Villainous Competition XXVII - Multiple Personality Disorder

[jdizzlean]

Welcome to Round 27 of the Villainous Competition!

Previous Competitions
Round One: Leader of Armies (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395046)
Round Two: Nature's Revenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400517)
Round Three: Double Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406015)
Round Four: Grave Keeper (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?413480)
Round Five: Crime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420704)
Round Six: Ultimate Predator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?430650)
Round Seven: Wicked Witch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?444478)
Round Eight: Master of the Tundra (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?461482)
Round Nine: The Power of Villainous Thinking (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?474230)
Round Ten: Henchman Are Villains Too (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?478068)
Round Eleven: The Higher They Rise The Harder They Fall (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?483052)
Round Twelve: Power Comes at a Price (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?488846)
Round Thirteen: The Gadgeteer - You Are Not Batman (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?491932)
Round Fourteen: The Thing That Should Not Be (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?496091)
Round Fifteen: The Horsemen Are Drawing Nearer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?500829)
Round Sixteen: Burn Baby Burn (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?503974)
Round Seventeen: It's Alive! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?507768)
Round Eighteen: This is Heresy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?511933)
Round Nineteen: He Slimed Me! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?516535)
Round Twenty: Elder Evil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?521560)
Round Twenty-One: Yarr! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?527415-Villainous-Competition-XXIYarr!)
Round Twenty-Two: I Am The Night! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?531199-Villainous-Competition-XXII-I-AmThe-Night!)
Round Twenty-Three: Two Heads Are Better Than One! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?535437-Villainous-Competition-XXIII-TwoHeads-Are-Better-Than-One)
Round Twenty-Four: Wrong For The Right Reasons! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?541650-Villainous-Competition-XXIV-WrongFor-The-Right-Reasons)
Round Twenty-Five: Keeper of the Gate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?550139-Villainous-Competition-XXV-NoSolicitors!)
Round Twenty-Six: Get In MY BELLY (Swallow Whole) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?556705-Villainous-Competition-XXVI-SwallowWhole!)

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

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

Secret Laboratory:
Competitors will be free to use any official 1st party (WotC) 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds.
Dragon Compendium is allowed, but Dragon magazine is disallowed. Unearthed Arcana is
allowed. Unupdated 3.0 materials, as well as web exclusives by WotC are expressly allowed, but take
care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this may cause an Elegance
deduction at the judges' discretion. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes
are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Item Familiars and Taint are also banned from
the competition. Leadership and all similar abilities are banned for sanity reasons.
Builds that are fully monstrous are allowed at no penalty. All class levels are to be added on as
associated class levels.

Elite array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) is the assumed ability score generation method.
Some monstrous characters can technically qualify for Epic feats as soon as their ECL is over 20. While
regular Epic feats will be allowed, Epic Spellcasting and all other Epic feats that affect spells, psionic
powers, or item creation are not permitted. Including these would give an unfair advantage over
standard characters. For Incarnum characters, Epic Open Chakra feats are allowed; other Epic Incarnum
feats are not. The Essentia Capacity increases for Epic capacity as described on p. 212. For all characters,
please note that Racial Hit Dice do not count towards Epic Progression; use the regular progression even
if the BAB ends up higher than 20.
Deadlines:

Contestants will have until 23:59 GMT Sunday June 17th to create their builds and PM them to
the Supreme Chancellor. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have
until 23:59 GMT Mondayh July 2nd 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. Deadlines are
subject to extension as/if required.

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


Note:
There is now a hard limit on two (2) entries per competitor.
Using the table below, the easiest way to use it is to go to the top left of the private message, and click the little a/A icon. It allows you to see what you're writing.
Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their entry.
You can use the table below for Spells.

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


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


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


2nd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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3rd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


18th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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19th
-
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-
-
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20th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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-


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

Multiple Personality Disorder
WHAT AM I!?!



Limitations

Other than base creature, MUST be almost entirely built using TEMPLATES
All Templates can be considered “Acquired” for THIS ROUND
Each applied Template will be a new CR entry on the build table, so build smart!
For the purposes of THIS ROUND, you may select multiple “Half-X” templates w/o concern for
Racial requirements.
My thought on the Half-X ruling is that in several of those, your parentage/lineage has to be for example " a good outsider and a humanoid". My intent is that you don't have to have either of those restrictions in THIS ROUND to take one of those templates and can stack as many on as you deem relevant.
Can only have a maximum of 2 class levels total. Of that must be 2 different classes entirely (i.e. an
arcane and a divine, a caster and a martial, opposites!)
As almost always, must be evil in alignment.

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



Entry
Description
Level/Racial Breakdown
Judge 1 Score
Final Score
Competitor


The Hungering (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65) Swarm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166305&postcount=66)
Cranium rats both empowered and driven mad by spiritual infection.
CE Lost Mistling Wendigo Greater Cranium Rat Swarm Sorcerer 1/Barbarian 1
17.5
17.5
Falontani


Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)
Fire elemental that creates life using convoluted methods.
NE Phrenic Half-Fiend Small Fire Elemental of Legacy and Xvim
17.0
17.0
TwoLegsArmchair


Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)
Minor god who is immensely powerful in every way, with an aggressive scorpion alter-ego.
NE Faerzess-Infused Half-Elemental Phantom Dark Phrenic Were-Devastation Scorpion Incarnate Awakened Black Sand Swordsage 1/Soul Eater 1
16.5
16.5
ben-zayb


Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)
Wizardry student obsessed with personal monstrous transformations.
CE Evolved Spellstitched Monstrously Vampiric Half-Fey Half-Clay Golem Unseelie Lolth-Touched Dark Primordial Giant Half-Troll Half-Dragon Mineral Warrior Feral Corrupted by the Abyss Tainted One Amphibious Shadow Silverbrow Human of Xvim Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1
15.5
15.5
Venger


The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)
Fire-breathing, twenty-headed roc.
N(?) Monstrous Twenty-Headed Lernean Roc of Legend
15.5
15.5
White Blade


Orthos Glitterstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)
Giant of mediocre talent who resorted to esoteric means of gaining power.
NE Draconic Half-Fey Vampire Lord Cloud Giant Swordsage 1/Warlock 1
15.25
15.25
GrayDeath


Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)
Vampiric dragon overlord armed with strange magical powers.
LE Evolved Vampiric Spellstitched Tundra Landwyrm of Xvim Dread Necromancer 1
13.5
13.5
Sejoran


In, The Undead Laboratory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)
Self-deconstructing-and-reconstructing Cadaver Golem.
CE 7-Headed Swarm-Shifter Cadaver Golem
12.0
12.0
Jyp


Submission:
To standardize Entries, please use this format when sending it in:
PM: Jdizzlean
Subject: Villainous Competition 27, Name of your Entry
For Revisions and disputes, do the same thing. It makes it easier for me finding the entries in my mail
box.
More questions? PM me with Villainous Competition 27 Questions in the header.
Tips for submitting your entry, provided by Weaselguy:


- Use capitalization and punctuation, correctly.
- Make good use of Spoilers, for cleanliness.
- Don't forget your sources. If it's something that can be found in the contents section, then book title
seems to be fine. Obscure stuff, may want to include page number too.
- DeviantArt has about 9 billion pictures that you can reference, I can almost guarantee you can find one
there to fit your character.
- Make good use of tables. In addition to the Build table and the Spells table, I like doing on e for my
Ability Scores, just to keep it neat.
- Do a build stub at the top of your Build Table, something like Wizard 2/Fighter 3/Abjurant Champion
5/Eldritch Knight 10
As always: let's keep it nice.
I'll mention that again - LET'S KEEP IT NICE! Bickering, name calling and nasty comments on the entries
or other forum members are not tolerated.
New competition rule: if I feel an individual has been overly disruptive during the course of
competition discussion, I will not be accepting and revealing any entries from that individual, and
they will also not be allowed to judge. Any judging they enter will not be taken into account for the final
tally.
It's sad that it had to come to this, but here's a list of permanently banned (from this
Villainous Competition) members:
Novolin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?148361-
Novolin)
Yklikt (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/member.php?133435-
Yklikt)

[jdizzlean]

Clarifications
Unearthed Arcana variant rules are limited: The variant character options (such as Wildshape Ranger and Thug Fighter) should not be penalized. Flaws and traits may be penalized by judges, whereas item familiars, gestalt, alternate skill systems, alternate magic systems, alternate crafting rules, generic base classes, LA buyoff, fractional saves/BAB, and bloodlines are banned. Anything not mentioned here is up to individual judges.

d20 Rokugan is not allowed material.

The Dragon Magazine update for Oriental Adventures is in use.

Leadership is banned. Any material that grants you leadership without you specifically taking it should be ignored and may not be traded away for another feat or ACF. Undead Leadership and Dragon Cohort are likewise banned. Wild Cohort and Obtain Familiar are allowed. If you are not sure if a specific feat violates the 'no leadership' rule, err on the side of caution, or ask me.

However, Leadership may be taken to qualify for another feat or class (such as the Great Captain feat or Legendary Leader prestige class), though a character still doesn't get its usual benefit in those cases. This is to allow characters to access unproblematic material that'd otherwise be made unavailable
because of the Leadership ban.

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

https://www.healthyplace.com/sites/default/files/images/stories/articles/1-famous-people-and-schizophrenia-healthyplace.jpg
Everyone, have fun!



(sorry, the formatting on this is messed up, I will try to fix it later, no time right now :( )

[Sian]

Seems potentially rather Glass cannony :p

[zlefin]

interesting theme; though adding so many templates can get weak without enough base HD to work with.

I'm a bit confused abotu the theme, because multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia aren't the same thing. they're being mixed up here I think.

[Falontani]

I may enter, but I will send a question to the chair before I decide.

How do templates that you no longer meet the prerequisites work? Example: Natural Lycanthrope (humanoid or giant) becomes a Half Dragon (now a dragon)

[3SecondCultist]

Might I make a request?

I really like the theme, but I'm concerned about the viability of any build that relies primarily on template power. If this is a competition that is meant to span multiple CR points (as is implicit in the demands of the challenges so far), then having a villain build almost entirely on templates and base HD won't see much of a progression. While I understand the idea behind the restrictions, I'm concerned that the entries will end up being incredibly lopsided in terms of Power and/or Elegance as a result. Therefore, I am asking that our Chair find another way of expressing this round's Theme other than template vs. class level use.

If this isn't a popular decision and the competition round continues apace, I'll do my best to brew something up, but I'm not optimistic about my ability to see it through.

[Venger]

Wow that's a very original theme. I'll have to see if I can find some stuff that fits together

[WhamBamSam]

I'd rather we at least have to qualify for each template at the point it's applied. For example Half-Dragon Natural Lycanthrope okay, but Afflicted Lycanthrope Half-Dragon no.

I have an immediate thought, but I'm not sure I want to use it yet for various reasons.

[NontheistCleric]

All Templates can be considered “Applied” for THIS ROUND

What do you mean by 'Applied'? There isn't any such thing as an 'Applied' template other than insofar all templates are 'Applied' to a base creature.

Or do you mean 'Acquired'?

[Thurbane]

I'm a bit confused abotu the theme, because multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia aren't the same thing. they're being mixed up here I think.

Completely true. My mother had acute schizophrenia, and when people found out they would often ask "Oh, so she has multiple personalities?". The misinformation in the public space around mental health issues is a concern: Hollywood and TV certainly don't help, in most cases.




What do you mean by 'Applied'? There isn't any such thing as an 'Applied' template other than insofar all templates are 'Applied' to a base creature.

Or do you mean 'Acquired'?

I'm assuming acquired, but I'm sure the chair will clarify.



Hmm, interesting and challenging theme. I have an idea or two.

If I don't get an entry in, I'll try to commit to judging.

Now, just to be certain I haven't missed anything, is the following a full list of banned items:


Non-official source material
Alternate rules systems such as gestalt or generic classes
Item familiars
Taint
Leadership and similar abilities
Submitting more than two entries

[TerrickTerran]

Just a note Schizophrenia and Disassociative Identity Disorder (MPD's proper name) are actually quite different things. That said, I think could be a really interesting theme and look forward to the entries.

[ben-zayb]

Ouch, this round will have the most elegance penalties ever!

This round is mechanically weird enough that I'm really tempted to give it a shot...

EDIT: A bit confused with the Half-X ruling. Half-X templates really don't have a type or race limits AFAIK. Do you then mean the part we can ignore is where the base creature has to be living or corporeal?

[jdizzlean]

interesting theme; though adding so many templates can get weak without enough base HD to work with.

I'm a bit confused abotu the theme, because multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia aren't the same thing. they're being mixed up here I think.


Just a note Schizophrenia and Disassociative Identity Disorder (MPD's proper name) are actually quite different things. That said, I think could be a really interesting theme and look forward to the entries.

schiz·o·phre·ni·a
ˌskitsəˈfrēnēə,ˌskitsəˈfrenēə/
noun
noun: schizophrenia
a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.

Dissociative identity disorder, formerly referred to as multiple personality disorder, is a condition wherein a person's identity is fragmented into two or more distinct personality states.

Yes, they are different things, but they do have a commonality between them.




I may enter, but I will send a question to the chair before I decide.

How do templates that you no longer meet the prerequisites work? Example: Natural Lycanthrope (humanoid or giant) becomes a Half Dragon (now a dragon)

That would probably incur elegance penalties from a judge. As stated, build smartly!


Might I make a request?

I really like the theme, but I'm concerned about the viability of any build that relies primarily on template power. If this is a competition that is meant to span multiple CR points (as is implicit in the demands of the challenges so far), then having a villain build almost entirely on templates and base HD won't see much of a progression. While I understand the idea behind the restrictions, I'm concerned that the entries will end up being incredibly lopsided in terms of Power and/or Elegance as a result. Therefore, I am asking that our Chair find another way of expressing this round's Theme other than template vs. class level use.



Traditionally, templates are seen as not a good trade off to class levels. In this round, your progression is almost entirely template based. This forces you to pick goodish/er options to use to advance the build's concept. I can think of at least 1 template that is game-breaking in power just off the top of my sleep deprived head. You might not have HD progression depending on what you choose as your base, but in this round, more-so than ever before, I think that base choice is more inherently important to the overall build.




Ouch, this round will have the most elegance penalties ever!

This round is mechanically weird enough that I'm really tempted to give it a shot...

EDIT: A bit confused with the Half-X ruling. Half-X templates really don't have a type or race limits AFAIK. Do you then mean the part we can ignore is where the base creature has to be living or corporeal?


I'd rather we at least have to qualify for each template at the point it's applied. For example Half-Dragon Natural Lycanthrope okay, but Afflicted Lycanthrope Half-Dragon no.



My thought on the Half-X ruling is that in several of those, your parentage/lineage has to be for example " a good outsider and a humanoid". My intent is that you don't have to have either of those restrictions in THIS ROUND to take one of those templates and can stack as many on as you deem relevant. This ties in with the theme, and opens up more options so that we don't end up with duplicate builds. As always, if it doesn't make sense, or is blatant power grabbing, you'll be penalized for it. But that is up to your justification and the judge's interpretation. Beyond that specific ruling, you still must qualify for things when you take them, as always.

[jdizzlean]

What do you mean by 'Applied'? There isn't any such thing as an 'Applied' template other than insofar all templates are 'Applied' to a base creature.

Or do you mean 'Acquired'?


yes, acquired is what i meant. sorry, sometimes my fingers/mouth are faster than the old brain pan. If you should wish to use a template that is only inherited, it can in fact be used as acquired for this round, that's what i meant to say.

[zlefin]

they may have a commonality, but they remain quite distinct things that should not be conflated.
the way you have them listed makes it seem like they're the same, so you should change that.
we don't want to perpetuated falsehoods.

[NontheistCleric]

I may enter, but I will send a question to the chair before I decide.

How do templates that you no longer meet the prerequisites work? Example: Natural Lycanthrope (humanoid or giant) becomes a Half Dragon (now a dragon)

That would probably incur elegance penalties from a judge. As stated, build smartly!

Isn't that completely legal, though? As long as the templates are applied in the right order, with Half-Dragon coming after Lycanthrope.

If later becoming ineligible for a template causes you to lose it, there would be all sorts of problems with type-changing templates.

[Thurbane]

they may have a commonality, but they remain quite distinct things that should not be conflated.
the way you have them listed makes it seem like they're the same, so you should change that.
we don't want to perpetuated falsehoods.

As much as I hate dragging down thread flow with debates about real-world issues, I agree 100%.

As with the example I gave of my mother, it's really better not to conflate these two very distinct mental health issues, even if there are some commonalities.

I also feel obliged to add that professionally diagnosed and confirmed multiple personality disorder is exceedingly rare; sadly, schizophrenia is nowhere near as rare. Hollywood/TV tend to mysticize and sometimes romanticize MPD, while schizophrenics are often depicted as generic "crazies" that talk to themselves. :smallfrown:

[jdizzlean]

in the interest then of efficiency, and to cut down on 500 revisions, give me the wording that expresses the same sentiment but uses different words that won't offend. I'd like to move past this asap.

[zlefin]

just remove the line with schizophrenia and replace it with multiple personality disorder. that should be good enough I think.

If you want something ideal, I'd change the entire title to not use any mental disorder at all. just use the "What am I?" line you already have. use that as the title and use it again where it already is in the description (again deleting the line which says schizophrenia). in point of fact I think it's just plain better that way anyways, as it's more consistent with the naming style used in prior competitions.

[GrayDeath]

That is ....weird.

Just to make sure I understand, the IDea is a build like this:

Base Creature (Say Mosnter 10 HD), 5 Templates with CR +1 or 2, 2 CLass Levels of totally different Classes.

WHile Templates have to be aquired in the "legal" Order, all are considered Aquired Templates for the Contest, and for once Template Stacking is not meant to be penalized in Elegance?


Huh boy, talk about different....

[Falontani]

Limitations

Other than base creature, MUST be almost entirely built using TEMPLATES
All Templates can be considered “Acquired” for THIS ROUND
Each applied Template will be a new CR entry on the build table, so build smart!
For the purposes of THIS ROUND, you may select multiple “Half-X” templates w/o concern for
Racial requirements.
Can only have a maximum of 2 class levels total. Of that must be 2 different classes entirely (i.e. an
arcane and a divine, a caster and a martial, opposites!)
As almost always, must be evil in alignment.


I am assuming that we can not advance their RHD at all, but I figured I'd ask.

[jdizzlean]

That is ....weird.

Just to make sure I understand, the IDea is a build like this:

Base Creature (Say Mosnter 10 HD), 5 Templates with CR +1 or 2, 2 CLass Levels of totally different Classes.

WHile Templates have to be aquired in the "legal" Order, all are considered Aquired Templates for the Contest, and for once Template Stacking is not meant to be penalized in Elegance?


Huh boy, talk about different....

told you this round would be a doozy :) Next one will be a return to more "traditional" villains... sort of :p


I am assuming that we can not advance their RHD at all, but I figured I'd ask.

you can do anything you want w/in the rules of the system and the limitations of this round :)

[Thurbane]

just remove the line with schizophrenia and replace it with multiple personality disorder. that should be good enough I think.

Agreed.


I am assuming that we can not advance their RHD at all, but I figured I'd ask.

Well, that was my plan, but it's public now, so Vizzini may strike! :smalltongue:

[Falontani]

Well, that was my plan, but it's public now, so Vizzini may strike! :smalltongue:
Sorry! Didn't mean to mess with your plan!

[ranagrande]

I think I shall have to enter this.

[Thurbane]

Sorry! Didn't mean to mess with your plan!

No problemo, just messing around. :smallwink:

[GrayDeath]

Well, the Chair did not contradict any of my assumptions, so if I find the time, I will enter this time.

This is actually almost exactly the setup I wanted to do for quite some time...


Only question as above remains: To detail: Can we advance racial HD?

If yes: Any way normally possible? Is there a Limited number of additional HD?
Or just something like "If you want more HD; take the bigger version" for monsters who have a "bigger version"?

If not, that removes a part of the concept, not only for me going by Thurbanes post. ^^

[jdizzlean]

to reiterate anything that is rules legal, and within the limitations you can do, the rest is up to the judges to sort out :)

[ranagrande]

I have too many ideas for this. It will be hard to narrow it down to only one or two.

[Venger]

having a great time building for this round. can't wait to see what everyone else has in mind.

[Thurbane]

I've scrapped my initial idea, and discovered something far more ludicrous. It may be a formatting nightmare, but if I can pull it off, I'll be very interested in what the judges have to say! :smallbiggrin:

[atemu1234]

Hey, I may actually have time to compete in this one.

[GrayDeath]

Gah, alsmost half finished, then ran into a snag, now my original idea does not work. Back to the Concept board it is....

I must say, this round is very very motivating/interesting, Kudos to the Chair!
:smallcool:

[Venger]

found a flaw, had to redo everything. I'm done now. this was a really fun round.

[Thurbane]

Aaaargh! Had this awesome idea all done and mostly formatted, and just realized I missed one of the stipulations in this rounds requirements! :smalleek::smallfurious:

...I hope I can come up with a fix before the deadline. :smallfrown:

[GrayDeath]

See my post above, one of the problems (there was another) was something similar, which combined with increased weekend work and such means I have about a 50%50 chance to get in my less outrageous concept, ad very little chance of doing more than concept for my intended second entry....sigh...

[jdizzlean]

let's give it another week folks, this round is pretty brutal :)

[ben-zayb]

let's give it another week folks, this round is pretty brutal :)

I was wondering if I'd be able to reach the deadline with my sleep deprived brain. Thanks for this!

[GrayDeath]

let's give it another week folks, this round is pretty brutal :)

I agree. Lets your mind spijn with ideas, just to run into prolems/Snags.

Thank you, first entry is ensured with that, second is more than a remote possibility. :)

[Thurbane]

let's give it another week folks, this round is pretty brutal :)

Very much appreciated. I have a three day weekend coming up (public holiday, woohoo!), so hoping to have the bulk of everything updated and completed before Tuesday.

[jdizzlean]

done, and another day or two on top of that since i'll be on vacation.

new deadline is now Sunday June 17th at midnight MST.

(However I won't get home til mid to late Monday night, so there might be another day or so added on that won't be posted...)

[Sejoran]

Aw, just saw the updated deadline. Got everything ready and submitted but wouldve been nice if i had noticed that earlier. Well itll be fun again anyway, and i enjoy the new creature i made. I learned from the last competition i participated in, went over the creature type with a fine toothed comb. Hopefully i wont run into a snags like i had with Giolt...

[PrismCat21]

*snip*

You can resubmit it after you make changes if needed, as long as it's still within the deadline.

[jdizzlean]

Going AFK for the next 5 days or so in about an hour and change. I have 4 builds in the box. I'll likely be posting them Tuesday AM whenever I get up, or possibly Monday late night depending on what time I get home. You've all got until whenever that is to get them or any revisions in that you need to make. Hopefully we get at least 2-3 more builds in :)

[Thurbane]

I should definitely have my build in before the deadline.

I have recently discovered Skryim (only 6 years late to the party), which has been ravenously devouring my free time.

[jdizzlean]

I should definitely have my build in before the deadline.

I have recently discovered Skryim (only 6 years late to the party), which has been ravenously devouring my free time.

I know what you mean, despite the fact that I've owned the game for years now, I've only recently gotten into playing Starcraft 2 on co-op mode. I will pretty much stay up past bedtime to play it.... Otherwise when I have the time, i'm still playing Battlefied 4, although I'm about to plunk down 80 simoleans for Battlefield V

[GrayDeath]

Excellent, as I have to work frida yand saturday, unexpectedly, I`ll use sunday for my revisions. :)

[Falontani]

Mine is in, hassle though it was.

[GrayDeath]

Since the site was down some time today, and I am now not home and wont be able to do it until late tomorrow, I am once again VERY grateful for the lengthened reception times. ;)

[Thurbane]

Due to circumstances somewhat beyond my control, I'm not sure if I'll be finished by the new deadline.

I'm OK with that, and don't need another extension. I may still get an entry in, but if not, I'll try to commit to judging.

[Falontani]

Is it wrong that I kind of hope that Thurbane isn't able to enter? Kind of threatened because Thurbane would make a good character, but also, make a great judge, less competition and a good judge!

[Thurbane]

Is it wrong that I kind of hope that Thurbane isn't able to enter? Kind of threatened because Thurbane would make a good character, but also, make a great judge, less competition and a good judge!

LOL no that's fine. :smallbiggrin:

I really like the villain concept I've come up with, so I may keep it under my hat for a future round.

[lylsyly]

I am more in anticipation of this one than the one and only comp I have entered. I had an idea, decided it wasn't really Legal and/or entirely too cheesy. I can't wait to see what folks come up with.

[jdizzlean]

Due to circumstances somewhat beyond my control, I'm not sure if I'll be finished by the new deadline.

I'm OK with that, and don't need another extension. I may still get an entry in, but if not, I'll try to commit to judging.

I've also received an additional pm requesting a further extension. i still only have 5 entries in the box. i do hate to drag this on, but i will do a final extension to wed night at 8pm mst.

if you're dragging your feet, please make an effort to get it done in time.

[Thurbane]

I've also received an additional pm requesting a further extension. i still only have 5 entries in the box. i do hate to drag this on, but i will do a final extension to wed night at 8pm mst.

if you're dragging your feet, please make an effort to get it done in time.

If it's only me you're waiting on, I won't be submitting an entry. If it's for others as well, all good. The concept I had was torpedoed by me misreading the OP and round specific requirements, and after Clawdius (as well as Taman and Thoron previously), I have no desire to put in another illegal entry (it's incredibly disheartening). I'm happy with the chassis, and I'll keep it aside for a future competition.

Like I said, I'll do my best to judge. I know judges can sometimes be harder to come by than competitors (case in point: Junkyard Wars XVIII), so that's where I'll be directing my energy this time around.

[GrayDeath]

Well, this saves my entry from being unfashionably late, as I could not do anything yesterday (Job was horribly long), so thanks!

My Entry will get in today. :D

[jdizzlean]

7 builds in the box
7ish hours to go :)

[NontheistCleric]

How exciting. By the way, thank you for the extension, Chairman. It allowed me to get an entry in.

[ben-zayb]

Finally submitted! Curious to see what the other 7 (or more) went with. I can't wait!

[jdizzlean]

Builds incoming!

please hold all posts@!

[jdizzlean]

A "Novel" character! /buh dun dun crash


https://image.ibb.co/h5pz2o/2018_06_04.jpg
Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way: Original Character DO NOT STEAL!




It is with great trepidation I pen this missive to you. I warn you now the tale I have to relate is not for the faint of heart. Should you be of more stalwart stuff than myself (had I the opportunity not to have plumbed this vile archive, I would have availed myself of it) then read on, but should one crumb of doubt reside within you, I beg of you to look away.


That dumb old ritual my bunkie had hidden in her pillowcase didn’t even work.

After all the time I spent to steal the stupid thing, I figured at the very least it’d give me an evil outsider to make a fiendly contract with. I heard you can get all kinds of cool stuff from one of those, but they get your soul.

I’m human, so I got a soul. I don’t lick strange toads or step on sidewalk cracks or nothing. I think it’s still in there, my teeth aren’t loose or anything like that.

Still bummed they’re puny human teeth. I can’t drain blood or poison or any of that cool stuff. But I should be able to pretty soon. You see, I’m not gonna lose my soul to any demons. They only get it after you die so I’m gonna get cool powers, and then after that I’ll find a handsome vampire and get him to embrace me! Pretty clever, huh?

Ever since I started at Morgrave, I’ve tried to dress like vampires, so they’ll know I’m not necrophobic if I see one at a pub or something. I’ve colored my hair black, lacquered my nails black, wear black riding boots even when I’m inside, and wear a blood-red ruby brooch to hold my cloak over my alabaster neck. I’m getting lots of practice staying out of the sun to keep my skin good and pale. I don’t wanna step out in the sun for a bacon roll when I’m a vampire and then die. That’d be so embarrassing.

I go around walking off-campus late at night after dark and hang out in dark alleys and make sure I have my ruby on. I heard a lot of girls like me get embraced doing stuff like that.

I’m trying to develop a taste for blood. I can’t get human from the commissary, none of the human students will give it up, and the orcs and shifters and stuff tell me they “don’t know what I’m talking about” when I ask for a hookup and to “stop being racist” when I told them I know they drink human blood, but I’m totally cool with it and I want some too. I guess there’s some secret password I don’t know or something. I just get the lunchlady to give me cow or pig blood after dinner. It’s a little salty, but I guess it’s ok. I’ll probably like it more after I’m embraced. At least it makes my lips blood red for when the time finally comes and I find a vampire to embrace me.



It goes on in this vein for quite some time. In the sake of expediency, I will move ahead in the chronicle somewhat. Now is the time to abandon it before things take a turn.


My bunkie was pretty mad when she found I’d messed with her stuff. I told her I didn’t know what she was talking about, but she told me I was stupid for forgetting she was a divination major. Whoops.

I got some good stuff in the lost and found, though. I thought I saw some magic herbs in a black, fitted peacoat I told the lady in the office was mine (it wasn’t! hehe) I recognized from one of the books we read in botany. The same way you turn into a wolf if you eat wolfbane you turn into a vampire if you eat vampirebane. The leaves looked the same so I got out of the sun and ate the leaves.

I didn’t turn into a vampire, because I still had a reflection when I went to the girls’ to check things out. My lips weren’t stained red from blood yet because it was before lunch so I had them painted with scarlet dye I got from that dishy Karrn in my necromancy lab group. Once I get embraced, I want to embrace him too and have him come over to my crypt and we can smoke absentia and drink wine and do other grown up things if you know what I mean.

Everything still looked the same. My eyes were still their plain old boring iridescent ice blue color lame human poets write sonnets about. I did need to cover the slits that’d come into being on my neck. They weren’t like the scars that criss-crossed my wrists. Like I told the school enchanter, I’m not suicidal, cuz I want to come back to life after I die. Just when I go out after class, I figure it’ll help me smell more appealing if I’ve got some red nectar someplace on me.

No, the slits on my neck opened up when I breathed, even when my mouth and nose were closed. They reminded me of the truedive girl I sat behind in transmutation. I’d asked if I could touch them once, and she told me to cut it out or she’d report me to PFSAL and stormed off. I don’t care what people say, shifters are just too sensitive sometimes. I touched mine, and Dark Six it hurt! No wonder she got so salty with me.

Also, today I stole some enc—



The tail end of this passage has been rendered illegible by moisture. The next section is what follows next, by my best estimate.


—ion per say, but Konek said I’d better not show my face around here for a while. How was I supposed to know I wasn’t supposed to drink it? It’s not like it was locked up. Ok, it’s not like it was locked up that good.

I dunno if truedive is contagious. There was one of those old psa things in church about how you couldn’t catch shifteritis by playing with the same ball or eating out of the same stewpot so I figured it was something else. I didn’t look much like a shark, at least not one I’d ever seen. My eyes were more of an opalescent now, and they had those cool slitty pupils like I heard Serrenese girls have.

I’m gonna haveta find a new place to live since I can’t stay in the dorms anymore. They didn’t tell me exactly what would happen if I tried, but I don’t think I can seduce those golems that patrol the girls’ dorms after hours if I get caught. Anyway I’m feeling kinda dizzy now since it’s time to go to the pub and see if tonights the night and I already slit my wr—



The remainder of the passage has been rendered illegible by dried blood and various other effluvia.


—s laundry and stuff so I guess it’s not too bad. After the spells and stuff he did to me, my makeup doesn’t stick to my skin anymore because it’s all made of stone or some crap like that. The guy I’m staying with explained it while the spells were going, but it was super boring so I kinda stopped paying attention after a little while. I asked if he had any snacks while I waited for the reagents to soak into my skin and he didn’t like that too much, but he had some of those Karrn summer sausage whatsits dad used to send in my care packages to university so I guess today was a pretty good day.

I looked at myself in the mirror once I was done all the bathing and chants and candles and stuff. It was pretty relaxing, but the guy yelled at me if I started falling asleep. I was all rough and hard but if I like pushed my thumb on my cheek then it still made a dent and sprung back up like flesh so that was all right. He had some paint and stuff in his basement and I found some black, so I was still able to do my eyes all smoky and then black lips, which were pretty different but still good and spooky so the vampires out there should still like it.

I heard theres a guy sel—



The pages that follow appear to have been roughly abraded by stony, claw-like hands. I gather the authoress took some time to adjust to this most recent in her yet-unfinished litany of transformations. What follows is I believe quite some time later, once she has found some reliable method of chronicling her experience without destroying the record such as wearing gloves, using tweezers, or switching to hardier paper


—ench should go away soon. Fingers crossed. Figures it was expired, dragons eggs shouldnt be that cheap. I checked if I got it all out in a pool of water outside since the guy I was staying with said I’d stink up the house if I stayed inside. I smiled at him seductively, but it didn’t do anything. I think he “moonlights as a Phiarlan acrobat” like mom used to say.

My hair isn’t even ebony, like my name anymore. It turned into flowers, and not even cool, spooky flowers like lilies or baby’s breath, but like pansies and lavenders or some junk like that. I tried shredding them out with my claws but they just grow back. I dulled all my razors on my wrists. It doesn’t work anymore, when I go out. I don’t think I’ll ever get embraced. One of the things or the other makes me heal now, so even when the guy I’m staying with goes to work at the university and I can get at my wrists with a hammer and chisel, it just grows back.

As myne flesh returneth to me, so too does myne sorrowe.

Pretty neat, huh? I heard that’s how vampires talk, so I’ve been studying some of the guy’s old books so I can blend in good once I get embraced.

Also I can breathe fire now a little bit and I used it to kill that roach hiding in the drain so that was pretty cool. I still can’t really c—


I hazard a guess to say the next word might have been “control” as the next pages have been burnt beyond recognition. If you are eating as you read this I beg you stop before beginning the next section.


-itations. I think that’s how it’s spelled anyway. The guy said he totally wasn’t guilty but had to lay low for a while and people from the university would probably come looking for him so I had to get out.

I hadn’t had much luck with alleys so I started looking for vampires under bridges. I met some cool people there. There was this one girl who was pretty (for someone from Xen’drik) who had all these great stories about deepest darkest and always shared her absentia as long as I brought her something good to cook over our trash can fire.

It’d been a while since we’d started hanging out and I was getting to really like her (not in that way though) so I figured I was ok to tell her how I wanted to get embraced and live forever and get cool powers and she wouldn’t make fun of me. I don’t think I could handle that right now. I’m not in such a good place.

She said if all I wanted was to live forever there were easier ways, and then she told me about all the weird quests she’d done in search of immortality. There was something in there about sleeping in the mouth of a serpent, or drinking water out of a demon’s bed or something. It was pretty late, so I wasn’t really listening, but she seemed real excited so I didn’t want to tell her to stop.

In the morning when she told me trolls didn’t exist, I thr—


This page’s remainder has been stained with the dregs from an absentia pipe

—can. I cast the spell and traveled back in time to become my own mother so I could be born part troll and live forever until I could meet my dark prince and become evermore a chylde of the knight.

I’m getting pretty good at this vampire stuff.

Alla my arcane training told me the spell worked what with how I moved my elbows and spread gunk from under the bridge all over my stony skin and stuff but my surroundings didn’t look that different.

I threw out the magic hourglass after counting out the right number of rotations and covered the trashcan with a copy of the Khronicle, since if I ever laid my eyes upon it again, then I would never be born.

I went into the bar and there were a bunch of trolls all over the place. Big ones with those weird noses that blocked their lips, those ones with two heads, and even the green ones with those crotch abs, like Phiarlan ballet dancers. Who’s stupid now, Raven? (that’s what I called my EX-friend bridge girl but that didn’t matter anymore)

Abs came over to me and the bartender reached for a bottle of Valen-nahr elf blood (I think that’s what the label said, I hadda few before I got here for nerves, and I was a little mad after what Raven said)

“Put in something else. No glass. Me claws too powerful for puny human glass,” I said, brittly. My Trollese wasn’t that good. I’d gotten a fail for it back in school. I just took it cuz I heard it was easy.

“Are you high?” the bartender asked and poured the blood into a gorilla skull he slid toward me.

Abs took his blood in the skull of a dwarven child that’d been dipped in gold he wore on a chain around his neck like one of those wine guys. There’s a name for it, you know what I mean.


I believe the young lady is grasping for the term “sommelier."

“No,” I huffed. “I mean, not that I don’t get high. I’m not a goody-goody. I get high all the time. I got high this morning. I smoked four whole absentias once, and I heard that if other girls tryta smoke that many absentias, they DIE!” I croaked.

“Wow, you sound like you’re a lot tougher than other girls,” Abs said. His voice wasn’t deep or growly or anything like I figured a troll’s oughta be. I guess there were lotsa different kinds. Maybe he sounded like the kind he was oughta sound like.

“Yeah! That necklace is awesome by the way,” I said throatily. I made my seductive eyes at him and a piece of mud got in my eye from my troll eye makeup.

“Why do you always attract the crazy ones?” the bartender muttered and went to do something else.

“Just lucky, I guess,” Abs winked at me. “You know, I bet a tough girl like you could handle just about anything.” He sipped from his skull real delicately and it didn’t even get in his beard. His fangs were smaller than mine, even. I hoped this guy was really a troll.

The shadows from the window grew longer. The sun was setting. My time travel spell didn’t have long.

“Yeah, so I don’t have a lot of time. I’m here from the future, and I need to give birth to a daughter born of troll. You wanna go to the alley with me or what?” I said, gutturally, since, I mean, that’s what troll guys like, right?

“Dark Six! I mean, sure! Hey, Burt, put these on my tab, ok? I’ll be right back.” He told me t—


I gather you can use your own more than adequate powers of perception to infer what followed without requiring further detail


6 or maybe 6 and a half, it depends on what cobbler I go to.” I said, flatly. Wasn’t so much fun “shopping” for a shoe I’d haveta wear for the resta my life.

“I meant in measurements. You know what, just stand on this parchment paper and take your shoe off and I’ll trace a template around it, and then make a mold of your leg. Do you need to shave first?” basement guy asked.

“Are you serious right now?” I asked stonily.

“Sorry, force of habit,” he said. Well at least that meant he’d done this before.

“And this’ll make me live forever, right?” I asked him again, just to make sure. I was getting pretty sick of all this not-getting-to-live-forever crap.

It’s like nothing’s what it’s supposed to be, you know? Like, everybody knows trolls grow their stuff back when you cut stuff off ‘em. Abs sure knows, hehe. He was pretty wild, he’d be a good vampire if trolls could be vampires. But even though I did everything that time spell said right I only got half the stuff I’m supposed to from a troll.

As I looked in the full length mirror I insisted on being present at the measuring session, I looked at the webbed toes on my remaining foot, juxtaposed against the simple, yet ornate and delicately scrimshawed Xen’drik mammoth ivory of my peg leg, blending into the blackness of the flesh on the stump above it that starts just below, well you know where.

Above that, my stomach was still milky white alabaster, from my days as a human that seem so far behind me now. I think I’m still technically human since I’m not a vampire yet, but taxonomy was never really my subject. My claws and teeth were huge now. I have to be really careful when I talk to guys seductively, so they don’t think I’m going to eat them (unless that’s what I want them to think!)

Over my stomach, my arms and breasts were all swirled with my chalky white human skin, and the green I got from Abs, dappled around my shoulders and my face. I had those bone ridges over my eyes. I remember trolls evolved them because when the males fight over who gets to mate with the girl, they’ll smash their heads together, and whoever’s head busts open last gets to mate with her first while the loser regenerates, then he goes. I dunno why I had it since I’m not a boy, but it must be onea those vestigial traits, like those bumps on my back basement guy tells me would’ve been dragon wings, but since my body’s too small to accomodate them, they’re just kind of curled up in there like a typewriter ribbon. It just wasn’t fair.

Anyway my face was all green and white, but not in a neat line, in these whorls, like a marble rye. Oh, and before I forget there’s black too, like on my legs. Cutting through the green. It went across my neck in kind of a straight line, so I guess that was pretty cool. I didn’t have any colored lines across my wrists though, but everything can’t work out.

“Well that’s the theory,” he said. He got the mold around my leg and once it got clamped into place, he fastened the latches shut and helped me onto a medical table. It had that lip on the bottom so I could stand there like a moving dolly, and then a lever so I could be lowered down on my back without having to hop up. It’d be too hard with one leg, and I was way too heavy for the old man to lift now. He’d taken to walking with a cane since I’d left, but I knew better than to ask questions by now.

He pulled the lever and the table slammed me onto my back, wrenching my neck. I rubbed at it.

“Careful! You trying to give me whiplash?” I demanded snidely.

“Take it easy. I have to make do with what I can steal after the… incident,” he said, incidentally.

I didn’t ask. Not to be polite, I just didn’t really care what he was trying to get me to ask about. A surgical table sat by my left with a cloth on it. There was an identical one on my right.

“You need that many tools for this?” I asked bluntly. I got highest marks in art back in school, even if it was just an elective. I liked that class.

“The one on the right’s mine. Sit tight while I go get my potter’s wheel,” he cracked. Like I was going anywhere. He rolled his sleeves up his hairy arms and went off to fetch it.

That meant the one on the left was for me. I pulled the towel off the top and beneath it…


…were snacks!



If the details of Ebony’s operation were in this diary, I have been unable to find them. It remains a possibility that the procedure itself was of little interest to her, beyond what new powers it offered her. Much of the following chapter was rendered illegible by clay.


Darkness.

It now closes around me, as it swarms within me.

Its pretty dark on this plane, but I’ve been able to see in the dark for a real long time now. People teleport into this place all the time. I’ll be walking around in dark alleys (all the alleys are dark here) hoping to run into my dark prince since there’s no sun here, and someone’ll pop into existence. People pop out of existence all the time here too. I’ll be stood in the pub and waiting for a seat at the bar to open up and then someone’ll disappear. Tourists aren’t missed here, so I’m getting pretty good at killing people in alleys once I ask if they’re vampires and they ask me what the hell I’m talking about. It’ll be good practice for when I’m a vampire, plus this way I can develop a taste for human blood. I’m still working on it. It’s ok, I guess.

Today, I saw some guy lose a game of cards at the pub and give up a dragon’s egg like the one I tried to use to get dragon powers to some giant with a filthy beard. He bumped into me on his way out and spilled his trough of beer all over me, making my paint mascara run (they only sold black here, which was fine by me hehe).

“Och, thar, lassie. Surrey fer tha’, fink Oi ‘ad mebbe two er three tee mannee,” he belched at me, haggard.

I couldn’t understand what he was saying, he was probably talking in some gross poor person language like Giantese. The darkness within me asked for his blood, but if he tasted like he smelled, I didn’t want it in my tummy, so I let him go.

I went over to the guy who’d lost and sat in the giant’s empty chair.

“Don’t feel too bad, dude,” I said to him, seductively. He was wearing cool clothes. He had on a black cloak and a black turban on under the hood (or maybe his head was just big and lumpy like mine was now) with black gloves and a cool silver brooch holding his cloak closed of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth.

“I tried to get one of those dragon eggs once and used it to wash my hair but it didn’t turn me into a dragon, you saved yourself from getting visted,” I said, romantically. I couldn’t see his face real good, but if he liked snakes, then he must be pretty cool. Snakes are good. I could turn into a snake too, I’ve been able to do that for a while I think I said so earlier.


Presumably, this was in one of the missing sections


Bar guy pulled down his hood and revealed to me…

he had no hair! I gasped.

He had cool, snaky features too, kinda like mine, but more handsome instead of beautiful like me. He had cool Serrenese pupils with gray, steely eyes, and a snake nose and snake tongue he flicked out at me, seductively. He was gorgeous, I thought, as I looked as his snout.

“Worry not, fair maiden. My game with that foolish oaf is a long one that his inferior mortal mind cannot possibly comprehend. I lost that bauble simply because I willed it and nothing more. What art thou called? I regret mine own name hast been forever lost to the sands of time, lest mine enemies use it to claim power o’er me,” he said, seductively.

He poured blood from a big bottle into a wine glass and pushed it toward me. In its crimson surface, I saw my reflection, but not his. I reached out and “accidentally” (it wasn’t by accident at all! hehe) touched his gloved hand, and it was as cold as the gloom of the grave. I met his gaze, and his eyes had turned to a scarlet color.

I gasped.

“Your skin is pale white and ice cold. Your eyes change color, and you speak like—like you’re from a different time. I know what you are,” I said.

“Speak its name. Speak it aloud. Speak it!” he said, and I saw his fangs were almost as big as mine.

“Vampire!” I shrieked with delight, enthralled.

“Ye—, wait, what? Ew, no. I am no filthy human. I never was. I, my child, am a monstrous vampire, as I have been for an eternity,” he said.

“How’s that different?” I asked, annoyed.

“It is to vampire as we are to humans,” he said.

“So it’s better and cooler and more special?” I asked inquisitively.

“Truly, you are wise beyond your years. Answer me this, my dear: outside, there is a narrow street, that offers ample privacy,” he said urbanely.

“Yes, I wanna go there with you,” I said. This was right up my alley. I was gonna get up, but he held up his hand, and that made me want to stay put. He pushed the table away from himself with his muscular arms. I saw now that he had no legs, but a big, long snake tail framed seductively in a leather sheath. I guess that’s what Serrenese wore instead of shoes. He began slitherin—

The rest of the passage is blessedly marred by blood.


My dark prince was out more and more often working on evil schemes and trying to prevent some human prophecy from being fulfilled, so I didn’t really get to see him too much. I didn’t cast a reflection anymore, so I don’t know exactly how his silver kiss changed me. At least he didn’t bite off my leg.

I’d been a vampire a while, and it was pretty great, don’t get me wrong, but I started to feel about getting to be something else the way I used to feel about being a vampire. My dark prince had a bunch of other cool powers that I didn’t, so I figured they weren’t vampire powers. Maybe he’d done a bunch of stuff to himself before he figured out how to get someone to embrace him too. We really were meant for each other.

He worshipped some god called “Tim” or something. He didn’t talk about it too much. So while he was out killing humans and hiding cursed artifacts and stuff, I went into his diary and read some of the poems he wrote. They were pretty good, but none of them were about me, which was a little disappointing. I saw a spell in there with a bunch of details on evil ingredients and stuff. I committed it to memory and put the diary back and spent the night digging up his dad’s skeleton and making soup and a bunch of other stuff that I kind of forget.

Anyway, the spell totally worked, and I dominated the sexton at the graveyard to describe what I looked like now before I killed him and drank his blood and he told me that now I had one pearlescent, emerald eye (I guess from the ritual) and one red eye (that I knew was from my vampireness, my eyes glow red when I use my powers sometimes) and I was a little bigger.

I was pretty excited to tell my dark prince about my new powers, but he was pretty smart, so he might know I went through his stuff, so I wanted to get a surprise for him. I dominated a tattoo artist and made him figure out how to put his mark on me with the date of my embrace over my heart. It wasn’t cutting, just some kind of dye, or something (I wasn’t really paying attention) so I wouldn’t heal it away like all that stuff.

I bet he’ll love it!


And that, my friends, is as much of her diary as I have been able to recover. I hope it was as novel an experience to your senses as it was to mine. Thank you for both your time and your consideration. I know how valuable it is to such esteemed individuals as yourselves.

—Regards,
Milton Eckensy, Esq.




This letter is to let you know we have received your application. We appreciate your application to the Society of Sensation regarding the position of Ardent Dilettante. We are very busy this time of year in preparation for our annual Sensate Sensorium.

We’ve already begun lighting the ceremonial censer, and, despite last year’s unpleasantness, we are no longer under senatorial censure. If you are selected for an interview, you may expect a sending from our staff shortly. Please do not sending us with queries about your application status. These will not be returned.

Thank you again for your interest in the Society of Sensation.

Regards,

Felice

Head of Recruitment


CE Amphibious, tainted one, feral, corrupted by the abyss, mineral warrior, half-dragon, half-troll, primordial giant, half-clay golem, shadow, dark, lolth-touched, half-fey, unseelie fey, monstrous vampire, beast of Xvim, spellstitched, evolved undead silverbrow human spirit lion totem barbarian 1



starting abilities
str 13
dex 12
con 10
int 8
wis 15
cha 14

ending abilities
str 41
dex 16
con ø
int 12
wis 17
cha 30





CR
Class
Template
Current type
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Racial skill bonuses
Feats
Ability Modifiers
Class Features
Special Attacks
Special Qualities


1st
Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1
Amphibious
Humanoid (aquatic, dragonblood)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4 (skilled city dweller)
disguise +2, swim +8
power attack, dragonfire assault
dex -2
Pounce, Favored Enemy (humanoid (human)) (crafty hunter)

gain swim speed (30ft), always take 10 on swim, run while swimming


2nd

Tainted one
Humanoid (aquatic, dragonblood)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, swim +8
bonus feat: Alertness
con +2

psionics (poison 1/day, polymorph 3/day), poison bite (1d4 con/1d4 con),
immunity to snake venom, SR 12


3rd

Feral
Monstrous humanoid (aquatic, dragonblood)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, swim +8

str +4, dex -2 (-4)

2 claws (1d8), improved grab
land speed +10ft (40ft), natural armor +6,


4th

Corrupted by the Abyss
Aberration (aquatic, dragonblood)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, swim +8

str +4 (8), dex -2 (-6), con +4, wis -2, cha -2

2 claws (2d6),
natural armor +4 (+10), natural attacks +1 damage dice, darkvision 60, electric resist 5, enhance power: all special attack DCs +4, fast healing 1, +4 saves vs poison


5th

Mineral Warrior
Aberration (aquatic, dragonblood, earth)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, swim +8

str +2 (+10), con +4 (+8), int -2, wis -2 (-4), cha -2 (-4)

earth strike
burrow 1/2 land speed (20ft), natural armor +3 (+13), dr 8/adamantine


7th

Half-dragon
Dragon (aquatic, dragonblood, earth)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, swim +8

str +8 (+18), con +2 (+10), int +2 (+0), cha +2 (-2)

bite 1d6 (from corrupted by the abyss), breath weapon (black dragon: acid: 6d8, 60ft line 1/day)
natural armor +4 (+17), llv, immune to sleep, paralysis, fire,


9th

Half-troll, primordial giant
Giant (aquatic, dragonblood, earth)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
[/td]
disguise +2, spellcraft +2, swim +8, umd +2

half-troll (str +6 (+24), dex +2 (-4), con +6 (+16), int -2 (-2), cha -2 (-4))
primordial giant (str -4 (+20), con -2 (+14), int +4 (+2), cha +4 (+0)

half-troll (rend (4d6))
half-troll (natural armor +4 (+21), fast healing 5, scent)
primordial giant (invisibility at will, magical knack)


12th

Half-clay golem
Giant (aquatic, dragonblood, earth)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, spellcraft +2, swim +8, umd +2

str +8 (+28)

cursed wound
1 golem limb (leg), natural armor +7 (+28), dr 10/silver, berserk, haste, immune to piercing and slashing, magic immunity


13th

Shadow, dark
Giant (aquatic, dragonblood, earth, extraplanar)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, hide +8, ms +6, spellcraft +2, swim +8 umd +2




shadow (land speed x1.5 (60ft), cold resist 6, darkvision 60, llv, shadow blend),
dark (land speed +10ft (70ft), hide in plain sight, cold resist 10, superior llv)


14th

Lolth-touched
Giant (aquatic, dragonblood, earth, extraplanar)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, hide +8, ms +6, spellcraft +2, swim +8, umd +2

str +6 (+34), con +6 (+20)


fear immunity


15th

Half-fey, unseelie fey
Fey (aquatic, dragonblood, earth, extraplanar)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
disguise +2, hide +8, ms +6, spellcraft +2, swim +8, umd +2

half-fey (dex +2 (-2), con -2 (+18), wis +2 (-2), cha +4 (+4))
unseelie fey(str -2 (+32), dex +2 (+0), con -2 (+16), cha +2 (+6))


half-fey (charm person at will, hypnotism 1/day, faerie fire or glitterdust 1/day)
unseelie fey (vernal touch)
half-fey ((fly (140 ft: good), llv, immune to enchantment)
unseelie fey: (bird wings (fly 140 ft, average),iron vulnerability, vision)


17th

Monstrous Vampire
Undead (augmented fey, aquatic, dragonblood, earth, extraplanar)
+1
+2
+0
+0
intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4
bluff +8, disguise +2, hide +8, listen +8, ms +8, search +8, sense motive 8, spellcraft +2, spot +8, swim +8, umd +2
combat reflexes, dodge, improved initiative, lightning reflexes
str +6 (+38), dex +4 (+4), con ø int +2 (+4), wis +2 (+0), cha +4 (+10)

slam 1d8 (corrupted by the abyss), blood drain, children of the night, dominate, create spawn, energy drain
natural armor +6 (+34), alternate form, dr 10/silver, fast healing 5, gaseous form, resist cold, electric 10, spider climb, turn resist +4


18th

Beast of Xvim
Undead (augmented fey, aquatic, dragonblood, earth, extraplanar)
+1
+2
+2
+2
intimidate 2 (5), jump 4, know (arcana) 4, tumble 2 (5)
bluff +8, disguise +2, hide +8, listen +8, ms +8, search +8, sense motive 8, spellcraft +2, spot +8, swim +8, umd +2

cha +4 (+14)

2 claws (3d6), bite (1d8), slam (2d6), feed, smite good,
+1 HD (n/a), frightful presence, fear immunity, poison immunity, darkvision 60ft


19th

Spellstitched
Undead (augmented fey, aquatic, dragonblood, earth, extraplanar)
+1
+2
+2
+2
intimidate 5, jump 4, know (arcana) 4, tumble 5
bluff +8, disguise +2, hide +8, listen +8, ms +8, search +8, sense motive 8, spellcraft +2, spot +8, swim +8, umd +2



slas
sr 15+cha, turn resist +2 (+6)


20th

Evolved Undead
Undead (augmented fey, aquatic, dragonblood, earth, extraplanar)
+1
+2
+2
+2
intimidate 5, jump 4, know (arcana) 4, tumble 5
bluff +8, disguise +2, hide +8, listen +8, ms +8, search +8, sense motive 8, spellcraft +2, spot +8, swim +8, umd +2

str +2 (+40), cha +2 (+16)

haste 1/day
natural armor +1 (35), fast healing 3




1s:
benign transposition (spell compendium)
magic missile (srd)

2s:
wings of cover (races of the dragon)
command undead (srd)

3:
manyjaws (spell compendium)
shivering touch (frostburn)

4:
sinsabur’s baleful bolt (unapproachable east)
parboil (sandstorm)


(Note: you receive a few abilities more than once, such as darkvision. In the interests of making the chart less cluttered, I omitted duplicate abilities where possible)


Offensively, you’re moving and attacking to hop around the battlefield, and whomping humans really hard thanks to barbarian. Most parties are humanoid, and human’s the most popular pc race, after all. Tainted one gives a poisonous saliva you can get onto enemies through grappling or spitting in their coffee. Kissing also works, so that’s handy. and feral imparts natural attacks and juices your movement speed. Corrupted by the abyss steps up your natural weapons a damage die, and your natural armor is making you incredibly swole, so you’ll be difficult to hit, to say the least. You’re a brute, you’ve got power attack, and dragonfire assault can transform that extra damage into fire.

Utilitywise, darkvision’s up, so you can spot more enemies before they become a problem and blast over there to tear into them like fresh bread. Mineral warrior grants you a burrow of 20 feet, and you can swim at your land speed and breathe underwater, thanks to amphibious.

Defensively, SR helps a lot at this level, and mineral warrior imparts dr/adamantine, and corrupted by the abyss chips in fast healing.

Skilled city dweller changes ride to tumble, so enjoy. All your other skill stuff comes from racial bonuses.

Typewise, you begin as the simple dragonblooded human, acquire the aquatic subtype, make a pit stop in monstrous humanoid for feral, transform into aberration via corrupted by the abyss, and then mineral warrior throws the earth subtype on the pile.



Half-troll is a finicky template. As open-minded as trolls are when it comes to their reproductive partners, they can’t yield viable offspring with aberrations. Fortunately, that’s not the end of the road.

Half-dragon can be applied to aberration and changes your type to dragon, which can become a half-troll no problem, leaving you as a giant for the time being, opening the door to primordial giant. You can now turn your bonus damage from power attack into acid damage from your black dragon powers via dragonfire assault.

Offensively, you pick up a bite attack, all the better to deliver your poison with, and corrupted by the abyss nudges it up a step. Half-troll gives rend, which is 2x your claw. Your claw for right now is 2d6, so rend deals 4d6 + 1 1/2 your current strength mod. Right now, it’s 4d6+19, but keep an eye on it for later increases in damage dice and boosts to your strength. You’re immune to fire, in addition to your other resistances, alongside.

Utilitywise, scent’s online, and you can do all kinds of fun stuff with that. Thanks to amphibious, you can also use it underwater. Primordial giant also gives invisibility at will, and its magical knack boosts it to double its duration, which is handy.

Defensively, your fast healing’s up to 5, and your natural armor climbs ever higher.



Your type maneuvering has landed you as a giant, which is a legal target for half-golem. Make sure you shore up your fort save for when your one clay golem, a leg, is attached (shouldn’t be hard with your enormous con) and pass it to retain your type for now.

Offensively, half-golem gives you berserk, to help kick in your enemies’ heads, alongside haste, and you’re doling out wounds that never heal. Half-fey lets you charm people at will. Your strength is absolutely grotesque right now, and it’ll only get higher.

Defensively, you gain a lot at this point: complete immunity to piercing and slashing, even from magical weapons. You get clay golem’s magic immunity as well, and heal from acid damage, so that, like fire is no longer a concern to you. You’ve got some more dr, which is always nice. Shadow gives you some cold resist, as does dark. Assume only the highest applies. Lolth-touched means you can cross fear off the list of things you care about as well. Half-fey confers immunity to enchantment.

Utilitywise, your speed climbs ever higher, which boosts your pouncing, alongside your swim and burrow speeds. You also have shadow blend and hide in plain sight, allowing you to hide even when being observed. Half-fey puts your movement speed to work once more and lets you take to the skies at 140ft (good) with some backup wings from unseelie fey (in case your half-fey wings get zapped off by a beholder with disintegration finesse or something) that let you fly almost as well. Vernal touch lets you remove some appalling conditions from living creatures at will: (dazed, nauseated, fatigued, and exhausted) which can be killers. It also works like turn undead for undead, albeit only against a single target. Useful for keeping your living allies you’ve picked up through charm, dominate, etc. in proper fighting condition.

While applying dark before shadow would’ve led to a slightly higher speed, applying shadow before dark means that when dark is applied. As with the example in the sidebar, all you really gain is hide in plain sight and a small boost to your already extremely high speed. Consequently, dark imparts 0 to your CR.

You get back on that type train again and change from a giant to fey. By now, you’ve been 6 of the 15 core types. Not too shabby by level 15.




All good things must come to an end, and while you continue collecting strange powers til the end, it is now that your type changing comes to an end with your embrace of the undead type. You round out play as an (undead (augmented fey, aquatic, earth, extraplanar)) monster. Say that five times fast.

Ghostwalk goes to the mat for you with its monstrous vampire template: vampire if you’re not a humanoid or monstrous humanoid. Vampire gives you an interminable list of goodies:

Offensively, you get a slam (boosted by corrupted by the abyss) along with blood drain, since you’re already pinning people to poison them, and half-dragon gives poor vampire an actual bite attack to boot. You can summon creepy crawlies, dominate enemies, create spawn, and dole out negative levels. Your ability scores continue to balloon to grotesque proportions, and your strength at 50 now. You’ll hit, and when you do, you’ll hit hard.

The extremely obscure beast of Xvim template gives you frightful presence as well, alongside the feed ability, largely akin to the barghest’s. For the purposes of this build, I did not take into account any extra hit dice added by virtue of feeding for simplicity’s sake, but should you use this villain, it’s another weapon in her repertoire. Evolved undead lets you use haste more often, its duration boosted from primordial giant’s magical knack alongside beast of Xvim’s extra HD, and extra attacks are always appreciated.

Due to monstrous vampire conferring the augmented subtype, beast of Xvim’s extra HD is of fey, but grants a d12 HD. As the cr is unchanged from beast of Xvim, this does not add 1/4 to your cr, since it is not by racial advancement. Primordial half-giant provides knowledge (arcana) as a class skill. Your extra hd boosts your primordial giant invisibility’s cl to 3, alongside raising all your other hd-dependent effects.

Spellstitched gives you a bunch of slas that help you out as well. Primordial giant’s magical knack boosts their cl. It also grants you a prodigious amount of slas due to your high wisdom, chosen specifically for your needs. Benign transposition helps out with bfc and utility. Magic missile is always handy for picking out hard to hit foes. Wings of cover is an instant no button. Command undead is handy for increasing your minion pool, and its duration is good and long. Manyjaws helps lock enemies down, and shivering touch will paralyze pretty much anything. Sinsabur’s baleful bolt dishes out str and con damage in a 120 foot line 5 feet wide, so you can clip many enemies with it, and parboil deals decent damage along with a whopping 2d4 intelligence damage in a 20 foot burst, and doesn’t scale, so your cl isn’t a drawback. It may seem like a fairly run of the mill blasting spell, but since you can cast it as a sla, and are immune to both fire damage and the int damage from this spell, since it’s a fort save that does not also affect objects, you can bomb yourself with it while grappling an enemy so you can poison bite, blood drain, etc them.

Defensively, your natural armor keeps soaring, and you’ve got undead immunities and more dr in addition to your other goodies. Gaseous form helps you out when you’re in a pinch (or just to get through locked doors you don’t want to put your heel through). Turn resistance from monstrous vampire and spellstitched alike helps protect you from enemy clerics or other necrophobes. The amphibious template, back from the start, also protects you against vampires’ weakness of running water.

Since it was a movement mode you didn’t have yet, grab spider climb. Alternate form is fun and helps you go incognito should circumstance call for it.




stormwrack: amphibious
savage species: tainted one, feral
expedition to the demonweb pits: corrupted by the abyss
underdark: mineral warrior
srd: half-dragon, human, barbarian, crafty hunter, power attack
complete champion: spirit lion totem
fiend folio: half-troll
secrets of xen’drik: primordial giant
mm2: half-clay golem, spellstitched
lords of madness: shadow
tome of magic: dark
mm4: lolth-touched
ghostwalk: monstrous vampire
monsters of faerun: beast of xvim
libris mortis: evolved undead
dragon magic: silverbrow human, dragonfire assault
skilled city dweller: cityscape web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)
portrait: by me

[jdizzlean]

We are Borg, resistance is futile!



In, The Undead Laboratory

CE Huge 7-Headed Swarm Shifter 18+12 HD Cadaver Golem (swarm of Undead Parts)

https://78.media.tumblr.com/e87f830242039b14a68624b931949966/tumblr_ncxoy4BNmh1ri1r1uo1_1280.jpg



So, let’s start with a fun monster, the Cadaver Golem (Heroes of Horror p. 150). This seems to be an usual flesh golem - but in fact there was an error during conception - this is a dangerous sentient creature, which can Assimilate Flesh (Ex) - graft itself with body parts to gain skills & abilities from the rightful owner of said body parts (which alas are almost always killed in the process). By itself, this monster would be enough for the contest, as simply growing HD, grafting other heads & body parts would be enough for split personalities horror.

But we are in Iron Chief competition, so I dare use another component to spice it up : the Swarm Shifter template (Libris Mortis p. 123). This ingredient should mix only with undeads, while our Cadaver Golem is a construct…says rules, not the concept. Let me dare use it anyway, as it allows for a memorable dish : this Cadaver Golem can be disassembled as a swarm of Undead Parts… Imagine : our courageous adventurers just killed a necromancer, and make their way up to the laboratory, which is a mess of dead members, heads, torsos and legs everywhere… and then the fun begins as all this mess animates !

My third ingredient is not so special in this contest I guess : it’s Multiheaded template from Savage Species (p. 124) - our Cadaver Golem is already able to graft itself with body parts, so adding heads is par for the course - the only finery there is that the golem should become Huge above 20 HD, which will allow him to grow above 3 heads. I decided that the 2 HD added for each new head would count for size upgrade - it’s not too difficult to add HD on the Cadaver Golem until it hits 20 HD otherwise.

That’s all folks - I dare not add other parts in the mix, this is already a fun monster with too much possible variants - depending on which body parts are grafted on it - and a great trap for aspiring necromancers… I only used feats to increase skills - and intelligence once we are on epic (more than 20 HD)



All HD gains in Intelligence.



Level
Class
Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha

CR 8 Cadaver Golem (10 HD) - Elite Array
25 15 - 16 13 10
CR 11 2-headed (10+2 HD)
25 15 - 17 13 10
CR 13 3-headed (14+4 HD)
25 15 - 18 13 10
CR 14 3-headed (17+4 HD), Huge size
33 13 - 19 13 10
CR 15 5-headed (18+8 HD)
33 13 - 21 13 10
CR 16 7-headed (18+12 HD)
33 13 - 23 13 10






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


CR 8
Cadaver Golem (10 HD)
+7
+3
+3
+3
(2+3 Int)x13 : Jump 13, Hide 13, Listen 13, Move Silently 13, Spot 13
Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Sunder, Power Attack
Large size, Assimilate Parts (Ex), construct traits, damage reduction 5/adamantine, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to magic, low-light vision, natural armor +10


CR 9
Swarm Shifter (Swarm of Undead Parts)
+7
+3
+3
+3
(2+3 Int)x13 : Disguise 0(+10 as undead parts), Jump 13, Hide 13, Listen 13, Move Silently 13, Spot 13

Swarm Form (Su), Distraction (Ex), Fear (Su, DC 15), Parts (Ex), Swarm (Ex) attack 3d6, Half Damage From Slashing and Piercing (Ex)


CR 11
2-headed (10+2 HD)
+9
+4
+4
+4
(2+3 Int)x15 : Disguise 5+10, Jump 13, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Listen 13+2, Move Silently 13, Search 0+2, Spot 13+2
Open Minded (12 HD), Improved Initiative (B), Combat Reflexes (B)
Darkvision 90 ft. ; Superior Multiweapon Fighting (Ex), Fear (Su, DC 16), Swarm attack 4d6, natural armor +11, +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot


CR 12
3-headed (10+4 HD)
+10
+4
+4
+4
(2+3 Int)x17 : Disguise 5+10, Jump 13, Hide 13, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (religion) 10, Listen 13+4, Move Silently 13, Search 0+4, Spot 13+4

Fear (Su, DC 17), Swarm attack 4d6, natural armor +12, +4 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot


CR 13
3-headed (14+4 HD)
+13
+6
+6
+6
(2+3 Int)x19 +(2+4 Int)x2 : Disguise 10+10, Jump 13, Hide 18, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (religion) 10, Listen 13+4, Move Silently 13, Open Lock 6, Search 0+4, Sleight of Hand 6, Spot 18+4
Open Minded (15 HD)
Fear (Su, DC 19), Swarm attack 5d6


CR 14
3-headed (17+4 HD)
+15
+7
+7
+7
(2+3 Int)x19 +(2+4 Int)x5 : Disguise 15+10, Jump 13, Hide 24, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (religion) 10, Listen 13+4, Move Silently 13, Open Lock 6, Search 0+4, Sleight of Hand 18, Spot 18+4
Open Minded (18 HD), Superior Initiative (21 HD)
Huge size, Fear (Su, DC 20), Swarm attack 6d6, natural armor +13


CR 15
3 to 5-headed (18+4 to 8 HD)
+19
+8
+8
+8
(2+3 Int)x19 +(2+4 Int)x7 +(2+5 Int)x3 : Disguise 15+10, Jump 13, Hide 24, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 10, Knowledge (nature) 11, Knowledge (religion) 10, Listen 19+8, Move Silently 13, Open Lock 6, Search 0+8, Sleight of Hand 24, Spot 18+8
Great Intelligence (24 HD)
Fear (Su, DC 23), natural armor +15, +8 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot


CR 16
6 to 7-headed (18+10 to 12 HD)
+22
+10
+10
+10
(2+3 Int)x19 +(2+4 Int)x7 +(2+5 Int)x3 +(2+6 Int)x4: Disguise 15+10, Jump 13, Hide 24, Knowledge (arcana) 24, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 19, Knowledge (nature) 11, Knowledge (religion) 10, Listen 19+12, Move Silently 13, Open Lock 15, Search 0+12, Sleight of Hand 24, Spot 18+12
Great Intelligence (27 HD), Great Intelligence (30 HD)
Fear (Su, DC 25), natural armor +17, +12 racial bonus on Listen, Search and Spot

[jdizzlean]

You could catch a really big fish with this for bait!

https://pre00.deviantart.net/8a1a/th/pre/i/2016/142/b/7/vampire_dragon__juvenile__by_decadia-da3cnw2.jpg
(This is not my image, credit where credit is due)

Bloodstar the Transfused
Day in and day out, hunting among the same stretches of half frozen tundra. A boring existence really. Some smallish creatures showed up one day and with them they brought something that would change me.

They were servants of a dark creature, a vampire of my own kind i came to learn, slowly it began to take over my hunting grounds ousting me little by little. It didn't need to eat, just left wrecked bloodless corpses in its wake that were little nourishment. Weeks later, almost dead from hunger this creature of greater darkness came to me with an offer, undeath for service. I accepted, but began plotting behind his back immediately.

The fool gave me powers, weak though they were. I honed them as i could, became a creature of the night myself. Helping to take one of the isles over and soon another. When the chance presented itself i took its unlife by my claws, tormented its servants and became their new master. Though i found myself delighting in the work i was doing before, so i kept at it until all the isles were in my grip.

It has been many years since those events, and the Hoarfrost Isles are now under my control instead of just a lonely stretch of land. But now i find more creatures, Adventurers they call themselves, venturing into my realm. Fat on tales of a monster that stalks the twilight of the Hoarfrost Isles, tales of a dragon and treasure. Tales of a tyrant that holds the denizens of the Isles in its clawed grip. I am Bloodstar the Transfused, these are my lands, and i will not see interlopers take them from me again.

Bloodstar | LE | CR 20 | Huge Evolved Vampiric Spellstitched Beast of Xivm Tundra Landwyrm | Undead
HD: 26D12+96 (281)
AC: 34 (–2 size, +21 natural, +5 dex), touch 8, flat-footed 29
Initiative: +6
BAB/Grapple: +24/+45
Saves: Fort | Ref | Will
Resistances: DR 10/magic or DR 5/magic & silver(whichever applies first), SR/19, Cold 20, Electricity 20
Speed: 50 ft. Burrow 20 ft.
Immunities: Mind Affecting effects, Poison, Magic sleep effects, Paralysis, Stunning, Disease, Death effects, Fear
Ability Scores: Str 37, Dex 20, Con --, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 25
Attacks: Bite +37(3d8+13/19–20), 2 claws +30(3d6+6)
Special Attacks: Blood Drain(base(1d6con dmg, grappled), and vampire(1d4con drain, pinned)), Frightful Presence(Dragon & Beast of Xivm), Improved Grab, Snatch, Energy Drain, Charm, Domination, Charnel Touch, Rebuke Undead, Feed, Spell like abilities
Space/Reach: 15’/10’
Senses: Tremorsense 60’, Darkvision 60’
Turn Resistance: +6




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


14
(24 HD)
Tundra Landwyrm
+24/19/14/9
19
16
15
Diplomacy 10, Hide 13*, Intimidate 9, Knowledge(Nature) 8, Knowledge(Religion) 9, Listen 20, Sense Motive 13, Spot 20, Survival 5
Blind-Fight, Cleave, Improved Critical (bite),
Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Power Attack, Snatch,
Stealthy, Track


Blood drain, frightful presence, improved
grab, snatch, Cold adaptation, resistance to cold 20,
tremorsense 60 ft.




16
Vampiric Dragon
+24/19/14/9
--
19
16
Bluff 8, Hide 23, Listen 28, Move Silently 8, Search 8, Spellcraft 4, Sense Motive 21, Spot 28


Alertness, Combat
Reflexes, Dodge, Lightning Reflexes


+2 nat armor, blood drain, charm, domination, energy drain, fast healing 5, cold and electric 20 resistance, turn resistance, undead traits, vampiric weaknesses, ability score increases. +8 racial bonus on Bluff,
Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive,
Spot checks. Bonus feats




17
Spellstitched
+24/19/14/9
--
21
18


Damage Reduction, Spell Resistance, Turn Resistance, Saves, Spell like abilities


18
Dread Necromancer
+24/19/14/9
--
21
20
Concentration 2
Practiced Spellcaster
Charnel Touch, Rebuke Undead


19
Evolved Undead
+24/19/14/9
--
21
20


+1 nat armor, Greater Invisibility, Fast healing 3, Ability score increases


20
Beast of Xivm
+25/20/15/10
--
21
20
Intimidate 15

Frightful Presence, Feed, Smite Good, Immunities, Damage Reduction, Darkvision, Ability score increase


Base stats: Str 31, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha 19
Vampiric: Str +4, Dex +6, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4
Evolved: +2 Str +2 Cha
End stats: Str 37, Dex 20, Con --, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 25


Bloodstar Is a fairly powerful creature, it tries to use stealth tactics and its burrow speed to surprise prey and drag it into a hole to feast on. Though its of average intelligence it eeks out a bland existence.

At CR18 Bloodstar has been existing for quite some time but in the service of a greater vampiric dragon. He has become a vampire himself and had spells stitched into his bones. He always keeps the spell Ghostly Tail going, using it to deadly effect. When faced with many foes he will use Death armor when needed facing off against melee foes and using Acid Breath to deal a good chunk of damage. If possible he will start combat off by terrorizing or distracting foes in his lair by casting Distracting Shadows then finally casting Dance of Ruin and to grapple and drag a foe off into the tunnels.

At CR 20 Bloodstar has been existing for centuries, he now controls the Hoarfrost Isles. Bloodstars cruel and dark nature has manifested itself in a small measure of power. Marking it as a Beast of Iyachtu Xvim. He uses the new powers to great effect using Smite Good against particularly annoying good aligned foes, and uses its new frightful presence and damage reduction to survive longer. If truly angered he will go on a killing spree consuming hundreds if not thousands of creatures gaining immeasurable power, but holds himself in check. For if he were to he would lose himself to madness.



Landwyrm;
Blood Drain (Ex): If a tundra landwyrm gets a hold on a living foe, it can drain blood with a successful grapple check. Each successful grapple check deals 1d6 points of Constitution damage to its target. A single landwyrm can deal as many points of Constitution damage in a day as it has Hit Dice.

Frightful Presence (Ex): 120-ft. radius, HD 23 or fewer, Will DC 23 negates.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a tundra land-wyrm must hit a creature of its size or smaller with a claw attack. If it gets a hold, it can attempt to draw blood. It can also attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity.

Snatch (Ex): Against Small or smaller creatures, bite for 3d8+13/round or claw for 3d6+6/round.
Vampire Dragon;Saves have a DC of 10 + 1/2 vampiric dragon’s HD + vampiric dragon’s Cha modifier unless noted otherwise.

Blood Drain (Ex): A vampiric dragon can suck blood from a living victim one size category smaller than itself or larger. If pinned, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Con drain each round pinned.

Charm (Su): full-round action, any creatures within 30 feet per age category of the base dragon who can hear its voice must make a Will save or become charmed (as charm monster). The charm is immediately broken if the vampiric dragon uses its frightful presence within range of the charmed individual or makes any attack against the charmed individual. A vampiric dragon need not see its targets to use this power.

Create Spawn (Su): A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a vampiric dragon’s energy drain attack rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days after death. If a vampiric dragon instead drains its victim’s Constitution to 0, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or fewer Hit Dice and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under the command of the vampiric dragon that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s death. An adult or older dragon slain by a vampiric dragon’s blood drain returns as a vampiric dragon under the command of the vampiric dragon that created it, as noted above. Young adult or younger dragons slain by its blood drain attack, or any dragons slain by its energy drain attack, rise instead as mindless zombie dragons.

Domination (Su): A vampiric dragon can crush an opponent’s will just by looking into its eyes. This ability works similarly to a gaze attack, except that the vampiric dragon must use a standard action, and those merely looking at the creature are not affected. Anyone the vampiric dragon targets must succeed on a Will save or fall instantly under the vampiric dragon’s influence as though by a dominate monster spell (caster level 18th). The ability has a range of 30 feet plus 10 feet per age category of the base dragon.

Energy Drain (Su): A living creature hit by a vampiric dragon’s claw attack gains one negative level.

Spellstitched;
Spell-Like Abilities:
1st: 3/day, Ice Slick. 1/day, Ghostly Tail.
2nd: 2/day, Dance of Ruin. 2/day, Death Armor.
3rd: 2/day, Acid Breath.

Dread Necromancer;
Charnel Touch (Su): At will,once per round, she can make a melee touch attack against a living foe that deals 1d8 points of damage, +1 per four class levels. This touch heals undead creatures, restoring 1 hit point per touch, +1 per four class levels.
Rebuke Undead (Su): A dread necromancer can rebuke or command undead creatures by channeling negative energy through her body. See the cleric class feature described on page 33 of the Player's Handbook.

Evolved Undead;
Greater Invisibility: 1/day, CL equal to HD

Beast of Xivm;
Frightful Presence (Ex): Activated when the beast of Xvim makes a loud sound (a roar, growl, or other sound appropriate to its form), this extraordinary ability forces creatures within 30 feet with fewer Hit Dice than the beast to make a Will save (DC 30) or become frightened. The effect lasts for 5d6 rounds. When the beast activates this power, its eyes glow bright emerald green.

Feed (Su): When a beast of Xvim slays a humanoid opponent, it can feed on the corpse, devouring both flesh and life force. For every 8 HD or levels the beast consumes, it gains one Hit Die. The beast can delay this feeding for up to one day per Hit Die it has; after that time, the victim’s life force is beyond its reach. Feeding destroys the victim’s body and prevents any form of raising or resurrection that requires part of the corpse. A wish, miracle, or true resurrection spell can restore a devoured victim to life, but there is a 50% chance that even such powerful magic will fail.

Smite Good (Su): 1/day +20 damage against a good foe.


Landwyrm;
Cold Adaptation (Ex): Tundra landwyrms take no non-lethal damage from exposure to low temperatures (though this ability doesn’t affect normal cold-based damage). They suffer no ill effects (such as penalties on Spot checks) from snow or sleet and can walk across icy surfaces without needing to make a Balance check.

Vampire Dragon;
Fast Healing (Ex): A vampiric dragon heals 5 hit points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points or lower, a vampiric dragon automatically assumes gaseous form (fly speed 40 feet, otherwise as the spell) and attempts to escape. It must reach its hoard within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (It can travel up to 18 miles in 2 hours.) Once at rest upon its hoard, it rises to 1 hit point after 1 hour, then resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round. For obvious reasons, a vampiric dragon prefers to keep its hoard well concealed from adventurers and would-be thieves.

Resistance (Ex): A vampiric dragon has resistance to cold 20 and electricity 20.
Turn Resistance (Ex): A vampiric dragon has +4 turn resistance (see page 317 of the Monster Manual).
Undead Traits: immune to mind affecting effects, poison, magic sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save unless it also works on objects or is harmless. It is not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability damage to its physical ability scores, ability drain, energy drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or death from massive damage. It cannot be raised, and resurrection works only if it is willing. It has darkvision out to 60 feet (unless the base creature had a greater range).

Vampiric Weaknesses: Vampiric dragons share the typical vampire’s vulnerability to sunlight. Direct sunlight slows a vampiric dragon, allowing it only a single standard action or move action each round. A vampiric dragon can survive exposure to direct sunlight for a number of consecutive rounds equal to its age category, after which it is utterly destroyed. Driving a wooden stake through a vampiric dragon’s heart slays it, just as with a normal vampire (though for larger dragons, you’ll need a stake the size of a spear). Unlike other vampires, vampiric dragons are not injured by immersion in water. Vampiric dragons are not repelled by garlic or mirrors (though they don’t keep mirrors in their hoards), and they can freely cross running water. They can’t enter a home unless invited, but most simply destroy the home and then pick through the rubble for their victims.

Spellstitched;
Damage Reduction (Ex): DR 5/magic and silver.

Spell Resistance (Ex): 19

Turn Resistance (Ex): A spellstitched creature gains +2 turn resistance (added to the base creature’s turn resistance, if any).

Saves: +2 profane bonus on all saving throws.

Beast of Xivm;
Immunities: Poison, Fear.

Damage Reduction (Su): DR 10/magic.
Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.

Tundra Landwyrm, Draconomicon pg 172
Vampiric Dragon, Draconomicon pg 195
Spellstitched, Complete Arcane pg 161
Evolved Undead, Libris Mortis pg 99
Beast of Xivm, Monsters of Faerun pg, 86

Spells;
Acid Breath, Spell Compendium pg 7
Dance of Ruin, Book of Vile Darkness pg 90
Death Armor, Spell Compendium pg 60
Distracting Shadows, Magic of Ebberon pg 90
Ghostly Tail, Races of the Dragon pg 113

[jdizzlean]

that's a lot of mouths to feed...

The All-Devourer

Monstrous 20 Headed Lernean Roc of Legend
“Burn the land and boil the sea.”

In the belly of the Great Red Wound, a being of insurmountable power lies chained. It breathes fire as hot as the hottest pit in the hells. It is not a kind creature. It is the empowered incarnation of all hate, according to legend. Many fear it, few dare tread near it.

The All-Devourer began its life merely as a fire-breathing Roc, born under dreadful and auspicious circumstances. It was not intelligent and not particularly powerful for a fire-breathing bird but it came to be used as a pet by a powerful, fearsome god. But mortal heroes murdered the pet with barbs of ice, and the god grew furious. Raising the roc to life and sowing on an extra nineteen heads, the god set the being to wrath. In time, a band of powerful heroes chained the Roc beneath the earth in chains of unmeltable ice. The All-Devourer breathed fire, creating the Great Red Wound in the land above where it was bound from the constant boiling of the land. Some cultists gather around the area, worshipping him still. They are fools. The All-Devourer will offer no mercy to any living creature when its chain break. The signs say that they will break soon.



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


10
Monstrous (SS. 123) Roc (SRD)
+13
+11
+11
+7
Hide 8; Listen 8; Spot 5
Clinging Breath, Linger Breath, Shape Breath, Spread Breath, Extend Spread Breath, Flyby Attack, Recover Breath (Metabreaths – Draconomicon/MM4)
Low Light Vision, Breath Weapon (Fire, 6d6, 2d4 recovery); Fire Subtype


12
Monster of Legend (MMII)
+13
+11
+11
+7
-
Multiattack
Breath Weapon (Fire, 3d6, 1d4 Recovery time), Reflective Hide (Spell-Turning); Spell Resistance 19


20
16-Headed Lernean 32HD (Savage Species 124)
+52
+32
+32
+28
Hide 53; Listen 53; Spot 53; Search 18
Flyby Breath (Dragonlance Campaign Setting); Strafing Breath (Dragonlance Campaign Setting); Improved Initative (b); Combat Reflexes (b); Power Attack; Improved Flight (Complete Adventurer), Wingover, Great Flyby Attack, Improved Multiattack (B)
15x breath weapons and bite attacks;



The Three Levels:
Base Stats: STR 39; DEX 16; CON 28; INT 2; WIS 15; CHA 8
Gargantuam Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 18d8+162 (243)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 80 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 18 (-4 size, +3 Dex, +9 Natural), Touch 9, Flatfooted 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/+39
Attack: Talon +23 Melee (2d6+14)
Full Attack: Talon +23 melee (2d6+14) and bite +17 Melee (2d8+7)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath Weapon
Special Qualities: Low-light vision; fire subtype
Saves: Fort +20, Ref +14, Will +8
Abilities: STR 39; DEX 16; CON 28; INT 2; WIS 15; CHA 8
Skills: Hide -1; Listen +10; Spot +11
Feats: Clinging Breath, Linger Breath, Shape Breath, Spread Breath, Extend Spread Breath, Flyby Attack, Recover Breath
A Fire breathing Kaiju! There’s not much special here yet, though using lingering breath means that it sets everything on fire as well. It can devastate villages at a pass, but I expect on level PCs to deal with it just fine.
Gargantuan Outsider
Hit Dice: 18d8+252 (333)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 80 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 23 (-4 size, +3 Dex, +14 Natural), Touch 9, Flatfooted 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/+39
Attack: Talon +23 Melee (2d6+19)
Full Attack: 2 Talon +23 melee (2d6+19) and bite +17 Melee (2d8+9)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath Weapon (6d6, 2d4 rounds); (3d6, 1d4 rounds)
Special Qualities: Low-light vision; fire subtype; Reflective Hide; Spell Resistance 19
Saves: Fort +28, Ref +20, Will +12
Abilities: STR 49; DEX 22; CON 38; INT 4; WIS 17; CHA 12
Skills: Hide -1; Listen +10; Spot +12
Feats: Clinging Breath, Linger Breath, Shape Breath, Spread Breath, Extend Spread Breath, Flyby Attack, Recover Breath, Multiattack, Improved Initiative.

Although not particularly larger or more dangerous than its previous form, Spitefire is a loyal servant of a god and frequently has someone smarter guiding it. It is also highly resistant to any on level magic the PCs might bring to bear, forcing them to face it in man to man combat. It breathes fire more rapidly, and is dangerous enough.

Gargantuan Outsider
Hit Dice: 48d8+1152 (1368)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), fly 80 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 23 (-4 size, +3 Dex, +14 Natural), Touch 9, Flatfooted 20
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/+39
Attack: Talon +23 Melee (2d6+14)
Full Attack: 2 Talon +23 melee (2d6+14) and 16 bite +17 Melee (2d8+7)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: 16 Breath Weapon (6d6, 2d4 rounds); (3d6, 1d4 rounds)
Special Qualities: Low-light vision; fire subtype; Reflective Hide; Spell Resistance 34; Dark Vision 90 ft.; Lernean (Body Immune to Damage)
Saves: Fort +45, Ref +37, Will +29
Abilities: STR 49; DEX 22; CON 68; INT 4; WIS 17; CHA 12
Skills: Hide +39; Listen +82; Spot +86; Search +48
Feats: Clinging Breath, Linger Breath, Shape Breath, Spread Breath, Extend Spread Breath, Flyby Attack, Recover Breath, Multiattack, Improved Initiative. Flyby Breath, Strafing Breath, Improved Initiative, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, Improved Flight, Wingover, Great Flyby Attack, Improved Multiattack.

In this form, the All-Devourer destroys basically everything in its path with fire as quickly as possible. It rolls either 45d6 and 90d6 when doing so, and can use those breath weapons about every four or eight rounds (using extend spread breath and lingering breath). For all practical purposes immune to most magic (Spell Resistance + Spell Turning + Those Saves) and immune to most damage, the All-Devourer is a kaiju and ought to be understood as such. There’s really nothing stopping the PCs from teleporting away or migrating to another continent or planeshifting into the ethereal. But the longer they leave the thing alive, the more people it kills. Thanks to the handy absence of errata, it does not need to eat or sleep, so it can’t be ganked while vulnerable. Legends of its vulnerability to acid dealing beheadment should be available for the PCs to find or just know from a Knowledge (Religion) check. They’re still going to have to close the distance (somehow immune to fire, probably) and hack off its heads one by one before they die from being pecked to death. Any ingenuity in killing it should be rewarded. It does not fit in a forcecage, as Roc’s are thirty feet long according to the SRD.

[jdizzlean]

Why did it have to be rats! (part 1)

The Hungering Swarm
Greater Cranium Rat Swarm



Point Buy

Racial

Template

Level Up

Total



Strength: 13

-8

+10


15



Dexterity: 12

+6

+8


26



Constitution:10

+4

+12


26



Intelligence: 14

+8

-6


16



Wisdom: 8

+4

-2


10



Charisma: 15

+8

+4

+1

28






The Hungering Swarm was not always this way, once upon a time it was a normal colony of cranium rats, if you can call them normal. It used it’s abilities for self protection, and to get food. It was evil yes, willing to feed on a halfling child that encountered it, but what else do you expect from wild animals. It’s life was simple, and its territory marked. It lived in the northern reaches of Cyre. During the last years of The Last War a wendigo outbreak happened. Some Troll got infected and those things eat just about anything. Eventually one of the 300 cranium rats got infected. The hive mind was going to destroy that one rat, but then it saw what this new cranium rat could do. They called it forced evolution. They stunned their own rat, and forced it to infect the whole of the swarm. It granted them many powers, albeit at a cost they did not yet know. Fast forward a year to the end of The Last War. The Day of Mourning happened, and the swarm was unprepared. Their home annihilated in the blink of an eye, and an alien landscape is all that remained. Their source of food and their protection gone they used their flight to scavenge, to feed, to exist. But their sense of purpose slowly decayed. Their hunger consumed them. It was now that the rats would have realized their error, had they been thinking properly. They began to sing a song of despair, droning on, inflicting their pain on any that would hear, that could hear. They lived like this for a year and more, slowly changing, ever changing. They have built a ‘home’ however it is in a sandy wasteland instead of their frozen home that they enjoyed. Prey is rare, the hunger is intense, and their madness growing. They may be intelligent, but their mind is crazed. They live, only to feed.



CR

Class

Base Attack Bonus

Fort Save

Ref Save

Will Save

Skills

Feats

Class Features


2

Lesser Cranium Rat Swarm
(6 HD)

+6

+5

+5

+2


Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul

Hivemind, Low light Vision, Darkvision 60 ft, Distraction, Merge Swarms, Swarm Traits, Mindblast



5

Average Cranium Rat Swarm
(12 HD)

+12

+8

+8

+4


Mindsight, Practiced Spellcaster

Spellcasting(4), Telepathy, Cold Resistance 10, Swarm Regeneration



11

Greater Cranium Rat Swarm
(24 HD)
((THIS IS THE ACTUAL BASE CREATURE))

+24

+14

+14

+7

+27 Concentration, +27 Sense Motive, +27 Spot, +12 Spellcraft, +12 Knowledge Arcana, +12 Hide, +12 Move Silently, +12 Survival

Snowcasting, Energy Substitution Cold, Lord of the Uttercold, Corpsecrafter, Greater Spell Penetration(B)

Cold Immunity, Spell Resistance, Spellcasting(10)



13

Wendigo

+24

+14

+14

+7


Track(B)

Become Fey, d6 HD, 120 ft perfect fly speed, loss of other speeds, disease, bite attack, maddening whispers, ravenous bite, corner of the eye, Regen 5, cold subtype, Wind Walk, +4 str, +8 dex, +4 con, +2 wis, +4 cha, +8 hide, +8 move silently, +8 survival



14

Lost

+24

+14

+14

+7



Incarnum Subtype, +3 natural armor, Song of Misery, DR 10/magic, twisted mind, +4 str, +4 con, -6 int



18

Mistling

+24

+14

+14

+7



+2 Natural Armor, Claw Attack, Aligned Strike, Magic Strike, Poison, Conjure Living Spell, Spell Like Abilities, +2 str, +4 con, -4 wis, DR 10/Cold Iron, Immunity to Poison, Disease, Polymorph, 34 SR, Acid/elec/fire resist 10, Madness, Misty Aura



19

Sorcerer
25 HD

+24

+14

+14

+9

+27 Concentration, +27 Sense Motive, +27 Spot, +17 Spellcraft, +12 Knowledge Arcana, +12 Hide, +12 Move Silently, +12 Survival


Familiar



20

Barbarian
26 HD

+25

+16

+14

+9

+27 Concentration, +27 Sense Motive, +27 Spot, +17 Spellcraft, +12 Knowledge Arcana, +12 Hide, +12 Move Silently, +20 Survival


Fast Movement, Berserker Strength







Spells per Day



CR

0lvl

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th


2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-



4

6

7

3

-

-

-

-

-

-

-



11

6

8

8

7

6

4

-

-

-

-



13

6

8

8

8

7

4

-

-

-

-



14

6

8

8

8

7

4

-

-

-

-



18

6

8

8

8

7

4

-

-

-

-



19

6

9

8

8

8

6

-

-

-

-



20

6

9

8

8

8

6

-

-

-

-




Spells Known



CR

0lvl

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th


2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-



4

6

3

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-



11

9

5

4

3

2

1

-

-

-

-



13

9

5

4

3

2

1

-

-

-

-



14

9

5

4

3

2

1

-

-

-

-



18

9

5

4

3

2

1

-

-

-

-



19

9

5

5

4

3

2

-

-

-

-



20

9

5

5

4

3

2

-

-

-

-





1: 5; Shield, Chill Touch, Erase, Nerveskitter, Nightshield
2: 5; Wings of Cover, Command Undead, Dimension Leap, Kelgore's Grave Mist, Scintillating Scales
3: 4; Contagious Fog, Dispel Magic, Dragonskin, Hailstones
4: 3; Animate Dead, Dimension Door, Shadow Conjuration
5: 2; Wall of Magma, Freezing Fog
A NOTE: swarms are immune to any spell that targets a single creature, however Personal spells should work normally, so know that all the buff spells that appear here are spells with Range: Personal
CRANIUM RAT SWARM, LESSER PACK
Medium-Size Magical Beast (Extraplanar, Swarm of Diminutive Creatures)
Hit Dice: 6d10+12 (45 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
AC: 14 (+3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/—
Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Face/Reach: 5 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 15), mind blast
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision, merge swarms, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +8, Will +6
Abilities: Str 2, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 9, Wis 14, Cha 13
Skills: Climb +4, Listen +9, Spot +8
Feats: Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (any Outer Plane)
Organization: Swarm
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: —
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: —
A lesser pack of cranium rats consists of about 75 rats.
Combat
While more limited than the larger packs in what they can do, lesser packs still set up effective ambushes and utilize their mind blast ability to great advantage.
Mind Blast (Su): This attack is a 60-foot cone. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a Will save (DC 16) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. A lesser cranium rat pack can use this power every 2 rounds.
Hive Mind (Ex): A cranium rat swarm has a hive mind, which makes it susceptible to mind-affecting spells. For purposes of such spells, the swarm is a single creature of the magical beast type.
Merge Swarms (Ex): Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action.
Skills: Cranium rat swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
CRANIUM RAT SWARM, AVERAGE PACK
Medium-Size Magical Beast (Extraplanar, Swarm of Diminutive Creatures)
Hit Dice: 12d10+24 (90 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
AC: 14 (+3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 11
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/—
Attack: Swarm (3d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (3d6)
Face/Reach: 5 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 18), mind blast, spells
Special Qualities: Cold resistance 10, darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision, merge swarms, swarm regeneration, swarm traits, telepathy
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +8
Abilities: Str 2, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 13
Skills: Climb +19, Listen +19, Spot +19
Feats: Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul, Mindsight, Practiced Spellcaster
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (any Outer Plane)
Organization: Swarm
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: —
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: —
Like ten thousand eyes and ears dispatched to gather secrets for some dark deity of knowledge, cranium rats are everywhere—seeing, hearing, and sharing what they learn in a bizarre hive mind. An individual cranium rat is almost indistinguishable from a normal rodent, except that a portion of its large brain is exposed and pulses with a soft glow. Singly, the creatures are also virtually identical to normal rats, but they are never encountered singly. A pack of cranium rats has a group mind—and the more rats, the more intelligent the group mind.
An average pack of cranium rats consists of about 150 rats.
Cranium rats do not speak, but average and greater packs can communicate telepathically.
Combat
While dangerous and unpleasant, cranium rats are not aggressive creatures. They avoid open attacks in favor of flight or ambushes. Cranium rats use their spells and mind blast ability to soften or incapacitate victims before swarming over them, then they drain their victims’ blood through a hundred tiny wounds.
Mind Blast (Su): This attack is a 60-foot cone. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a Will save (DC 19) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. An average pack can use this ability at will.
Spells: An average pack can cast arcane spells as a 4th-level sorcerer (spells/day 6/7/3; spells known 6/3/1; save DC 11 + spell level). Caster Level 9
Hive Mind (Ex): A cranium rat swarm has a hive mind, which makes it susceptible to mind-affecting spells. For purposes of such spells, the swarm is a single creature of the magical beast type.
Merge Swarms (Ex): Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action.
Swarm Regeneration (Ex): When an average pack is reduced to 0 hp, it becomes a lesser pack. When a lesser pack is reduced to 0 hp, it is destroyed. This transformation is instantaneous.
Telepathy (Su): An average pack of cranium rats can communicate telepathically with any creature within 80 feet that has a language.
Skills: Cranium rat swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.


(I AM INCLUDING THE POINT BUY THAT IT GETS WHEN IT TAKES ITS FIRST CLASS LEVEL HERE BECAUSE THAT IS HOW YOU CREATE MONSTERS)
CRANIUM RAT SWARM, GREATER PACK
Medium-Size Magical Beast (Extraplanar, Swarm of Diminutive Creatures)
Hit Dice: 24d10
Initiative: +8
Speed: 40 ft., climb 20 ft.
AC: 19 (+4 Dex, +1 natural, +4 size), touch 18, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +24/—
Attack: Swarm
Full Attack: Swarm
Face/Reach: 5 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 25), mind blast, spells
Special Qualities: Cold immunity, darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision, merge swarms, SR 26, swarm regeneration, swarm traits, telepathy
Saves: Fort +17, Ref +18, Will +9
Abilities: Str 5, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 22, Wis 14, Cha 23
Skills: +30 Concentration, +29 Sense Motive, +29 Spot, +18 Spellcraft, +18 Knowledge Arcana, +28 Hide, +16 Move Silently, +14 Survival
Feats: Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul, Mindsight, Practiced Spellcaster, Snowcasting, Energy Substitution Cold, Lord of the Uttercold, Corpsecrafter, Greater Spell Penetration(B)
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (any Outer Plane)
Organization: Swarm
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: —
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: —

A greater pack of cranium rats consists of about 300 rats.
Combat
Greater packs follow the same tactics as the smaller packs, but they can use more effective spells.
Mind Blast (Su): This attack is a 60-foot cone. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a Will save (DC 30) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. A greater pack can use this ability at will.
Spells: A greater pack can cast arcane spells as a 10th level sorcerer (spells/day 6/8/8/7/6/4; spells known 9/5/4/3/2/1; save DC 16 + spell level). Caster Level 14
Hive Mind (Ex): A cranium rat swarm has a hive mind, which makes it susceptible to mind-affecting spells. For purposes of such spells, the swarm is a single creature of the magical beast type.
Merge Swarms (Ex): Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action.
Swarm Regeneration (Ex): When a greater cranium rat pack is reduced to 0 hit points, it does not scatter. Instead, it becomes an average pack. Likewise, when an average pack is reduced to 0 hp, it becomes a lesser pack. When a lesser pack is reduced to 0 hp, it is destroyed. This transformation is instantaneous.
Telepathy (Su): A greater pack of cranium rats can communicate telepathically with any creature within 80 feet that has a language.
Skills: Cranium rat swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Feats: The Greater Spell Focus feat increases the saving throw DC for the swarm’s evocation spells by +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Focus. The Greater Spell Penetration feat increases the swarm’s bonus on spell penetration checks to +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Penetration. Yea I have no idea what to do about this, the original monster had Spell Penetration as a feat, Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat, and took both spell focus and greater spell focus evocation, however I took none of those feats so I only get Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat.
CRANIUM RAT SWARM, GREATER PACK
Medium-Size Fey (Extraplanar, Swarm of Diminutive Creatures)
Hit Dice: 24d6
Initiative: +12
Speed: 120 ft
AC: 31 (+8 Dex, +1 natural, +4 size, +8 Deflection), touch 30, flat-footed 23
Base Attack/Grapple: +24/—
Attack: Swarm (5d6) and bite +27 (1d2-1 plus disease, 18-20*3)
Full Attack: Swarm (5d6) and bite +27 (1d2-1 plus disease, 18-20*3)
Face/Reach: 5 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 27), mind blast, spells, disease, maddening whispers,
Special Qualities: Cold immunity, darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision, merge swarms, SR 26, swarm regeneration, swarm traits, telepathy, corner of the eye, wind walk, regeneration 5, Cold Subtype
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +22, Will +10
Abilities: Str 9, Dex 26, Con 20, Int 22, Wis 16, Cha 27
Skills: +32 Concentration, +30 Sense Motive, +30 Spot, +18 Spellcraft, +18 Knowledge Arcana, +40 Hide, +28 Move Silently, +23 Survival
Feats: Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul, Mindsight, Practiced Spellcaster, Snowcasting, Energy Substitution Cold, Lord of the Uttercold, Corpsecrafter, Greater Spell Penetration(B), Track(B)
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (any Outer Plane)
Organization: Swarm
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: —
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: —

A greater pack of cranium rats consists of about 300 rats.
Combat
Greater packs follow the same tactics as the smaller packs, but they can use more effective spells.
Mind Blast (Su): This attack is a 60-foot cone. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a Will save (DC 32) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. A greater pack can use this ability at will.
Spells: A greater pack can cast arcane spells as a 10th level sorcerer (spells/day 6/8/8/8/7/4; spells known 9/5/4/3/2/1; save DC 18 + spell level). Caster Level 14
Hive Mind (Ex): A cranium rat swarm has a hive mind, which makes it susceptible to mind-affecting spells. For purposes of such spells, the swarm is a single creature of the fey type.
Merge Swarms (Ex): Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action.
Swarm Regeneration (Ex): When a greater cranium rat pack is reduced to 0 hit points, it does not scatter. Instead, it becomes an average pack. Likewise, when an average pack is reduced to 0 hp, it becomes a lesser pack. When a lesser pack is reduced to 0 hp, it is destroyed. This transformation is instantaneous.
Telepathy (Su): A greater pack of cranium rats can communicate telepathically with any creature within 80 feet that has a language.
Skills: Cranium rat swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Disease (Su): Any creature hit by a wendigo’s bite attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 27) or become infected with the wendigo’s hunger. The incubation period is 1d3 days, and the disease deals 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Additionally, each day that a victim takes Wisdom damage from the disease, he must succeed on a Will save (DC 30) or become overwhelmed with an insatiable hunger for the flesh of its own race. The victim stalks and tries to kill the closest member of its own race; if it does so, it feeds on the victim’s body and then returns home with no memory of the tragic event. If a victim of this hunger is reduced to a Wisdom score of 0, he transforms into a wendigo immediately and races off into the night sky at such speed that his feet burn away into bloody, charred stumps.
Maddening Whispers (Su): A wendigo may use its maddening whispers on any one target within 120 feet once per day. The wendigo may use this ability while wind walking. Only the chosen victim can hear the insane whispers and invitations of the wendigo. The victim must make a successful Will save (DC 30) or take 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Typically, a wendigo stalks a chosen victim for days, wearing down the victim’s Wisdom score until it attacks and attempts to bring down its disease upon the poor soul. A wendigo will stop stalking a target that resists the maddening whispers for more than three days and fly off to seek easier prey.
Ravenous Bite (Ex): A wendigo threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 18–20 when attacking with its bite, and deals triple damage on a successful critical hit. A wound resulting from a critical hit bleeds for an additional 3 points of damage per round thereafter. Multiple wounds from such attacks result in cumulative bleeding loss (two wounds for 6 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful Heal check (DC 10) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, or the like).
Corner of the Eye (Su): A wendigo that stalks a victim while wind walking always seems to lurk just at the corner of its chosen victim’s field of vision. This victim takes a –2 penalty on all Wisdom-based skill checks as long as the wendigo stalks him.
Wind Walk (Su): A wendigo can wind walk at will, transforming from physical form to incorporeal form or back again as a move action.
Regeneration 5 (Ex): Fire deals normal damage to a wendigo.

Feats: The Greater Spell Focus feat increases the saving throw DC for the swarm’s evocation spells by +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Focus. The Greater Spell Penetration feat increases the swarm’s bonus on spell penetration checks to +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Penetration. Yea I have no idea what to do about this, the original monster had Spell Penetration as a feat, Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat, and took both spell focus and greater spell focus evocation, however I took none of those feats so I only get Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat.

[jdizzlean]

Why did it have to be rats! (part 2)

CRANIUM RAT SWARM, GREATER PACK
Medium-Size Fey (Extraplanar, Swarm of Diminutive Creatures, Incarnum)
Hit Dice: 24d6
Initiative: +12
Speed: 120 ft
AC: 34 (+8 Dex, +4 natural, +4 size, +8 Deflection), touch 30, flat-footed 26
Base Attack/Grapple: +24/—
Attack: Swarm (5d6) and bite +29 (1d2+1 plus disease, 18-20*3)
Full Attack: Swarm (5d6) and bite +29 (1d2+1 plus disease, 18-20*3)
Face/Reach: 5 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 29), mind blast, spells, disease, maddening whispers, Song of Misery
Special Qualities: Cold immunity, darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision, merge swarms, SR 26, swarm regeneration, swarm traits, telepathy, corner of the eye, wind walk, regeneration 5, Cold Subtype, DR 10/Magic, Twisted Mind
Saves: Fort +21, Ref +22, Will +10
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 26, Con 24, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 27
Skills: +34 Concentration, +30 Sense Motive, +29 Spot, +15 Spellcraft, +15 Knowledge Arcana, +40 Hide, +28 Move Silently, +23 Survival
Feats: Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul, Mindsight, Practiced Spellcaster, Snowcasting, Energy Substitution Cold, Lord of the Uttercold, Corpsecrafter, Greater Spell Penetration(B), Track(B)
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (any Outer Plane)
Organization: Swarm
Challenge Rating: 14
Treasure: —
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: —

A greater pack of cranium rats consists of about 300 rats.
Combat
Greater packs follow the same tactics as the smaller packs, but they can use more effective spells.
Mind Blast (Su): This attack is a 60-foot cone. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a Will save (DC 23) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. A greater pack can use this ability at will.
Spells: A greater pack can cast arcane spells as a 10th level sorcerer (spells/day 6/8/8/8/7/4; spells known 9/5/4/3/2/1; save DC 18 + spell level). Caster Level 14
Hive Mind (Ex): A cranium rat swarm has a hive mind, which makes it susceptible to mind-affecting spells. For purposes of such spells, the swarm is a single creature of the fey type.
Merge Swarms (Ex): Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action.
Swarm Regeneration (Ex): When a greater cranium rat pack is reduced to 0 hit points, it does not scatter. Instead, it becomes an average pack. Likewise, when an average pack is reduced to 0 hp, it becomes a lesser pack. When a lesser pack is reduced to 0 hp, it is destroyed. This transformation is instantaneous.
Telepathy (Su): A greater pack of cranium rats can communicate telepathically with any creature within 80 feet that has a language.
Skills: Cranium rat swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Disease (Su): Any creature hit by a wendigo’s bite attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 29) or become infected with the wendigo’s hunger. The incubation period is 1d3 days, and the disease deals 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Additionally, each day that a victim takes Wisdom damage from the disease, he must succeed on a Will save (DC 30) or become overwhelmed with an insatiable hunger for the flesh of its own race. The victim stalks and tries to kill the closest member of its own race; if it does so, it feeds on the victim’s body and then returns home with no memory of the tragic event. If a victim of this hunger is reduced to a Wisdom score of 0, he transforms into a wendigo immediately and races off into the night sky at such speed that his feet burn away into bloody, charred stumps.
Maddening Whispers (Su): A wendigo may use its maddening whispers on any one target within 120 feet once per day. The wendigo may use this ability while wind walking. Only the chosen victim can hear the insane whispers and invitations of the wendigo. The victim must make a successful Will save (DC 30) or take 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Typically, a wendigo stalks a chosen victim for days, wearing down the victim’s Wisdom score until it attacks and attempts to bring down its disease upon the poor soul. A wendigo will stop stalking a target that resists the maddening whispers for more than three days and fly off to seek easier prey.
Ravenous Bite (Ex): A wendigo threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 18–20 when attacking with its bite, and deals triple damage on a successful critical hit. A wound resulting from a critical hit bleeds for an additional 3 points of damage per round thereafter. Multiple wounds from such attacks result in cumulative bleeding loss (two wounds for 6 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful Heal check (DC 10) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, or the like).
Corner of the Eye (Su): A wendigo that stalks a victim while wind walking always seems to lurk just at the corner of its chosen victim’s field of vision. This victim takes a –2 penalty on all Wisdom-based skill checks as long as the wendigo stalks him.
Wind Walk (Su): A wendigo can wind walk at will, transforming from physical form to incorporeal form or back again as a move action.
Regeneration 5 (Ex): Fire deals normal damage to a wendigo.
Song of Misery (Ex): As a free action, a miserable lost can begin a droning song. Every creature within 30 feet who can hear it is fascinated for as long as the song continues, plus 1 round thereafter (Will DC 30 negates). The mere sight of the lost does not allow a new saving throw, but any attack made against an affected character—even if the attack comes from the lost itself—automatically ends the effect. Song of misery is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Twisted Mind (Ex): A lost’s mind is demented and difficult to control. If the creature fails its saving throw against a mind-affecting spell or effect, it can attempt to save again 1 round later at the same DC. The lost gets only this one extra chance to succeed on its saving throw.


Feats: The Greater Spell Focus feat increases the saving throw DC for the swarm’s evocation spells by +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Focus. The Greater Spell Penetration feat increases the swarm’s bonus on spell penetration checks to +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Penetration. Yea I have no idea what to do about this, the original monster had Spell Penetration as a feat, Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat, and took both spell focus and greater spell focus evocation, however I took none of those feats so I only get Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat.

CRANIUM RAT SWARM, GREATER PACK
Medium-Size Fey (Extraplanar, Swarm of Diminutive Creatures, Incarnum)
Hit Dice: 24d6
Initiative: +12
Speed: 120 ft
AC: 36 (+8 Dex, +6 natural, +4 size, +8 Deflection), touch 30, flat-footed 28
Base Attack/Grapple: +24/—
Attack: Swarm (5d6 plus Poison) and bite +30 (1d2+2 plus disease and Poison, 18-20*3) OR Swarm (5d6 plus Poison) and claw +30 (3 damage plus Poison)
Full Attack: Swarm (5d6) and bite +30 (1d2+2 plus disease, 18-20*3) and Claw +25 (3 damage plus Poison)
Face/Reach: 5 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 31), mind blast, spells, disease, maddening whispers, Song of Misery, Aligned Strike, Magic Strike, Poison, Spell Like Abilities
Special Qualities: Cold immunity, darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision, merge swarms, SR 34, swarm regeneration, swarm traits, telepathy, corner of the eye, wind walk, regeneration 5, Cold Subtype, DR 10/Cold Iron + Magic, Twisted Mind, Immunity to Poison, Disease, Polymorph, 10 acid, fire, electricity resistance, Madness, Misty Aura
Special Actions: Conjure Living Spell
Saves: Fort +23, Ref +22, Will +8
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 26, Con 28, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 27
Skills: +36 Concentration, +28 Sense Motive, +28 Spot, +15 Spellcraft, +15 Knowledge Arcana, +48 Hide, +28 Move Silently, +21 Survival
Feats: Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul, Mindsight, Practiced Spellcaster, Snowcasting, Energy Substitution Cold, Lord of the Uttercold, Corpsecrafter, Greater Spell Penetration(B), Track(B)
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (any Outer Plane)
Organization: Swarm
Challenge Rating: 18
Treasure: —
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: —

A greater pack of cranium rats consists of about 300 rats.
Combat
Greater packs follow the same tactics as the smaller packs, but they can use more effective spells.
Mind Blast (Su): This attack is a 60-foot cone. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a Will save (DC 23) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. A greater pack can use this ability at will.
Spells: A greater pack can cast arcane spells as a 10th level sorcerer (spells/day 6/8/8/8/7/4; spells known 9/5/4/3/2/1; save DC 18 + spell level). Caster Level 14
Hive Mind (Ex): A cranium rat swarm has a hive mind, which makes it susceptible to mind-affecting spells. For purposes of such spells, the swarm is a single creature of the fey type.
Merge Swarms (Ex): Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action.
Swarm Regeneration (Ex): When a greater cranium rat pack is reduced to 0 hit points, it does not scatter. Instead, it becomes an average pack. Likewise, when an average pack is reduced to 0 hp, it becomes a lesser pack. When a lesser pack is reduced to 0 hp, it is destroyed. This transformation is instantaneous.
Telepathy (Su): A greater pack of cranium rats can communicate telepathically with any creature within 80 feet that has a language.
Skills: Cranium rat swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Disease (Su): Any creature hit by a wendigo’s bite attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 29) or become infected with the wendigo’s hunger. The incubation period is 1d3 days, and the disease deals 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Additionally, each day that a victim takes Wisdom damage from the disease, he must succeed on a Will save (DC 30) or become overwhelmed with an insatiable hunger for the flesh of its own race. The victim stalks and tries to kill the closest member of its own race; if it does so, it feeds on the victim’s body and then returns home with no memory of the tragic event. If a victim of this hunger is reduced to a Wisdom score of 0, he transforms into a wendigo immediately and races off into the night sky at such speed that his feet burn away into bloody, charred stumps.
Maddening Whispers (Su): A wendigo may use its maddening whispers on any one target within 120 feet once per day. The wendigo may use this ability while wind walking. Only the chosen victim can hear the insane whispers and invitations of the wendigo. The victim must make a successful Will save (DC 30) or take 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Typically, a wendigo stalks a chosen victim for days, wearing down the victim’s Wisdom score until it attacks and attempts to bring down its disease upon the poor soul. A wendigo will stop stalking a target that resists the maddening whispers for more than three days and fly off to seek easier prey.
Ravenous Bite (Ex): A wendigo threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 18–20 when attacking with its bite, and deals triple damage on a successful critical hit. A wound resulting from a critical hit bleeds for an additional 3 points of damage per round thereafter. Multiple wounds from such attacks result in cumulative bleeding loss (two wounds for 6 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful Heal check (DC 10) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, or the like).
Corner of the Eye (Su): A wendigo that stalks a victim while wind walking always seems to lurk just at the corner of its chosen victim’s field of vision. This victim takes a –2 penalty on all Wisdom-based skill checks as long as the wendigo stalks him.
Wind Walk (Su): A wendigo can wind walk at will, transforming from physical form to incorporeal form or back again as a move action.
Regeneration 5 (Ex): Fire deals normal damage to a wendigo.
Song of Misery (Ex): As a free action, a miserable lost can begin a droning song. Every creature within 30 feet who can hear it is fascinated for as long as the song continues, plus 1 round thereafter (Will DC 30 negates). The mere sight of the lost does not allow a new saving throw, but any attack made against an affected character—even if the attack comes from the lost itself—automatically ends the effect. Song of misery is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Twisted Mind (Ex): A lost’s mind is demented and difficult to control. If the creature fails its saving throw against a mind-affecting spell or effect, it can attempt to save again 1 round later at the same DC. The lost gets only this one extra chance to succeed on its saving throw.
Aligned Strike (Su): A mistling’s natural weapons are treated as chaotic-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Magic Strike (Su): A mistling’s natural weapons are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Poison (Ex): A mistling’s natural attacks deal poison damage. 2d6 dex/2d6 dex DC 29 fort save negates
Conjure Living Spell (Sp): Once per day, a mistling can transform any spell or spell-like ability it can cast into a living spell (ECS 293). This requires a full-round action, and it counts as one daily casting or use of the spell or spell-like ability. The resultant living spell lasts for a number of hours equal to the mistling’s Hit Dice or until destroyed, and it follows the mental orders of its creator.
Spell Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day Polymorph any Object, Baleful Polymorph, True Seeing, Obscuring Mist. 1/day Antipathy, Insanity, Phantasmal Killer, Confusion, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. Caster Level 24, DC 30.
Madness (Ex): Anyone targeting a mistling with a thought detection, mind control, or telepathic ability makes direct contact with its tortured mind and takes 1d4 points of Wisdom damage.
Misty Aura (Su): A mistling constantly emits wisps of gray mist, very much like the haze that forms the borders of the Mournland. This effect grants a mistling concealment (20% miss chance) and a +8 circumstance bonus on Hide checks in areas of fog, mist, smoke, or other vaporous conditions.




Feats: The Greater Spell Focus feat increases the saving throw DC for the swarm’s evocation spells by +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Focus. The Greater Spell Penetration feat increases the swarm’s bonus on spell penetration checks to +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Penetration. Yea I have no idea what to do about this, the original monster had Spell Penetration as a feat, Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat, and took both spell focus and greater spell focus evocation, however I took none of those feats so I only get Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat.



CRANIUM RAT SWARM, GREATER PACK
Medium-Size Fey (Extraplanar, Swarm of Diminutive Creatures, Incarnum)
Hit Dice: 24d6 + 1d12 + 1d4
Initiative: +12
Speed: 130 ft
AC: 36 (+8 Dex, +6 natural, +4 size, +8 Deflection), touch 30, flat-footed 28
Base Attack/Grapple: +25/—
Attack: Swarm (5d6 plus Poison) and bite +31 (1d2+2 plus disease and Poison, 18-20*3) OR Swarm (5d6 plus Poison) and claw +31 (3 damage plus Poison)
Full Attack: Swarm (5d6) and bite +31 (1d2+2 plus disease, 18-20*3) and Claw +26 (3 damage plus Poison)
Face/Reach: 5 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction (DC 31), mind blast, spells, disease, maddening whispers, Song of Misery, Aligned Strike, Magic Strike, Poison, Spell Like Abilities
Special Qualities: Cold immunity, darkvision 60 ft., hive mind, low-light vision, merge swarms, SR 34, swarm regeneration, swarm traits, telepathy, corner of the eye, wind walk, regeneration 5, Cold Subtype, DR 10/Cold Iron + Magic, Twisted Mind, Immunity to Poison, Disease, Polymorph, 10 acid, fire, electricity resistance, Madness, Misty Aura, Fast Movement, Familiar
Special Actions: Conjure Living Spell
Saves: Fort +24, Ref +22, Will +10
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 26, Con 28, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 28
Skills: +36 Concentration, +28 Sense Motive, +28 Spot, +20 Spellcraft, +15 Knowledge Arcana, +48 Hide, +28 Move Silently, +28 Survival
Feats: Ability Focus: Mind Blast, Improved Initiative, Tomb Tainted Soul, Mindsight, Practiced Spellcaster, Snowcasting, Energy Substitution Cold, Lord of the Uttercold, Corpsecrafter, Greater Spell Penetration(B), Track(B)
Climate/Terrain: Any land and underground (any Outer Plane)
Organization: Swarm
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: —
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: —

A greater pack of cranium rats consists of about 300 rats.
Combat
Greater packs follow the same tactics as the smaller packs, but they can use more effective spells.
Mind Blast (Su): This attack is a 60-foot cone. Anyone caught in this cone must succeed on a Will save (DC 33) or be stunned for 3d4 rounds. A greater pack can use this ability at will.
Spells: A greater pack can cast arcane spells as a 11th level sorcerer (spells/day 6/9/8/8/8/6; spells known 9/5/5/4/3/2; save DC 19 + spell level). Caster Level 15
Hive Mind (Ex): A cranium rat swarm has a hive mind, which makes it susceptible to mind-affecting spells. For purposes of such spells, the swarm is a single creature of the fey type.
Merge Swarms (Ex): Two lesser cranium rat packs can move into the same space and merge into a single swarm, becoming an average pack. Likewise, two average packs can merge together into a greater pack. Merging in this fashion is a full-round action.
Swarm Regeneration (Ex): When a greater cranium rat pack is reduced to 0 hit points, it does not scatter. Instead, it becomes an average pack. Likewise, when an average pack is reduced to 0 hp, it becomes a lesser pack. When a lesser pack is reduced to 0 hp, it is destroyed. This transformation is instantaneous.
Telepathy (Su): A greater pack of cranium rats can communicate telepathically with any creature within 80 feet that has a language.
Skills: Cranium rat swarms have a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.
Disease (Su): Any creature hit by a wendigo’s bite attack must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 29) or become infected with the wendigo’s hunger. The incubation period is 1d3 days, and the disease deals 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Additionally, each day that a victim takes Wisdom damage from the disease, he must succeed on a Will save (DC 31) or become overwhelmed with an insatiable hunger for the flesh of its own race. The victim stalks and tries to kill the closest member of its own race; if it does so, it feeds on the victim’s body and then returns home with no memory of the tragic event. If a victim of this hunger is reduced to a Wisdom score of 0, he transforms into a wendigo immediately and races off into the night sky at such speed that his feet burn away into bloody, charred stumps.
Maddening Whispers (Su): A wendigo may use its maddening whispers on any one target within 120 feet once per day. The wendigo may use this ability while wind walking. Only the chosen victim can hear the insane whispers and invitations of the wendigo. The victim must make a successful Will save (DC 31) or take 1d3 points of Wisdom damage. Typically, a wendigo stalks a chosen victim for days, wearing down the victim’s Wisdom score until it attacks and attempts to bring down its disease upon the poor soul. A wendigo will stop stalking a target that resists the maddening whispers for more than three days and fly off to seek easier prey.
Ravenous Bite (Ex): A wendigo threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 18–20 when attacking with its bite, and deals triple damage on a successful critical hit. A wound resulting from a critical hit bleeds for an additional 3 points of damage per round thereafter. Multiple wounds from such attacks result in cumulative bleeding loss (two wounds for 6 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a successful Heal check (DC 10) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, or the like).
Corner of the Eye (Su): A wendigo that stalks a victim while wind walking always seems to lurk just at the corner of its chosen victim’s field of vision. This victim takes a –2 penalty on all Wisdom-based skill checks as long as the wendigo stalks him.
Wind Walk (Su): A wendigo can wind walk at will, transforming from physical form to incorporeal form or back again as a move action.
Regeneration 5 (Ex): Fire deals normal damage to a wendigo.
Song of Misery (Ex): As a free action, a miserable lost can begin a droning song. Every creature within 30 feet who can hear it is fascinated for as long as the song continues, plus 1 round thereafter (Will DC 31 negates). The mere sight of the lost does not allow a new saving throw, but any attack made against an affected character—even if the attack comes from the lost itself—automatically ends the effect. Song of misery is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Twisted Mind (Ex): A lost’s mind is demented and difficult to control. If the creature fails its saving throw against a mind-affecting spell or effect, it can attempt to save again 1 round later at the same DC. The lost gets only this one extra chance to succeed on its saving throw.
Aligned Strike (Su): A mistling’s natural weapons are treated as chaotic-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Magic Strike (Su): A mistling’s natural weapons are treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Poison (Ex): A mistling’s natural attacks deal poison damage. 2d6 dex/2d6 dex DC 29 fort save negates
Conjure Living Spell (Sp): Once per day, a mistling can transform any spell or spell-like ability it can cast into a living spell (ECS 293). This requires a full-round action, and it counts as one daily casting or use of the spell or spell-like ability. The resultant living spell lasts for a number of hours equal to the mistling’s Hit Dice or until destroyed, and it follows the mental orders of its creator.
Spell Like Abilities (Sp): 3/day Polymorph any Object, Baleful Polymorph, True Seeing, Obscuring Mist. 1/day Antipathy, Insanity, Phantasmal Killer, Confusion, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter. Caster Level 24, DC 30.
Madness (Ex): Anyone targeting a mistling with a thought detection, mind control, or telepathic ability makes direct contact with its tortured mind and takes 1d4 points of Wisdom damage.
Misty Aura (Su): A mistling constantly emits wisps of gray mist, very much like the haze that forms the borders of the Mournland. This effect grants a mistling concealment (20% miss chance) and a +8 circumstance bonus on Hide checks in areas of fog, mist, smoke, or other vaporous conditions.

Feats: The Greater Spell Focus feat increases the saving throw DC for the swarm’s evocation spells by +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Focus. The Greater Spell Penetration feat increases the swarm’s bonus on spell penetration checks to +4 rather than the +2 given by Spell Penetration. Yea I have no idea what to do about this, the original monster had Spell Penetration as a feat, Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat, and took both spell focus and greater spell focus evocation, however I took none of those feats so I only get Greater Spell Penetration as a bonus feat.


These two points are only here because the cranium rat swarm had to go through these phases, however the base creature is the Greater Cranium Rat Swarm. It is like detailing the egg phase of a chicken, unneeded but still there
We have our base creature. A swarm of cranium rats 300 strong. They cast as a 10th level sorcerer with above average charisma and great defenses. They have Snowcasting, Lord of Uttercold, Tomb Tainted Soul, and animate dead. They leagues ahead of a sorcerer necromancer of equivalent level. They have a way to fight without their magic via their swarm damage, and very readily put their At Will Mind Blast to work. DC 12 + ½ HD + Cha Mod gives us a great DC for our mind blast, and the fact that there is no cooldown we can just pew everything until they are stunned or we’re confident they are immune. Combine that with an Uttercold Wall of Magma that we can sit inside of for great healing, and that our skeletal minions can dash into for some healing and a heal over time and we are fairly efficient. Our skeletal minions are immune to our mind blasts so we can keep the enemy continually stunned while the skeletons rip them to shreds. Finally we’re a decent blaster sorcerer without even our undead minions.

We have now added the Wendigo template, and the Lost template. Wendigo is a bit weird to add to a swarm but fully able to add. Wendigo lets us begin playing against their sanity. We deal wisdom damage to creatures once a day, we have a 120 perfect fly speed, we can wind walk at will, and we have regeneration (which is fantastic on a swarm). Unfortunately for us our vulnerability to AOE fire spells has only grown.
Wendigo’s “sole attack form” is their bite attack, however we do not lose our swarm subtype which grants us the “swarm attack”. By RAW it seems that it is legal for us to keep our swarm attack, however as I described before, we are potent without the swarm attack. However if we are able to keep our swarm attack and are able to bite as well (obviously sharing a square with our target) then that is gravy when we actually do melee.
Next up we add the Lost template which gives us the forever fun ability of Song of Misery. Song of Misery allows us to begin singing as a free action, anyone within 30 ft of the singing rat swarm that hears us must make a high will save or become fascinated until someone damages them. Note that we can use this song an unlimited times per day, and it is a free action to begin, so each round we can begin singing anew so that anyone that has been damaged in the previous round, or saved in the previous round must make a save again or be fascinated. Otherwise the Lost template is there mainly for the flavor of showing off that we are mentally altered. (Not elaborating as to hopefully not offend anyone with any sort of mental illness, mental illness isn’t cool, but people with them can be.)
Now I was going to just do one for CR 20, however most of our fun tricks come from the Mistling template, which is thoroughly one of my favorite templates in the game. Right off the bat we have a poison that is added onto all natural attacks. Which would include our swarm damage. This poison isn’t based on size as poisons usually are, but by HD, which we easily cap out. Meaning our unavoidable swarm damage (which is 5d6) now poisons creatures with a 2d6 dex damage poison. As dragons can attest dexterity damage is very scary. The bigger you are, the less your dexterity. Now at CR 18 poison immunity and stat restoration is easy enough to come by, but it still takes actions to recover or gain immunity, or equipment slots, but we aren’t going to believe that this is the best we can do. So onto our next ability, or should I say Spell Like Abilities. What do most people consider cheese? Polymorph any Object, which we have 3 times/day for free, along with baleful polymorph and insanity. Lovely debilitating spell likes! All of which are cast at our HD CL, and use our strongest stat for DCs. These spell like abilities are amazing, even down to one of our weakest: Tasha’s Hideous Laughter.
Continuing on we get to the reason that I love Mistling so much: Create Living Spell. Once per day we can sacrifice one use of a spell or spell like ability to create a living spell of it. The living spell lasts for 1 hour/HD of the creator, which at the time we get the template is 24 hours, and eventually grows to 26 hours. Nice. We have many spells that we can turn into living spells, or we can use one of the nifty spell like abilities we just got.
My preferred living spell is a Living Uttercold Wall of Magma, you get a huge ooze that deals 1d6 (half cold half negative) to anything within 20 ft of it, it deals 2d6 (half cold half negative) to anything within 10 ft of it, and it deals 5d6 (half cold half negative) to anything engulfed in it or hit by it. Anything engulfed or hit by it takes an additional 2d6 (half cold half negative) each round for 4 rounds on top of the damage that they take for being nearby causing up to 4d6 (half cold half negative) for being nearby and then an additional 5d6 (half cold half negative) for getting hit again. On top of all this, undead take double damage. So all the skeletal minions are getting healed for 1d6 for being nearby, 2d6 for being adjacent, 5d6 for being engulfed, and 2d6 for 4 rounds after being engulfed. Allies share squares so the ooze can freely travel through all the undead hitting them all with the 5d6 healing and 2d6 heal over time. All of this heals us as well, albeit at half the amount of what it heals our skeletal minions with.

Continuing we get several immunities, damage reduction (nearly worthless), a Huge bonus to spell resistance, resistances, and a fun ability that makes anyone that attempts to touch our mind take wisdom damage.
By RAW I don’t know if this works, however I will note it as I believe it works although if it doesn’t it is not too bad, but since we have telepathy and mindsight anyone that we talk to telepathically should be taking that wisdom damage, if it DOES work like that then it is some extremely powerful cheese, if it doesn’t then it doesn’t detract from the coolness factory of the ability.
Finally we get concealment, which is always nice. All in all I love the Mistling template and it is extremely thematic for this competition in my opinion.

We add our class levels here at the end. There are other things we could do, but what I would want to do requires more class levels than the two we get so I will set it up for anyone that wants to use this creature. We take a sorcerer level to show off that we are still a sorcerer first and foremost, that we have not left our spellcasting tendencies by the wayside. This also allows us to progress spellcasting with prestige classes if we ever get them. Second we take a barbarian level. This barbarian level is to show that things are changing. Rather than the calculating swarm that we were at the beginning, we lost some of our sanity, we lost a large amount of our intelligence, and we have lost who we are. The barbarian level does not do much for us at all.
If we were to continue I would suggest picking up the feat Blazing Berserker and taking levels in Rage Mage. This allows us to show that the landscape that we have endured in is forever changed, that we have lost our home, and that we are crazed. It gives us the cool “second phase” that boss monsters usually enjoy, when we get to this “second phase” we would gain immunity to fire (our weakness) and become immune to death during this “second phase” as our regeneration could no longer be broken, we are immune to single target spells, and are immune to coup de grace and non lethal damage.


Cranium Rat Swarm, Wendigo - Fiend Folio
Lost - Magic of Incarnum
Mistling - Eberron’s Forge of War
Sorcerer, Barbarian, Improved Initiative, Greater Spell Penetration, Track - Player’s Handbook
Tomb Tainted Soul, Corpsecrafter - Libris Mortis
Ability Focus - Monster Manual
Mindsight - Lords of Madness
Energy Substitution, Lord of the Uttercold - Complete Arcane
Snowcasting - Frostburn
I got all my spells from [SPOILER=dnd tools] https://dndtools.net/spells/?name=&range=&spell_resistance=&area=&duration=&saving_throw=&casting_time=&school__slug=&sub_school__slug=&descriptors__slug=&verbal_component=1&somatic_component=1&material_component=1&arcane_focus_component=1&divine_focus_component=1&xp_component=1&rulebook__slug=&description=&class_levels__slug=sorcerer&domain_levels__slug=&_filter=Filter

I want to apologize to everyone for my formatting today, I spent roughly 3 hours trying to get things formatted correctly, yet it took 4 messages and the stat block entries would not cooperate even when I typed everything in word for word. I hope this is only a minor inconvenience rather than a huge hassle. Also an apology to Jdizzlean for submitting this whole thing in 4 parts rather than 2, I don't know how I could have made it in fewer characters.

[jdizzlean]

We're cool man, we're cool...



Orthos once was a very normal Cloud Giant. Aloof, full of his own importance, and very good at sewing exceptionally flashy clothes.

However his brethren managed to outdo him with their fancy class levels (he could not arm wrestly Giggles the Barbarian, or out Spell Grokhar the SOrcerer, and not out...anything Hildrakh the Druid), and so he tried to amend that.

Sadly though, he found that he had neither the patience nor the talent to follow a CLass himself, and so he attempted a ... shortcut.

First by using a Scroll of Wish to become Draconic....just to realize the owner was now looking for the thief. Only his entirely unremarkable history made them overlook him completely, so he fled.

To the Fae. Yes, not a very wise decision, but he managed to make a deal with Queen (Unintelligable Name), to become more resplendant than he ever was.

Rainbowcolered Butterfly Wings, raven colored Hair, a Face like a marble Statue.
He was indeed now much more impressive than before.

And for a while, this sufficed. He meandered through the hills, flew glittering in the SUn, robbed some caravans....the good life.


Until one fateful night, he flew afoul of a Vampire Lord, who had a very interesting taste of making Spawn. he always chose the most unlikely candidates. And what would be more unlikely than a draconis Giant Butterfly?

Fast Forward half a Century, and the Vampiric Draconic Half Fey Giant had made a Name for himself as the Butterfly of Doom. And was now on the cusp of finally breaking through to Vampire Lord himself.

After his Master allowed that, as he had no intention of cutting short the remarkably...funny developement, Orthos finally succeeded.

Just to realize that he was now not just a Vampire that could walk 8and fly!) in the sun, no he SPARKLED while doing so!

His Evil now knew no bounds!

Finally deciding to follow a Class, he tried out Sowrdsage, just to realize it was boring and going Warlock....with much the same result.

Still the mentally split, Glittering Butterfly Vampire remains a menace to any and all who see him (and their bleeding eyes are said to need Restoration to recover!).









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


11
Cloud Giant
+12
+16
+6
+10
Skills: Stated Skills:Climb *+19,*Craft*(any one)*+11,*Diplomacy*+3,*Intimidate*+11,*Listen*+15 ,*Perform*(stringed instruments)*+2,*Sense Motive*+9,*Spot*+15**
Awesome Blow,*Cleave,*Improved Bull Rush,*Improved Overrun,*Iron Will,*Power Attack

Low-light vision, oversized weapon, rock catching,*scent, Rock Throwing+Catching, levitate 3/day (Self +2000lbs), Obscuring Mist 1/day, Fog Cloud 1/Day, CL 15th



12
Draconic Template
+12
+16
+6
+10
+2 Intimidate Bonus, + Spot Bonus

+2 Str, Int, Cha, +4 saves vs magic Sleep and paralysis, Claws (2*1d6), Natural Armor +1


13
Half Fey
+12
+15
+7
+11
Skills
Spellike Abilities: Charm person a t Will, Hypnotism 1/day, Glitterdust 1/day, Detect law 3/day, Enthrall 1/Day,Protection from Law 3/day, Confusion 1/Day, Lesser Geas 1/Day, Hold Monster 1/day, Mass Invisibility 1/Day, mass Suggestion 1/Day, Insanity 1/day (at 19 HD Ottos Irresistable Dance 1/day), DC: 10 + spell level + half-fey's Cha modifier
+2 Wis, + Dex, +4 Cha, -2 Con, Immunity vs Enchantment Spells, Typechange to Fey


15
Vampire Template
+12
+22
+25
+27
+8 racial bonus on*Bluff,*Hide,*Listen,*Move Silently,*Search,*Sense Motive, and*Spot*checks
Alertness,*Combat Reflexes,*Dodge,*Improved Initiative, and*Lightning Reflexes,
Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4, no Con Score, Type is undead, natural Armor +6, resistance*to cold 10 and electricity 10. Fast Healing 5, other Vampire Abilities (too many^^, see below)


18
Vampire Lord
+12
+22
+26
+27
A vampire lord receives an additional +4 racial bonus to Scry and Sense Motive checks, and a +8 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Intimidate checks.
Iron Will
Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4, natural Armor +6, Cha bonus to Saves, reduced Weaknesses etc (see below)


19
Swordsage
+12
+22
+28
+29
3+6*4, ergo 28 Skillpts, Class Skills Ssage and Giant, put into: Intimidate (+6), Knowledge (Nobility) +7, Tumble +5, Jump +5, Diplomacy +5
-
Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus Weapon Focus, 6 maneuvers, 1 Stance, 4 readied, at 18 HD that means Initiator Level 10, ergo Level 5 maneuvers

Maneuvers: Emerald Razor, Rapid Counter, Shadow Stride, Mind Strike, Ruby Nightmare Blade
Stance. Pearl of black Doubt


20
Warlock
+12
+22
+28
+31
[td]Use Magic Device +5[td]

Eldritch Blast 1d6, Least Invocation ()

[tr]









Draconic Creature Template:
*
Armor Class:
Natural armor improves by 1.
*
Damage:
*
Draconic creatures have two claw attacks. If the base creature does not have this attack form, use the damage values in the table below. Otherwise, use the values below or the base creature’s damage, whichever is greater.
*
Special Qualities:
A draconic creature has all the special qualities of the base creature, plus darkvision out to 60 feet and low-light vision.
*
Saves:
A draconic creature has a +4 racial bonus on saves against magic sleep effects and paralysis, thanks to its heritage.
*
Abilities:
Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +2, Dex +0, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +2. Skills: Draconic creatures have a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate and Spot checks.
*
Organization:
Solitary or as base creature.
*
Challenge Rating:
Same as base creature +1.
*
Level Adjustment:
Same as base creature +1.
*
Draconic Characters
Draconic creatures with Charisma scores of 12 or higher are often sorcerers.


Site Search:**
ls who are obsessed with the fey study fey magic and dwell in sylvan places in hopes of gaining power, and a few actually do manage to acquire the half-fey template. Such beings can advance in the half-fey template class, just as natural-born half-fey can if they wish to develop their powers more slowly.
Table SP-23: The Half-Fey Template Class
Level
CR
Special
1st
+0
Dex +2, Cha +2, Con -2, fey type, low-light vision, saving throw bonuses, spell-like abilities
2nd
+1
Wis +2, Cha +2, immunity to enchantment, wings
Half-Fey Template Class Features
All of the following are class features of the half-fey template class.
Ability Score Changes:*The indicated ability score increases or decreases by the amount noted. These changes are cumulative.
Fey Type:*At 1st level, the half-fey completes her metamorphosis, and her type changes to fey. She becomes vulnerable to spells and effects that work on creatures of the fey type but is immune to effects that target her original type. For example, a half-fey/half-human would be subject to the extra damage from a fey bane sword, but she is immune to*hold person*because that spell affects only humanoids.
Low-Light Vision (Ex):*At 1st-level, the half-fey gains low-light vision.
Saving Throw Bonuses (Ex):*At 1st level, a half-fey gains a +4 racial bonus on saving throws against spells and effects from the Enchantment school.
Spell-Like Abilities:*Starting at 1st level, a half-fey with an Intelligence or Wisdom score of 8 or better gains spell-like abilities. The exact abilities gained depend on the half-fey's character level and level in the template class, according to the following table. In each case, the caster level equals the half-fey's character level. Save DCs, where applicable, are Charisma-based (10 + spell level + half-fey's Cha modifier).
Minimum
Half-Fey
Level
Minimum
Character
Level
Spell-Like Abilities Gained
1st
1st
Charm person*at will,*hypnotism*1/day

3rd
Detect law*3/day

5th
Protection from law*3/day

9th
Eyebite*or*lesser geas*1/day

13th
Mass invisibility*1/day

17th
Insanity*or*mass charm*1/day
2nd
1st
Faerie fire*or*glitterdust*1/day

3rd
Enthrall*or*sleep*1/day

7th
Confusion*or*emotion*1/day

11th
Dominate person*or*hold monster*1/day

15th
Geas/quest*or*mass suggestion*1/day

19th
Otto's irresistible dance*1/day
The character gains each spell-like ability as soon as she meets both qualifications for it. Spell-like abilities are cumulative, so a 2nd-level half-fey whose character level is 3rd has*charm person*at will,*detect law*3/day,*enthrall*or*sleep*1/day,*faerie fire*or*glitterdust*1/day,*hypnotism*1/day.
Immunity to Enchantments (Ex):*At 2nd level, a half-fey becomes immune to all spells and effects from the Enchantment school. This ability replaces the saving throw bonus against these effects included in the half-fey's base racial features.
Wings (Ex):*At 2nd level, a half-fey grows insectlike wings (usually similar to those of a butterfly) and may use them to fly at up to twice her base land speed with good maneuverability.


Vampire:

Natural Armor +6, Special Attacks: Slam, Blood Drain A vampire can suck blood from a living victim with its fangs by making a successful*grapple check. If it pins the foe, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained. On each such successful attack, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points.
Children of the Night (Su)
Vampires command the lesser creatures of the world and once per day can call forth 1d6+1*rat swarms, 1d4+1*bat swarms, or a pack of 3d6*wolves*as a*standard action. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might summon other creatures of similar power.) These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the vampire for up to 1 hour.
Dominate (Su)
A vampire can crush an opponent’s will just by looking onto his or her eyes. This is similar to a*gaze*attack, except that the vampire must use a*standard action, and those merely looking at it are not affected. Anyone the vampire targets must succeed on a*Will save*or fall instantly under the vampire’s influence as though by a*dominate person*spell (caster level 12th). The ability has a range of 30 feet.
Create Spawn (Su)
A*humanoid*or*monstrous humanoid*slain by a vampire’s*energy drain*rises as a*vampire spawn*1d4 days after burial.
If the vampire instead drains the victim’s Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD. In either case, the new vampire or spawn is under the command of the vampire that created it and remains enslaved until its master’s destruction. At any given time a vampire may have enslaved spawn totaling no more than twice its own Hit Dice; any spawn it creates that would exceed this limit are created as free-willed vampires or vampire spawn. A vampire that is enslaved may create and enslave spawn of its own, so a master vampire can control a number of lesser vampires in this fashion. A vampire may voluntarily free an enslaved spawn in order to enslave a new spawn, but once freed, a vampire or vampire spawn cannot be enslaved again.
Energy Drain (Su)
Living creatures hit by a vampire’s slam attack (or any other*natural weapon*the vampire might possess) gain two*negative levels. For each negative level bestowed, the vampire gains 5 temporary hit points. A vampire can use its*energy drain*ability once per round.


Special Qualities:
Alternate Form (Su)
A vampire can assume the shape of a*bat,*dire bat,*wolf, or*dire wolf*as a*standard action. While in its alternate form, the vampire loses its natural slam attack and dominate ability, but it gains the*natural weapons*and extraordinary special attacks of its new form. It can remain in that form until it assumes another or until the next sunrise. (If the base creature is not terrestrial, this power might allow other forms.)
Damage Reduction (Su)
A vampire has*damage reduction*10/silver*and magic. A vampire’s*natural weapons*are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Fast Healing*(Ex)
A vampire heals 5 points of damage each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it automatically assumes gaseous form and attempts to escape. It must reach its coffin home within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed. (It can travel up to nine miles in 2 hours.) Any additional damage dealt to a vampire forced into gaseous form has no effect. Once at rest in its coffin, a vampire is*helpless. It regains 1 hit point after 1 hour, then is no longer helpless and resumes healing at the rate of 5 hit points per round.
Gaseous Form (Su)
As a*standard action, a vampire can assume*gaseous form*at will as the spell (caster level 5th), but it can remain*gaseous*indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.
Resistances (Ex)
A vampire has*resistance*to cold 10 and electricity 10.
Spider Climb (Ex)
A vampire can climb sheer surfaces as though with a*spider climb*spell.
Turn Resistance (Ex)
A vampire has +4*turn resistance.

Abilities
Increase from the base creature as follows: Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As an*undead*creature, a vampire has no Constitution score.
Skills
Vampires have a +8 racial bonus on*Bluff,*Hide,*Listen,*Move Silently,*Search,*Sense Motive, and*Spot*checks. Otherwise same as the base creature.
Feats
Vampires gain*Alertness,*Combat Reflexes,*Dodge,*Improved Initiative, and*Lightning Reflexes, assuming the base creature meets the prerequisites and doesn’t already have these feats.

Vampire Lord

Hit Dice: Same as base vampire, then add +1 hit point per level or HD of the base vampire
Speed: Same as base vampire, plus vampire lords can fly with speed 50 ft. and perfect maneuverability.
AC: The base vampire's natural armor bonus improves by +6.
Attacks: Same as base vampire.
Special Attacks: A vampire lord retains all the special abilities of the base vampire, except as modified below, and also gains those noted below. The saving throw, where applicable, is 10 + 1/2 the vampire lord's class and nonclass HD + the vampire lord's Charisma modifier, unless noted otherwise.
Domination (Su): As base vampire, except that a vampire lord can do this either by gaze or voice. It does not require line of sight to the target, but the target must be able to hear the vampire lord's voice when it speaks at a normal volume level.
Energy Drain (Su): As base vampire, but a living creature hit by a vampire lord's slam attack takes 3 negative levels.
Blood Drain (Su): As base vampire, but a vampire lord's blood drain inflicts 1d4+2 points of Constitution drain each round the pin is maintained.
Special Qualities: The vampire lord retains all the special qualities of the base vampire, except as modified below, and gains those listed below.
Alternate Form (Su): A vampire lord can assume the form of any animal, as the druid ability*wild shape*used by a 12th-level druid. The vampire lord can use this power at will as a move-equivalent action. The vampire lord can change from one animal shape to another without having to revert to its humanoid form.
Children of the Night (Su): As base vampire, but the creatures summoned forth serve the vampire lord until released. Further, the vampire lord can sense through the senses of any such commanded creatures, and communicate empathically with them, to a range of 10 miles.
Control Weather (Sp): A vampire lord can cast either*control weather*or*fog cloud*as a 12th-level sorcerer at will.
Create Spawn (Su): As base vampire, but vampire lords create only vampire slaves, never vampire spawn. The new vampire is enslaved to the vampire lord until its master's death, and the willpower of the vampire lord is too strong to allow it to break free of its enslavement.
Damage Reduction (Ex): A vampire lord is extremely tough; it has damage reduction 10/+3.
Fast Healing (Ex): As base vampire, but a vampire lord heals 8 hit points each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point. It has 24 hours to reach a place of rest (rather than 2 hours) if brought to zero hit points. A vampire lord can have many places of rest prepared, since the only requirement is some soil from its homeland (the place where the base vampire was born).
Telekinesis (Su): A vampire lord can use*telekinesis*(caster level 12th) at will.
Telepathy (Su): A vampire lord can communicate telepathically with any living creature within 100 feet that has a language, and with any vampire under its direct control to a range of 1 mile.
Turn Resistance (Ex): As base vampire +4 (see*Monster Manual).
Saves: Same as the base vampire, plus the vampire lord applies its Charisma modifier to all saving throws in addition to its other ability modifiers (as a paladin does).
Abilities: Increase from the base vampire as follows: Str +6, Dex +4, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +4. As undead creatures, vampire lords have no Constitution scores.
Skills: A vampire lord receives an additional +4 racial bonus to Scry and Sense Motive checks, and a +8 racial bonus to Diplomacy and Intimidate checks.
Feats: Vampire lords gain Iron Will and Leadership as bonus feats, assuming the base vampire does not already have these feats.
Climate/Terrain: Any land or underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: Same as base vampire +3
Treasure: Quadruple standard
Alignment: Any evil. In the transformation from vampire to vampire lord, the creature recovers the Law-Neutral-Chaos bent of the original creature. Thus, a Lawful Neutral monk who becomes a vampire turns Chaotic Evil, and when it becomes a vampire lord it turns Lawful Evil.
Advancement: By character class
Vampire Lord Weaknesses
Vampire lords have far fewer weaknesses than normal vampires, a benefit of their quest for power.
Vampire lords cannot be repelled by garlic or holy symbols, though they can be turned. Mere presentation of a holy symbol has no effect. They have no fear of mirrors, and they cast reflections as living beings do.
Vampire lords can cross over or through running water with no impediments. They are not harmed in any way by immersion in running water.
A vampire lord is not as vulnerable to sunlight as a normal vampire, and can go about in broad daylight if it desires. Under sunlight, it takes a -4 penalty to all ability scores and on all attacks, saves, and skill checks. Also, a vampire lord in sunlight cannot use any of its supernatural powers. Victims of its domination power are not freed of the vampire lord's control during daylight hours; the vampire lord can verbally command any creature in its thrall even in direct sunlight. Spells that produce sunlight effects cannot harm a vampire lord; only direct light from the sun can weaken it. If the vampire lord is destroyed while exposed to direct sunlight, it seems to die, but unless the body is disposed of as described below, it assumes gaseous form as soon as the sun sets and attempts to return to its coffin.
A vampire lord is not killed outright by a wooden stake driven through its heart, though the stake does cause normal damage if it can bypass the creature's damage reduction.
The only way to make sure that a vampire lord does not return is to cut its head from its body, burn the body and the head separately, scatter the ashes from the body over running water, immerse the ashes from the head in holy water, and bury the immersed ashes in consecrated ground. However, if the head ashes are ever unearthed and somehow separated from the holy water, dried thoroughly, and then subjected to an*unhallowspell, the vampire lord can regenerate in a week if the ashes are placed inside one of its places of rest.







Final Value Calculations:


Final Attributes:



Stats

Strength 52/+21
Dexterity 25/+7
Constitution -
Intelligence 16/+3
Wisdom 24/+7
Charisma 34/+12



HP: 19*12+19, assuming half roll 152

AC: 10-2 Size +7 Dex +25 natural equals AC 40 (assuming regular WBL he`ll likely add another 4)

Saves:

Giant Base: Fort*+16, Ref*+6, Will*+10
Vampire+Lord Mods: Fort -6, Reflex +5, Will +4
Half Fey Mods: (Con malus in Vampires): +1 Dex, +1 Will
Class Mods:
Sword Sage +2 Reflex and Will
WarlocK+2 WIll Will
Lightning Reflexes +2 Reflex, Iron Will +2 Will
Vampire Lord: all +12 due to Charisma Bonus (or even more assuming WBL Equipment investment into Save enhancers)



Total at CR 20:

Fort: 22 Ref: 28 Will: 31

Turn Resistance +8


BAB: +12

Attack Bonus assuming standard +3 Weapon normal full attack: +36/+31/+26
Damage 4d6+3+31, 19-20*2

Regular Power Attack (6pts for +12 Damage): +30/+25/+20
Damage: 4d6+3+43, 19-20*2


Final Skills (including bonuses):

Craft (Clothing) 17
Diplomacy 17
Listen 27
Spot 27
Intimidate 27
Jump 26
Sense Motive 26
Knowledge (Nobility) 11
Tumble 12

Sources: SRD, Complete Arcane, Tome of Battle







Tactics: Befitting his mind set, he is very dual about achieving his Goals.

Normally he prefers for beings to adore and simply follow him (glittering Lord of Darkness that he thinks he is), and utilizes his immense Charisma and Fae/Vampire Born abilites to make sure of it.
Weather Control and various forms of Flight/Change make him excellent at Battle Field preparation/Control for a „noncaster“

If however he loses his cool (say because somebody says glittering Vampires are NOT cool^^) he uses his immense resiliency and strength to simply smash his opposition in melee. Given his number of special attacks and See the Unseen that usually works as well.

As he lacks the Versatility to do other things between these 2 (and the mind set for them) its either very subtle or very unsubtrle for him....


Strengths: Mobility, Resilince, Indestructability, high to very high saves, very good melee abilities, Control SLA`s.

Weaknesses: Utility. He has real problems for example against constructs, as they are immune to most of his abilities, he can only go smash“ on them.
Also, while he can come back from around everything, beings dealing a lot of Damage fast will take him out for a while.


On a more general Note, Orthos is a funny villain.
He is supposed to go well in more .... unusual settings (Ravenloft for example would be a big NoGo, as would be too serious Faerun), where he will excel.

Hints for playing: He is manic most of the time. Not truly depressive on other times, but it might seem that way, as he is usually exuberantly violent/Dominating.
He gets along very well with other Evil or chaotic beings that place style on higher value than substance, and of course prefers them to pay him tribute in fashionable ways.

The easiest way to make him mad is to either steal from his collection of clothing or openly (or giving his abilities secretly) doubting his awesomeness.



Afterthought: While he is a playable and rather strong villain at CR 13, he lacks his immunities and is more or less jsut a Cloud Giant with some Spellike Abilities to charm people, and at CR 15, while powerful, he has the usual Vampire Weaknesses and since he cant enter sunlight doesnt .... sparkle enough. ^^
Still, this contest is a bit stranger than usual, so one CR should be enough, no?

[jdizzlean]

It only burns for a second.

Green Fire

http://image.ibb.co/mZ8Ke8/oCdOtyB.png
Just imagine the picture actually has color.

NE Small Fire Elemental



Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha
Modifiers


12
14
16
22
14
30
Racial - (+2 Dex, -6 Int), Phrenic - (+2 Int, +2 Wis, +4 Cha), Prodigy - (+2 Int), Beast of Xvim - (+4 Cha), Variant Half-Fiend [Succubus] - (+2 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Int, +8 Cha), HD - (+6 Int, +1 Wis, +1 Con, + 2 Cha)


Green Fire is a Small Fire Elemental that ultimately gains the Beast of Xvim, Phrenic, Monster of Legacy and Half-Fiend (Succubus Variant) templates. The HD advancement detailed in his progression derives from the Feed ability of the Beast of Xvim template.

He also possesses the NPC special abilities Prodigy and Past Life.


CR
HD/Templates
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Abilities


4
6HD, Phrenic, Beast of Xvim, Monster of Legacy
4
2
5
2
Hide 4.5, Move Silently 4.5, Knowledge (nature) 4.5, Concentration 4.5
Weapon Finesse (B), Improved Initiative (B), Naturalized Denizen, Endurance, Trickery Devotion
Prodigy (Intelligence), Legacy Ability (Constant Companion [Celestial Giant Fire Beetle]), Smite Good, Frightful Presence


5
10 HD
7
3
7
3
Hide 6.5, Move Silently 6.5, Knowledge (nature) 6.5, Concentration 6.5, Craft (sculpting) 1.5
Enduring Life
-


7
14 HD
10
4
9
4
Hide 8.5, Move Silently 8.5, Knowledge (nature) 8.5, Concentration 8.5, Craft (sculpting) 3.5
Open Lesser Chakra (Arms)
Legacy Ability (Create Undead)


8
18 HD
13
6
11
6
Hide 10.5, Move Silently 10.5, Knowledge (nature) 10.5, Concentration 10.5, Craft (sculpting) 5.5
Lasting Life, Speed of Thought
Legacy Ability (Summon Monster IX)


9
22 HD
16
7
13
7
Hide 12.5, Move Silently 12.5, Knowledge (nature) 12.5, Concentration 12.5, Craft (sculpting) 7.5
Epic Destiny (Eternal Hero)
Continual resurrection, death denied


11
22 HD
16
7
13
7
Hide 12.5, Move Silently 12.5, Knowledge (nature) 12.5, Concentration 12.5, Craft (sculpting) 7.5
-
Past Life (Sorcerer [Minor Servitor])


15
22 HD, Variant Half-Fiend (Succubus)
16
7
13
7
Diplomacy 25, Bluff 25, Concentration 21, Craft (sculpting) 25, Hide 25, Move Silently 25, Listen 25, Spot 25, Knowledge (nature) 25, Knowledge (arcana) 25, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 4
-
Smite Good


16
26 HD
19
8
15
8
Diplomacy 29, Bluff 29, Concentration 21, Craft (sculpting) 29, Hide 29, Move Silently 29, Listen 29, Spot 29, Knowledge (nature) 29, Knowledge (arcana) 29, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 29, Tumble 8
-
Quickening


17
30 HD
21
10
17
10
Diplomacy 33, Bluff 33, Concentration 21, Craft (sculpting) 33, Hide 33, Move Silently 33, Listen 33, Spot 33, Knowledge (nature) 33, Knowledge (arcana) 33, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 33, Tumble 16
-
Nexus of many lives (Arcanist - Nar Fiendbond, Disciple - Greater Humanoid Essence, Traitor - Create Greater Undead), Eternal renewal


18
34 HD
24
11
19
11
Diplomacy 37, Bluff 37, Concentration 21, Craft (sculpting) 37, Hide 37, Move Silently 37, Listen 37, Spot 37, Knowledge (nature) 37, Knowledge (arcana) 37, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 37, Tumble 24
Quicken Spell-Like Ability (Psionic Teleport)
-


19
38 HD
27
12
21
12
Diplomacy 41, Bluff 41, Concentration 21, Craft (sculpting) 41, Hide 41, Move Silently 41, Listen 41, Spot 41, Knowledge (nature) 41, Knowledge (arcana) 41, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 41, Tumble 32
Martial Study (Leading The Attack)
-


20
42 HD
30
14
23
14
Diplomacy 45, Bluff 45, Concentration 21, Craft (sculpting) 45, Hide 45, Move Silently 45, Listen 45, Spot 45, Knowledge (nature) 45, Knowledge (arcana) 45, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 45, Tumble 40
Martial Study (White Raven Tactics), Martial Stance (Leading the Charge)
-



New fire elementals are born every minute in the Plane of Elemental Fire, springing forth fully formed from vast, flaming wastes that stretch into seemingly interminable distance. If this noble race of creatures has any defect, it must be that they are immensely stupid. Even the eldest, wisest and most powerful fire elementals in existence are, on average possessed only of an intellect that would be hard-pressed to outwit an ogre.

However, like all rules, this standard of fire elemental intelligence has its exceptions. One of these was a particular little riot of green flame. Green fire elementals are not in themselves uncommon. After all, even normal, non-sentient fire may be made green through the application of various chemicals, and if green flames exist, then fire elementals, the very personification of fire itself, must also count among their numbers those of viridescent coloring.

The only difference was that this notable elemental would in fact have been of the more usual orange-red variety, had not at the moment of its genesis a spark of divine power alighted upon its soul. Where this sliver of essence normally so alien to the Elemental Planes could have been a thousand alternate Prime Materials away, ejected from it's originator for any number of reasons, both voluntary and involuntary. Whatever motives were contained within that almost-conscious splinter of a god were ripped from it forever, as the growing soul-body of the elemental latched onto it, flooding itself with divine energy and suffusing the infant creature with unnatural intelligence and magics, a new sentience quickly subsuming any flickering shadows of godly will that still lingered.

This fire elemental whom our story now comes to focus on found himself wandering across the endless fiery planes, as all newborn fire elementals are wont to do. He soon learned of that profound imbecility his race was incurably afflicted with. Among them he would find no comrades, no consolation, only simpletons unable to comprehend more than the constant rage across molten steppes. There was no grand meaning of existence that could be found among the fire elementals.

Our little emerald-hued protagonist would proceed the next chapter of his life in an encounter with a fire giant fortress. Scattered intermittently about the sprawling fields of half-molten rock, fire elementals, especially the small ones, are to these communities as cockroaches would be to a human settlement.

The fire elemental learned a great deal of what he came to recognise as truly intelligent life in that time spent in the nooks and crannies of the great castle. These creatures, unlike his kin, had goals. They had original thoughts and crafted original things. It was from them that he learned that there were worlds beyond this one of constant combustion. In the basement of the keep there sat a portal, an abrupt rip in space through which an alien landscape of lush greenery and blue skies contrasted with the stone walls of the surrounding dungeon. Although the elemental would not come to learn this for some time, this was the Prime Material Plane.

Most favored of the elemental's haunts were the castle bedrooms. Here, he witnessed the miracle of reproduction, something elementals in general were completely incapable of. It was here that he learned that the goal of most intelligent life was to make more intelligent life and ensure that that offspring survived. His own people, the elementals, were a curious exception, but then he reasoned that not only were they of insufficient intellect to properly that there were others like them, with whom they might become more than a collection of individuals, elementals had no natural means of reproduction, no way of creating more life as a conscious act.

The elemental, having seen some of civilization already, both realized that he would like to belong to it, to have a sense that he was among others who acknowledged him as their own, and that what he knew of it so far would never accept an entity as bizarre in form as himself to them as they had initially seemed to him into their fold. After all, even those fire giant infants who suffered what seemed to the elemental as minor deformities at birth were often cast out into the blazing wilderness to die.

Therein lay the problem. If he could not find a society to join, the only alternative was to create one himself. Unfortunately, that was one capacity he already knew he lacked. So, how might he then gain this capacity, the means to create intelligent life? Doubtless, if there was a way, it must lie in some strange and obscure magic. Certainly none he had observed the fortress's few spellcasters, war mages and clerics, to practice. If were to seek it, inevitably he would walk a path that few had trod before.

The only real question, to the elemental, was where he might start. An answer came almost immediately. Where best to seek deviant and perverted secrets, but a world that seemed to him just that? A world that conveniently lay just beyond that unnerving spatial rift in the lowermost reaches of his home.

There is no night in the Plane of Elemental Fire, as it is lit at all times by an incandescence that suffuses even the very air of the plane, but most living creatures, including fire giants, must still sleep. Thus, the portal in the fire giants' basement necessitated a changing of its guardsmen from time to time.

As the heels of the last guard exited the doorway, their owner bellowing for their relief to come on duty, a small green form squeezed itself out of a hole in the base of the dungeon wall and scampered through the portal. By the time the next pair of guards had entered, only a slight undulation of the gap's edges indicated the passage that had occured seconds before. It was not one they noticed.
General Outline
Green Fire's driving motivation is creating intelligent life (he is aware that his early efforts of undead and later construct ones may not strictly be life, just being intelligent creatures of his creation means a lot to him). He believes that the creatures he aims to create, his 'children', are the only individuals who will engage in social interactions with him, a view which may not be entirely wrong, depending on how accepting the average community in your game is of a talking, green, fire elemental. His villainy stems mostly from that fact that a large amount of his children evil, due to being 'Always Evil' undead or half-fiends, and if their evil acts get them into trouble and Green Fire becomes involved, he will take the side of his creations. There are also his clones, who share the same methods as himself.

Green Fire also encourages his children and clones to form themselves into societies and communities and should these efforts be successful, he enjoys residing in these settlements. The creation of societies composed of powerful and often malicious beings that can reproduce or be produced at alarming rates may be yet another disruptive force on your campaign world that requires PC intervention.

A potentially even darker side to Green Fire is that he is of course interested if any of his living creations are fertile and he may want to test this with creatures he did not create, to put it delicately.

Mechanically, one thing to keep in mind while running Green Fire is the caster level for his SLAs and PLAs, which are at certain points very high for his CR due to his HD being the same. This can make certain effects (e.g. Blasphemy) quite deadly and something to be used sparingly.

CR 5
Green Fire is at this point just embarking on his efforts to create life. So far, he has tried to clone himself, which has not yet been successful, only giving him the ability to create a temporary duplicate with Trickery Devotion and attempted a form of summoning that, while long-lasting, is both not true creation and does not result in a particularly intelligent creature. The Trickery Devotion duplicate may have some utility use as it mimics an Unseen Servant.

In combat, he can employ the Constant Companion and his Smite Good and Frightful Presence abilities. Since Frightful Presence is activated any time he simply makes a loud noise, presumably something he can do as a free action, and does not leave enemies immune to itself after activation, he should continuously attempt to use it if drawn into confrontation. There are also his Psi-like Abilities, of which he already has a formidable amount, and most have some use in combat, like Mind Thrust, Brain Lock, Force Screen and so on.

CR 9
Green Fire has become able to create more permanent forms of 'life', so quoted because one is actually the creation of undead ghouls and ghasts. There isn't any reason why he shouldn't do a ghast every time, as they are superior in all ways to ghouls. The second method is cloning himself, like so: Using the Fission PLA from Phrenic, Green Fire splits himself in two. The duplicate kills the original (just use an Ultrablast or something), which will allow the duplicate to remain permanently. The duplicate can repeat this process as many times as it sees fit as it and all subsequent duplicates are now treated as the original Green Fire. At dawn the next day, all the Green Fires' continual resurrection ability will activate and every single one will be raised from the dead. Especially for a villain, this is a good ability as it makes him very hard to ultimately kill; even if the PCs manage to prevent the ressurection of one Green Fire (not easy at level 9), there could have been any number of clones waiting in the wings as replacements (although, obviously, you should take how difficult you want the campaign to be into consideration when deciding how many clones he actually made). Or perhaps the one they killed was not even the original.

In combat, leaving aside any clones and undead, Green Fire now has the full suite of Phrenic's PLAs, can fly, and has refined his summoning abilities to be able to cast Summon Monster IX, which in itself gives a lot of power and versatility from the sheer number of summonable creatures.

CR 11
The main thing here is that there is now another method for creating 'life' - Minor Servitor. Due to his high caster level for his CR, he can actually create quite formidable constructs, and this only increases as CR does (especially when he reaches CR 17).

CR 15
Here, Green Fire has managed to implant some fiendish essence (which happened to belong to a succubus/incubus) into himself, which, flavor-wise, is foreshadowing for a method he will later develop for making his constructs more alive. Mechanically, he gets another instance of Smite Good and a slew of spell-like abilities (note that a few of the Succubus Half-Fiend variant SLA are different from the default). Due to the mechanics for skills in the Half-Fiend template, his skills have also increased drastically.

CR 17 - 'Sweet Spot'
Green Fire has achieved the aforementioned method for enlivening his Minor Servitor constructs. He can now cast Greater Humanoid Essence on them, and then Nar Fiendbond. Of course, he can only cast either one once a day, but that's where his cloning ability comes in. Once this process is complete, the former construct will permanently be an outsider, a living, breathing, creature. Note the possibility for using the variant Half-Fiends detailed by WoTC to make Green Fire's converted constructs more varied in their traits. He has also become able to create more powerful undead.

This is the sweet spot because all the tricks that allow Green Fire to accomplish his primary goal of creating intelligent life are now available, although there are a couple more minor abilities available at CR 20.

CR 20
White Raven Tactics helps the large number of allies that Green Fire will likely be fighting with. In fact, if there are a number of his clones present in a fight able to use this, it becomes even more potent. For any more melee-oriented allies he may have, Leading the Charge bolsters their abilities.

The first stipulation is that the villain must be built almost entirely using templates is met, as the only other non-template source of CR advancement in the build is from NPC special abilities (DMG II), of which there are only two compared to the four templates. The HD advancement that makes up a large part of the Emerald Flame's build is gained through the Feed ability of Beast of Xvim, which again, is advancement using a template, although not advancement through the application of a new template.

Half-Fiend was applied as if it were acquired instead of being inherited, but that is in keeping with the stipulations in the limitations.

As is self-evident, the Emerald Flame is also Evil and possesses no class levels, let alone two.
Player's Handbook
Dungeon Master's Guide
Monster Manual
Dungeon Master's Guide II
Magic of Incarnum
Monsters of Faerun
Weapons of Legacy
Libris Mortis
Tome of Battle
Expanded Psionics Handbook
WoTC Web

[jdizzlean]

Rocks fall, party dies.


Rukhsamun, the God-King
https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/006/378/640/large/lius-lasahido-scorpion-god.jpg?1498137150 (https://www.artstation.com/artwork/34qoB)
"Scorpion God", original art by Mark Winters, © Wizards of the Coast 2018
Alignment
Neutral Evil

Build Stub
Awakened Black Sand[CR5]
Incarnate Construct CR/2 [CR3]
Swordsage CR+1 [CR4]
Afflicted Entomanothrope (Devastation Scorpion) CR+7 [CR11]
Phantom CR+2 [CR13]
Half-Elemental (Air) CR+2 [CR15]
Dark CR+0 [CR15]
Phrenic CR+3 [CR18]
Faerzress-Infused CR+1 [CR19]
Soul Eater CR+1 [CR20]

Ability Scores

Ability
Elite
Array
CR5
(Race)
CR3
(Temp)
CR11
(Temp)
Alt.
Form
CR15
(Temp)
CR18
(Temp)


STR
10
20(+10)
20
20
(+28)
20
20


DEX
14
12(+2)
12
19(+7*)
(+24)
21(+2)
21


CON
8
-
12(4d6b3)
12
(+22)
14(+2)
14


INT
15
15
15
13(-2)
20(+7**)

22(+2)
24(+2)


WIS
12
12
12
14(+2)

16(+2)
18(+2)


CHA
13
13
13
38(+25*)

40(+2)
44(+4)


* from increased HD
** 5 from epic feat (Great Intelligence x5) and 2 from Epic Destiny



CR
Race/
Template
Base
Attack
Bonus
Fort
Save
Ref
Save
Will
Save
Skill Ranks
Feats
Features


5
8HD Awakened
Black Sand
(Awaken Sand on Black Sand)
+6
+2
+2
+2
½ Autohypnosis
5 Balance (CC)
½ Handle Animal
5 Knowledge: Arcane
½ Knowledge: Architecture
½ Knowledge: Dungeoneering
½ Knowledge: Geography
½ Knowledge: History
½ Knowledge: Nature
½ Knowledge: Nobility
½ Knowledge: Psionic
½ Knowledge: Religion
5 Knowledge: the Planes
½ Martial Lore
11 Spellcraft
½ Use Magic Device
½ Use Psionic Device

1HD: Keeper of Forbidden Lore
3HD: Knowledge Devotion (Arcane)
6HD: Improved Initiative

Earth subtype, Engulf, Black Sand effects, stats as a Huge Animated Object except 3d6 for INT/WIS/CHA


3
Incarnate Construct
+6
+6
+2
+2


Giant type, lose feats, lose special qualities/attacks above, 4d6b3 for CON score


4
Swordsage 1
+6
+6
+4
+4
8 Knowledge: Local
9HD: Touchstone
(Sunken City of Pazaar)
Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus: Tiger Claw), Maneuvers Known 6, Maneuvers Readied 4, Stance Known 1


11
128HD Afflicted
Entomanothropy
(Devastation
Scorpion)
+102
+72
+46
+46
140 Hide
108 Intimidate
140 Knowledge: Arcana
140 Knowledge: the Planes
140 Sense Motive
140 Spot

12HD: Keeper of Forbidden Lore
15HD: Knowledge Devotion (Arcane)
18HD: Martial Study (Vanguard Strike)
21HD-30HD: Epic Destiny (Demigod)
33HD: Great Intelligence
36HD: Great Intelligence
39HD: Great Intelligence
42HD: Great Intelligence
45HD: Great Intelligence
48HD: Martial Stance (Shifting Defense)
51HD: Martial Stance (Ghostly Defense)
54HD: Martial Study (Tornado Throw)
57HD: Martial Stance (Thicket of Blades)
60HD: Martial Stance (Aura of Perfect Order)
63HD: Desert Wind Dodge
66HD: Mobility
69HD: Spring Attack
72HD: Evasive Reflexes
75HD: Improved Combat Reflexes
78HD: Spellcasting Harrier
81HD: Robilar's Gambit
84HD: Power Attack
87HD: Improved Unarmed Strike
90HD: Thunderclap
93HD: Dust Cloud
96HD: Combat Expertise
99HD: Improved Trip
102HD: Sand Snare
105HD: Great Throw
108HD: Knock-Down
111HD: Shape Soulmeld (Shedu Crown)
114HD: Open Least Chakra (Crown)
117HD: Mindsight
120HD: Weapon Focus (Sting)
123HD: Alertness
126HD: Adaptive Style
129HD: Run
132HD: Epic Speed
135HD: Fast Healing

Shapechange subtype, Alternate Form, Entomanothropic Command (Scorpion), Entomanothropic Immunities, Improved Grab, Squeeze, DC85 STR-damage Poison, Darkvision 600ft (+Epic Feat), SR50, DR15/-


13
Phantom
+102
+72
+46
+46


+CHA to AC, Phantom Defense, Vulnerability to Ghost Touch, Phantom Strike, Incorporeal Jaunt


15
Half-Elemental (Air)
+102
+72
+46
+46


Outside type, Immunity to Disease and Cold, SLAs (1/day: Obscuring Mist, Wind Wall, Gaseous Form, Air Walk, Control Winds, Chain Lightning, Control Weather, Whirlwind, Elemental Swarm, Planeshift), +2 DEX/CON/INT/WIS/CHA


15
Dark
+102
+72
+46
+46


Extraplanar subtype, Hide in Plain Sight, Superior Light Vision, +10ft speed, +8 Hide, +6 Move Silently


18
Phrenic
+102
+72
+46
+46


Psionic subtype, Naturally Psionic, PR10+HD, +2 INT/WIS, +4 CHA, Psi-Like Abilities (1/day: Force Screen, Body Adjustment, Brain Lock, Aversion, Psionic Blast, Psychic Crush, Psionic Dominate, Energy Current, Tower of Iron Will, Fission, Ultrablast) (3/day: Defensive Precognition, Empty Mind, Mind Thrust, Intellect Fortress, Psionic Teleport)


19
Faerzress-Infused
+102
+72
+46
+46


Detect Faerzress, Infused Faerzress


20
Soul Eater 1
+103
+74
+48
+48
9 Listen
138HD: Create Spectral Spawn
Energy Drain 1


Final Skill Ranks: Autohypnosis ½, Balance 5, Handle Animal ½, Knowledge: Arcana 140, Knowledge: the Planes 140, Knowledge: Local 8, other Knowledge skills ½ each, Hide 140, Intimidate 104, Listen 9, Martial Lore ½, Sense Motive 140, Spellcraft 11, Spot 140, Use Magic Device ½, Use Psionic Device ½




CR
Abilities Gained


4
Maneuvers: Burning Blade, Shadow Jaunt, Cloak of Deception, Mountain Hammer, Counter Charge, Mighty Throw
Stances: Step of the Wind



11
Maneuvers: Vanguard Strike, Tornado Throw
Stances: Holocaust Cloak, Thicket of Blades, Aura of Perfect Order, Shifting Defense, Ghostly Defense


15
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day Obscuring Mist, Wind Wall, Gaseous Form, Air Walk, Control Winds, Chain Lightning, Control Weather, Whirlwind, Elemental Swarm, Planeshift



18
Psi-Like Abilities: 1/day Force Screen, Body Adjustment, Brain Lock, Aversion, Psionic Blast, Psychic Crush, Psionic Dominate, Energy Current, Tower of Iron Will, Fission, Ultrablast; 3/day Defensive Precognition, Empty Mind, Mind Thrust, Intellect Fortress, Psionic Teleport)


General Interaction
How Rukhsamun interacts will largely depend on which form the party finds him in.

When encountered as the God-King (hybrid form), he regularly employs the help of whichever minions are readily available. He opts to stand his ground, taking on all attackers for Robilar's Gambit. He generally employs tactics such as using thunderclap, dust cloud, grappling (while possible), and utilizing his SLAs to either buff himself or get allies. He prioritizes taking out the weakest ones first, but would gladly accept surrender provided you pledge loyalty and worship to him. He talks trash during combat to intimidate and throw people off their game. If combat stalls enough and he gets impatient, or if he suffers enough (~300HP), Samoon will take over and switch to vermin form.

When encoutered off-guard as Rukhses (humanoid form), he tries to keep the interaction from escalating to physical violence (e.g. explaining why he's right, diplomacy, distractingly talking about his fascination for history, using charm/compulsion, etc.). If it can't be helped, he goes for straightforward powerful, wild swings with no tactic than to loudly charging/full-attacking and power attack at -70 minimum. Once he gets damaged enough (~50HP), Samoon will take over and switch to vermin form.

As Samoon (vermin form), he unleashes his full arsenal and tries to end combat as fast as possible, preferably using Tornado Throw and Dust Cloud for a quick slaughter. He fights to the utmost of his abilities, but he won't hesitate to escape if the situation calls for it.


CR5 Encounter
Rukhsamun combines the physicality of a Huge Animated Object with smart combat brought about by the awakening. Being made out of actual supernatural black sand, Rukhsamun will get more bang out of his engulf attack--suffocating and trapping creatures, as well as additional automatic 1d4 damage just from being in contact with his body.

Even in defeat, he is smart and capable enough to escape by digging deeper under the desert sands.


https://pre00.deviantart.net/1f27/th/pre/i/2016/047/a/3/shukaku_awakens_by_catandcrown-d9s00hz.jpg (https://catandcrown.deviantart.com/art/Shukaku-Awakens-591225479)
"Shukaku Awakens", original art by catandcrown, ©2018
The good thing about experimentations involving awakened animated sand is that there's no trace in the desert in case anything goes south. The young high priest of Set had a plan in mind, and after hundreds of failed creations, has finally synthesized a highly-intelligent construct out of his deity's divine power. It must have been his usage of black sand, whose destructive and shadowy nature synchronized so perfectly with his patron's essence.

The creature was surprisingly inquisitive and receptive of the things around it. It had particular fondness for seeking knowledge, its curiosity even leading him into the young priest's forbidden tomes.

With his attention focused on his successful experiment, the young priest prepared Rukhsamun for the next few months, hoping that it will survive the next excruciating phase of the transformation. Rukhsamun had an understandble alienation to the idea of pain despite knowing what the concept was, because its physical construct kept it from feeling anything remotely similar. That's about to change.

CR11 Encounter (Sweet Spot)
Rukhsamun suddenly becomes a massive 128HD werescorpion beatstick with massive numbers: hit points, ability scores, saves, armor class, DR, SR, attack, damage, poison DC, land speed, SR, skill ranks (and synergy bonus) where applicable. He also has darkvision to 600ft, mindsight, greater invisibility, tactical teleport, taking 11., and fast healing.

Epic Destiny (Demigod) gives him bonuses, unlimited healing, greater restoration, and a terribly powerful/versatile Miracle 1/day. CL137 Miracle is pretty bonkers, as it allows Rukhsamun to do things like:
use Improvisation to gain massive momentary skill bonuses
use Legend Lore or Hindsight to get more information about a certain place, person, or thing, of the past months/years/decades/century/millenia
use Resurrection on corpses of legendary warriors who lived within the last millenia
use Create Undead to turn corpses (who refuse Resurrection) into bone/corpse creatures
use Animate Dead repeatedly to control 548HD of skeleton/zombie minions
use Body Outside Body to create 27 clones of him
use Heroics to gain any fighter feat, including Martial Study
use Geas or Dominate Person to manipulate someone
use Awaken Sand for permanent friendly "servants" that can special in niche skills (Skill Focus + Knowledge Devotion)

Resurrected legends will be given the privilege to form a symbiosis (as the template) with Rukhsamun's commanded monstrous scorpions (he scours the Sunken City of Pazaar or anywhere in the desert for scorpions to command), vastly augmenting their physical prowess and in a way becoming half-scorpions themselves. Technically, any Devastation Scorpion he manage to find can also be used for this.


He takes advantage of 130ft land speed, 50ft. space, and 40ft. threat range by using Spring Attack and/or the Tornado Throw maneuver. He has unlimited AoO that triggers off of movement, spellcasting, and attacks. He also deliberately provokes AoO by running, charging, and/or spring attacking, then returns the AoO. He can substitute 5ft-step or trip for AoO. Sand Snare keeps tripped creatures stuck in the sand until a full-round action to escape, and Great Throw allows can reshuffle tripped creatures anywhere his 65ft-radius of control (e.g. up to 9d6 falling damage).

Lastly, he screws over spellcasting and coordination further via deafening eighth-mile cone Thunderclaps and blinding half-mile radius Dust Clouds.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JSxxbaOwNCc/WX8WFwg-tCI/AAAAAAAAF-Q/PjShApSH-VILRmK8j4fs_MBQj9zc2VtiwCLcBGAs/s1600/401497-Tormenting%2BStrike-JohannBodin-final-web.jpg (http://yozart.blogspot.com/2017/07/torment-of-venom.html)
"Torment of Venom", original art by Johann Bodin, © Wizards of the Coast 2018
Rukhsamun felt a dreaded sense of danger unlike any. Not fear, mind you, for his kind is absent of such frailties. No, it's the sense of an inevitable threat to his existence, a heightened awareness of your own mortality being chipped away bit by bit, rearranged like pebbles on the ground, and then the simple realization that you have no way at all to help extract yourself out of this situation. "Suffering" would be the most appropriate way to describe it, but that would severely understate what Rukhsamun endured for the next months that followed, trapped in gods know where.

During the last moments of this torturous predicament, something inside Rukhsamun finally broke. Maybe that was the point of this phase? Everything came rushing out like a flood. This time, each torment flooded both his body and mind, afterwards leaving him lying in a puddle of his own secretions--blood, sweat, tears, pus, and all. For the first time in his existence, like a newborn child, Rukhsamun heaved and cried out loud.

For the next few weeks, he was allowed to recuperate and adjust to his new body. He now finds himself bearing the shape of his caretaker, the young high priest of Set, "humanlike" as they call it. It was all too foreign, and never felt like his at all. Additionally, the procedure seems to also have enabled manifestations of new powers reminiscent of Set's.

The last phase of the experiment lead him and the young priest to an obscure location in the middle of the desert, but disaster struck. After vanquishing a couple of monstrous scorpions, an exemplar of Set's destructive power in the form of an entomanothrope devastation scorpion attacked Rukhsamun and impaled him with its stinger, unloading a full massive of poison in his bloodstream. The aggressive young priest provoked the werecreature and got killed, leaving Rukhsamun for dead in the middle of nowhere.

CR15 Encounter
Rukhsamun receives new SLAs, most notably being: 1. Plane Shift; 2. Control Weather; 3. 13-minute, quarter-mile long, eighth-mile high Wind Wall; 4. 22-hr Air Walk; and 5. 22-hr, half-mile radius, Tornado-strength Control Winds. Combo #4 and #5 to be "blown away" for up to 300ft of further movement that provokes AoO from more creatures.

At will Incorporeality gives CHA to AC, protection from nonvisual senses like scent, sound, blindsight, etc., and unusually lets him use normal attacks (even keeping the STR score) and combat maneuvers that don't require prolonged contact. Furthermore, it allows him to be partially inside the ground for cover and even hide underground as a 5ft step. Lastly, it makes building his kingdom in a subterranean world of caverns and winding passages easier, especially considering his size.
https://daarken.com/shop/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Laughs-Event-01-05.jpg (https://daarken.com/shop/2017/07/15/hour-of-devastation/)
"Hour of Devastation", original art by Daarken, © Wizards of the Coast 2018
Samoon watched in awe as Rukhses finally unlocked the puzzle of the ancient crypt, causing massive walls to shift and spun on all directions and eventually paving the way to the royal sarcophagi. His intellectual growth has been nothing sort of impressive, and even she knows it now easily surpasses most creature's intellect.

Like a carrion waiting for his opportunity to pounce, the God-King shoved the young boy aside, himself eager to get his hands on the remains of millenia-old remains of these warriors. She despised how the God-King has always treated Rukhses as a tool that he easily discards once done with. The God-King forces Rukhses to subservience whenever he needs any sort of information; intel about his enemies, places where he can salvage corpses of ancient legends, construction design of his grand kingdom, navigation especially in his subterranean kingdom, ancient magik and rituals, myths and realities concerning deities, his own identity as both construct and outsider, etc.

For her part, the God-King commands her to fight for him whenever he tires of fighting or he just simply can't overcome his enemies. Referred by him as "The Poison Wind", Samoon is seen by him as an absolute engine of death and destruction.

"Let's get away from here", Rukhses once whispered to her. The only reason she came here in the first place was to make sure nobody would be able hurt him anymore, so it stung her to tell him that they can't.

Rukhses himself hated his situation--his weaknesses and his fears. "You always end up getting hurt because of him and me. I promise you, I'll fulfill my destiny. I'll be a god, powerful and strong. Nobody will hurt us no more. We will kill everyone who hurt us, and everyone who stood in our way. Everyone else will bow before us gods."

One day, we will seize the throne. Just you wait, RukhsesCR20 Encounter
Rukhsamun keeps on building his subterranean kingdom within Faerzress-rich areas, making Scry and Die tactics harder.

His awakened sapience further evolved, providing him ML138 Psi-like abilities, most notably: Psionic Teleport, Fission, and a DC90+, 138-day, mass-targeted Psionic Dominate.

He gets to defile the dead further with Create Spectral Spawn, which can also be used on his half-scorpion symbiotic minions to get a Spectral creature with massive HD (higher HP, higher BAB, and more difficult to turn). Spectral creatures also get healed by awakened black sand and even has sun protection via the sand's magical darkness.
http://www.americas-most-haunted.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/de-1420815-1080x675.jpg (http://www.americas-most-haunted.com/2015/01/06/the-army-of-the-dead/)
"O, great God-King", called out an awakened sand minion as it shambled out of the main tunnel.

It informed me that the interlopers finally found their way to the upper chambers, and are on their way here. Despite my orders of letting them in without incident, I've learned, to not much surprise, that these savages repaid my kindness by murdering one of my awakened servants.

I wish I could've handled these interlopers at a more opportune time, but it looks like certain higher powers want me stopped immediately. This party would be the fourth just since today, and the sixty-seventh since the season of inundation started.

Even with the help divine magic to hasten this last vanity project of mine, all these recent interruptions had delayed it long enough. Looking over the slabs of unhewn limestone and unworked adamantine, I again shook my head and gestured my overseer of construction as well as his advisors to follow one of my lieutenants for safety.

The intruders then stepped out of the tunnel in a unique formation, their humanoid leader keeping the shining longspear pointed straight at me. He bellowed, "Prepare for divine justice to be meted out, abominable scion of darkne--"

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa! Stop!", I interjected after hearing more or less the same lines treaded for the most part today. "Do you think... you impress the God-King, what with your scholarly expertise, on name calling? Or how about your advanced martial technique, of ganging up on an unresponsive pile of sand just a while ago? Or maybe you think you impress the God-King with your perfect memorization of the same cliched speech that's been fed to you when you took on this quest?"

"This is where your path of blasphemy and terror ends! And you dared proclaim yourself a god?"

"Of course!", I retorted. "Literally created by Set's own divine dweomer... the sand-awakening, shadow-rising, storm-brewing, poison-stinging, undead-raising, all-devastating, the God-King! And the God-King says, it's his birthright and destiny to walk amongst the deities!"

Is it, though? Maybe, maybe not. Truth be told, I really neither cared nor believed in predestination. I am the overseer of my fate. Though, what I DO KNOW is that with the way I live, it'll suck once I bite the proverbial dust! Unless I get VIP accommodations and treatment on the lower planes, which is where the whole "take advantage of my divine heritage to become a full-fledged god" came from in the first place.

But enough about this. I have a kingdom to run, so I let out an exasperated sigh, cracked my knuckles, mentally commanded all nearby servants to aid me, and gave the adventurers an ultimatum:

"Tell you what, the God-King's running late on schedule, so he's gonna give you six seconds. Just...fast forward to the part where you issue threats, probably call names one more time for good measure, strike menacing poses, like this and like that, and then spout another holier-than-thou speech, ironic but whatever. Can you do that for the God-King now, so he can finally layeth the smacketh down on all your humanoid haunches?"


Unifying concept for templates and abilities
Even though we are supposed to stack templates, I feel there should still be a core theme to the villain. Rukhsamun was created by a divine caster of Set, and thus most of his crunch reflect Set's titles, domains, and portfolio: Air domain and God of Desert Storms: Desert Wind, trip-based techniques, Dust Cloud, Thunderclap, Phantom, Half-Elemental
Darkness domain, Night portfolio and God of Darkness: Shadow Hand, Setting Sun, Black Sand, Dark template
Defiler of the Dead: necromancy spells, Create Spectral Spawn
Destruction and Poison portfolio: devastation scorpion


Entomanothrope Size Requirements
The base ability of the Sunken City of Pazaar makes Rukhsamun one size category larger (i.e. from Huge to Gargantuan) for the purposes of effects of any ability (such as Improved Grab or Swallow whole). A Natural Entomanothrope Devastation Scorpion can use its Curse of Entomanothropy ability to a creature within one size category (Colossal or Gargantuan). Thus, he can be afflicted with the curse.

Incarnate Construct - Awakened Sand
The spell that grants the template requires the target creature to be humanoid-shape (generally has a head, a pair of upper extremity, and a pair of lower extremity.) An Awakened Sand is amorphous and capable of movement (i.e. has a DEX score), and due to its sapience and amorphous nature arguably has good enough range of motion to form its shape into a humanoid figure. Per the spell "sand creatures are amorphous and can do anything sand would be expected to do", and being able to be sculpted into a specific shape probably with the assistance of liquid is one of those.

At the end of the day, while I can just go for the cut-and-dry RAW and make use of the more optimal Phaerlin Giant to be the base creature of my entomanothrope, I believe the more thematic usage of an incarnated animated sand is worth the possible elegance, provided the judge wasn't convinced otherwise by my RAW explanation.

"This is TO, isn't it?" (just random musing)
My goal would be to use Devastation Vermin at the earliest CR possible, and it worked at 11. Technically, the correct answer is a CR10 Phaerlin Giant Entomanothrope, but this works, too. Yes, it's TO, and I'll straight up admit that this is more of a ridiculous thought experiment than an actual design for a villain. No sane person would ever unleash this abomination at mid levels and expect a non-cheesed-out party to fare easily.

What surprised me, though, is just how crazy the magnitude turned out for some of these spells. Most of the time, you are expecting spells from CL1 to maybe 25, up to 40+ if you are high on non-infinite cheese. In this build with CL/ML138, the most serious offenders would be Control Winds (size and duration), Animate Dead (undead HD limit), Hindsight (the amount of details vis a vis length of time), Psionic Dominate (DC and duration), and Resurrection (years of death). I suppose part of the fun is imagining just how ridiculous they'd turn out to be when cranked up to the limit.
Sandstorm: Black Sand20, Sand Snare52, Touchstone53, Sunken City of Pazaar55, Awaken Sand111
Savage Species: Dust Cloud33, Thunderclap40, Incarnate Construct121, Symbiotic131
Web Article: EntomanothropyLink (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20040621a), Epic DestinyLink (http://web.archive.org/web/20090218080723/http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080428), Great ThrowLink (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ask/20060413a)
Tome of Battle: Swordsage15, Adaptive Style28, Desert Wind Dodge29, Evasive Reflexes30, Martial Stance31, Martial Study32, maneuvers48
Tome of Magic: Dark161
Monster Manual V: Phantom130
Underdark: Faerzress-Infused87, Faerzress48
Manual of the Planes: Half-Elemental189
Book of Vile Darkness: Soul Eater66, Bone184, Corpse185
Magic of Incarnum: Open Least Chakra39, Shape Soulmeld40, Shedu Crown85
Lords of Madness: Mindsight126
Dragons of Faerun: Spectral109, Create Spectral SpawnLink (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070425a)
Fiendish Codex I: Keeper of Forbidden Lore86
Complete Champion: Knowledge Devotion60
Complete Arcane: Body Outside Body100
Sword And Fist: Knock-Down7
Player's Handbook II: Robilar's Gambit82
Spell Compendium: Hindsight114
SRD: everything else

FINAL NOTE: I'm still working on my conciseness. Apologies in advance for the TL;DR texts:smallredface:

[jdizzlean]

that's the round folks, some really interesting stuff!

[Thurbane]

Interesting builds at first glance. No one used a concept particularly close to what I was working on (only one or two parts of it were touched on), but in a way I'm glad I'm holding onto it for future rounds.

Like I said before, I'd like to contribute as a judge this time around, so I'll make a start as soon as time permits.
https://srtklaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/srtkmoji-smiley-judge.png

[GrayDeath]

Wow, and I feared mine would be too boring....maybe rghtly so, who knows?^^

Love this round.


Edit: @ Chair: jsut a nitpick, but I am pretty sure you left out the regular "Name Title" on top of each post for one or two entries...(you now the one we sent them under?).

Intentioally?

[Falontani]

I spent 30 minutes on one, however I didn't submit it because it was... too easy? I dont know.
Basically it was a Paragon Drowned. Drowned is CR 8 with 20 HD, paragon is a CR+12 template. It was scary, and actually had power, however it felt cheap so I didn't send it in.

[lylsyly]

I was considering a write up where Tiamat was looking on in dismay at how her children were wasting the create spawn skills she had taught them and decided to shown them how it's done.

Dragonkin race from Draconomicon with multiheaded template (5 heads) and then stacking all the DLCS dragonspawn templates on it along with whatever goodies I could find to bring it up to CR 20. Decided it was probably illegal or entirely too cheesy and dropped it.

[GrayDeath]

I spent 30 minutes on one, however I didn't submit it because it was... too easy? I dont know.
Basically it was a Paragon Drowned. Drowned is CR 8 with 20 HD, paragon is a CR+12 template. It was scary, and actually had power, however it felt cheap so I didn't send it in.


IIRC Paragon is a +15 cr Template...and only one Template does not really fit the Competitions theme.

Still, that does sound rather powerful, as an Epic Template should. ;)

I was considering a write up where Tiamat was looking on in dismay at how her children were wasting the create spawn skills she had taught them and decided to shown them how it's done.

Dragonkin race from Draconomicon with multiheaded template (5 heads) and then stacking all the DLCS dragonspawn templates on it along with whatever goodies I could find to bring it up to CR 20. Decided it was probably illegal or entirely too cheesy and dropped it.


Indeed sounds cheesy, but really fun.
A Five Headed Dragon Spawn Thingy. Neat.

[lylsyly]

Indeed sounds cheesy, but really fun. A Five Headed Dragon Spawn Thingy. Neat.

I was thinking that Tiamat called in five of her more powerful children (one of each type) and called for their sacrifice, giving the resulting creature a different personality for each head ;D could be great fun role playing.

Mechanically, the different breath weapons could be useful against different types of creatures/resistances.

EDIT: Each Dragonspawn gets +7 Natural Armor. Would it stack? (+35 Natural Armor) ;D

I may just build it anyway.

[jdizzlean]

Wow, and I feared mine would be too boring....maybe rghtly so, who knows?^^

Love this round.


Edit: @ Chair: jsut a nitpick, but I am pretty sure you left out the regular "Name Title" on top of each post for one or two entries...(you now the one we sent them under?).

Intentioally?

virtually every build had it's name first or directly after a picture, so i just copied the text this time. I'll go back to posting the name of the build next time

[Thurbane]

Some of the names are a bit confusing.

These are all pretty straightforward:

Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)

Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)

The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)

Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)

Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)

With the rest, I'm either unable to find a name, or not sure which is a name and which is a chairperson's comment:

Borg? Undead laboratory? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)

Rats? Hungering swarm? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65)

We're cool man? Orthos? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)

...I'm not trying to be a jerk or pedantic, but between chair comments and some of the entrants lack of a clear header title, I'm finding this all a little confusing.

[jdizzlean]

Some of the names are a bit confusing.

These are all pretty straightforward:

Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)

Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)

The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)

Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)

Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)

With the rest, I'm either unable to find a name, or not sure which is a name and which is a chairperson's comment:

Borg? Undead laboratory? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)

Rats? Hungering swarm? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65)

We're cool man? Orthos? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)

...I'm not trying to be a jerk or pedantic, but between chair comments and some of the entrants lack of a clear header title, I'm finding this all a little confusing.

i believe the first unnamed one was In, The undead labratory (his name was In)
2- The Hungering Swarm
3- Orthos Glitterstorm

[Thurbane]

i believe the first unnamed one was In, The undead labratory (his name was In)
2- The Hungering Swarm
3- Orthos Glitterstorm

Ah cool, seems obvious now. Thank you. :smallsmile:



Entry
Description
Judge 1 Score
Final Score
Competitor


Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)



???


In, The Undead Laboratory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)



???


Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)



???


The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)



???


The Hungering (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65) Swarm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166305&postcount=66)



???


Orthos Glitterstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)



???


Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)



???


Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)



???

[NontheistCleric]

Entry
Description
Judge 1 Score
Final Score
Competitor


Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)
Wizardry student obsessed with personal monstrous transformations.


???


In, The Undead Laboratory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)
Self-deconstructing-and-reconstructing Cadaver Golem.


???


Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)
Vampiric dragon overlord armed with strange magical powers.


???


The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)
Fire-breathing, twenty-headed roc.


???


The Hungering (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65) Swarm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166305&postcount=66)
Cranium rats both empowered and driven mad by spiritual infection.


???


Orthos Glitterstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)
Giant of mediocre talent who resorted to esoteric means of gaining power.


???


Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)
Fire elemental that creates life using convoluted methods.


???


Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)
Minor god who is immensely powerful in every way, with an aggressive scorpion alter-ego.


???



It's not standard practice to have a 'Description' column, as far as I'm aware, but since you included it, I helped you fill it up. Thanks for giving me something to kill some time with.

[jdizzlean]

i think traditionally the description is usually the class breakdowns, but nothing wrong w/ a short char synopsis either :)

[NontheistCleric]

i think traditionally the description is usually the class breakdowns

Well, that isn't usually in the table either, at least in VC. Although in hindsight that's more probably what Thurbane meant.

Oh well, too late. No point taking it out now.

[jdizzlean]

like i said, no worries :) more info is always better then less info :)

[Sejoran]

Cant wait. we've got some interesting submissions this time.

[Thurbane]

I'm going to be honest: this is quite a daunting round to judge. Some of the entries are very complex, which was to be expected given the theme. I will post progress updates as I go, but may be some time before I can finalize my judging.

[GrayDeath]

Dont worry, I for one expected that.

After all, some of the entries are fully crazy, and most others at least halfway.^^

[NontheistCleric]

I'm going to be honest: this is quite a daunting round to judge. Some of the entries are very complex, which was to be expected given the theme. I will post progress updates as I go, but may be some time before I can finalize my judging.

Nothing to worry about, there's usually a considerable wait for judging in any case.

[Thurbane]

Judging update: I'm making some progress. My downtime to do this is pretty limited, but I'm making some headway.

I'm leaving a couple of the particularly convoluted interesting entries until last, which hopefully will help.

[Venger]

Thanks for the update. We appreciate it.

[NontheistCleric]

Entry
Description

Level/Racial Breakdown

Judge 1 Score
Final Score
Competitor


Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)
Wizardry student obsessed with personal monstrous transformations.
CE Evolved Spellstitched Monstrously Vampiric Half-Fey Half-Clay Golem Unseelie Lolth-Touched Dark Primordial Giant Half-Troll Half-Dragon Mineral Warrior Feral Corrupted by the Abyss Tainted One Amphibious Shadow Silverbrow Human of Xvim Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1



???


In, The Undead Laboratory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)
Self-deconstructing-and-reconstructing Cadaver Golem.
CE 7-Headed Swarm-Shifter Cadaver Golem



???


Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)
Vampiric dragon overlord armed with strange magical powers.
LE Evolved Vampiric Spellstitched Tundra Landwyrm of Xvim Dread Necromancer 1



???


The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)
Fire-breathing, twenty-headed roc.
N(?) Monstrous Twenty-Headed Lernean Roc of Legend



???


The Hungering (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65) Swarm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166305&postcount=66)
Cranium rats both empowered and driven mad by spiritual infection.
CE Lost Mistling Wendigo Greater Cranium Rat Swarm Sorcerer 1/Barbarian 1



???


Orthos Glitterstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)
Giant of mediocre talent who resorted to esoteric means of gaining power.
NE Draconic Half-Fey Vampire Lord Cloud Giant Swordsage 1/Warlock 1



???


Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)
Fire elemental that creates life using convoluted methods.
NE Phrenic Half-Fiend Small Fire Elemental of Legacy and Xvim



???


Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)
Minor god who is immensely powerful in every way, with an aggressive scorpion alter-ego.
NE Faerzess-Infused Half-Elemental Phantom Dark Phrenic Were-Devastation Scorpion Incarnate Awakened Black Sand Swordsage 1/Soul Eater 1



???




While we wait, here's the table with what was probably the initial intent of 'Description'.

I couldn't find any hint of alignment in the All-Devourer's entry so I just assumed default roc alignment. Same for Orthos, actually, but since according to his race he should be NE which is fine for the competiton, I just put NE.

[Venger]

Thanks for the chart, TwoLegsArmchair!

It looks like Ebony actually lists all her templates for you in order in the section marked "stub." If you wanted to stick to your own list's order, "silverbrow" isn't a template, it's part of the race "silverbrow human," and "feral" is listed twice.

[NontheistCleric]

Sorry about that. The sheer number of templates just made me lose track of what I was typing.

I did at first copy-and-paste Ebony's build stub, but capitalizing all the names of the templates one at a time proved to be more painstaking than just typing them.

[Venger]

Sorry about that. The sheer number of templates just made me lose track of what I was typing.

I did at first copy-and-paste Ebony's build stub, but capitalizing all the names of the templates one at a time proved to be more painstaking than just typing them.

No harm done. I like to use a title case converter (https://titlecase.com/) for stuff like that:

CE Amphibious, Tainted One, Feral, Corrupted by the Abyss, Mineral Warrior, Half-dragon, Half-troll, Primordial Giant, Half-clay Golem, Shadow, Dark, Lolth-touched, Half-fey, Unseelie Fey, Monstrous Vampire, Beast of Xvim, Spellstitched, Evolved Undead Silverbrow Human Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1

[Thurbane]

I'm fairly confident I'll have judging wrapped up and posted by Monday evening my time (GMT +11).

Work's been awful, so I'm not doing much of anything over the weekend...

[jdizzlean]

awesome, thanks!

I'll be on vacation next week starting Wednesday morning, so any disputes, if any, will have to wait till i get back the following week.

[NontheistCleric]

Work's been awful, so I'm not doing much of anything over the weekend...

One would think that it'd be the other way around, but in any case I'm excited to see your judging.

[Thurbane]

Sorry for the delays: real life is kicking my butt at the moment (work and personal issues, as well as commitments as a DM), so I'm only about half-way completed. It also doesn't help that I lost my original document I was recording my judging in, so I've had to re-create a lot of it from scratch.

I'm going to post the judging I've finished so far, so entrants can get their disputes ready. I hope to have the rest posted in the next couple of days: please bear with me.

Note: if you have any issues with my judging, please go through the proper channels. No posting in this thread please, and preferably no direct PMs. I'd prefer to avoid commentary from spectators altogether, but I will reply to disputes raised by competitors through the Chair.

All categories start at a baseline of 3.0, and are modified upwards or downwards from there.

Bloodstar the Transfused [13.5]
Originality: Tundra Landwyrm was not expected; and I’d never really heard of Beast of Xvim before this competition (I’m not one for penalizing originality because the template appears in multiple entries) (+1.0). 4.0
Build Elegance: This is mostly quite an elegant build. I do have one concern: I’m not sure the Vampiric Dragon template can be applied to a Landwyrm. The template states that it can only be applied to a dragon “at least adult age”, and Landwyrms do not have age categories the way true dragons do. My own belief is that this template is intended only for true dragons. I can see some wiggle room in the exact wording here, so I’m only imposing a penalty (-1.0), rather than ruling it an illegally applied template. Other than that, application of templates and levels are all fairly smooth (+1.0). 3.0
Competence and Power: This is certainly a powerful enemy. In melee, he is an absolute beast. He has very formidable attacks, and solid defences; Spellstitched adds some useful SLAs. (+1.0). Without a fly speed and limited ranged attacks, he’s a bit vulnerable to a prepared party (-0.5), but he can always burrow away if needed. A lot of what he gets through Beast of Xvim is a double up of exist immunities and abilities, but it’s still a good deal for CR +1 (no deductions or penalties). 3.5
Memorable Villainy: I like this entry, but it suffers a little from only coming online at CR 14. Like all relatively high CR entries, it will only be interacting directly with the party fairly late in a campaign (-0.5). The backstory stub and CR writeups offer some useful insights and ways to use him in a campaign (+0.5). 3.0

The All Devourer [15.5]
Originality: Roc and Monstrous Beast are refreshing (+1.0). Multi-headed and Monster of Legend are somewhat expected (no penalty, but no bonus either). 4.0
Build Elegance: This is one of the most straightforward entries this round. RHD and templates only (+1.5). The writeups are a little bare-bones, but not enough to draw a penalty. 4.5
Competence and Power: Hard to argue here. This beast has the ability to deal out and withstand large amounts of damage; Reflective Hide and Lernean are very solid defences (+1.5). 4.5
Memorable Villainy: I like this entry, but it suffers a little from only coming online at CR 10. Like all relatively high CR entries, it will only be interacting directly with the party relatively late in a campaign (-0.5). I also like the backstory stub, but it’s very brief (the suggested tactics writeups are also quite brief). Not enough for a penalty, though. 2.5

Orthos Glitterstorm [15.25]
Originality: I can’t really fault the originality here. We don’t see a lot of giants as BBEGs, let alone Draconic Half-Fey Vampire Lords! (+2.0) 5.0
Build Elegance: You don’t credit all of your non-core sources (Half-fey, Vampire Lord etc.). I’m tempted to apply a penalty here, but you do partially credit sources, so I won’t do so. Unless I’m missing something, Orthos is a Fey at the time he gets the Vampire template. Fey are not a legal target for this template (-1.0). Since you could have used Monstrous Vampire instead, I won’t rule this as an illegal entry. Other than that, everything flows fairly well enough for a small bonus (+0.75). 2.75
Competence and Power: Orthos is a powerhouse. He can inflict serious damage, has a ton of immunities and defences, can fly and has plenty of SLAs and special abilities; even the weaknesses inherent to Vampires are lessened by Vampire Lord (+1.5). However, 152hp is a little on the squishy side at CR 20. I’d be inclined to give a small penalty, but this is mostly covered by his resistances, immunities, high saves and high AC. 4.5
Memorable Villainy: I like this entry, but it suffers a little from only coming online at CR 11. Like all relatively high CR entries, it will only be interacting directly with the party relatively late in a campaign (-0.5). Though brief, I like the backstory stub, and also the play style tips (+0.5). 3.0

Green Fire [17.0]
Originality: I have seen the odd elemental as a VC entry, but the combo of templates applied, and especially Monster of Legacy, is all pretty fresh (+1.0). However, this entry feels very similar in some ways to Arukōru no Honō form the Ninja round, so I’m applying a small penalty (-0.5). 3.5
Build Elegance: You seem to qualify for all templates (given the special consideration of all templates being considered acquired this round), and progression is all by RHD (+1.0). The hit die advance from Beast of Xvim is weird: it says you gain a HD, but doesn’t say you can exceed normal HD limits for your type. A Small fire elemental is capped a 3RHD. I have seen the argument made that it becomes a Medium elemental after 4HD etc. All in all, while you seem to be able to advance due to the template, the type of advancement is a bit unclear, so I’m applying a small penalty (-0.5) (-0.25). I’m also not a huge fan of custom half-fiends as presented in the WotC article: they are more guidelines than rules, and are pretty cheesy to boot (letting you pick and choose SLAs etc.) (-0.5).(-0.25) 3.5
Competence and Power: Green Fire excels in this area. It has a lot of SLAs, psi-like abilities, special abilities and defences. 42HD and solid ability scores make it resilient. The Epic Destiny feats are very powerful, especially Eternal Hero (all in all, worthy of a +2.0). 5.0
Memorable Villainy: I love the backstory, and especially the motivation, for this entry: spawning new “life” is a great twist for a villain. It comes online at CR 4, meaning it can be a recurring villain for a long time. In short, I like this as a villain a lot (+2.0). 5.0

[Falontani]

Judging looks good so far! I can't wait to see the rest

[GrayDeath]

Dont stress yourself out, we have time.

Maybe a second Wild Judge will appear for us to catch? ^^


Thanks for your judging!

[NontheistCleric]

Thank you for the judging, Thurbane!

Not to put any pressure on you, but I hope you finish your judging soon, because I enjoyed reading the first few.

[Thurbane]

2 more finalized, 2 left to go...

Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way [15.5]
Originality: I cannot fault originality for this one; this entry truly lives up to the true spirit of this round. I mean, it’s a mechanical nightmare to read, but it has originality out the wazoo (+2.0) 5.0
Build Elegance: Where to begin? As far as I can tell, everything is applied legally. But holy moly, this was a headache to read! Still, it was in-keeping with the round reqs. I’m a bit torn here: I want to reward the legal application of templates, and in some ways they are quite complimentary; but at the end of the day, I think it would be fair to call this a bit of a mess. Let’s call it a modest bonus and be done with it (+0.5). 3.5
Competence and Power: This entry has a lot going on; but at the crux of it all is the underlying problem with layering templates that increase CR: as far as I’m able to tell, you have one HD! This may be viable at low levels, but at higher levels, despite all the immunities and defences, it’s a pretty huge liability (-2.0). A lot of your SLAs and other abilities also key off HD. Having said that, there is a bucket load of special attacks and defences here, so I’m willing to award a bonus for that (+1.0). 2.0
Memorable Villainy: Kudos on the backstory; I loved it! Detailed CR writeups as well. Coming online at CR 1 means it can pop up at any point in the campaign. Altogether, another category I can’t fault (+2.0) 5.0

In, The Undead Laboratory [12.0]
Originality: Cadaver Golem and Swarm Shifter are relatively unexpected. Multi-headed appears in VC a bit, and was somewhat expected in this particular comp. Still, the overall concept is pretty new and neat (+1.5). 4.5
Build Elegance: You’ve put me in a tight spot here. I really like this entry, but as you yourself acknowledge, there’s an illegal application of templates going on. If you jumped through a couple of hoops, you could have become undead legally by RAW (Corrupted By The Abyss + Gravetouched Ghoul, for instance). But I really like the mechanical concept behind the application of the templates. At the end of the day, though, it wouldn’t be fair to the other entries if I accepted an entry which knowingly applied illegal templates. You also only take the monster up to CR 16: statting it up to CR 20 is the norm. I’m not one for ruling an entire entry illegal except in the case of gross violations of the rules or spirit of the comp, but I do have to mark this category as a 0. 0.0
Competence and Power: This monster is good at what it does; killing folk and assimilating their body parts. I really dig the concept. The combo of Cadaver Golem, Swarm Shifter (undead parts) and Multiheaded really all locks together. It’s a melee brute with solid attack and defence options. All up, this is worthy of a bonus (+1.0). As far as I can see, though, it has no fly speed or significant ranged attack options, so it’s a little vulnerable to a prepared party (-0.5). 3.5
Memorable Villainy: I’m not going to lie: I love the concept, and I’m going to be using a (slightly modified) version of this in my campaign (+1.5). It comes online at CR 8: a little late, but not late enough to draw a penalty. My only other beef (aside from the illegal templates mentioned above) is the lack of backstory, tactics or CR breakdown sections (-0.5). Oh, and as an aside, no influence on the scoring, but I love the image that goes with this entry: perfect! 4.0

[Thurbane]

...and the final 2:

The Hungering Swarm [17.5]
Originality: This is another entry where I can’t fault originality. A swarm of cursed, spellcasting fey rats. I hadn’t even heard of Lost until now. Well done (+2.0). 5.0
Build Elegance: Don’t take this the wrong way, but his is another build that’s a headache to read, due to the complexity. As far as I can tell, all templates are applied legally. There is a little ambiguity in the CR 2 and CR 5 versions being part of the same entry, but you clarify this. I cannot in good conscience call this an elegant build, but I will award a small bonus for all templates being applied legally (+0.5). 3.5
Competence and Power: Another category where this entry excels. The Swarm has a bucket load of special attacks, spells, SLAs and other options. It has some truly unique abilities, even compared to other entries this round. Regeneration, high SR, immunities and good HD and saves to boot: this isn’t going to be an easy opponent to beat. I’m happy to award full marks here too (+2.0) 5.0
Memorable Villainy: There are writeups for C2 and 5, but the entry proper starts at CR 11. Normally I’d apply a minor penalty, but you could have appearances by the lower CR versions of the villain earlier in the campaign. In this case, I’ll waive the “late appearance” penalty. I like the backstory stub (+0.5). Overall, an interesting concept, and a challenge for any party (+0.5). 4.0

Rukhsamun, the God-King [16.5]
Originality: Nothing to fault here. I didn’t even know awakened black sand was a thing. A huge, incorporeal, were-scorpion monstrosity with a god-complex. Full marks (+2.0). 5.0
Build Elegance: I’m not going to lie, I struggled reading this entry, and putting all the parts together. I’m not 100% sure Awaken Sand can be applied to black sand, but I think there is enough wiggle room to avoid a penalty. I am going to apply a penalty for the cheese of gaining so many HD using entomanothrope for a CR increase of only +7 (-1.0). I know it’s RAW, and you even acknowledge it as TO, but whenever I see were-epic monsters, or were-legendary-whatever, I cringe a little. As far as I can tell, all templates are applied legally, and that’s worth a small bonus (+0.5). 2.5
Competence and Power: What can I say. The title of God-King isn’t misapplied here. TO or not, you can’t argue the point on power. Even an epic level party may struggle to win a fight. Plenty of options in and out of combat. Powerhouse plus (+2.0). 5.0
Memorable Villainy: Becoming available at CR 5/3 is a good start. Once we hit CR 11, though, he becomes unusable in any kind of direct interaction with the party: he’d squash them like bugs. Now, I do like the backstory/motivation and writeups: they are well written and I enjoyed them. He would make for an interesting behind-the-scenes power or bogeyman to scare the party with, but his direct interaction with the players is very limited beyond CR 5 due to the power imbalance. While this is certainly a memorable villain, it’s direct use in a campaign is a little limited. Balancing these factors out, I’m willing to give an overall bonus (+1.0). 4.0
...if I've made any errors adding up scores, or on the table below, feel free to let me know and I'll fix them.

Here's the table as it stands before disputes:



Entry
Description
Level/Racial Breakdown
Judge 1 Score
Final Score
Competitor


The Hungering (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65) Swarm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166305&postcount=66)
Cranium rats both empowered and driven mad by spiritual infection.
CE Lost Mistling Wendigo Greater Cranium Rat Swarm Sorcerer 1/Barbarian 1
17.5

???


Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)
Fire elemental that creates life using convoluted methods.
NE Phrenic Half-Fiend Small Fire Elemental of Legacy and Xvim
16.5

???


Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)
Minor god who is immensely powerful in every way, with an aggressive scorpion alter-ego.
NE Faerzess-Infused Half-Elemental Phantom Dark Phrenic Were-Devastation Scorpion Incarnate Awakened Black Sand Swordsage 1/Soul Eater 1
16.5

???


Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)
Wizardry student obsessed with personal monstrous transformations.
CE Evolved Spellstitched Monstrously Vampiric Half-Fey Half-Clay Golem Unseelie Lolth-Touched Dark Primordial Giant Half-Troll Half-Dragon Mineral Warrior Feral Corrupted by the Abyss Tainted One Amphibious Shadow Silverbrow Human of Xvim Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1
15.5

???


The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)
Fire-breathing, twenty-headed roc.
N(?) Monstrous Twenty-Headed Lernean Roc of Legend
15.5

???


Orthos Glitterstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)
Giant of mediocre talent who resorted to esoteric means of gaining power.
NE Draconic Half-Fey Vampire Lord Cloud Giant Swordsage 1/Warlock 1
15.0

???


Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)
Vampiric dragon overlord armed with strange magical powers.
LE Evolved Vampiric Spellstitched Tundra Landwyrm of Xvim Dread Necromancer 1
13.5

???


In, The Undead Laboratory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)
Self-deconstructing-and-reconstructing Cadaver Golem.
CE 7-Headed Swarm-Shifter Cadaver Golem
12.0

???

[ben-zayb]

Thanks for judging, Thurbane!

I'm torn between two awesome entries, but I'll have to give HM to Ebony D.D.R. Way.

[Thurbane]

I don't know if it's poor form for a judge to give an HM, but if it's allowed, I already know who mine would be.

Also, meant to say earlier many thanks to TwoLegsArmchair for updating the table with descriptions etc.

[Venger]

I don't know if it's poor form for a judge to give an HM, but if it's allowed, I already know who mine would be.

Also, meant to say earlier many thanks to TwoLegsArmchair for updating the table with descriptions etc.

Judges are certainly allowed to give HMs, same as chefs and spectators.

Thanks for judging, Thurbane. No disputes.

[Falontani]

I have no disputes either. You judged very fairly and pleasantly. Thank you Thurbane.

[JyP]

Thanks a lot for judging, Thurbane :smallsmile:

no disputes for me also, my HM would also go Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way /!\ original, do not copy /!\

[ben-zayb]

While we are waiting possible disputes, any suggestions for the next round? I got some:

Spirits: Using spirit, being a spirit yourself, turning enemies to spirits, etc.; Oriental Adventures has a broad scope of what constitute a spirit, so as not to restrict the villains too much

Hitman: Can the party protect the contract targets before you skillfully find your way into assassinating them?

Going out with style: You prove that villainy can be done in style without compromising substance. Card carrying? Theatrics? Dressed to kill? Sophistication and class? Yes please! Any gimmick with panache goes here.

[JyP]

more suggestions :

M.I.B. : this time BBEG is from outer space. Or this is the M.I.B. itself which is the villain...

old school fighter: the villain has a sword, and nothing else fancy. But he kicks PCs nonetheless !

The DM: the DM is incarnated in the game world, whoever kills him shall become the new DM !

[jdizzlean]

Dispute time:


Orthos
First, as always, thanks for judging. Especially this round must be heavy on the time investment, seeing its ... unusualness ^^

Now I only have one Nitpick and one small Dispute, overall I am satisfied with your Judging.

Nitpick: Fey Type/Vampire: That is indeed something I have overlooked. My bad, you are totally right to penalize that.

However, given the very good Elegance of the rest of the build (concise, clear and fluffy progression, fulfilled all parts of the Theme, even 2 CLasses of opposing type^^), I think that a total of -.5 is a bit much.
Maybe modify it to unchanged base 3 Elegance score (I do not expect any entry to go above 4 in this comp anyway^^).

Small Dispute:

Memorability: Yes, he only comes online at CR 11, and not particularly well at that. Given the theme that was a deliberate choice.
But he is quite memorable at CR 15 and THE Laugh-your-ass-off-but-hellishly-powerful Enemy at CR 20.

I mean come on, a "Twilight Fairy Giant Vampire Lord"? You cant tell me this isnt worth a little extra, even if its online late. :)

THats all, cant dispute anything else, no matter how hard I try.......^^


Green Fire
a couple of points I want to raise regarding Elegance:

As to whether Beast of Xvim bypasses HD limits, I would argue that taking into consideration D&D 3.5's exception-based rule system, the Feed ability is an exception to normal mechanisms and limits for RHD gain. After all, Beast of Xvim can technically be applied to any creature, even those that normally have no means of gaining RHD like humans or elves, and there is no exception made in its Feed ability that says that it would be useless to such creatures.

By RAW, there is also no mechanic for transforming a Small elemental to a Medium one by advancing RHD, so if it found a way to get more HD past the limit, there's no precedent to assume that would happen.

As for the Half-Fiend issue...

I didn't exploit any of the cheesy bits of the Half-Fiend variant system, quite on purpose to avoid the easily-abusable picking-and-choosing of SLAs. I deliberately refrained from taking advantage of the vague guideline-ish rules laid out in their article and simply used a variant of the template they had already set out, making no variations to it other than that.

So I feel that the basis of that penalty you gave me is not valid. At the very most, I picked a slightly-more-suitable-for-the situation variant which was already clearly defined in it's limits and abilities. If you want to give me a penalty for it being a variant, which I know has been penalised before, I can't really argue against that, but I didn't use any of the parts you consider (and I would agree can be) cheesy.


and from Rukhsamun:



No disputes here, I just want to thank Thurbane for volunteering and completing the judgements.

I'm expecting the elegance hit yet hoping for a higher mark, but the scores are well-explained and well-reasoned enough to be justified.

[Thurbane]

First, as always, thanks for judging. Especially this round must be heavy on the time investment, seeing its ... unusualness ^^

Now I only have one Nitpick and one small Dispute, overall I am satisfied with your Judging.

Nitpick: Fey Type/Vampire: That is indeed something I have overlooked. My bad, you are totally right to penalize that.

However, given the very good Elegance of the rest of the build (concise, clear and fluffy progression, fulfilled all parts of the Theme, even 2 CLasses of opposing type^^), I think that a total of -.5 is a bit much.
Maybe modify it to unchanged base 3 Elegance score (I do not expect any entry to go above 4 in this comp anyway^^).

Small Dispute:

Memorability: Yes, he only comes online at CR 11, and not particularly well at that. Given the theme that was a deliberate choice.
But he is quite memorable at CR 15 and THE Laugh-your-ass-off-but-hellishly-powerful Enemy at CR 20.

I mean come on, a "Twilight Fairy Giant Vampire Lord"? You cant tell me this isnt worth a little extra, even if its online late. :)

THats all, cant dispute anything else, no matter how hard I try.......^^
I take your point regarding elegance: in consideration of of the flow of templates other than Vampire (and application of class levels). I'm willing to increase the +0.5 bonus to +0.75.

I applied the "latecomer" penalty pretty evenly to call CR 10 or higher entries, so no adjustment there. In the grand scheme of things, I'm also sticking by the originality bonus I applied.

Total score is now 15.25.


a couple of points I want to raise regarding Elegance:

As to whether Beast of Xvim bypasses HD limits, I would argue that taking into consideration D&D 3.5's exception-based rule system, the Feed ability is an exception to normal mechanisms and limits for RHD gain. After all, Beast of Xvim can technically be applied to any creature, even those that normally have no means of gaining RHD like humans or elves, and there is no exception made in its Feed ability that says that it would be useless to such creatures.

By RAW, there is also no mechanic for transforming a Small elemental to a Medium one by advancing RHD, so if it found a way to get more HD past the limit, there's no precedent to assume that would happen.

As for the Half-Fiend issue...

I didn't exploit any of the cheesy bits of the Half-Fiend variant system, quite on purpose to avoid the easily-abusable picking-and-choosing of SLAs. I deliberately refrained from taking advantage of the vague guideline-ish rules laid out in their article and simply used a variant of the template they had already set out, making no variations to it other than that.

So I feel that the basis of that penalty you gave me is not valid. At the very most, I picked a slightly-more-suitable-for-the situation variant which was already clearly defined in it's limits and abilities. If you want to give me a penalty for it being a variant, which I know has been penalised before, I can't really argue against that, but I didn't use any of the parts you consider (and I would agree can be) cheesy.

I take your point for the penalty for Beast of Xvim advancement. I still can't help but feel it is inelegant due to it's poor definition, but I'm willing to meet you half way halve the penalty from -0.5 to -0.25.

In regards to the variant half-fiend: I see your point; but I still feel the variant half-fiends are a minefield, even if you didn't exploit it. Again, willing to reduce the penalty from -0.5 to -0.25, and call it a penalty for using a variant rather than a cheese penalty.

Total score is now 17.0.


No disputes here, I just want to thank Thurbane for volunteering and completing the judgements.

I'm expecting the elegance hit yet hoping for a higher mark, but the scores are well-explained and well-reasoned enough to be justified.

No problem at all. :smallsmile:

Updated table:



Entry
Description
Level/Racial Breakdown
Judge 1 Score
Final Score
Competitor


The Hungering (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65) Swarm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166305&postcount=66)
Cranium rats both empowered and driven mad by spiritual infection.
CE Lost Mistling Wendigo Greater Cranium Rat Swarm Sorcerer 1/Barbarian 1
17.5
17.5

???


Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)
Fire elemental that creates life using convoluted methods.
NE Phrenic Half-Fiend Small Fire Elemental of Legacy and Xvim
17.0

17.0

???


Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)
Minor god who is immensely powerful in every way, with an aggressive scorpion alter-ego.
NE Faerzess-Infused Half-Elemental Phantom Dark Phrenic Were-Devastation Scorpion Incarnate Awakened Black Sand Swordsage 1/Soul Eater 1
16.5
16.5

???


Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)
Wizardry student obsessed with personal monstrous transformations.
CE Evolved Spellstitched Monstrously Vampiric Half-Fey Half-Clay Golem Unseelie Lolth-Touched Dark Primordial Giant Half-Troll Half-Dragon Mineral Warrior Feral Corrupted by the Abyss Tainted One Amphibious Shadow Silverbrow Human of Xvim Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1
15.5
15.5

???


The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)
Fire-breathing, twenty-headed roc.
N(?) Monstrous Twenty-Headed Lernean Roc of Legend
15.5
15.5

???


Orthos Glitterstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)
Giant of mediocre talent who resorted to esoteric means of gaining power.
NE Draconic Half-Fey Vampire Lord Cloud Giant Swordsage 1/Warlock 1
15.25

15.25

???


Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)
Vampiric dragon overlord armed with strange magical powers.
LE Evolved Vampiric Spellstitched Tundra Landwyrm of Xvim Dread Necromancer 1
13.5
13.5

???


In, The Undead Laboratory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)
Self-deconstructing-and-reconstructing Cadaver Golem.
CE 7-Headed Swarm-Shifter Cadaver Golem
12.0
12.0

???

[jdizzlean]

If no rebuttals in 24 hours, i'll post the reveal and new round

[lylsyly]

Tiamat looked down upon her children in dismay. When she taught them to create their own dragonspawn she assumed they had the skills and intellect to get it right. She decided to show them how it was done, at the same time creating a special emissary for her use.

She looked at the races available to her and decided upon the species known as Dragonkin in the common tongue. Capturing the largest, meanest female Dragonkin of the day, she sent forth a call to the brightest of each species of her children and asked them to bring along one of their protégé. Sacrificing the protégé of all five of her summoned children she created Wit’bok’gur’bul’rath, the Spawn of Tiamat, Emissary of Tiamat and most beloved of all her children.

Due to the nature of its creation each head has its own intellect and personality, but they all are totally devoted and loyal to Tiamat and follow Her instructions to the letter. The individual personalities function seamlessly in combat and in any other situation requiring cooperation. Otherwise, they do have their differences and watching arguments between two or more of the heads can truly be a sight to behold.

Lawful Evil Female Dragonkin (LA+2/CR 3), White Dragonspawn (LA+1/CR+1), Black Dragonspawn (LA+2/CR+2), Green Dragonspawn (LA+2/CR+2), Blue Dragonspawn (LA+3/CR+2), Red Dragonspawn (LA+4/CR+3), Multiheaded (4 Extra Heads/LA+9/CR+8) Barbarian 1/Sorcerer 1 (Spells Per Day and Spells Known and Caster Level of Sorcerer 6 due to five Dragonspawn Templates)

Please note that as a Large creature I am only allowed 3 Additional heads so I am violating that rule. I also am over the CR of 20. If I ran everything right it has LA+23 and CR of 23.

Sources:
Dragonkin, Draconomicon p. 150
Dragonspawn Templates, Dragonance Campaign Setting p. 222
Multiheaded Template, Savage Species p. 125

This was as far as I got before I figured it was entirely too cheesy and illegal to enter. One of these days I will do the Statblock, I guarantee I will be using it in my games the next time I run a draconocentric campaign.

Have fun with it if you wish.

[jdizzlean]

making an unscheduled trip into the er, gonna be a few extra days most likely on reveal and new round.

I'm ok, just won't have more than my phone...

[GrayDeath]

Get Well soon (and no, no even halfway for doing more rounds ;) )!

[jdizzlean]

Updated table:



Entry
Description
Level/Racial Breakdown
Judge 1 Score
Final Score
Competitor


The Hungering (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166293&postcount=65) Swarm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166305&postcount=66)
Cranium rats both empowered and driven mad by spiritual infection.
CE Lost Mistling Wendigo Greater Cranium Rat Swarm Sorcerer 1/Barbarian 1
17.5
17.5
Falontani


Green Fire (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166322&postcount=68)
Fire elemental that creates life using convoluted methods.
NE Phrenic Half-Fiend Small Fire Elemental of Legacy and Xvim
17.0
17.0
TwoLegsArmchair


Rukhsamun, the God-King (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166326&postcount=69)
Minor god who is immensely powerful in every way, with an aggressive scorpion alter-ego.
NE Faerzess-Infused Half-Elemental Phantom Dark Phrenic Were-Devastation Scorpion Incarnate Awakened Black Sand Swordsage 1/Soul Eater 1
16.5
16.5
ben-zayb


Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166261&postcount=61)
Wizardry student obsessed with personal monstrous transformations.
CE Evolved Spellstitched Monstrously Vampiric Half-Fey Half-Clay Golem Unseelie Lolth-Touched Dark Primordial Giant Half-Troll Half-Dragon Mineral Warrior Feral Corrupted by the Abyss Tainted One Amphibious Shadow Silverbrow Human of Xvim Spirit Lion Totem Barbarian 1
15.5
15.5
Venger


The All-Devourer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166286&postcount=64)
Fire-breathing, twenty-headed roc.
N(?) Monstrous Twenty-Headed Lernean Roc of Legend
15.5
15.5
White Blade


Orthos Glitterstorm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166314&postcount=67)
Giant of mediocre talent who resorted to esoteric means of gaining power.
NE Draconic Half-Fey Vampire Lord Cloud Giant Swordsage 1/Warlock 1
15.25
15.25
GrayDeath


Bloodstar the Transfused (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166281&postcount=63)
Vampiric dragon overlord armed with strange magical powers.
LE Evolved Vampiric Spellstitched Tundra Landwyrm of Xvim Dread Necromancer 1
13.5
13.5
Sejoran


In, The Undead Laboratory (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23166274&postcount=62)
Self-deconstructing-and-reconstructing Cadaver Golem.
CE 7-Headed Swarm-Shifter Cadaver Golem
12.0
12.0
Jyp



congrats to the medalists, HM goes to In, The undead laboratory!


all my notes on the next round are at work, I will get the new round posted tomorrow night when I go in, keep an eye on my sig for the link..

[Falontani]

Thank you everyone for competing this round. I'm honestly surprised and happy to finally get not only to get a medal at all, but a gold. I really liked everyone's builds and didn't think I'd win.

[remetagross]

Well done, Falontani! :D You sure shot for gold quickly after beginning participating here :D

Congrats to everyone else, and to the medalists in particular! Though Venger, woah. Your entry was the one that made me burst out of laughter several times across! :smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin::smallbiggrin:

@Chairman I would once again put forward my suggestion of "the McGuffin villain" :)

[jdizzlean]

@Chairman I would once again put forward my suggestion of "the McGuffin villain" :)

I'm trying to wrap my head around what the limitations for something like that might be, it's on my list of possible round ideas. I do have several more rounds worth of fleshed out ideas. It's on there however, so maybe is all I can say right now :)

[unseenmage]

Just wanted to stop by and say this was fun to watch. Really wishing I'd had enough time to participate as Templates are more fun for me than class levels.

Also, was very excited to see an Awakened Sand creature woven into the mix. Is one of my all time favorite spells, esp when applied to variant materials.

[ben-zayb]

^ Glad you liked the awakened sand. I've been trying to find a way to incorporate it into a build for a while now, and apparently this desert storm -themed character is all I needed.

Congrats to fellow medalists and HM. Kudos to everyone for keeping those creative juices flowing!

[GrayDeath]

Hmm, the restrictions for a McGauffin Villain could be:

Needs the McGuffin to be a threat
Cant fulfill his priomary role without
Will almost isntantly lose if McGuffin is removed
?


Also I would still like a Jester Round, and maybe a "Monster with X HD + CLass only round, for which I ahve no real name yet (effectively one for which aminimum of Monster HD and Base-CLass levels is prescribed, but nothing else?)

At least not last this time, ahw ell....

Oh, and Venger, did a certain horriblew Fanfiction inspire that ... Mosntrosity? ^^

[NontheistCleric]

Congratulations to everyone who won something!


Oh, and Venger, did a certain horriblew Fanfiction inspire that ... Mosntrosity? ^^

Could you possibly be maligning the unparalled feat of literature that is My Immortal?

[Venger]

Oh, and Venger, did a certain horriblew Fanfiction inspire that ... Mosntrosity? ^^

Yes, of course. There are a number of hp easter eggs scattered throughout, and I leaned on "a series of unfortunate events" as a framing device for the epistolary (milton eckensey is an anagram of lemony snicket). I drew the portrait myself. I'm not sure how visible it is in the picture, but I wrote down some notes on the page above the one I did the drawing on on various typical middle school subjects (battle of hastings, conjugating spanish verbs, quadratic equations, etc) on the areas I shaded in, so there would be indentations in the areas that were shaded, to give the effect that it was drawn in the author's notebook during class.

[GrayDeath]

I thought so, its been ages since I (on a dare) dove into THAT particular ... trap.
Kudos for a Parody well done.

btw my HM goes to that horrible ... being of Angsty Darqueness.

[NontheistCleric]

btw my HM goes to that horrible ... being of Angsty Darqueness.

In already won HM, though...

[jdizzlean]

new thread up

[JyP]

This was a fun competition, congratulations to all :smallsmile:

As for In, The Undead Laboratory : this was an half-done build meant for an earlier competition, about multiheaded creatures - I confess I am on other RPGs for the time being :smallwink:

[Sejoran]

This one was fun, and honestly, i dont have any qualms about the vampiric dragon template. It was questionable but i really liked the idea and ran with it.

[Thurbane]

This one was fun, and honestly, i dont have any qualms about the vampiric dragon template. It was questionable but i really liked the idea and ran with it.

I really enjoyed In, and I'll be using a slightly modified version in my campaign. :smallsmile:

[Sejoran]

The creatures i make here, i definitely find a place for them in my campaign setting ive created. The places i mention in my entries are actual places i had made up beforehand. Im just putting them in a fitting place where they would most likely belong. Helps build lore and gives the players something to avoid.

[Falontani]

The creatures i make here, i definitely find a place for them in my campaign setting ive created. The places i mention in my entries are actual places i had made up beforehand. Im just putting them in a fitting place where they would most likely belong. Helps build lore and gives the players something to avoid.

Avoid? Some of these creatures sounds like a fun challenge ^_^ it's why I don't read *too* closely, so it will be a surprise