Optimization Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground XC [Archive]

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Heliomance

2017-11-18, 11:54 AM

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

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

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

Iron Gamer

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

Chairwoman: We unveil the ingredient!

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

Chairwoman: In this 90th contest, we're continuing the longstanding tradition begun ten threads ago, of letting you play with a high quality ingredient every ten threads. This month's theme is... Bloodstorm Blade! ALLEZ OPTIMISER!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, December 5th, 2017 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairwoman, Heliomance. Please put the name of your build in the subject line of your PM. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, December 19th, 2017 to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Code immediately below (spoiler).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Builds

Past Competitions

Iron Chef I: Entropomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142470)
Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146583)
Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148584)
Iron Chef IV: Stonelord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150595)
Iron Chef V: War Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152543)
Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156876)
Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158633)
Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160266)
Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162702)
Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164381)
Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166539)
Iron Chef XII: War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9426386)
Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172233)
Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174434)
Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176049)
Iron Chef XVI: Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178202)
Iron Chef XVII: Ardent Dilettante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182492)
Iron Chef XVIII: Unseelie Dark Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186097)
Iron Chef XIX: Dread Pirate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190607)
Iron Chef XX: Incandescent Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10976416)
Iron Chef XXI: Ghostwalker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198921)
Iron Chef XXII: Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206576)
Iron Chef XXIII: Divine Crusader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071)
Iron Chef XXIV: Tactical Soldier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214198)
Iron Chef XXV: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217441)
Iron Chef XXVI: Shadowdancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220956)
Iron Chef XXVII: Mindbender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224008)
Iron Chef XXVIII: Cryokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227304)
Iron Chef XXIX: Consecrated Harrier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229688)
Iron Chef XXX: Initiate of Pistis Sophia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233346)
Iron Chef XXXI: Shadow Sentinel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236908)
Iron Chef XXXII: Temple Raider of Olidammara (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239786)
Iron Chef XXXIII: Drow Judicator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243052)
Iron Chef XXXIV: Dragon Disciple (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246072)
Iron Chef XXXV: Death Delver (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249542)
Iron Chef XXXVI: Acolyte of the Skin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252923)
Iron Chef XXXVII: Justiciar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13865473)
Iron Chef XXXVIII: Hand of the Winged Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255215)
Iron Chef XXXIX: Renegade Mastermaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260333)
Iron Chef XL: Nightsong Infiltrator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263173)
Iron Chef XLI: Geomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266709)
Iron Chef XLII: Shadowblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270196)
Iron Chef XLIII: Bladesinger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274122)
Iron Chef XLIV: Urban Soul (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279116)
Iron Chef XLV: Talon of Tiamat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15216595)
Iron Chef XLVI: Cipher Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287314)
Iron Chef XLVII: Cold Iron Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291294)
Iron Chef XLVIII: Shadow Sun Ninja (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297327)
Iron Chef XLIX: Thrall to Orcus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302487)
Iron Chef L: Corrupt Avenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307823)
Iron Chef LI: Black Flame Zealot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312773)
Iron Chef LII: Anointed Knight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317934)
Iron Chef LIII: Zerth Cenobite (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325164)
Iron Chef LIV: Osteomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330890)
Iron Chef LV: Mountebank (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?336373-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LV)
Iron Chef LVI: Dwarven Defender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342807-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVI)
Iron Chef LVII: Darkrunner (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?349040-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVII)
Iron Chef LVIII: Spellsword (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?357412-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVIII)
Iron Chef LIX: Fleet Runner of Ehlonna (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?364667-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LIX)
Iron Chef LX: Lasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?371835-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LX(II): Acolyte of the Ego (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?372145-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LXII: Dungeon Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?376810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXII)
Iron Cheff LXIII: Witchborn Binder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?382632-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIII)
Iron Chef LXIV: Slime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?387166-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIV)
Iron Chef LXV: Thunder Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394981-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXV)
Iron Chef LXVI: Dwarven Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVI)
Irogn Chef LXVII: Gnome Giant Slayer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406613-Irogn-Chef-Optimisatiogn-Challegnge-ign-the-Playgrougnd-LXVII)
Iron Chef LXVIII: Fang of Lolth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?412530-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVIII)
Iron Chef LXIX: Shiba Protector (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420165-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIX)
Iron Chef LXX: Order of the Bow Initiate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?425634-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXX)
Iron Chef LXXI: Silver Key (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?431484-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXI)
Iron Chef LXXII: Spellfire Channeler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439020-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXII)
Iron Chef LXXIII: Flux Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448596-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIII)
Iron Chef LXXIV: Crinti Shadow Marauder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?458711-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIV)
Iron Chef LXXV: Thief of Life (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472831-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXV)
Iron Chef LXXVI: Legacy Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477153-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVI)
Iron Chef LXXVII: Great Rift Skyguard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?482249-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVII)
Iron Chef LXVIII: Risen Martyr (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?487560-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVIII)
Iron Chef LXXIX: Black Blood Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?492923-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIX)
Iron Chef LXXX: Master of Many Forms (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498359-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXX)
Iron Chef LXXXI: Serene Guardian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?502666-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXI)
Iron Chef LXXXII: Elocator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?505762-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXII)
Iron Chef LXXXIII: Winterhaunt of Iboorighu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?510581-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIII)
Iron Chef LXXXIV: Waverider (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514631-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIV)
Iron Chef LXXXV: Astral Dancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?519296-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXV)
Iron Chef LXXXVI: Twisted Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?525401-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVI)
Iron Chef LXXXVII: Shadowsmith (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?528361-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVII)
Iron Chef LXXXVIII: Arboreal Guardian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?533367-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVIII)
Iron Chef LXXXIX: Thrall of Demogorgon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?536247-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIX)

Heliomance

2017-11-18, 11:55 AM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One Mistake, One Penalty

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

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

Skills

Allowed:

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

Not allowed:

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

Prereqs

Allowed:

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

Not Allowed:

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

Other general things that are no longer allowed:

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

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

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

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

Q: Can I submit more than one entry?
A: You may submit up to two entries into a given competition.

Zaq

2017-11-18, 12:40 PM

Well.

I have to say I didn’t see this one coming.

Am I correct in my interpretation that using Returning Attacks (BSB 1) costs an Iron Heart strike every round (rather than every throw or every encounter)? Am I also correct in my interpretation that using Lightning Ricochet (BSB 4) mostly makes Returning Attacks obsolete?

I think this is going to be a downright fascinating round. The entry's more limited than I might have hoped for, but I think the dishes are going to go in some very different directions than what we usually see.

Venger

2017-11-18, 02:04 PM

Oh my.

Well, I'm in to cook.

Thurbane

2017-11-18, 04:36 PM

I'll try to get an entry in, but if I don't, should be able to judge.

The Viscount

2017-11-18, 04:46 PM

I would say yes to both of those questions, but I'd like to get our Chair to weigh in.

If I can wrangle my foolish ideas into something workable I'll have an entry.

jdizzlean

2017-11-18, 10:38 PM

will read up on it tmw at work :)

Hellpyre

2017-11-18, 10:42 PM

90 already? Wow.

I'll see if I can remember enough about the weird edge cases with throwing to put together a build for this one.

Heliomance

2017-11-19, 05:27 AM

90 already? Wow.

I'll see if I can remember enough about the weird edge cases with throwing to put together a build for this one.

You say "already", it's been going for almost 8 years!

Darrin

2017-11-19, 05:48 AM

Venger

2017-11-19, 04:14 PM

Whoa. Did not expect that one.

Ok, so... can we nail down definitively that Bloodstorm Blade levels only contribute 0.5 towards your Initiator Level?

Also, it might be a good idea to address the "Big Three Headaches" with Tome of Battle:

1) Are there any restrictions on White Raven Tactics?

2) Can Iron Heart Surge put out the sun?

3) Thicket of Blades vs. Tumble?

Bloodstorm blade does add 1/2 IL. there's no reason it wouldn't

1) like what?
2) I don't see this flying
3) there's no ambiguity: specific trumps general. if you move, you get an aoo. there's no exception for tumble, so there's no exception for tumble.

Darrin

2017-11-19, 05:15 PM

Bloodstorm blade does add 1/2 IL. there's no reason it wouldn't

It's not entirely clear from the text which prestige classes add full initiator levels and which don't. There's also a line in the book somewhere that suggests *all* prestige class levels count as full initiator levels. I'd rather have some of these things nailed down early, rather than fussing over it later with the judges.

1) like what?

The Unofficial Tome of Battle Errata Project has two specific nerfs that contravene RAW:

You cannot target yourself, despite being your own ally (as doing so results in an infinite penalty to your initiative count). Add "A creature can only be affected by one White Raven Tactics per encounter." to the end of the maneuver's text.

As per the PHB glossary, you count as your own ally, and thus can use WRT on yourself.

The second nerf is a little more obscure... as I believe they were trying to prevent a pair of Martial Adepts from endlessly running the initiative count down to negative infinity. However, a closer reading of the combat rules shuts that down. PHB p. 133:

"When everyone has had a turn, the combatant with the highest initiative acts again, and steps 4 and 5 repeat until combat ends."

Even if you set up an infinite loop of White Raven Tactics, the round resets once all participants have had at least one turn. So the initiative count generally doesn't go into the negatives. It's also one of the harshest nerfs ever proposed. *NO OTHER* maneuver is given a "once per encounter" limit.

2) I don't see this flying

I was being facetious. What I meant was, the RAW on Iron Heart Surge is a *mess*. Do we want to address this with the Unofficial Errata, which attempts to clean it up but mostly makes it much more complicated, or do we want to patch it up with an official chair ruling?

3) there's no ambiguity: specific trumps general. if you move, you get an aoo. there's no exception for tumble, so there's no exception for tumble.

It's more like two specifics going head-to-head. I don't see how one trumps the other without some kind of official ruling.

Venger

2017-11-20, 04:31 AM

It's not entirely clear from the text which prestige classes add full initiator levels and which don't. There's also a line in the book somewhere that suggests *all* prestige class levels count as full initiator levels. I'd rather have some of these things nailed down early, rather than fussing over it later with the judges.
Sure it is. Ones that progress your IL fully, such as deepstone sentinel, will say so under the "maneuvers" section. Bloodstorm blade has no such section, so it follows the normal rule and adds 1/2 IL/lvl

The Unofficial Tome of Battle Errata Project has two specific nerfs that contravene RAW:

You cannot target yourself, despite being your own ally (as doing so results in an infinite penalty to your initiative count). Add "A creature can only be affected by one White Raven Tactics per encounter." to the end of the maneuver's text.

As per the PHB glossary, you count as your own ally, and thus can use WRT on yourself.

The second nerf is a little more obscure... as I believe they were trying to prevent a pair of Martial Adepts from endlessly running the initiative count down to negative infinity. However, a closer reading of the combat rules shuts that down. PHB p. 133:

"When everyone has had a turn, the combatant with the highest initiative acts again, and steps 4 and 5 repeat until combat ends."

Even if you set up an infinite loop of White Raven Tactics, the round resets once all participants have had at least one turn. So the initiative count generally doesn't go into the negatives. It's also one of the harshest nerfs ever proposed. *NO OTHER* maneuver is given a "once per encounter" limit.
Ok.

I see how it's unofficial and contradicts RAW, so I'm not sure how this is relevant.

I was being facetious. What I meant was, the RAW on Iron Heart Surge is a *mess*. Do we want to address this with the Unofficial Errata, which attempts to clean it up but mostly makes it much more complicated, or do we want to patch it up with an official chair ruling?

No one has ever actually used iron heart surge like that in iron chef. It's part of the weird anti-tob strawman people who dislike the book use, so again, it doesn't really seem necessary for an exhaustive list of stuff it can and can't do to be made.

It's more like two specifics going head-to-head. I don't see how one trumps the other without some kind of official ruling.
No, it isn't. It's textbook specific trumping general. General: tumble skill: "you can tumble to avoid aoos." Specific: thicket of blades: "all movement provokes aoos." there is no specific exception made for tumble, so of course tumble doesn't allow you to entirely obviate thicket of blades.

weckar

2017-11-20, 04:46 AM

Isn't "all movement" more general than "tumble"? :smallconfused:

Heliomance

2017-11-20, 05:15 AM

Isn't "all movement" more general than "tumble"? :smallconfused:

But Thicket of Blades is more specific that general AoO rules. I'll need to double check the text, but my preliminary thinking is that Thicket is Blades probably lets you get an AoO against tumbling enemies

The Viscount

2017-11-20, 01:19 PM

jdizzlean

2017-11-20, 03:30 PM

ToB and manuevers/IL's give me brain pain.

I'm out for cooking or judging this round, but I'll stay in the peanut gallery and haloo now and then :)

good luck to all

weckar

2017-11-21, 04:24 AM

That moment when you're paranoid everyone else may be cooking the same thing as you, but then surmise that they probably fear the same thing so they are probably not, so they probably are....

Zaq

2017-11-21, 07:21 AM

That moment when you're paranoid everyone else may be cooking the same thing as you, but then surmise that they probably fear the same thing so they are probably not, so they probably are....

Hello, Vizzini Effect. Lovely to see you today.

weckar

2017-11-21, 07:34 AM

Vizzini Effect?.. I do not think it means what you think it means.

remetagross

2017-11-21, 10:30 AM

Vizzini Effect?.. I do not think it means what you think it means.

"Vizzini effect" is a shortcut to describe exactly the feeling you expressed above, which strikes chefs commonly enough in this competition :smallsmile:

Heliomance

2017-12-04, 04:15 AM

Guys? The reveal for this is supposedly tomorrow, and I have no builds in my inbox.

weckar

2017-12-04, 04:17 AM

Formatting is taking me a little longer than expected. It's been too long for me.

EDIT: Nevermind; misread a major ability. Not going to make it at all now.

Heliomance

2017-12-04, 11:37 AM

Formatting is taking me a little longer than expected. It's been too long for me.

EDIT: Nevermind; misread a major ability. Not going to make it at all now.

Honestly, it looks like the reveal is going to be pushed back. I still have no entries, a reveal with nothing to post would be a bit sad.

Zaq

2017-12-04, 01:11 PM

I’ve been crazy busy for the past few weeks, unfortunately.

That, and to be honest, strong ingredients are a little scary. Within reason, it sometimes feels harder to come up with something original with a well-known ingredient than with a crap ingredient that no one ever uses.

Really, though, I’ve mostly just been super busy. I’ve only received one entry for the E6 competition, too, and E6 entries tend to be faster to build than the ones for the main contest.

arclance

2017-12-04, 01:14 PM

There are also 4 competitions in the build phase and 1 in the judging phase at the same time.
The people interested might be spread a little thin, especially with the free time eating things people have going on this time of year.

Darrin

2017-12-04, 01:58 PM

I, too, have been too busy to procrastinate. Or is that not a thing?

Thurbane

2017-12-04, 02:42 PM

Honestly, it looks like the reveal is going to be pushed back. I still have no entries, a reveal with nothing to post would be a bit sad.

There are also 4 competitions in the build phase and 1 in the judging phase at the same time.
The people interested might be spread a little thin, especially with the free time eating things people have going on this time of year.

I'd be happy to judge, but I doubt I'd get a build in inside of a week.

I'm pretty much up to judge for most of the running comps (except the last IC, as I'm an entrant).

The Viscount

2017-12-04, 08:49 PM

I know a lot of entries tend to come in down to the wire. Like mine, for example, which I may or may not have finished just now.

Heliomance

2017-12-06, 04:22 AM

I have one entry. I'm pushing back the reveal at least another week - will people be able to get their builds in by next Tuesday?

Venger

2017-12-06, 05:25 PM

shouldn't be a problem.

WhamBamSam

2017-12-10, 02:41 AM

An extension? Awesome. I just emerged from judging the last round, but I've got a rough idea that I'll hopefully be able to hammer out by Tuesday.

Venger

2017-12-12, 05:18 AM

An extension? Awesome. I just emerged from judging the last round, but I've got a rough idea that I'll hopefully be able to hammer out by Tuesday.

excited to see your dish. good luck.

WhamBamSam

2017-12-12, 05:52 PM

Well, managed to get my build in before the late reveal. I had a second idea, but I don't really have the time or wherewithal to write it up. Might post a stub after the reveal.

The Viscount

2017-12-15, 08:59 PM

So we've got three(?) entries for our round, should be an interesting one.

Heliomance

2017-12-18, 07:05 AM

Extension got extended by my lack of organisation, apologies all! Builds follow, stand by.

Heliomance

2017-12-18, 07:06 AM

Entry number 1

Backwards Bo the Bowman
https://cdn.someecards.com/posts/d21Nwileecoyote.jpg

N Human Human Paragon 1/Fighter 2/Human Paragon 2/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Peerless Archer 8/Bloodstorm Blade 8

Stats
Str 16 (other increases here)
Dex 14 (Increase at 4)
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 10
Build

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

1st
Human Paragon 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Balance 4, Bluff 4, Craft (Bowmaking) 4, Intimidate 4, Jump 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4
Favored (Gladiatorial Stables, +2 to Tumble), Point Blank Shot
Adaptive Learning (Use Magic Device)

2nd
Hit and Run Fighter 1
+1
+2
+0
+2
Balance 5, Intimidate 5, Jump 5, Tumble 5, Use Magic Device 5
(B)Martial Study (Steely Strike)
Bonus Feat, +2 Initiative, Dex to damage against flatfooted, Skilled City Dweller (Ride to Tumble)

3rd
Fighter 2
+2
+3
+0
+2
Balance 6, Intimidate 6, Jump 6, Tumble 6, Use Magic Device 6
Precise Shot, (B)Martial Stance (Punishing Stance)
Bonus Feat

4th
Human Paragon 2
+3
+3
+0
+3
Balance 8*, Bluff 5, Craft (Bowmaking) 5, Intimidate 7, Jump 7, Tumble 7, Use Magic Device 7
(B)Primary Contact*
Bonus Feat

5th
Bloodstorm Blade 1
+4
+5
+0
+3
Craft (Bowmaking) 8, Intimidate 8, Spot 1, Tumble 8, Use Magic Device 8
(B)Throw Anything
Returning Attacks, Throw Anything, Weapon Aptitude

6th
Bloodstorm Blade 2
+5
+6
+0
+3
Craft (Bowmaking) 9, Intimidate 9, Spot 4, Tumble 9, Use Magic Device 9
Far Shot
Martial Throw, Thunderous Throw

7th
Bloodstorm Blade 3
+6/+1
+6
+1
+4
Craft (Bowmaking) 10, Intimidate 10, Spot 7, Tumble 10, Use Magic Device 10
(B)Quick Draw
Bonus Fighter Feat

8th
Bloodstorm Blade 4
+7/+2
+7
+1
+4
Intimidate 11, Spot 11, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 11

Lightning Ricochet

9th
Peerless Archer 1
+8/+3
+9
+1
+4
Hide 3, Spot 12, Use Magic Device 12
Power Attack
Expert Bowyer, Ranged Sneak Attack +1d6

10th
Peerless Archer 2
+9/+4
+10
+1
+4
Hide 6, Spot 13, Use Magic Device 13

Sharp Shooting 1, Fletching +1

11th
Peerless Archer 3
+10/+5
+10
+2
+5
Hide 9, Spot 14, Use Magic Device 14

Power Shot

12th
Peerless Archer 4
+11/+6/+1
+11
+2
+5
Hide 12, Spot 15, Use Magic Device 15
Combat Reflexes
Ranged Sneak Attack +2d6, Fletching +2

13th
Peerless Archer 5
+12/+7/+2
+11
+2
+5
Hide 15, Spot 16, Use Magic Device 16

Sharp Shooting 2

14th
Peerless Archer 6
+13/+8/+3
+12
+3
+6
Hide 16, Spellcraft 1(2) Spot 17, Use Magic Device 17

Fletching +3

15th
Peerless Archer 7
+14/+9/+4
+12
+3
+6
Hide 17, Spellcraft 2(2) Spot 18, Use Magic Device 18
Stand Still
Ranged Sneak Attack +3d6

16th
Peerless Archer 8
+15/+10/+5
+13
+3
+6
Hide 19, Jump 8, Spot 19, Use Magic Device 19

Threaten, Fletching +4

17th
Bloodstorm Blade 5
+16/+11/+6/+1
+13
+3
+6
Acrobatic Backstab, Intimidate 13, Spot 20, Tumble 12, Use Magic Device 20

Blood Wind Ricochet

18th
Bloodstorm Blade 6
+17/+12/+7/+2
+14
+4
+7
Intimidate 18, Spot 21, Use Magic Device 21
(B)Martial Study (Wall of Blades), Mage Slayer
Bonus Fighter Feat

19th
Bloodstorm Blade 7
+18/+13/+8/+3
+14
+4
+7
Hide 19.5 (1), Intimidate 22, Spot 22, Use Magic Device 22

Eye of the Storm

20th
Bloodstorm Blade 8
+19/+14/+9/+4
+15
+4
+7
Hide 21.5 (4), Intimidate 23, Spot 23, Use Magic Device 23

Blood Rain

Backstory
Bo jumped in place as he shook the tension out of his shoulders. The distant sound of the crowd grew to a proper roar that let him know somebody had just won in the arena.
“Opening match over already? Who was out there?”

“The new guy was facing off against Doug. I’ll have a talk with him when the healers are done. The crowd’s gotta feel like they got their money’s worth. That means you’re up, Bo. You want a bloodspike to get you pumped?”

“No thanks, I quit. Thrill of the fight’s all I need.” Bo walked toward the entrance and took his position as the announcer’s voice boomed among the crowds.

“And now put your hands together for our main event. He’s the one man crazy enough to bring an arrow to a fistfight, Backwards Bo the BOOOOOOWMAAAAAAN!”

Bo burst into the arena with a series of backflips before landing dead center. He grabbed his bow at lightning speed and fired three arrows high into the air, their specially made shafts screeching in flight to announce his arrival.

“Tonight he faces off against the promising young contender from way out in the sticks, back for the second time it’s crowd favorite Sammy Shields!”
The crowd’s cheers turned to quiet muttering when nobody appeared at the opposite entrance. A collective gasp rang out as Sammy flew out limply to land unconscious in the dust, his face slick with blood. A moment later a disheveled and outrageously grimy figure stepped out from the arena’s entrance. The smell coming off of him was indescribably bad, and the very air around seemed to waver under the sheer weight of his fetid aroma. Those in the stands nearest him could be seen gagging as the announcer piped in again.

“Ladies and gentlemen this is a shock! Sammy Shields is down for the count, and it looks like someone’s got a bone to pick with Bo. The nose doesn’t lie, and mine tells me that Fecar the Unclean just stepped into the ring!”

Bo froze at the sight, and more importantly, the smell of his new opponent.

“Fecar, you slimy son of a snake! You took out poor Sam just so you could get at me? Well I’m ready for you. I haven’t forgotten when you put my partner in the infirmary when I wasn’t there. Well now it’s just you and me, and I’m ready for some payback!”

Fecar’s laughter gurgled obnoxiously in his throat. “I heard he still isn’t walking right. If you thought that was bad, just wait until you see what I do to you. Come and get me, you backwards buffoon!”

Almost before he was finished speaking Bo nocked and fired an arrow headed straight for Fecar’s heart. It buzzed through the air with deadly intent before suddenly deflecting to the side and landing harmlessly in the sand. Bo shook his head in disbelief before firing another shot to no effect.

“I’m wise to your ways, Bo the blunderer! You may be a famed archer, but arrows are useless against my wind wall! Give up now before I get really nasty.”

“Ladies and gentlemen things look grim for Bo. Without his arrows, he’ll have to get close to dish out the hurt on Fecar. But I don’t think even he can withstand the stink at point blank range!”

Bo grimaced as he realized the same fact. His eyes were watering even from the careful distance he was maintaining. If he tried to get into melee, he would get knocked out before he could throw a punch. It was time for him to pull out all the stops.

“I’ll never give up, you dirty rat! You may be able to stop my arrows, but they don’t call me the bowman for nothing. Try this on for size!”

With a heavy grunt, he send his bow spinning through the air to strike Fecar’s head with a resounding crack. Fecar grabbed for the bow a hair too late as it perfectly reversed its trajectory to return to Bo’s open hand. Fecar roared in anger as he charged towards his opponent, trying to bring him within range of his infamous stench. But before he could get there he was struck again with enough force to stop him in his tracks. Blood ran heavily from his face as he tried to get his bearings. Bo kept his distance with leaps and flips as he sent his bow out again and again to strike his enemy. Fecar couldn’t keep up and was visibly winded, sweat bringing a greater sheen to his already oily face. One last blow to his forehead sent him crashing to the ground. Bo shouted in triumph as the crowd stood to cheer him.
***
Bo toweled off from the match back under the arena in the fighter’s quarters, pleased with his success. His back was to the door and he was unaware as Fecar walked up behind him, reaching out.

“Bo!” he shouted, clapping him on the back with a huge, calloused hand. “Great job in the ring today. I loved that trick with the throwing you pulled in there. That really got the crowd going. Sorry I didn’t tell you that we’d be fighting. Boss man wanted it to be a surprise so it would seem more real when they saw your face. You brought some good heat though. We had a real good back and forth going on.” He smiled broadly, and it lit up his whole face. He looked completely different once he had cleaned off all the muck.

“Fecar, great to see you. No worries, man. We’re all just working for that coin. I didn’t get to ask about Sammy, is that kid gonna be all right?”

“Oh he’ll be just fine. I know he looked pretty bad in the ring, but that was just a sleeping potion and some pig’s blood. He got half wages anyway. Not bad money for just showing up.”

“Always a pleasure, Fecar. Hey, you want to keep our little grudge match going? How about next week?”

Fecar rubbed the sore spot on his forehead gingerly. “How about next month?”
Level 5
In the early levels we are going to be spending feats to prepare for later classes. Human Paragon has more skills so it goes first, and adaptive learning brings UMD in as a skill for the whole build.

Fighter brings full BA and feats, which blessedly can be used for martial study and martial stance. Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot mean that you can be competent at ranged combat as well as melee, and hit and run tactics gives your Dex another application. Punishing stance applies to all melee, and steely strike can be used with throws once you enter Bloodstorm Blade.

As you might have noticed, we entered Bloodstorm Blade a little earlier than one might expect, by virtue of Favored and Primary Contact. Favored in Gladiatorial stables offer a boost to an associated skill (I chose tumble to hit the DCs earlier but you could choose a different skill) and they will heal your wounds. There’s no dues for them, instead you periodically fight in the arena (which means more XP to level up) and actually generates gold. Primary Contact’s important effect is the bonus skill point in one of the associated skills, which happens to include Balance. This can exceed caps, but it’s not clear whether this permanently elevates the cap with the bonus rank, or whether it just jogs you ahead one at that level. I’m playing it safe and so for that reason take it at 4, where regardless of interpretation it gives us 8 ranks in Balance, which is the last thing we need to enter the SI.
The first level grants you returning attacks (so pack more than one weapon) and throw anything, which your Dex should make you competent at. We spent the ability point at 4 to use it since you still have to qualify for it.
Level 10
We’re going to spend some time in Bloodstorm Blade to get the two most important features of Lightning Ricochet and Thunderous Throw. Far Shot extends the range increment out to a more functional 20 feet as well as filling prerequisites. Thunderous Throw allows you to bring Strength to bear and use one-handed weapons when you throw, and unless you have a strong reason, you should be using this as your predominant means of attack. With prerequisites out of the way we can take power attack and get that sweet 1:2 ratio of return for damage when using thunderous throw. Bloodstorm Blade makes no mention of changing the throwing rule that throwing a two-handed weapon is a full round action, so you’re best off using one-handed weapons. You can still throw them with two hands for maximum strength bonus. Lightning Ricochet means that you can now make full attacks with your thrown weapons, and you don’t have to worry about your enemies picking up what you throw. Bloodstorm Blade provides tumble and by this point you can make the DCs. Bonus feat is spent on Quick Draw, the last thing needed to enter Peerless Archer.

Peerless Archer is a funny old class, and it starts off with Ranged Sneak Attack, which pairs nicely with hit and run tactics. Due to the vagueness of its wording it’s possible you can use it in conjunction with thunderous throw, but if not, that’s also fine. Fletching can be used to make magical arrows, which can come in use since they’re cheaper than magic bows. Sharpshooting is designed with the old cover/concealment rules, so talk with your DM about how to implement it here, perhaps as a deduction in the normal miss chance percentage. Combat Reflexes allows you to take more of the AoOs enemies provoke.

At this point I’ll discuss the central theme of the build, which is generating multiple options with bows. Shooting arrows with bows is fine and has support, but if you want to get the most out of ranged combat, throwing is where it’s at, especially with the SI. How to resolve this? You throw your bow. Silly, perhaps, but it’s effective as well as more cost efficient. We can accomplish this with an elvencraft shortbow. If you cannot buy one, you have ranks necessary to craft one yourself. It functions as a club, which is one-handed (which provides an advantage over a longbow) and deals as much damage as the arrows it fires. This means that it threatens out to 5 feet, which helps with the attacks of opportunity. Your class features contribute to make throwing normally and thunderous throwing both competitive options. You can also shoot arrows if you feel like it. You unfortunately can’t throw the arrows because they’re always improvised.
Level 15
Better sharpshooting and more ranged sneak attack improve your abilities. The big things to talk about are Power Shot and Stand Still. Power Shot is essentially Power Attack for ranged attacks, and along with ranged sneak attack makes for a good reason to use ranged attacks as well as thunderous throw. Stand Still allows you to prevent an enemy from moving when they provoke the AoO.

At this point you should be pretty reliably hitting UMD rolls for wands, we’ll keep investing so you can use scrolls and activate blindly.
Level 20
We start with the last important feature from Peerless Archer, the ability to threaten with bow out to 10 feet. Note that they specify bow, so it will still work just fine when you’re chucking it. It functions as a reach weapon, but 5 feet is covered by the club function. These will be ranged attacks when you make them so you can make power shot, and they’re normal AoOs so you can make use of combat reflexes and standstill. Power shot and standstill pair quite nicely to boost the DC of the effect. I hope the image of bopping someone on the head with a thrown stick to stop them in their tracks is as funny to you as it is to me. Mage Slayer’s also contributing well here, and made extra fun by the fact that enemies will know they are threatened, but not why since you’ll just be standing 10 feet away holding a bow/club.

Acrobatic Backstab provides a reliable way of rendering a foe flatfooted to use ranged sneak attack on.
Having gotten what we need from Peerless Archer, it’s time to return to the SI. Blood Wind Ricochet allows you to cheat range increments attacking multiple enemies.
Blood Rain is one of the few sources of bleed damage, and pairs nicely with blood wind ricochet to whittle down four opponents at once. It’s also a good stance to be in when your turn ends so that your AoOs start your opponents bleeding, and due to the wording you should be able to activate it when using stand still to keep an opponent both rooted and losing health. Plus somebody bleeding out because you bopped them with a stick is just funny.

Eye of the Storm gives you something more interesting to do with your stance. Bonuses to AC and Ref saves are appreciated, but the second portion enables you to do a neat trick. You make a ranged attack and provoke the AoO from your enemy. Then you use Wall of Blades which you picked up with that bonus feat to negate that attack. Then you use Eye of the Storm to make an attack against them with your elvencraft bow, so you have generated an attack for free.
Sources
Peerless Archer: Silver Marches
Favored, Primary Contact: Cityscape
Martial Study, Martial Stance: Tome of Battle
Hit and Run Tactics: Drow of the Underdark
Mage Slayer: Complete Arcane
Skilled City Dweller: Cityscape Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)
Fighter, Human Paragon, Stand Still, Power Attak, Point Blank Shot, Far Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Combat Reflexes: srd

Heliomance

2017-12-18, 07:09 AM

Entry number 2

https://i.pinimg.com/564x/43/fd/3b/43fd3b214c2ae8ab3619e9b0881777de.jpg
The Ill Wind: A Tale for Dead Men

“Hurry up with that rope, will ya?” Kipper hissed up toward the edge of the cliff. “I feel like a dumpling hanging here.” He twisted slowly in a circle, hanging at the end of his rope, the harness biting into his groin.

“What kinda dumpling hangs?” Polly popped her head over the ledge, blasting him in the eye with her ghostlight. Kipper shielded himself too late.

“Careful with that!” he said a little too loud, because something at the bottom growled. “You know, the ones we had that time on our Xen’drik cruise. We had them at your mother’s for baker’s night once, wrapped the banana leaves and they have the twine around them.”

Polly gave him more slack and he made his way down. “Oh those. I mean I think of them more as a steamed bun than a dumpling proper.”

Kipper rolled his eye. His feet touched the bottom of the pit. Too far away for her to hear now the normal way. He turned his head up to the ceiling so Polly could see and reached for his eyepatch. The glass behind it focused the pearl of liquid sunlight that rolled in his dead socket and let him set out the code like they’d planned. Polly turned on the telepathy they’d saved their pennies for.

“—know why you couldn’t have said that then,” Polly finished thinking.

“Well, I’m supposed to say what, hanging here like a bun? It would’ve just taken us longer to get here, then.” Kipper swept debris away from his feet with an oar wrapped in cotton wool, a trick he’d learned in the military to hide footprints from the Seren tribe. Host help you if they caught you, his commander’d always said. Kipper didn’t have much better hopes for the the thing down here guarding his prize. Assuming it existed, that was. Far more economical to guard something with a legend. They don’t have to be paid a wage like a man, or fed like a beast.

“Light when you’ve found something,” Polly thought to him. Kipper covered his socket and crept forward.

“If you don’t hear anything and don’t see a light, run. Don’t come back for me til you know it’s safe. I don’t care if it means sharing the treasure.” Kipper drew his knife and held it in his teeth. He got onto his belly and crawled forward when the cavern got too low to stand in.

“Says the man who thinks the guardian isn’t real,” Polly thought. “Mum’s had a good day at the races, I meant to tell you. Something happens to you, we might be able to raise you right proper. Get the eye back and all.”

Kipper touched his tongue to the spine of his knife to stop from laughing. It’d been so long, that’d take some getting used to.

“Well, I hate to disappoint, but I think you’re going to be stuck with me the way I am.” Dead end. Just a few rotten boards though, not something that naturally formed in caves. He was able to knock it down soon enough. Hang the noise, he couldn’t do anything if he suffocated down here.

The air wasn’t so foul on the other side of the wood. There was enough room to stand as well. Kipper got to his feet and cracked his back. “I don’t think ancient and terrible beasts would want to be seen by the likes of me guarding some ruddy, broken down old ship like the Gutshot Hog anyway. I think he’d die of embarrassment before I had a chance to stick him.”

He was inside the ship now, so no light from the surface could reach him. He held his breath, drew up the edge of his patch, and shone his light around.

“What the hell—“ was all that came to mind.

“Kip? I need context, luv. What is it? Something too big for the gunnysack? Can you cut it up? We’ll do it in shifts?” Polly thought, practical as ever.

It was some kind of statue, like a training dummy he’d heard they used in Karrnath, but it didn’t look like it was made for a man to use. Instead of arms and legs, it had tentacles like an octopus placed all over it. It didn’t look like it was made of wood, either, but carved from some unknowable antediluvian stone that absorbed all the light Kipper dared shine on it. Casting a shadow at all was beneath this thing before him.

His eyepatch fluttered, but not from his unsteady hand. From wind. Down here?

Something moved on his good side. Kipper spat out his knife just in time for it to be caught by some pronged weapon. It ripped the blade from his hand and impaled it in the rotten wood of the ship. It’d been thrown from clear across the ship, yet at once, something was on him.

“I was wrong.” Tentacles around his skull.

“First time I’ve heard that in what, ten years?” Polly teased.

“I love you.” A beak an inch from his good eye.

“Kipper?”

“…”

“Kip?”

NE human druid 5/ bloodstorm blade 10/ master of many forms 3/ war hulk 2

str 14 (increases here)
dex 14
con 14
int 12
wis 16
cha 8

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

1st
Druid 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
balance 4, concentration 4, intimidate 4 (2), jump 4 (2), tumble 4, swim 4
martial study (steel wind), martial stance (punishing stance)
Animal companion, nature sense, wild empathy

2nd
Druid 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
balance 1 (5), concentration 1 (5), intimidate 1 (2.5), jump 1 (2.5), tumble 1 (5), swim 1 (5)

Woodland stride

3rd
Druid 3
+2
+3
+1
+3
balance 1 (6), concentration 1 (6), intimidate 1 (3), jump 1 (3), tumble 1 (6), swim 1 (6)
alertness
Trackless step

4th
Druid 4
+3
+4
+1
+4
balance 1 (7), concentration 1 (7), intimidate 1 (3.5), jump 1 (3.5), tumble 1 (7), swim 1 (7)

Resist nature’s lure

5th
Druid 5
+3
+4
+1
+4
balance 1 (8), concentration 1 (8), intimidate 1 (4), jump 1 (4), tumble 1 (8), swim 1 (8)

Wild shape (1/day)

6th
Bloodstorm Blade 1
+4
+6
+1
+4
concentration 1 (9), intimidate 4 (9), tumble 1 (9)
endurance
Returning attacks, Throw anything, weapon aptitude

7th
Bloodstorm Blade 2
+5
+7
+1
+4
concentration 1 (10), intimidate 1 (10), jump 1 (5), tumble 1 (10), never outnumbered 2

Martial throw, thunderous throw

8th
Bloodstorm Blade 3
+6/+1
+7
+2
+5
concentration 1 (11), intimidate 1 (11), jump 3 (8), tumble 1 (11)

Bonus fighter feat (power attack)

9th
Bloodstorm Blade 4
+7/+2
+8
+2
+5
balance 1 (9), concentration 1 (12), intimidate 1 (12), jump 3 (11), tumble 1 (12)
aberration blood (flexible limbs)
Lightning ricochet

10th
Bloodstorm Blade 5
+8/+3
+9
+2
+5
balance 1 (9), concentration 1 (13), intimidate 1 (13), jump 2 (13), tumble 1 (13)

Blood wind ricochet

11th
Bloodstorm Blade 6
+9/+4
+10
+3
+6
balance 2 (11), concentration 1 (14), intimidate 1 (14), jump 1 (14), tumble 1 (14)

Bonus fighter feat (exotic weapon proficiency talenta boomerang)

12th
Bloodstorm Blade 7
+10/+5
+10
+3
+6
balance 2 (13), concentration 1 (15), intimidate 1 (15), jump 1 (15), tumble 1 (15)
aberration wild shape
Eye of the storm

13th
Bloodstorm Blade 8
+11/+6/+1
+11
+3
+6
balance 2 (15), concentration 1 (16), intimidate 1 (16), jump 1 (16), tumble 1 (16)

Blood rain

14th
Bloodstorm Blade 9
+12/+7/+2
+11
+4
+7
concentration 1 (17), intimidate 1 (17), jump 1 (17), tumble 1 (17) nimble stand

Bonus fighter feat (boomerang daze)

15th
Bloodstorm Blade 10
+13/+8/+3
+12
+4
+7
concentration 1 (18), intimidate 1 (18), jump 1 (18), tumble 1 (18) back on your feet
exotic weapon proficiency pincer staff
Blade storm

16th
Master of Many Forms 1
+13/+8/+3
+14
+6
+7
climb 4, concentration 1 (19), jump 1 (19)

Shifter's speech, improved wild shape (humanoid)

17th
Master of Many Forms 2
+14/+9/+4
+15
+7
+7
climb 4 (8), concentration 1 (20), jump 1 (20)

Improved wild shape (giant; Large)

18th
Master of Many Forms 3
+15/+10/+5
+15
+8
+7
climb 4 (12), concentration 1 (21), jump 1 (21)
cleave
Fast wild shape, improved wild shape (monstrous humanoid)

19th
War Hulk 1
+15/+10/+5
+17
+8
+7
intimidate 4 (22)

No time to think, ability boost (Str +2)

20th
War Hulk 2
+15/+10/+5
+18
+8
+7
climb 1 (13), intimidate 1 (23), jump 2 (23)

Great swing,ability boost (Str +2)

Spells per Day

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

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

2nd
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

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

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

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

You function as a pretty normal druid here, albeit with unconventional lifestyle choices vis a vis your skills due to your later career path in war hulk. Skulk around in wild shape, turn into big cats to pounce, and enjoy your great spell list. You’re laying groundwork for bloodstorm blade and will be able to enter next level

Congratulations, you’re in the secret ingredient. You’ve got your aberration blood working for you now providing a bonus to grapple for later on. You’re making your attacks count by leaning in with power attack. Wild shape into big strong things and use the strength to your advantage to hit all the enemies you could ever need.

Bloodstorm blade never stops giving. You can hurl boomerangs with the best of them now. Bloodstorm blade’s aptitude lets you roll your boomerang-related goodies onto any other weapon, such as pincer staff, which among other goodies allows you to grapple enemies, so have fun grappling the heck out of enemies via your bloodstorm blade powers.

Master of many forms enhances your sweet wild shape, and thanks to aberration wild shape, you have access to a lot of cool stuff. One that stands out in particular is the classic mind flayer. You can use your dazing pincer staff to daze enemies as a kind of faux mind blast.

Since grappling involves stepping into the opponent’s square, once you hit them, you teleport over into position. This leaves you all set up to grapple (boosted thanks to aberrant blood, and war hulk’s strength increases stick regardless of what your body looks like)

Speaking of war hulk, let’s talk about that. Since bloodstorm blade lets you use your melee goodies at range, war hulk’s great swing beating the tar out of many enemies at once, and the increase to strength hardly hurts the rest of the time.

srd: druid, alertness, endurance, cleave
tome of battle: martial study, martial stance, bloodstorm blade
complete adventurer: master of many forms
miniatures handbook: war hulk
lords of madness: aberration blood, aberration wild shape
races of eberron: boomerang daze
underdark: pincer staff
skilled city dweller: cityscape web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)

Heliomance

2017-12-18, 07:12 AM

Entry number 3

Earl N. Meyer
Chaotic Good Strongheart Water Halfling
Rogue 3/Fighter 1/Warblade 1/Bloodstorm Blade 2/Scarlet Corsair 3/Bloodstorm Blade +8/Warblade +1/Rogue +1

10 Str 16 -2 14
06 Dex 14 +2 16
02 Con 10 +2 12
06 Int 14 -- 14
02 Wis 10 -- 10
06 Cha 14 -- 14

Increase:
4,8,12,16 = Str
20 = Cha

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

1st
Martial Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0

4 Balance 4
4 Bluff 4
1 Disable Device 1
4 Hide 4
3 Intimidate 3
2 K(arcana) 1
4 K(local) 4
2 K(nature) 1
4 Move Silently 4
1 Open Lock 1
3 Pe(dance) 3
4 Pr(sailor) 4
4 Spot 4

1st: Point Blank Shot; H: Far Shot; BF: Combat Reflexes
Trapfinding

2nd
Martial Rogue 2
+1
+0
+3
+0

1 Balance 5
1 Bluff 5
- Disable Device 1
1 Hide 5
- Intimidate 3
- K(arcana) 1
1 K(local) 5
- K(nature) 1
2 K(religion) 1
1 Move Silently 5
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 3
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 5
2 ST: Collector of Stories

BF: Power Attack
Evasion

3rd
Lightbringer Martial Rogue 3
+2
+1
+3
+1

- Balance 5
1 Bluff 6
- Disable Device 1
1 Hide 6
- Intimidate 3
- K(arcana) 1
2 K(dungeoneering) 1
1 K(local) 6
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
3 K(the planes) 3
1 Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 3
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 6
- ST: Collector of Stories

3rd: Knowledge Devotion (the planes)
Penetrating Strike

4th
Stealthy Thug Fighter 1
+3
+3
+3
+1

- Balance 5
1 Bluff 7
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
4 Intimidate 7
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
1 K(local) 7
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
- K(the planes) 3
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 3
- Pr(sailor) 4
- Spot 6
- ST: Collector of Stories

-
Sneak Attack +1d6

5th
Warblade 1
+4
+5
+3
+1

3 Balance 8
- Bluff 7
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
1 Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
1 K(local) 8
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 4
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 3
- Pr(sailor) 4
- Spot 6
- ST: Collector of Stories

-
Battle Clarity (reflex saves); Weapon Aptitude; MK: Steel Wind, Steely Strike, Disarming Strike; S: Punishing Stance

6th
Bloodstorm Blade 1
+5
+7
+3
+1

- Balance 8
- Bluff 7
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(local) 8
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
5 K(the planes) 9
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 3
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 7
- ST: Collector of Stories

6th: Shape Splash; B: Throw Anything
Returning Attacks; Weapon Aptitude

7th
Bloodstorm Blade 2
+6/1
+8
+3
+1

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 8
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(local) 8
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 10
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 3
- Pr(sailor) 4
3 Spot 10
- ST: Collector of Stories

-
Martial Throw; Thunderous Throw

8th
Scarlet Corsair 1
+7/2
+8
+5
+1

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 10
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
2 K(local) 10
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
- K(the planes) 10
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
2 Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
- Spot 10
- ST: Collector of Stories

B: Improved Feint
-

9th
Scarlet Corsair 2
+8/3
+8
+6
+1

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 12
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
2 K(local) 12
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
2 K(the planes) 12
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
- Spot 10
- ST: Collector of Stories

9th: Staggering Strike
Sneak Attack +2d6

10th
Scarlet Corsair 3
+9/4
+9
+6
+2

- Balance 8
1 Bluff 13
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
1 K(geography) 1
1 K(local) 13
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 13
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
- Spot 10
- ST: Collector of Stories
2 ST: Group Fake-Out

-
Corsair's Feint (1per2d4 rounds)

11th
Bloodstorm Blade 3
+10/5
+9
+7
+3

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 14
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
- K(local) 13
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
- K(the planes) 13
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
2 Spot 12
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
2 ST: Shrouded Dance

BF: Surprising Reposte
-

12th
Bloodstorm Blade 4
+11/6/1
+10
+7
+3

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 15
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
- K(local) 13
- K(nature) 1
- K(religion) 1
- K(the planes) 13
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
2 Spot 15
2 ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

12th: Ancestral Relic
Lightning Ricochet

13th
Bloodstorm Blade 5
+12/7/2
+10
+7
+3

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 16
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
- K(local) 13
- K(nature) 1
2 K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 14
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 16
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

-
Blood Wind Ricochet

14th
Bloodstorm Blade 6
+13/8/3
+11
+8
+4

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 17
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
- K(local) 13
- K(nature) 1
- K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
3 K(the planes) 17
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 17
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

BF: Brutal Throw
-

15th
Bloodstorm Blade 7
+14/9/4
+11
+8
+4

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 18
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
2 K(local) 14
- K(nature) 1
- K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 18
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 18
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

15th: Craven
Eye of the Storm

16th
Bloodstorm Blade 8
+15/10/5
+12
+8
+4

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 19
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
2 K(local) 15
- K(nature) 1
- K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 19
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 19
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

-
Blood Rain

17th
Bloodstorm Blade 9
+16/11/6/1
+12
+9
+5

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 20
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
2 K(local) 16
- K(nature) 1
- K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 20
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 20
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

BF: Power Throw
-

18th
Bloodstorm Blade 10
+17/12/7/2
+12
+9
+5

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 21
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
2 K(local) 17
- K(nature) 1
- K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 21
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
1 Spot 21
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

18th: Neraph Throw
Blade Storm

19th
Warblade 2
+18/13/8/3
+13
+9
+5

- Balance 8
2 Bluff 22
- Disable Device 1
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
3 K(local) 20
- K(nature) 1
- K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 22
- Move Silently 6
- Open Lock 1
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
- Spot 21
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

-
Uncanny Dodge; MK: Iron Heart Surge

20th
Martial Rogue 4
+19/14/9/4
+13
+10
+5

- Balance 8
1 Bluff 23
2 Disable Device 3
- Hide 6
- Intimidate 8
- K(arcana) 1
- K(dungeoneering) 1
- K(geography) 1
3 K(local) 23
- K(nature) 1
- K(psionics) 1
- K(religion) 1
1 K(the planes) 23
- Move Silently 6
1 Open Lock 2
- Pe(dance) 5
- Pr(sailor) 4
2 Spot 23
- ST: Clarity of Vision
- ST: Collector of Stories
- ST: Group Fake-Out
- ST: Shrouded Dance

BF: Grenadier
Improved Uncanny Dodge

Level
New Abilities
Total Price

12

Continuous Effect Rebuild Item (Tome of Magic p.249)

+1 weapon
Morphing (MIC p.39)

35,000 gp

13
Distance (DMG p.224)
51,000 gp

14
Revealing (MIC p.42)
65,000 gp

15
Precise (MIC p.39)
83,000 gp

16
Bloodseeking (CW p.134)
105,000 gp

17
Seeking (DMG p.225)
131,000 gp

18
+15 competence to Bluff
153,500 gp

19
Implacable (MIC p.37)
255,500 gp

20
--
--

At these levels, Earl is, well, Earl is confused. (But he has a 10 Wisdom, so that actually makes sense.) He's very much a rogue who thinks he's a fighter who thinks he's sneaky.

Power Attack and Combat Reflexes makes him think he's a front-liner, but really, his hit points are too low for that.

Point Blank Shot and Far Shot makes everyone wonder what, exactly, he's aiming at.

Collector of Stories and several knowledge skills (albiet with low ranks) makes him something of the party know-it-some.

A rank each in Disable Device and Open Lock gives him the ability to do either of those things, but you're going to have to give him plenty of time to make it happen.

Ulitmately, Earl is a guy that can do several things, but none of them perfectly well. He can use a short sword. Or a bow. Or a dart. He can pick a lock and spring a trap and ramble on and on about the obvious differences between gnomes and dwarves.

In short (haha! Short. Halfling. Get it?) he's got options.

Thunderous Throw opens up doors. It is now possible to flank at range! And that sets off sneak attack, which will eventually set off Staggering Strike (which also requires a melee attack, so, thank you Thunderous Throw!)
I suggest using a trident, to keep in theme with the Water Halfling/Scourge of the Seas motif. But every now and then, Earl will whip out some Alchemist Fire or an Acid Flask. It's probably not cost effective enough to use a splash weapon consistantly, but when it does get used, look out! Thunderous Throw allows for the use of Power Attack with a splash weapon and I see no reason that PA damage shouldn't apply to the splash damage, too.

But, for those times when flanking just doesn't work, along comes Corsair's Feint at the same level that Group-Fake Out shows up. Free action feint, swift action Thunderous Throw, and a full attack has sneak attacks happening all over the battlefield. Which is fine, until...

...Surprising Reposte comes along. Then Earl has the option to just pound away at one enemy with Power Attack/touch attack/dex denying/sneak attack splash weapons that trigger staggering strike and splash damage that doesn't hit allies.

But wait, doesn't that get kinda pricey?
Well, yes. Yes, it does. Until level 12. Then the Ancestral Relic comes into play. A +1 morphing splash weapon. With a continuous form of Rebuild Item. And it enters Earl's life at the same time that he gets Lightning Ricochet. Just one weapon is all he'll ever need again.

Getting bored with an Acid flask? Morph it into Alchemist's Fire. Or Alchemist's Spark. Or Alchemist's Frost. Or Holy Water. Or, or, or.... My suggestion: Liquid Salt (Sandstorm p.102)

Free feint (against multiple foes), swift Thunderous Throw, full-round Blood Wind Ricochet to attack to distances and from angles that couldn't otherwise be done (or Lightning Ricochet to pound away at one target with Surprising Reposte) and touch attack dex-denied enemies with Power Attack to sneak attack two foes via Shaped Splash which sets off Craven and Staggering Strike. Don't forget the bonuses from small size, halfling racial boost to attack with thrown weapons, Point Blank Shot, Knowledge Devotion, Punishing Stance. And splash damage, flying every-which-way except at allies.

And just when you thought we couldn't have any more fun doing all this math each round...

...we add Power Throw to the mix.
Power Attack and Power Throw?!? It can be done, if you know how to throw a weapon just right. And Earl does.
And, as if a 4th attack from BAB wasn't enough, Earl gets Neraph Throw at the same time he picks up Blade Storm.

One flask of Liquid Salt flying everywhere across the battlefield slamming touch attacks against foes who just can't believe their eyes, unable to dive out of the way as the shattered remnents of the previous attack coalesce midflight, reforming just in time to shatter again against another foe over and over and over....

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting - Strongheart Halfling (p.18)
SRD - Water Halfling (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/elementalRacialVariants.htm#racesOfWater); Martial Rogue (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogue); Stealthy Fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#fighter); Thug Fighter (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#fighterVariantThug)
Complete Scoundrel - Skill Tricks (p.83)
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft - Lightbringer Rogue (p.208)
Complete Champion - Knowledge Devotion feat (p.60)
Tome of Battle - Warblade (p.20)
Races of Eberron - Shaped Splash feat (p.111)
Stormwrack - Scarlet Corsair (p.65)
Complete Adventurer - Staggering Strike feat (p.112); Brutal Throw feat (p.106); Power Throw feat (p.111)
Drow of the Underdark - Surprising Reposte feat (p.52)
Book of Exalted Deeds - Ancestral Relic (p.39)
Champions of Ruin - Craven feat (p.17)
Planar Handbook - Neraph Throw feat (p.40)
Player's Handbook 2 - Grenadier feat (p.79)

Heliomance

2017-12-18, 07:17 AM

Entry number 4

Knuckles Klankplate

http://orig02.deviantart.net/d353/f/2010/258/a/3/rocket_punch_by_seventh_flash-d2ypthr.jpg

Race: Warforged
Build Stub: Battle Dancer 1/Barbarian 1/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Exotic Weapon Master 3/Bloodstorm Blade +6
Multiclass Penalty: Nope!
Languages: Common, Formian
Alignment: NG
Ability Scores:

Ability
Score
Racial
(Points)
Increases

Strength
16

(10)

Dexterity
16

(10)
4th/8th/16th/20th

Constitution
16
+2
(6)

Intelligence
12

(4)
12th

Wisdom
8
-2
(2)

Charisma
6
-2
(0)

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

1st
Battle Dancer 1
+1
+0
+2
+0
Balance 4, Concentration 2(4cc), Craft:Weaponsmith 2(4cc), Jump 4, Tumble 4
Power Attack, Improved Unarmed Strike
AC Bonus, Unarmed Strike 1d6

2nd
Barbarian 1
+2
+2
+2
+0
Balance 4, Concentration 2, Craft:Weaponsmith 5(+3), Jump 5(+1), Tumble 5(+1)

Spirit Lion Totem, Whirling Frenzy ACF, Skilled City-Dweller ACF

3rd
Fighter 1
+3
+4
+2
+0
Balance 4, Concentration 2, Craft:Weaponsmith 6(+1), Jump 6(+1), Tumble 6(+1)
Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus:Unarmed Strike
Skilled City-Dweller ACF

4th
Fighter 2
+4
+5
+2
+0
Balance 4, Concentration 2, Craft:Weaponsmith 7(+1), Jump 7(+1), Tumble 7(+1)
Point Blank Shot

5th
Warblade 1
+5
+7
+2
+0
Balance 8(+4), Concentration 3(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 7, Jump 7, Tumble 7

Battle Clarity (Ref Saves), Weapon Aptitude

6th
Bloodstorm Blade 1
+6
+9
+2
+0
Balance 8, Concentration 3, Craft:Weaponsmith 9(+2), Jump 8(+1), Tumble 9(+2)
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Returning Attacks, Throw Anything, Weapon Aptitude

7th
Bloodstorm Blade 2
+7
+10
+2
+0
Balance 8, Concentration 4(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 10(+1), Jump 10(+2), Tumble 10(+1)

Martial Throw, Thunderous Throw

8th
Bloodstorm Blade 3
+8
+10
+3
+1
Balance 8, Concentration 6(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 11(+1), Jump 11(+1), Tumble 11(+1)
Superior Unarmed Strike
Bonus Fighter Feat

9th
Bloodstorm Blade 4
+9
+11
+3
+1
Balance 8, Concentration 8(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 12(+1), Jump 12(+1), Tumble 12(+1)
Exotic Weapon Proficiency
Lightning Ricochet

10th
Exotic Weapon Master 1
+10
+13
+3
+1
Balance 8, Concentration 8, Craft:Weaponsmith 13(+1), Jump 12, Tumble 12, Skill Trick: Twisted Charge(+2)

Exotic Weapon Stunt: Throw Exotic Weapon

11th
Bloodstorm Blade 5
+11
+13
+3
+1
Balance 8, Concentration 8, Craft:Weaponsmith 14(+1), Jump 14(+2), Tumble 14(+2), Twisted Charge

Blood Wind Ricochet

12th
Bloodstorm Blade 6
+12
+14
+4
+2
Balance 8, Concentration 10(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 15(+1), Jump 15(+1), Tumble 15(+1), Twisted Charge
Combat Expertise, Improved Combat Expertise
Bonus Fighter Feat

13th
Exotic Weapon Master 2
+13
+15
+4
+2
Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 16(+1), Jump 15, Tumble 15, Skill Trick: Nimble Charge(+2), Twisted Charge

Exotic Weapon Stunt: Close-Quaters Ranged Combat

14th
Exotic Weapon Master 3
+14
+15
+5
+3
Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 17(+1), Jump 15, Tumble 15, Skill Trick: Back On Your Feet(+2), Nimble Charge, Twisted Charge

Exotic Weapon Stunt: Uncanny Blow

15th
Fighter 3
+15
+15
+6
+4
Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 18(+1), Jump 16(+1), Tumble 16(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge
Stone Power

16th
Fighter 4
+16
+16
+6
+4
Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 19(+1), Jump 17(+1), Tumble 17(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge
Rapid Shot

17th
Bloodstorm Blade 7
+17
+16
+6
+4
Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 20(+1), Jump 19(+2), Tumble 19(+2), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge

Eye of the Storm

18th
Bloodstorm Blade 8
+18
+17
+6
+4
Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 21(+1), Jump 21(+2), Tumble 21(+2), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge
Leap Attack
Blood Rain

19th
Bloodstorm Blade 9
+19
+17
+7
+5
Balance 8, Concenration 12(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 22(+1), Jump 22(+1), Tumble 22(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge
Greater Two-Weapon Fighting
Bonus Fighter Feat

20th
Bloodstorm Blade 10
+20
+18
+7
+5
Balance 8, Concenration 14(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 23(+1), Jump 23(+1), Tumble 23(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge

Blade Storm

Warblade 1: Moment of Perfect Mind, Steel Wind Strike, Mountain Hammer, Punishing Stance

Knuckles held up his hand and shouted "STOP!"

Sensing a subtle shift in the tide of battle, all of the combatants around him froze.

Knuckles spoke: "Put down your weapons! There will be no more fighting! Can you not see, when you fight and kill and murder, all it does is bring more fighting, killing, and murder?" He pointed an accusing finger at the enemy commander. "This man, Lord Ayvilbahd. He killed my adopted family. Then he killed my girlfriend, even though we couldn't... uh, nevermind, that's not important right now. This man has spread across this land like a plague, killing and taking what he wants. He took from me everything I loved. Has he not done the same to you? What do you have that he has not taken for himself? What have you loved that he has not killed? Some day, he will get fat and sloppy, and one of you will kill him and take his place, and then you will kill everyone who threatens you and take whatever you want. And for what? So someone else can kill you and take everything you love? No! Today, this ends! Because today, Lord Ayvilbahd, your reign of terror ends. It ends, because I am going to punch you in the face until it ends. And then you will be a better man. You will be a dead man, but that is better than what you are now. And we will all go home, drink tea, and build a new tomorrow with no more fighting or killing."

Knuckles strode forward, and the combatants parted to allow him to approach Lord Ayvilbad. He settled into a fighting stance and raised his gauntleted fists. "Now, which side of your face do you want me to obliterate first?"

Knuckles has a simple philosophy for dealing with the world. If you have a problem, follow these steps:

Step 1) Punch it in the face.
Step 2) Still a problem? Return to Step 1.

He was originally trained as part of an experimental unit that focused on unarmed combat. Frustrated with the lack of combat effectiveness from their Warforged monks, House Cannith began looking at different martial arts styles. Knuckles' unit focused on the fluid movements and strikes inspired by animals and fey revered by the free-spirited Greensinger druids from the Eldeen Reaches. The combat unit met with limited success: combat effectiveness increased, but unit discipline declined. When the unit disbanded, Knuckles worked as an apprentice weaponsmith and occasional mercenary to make ends meet. That's when he discovered his passion: gauntlets are weapons that involve *punching*! So those were two things he was good at, and he enjoyed doing them. Why not combine them? And so he spends most of his early career punching things in the face with gauntlets.

Knuckles' feat choices reflect his personal philosophy. Power Attack makes punching in the face hurt more. TWF and Whirling Frenzy are equivalents for Flurry of Blows, and allow more punches to the face. Pounce allows him to punch more often the people who weren't nice enough to stand next to him. Weapon Focus makes the punches hit more often. After 4th level, he branches out a little, picking up Point Blank Shot so he can throw things (which is similar to punching, but at a distance). Warblade adds some punch-related things, such as Punishing Stance (hurts more) and Steel Wind strike (punch two faces at the same time), but also branches out a little bit with Moment of Perfect Mind (failing a Will save usually means less punching) and Mountain Hammer (punching objects instead of faces).

Knuckles has a problem. People who don't stand next to him are much harder to punch in the face. While Charging + Pounce usually solves that problem, some people are standing too far away, or they stand behind things that are hard to charge through, or it's just too much work to run all the way over there. Throwing things is another solution, but it has a big downside: thrown weapons don't come back (unless you get a really lucky ricochet). Bloodstorm Blade fixes this problem with Throw Anything and Returning Attacks. Even better, he can now throw his gauntlets at people's faces, and they come back! On the downside, Throw Anything/Returning probably doesn't work with his slam attack. While natural weapons do technically count as melee weapons by RAW, most DMs are probably not going to allow a "slam" to be thrown. To make up for this, Knuckles picks up Improved TWF for an additional attack. Another level of Bloodstorm Blade gives him Thunderous Throw, which allows him to treat his thrown weapon attacks as if they were melee attacks, so he can enjoy the benefits of Power Attack out to 50'. At 8th level, he picks up Superior Unarmed Strike to upgrade his unarmed damage to 1d8, and at 9th level he gains the coveted Lightning Ricochet, allowing him to make multiple attacks with his gauntlets in the same round. The gauntlets also get an upgrade, as he uses his weaponsmithing skills to craft extra-heavy platinum gauntlets (using the "Heavy Weapon" rules from Magic of Faerun p. 179). Since these heavy gauntlets count as exotic weapons now, he uses his Fighter Bonus feat from Bloodstorm Blade 3 to get Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Heavy Gauntlets. These gauntlets also get a damage bump: his unarmed strike damage is now 1d8, but heavy gauntlets do more damage as per the table on page 179 in Magic of Faerun, so heavy gauntlets should do 2d6 damage instead of 1d8.

These heavier gauntlets require additional training, so Knuckles takes a level of Exotic Weapon Master and picks up the "Throw Exotic Weapon" stunt. Here's the text, with the key phrase bolded:

The character can throw an exotic weapon with no penalty on the attack roll, even if it isn't designed to be thrown (such as an orc double axe or a spiked chain).

So... if it wasn't all that obvious up to now, this entire build depends on interpretting that "penalty" to mean *all* penalties to your attack roll. Hopefully your DM is a stickler for RAW (even absurdist RAW), or has a good sense of humor (and no heavy objects within easy reach). If your DM rules against you, then replace the Exotic Weapon Master levels with additional levels of Warblade or Fighter: you won't be hitting as often, but at least the core concept of punching people in the face is still there.

If the DM rules in your favor, then this means all range penalties, TWF penalties, Rapid Shot penalties, Power Attack penalties, Combat Expertise penalties, and iterative penalties are all ignored, and all your thrown weapon attacks are made at full BAB. At 10th level, Knuckles can make five attacks (two iteratives, two offhand, one whirling frenzy) at +10 BAB with a maximum range of 50' and crank his Power Attack damage up to maximum. At 11th level, he adds a third iterative attack and Blood Wind Ricochet allows him to "chain" his gauntlet attacks out to targets beyond his 50' thrown weapon range.

*** SWEET SPOT ***

At 12th level, Knuckles gets two bonus feats, so he picks up both Combat Expertise and Improved Combat Expertise. This allows him to convert his entire BAB into an AC bonus when throwing his gauntlets. He can now make six attacks (three iteratives, two offhand, one whirling frenzy) at +12 BAB, +12 damage from Power Attack, and +12 AC from Improved Combat Expertise. Everything else after this point is mostly gravy. If you don't feel like finishing off Bloodstorm Blade or Exotic Weapon Master, you can take more levels of Fighter for more bonus feats (such as the Weapon Specialization/Melee Weapon Mastery trees) or more Warblade levels for a few choice maneuvers (Dancing/Raging Mongoose, for example).

From 13th-level on, Knuckles focuses mostly on fine-tuning his "punch it in the face" philosophy. Two more additional levels of Exotic Weapon Master allows him to add the "Close-Quarters Ranged Combat" stunt and the "Uncanny Blow" stunt. The first stunt allows him to avoid any unpleasant attacks of opportunity when he charges into melee range and then unloads all his thrown weapon attacks. The second stunt could be a bit of a head-scratcher, as the wording on "Uncanny Blow" isn't entirely clear. Here's the text:

When wielding a one-handed exotic melee weapon in two hands, the character can focus the power of his attack so that he deals extra damage equal to his Strength bonus ×2 instead of his Strength bonus ×1-1/2. If he has the Power Attack feat, he treats the weapon as two-handed for purposes of determining his bonus on damage rolls.

There are two sentences here. The first one deals with wielding a one-handed exotic melee weapon in two hands, which doesn't apply to gauntlets. The second sentence is either redundant "reminder text", as the Power Attack feat *already* treats a two-handed grip on a one-handed weapon as two-handed for the purposes of determining bonus damage, or it's another effect entirely. If it is another effect that isn't related to the first sentence, then what it's saying here is that one-handed exotic weapons gripped in one hand can be considered two-handed for the purposes of Power Attack. It's not clear if a gauntlet is considered a light or one-handed weapon, but the point is moot: even if it's a light weapon, it still counts as an unarmed strike, and Power Attack works with unarmed strikes because it explicitly says it does. Before you take this stunt, make sure you and the DM are clear on how it works. If the DM rules against you, then replace this level with another level of Warblade.

After that, Knuckles picks up two more Fighter levels to pick up Stone Power and Rapid Shot. On top of his other defences, he can use Stone Power to gain 10 temporary HP per round while ignoring the -5 attack penalty. At 16 level, he picks up Rapid Shot to increase his number of attacks to eight (four iterative, two offhand, one rapid shot, one whirling frenzy) at +16 BAB, +32 damage, +16 AC, and 10 temporary HPs. His unarmed strike damage also changes: Superior Unarmed Strike does 2d6 damage, and thus his heavy gauntlets now do 2d8. Knuckles then heads back into Bloodstorm Blade to finish off his career. Eye of the Storm doesn't add much (Improved Combat Expertise takes care of AC and Close-Quarters Ranged Combat negates AoOs for making ranged attacks), but Blood Rain allows him to trade the +1d6 damage from Punishing Stance into 3 bleed damage (particularly useful if he's attacking multiple foes with Blood Wind Ricochet instead of focusing on one opponent with Lightning Ricochet). At 18th level, he picks up Leap Attack, so when he charges and uses Power Attack, he can crank up his bonus damage to +72 (+18 x 2 from Uncanny Blow, +100% as per the Complete Adventurer errata). At 19th level, he completes his final attack routine with Greater TWF: nine attacks (four iteratives, three offhand, one rapid shot, one whirling frenzy) at +19 BAB, +76 Power Attack damage, +19 AC, and 10 temp HP. At 20th level, he unlocks his capstone: Blade Storm. Instead of nine attacks, he gets one attack against every enemy within 50', +20 BAB, +40 Power Attack damage (sadly, no Leap Attack multiplier), +20 AC, and 10 temp HP.

If your DM allows flaws, then consider picking up Mithral Body and maybe Improved Natural Attack to upgrade your unarmed strike damage an additional step. I also originally had Snap Kick in this build, but I took it out when I realized it probably couldn't be used to make a ranged "gauntlet" attack as an unarmed strike.

Something else I didn't explore all that much, because it seemed just a wee bit too extreme even for my standards, would be to swap in Ironheart Aura and Stormguard Warrior for some fun with "Combat Rhythm": first round are all ranged touch attacks at full BAB, second round could be up to +45 damage on top of +80 Power Attack damage. That sounds like loads of fun, but very few creatures in print would still be alive after the first few hits.

I used gauntlets as my weapon of choice in this build mostly because I got "Rocket Punch!" stuck in my head and it wouldn't shake loose, but there are plenty of other exotic weapons out there that might be more effective. Due to Weapon Aptitude, Knuckles can actually switch his EWP/WF feats to use any other exotic weapon. For example:

Out-Katana-Chuck the Katana Chucker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?134276-3-5-Iaijutsu-Katana-Chucker).
Orc shotputs, the ultimate "ball of numbers" weapon: 2d6 damage, crit 19-20/x3 (A&EG).
Warmaces are one-handed weapons with 1d12 damage and who cares about the AC penalty? (Complete Warrior)
Boomerangs + Boomerang Daze + Boomerange Ricochet (Races of Eberron).
Heavy morningstars + Improved Bull Rush + Three Mountains Style for save vs. nausea (Complete Warrior).
Cutting wheels + Wind and Fire Style + Blood Rain for buckets of bleeding damage (Secrets of Sarlona).
Eagle's Claw + Eagle's Fury (Sandstorm) for an additional attack.

Cityscape: Skilled City-Dweller ACF (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)
Complete Champion: Spirit Lion Totem
Complete Warrior: Exotic Weapon Master, Improved Combat Expertise
Complete Scoundrel: Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge
Dragon Compendium: Battle Dancer
Magic of Faerun: Heavy weapons
Monster Manual III: Warforged
Tome of Battle: Superior Unarmed Strike, Stone Power
Unearthed Arcana: Whirling Frenzy ACF

Heliomance

2017-12-18, 07:20 AM

Entry number 5

Zerzer the Sanguine
CE Venerable Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Warblade 8/Bloodstorm Blade 10/Sorcerer 1/Thrall of Demogorgon 1

The CalmZerzer sat in the shadow of a great tree, legs folded and eyes closed. He had led a long, but unremarkable life as a foot soldier for his tribe. There was little to complain about, but he had always felt dissatisfied by his lot. When he had been born, the elders had crowed about the blessing of a Dragonwrought being born to the tribe and the great deeds that he would go on to do, but there hadn’t been any great deeds for him to do. The secluded corner of the world where the tribe dwelt had scarcely faced more than a skirmish for more than a century, though he had hardly distinguished himself in the battles he had fought, being better at surviving than killing. The Dragon Within slumbered on, so soundly that he came to doubt whether it was really there at all, and as the decades wore on he had sunk into a depression as the sense of inadequacy grew heavier and heavier. He became desperate, and focused more and more of his energy inward, becoming obsessed with the ritual Search for the Dragon. He began skipping food for days at a time in his contemplation, and indeed it had been nearly a tenday since his last meal as he sat beneath the boughs of the old tree, the thrumming and whistling of the jungle fading away into silence. He felt as though he were floating in a thick dark nothing, totally alone.

Then, suddenly, the feeling of being alone was replaced by a presence. The thick darkness became thicker, more familiar. It was blood. His blood. The blood of the dragon. He tasted an immense presence as if by his sixth dragon sense, and tasted the same blood upon that presence. Yet despite its size, much greater than his own, he sensed that it was contained inside himself. Then, finally, the silence broke. A roar erupted in his heart, and reverberated through his body and his mind.

“This is… You’re the Dragon Within?”

There was a pulse in the affirmative.

“You’re… you’re really…” In his ecstasy, Zerzer could scarcely think straight.

Rumbling through his body came the words, “I understand. I’m you, after all.”

“After all this time…” Zerzer said, choking back sobs of joy.

“Yes,” replied the Dragon Within. “I have slumbered long within you, but it was time to wake up. So too shall it be for all.”

“All? What do you mean?” Zerzer asked in awed bewilderment.

“This world has its own Dragon Within of sorts. Just as I woke from within you, so too can the world’s dragon be awakened.”

“How?” Zerzer asked. He would do it. He must do it. Feeling his Dragon Within at last, he knew that the world could not be truly whole while its dragon slept.

“As I awoke from your blood, so too shall the world’s dragon from the blood of all. There must be a storm. A rain of blood such that the world is awash in it. Only from blood can the dragon awake.”

“I shall be the storm,” Zerzer declared. His eyes opened with a manic gleam and he stood up to see a shimmering tail extending out from his own, coiling and thrashing with the power of the Dragon Within.

The StormAbility ScoresPoint Buy: 14 Str, 18 Dex, 12 Con, 12 Int, 9 Wis, 9 Cha
After Racial Adjustments: 10 Str, 20 Dex, 12 Con, 10 Int, 9 Wis, 9 Cha
After Adjustments for Venerable on a Dragonwrought Kobold 10 Str, 20 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 4: 10 Str, 21 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 8: 10 Str, 22 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 12: 10 Str, 23 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 15: 10 Str, 25 Dex, 10 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 16: 11 Str, 25 Dex, 10 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 20: 12 Str, 25 Dex, 10 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha

Build Table

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

1st
Warblade 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Balance 4, Tumble 4, Jump 4, Concentration 4*
Dragonwrought, Thrall to DemonV
Weapon Aptitude, Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Ghostly Tail 1/Day (Draconic Rite of Passage)

2nd
Warblade 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Balance 5, Tumble 5, Jump 5, Concentration 5, Knowledge (History) 1
-
Uncanny Dodge

3rd
Warblade 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Balance 5, Tumble 6, Jump 6, Concentration 6, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1cc
Point Blank Shot
Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)

4th
Warblade 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Balance 7, Tumble 7, Jump 7, Concentration 7, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1
-
-

5th
Warblade 5
+5
+4
+1
+1
Balance 8, Tumble 8, Jump 7, Concentration 8,[/b] Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5cc
Combat ReflexesB, Willing DeformityV
-

6th
Bloodstorm Blade 1
+6
+6
+1
+1
Balance 8, Tumble 8, Jump 7, Concentration 8, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5, Spot 5
Mortalbane, Throw Anything (Bonus)
Returning Attacks, Weapon Aptitude

7th
Bloodstorm Blade 2
+7
+7
+1
+1
Balance 8, Tumble 8, Jump 7, Concentration 8, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5, Spot 10
-
Martial Throw, Thunderous Throw

8th
Bloodstorm Blade 3
+8
+7
+2
+2
Balance 8, Tumble 9, Jump 8, Concentration 10, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5, Spot 11
Martial Study (Crusader’s Strike)B
-

9th
Sorcerer 1
+8
+7
+2
+4
Balance 8, Tumble 9, Jump 8, Concentration 10, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2cc, Spot 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Draconic Resevoir
Summon Familiar (Raven)

10th
Thrall of Demogorgon 1
+9
+9
+2
+4
Balance 8, Tumble 9, Jump 8, Concentration 13, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Maximize Spell-Like Ability (Ghostly Tail)B, Evil BrandV
Scaly Flesh +1, Hypnotism

11th
Bloodstorm Blade 4
+10
+10
+2
+4
Balance 8, Tumble 10, Jump 10, Concentration 14, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Lightning Ricochet
-

12th
Bloodstorm Blade 5
+11
+10
+2
+4
Balance 8, Tumble 12, Jump 11, Concentration 15, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 15, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Empower Spell-Like Ability (Ghostly Tail)
Blood Wind Ricochet

13th
Bloodstorm Blade 6
+12
+11
+3
+5
Balance 8, Tumble 13, Jump 13, Concentration 16, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Martial Study (Defensive Rebuke)B
-

14th
Bloodstorm Blade 7
+13
+11
+3
+5
Balance 8, Tumble 10, Jump 16, Concentration 17, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 17, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
-
Eye of the Storm

15th
Bloodstorm Blade 8
+14
+12
+3
+5
Balance 8, Tumble 11, Jump 18, Concentration 18, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Improved Combat Reflexes, Deformity (Gaunt)V
Blood Rain

16th
Bloodstorm Blade 9
+15
+12
+4
+6
Balance 8, Tumble 13, Jump 19, Concentration 19, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 19, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Far ShotB
-

17th
Bloodstorm Blade 10
+16
+13
+4
+6
Balance 8, Tumble 15, Jump 20, Concentration 20, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 20, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
-
Blade Storm

18th
Warblade 6
+17
+14
+5
+7
Balance 8, Tumble 16, Jump 21, Concentration 21, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 21cc, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Distant Shot
Improved Uncanny Dodge

19th
Warblade 7
+18
+14
+5
+7
Balance 8, Tumble 17, Jump 22, Concentration 22, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 22cc, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
-
Battle Cunning (Damage)

20th
Warblade 8
+19
+15
+5
+7
Balance 8, Tumble 18, Jump 23, Concentration 23, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 23cc, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Abyss-Bound Soul (Demogorgon)V
-

B denotes a bonus feat from class levels.
V denotes a bonus feat from dedication to the Leviathan.
*This assumes that it is ruled that Zerzer takes his first level of Warblade in his youth and therefore only has 10 Int at first level. At all levels thereafter, he is assumed to be at least Old, and therefore have an Int mod of +1.
Maneuvers and Casting

Level
Maneuvers Readied
Maneuvers Known
Stances

1
3
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike
Leading the Charge

2
3
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap
Leading the Charge

3
3
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Mountain Hammer
Leading the Charge

4
4
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike
Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

5
4
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics
Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

8
4
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Crusader’s Strike
Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

11
4
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke
Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

18
4
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike
Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

19
4
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Finishing Move
Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

20
4
Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Finishing Move, Dazing Strike
Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

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

Level
0lvl
1st

9th
5/4
3/2

9th (Greater Draconic Rite of Passage)
6/5
4/2

*Does not include bonus spells for a high Cha score

Sorcerer spells known:
0th level: No Light, Detect Magic, Message, Prestidigitation, Stick
1st level: Fist of Stone, Benign Transposition

The DevastationLevel 5Zerzer starts out as a bit of an odd duck dragon of a Warblade. He’s not fragile by any means, but nor is he the destructive force on the front lines that others in the class would be. Rather than wade into the fray, he’ll focus more on ranged attacks (thrown or from a light crossbow) and position himself between the party squishies and the enemy, clutching a Kusuri-gama in his free hand. Not being proficient isn’t an issue thanks to the wonders of Ghostly Tail, picked up as a 1/day SLA through the Draconic Rite of Passage. When an enemy provokes an AoO by passing through Zerzer’s threatened area to get into melee or target an ally, he makes a touch attack with the tail for 2d6+level Force damage. We don’t have other feats souping it up just yet, as we need Point Blank Shot to enter the SI, but it should still help in keeping Zerzer up with the curve. Its duration is hours/level, so even 1/day and early on, it should last through the adventuring day most of the time.
Level 10Into the SI, with a brief detour as Thrall of Demogorgon rears its ugly heads again. I’m not any happier about it than you are, but the build was short a general feat and needs a Deformity feat later to qualify for everything without items. Nothing is too different just yet in terms of tactics, but Bloodstorm Blade helps out a bit with ranged attacks, and Ghostly Tail is scarier. Mortalbane adds 2d6 damage when not fighting Outsiders, Undead, or Constructs, and Maximize brings its total damage up to 24+level. In case of dispelling or suddenly fighting more (or fewer) non-mortals than expected, Draconic Resevoir brings the number of uses up to 3/day as well as qualifying Zerzer for the Greater Draconic Rite of Passage (though Sorcerer 2 being pretty dead, he doesn't get much out of it).

Level 15Now we’re getting somewhere. Zerzer is rocking a Maximized Empowered Mortalbane Ghostly Tail for a grand total of 2d6+24+level damage, and now has Defensive Rebuke via Martial Study, meaning that enemies he’s struck, even with ranged attacks, now provoke AoOs when they attack his friends. Ghostly Tail explicitly works “even if you are not holding a melee weapon that would normally threaten your foe,” so you can make ranged attacks (Lightning Ricochet and Blood Wind Ricochet are handy) then sit back as enemies who choose to stay in combat with your allies are punished by the tail.

Per page 66 of Draconomicon, any Old or older dragon (not necessarily a True Dragon) can take Epic feats, allowing Zerzer to take Improved Combat Reflexes. Given his Dex, he’s not at much risk of bumping up against Combat Reflexes’ limit on AoOs just yet, but it will become important in a few levels’ time.

Level 20 (Sweet Spot)With the help of Deformity (Gaunt) bringing his Dex up to the requisite 25, Zerzer takes another Epic feat, this time Distant Shot. No more penalties or indeed limits on ranged attacks, including thrown weapons. Zerzer can now throw his weapon at anything within line of sight at no penalty, and in fact can throw it at everything within line of sight thanks to the wonders of Blade Storm. Throw on Defensive Rebuke, and now an entire enemy army can be at risk of getting smacked by his Ghostly Tail (and thanks to Improved Combat Reflexes, there’s also no limit on how many of them the tail can hit). Alternatively, use Covering Strike and take the enemy’s AoOs away. Thanks to Raining Blood, all those enemies also bleed for 3 HP/turn, which would ordinarily be largely inconsequential, but is much more impressive when done on a mass scale. For situations that call for more focused fire, he picks up Finishing Move and Dazing Strike. His final Elder Evil feat gets him a summoned demon for 1 hour/day, which, along with his familiar, can serve as a go between when he hangs back in the distance away from his allies.

The AftermathBook of Vile Darkness: Mortalbane, No Light, Thrall of Demogorgon
Complete Arcane: Empower Spell-Like Ability, Maximize Spell-Like Ability
Draconomicon: Old Dragon Rules
Dungeon Master’s Guide: Kusuri-gama
Epic Level Handbook: Distant Shot, Improved Combat Reflexes
Elder Evils: Dedication to an Elder Evil, The Leviathan
Fiendish Codex I: Thrall to Demon, Evil Brand, Abyss-Bound Soul
Heroes of Horror: Willing Deformity, Deformity (Gaunt)
Races of the Dragon: Draconic Rite of Passage, Dragonwrought, Ghostly Tail
Tome of Battle: Martial Study, Maneuvers, Warblade
Spell Compendium: Spells
Everything else should be in the SRD

Heliomance

2017-12-18, 07:21 AM

And that's everything! Five tasty dishes to judge over Christmas!

Darrin

2017-12-18, 09:58 AM

Feh. There goes my idea of using the delay to get another entry in... I was going to see if I could get more levels of Bloodstorm Blade into my King of Pong (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?107248-3-5-quot-King-of-Pong-quot-Hulking-Hurler-Dungeon-Crasher-War-Mind-Mashup) build... but looking at it now, I'd have to lose all the Warmind levels, so no more Sweeping Strike. However, I was thinking about putting in a couple levels of Initiate of the Sevenfold Veils: throw up a warding, an every time your "projectile" crosses it, they take damage. But trying to fit in 4th-level spellcasting would eat up all the other levels.

My first idea was a pair of Dvati wildshape rangers who wildshape into dire apes and then throw each other at their enemies.

WS Ranger 5/MoMF 2/Warblade 1/Scaled Horror 1/Hulking Hurler 1/Bloodstorm Blade 10

Not enough room for Warshaper, though. Assuming an average dire ape weighs 1000 lbs, Natural Heavyweight (Planar Handbook) puts that within a heavy load, and that's enough to do 8d6 damage as an improvised weapon. Expansion might kick that up to 8000 lbs and 43d6 damage, but I'm not sure I can fit that in, and the Str bonus doesn't scale up enough to handle the increased weight. However... at large size, 8d6 + Power Attack is probably enough.

jdizzlean

2017-12-18, 11:38 AM

WhamBamSam

2017-12-18, 12:37 PM

My second, unsubmitted idea was an attempt to optimize Eye of the Storm.

Azurin Warblade 6/Bloodstorm Blade 10/Master of Nine 4
1. Warblade 1 - Power Attack, Point Blank Shot
2. Warblade 2
3. Warblade 3 - Martial Study (Baffling Defense)
4. Warblade 4
5. Warblade 5 - Combat Reflexes
6. Bloodstorm Blade 1 - Throw Anything, Adaptive Style
7. Bloodstorm Blade 2
8. Bloodstorm Blade 3 - Cleave
9. Bloodstorm Blade 4 - Midnight Dodge
10. Bloodstorm Blade 5
11. Bloodstorm Blade 6 - Blind Fight
12. Bloodstorm Blade 7 - Robillar's Gambit
13. Bloodstorm Blade 8
14. Bloodstorm Blade 9 - Improved Initiative
15. Bloodstorm Blade 10 - Improved Unarmed Strike
16. Master of Nine 1
17. Master of Nine 2
18. Warblade 6 - Great Cleave
19. Master of Nine 3
20. Master of Nine 4

The big idea was that I would stand in melee in both Eye of the Storm and Stance of Alacrity thanks to Mo9's Dual Stance, and make whatever ranged attacks seemed appropriate. This would trigger an AoO from the threatening enemy, which I would counter without needing an action via Stance of Alacrity (picked up at 20th level, which is why the build has only 4 levels of Mo9), and possibly switch Stance of Alacrity out while doing so with Counter Stance. I would then still have my swift action with which to make the Eye of the Storm attack, a Robillar AoO, and Cleave attacks from anything that had died as a result of the thrown attacks.

It was a fun little build, and given the competition this round (very much including my entry), it would have probably stood out in Elegance, and could have been fairly competitive.

Zaq

2017-12-18, 03:21 PM

I couldn’t come up with anything unique that was unambiguously legal (and non-headache-inducing).

I played around with the idea of insta-returning harpoons either instantly doing their removal damage or doing Scorpion-style “GET OVER HERE” shenanigans (the removal damage is SLIGHTLY better supported by RAW, but not by much; they’re both kinda weak arguments), but I couldn’t come up with a convincing argument that this worked in the absence of a charitable GM ruling.

I spent a little bit of time trying to throw arrows, but it was pretty stupid and never actually did anything better than shooting arrows or throwing things that aren’t arrows.

I did have an idea for a build component that was used in at least one dish, but I didn’t do anything unique with it, and I don’t want to comment on an actual entry.

I played around with the idea of using some kind of spell channeling (Duskblade or Spellsword or something), including a little bit of trying to heal people by throwing Cure-channeling beanbags (saps) at them, but it took way too many levels to do anything, and the fact that I could still only channel one spell per attack (no, Duskblade 13 was not on the table) made Lightning Ricochet significantly less shiny.

So yeah. Between not really having any strong ideas and not having a heck of a lot of free time this month, I obviously didn’t get anything in. Definitely some interesting stuff here, though. I’ll be interested to see how the judges treat a few of these in particular. Congrats to everyone who got something in!

Who’s still committed to judging?

Venger

2017-12-18, 03:37 PM

Sian

2017-12-21, 02:35 AM

The idea that I was tossing around was a Incarnate (SS) Maug (FF) Warblade 1 / Fighter 2 / Bloodstorm Blade 2 / Hulking Hurler 1 / Bloodstorm Blade +3 / War Hulk 3 / Bloodstorm Blade +5, but some issues with making it feel sufficiently unique, aside from making aside glances at a 'proper' TO Hulking War Hulk, in spite of trying to claim that my 30'ish d6's would be enough for practical play

Thurbane

2017-12-21, 03:47 PM

WhamBamSam

2017-12-21, 07:42 PM

I was considering a build focused on getting rider effects on the weapon (Three Mountains etc.), along with Ancestral Relic & Legacy Champion, but I never really got anywhere with it.

I find it a little frustrating that the PrC gives Weapon Aptitude, the only other source of which is Warblade - which just happens to be the most common entry for the PrC itself. I hate redundancy.They do stack for qualifying for feats that require a minimum number of Fighter levels, but Weapon Supremacy is the only one that's worth anything, and for that you'd have to time up one of Bloodstorm Blade's Bonus Feat levels with your 20th level, meaning not finishing Bloodstorm Blade, and missing out on an 8th or 9th level maneuver you'd otherwise get at that level.

Wolfem

2017-12-27, 01:50 PM

Updated ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0) with the Dishes presented for this Cook. Please let me know if something needs to be fixed for the template/race area as I still have a hard time distinguishing which is which when I look at these.

Venger

2017-12-27, 02:06 PM

Jormengand

2017-12-27, 03:13 PM

WhamBamSam

2017-12-27, 05:01 PM

Ah, I only just noticed this. Meh.

I had a few ideas, mainly using the duskblade's channelled strike (at BSB 10, I can drop a single spell on every target about) and messing with the wording of splash weapons (again, it looks like I can hit everyone with a single splash weapon attack at BSB 10, and the duskblade channelling hits all the targets well maybe). Then I realised it was already over. Oh well. :smalltongue:Doesn't work anyway, even for the 23rd level character required for Full Attack Channeling and Blade Storm. Duskblade channeling either uses a standard action or works as part of a full attack action, and Blade Storm is a distinct full-round action. I guess If you get a full attack plus a full round action in the same turn, you can full attack channel and the spell would continue channeling through your Blade Storm, but that seems like a lot of work just to get a few more castings of Vampiric Touch.

Jormengand

2017-12-27, 05:10 PM

Doesn't work anyway, even for the 23rd level character required for Full Attack Channeling and Blade Storm. Duskblade channeling either uses a standard action or works as part of a full attack action, and Blade Storm is a distinct full-round action. I guess If you get a full attack plus a full round action in the same turn, you can full attack channel and the spell would continue channeling through your Blade Storm, but that seems like a lot of work just to get a few more castings of Vampiric Touch.

True. I guess I could have tried the silly fling ally/deliver touch spells thing instead, but that also seems silly and ineffective.

Darrin

2018-01-02, 09:24 AM

So... do we have any possible judges emerging from the Holiday Deep Freeze yet?

WhamBamSam

2018-01-04, 11:53 AM

So... do we have any possible judges emerging from the Holiday Deep Freeze yet?And in the meantime, anyone want to speculate on possible SIs for next round? Maybe something a bit castery, like Doomlord, Oozemaster, Visionary Seeker, Rage Mage, DotU Arachnomancer, or Demonologist?

Of course, I'm also still looking forward to Beast Heart Adept, Bayushi Deciever, Mortal Hunter, Vassal of Bahamut, Life Eater, Watch Detective, Defiant, Eye of Gruumsh, Dragon Samurai, and probably others that I'm currently forgetting.

Sian

2018-01-04, 01:25 PM

I'm personally hoping for a 'self-contained' caster

The Viscount

2018-01-04, 01:32 PM

WhamBamSam

2018-01-04, 01:46 PM

I'm personally hoping for a 'self-contained' casterDemonologist, Mortal Hunter, and Vassal of Bahamut have their own casting from the ones I listed, but BoVD and BoED might not be the most likely so soon after Thrall of Demogorgon. Any particular others you'd care to name?

martixy

2018-01-04, 02:14 PM

It seems I missed this, but I'm excited to see what everyone did with this particular secret ingredient.
Also, that spreadsheet is what I have been looking for since forever!

WhamBamSam

2018-01-04, 04:38 PM

Rage Mage brings me physical pain, so that's definitely high on the list. We need something truly bad to offset this good ingredient, like Cloud Anchorite.

i'm a big fan of Bayushi Deceiver, but I think it might be too good for an SI.

What is it about Planar Handbook that the bulk of its PrCs are worthy of being SIs? Doomlord and Visionary Seeker are intensely bad.

I'd like to see how I'd fare against most of those ingredients, as well as Beserk and Thrall of Eltab.Bayushi Deceiver isn't anything special. It has some okay features, but they don't really play nicely together without work.

I'm actually really looking forward to Doomlord and have some thoughts on Visionary Seeker as well.

Berserk is worse than I remembered. My memory of Thrall of Etlab is that it's too similar to Thrall of Orcus to be all that interesting, but I could be wrong.

Venger

2018-01-04, 08:44 PM

WhamBamSam and the Viscount, both your lists horrify me.

I could go for some deneith warden.

Inevitability

2018-01-05, 06:51 AM

Still no love for Yathrinshee? No? Anybody?

Sian

2018-01-05, 01:56 PM

Demonologist, Mortal Hunter, and Vassal of Bahamut have their own casting from the ones I listed, but BoVD and BoED might not be the most likely so soon after Thrall of Demogorgon. Any particular others you'd care to name?

Disciple of Thrym (Frostburn)
Bladesinger (Races of Faerun, not the already done version in CW)
Ebonar Infiltrator (Cityscape)
Fatemaker (Planar Handbook)
Cyre Scout (Dragonmarked)

Specially DoT could be a very interesting Ingredient

Heliomance

2018-01-05, 03:57 PM

Bayushi Deceiver isn't anything special. It has some okay features, but they don't really play nicely together without work.

I'm actually really looking forward to Doomlord and have some thoughts on Visionary Seeker as well.

Berserk is worse than I remembered. My memory of Thrall of Etlab is that it's too similar to Thrall of Orcus to be all that interesting, but I could be wrong.
I do want to do Berserk, the trouble is that it has all of two and a half class features (DR is the half, I'm not even counting the movement bonus as anything) in ten levels, and the capstone level has nothing at all. The two full class features it has are bad in an interesting way, but you get basically nothing after the third level and I'm not sure I'm that mean.

The Viscount

2018-01-05, 04:19 PM

I see what you mean. I had also forgotten just how bad Berserk is. Perhaps not then.

Yathrinshee does have a few interesting class features, but I am troubled by its punishingly strict entry requirements. They mean that, like with Initiate of Pistis Sophia, there's only a sparse handful of manners in which you can enter, and you will be spending a distressingly high number of levels just getting ready to enter. Even dodging around how The Man expects you to enter doesn't open too many options.

Thurbane

2018-01-05, 07:01 PM

Some interesting suggestions.

I especially like Disciple of Thrym, Doomlord, Ebonar Infiltrator, Mortal Hunter and Yathrinshee.

...and of course, my standing request for Dragon Samurai (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906c).

WhamBamSam

2018-01-06, 11:20 AM

Disciple of Thrym (Frostburn)
Bladesinger (Races of Faerun, not the already done version in CW)
Ebonar Infiltrator (Cityscape)
Fatemaker (Planar Handbook)
Cyre Scout (Dragonmarked)

Specially DoT could be a very interesting IngredientOh yeah, Disciple of Thrymm could be fun. It would be a nice change of pace to see it actually used as opposed to just referenced by Archivists and Chameleons. Some other nifty things on that list as well.

Still no love for Yathrinshee? No? Anybody?

Yathrinshee does have a few interesting class features, but I am troubled by its punishingly strict entry requirements. They mean that, like with Initiate of Pistis Sophia, there's only a sparse handful of manners in which you can enter, and you will be spending a distressingly high number of levels just getting ready to enter. Even dodging around how The Man expects you to enter doesn't open too many options.As far as I can see, there's only one real way around intended entry. There is some degree of freedom as to how it's applied, but not much.

Some interesting suggestions.

I especially like Disciple of Thrym, Doomlord, Ebonar Infiltrator, Mortal Hunter and Yathrinshee.

...and of course, my standing request for Dragon Samurai (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906c).Dragon Samurai was on my list. I've got some thoughts for it.

WhamBamSam and the Viscount, both your lists horrify me.

I could go for some deneith warden.I even forgot some of the worst ones in Scar Enforcer and Kinslayer.

I could roll with Deneith Warden. It's better at the whole "law keeper that brings bad guys in alive" schtick than Watch Detective, though perhaps in a way that makes it less interesting as a SI.

Sian

2018-01-06, 01:15 PM

Oh yeah, Disciple of Thrymm could be fun. It would be a nice change of pace to see it actually used as opposed to just referenced by Archivists and Chameleons. Some other nifty things on that list as well.

In fact ... While it might be a tad tricky, Chameleon could be an entertaining ingredient as well

The Viscount

2018-01-06, 05:08 PM

Disciple of Thrym has just the right amount of interesting features like it's unique list and steeply discounted giant summoning while still being somewhat challenging to use. It's a great one.

Dragon Samurai is at the other end of the spectrum, intensely frustrating, so of course I'd also like to see that as an ingredient.

Kinslayer and Scar Enforcer are truly awful, and they remind me of another trash ingredient I'd love to see: Insidious Corruptor. What is it about elves, anyway?

WhamBamSam

2018-01-12, 10:58 AM

The thread is falling again. Is there anyone working on judging or who didn't compete and has the time and inclination to start?

Darrin

2018-01-12, 11:34 AM

The thread is falling again. Is there anyone working on judging or who didn't compete and has the time and inclination to start?

I've got my plate full for another week or so... but after that, I was considering withdrawing my entry and judging the remaining entries. I'd rather not do that, but... this is a really good round! I would like to see it judged!

Another option might be a straw poll or instant runoff vote of some sort... submit rankings to the chair, tally it up, and declare the winners that way.

Venger

2018-01-12, 11:54 AM

I've got my plate full for another week or so... but after that, I was considering withdrawing my entry and judging the remaining entries. I'd rather not do that, but... this is a really good round! I would like to see it judged!

Another option might be a straw poll or instant runoff vote of some sort... submit rankings to the chair, tally it up, and declare the winners that way.

We always have to wait for judgings in january, so don't withdraw on our account.

Again, I don't think this is a good idea. We're better off waiting for real judgings.

WhamBamSam

2018-01-12, 12:58 PM

Yeah, I'm with Venger. I don't want you to drop out, and I don't think we should give up on judgings just yet. There are only 5 entries, which should mean there are a few contest regulars who didn't cook this round. We can wait a little while yet before doing anything drastic.

jdizzlean

2018-01-13, 06:45 AM

i hate ToB, but I'll start Sunday night. judging that is

Venger

2018-01-13, 10:38 AM

i hate ToB, but I'll start Sunday night. judging that is

maybe this isn't a great round for you to judge then

Zaq

2018-01-13, 10:48 AM

maybe this isn't a great round for you to judge then

I kinda have to agree with Venger on this one. I don't want to engage in a dogpile, of course. I just want to say that if you don't like the whole concept of the ingredient and you aren't really comfortable with the tricks that its source book expects you to be familiar with (see also the kerfuffle with Extra Granted Maneuver when you judged the Knight round), you might not be able to really grasp what the chefs have presented to you.

Venger

2018-01-13, 10:54 AM

I kinda have to agree with Venger on this one. I don't want to engage in a dogpile, of course. I just want to say that if you don't like the whole concept of the ingredient and you aren't really comfortable with the tricks that its source book expects you to be familiar with (see also the kerfuffle with Extra Granted Maneuver when you judged the Knight round), you might not be able to really grasp what the chefs have presented to you.

yeah, well said. it would be better for everyone to let someone else handle it.

jdizzlean

2018-01-13, 01:39 PM

no problem. I'll just go back t to my corner

Venger

2018-01-13, 01:41 PM

Thank you very much

jdizzlean

2018-01-13, 01:42 PM

I kinda have to agree with Venger on this one. I don't want to engage in a dogpile, of course. I just want to say that if you don't like the whole concept of the ingredient and you aren't really comfortable with the tricks that its source book expects you to be familiar with (see also the kerfuffle with Extra Granted Maneuver when you judged the Knight round), you might not be able to really grasp what the chefs have presented to you.

one error, fixed with a dispute, doesn't invalidate everything else. but whatever, pardon me for trying to help, especially when all these comps are going on a month plus without anyone stepping up to judge.

Korahir

2018-01-14, 02:53 AM

It's been a long time since I participated but I think I could help you all out and judge this round. I already looked at the five entries in detail and I am pretty sure I grasped everyone's main approach. I hope I do the dishes justice.

Venger

2018-01-14, 11:34 AM

The Viscount

2018-01-14, 02:08 PM

RaiKirah

2018-01-14, 08:46 PM

Hello!

I found the Iron Chef Optimization Challenge a couple of months ago and read through a lot of them (not all, but quite a lot), which prompted me to create an account when the Bloodstorm Blade challenge went up. I got through most of a build before the deadline, but work, holidays, and a complete lack of interesting fluff ideas interfered and I didn’t submit. Having just recalled this competition, and having already made the build, I thought I would post it here anyways. I have way more theoretical than practical knowledge of builds, so I would be curious to know what people think of this. Without further ado (sorry no tables - haven't figured that out yet):

Stub:
Warblade 5/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Master Thrower 5/Bloodstorm Blade +6

Race: Strongheart Halfling

Ability Scores: 32 Point Buy
Starting: 14(12)/16(18)/14/14/10/10 (Racial Adjustments
Final: 13/22/14/14/10/10 (First increase to STR, rest into DEX)

Feats:
Lvl1: Point Blank Shot (PBH)
B (Racial): Weapon Finesse (PHB)
Lvl3: Two Weapon Fighting (PHB)
B5 (Wbld): Combat Reflexes (PHB)
Lvl6: Precise Shot (PHB)
B8 (BSB): Weapon Focus (PHB)
Lvl9: Power Attack (PHB)
Lvl12: Dead Eye (DrC)
Lvl15: Improved Precise Shot (PHB)
B16 (BSB): Improved Two Weapon Fighting (PHB)
Lvl18: Robilar's Gambit (PHB2)
B19 (BSB): Greater Two Weapon Fighting (PHB)

Maneuvers:
Lvl1:
Punishing Stance - Stance (Iron Heart)
Wolf Fang Strike - Strike (Tiger Claw)
Steely Wind - Strike (Iron Heart)
Moment of Perfect Clarity - Counter (Diamond Mind)
Lvl2:
Stone Bones - Strike (Stone Dragon)
Lvl3:
Action Before Thought - Counter (Diamond Mind)
Lvl4:
Blood in the Water - Stance (Tiger Claw)
Lvl5:
Iron Heart Surge - Counter (Iron Heart)
Known/Readied: Maneuvers: 6/4 Stances: 2

Skill Ranks @ ECL 20:
Balance 8
Climb 5
Concentration 23
Diplomacy 23
Intimidate 23
Sleight of Hand 4
Spellcraft 2
Spot 4
Tumble 23

Master Thrower Thrown Weapon Tricks:
@ MT1 - Defensive Throw
@ MT3 - Trip Shot
@ MT5 - Weak Spot

Stats @ ECL 20:
BAB: +20
Saves: Fort/Ref/Will - 12/8/5

A couple quick notes: the main trick of this build is accomplished at lvl 14 when you get access to Weak Spot from Master Thrower. Speaking of, I’m not entirely certain that Weak Spot and Lightning Ricochet work together, since Weak Spot turns thrown ranged attacks into ‘ranged touch attacks’ which might (?) have a RAW interaction with Lightning Ricochet treating ‘ranged attacks’ as melee attacks, but I would need to ask those more versed in the art of RAW. Assuming they do work together, all your attacks against small+ creatures are touch attacks.
The weapon of choice is Rapiers because they are both finesse-able and you can Power Attack with them, which reduces MAD and means you’re not wasting STR bonus when using Weak Spot from Master Thrower.
Blood in the Water stance is picked up because you'll be getting quite a few crits, especially since Master Thrower gives you Improved Critical with whatever you have Weapon Focus for. Diamond Mind maneuvers and Iron Heart Surge are picked to compensate for your bad saves.
There might be some quibbles with Weapon Focus (Rapier) making you not qualify for Master Thrower, but I would argue that Throw Anything makes all weapons thrown weapons, so Weapon Focus (any) counts for Master Thrower.
Last comment; if you’re feeling particularly cheesy, swap out any feat (but probably Greater Two Weapon Fighting) for Lightning Maces as soon as possible and have fun!

Anywhoo, looking forward to the judging of the builds that made it in, as well as hopefully being able to submit for the next round! Thanks,

~RaiKirah

Korahir

2018-01-15, 02:36 PM

Judging Update: write up on three builds done. Notes on the other two builds done. I will need to go over all of them at least one more time. I hope to be finished before weekend.

Heliomance

2018-01-17, 09:34 AM

Thank you very much for the offer to judge, jdizzlean. Guys, jumping down their throat is kind of a jerk move - they offered to help.

While there is an argument that judging a round based on an ingredient you're unfamiliar with is suboptimal, I'd suggest that it's better than no judge at all. If you want to judge anyway, I'm certainly not going to stop you!

Thanks for stepping into the breach, Korahir! Let's get this contest moving again!

Korahir

2018-01-20, 03:18 PM

Yet another update: 4 out of 5 done. RL is troubling me and I hope to be finished by Tuesday. Sorry for the delay.

Korahir

2018-01-21, 02:04 PM

Rubric: Please read this before reading what I have to say to each entry!
All categories start at 3. I don't give exact point deductions and additions because this caused a lot of disputes and bad blood in rounds I judge previously. I'd rather dispute over general ideas than very small issues. Please refrain from arguing whether you deserve a 4 or a 4.25 in a certain category. I have taken a lot of time to score the builds the way they are. If you feel, I did overlook major things, please tell me, I care about that (a lot).

Originality: mostly done by good measure. I scribble down my first impression and then come back after reading everything and jot down a score. High scores are awarded for going unusual optimization routes or surprising me.

Power: Is always relative to the class. Bloodstorm Blade has a pretty high ceiling. Average score means you used the SI to create something that is on par with most Bloodstorm Blade builds. I measure power at all levels which sometimes hurts builds that take a time to come together or suffer a stint when usually builds should rise in power. Does the build rely on magic items?

Elegance: Game mastery, craftiness and "the art of cooking a dish" is on display here. Errors in builds will deduce points. Also I always ask myself: what kind of group could this dish play in? Does it abuse RAW and therefor suggests to be used only i such groups? Does it rely on certain interpretations of rules?

UotSI: What use do you make out of the class features? What do you make of the chassis of the class (BAB, saves, class skills, weapon and armor proficiency, etc.). Are the requirements used in your build or just in it to qualify for the SI? When do you enter the SI? Do you finish it?

General praise where it is due: I didn't expect the round to be this packed with top notch ideas and builds. My highest praise to everyone. You made my job both pleasant and challenging.

Backwards Bo the Bowman: 16.75

Originality: 4.25
Although I really hoped you found a way to transform yourself into an arrow and launch yourself (as the picture suggests), I am equally pleased with your approach. It is funny, functional and surprising with enough creativity in it that you earn a high score despite human paragon which is an absolute staple in this contest.

Power: 3.5
I interpret your approach as a Switchhitter build. Fire arrows until the enemy is close enough to enter melee although you never enter melee the way your opponents will expect. Spot + Hide are high enough to provide minor scouting. UMD allows for versatility in all directions. Intimidate adds a nice touch too. A concern might be your damage output when you are required to fire arrows (shortbows + strength modifier isn't exactly amazing, Sneak Attack too unreliable) but the right choice of wands and weapon enchantments should salvage this. Still I cannot go above 3.5 here because when it comes to raw power Bo simply lacks a little damage output at long range despite all the tricks from peerless archer. Two pretty weak saves namely Reflex and Willpower are written into the SI and weigh a little too. UMD kicks you up a notch but overall I'd say Bo is only slightly above the average character when it comes to the question: "What does Bo bring to the table?"

Elegance: 5
Everything seems to fit where it is placed. I couldn't find any missed requirements. Favored and Primary Contact add a nice touch to the fluff of the character and are actually useful on the crunch side of things. I would welcome this character at every table because it reliably does what it is supposed to do. So everything that probably led me to score Bo only 3.5 in power adds up to the 5 in Elegance. Because you didn't try to break the game, but made a very functional (and funny as hell) character, showcasing what others refer to system mastery you earn your perfect score.

UotSI: 4
The earliest possible entry (unless I am mistaken) which is of course a plus. You don't finish the SI which is always on the negative side even though I get the break point at 8. So these things cancel each other out. The class features picked up are very well embedded in your build and all but Weapon aptitude and Martial Throw are explained in the write up. You scrap for skill ranks to meet the requirements of Balance 8 and do not use the skill further more, which is sad. You focus on Spot and Intimidate from the SI's class skill list. Tumble is raised enough for its main purpose and augmented by a skill trick. Overall very good use of the SI but not perfect.

The Ill Wind: 11

Originality: 4
Before opening the Stub section I thought this would be a monstrous entry. I was a little disappointed when I did read Human Druid and Master of Many Forms. War Hulk immediately gave me a feeling of "This could be fun". Then I saw the pincer staff and immediately looked it up. You had me right there. A dazing grappling weapon hurled at your opponent? Mighty creative.

Power: 2
You start with one of - if not - the most powerful class in the game for five levels. Then you take a major detour into a prestige class that really doesn't do anything for druid. Now this is great from an originality point of view but on closer examination it hurts pretty much everything else. It takes 12 levels until the Ill Wind can shape into Aberrations. It takes 14 levels to throw dazing boomerangs and 15 levels (18 levels if I add the missing feat) to be able to throw a dazing pincer staff. In between are a lot of question marks. No doubt you can add to a party with 5 levels of druid early on but after that your power level and overall usefulness drop hard. Your main trick also has an issue: Let's assume you are throwing your pincer staff at level 15. BAB is +13, Str is 18 (according to the table, in reality it would be 17 for the build to be legal), so another +4 and the flexible limbs add another +2. +19 to grapple at level 15 isn't that impressive. Just for the heck of it i'll add +5 for various bonuses. +24 still isn't great. Monsters tend to have +30 around CR 15, casters tend to have freedom of movement and contingencies. I don't see the usefulness of the trick that late. Now if you had all the feats way earlier then this build would be WAY better. Once you establish a grapple and once you maintain it, using the Mind flayer is of course superb. But it is more of a "win more" thing, then changing the outcome of a fight. Once you grappled an enemy and held it in place for 1 full round, everything at level 15 is dead or disabled.

Elegance: 1.5
Your write up is short which is usually fine with me but in this case it leaves me in the dark for a lot of things. Shall I assume you would pick the same aberration shapes I would and why are they the best for the build? From the top of my mind I cannot think of a lot of aberrations that are great grapplers and have only 8 HD. Urothopians are known grapple cheese but have 12HD, the Will'o'Wisp is one of my favorite Aberrations to shape into but does nothing for your concept. Same with the rust monster which is medium sized. Context would have helped me a lot judging. You also made some errors:

Intimidate and Tumble are not class skills for Druids but are progressed as such in your build. An ACF that would add one of the two is Half Orc Druid ACF for Intimidate. I am not aware of an ACF for Tumble
Bloodstorm Blade requires Point Blank Shot to enter which I cannot see in your build table. Rearranging your feats is possible but still a pain because your main trick already takes forever to come along.
The Ill Wind doesn't qualify for Throw anything which has a requirement of Dex 15 (The Ill Wind has only 14). This can be easily fixed by adding the first attribute bonus to Dex instead of Str.
The Ill Wind doesn't qualify for War Hulk as War Hulk has a requirement of being at least Large and simply being able to wild shape into a Large form isn't the same as actually being Large. It doesn't hurt the overall concept but it is an error nevertheless.

UotSI: 3.5
The question here is: how much do I like the Boomerang and the Pincer staff. So you use Weapon aptitude to its fullest potential and take all the other goodies along the way. Even though you don't write it down, I can see what you get out of Bloodstorm Blade. I like your approach a lot. I think the build as a whole has a lot of potential but it has to come together earlier. So I score UotSI as if it would do that. Suggestion from the top of my head: a Drow (for martial proficiency with the boomerang) Warblade x/ Totemist x (for girallon arms)/Fighter x/Bloodstorm Blade 10 could work.

Earl N. Meyer: 16

Originality: 5
Either Earl N. Meyer is a joke I don't get or really just a plain and simple name. Strongheart Water Halfling? Either we are going in creative underwater throwing land or you want to abuse the extra Con from Water Halfling. The Stub suggest a sneak attack feint build.
After reading: wow, just wow! So I am not to sure what the deal with water halfling is but... I am a little speechless. I'll have to wrap my head around that Ancestral Relic first and even after doing that I have questions. But you baffled me so I guess you earn a perfect score in Originality.

Power: 3.5
The early levels show that you are very crafty at squeezing out something from nothing. The set up levels are spent in a way that allow Earl to pass through without to much of a stint. Nevertheless it is a mess of a concept early on and 1 rank in Disable Device and Open locks is neat but nothing more than that. Trapped between not really a melee and not really a ranged character Earl suffers early on. Of course he picks up power quickly after that and ends up as the most epic splash weapon master of all time. A little question is how much is that worth. You didn't give me numbers what Earl's average damage is and it is hard to calculate given all the possibilities regarding power attack/power throw and so on. Earl also relies a lot on Sneak Attack and Craven to really boost his damage. Grenadier is cute and thematically fitting but I wonder if you didn't go overboard with the splash weapon based feats and lost some power in it. Given that your relic almost eats all of your wealth also weighs in. All in all across all levels Earl brings slightly more to the table than other Bloodstorm Blades.

Elegance: 3.5
I cannot praise you enough for the creativity and craftiness displayed but this creativity comes at a price. I have some doubts about your Ancestral Relic because it opens up a can most tables agreed on to never touch.
The minor things: The item must be of masterwork quality according to the BoED. There is no version of a masterwork splash weapon I can find but you will probably argue that Splash weapons are defined as ranged weapons that break on impact so technically it must be able to craft a masterwork version of it since it is a weapon. I would agree to that. I can see others disagree. Let's put that aside and move on to morphing: morphing mentions weapon type which refers according to the PHB to the damage type (piercing, bludgeoning, slashing). Splash weapons deal none of the three types of damage. So I am pretty sure that the relic cannot switch between alchemist's fire and acid flask and so on. Doesn't hurt the main trick but is a nitpick.
The major thing: then there is the most obscure Utterance I have never read before: Rebuild Item. Continuous Effects cost caster level x spell level x 2000 GP. No matter how often I looked at that formula I still cannot wrap my head around how it got into a book. If your Relic is waived by the DM he would have to agree to continuous true strike swords too and endless out of combat healing for 2000 GP. This is what concerns me. Also If my calculations are correct you assumed Rebuild Item to cost 27.000 GP. I am not sure how you end up with that number.

Earl doesn't qualify for Surprising Riposte as he lacks Combat Expertise. I am not sure if the first Bonus Feat taken should read Combat Expertise instead of Combat Reflexes but you mention Combat Reflexes in the write up, so I guess you did overlook the requirement or mixed up Expertise and Reflexes.

Another thing I disagree on is that Power Attack adds to the splash damage of thrown splash weapons. Since the splash damage is not damage linked to an attack role but rather the result of the item shattering in 5 feet proximity, I cannot see how you can reduce your attack bonus to add damage. This is a minor thing as it doesn't hurt your build a lot. You still will do a lot of AoE damage by simply hitting everyone.

Your overall Elegance score is right in the middle because despite the slight error, some disagreement on my part and a clever abuse of RAW (Which I consider a negative) the build is done very, very well. But Elegance always also refers to: How many DMs would allow that character? Here I see major problems.

UotSI: 4
You (ab)use the class features very well. Balance is a pure requirement which is a little sad, Point Blank Shot is a key feat in your build. The skill list is pretty much unused at least in the latter levels. Overall good use but not great.

Knuckles Klankplate: 16.5

Originality: 5
One hell of an original entry after another... Language Formian? Throwing your fists and using really obscure material to make them deal more damage. Of course you need staples like Warforged and Spirit totem Barbarian to do so but nonetheless: if this isn't a perfect score what is?

Power: 4,25
I'll judge Power as if your reading of Throw Exotic Weapon was accepted by the DM. Compared to other Bloodstorm Blades you run with the best of them. You did the numbers and I checked them and if I am not mistaken all of them are correct. You, good sir, created a monster. What keeps you from getting a higher score is the following: it takes 10 levels to really come together and in these 10 levels you rely on some non optimal feats (improved unarmed strike, two weapon fighting) and your STR score stays at 16 which especially from level 6 to 10 will put you behind other Bloodstorm Blades.

Elegance: 2,25
The exotic weapon proficiency feat misses the weapon chosen in the table but is explained in the text and is easy to guess anyways. Exotic Weapon Master requires Weapon Focus: any exotic weapon. That feat is missing. I am not aware that Unarmed Strike is an exotic weapon. To my knowledge it is treated as a light weapon.
After these minor things I'll jump right into it: No, just no. You ask to be hit with books. Heavy Platinum-coated books. I, as a DM, can see myself only agreeing to the madness your suggesting, if Knuckles runs in a group with an equal output which probably ends up in the ballpark of all tier 1 or very specialized builds like uberchargers, diplomancers and the likes. As you can guess, this is a major negative. Now to the things that redeem yourself and elevate your score: you offer solutions for the build, if the DM disagrees. These drops your power level significantly. You show a craftiness in putting together this whole build that is the main reason I like these contests. So many little details: the right progression of classes, paired with the right use of ability increases and skill increases to fulfill requirements and still cover weaknesses while doing so. You have my utmost respect for putting this build together.

UotSI: 5
Nimble Charge and Twisted Charge are excellent ways to use the ranks required for Balance. Great use of the skill list to add to the build (concentration paired with Moment of Perfect Mind, Jump for leap attack, Tumble and Balance for the before mentioned skill tricks). Point Blank Shot is useful for your build. Excellent use of the class features with only one exception you mention yourself (Eye of the Storm). Again, pretty much all I could ask for.

Zerzer the Sanguine: 14.25

Originality: 4
My first impression of the stub was a little underwhelming. Dragonwrought Kobold is rarely used in these contests but still I have a strong disdain for the abuse they offer. I'll try to keep myself from reflecting it in the score. The rest looks pretty weird? I am honestly not sure what awaits me.
After reading: I should have known better by now. Of course this is another completely unique approach to Bloodstorm Blade. Holy cow what is up with this round? Another spell I never noticed used in a way I never imagined. Another high score in Originality is the logic consequence despite my initial thoughts.

Power: 2.75
It took me a while to get the concept but one question did stick with me right from the start: what happens if Zerzer is left alone or focused by all enemies after they realize what Defensive Rebuke is for (which the maneuver states enemies will)? I can see Sudden leap, Moment of perfect mind among other maneuvers to protect Zerzer but I am not sure you want all enemies focusing Zerzer. AC thanks to the high dexterity is good almost great and HP (despite Con 12, later 10) are decent thanks to the hit dice. I am a little torn. The main trick is great. My mind immediately put Zerzer and a Kobold army against another army and Zerzer obviously wins this conflict. I am just worried how Zerzer will fair against single enemies or enemies in low numbers that are highly mobile, outreach Zerzer or are immune to Attacks of Opportunities (i.e.: tumble checks). Str 10 also keeps the damage of thrown weapons too low to be relevant. The Sorcerer levels are pretty dead as you note yourself and Thrall of Demogorgon is a nice solution to the build but not powerful either. Overall: I'd say a little behind the curve of the average Bloodstorm Blade but only by a small margin because if Zerzer shines, he really shines.

Elegance: 3.5
Using the Epic feats with venerable dragonwrought kobold was to be expected. I still don't like it too much but I don't consider the use in this build a massive abuse. So it is neither positive nor negative regarding the Elegance score. Zerzer qualifies for everything. There are no errors in any calculations I could find. The skill list is a little messy until level 11 because of Thrall of Demogorgon. I can see Zerzer allowed at most tables although some DMs might sneer at the venerable dragonwrought cheese. Overall I'd say: The build is well put together, doesn't rely on questionable stuff and is slightly above what I'd expect from an entry in this contest.

UotSI: 4
The linking point for the whole ghostly tail build up with Bloodstorm Blade is Defensive Rebuke. That is a very crafty use of Bloodstorm Blades class features. You use Bloodstorm Blades skill list in a smart way (concentration and jump linked with Moment of the Perfect Mind and Sudden Leap, Tumble for battle field mobility) but sadly cannot profit of the 8 ranks in Balance required to enter. Point Blank shot enables Far Shot and Distant Shot. Overall I'd say good use of the SI but not great.

georgie_leech

2018-01-21, 05:52 PM

I believe Earl's name is a pun on erlenmeyer flasks. (www.google.ca/search?ie=UTF-8&client=ms-android-samsung&source=android-browser&q=erynmeier+flask&gfe_rd=cr&dcr=0&ei=XxhlWonqM8LBXv6inKAF) They can invariably located in alchemical/mad-sciemce laboratories holding glowing substances of unknown origin, in contrast to their proper use of holding things in a container that enables easy swirling and mixing.

Korahir

2018-01-22, 01:25 AM

WhamBamSam

2018-01-24, 04:14 PM

Thanks for judging Korahir. No disputes from me. Looking forward to the next round.

The Viscount

2018-01-24, 09:54 PM

Many thanks for your efforts!
No disputes here either.

Darrin

2018-01-25, 09:08 AM

No disputes.

Wolfem

2018-01-25, 10:23 AM

Updated the ICO Worksheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0) with the current judging scores.

Wolfem

2018-01-30, 08:13 AM

Was anyone else judging this round? Are we ready to reveal the cooks?

Darrin

2018-01-30, 08:21 AM

Was anyone else judging this round? Are we ready to reveal the cooks?

Probably just need someone to poke the chairperson.

*poke* *poke*

Heliomance

2018-01-30, 11:00 AM

*is poked*

I have two disputes incoming!

since I'm in last, I don't expect these changes to allow me to medal, but for posterity, there were a few things you ought to know:

elegance: you overlooked some major things.
martial study for an iron heart maneuver grants intimidate as a class skill forevermore. I cited the feat in my sources, and the feat's text lists this function.

skilled city dweller allows you to change ride into tumble. again, it was cited in sources and the function is listed there.

you do not need to meet the prereqs for throw anything, because you gain it as a bonus feat and it doesn't say to need to

you have enough wild shape to stay large the whole adventuring day, so even if your gm is pro-cwar, you will not have an issue being a war hulk all the time.

Thank you for your time and efforts in judging this round. It is much appreciated. As questions were raised in your judging, let me offer answers.

Either Earl N. Meyer is a joke I don't get or really just a plain and simple name.
As was, I believe, mentioned in the thread after your judging, the name is a play on the Erlenmeyer flask.

So I am not to sure what the deal with water halfling is but...
Crunch-wise, the build had to use halfling for the Shape Splash feat. The "water" part, really, was just that the fluff seemed to fit better for Scarlet Corsair.

I have some doubts about your Ancestral Relic because it opens up a can most tables agreed on to never touch.
Well, let's talk about that.

The item must be of masterwork quality according to the BoED. There is no version of a masterwork splash weapon I can find but you will probably argue that Splash weapons are defined as ranged weapons that break on impact so technically it must be able to craft a masterwork version of it since it is a weapon. I would agree to that. I can see others disagree.
I wouldn't make that argument, actually. "Masterwork" is not something that can only be applied to weapons. Any item can be crafted to be masterwork. Since splash weapons are crafted by the rules of the Craft:alchemy skill, all uses and abilities of that skill (including creating masterwork items) can be applied to splash weapons as per the rules of that skill. There is no rule (that I know of) that specifically excludes splash weapons (or, frankly, any other item) from those rules.
The only way that someone can disagree with that is if s/he a)knows a specific rule that I'm not aware of, or b)is blatantly ignoring the rules that do exist.

Let's put that aside and move on to morphing: morphing mentions weapon type which refers according to the PHB to the damage type (piercing, bludgeoning, slashing). Splash weapons deal none of the three types of damage. So I am pretty sure that the relic cannot switch between alchemist's fire and acid flask and so on.
The Morphing property (Magic Item Compendium p.39) states that a weapon can reshape into a weapon of "the same size and type (light, one-handed, or two-handed". No mention is made of damage type (piercing, bludgeoning, slashing). In fact, the entry goes on to give an example of "a morphing greatsword could become a spear, greataxe, or dire flail." By that example given, a greatsword (slashing) can become a spear (piercing), a greataxe (also slashing), or a dire flail (bludgeoning).
It's pretty clear that the Morphing property doesn't consider damage type (P/B/S) at all, and only factors in weapon type (L/1H/2H). And all splash weapons, whether acid flasks or alchemist's fire or whatever, are thrown weapons of the same size. Which makes them all the same type.

The major thing: then there is the most obscure Utterance I have never read before: Rebuild Item. Continuous Effects cost caster level x spell level x 2000 GP. No matter how often I looked at that formula I still cannot wrap my head around how it got into a book. If your Relic is waived by the DM he would have to agree to continuous true strike swords too and endless out of combat healing for 2000 GP. This is what concerns me. Also If my calculations are correct you assumed Rebuild Item to cost 27.000 GP. I am not sure how you end up with that number.

Firstly, a DM would not have to a allow true strike swords or endless out-of-combat healing. Rule 0 is certainly more flexible than that. The three are simply not equivalent. (See point the third below.)

Secondly, continuous items cost [Caster Level x Spell Level x 2000 gp] divided by a factor determined by duration. That chart that you're looking at (Dungeon Master's Guide p.285) has a subscript. Rebuild Item has a duration of Instantaneous, which is, oddly, greater than 24 hours, so the whole cost is, arguably, divided in half, which gets us to the 27,000 gp number. It's weird and it's wonky and, I will readily admit, it isn't something that every table will agree with. But, with that said, see point the third below.

And thirdly, magic item costs are more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules. Welcome to d&d, Miss Turner. (Sorry. I had to say that. It's the Scarlet Corsair in me.) But really, look at the Magic Item Compendium p.233. The note at the bottom "Behind the Curtain: Pricing Magic Items" is important. In short, it says that there are no 'hard-and-fast rules' for setting prices. Instead, look to other items with similar abilities and set a comparative price.
So, we're looking to price a magical property for a weapon that is rebuilt when it is destroyed on a successful attack. Let's look to the Raptor Arrow (Magic Item Compendium p.56). It's a +1 arrow with a variant of the returning property that is not destroyed when used. Cost? 6,006 gp. 6 gold for the masterwork quality; 2,000 gold for being +1. That leaves us with 4,000 gold for pseudo-returning and not being destroyed. And that doesn't even factor in the relic item powers that can be unlocked.
By comparison, 27,000 gold for a continuous effect Rebuild Item ability is expensive!

Earl doesn't qualify for Surprising Riposte as he lacks Combat Expertise. I am not sure if the first Bonus Feat taken should read Combat Expertise instead of Combat Reflexes but you mention Combat Reflexes in the write up, so I guess you did overlook the requirement or mixed up Expertise and Reflexes.
My apologies. This is a typo on my part. Combat Reflexes (in all uses of this build) should read Combat Expertise.

Another thing I disagree on is that Power Attack adds to the splash damage of thrown splash weapons. Since the splash damage is not damage linked to an attack role but rather the result of the item shattering in 5 feet proximity, I cannot see how you can reduce your attack bonus to add damage.
Power Attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#powerAttack) adds damage (at the cost of penalties to all melee attacks) to "all melee damage rolls". (Bloodstorm blade changes the "melee" part to "thrown".)
Splash weapons are thrown weapons that require an attack roll. On a successful hit, they results in damage, both direct and splash. Both the direct damage and the splash damage are direct results of the attack and both should, thus, be modified accordingly.
The reason that most splash damage shouldn't be adjusted by Power Attack (in the hands of a Bloodstorm Blade) or Power Throw isn't that it's splash damage, but because it usually doesn't require a roll. Most splash damage is simply 1 point.
Which is why Earl specifically calls out using Liquid Salt in the write up. The splash damage is 1d4 (or 1d6 against certain creatures). That splash damage is specifically a roll to determine damage from a thrown weapon. Which is clearly part of "all [thrown] damage rolls".

I hope this all offers some clarity of things. Again, thank you for putting in the time and effort in all of this.

Korahir

2018-01-30, 12:17 PM

Finally disputes :D

The Ill Wind: Scoring stands.

Intimidate and Tumble: Sorry! I overlooked Skilled City Dweller. You are of course right on that one but I have to disagree on the other part: Iron Heart Maneuvers grant Balance which wouldn't be on the Druid skill list without the Martial Study feat. Devoted Spirit grants Intimidate.
Throw anything: why have some bonus feats a paragraph explicitly saying you don't need to meet the requirements and this one has not? We can now blame lazy editing by WotC or go by RAW: It does not say you don't need to qualify so you have to qualify. They even reprinted the feat with the requirements in the book as a sidebar (more like a bottombar in that case).
I have no idea what pro-cwar means but just because someone/something is able to change shape into a large creature doesn't mean it is actually large. The charsheet or monster stat block would still read: Size: medium because that is the true form of the creature.

Earl N. Meyer: scoring stands
Thanks for taking the time to clear some things up.

The joke is a nice touch. Water Halfling confused me in the beginning but at the end I was pretty sure it is all about the Corsair/Pirate flair. I left the sentence in as I did not edit anything out of the initial scribble in Originality.
The masterwork part and morphing part of Ancestral relic neither had an impact on your score. I am still confused by Morphing, maybe I am totally reading it wrong but I can follow your reading and interpretation and would agree to that. Probably some of my confusion stems from the fact that weapon qualities is a game term I am familiar with but weapon type is not.
No worries about the typo. I thought as much still had to penalize it a little.
This is a little awkward but I have to admit I never noticed the "damage rolls" part in the Power Attack feat before. Thanks for your thorough explanation.
Now to the big one: maybe I should have pointed that out more clearly but I am not concerned about the cost of the ancestral relic. As you say yourself it is indeed expensive. I am more concerned about the "custom creation magic item - these are more guidelines than rules" RAW failure. By comparison with other magic items your relic is pretty fair and not at all overpowered but it is a custom magic item that relies on a DM that allows it and a table that is mature enough to realize that Earl N. Meyer relies on the relic to function properly and the relic is not a gift from the DM to the player. I am just afraid other players jump on the bandwagon and come up with all kind of ridiculous magic items that break the game in half. This delicacy of the relic is what caused me to go lower on Elegance. It requires mature players and a mature DM. So I still stand by that point that the relic is edgy when it comes to balance at the game table. I am fully aware that "mature" has nothing to do with RAW or rules in the game but I hope you understand where I am coming from. I feel that 3.5 of 5 is a pretty good score despite all I was concerned about and the major point is still valid in my opinion.

Venger

2018-01-30, 06:35 PM

thanks for the resolution, korahir. nothing further.

The Viscount

2018-01-30, 06:39 PM

Wonderful, that's sorted then, and we should be ready for the reveal and next round.

Macabaret

2018-01-30, 09:27 PM

[shameless plug]

While we wait, feel free to click the link in my sig and offer up some help if you can. I'm getting stumped and sure could use some pointing in the right direction from fine and knowledgeable folk!

[/shameless plug]

Venger

2018-01-30, 09:43 PM

Darrin

2018-02-02, 10:49 AM

*poke* *poke*

Heliomance

2018-02-02, 12:37 PM

I had to fill out my own table! The horror! The horror!

Entry
Chef
Alignment/Race
Stub
Score

Backwards Bo the Bowman
The Viscount
TN Human
Human Paragon 1/Fighter 2/Human Paragon 2/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Peerless Archer 8/Bloodstorm Blade 8
16.75

Knuckles Klankplate
Darrin
NG Warforged
Battle Dancer 1/Barbarian 1/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Exotic Weapon Master 3/Bloodstorm Blade +6
16.5

Earl N. Meyer
Macabaret
CG Strongheart Water Halfling
Rogue 3/Fighter 1/Warblade 1/Bloodstorm Blade 2/Scarlet Corsair 3/Bloodstorm Blade +8/Warblade +1/Rogue +1
16

Zerzer the Sanguine
WhamBamSam
CE Venerable Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold
Warblade 8/Bloodstorm Blade 10/Sorcerer 1/Thrall of Demogorgon 1
14.25

The Ill Wind
Venger
NE Human
Druid 5/ Bloodstorm Blade 10/Master of Many Forms 3/War Hulk 2
11

Congratulations to The Viscount, Darrin, and Macabaret for medalling!

The Viscount

2018-02-02, 08:16 PM

Well done everybody! A very challenging round to put a chef's original spin on, but we still had some very imaginative builds come out of it.

Heliomance

2018-02-05, 07:32 AM

New thread! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?550203-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCI)

Wolfem

2018-02-05, 12:10 PM

Updated the ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0) with the Chefs names to their dishes for this cook. Added the placeholder for the next cook (XCI).