As Ebbeth spent more time on the open sea, she discovered that, like music, it had its own structure, harmonies, and rhythms. As she had mastered the elements of song, she began mastering the elements of nature. At one port her ship, the Windsword, visited, she found that the “sea monster” haunting the coast was an elasmosaurus. She befriended the creature, and when the Windsword left, the elasmosaurus left with it. (Ebbeth dismissed her previous animal companion, a shark, at this point. The local fisherfolk may or may not consider it an improvement over the dinosaur.)

As time went on and Ebbeth’s control over the rhythms of wave and wind improved, she began to think herself capable of controlling forces that most people would say are beyond a mortal’s ability to harness: the violent and unpredictable storms of the sea, capable of sinking even the sturdiest ship. For most, this would have been an arrogant boast, but Ebbeth surprised even her own crewmates by being able to back up her words. She learned how to impose order on the chaos of the storm, turning its destructive force away from the Windsword—and towards its prey or pursuers. She proved her ability beyond a doubt when she saved the Windsword from a hurricane, though not before the captain had been killed. Ebbeth now captains the ship, which has earned a reputation for being protected from retaliation by the forces of nature itself.




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


1
Bard
+0
+0
+2
+2
Concentration +5, Perform (Sing) +6, Spellcraft +6, Know (Arcana) +4, Know (Geography) +4, Know (Nature) +4, Profession (sailor) +6
Magical Aptitude
Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1


2
Bard
+1
+0
+3
+3
Concentration +6, Perform (Sing) +7, Spellcraft +7, Know (Arcana) +5, Know (Geography) +5, Know (Nature) +5, Profession (sailor) +7




3
Bard
+2
+1
+3
+3
Concentration +7, Perform (Sing) +8, Spellcraft +8, Know (Arcana) +6, Know (Geography) +6, Know (Nature) +6, Profession (sailor) +8
Extra Music
Inspire Competence


4
Bard
+3
+1
+4
+4
Concentration +8, Perform (Sing) +9, Spellcraft +9, Know (Arcana) +7, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +7, Profession (sailor) +9




5
Bard
+3
+1
+4
+4
Concentration +9, Perform (Sing) +10, Spellcraft +10, Know (Arcana) +8, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +7, Profession (sailor) +9, Gather Info +4, Speak Language: Aquan




6
Bard
+4
+2
+5
+5
Concentration +10, Perform (Sing) +11, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +7, Profession (sailor) +10, Gather Info +6, Speak Language: Aquan
Sunken Song
Suggestion


7
Druid
+4
+4
+5
+7
Concentration +11, Perform (Sing) +11, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +10, Profession (sailor) +10, Gather Info +6, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +3, Survival +5, Swim +0

Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy


8
Druid
+5
+5
+5
+8
Concentration +12, Perform (Sing) +12, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +11, Profession (sailor) +10, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +5, Survival +6, Swim +1

Woodland Stride


9
Druid
+6
+5
+6
+8
Concentration +13, Perform (Sing) +12, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +12, Profession (sailor) +10, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +6, Survival +7, Swim +2
Storm Magic
Trackless Step


10
Druid
+7
+6
+6
+9
Concentration +14, Perform (Sing) +12, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +14, Profession (sailor) +10, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +7, Survival +8, Swim +3

Resist Nature’s Lure


11
Druid
+7
+6
+6
+9
Concentration +15, Perform (Sing) +12, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +15, Profession (sailor) +10, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +8, Survival +9, Swim +4

Wild Shape (1/day)


12
Druid
+8
+7
+7
+10
Concentration +16, Perform (Sing) +12, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +16, Profession (sailor) +11, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +9, Survival +11, Swim +5
Natural Spell
Wild Shape (2/day)


13
Druid
+9
+7
+7
+10
Concentration +17, Perform (Sing) +12, Spellcraft +11, Know (Arcana) +9, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +11, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +12, Swim +6

Wild Shape (3/day)


14
Stormsinger
+9
+7
+9
+12
Concentration +18, Perform (Sing) +13, Spellcraft +12, Know (Arcana) +10, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +12, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +12, Swim +6

Bardic Music, Stormsong (Gust of Wind), +1 lvl spells/day (Druid)


15
Stormsinger
+10
+7
+10
+13
Concentration +19, Perform (Sing) +14, Spellcraft +13, Know (Arcana) +11, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +13, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +12, Swim +6
Ship’s Mage
Stormpower, +1 lvl spells/day (Druid)


16
Stormsinger
+10
+8
+10
+13
Concentration +20, Perform (Sing) +15, Spellcraft +14, Know (Arcana) +12, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +14, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +12, Swim +6

Stormsong (Thunderstrike), +1 lvl spells/day (Druid)


17
Stormsinger
+11
+8
+11
+14
Concentration +21, Perform (Sing) +16, Spellcraft +15, Know (Arcana) +13, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +15, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +12, Swim +6

Electricity Resistance 5, +1 lvl spells/day (Druid)


18
Stormsinger
+11
+8
+11
+14
Concentration +22, Perform (Sing) +17, Spellcraft +16, Know (Arcana) +14, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +16, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +12, Swim +6
Ironskin Chant
Stormsong (Control Winds), +1 lvl spells/day (Druid)


19
Stormsinger
+12
+9
+12
+15
Concentration +23, Perform (Sing) +18, Spellcraft +17, Know (Arcana) +15, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +17, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +12, Swim +6

Electricity Resistance 10, +1 lvl spells/day (Druid)


20
Stormsinger
+12
+9
+12
+15
Concentration +24, Perform (Sing) +19, Spellcraft +18, Know (Arcana) +16, Know (Geography) +7, Know (Nature) +17, Profession (sailor) +19, Gather Info +7, Speak Language: Aquan, Handle Animal +10, Survival +13, Swim +6

Stormsong (Winter’s Ballad), +1 lvl spells/day (Druid)




Bard Spells Known
0: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Mending, Message
1: Cure Light Wounds, Distort Speech, Inspirational Boost, Undetectable Alignment
2: Cure Moderate Wounds, Blur, Tactical Precision

Typical Druid Memorizations
0: Cure Minor Wounds (x2), Light, Purify Food and Drink, Resistance (x2)
1: Charm Animal, Magic Fang, Buoyant Lifting, Healthful Rest, Thunderhead, Wings of the Sea
2: Barkskin, Bull’s Strength, Resist Energy, Warp Wood, Kelpstrand, Mass Snake’s Swiftness
3: Call Lightning, Quench, Sleet Storm, Water Breathing, Jagged Tooth
4: Cure Serious Wounds, Enhance Wild Shape, Rushing Waters, Summon Elementite Swarm, Flame Strike
5: Animal Growth, Call Lightning Storm, Cure Critical Wounds
6: Mass Cure Light Wounds, Greater Dispel Magic, Summon Greater Elemental
7: Heal, Storm of Elemental Fury


CR 5: At this level, Ebbeth is more or less a standard bard. The PCs may encounter her at the docks or in a seaside tavern without realizing she’s the future BBEG. In a fight situation, she can make her crewmates more effective allies with the Inspire Courage/Inspirational Boost combination or Tactical Precision.

CR 10: With four levels of druid under her belt, Ebbeth’s spellcasting ability has expanded, and she tends to choose spells that will be useful in ship-to-ship combat. If the party encounters her as either prey or would-be capturers of the Windsword, she may use Sleet Storm to make it hard for them to keep their footing, Warp Wood to make their ship spring a leak, and/or Call Lightning for good old-fashioned HP damage; meanwhile Quench can counteract any attempt to set the Windsword’s rigging on fire. While her shark isn’t as powerful as the elasmosaurus she’ll get later on, he can still be a danger to anyone who falls in the water, particularly if buffed with Barkskin or Bull’s Strength. On the bardic side of things, Distort Speech can mess with enemy spellcasters, and the Sunken Song feat means she can use her bardic music underwater just as well as above it.

CR 15 (Sweet Spot): Wild Shape and Natural Spell have both come online by this point, and can be further empowered by the Enhance Wild Shape spell. By this time, Ebbeth has also switched out her shark for the Loch Ness monster an elasmosaurus, which can be made even more fearsome by Animal Growth and Jagged Tooth. Rushing Waters has the potential to bull-rush opponents over the side of the ship and into the waiting jaws of the dinosaur and any summoned creatures. And thanks to the Ship’s Mage feat, all of her spells are at +1 caster level as long as she’s on the Windsword. Last but not least, she’s starting to get access to her Stormsinger abilities. The Gust of Wind use of Stormsong can be particularly helpful, as it makes it more difficult to launch fire arrows or grappling hooks at the Windsword.

CR 20: With the Winter’s Ballad ability, Ebbeth can insure that she gets the benefit of Storm Magic on her spells basically whenever she wants, while Control Winds can speed the Windsword along or hinder pursuing ships. The Extra Music feat is now paying dividends by allowing her to make repeated use of Thunderstrike and Ironskin Chant. Summon Greater Elemental is a serious threat to enemy ships (water elementals can overturn a ship of 5 ft length/HD and greater water elementals have 21HD), and Storm of Elemental Fury is going to ruin the day of anyone who gets caught in it.


Ebbeth has chosen the variant Woodland Stride class feature detailed in Stormwrack; this feature therefore applies to aquatic rather than woodland terrain for her.

Upon taking her first druid level, Ebbeth selected a Medium shark as her animal companion. When she achieved her seventh druid level (character level 12), she dismissed this companion in favor of an elasmosaurus (MM pg. 60). The dinosaur knows the Attack, Come, Defend, Down, Guard, Heel, and Stay tricks.


Races of Destiny: Sea Kin race (pg. 102)
Frostburn: Stormsinger PrC (pg. 70), Storm Magic feat (pg. 50)
Stormwrack: Alternate version of Woodland Stride and variant animal companion choices (pg. 50), Sunken Song and Ship’s Mage feats (pgs. 93-94)
Complete Adventurer: Extra Music and Ironskin Chant feats (pgs. 109 and 113)
Spell Compendium: all listed non-PHB spells

[Thurbane]

The Bookthief

A man stalks the minds of writers, stealing their ideas and committing them to his own paper. He is a pirate of rights, not of ships, and he sails the ocean of magic.

The bookthief is a scholar who uses his magic to commit piracy - that is, intellectual property piracy. His motivations are part freedom of information, part claiming the credit for other people's works. And it makes it hard to fight him, too. After all, who would want to beat up a distinguished scholar? Surely only a ruffian or vagabond would do such a thing...

Chaotic Evil Male Human Wizard 3/Psion 3/Cerebremancer 10/Fatespinner 4

Starting ability scores: STR 10 DEX 14 CON 13 INT 15 WIS 12 CHA 8

All ability score gains go to wisdom.


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


1
Wizard 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Profession (Gambler) 4

Speed of Thought, Up the Walls

-



2
Wizard 2
+1
+0
+0
+3
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Profession (Gambler) 5


-



3
Wizard 3
+1
+1
+1
+3
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Profession (Gambler) 6

Psionic Body

-



4
Psion 1
+1
+1
+1
+5
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics) 7, Profession (Gambler) 6, Psicraft 2


-



5
Psion 2
+2
+1
+1
+6
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics) 8, Profession (Gambler) 6, Psicraft 4


-



6
Psion 3
+2
+2
+2
+6
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics) 9, Profession (Gambler) 6, Psicraft 6

Practiced Spellcaster

-



7
Cerebremancer 1
+2
+2
+2
+8
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics) 10, Profession (Gambler) 6, Psicraft 8


-



8
Cerebremancer 2
+3
+2
+2
+9
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics) 11, Profession (Gambler) 6, Psicraft 10


-



9
Cerebremancer 3
+3
+3
+3
+9
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 12, Profession (Gambler) 6

Practiced Manifester

-



10
Cerebremancer 4
+4
+3
+3
+10
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 13, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 1

-

-



11
Cerebremancer 5
+4
+3
+3
+10
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 14, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 2

-

-



12
Cerebremancer 6
+5
+4
+4
+11
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 15, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 4

Overchannel

-



13
Cerebremancer 7
+5
+4
+4
+11
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 16, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 6

-

-



14
Cerebremancer 8
+6
+4
+4
+12
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 17, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 8

-

-



15
Cerebremancer 9
+6
+5
+5
+12
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 18, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 10

Psicrystal Affinity (Nimble)

-



16
Cerebremancer 10
+7
+5
+5
+13
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 19, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 12

-

-



17
Fatespinner 1
+7
+5
+5
+15
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 20, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 14

-

Spin Fate



18
Fatespinner 2
+8
+5
+5
+16
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 21, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 16

Quicken Power

Fickle Finger of Fate



19
Fatespinner 3
+8
+6
+6
+16
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 22, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 18

Feats
Spin Destiny



20
Fatespinner 4
+9
+6
+6
+17
Concentration, Decipher Script, Knowledge (Arcana, Psionics), Psicraft 23, Profession (Gambler) 6, Spellcraft 20

Feats
Deny Fate, Resist Fate


The spells that the bookthief learns are, in order:

All cantrips, notably Amanuensis, Detect Magic, Read Magic
Charm Person, Comprehend Languages, Scholar's Touch, Disguise Self, Chill Touch, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall
Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Listening Lorecall, Locate Object
Secret Page, Suggestion, Vision of the Omniscient Eye, Fly
Arcane Eye, Scrying, Polymorph, Dimension Door
Contact Other Plane, Prying Eyes, Dominate Person, Mind Fog
Probe Thoughts, Legend Lore, Quest, Chain Lightning
Greater Scrying, Ethereal Jaunt, Prismatic Spray, Greater Teleport
Demand, Discern Location, Polymorph Any Object, Greater Prying Eyes
Hindsight, Programmed Amnesia

The powers he learns are:

Empathy, Sense Link, Missive, Control Flames, Far Hand
Clairvoyant Sense, Cloud Mind, Knock, Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions, Forced Sense Link
Escape Detection, Touchsight, Darkvision, Time Hop
Divination, Mindwipe, Correspond, Trace Teleport
Shatter Mind Blank, True Seeing, Major Creation, Clairtangent Hand
Mass Cloud Mind, Remote View Trap, Aura Alteration
Personal Mind BlankFrom low levels, the bookthief sneaks invisibly into libraries and studies, using his abilities such as amanuensis to steal the contents of books and chill touch (using the rules compendium's ruling that he can make all the attacks in the same action he casts the spell) if he needs to fight back. He can also use empathy and detect thoughts in order to steal people's ideas, and uses expeditious retreat and feather fall to escape.

At later levels, he uses abilities like shatter mind blank and probe thoughts to steal from minds directly, fighting back with polymorph if he can't escape (using dimension door to escape). He can also scry on creatures to observe their work directly.

Finally, he becomes a menace in the land, stealing writers' ideas and then inflicting them with amnesia to prevent them telling anyone what their ideas were.At low levels, the players aren't meant to realise that the bookthief is an antagonist at all. Instead, he's just an oddly convenient source of knowledge, a scholar who has access to a lot of literature. If they end up trying to fight him, no-one will believe them (least of all the charmed watchmen with low will saves). While they go on their other adventures, the bookthief is gathering his knowledge about them. He may have a detect thoughts spell active to understand their purposes. They may meet someone who claims to have had his research stolen by the bookthief, or perhaps just expresses disappointment that the bookthief published his research just before the scientist published his.

At moderate levels, they may realise that the bookthief is the antagonist, but there's a problem: he's the main source of knowledge for most people in the area, and actually provides free access to a lot of knowledge (he may be evil, sure, but he's also chaotic: he has this sort of will-of-the-people thing going on). Society has started to warp itself around someone who no-one realises is doing anything wrong, and is providing people with free knowledge at the expense of authors' and scientists' standards of living. So they would have to deal with that in order to fight him.

At high levels, well, he's got everyone under his finger. They love big brother. So good luck handling that.Core, XPH (Psionics in general), Complete Arcane (fatespinner) and the Spell Compendium (lots of the spells) are used.If 3.0 content is used, programmed amnesia can be swapped out for mindrape (BoVD) and prismatic spray for death by thorns (BoVD), or the spellthief may be able to scribe more spells into his book. If the bookthief is going to steal paintings, plays and other artworks as well, he'd need the relevant perform/craft/profession skills.

[Thurbane]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MFf4rHwzFFM/T5bbCZ1MibI/AAAAAAAAFbU/okfn5ktdHVo/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Redcap.jpg
Old Tom, Red Tom, Raw and Bloody Head Tom ...

Old Tommy Rawhead
CE Advanced Redcap(10HD) Beguiler 4/Unseen Seer 10
Build



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


2 (4HD)
Redcap
+2
+1
+4
+4
Hide 7, Intimidate 7, Listen 7, Move Silently 7, Search 2.5(cc), Sense Motive 3(cc), Spot 7, Survival 7
Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Eldritch Stone, Powerful Build, DR 5/Cold Iron, Low-light Vision, Natural Armor +1


3 (6HD)
Advanced Redcap
+3
+2
+5
+5
Hide 9, Intimidate 9, Listen 9, Move Silently 9, Search 3.5(cc), Sense Motive 4(cc), Spellcraft 1(cc), Spot 9, Survival 9
Martial Study(Shadow Jaunt)
+2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, Natural Armor +2


4 (8HD)
Advanced Redcap
+4
+2
+6
+6
Hide 11, Intimidate 11, Listen 11, Move Silently 11, Profession(Sailor) 1(cc), Search 4(cc), Sense Motive 4(cc), Spellcraft 3(cc), Spot 11, Survival 10

+2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, Natural Armor +3


6 (10HD)
Advanced Redcap
+5
+3
+7
+7
Hide 13, Intimidate 13, Listen 13, Move Silently 13, Profession(Sailor) 3(cc), Search 5(cc), Sense Motive 4(cc), Spellcraft 4(cc), Spot 13, Survival 10
Imperious Command
+2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, Natural Armor +4, DR 10/Cold Iron


7 (11HD)
Beguiler 1
+5
+3
+7
+9
(6+Int)Hide 14, Listen 14, Move Silently 14, Profession(Sailor) 5, Search 8, Spot 14

Armored Mage, Trapfinding, Spells


8 (12HD)
Beguiler 2
+6
+3
+7
+10
Hide 15, Listen 15, Move Silently 15, Profession(Sailor) 11, Spot 15
Martial Stance(Assassin's Stance)
Cloaked Casting(+1 DC), Surprise Casting


9 (13HD)
Unseen Seer 1
+6
+3
+7
+12
Hide 16, Listen 16, Move Silently 16, Profession(Sailor) 16, Search 9, Spot 16

Damage Bonus +1d6, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


10 (14HD)
Unseen Seer 2
+7
+3
+7
+13
Hide 17, Intimidate 14.5(cc), Listen 17, Move Silently 17, Profession(Sailor) 17, Spot 17, Never Outnumbered
Silent SpellB
Advanced Learning (Locate Object), Silent Spell, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


11 (15HD)
Unseen Seer 3
+8
+4
+8
+13
Hide 18, Intimidate 17(cc), Listen 18, Move Silently 18, Profession(Sailor) 18, Spot 18
Practiced Spellcaster
Divination Spell Power +1


12 (16HD)
Unseen Seer 4
+9
+4
+8
+14
Hide 19, Intimidate 17.5(cc), Knowledge(Local) 4, Listen 19, Move Silently 19, Profession(Sailor) 19, Spot 19

Damage Bonus +2d6, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


13 (17HD)
Unseen Seer 5
+9
+4
+8
+14
Hide 20, Intimidate 18.5(cc), Knowledge(Local) 5, Listen 20, Move Silently 20, Profession(Sailor) 20, Spot 20, Clarity of Vision

Advanced Learning (Divine Insight), Guarded Mind, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


14 (18HD)
Unseen Seer 6
+10
+5
+9
+15
Hide 21, Intimidate 21(cc), Listen 21, Move Silently 21, Profession(Sailor) 21, Spot 21
Knowledge Devotion
Divination Spellpower +2, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


15 (19HD)
Unseen Seer 7
+11
+5
+9
+15
Hide 22, Intimidate 22(cc), Knowledge(Local) 6, Listen 22, Move Silently 22, Profession(Sailor) 22, Spot 22, Collector of Stories

Damage Bonus +3d6, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


16 (20HD)
Unseen Seer 8
+12
+5
+9
+16
Hide 23, Intimidate 23(cc), Knowledge(Local) 9, Listen 23, Move Silently 23, Profession(Sailor) 23, Spot 23

Advanced Learning (Commune with Nature), +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


17 (21HD)
Unseen Seer 9
+12
+6
+10
+16
Hide 24, Intimidate 24(cc), Knowledge(Local) 12, Listen 24, Move Silently 24, Profession(Sailor) 24, Spot 24
Trickery Devotion
Divination Spellpower +3, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


18 (22HD)
Unseen Seer 10
+13
+6
+10
+17
Hide 25, Intimidate 25(cc), Knowledge(Local) 15, Listen 25, Move Silently 25, Profession(Sailor) 25, Spot 25

Damage Bonus +4d6, +1 Level of existing arcane spellcasting class


19 (23HD)
Beguiler 3
+13
+7
+11
+17
Hide 26, Intimidate 26(cc), Knowledge(Local) 18, Listen 26, Move Silently 26, Profession(Sailor) 26, Spot 26

Advanced Learning (Shadow Well)


20 (24HD)
Beguiler 4
+14
+7
+11
+18
Hide 27, Intimidate 27(cc), Knowledge(Local) 21, Listen 27, Move Silently 27, Profession(Sailor) 27, Spot 27
Scourge of the Seas





Ability Scores

Starting Ability Scores:

Str - 10
Dex - 12
Con - 13
Int - 15
Wis - 8
Cha - 14

Final Ability Scores after Racial modifiers, Redcap Advancement, and level bumps:

Str - 22
Dex - 20
Con - 24
Int - 18
Wis - 10
Cha - 16

Levels 4, 8, and 12 go to Int, levels 16 and 20 go to Str, level 24 goes to Con


Spells per Day/Spells Known

Spells per Day


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


7
5
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8
6
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9
6
5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


10
6
6
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


11
6
6
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


12
6
6
5
3
-
-
-
-
-
-


13
6
6
6
4
-
-
-
-
-
-


14
6
6
6
5
3
-
-
-
-
-


15
6
6
6
6
4
-
-
-
-
-


16
6
6
6
6
5
3
-
-
-
-


17
6
6
6
6
6
4
-
-
-
-


18
6
6
6
6
6
5
3
-
-
-


19
6
6
6
6
6
6
4
-
-
-


20
6
6
6
6
6
6
5
3
-
-




CR 2
Old Tom is just a Redcap. That being said, Redcaps are nasty bruisers in a fight. Their slings blow appled-sized holes in things, and any monster that wields a x4 crit weapon is just asking for a lucky crit to straight up kill a PC. At this point in his life, Old Tom has taken up residence in an abandoned lighthouse on the coast. He's a twisted and evil little fey who used to be a Klaubauterman (a beneficial ship sprite). Nowadays, he savagely defends his turf, and delights in slaughtering the survivors of any shipwrecks that occur nearby. If he can use the lighthouse to guide them to their doom, all the better.

Possible Encounter:
The Lighthouse Keeper (EL 2) - The party is hired by the local lord to clear out and secure an old abandoned lighthouse on the edge of his domain. If the peasantry is to be believed, the vengeful spirit of a long dead sailor pining for his lost love haunts the lighthouse, and none who have ventured there ever return. Unfortunately for the party, it's no spirit, but Old Tom that has taken up residence. He uses hit and run tactics to soften the party up with Eldritch Stones before moving in to finish off the last one or two in melee with his scythe. GM's are encouraged to make the lighthouse dangerous in and of itself. Crumbling stairs, bits of falling masonry, close quarters, and terrible lighting conditions help set the atmosphere. Bonus points if there's a storm that drives the party to seek shelter in the lighthouse.


CR 6
By this point, not only has Old Tom secured himself a homebase in a (now fortified) lighthouse on the coast, he's also managed to salvage a pinnace that crashed up on the shore, and secured himself a small crew of redcaps. He uses intimidation and the promise of murder, mayhem, and treasure to keep them in line. When they aren't out pillaging small vessels sailing along the coast, they are counting their ill-gotten goods or torturing some prisoners back at the lighthouse. Old Tom is no pushover either. For a small old man, he's got tremendous strength, DR that is hard to punch through, and (with Imperious Command), the ability to terrify everyone on deck of whatever ship he boards.

Possible Encounter:
The Crew of the Callous Shrew (EL 8) - This encounter can happen any time the party is travelling by sea along the coast. Seeing a ship ripe for the plucking, Old Tommy Rawhead and his crew (2 or 4 young redcaps) come upon the PC's vessel at dusk. They board the vessel quickly and stealthily, doing their best to kill the crew quietly. Unfortunately, the young redcaps much prefer murder to looting, and so will attempt to kill everyone aboard before they even think to steal any treasure. If the fight goes badly, Old Tom will roar curses and threats to keep the young redcaps fighting for longer than they'd like before they break and run. If his crew starts running, Old Tom wisely retreats as well.


CR 16
Old Tommy Rawhead quite the captain now. He's a stealthy killer, and delights in leaving only a single survivor of his attacks tied to the main mast and clad in the freshly skinned flesh of his fellow crewmates. Old Tom's spells aid in establishing a larger crew, subduing victims for later torture, and finding targets on the high seas. Advanced Learning from Unseen Seer gives him access to divination spells from any class list. While you could probably cheese this out by picking from some of the more tasty prestige class spell lists, I've gone for a slightly more tame approach, and the two spells of note are Divine Insight (which makes Old Tom really good at a few skill checks per day), and Commune With Nature (which lets him know what people, sea life, and ships are beyond the horizon so he can plan his attack, or make his escape).

Possible Encounter:
Rawhead and Bloody Bones - The Callous Shrew has become a problem. As trade has increased between neighboring nations, more and more vessels have fallen victim to Old Tom and his crew, which in turn has made the fey captain far more bold. Recently, a ship that was secretly carrying the King's daughter and a sizeable dowry to a neighboring kingdom in order to cement a peace treaty was lost. The PC's are hired to track down the princess, the gold, and the ne'er-do-wells that are responsible for the attack and make them pay. Old Tom has had decades to train his crew, outfit his ship, and secure his hideout. Old Tom will not only have a sizeable crew of redcaps (young and advanced) in his employ, but he'll also have a number of other dangerous creatures he's enchanted to ensure his safety. The PCs will need to track Old Tom down before he kills the princess, otherwise it could mean war between the two neighboring nations.


References

Monster Manual III - Redcap
Player's Handbook II - Beguiler
Stormwrack - Scourge of the Seas
Spell Compendium - Divine Insight, Shadow Well
Tome of Battle - Martial Study, Martial Stance, Assassin's Stance, Shadow Jaunt
Complete Champion - Knowledge Devotion, Water Devotion
Complete Scoundrel - Skill Tricks (Never Outnumbered, Clarity of Vision, Collector of Stories)
Complete Mage - Unseen Seer
Complete Arcane - Practiced Spellcaster
Drow of the Underdark - Imperious Command

[Thurbane]

Colsonaes, the Hunted Daughter, Bane of the Tel'Quessir
*So, as it turns out, the most a search for anything to do with both illithid and elf results in images from rule34. I choose to use my imagination instead for what this character would look like.



NE Moon Elf Half Illithid (CR 3)/ Druid 7/ Wavekeeper 10


The natural ability modifiers for a Moon Elf are as any standard Elf: -2 Con, +2 Dex.
The Half Illithid template adds +4 Int, +4 Wis, and +4 Cha.
The elite array is then applied as follows: Str 8 Dex 10 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 15 Cha 13.
Finally, before level ups, stats are Str8 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 16 Wis 19 Cha 17.



CR
Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha
Notes


3
8
12
12
16
19
17
Start


7
8
12
12
16
20
17
4 HD +1 Wis


11
8
13
12
16
20
17
8 HD +1 Dex


15
8
14
12
16
20
17
12 HD +1 Dex


19
8
14
12
16
20
18
19 HD +1 Dex







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


3
Half Illithid CR+ 3
+0
+1
+1
+4
N/a
N/a
+1 Natural Armor, Tentacle Attack (4) 1d4, Mind Blast 1/day, Improved Grab, Extract, Psionic-like Abilities, Darkvision (60 ft), Spell Resistance (10 + HD) Telepathy


4
Druid 1
+0
+3
+1
+6
Handle Animal +4, Hide +2, Knowledge (Nature) +4, Knowledge (Psionics) +2.5, Ride +4, Survival +4, Swim +4
Natural Bond
Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy


5
Druid 2
+1
+4
+1
+7
Handle Animal +5, Hide +2.5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Knowledge (Psionics) +2.5, Ride +5, Survival +5, Swim +5

Woodland Stride


6
Druid 3
+2
+4
+2
+7
Handle Animal +6, Hide +3, Knowledge (Nature) +6, Knowledge (Psionics) +3, Ride +6, Survival +6, Swim +6
Darkstalker
Trackless Step


7
Druid 4
+3
+5
+2
+8
Handle Animal +7, Hide +3.5, Knowledge (Nature) +7, Knowledge (Psionics) +3.5, Ride +7, Survival +7, Swim +7

Resist Nature’s Lure


8
Druid 5
+3
+5
+2
+8
Handle Animal +8, Hide +4, Knowledge (Nature) +8, Knowledge (Psionics) +4, Ride +8, Survival +8, Swim +8

Wild Shape 1/day


9
Druid 6
+4
+6
+3
+9
Handle Animal +9, Hide +4.5, Knowledge (Nature) +9, Knowledge (Psionics) +4.5, Ride +9, Survival +9, Swim +9
Natural Spell
Wild Shape 2/day


10
Wavekeeper 1
+4
+8
+3
+11
Handle Animal +10, Hide +5.5, Knowledge (Nature) +10, Knowledge (Psionics) +5, Move Silently +1, Ride +10, Survival +10, Swim +9

Masterful Swimmer, Mysteries of the Sea (Blackwater)


11
Wavekeeper 2
+5
+9
+3
+12


Beast of the Sea, Wave Master 1/day


12
Wavekeeper 3
+6
+9
+4
+12
Handle Animal +12, Hide +7.5, Knowledge (Nature) +11, Knowledge (Psionics) +6, Move Silently +3, Ride +12, Survival +12, Swim +9
Aberration Wild Shape
Mastery of Breath, Water Breathing


13
Wavekeeper 4
+7
+10
+4
+13
Handle Animal +13, Hide +8.5, Knowledge (Nature) +13, Knowledge (Psionics) +6.5, Move Silently +4, Ride +13, Survival +13, Swim +9

Wave Master 2/day


14
Wavekeeper 5
+7
+10
+4
+13
Handle Animal +14, Hide +9.5, Knowledge (Nature) +14, Knowledge (Psionics) +7, Move Silently +5, Ride +14, Survival +14, Swim +9

Current Mastery


15
Wavekeeper 6
+8
+11
+5
+14
Handle Animal +15, Hide +10.5, Knowledge (Nature) +15, Knowledge (Psionics) +7.5, Move Silently +6, Ride +15, Survival +15, Swim +9
feats
Wave Master 3/day


16
Wavekeeper 7
+9
+11
+5
+14
Handle Animal +16, Hide +11.5, Knowledge (Nature) +16, Knowledge (Psionics) +8, Move Silently +7, Ride +16, Survival +16, Swim +9

Wave Form


17
Wavekeeper 8
+10
+12
+5
+15
Handle Animal +17, Hide +12.5, Knowledge (Nature) +17, Knowledge (Psionics) +8.5, Move Silently +8, Ride +17, Survival +17, Swim +9

Wave master 4/day


18
Wavekeeper 9
+10
+12
+6
+15
Handle Animal +18, Hide +13.5, Knowledge (Nature) +18, Knowledge (Psionics) +9, Move Silently +9, Ride +18, Survival +18, Swim +9
feats
Wave Form (Huge)


19
Wavekeeper 10
+11
+13
+6
+16
Handle Animal +19, Hide +14.5, Knowledge (Nature) +19, Knowledge (Psionics) +9.5, Move Silently +10, Ride +19, Survival +19, Swim +9

Call of the Abyss, Current Mastery (20 ft), Wave Master 5/day


20
Druid 7
+12
+13
+6
+16
Handle Animal +20, Hide +15, Knowledge (Nature) +20, Knowledge (Psionics) +10, Move Silently 10, Ride +20, Survival +20, Swim +10

Wild Shape 3/day



The following table includes the bonus spells per day granted by a high Wisdom score.




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


4
[TD]1
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5
2
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


6
3
4
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


7
4
5
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8
5
5
4
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


9
6
5
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-


10
6
5
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-


11
7
6
5
4
3
2
-
-
-
-
-

12
8
6
5
4
3
3
-
-
-
-
-


13
9
6
5
5
4
3
1
-
-
-
-


14
10
6
5
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-


15
11
6
6
5
5
4
2
1
-
-
-


16
12
6
6
5
5
4
3
2
-
-
-


17
13
6
6
6
5
5
3
2
1
-
-


18
14
6
6
6
5
5
3
3
2
-
-


19
15
6
6
6
6
5
4
3
2
1
-


20
16
6
6
6
6
5
4
3
3
2
-



Commonly prepared spells:


Detect Magic – an obvious staple of most every low level caster, made only more important as Illithid society focuses more on Psionics, so having a way of detecting non-psi magics is pivotal to colony survival.
Camouflage – a great one and done for stealthy casters alike.
Entangle – who doesn’t love taking over an entire ship with vines, effectively leaving it as a sitting duck? (Though likely doesn’t work in deep ocean settings)
Speak with Animal – utmost importance for the build’s theme of replacing


Enhance Wild Shape – Anyone shocked to see this? Because I’m not shocked that I’m typing it. Hours worth of using EX abilities while using Wild Shape? For 1 spell slot? It only gets better because it helps fit into the Illithid/Aberration theme going on here.
Blackwater Tentacle – Always nice to have set it and forget it spells. Put it next to a ship, and let it do a good Pirates 2 impression. I mean, you already will be doing that with your Wild shape, Squid friend, and other fun toys, but who can say no to more of a good thing?
Control Winds – Nothing stops those pesky sailing ships quite like removing all wind.
Control Weather – If just the wind wasn’t doing enough for you, how does 8d12 (average 54) hours worth of total weather control? Don’t just stop a boat. Stop a 3 mile radius of ocean!





CR
Creature


4-12
Squid


13-16
Giant Octopus


17-20
Giant Squid




It is no secret that Illithids have experimented for ages with their breeding process. The secret that does exist, however, is the results of cross-breeding with species other than Humans. While some are compatible and create wholly new creatures, many will simply result in failure, killing the host and Illithid-to-be in the process. Colsonaes is one of the lucky few. It was the result of a slight variation on the tried and true process of producing a slave-class half breed from a Drow, but instead using a surface Elf. Because if anything, Illithids are quizzical, psionic wielding scientists in their own right, and nothing can ever be discovered without experimentation.

During an exceptionally violent surface raid, dozens of (relatively) young Elves were dragged into the Underdark, each to be the latest subjects in the never-ending process of appeasing the Illithid Elder Brain with new and variant meals of brains. However, a select few were set aside as would-be hosts for up and coming tadpoles.

What interested the Illithids most of this surface Elf culture was their connection to druidism, a rare sight in the Under, and rarer still amongst the Dark Elves they have become accustomed to. But first, they needed a working host, and from what this latest crop had shown, none would make due. However, nearing the end of trials, a pair managed to be successful at hosting a tadpole without total loss and failure. These “half-druid twins” would be the only in a shortly tested program of understanding for better assimilation and domination of surface dwellers.

The ceremorphosis is never a pleasant sight, and usually a viciously violent act that involves much screaming and agony, quickly followed by silent stillness as the host’s life comes to an abrupt end and the newly attached tadpole begins its process of hostile takeover. Within a short few days, the newly formed creature is ready, already full grown, and stands, taking its first breath as an adult Illithid. So, too, was the process for the creature to be known as Colsonaes, literally “the hunted not-male child.”

But revenge is a dish served best cold, and Illithids are all too familiar with the cold to have to wait long.



Colsonaes has just began its journey to greatness. Recently spawned, and just beginning its understanding of the druidic magic that seemed so familiar merely weeks ago as the body was transformed from Elf to Aberration. At this point, it has made little effort in seeking out an animal companion, instead choosing to observe what it can from the Elf society it was bred from, while its “twin” chooses to remain close to the Elder Brain, allowing its mind to be probed constantly for any manner of remaining information from its previous life.

Colsonaes is relatively weak (being only 2 HD at this point), but is not helpless, and will unleash its full brunt of powers and abilities in any attempt to protect its full-breed overseers as well as the colony’s Elder Brain.


By this point in career, Col’ has left home. As stated before, revenge is a thing, and though rare, some catastrophic raids have been recorded in which most of a Mind Flayer society was destroyed, Elder Brain included. Col’ belonged to one of the unfortunate colonies. Knowing little else to do in such a situation besides flee or retaliate, it went with both, gaining its telltale name. Still only operating as a low-mid level druid with a single level of WK, it has a few more tricks available, and at least has the ability to survive alone (relatively, not counting AC).

Tactics currently pertain to use of the 2 daily WS uses and up to 3rd level spells, preferring shapes that remind it of home, usually small to mid animals with tentacle attacks, like an octopus (which still has a menial land speed as well as swim). Strangely enough, despite being a Wis caster, Col’ will prefer spells that boost Dex instead (including cat’s grace), as they help not only with stealth based skills, but also for any WS with WFin.

It’s also important to note that the first WK level immediately gives a swim speed, and thus no longer needing any solid investment in the swim skill. This allows for much more investment in the stealth skills, which will become extra important down the road.


Now we have a fair bit online. Up to this point, the only truly appropriate AC that fit as something familiar was the basic squid. However, we now can upgrade to the giant octopus, dramatically increasing capabilities by itself. Col’ has also picked up its aquatic capabilities, allowing it to stay underwater at all times. Also, Aberrant Wild Shape, because it is almost insane to not take it while already having the Aberrant type natively. Anything at all that is Aberrant and aquatic is now fully on the board, boosted entirely by the obvious enhance wild shape spell. Best choices here include a handful, but Col’ prefers smaller, faster forms such as an Ixitxachitl.


This is, hands down, the best point in character career Col’. It has reached the peak of spellcasting (that it will achieve without going into epic) of 8th level spells, has its giant squid animal companion, able to Aberrant shape, elemental shape, plus a handful of utilities. Now, let me fully explain the strat of combat, because it is important.

Now, this can be accomplished by 1 of 2 ways, depending on how strict you want to be about things. By rule text, both should be able to accomplish the same goal, and that goal is “suddenly, villain.” With the points in ride, despite being underwater and lacking a saddle, Col’ should be able to ride its squid into battle, and that includes while it uses the Jet ability (320 ft/ round). The other option, because Jet is a full round action, would be for the two to initiate a grapple, then at the start of its turn, intentionally fail, meaning the grapple is maintained, and by taking the -20 on its check that it already failed, it can act as if not grappling, meaning it can then use Jet.

By doing this little work around (whichever way works better for you), we have a creature (and druid rider) that can travel a fair distance in a short 6 seconds. Now, we get into physics just a little. Light, which we perceive as visible light, or color, is only capable of travelling so far through media. Through air, it goes further, as it does through vacuum. Through water, however, it can only travel roughly 275 meters, which is approximately 902 feet. That means, a mere 3 rounds away, Col’ and company are completely invisible to those above. They would simply blend in with the complete blackness that is ocean depths.

Combining that with 3.5’s time measurement of 6s/rd, the crew of a ship is left with merely 18 seconds to react, less with a bad spot check.

From the very moment of contact (not breach, because these two would rarely leave the water during an attack) the ship is immediately dealing with water spouts throwing them overboard, sudden storms, a ship that can no longer move (if travelling by sail), and 10 tentacles rapidly picking off men and drowning them.

But what does this serve? Well, first and foremost, Col’ eats brains, so killing people in this fashion would give plenty. But also it allows it to pay homage to its stand-in Elder Brain, by taking any and all spoils and presenting them to Big Mr. Squid, be they something that can grant a boon or purely decorative. The squid probably cares minimally for this, but with use of speak with animal as well as wild empathy, the gesture is obviously appreciated.


This is the peak of power. Not much has changed, however, compared to last level. A few more spells are available, and 1 extra Wild Shape. If you needed that to help your evil laugh along, then go for it.


So, this is a Druid. We all generally understand they have one of the highest power ceilings possible without use of major TO skills. But they also have a relatively low floor. If a boss is enough for you that showing up with a giant squid that can attack the boat from underneath causes mayhem, then we can keep it to that. If the full force of a full caster is required, we can kick it up a few notches and let that happen. Heck, even the Wavekeeper abilities by themselves can add a fair bit of challenge by themselves (BCC, minionmancy). The important thing to note, as always, is that this character was made to be fun, and so was the game. So go on out there, and make your Cthulhu jokes while playing with her (it?).


I feel this is a question that might come up from time to time with these entries. It’s fair to ask, and I have an answer. How isn’t it? It was born from a stolen body, using a stolen magic art from another civilization, ultimately resulting in a lifestyle of sinking ships and killing sailors for the sole purpose of eating brains and blinging out its giant squid friend. It’s not Captain Jack, but it has the pillage and plunder its weasly guts out bit down pat!


Core: Elf, Druid, Natural Spell, (Animals)
SpC: Enhance Wild Shape
LoM: Darkstalker, Aberration Wild Shape
FF: Half-Illithid
RoF: Moon Elf
CAv: Natural Bond

[Thurbane]

http://i.imgur.com/VfGy5NX.png?1
Cilawar
CE Corrupted Vampire Lord Asabi Dungeon Lord 4/Master Vampire 3

Statistics (including adjustments)


Ability
Elite Array
Only
Racial
Modifiers
Size
Increase
Corrupted
Creature
Monstrous
Vampire
Vampire
Lord
Increases
from HD
Prodigy Of
Intelligence
Total
Score


Strength
10
-
+8
+4
+6
+6
-
-
34


Dexterity
12
+2
-2
-2
+4
+4
-
-
18


Constitution
8
-
+4
+4
-
-
-
-
-


Intelligence
14
+2
-
-
+2
+2
-
+2
22


Wisdom
13
+2
-
-2
+2
+2
-
-
17


Charisma
15
-
-
-2
+4
+4
+5
-
26


Unique Abilities: Prodigy of Intelligence, Graced from Outside
Languages: Common, Aquan, Sylvan, Goblin, Draconic

Build


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


1
3
-
-
+3
+1
+3
+3
Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Intimidate 3, Use Magic Device 3, Bluff 3, Tumble 3
Shape Soulmeld (astral vambraces), Skill Knowledge (Profession (sailor))
Prodigy of Intelligence


2
5
-
-
+5
+1
+4
+4
Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Intimidate 4, Use Magic Device 4, Bluff 4, Tumble 4
-
-


3
8
-
-
+8
+2
+6
+6
Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Intimidate 5.5, Use Magic Device 5.5, Bluff 5.5, Tumble 5.5
Open Least Chakra (hands)
-


4
11
-
-
+11
+3
+7
+7
Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Intimidate 7, Use Magic Device 7, Bluff 7, Tumble 7
Scourge of the Seas
-


5
14
-
-
+14
+4
+9
+9
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Intimidate 8, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 4
Darkstalker
-


8
14
Corrupted Creature
-
+14
+4
+9
+9
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Intimidate 8, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 4
-
Disruptive Attack, Enhanced Power, Fast Healing, Damage Reduction, Graced from Outside (Spell-like Ability: Desecrate)


10
14
Vampire
-
+14
+4
+9
+9
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Intimidate 8, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 4
Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes,
Blood Drain, Children of the Night, Dominate, Create Spawn, Energy Drain, Alternate Form, Damage Reduction, Fast Healing, Gaseous Form, Resistances, Spider Climb, Turn Resistance


13
14
Vampire Lord
-
+14
+4
+9
+9
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Intimidate 8, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 4
Iron Will, Leadership (nonfunctional)
Domination, Energy Drain, Blood Drain, Alternate Form, Children of the Night, Control Weather (Control Weather), Create Spawn, Damage Reduction, Fast Healing, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Turn Resistance


14
15
-
Dungeon Lord
14
+4
+11
+11
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Intimidate 8, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 11
Undead Meldshaper
Dungeon mastery, horde lord +1


15
16
-
Dungeon Lord
15
+4
+12
+12
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Intimidate 8, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 18
-
Dungeon step


16
17
-
Dungeon Lord
16
+5
+12
+12
Hide 20, Move Silently 19, Intimidate 8, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 20
-
Complete awareness, dungeon minions


17
18
-
Dungeon Lord
17
+5
+13
+13
Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Intimidate 11, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 21
Mindsight
Animate objects


18
19
-
Master Vampire
17
+7
+13
+15
Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Intimidate 17, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 22
-
More spawn, turn resistance


19
10
-
Master Vampire
18
+8
+13
+16
Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Intimidate 23, Use Magic Device 8, Bluff 8, Tumble 8, Profession (sailor) 23
-
Enhanced spawn


20
21
-
Master Vampire
18
+8
+14
+16
Hide 24, Move Silently 24, Intimidate 24, Use Magic Device 10, Bluff 10, Tumble 9, Profession (sailor) 24
Spell Drain
Master's chosen



Backstory
A shriek rent the muggy night air. Cilawar jolted awake. Poking his head out the earthen window, he saw two other heads jutting from the openings in the walls of the misshapen little ziggurat. That of his teacher, Homob, in the room next to him, and two levels above, Pemb, one of the tribe's hunters.*


The three exchanged confused, sleepy glances for a moment, unsure where the noise had come from. Then another shriek sounded, weaker and accompanied by gurgling. This time it had definitely come from the direction of the beach. Scanning the stretch where the desert met the sea, Cilawar could just make out three distinct forms.


One was Mati, an elder, his head, limbs and tail flopping to and fro as he failed weakly on the sand. Even at this distance it was possible to see the blood gushing from a gaping tear at his side.


Cilawar and Homob executed a pair of awkward, slithering leaps through their ground-floor windows, Cilawar with spear in hand. They were halfway to the scene, before Cilawar got a good look at the others. A hulking figure with fishlike fins was hunched over Palsu, Homob's other student, tearing at flesh and slurping blood enthusiastically from the young asabi's mangled mess of a ribcage.

Cilawar did not much like his classmate,*but the gruesome sight stopped him short. Homob had also stopped and assumed a posture and expression reminiscent of one suffering from severe constipation.

The fish-monster, hearing the patter of feet on sand, looked up in time to see glowing waves of psychic energy burst from the elderly asabi's forehead. They wrapped around the monster in a luminous cocoon.

'Cilawar! Stab it!' cried the straining elder.

Although the asabi tribe possessed no knowledge of vampires, of which this fish-monster was a variety of, by sheer chance their island home had close to no natural supply of stone or metal. Consequently, most of their weapons were made of wood, including Cilawar's spear. As any versed in vampire lore will know, a wooden stake through the heart of a vampire slays it instantly.

Cilawar, having snapped out of his daze at his teacher's barked command, stumbled forward and plunged the spear into the monster's chest. The creature convulsed once, then fell to the ground, the dissipating cocoon of energy trailing glowing strands.

Sadly, the asabi tribe possessed no knowledge of vampires. Ciluwar's next action was to yank the bloody length of wood from the vampire's carcass.

The hole in the vampire's chest sealed itself with a splatter of black blood and a suctioning noise as the vampire sprung to it's feet and clamped it's jaws over Ciluwar's head.

Ciluwar's vision went dark. He could feel his blood leaving his body and a dark energy creeping around his flickering life force, replacing it and seeping through him. He tried to throw it off, but, though the flow seemed to thin for an instant, the dam of his mental resistance broke almost instantly. The overflow exploded through him, killing him and reviving him all at once, twisting his body into bizzare shapes, skin and bone warping, tearing and fusing haphazardly.


>---<

Hours later, the vampire stood alone on the beach strewn with asabi corpses. The entire tribe had eventually been roused by the commotion, giving it a rather larger snack than it had initially expected from the little island in the middle of its oceanic journey.

Perhaps some of its victims might return to life, or rather undeath, under its command, but the vampire could see these scaled ones were not aquatic. They would be no use at all where it was going. It leapt into the sea, never to be seen again by any on the surface.


>---<

Cilawar opened his eyes. Instinctively, he knew what had happened. His body felt strange, but he was as comfortable in it as he had always been.

None of the others had awakened to a second life. Either that, or the monster had taken them with him somehow. Some of them were missing from the piles of corpses.

This was in actual fact because they had animated a while earlier as vampire spawn and, not being vulnerable to water, followed their new master into the sea, although Ciluwar never knew this.

Ciluwar buried the bodies silently. He had never been much for emotional outbursts, and given the emotionally-dampened period that immediately follows such trauma as being turned into a vampire, such behaviour was even less likely.

After that, he set off to find a way off the island. There was no future here.


>---<

There was no way off the island. Cilawar knew that now. The water itself had been cursed to him, and it would not let him leave, hemming him in on all sides. All the plants and structures on the little slip of land in the middle of a seemingly boundless ocean had been blasted to desert by the elements long ago, and his perception of time in that featureless place was now such that night and day passed in seconds.

There was no counting how long the lone asabi spent there, his only activity burrowing into the sand each sunrise and out again at sunset each day.

Suddenly, time slowed. Something has changed. Cilawar jolted awake. There! On the evening horizon, a speck. A change to the view after all this time. What was it? It was coming closer. He could see an alien shape of warped wood, knifing through the waves. Strange figures milled about upon it. Pale membranes like rectangular bat wings billowed above.

Closer, ever closer. It must be his way out. He had to have it. He had to have everyone on it. Too long had he gone alone on his forsaken little sand dune in the waves.


>---<

'Over there!' the lookout cried. 'Someone's stranded on that island!'

The captain hurried to the ship's rail and put his telescope to his right eye. Through the blurry, poorly-ground lens, he saw that his lookout's keen eyes had not failed. A vaguely humanoid shape among the white sand of the desert island.

He's seen us, the captain thought. Dancing for joy, he is.

The captain turned to his pilot.

'Over there, that island. Some poor sod's been shipwrecked. Let's go pick him up.'

Funny, thought the captain as the ship began to change course. I thought we were the first to explore these parts.

Usage
In General
Cilawar's motivations are ultimately very simple. Due to his long imprisonment on an island, he views the ship as his source of freedom and hates land. Boredom is something he will go to any lengths to prevent, and he compensates for the eons of isolation by continually seeking companionship in the form of the minions he commands. He voyages constantly to seek out new places and experiences.

Therefore, Cilawar's form of piracy is not so concerned with wealth. Rather, when he attacks a rival ship, he takes crew members to dominate or turn into vampires or vampire spawn, or even to join his crew willingly if someone volunteers to. He tires quickly of any specific companion, though, and often discards them in suicidal attacks to replace them with new ones. He may also take over a ship if he is bored with his current one, although as his Dungeon Lord abilities take some time to acclimate to new environments he does this only when he views a new ship as substantially superior.

Cilawar also does not care much for leaving the places he visits intact, either. Experiencing and enjoying them once is enough for him, then he and his vampiric minions can sate their thirst or maybe have some new additions to the crew.

CR 10
This is the point where Cilawar first gains control of the ship in his backstory and turns to his form of piracy.it should be easy for him to convert people to his cause through either turning them into vampires or dominating them. During the day, while he and his vampire crew members hide below decks, any living or vampire spawn minions should be up on deck pretending that his ship is a normal one not crewed by undead in case they are seen by another ship (although obviously more monstrous vampire spawn should stay hidden or concealed as well.

Cilawar is naturally at his best during the night, so this is when his pirate ship will likely attack. In a fight, he sends his subordinates in first and tries to summon up some swarms or wolves. Desecrate can be used to create a situation in favour of the undead. Then he edges closer to the fray and tries to dominate opposing forces or, if fighting a ship, use Scourge of the Seas to frighten the captain. He doesn't engage in melee unless he has to, although the combination of his high strength score, vile damage and energy drain should make him quite deadly. Remember that his Enhanced Power raises the DCs of all his abilities by 4. It's probably also a good idea for him to shift into a flying form as soon as possible.

Note the fast healing from both his vampirism and being corrupted. If he is forced into gaseous form, he doesn't need to retreat into his coffin to heal, as the corrupted fast healing functions all the time, unlike the vampiric version, so he can be back in action in a matter of rounds. Even better is the fact that 'Any additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect', so he can't be easily harmed until he becomes solid again.

CR 15
Most of Cilawar's vampire abilities have been upgraded. Now that he can use his soulmelds again, the three energy-draining slams should make him even more deadly. Telekinesis has many applications, but Control Weather shines more as it can ground flyers and do some real damage to enemy vessels, even if they are a long way away. Cilawar has designated his ship as his dungeon for the purposes of Dungeon Lord, so he is much harder to fight when on it. He can use his Dungeon Step ability to set up sneak attacks or make quick escapes. His personal quarters should be modified with floors that constitute difficult terrain like holes in the flooring or bits of wood that jut up too high, so if he fights the PCs there he has the advantage. His crew members also gain a small bonus on the ship.

Since the creatures from his Children of the Night ability now stick around forever, he should keep them around not just as an attacking force but also as surveillance, as he can see through their eyes. A bat or two monitoring every room in the ship, and the rest in a giant cloud following the ship everywhere, for example. In a pinch, he can also animate something to cover his escape, so keep some large objects around the ship for this purpose.
CR 20
Again, combat ability is up, with Spell Drain, especially since at this level any casters Cilawar fights will likely have some truly devastating spells. Make sure to have him sneak up and get the drop on them to make full use of this. his minions now also ignore all difficult terrain on the ship, so the entire surface of it should be covered in difficult terrain. Cilawar's total minion count has increased with the addition of Master Vampire, which also enchances his vampire crew members. His second-in-command should get the benefit of the Master's Chosen ability, although who that is may change frequently.

Cilawar's surveillance abilities are also greatly increased. Mindsight informs him if any non-mindless creatures comes anywhere within a mile of his ship, he is immediately alerted should any creature successfully board the ship, and he can have his bats watching every inch of the place.
Notes
As far as I can tell, there is no mention of an Asabi language in any 3.5 rulebook. If there is in fact such a language it should probably be added to the list in the Statistics section.

The Graced from Outside unique ability is stated to originate from an outsider ancestor, but the Dungeon Master's Guide II also states that the background of the NPC special abilities are just explanations of how the NPC in question might have gained the ability. In this case, Cilawar gained the ability not from any evil outsider ancestors but from the same evil influence that caused him to gain the Corrupted Creature template.

It may seem a little strange for a ship to be designated a dungeon (for the purposes of Dungeon Lord), but since the only criteria for such a designation given in Dungeonscape is 'must have a clearly defined area', which a ship does, it works.

Sources
Core Rulebooks
Book of Vile Darkness (Corrupted Creature)
Dungeonscape (Dungeon Lord)
Dungeon Master's Guide II (Prodigy, Graced from Outside)
Ghostwalk (Monstrous Vampire)
Libris Mortis (Master Vampire, Spell Drain)
Lords of Madness (Darkstalker, Mindsight)
Magic of Incarnum (Shape Soulmeld, Open Lesser Chakra, Undead Meldshaper)
Monsters of Faerun (Asabi)
Stormwrack (Scourge of the Seas)
Unearthed Arcana (Skill Knowledge)
WotC Web (Astral Vambraces (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a), Vampire Lord (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mm/20021018a))

[Thurbane]

...and there we go.

To say some of those were "last minute" would be an understatement! :smalltongue:

Well done to everyone.

Now we await the judging of these scurvy dogs. Yarr! :smallbiggrin:

If I missed any or messed up formatting, please let me know! I'll edit links into the second post later.

[danielxcutter]

Some of these are... interesting. Not in a bad way, just in a "my inexperienced n00b brain was totally unprepared for these" kind of way. A 3.5 expert I am not. :smallredface:

They all look neat, and I wonder what our judges think of them.

[Florian]

Hah, funny. My thought was on "The Bait", a Ghoul Ranger (Buccaneer) commanding a colossal Mimic ...

[Tiri]

Seems like there is a dearth of pirate pictures on the Internet.

[Swaoeaeieu]

Man i didnt notice this thread before, but as a dm running a pirate campaign this is a goldmine! woo!

I do really like this pirating kraken... but i aint no judge XD

[Inevitability]

I had this idea for a quasit/Fiend of Possession/Ur-Priest, who'd basically be a sinister, haunting presence possessing ships and filling them with a variety of undead and bound fiends, as well as traps and cursed loot. Every attack the party made on a vessel of his would basically be a minor dungeon crawl, and even if the dozens of traps didn't finish off the PCs, he could just go ethereal and disappear.

[danielxcutter]

I considered a human Ranger 1/Storm Domain ACF Wizard 8/Impure Prince 6/Abjurant Champion 5 entry, with the villain betraying the Impure Princes and being a willing servant of the Daelkyr or something like that. Didn't go through with it because it honestly wasn't too different from a typical arcane gish and didn't have enough "pirate" flavor.

[khadgar567]

The Sea Dirge


well I know my pick now.

[Gellhorn]

Nice villains! Wasn't able to get my villain together in time, but was planning on making it an ex-familiar parrot called Polly

[ben-zayb]

Wasn't able to make it in time, but it's probably for the best because its nearly the same as one of the entries

[Tiri]

Wasn't able to make it in time, but it's probably for the best because its nearly the same as one of the entries

Out of curiosity, which entry was that?

[Jormengand]

Seems like there is a dearth of pirate pictures on the Internet.

Perhaps ironically, the main reason I don't try to find a picture is because it's usually someone else's intellectual property.

[Hackulator]

We're not supposed to talk about our entries til after judging is over right? This is my first competition.

[daremetoidareyo]

We're not supposed to talk about our entries til after judging is over right? This is my first competition.

Nothing substitute as you may sway judges

[ben-zayb]

Out of curiosity, which entry was that?
Probably best to say that after the comp is over. The fluff is actually different. It's the crunch and general tactics that we may have thought of similarly

[GrayDeath]

Well, my concept would have been a Druid-turned Ecoterrorist-Pirate with his own Gargantuan (+) Animal Companion as living Ship.

Sadly a combination of parts being hard to do and time restraints made me not achieve completion.....

[Deadline]

I had plenty of ideas for this one, but time and workload was the determining factor for me. Here are a couple of the more notable ideas I had that didn't see the light of day:

1. A full-on Treasure Island themed Githyanki astral pirate (Long John Silvercord! :smalltongue:).
2. An Illithid Savant. He's in ur head stealin ur thoughts! I put this one on the backburner because it sounded like someone was doing something similar in the speculation. Vizzini'd again!
3. I strongly considered submitting one of my Iron Chef builds from the distant past, as with a bit of tweaking he could have a bit more of a piratey feel.
4. An Eberron themed sky pirate. He'd be a druid who stole/flew Lyrandar airships by directly commanding the elemental with spells, rather than via dragonmark.

I have to admit though, the open ended nature of this round really threw me for a loop. I miss the restrictions of previous contests. :smallbiggrin:

[Aka-chan]

Glad to have you back on board. :smallsmile:

Thanks! It was fun to do one of these again after so long.

[Buufreak]

Well, Tiri? Got any oddballs in the bunch that you can't tell who made them out the gate?

[Tiri]

Well, Tiri? Got any oddballs in the bunch that you can't tell who made them out the gate?

Like most rounds, yes. Last round was just especially easy.

[daremetoidareyo]

Like most rounds, yes. Last round was just especially easy.

Which one was mine?

[Tiri]

Which one was mine?

Kelvin Sifuri. Although we already had the reveal for last round, so anyone could find that out now.

[Hackulator]

How does the judging work? Do they post here or do they send stuff to Thurbane which he posts all together?

[Tiri]

How does the judging work? Do they post here or do they send stuff to Thurbane which he posts all together?

They post here.

[danielxcutter]

How does the judging work? Do they post here or do they send stuff to Thurbane which he posts all together?

If you have the time, perhaps checking how they did it in earlier rounds might help.

Note that there's been changes depending on the current Supreme Chancellor - it's been Thurbane for a while, but it was originally started by someone else.

[Telonius]

4. An Eberron themed sky pirate. He'd be a druid who stole/flew Lyrandar airships by directly commanding the elemental with spells, rather than via dragonmark.


I was considering an Eberron-themed sky pirate as well; possibly a spellcaster with a Spark Guardian Familiar from Complete Warrior as a "metal parrot."

[remetagross]

Lots of builds, and lots of very unexpected builds! Hat's off to your imagination, contestants :smallsmile:

I was planning a Dvati Cerebremancer that would abuse Anticipate Teleportation, Divert Teleportation and Desert Diversion to be a teleportation-hacking pirate. But since there's already a Cerebremancer in, that's not bad I didn't make it!

[danielxcutter]

Lots of builds, and lots of very unexpected builds! Hat's off to your imagination, contestants :smallsmile:

I was planning a Dvati Cerebremancer that would abuse Anticipate Teleportation, Divert Teleportation and Desert Diversion to be a teleportation-hacking pirate. But since there's already a Cerebremancer in, that's not bad I didn't make it!

Huh, interesting. Anticipate to know when a teleport happens, and the other two to hijack it? Did I get that right?

[Thurbane]

Im not angry. Just thinking might well move deadline to actual time Thurbane does it

It's generally easier for people to track a deadline that is 23:59 on a specific day. If I happen to not be at work on the day in question, I'll do my best to post close to the true deadline.

Besides, if not for the 10 hour "unofficial" extension, we may not have as many entries as we do now. :smallwink:

[Tiri]

How many were submitted during those ten hours, by the way?

[Thurbane]

How many were submitted during those ten hours, by the way?

A good 2 or 3, by my reckoning.

[GrayDeath]

The best advice on how to is simple: read the other judges Judgements for the last say 4 Competitions.

From there on decide on what are the central points for you in the 4 areas, state them here and judge accordingly.

My personal 2 cents is: try to avoid letting personal likes and dislikes go into anything but memorability, if t all possible.

[Braininthejar2]

As usual, I didn't find the time to take part... another chance wasted.

My idea was a druid/warshaper, who attacked ships to put the fear of Umberlee into sailors, giving all the loot to his crew, while feeding captives to his aquatic animal companion as a sacrifice to the see.

[Technetium43]

I was considering an Eberron-themed sky pirate as well; possibly a spellcaster with a Spark Guardian Familiar from Complete Warrior as a "metal parrot."

I actually had an Eberron sky pirate fully done, but had some rules funkiness I couldn't get to work out. Basically he used the third level ability of Storm Disciple to have him and his mount ignore the effects of weather. Then he used his control winds/weather ability to make giant hurricanes and tornadoes where he knew an airship would be going through. His ship was actually a Living Astral Ship, meaning it was a creature rather than an object, meaning if he 'rode' it it would be his mount and thus immune to his abilities. With the 5th level ability of Windwright Captain, he didn't even have to maintain the connection with the Living Astral Ship to ride it... if it was powered by a bound elemental. He would then salvage the magic items involved in the airship with the 5th level Artificer ability. He was an Artificer with Bind Elemental, but the rules are sketchy on whether you can 'bind' a fire elemental to something that's not by design an airship. So I had to drop it, and didn't have any better ideas. :/

[Deadline]

So, I will do the judgeing in parts as I feel to be easier.

This is my first time try to judge, so any advice is nice before I start and also while I do it. but please more on how to judge and not judgements in specific

GrayDeath already gave you some solid advice, but I'll add a caveat. Don't follow in the footsteps of any judge who has been banned from the forums, or from this competition. For example, don't follow in the footsteps of Novolin, or any of their past sock puppets.

https://www.askideas.com/media/46/They-Said-I-Could-be-Anything-So-I-Became-A-Sock-Puppet-Funny-Meme-Photo.jpg

[Hackulator]

GrayDeath already gave you some solid advice, but I'll add a caveat. Don't follow in the footsteps of any judge who has been banned from the forums, or from this competition. For example, don't follow in the footsteps of Novolin, or any of their past sock puppets.



What did he do?

[Thurbane]

As usual, I didn't find the time to take part... another chance wasted.

I feel your pain - I really wanted to get an entry in for the IC Twisted Lord round. I sunk a good 5 or 6 hours into my entry, and missed finishing it by about a day.

[The Viscount]

What did he do?

A number of things, and you can read that thread if you want the specifics, but two big ones were not justifying scores and simply reading another judges rulings and then copying them.

[Buufreak]

A number of things, and you can read that thread if you want the specifics, but two big ones were not justifying scores and simply reading another judges rulings and then copying them.

There is no 100% guarantee those two were the same person, which I am skeptical of based on the two profiles arguing with each other. More specifically, don't troll then delete your posts and feign ignorance. Don't openly mock other contestants, or generally anyone on the forum. When asked questions by other forum members, and especially the chairman (currently the honorable Thurbane), freaking answer them, and don't pretend they were never asked. And most importantly, which is stated in the first few posts over and over, just be nice, and be friendly, because we are all people here.

To expand slightly on that last bit, if feelings get hurt, don't mock or demean. Address the issue in a calm and controlled manner, and explain why you formed you opinion of the build you judged, and try to avoid words like "bad," "stupid," "worthless," or anything else with that sort of negative context.

That about covers it, other than that, go do the judging thing, and like said above, try to be fair and leave out personal bias.

[remetagross]

Huh, interesting. Anticipate to know when a teleport happens, and the other two to hijack it? Did I get that right?

That was it. I figured it'd qualify as a pirate as in "hijack other people's transportation and then rob them.", because I figured most people would play out a fair and square seafaring pirate, so that'd be original. Turned out to be partly true.

[danielxcutter]

That was it. I figured it'd qualify as a pirate as in "hijack other people's transportation and then rob them.", because I figured most people would play out a fair and square seafaring pirate, so that'd be original. Turned out to be partly true.

That idea is awesome! Not just as a pirate, but the whole teleport hijacking in general!

[Telonius]

Now I'm thinking I should have made a Paladin20 - alignment disputes guaranteed to hijack any thread. :smallbiggrin:

[AvatarVecna]

Now I'm thinking I should have made a Paladin20 - alignment disputes guaranteed to hijack any thread. :smallbiggrin:

Would they have been named Frederic, by any chance? :smalltongue:

[Buufreak]

Oh yea, forgot to mention. My totally unoriginal idea was making Cortez from Thousand Year Door. No idea where I would have really went with it, but it was there.

[daremetoidareyo]

I was thinking of making a pirate that used an iceberg as his ship, seeing as how icebergs have vehicle rules...

[Tiri]

I was thinking of making a pirate that used an iceberg as his ship, seeing as how icebergs have vehicle rules...

You could just have submitted your entry from last round and it wouldn't have been out of place.

[Hackulator]

So this is my first time in one of these, it seems like we have a major lack of judging is that often an issue?

[GrayDeath]

It is at times.

I`ll try to judge too, if you`ll have me, but cannot promise the time this time. :(

[Buufreak]

Just a note, Yklikt. It appears you skipped over the first build and judged the next four. Just wanting to make sure you eventually get back to it.

[daremetoidareyo]

Yklikt, if you were worried about your capacity as a judge, you can rest assured that you seem to have done a more than adequate job. Thanks for judging

[InvisibleBison]

This is kinda an awkward question, but what is the proper method (if there is one) for me to point out an apparent rules problem that a judge appears to have missed?

[InvisibleBison]

In the op it say not to mention it but if you think it really important Im OK if you pm me

All right, I'll do that.

[Venger]

This is kinda an awkward question, but what is the proper method (if there is one) for me to point out an apparent rules problem that a judge appears to have missed?

The normal dispute process is you PM Thurbane and he'll post it anonymously in the thread for the judge to react to.

[Korahir]

Right. I took what you mentioned into consider now



Well actually the rule say he not allowed to say anything at all. But Im OK if he thinks it is important so I told him to pm me. He not the competitor of the build you see

The rule in the OP stems from a round where disputes from the sidelines caused issues. This is why every dispute should be run through the chairman.

[Korahir]

Thats why I told him pm since only builder can dispute

Which you shouldn't have done. Instead tell him to pm the chairman and Thurbane can decide whether the dispute is necessary and forward it to you anonymiously or deem it not relevant. Every dispute is filtered by the chairman to guarantee a civilized dispute process which shouldn't mean that anything happened this round that is a major problem but it is just a safety measure.

[zergling.exe]

Thats why I told him pm since only builder can dispute

I believe the reasoning behind curbing sideline rules corrections on the judges was so that judges wouldn't have to defend their judging from a million people who view something differently and to put any defense of the build in the builder's hands. That way judges are under less flak from people who don't really have any cards in the competition.

[Thurbane]

This is kinda an awkward question, but what is the proper method (if there is one) for me to point out an apparent rules problem that a judge appears to have missed?

The correct method, as per the OP, is to wait until AFTER the final reveal.


The normal dispute process is you PM Thurbane and he'll post it anonymously in the thread for the judge to react to.

That's actually not correct either.

It's not for any spectators to comment on the legality or any other issues with an entry.

If someone feels strongly enough that they simply MUST comment on it, then commit to full judging and post the issue there.


I believe the reasoning behind curbing sideline rules corrections on the judges was so that judges wouldn't have to defend their judging from a million people who view something differently and to put any defense of the build in the builder's hands. That way judges are under less flak from people who don't really have any cards in the competition.

And that is exactly the point, thank you.

Similar instances have seriously derailed previous competitions.




In the op it say not to mention it but if you think it really important Im OK if you pm me

And knowing full well it was the wrong thing, you asked to be PMd anyway.

I'm getting close to enacting another ban here. Please consider this a first and final warning.

In fact, I'm getting close to quitting this thing all together. Although I suspect that's what some people want, so part of me wants to stubbornly stick with it.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW SOMETHING WORKS, PM ME (AND ONLY ME) AND WAIT FOR AN ANSWER! THIS GOES FOR EVERYBODY! NO VIGILANTE JUDGING OR TRYING TO CIRCUMVENT ESTABLISHED COMPETITION RULES!

I'm getting really sick of people trying to pre-empt me or question how I do things.

[Thurbane]

Here are the disputes so far. In case I need to spell it out, please reply to these publically, in this thread:


Thanks for judging Yklikt! One dispute:


Elegance: 4 One problem, Corpsecrafter feat line. It is useless for you. Other than that I see no problems with the build.

Ulgaal creates hordes of undead with his SLA Create Undead and Animate Dead and all of those gain the buffs of the corpsecrafter feat line. Can you go into more detail why that is useless? Do you think that the Corpsecrafter feat line doesn't work with Spell like abilities because I am almost 100% sure they do. Spell like abilities are spells cast but cannot be changed by metamagic feats. The Corpsecrafter line of feats are not metamagic feats, they simply apply to all necromancy spells casted to create undead, no matter if it is an SLA or not.

There may be another to follow.

PS are the forums acting really glitchy for anyone else recently? In the last couple of days, some threads won;t load, or won't load a reply screen properly?

[Thurbane]

Sorry If I made you mad Thurbane, But the guy who wanted to pm is not a builder of the thing. Because Im not sure you got that.

Yes, I amended my post after I realised.

I value your judging, we are always grateful for someone to take the time to judge.

If you ever have any questions about how things are done here, please ask me and wait for a reply. Do not make your own call on how things should be handled.

Judges have freedom on their judging criteria; this does not mean they get to selectively ignore established rules or procedures.

[Inevitability]

Wow Thurbane, if you are this stressed maybe you should let someone take over, give you a break.

Taking over for some time would be no problem for me. Just tell me if you'd like me to.

[Thurbane]

Taking over for some time would be no problem for me. Just tell me if you'd like me to.

I'm not stressed as such, just getting frustrated with a couple of forum users.

I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer. :smallsmile:

[Gellhorn]

We seem a bit short on judges, so I'll throw my name into the ring. Might not be able to complete them until Thursday though, today and tomorrow are going to be busy.

First time judge too, so I'll have to recheck how people judged in the past few competitions and make a framework for myself :smalltongue:

[InvisibleBison]

I'm sorry for sparking such a controversy, everyone. I'll make sure to comply with the competition rules in the future.

[Florian]

I'm not stressed as such, just getting frustrated with a couple of forum users.

Don´t fret. Cool competition so far, amusing, educating and a good read. Job Well done. (Now get over your PF bias :D)

[Baby Gary]

PS are the forums acting really glitchy for anyone else recently? In the last couple of days, some threads won;t load, or won't load a reply screen properly?
yep! I have had that happening to me in the last couple days, it is soooo annoying

[Deadline]

Don´t fret. Cool competition so far, amusing, educating and a good read. Job Well done. (Now get over your PF bias :D)

You know, you could always step up and be the Chairman of your very own Pathfinder Optimization contest! :smallbiggrin:

Not sure what you'd call it. Iron Chef Optimization - Pathfinder edition? Who knows? But there's plenty of room to explore. For reference, here are the various optimization contest that run or have run here in the past:


Iron Chef Optimization - Take the ingredient (a crummy Prestige Class) and make a good build out of it.
Zinc Saucier - Try to make a build that functions identically to the ingredient without actually using the ingredient.
Junkyard Wars - Use Ingredient A & B, but you cannot use Ingredient C. (For an example, use Conjuration (Healing) spells + Ruby Knight Vindicator, but you can't use Cleric).
Scrap Iron Chef - I think this one involved a required ingredient and ... a theme?
Villainous Competition - Build a Villain that fits the theme and has the required elements. Runs on CR.


I feel like I'm missing one more, but can't recall at the moment.

I don't know Pathfinder well, but I'm sure there's an option that could work.

[Deadline]

But then he cannot compete

Hmm, good point.

Florian, if you are interested in an Optimization Comp that features Pathfinder, I'll make you a deal. Help me set it up, and I'll chair it. Given my lack of Pathfinder knowledge, I'd make a terrible contestant or judge, but I could probably manage the Chairman seat. Spin off a separate thread to discuss it (and let folks chip in) if you are interested.

[Thurbane]

Disputes part two:


Hey, so someone apparently started PMing judges that my admission doesn't work by the rules. I don't want to post anything directly in the thread because I don't want to mess up the blind judging, so I thought maybe I would PM you? As stated in my entry, The Sea Dirge was created by an epic spell. I didn't go into the specifics of the spell or the caster as I thought that was outside the bounds of the competition, but as you can see here:

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Life_(Epic_Spell_Seed)

according to the second and third paragraphs it works just fine. I don't know the rules here that well but if you passing that along to the thread is allowed, I'd appreciate it, since someone already broke the rules (I think that is against the rules?) by talking to judges about rules issues with my entry.

Just confirm in the thread that my monster (The Sea Dirge) has a legitimate way of working by the rules, and that the person who claimed otherwise was both mistaken and that it was against the rules for them to PM judges about it. I'm hoping that's all that is necessary, as the only person who has judged thus far lowered my score after getting a PM from someone claiming my entry was no good.

...a note to entrants, if you want me to post disputes, please post verbatim what you want me to post. Thanks.

[Thurbane]

Don´t fret. Cool competition so far, amusing, educating and a good read. Job Well done. (Now get over your PF bias :D)

Thanks.

I hear your pain about PF, but as others have suggested, maybe start up a comp for a PF equivalent.

[Thurbane]

The two disputes/posts is due to a reply to me, so don't hold it against the entry.

It's up to individual judges, but generally speaking if the info wasn't present at time of posting, the judge will base judgement only on what was in the reveal post.

[Gellhorn]

Apologies- I'd hoped to get all of the judging done today, but due to travel difficulties (turns out when the bus company say one stop, they really mean another), I'll be doing it piece by piece on mobile. So yeah, if I miss something, which I probably will since first time and mobile is a fun combo, definitely do call it out in a dispute.

As for my judging criteria, I'm shamelessly cribbing them from Inevitability and Greydeath.


-Start at 1.
-If the race is something I've never really seen before? Up to +1.
- Would I expect the classes in a normal game? Another +1 is up for grabs here.
- Are the classes, race or fluff something I'd expect given the competition criteria? Differs from the first two points in that something can be uncommon in regular games, but still be expected given the theme. I'll give up to 0.75 for each of the three for a maximum total of 1.5.
- Does it do a trick that's not something you'd normally see? Room for another 0.5 here.



Starting at 3 here.

Up to +2.0 for "Single Class+Prestige Class Build, fully legal, no cheese. Note that taking multiple prestige classes is fine so long as you take them fully.
Up to +1.0 for "not overly complicated, fully legal, no cheese)

Up to -1 for excessive Dipping (more than 2, and for obvious, always done things) Taking large amounts of multiple classes is better than taking small amounts of lots of classes.
Up to -1.5 for Illegalities of any colour that are not explicitly forbidden in the rules if it was theoretically possible for the build to work without them.
-0.1 for each flaw, with a maximum penalty of -0.25 in this area.

Auto 1.0 if there is an Illegality that is explicitly forbidden in the rules and the build does not work without it.

(Yup, pretty much copy and pasted from Greydeath. Hope he doesn't mind, but I feel like this is the criteria that makes the most sense - for me I'll be focusing on it mechanically in this section. Note that while you might get penalised for dipping, if you do it in an original way (so, for example, not a 2 level dip in Barbarian) I'll probably end up giving points back with the originality section)




First off, a disclaimer. Power is one of those things that both varies from table to table, and concept to concept. I'm predominantly going to judge this off of how well you achieve what you set out to do. In other words, mundanes typically have a lower bar here.

Starting score is 3, minimum score of 1.

-Requiring specific magic items is up to -1 unless you can either craft said items yourself. If it's a magic weapon, so long as the weapon is fairly interchangable (eg your entire strategy isn't centered around specific enchantments), that's fine and will not incur a penalty.
-Glaring weaknesses that aren't intentional as part of the concept are up to -1. If you're the wicked witch of the west, melting when a girl throws a bucket of water at you won't be penalised here, if you catch my drift.
- Can't do what you set out to do? Up to another -1 here. If you're a fighter I expect you to be able to hold your own in a fight. Casters are expected to be able to cast, and so on.
-Did you aim too low? While it's fine to have intentional weaknesses due to your concept, and I'm not expecting you to be Pun Pun, you do need to be a threat in some way. Up to -1 for this.


- Able to be a threat in multiple ways? Up to +1.5 here. Being threatening both in combat and outside of combat will score highly here.
-Able to do what you set out to do? Up to another 0.5 available here, depending on how high you set that bar for yourself.



Largely based off of how likely it is I'd remember your villain a while from now if I were to play in a campaign against them. Starts at 1 here, as always a minimum of 1 point.
- Got an interesting trick to prevent it from just being another fight? Up to +1 here.
- Got interesting fluff? Up to 2 points here.
- Am I going to remember why I fought them, or will it just be because they were there? Up to + or - 1 point, depending on the answer.

[Gellhorn]

Whelp, don't know how I did that. Fixed!

[Deadline]

So, how soon to expect first judging?

I was just about to ask you how your judging is coming along, as it looks like you still have about 6 to go. :smalltongue:

[daremetoidareyo]

Judges so slow and unreliable now

Don't discourage new judges.

[Buufreak]

Judges so slow and unreliable now

Obviously it is because we no longer have your greatness and guidance to help all of us see the way.

[Venger]

Oh wow, novolin deleted a post before I could report it, what a shock! Thanks for quoting, people.

[daremetoidareyo]

Oh wow, novolin deleted a post before I could report it, what a shock! Thanks for quoting, people.

I reported it

[GrayDeath]

I do not mind Gellhorn, rather the opposite.

Also I.will have.time.to.judge tomorrow and.sunday, all.should be up then unless.i run into something.really strange...;)

[Buufreak]

I hope I can finish then also.

Gray death, why so many period

Because some of us post from a phone, and at times it is hard to differentiate between the space and period button, and once it is typed it is hardly worth the effort to fix it when no meaning is lost.

[Buufreak]

That makes sense

What I surprised actually is that not more disputes.

Now allow me to counter with my own question. Instead of using the edit button, like it is designed for, why do you delete your post, then repost it mildly changed?

[danielxcutter]

I dont really know what is counter meaning in this, but because if I have something new to say it look more ugly to have two post next to each other from same person.

If someone already has post after then it looks okay to just post

Just use the edit button. That's what it's for.

[Tiri]

So, I was thinking that maybe we should have a few rounds with more restrictions, in the manner of some of the earlier Villainous Competitions.

The last few rounds have had rather loose requirements for villains and as good as that is for variety I find myself somewhat missing the challenge of fulfilling more challenging requirements.

[danielxcutter]

You mean in terms of mechanics? Well, that's not a bad idea, I guess, though some of the more creative entries I've seen wouldn't have made it if we'd gone with that.

[Tiri]

You mean in terms of mechanics? Well, that's not a bad idea, I guess, though some of the more creative entries I've seen wouldn't have made it if we'd gone with that.

That can't be right, since restrictions vary from round to round.

[zergling.exe]

No this is bullying. Don't let them abuse you like this!

It's not bullying yet. Most people around here just suspect foul play if you are constantly deleting posts rather than editing them to say what's new.

[Jormengand]

I'm just confused and waiting for one, unified post with a real judging.

Also, no restrictions, thanks. They tend to, well, RESTRICT the kinds of inventive characters you can make.

[Tiri]

I'm just confused and waiting for one, unified post with a real judging.

Also, no restrictions, thanks. They tend to, well, RESTRICT the kinds of inventive characters you can make.

Well, if you want all the builds judged at once you'll have to wait for GrayDeath, but there have been some judgments already in small pockets.

I think restrictions can actually help inventiveness sometimes, though, as people might need to think of new ways to build the villain concepts they have.

[Buufreak]

Well, if you want all the builds judged at once you'll have to wait for GrayDeath, but there have been some judgments already in small pockets.

I think restrictions can actually help inventiveness sometimes, though, as people might need to think of new ways to build the villain concepts they have.

I'm on board. Can't have ups without downs, can't have candy without greens, so too can we not have wide open contests without the counterbalance of restrictive ones.

[Aka-chan]

I like the idea of doing some rounds that are more restrictive, though I think we should have some wide-open rounds like this one as well. Having restrictions in some rounds could provide an interesting challenge, but having them in every round could feel too constraining.

[Jormengand]

The only kind of creativity that restrictions build is the kind of creativity you need to get around the choking restrictiveness of "You're not allowed to be a pyromaniac without the fire subtype because reasons" and so forth. It's not some yin and yang thing; restrictions are restrictive.



Can we actually have the post, with the judging, here, on this page, as a new post rather than back-edited into a post without announcing that it's been done?

[The Viscount]

I had an idea that never made it into reality using the infamous "threat the coast as a shirt" line and was wondering how to make a pirate character to literally do just that. All that I could find was some alter selfing to become a Raiment or a Ragamoffyn. Any other thoughts on how to pull this off?

[Venger]

I had an idea that never made it into reality using the infamous "threat the coast as a shirt" line and was wondering how to make a pirate character to literally do just that. All that I could find was some alter selfing to become a Raiment or a Ragamoffyn. Any other thoughts on how to pull this off?

You could always use a mithral chain shirt as a vehicle for your consciousness and inhabit it via steelsteal to terrorize water-adjacent communities.

[ben-zayb]

Restrictions don't need to force you to be/have something. Take the Fallen Heroes round, for example, where one of the restrictions is to not be a Paladin

[Thurbane]

I've already got the next round idea firmly in mind. It will have at least one restriction, and I may or may not more restrictions to it.

IN general, yes, I've been going with more open-ended reqs, but I'm definitely not against restrictions. I do believe they add to competitions.

[Jormengand]

Restrictions don't need to force you to be/have something. Take the Fallen Heroes round, for example, where one of the restrictions is to not be a Paladin

Right, so what does this add?

- If a build concept doesn't involve paladin, nothing happens.
- If a build concept does involve paladin, the build doesn't get submitted.

Sure, we can imagine the magical case where the frustration of someone's paladin build not working inspires them to build something better, but really all it does is stop people submitting builds which don't meet the criteria.

[Technetium43]

Honestly part of the reason I haven't been submitting as much is the lack of restrictions. Fire round had a lot of restrictions, and that helped a lot, while the Ooze round had very little actual restrictions but they were difficult to attain, so I had a better time. I don't do well with open-ended stuff. :smallsigh:

[ben-zayb]

Right, so what does this add?

- If a build concept doesn't involve paladin, nothing happens.
- If a build concept does involve paladin, the build doesn't get submitted.

Sure, we can imagine the magical case where the frustration of someone's paladin build not working inspires them to build something better, but really all it does is stop people submitting builds which don't meet the criteria.It adds limits, like most restrictions do, but not to the point where it requires you to insert a specific race/class/feat/etc to your character concept.

The question is, "Do restrictions have to add something else other than what they are supposed to?"

And yes, there is merit to the claim that imposing limits encourages creativity

[Baby Gary]

I think Jormengand is just bitching because restrictions have penalized his build before.

Novolin, oh Novolin when will you learn. When will you learn that insulting people is not a way to live life, that being nice and fair and following the rules is what really makes who you are at the end of the day, Oh when will you learn.

also no offense, that would be quite ironic, being mean while I was saying NOT to be mean.

[Hackulator]

Im not insulting, it is true. I havent said anything bad about him.

Well, using the term "bitching" is certainly somewhat derogatory.

Also, I'd like to say I'm impressed with how much you seem to have managed to make everyone dislike you with such a low post count. That's efficiency!

[Baby Gary]

Im not insulting, it is true. I havent said anything bad about him.

it sort of was insulting. Your last comment about him b***hing is what I would call insulting. Some others may have different opinions but that is what I think.

[Baby Gary]

also why did you delete your last comment? (well the one about B***hing) also I agree with Hackulator.

[Baby Gary]

I saw well-known forum member use it before in this comp and no one said they are insulting

Who was that?

[Hackulator]

I saw well-known forum member use it before in this comp and no one said they are insulting

Well the threshold is lower when you're reviled, I guess? I dunno, I don't really know you nor do I know what person or post you are talking about.

[Baby Gary]

I just said you liar

is it just me or are some of Novolin's post disappearing?

[Deadline]

Put me in the camp that enjoys the restrictions. I find it gets my creativity flowing. Generally the more the better. :smallsmile:

[danielxcutter]

is it just me or are some of Novolin's post disappearing?

Troll tactic. Now where have we seen this before?

[Baby Gary]

This is not fair.cwhy others use bitching, it okay, when I use, suddenly insult.

If anyone used B***hing in anything I would call them out on it, it is not just you.

[ben-zayb]

^ seconded

I suggest ignoring the type of posts that eventually gets deleted anyway

[Buufreak]

^ seconded

I suggest ignoring the type of posts that eventually gets deleted anyway

Amen to that. Its been my standing on Draco since the beginning (though to be fair I too fed the troll a few times), it should certainly stand here. If you see something borderline rules breaking (such as language, insulting behavior, or suspect a certain anyone of having a cloned account), report it and carry on.

[Florian]

Put me in the camp that enjoys the restrictions. I find it gets my creativity flowing. Generally the more the better. :smallsmile:

Same for me. That actually can make a challenge.. more challenging, especially when you know your rules and material well enough to instantly have a concept in mind even while reading the challenge description.

My thought process for this challenge was like this:
- Boah, pirates. Ok, there´s the Buccaneer archetype for Rangers that helps a captain boost the crew. There´s the Daring Captain PrC that gives a parrot familiar.
- Ok, what now. A crew of ghouls interested in the sailors instead of the cargo? Boring. Make the parrot the captain? Could be better. Let´s see if there´s a Ghost Ship monster? Oh, actually there is, but too obvious. Ahh! A mimic with levels of buccaneer posing as the ship? Ok....

[Thurbane]

Guys, don't feed the troll(s), please.

The feed on the drama. Best thing is to just ignore them. I've currently got the user in question on my ignore list, so I don't even see their posts.

I still strongly suspect this user of having multiple account. The timing of some of the posts was incredibly suspicious.

[Tiri]

I'm actually so impatient for judging that I've been reading through all the old judgments from previous competitions.

I probably should find something more productive to do.

[GrayDeath]

I'm actually so impatient for judging that I've been reading through all the old judgments from previous competitions.

I probably should find something more productive to do.

Do not worry, I am on it right now.

Should be done within a few hours at the latest, hopefully earlier. :)

[Tiri]

:)Smiley face indeed.

[GrayDeath]

Here we go. Wasn`t as complicated as some other times, but did take more time than expected. :)





An Atropal Scion. Well, did NOT expect this in a Pirate Contest, at all.
I did expect Undead shenanigans, as they are a staple of the Pirate Theme, but the way you do (most of) it is unlike the regular clichees.

Overall not a bad start, I`ll give you 3,75





Pure and simple Udnead progression, a bit of cheese for the massive amounts of Rebuke, but that fits the core concept. No Dips, no Illegalities I could find.
Very good 4.5 here






Now this one was harder. Yes, he is INSANELY good at what he does. But all he has are undead, including himself. Against well prepared/specialized enemies he willsuck, and big. I like your various suggested Rides, but they are only possible ways he can circumvent some smaller weakness than being undead.
Still, a lot of Whoopass, quite some different ways to use it. Gives good 4.00




This one`s easy. The Atropal-Pirate, Leader of a Horde uf different Udnead, riding an Elsewhale. Yep, meomarable alright, even if his fluff is lacking in depth (arrr, Pirate humor^^), it’s a good 3.75.

This gives you a Total of 16.00 pts.









A Kraken was expected,a s a ride. You made the pirtate one, kudos for that!
Swordsage is staple if you want an adaptable martial, but the way you combine it with Hulking Hurler and your … ammunition? Pure comedy Gold (and horrifying to the targets of course), like it.
4.25




Simple and concise your Kraken is. The addition of Monster HD+Swordsage are close to perfect, even the Dip, as it is necessary, does not cost you much here. 4.5.




And here we hit the snag.
Yes, if anyone is stupid enough to face her in the sea, at not too long ranges, they`re dead. But she has no way of flying, or really augmenting her only passable saves/AC, or anything else much pointing towards flexibility.
The first time one meets her she`ll be devastating. Next time, close to trivial. But yes, good at what she is supposed to do. 3.5




Now the lack of clear, big motivation hurts you here,a s while a Kraken chucking maneuvres and throwing stuff at you are memorable, they don’t go much above “really cool monster of the week”. Cant give you more than a 3.00 here.

This leaves you at a total of 15.25










Well, not too much unexpected here, with the exception of the Zhentarim Substitution Levels, but more about these below.
Unusual but not totally unexpected class, mechanics focused on intimidation, all staples. Even the ubiquitous Dip is there.




Now sadly, your build takes another hit here. Aside from the most expected dip around for the comps theme, you also are not a Zhentarim, so how do you get the Substitution levels?
While nothing here is truly illegal, losing that feature loses you a few power points as well (see below).
Overall not atrocious though, just not really elegant either.
2.75



Now we`re talking (assuming everything worked the way you said, which Zhentarim does not, but that can be circumvented with some effert I am sure).
She rocks as intimidating leader of her Crew, no question there. She is also a quite competend melee fighter, but has the usual weaknesses for that concept.
Overall a build that does what it is supposed to do well enough. 3.75



Now that one is hard. On one side there is close to nil fluff here, on the other characters like this, with fluff, tend to be amongst the least forgotten. I can however only jugde what is there, so sadly its only a 2.25

That gives you a Total of 10.25









Now that progression I did not see coming (the Corsair levels, sure, but the rest?). Very different take on the Pirate concept, and I like the fluff a lot.
No really weird/strange combinations, but better than average to be sure.




On one hand there are a lot of dips/Class switching, on the other hand they all fit the concept/evolution well enough that I will not penelaize them overmuch. Still, true elegance is something else, so take another 3.75





That was not easy. A lot of options, high mobility, nice additional effects, but not really that much damage, AC or movement options outside the box. You know what, why change a running score. Take 3.75.



This concept thrives on people knowing him from “before”. If they do, it rocks (especially if meeting him and seeing his fall on different steps on his path). If not, he`s just another “Martial Pirate Type with Maneuvres”.
Tough one. I was going to give you the same score again, to keep the fun pattern, but I simply cannot go above a 3 with him here.

This still brings you to a total of 14.25










The whu? I mean what now? This is really unexpected, which given legends of eternal Ships and such it should not hav ..e been, still, blew me away. Take excellent 4.75 pts!





And here you take the biggest hit. Animated Objects do not have an intelligence score. Too bad, otherwise the Type+single Class+Prestige Class progression would have netted you impressive 4.75-5.00pts. This way however, there is a basic flaw in the concept.
That might be circumvented with Awakening construct shenanigans or another path that I cannot think of at the moment, but the way it is, it does not work.
Still, assuming you can get an Int score, the concept is cool and elegant, so I wont go lower than 2.5 here.





Good but not great, that’s the best summary here. Your ship can do a lot of things (remarkable seeing its, well, a SHIP^^), but nothing really well. Not enough spells to let them carry you, not enough combat prowess either, but all the things combined make it a flexible and unexpected opponent. Take 3.5




Well, if the players find out whats what, top Score. If they don’t, still not bad, so take a total of 4.25 (bonus for the nice fluff)


That gives you a total of 15.00 pts










Hmmm, Clichee Orc Deeds and Classes, except Chaotician, andvery funny yet again clichee backstory leaves not too much … except none of the classes were expected staple for the Competition. A middling 2.75 it is.



Some funny combination, but no real problems worth mentioning, all legal, no cheese (except some chaotic cheddar^^). 4.25pts it is.





Ah, clear focus on melee wnd debuffing. And he does it well (and funny), with no unusual weaknesses (even if seeing without eyes is weird…its RAW). Quite some smashing potential too.

4.25






Are you kidding me? If he lives long enough that players find out anything more than “raging Orc” there is little chance any GM will live down using him soon. ;)
4.00

That gives you a total of 15.25










Ah, finally, a singing pirate (that’s not a ship)! Gotta love them, even if the progression is very unusual for a Bard (which is good for you here^^), fits very well thematically.
4.00





Simple, concise, no Dips, no Illegalities, take full points!

5.00





Well, here you suffer for not going sublime Chord, her most powerful spells are only 7th Level and she is (aside from shapechanging) not too much of a fighter. Still, excellent versatility and 7th Level casting as well as fitting here niches are worth 4 points.




HMmm Storm Theme, Druid, Pirate. Combination of clichees but memorable ones.
Still thought long about this one, before arriving at a solid 3.5.

This gives you a Total of 16.5.









Very interesting concept fluffwise, not too unusual mechanically, though you rarely see fatespinner in my humble experience. The whole intellectual property thief angle is cool (and scary). I give you a very solid 3.75




Nothing illegal, no cheese, no dips, but quite a few classes (if in logical progression), that leaves you at very good 4.25pts




Phew, I don’t know too mucha bout psionics, so this was a tough one. After reading a few threads and checking your spells piece by piece, I came to the realization that its just a regular theurge build powerwise, if a wee bit less flexible/more focused. He does wehat hes supposed to de very well, and then some other stuff, though not Top Level Caster Power.. Take 4.25.




None, if he does it right the palyers don’t even know he is there. :P


Just kidding, if the players find out what he is doing, high, otherwise truly nil. Lets say 3.25, hm?

Thet total comes up to 15.5









Beguiler, Unseen Seer, nothing new there, except the Redcap part. Not a very interesting build mechanically, but the fluff is really good. Overall I`d say a 2.75 seems fair.




Monster+Class+Prestige Class, no Dips, no Cheese. This gives you full points here!





The Beguiler List gives you lots of Power, if mostly mindaffecting, and advanced Learning and the boons of Unseen seer make you more diverse. Good attributes and DR to boot.
If you had more than Crap BAB you`d be really dangerous just about everywhere. Even so, take 4.25 points.





Cool Class/Race Combo, nice fluff, high shock value. Quite memorable on most tables methinks. 3.75

The Total is: 15.75










Ugh, Ilithid-Elves. Snobby beauties with Tentacleheads. I did not need that picture. Aside from the Race, the 2 Classes are about as uninspired as possible (Druids always work well, Wavekeeper in a Pirate Comp is a given, or not given only you took it? ^^).
2.25 it is.





But that turns around here. Race, Class; Prestige Class, no Cheese, no Dips. Full points. (Even if I wanted to give it Elegance points based on its looks, ergo -4.00^^)
5.00



A Druid with a Water Focus is still a Druid. A lot of really useful casting, Forms and Buffs, and its Illithidish mods. Powerful and quite versatile. 4.5



It looses a bit here due to not being piraty enough for my tastes, but the sheer ugly feelings it will evoke due to its combined races and Druid Capailities will keep it “there”. 3.25

This gives you a Total of 15.5







A semiclassic Vampire progression. With the Corruption being a not too cheesy addition. Didn`t expect it precisely for this challenge, but Vampires are never unexpected (even if they`re in the Inquisition^^). Fun Combination though.
2.5




As far as I can see all is legal, and simple enough. I am not completely sure about some of the progression (aside from going from19 hd to 10 on level 19 which is likely a Typo there is the corruption transition that I`m not too sure about). Overall though nothing big. 4.00



He`s a high HD Vampire with added Corruption stuff. Hes powerful alright, and as a Vampire usually quite versatile.
4.25





Even though the backstory, while clicheed, is quite good, he is a random Vampire. It might be just me, but usually our tables tend to remember them as “vampire of the month”, so even with a cooler combination than normal it wont be more than a 2.25 here.

This gives you a total of 13.00

[The Viscount]

Many thanks, GrayDeath!

[Tiri]

Thank you for the judging, GrayDeath! Certainly an interesting read.

[GrayDeath]

You`re welcome.

11 Entries is a lot to sift through, luckily I had the time today. ;)

[Buufreak]

You`re welcome.

11 Entries is a lot to sift through, luckily I had the time today. ;)

*counts again* well, sumnagun, I could have sworn it was 12.

[Tiri]

*counts again* well, sumnagun, I could have sworn it was 12.

It's like that entry a few rounds ago that had 11 feats but all the judges thought had 12.

[Inevitability]

How about a curse-based round? There's tons of effects that fit the theme, which are distributed over all kinds of material.

Besides, cursing the hero is kind of a villain thing to do.

[Thurbane]

Disputes part three:

I have a number of problems with your judging, GrayDeath, but I just want to address one in this first dispute.

You appear to have heavily penalised Cilawar in both Originality and Memorability just for being a vampire. Apparently, vampires are never unexpected. Well, what about the rest of his build? I don't see you even talking about it.

You don't seem to have taken the flavour text into account at all, unlike the other builds. He is just a random vampire? Well, you could say that the other entries are all random pirates, did you penalise them for that?

Being a vampire is not the be-all and end-all of any character, unlike what you seem to think. If you took the time to look at my entry a little more closely, I think you would see that there is more to this villain than the fact that he is a vampire.

I'm sorry if this dispute seems a bit forceful, but I really think you are allowing your personal anti-vampire prejudices to run away with you on this one.


@Greydeath

I'll freaking take it. I was hoping a bit more on originality, as druidism is about the opposite of anything illithid related, but 15.5 isn't the worst score I've seen before, so I'm good with it.




How about a curse-based round? There's tons of effects that fit the theme, which are distributed over all kinds of material.

Besides, cursing the hero is kind of a villain thing to do.

That was somewhat covered in the Wicked Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?444478) round, but might be worth re-visiting.



I had an idea. What about a round where we are basing villain off forum members. A bit like the ones where they be items or vestige but in this competition

Given the current climate in these threads, no, not while I'm chairing.

It would be far too open for people to use as an excuse to insult or ridicule each other.

I know the majority of regulars in these threads would be mature and considerate enough to handle it well, but one or two trolls could not be trusted.

[Tiri]

not while I'm judging.

Don't you mean 'chairing'?

[Thurbane]

Don't you mean 'chairing'?

Yes, I meant chairing.

[Deadline]

Thanks for the judging GrayDeath!

I'm pretty excited that we are likely to see at least two judges on this one. Gellhorn mentioned they might judge as well.

So, Gellhorn and Yklikt, how goes the judging? :smallsmile:

[GrayDeath]

It's like that entry a few rounds ago that had 11 feats but all the judges thought had 12.

Funnily enough, that was mine ^^


@ Dispute: I did factor its nice Entry/Intro into it.
Its well written and cool, but its only that: an entry. Had you put in as much effort into the flavour of what he actually DOES (or given explanations on how he acts different than the usual udnead monstrosity), and to whom/how, you would be right.

But this way? Yes, hes got a sympathetic start, but thats where it ends as well....

No change.

[Thurbane]

Disputes part four:


Okay then, GrayDeath. Apart from the vampire stuff, let's get into the problems I have with your judging.

Firstly, I feel like there is a lot more original in this build than you give it credit for. For one, in the first ten CRs, despite the monstrous vampire and corrupted templates, which usually apply to characters that advance by class, Cilawar advances by HD only. Then there's the clever interaction between two two types of fast healing. I also feel like the Dungeon Lord class should be fairly unexpected in a ship environment, and while vampire is always expected, take note that Cilawar actually possesses the Monstrous Vampire template, which allows the application after the Corrupted Creature template, which I thought was a pretty clever workaround. I don't think I can recall NPC special abilities ever being used in this competition before, either.

Next, Elegance. You yourself state that it is all legal and simple, so what is that point being taken off for, the typographical error? I find that totally absurd. You can clearly tell what is supposed to be there.

You haven't really given me a lot of information of how you actually judged Power, so I can't really argue one way or the other.

How does Cilawar act different from the typical undead monstrosity? Well, I tried to inject some humanity into his character. Notice that, despite everything, he does bury his fallen friends. In the Usage section, I mention that he is looking for actual companionship and new experiences. How common is that in undead? I don't see the same kind of fleshed-out personality in Ulgaal, for example. He even lets non-dominated, non-undead volunteers join his crews. I also tried to add an extra dimension to him by showing how his long boredom on the island makes him grow tired of things quickly.

You also say that the story is good, but then dismiss it as cliche. That's not very consistent, and if it is cliche, why?

I just have to point out that a lot of your judgement either hasn't taken the more subtle elements of this build into consideration, or simply fails to fully justify why it gives a certain score. Things like that point taken off Elegance or why you seem to be ignoring most of the parts of Cilawar that are not his vampirism. It's hard to tell what you are thinking and therefore hard to dispute.

[GrayDeath]

First, please try to not take my judging as an attack, you seem to take a lot of it personal.

I reread all your info after the above argument, and will answer the central parts:

I posted why I judge how I judge in the last competition. Read it and you'll understand it, I do not intend to post them every single competition.

But to sum it up: your build is legal and cheese less, but has more classes and templates than necessary, and ever usage is not elegant, rather the opposite. hence a good but not perfect score. Compare to builds that I gave full pts.
No change here.

I agree however that I did not give dungeon lord enough credit. Add another 0,5 pts to originality.

The intro story, again, is good.
The whole villain is clichéd.
One does not in any way even remotely preclude the other. No changes here.

[Buufreak]

Any voting for honorbale mention. I would vote for sea dirge but it looks like will win anyway

Why not finish judging before worrying about such things?

[Tiri]

Build
Yklikt's Scoring
Graydeath's Scoring
Average Score
Current Position


Ulgaal, the Planar Corsair
15.00
16.00
15.50
4th/5th/6th


Daggadol
16.00
15.25
15.625
3rd


Kyra the Taker
09.00
10.25
09.625
11th


Tadashi Shirahama, "The Wave Man"
13.00
14.25
13.625
9th


The Sea Dirge
15.00
15.00
15.00
8th


Thrashk Deadeyes, the Albatross
-
15.25
15.25
7th


Ebbeth Unyak
17.00
16.50
16.75
1st


The Bookthief
-
15.50
15.50
4th/5th/6th


Old Tommy Rawhead
-
15.75
15.75
2nd


Colsonaes, the Hunted Daughter, Bane of the Tel'Quessir
-
15.50
15.50
4th/5th/6th


Cilawar
-
13.00
13.00
10th



Here, a table.

[Thurbane]

Disputes part five:


Don't worry, I'm not taking this personally.

Okay. I looked at your judging criteria.

For Originality, well, were you expecting Asabi in this competition? I should have thought that fits your unexpected race criteria, even if he is also a vampire. I also think that you really should take a look at some things that are not classes this time, as I do feel that most of the innovative things I did with this build were done with templates and feats, rather than classes.

Concerning Elegance, many of the other builds in this competition have more classes than I did, and you gave them a higher score. I don't know why you feel that templates are inelegant, as I would think their flavour fits well together, and they do synergise, as I describe. What is
ever usage ? That doesn't even make sense. Also if there's something you don't understand about the Corruption transition, instead of penalising it without stating what you don't understand, tell me why you don't understand so I can help you to.

Also, I gave you a list of the reasons Cilawar does what he does that I feel are different from the typical undead monster, or pirate for that matter. Yet you continue to call him cliche. If you're going to say that, at least tell me the actual reasons for you thinking he is so. Then I know what to dispute or not to dispute.

[GrayDeath]

It was.supposed.to be "clever" usage, I.blame autocorrect.

He is clicheed because he is an nice guy.turned vampire and most.of his.progression, not all but most, is quite often used for vampire npcs. The part that is not I gave you a. 5 point increase.
He is also missing some really concise fluff on what he does.why.later on, in the original post.
Your.explanation in Disputes.has no.bearing on the.original judging.

And I am penalising elegance because parts of.his.progression are needlessly complicated/require very specific timing (see corruption), which is not perfectly, but see the score.still quite, egant.

I think I have explained my judging well enough now, I will not answer to.further Disputes of the same points, though of course new ones will be accepted and reviewed.

[arclance]

It was.supposed.to be "clever" usage, I.blame autocorrect.

He is clicheed because he is an nice guy.turned vampire and most.of his.progression, not all but most, is quite often used for vampire npcs. The part that is not I gave you a. 5 point increase.
He is also missing some really concise fluff on what he does.why.later on, in the original post.
Your.explanation in Disputes.has no.bearing on the.original judging.

And I am penalising elegance because parts of.his.progression are needlessly complicated/require very specific timing (see corruption), which is not perfectly, but see the score.still quite, egant.

I think I have explained my judging well enough now, I will not answer to.further Disputes of the same points, though of course new ones will be accepted and reviewed.
I feel like there is some irony in this jousting over elegance when you have surrendered to this phone induced crime against punctuation.

[Tiri]

I feel like there is some irony in this jousting over elegance when you have surrendered to this phone induced crime against punctuation.

The Internet certainly provides no shortage of irony.

[Thurbane]

Disputes part six:


I'd like to point out that Cilawar is not a nice guy turned vampire. Just a guy. I don't think I portrayed him as particularly nice, and furthermore, his evil isn't a result of his vampirism, but because he spent too long trapped on an island with nothing to do. I even explained how his actions are a result of his isolation and boredom. In fact, his being a vampire is just a device for his being trapped and long existence, I'm not using it as an reason for his being evil, which I agree would be more cliche.

Also, I added no new information in the dispute, I only showed you what I'd already put in the 'In General' subsection of the 'Usage' section. I really think you must have missed it somehow, because nothing new was added in my dispute.

What is so needlessly complicated about his progression? He has two templates and some Hit Dice, advanced normally. The Corrupted template does require some timing, but that is already part of his backstory. It's not like it's supposed to happen in play or anything, since he only really becomes a villain at CR 10. Most villain backstories have similarly unusual events in them. I'm not saying you have to give me a perfect score, but there are other builds getting higher points that have more templates or classes and dips in total than Cilawar does.

Dispute for both judges:


I didn't choose to post the specific mechanics of the spell which created The Sea Dirge because I thought that things not on my characters sheet weren't supposed to go in the contest. I made very certain that there was a clear RAW and RAI way for my entry to work, per the 2nd and third paragraphs here:

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Life_(Epic_Spell_Seed)

Given that the entry clearly works, RAW and RAI, I feel like penalizing it for this issue is like penalizing someone for not including the divine mechanics necessary for the creation of their race.

[GrayDeath]

The irony of phone-caused punctuation issues is also not lost on me.
But it's harder to fight than many other things.

@elegance: regarding me the dispute is over, as I wrote above. You made your point, I agreed in one part and disagreed in the rest. That's how it is.


@ Sea Dirge: as I wrote in my judging, there are ways to give it intelligence. This does not change the fact that animated objects per se are not intelligent. Passive aggressive formulation nonwithstanding: your being is essentially self made, unlike any other race picked, and so yes, clearly stating how it was created and by who would have helped. Since there is no such thing in the original Entry, and I was aware of ways to give it intelligence but penalized the entry as it did not clearly state which one was used, I see no reason to change the points assigned.

[Thurbane]

Once again I would reiterate due to the issues we've had in this thread, bystanders are requested NOT to comment on the legality of entries until after the final reveal.

There is a chance subsequent judges after the first would have reached the same conclusion, but from the competitor's perspective, they have had their scores unfairly penalized by external interference.

This is a "for fun" competition. Heck, there's entries I've received in the past that I could see straight away had either broken a competition rule or had RAW legality issues; I clamped my mouth and left it up to the judges.

If anyone feels strongly enough that they simply must point out flaws in entries, please do one of the following:

1.) Wait until after the final reveal.

2.) Commit to judging and raise your issues there.

[Thurbane]

Disputes part seven (and honestly, I hesitated to post this given the judge's last reply, but I have to try and remain impartial):


GrayDeath, I actually made some new points in the new dispute that you didn't address at all. One concerning Elegance and others the alleged clichedness of my entry.

Look, I get that you're on a mobile device, this is difficult and you've already responded to a few of my disputes, but all the same, there are things you seem to be ignoring. Your latest response is simply a complete dismissal of my dispute and I can't help but get the impression that you are not actually reading what I write in detail.

...word of advice to competitors: there is such as thing as beating a dead horse, and arguing for the sake of arguing.

[Tiri]

So, is this round wrapping up after GrayDeath finishes with the disputes, or are we waiting for the other judges to finish their judging?

[Deadline]

So, is this round wrapping up after GrayDeath finishes with the disputes, or are we waiting for the other judges to finish their judging?

I would assume we are at least waiting for Yklikt to finish their judging.

[Tiri]

I would assume we are at least waiting for Yklikt to finish their judging.

Well, hopefully that does happen, but since it is taking rather long and we are already quite a bit past the deadline with a judge who has already finished a full set of scores...

[daremetoidareyo]

Well, hopefully that does happen, but since it is taking rather long and we are already quite a bit past the deadline with a judge who has already finished a full set of scores...

More judgments are better and worth the wait.

[Tiri]

I would agree with that, I just wanted to know exactly how things are going to be proceeding. After all, if we wait for Yklikt to finish we may be waiting a long time indeed.

[Buufreak]

I would agree with that, I just wanted to know exactly how things are going to be proceeding. After all, if we wait for Yklikt to finish we may be waiting a long time indeed.

Agreed. We were told a conclusion would have happened by now. Given, I understand things come up, but I've dropped out for just such a reason before. We either need him to finish, or we need to move on.

[Thurbane]

I'm setting a deadline for final judging and disputes of 23:59 GMT Thur 20th July.

Hopefully that should be enough time for everything to be finalized.

If not, only judging completed by that time will be taken into account (i.e. if any judge has only scored some of the competitors, their judging will not be counted).

Also a reminder: now is a good time to give honorable mention votes, which can be done by PM or posted in the thread. Competitors can vote for other entries, just not their own. I'll leave it up to judges if they want to give HMs or not.

[Tiri]

Build
Graydeath's Scoring
Current Position


Ulgaal, the Planar Corsair
16.00
2nd


Daggadol
15.25
6th/7th


Kyra the Taker
10.25
11th


Tadashi Shirahama, "The Wave Man"
14.25
9th


The Sea Dirge
15.00
8th


Thrashk Deadeyes, the Albatross
15.25
6th/7th


Ebbeth Unyak
16.50
1st


The Bookthief
15.50
4th/5th


Old Tommy Rawhead
15.75
3rd


Colsonaes, the Hunted Daughter, Bane of the Tel'Quessir
15.50
4th/5th


Cilawar
13.50
10th



A table taking only the current completed judging into account.

[ben-zayb]

HM goes to Cilawar. I had a similar idea of a Vampire turning to ship-stealing for him and his vampire brood to freely traverse waters, then upgrading to Vampire Lord Master of the Unseen Hand to control the weather and evwrything/one within weight limit.

Using ships for a Dungeon Lord is a particularly clever and novel approach for me, too.:smallwink:

[Buufreak]

Hey I guess I give this guy hm too, I not have time finish judge, but looks one of mire interest one

Well, that be the case, and that no one else has stepped forward to announce judging, can we go ahead and call it?

[Venger]

Well, that be the case, and that no one else has stepped forward to announce judging, can we go ahead and call it?

Yeah that sounds good. Excited to see the theme for the next round.

[Thurbane]

Yeah that sounds good. Excited to see the theme for the next round.

No problem, I'll attempt to do it on my lunch break, or if not, when I get home from work.

[daremetoidareyo]

Many thanks to our judges, and 2/3 Bane, our Intrepid chairperson. Your efforts are appreciated

My honorable mention goes to bookthief. Muy Suave!

[Tiri]

Build
Graydeath's Scoring
Current Position


Ulgaal, the Planar Corsair
16.00
2nd


Daggadol
15.25
6th/7th


Kyra the Taker
10.25
11th


Tadashi Shirahama, "The Wave Man"
14.25
9th


The Sea Dirge
15.00
8th


Thrashk Deadeyes, the Albatross
15.25
6th/7th


Ebbeth Unyak
16.50
1st


The Bookthief
15.50
4th/5th


Old Tommy Rawhead
15.75
3rd


Colsonaes, the Hunted Daughter, Bane of the Tel'Quessir
15.50
4th/5th


Cilawar
13.50
10th



Here's a table showing the current three-way tie for Honorable Mention.