Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground XCIV

[Heliomance]

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

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

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


Iron Gamer

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

Chairwoman: We unveil the ingredient!

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

Chairwoman: This month's theme is... Doomlord! ALLEZ OPTIMISER!


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

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

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

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

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

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

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, August 14th, 2018 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairwoman, Heliomance. Please put the name of your build in the subject line of your PM. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, August 28th, 2018 to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

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

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

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



Code immediately below (spoiler).

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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

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

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

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

The Builds

Past Competitions

Courtesy of some wonderful volunteers, there is a handy-dandy spreadsheet guide to all previous builds here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0).

Iron Chef I: Entropomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142470)
Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146583)
Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148584)
Iron Chef IV: Stonelord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150595)
Iron Chef V: War Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152543)
Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156876)
Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158633)
Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160266)
Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162702)
Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164381)
Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166539)
Iron Chef XII: War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9426386)
Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172233)
Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174434)
Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176049)
Iron Chef XVI: Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178202)
Iron Chef XVII: Ardent Dilettante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182492)
Iron Chef XVIII: Unseelie Dark Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186097)
Iron Chef XIX: Dread Pirate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190607)
Iron Chef XX: Incandescent Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10976416)
Iron Chef XXI: Ghostwalker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198921)
Iron Chef XXII: Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206576)
Iron Chef XXIII: Divine Crusader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071)
Iron Chef XXIV: Tactical Soldier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214198)
Iron Chef XXV: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217441)
Iron Chef XXVI: Shadowdancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220956)
Iron Chef XXVII: Mindbender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224008)
Iron Chef XXVIII: Cryokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227304)
Iron Chef XXIX: Consecrated Harrier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229688)
Iron Chef XXX: Initiate of Pistis Sophia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233346)
Iron Chef XXXI: Shadow Sentinel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236908)
Iron Chef XXXII: Temple Raider of Olidammara (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239786)
Iron Chef XXXIII: Drow Judicator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243052)
Iron Chef XXXIV: Dragon Disciple (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246072)
Iron Chef XXXV: Death Delver (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249542)
Iron Chef XXXVI: Acolyte of the Skin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252923)
Iron Chef XXXVII: Justiciar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13865473)
Iron Chef XXXVIII: Hand of the Winged Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255215)
Iron Chef XXXIX: Renegade Mastermaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260333)
Iron Chef XL: Nightsong Infiltrator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263173)
Iron Chef XLI: Geomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266709)
Iron Chef XLII: Shadowblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270196)
Iron Chef XLIII: Bladesinger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274122)
Iron Chef XLIV: Urban Soul (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279116)
Iron Chef XLV: Talon of Tiamat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15216595)
Iron Chef XLVI: Cipher Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287314)
Iron Chef XLVII: Cold Iron Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291294)
Iron Chef XLVIII: Shadow Sun Ninja (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297327)
Iron Chef XLIX: Thrall to Orcus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302487)
Iron Chef L: Corrupt Avenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307823)
Iron Chef LI: Black Flame Zealot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312773)
Iron Chef LII: Anointed Knight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317934)
Iron Chef LIII: Zerth Cenobite (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325164)
Iron Chef LIV: Osteomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330890)
Iron Chef LV: Mountebank (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?336373-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LV)
Iron Chef LVI: Dwarven Defender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342807-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVI)
Iron Chef LVII: Darkrunner (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?349040-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVII)
Iron Chef LVIII: Spellsword (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?357412-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVIII)
Iron Chef LIX: Fleet Runner of Ehlonna (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?364667-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LIX)
Iron Chef LX: Lasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?371835-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LX(II): Acolyte of the Ego (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?372145-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LXII: Dungeon Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?376810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXII)
Iron Chef LXIII: Witchborn Binder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?382632-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIII)
Iron Chef LXIV: Slime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?387166-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIV)
Iron Chef LXV: Thunder Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394981-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXV)
Iron Chef LXVI: Dwarven Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVI)
Irogn Chef LXVII: Gnome Giant Slayer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406613-Irogn-Chef-Optimisatiogn-Challegnge-ign-the-Playgrougnd-LXVII)
Iron Chef LXVIII: Fang of Lolth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?412530-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVIII)
Iron Chef LXIX: Shiba Protector (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420165-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIX)
Iron Chef LXX: Order of the Bow Initiate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?425634-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXX)
Iron Chef LXXI: Silver Key (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?431484-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXI)
Iron Chef LXXII: Spellfire Channeler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439020-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXII)
Iron Chef LXXIII: Flux Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448596-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIII)
Iron Chef LXXIV: Crinti Shadow Marauder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?458711-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIV)
Iron Chef LXXV: Thief of Life (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472831-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXV)
Iron Chef LXXVI: Legacy Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477153-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVI)
Iron Chef LXXVII: Great Rift Skyguard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?482249-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVII)
Iron Chef LXVIII: Risen Martyr (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?487560-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVIII)
Iron Chef LXXIX: Black Blood Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?492923-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIX)
Iron Chef LXXX: Master of Many Forms (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498359-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXX)
Iron Chef LXXXI: Serene Guardian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?502666-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXI)
Iron Chef LXXXII: Elocator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?505762-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXII)
Iron Chef LXXXIII: Winterhaunt of Iboorighu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?510581-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIII)
Iron Chef LXXXIV: Waverider (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514631-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIV)
Iron Chef LXXXV: Astral Dancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?519296-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXV)
Iron Chef LXXXVI: Twisted Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?525401-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVI)
Iron Chef LXXXVII: Shadowsmith (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?528361-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVII)
Iron Chef LXXXVIII: Arboreal Guardian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?533367-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVIII)
Iron Chef LXXXIX: Thrall of Demogorgon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?536247-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIX)
Iron Chef XC: Bloodstorm Blade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?542380-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XC)
Iron Chef XCI: Fatemaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?550203-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCI)
Iron Chef XCII: Eye of the Xanathar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?556092-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCII)
Iron CHef XCIII: Hoardstealer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?560330-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCIII)

[Heliomance]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One Mistake, One Penalty

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

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

Skills

Allowed:

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


Not allowed:

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



Prereqs

Allowed:

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


Not Allowed:

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



Other general things that are no longer allowed:

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


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

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

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


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

[Efrate]

Huh. Another class I've never heard of. I have a vague notion I might put some thought into. Dunno if I can cook but at least this doesn't require a zillion weird skill ranks.

[PunBlake]

I have a few ideas, but a lot of thought is required to decide which is worth following through. Joke build or serious build? Hmm...

[daremetoidareyo]

This ingredient is super terrible.

[DeTess]

Does someone know why this class advances spellcasting?

Anyone?

[daremetoidareyo]

Does someone know why this class advances spellcasting?

Anyone?

My guess is to throw a bone to rangers.

[Zaq]

Why did the author(s) of the Planar Handbook hate all of Sigil’s factions so much? They’re so interesting and cool, but you’d never know it from these PrCs, which are universally terrible.

I wish more authors knew how supernatural abilities without listed action costs work. Not that this is the worst sin of that particular ability; the use limit is insulting as well. (“This food is awful!” “Agreed! And the portions are so small!”)

I’ll see what I can dream up. No promises yet.

[WhamBamSam]

Woohoo! I've been lobbying for this one forever, so I guess you've got me to blame.

I've already got a rough idea. Will start hammering out the details tonight.

[PunBlake]

I wish more authors knew how supernatural abilities without listed action costs work. Not that this is the worst sin of that particular ability; the use limit is insulting as well. (“This food is awful!” “Agreed! And the portions are so small!”)

I think it's as well-defined as Smite Evil (Su). Here's a comparison of lines of text:


...a paladin may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack.


...a doomlord can channel destructive energy, dealing extra damage with a melee attack.

The (implied one normal) melee attack is the action cost. This is basically a smite variant that isn't called a smite (as Smite Evil has no listed action cost either)... or at least that's how I read it.
Can we get a ruling here for clarity's sake?

[daremetoidareyo]

I have settled on an idea. It's going to be a giant mess. Not a little mess. A giant mess!

[KrimsonNekros]

.... I just got a horrible idea.....

[Zaq]

I think it's as well-defined as Smite Evil (Su).

Unfortunately, that’s exactly the problem. There’s a couple of game elements that indirectly imply, but do not state, that a smite is just something you can declare any eligible attack to be, whether it’s alone or part of a full attack or whatever. But by RAW, it’s a (Su) ability with no listed action cost, and therefore it’s a standard action. And that’s terrible.

[Troacctid]

It says quite clearly that the use of entropic blow is declared before an attack is made, thus establishing it as part of another action. I don't see the problem.

Also, for those unaware, this one is available online (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20040706a&page=3).

[Heliomance]

Aye, having looked over Entropic Blow, I'm happy that the intent is for it to be applied to any eligible attack. I'm going to say it doesn't take an additional action.

[Thurbane]

Doomlord eh?

https://2000ad.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/eagle-issue-2.jpg

If I have time, I'm in to cook...

[The Viscount]

Oh hell yeah. I love the awful Planar Handbook classes. They make such great Iron Chef ingredients.

[Zaq]

I’m starting to have extremely elaborate ideas that have only tangential relation to this actual class.

[Venger]

How dare you make me look at this with my own eyes?

In to cook.

[RaiKirah]

I've got an idea I'm obsessing over that is only vaguely about Doomlord, but I can't stop :o

Maybe I'll find a second idea that actually uses the SI?

[Piggy Knowles]

I... have an exceptionally silly idea. Have to do some number crunching to see if this will work. It was actually enough to make me chuckle out loud when jotting down build ideas, which hasn’t happened in a long time.

[PunBlake]

I had four ideas on how to use the SI, but I doubt I'll have time to fully cook more than one, and I've settled on it. Definitely cooking with propane. I wonder if anyone else will use my propane accessory?
I wanted to use [REDACTED] or [REDACTED], but I couldn't fit either in.

[KrimsonNekros]

I've got the bones of my build figured out, now for the flavor.

[Thurbane]

I've got the bones of my build figured out, now for the flavor.

Same here. I abandoned my first idea, since it's pretty much the same idea I have for every 1/2 caster PrC. Much happier with the new concept.

[Zaq]

.... I just got a horrible idea.....


I've got an idea I'm obsessing over that is only vaguely about Doomlord, but I can't stop :o

Maybe I'll find a second idea that actually uses the SI?


I’m starting to have extremely elaborate ideas that have only tangential relation to this actual class.


I... have an exceptionally silly idea. Have to do some number crunching to see if this will work. It was actually enough to make me chuckle out loud when jotting down build ideas, which hasn’t happened in a long time.

Someday, there may be an ingredient so bad that no one submits a serious build and every single entry is just an extended joke.

[Thurbane]

Someday, there may be an ingredient so bad that no one submits a serious build and every single entry is just an extended joke.

Thrall of Demogorgon was a little like that...

[KrimsonNekros]

Do we have an Excel spreadsheet for the table? I had to reinstall my OS recently and forgot to back it up.

[Venger]

Someday, there may be an ingredient so bad that no one submits a serious build and every single entry is just an extended joke.

We did that in order of the bow initiate.

[Heliomance]

Someday, there may be an ingredient so bad that no one submits a serious build and every single entry is just an extended joke.

What is truth?

[Venger]

(fires an arrow into the horizon)

[KrimsonNekros]

*walks in from the horizon*

Well I used to be an adventurer...

[Thurbane]

Got the basic build done; just need to iron out the kinks, streamline it, format and backstory, and I'm done.

Definitely should have an entry in before deadline...

[PunBlake]

I'm in a similar place, but I'm also confused as to how I'm this far already. Just one more class feature to stew over, then formatting and backstory; most of my meaningful choices are made.

This dish has come together with so much less effort than last one. Speaking of which, I found a feat that would've made last round 10x easier if I knew about it then. I guess I'll keep it in my back pocket unless people are curious. I doubt it would be useful in this round.

[KrimsonNekros]

Finished getting the basic Entry table into a spread sheet it's here for anyone that would like to use it.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SNXFl6GKRIcUaEjJeL42HqYU-bdeZvdy/view?usp=sharing

[jdizzlean]

I'm somewhat disheartened over the results of the last few rounds, but have decided to continue and have what i think is a great idea for this round. See you all at the end :)

[Wolfem]

Sorry for the late update. The ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0) has a placeholder for this cook in it now.

[Venger]

Great work as always, Wolfem. Thanks.

[Werewalrus]

I've watched these for a while, and might take a stab at this one.

[Thurbane]

Just realised I leave for a holiday 11th August, so I'm really going to have to knuckle down to get an entry on for both this and the Villainous Competition.

[The Viscount]

Thurbane has his priorities in order.

[Zaq]

I am losing confidence in the probability of me successfully getting something in under the deadline. I have fewer nights free between now and then than I expected. But if I don't get in a build, I'll be sure the share the insanity I was thinking about.

[PunBlake]

Backstory, backstory... I wish I was better at writing down all the dreck in my head concisely. My creative writing muscles are rusty. Everything else is done, though, so I have a week to refine it.

[Chester]

One day I'll try my hand at this. I don't think I'll have anything by the deadline this time, nor do I ever expect to build anything remotely competitive.

[jdizzlean]

i'll be done w/ mine tonight or tmw

[Thurbane]

i'll be done w/ mine tonight or tmw

I leave for my trip Saturday morning, so I'll have my entry in Friday afternoon(ish).

I've had to give up on my VC entry, and just concentrate on this one.

[PunBlake]

My entry is submitted. Getting close to the deadline.

[The Viscount]

And in! Funnily enough, this is among the earlier times that I've submitted. Need that deadline to motivate my work.

[PunBlake]

And in! Funnily enough, this is among the earlier times that I've submitted. Need that deadline to motivate my work.

Same, honestly. I always wrote all my 10k word essays in college the night before they were due; it's a hard habit to break.
Granted, I do think about how I'm going to write it off and on for the whole period before I start.

[KrimsonNekros]

unfortunately do to massive OT at work I wasnt able to get my dish finished. I'll share my idea after the reveal.

[daremetoidareyo]

E6 soulknife beat my doomlord

[Piggy Knowles]

Some last minute changes to my build delayed the write up, so there’s a good chance I won’t get this one in on time. Good luck to everyone who managed to cook.

[RaiKirah]

Welp, i technically missed the deadline, but since the reveal hasn't happened yet I sent it in anyways. I'm a little sad I didn't get my act together earlier and ensure both this entry and my second idea (which is probably a WAAAY better Doomlord than my first entry). Next time!

[KrimsonNekros]

Welp, i technically missed the deadline, but since the reveal hasn't happened yet I sent it in anyways. I'm a little sad I didn't get my act together earlier and ensure both this entry and my second idea (which is probably a WAAAY better Doomlord than my first entry). Next time!

Deadline is still a few hours off so you're all clear

[RaiKirah]

Deadline is still a few hours off so you're all clear

Man time-zones are hard :/

[jdizzlean]

Man time-zones are hard :/


i had to google it for e6 to make sure i'd have enough time to finish my build... All the chairs live in different time zones, so we all use a different one obviously, makes for good times :)

[RaiKirah]

i had to google it for e6 to make sure i'd have enough time to finish my build...

We've got ~20 hours for that one, right? :)

[Zaq]

We've got ~20 hours for that one, right? :)

Roughly, yes!

If you’re in the US, the goal (for the E6 competition, NOT the one for this thread, to be crystal clear!) is 5 PM Pacific time. If you’re not in the US, well, that’s why I also post the deadline in terms of GMT.

[Efrate]

work got crazy so I couldn't cook but ill show my stub after the reveal. Its silly

[Thurbane]

My impending holiday (at the time) forced me to get my entry in uncharacteristically before the deadline! :smalltongue:

[Korahir]

I am late to the party as usual but I actually managed to submit something which I am quite content with. Good luck to everyone.

[Heliomance]

Just a note to say I'm not dead! Apologies for the delay, been struggling with executive dysfunction lately. I have 17 messages sitting in my inbox ready to be posted O_o

However it's now 2.40 am and I'm going to sleep.

[TerrickTerran]

we appreciate your work, Heliomance. Do it as time allows. :smallwink:

[Thurbane]

Looking forward to the reveal. :smallsmile:

I'm sure mine won't be earth shattering, but I hope at least it looks a little different than the other builds...

[jdizzlean]

Looking forward to the reveal. :smallsmile:

I'm sure mine won't be earth shattering, but I hope at least it looks a little different than the other builds...



that's pretty much what i went for this go around :)

good luck to you sir!@

[Heliomance]

Here we go!

Entry number 1


Illazil, Entropy's Minstrel
CN Killoren Bard 7/Warblade 3/Doomblade 10
No one ever thought of Illazil at the Whiteclover Inn. He was just the local minstrel, there every night, singing familiar tunes. Except for when someone wanted to know more about a plant they found growing in their garden or their field, the locals rarely conversed with him, and adventurers passing by quickly learned that he had no interest in travelling far away and braving dangers.
Until one night, after a long day of hard labor toiling in the field, a fight broke out between a pair of drunk farmers, for reasons unknown, and as drinks spilled and tables were bumped, it erupted into an all-out brawl, unusual in the Whiteclover Inn. As a local constable tried with little success to quell the violence, Illazil kept up his song, but soon stopped as he heard another voice singing, to a different tune. It was soft, but his keen ears could pick it up.
Illazil turned to the man on his right, a scarred warrior with a falchion leaning against the wall beside him, one of the few in the inn not fighting or trying to put a stop to the brawl. "Do you hear that song?"
"Yours?" asked to man.
"No, the other one. It is quieter."
A smile crept across the man's rough visage. "Beautiful, is it not?" he murmured.
Illazil nodded. "Who is singing?"
"The multiverse. It is singing its own requiem. Alas, only a few notes can be heard of this epic piece, and even that is rare."
"Only a few notes? Perhaps you are not hearing the same thing as me. I can hear a whole verse, though I do not know the language."
The warrior's eyes widened, and his smile grew. Just as he was about to speak again, a burly half-orc with eyes glazed over, a mercenary, not a local, stumbled towards them, swinging a large ax wildly about. Not sure of what else to do, and with the sharp blade swinging dangerously close, Illazil snatched up the falchion that rested near the man, and met the approaching ax with a swing of his own. The falchion's blade cut into the haft of the half-orc's weapon, and the voice that was singing let out a clear, pure note as the ax blade flew off and buried into a table leg.
The man laughed as the drunk dropped onto the ground, holding the handle of his broken weapon, and took the falchion out of Illazil's shaking hands.
"My friend," he said, still grinning broadly, "do you want to learn how to sing this song you hear?"
Illazil nodded fervently, staring at the ax head buried in the table.
"Then allow me to help you to learn how, as best as I can. I cannot sing as well as you, but I know a few ways that will help you learn how to know when to listen for it."

In the years that followed, they traveled together, seeking the song. Illazil's companion, Julius, taught him about the Doomguard, an organization devoted to entropy that spanned worlds. Illazil learned how to wield a sword, how to break any object created by any being, and above all, when to listen for the Song of Dissolution. Julius favored bar fights; as windows, bottles and fingers broke, Illazil would listen to the song, memorizing every note and chord he could. Malicious rumors, spilled food and free drinks would start fights enough, but Julius preferred the spectacular, even once telling Illazil to throw a bag of coins into the middle of a pub, decreeing for all to hear that it was a gift for the last man standing.
One night, after starting and listening to three fights, one of which ended in spilled blood, Julius took Illazil to the steps of a temple.
"Is this the temple of the god you worship?" he asked his mentor.
"No; entropy is my only deity. This, my friend, is your final test." He gestured with a wide sweep of his hand towards the temple, and handed his lantern to Illazil. "Burn it."
"What?"
"Burn the temple. Some friends of mine covered it with oil earlier today, it will burn easily. Don't worry, I think that it's the temple of some dark demon-god, it ought to burn anyways."
Illazil stepped towards the building and threw the lantern towards the doorway. Flames erupted, and in minutes the structure was engulfed. Julius put a strong hand on Illazil's shoulder and they watched the fire lick the sky.
And above the sound of the roaring flames, above the shouts of the growing crowd, above Julius' laughter and even above the screams of the dying worshipers within, Illazil heard verses, beautiful verses, echoing around him.

Illazil joined the Doomguard soon after, though he did not travel with Julius anymore. He set out on his own, seeking the Song. He sought out old, abandoned structures above all, the larger the better, bringing with him each time oil, torches, and long scrolls of parchment. And as the flames rose into the sky, he would sit and record the song of the multiverse as it crumbled apart.

And sometimes, he would sing along.
(32 point buy)
Str 16
Dex 10
Con 14
Int 12
Wis 8
Cha 16

4th level and 8th level: bonus to Strength
12th level, 16th level and 20th level: bonus to Charisma
In addition +1 Charisma at 14th and 18th level from Body or Soul.



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


1st
Bard 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Perform (sing) 4, Concentration 4, Use Magic Device 4, Knowledge (nature) 4, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 4, Listen 4, Spellcraft 4
Power Attack
Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1


2nd
Bard 2
+1
+0
+3
+3
Perform (sing) 5, Concentration 5, Use Magic Device 5, Knowledge (nature) 5, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 5, Spellcraft 5
-
-


3rd
Bard 3
+2
+1
+3
+3
Perform (sing) 6, Concentration 6, Use Magic Device 6, Knowledge (nature) 6, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 6, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 2
Weapon Focus
Inspire Competence


4th
Bard 4
+3
+1
+4
+4
Perform (sing) 7, Concentration 7, Use Magic Device 7, Knowledge (nature) 7, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 7, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 4
-
-


5th
Warblade 1
+4
+3
+4
+4
Perform (sing) 7, Concentration 8, Use Magic Device 7, Knowledge (nature) 7, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 7, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 4, Balance 4
-
Battle Clarity, Weapon Aptitude


6th
Bard 5
+4
+3
+4
+4
Perform (sing) 9, Concentration 8, Use Magic Device 9, Knowledge (nature) 9, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 8, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 4, Balance 4
Improved Sunder
-


7th
Bard 6
+5
+4
+5
+5
Perform (sing) 10, Concentration 10, Use Magic Device 10, Knowledge (nature) 10, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 10, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 4, Balance 4
-
Suggestion


8th
Warblade 2
+6
+5
+5
+5
Perform (sing) 10, Concentration 11, Use Magic Device 10, Knowledge (nature) 10, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 10, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
-
Uncanny Dodge


9th
Bard 7
+7
+5
+5
+5
Perform (sing) 12, Concentration 11, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 11, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
Combat Brute
-


10th
Doomlord 1
+8
+7
+5
+5
Perform (sing) 13, Concentration 11, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
-
Entropic Blow 1/day, Healing Resistance


11th
Warblade 3
+9
+7
+6
+6
Perform (sing) 14, Concentration 14, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
-
Battle Ardor


12th
Doomlord 2
+10
+8
+6
+6
Perform (sing) 15, Concentration 15, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
Improved Critical (B), Killoren Destroyer
Destructive Expertise


13th
Doomlord 3
+11
+8
+7
+7
Perform (sing) 16, Concentration 16, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
-
Negative Adaption


14th
Doomlord 4
+12
+9
+7
+7
Perform (sing) 17, Concentration 17, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
-
Body or Soul (+1 Charisma)


15th
Doomlord 5
+13
+9
+7
+7
Perform (sing) 18, Concentration 18, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
Staggering Critical
Entropic Blow 2/day


16th
Doomlord 6
+14
+10
+8
+8
Perform (sing) 19, Concentration 19, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
Endurance (B)
-


17th
Doomlord 7
+15
+10
+8
+8
Perform (sing) 20, Concentration 20, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
-
Unmaking Magic


18th
Doomlord 8
+16
+11
+8
+8
Perform (sing) 21, Concentration 21, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
Steadfast Determination
Body or Soul (+1 Charisma)


19th
Doomlord 9
+17
+11
+9
+9
Perform (sing) 22, Concentration 22, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
-
Disintegrate


20th
Doomlord 10
+18
+12
+9
+9
Perform (sing) 23, Concentration 23, Use Magic Device 12, Knowledge (nature) 12, Knowledge (architecture and engineering) 5, Listen 12, Spellcraft 5, Tumble 8, Balance 5
Cleave (B)
Entropic Blow 3/day



Spells per Day


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


1st
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


4th
3
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


7th
3
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
3
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
3
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
3
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th
3
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th
3
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


13th
3
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-


14th
3
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-


15th
3
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-


16th
3
4
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-


17th
3
4
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-


18th
3
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


19th
3
5
4
4
2
-
-
-
-
-


20th
3
5
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-


Casts spells as a 12th level bard.
0 level: Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Summon Instrument
1st level: Grease, Lesser Confusion, Silent Image, Tasha's Hideous Laughter
2nd level: Heroism, Glitterdust, Alter Self, Invisibility
3rd level: Dispel Magic, Haste, Confusion, Charm Monster
4th level: Freedom of Movement, Dimension Door, Hold Monster

Stances
Warblade 1: Stance of Clarity (1st)

Maneuvers
Warblade 1: Emerald Razor (2nd), Mountain Hammer (2nd), Charging Minotaur (1st)
Warblade 2: Stone Dragon's Fury (3rd)
Warblade 3: Ruby Nightmare Blade (4th)
At this point, Illazil is a bard with surprising skill with the sword (preferably a falchion, but because of Weapon Aptitude, he can switch his Weapon Focus feat to apply to any weapon). He usually enters melee combat, using the combo of Emerald Razor and Power Attack to deal a large amount of damage, using Mountain Hammer to destroy his enemies' weapons, or bull rushing with Charging Minotaur to reach far away foes.
His can use Heroism for a nice pre-combat buff on himself or an ally, and Grease and Glitterdust to debuff foes.
Out of combat, he can use magic items fairly efficiently with Use Magic Device, as well as innate bard casting, as well as take advantage of his bardic music to assist allies. Mountain Hammer, of course, means that he can break most things that need breaking.
Illazil always is in the Aspect of the Destroyer, allowing him to smite aberrations, constructs, humanoids, oozes, outsiders and undead, all pretty common foes.
Illazil has managed to snag his first level of the SI. Not much right now, but he's also picked up Improved Sunder and Combat Brute, as well as the Stone Dragon's Fury Maneuver, meaning that enemy weapons no longer exist. He sunders with ease, and thanks to Sundering Cleave (Combat Brute) can follow up with a melee attack. The other two maneuvers of Combat Brute pair up well with Charging Minotaur. Advancing Blows means that the turn after bull rushing, he deals a small amount of extra damage, and Momentum Swing improves Power Attack after charging. Charging Minotaur followed by Emerald Razor and a full Power Attack is an effective combo.
Spell-wise, Dispel Magic allows him to fight buffed casters better, and Haste allows him to buff a team effectively, while benefiting greatly from an extra attack himself.
Out of combat, Invisibility and Alter Self can allow him to snoop around fairly effectively, and his bardic music now gives him Suggestion (which will fall of at later levels, as its DC will not increase except with his Charisma).
5 levels into the SI, now Doomlord is giving some value. He has two uses of Entropic Blow per day, and these + smite + high critical chance + Power Attack + Ruby Nightmare Blade = high damage. He hasn't gained any new spell levels, but Confusion works well against large numbers of weak opponents (an ability he otherwise requires UMD to succeed at efficiently). As mentioned above, his latest maneuver, Ruby Nightmare Blade, combines well with Entropic Blow, adding a lot of damage (his preferred weapon now is definitely a falchion, although thanks to Weapon Aptitude he can switch his Weapon Focus and Improved Critical to another type of sword, if needed)and a 15-20 crit range brings the damage to triple instead of double with Ruby Nightmare Blade fairly often. Even if an opponent survives the damage from a critical hit or a smite, they will likely be slowed or dazed, respectively (the former thanks to Staggering Critical, and the latter thanks to Killoren Destroyer, which forces those hit by a smite attack to make a Will save or be dazed for 1 round) preventing an effective response.
Secret Ingredient completed. Combat resolves much the same as it has since 5th level, but with stronger and more plentiful Entropic Blows, and a Disintegrate effect to deal with frail foes. His latest spells focus on controlling weak willed opponents in or out of combat (Hold Monster and Charm Monster) and providing escapes from combat(Dimension Door and Freedom of Movement). Steadfast Determination improves Will and Fortitude saves alike, and with a quality Cloak of Resistance Illazil will probably never have to worry about Fortitude saves again.
The high hit dice, Fortitude save, and base attack bonus are very welcome, although the skills are somewhat lacking.
Entropic Blow: Entropic Blow is a fun ability, shame about the limited uses. It pairs nicely with Ruby Nightmare Blade, doubling already large amounts of damage.
Healing Resistance: Mostly flavor; it means Illazil will have to spend more on healing.
Spellcasting: Improves the mediocre bard spellcasting Illazil already possessed, though not at a great rate. Very welcome though.
Bonus Feats: A limited list, but some nice ones. Improved Critical is a great feat in combination with Entropic Blow, Endurance is a prerequisite for Steadfast Determination (which is a feat I like very much, though I normally despise the prereq), and Cleave is an extra attack or two, though not amazing at the level acquired.
Destructive Expertise: Improves Illazil's talent of tearing things apart.
Negative Adaption: Mostly flavor, this will not often see play.
Body or Soul: Ability bonuses are welcome; bonuses to Charisma are very, very nice for spellcasting (and improve smite and Entropic Blow).
Unmaking Magic: Illazil's high Charisma means that this is actually useful at the level it is received, and it will definitely take the place of his other source of dispelling.
Disintegrate: This is dealing 133 damage (average) on a failed save (DC 21) at the time Illazil gets this, so it can be devastating to frail opponents.
PHB: Bard, skills, most feats, spells
Races of the Wild: Killoren, Killoren Destroyer
Tome of Battle: Warblade, stances, maneuvers
Complete Warrior: Combat Brute
Drow of the Underdark: Staggering Critical
Player's Handbook 2: Steadfast Determination
Planar Handbook: Doomlord

[Heliomance]

Entry number 2



Darin Blightblade
https://i.warosu.org/data/tg/img/0468/50/1461394358253.jpg

NE Illumian Druid 3/Fighter 2/Blighter 6/Doomlord 9
HP: 9d8+2d10+9d12+20


Illumian (RoD 52): Medium humanoid, speed 30, sigils, glyphic resonance – spells containing glyph, rune, sigil, or symbol, -4 on saving throws against these if level is less than the CL of the spell, but if equal or higher than caster level, immune to effects. Final Utterance, +2 saves vs shadow, Superior Literacy

Sigils: Krau: +1 to CL for all spells and SLA
Hoon: +1 on WIS/CON checks and skill checks
(The power word is useless)

Point Buy:
S 13, D 14, C 12, I 10, W 16, C 13
4-16 into WIS, 20 CHA


Nature is about balance.
Life and Death, bounty and famine, the rise and the fall. There are many agents of life and light, but few of death and darkness.

What goes up, must come down as they say.

I walk the land, one of those rare few who see the truth of all things. Sometimes one or two will walk along with me, but never for very long. For they lack the necessary fortitude to do what must be done. All things wither and die, so what if we nudge them along that path to arrive at the end sooner rather than later. It matters naught if the nudge should come from spell or blade, the hand or from the land. The agony is in the waiting after all, tis a favor done to excise that wound. From life comes death, and from death there is life.

In the grand scheme of all things, a forest turned to wasteland only serves to hasten the inevitable. When forced to visit a township of any size, a city’s park will suffice just the same, it makes no matter. Should a few hovels be destroyed in the process as well, that is just a sweet bonus. It is fallacy and contempt to struggle so endlessly against the forces of fate for naught but a few extra breaths taken. If you won’t accept your fates, you have only your own selves to blame as your teeth gnash together and you let loose your own final utterances.

In that moment, I strain and listen for the glorious tones that might signal a piece of the Song has been found. The notes were spread across the planes millennia past, and have yet to be assembled in their entirety. When my own time comes to join that glorious chorus, I hope my own contribution is more than a singular note.





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


1st
Druid

+0

+2

+0

+2

Concentration 4, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Spellcraft 4, Spot 1, Survival 1, cc-UMD 1

Improved Sigil (Krau)

Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy, Spells



2nd

Druid 2

+1

+3

+0

+3

Conc 5, Know 5, Spellcraft 5, Survival 2

-

Woodland Stride



3rd

Druid 3

+2

+3

+1

+3

Conc 6, Spot 3, Survival 3

Power Attack

Trackless Step



4th

Fighter

+3

+5

+1

+3

cc-UMD 2

(B) Improved Sunder

-



5th

Fighter 2

+4

+6

+1

+3

cc-UMD 3

(B) Weapon Focus (Great Sword)

-



6th

Blighter

+4

+8

+1

+5

Conc 7, Know 6, Spellcraft 6, Survival 4

Tomb Tainted Soul

Deforestation, Spells



7th

Blighter 2

+5

+9

+1

+6

Conc 8, Know 7, SPot 4, Survival 5

-

Blightfire, Sustenance



8th

Blighter 3

+6

+9

+2

+6

Conc 9, Know 8, Spot 5, Survival 6

-

Undead Wild Shape 1/day



9th

Blighter 4

+7

+10

+2

+7

Conc 10, Spot 6, cc-UMD 4

Natural Spell

Speak w/ Dead Animals, UWS 2/day



10th

Blighter 5

+7

+10

+2

+7

Conc 11, Spot 7, cc-UMD 5

-

Contagious Touch, UWS (large)



11th

Blighter 6

+8

+11

+2

+7

Conc 14, Survival 7

-

Animate Dead Animal, UWS 3/day



12th

Doomlord

+9

+13

+2
+7

Conc 15, Spellcraft 7

Combat Brute

Entropic Blow, Healing Resistance



13th

Doomie 2

+10

+14

+2

+7

Conc 16, Spellcraft 8

(B) Improved Critical

Destructive Expertise, +1 SC (Blighter)



14th

Doomie 3

+11

+14

+3

+8

Conc 17, Spellcraft 9

-

Negative Adaption



15th

Doomie 4

+12

+15

+3

+8

Conc 18, Spellcraft 10

Practiced Spellcaster

CHA +1, +1 SC (Blighter)



16th

Doomie 5

+13

+15

+3

+8

Conc 19, Spot 8

-

Entropic Blow 2/day



17th

Doomie 6

+14

+16

+5

+10

Conc 20, Spot 9

(B) Cleave

+1 SC (Blighter)



18th

Doomie 7

+15

+16

+5

+10

Conc 21, Spot 10

Extra Slot (7th)

Unmaking Magic



19th

Doomie 8

+16

+17

+5

+10

Conc 22, Survival 8

-

CHA+1, +1 SC (Blighter)



20th

Doomie 9

+17

+17

+6

+11

Conc 23, Survival 9

-

Disintegrate






1- Improved Sigil (krau)
3- Power Attack
4- Improved Sunder
5- Weapon Focus (Great Sword)
6- Tomb Tainted Soul
9- Natural Spell
12- Combat Brute
13- Improved Critical
15- Practiced Spellcaster
17- Cleave
18- Extra Slot (7th)




Spells per Day


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



1st
3

2

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
4

3

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
4

3

2

-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
4

3

2

-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
4

3

2

-
-
-
-
-
-
-



6th
4

3

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
5

4

1

-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
5

4

2

1

-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
6

4

3

2

1

-
-
-
-
-


10th
6

4

4

3

2

-
-
-
-
-


11th
6

4

4

4

3

1

-
-
-
-


12th
6

4

4

4

3

1

-
-
-
-


13th
6

5

4

4

4

2

1

-
-
-


14th
6

5

4

4

4

2
1
-
-
-



15th
6

5

5

4

4

3

2

1

-
-


16th
6

6

5

4

4

4

2

1

-
-


17th
6

7

5

5

5

5

3

2

1

-


18th
6

7

5

5

5

5

3

2

1

-


19th
6

7

6

5

5

5

4

3

2

1



20th
6

7

6

5

5

5

4

3

2

1



CL =
Druid stacks w/ Blighter for 9 + 2 (Krau) + 4 (Doomlord) + 4 (Practiced Spellcaster) = 19
possible to add 1 CL from Death Knell spell for 10 mins per HD of animal
possible to add 1 possible from Improved Sigil

Fun Fact, Antipathy shows up twice on the Blighter spell list, at 6th, and again at 9th… Since text trumps table, that means you get a 9th level spell available to you at 6th (meaning you can cast it at lvl 13!)

Fun Fact 2: Improved Sigil lets you cast a spell at 1 level higher than it is. If you cast a 9th level spell with this feat, does it become a mythical 10th level spell and break the game?

Finding a way to get your WIS up to 28 (+9) would net you total bonus spells of:
1-3, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 6-1, 7-1, 8-1, 9-1


5- 3 levels of druid, and 2 of fighter. Nothing overly special so far. The feat taxes for the SI that we’ll get into later have all been paid off. Improved Sigil allows the 2nd level spells of the Druid to be cast as 3rd level spells, which will be very important in the next level. Darin might have taught the druidic language to a few random people at this point, and a great sword is so much better than a measly scimitar…

10- in this block it’s all Blighter. With access to Large skeletal animal forms (polar bear, giant octopus, rhino, cave triceratops, dire barracuda) through undead wild shape (type is undead, NA bonus of +1 small, +2 medium, +3 large, +2 DEX and –CON, Cold Immunity and DR5/bludgeoning is attached to the animal form) and 4th level spells (or a 5th with Improved Sigil). Blightfire if nothing else is also an every round 5d6 10ft radius blast of fire in combat with a DC 19 REF check attached to it. Tomb Tainted should be obvious, we’re going down the rabbit hole here. Natural spell is just as useful in undead wild shape as any other. Contagious Touch allows for the spreading of disease, another means of causing chaos and hastening all the things off the mortal coil that much faster. Go to spells at this point are ray of enfeeblement, death knell, contagion, desecrate, dispel magic, rusting grasp, animate dead and unhallow for funsies.

15- Leaving Blighter behind and 4 levels of doomlord now. Animate Dead animal is the beginning of our undead army. Combining it with desecrate, we can create up to 4x our CL in HD in skeletons or zombies as either guards or soldiers in the field, and control them indefinitely. Any others created can simply be let loose upon the world to spread a little joy amongst the people. Entropic Blow can be used just once for now. Healing Resistance is already under control as we don’t like normal healing anyways and if nothing else can just ping ourselves with an inflict spell to regain health. The bonus feats available to us are really quite horrible, but improved critical is just about the best of these options, doubling the threat range to 17-20. Body or Soul grants a bonus to CHA, improving the other abilities of the class. Combat Brute introduces a few tactical maneuvers (that all pair nicely with Entropic Blow) to help our gishiness catch up to our spellslinging, and that is further improved with Practiced Spellcaster. At this point, we’re casting as an 8th level blighter with access to 7th level (8th with imp sigil) spells. The go to’s at this level are antilife shell, create undead, antipathy (LOL), finger of death, harm, control undead, earthquake, firestorm and repulsion. 13 is our sweet spot for obvious reasons.

20- Finishing off we reach the 9th rank in the SI, top off at CL 19 unaugmented, and have access to 9th level spells. Pick up another +2 to CHA bringing that modifier to +3 for all aspects of the SI to feed off of as well. A 2nd use of entropic blow which now is at +3 to hit for an extra 18 damage. 3 free uses of dispel magic a day, and the capstone for us of Disintigrate. Pairing that with our goto spells at this point of horrid wilter, shambler, mind blank, implosion and storm of vengeance.

Blighter on its own is generally considered to be a horrific class. However it pairs SO WELL with Doomlord. Both from a thematic as well as a playstyle perspective. Sure we’re losing out on the first 3 levels of class features, but nothing says we can’t just kill our animal companion and come back and animate it later…

Plus, what does it say about Doomlord that possibly the best way to make it shine is to use Blighter…




Druid, Fighter, Feats (PHB)
Skeleton Template (MM 225)
Blighter, Practiced Spellcaster (CDiv)
Combat Brute (CWar)
Doomlord (Planar)
Illumian, Improved Sigil (RoD)
Diseases (DMG 292)
Tomb Tainted Soul (LM)
Extra Slot (CArc)
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm For Undead Type
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/animateDead.htm



Psuedonatural (MotP 212) -0 LA template: gain True Strike 1/day and ignore miss chance from concealment with it. Abilities based of HD: 1-3 Electricity/Acid Resist 5, 4-7 resists 10 and DR 5/+1, 8-11 resists 15 and DR 5/+2, 12+ resists 20 and DR 10/+3. SR equal to 2xHD (max 25). Alternate Form (Su) at will, take the form of a grotesque tentacle mass as a standard action, other creatures get a -1 morale penalty to their attack rolls.

Dragon Wild Shape http://web.archive.org/web/20080919131238/http://forums.gleemax.com/wotc_archive/index.php/t-404381

It’s pretty unclear if Undead Wild Shape qualifies you to take other things that require wild shape (with the exception that Planar Shepard specifically calls out in its text that Blighters sometimes enter it). For the purposes of this competition, I’m assuming not, however if you could, dragon wild shape would have just as much utility for a blighter/doomlord as anyone else, granting immunities, breath weapons, keen senses, and several other utility benefits as well. It’s also unclear if your time in form is level dependent like a druid’s as it doesn’t clearly state it one way or the other, nor what the HD cap is based off of for Undead Wild Shape. The closest thing I’ve found is Corrupted Wild Shape, but there is also no clearly defined things that would relate to the above either… And of course you have no access to Enhance Wild Shape unless you can make the argument that you can cast it from a wand or scroll.

some notables: wrymling Brown – tremorsense 500ft
very young silver – alternate form
young song – true seeing (15ft), tongues, alternate form
juvenile deep dragon – permanent true seeing
lung dragons – continuous detect thoughts, at will Invisibility, Alternate Form - small to large humanoid (li lung – earthquake immunity, earthquake 1/day radius 15ft, burrow 5ft), (pan lung – scaly command *as mass charm vs retpiles/fish*)
juvenile sapphire – sense psychoportation (vs psions)
wrymling tarterian – freedom of movement
young styx – disease
young rust – rusting bite
juvenile steel – true seeing

[Heliomance]

Entry number 3



Sir Dorven the Defiant
http://i64.tinypic.com/2ym885y.jpg


"All things come and pass. Civilizations rise and fall; castles are built and crumble; creatures are born and die. But magic? Magic is eternal - it always endures. Magic must always endure! That is my cause. That is my faith."

CG Male Human Crusader 1/Fighter 2/Crusader +2/Knight of the Weave 3/Doomlord 10/Abjurant Champion 2

Starting languages: Common, Draconic

Deity: Kereska



Ability
Point Buy
4th
8th
12th
16th
20th
Final


Str
14
-
-
-
-
-
14


Dex
14
-
-
-
-
-
14


Con
14
-
-
-
-
-
14


Int
14
-
-
-
-
-
14


Wis
8
-
-
-
-
-
8


Cha
15
+1
+1
+2
+2
+1
22





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


1st
Crusader 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Balance 4, Bluff 2, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (arcana) 2, Listen 2, Spellcraft 2, Spot 2, Use Magic Device 2
Able LearnerB, Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5


2nd
Fighter 1
+2
+3
+0
+0
Balance 5, Bluff 2, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (arcana) 2, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 2, Spellcraft 2, Spot 2, Use Magic Device 2
Power AttackB
Bonus Feat


3rd
Fighter 2
+3
+5
+0
+0
Balance 5, Bluff 2, Concentration 6, Diplomacy 6, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 2, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 2, Spellcraft 3, Spot 2, Use Magic Device 3
Combat Casting, Improved SunderB
Bonus Feat


4th
Crusader 2
+4
+6
+0
+0
Balance 5, Bluff 3, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (arcana) 3, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 3, Spellcraft 3, Spot 3, Use Magic Device 3
-
Indomitable Soul


5th
Crusader 3
+5
+6
+1
+1
Balance 5, Bluff 4, Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 3, Spellcraft 4, Spot 3, Use Magic Device 4
-
Zealous Surge


6th
Knight of the Weave 1
+5
+8
+1
+3
Balance 5, Bluff 4, Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 3, Spellcraft 4, Spot 3, Use Magic Device 9
Practiced Spellcaster (KotW)
Detect Magic, Read Magic, Spellcasting


7th
Knight of the Weave 2
+6
+9
+1
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 10, Diplomacy 8, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 3, Spellcraft 4, Spot 3, Use Magic Device 10
-
Armored Caster (light)


8th
Knight of the Weave 3
+7
+9
+2
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 11, Diplomacy 8, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 4, Spellcraft 5, Spot 4, Use Magic Device 11
-
-


9th
Doomlord 1
+8
+11
+2
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 12, Diplomacy 9, Intimidate 9, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 5, Spellcraft 5, Spot 4, Use Magic Device 12
Battle Caster
Entropic Blow 1/day, Healing Resistance


10th
Doomlord 2
+9
+12
+2
+4
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 13, Diplomacy 10, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 10, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 5, Spellcraft 5, Spot 4, Use Magic Device 13
Improved Critical (greatsword)B
Bonus Feat, Destructive Expertise


11th
Doomlord 3
+10
+12
+3
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 11, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 11, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 5, Spellcraft 5, Spot 4, Use Magic Device 14
-
Negative Adaptation


12th
Doomlord 4
+11
+13
+3
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 15, Diplomacy 12, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 12, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 5, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5, Use Magic Device 15
Martial Study (divine surge)
Body or Soul (Cha +1)


13th
Doomlord 5
+12
+13
+3
+5
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 16, Diplomacy 13, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 13, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 6, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5, Use Magic Device 16
-
Entropic Blow 2/day


14th
Doomlord 6
+13
+14
+4
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 17, Diplomacy 14, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 14, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 6, Spellcraft 5, Spot 6, Use Magic Device 17
CleaveB
Bonus Feat


15th
Doomlord 7
+14
+14
+4
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 18, Diplomacy 15, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 15, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 7, Spellcraft 5, Spot 6, Use Magic Device 18
Arcane Strike
Unmaking Magic


16th
Doomlord 8
+15
+15
+4
+6
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 19, Diplomacy 16, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 16, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 7, Spellcraft 5, Spot 7, Use Magic Device 19
-
Body or Soul (Cha +1)


17th
Doomlord 9
+16
+15
+5
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 20, Diplomacy 17, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 17, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 7, Use Magic Device 20
-
Disintegrate


18th
Doomlord 10
+17
+16
+5
+7
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 21, Diplomacy 18, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 18, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 8, Spellcraft 5, Spot 8, Use Magic Device 21
Great CleaveB, Martial Stance (press the advantage)
Bonus Feat, Entropic Blow (3/day)


19th
Abjurant Champion 1
+18
+16
+5
+9
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 19, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 19, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 9, Spellcraft 5, Spot 8, Use Magic Device 22
-
Abjurant Armor, Extended Abjuration


20th
Abjurant Champion 2
+19
+16
+5
+10
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 23, Diplomacy 20, Disable Device 1, Intimidate 20, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 1, Knowledge (history) 1, Listen 9, Spellcraft 5, Spot 9, Use magic Device 23
-
Swift Abjuration






Level
CL
1st per day
2nd per day
3rd per day
4th per day
5th per day
6th per day
IL
Maneuvers Known
Stances Known


1st
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1st
5
1


2nd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1st
5
1


3rd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2nd
5
1


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


5th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4th
6
2


6th
5th
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
-
4th
6
2


7th
6th
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
-
5th
6
2


8th
7th
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
5th
6
2


9th
7th
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
6th
6
2


10th
8th
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
6th
6
2


11th
8th
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
7th
6
2


12th
9th
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
7th
7
2


13th
9th
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
8th
7
2


14th
10th
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
8th
7
2


15th
10th
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
9th
7
2


16th
11th
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
9th
7
2


17th
11th
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
10th
7
2


18th
12th
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
2
10th
7
3


19th
13th
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
3 (+1)
2
11th
7
3


20th
14th
4 (+2)
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
3 (+1)
3 (+1)
11th
7
3



Spells Known:
1st x4 - Charm Person, Lesser Restoration, Magic Missile, Shield
2nd x4 - Bull's Strength, Eagle's Splendor, See Invisibility, Shield Other
3rd x4 - Cure Moderate Wounds, Fly, Greater Magic Weapon, Phantom Steed
4th x3 - Break Enchantment, Death Ward, Restoration
5th x3 - Mordenkainen's Faithful Hound, Spell Resistance, True Seeing
6th x3 - Banishment, Greater Dispel Magic, Teleport

Maneuvers Known:
1st x5 - Charging Minotaur, Crusader's Strike, Douse the Flames, Stone Bones, Vanguard Strike
2nd x1 - Mountain Hammer
4th x1 - Divine Surge

Stances Known:
1st x2 - Bolstering Voice, Martial Spirit
5th x1 - Press the Advantage
ECL 5: Stock standard melee type. Maneuvers and stances add some versatility, but he'll mainly be Power Attacking. A small amount of UMD to back this up. Indomitable Soul boosts Will saves, and Zealous Surge helps with saves in general. Steely Resolve makes him a little more durable. He also has the skills and Charisma to be a face-man.

ECL 10: Here's where things start getting interesting. UMD is now a class skill and can be pumped up to more useful levels. Detect Magic and Read Magic at will are handy, especially for scrolls. He's got a small repertoire of spells, mainly focused on utility and buffing. Healing Resistance is a pain, but Crusader's Strike and Martial Spirit help with this. Entropic Blow helps with damage output in melee. Battle Caster means he can wear mithril full plate or similar without worrying about ASF.

ECL 15: More spells are coming online, including gems like Fly, Phantom Steed and Death Ward. UMD keeps going up, making higher level scrolls and such viable. Divine Surge is a great boost to melee damage, along with Arcane Strike and an extra use of Entropic Blow (some of these can be used in combo). Dispel Magic as an SLA comes online pretty late, but can be useful in some situations.

ECL 20: Spellcasting hits it's peak. Essential spells like True Seeing, Teleport Greater Dispel Magic become available. UMD is through the roof - there aren't many items he can't use. He is also a consummate face-man for the party. Disintegrate 1/day isn;t all that impressive at this level, but adds another ranged attack option for when Fly doesn't cut it. Press the Advantage adds some battlefield mobility. Great Cleave and another use of Entropic Blow add to damage output. Abjurant Champion allows Shield, Shield Other and Spell Resistance to be doubled in duration (Shield can be cast as a swift action). With near full BAB, spells, maneuvers and stances, very strong Diplomacy, Intimidate and UMD, he has plenty to do contribute in and (to a lesser degree) out of combat.


Size/Type: Medium Humanoid (Human)
Hit Dice: 5d10+3d8+10d12+2d10+40
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Base Attack/Grapple: +19/+21
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: entropic blow, furious counterstrike, maneuvers, spell-like abilities, spells
Special Qualities: armored caster, destructive expertise, healing resistance, indomitable soul, negative adaptation, stances, steely resolve, zealous surge
Saves: Fort +18, Ref +7, Will +15
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 22
Skills: Balance +7, Bluff +11, Concentration +25 (+29 to cast defensively), Diplomacy +28, Disguise +6 (+8 to act in character), Disable Device +3 (+8 to disable or take apart objects), Intimidate +28, Knowledge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (architecture & engineering) +3 (+8 to disable or take apart objects), Knowledge (history) +3, Listen +8, Spellcraft +9 (+11 to decipher scrolls), Spot +8, Use Magic Device +29 (+31 related to scrolls)
Feats: Able LearnerB, Arcane Strike, Battle Caster, CleaveB, Combat Casting, Great CleaveB, Improved Critical (greatsword)B, Improved SunderB, Martial Stance, Martial Study, Power AttackB, Practiced Spellcaster, Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Challenge Rating: 20
Treasure: WBL (760,000 gp)
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Level Adjustment: +0
Sources:
Champions of Valor: Knight of the Weave
Complete Arcane: Battle Caster, Practiced Spellcaster
Complete Mage: Abjurant Champion
Complete Warrior: Arcane Strike
Planar Handbook: Doomlord (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20040706a&page=3)
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Tome of Battle: Crusader, Martial Stance, Martial Study, maneuvers, stances
Daniel Kamadurin: art (http://pre11.deviantart.net/1db4/th/pre/i/2014/096/1/8/fabulous_pally_machine_by_thedurrrrian-d7daccb.jpg)

[Heliomance]

Entry number 4


https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvignette2.wikia.nocookie.net%2Fble edmancomics%2Fimages%2Fc%2Fce%2FLordpaintrans.png% 2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20121008141655&f=1

Lord Archimede ir'Souffrance, the Grim Doom of Karrnath
Race: Human
Build Stub: Barbarian 1 / Cleric 4 / Crusader 1 / Deadgrim 5 / Doomlord 9
Multiclass Penalty: No (Favored Class Any: Cleric)
Languages: Common
Alignment: CN




Ability
Base
4th
8th
12th
15th*
16th
19th*
20th
Total


Str
14
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14


Dex
10
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
10


Con
14
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14


Int
10
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
10


Wis
15
-
+1
+1
-
+1
-
+1
19


Cha
15
+1
-
-
+1
-
+1
-
18

*Increases at 15th and 19th are from the Body or Soul class feature.





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


1st
Barbarian 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Gather Info* 4, Intimidate 4, Listen 4, Tumble* 4, Sense Motive* 4
Power Attack, Human: Weapon Focus (Greatsword)
ACF: Whirling Frenzy 1/d, ACF: Spirit Lion Totem: Pounce, Illiteracy, Skilled City Dweller ACF


2nd
Cleric 1
+1
+4
+0
+2
Know (Arcana) 1, Know (Religion) 2
-
Lose Illiteracy, Domain: Travel, ACF: Divine Magician (CM), Turn Undead 3+ChaM/d


3rd
Cleric 2
+2
+5
+0
+3
Concentration 1, Know (Religion) +2 (4)
Travel Devotion
-


4th
Cleric 3
+3
+5
+1
+3
Concentration +2 (3), Know Religion +1 (5)
-
-


5th
Cleric 4
+4
+6
+1
+4
Concentration +2 (5), Know Religion +1 (6)
-
-


6th
Crusader 1
+5
+8
+1
+4
Balance 4, Tumble +1 (5)
Improved Sunder
Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5


7th
Deadgrim 1
+6
+8
+1
+6
Balance +1 (5, 2cc), Intimidate +1 (5), Spot 2
-
Deadened Flesh, Extra Spells, Improved Turning, Voice of the Damned


8th
Deadgrim 2
+7
+8
+1
+7
Know (Religion) +1 (7), Listen +1 (5), Sense Motive +1 (5), Spot +2 (4)
-
Deadened Flesh +2, Favored Enemy (Undead) +2


9th
Deadgrim 3
+8
+9
+2
+7
Know (Religion) +1 (8), Listen +1 (6), Sense Motive +1 (6), Spot +2 (6)
Martial Study (Stone Dragon: Balance, Stone Dragon's Fury)
Deadgrim Soul (Immunities)


10th
Deadgrim 4
+9
+9
+2
+8
Know (Religion) +2 (10), Listen +1 (7), Sense Motive +1 (7), Spot +1 (7)
-
Deadened Flesh +4


11th
Deadgrim 5
+10
+9
+2
+8
Listen +1 (8), Sense Motive +1 (8), Spellcraft 2, Spot +1 (8)
-
Deadgrim Soul (Can be turned), Favored Enemy (Undead) +4, Undead Slayer; Lose Turn Undead, Gain Rebuke Undead


12th
Doomlord 1
+11
+11
+2
+8
Concentration +1 (6), Disable Device 1, Know (Arch/Eng) 1
Combat Brute
Entropic Blow 1/d, Healing Resistance


13th
Doomlord 2
+12
+12
+2
+8
Concentration +1 (7), Listen +1 (9), Spot +1 (10)
B: Cleave
Bonus Feat, Destructive Expertise


14th
Doomlord 3
+13
+12
+3
+9
Concentration +1 (8), Listen +1 (9), Spot +1 (10)
-
Negative Adaptation


15th
Doomlord 4
+14
+13
+3
+9
Concentration +1 (9), Spellcraft +2 (4)
Practiced Spellcaster (Cleric)
Body or Soul: +1 Cha


16th
Doomlord 9
+15
+13
+3
+9
Concentration +1 (10), ST: Nimble Charge
-
Entropic Blow 2/d


17th
Doomlord 6
+16
+14
+4
+10
Concentration +1 (11), Listen +1 (11), Spot +1 (11)
B: Improved Critical (Greatsword)
Bonus Feat


18th
Doomlord 7
+17
+14
+4
+10
Concentration +1 (12), Listen +1 (12), Spot +1 (12)
Craft Contingent Spell
Unmaking Magic (Sp) 3/d


19th
Doomlord 8
+18
+15
+4
+10
Concentration +1 (13), Listen +1 (13), Spot +1 (13)
-
Body or Soul: +1 Cha


20th
Doomlord 9
+19
+15
+5
+11
Concentration +1 (14), Listen +1 (14), Spot +1 (14)
-
Disintegrate (Sp) 1/d






Cleric Spells per Day


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


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


2nd
3
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


4th
4
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


6th
5
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


[tr]
7th
5
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

[tr]
8th
5
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
5
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
6
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-


11th
6
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-


12th
6
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-


13th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-


14th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-


15th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-


16th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-


17th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-


18th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-


19th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-


20th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-



Spells Added to My Cleric Spell List


Spell Level
Source: Divine Magician ACF
Source: Deadgrim Extra Spells


0th
-
Disrupt Undead


1st
Shield
Chill Touch


2nd
Spectral Hand
Command Undead, Ghoul Touch


3rd
Shivering Touch
Halt Undead, Vampiric Touch


4th
Enervation
-


5th
Magic Jar
-


6th
Antimagic Field
-





Maximum Maneuver Level @ 6:
IL 1/2*(5) +1 = 2+1 = 3, Highest Maneuver level known: 2; #known: 5 maneuvers, 1 stance

Maximum Maneuver Level @ 9:
IL 1/2*(8) +1 = 4+1 = 5, Highest Maneuver level known: 3



School
Crusader at 6, Stance Name (Level)
Crusader at 6, Maneuver Name (Level)
Martial Study at 9, Maneuver Name (Level)


Devoted Spirit
Martial Spirit (1)
Vanguard Strike (1)
-


Stone Dragon
-
Charging Minotaur (1), Mountain Hammer (2)
Stone Dragon's Fury (3)


White Raven
-
Leading the Attack (1), Battle Leader's Charge (2)
-



Maneuvers Readied @ 6: All
Maneuvers Readied @ 9: All except Vanguard Strike




This is a brief primer for any judge who knows nothing about the Eberron setting.

Eberron's main campaign is on the continent of Khorvaire, with five nations historically fighting for control over centuries. Karrnath is one of those nations; it's in the north and center of the continent. The largest and most recent world-changing event in the Eberron books is The Last War, which took place a couple hundred years ago. During this war, Karrnath, while under siege and famine, made a pact with the Blood of Vol (a cult that venerates blood and, secretly, Undeath) and raised armies of the dead to fight for them. Since the end of The Last War, Karrnath has slowly tried to extricate itself from relations with the Blood of Vol, but the country is still under martial law and is still creating (and storing in underground warehouses) hoards of undead soldiers in case war comes again. Big secrets in the country: (1) The Blood of Vol is an undead worshiping cult and is led by the lich Vol. (2) The current king of Karrnath is a vampire (the king during The Last War 200 years ago) masquerading as his own grandson; he was created by Vol, and has been trying to take control of his country back from the Lich. Historically, Karrnath worships the Sovereign Host, and the Blood of Vol Cult has a lesser following, which has waned as the king made their open worship illegal.

tl;dr: Karrnath is ruled by martial law and has a 200-year history with evil undead.

Youth:
Archimede was born the child of a Warlord of House Souffrance, one of the lesser nobles in Karrnath. During The Last War, his father disgraced his house (and destroyed much of his own holdings) by "allowing" his undead troops to escape the control of the house necromancer and run loose in his town. Stripped of titles and destitute, the family planned to move closer the the front lines to regain some prestige in combat. On the way to Fort Bones, their caravan was waylaid by bandits. Attracted by the stationary crowd, a group of undead abominations from the Mournland attacked. Troops from Fort Bones made it just in time to save Archimede, but not his family. Now a war orphan, Archimede is taken by a travelling Host cleric to Korth, where he grew into a young man.

Career:
As an orphan child of a discredited house, Archimede hated martial law and undead. His lashing out and rage against the cruelty of guards and caretakers alike landed him in a brig with a one-way ticket back to Fort Bones, where any past can be forgiven but only strength of arms will save you from joining Karrnath's ranks of undead soldiers. Archimede threw himself into the grim work of fending off undead and Valenar elf raids with gusto. While at Fort Bones, the travelling cleric from his childhood, Orson, meets him again and offers to train him to be a man of the cloth back in Korth. Archimede accepts, and spends many years learning to read the Host's prayerbook and spread its' word in Korth's Cathedral as an acolyte.

Rising in the ranks, Archimede begins to travel for the Host to spread blessings to smaller villages. While travelling, agents of the Emerald Claw, under orders from the Blood of Vol, try to assassinate him. (Actual clerics of any kind are rare in Karrnath because they are often killed.) He survives the attempt and decides, upon returning to the Cathedral, to dedicate himself to destroying undead and their influences in Karrnath, becoming a crusader. While travelling on another mission for the Host, Archimede is approached by a recruiter for the Red Watch, a newly formed organization focused on hunting and destroying intelligent undead (see MoE). Archimede leaves the church in good standing to join the Red Watch in the service of Karrnath.

Not many Deadgrim exist in the Red Watch, let alone Eberron, and Archimede sets off down this path by accident when joining the Watchers and training under Taark Half-Ear.However, instead of Taark's focus on wilderness tracking, Archimede specializes in the urban battleground, finding Emerald Claw and Blood of Vol activity in cities and slowly routing them. Upon full apotheosis, Archimedes became a formiddable foe of the Blood of Vol, and to throw him off their trail (and attempt to break his will), Vol herself seeds evidence of the King's true form for Archimede to find in a raid near Lakeside.

It destroys Archimede's purpose to discover the king he serves is a vampire. While sulking in a tavern, a Doomlord overhears Archimede exclaiming drunkenly, "What's the point? It's undeath all the way up." This Doomlord takes Archimede under his wing and convinces him to listen for the Song of Dissolution. Archimede used his skill with sundering to demolish an underground warehouse of Karrnathi undead in Lakeside, and leaves for Sigil to (escape the Karrnathi law and) finish his Doomlord training.

When he returns to Karrnath to confront the king, the battle will be glorious, but for now, Archimede must hear more of the Song to master his new destructive powers. He wants to be there when Karrnath falls to hear the sweet music.



These levels are the foundation of a destructive divine gish, so they aren't anything ultra-fancy.
1: This is a typicial optimized barbarian (Whirling Frenzy + Pounce), weilding a greatsword to typical effect. We also use feats here to knock out some pre-reqs. A city barbarian makes a lot of sense in Karrnath as an angry person who hates martial law. We take Skilled City Dweller for every skill possible because our eventual purpose in life is to hunt intelligent, cosmopolitan undead in Eberron's Karrnath region (light rail and city living makes Gather Info, Sense Motive, and Tumble better than Handle Animal, Survival, and Ride).
2: Cleric starts here. The dip gets rid of our Illiteracy. As a cleric of the Sovereign Host, we definitely turn undead. Travel Domain is pure power. The Divine Magician ACF allows us to add a bunch of powerful spells to our list as we level. For now, Shield is a very useful choice.
3: We take Travel Devotion here for our Turn Undead use outlet. We all know how good Travel Devotion + Pounce is.
4: Our second Divine Magician spell is granted along with 2nd spells; we take Spectral Hand for touch spell delivery. This gives the ability to become an angry mailman later, delivering Bestow Curse, Chill Touch, and Inflict spells. For now, we can use it to heal allies at range when Travel Devotion is off. The Ability Score buff goes to Charisma for a potential extra use of Travel Devotion per day.
5: This level ups all the numbers (BAB, saves, spell slots, ect) but is otherwise not noteworthy.
Sweet Spot: Level 4 has the most features and (with the proper preparation) is a proper Swiss Army Knife.



Here come the power spikes!
6: The second dip of this build is into Crusader. Here, we dedicate ourself to destroying undead. Improved Sunder is one way to do this (undead are objects, and so are phylacteries). We gain a lot of maneuvers here. Charging Minotaur is chosen for (ab)use of Combat Brute later. Leading the Attack qualifies us to take Battle Master's Charge. Martial Spirit is free, no-action, non-(conjuration [healing]) healing. Furious Counterstrike can almost make up for the one point of BAB lost in taking levels in Cleric, and Steely Resolve is always useful. We also set ourselves up to take Martial Study later for the only maneuver that allows for Sunder attacks (see 9). We finally get ranks in Balance here. This level also provides us the final point of BAB to qualify for our chain of PrCs, which makes it pretty essential.
7: We enter Deadgrim and get several tasty benefits. We gain almost all benefits of Extra Spells immediately; Chill Touch and Ghoul Touch are good vs the living, all the X Undead spells help our cause, and we'll gain the 3rd spells next level when we gain some 3rd level slots. Deadened Flesh is just a disguise penalty for now. Stacking Deadgrim with Cleric for Turning level means this normal use of the class feature doesn't have to be abandoned; we're only two levels behind. Voice of the Damned stacks with our ranks in Intimidate, the preferred method of persuasion in Karrnath.
8: Deadgrim 2. Deadened Flesh now gives a bonus to a bunch of saves, which (with our better-than-normal Fort) makes us nearly immune to a lot of them. Did I mention 3rd level spells? Yes. Vampiric Touch (from Deadgrim's Extra Spells) is nice. So is (Divine Magician ACF's) Shivering Touch, especially with Spectral Hand for delivery. Favored Enemy (Undead) +2 continues the theme of stacking for social skills.
9: Deadgrim 3. More spell slots is gravy, but do you see the list of immunities here?! Sleep is fine, but energy drain and death effects? So tasty. Also, Martial Study for Stone Dragon's Fury here is great. The extra 4d6 damage on a sunder attack should scare away all but the most adamantine of gear. Speaking of which, by now, we would like to have spent some of our WBL on a +1 Adamantine Greatsword. I'll explain why the fact that the sword is actually adamantine instead of using a magical effect to mimic it later.
10: Deadgrim 4. Higher Save bonuses for Deadened Flesh is fine. 4th spells is better. (Divine Magician ACF's) Enervation is on theme and powerful vs living foes. Favored Enemy (Undead) increases to +4 for more social skill stacking.
Sweet Spot: Definitely level 9 in this bracket. Those immunities are beautiful.


The midgame simmer. Doomlord tempers the blade of Deadgrim and prevents it from going full 9ths, while also providing some tricks. The true power of this build is in the next bracket.
11: Deadgrim 5. The transformation is now complete. Deadgrim Soul now makes us the closest a mortal can be to undead without actually becoming one; we can be turned (as an undead of our HD, the only real downside of Deadgrim), and we're healed with negative energy. This allows us to take full advantage of Doomlord. Also, the last paragraph of Deadgrim Soul is very important; we're allowed to change from spontaneously casting Cure to Inflict here (to continue being able to self-heal), which also changes our Turn Undead to Rebuke Undead. Undead Slayer allows us to crit Undead with our greatsword when we want.
Note: When constructing this build, my only real choice was between Deadgrim 5 and Doomlord 10; I'm sure you can understand why I didn't finish Doomlord on comparison.
12: Doomlord 1. Healing Resistance is a nice thing to have when you're harmed by conjuration (healing) spells, eh? Entropic Blow is nice to use for sundering, but its usefulness builds over time. Combat Brute is fully usable: Advancing Blows can be triggered with Charging Minotaur, Sundering Cleave with Stone Dragon's Fury (or Imp Sunder), and Momentum Swing is basically Always On with Pounce + Travel Devotion.
13: Doomlord 2. 5th level spells here, so we gain (Divine Magician ACF's) Magic Jar. This is very useful for stealing the body of a mook and infiltraiting undead cults. Combine with a Bag of Holdng for your body, and you've got a great disguise. Cleave is the most useful bonus feat from our list. Destructive Expertise is a free bonus to our new class skills, but continuing to stack social skills and perception is more valuable. The cowlick ranks here are for access to the class feature, as both skills are trained only.
14: Doomlord 3. Negative Adaptation allows us to live without penalty on the demi-planes of our enemies.
15: Doomlord 4. For Body or Soul, we take Charisma for more Rebuke Undead uses and to increase the bonus and save DCs on current (Entropic Blow) and future (Unmaking Magic, Disintegrate) class abilities. Practiced Spellcaster (Cleric) is necessary by now to make up for our missing CLs. Also, more spell slots is nice.
Sweet Spot: 13 and 15 are best in this bracket, but the build at the moment is a simmer instead of the fire from the last bracket.



It's time for the late-game power spike.
16: Doomlord 5. Our second use of Entropic Blow comes online at +10 dmg per use. Not much else here, though.
17: Doomlord 6. Our second Bonus Feat goes to Imp Crit: Greatsword. Now we can crit some undead with impugnity. Also, 6th spells come online, so it's time for the star of the show: (Divine Magician ACF's) Antimagic Field. This is why we wanted a real adamantine (or hopefully by now, starmetal) greatsword: so we could use Antimagic Field to turn off the enhancement bonus to Hardness and HP for being a magic item and sunder to our heart's content. However, this is a prelude to the final act. It gets worse.
18: Doomlord 7. It's time! We gain Craft Contingent Spell, and use it to create an Antimagic Aura contingency: Put your hand on your heart and say, "Bustin' makes me feel good," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tdyU_gW6WE) and Antimagic Field is cast on you as a free action, then charge and Sunder (or Stone Dragon's Fury if available; it's (EX)) your biggest threat's prettiest toy. Spellbook? Shredded. Magic Weapon of your enemy fighter? In chunks on the ground. Everything except things made of adamantine? Laughed at. Also, we have Unmaking Magic now, so we don't have to resort to the Contingent Antimagic Field unless we're fighting a T1 caster. And since Antimagic Field is dismissable, we can turn it off when it's beneficial to do so.
19: Doomlord 8. Again, we choose +1 Cha here. More spell slots mean more antimagic shenanigans... or harms cast on ourselves. Also, we should have a Contingent Harm by now; I would set it to saying, "Oh, I am slain," so we can sarcastically say, "Not!" when we heal back to full HP.
20: Doomlord 9. Disintegrate 1/d is pretty cool, especially if you like breaking things. Also, Entropic Blow dmg is +18 now.
Sweet Spot: 18, because Craft Contingent Spell + Antimagic Field lets us become the true Sunder monster we were always meant to be; we break all the things we always wanted to Sunder but couldn't before.


Overall Build Sweet Spots: 9 and 18. See appropriate brackets.



PHB: Barbarian, Cleric, Spells, Feats
ToB: Crusader, Martial Study, Maneuvers
ECS: Fluff
MoE: Deadgrim, Fluff
PlH: Doomlord, Fluff
SpC: Spells
UA: ACF: Whirling Frenzy
CC: ACF: Spirit Lion Totem, Travel Devotion
Cityscape Web Enhancement 1 (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a): ACF: Skilled City Dweller
CM: ACF: Divine Magician
Frost: Shivering Touch
CWarr: Combat Brute
CArc: Practiced Spellcaster, Craft Contingent Spell

[Heliomance]

Entry number 5



Roderick Rabelais, Voice of the Common Man

LE Human Holy Warrior Paladin of Tyranny 6/Blackguard 1/Doomlord 10/Blackguard 4

Stats
Str 16
Dex 10
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 14
Cha 14 (increases here)
Build


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


1st
Paladin of Tyranny 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Knowledge (Relgion) 4, Diplomacy 4, Tumble 4
Power Attack, (B)Weapon Focus (Greatsword)
Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Smite Good 1/day, Skilled City Dweller (Ride to Tumble)


2nd
Paladin of Tyranny 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Knowledge (Religion) 5, Diplomacy 5, Tumble 5

Divine Grace, Deadly Touch


3rd
Paladin of Tyranny 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Diplomacy 6, Sense Motive 1, Tumble 6
Martial Study (Shadow Blade Technique)
Aura of Despair, Divine Health


4th
Paladin of Tyranny 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Hide 3
(B)Cleave
Turn Undead, Bonus Feat


5th
Paladin of Tyranny 5
+5
+4
+1
+1
Hide 5, Tumble 7

Smite Good 2/day, Charging Smite


6th
Paladin of Tyranny 6
+6/+1
+5
+2
+2
Diplomacy 7, Tumble 9
Improved Sunder
Cause Disease 1/week


7th
Blackguard 1
+7/2
+7
+2
+2
Diplomacy 9, Tumble 10

Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Poison Use


8th
Doomlord 1
+8/+3
+9
+2
+2
Concentration 1, Disable Device 1, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 1

Entropic Blow 1/day, Healing Resistance, Skilled City Dweller (Survival to Sense Motive)


9th
Doomlord 2
+9/+4
+10
+2
+2
Concentration 4
Tomb-Tainted Soul, (B)Improved Critical
Bonus Feat, Destructive Expertise


10th
Doomlord 3
+10/+5
+10
+3
+3
Concentration 7

Negative Adaptation


11th
Doomlord 4
+11/+6/+1
+11
+3
+3
Concentration 10

Body or Soul (+1 Cha)


12th
Doomlord 5
+12/+7/+2
+11
+3
+3
Concentration 13
Bind Vestige
Entropic Blow 2/day


13th
Doomlord 6
+13/+8/+3
+11
+4
+4
Concentration 16
(B)Great Cleave
Bonus Feat


14th
Doomlord 7
+14/+9/+4
+11
+4
+4
Concentration 17, Sense Motive 3

Unmaking Magic


15th
Doomlord 8
+15/+10/+5
+12
+4
+4
Concentration 18, Sense Motive 5
Awesome Smite
Body or Soul (+1 Cha)


16th
Doomlord 9
+16/+11/+6/+1
+12
+5
+5
Concentration 19, Disable Device 3

Disintegrate


17th
Doomlord 10
+17/+12/+7/+2
+13
+5
+5
Disable Device 6
(B)Toughness
Bonus Feat, Entropic Blow 3/day


18th
Blackguard 2
+18/+13/+8/+3
+14
+5
+5
Diplomacy 11, Tumble 11
Persistent Refusal
Dark Blessing, Smite Good 1/day


19th
Blackguard 3
+19/+14/+9/+4
+14
+6
+6
Diplomacy 13, Tumble 12

Command Undead, Aura of Despair


20th
Blackguard 4
+20/+15/+10/+5
+15
+6
+6
Diplomacy 14, Tumble 14

Sneak Attack +1d6



Spells
Spells per Day


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


7th

0*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th

0*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th

1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th

1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th

1
0*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th

1
0*
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


13th

1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


14th

1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


15th

1
1
0
-
-
-
-
-
-


16th

1
1
0
-
-
-
-
-
-


17th

1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


18th

2
1
1
0
-
-
-
-
-


19th

2
1
1
1
-
-
-
-
-


20th

2
2
1
1
-
-
-
-
-


Backstory
“Gather round, gather round! There’s plenty of space for all, and I’m always welcome to meet more salt of the earth honest folk like yourselves. Now don’t get the wrong idea about my garb here. I have to dress in this imposing armor to protect myself from attacks, because there are people out there who don’t like what I say, especially them, and I think we all know who I’m talking about. The tin men and the walking dead. The soldiers that Karrnath pulled back from beyond to inflict terror on us all. The endless tireless robots that the Cannith stuffed shirts churned out right up until the end of the war. And they’ll deny it if you ever ask them, but there’s talk that Cannith didn’t turn off all their forges after the treaty. Typical marked house behavior, thinking they’re above us all. But the war’s over, and yet these soldiers didn’t go away! No, they stayed around, and now what are they supposed to do? Those rotting corpses can’t live in our cities, fouling up our water and food with the vermin and disease that crowd around them. And what about the Warforged? I’m sure they spent plenty of time programming in combat maneuvers and formations, but do you think they ever taught those hulking brutes how to obey the laws of a fine city such as this?

But of course the Houses don’t care about stuff like that. They just see the bottom line, and they know that these things can work long shifts without getting tired like any normal person. And I’ve seen it in a number of cities, and I’m starting to see it in this one. How many of you have lost a job at the foundry to one of those unnatural things?”

At this easily half the crowd raised their voices in angry confirmation.

“It’s worse than I feared. They can work longer than you or I, but what about the quality of the work? Take a look at this sword.”

At this he drew a plain longsword from its scabbard and held it up to the crowd.

“Good grip, decent balance, and sold for a fair price. But just look at how poorly it stands up to use!”

With this he brought his dark gauntlet down against the flat of the blade, and it shattered with an echoing clang.

“Have one of your blades ever broken so easily? I should think not. Something is up, and I think we all know what it is. Forces in our city have taken the wealth away from good folk like you and moved it to the stuffed shirts and the artificial mockeries of life. But if we work together we can restore this city to its right and proper order, and you’ll soon see money pouring into your hands!”

At the end of this statement he dug into a sack at his feet and flung the contents out toward the crowd with both hands. They greedily reached for the gold coins raining down around them. When he had finished with his show of generosity and the crowd’s attention turned back from the last few coins toward the stage, he began once more.

“If we want change to last we have to show them that we mean business. If the foundry thinks it’s too good for us, we need to show them that honest folk built this foundry and honest folk can tear it down! Now who’s with me?!”

At this the crowd’s roiling discontent boiled into riotous fury, and they surged to the foundry with their charismatic speaker leading the way. They set upon it with picks and hammers until the building collapsed.

It was some time before the dust settled, and by then Roderick Rabelais was working on his second ale when the Doomguard representative sat down at his table.

“I’ll admit you’re the first person I’ve ever witnessed try fulfilling all three tasks in a single sitting.”

“Well I’m nothing if not efficient. I noticed you said ‘try’ there. Do you have reservations?”

“I’m not so sure about destroying the building, is all.”

“Well it’s destroyed, isn’t it? And certainly if it wasn’t for me it would still be standing.”

“Well applicants are usually more directly responsible for the destruction.”

“Oh I was in the mix. I’m pretty sure I was the one that smashed the cornerstone. That really brought the thing down.”

“Good enough. Welcome to the Doomguard, Mr. Rabelais.”

“Wonderful. I’m so glad you see things my way. Do we get jackets?”
Level 5
Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of being an evil paladin. We’re going to set things up to enter Paladin of Tyranny’s cool older brother, Blackguard. To that end we’re going to invest our feats into its prerequisites, which will also go towards satisfying Doomlord’s prerequisites. Power attack is appreciated on any frontline melee character, and Weapon Focus’s +1 counts for more than you might think at level 1. Martial study provides us with Hide as a class skill to get in on time, and shadow blade technique lets you roll attack twice, so even if you don’t get the bonus damage you still have the benefit of picking the higher roll. To qualify on time we’ve traded our spellcasting with PoT’s rather small list for a bonus feat to nab Cleave so we’re prepared. We’ll also be swapping our mount for Charging Smite, as we won’t be focusing on mounted combat, and we are more interested in smiting. Cause Disease can be used to further your campaign against undead, while your own divine health protects you. Your aura of Despair debuffs enemies for this and other effects. Divine Grace will keep you protected on a more general scale. Diplomacy helps further your goals, and Tumble gives you some freedom to move on the battlefield.

Blackguard opens up a bit of a gray area for us. It offers bonuses based on how many paladin levels you have, the fluff explanation being that evil forces like rewarding fallen paladins. As a result, some DMs may not let you reap the beneifts (2 extra uses of smite good, 1d6 sneak attack, and lay on hands). The build works just fine without them, but if your DM approves then you’ll get use out of 2 more smites.

Lawful evil may seem a bit odd for Doomlord, but after all don’t they call it the Law of Entropy? (ba dum tss) But anyway, the class allows any alignment, and Lawful alignments are more well fitting for organizations such as the doomguard, and the diplomacy it grants is useful for orchestrating mob violence.
Level 10
After we finish Paladin of Tyranny, we’re off to a quick level of Blackguard to get some spellcasting up and running before we enter the SI. We also have poison use for when we like. Poison’s always fun.

Now for the SI. Entropic Blow is another smite of sorts to throw damage onto your foes, especially the hated undead and constructs. Destructive expertise will make you competent at dismantling objects now that you’ve sunk the rank to make it trained. I’ll invest into this more than Knowledge (architecture and engineering) because it has better explained DCs and examples. We’ll use the first bonus feat for Improved Critical, as it’s a nice way for some more damage with your greatsword. At this point we have a feat we don’t have to spend on prerequisites, so we can buy tomb-tainted soul. This lets us turn PoT’s deadly touch into healing for ourselves, as well as any inflicts from Blackguard. This does make you vulnerable to being harmed by healing like undead. Luckily for you, Doomlord provides you with resistance to such healing.

On Eberron certain locations can allow coterminous planes to seep through in manifest zones, and that means that areas of Khorvaire can gain negative dominant traits, such as the Gloaming when Mabar is close. Doomlord will protect you against such areas on your adventures.
Level 15
More SI, more features, more Blackguard casting. A boost to Cha is welcome on top of our leveling boost since our features from all our classes have Cha dependence. Since we’ve already bought Cleave, we can use our bonus feat on Great Cleave, and with improved critical and your smites going on, you can increase your chances of smashing through enemies. Dispel Magic has all the general uses of stripping enemies of their buffs, and also has use in rendering objects nonmagical before you sunder them.

Awesome Smite gives you options to make your smite attacks hit harder while power attacking. I’m especially fond of Overwhelming smite to trip enemies for free.
Bind Vestige can help us get better at destroying objects by binding Aym. Her benefit is to make your attacks deal double damage against objects, which makes you more effective at sundering and gives your entropic blow extra value.
Level 20
We finish the SI, so it’s time to return to Blackguard to wrap things up. We’ll finish up with effective 9th level casting, so we have access to 4ths. Dark blessing means we now have double Cha to saves, which comes out to +10 at this point without any items. More smite good lets you use Awesome Smite and Charging Smite more. Aura of Despair from Blackguard further debuffs your enemies, and sneak attack is a nice bonus whenever you’re flanking or going first. Command undead can be used to make undead cower before you and your mob, but it also has a use in fueling Persistent Refusal to shake off anything that gets past your saves, and with your hefty modifiers, I like your odds of making it the second time.
Sources
Tomb-Tainted Soul: Heroes of Horror
Holy Warrior Paladin ACF, Awesome Smite: Complete Champion
Charging Smite ACF: Players Handbook 2
Martial Study, Shadow Blade Technique: Tome of Battle
Bind Vestige: Tome of Magic
Persistent Refusal: Fiendish Codex II
Skilled City Dweller: Cityscape Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)
Paladin of Tyranny, Blackguard, Power Attack, Improved Sunder, Cleave, Weapon Focus, Great Cleave, Diehard, Improved Critical: srd

[Heliomance]

Entry number 6


Katu d’Xen’drik

CN Primordial Half-Giant Marshal 1/ Dungeon Crasher Fighter 2/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer 4/Spellsword 2/Doomlord 10

“Even the sale of seemingly harmless contraband can threaten the safety of our fair city.”

Guardsman Teka leaned against a shanty checking an unusually ornate pocket watch for one in his humble station and paying little mind to the magic mouth on the street corner, or indeed to the robed figure selling black onyx across the street.

“The foundations of society are important. When they erode, the greater structure is at risk of collapsing as well.”

The people on the street similarly showed little interest in the public address as they went about their day.

“We must all strive to do our part to maintain order.”

Suddenly a shower of gold coins appeared seemingly out of thin air above the street. This succeeded in drawing the attention of the crowds, who scrambled to grab all that they could off the ground. Teka moved to draw his sabre, but before it had even fully left the scabbard it was shattered by an enormous greatsword that had spun out from the throng, and continued on to strike Teka himself and drive him into the wall he had been leaning on.

“What starts with one broken law can spiral out of control into total anarchy before you know it.“

Slumped against the quavering structure of the building and bleeding from a grievous wound across his torso from hip to shoulder, Teka looked up to see a woman that he was certain had not been there before towering over the crowd. As the shanty collapsed on top of him, she turned toward the black onyx salesman, inclined her head, and then vanished.

“So remember, if you see something, say something.”

Ability ScoresPoint Buy: 16 Str, 10 Dex, 12 Con, 8 Int, 8 Wis, 18 Cha
After Racial Adjustments: 14 Str, 8 Dex, 12 Con, 12 Int, 8 Wis, 22 Cha
Increase Cha at all opportunities.

Build Table

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


1st
Marshal 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 4, Intimidate 4, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Power Attack
Minor Aura (Art of War)


2nd
Fighter 1
+1
+4
+0
+2
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5, Intimidate 5, Bluff 4.5cc, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 2,
Improved Bull RushB
-


3rd
Fighter 2
+2
+5
+0
+2
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5cc, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 2,
Knockback
Dungeon Crasher


4th
Sorcerer 1
+2
+5
+0
+4
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Concentration 2
Weapon Focus (Greatsword)
Stalwart Sorcerer ACF, Battle Sorcerer ACF, Metamagic Specialist ACF


5th
Sorcerer 2
+3
+5
+0
+5
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Concentration 4
-
-


6th
Sorcerer 3
+4
+5
+1
+5
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Concentration 6
Tomb-Tainted Soul
-


7th
Sorcerer 4
+5
+5
+1
+6
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 8
-
-


8th
Spellsword 1
+6
+7
+1
+8
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 11
-
Ignore Spell Failure 10%


9th
Spellsword 2
+7
+8
+1
+9
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 12
Improved Sunder, Combat Brute
-


10th
Doomlord 1
+8
+10
+1
+9
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 13
-
Entropic Blow 1/day, Healing Resistance


11th
Doomlord 2
+9
+11
+1
+9
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 14
Cleave
Destructive Expertise


12th
Doomlord 3
+10
+11
+2
+10
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 15
Shock Trooper
Negative Adaptation


13th
Doomlord 4
+11
+12
+3
+11
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 16
-
Body or Soul (Cha +1)


14th
Doomlord 5
+12
+12
+3
+11
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 17
-
Entropic Blow 2/day


15th
Doomlord 6
+13
+13
+4
+12
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 18
Corpsecrafter, Great Cleave
-


16th
Doomlord 7
+14
+13
+4
+12 Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 19

-
Unmaking Magic


17th
Doomlord 8
+15
+14
+4
+13
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 20, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 20
-
Body or Soul (Cha +1)


18th
Doomlord 9
+16
+14
+5
+14
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 4.5cc, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 21, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 21
Destructive Retribution
Disintigrate


19th
Doomlord 10
+17
+15
+5
+14
Diplomacy 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Intimidate 6, Bluff 5cc, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) 22, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Concentration 22
Improved Critical
Entropic Blow 3/day



Sorcerer Spellcasting Spells per Day/Spells Known


ECL
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th


5th
4/3
2/1
-
-
-
-


6th
5/4
3/1
-
-
-
-


7th
5/4
4/2
-
-
-
-


8th
5/5
5/2
2/1
-
-
-


9th
5/5
5/3
3/1
-
-
-


12th
5/6
5/3
4/1
2/1
-
-


14th
5/6
5/4
5/2
3/1
-
-


16th
5/7
5/4
5/2
4/1
2/1
-


18th
5/7
5/4
5/3
5/2
5/1
-


20th
5/8
5/4
5/3
5/2
4/1
2/1

Does not count bonus spell slots from high Cha.

Spells Known
0th level: Prestidigitation, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Message, Mending, No Light, Read Magic, Preserve Organ
1st level: True Strike, Benign Transposition, Sticky Floor, Unseen Servant
2nd level: Whirling Blade, Bladeweave, Glitterdust
3rd level: Haste, Undead Lieutenant
4th level: Animate Dead
5th level: Wall of Stone

Spells known are listed in the order they are learned at each spell level.

ECL 5[spoiler]In exchange for a point of LA, Primordial Half-Giant gives us Powerful Build to qualify for Knockback, assistance in cranking Katu’s Cha score as high as it’ll go, and at-will Invisibility as a little bonus. A level in Marshal for the Art of War Minor Aura adds her ginormous Cha mod to both Bull Rush (and later on Sunder and Trip) attempts, and Dungeon Crasher Fighter adds a little bit of oomph to her Bull Rushing. Invisibility may afford her a buff round to cast True Strike before the start of combat, which helps her work around her mediocre Str score at these levels where it’s still relevant, and will tie into other tricks later on.

ECL 10Stalwart Battle Sorcerer pays the Weapon Focus feat tax and keeps Katu’s BAB up until she qualifies for Spellsword, while getting some spellcasting to later progress with Doomlord and supply critical components of what will become Katu’s combat tactics going forward. One of those components is Whirling Blade, which allows her to replace Str with Cha on attack and damage rolls as well as make attacks against multiple opponents from further away. She can make a sunder attempt in place of such an attack, adding her Cha to the attack roll again thanks to Art of War, and if she successfully sunders the opponent’s weapon, Combat Brute’s Sundering Cleave allows her to make an attack against the opponent wielding it at the same attack bonus (including the +4 from using a two-handed weapon, the size bonus from Powerful Build, and the Cha bonus from Art of War and potentially True Strike). Stacking high attack bonuses means the freedom to Power Attack harder (possibly bolstered by Momentum Swing if she spent the prior round on a charge instead of flinging a Whirling Blade). Since Whirling Blade makes melee attacks, it also affords more opportunities to Knockback, and potentially Dungeon Crash opponents.
ECL 15We’re finally into the SI. Katu’s usage of Whirling Blade makes Cleave more viable, as killing a far off enemy can transition to cleaving into an adjacent one. Like Sundering Cleave, Cleave uses the same attack bonus as the previous attack to maintain Whirling Blade’s replacement of Str with Cha (and indeed if a Sundering Cleave attack ends up dropping an enemy, the Cleave attack will maintain the bonuses to the initial sunder attack). While Tomb-Tainted Soul is a bit redundant with Negative Adaptation, it offers an alternative by which to bypass Healing Resistance. In fact, Healing Resistance goes from being a liability to in fact reducing the damage she would ordinarily take from Conjuration (Healing) spells due to Tomb-Tainted Soul.

ECL 20We finish off Doomlord with some Necromantic fun. Katu can place her own Animated Dead in the area of her Whirling Blade (or have one stand adjacent to her and Cleave into it) to get more opportunities to use Great Cleave. Katu can produce quarterstaves for her undead to carry for free, then sunder them and Sundering Cleave the undead to gain her sunder bonuses on the Cleave attack (in fact, she can increase those bonuses further by animating the bodies of smaller creatures) without having to destroy valuable loot that she doesn’t want to (even accounting for the component cost from Animate Dead, this defrays her expenses a bit). Undead in the path of a Whirling Blade can also be knocked into enemies to trip them with Domino Rush, again, boosted by Art of War. Whenever one of her undead is destroyed, it blows up thanks to Destructive Retribution, dealing a bit of damage to enemies and/or healing Katu if she’s in range. She also has more uses of Entropic Blow and a respectable dispel check for Unmaking Magic thanks to her huge Cha score.


Book of Vile Darkness: No Light, Preserve Organ
Complete Mage: Stalwart Sorcerer
Complete Warrior: Combat Brute, Shock Trooper, Spellsword
Dungeonscape: Dungeon Crasher Fighter
Libris Mortis: Tomb-Tainted Soul, Corpsecrafter, Destructive Retribution
Miniatures Handbook: Marshal
Planar Handbook: Doomlord
Player’s Handbook II: Metamagic Specialist
Races of the Dragon: Sticky Floor
Races of Stone: Knockback
Spell Compendium: Benign Transposition, Bladeweave, Undead Lieutenant, Whirling Blade
Everything else is in the SRD

[Heliomance]

Entry number 7


Caleb Praedo

The tortured shriek of unused hinges cuts through words of the sermon being given to the packed cathedral as the massive main doors opens for the first time in decades. A large man could be seen in the doorway, simple robes backlit by the early morning sun shining off his bald pate and the pommel of a sword strapped to his back. His serene face showed no sign of what must have been an incredible strain despite the deeply corded muscles visible as he pushed open the great stone doors. The priest’s exhortation faded into silence as the man crossed the threshold and stopped, surveying the cathedral’s interior for a long moment. His eyes swept over the pews filling the nave, pausing briefly on the ornate stained glass lining the aisles depicting the lives and deeds of gods and saints, until his gaze come to rest upon the enormous statue in the transept crossing. The statue depicted a man of noble mien standing braced holding up the enormous dome of the cathedral, face slightly raised to behold the heavens depicted therein.
“Magnificent.”
The man began to walk down the main aisle, his deceptively slow gait covering the distance swiftly. Trailing in his wake came a pair of guards, not yet sure of how to deal with his interruption. When he showed no indication of stopping his approach the priest gathered himself and addressed the man.
“The Temple of Divine Succor is indeed magnificent, and welcomes all supplicants regardless of the path that brings them. Please join us that we may continue….”
“Do you know the history of this building?” the sonorous voice of the man once more cut across and silenced that of the Priest. “Begun some seven hundred years ago, the cathedral was completed in a mere half a century, and stood unbowed for half a millennia. It truly was an incredible monument to the ingenuity of its parishioners and the endurance of faith.”
By this point the man had reached the feet of the statue poised at the crossing of the nave and transept, and here he stopped, gazing up at the stony features set in concentration as powerful arms and shoulders seemed to hold the roof and very heavens in their place.
“Around a century ago it was discovered that the great Temple was failing; the dome had proved too great a match for the mighty columns that held it. Cracks had sundered the very pillars upon which it rested; time had begun to undo the works of man as it always does. Unwilling to let their monument go the faithful constructed this effigy to hold up the failing work of their forefathers, where it has stood ever since. A remarkable achievement.”
At this the man’s gaze descended from the statue and swept across the congregation.
“They should have let it fall.”
The man whirled back to the statue, massive arms and shoulders reaching up, higher than any man could possibly do so as his very form seemed to warp and grow to monstrous proportions until his hands came to rest on the right knee of the Divine. A scowl of concentration crossed his features as his muscles bunched in extreme effort and with an enormous crack his hands sheared through the statue’s leg.
Screams accompanied the shattering of the statue’s limb; fear from the parishioners, dismay from the priest, and anger from one of the guards. Braver than his fellow the young temple guard lunged forward with a yell and buried his blade in the giant now standing by the statue’s remaining leg. The man turned, his motion dislodging the guard’s sword from his flesh and regarded the young man.
“Brave.”
With a nonchalant gesture the man unsheathed his blade and swept it through that of the young guardsman. The shards clattering to the ground silenced the crowd’s screams as disbelief momentarily overcame fear.
“But foolish. Run, all of you; there is no point is falling with the Temple.”
Slowly at first, then in a flood of bodies the crowd pushed its way out the doors until just the priest remained, looking back at the giant of a man standing once more regarding broken statue. The priest heard another crack as the second leg was sundered, and fled as the building began to shake, crumble, and fall.
Minutes passed, and at last the Temple stopped crumbling; little was left of what had once been a magnificent building. As the dust began to clear the massive form of the man who had brought down the Temple could be seen standing in the shattered doorway, coated in stone dust but otherwise unharmed. In his arms he carried the coffers of the Temple of Divine Succor, a chest overflowing with copper, silver and gold. With a grunt the man emptied the chest on the remains of the cathedral’s steps, and his voice broke out over the last rumblings of the Temple’s fall.
“Go now and remember; seek not to hold back the inexorable march of time. All things must fall.”



Ability
Score
Final


Strength
18
23


Dexterity
10
10


Constitution
14
14


Intelligence
10
10


Wisdom
8
8


Charisma
14
16


Inherent Bonuses to STR, Doomlord Bonuses to CHA





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


1st
Barbarian
+1
+2
+0
+0
Balance 2(4cc), Intimidate 4, Jump 3, Know. Art & Arch 2(4cc), Tumble 1
Extra Rage; Hidden Talent (B)
Illiteracy, Rage 1/Day, Pounce (Lion Spirit Totem ACF)


2nd
Monk
+1
+4
+2
+2
Balance 5(3), Jump 4(1), Intimidate 4, Know. Art & Arch 2, Tumble 1
Power Attack (B)
Flurry of Blows (-2/-2), Unarmed Strike, Overwhelming Attack ACF (Bonus Feat = Power Attack)


3rd
Monk
+2
+5
+3
+3
Jump 6(2), Know. Art & Arch 3(2cc), Balance 5, Intimidate 4, Tumble 1
Shape Soulmeld (Mauling Gauntlets); Improved Bull Rush (B)
Evasion, Overwhelming Attack ACD (Bonus Feat = Improved Bull Rush)


4th
Fighter
+3
+7
+3
+3
Intimidate 6(2), Balance 5, Jump 6, Know. Art & Arch 3, Tumble 1
Weapon Focus (Greatsword) (B)
Bonus Feat


5th
Fighter
+4
+8
+3
+3
Intimidate 8(2), Balance 5, Jump 6, Know. Art & Arch 3, Tumble 1
-
Dungeon Crasher ACF


6th
Fighter
+5
+8
+4
+4
Intimidate 9(1), Jump 7(1), Balance 5, Know. Art & Arch 3, Tumble 1
Improved Sunder
Dead Levels Supplement (Applied Force)


7th
Fighter
+6
+9
+4
+4
Intimidate 10(1), Jump 8(1), Balance 5, Know. Art & Arch 3, Tumble 1
Combat Brute (B)
Bonus Feat


8th
Fighter
+7
+9
+4
+4
Intimidate 11(1), Jump 9(1), Balance 5, Know. Art & Arch 3, Tumble 1
-
Dead Levels Supplement (Applied Force)


9th
Fighter
+8
+10
+5
+5
Intimidate 12(1), Jump 10(1), Balance 5, Know. Art & Arch 3, Tumble 1
Destructive Rage
Dungeon Crasher ACF


10th
Marshal
+8
+12
+5
+7
Intimidate 13(1), Know. Art & Arch 6(3), Balance 5, Jump 10, Tumble 1
Skill Focus (Diplomacy) (B)
Minor Aura (Motivate Strength)


11th
Doomlord
+9
+14
+5
+7
Intimidate 14(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
-
Entropic Blow 1/day; Healing Resistance


12th
Doomlord
+10
+15
+5
+7
Intimidate 15(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
Focused Sunder; Cleave (B)
Bonus Feat, Destructive Expertise, +1 Spellcasting


13th
Doomlord
+11
+15
+6
+8
Intimidate 16(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
-
Negative Adaptation


14th
Doomlord
+12
+16
+6
+8
Intimidate 17(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
-
Body or Soul (+1 Charisma), +1 Spellcasting


15th
Doomlord
+13
+16
+6
+8
Intimidate 18(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
Shock Trooper
Entropic Blow 2/day


16th
Doomlord
+14
+17
+7
+9
Intimidate 19(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
Great Cleave (B)
Bonus Feat, +1 Spellcasting


17th
Doomlord
+15
+17
+7
+9
Intimidate 20(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
-
Unmaking Magic


18th
Doomlord
+16
+18
+7
+9
Intimidate 21(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
Snap Kick
Body or Soul (+1 Charisma), +1 Spellcasting


19th
Doomlord
+17
+18
+8
+10
Intimidate 22(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
-
Disintegrate 1/day


20th
Doomlord
+18
+18
+8
+10
Intimidate 23(1), Balance 5, Jump 10, Know. Art & Arch 6, Tumble 1
Improved Critical (Greatsword)
Bonus Feat, Entropic Blow 3/day, +1 Spellcasting



ACFs:
Spirit Lion Totem (Barbarian):
@ 1st Level: Lose Fast Movement, get Pounce

Overwhelming Attack (Monk):
@ 1st Level: +2 bonus to Intimidate; Bonus Feat is Power Attack
@ 2nd Level: Bonus Feat is Improved Bull Rush

Dungeon Crasher (Fighter):
@2nd Level: +2 competence on save and AC when attacked by traps; +5 to strength checks to break doors, walls, similar; +4d6+2*STR when bull rush into an obstacle.
@ 6th Level: Bonuses increase to +2; +10; +8d6+3*STR.

Dead Levels Supplements (Fighter)
Applied Force: The fighter gets a +1 untyped bonus to strength checks made to break or burst items. This bonus stacks with itself each time it is chosen.



Ah, the Doomlord. I found this class so remarkably uninspiring that the part that stuck out for me the most was the fluff requirements, specifically the requirement that the aspiring Doomlord destroy a building while being observed. That is a cool idea, and what the first half of this build is all about. If you look up the rules for breaking stuff, you quickly discover that for an optimized melee character breaking things is rather trivially easy if you just go after the hit points (3’ stone walls only have 450 hp and hardness 8, where a normal building’s masonry walls have only 90 hp and 8 hardness) – indeed an Ubercharger can probably Kool-Aid Man a bank rather easily, and a Hulking Hurler could probably take down the Pyramid of Giza with a well-placed boulder. However, if you look at simply bursting things with a strength check, your job becomes markedly harder. The idea of dude casually shoving his arm through a load-bearing pillar and walking away as the building falls was too cool to pass up, so by the time Caleb enters the Doomlord class at level 11, he can make a DC 50 strength check to do just that. Let’s dive into how.

The first five levels of the build are bog-standard melee optimization fare: Pounce-barian is basically required for a primary melee, Overwhelming Attack Monk gives a couple of nice bonus feats, and Fighter for bonus feats as well. We start specializing on Breaking Stuff Real Good (BSRG) with the Dungeon Crasher ACF for Fighter level 2, which gives a +5 untyped bonus to BSRG (probably doesn’t apply to ropes and the like, but we don’t really care for our purposes). Hidden Talent at level 1 gives us access to Expansion 1/day (more when we buy Manifester Shiruken later), which is useful for getting additional strength and size, both of which contribute to BSRG. The pickup of Mauling Gauntlets at level 3 gives us a +4 morale bonus on Strength Checks (1 Essentia from being Azurin invested), which is useful for Bull Rushes and BSRG. At this point we’re a primary melee who’s lost 1 BAB, but when raging and Expanded has a Strength score of 25 and a total modifier on strength checks for BSRG of +21 (+7 STR +5 Dungeon Crasher +1 Applied Force + 4 Mauling Gauntlets +4 Size). Ability checks follow the same rules as skills for taking 10 and 20, so if you’re not being shot at you can take 10 for a +31 modifier, which is enough to muscle open a 2’ thick Iron Door. Not too shabby. In fact, the only wall-like objects that have DCs listed in the PHB (165) that you can’t break at level 5 are 1’ Masonry Walls (DC 35) and 3’ Hewn Stone (DC 50).

At this point Caleb is a virtuoso of Breaking Stuff Real Good. Four more levels of Fighter lets us pick up the second installment of Dungeon Crasher as well as another point from Applied Force for a total of +12 to BSRG from Fighter levels. The level of Marshal gives the minor aura Motivate Strength to add Charisma to Strength checks and Skill Focus (Diplomacy) which we will beg our DM to allow us to swap out for Skill Focus (Intimidate). The acquisitions of Improved Sunder and Combat Brute at levels 6 and 7 allow Caleb to extend his predilection for destruction into his fighting style. He now has two primary combat maneuvers: bull rushing people into walls for 8d6+3*STR damage (with a Bull Rush Modifier of +2 charging, +4 size, +4 Mauling Gauntlets, + 8 STR + 2 Motivate Strength = +20 assuming raging and expanded one size), and Sundering the items of the opponent. Sundering is generally frowned upon, but we’re really good at it, and when we break someone’s weapon or shield the Combat Brute feat’s Sundering Cleave maneuver allows us to hit the opponent using the same roll (which is modified by all our juicy Sundering bonuses which starts at +STR, + 4 Improved Sunder, +4 Two Handed Weapon, and which arguably could include + 4 Mauling Gauntlets, +2 Applied Force, + 4 Size, +2 Motivate Charisma). But let’s get back to why we’re here: Breaking Stuff Real Good. The last feat we picked up is solely for this purpose. Destructive Rage gives an untyped +8 bonus to breaking doors and immobile objects (read: walls). So now let’s take a look at our Breaking Stuff Real Good bonus:

BSRG = +8 (26 STR with Rage and Expansion to Large) + 8 Destructive Rage + 10 Dungeon Crasher + 4 Mauling Gauntlets + 2 Applied Force + 2 Motivate Strength = +34

With Taking 10 we can hit a DC 44 Strength Check. Sadly we’re just shy of breaking the highest DC object in the game, so let’s see what we can do. We can reasonably expect to have a friend cast both Bull’s Strength and Eagle’s Splendor for +4 enhancement bonuses to STR and CHA, which gives an additional +4 to our strength check (+2 from STR, +2 Motivate Strength), allowing us to beat a DC 48 BSRG check without rolling. Almost there. Some research reveals a lot a fairly cheap items that increase Strength checks, but most of them are swift action activation and last for a single round. However, we can pick up the Armbands of Might (MIC) for an untyped +2 bonus at a steal for 4.1K, a mere 8.4% of WBL and we can make a DC 50 strength check to break down that 3’ Hewn Stone Wall.

We’ve taken the first five levels of the SI and we…like it? Sure, we like it. We’re already happy with the full BAB chassis for our regularly scheduled beatsticking (Shock Trooper comes on line late, but it’s there), and Entropic Blow is pretty excellent. We’re already planning to put some emphasis on Charisma to fuel our Strength checks, so that pairs well with the Smite analog. The fact that it also ignores hardness is great for when we’re Sundering in combat, and at 2/day this means we can break things with impunity in combat at least three times without breaking a sweat when combined with Focused Sunder, which allows us to burn our Psionic Focus to ignore half of hardness while Sundering. Focused Sunder also helps with our Raison d'être of Breaking Stuff Real Good, as it also allows us to ignore half the hardness of objects and walls while destroying them (by RAW does nothing for breaking DCs, but talk to your friendly neighborhood DM) if we’re doing hp damage to break something (not sure why, but whatever). The other class features are sorta meh for us except for the Body or Soul bonus to Cha, which feeds back into damage and BSRG through Entropic Blow and Motivate Strength. Healing Resistance is unfortunate but so be it, the bonus feat list is a little underwhelming, but we’ll take Cleave thank you very much, and Destructive Expertise is entirely useless as we started on a chassis that couldn’t take Know. Art&Architecture or Disable Device (besides, if there’s a device out there we can’t already break I would love to see it). I may or may not have forgotten that this class gives 5/10 spellcasting progression while I was building this….
Well, we’ve finished the SI and I’ll be honest, it doesn’t really do a whole lot for us. Body or Soul does give a nice little boost to Cha which helps our combat potential by boosting both our Bull Rush and Sunder checks, as well as helping out Entropic Blow which can now be used 3/day. Snap Kick was picked up at lvl 18 to help offset the fact that two of our primary combat tactics only involve a single attack (though Sundering is a rider to a regular attack, rather than a special attack and therefore might be doable in a full attack for iteratives). The two additional bonus feats gave Great Cleave and Improved Critical, which are useful I suppose. Unmaking Magic is actually pretty good, and the ability to add Charisma to the check is not too shabby. Disintegrate is sadly only 1/day, but a melee character can always find a use for a ray of facemelting, and it can help in the exceedingly rare cases when we can’t bust something open ourselves.
All said and done we’re a fairly capable primary melee character that can break any damn wall in the game. Doomlord is useful for this, but is somewhat ancillary; I built this dish around being able to realistically meet the fluff requirements without DM fiat. I don’t expect to score all that well, but I had enough fun building this guy that I thought I would submit it anyways. Thanks for sticking with it!



Magic of Incarnum (MoI) – Azurin (p7), Shape Soulmeld (p40), Mauling Gauntlets (p78)
Complete Warrior (CW) – Extra Rage (p98), Combat Brute (p110), Destructive Rage (P97), Shock Trooper (p112)
Expanded Psionics Handbook (XPH) – Hidden Talent (p67), Focused Sunder (p46)
Unearthed Arcana (UA) – Overwhelming Attack (p52),
Complete Champion (CC) – Lion Spirit Totem (p46)
Dungeonscape (Du) – Dungeon Crasher (p10)
Web – Dead Levels I
Miniatures Handbook (MH) – Marshal (p11)
Planar Handbook (PlH) – Doomlord (p47)
Tome of Battle (ToB) – Snap Kick (p32)

Items not called out are either in the PHB or sub-items of higher level callouts (e.g. Warlock Invocations)

[Heliomance]

Entry number 8



http://www.angelpaths.com/images/thtower.JPG
Mikhail the Liberator
CG Human, Unarmed Swordsage 2/Fighter 2/Crusader 1/Human Paragon 3/Apostle of Peace 2/Doomlord 10

Revolution requires extensive and widespread destruction, a fecund and renovating destruction, since in this way and only this way are new worlds born…

-Mikhail Bakunin







Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features
Vow of Poverty bonuses


1st
Unarmed Swordsage 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Concentration 4 ranks, intimidate 4 ranks, diplomacy 2 ranks (cc), balance 4 ranks, knowledge (architecture & engineering) 2 ranks (cc), bluff 2 ranks (cc), autohypnosis 1 rank (cc), heal 1 rank, tumble 1 rank, jump 4 ranks
Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty
Quick to act, discipline focus (weapon focus) - stone dragon, unarmed strike
AC bonus +4


2nd
Fighter 1
+1
+2
+2
+2
Concentration 5 ranks (+1, cc), intimidate 5 ranks (+1), bluff 2.5 ranks (+.5, cc)
Vow of NonviolenceP, Power AttackF
Bonus feat
Bonus exalted feat


3rd
Fighter 2
+2
+3
+2
+2
Concentration 6 ranks (+1, cc), intimidate 6 ranks (+1), bluff 3 ranks (+.5, cc)
Favored, GoadF
Bonus feat
AC bonus +5, endure elements


4th
Unarmed Swordsage 2
+3
+3
+3
+3
Concentration 7 ranks (+1), intimidate 7 ranks (+1), balance 5 ranks (+1), diplomacy 3 ranks (+1, cc), knowledge (architecture & engineering) 3 ranks (+1, cc), jump 5 ranks (+1)
Vow of PeaceP
AC bonus
Exalted strike +1 (magic), bonus exalted feat


5th
Crusader 1
+4
+5
+3
+3
Concentration 8 ranks (+1), intimidate 8 ranks (+1), diplomacy 5 ranks (+2), knowledge (architecture & engineering) 4 ranks (+1, cc)

Furious counterstrike, steely resolve 5
Sustenance


6th
Human Paragon 1
+4
+5
+3
+5
Concentration 10 ranks* (+2), intimidate 9 ranks (+1), diplomacy 7 ranks (+2), knowledge (architecture & engineering) 5 ranks (+1), bluff 4 ranks (+1)
Primary Contact, Intuitive AttackP
Adaptive learning (intimidate)
AC bonus +6, deflection +1, bonus exalted feat


7th
Apostle of Peace 1
+4
+7
+5
+7
Intimidate 10 ranks (+1), diplomacy 9 ranks (+2), knowledge (architecture & engineering) 7 ranks (+2), bluff 5 ranks (+1)

Turn undead
Resistance +1, ability score enhancement +2


8th
Human Paragon 2
+5
+7
+5
+8
Concentration 11 ranks (+1), intimidate 11 ranks (+1), diplomacy 11 ranks (+2), knowledge (architecture & engineering) 9 ranks (+2)
Frightful PresenceB, Gift of DiscernmentP
Bonus feat
Natural armor +1, mind shielding, bonus exalted feat


9th
Human Paragon 3
+6/+1
+8
+6
+8
Concentration 12 ranks (+1), intimidate 12 ranks (+1), diplomacy 12 ranks (+1), knowledge (architecture & engineering) 10 ranks (+1), Never Outnumbered skill trick
Improved Sunder
Ability bonus (+2)
AC bonus +7


10th
Apostle of Peace 2
+7/+2
+9
+7
+9
Concentration 13 ranks (+1), intimidate 13 ranks (+1), diplomacy 13 ranks (+1), knowledge (architecture & engineering) 13 ranks (+3)
Nimbus of LightP
Pacifying touch
Exalted strike +2 (good), damage reduction 5/magic, bonus exalted feat


11th
Doomlord 1
+8/+3
+11
+7
+9
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 14 ranks (+1), concentration 14 ranks (+1), intimidate 14 ranks (+1), diplomacy 13.5 ranks (+.5, cc)

Entropic blow 1/day, healing resistance
Ability score enhancement +4/+2


12th
Doomlord 2
+9/+4
+12
+7
+9
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 15 ranks (+1), concentration 15 ranks (+1), intimidate 15 ranks (+1), diplomacy 14 ranks (+.5, cc)
Healing Devotion, CleaveB, Nymph’s KissP
Bonus feat, destructive expertise
AC bonus +8, deflection +2, greater sustenance, bonus exalted feat


13th
Doomlord 3
+10/+5
+12
+8
+10
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 16 ranks (+1), concentration 16 ranks (+1), intimidate 16 ranks (+1), diplomacy 15 ranks (+1, cc)

Negative adaptation
Resistance +2, energy resistance 5


14th
Doomlord 4
+11/+6/+1
+13
+8
+10
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 17 ranks (+1), concentration 17 ranks (+1), intimidate 17 ranks (+1), diplomacy 16 ranks (+1, cc)
Holy RadianceP
Body or soul (Cha +1)
Exalted strike +3, freedom of movement, bonus exalted feat


15th
Doomlord 5
+12/+7/+2
+13
+8
+10
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 18 ranks (+1), concentration 18 ranks (+1), intimidate 18 ranks (+1), diplomacy 17 ranks (+1, cc)
Brutal Strike
Entropic blow 2/day
AC bonus +9, ability score enhancement +6/+4/+2, damage reduction 5/evil


16th
Doomlord 6
+13/+8/+3
+14
+9
+11
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 19 ranks (+1), concentration 19 ranks (+1), intimidate 19 ranks (+1), diplomacy 18 ranks (+1, cc)
Improved Critical (unarmed strike)B, Exalted TurningP
Bonus feat
Natural armor +2, bonus exalted feat


17th
Doomlord 7
+14/+9/+4
+14
+9
+11
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 20 ranks (+1), concentration 20 ranks (+1), intimidate 20 ranks (+1), diplomacy 19 ranks (+1, cc)

Unmaking magic
Exalted strike +4, resistance +3, regeneration


18th
Doomlord 8
+15/+10/+5
+15
+9
+11
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 21 ranks (+1), concentration 21 ranks (+1), intimidate 21 ranks (+1), diplomacy 20 ranks (+1, cc)
Martial Study (leaping flame), Sanctify Martial StrikeP
Body or soul (Cha +1)
AC bonus +10, deflection +3, true seeing, bonus exalted feat


19th
Doomlord 9
+16/+11/+6/+1
+15
+10
+12
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 22 ranks (+1), concentration 22 ranks (+1), intimidate 22 ranks (+1), diplomacy 21 ranks (+1, cc)

Disintegrate
Ability score enhancement +8/+6/+4/+2, damage reduction 10/evil


20th
Doomlord 10
+17/+12/+7/+2
+16
+10
+12
Knowledge (architecture & engineering) 23 ranks (+1), concentration 23 ranks (+1), intimidate 23 ranks (+1), diplomacy 22 ranks (+1, cc)
Great CleaveB, Gift of FaithP
Bonus feat, entropic blow 3/day
Exalted strike +5, energy resistance 15, bonus exalted feat



*Bonus skill rank due to Primary Contact feat


Spells per Day/Spells Known


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


7th
4
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
5
3
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
5
3
1
0
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
6
3
2
1
0
-
-
-
-
-


11th
6
3
2
1
0
-
-
-
-
-


12th
6
3
3
2
1
0
-
-
-
-


13th
6
3
3
2
1
0
-
-
-
-


14th
6
3
3
3
2
1
0
-
-
-


15th
6
3
3
3
2
1
0
-
-
-


16th
6
4
3
3
3
2
1
0
-
-


17th
6
4
3
3
3
2
1
0
-
-


18th
6
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
0
-


19th
6
4
4
3
3
3
2
1
0
-


20th
6
5
4
4
4
4
3
2
1
0




Alternate class feature: unarmed swordsage (lose armor proficiency, gain monk’s unarmed strike progression)


Starting stats:Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 14/Cha 14
Level 4: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 14/Cha 15
Level 7: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 16/Cha 15
Level 8: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 17/Cha 15
Level 9: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 19/Cha 15
Level 11: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 21/Cha 17
Level 12: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 22/Cha 17
Level 14: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 14/Int 12/Wis 22/Cha 18
Level 15: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 16/Int 12/Wis 24/Cha 20
Level 16: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 16/Int 12/Wis 25/Cha 20
Level 18: Str 14/Dex 12/Con 16/Int 12/Wis 25/Cha 21
Level 19: Str 14/Dex 14/Con 18/Int 12/Wis 27/Cha 23
Level 20: Str 14/Dex 14/Con 18/Int 12/Wis 28/Cha 23



Swordsage maneuvers/stances known (listed in order of acquisition):
Distracting ember, mighty throw, stone bones, wind stride, counter charge, clinging shadow strike, child of shadows (s), clever positioning, step of the wind (s), leaping flame

Crusader maneuvers/stances known:
Crusader’s strike, leading the attack, douse the flames, mountain hammer, vanguard strike, martial spirit (s)





To revolt is a natural tendency of life. Even a worm turns against the foot that crushes it. In general, the vitality and relative dignity of an animal can be measured by the intensity of its instinct to revolt.

-Mikhail Bakunin

The guard was panting. He raised his scourge. “Enough,” he said, flecks of spittle escaping his heavy lips. Three of the huddled slaves shrank even smaller, pulling away from the guard’s raised arm. The fourth, a boy of perhaps fourteen years, hesitated. “Back in line,” the guard wheezed, and one of the others grabbed the back of the boy’s tattered robes, tried to pull him back.

“Stop - please stop,” the boy murmured, taking a step back. “We were just… I’m sorry.”

A voice rang out from behind the guard. “Why should he be forced to apologize for your sins?” The guard turned his head, scourge still raised above his head. “What great falsehoods must we swallow to believe that such a great gulf lies between that boy and you, that his humanity is somehow less than yours?” A figure stepped forward, barefoot, white robes long stained gray by city-dust. “They are falsehoods, you know. All the social mores that say that those of one caste must behave and those of another must lead, that two men separated only by a handful of years may somehow be such different creatures that one must cower and beg while the other raises a weapon… they are false.” He stepped closer.

“Back up,” said the guard, his posture shifting so he now faced the slender man before him. The man wore no weapons, no armor, looked barely better equipped than the slaves behind him. “This is no business of yours.”

“And why is it not?” Another step forward. “Why should these four creatures live their lives in fear of you? Did they commit some sin, some great mistake that forfeited their lives?” Another step. The rest of the crowd backed away, leaving a half-circle between the young man and the guard. “What sin could be great enough? What sin could be so unforgivable that it could wash away the far greater sin of you abusing these poor souls, restricting their freedom and their very humanity?”

“Walk away, little man,” the guard growled. “Walk away now or you’ll get the same as them.”

“Will I? Perhaps,” he said. “You have behind you the authority of society, I am sure, of that nebulous beast that serves to lock us into castes. There are invisible lines, I am sure, that marks those four as slaves and you as master. This entire city rose up on those invisible lines, locking us in, drawing us apart.” He took yet another step closer. Now they were only a few feet apart, the guard’s face growing red with rage. “But cities fall. Buildings crumble. And slaves revolt. The fiction that you are a greater man than those you beat is mere paper, ready to be torn away. Do you know what really separates you from those four behind you? The one true difference between you and them?”

The guard gripped his scourge tighter and pulled back his arm, ready to strike. The small man stood stock-still, waiting. Even as the scourge fell, he seemed to barely move, yet the barbed ends of it met only air. The guard pulled back again, readying another strike, as the man stepped even closer.

“It is that weapon you carry,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “That scourge in your hand and the armor you wear—these are the only things that separate you from them.” The guard snarled and moved to swing again, and the man struck, palm out, hitting not the guard but the scourge itself. The wooden grip cracked and the weapon fell apart, scattering onto the street’s dusty cobblestones. “Without them, you are no different, no better, than the slaves you threaten.”



EARLY LEVELS:
I know, I know, Vow of Poverty is a trap. The returns it gives aren’t worth giving up items in the long run. Except that in the early levels, this is very much not true. As an unarmed swordsage, Mikhail is giving up very little: he fights with his fists and the additional protection granted by the feat works well alongside his unarmored fighting style. It also works nicely alongside his focus on destruction: Mikhail the Liberator never needs to worry about sundering potential treasure, because he has no need for such worldly goods.

(A note about unarmed swordsage: this build is assuming that it, you know, functions. Yes, technically the description of the alternative class does not say it gains Improved Unarmed Strike, just the unarmed strike progression of a monk. That is almost certainly an oversight, and literally every table I have ever played in or seen considers IUS a part of the unarmed strike ability. If you truly believe that an unarmed swordsage cannot actually fight unarmed without penalty despite gaining the monk’s unarmed strike, please consider Mikhail to have taken the Shaky flaw to gain Improved Unarmed Strike and give him the according -1 elegance penalty.)

Swordsage gives Mikhail a lot of nice kung-fu to use alongside his unarmed strike, and he focuses primarily on mobility and repositioning rather than high-damage maneuvers. Discipline focus in the Stone Dragon discipline gives him the benefits of Weapon Focus for unarmed strikes as well as greatswords, allowing it to both boost his strikes at early levels and later allow him to qualify for Doomlord.

Vow of Nonviolence may seem restrictive, but in reality, it is fairly easy to manage. As an unarmed fighter, Mikhail can choose to deliver nonlethal damage to all living foes without the usual penalty, and none of his abilities focus on things that would violate the vow. In return, the +4 bonus to save DCs on non-damaging spells and effects is a considerable boost for things like the clever positioning maneuver, his Goad feat, the calming aura of his Vow of Peace and his Frightful Presence. He later will get even more mileage out of it as Apostle of Peace comes online, but for now, even just these benefits are significant. And the opponents that are immune to things like Goad or his calming aura? Well, luckily these opponents tend to be constructs or undead, and therefore do not violate his vows to attack or destroy…

Anyhow, Mikhail fights as a typical unarmed swordsage, using Goad to draw enemies in so that he can sunder their weapons or force them into his calming aura. He ends up significantly bulkier than the typical Swordsage thanks to Fighter and Crusader levels, which add on a fair bit of longevity while still fitting with his preferred fighting style. Favored and Primary Contact fit well thematically with this devotee of the Doomguard, give him some very nice in-game bonuses and also provide the extra skill rank (which explicitly breaks the skill rank cap) necessary to qualify for…

MID LEVELS
...Apostle of Peace! Just as Mikhail’s martial prowess starts to stutter a bit, he gets the significant kick-start from Apostle of Peace. Turn undead and pacifying touch give him two new offensive tools in his arsenal (with pacifying touch being especially potent), but the real draw here is the spellcasting. By level 10 Mikhail is casting fourth level spells, giving him incredibly significant flexibillity, defensive stability and offensive prowess. Apostle of Peace also has a specific exception to Vow of Poverty, allowing Mikhail to use and benefit from defensive magical items, and between this and the formidable spellcasting it offers, the drawbacks to Vow of Poverty all but disappear.

Mikhail also picks up Frightful Presence in these levels. This is a passive debuff with a surprisingly strong DC (scales up to DC 30, making it decent even at high levels), and can be used alongside demoralization for fear escalation tactics. While it may seem odd to have fear effects alongside calm emotions effects, they work together nicely: Mikhail can use fear and intimidation to debuff crowds of enemies, then pacify key foes. The penalties they receive due to fear makes them easier to pacify, while the calm emotions side effect of pacifying touch dispels the fear so that Mikhail can attempt to sway them earnestly.

Doomlord comes online in the mid-levels as well. Entropic blow gives him a powerful attack for the types of enemies immune to things like his pacifying touch or his nonlethal attacks, and also helps him easily destroy weapons and structures. He keeps his knowledge in architecture and engineering high so that he can destroy buildings as quickly as possible, and maintain an understanding of how they will collapse so that he can eliminate collateral damage. While his healing resistance would seem to reduce his longevity, Crusader maneuvers and Healing Devotion still work well to keep him healthy. Body and Soul helps keep his Charisma up to par despite his lack of items (and he has several abilities that run off of Charisma). Meanwhile, the negative energy adaptation and his access to plane shift means that he can freely enter the Citadel Exhalus or travel to other negative-dominant planes in his search for prisons to demolish.

HIGH LEVELS
As Mikhail progresses through his Doomlord levels, he also keeps up his Apostle of Peace casting, eventually ending with 9th-level spells from a modified cleric list. This includes many of the most important spells, including what are arguably the two most powerful spells in the game, miracle and gate. While access to high level spells do tend to eclipse most other things, Mikhail’s Doomlord abilities definitely do not go amiss. Unmaking magic works well alongside his secondary Charisma focus to serve as a strong dispel (the low caster level of Apostle of Peace means the dispels he uses from his spellcasting levels will be significantly less likely to be successful). Disintegrate is a fantastic dual use spell-like ability that does not exist on his Apostle of Peace casting list: he can use it to further destroy buildings and structures, or as a powerful direct damage spell against undead or construct enemies that are immune to some of his other spells and effects. Beyond his Doomlord levels, he also picks up leaping flame via Martial Study so that he can instantly teleport to anyone attempting to evade his Goad ability by using ranged attacks and sunder their weapon or otherwise disable them.

In the end, Mikhail ends up with 9th-level spells off of a very strong spell list, +17 BAB, 5th-level martial maneuvers and several interesting offensive and defensive abilities.




We exhort the compromisers to open their hearts to truth, to free themselves of their wretched and blind circumspection, of their intellectual arrogance, and of the servile fear which dries up their souls and paralyzes their movements.

Let us therefore trust the eternal Spirit which destroys and annihilates only because it is the unfathomable and eternal source of all life. The passion for destruction is a creative passion, too!

-Mikhail Bakunin

“Mikhail, you strike me as a good man,” the councilman said. “And the people seem to like you. You hear them outside our doors? You have their hearts. You are not like the others in your... organization. You have a heart.”

“And what is heartless about the Doomguard?” Mikhail asked. His dirty robes seemed out of place in among the panelled wood and thick carpets of the councilman’s chambers. “They seek to break the rock of authority, to see it crumble to dust. I seek the same.”

“Come now, man,” the councilman said. “It is not the same. You want to help people. They just want to see things burn.”

“Why do you assign such value to the things the Guard wishes to strike down? A wall is not a thing to be protected, to be worshipped. The song of dissolution that sings out when a building falls is a song of freedom, of hope.”

“Enough of this talk. I didn’t bring you here to listen to platitudes. I wanted to talk about the Elmina Fortress.” Mikhail’s face darkened. “Don’t give me that look, Mihail,” the councilman said. “The fortress construction will be completed, regardless of what you think. I have you here because I want to compromise. You have the public ear. What can I do to make you walk out and tell them to stand down, to stop barring with its construction? What assurances can I give you?”

“Assurances?”

“Yes, Mikhail, assurances,” he said. “Look, you have grown popular railing against slavers and bountymen. I agree with you. I am on your side. I have the support in the council to ensure that the Elmina Fortress never houses a single slave. But the fortress will be built, with my support or without it. Compromising with me here means it will house only lawbreakers, prisoners, murderers. Come, man, you cannot tell me that such a thing is evil.”


“All prisons are evil,” Mikhail scowled. “You say Elmina Fortress will house no slaves? Every man, woman and child who enters its doors under threat of violence and coercion is a slave, and if you support them, you are just another slaver.”

The councilman reached under his oaken desk, pulled out a large silk pouch. “Mikhail, I am trying to be reasonable. Here, a gesture of good faith. Consider it a… donation. That’s gold in there, man, not silver, and if we reached a reasonable solution, there can be many more donations like it. Think what you could do with such gold. Think how many slaves you could free.”

Mikhail pulled the pouch in, opened it, sifted through it. “This is generous,” he said slowly. The pouch was heavy in his hands.

“It is,” the councilman said, visibly relaxing. “It is, and there is more where that came from. I am on your side, Mikhail. I wish to help the people.”

“You wish to help the people? Very well then,” Mikhail said, and quickly got up, pouch in hands. He stormed through the chamber doors down the hallway, and out the front door. The councilman got up and chased after him.

“These are the people you wish to make slaves,” Mikhail shouted from the steps, waving his arm toward the gathered crowd. “You want to help them? How does giving me gold help them? How will it help them when the laws of your council wrap around their throats like a noose and drag them to the prison you are building?” He reached into the large pouch and began pulling out fistfuls of gold and tossing them to the crowd. “These men and women, councilman, are the ones who need your gold. Not me. Never me.” Handful after handful of gold coins glinted in the sun as the crowd surged forward. “You think gold is the mortar that will hold the bricks of your abomination together. You think gold will buy my silence, will pacify the people, will allow you to quietly profit from your fortress, your chapel to the cruel gods of Carceri and Tartarus. Mark my words, councilman: if that prison goes up, in a year’s time, not a stone will remain standing, and with it your house will fall. This city will shudder and rumble and cast off its oppressors. There is no compromise. There is only destruction, and the song of freedom it carries with it.”



Tome of Battle: Unarmed Swordsage, Crusader, Martial Study, all maneuvers and stances
Book of Exalted Deeds: Apostle of Peace, Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, all Exalted feats
Cityscape: Favored, Primary Contact, guild and organization rules
Complete Champion: Healing Devotion
Player’s Handbook II: Brutal Strike
Draconomicon: Frightful Presence
Complete Adventurer: Goad
Player’s Guide to Faerun: Gift of Discernment, Gift of Faith




All exercise of authority perverts, and submission to authority humiliates.

-Mikhail Bakunin

The sky seemed to dim as the shower of arrows arced upwards and then down, pointed toward the small figure of Mikhail the Liberator. He stood his ground, and those that met their mark shattered against his skin. Mikhail moved forward. The archers readied another volley, but soon he was sheltered by the great stone walls of the Elmina Fortress. Mikhail could hear the ringing of boots on stone as guards poured down the stairs, ready to defend their new prison from the rage of the Doomguard.

Mikhail smiled. He placed a hand on one of the cornerstones of the fortress, considered it briefly. Then he struck, and struck hard. The stone, far larger than Mikhail, shattered like glass before his fist.

The building shivered and one great corner lurched, but stood. A cloud of dust rose up. “Free yourselves,” Mikhail shouted to the stumbling guards as they fled the quaking building. “Come out and strike me if you must, but leave this unholy prison. I have no desire to see your blood on my hands this day. This building will fall, but you will live on as free men. If you wish to fight, then come out and fight! I am here, and I am alone. If you do not wish to fight, then stand beside me and watch the walls come tumbling down. But come out! This prison is no place for you.”

He struck again, and the whole building shuddered. Mikhail’s voice was clear and strong. “Come out! Before the sun sets this building will have turned to dust. Leave this dark place and join me in the sunshine. Join me, and together we will dance to the music of these falling walls!”

[Heliomance]

Entry number 9



Toms' Character


This whole entry is of course more joke than serious but after coming up with the idea and seeing how everything fits nicely together I decided to submit. Hope you have a little chuckle and please spare everybody from actually running this build at any table - not even as an NPC.

Race:Goliath
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class Levels:
+1 LA/Ranger 1/Fighter 2/Paladin of Freedom of Kord 2/Warblade 1/Ranger 1/Divine Crusader of Kord 1/Doomlord 10/ Crusader 1
Languages: Common, Gol-Kaa, Giant, Dwarven

Attributes




Base
Racial
Final


Strength
15
+4 (+4 by class levels)
19 (23)


Dexterity
12
-2
10


Constitution
12
+2
14


Intelligence
14

14


Wisdom
8

8


Charisma
16

16










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


1st
+ 1 LA
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
Trap Expert Wild Shape Ranger
+1
+2
+2
+0
Climb 4, Concentration 4, Disable Device 4, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Search 4, Survival 4, Swim 4
Weapon Focus (Greatsword)
Wild Empathy, Fast Movement (+10 ft.), Trapfinding, Favored Enemy (Undead)


3rd
Fighter
+2
+4
+2
+0
Climb 4, Concentration 4, Disable Device 5, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Search 5, Survival 4, Swim 4
Power Attack (B)
-


4th
Fighter
+3
+5
+2
+0
Climb 4, Concentration 4, Disable Device 6, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Search 6, Survival 4, Swim 4
Sacred Vow, Improved Sunder (B)
-


5th
Paladin of Freedom of Kord
+4
+7
+2
+0
Climb 4, Concentration 4, Disable Device 7, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Search 7, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Aura of good, detect evil, smite evil 1/day


6th
Paladin of Freedom of Kord
+5
+8
+2
+0
Climb 4, Concentration 4, Disable Device 7, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 8, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Divine grace, lay on hands


7th
Warblade
+6
+10
+2
+0
Climb 4, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 7, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 9, Survival 4, Swim 4
Vow of Nonviolence
Battle clarity (Reflex saves), weapon aptitude


8th
Trap Expert Wild Shape Ranger
+7
+11
+3
+0
Climb 4, Concentration 8, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 10, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 10, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
-


9th
Divine Crusader of Kord
+7
+13
+3
+2
Climb 4, Concentration 10, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 10, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 11, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Aura


10th
Doomlord
+8
+15
+3
+2
Climb 4, Concentration 11, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 12, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 12, Survival 4, Swim 4
Heretic of the Faith (Charm Domain)
Entropic Blow 1/day, healing resistance


11th
Doomlord
+9
+16
+3
+2
Climb 4, Concentration 13, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 13, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 13, Survival 4, Swim 4
Endurance (B)
destructive expertise


12th
Doomlord
+10
+16
+4
+3
Climb 4, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 14, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 14, Spellcraft 1, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Negative adaptation


13th
Doomlord
+11
+17
+4
+3
Climb 4, Concentration 15, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 15, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 15, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Swim 4
Vow of Peace
Soul (Cha +1)


14th
Doomlord
+12
+17
+4
+3
Climb 4, Concentration 16, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 16, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 16, Spellcraft 3, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Entropic blow 2/day


15th
Doomlord
+13
+18
+5
+4
Climb 4, Concentration 17, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 17, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 17, Spellcraft 4, Survival 4, Swim 4
Diehard (B)
-


16th
Doomlord
+14
+18
+5
+4
Climb 4, Concentration 18, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 18, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 18, Spellcraft 5, Survival 4, Swim 4
Subduing Strike
Unmaking magic


17th
Doomlord
+15
+18
+5
+4
Climb 4, Concentration 19, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 19, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 19, Spellcraft 6, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Soul (Cha +1)


18th
Doomlord
+16
+18
+6
+5
Climb 4, Concentration 20, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 20, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 20, Spellcraft 7, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Disintegrate


19th
Doomlord
+17
+19
+6
+5
Climb 4, Concentration 21, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 21, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 21, Spellcraft 8, Survival 4, Swim 4
Practiced Spellcaster, Improved Critical: Greatsword (B)
entropic blow (3/day)


20th
Crusader
+18
+21
+6
+5
Climb 4, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 5, Disable Device 22, Handle Animal 4, Jump 4, Knowledge(Religion) 2, Search 22, Spellcraft 8, Survival 4, Swim 4
-
Furious counterstrike, steely resolve 5





Maneuver:
Warblade:
7th level (IL 3):
Stance: Punishing Stance
Maneuvers known: Moment of Perfect Mind, Action before Thought, Mountain Hammer

Crusader:
20th level (IL 10):
Stance: Thicket Blades
Maneuvers known: Crusader's Strike, Tide of Chaos, Defensive Rebuke, Douse the flame, White Raven Tactics


Spells:
Spells known: Level 9: Strength Domain at level 10 and afterwards Charm Domain; Table doesn't include Bonus spells.
Spells per day:



1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th


1








2








3








4








5








6








7








8








9
0







10
0







11
1
0






12
1
0






13
2
1
0





14
2
1
0





15
2
2
1
0




16
2
2
1
0




17
3
2
2
1
0



18
3
2
2
1
0



19
3
3
2
2
1
0


20
3
3
2
2
1
0





Tom is that one mate. We all know Tom and we all like Tom because he is a great guy when not playing DnD. At the table though Tom is challenging to put it mildly. This is Tom's character for an upcoming campaign focused around an Undead Slaver, who is the main villain. His concept is a Goliath Pacifist, who thinks that the only feasible way of living is to free and protect all living things and destroy all non living things (including traps). The character is yet to be named either Ron Swanson or Lorenzo van Matterhorn. Of course the rest of the group neither knew about the pacifist thing nor the incoming shattering of loot.
Early levels 1-6:
Tom's early career focuses around killing Undead and Constructs, sundering the weapons of living enemies when possible and grapple them afterwards, using his Greatsword to deal non lethal damage (simply accepting the penalty of -4) and searching and disabling traps. Of course Tom wants an Adamantine Greatsword as soon as possible. Until ECL 6 Reflex and Will saves are very low but Divine Grace lifts them a little. Annoyance level to the rest of the table: decent. Ron or Lorenzo or whatever he is called does his job of finding traps and be the primary melee. The sundering of weapons the rest of the party wanted is acceptable at this point.
Mid levels 7-9:
Tom's playgroup has hope. Vow of Non Violence was expected and the group learns to deal with it quickly. Moment of Perfect Mind and Action before Thought help Tom's character a lot and Divine Crusader is a solid choice for a casting class. Strength Domain offers some nice buffs in the long run although so far Tom's character only has level 1 spells. The group is pretty happy. Annoyance level to the rest of the table: still decent.
High levels 10-20:
Just when everything seemed fine Tom strikes and strikes hard: the first level of Doomlord gives healing resistance and Tom has no intent whatsoever to go for a workaround of that. Out of combat healing just got twice as expensive. Strike two: Heretic of the faith: Tom decides everybody needs to be his friend and switches to the Charm Domain. Charming actually works pretty well for Tom's character thanks to Vow of Nonviolance and the domain power of the charm domain. Entropic Blow adds further to the slay Undead and Constructs theme and helps shattering more weapons. Tom progresses further into Doomlord and adds Vow of Peace to finalize the weapon shattering Pacifist concept. Calm emotions can really be annoying. Subduing Strike and Practiced Spellcaster are almost a normal choice considering Tom's usual feat choices. Unmaking magic and Disintegrate help getting rid of magical traps or prison walls (or really any wall). The last level of Crusader is just icing on the cake.


Warblade, Crusader, all maneuvers: Tome of Battle
Trap Expert Ranger: Dungeonscape
Paladin of Freedom, Wild Shape Ranger: Unearthed Arcana
Divine Crusader, Practiced Spellcaster: Complete Divine
Heretic of the faith: Power of faerun
Saced Vow, Vow of Nonviolence, Vow of Peace, Subduing Strike: Book of Exalted Deeds
Charm Domain: Spell Compendium

[Heliomance]

And that's all! Go on, get judging!

[Falontani]

That is certainly a lot to take in, my idea that I couldn't get to float was a disable device expert that used several precarious wording situations to disable magical items with disable device, and then sunder them.

[daremetoidareyo]

"Song of Dissolution: A singular sound can sometimes be heard here and there, if briefly, among the many planes. When a mirror shatters, the note might be discerned. When a wall collapses, the ringing of the tone is somewhat stron- ger. When a city burns, the notes form a chord. And when a continent sinks beneath the waves, the song of dissolution plays out loud and strong—for those with the ears trained to hear. This mythical melody is something all Doomguard are eager to hear. Some theorize that should the tones ever be correctly recorded and formulated, a faction member with that song ringing in her body would have unparalleled power—his every utterance a curse, his every sword-stroke a killing blow, and his very presence, anathema."

I was going to use this quote from the Doom guard entry in the plainer handbook, on a rilkan sorcer with precocious Apprentice to get crystalline memories. Then I was going to take a bunch of listen based feats and skill tricks, on top of truenamer levels, and two levels of savant to pick up the memory eater feet from Lords of Madness as a prerequisite ignoring bonus feat.

Then all I had to do was Bear witness to tons of Destruction or eat things that witnessed said destruction. Then I could create a song made out of Destruction noises and make a mega mix in my crystalline memory crystals. This leads me to believe that every utterance would become a curse a la the song of dissolution, my every Sword stroke would become a killing blow, and if I picked up some yuanti template, I would be considered an anathema.

Between the Rilkins racial memory and the ability to eat memories, it seems like it could have worked

[Piggy Knowles]

Looking forward to reading everything. A brief scan shows some interesting entries.

I tried really hard to get a Hellbreaker build to work. I had the idea of a build that offensively used plane shift to send foes to a negative energy-dominant plane, and then the Hellbreaker's stowaway ability to hitch a ride and join them. Doomlord's negative energy adaptation would keep my Hellbreaker safe while the enemy was slowly drained into nothingness and wight-ified by the planar surroundings.

Unfortunately I found it near impossible to meet Hellbreaker's qualifications, get a good number of uses of plane shift at a decent DC *and* get into Doomlord in a timely manner. The very best I could do was Duskblade 3/Spellthief 1/Rogue 1/Ur-Priest 1/Hellbreaker 4/Doomlord 10, which required a flaw and Otyugh Hole to get all of the qualifying feats together, and even then only ended up with two uses of plane shift a day.

On the build I ended up going with, I actually had a much sillier idea in mind originally, but some aspects just wouldn't pan out. I won't go into details until after the reveal, since doing so would likely give away my current build, but it definitely involved bears.

[PunBlake]

I'm glad to see (1) a lot of my discarded (not enough time to submit multiple builds) ideas used in builds here and (2) also no Vizinnis.
I'm kinda sad no one did Hexblade 5 / Abjurant Champion 5 / Doomlord 10; that was one of my top three build ideas.

[PunBlake]

Here's a quick base class usage table. The only thing heavily used is fighter; no surprise there, given the fighter feats required to enter the SI.



Entry
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Crusader
Druid
Fighter
Marshal
Monk
Paladin
Racial Paragon
Ranger
Sorceror
Swordsage
Warblade


1st
-
X
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
X


2nd
-
-
-
-
X
X
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
-
-
-
X
-
X
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
X
-
X
X
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
X
-
-
-
-
-


6th
-
-
-
-
-
X
X
-
-
-
-
X
-
-


7th
X
-
-
-
-
X
X
X
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
-
-
-
X
-
X
-
-
-
X
-
-
X
-


9th
-
-
-
-
-
X
-
-
X
-
X
-
-
X


TOTAL
2
1
1
3
1
6
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
2

[Thurbane]

Once again I had to fight my first urge with any half-caster PrC to go for an Ur Priest build.

Some nice entries in there - well done to all entrants.



Entry
Chef
Description
First Judge Score
Total Score


Illazil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310107&postcount=65)
???
CN Killoren Bard 7/Warblade 3/Doomblade 10
-
-


Darin Blightblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310111&postcount=66)
???
NE Illumian Druid 3/Fighter 2/Blighter 6/Doomlord 9
-
-


Sir Dorven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310114&postcount=67)
???
CG Human Crusader 1/Fighter 2/Crusader +2/Knight of the Weave 3/Doomlord 10/Abjurant Champion 2
-
-


Archimede (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310117&postcount=68)
???
CN Human Barbarian 1/Cleric 4/Crusader 1/Deadgrim 5/Doomlord 9
-
-


Roderick Rabelais (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310119&postcount=69)
???
LE Human Holy Warrior Paladin of Tyranny 6/Blackguard 1/Doomlord 10/Blackguard 4
-
-


Katu d'Xen'Drik (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310122&postcount=70)
???
CN Primordial Half-Giant Marshal 1/ Dungeon Crasher Fighter 2/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer 4/Spellsword 2/Doomlord 10
-
-


Caleb Praedo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310124&postcount=71)
???
(?) Human (?) Barbarian 1/Monk 2/Fighter 6/Marshal 1/Doomlord 10

-
-


Mikhail the Liberator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310129&postcount=72)
???
CG Human Unarmed Swordsage 2/Fighter 2/Crusader 1/Human Paragon 3/Apostle of Peace 2/Doomlord 10
-
-


Tom's Character (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310133&postcount=73)
???
CG Goliath Ranger 1/Fighter 2/Paladin of Freedom of Kord 2/Warblade 1/Ranger 1/Divine Crusader of Kord 1/Doomlord 10/ Crusader 1
-
-

[KrimsonNekros]

This is what I had come up with prior to work sucking me in.


Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Barbarian +1 +2 +0 +0 - Power Attack Fast movement, illiteracy, rage 1/day
2nd Barbarian +2 +3 +0 +0 - - Uncanny dodge
3rd Battle Sorcerer +2 +3 +0 +2 - Combat Casting Summon Familiar, Arcane Spell Casting
4th Battle Sorcerer +3 +3 +0 +3 - - -
5th Battle Sorcerer +4 +4 +1 +3 - - -
6th Battle Sorcerer +5 +4 +1 +4 - Weapon Focus (Greatsword) -
7th Rage Mage +5 +6 +1 +4 - - Spell rage 1/day
8th Rage Mage +6/+1 +7 +1 +4 - - Overcome spell failure, +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
9th Rage Mage +7/+2 +7 +2 +5 - Improved Sunder Rage +1 use/day
10th Doomlord +8/+3 +9 +2 +5 - - Entropic blow 1/day, healing resistance
11th Doomlord +9/+4 +10 +2 +5 - Endurance Destructive expertise, +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
12th Doomlord +10/+5 +10 +3 +6 - Arcane Strike Negative adaptation
13th Doomlord +11/+6/+1 +11 +3 +6 - - +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
14th Doomlord +12/+7/+2 +11 +3 +6 - - Entropic blow 2/day
15th Doomlord +13/+8/+3 +12 +4 +7 - Diehard, Extra Rage +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
16th Doomlord +14/+9/+4 +12 +4 +7 - - Unmaking magic
17th Doomlord +15/+10/+5 +13 +4 +7 Balance 5
Concentration 15
Intimidate 12
Jump 5
Listen 11
Tumble 9 - +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
18th Doomlord +16/+11/+6/+1 +13 +5 +8 Balance 5
Concentration 17
Intimidate 12
Jump 5
Listen 11
Tumble 9.5 Intimidating Rage Disintegrate
19th Doomlord +17/+12/+7/+2 +14 +5 +8 Balance 5
Concentration 19
Intimidate 12
Jump 5
Listen 11
Tumble 10 Cleave Entropic blow 3/day, +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
20th Racial LA - - - - - - -

[Zaq]

I had zero ideas related to actually optimizing the class. My entry was just going to be an elaborate series of escalating puns.

You see, he was going to start as a nobody whose job was mostly sweeping and cleaning up, and he was going to be known as the Broomlord.

He was going to learn Druid magic and become known as the Bloomlord.

I had an episode planned out where he became the leader of a tribe of myconids and became the Shroomlord (or, if you wanna get some Mario up in here, the Goomlord, because myconids are goombas and you will never convince me otherwise).

He would start as illiterate (start as Barbarian) and eventually learn about grammar with a level of Truenamer, becoming the Whomlord.

He would have taken up Craft: Weaving and become the Loomlord.

After gaining a marked speed increase, he would take up the mantle of the Zoomlord.

He was going to start digging up bodies and become the Exhumelord. Perhaps the very bodies that he buried as the Entomblord.

After he took up anonymous writing, he became known as the Nom-de-plumelord.

Upon getting married, of course, he was the Groomlord.

When the SI gave him resistance to negative energy, he would spend some time sulking on the NEP and become the Gloomlord.

(He might, in preparation, spend some time prepping for that last one as the Tomblord.)

At the levels where the SI gives a CHA increase? Say hello to the Va-va-voomlord!

After learning Fireball or a few other blast spells, he would be known as the Kaboomlord. (Not to be confused with his stint as the Boomlord, when he mostly focused on sonic damage.)

He would perhaps be a raptoran, and upon gaining his true flight, he would be known as the Plumelord.

He would learn about alchemy and make gaseous grenades, as is appropriate for the Fumelord. (Though he may create more pleasant things under the title of the Perfumelord.)

He would return to something he started earlier, as he is, after all, the Resumelord.

A few ranks in Profession: Peanut Farmer are necessary for anyone who wishes to become the Legumelord.

If we could swing polymorphing into a barghest, we could get away with being the Consumelord. (Or perhaps the Subsumelord?)

Some clever tactics with channeling water would net him the title of the Flumelord.

The pièce de résistance, of course, is found here:
(Link if imgur doesn't want to be imgur: https://i.imgur.com/Rjc5E5G.gif Please, please click on this if you can't see the image. It's important.)
https://i.imgur.com/Rjc5E5G.gif
Pictured: a man running out of uses of Entropic Blow.

. . . Why yes, this is the Roomlord.

I gave up on "Womblord" because I knew that there was absolutely no joke that could be made there that wouldn't be offensive in some way, shape, or form.

Oh, and the character's name was going to be Hookline. Geddit? Geddit? Hookline the Sinker? I kill me!

[jdizzlean]

I had zero ideas related to actually optimizing the class. My entry was just going to be an elaborate series of escalating puns.
*SNIP*


thats hillarious.

[Wolfem]

Dishes have been added to the ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0) for this cook.

[Thurbane]

This is what I had come up with prior to work sucking me in.


Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Barbarian +1 +2 +0 +0 - Power Attack Fast movement, illiteracy, rage 1/day
2nd Barbarian +2 +3 +0 +0 - - Uncanny dodge
3rd Battle Sorcerer +2 +3 +0 +2 - Combat Casting Summon Familiar, Arcane Spell Casting
4th Battle Sorcerer +3 +3 +0 +3 - - -
5th Battle Sorcerer +4 +4 +1 +3 - - -
6th Battle Sorcerer +5 +4 +1 +4 - Weapon Focus (Greatsword) -
7th Rage Mage +5 +6 +1 +4 - - Spell rage 1/day
8th Rage Mage +6/+1 +7 +1 +4 - - Overcome spell failure, +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
9th Rage Mage +7/+2 +7 +2 +5 - Improved Sunder Rage +1 use/day
10th Doomlord +8/+3 +9 +2 +5 - - Entropic blow 1/day, healing resistance
11th Doomlord +9/+4 +10 +2 +5 - Endurance Destructive expertise, +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
12th Doomlord +10/+5 +10 +3 +6 - Arcane Strike Negative adaptation
13th Doomlord +11/+6/+1 +11 +3 +6 - - +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
14th Doomlord +12/+7/+2 +11 +3 +6 - - Entropic blow 2/day
15th Doomlord +13/+8/+3 +12 +4 +7 - Diehard, Extra Rage +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
16th Doomlord +14/+9/+4 +12 +4 +7 - - Unmaking magic
17th Doomlord +15/+10/+5 +13 +4 +7 Balance 5
Concentration 15
Intimidate 12
Jump 5
Listen 11
Tumble 9 - +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
18th Doomlord +16/+11/+6/+1 +13 +5 +8 Balance 5
Concentration 17
Intimidate 12
Jump 5
Listen 11
Tumble 9.5 Intimidating Rage Disintegrate
19th Doomlord +17/+12/+7/+2 +14 +5 +8 Balance 5
Concentration 19
Intimidate 12
Jump 5
Listen 11
Tumble 10 Cleave Entropic blow 3/day, +1 level of Sorcerer spellcasting
20th Racial LA - - - - - - -



That looks like a solid build.

I know the feeling when you get the basics all done, but the real world eats up the time you need to format and finish off your entry. :smallfrown:

...hope you get one in sometime soon.

[Efrate]

the idea I wanted to run with was something like

silverbrow human warlock 1/cc1 strength devotion,war, knowledge devotion, pouncebarb 1, totemist x, doomlord x, warblade 1 somewhere where I can get 3rd level maneuvers

I wanted psionics as well, trying to find all the things that break stuff. bind vestige aym for double dmg to objects, shape soulmeld astral vambraces, and using pounce and a bunch of soulmelds to go with sundering cleave and do my best to wreck everything someone has in a round then dismantle them. spell component pouch only have held item a.c. so they easy to break. get shatter invocation for ranged stuff.

there was a consumptive field esque near gish I considered using planar bubble as well, but work ot got the best of me.

[Thurbane]

Just a general question for future rounds: the rules clearly state no Dragon magazine materials (except Compendium and the OA update).

Say there is a cleric domain in a rule-book that is an accepted source (SC or similar), but the only place a particular deity is listed as having access to that domain is in Dragon magazine....would that be kosher for IC or not? I'm assuming no, but thought it was worth checking.

[daremetoidareyo]

Just a general question for future rounds: the rules clearly state no Dragon magazine materials (except Compendium and the OA update).

Say there is a cleric domain in a rule-book that is an accepted source (SC or similar), but the only place a particular deity is listed as having access to that domain is in Dragon magazine....would that be kosher for IC or not? I'm assuming no, but thought it was worth checking.

That one seems like it goes to the judges...

[Heliomance]

That one seems like it goes to the judges...

I would think so, yes. I wouldn't have a problem with it, what with concept-worship being a thing, but individual judges might.

[Sian]

Except for in Forgotten Realms (and even then, theres a way or two) concept cleric’s are perfectly valid build options, as long as you don’t use a deity specific prc

[Piggy Knowles]

Been a while since I judged, but...

As a judge, I definitely would not take the fact that a deity gets a certain domain in DragMag into consideration. If you had a reason to specifically be a cleric of a certain deity, or were using something like Divine Crusader (where you specifically have a chosen deity and get granted one of their offered domains), I wouldn't consider that domain a valid choice just because it appears in an issue of Dragon, because that's not a valid source. I would treat it exactly the same as if you, say, argued that Kord *should* grant the Glory domain because it's thematically appropriate. Maybe he should, and maybe you can make a good case for it, but the fact remains that he doesn't and the fact that he was given Glory in an obscure issue of a quasi-official magazine won't influence me in one way or another.

That said, if you were instead, say, a concept cleric with the Strength and Glory domains who specifically honored Kord in your worship, I'd have no issue with that. There's nothing stopping concept clerics from paying particular respect to certain deities, especially if those deities align strongly with their beliefs. A concept cleric isn't an atheist, just someone who worships certain ideals above all else. I see no reason why someone who worshipped the ideals of glory in competition couldn't specifically also pay respects to Kord, the deity who perhaps most embodies such an ideal.

[Darrin]

I couldn't get a build off the ground for this one. My best idea was to build something around Unmaking Magic and Divine Defiance (the counterspell version), essentially leveraging the Cha bonus on unlimited dispels. Couldn't do it with Warlock (ran into an extremely solid brick wall of RAW), so I tried Witchborn Binder, and the best I could do was Cleric 1/Totemist 6/Witchborn Binder 6/Doomlord 7. 20th level is an awful long time to wait to get the signature trick working.

I read through the Doomlord description several times, but for some reason it never occurred to me... maybe try to do something with sundering? Fortunately, looks like the rest of you were able to come up with something interesting.

[Sian]

tried tinkering with some sort of Artificer that sundered enemy magical items (making the combat so much the easier), and rebuilding them with cheaper crafting and turning them into XP and Money ... sure it would be somewhat less than you'd expect from never sundering them in the first place, but it would make the combats so much the easier, and give you good XP to build customized items for ...

Never got much further than that, partially since there is a glaring lack of support for Sunder as a tactic, partially since i had to meter my time to build for VC which tickled my fancy

[jdizzlean]

the easiest way to build around sunder is simply warlock 1 for shatter, but i just couldn't fit even that into my build and still make it do all i wanted it to do. it also seemed so very obviously the route to go for that

[RaiKirah]

the easiest way to build around sunder is simply warlock 1 for shatter, but i just couldn't fit even that into my build and still make it do all i wanted it to do. it also seemed so very obviously the route to go for that

My second build was a warlock base that used Hideous Blow to deliver Sunder attempts and Stunning Fist at the same time. I was trying to fit Deep Impact in as well to get touch attacks, but it never really came together.

[Thurbane]

May have missed it in comments, but has anyone said they might be judging?

[KrimsonNekros]

Is anyone working on judging?

[Heliomance]

As a heads up, guys, I'm quitting my current job as of next Thursday, and moving across the country. If there's a judgement up by then, I'll post the new thread. Expect considerable disruption once I finish, though - I'm not going to commit to doing any updates until I've settled in to my new place and know what my routine looks like at that point.

[Zaq]

Sounds like quite the commitment. Best of luck, and I hope it goes as smoothly as possible!

[PunBlake]

Good luck, Heliomance!

[Heliomance]

There's now under a week until I leave my job and my schedule goes haywire for at least a month. So far as I'm aware, we have no judges yet. Would people rather I did the reveal and posted the new thread even if we don't have scores by that point? Otherwise it seems not unlikely that Iron Chef might die here, which would be sad.

[Thurbane]

I'd rather not have a reveal before judging. :smalleek::smallfrown:

[Piggy Knowles]

I can temporarily chair for a month or two while you get settled into your new job/digs if you’d like.

[Thurbane]

Is anyone able to judge?

It would be a real shame for all the hard work put in by the chair and competitors if we can't get any judging...

[Zaq]

I’m drowning in schoolwork right now. If the Doomlord round is still open when I graduate in two years, I’ll judge it then.

I think I’m joking?

[RaiKirah]

Right. Well, my submission was, if i'm being charitable, garbage, so I'm willing to withdraw and judge. I'll see if I can't get that done this week. I will note that I have only ever judged E6 - and that but once - which when coupled with my personal dearth of experience with high level play may make my understanding of a full ECL20 build fall somewhat short, for which I will preemptively apologize. Luckily everyone will be judged to the same flawed standard, so it should all come out in the wash.

[jdizzlean]

I've already committed to judging the next e6 round, and the JYW round 2 from now, I'll step forward to judge 3 IC's from now.


I think if we had 1 person volunteer for the following round (sight unseen), in the current round, moving forward, things would go a lot smoother for everyone. seems like judging is taking an average of 1-2 months from reveal for every comp right now :(

[Lapak]

What time frame are we looking at for a judgment? I have not judged this comp before but I'm willing to give it a shot rather than leave people unjudged. It would definitely be the weekend before I'd be able to go through them properly, though. If that's all right I will give it a go.

[RaiKirah]

Hello Folks!

I figure that it might behoove us all if I post some thoughts on my intended judging criteria. As I am still new to judging my approach to judging is going to be more qualitative rather than quantitative, and certainly not granular on the level of some I’ve seen (.25 points will be vanishingly rare, and most likely only show up in disputes). This might change in future as I get a better sense of what specifically I’m looking for.

A general note: because this contest is so delayed I’m planning to be a little cavalier about my judging (aiming for on the order of an hour or two per build max), which will have at least the following effect. If I cannot figure something out in your build after a reasonable amount of time (when I start wanting to throw things it’s no longer reasonable) I’m going to just choose whether to allow/disallow it. Interesting interpretations will likely be allowed, RAWyery will likely be disallowed, and skill point mis-allocation will be penalized. I can promise to take a deeper look at things with dispute prompting, though if you are doing so please clarify what you’re doing and where your sources are, as your writeup will have not been sufficient to the task.

With the various disclaimers out of the way, let’s take a look at the categories.

Originality:
This category is difficult to define and will by necessity be largely subjective. Rules of thumb: Lower scores will happen based on over-used optimization staples without a twist (Power Attack/Improved Bull Rush/Leap Attack/Shocktrooper as your only trick would fall under this category, but if it happens to be an aspect of your build I’m not going to penalize it), blatant Originality grabs without a thematic or mechanical reason, and obvious build plagiarism. On the other end, scores go up as my interest/surprise/curiosity go up. A note on backstory: I will never penalize for backstory, unless it breaks forum rules or is clear plagiarism (of the verbatim type). Homages and parodies are certainly welcome. A particularly excellent backstory might net a half point, but it almost certainly won’t do more than that. That said, backstory can turn an originality grab type choice into a positive score modifier, as I can then follow the reasoning.


Power:
To me, Power has two primary axis upon which to judge; Power with respect to the class’ baseline competence, and Power with respect to the overall game mechanics. The first is fairly straightforward: the Doomlord is a full BAB, 5/10 casting progression class that is pretty clearly intended as a Paladin or Ranger PrC. As such it is a primary melee combatant with a minor in spellcasting (largely buffing), which means all builds will be judged on their ability do combat. If you make your build stronger than a Paladin/Ranger 20 you’ll get a bump. If you somehow manage to make your build weaker in combat than a Paladin/Ranger 20, you better believe you’ll get a scoring demerit. The second realm of power judging comes with respect to the holistic game system. When you break it down, DnD gameplay roughly falls into three categories: combat, social, and what I’ll call utility (skillmonkey, knowledge bank, etc.). The Doomlord seems to be designed to be good in combat, so any true competence in the other realms that come without expense to fighting will be rewarded. True competence that comes at the expense of combat capability will also be rewarded, though the lack of combat capability will be penalized as above. So, to summarize, if you can strike a pose and crack the world in two with your muscles, you’ll be getting a 5. Similarly, if you can rule the battlefield, ballroom, and have a solution to ‘that,’ whatever ‘that’ may be, you’ll also get a 5. On the other end of the spectrum if your character spends his time alone in a sickbed unable to do anything at all you’ll get a 1. A final note: Power will be judged as if all prerequisites have been met, and where mechanics are questionable tie goes to the Chef. These issues will be covered in Elegance.


Elegance:
As with Power, Elegance has two primary aspects on which I will judge; a mechanical one, and – for lack of a better term – a metaphysical one. Mechanical is pretty straightforward: if prereqs are missed and/or there are errors in the build you’ll get dinged for that. If everything is copacetic you get a baseline score here (3). The second aspect is where things get subjective. You’ll get points for particularly interesting usages and mechanical interactions, whereas you’ll lose points for questionable/misinterpreted rules and clunky mechanics. This one may be fairly opaque in my awarding of points, but the heart wants what the heart wants, and I’m willing to discuss with you.


Use of SI:
This category is also fairly nebulous. I am not going to make any hard rules about how many levels of the SI you should use; that’s dependent on your build, and I will judge based on how integral the SI is to what you’re doing. That said, you should probably have a really good reason to use only one or two levels of Doomlord. Taking levels in the class is not going to be enough by itself of course, as if you don’t use the class features you’re not going to get full marks. You do not have to showcase everything, but you should be showcasing some of it. A score of 5 will incorporate enough Doomlord to be unquestionably one in play, utilize most if not all of the class features in important and interesting ways, and have that certain je ne c'est. I suspect 5s will be rare, but 4s will not be.


A Note On Disputes:
One of the reasons I’ve avoided judging in the past is that the dispute process can get very personal and vitriolic (I myself have been guilty of this) and that is rather off-putting. I would like to take a moment to ask you all to be gracious and kind in your communications to all the judges and in return we (or at least I) will attempt to do the same. In addition, as you may have noticed from my descriptions above, quite a lot of my judging is going to be gut based. If you have a dispute that is based on a difference of opinion we have, please try to refrain, unless you believe that it has its roots in a genuine misunderstanding on my part. In which case, point it out and its applicability, and I’ll reevaluate. If you also tell me I’m wrong and an idiot, I’m probably going to ignore you. For purely mechanical disputes please speak up. I don’t want to shortchange your build; I think these competitions are awesome and I love seeing builds succeed. My goal is to appreciate what you’ve built, not tear into its failings.


Please let me know if you have any issues/questions/concerns with anything I’ve put here.

~RaiKirah

[RaiKirah]

3/8 done. Will continue on the 'morrow.

[KrimsonNekros]

Thanks for Judging RaiKirah.

[The Viscount]

Thanks so much RaiKirah! That's very generous of you.

[Thurbane]

Thanks for Judging RaiKirah.


Thanks so much RaiKirah! That's very generous of you.

Agreed - many thanks!

[RaiKirah]

You're very welcome!

5/8 done, more tomorrow!

[RaiKirah]

7/8 judgements completed. I am hoping to get the last one done tomorrow, but I am traveling after work, which might make it difficult. I should be able to get the judgements done and posted no later than Sunday, though I'm hoping for Friday night.

[RaiKirah]

Judgements incoming! I can't recall the exact character limit for posts (25K or 50K I think) but in the interests of not hitting said limits there's going to be two posts to follow. Moderators - please don't smite me for quintuple posting.


First, a brief series of comments about my judging and the dispute process.

I judged these builds very quickly and without a lot of revision. Had I been intending to judge from the get-go I would have given myself at least another week to do so. There are several consequences of this. The first is that I’ve realized that I don’t really know what a perfect score in elegance would look like and that I need to retool my definitions there. This has led in part to the overall low scores received. Do keep in mind that all the builds received the same harsh scoring for this category when you ask for points. Secondly, I did not have the time to address every aspect of every build; I tried to address those I felt were most integral, and those that the authors were most adamant about. Thirdly I've come to the realization that I really want to use quarter point awards in my judging, but I got too far into it without doing so and felt it better to continue as I had begun. Therefore allow a bit of a confidence interval around each of the scores when comparing between builds.

I have attempted to be kind in my judging, and do truly like all these builds. Please keep in mind that any criticisms are not intended to be attacks. Let's keep things cordial during the dispute process. When you are making disputes, please refrain from chastising me for missing some part of your build. Unless you feel that I have missed a fundamental part of the functionality of your build and your comments may change the very nature of a scoring decision, probably just let it lie. I’m happy to discuss with you, but honestly I think that will be more fun when scoring’s not on the line. In summary, please be mindful of the fact that I did these judgements on short notice, and within 4 days.

I had a lot of fun looking more in depth at all the builds. Really well done folks!

~RaiKirah

[RaiKirah]

Stub: CN Killoren Bard 7/Warblade 3/Doomlord 10

A Killoren Bard Doomlord. I didn’t see that coming, so kudos there, but there are reasons that I didn’t see it coming that I’m not convinced you’ve adequately addressed. I suppose the nature spirit somewhat pairs with the entropy themed class, though I am surprised that you went straight bard rather than Savage Bard, or even Divine Savage Bard (though on reflection I’m not sure you can do both at the same time), the first because of fluff reasons largely, and the latter because you build a melee bard and the ability to wear and cast in heavier armor is a bonus. I expected to see Combat Brute in every build, but will not penalize for it as if you’re forced to Sunder you would be nuts not to take it. I enjoyed the writing of your background, though I wish it had told me more about Illazil as a character rather than being a record of his Doomlord tasks. All told I was somewhat surprised by your choices (in a good way), you avoided anything that would cause me to slap you on the wrist, but you also didn’t wow me and make me stop to ponder.
Let’s break down Illazil from a power perspective. You’re set up as a melee combatant primary with some spellcasting, and your damage capability is not bad for that. As you mentioned in your writeup your single target damage has a high damage potential: Killoren Smite/Entropic Blow + PA + Ruby Nightmare Blade with an Improved Critical Falchion is nothing to sneeze at, though it is fairly use limited (1/encounter with Killoren Smite, 3/day Entropic Blow, probably 1/encounter Ruby Nightmare Blade). Your rider effects are good; slow is very useful and daze is nuts. Sadly, Killoren Destroyer only applies to the Killoren Aspect of the Destroyer Smite, not to other Smite effects, and so will be at most in effect 1 round per encounter. Your choice of Bard gives you access to some nice in and out of combat spellcasting, though the loss of caster levels is a little sad. Baffling however is the fact that you take none of the options that are generally used to justify a Bard base for a melee character; no Song of the White Raven to make use of the Warblade levels, no Snowflake Wardance to leverage your high charisma, no Song of the Heart or any Inspire Courage optimization at all. These are generally the reasons to use a Bard as a melee character and you don’t have them, which makes this build not quite as powerful as it could be. I suspect that you were attempting to make use of the Doomlord class features and bonus feats (Improved Critical into Staggering Critical, Endurance into Steadfast Determination, etc.) and that ate up most of your resources, but it hurt you here in the Power category.
As far as I can tell everything is rules legal save for your statement about the Killoren Destroyer feat’s Daze effect applying to Entropic Blow. As that would have been an Elegance synergy bonus you get no penalty for it. Your interleaving of the Warblade levels makes sense from the perspective of getting the maneuvers you want, but looks super awkward, and that hurts you a little.
You take all 10 levels of Doomlord, which is always nice to see for an SI. Most of the class features of the Doomlord are hard to emphasize, but you do a decent job of at least utilizing them. The abortive attempt to synergize the Killoren Aspect of the Destroyer with the Killoren Destroyer feat and Entropic Blow would have been nice, and I’ll give you props for trying. You actually use two of the Bonus feats as prereqs for useful feats which is nice as well. You leverage the charisma focus of the Doomlord abilities and Body or Soul with the rest of your build, and though you could have gone further I appreciate that you did at all. In summary, this build definitely fits the feel of the Doomlord, and utilizes the features enough that it is a central component of the build. Well done.

Stub: NE Illumian Druid 3/Fighter 2/Blighter 6/Doomlord 9

I really want to reward you for the Blighter choice because I love the thematic synergy between the two classes, but it’s precisely because I find it so compelling that I can’t; Blighter was the very first thought I had for a build when this competition was posted. Sadly, without a positive bump from the Blighter choice your Originality is going to suffer. Illumian with Improved Sigil (Krau) is an optimization staple for precisely the reason you took it: early entry. Fighter 2 is likewise a CharOp staple for boring prereqs. Tomb Tainted Soul is often used for folks with access to the Inflict Line or the Undead Subtype. That last is however a natural choice for this build in the same manner as Combat Brute and Natural Spell, so it doesn’t cause you any additional loss of Originality.
Welp, you hit the benchmarks for a full Gish (+16 BAB, 9th level spells) while using Doomlord. Well done. Your spells known list is a tad limited and thus you’re not as powerful as if you had, say, used Ur Priest instead of Blighter, but you are still a combat machine. Throw in the Undead Wild Shape (by the way, as a DM I would probably not let you get away with a skeletal Giant Octopus because they are invertebrates, but not a huge loss) and some undead minionmancy and you’re doing just fine. Your out of combat utility is a little limited unless you’re trying to break things, but since that’s the entire schtick of the Doomlord class I’ll let it slide.
I don’t entirely understand your skill selection and ordering (UMD 5, Know Nature 8, Spellcraft 10, survival 9, spot 10, etc.) but there’s nothing illegal there that I can see. In future please make your skill section of your build include the running total of all skills chosen so far – it makes it much easier to parse. All prereqs appear to be met.
Despite 9 levels of Doomlord this is a Blighter build. You pay lip service to the Doomlord class with a single non-required feat: Combat Brute. Everything else has no mechanical interaction with the Doomlord class aside from the spellcasting increases to get 9th level spells from Blighter. Undead Wild Shape means that for most encounters you will not be using a weapon, so you gain no benefit from Weapon Focus or Improved Critical (unless you apply it to a natural weapon, but you imply you have it for the greatsword). Entropic Blow can be used while in UWS, but you have a Charisma of 13 until ECL20, so it doesn’t do that much, nor do the other CHA based class features of the Doomlord. You bypass the Healing Resistance, which is a nice touch, though I suspect you would have taken Tomb Tainted Soul regardless since it goes with the Blighter so nicely. At the end of the day this doesn’t feel like a Doomlord build, and would probably have benefited from any other 9 levels that included 5 caster levels.

Stub: CG Human Crusader 1/Fighter 2/Crusader +2/Knight of the Weave 3/Doomlord 10/Abjurant Champion 2

Alrighty, I didn’t see Knight of the Weave coming, though considering it’s basically a Paladin replacement maybe I should have. There feels like a bit of a fluff mismatch between Knight of the Weave and Doomlord as the Knights are about preserving and defending the Weave, whereas the Doomlords are about burning it all down (I paraphrase). While the quote you wrote is very cool, there’s not enough background to really know what this guy’s about and to explain how these classes go together. Other than the KotW, you have some pretty standard choices: Human, Fighter 2, Crusader for fluff appropriate martial power grab, Abjurant Champion for Gish builds. In all you balance out to just under an average originality score.
If we are using the Paladin as a baseline you’ve certainly got that beat. +19 BAB and 6th level spells from a limited but good list makes you a very competent combatant, and your chosen Martial maneuvers scale reasonably well throughout the game. Arcane Strike gives you a sizeable power boost and a use for your extra spell slots, but I feel that Battle Caster may have been better as nearly anything else (Combat Brute springs to mind). With a functional effect of only increasing AC by at most 3, this feat slot could have been better utilized. Outside of combat you’re a decent party face with nearly maxed out Diplomacy and Intimidate, though without the trifecta and supporting social skills you’ll have to settle for being only decent at the role. Your maxed Use Magical Device does lend a significant amount of versatility and utility to your build. Together they help your power score.
I’ve got to say, something about the way your build manages to be a Paladin without being one really appeals to me, so I’m giving you a (small) Elegance boost for pulling that off. Other than that, you appear to meet all prerequisites, though the hanging Knowledge skill points hurt me in my soul. I suppose being able to make trained checks is valuable, but still. With respect to your skills presentation, please in the future indicate which skills are being advanced each level, and by how much.
You use all 10 levels of Doomlord, which is always a plus (well, in this case it is as level 10 is actually one of the better ones for Doomlord, lack of capstone notwithstanding). And while this build feels like a Paladin prestige class build, it doesn’t really feel all that Doomlord-y in that while it has all the Doomlord stuff it doesn’t really utilize any of the abilities. You find a way to mitigate Healing Resistance (well done), mention that Entropic Blow does damage, note that Dispel Magic is useful, and acknowledge that you might, maybe, have a use for Disintegrate. You do have some Charisma synergy built into your character (spellcasting, UMD, social skills) which is nice. I think you get an average UoSI since you make use of the class quite well, but don’t really showcase anything.

Stub: CN Human Barbarian 1/Cleric 4/Crusader 1/Deadgrim 5/Doomlord 9

You've got some positives and some negatives here. Positives: Was not expecting Deadgrim, but it fits really nicely with your background (good job creating a coherent storyline to explain your choices by the way, utilizing existing lore no less) and actually works thematically with Doomlord within the context of your fluff. Undead are kind of anti-entropy, so I like that take on the class’ purpose. Negatives: Old CharOp staples such as human (no penalty, it’s always a good choice), all the ACFs Pouncebarian (though you were the only one to do this on a combat class SI), a Cleric dip with the Divine Magician ACF (more on this later), and a Martial dip for 2nd level maneuvers. Nothing was particularly surprising from your feat or skill choices, nor is there anything groundbreaking in spell selection. You balance out on Originality.
You are the only person in this competition to have a native method for moving and full attacking (Pounce + Travel Devotion), which for a melee combat based class is a big deal. You don’t measure up to an Ubercharger for raw damage, but you do a respectable amount and have a number of combat options beyond hitting things real hard from your Crusader dip and Cleric casting. Access to 6th level Cleric spells adds a lot of versatility both in and out of combat, and your Divine Magician spell selection adds a lot of power by allowing you to cherry-pick what amounts to a Best Hits of the Wizard’s Spell List domain. You have pretty good defenses with the Deadgrim immunities and Cleric casting. You’ve made yourself a little MAD, and as a primary melee combatant a STR of 14 is a little low, though you do have some ways to mitigate that (Divine Power/Righteous Might/Rage). I am a little confused as to why you burned a feat on Travel Devotion rather than swap the domain for the feat seeing as Freedom of Movement is on the Cleric spell list and you can find alternate solutions to most if not all of the spells in the Domain list as needed. Extra Rage here would have made you significantly more consistent as a melee fighter. In a nutshell, you are a very capable melee combatant with a decent amount of defensive options and in and out of combat utility. Your skill selection does nothing special, but you have a very solid build
From my quick perusal everything you’ve done is rules legal, so kudos for that. I like the PrC combination quite a bit; it’s a non-obvious but elegant pairing both fluff wise and class feature wise. Unless I’m very much mistaken you are the only build to turn Healing Resistance into a benefit without taking Tomb-Tainted Soul, which is a neat trick. You do, however, make a bunch of choices that are great from a power perspective, but aren’t truly elegant: Whirling Frenzy Lion Spirit Skilled City Dweller Barbarian is about as good as you can get with a single level for a melee character and trades out everything there is to trade from the base class. However, you don’t make use of the skill changes from SCD, and with only one use of rage you probably would have been better off with Crafty Hunter (Arcanists) while we’re grabbing all the ACFs. Similarly, the Divine Magician ACF is generally avoided because it’s super cheesy. You make good use of it, but it’s kind of poor form. Most of the spells you chose could be gotten with another domain without being quite as silly (Antimagic Field from the Magic Domain, Shivering Touch from Cleric, The Spell domain gives Anyspell and Anyspell, Greater to pick up everything below 5th level, etc.). In addition, your intention to use the Sundering focus of the Doomlord to bust undead sadly doesn’t work. Looking at the type description the only time Undead are treated as objects is for effects with a Fortitude save attached; if an object would be affected, then the Undead immunity to Fortitude based effects doesn’t apply (weirdly this might allow Baleful Utterance to work on undead), and sadly Sunder does not include a fortitude save. Phylacteries are still fair game if you can find them. These reactions for good and ill are highly subjective on the elegance scale, so I’m going to let them cancel each other out.
To start, you use 9/10 levels of the SI (I agree Deadgrim 5 is a better level). Of the class features, you make good use of Healing Resistance, and actually have an intended campaign reason to be happy about Negative Adaptation. However, all of your stated power and techniques are based on your Cleric or Deadgrim levels/abilities (most specifically your Divine Magician ACF), and both of your ‘sweet spots’ are not based on Doomlord (one of them predates entry into the class, and the other is based on getting Craft Contingent Spell and Antimagic Field, neither of which has any relation to Doomlord). As such, your build ends up being more Cleric/Deadgrim than Doomlord. Indeed, you could have substituted any 5+/10 casting progression class and come out at least even, and probably better for your stated playstyle.

[RaiKirah]

Stub: : LE Human Holy Warrior Paladin of Tyranny 6/Blackguard 1/Doomlord 10/Blackguard +3

There are two topics you’re supposed to avoid in polite society: politics and religion. You’ve managed to mix them quite nicely in your character and backstory (I happen think that you’ve gotten the alignment just right, though Lawful may end up being disproven), which is a delightfully nice little piece of fiction. As someone who also attempted to manage all of the fluff entry requirements for Doomlord in their backstory I have to give you props for that at the same time as I doubt Rabelais’ assertion that he himself destroyed the keystone. Paladin was the expected entry class and Blackguard, while not exactly anticipated, is a clear thematic accompaniment to an evil Paladin Doomlord. Bind Vestige did surprise me, but the choice of Aym is both eerily apt for your backstory and mechanically synergistic with Doomlord and allows you to not take Mountain Hammer, which is nice.
Your base chassis is a Paladin, so you’ll start at the average power and go up from there. Unfortunately for you, I’m going to have to go with the Blackguard ruling that does not get you bonuses for levels of Paladin. If you look at the Fallen Paladins section of the class, it clarifies that these abilities are compensations for being an ex-Paladin, which as a Paladin of Tyranny you are not due to the lack of alignment shift to enter Blackguard. That said you are a combat powerhouse with full BAB, Power Attack, and up to six Smite attacks with which to clobber some fools with Charging Smite and Awesome Smite. You are backed up by the Blackguard’s spellcasting list which, while limited, adds some combat utility and defense. Defensively you have a very high AC, the ability to wear heavy armor without penalty (Aym), fantastic saves with CHA to all saves twice and a modifier of +5 without items. When your saves fail, Persistent Refusal can give additional save attempts. Tomb Tainted Soul and Healing Resistant makes cure/inflict spells not a viable way to damage you and leverage the Blackguard list for healing. With Aym, Entropic Blow, and Improved Sunder you are very good at sundering things, though without Combat Brute it’s more of a sometimes tactic rather than an always tactic (which is fine, since broken magic items make for sad adventurers). Your power scales pretty linearly throughout the game, making this build playable at any point. In terms of out of combat utility you have very little. Early levels your social skills are decent but they fall off in the face of looming prereqs. You eventually (ECL20) manage to auto-succeed tumble checks, but it comes on too late to be considered a positive power addition. All told you are a good combat character with limited out of combat utility, and unfortunately your spellcasting falls a little behind similar builds this round.
You were so close to completely legal in your build, but unless something wonky is going on you take Sense Motive as a class skill in levels 14 and 15 when you cannot, and consequently overspend by a total of 4 skill points. Other than that you seem to meet all prerequisites and do nothing illegal (calling out the questionable ruling for Fallen Paladins and the Blackguard saved you from a further demerit). That said, I think the build itself is quite elegant in its execution. Paladin of Tyranny, Blackguard, and Doomlord make a lot of sense together from a fluff perspective for an evil character. Using Blackguard spellcasting rather than Paladin was a great choice, as you get more for the 5/10 casting progression of Doomlord with the Blackguard’s 10 levels rather than the Paladin’s 15, and the ACFs chosen accentuate the build all told. These choices redeem you somewhat, bringing your elegance score back to Neutral
This build feels to me like what a Doomlord is supposed to be. The only reason you didn’t get a 5 is that while this is unquestionably a Doomlord, and you build around accentuating the classes features (such as they are), you didn’t manage to make the Doomlord integral to the build in such a manner that I feel like you could not substitute another Paladin PrC. Let’s take a look at what you did right though. From the top: you turned Healing Resistance into a strength. You were the only build to actually attempt to accentuate Entropic Blow, and you managed in two fashions; making Smite attacks a central portion of your build, and by adding Aym to the mix you can ensure a sunder attempt that ignores Hardness (Entropic Blow) and does double damage (Aym). Your first Bonus feat built upon a previous feat so that Great Cleave comes online early enough to maybe be useful. Negative Adaptation has a setting specific likelihood of actually being useful. You have pervasive charisma synergy (Divine Grace, Dark Blessing, Smite Good, Rebuke Undead/Persistent Refusal) outside the Doomlord class. You don’t make any specific use of Unmaking Magic or Disintegrate, but those are fairly self-explanatory and potentially un-optimizable. Well done.


Stub: CN Primordial Half-Giant Marshal 1/Dungeon Crasher Fighter 2/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer 4/Spellsword 2/Doomlord 10

I did not expect a Half-Giant (who does really?), so that made me sit up and take notice. Sadly, what I then noticed was a bunch of optimization tricks. Primordial is almost always paired with Half-Giant (though I can’t really blame you for that), a Marshal dip for a Minor Aura (at least it wasn’t Motivate Charisma), two levels of Fighter and Dungeoncrasher at that, and Stalwart Battle Sorcerer for a Gish-type build. Your fluff is well written and entertaining, but doesn’t really tell me anything about the character or setting. Taking the second level of Spellsword and then all ten levels of a 5/10 spellcasting progression class to finish up what started out as a decent Gish build was rather novel though, and brings you back up to a neutral Originality score.
There are reasons that the CharOp staples are seen so often, and that is because they are very, very good at what they do. Through ECL10 you are actually doing very well as combatant. Your loss of 3 BAB is offset somewhat by Weapon Focus, and you haven’t yet fallen behind on iteratives. Knockback, Power Attack, and Dungeon Crasher mean you do a lot of damage and some battlefield control, and with Improved Sunder and Combat Brute you have a bunch of interesting options. With a Sorcerer caster level of 5 you still have only 2nd level spells, but Whirling Blade has come online with all of the benefits you mentioned, though you only get 3 uses a day (5 with bonus spells from a CHA of 24). Whirling Blade’s a little odd. RAW it seems you get any additional attacks/actions from an attack save for iteratives, allowing for Bull Rush, Sunder, Knockback, etc.. RAI seems like this isn’t intended functionality, but I’ll give it to you because it’s cool. From here on out it’s all Doomlord all the time, so let’s see what that adds. Right off the bat Healing Resistance makes your 6th level feat Tomb Tainted Soul stop being a liability and start being a strength. Full BAB keeps you competitive as a melee combatant, which is really good, because loosing five more caster levels means you can no longer pretend you’re a spellcaster. Your spell selection somewhat mitigates the fact that you end your build with a CL10, but specifically Undead Lieutenant and Animate dead key off of CL, and you sank both your 15th and 18th level feats into those spells. Corpsecrafter and Destructive Retribution make you into a bit of a minionmancer, but without a high CL you can’t go that into it. Your write-up makes the argument that you will be using the undead as targets for your Whirling Blade technique, but there’s two problems with that. First, and as I mentioned to another build here, undead are not Sunderable. Your low CL means that you can probably kill the low HD undead you’re using so the point is moot, but it’s still there. Second, at ECL 20 you only have 7 uses of Whirling Blade a day, 9 if you use items to pump your charisma to 40. Your best bet with this technique is probably to buy a bunch of chickens, wring their necks, animate them, have them follow you around and Great Cleave as many as you need to heal up. I feel like you would have gotten more mileage out of taking Improved Trip and Knock-Down for these feat slots, then every Whirling Blade attack could sunder something, Sundering Cleave, trigger Knock-Down and Improved Trip for another attack, and trigger Knockback into Dungeon Crasher for essentially three attacks on everyone in a 60ft line for the price of a standard action. Arcane Thesis and Sculpt Spell would have also added some versatility to your stated combo. I’ve rambled enough. You’re a great melee combatant with some spellcasting options. Your out of combat utility is fairly low however. I believe you stack up to the other partial Gishes we’ve had this round.
From what I can tell everything is rules legal. You meet all prerequisites, and you don’t mess up your skills. You do forget to list them for level 16, but since level 17 is in order I will assume you did 16 in such a manner as to be fine. There are only two things that I might ding were I in a bad mood; your initial setup feels like the start of a classic Gish build, and then deviating from it makes me wonder why you did that to begin with. Similarly, the second level of Spellsword always makes me cringe, though I get you did it for the bonus feat. I feel however, that you could have left out the Marshal and Spellsword 2, not taken Tomb Tainted Soul, and squeezed in 6th level spells for a net benefit. Regardless, there’s nothing here that strikes me as egregiously inelegant, nor extremely elegant, and with the lack of mechanical mistakes you get an average score.
You use all 10 levels and have heavy charisma synergy, which is a good start. You’ve turned Healing Resistance into a strength. You don’t mention Entropic Blow or Unmaking Magic until the very last sentence of your write-up, nor do you mention Disintegrate at all. I get the feeling that you sort of worked around the Sundering requirement of the class (I can’t fault you, sunder is not good), but didn’t really engage with the class thematically or mechanically. None of its features are wasted on you, but neither do they have much positive impact on the build. Nearly any Full BAB partial casting class could have been inserted in the place of Doomlord and the tactics of the build wouldn’t notice.


Stub: CG Human Swordsage 2/Fighter 2/Human Paragon 3/Apostle of Peace 2/Doomlord 10

Well, I love your background write up, both as a bit of fiction and as an introduction to the character and his mechanical feel. I find I have to agree with the councilman and suspect there’s something more going on with Mikhail and the Doomlord organization. There’s a bunch of optimization staples here (Human, Fighter 2, Crusader dip at IL3 for Mountain Hammer) but I find I don’t mind them overmuch. Human is taken here to get into Vow of Poverty at level 1, and weirdly you are the only person to take this route for a sundering focused SI. I expected a lot of VoP builds but didn’t get them, so you actually manage to be original-ish with this choice. There is another build with both Vow of Non-Violence and Vow of Peace, so no luck there. There’s a little dissonance between the Doomlord organization/fluff and the requirements of Vow of Peace and Vow of Non-Violence (and thus the Apostle of Peace PrC), because you quite literally are not able to walk away from violence; you must preserve life, which is not a terribly pro-entropy stance. All told this build feels very distinct from the others, and I did not expect it at all.
Within the limitations of the Vows of Peace and Non-Violence you are remarkably capable. For your early levels you are a martial initiator with a bunch of extra feats and numbers from your Vow feats. Toe-to-toe you probably stand up with any melee combatant who is not an Ubercharger, and even then you might be fine if you get the drop on them. Human Paragon gives a nice boost to your skills and makes you a reasonable party face character with eventually good ranks in the primary trifecta of social skills, though on the occasions you don’t manage to influence people you likely won’t notice seeing as you are lacking the supporting skills. With high intimidate, Goad, Frightful Presence, Pacifying Touch, and the Vow of Peace aura your emotional manipulation capabilities in and out of combat are nothing to sneeze at until the mind-affecting nature of these effects becomes a problem. Apostle of Peace adds a significant amount of power to your build, adding Turn Undead for regular usage and to power Healing Devotion, the ridiculous Pacifying Touch ability, and somewhat relaxing the Vow of Poverty restrictions. Dropping out after 2 levels means you are able to maintain a BAB of +17, which along with just enough caster levels means you hit the Gish benchmark of +16 BAB and 9th level spells, if only barely. The Apostle of Peace spell list is a little limited, meaning you don’t have the versatility of a dedicated spellcaster, but the list is potent, including as you mention both Miracle and Gate, only one of which you can cast each day unless you can figure out a way to get your Wisdom to 36. Your considerable melee combat capability, in and out of combat social ability capacity, and high spellcasting utility make you very effective. Your equipment restrictions, lack of spellcasting versatility, and the various other restrictions imposed on you by Apostle of Peace and its prerequisites, keep you from getting a perfect score.
Here is where you’re going to have some difficulties. Mechanically you are completely ok with one really important and unfortunate exception. At level 1 you claim that the Swordsage Discipline Focus class ability gives you Weapon Focus, which is required to get into Doomlord. It does not. The Discipline Focus ability states: “you gain the benefit of the Weapon Focus feat for the weapons associated with the chosen discipline.” You do not actually gain the feat, nor do you count as having the feat for the associated weapons, you merely gain the benefit thereof. Qualifying for prerequisites is not a benefit sadly. Because of this you do not qualify for Doomlord, and your build cannot be done. This is fixable with a Flaw (take Power Attack at 1, Weapon Focus at 2), and will be penalized as such. HOWEVER, your note about the IUS issue with Swordsage is perfectly fine, since that’s a ridiculous piece of negative RAWyery that I fully intend to ignore in any and all circumstances. I’ve always liked the use of Primary Contact to meet early prereqs, so you get a slight nudge for that, but Vow of Non-Violence and Vow of Peace mean that Mikhail is effectively an NPC, if only because the other PCs will take the earliest opportunity to ditch him. Interestingly enough, the Apostle of Peace class has no provision for what happens if you break your vows, and since it’s not a CWar class you do not automatically lose class features when you stop qualifying, though as per usual you would not be able to take additional levels in the class. Mikhail takes only 2 levels of Apostle of peace and then never looks back, which means you can immediately go get in a friendly barfight (let’s not lose class abilities to an evil act) to lose the Vows of Peace and Non-Violence (which were picked up with the Vow of Poverty bonus feats I believe) and become an acceptable member of any party.
Let’s break this down. You use all 10 levels of the SI which is a good start. You are the only build to be totally on board with sundering things, which is very Doomlord-y. Thematically, a Vow of Poverty build is very appropriate, though this is mitigated by the slight mismatch with the other Vows as previously mentioned. You have enough healing in your kit to self-mitigate the downsides of Healing Resistance though you do not have a way to benefit from it as do many other builds. With Plane Shift on your spell list you might make good use of the Negative Adaptation feature. You have a high Cha synergy build to leverage the Body or Soul ability. You do nothing specific with Entropic Blow, Unmaking Magic, or Disintegrate, though you do mention the pitfalls of your Vows and how these abilities might be used in ways that are appropriate for the character’s limitations. You use the 5/10 CL progression to get 9th level casting, which is a nice trick. All told you make good use of the SI, though this feels more like a VoP and/or Apostle of Peace build than a Doomlord.


Stub: CG Goliath Ranger 1/Fighter 2/Paladin of Freedom of Kord 2/Warblade 1/Ranger +1/Divine Crusader of Kord 1/Doomlord 10/Crusader 1
Though at first blush the Doomlord doesn’t really lend itself to a joke build, Tom was lovingly enough crafted to sell me on it as a concept. I didn’t see it coming, but I’m glad it did. I’m a little torn on whether to penalize your build for being entirely comprised of optimization dips, or reward you for doing so in a manner that manages to pretty much avoid all of the benefits thereof. We’re going to call it a wash on that topic I think. Goliath is a good choice for any build using melee maneuvers (bull rush, trip, grapple, sunder), and so while you are the only one to choose the race I can’t really reward you for doing so. You are the only person to take the Doomlord’s penchant for destroying things and turn it towards actually helping the party through finding and disabling (read: breaking) traps, so you get a slight benefit there as well. You are also the only person to take the Con mod benefit of Body or Soul, which I was not expecting to see at all. All told, fluff, novelty, and a unique mechanical direction (party trap expert) get you a net positive scoring.
Your focus on being super annoying comes at the cost of nearly all of your real functionality, though I suspect you knew that. Combat wise you’re a little ineffectual. You have some options from Warblade, but they don’t scale well, and Crusader maneuvers come online too late (and at too low an IL) to really be useful. You trade away the Ranger combat style for a class feature you never get, and you spend your fighter feats on Power Attack and Improved Sunder, which only get you so far. Admittedly you are great at breaking things, but that’s about all you have. The rest of your feat choices are intentionally sub-par; the Vows of Peace and Non-Violence give you some defensive oomph, but otherwise don’t pair well with a primary melee combatant. You take, in what I can only assume is intense method acting role play, both Endurance and Diehard from the Doomlord bonus list. The Charm Domain (WHY????) is quite good at what it does, but sadly even with Practiced Spellcaster you only have a CL of 10, which means the spells are largely useless and you could have saved yourself the appearance of a legitimate feat. Out of combat you are actually decent at looking for traps and dealing with them, though without the regular scout skills to go with it this is a decidedly post-encounter process. You state that with the Charm Domain and Vow of Peace you are decent at charming, but without the skill ranks and caster levels to back it up you are limited in the folks you can influence. If I were judging based on your ability to accomplish the goal of your build (annoy your party into frothing insanity) you’d be getting a perfect score, but unfortunately I have to grade you on your actual capability in the context of a normal game.
There’s a certain frission in your build that goes straight past annoying into pleasingly asymmetric. When you stop looking at this build as an actual character, the choices become much more elegant. Again however, I need to hold you to the same standards as your peers. Luckily for you, as far as I can tell you are completely rules legal (with the slight caveat that Heretic of the Faith requires DM approval, and I sincerely doubt you’d get it, or if you did it would only be so that the DM could smite you and spare the party from you). I generally don’t have an issue with dips and multiclassing, but your ordering (specifically Ranger at levels 1 and 8 and Crusader at 19 instead of more spellcasting from Divine Crusader) leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Combine that with the choice to take Wild Shape Ranger and never get the benefit (more method acting?) and I’ve got to penalize you. There are no particularly clever rules usages or combos to bring your score back up.
I think you may have unintentionally stumbled onto the true design purpose of the Doomlord class: annoying the rest of your play-group. Not only is the class decidedly sub-par in everything it does, not only does it incentivize destroying loot which the party wants, it also incentivizes your character to be smug about it! ”Party member: Why did you DO that!?!?!” Tom: “Aahh, the Song of Dissolution; reminds me of the cries of unhappy optimizers!” Anyways, on to the judgements. You use all 10 levels of the SI, you actually embrace the ‘break everything all the time’ ethos of the class, and therefor can make excellent use of the associated class features (Entropic Blow, Disintegrate, Destructive Expertise). You don’t find a way around Healing Resistance (though the acquisition of Crusader’s Strike at ECL20 is a nice touch of obnoxiousness), nor is there any specific manner in which you anticipate making use of Negative Adaptation. You are quite possibly the only build that would not be able to replace Doomlord without having to significantly retool, so you get props for that.

And that’s it! If anyone was curious (and hasn’t figured it out yet) I was the idiot who forgot that Doomlord had casting progression. Bring on the disputes!

[Thurbane]

Thanks for judging.

No disputes from me.

[The Viscount]

Wow, that was a really quick turnaround! Thanks for judging.

I might be able to offer a bit of clarification on Roderick Rabelais's skills. It looks like they were using the Skilled City Dweller ACF to swap Survival for Sense Motive, and they noted it at 8 when they began the class, but didn't make use of it until 14.

If you end up being the only judge, I thought you should get some feedback on Caleb Praedo. I really liked the feel of your story, a great ambiance packed into the scene. I really like the idea of building to make good on what your character accomplishes in the story, and the build has the feel of one of the classic optimization showcases from the old forums. Barbarian's definitely a good fit for the entropy and slightly chaos minded doomguard. I'm a big fan of the dead levels articles and it put a smile on my face to see someone else put them to use, and for a central theme, no less. Marshal was a particularly well-thought way to make the Cha focus redirect back to Str.

[Thurbane]

Entry
Chef
Description
First Judge Score
Total Score


Roderick Rabelais (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310119&postcount=69)
???
LE Human Holy Warrior Paladin of Tyranny 6/Blackguard 1/Doomlord 10/Blackguard 4
14.5
14.5


Mikhail the Liberator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310129&postcount=72)
???
CG Human Unarmed Swordsage 2/Fighter 2/Crusader 1/Human Paragon 3/Apostle of Peace 2/Doomlord 10
14.0
14.0


Illazil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310107&postcount=65)
???
CN Killoren Bard 7/Warblade 3/Doomblade 10
13.0
13.0


Sir Dorven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310114&postcount=67)
???
CG Human Crusader 1/Fighter 2/Crusader +2/Knight of the Weave 3/Doomlord 10/Abjurant Champion 2
13.0
13.0


Archimede (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310117&postcount=68)
???
CN Human Barbarian 1/Cleric 4/Crusader 1/Deadgrim 5/Doomlord 9
12.5
12.5


Katu d'Xen'Drik (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310122&postcount=70)
???
CN Primordial Half-Giant Marshal 1/ Dungeon Crasher Fighter 2/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer 4/Spellsword 2/Doomlord 10
12.0
12.0


Darin Blightblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310111&postcount=66)
???
NE Illumian Druid 3/Fighter 2/Blighter 6/Doomlord 9
11.5
11.5


Tom's Character (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310133&postcount=73)
???
CG Goliath Ranger 1/Fighter 2/Paladin of Freedom of Kord 2/Warblade 1/Ranger 1/Divine Crusader of Kord 1/Doomlord 10/ Crusader 1
11.5
11.5


Caleb Praedo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310124&postcount=71)
RaiKirah
(?) Human (?) Barbarian 1/Monk 2/Fighter 6/Marshal 1/Doomlord 10
Withdrawn
Withdrawn

[Heavenblade]

I dont know if I can post here...but is there any thread which is edited every time there is a new contest, or just a place where I can find the next one each time it comes up?

[RaiKirah]

You are certainly welcome to post here! Generally when a new thread goes up the chairperson (Heliomance at the moment) will post in the old thread with a link to the new. There is not to my knowledge a thread containing links only to these competitions, though if you're interested in reading old ones you can find those links if the original post of any Iron Chef thread.

[RaiKirah]

With only 1/8 people posting 'no dispute' I suspect there are a couple. I believe Heliomance is busy with moving and job change. Do we want to:

1) Do disputes out in the open
2) Find a neutral third party, or
3) Wait?

[Piggy Knowles]

No disputes from me, but I think third party is probably the best option.

[Thurbane]

I would vote to wait for Heliomance.

[KrimsonNekros]

I agree on waiting for Heliomance. However I will volunteer to act as third party if the majority of the people would like to get disputes aired.

[Korahir]

No disputes and I'd vote to wait unless we don't here anything within the next 2 weeks.

[jdizzlean]

i would vote to wait a short while for helio, and then to just post them openly. i think everyone can be cordial w/o attacking someone in the dispute process.

[Wolfem]

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

[Heliomance]

*appears* I only have one message in my inbox, actually. Haven't looked at it yet though.

Move in date is on Friday. Work starts on Monday. Things should get more stable after that, hopefully.

*disappears again*

[RaiKirah]

A wild Heliomance appears!! Heliomance casts Whirlwind!

Looking forward to having you back! Hope the move and work go great!

[Heliomance]

One dispute, coming right up!


Thanks for judging RaiKirah! Just a few quick points.


Your write-up makes the argument that you will be using the undead as targets for your Whirling Blade technique, but there’s two problems with that. First, and as I mentioned to another build here, undead are not Sunderable. Second, at ECL 20 you only have 7 uses of Whirling Blade a day, 9 if you use items to pump your charisma to 40.He's not sundering the undead. They're carrying non-masterwork quarterstaves that he's crafted (0 gp cost) and he's sundering those and Sundering Cleaving into them. I did mention this in the write-up, but it's the sort of thing that could be missed. Whirling Blade can also be cast out of third level slots, but I'd expect 7-9 uses to be enough to cast it in every round of combat for a full adventuring day on its own.


You use all 10 levels and have heavy charisma synergy, which is a good start. You’ve turned Healing Resistance into a strength. You don’t mention Entropic Blow or Unmaking Magic until the very last sentence of your write-up, nor do you mention Disintegrate at all. I get the feeling that you sort of worked around the Sundering requirement of the class (I can’t fault you, sunder is not good), but didn’t really engage with the class thematically or mechanically. None of its features are wasted on you, but neither do they have much positive impact on the build. Nearly any Full BAB partial casting class could have been inserted in the place of Doomlord and the tactics of the build wouldn’t notice.I figured Entropic Blow and Unmaking Magic didn't require that much explanation. Entropic Blow is a direct add on to use on melee attacks or when sundering, both of which are things that Katu does a lot. Optimizing Unmaking Magic really just amounts to cranking Cha and finishing the class to get the check as high as possible. Katu also likes getting Cleave and Great Cleave as bonus feats as they tie in with his undead tactics and Whirling Blade schtick.

As regards my chaotic life - moved in to the new flat yesterday! Haven't unpacked, and don't have Internet set up yet (posting from my phone), so it's still going to be a little while until normal service resumes.

[RaiKirah]

Thanks for judging RaiKirah! Just a few quick points.

Your write-up makes the argument that you will be using the undead as targets for your Whirling Blade technique, but there’s two problems with that. First, and as I mentioned to another build here, undead are not Sunderable. Second, at ECL 20 you only have 7 uses of Whirling Blade a day, 9 if you use items to pump your charisma to 40.

He's not sundering the undead. They're carrying non-masterwork quarterstaves that he's crafted (0 gp cost) and he's sundering those and Sundering Cleaving into them. I did mention this in the write-up, but it's the sort of thing that could be missed. Whirling Blade can also be cast out of third level slots, but I'd expect 7-9 uses to be enough to cast it in every round of combat for a full adventuring day on its own.

You use all 10 levels and have heavy charisma synergy, which is a good start. You’ve turned Healing Resistance into a strength. You don’t mention Entropic Blow or Unmaking Magic until the very last sentence of your write-up, nor do you mention Disintegrate at all. I get the feeling that you sort of worked around the Sundering requirement of the class (I can’t fault you, sunder is not good), but didn’t really engage with the class thematically or mechanically. None of its features are wasted on you, but neither do they have much positive impact on the build. Nearly any Full BAB partial casting class could have been inserted in the place of Doomlord and the tactics of the build wouldn’t notice.

I figured Entropic Blow and Unmaking Magic didn't require that much explanation. Entropic Blow is a direct add on to use on melee attacks or when sundering, both of which are things that Katu does a lot. Optimizing Unmaking Magic really just amounts to cranking Cha and finishing the class to get the check as high as possible. Katu also likes getting Cleave and Great Cleave as bonus feats as they tie in with his undead tactics and Whirling Blade schtick.

You are correct - I did miss the note about the quarterstaves. This actually helps you in both categories you mention, as this technique may actually work now, and it makes your Sunder focus more relevant. Your reminder that you can cast Whirling Blade out of higher level slots does in fact improve the reliability of your main schtick, though I doubt you would want to use all your slots on it; Glitterdust is too good not to use, as is Haste, Animate Dead, etc.. I also don't agree that 7-9 castings should let you use it for every round of combat in a day; perhaps if you only have 1-2 combats in a day that would be fine, but on a dungeon crawl where you might get 3-6+ it seems unlikely you'll average 2-3 rounds only. Regardless, adjustments:

Power: +.25 --> 4.25
You've convinced me you are more capable than I had initially credited, but I'm not comfortable putting you at the same power level as the full Gishes, so have a quarter point.

Use of SI: +.5 --> 2.5
With the Whirling Blade Sundering Cleave trick actually working you have a more thematic imperative to be a Doomlord. I still feel that this build doesn't entirely engage with the mechanics of the class, as aside from bonus feats none of the components of your combos come from the Doomlord class.

New Total: 12.75

[Thurbane]

Entry
Chef
Description
First Judge Score
Total Score


Roderick Rabelais (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310119&postcount=69)
???
LE Human Holy Warrior Paladin of Tyranny 6/Blackguard 1/Doomlord 10/Blackguard 4
14.5
14.5


Mikhail the Liberator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310129&postcount=72)
???
CG Human Unarmed Swordsage 2/Fighter 2/Crusader 1/Human Paragon 3/Apostle of Peace 2/Doomlord 10
14.0
14.0


Illazil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310107&postcount=65)
???
CN Killoren Bard 7/Warblade 3/Doomblade 10
13.0
13.0


Sir Dorven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310114&postcount=67)
???
CG Human Crusader 1/Fighter 2/Crusader +2/Knight of the Weave 3/Doomlord 10/Abjurant Champion 2
13.0
13.0


Katu d'Xen'Drik (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310122&postcount=70)

???
CN Primordial Half-Giant Marshal 1/ Dungeon Crasher Fighter 2/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer 4/Spellsword 2/Doomlord 10
12.75

12.75



Archimede (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310117&postcount=68)

???

CN Human Barbarian 1/Cleric 4/Crusader 1/Deadgrim 5/Doomlord 9

12.5

12.5



Darin Blightblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310111&postcount=66)

???
NE Illumian Druid 3/Fighter 2/Blighter 6/Doomlord 9
11.5
11.5


Tom's Character (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310133&postcount=73)
???
CG Goliath Ranger 1/Fighter 2/Paladin of Freedom of Kord 2/Warblade 1/Ranger 1/Divine Crusader of Kord 1/Doomlord 10/ Crusader 1
11.5
11.5


Caleb Praedo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310124&postcount=71)
RaiKirah
(?) Human (?) Barbarian 1/Monk 2/Fighter 6/Marshal 1/Doomlord 10
Withdrawn
Withdrawn

[Heliomance]

Entry
Chef
Description
First Judge Score
Total Score


Roderick Rabelais (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310119&postcount=69)
The Viscount
LE Human Holy Warrior Paladin of Tyranny 6/Blackguard 1/Doomlord 10/Blackguard 4
14.5
14.5


Mikhail the Liberator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310129&postcount=72)
Piggy Knowles
CG Human Unarmed Swordsage 2/Fighter 2/Crusader 1/Human Paragon 3/Apostle of Peace 2/Doomlord 10
14.0
14.0


Illazil (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310107&postcount=65)
Werewalrus
CN Killoren Bard 7/Warblade 3/Doomblade 10
13.0
13.0


Sir Dorven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310114&postcount=67)
Thurbane
CG Human Crusader 1/Fighter 2/Crusader +2/Knight of the Weave 3/Doomlord 10/Abjurant Champion 2
13.0
13.0


Katu d'Xen'Drik (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310122&postcount=70)

WhamBamSam
CN Primordial Half-Giant Marshal 1/ Dungeon Crasher Fighter 2/Stalwart Battle Sorcerer 4/Spellsword 2/Doomlord 10
12.75

12.75



Archimede (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310117&postcount=68)

PunBlake

CN Human Barbarian 1/Cleric 4/Crusader 1/Deadgrim 5/Doomlord 9

12.5

12.5



Darin Blightblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310111&postcount=66)

jdizzlean
NE Illumian Druid 3/Fighter 2/Blighter 6/Doomlord 9
11.5
11.5


Tom's Character (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310133&postcount=73)
Korahir
CG Goliath Ranger 1/Fighter 2/Paladin of Freedom of Kord 2/Warblade 1/Ranger 1/Divine Crusader of Kord 1/Doomlord 10/ Crusader 1
11.5
11.5


Caleb Praedo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23310124&postcount=71)
RaiKirah
(?) Human (?) Barbarian 1/Monk 2/Fighter 6/Marshal 1/Doomlord 10
Withdrawn
Withdrawn



Thank you for the table, Thurbane!

Congratulations to The Viscount, Piggy Knowles, and Werewalrus for their medals! Sorry this round took so long, we now return you to your normal levels of unreliability.

[Heliomance]

New thread! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?571065-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCV)

[Wolfem]

IOC Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0) has been updated with the Chefs associated to their dishes as well as the scoring update.

[Thurbane]

Congratulations to The Viscount, Piggy Knowles, and Werewalrus for their medals!

Err, I was equal 3rd, yeah?