Iron Chef Optimization Challenge: E6 Appetizer Edition (Round XIV)

[Zaq]

Welcome back to the Iron Chef Optimization Challenge E6 Appetizer Edition! I asked if people would have fun with this one and got a positive response, so let's see some money put where some mouths are.

The form of this challenge is to take a particular D&D 3.5 base class (our "secret ingredient," or SI) and turn it into a functional E6 (https://esix.pbworks.com/f/E6v041.pdf) build, which must feature the SI as heavily as possible. (The only hard rule about this is that you must take at least one level in the SI, though judges are encouraged to look favorably on builds that take as many levels as possible in said SI.) Your final build submission should consist of your 6 regular levels and your first 10 epic bonus feats, though providing a snapshot at earlier points through the progression is heartily encouraged. Entries are to be PM'd to the Chair (that would be me!), and they will be posted anonymously; our volunteer judges will then grade each build on a 1-5 point scale in four categories: Originality, Power, Elegance, and Use of the Secret Ingredient. The builds with the highest three scores will be awarded medals, with the Honorable Mention award going to the non-medaling build that the Chair likes best and/or that receives the most votes for HM in this thread. (HM may not always be awarded, particularly if the number of builds is very small.) And then we all have cake!*

*Note: You must provide your own cake.

This is basically like the regular Iron Chef, and let's be brutally honest with ourselves here: this isn't a gargantuan community, and we basically all know what we're talking about at this point. Make the builds, send 'em in, post some scores, and have fun. If you've got questions, lemme know. Still, let's lay out a few rules!

Cooking Time: Builds must be submitted via PM to the Chair by 4:59 PM GMT - 8 on Friday, Jan 04, 2019 (12:59 AM GMT on Saturday, Jan 05). The reveal shall be on the first evening the Chair has free following the cooking deadline, which is hoped to be that evening or the immediately subsequent one. Judging is then expected (*cough*) to take no more than two weeks, so we'll put the judging deadline at approximately two weeks after that, with adjustments as necessary. (You can do the math yourselves; I don't want to put two dates here and confuse people.) Notice that this is slightly earlier in the day than previous deadlines; the goal is to have the deadline be around the time the Chair gets off of work on that particular day, thereby allowing him to post the builds without having to stay up super late or wait until the next day.
Kitchen: Let's break this one down a bit.



ALLOWED: Almost all D&D 3.5 material published by WotC: Core, Completes, monster books, Races Of books, alternate power source books (Expanded Psionics Handbook, Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, etc.), Spell Compendium, Book of Exalted Deeds, Book of Vile Darkness, Eberron material, Forgotten Realms material, and other WotC-published 3.5 material. (This list is NOT exhaustive and there are many other legal books that I did not mention by name!)
ALLOWED: Material from the 3.5 archives of the Wizards of the Coast website (including, but not limited to, the Mind's Eye articles). If you use it, link it.
ALLOWED: Official errata from WotC. If you're relying on this in a material fashion, it's a good idea to link it and to discuss it.
NOT ALLOWED: Unofficial errata, including "class fixes" (regardless of the source, including from the original author if not published in a WotC book) or fan-created content.
ALLOWED: Unupdated WotC-published 3.0 material (e.g., Sword and Fist, Masters of the Wild, etc.) except for 3.0 psionics. No 3.0 psionics allowed. If you are using 3.0 material, use the general-purpose skill updates (Wilderness Lore becomes Survival, Innuendo becomes Bluff, etc.) and the general-purpose rules updates (spells with a casting time of "1 action" become "1 standard action," etc.) when appropriate.
NOT ALLOWED: 3.0 material for which a direct 3.5 update exists. Use the updated material instead.
ALLOWED: Dragon Compendium and its errata (http://paizo.com/download/dragon/compendium/DragonCompendiumVolumeIErrata.pdf).
NOT ALLOWED: Content from Dragon Magazine and/or Dungeon Magazine unless said content appears in an otherwise allowed source.
ALLOWED: Oriental Adventures, including the 3.5 update to Oriental Adventures from Dragon Magazine #318. This is a specific exception to the "no Dragon" rule!
NOT ALLOWED: Pathfinder content, regardless of whether it is "D&D 3.5 OGL" or not. If it didn't come from WotC, we don't want it.
ALLOWED: From Unearthed Arcana: racial paragon classes, alternate class features/variant classes, spelltouched feats, and variant races. (Traits and flaws are technically legal, but traits warrant a -0.5 point penalty in Elegance, and flaws warrant a -1 penalty in Elegance.)
NOT ALLOWED: Other Unearthed Arcana content, including (but not limited to) bloodlines, LA buyoff, fractional BAB/saves, alternate casting systems, alternate skill systems, item familiars, prestigious character classes, generic classes, gestalt, etc. When you're wondering if UA content is allowed, err on the side of caution and don't mess around with it.
NOT ALLOWED: Leadership, regardless of source. Game elements functionally equivalent to Leadership (including, but not limited to, Dragon Cohort, Undead Leadership, and Thrallherd) are similarly banned. (Familiars, Improved Familiar, animal companions, Wild Cohort, psicrystals, elemental envoys, and similar game elements are allowed, and they are not considered to be "Leadership." If the difference isn't obvious, feel free to contact the Chair with specific questions.)
NOT ALLOWED: Third-party content, homebrew, or other non-WotC content.
NOT ALLOWED: Epic feats from the Epic Level Handbook. Just because you're "epic" in E6 after 6th level doesn't mean that you're that kind of epic.
NOT ALLOWED: Any race or template with a level adjustment other than +0. (Or any other source of LA other than a race or template, if any such things exist.)
NOT ALLOWED: For our judges: penalizing solely based on legal sources used, regardless of whether those sources are plentiful, sparse, common, obscure, or something in between. If the material is legal, then it doesn't matter how many or how few books it came out of.
ALLOWED: Also for our judges: penalizing for using a source (other than material in Core; don't be vindictive about genuinely obvious stuff) that isn't listed in the build writeup. The chef may choose to present the sources in-line with the text, in a consolidated source list, or somewhere else, but if the source is listed (and is otherwise legal), it counts. If the source is not listed, you may choose to penalize for that.

If you have questions about anything in this section (or hell, in this ruleset), feel free to ask the Chair.

Character Creation: 32 point buy is assumed. For the purposes of this contest, Level Adjustment greater than +0 is banned. (This may be revised at a later point, but I don't feel that the E6 LA rules are conducive to fun in the context of this contest.) No more than two entries per chef per contest, please; if you submit two builds and somehow are so overcome with inspiration for a third that you can't help yourself, PM me and tell me which two you care about the most.
Speculation: Please do not post any form of speculation before the reveal. Just don't do it, guys. It's not cool. This means NOT posting any of the following or anything substantially similar: what you think is going to be common, significant elements of your planned build or of other potential builds, or anything else that could directly influence someone else's build choices for good or for ill. (It's acceptable to ask for rules clarifications as appropriate, but try to avoid tipping your hand too much.) Speculation is bad because it can discourage people from posting builds and can also "taint the judging pool" when it comes to Originality, so please just try to be aware of how other people might react to your speculation.
E6: Here's how E6 works for the purposes of this contest. Build your character normally for the first six levels. After you reach level 6, you stop gaining levels and start gaining bonus feats every time you would gain 5,000 XP. Since we aren't actually tracking XP, you'll basically list your first ten epic bonus feats in the order that you take them, and we think of them as being kind of like levels. We will not use the LA-equals-reduced-point-buy rules, instead preferring to just ban races with LA, at least for now. We will not use the "capstone feats"; all feats that you take must be normal legal 3.5 feats, not homebrew E6 ones. You may not use the Epic feats from the Epic Level Handbook, though if for some reason there are non-Epic feats from the ELH that you qualify for, you may take those. (I don't think there are any, but I'm sure someone will prove me wrong.) It is up to the discretion of each judge whether this is a "hard E6" (magic above 3rd level spells is simply beyond mortal reach, items that have a listed CL above 6th are just plain not available, etc.) or a "soft E6" (if you can somehow get the magic on your character, it's yours, regardless of level), though I honestly don't expect it to come up. Don't go crazy with making assumptions about items and we probably won't have to find out.
Presentation: Please use the table found below in the spoiler. List your epic bonus feats (in clear order) after the table. If you find a clever way of formatting that that isn't annoying and that doesn't break anything, have fun; if it's portable, I may steal it for the next round. When sending your build or any disputes to the Chair, clearly include your build's name in the subject of the PM, and please present your build exactly as you want the Chair to copy and paste it into the thread.
If you're using a picture, cite the source and follow any relevant citation rules. Because we have had issues with this in the past, when listing your skills, please make it very clear how many ranks you have at each level. There are multiple ways to do this and we do not wish to cramp anyone's individual style by dictating exactly how this must look, but make sure that somewhere in your entry there's an explanation of how many actual skill ranks you have. It's still fine to list total skill bonuses, if that's your style, but don't only list bonuses; make sure that there is a clear listing somewhere of your ranks alone.

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


Code for the table:

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

Contest houserules: Nearly the same as the main contest's rules here: all creatures are proficient with natural weapons they have or may acquire, bonus feats that are explicitly granted without meeting prereqs are usable even without those prereqs, and feats that affect which skills are class skills for you and/or how you spend your skill points (Able Learner, Martial Study, Truename Training, Apprentice, etc.) apply immediately at the level at which you take them (even though you normally spend skill points before taking a feat).
Judging guidelines: The minimum score in a category is 1, and the maximum is 5. Judges are expected to be fair, consistent, and open-minded, and they are expected to make a good-faith effort to engage with any reasonable disputes that arise, especially when RAW is in question. That said, contestants are asked to not dispute more than necessary; let's do everything in good faith and really only dispute when a judge is being inconsistent, being unfair, or is otherwise grossly misinterpreting a build.
Judges may not penalize Originality solely because a build is a tribute or homage to an existing creative work (in or out of D&D canon; note that this is not the same thing as penalizing Originality for using well-known optimization tactics), nor may judges penalize based solely on sources used (whether those sources are plentiful, sparse, common, obscure, or something in between, you should judge the build elements and how they work together rather than what book or what books they came out of, as long as those books are legal for this contest and are cited in the entry).
As with the main contest, we will follow the "One Mistake, One Penalty" guideline, and it is very important that the judges adhere to it. I'm going to directly copy and paste this from the main thread, and hopefully the original author won't mind too much:
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
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.
Other bits and bobs: If there's something major and relevant I haven't mentioned, assume that the way I handle it will probably be the same as the main contest unless stated otherwise or unless doing so would be an obviously absurd result. If you've got questions, I'll give you answers.




This round's secret ingredient:
the MOUNTEBANK, from Dragon Compendium!
Allez Optimizer!

The Builds:



Name
Alignment/race
Stub

Score (place)

Chef



Fireball Burrhowl (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620710&postcount=28)
CE Strongheart Halfling

Rogue 1 / Mountebank 3 / Fighter 1 / Assassin 1

9.5 (5th)

daremetoidareyo



Ibli al-Tanin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620711&postcount=29)
LE Venerable Dragonwrought Desert Kobold
Mountebank 6
12.75 (Bronze)

WhamBamSam



Jakal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620713&postcount=30)
CN Hellbred
Mountebank 6
12.5 (4th)

thorr-kan



Silas "Rusty" Formaux (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620715&postcount=31)
CE Daelkyr Half-Blood
Mountebank 5 / Battle Dancer 1
16.75 (Gold)

Randuir



Xenon Zendel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620720&postcount=32)
TN Otherworldly Kalashtar
Mountebank 6
13.25 (Silver)

WhamBamSam










Round 4: Knight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?542333-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(IV))
Round 5: Ninja (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?548763-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-V))
Round 6: Racial Paragon Classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?551174-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-VI))
Round 7: Hexblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?553767-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-VII))
Round 8: Shugenja (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?555626-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-VIII))
Round 9: Swashbuckler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?559135-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-IX)")
Round 10: Crusader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?562183-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-X))
Round 11: Soulknife (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?565669-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-XI))
Round 12: Factotum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?569723-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-XII))
Round 13: Prestige Classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?572441-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-XIII))



Round 1: Divine Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?197000-Iron-Chef-Appetizer-Edition!-(e6))
Round 2: Monk (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?201548-Iron-Chef-Appetizer-Edition!-(e6)-II)
Round 3: Marshal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?235221-Iron-Chef-Appetizer-Edition-(E6)-III)

[Zaq]

I feel like this contest has gone on long enough that it's worth throwing in a little bit here. NOTE: THESE ARE NOT RULES. You do not HAVE to do anything here, and judges are free to honor or ignore these recommendations as they see fit. This section is intended simply as a few friendly pointers to make things easier for judges and to potentially boost scores for contestants. NONE OF THIS IS REQUIRED, and NONE OF IT WILL GUARANTEE ANY SPECIFIC RESULT. But you're all smart people and you knew that already.

Recommendations:
Double-check ALL of your prereqs. Every single one. Feats, PrCs, whatever. You might even go so far as to spell out when you meet each one, but again, that's not a requirement. But one of the single biggest causes of point loss is failure to meet prereqs.
Tell the judges what's cool about your build! You spent hours or days on this (y'know, probably) and know it inside and out, but the judges are getting a whole bunch of these dishes all at once and don't know the build history of each one. You're significantly more likely to score well if you spell out exactly what makes you awesome than if you try to just let it stand on its own.
Make it easy to read! Skill tables are awful, though they're an incredibly necessary evil. Full Monster Manual-style statblocks are occasionally useful but are also insanely dense if not formatted well. Judges are very likely to miss something if you aren't careful with how you present your info. Remember that judging takes a lot of time, energy, and focus, so don't rely on the judge being willing/able to decode something in order to see what makes you interesting!
Be memorable. Remember that we're all using the same ingredient here. What makes you different?

As far as comments about this specific round go? Mountebank is a super weird class. Like, super weird. I think we'll get some bizarre entries, and I'm looking forward to seeing what our hivemind churns out. E6 is probably the least bad environment for the class, at least—no dead levels! I made the cooking time a bit longer than usual to account for the fact that I'm starting this on a Saturday and the fact that we've got some holidays in the mix. Have fun, everyone! Let's get some chatter going.

[WhamBamSam]

Awesome. I have two stubs basically settled and some free time over the holidays, so I'll definitely be participating.

[DeTess]

I've got some ideas too. I should hopefully have time to work one of them out.

[SirNibbles]

Am I missing something? Bluff 8 requirement means you can only take your first level of Mountebank at level 6, right?

[daremetoidareyo]

Am I missing something? Bluff 8 requirement means you can only take your first level of Mountebank at level 6, right?

Dragon compendium's mountebank is a base class

[SirNibbles]

Dragon compendium's mountebank is a base class

Thanks. I made a stupid.

[jdizzlean]

maybe, we'll see, i'm a little burned out right now

[thorr-kan]

Man, this is a weird class isn't it?

Mountebank reads like a 2ED thief/cleric multiclass character (which admittedly is my favorite 2ED combo...). With a prestige class with a matching name. The potential for confusion is funny.

[Zaq]

Quick holiday bump!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and happy Tuesday to those who don’t! We’ve got just over a week left. The holidays are a busy time for many people, but hopefully you might also have a day or two off to relax, decompress, and optimize super weird Dragon Compendium crap. Looking forward to the entries!

[DeTess]

I... think I might have unintentionally found a shenanigan (as in I read through the build after making it, and found a rather unexpected interaction).

My build should be in by tomorrow or so.

[WhamBamSam]

Got both my builds in.

[FauxKnee]

I'm willing to judge. I'm not exactly the most experienced guru on the playground, but more judges is better than fewer right?

[Maat Mons]

Am I missing something? Bluff 8 requirement means you can only take your first level of Mountebank at level 6, right?

The Primary Contact feat can break the skill cap by 1 for a single level. Of course, to take the feat at 4th level, you'd need to use Half-Elf Paragon, Human Paragon, or some other method of getting a general bonus feat.

So you definitely can fit 2 levels of the Mountebank prestige class into an e6 build.




Dragon compendium's mountebank is a base class

I knew this, of course. But still I had planned to submit a build using the wrong Mountebank. I wanted to see if I could get it accepted with a penalty on the basis that the "error" had been made "in good faith."

But, by explicitly pointing out the two different classes, you've rendered that lie implausible. Screw you man. You're supposed to wait until after the reveal to start sabotaging the competition.

[DeTess]

I'm willing to judge. I'm not exactly the most experienced guru on the playground, but more judges is better than fewer right?
Of course! The more judges, the better!

Edit: got my build in as well. It's... well, it's something ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Zaq]

Deadline’s tomorrow evening*, folks! How’s it coming? I have a few entries but I believe that we can squeeze out a couple more.

*In my time zone, at least. Just saying “in about 31 hours” seemed obtuse.

[daremetoidareyo]

Deadline’s tomorrow evening*, folks! How’s it coming? I have a few entries but I believe that we can squeeze out a couple more.

*In my time zone, at least. Just saying “in about 31 hours” seemed obtuse.

2 or 3 extra days can give me enough clearance time to finish my 4 feat stub.

[DeTess]

2 or 3 extra days can give me enough clearance time to finish my 4 feat stub.

B-but if you finish your build you won't be allowed to judge! :sadface:

In all seriousnes though, I'm fine with a short extension to allow people to finish their work.

[Zaq]

2 or 3 extra days can give me enough clearance time to finish my 4 feat stub.

Okay. New deadline is Friday!

[daremetoidareyo]

My build just fell apart. Found a line of text that ruins it.
Sorry guys. Im out.

[DeTess]

My build just fell apart. Found a line of text that ruins it.
Sorry guys. Im out.

Oof, that's unfortunate (and makes me paranoid whether I've missed something like that).

[daremetoidareyo]

Oof, that's unfortunate (and makes me paranoid whether I've missed something like that).

Unlikely, I was in the weeds of optimization.

[Zaq]

I’ve only got three entries. Is anyone else still working on it? Might we get another entry if I push things out to Monday, or is that all the interest to be had this time around?

[thorr-kan]

One just came together for me.

[daremetoidareyo]

I actually found a reach around my problem, Ill have my dude submitted by Monday.

[daremetoidareyo]

I hath submitted! May whomever judges be warned that i've evolved past paltry mortal concepts of "winning" at this point in my optimizerly transcendence, so from this pedestal, I shall allow you to speak thy mind freely.

[Zaq]

Okay folks. Thanks for your patience. We've got some interesting builds incoming! No witty commentary this time—it's not that there are too many and more just that I don't have as much time or energy as I was hoping. Still, here they come!

[Zaq]

Build the first!


Fireball Burrhowl

Chaotic Evil Precision flask blaster

Halfling, strongheart (p.18 FRCS)
small size
Spd 20
+2 dex -2 str
+2 listen, climb,jump, move silently
Bonus feat
+2 morale bonus vs fear
+1 to attacks w/ thrown weapons

Class levels
Halfling rogue 1 (p.160 Races of the wild) mimic acf (p.21 Exemplars of evil)
Mountebank 3 (p.42 Dragon compendium)
Sneak attack fighter (p.58 Unearthed Arcana) 1, exotic shield proficiency variant rule (p.139 races of stone)
Assassin 1 (p.180 DMG)

Attributes
Str: 12 -2 =10
Con: 12 (+1 at 4th level) = 13
Dex: 16 +2 =18
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 16

Mountebank has one thing that I am interested in: “A beguiled character loses his Dexterity bonus to Armor Class.” And mass beguile can do this: “create a 30-foot burst, with a range of 100 feet + 10 feet per mountebank level. All creatures within this area must make Will saves (DC 10 + 1/2 mountebank's level + mountebank's Cha modifier). Creatures that fail this save are beguiled for a number of round equal to the mountebank's Charisma bonus.”

This makes mountebank a sneak attack facilitator extraordinaire. You can make a rogue into a blaster!

Here is one fly in the ointment however: mass beguile says this: “This power affects only those creatures with Hit Dice less than or equal to the mountebank's level.”

Class level? Character level? Well this build only works well if you can interpret that slightly permissive language to mean character level rather than the number of levels in the mountebank base class. The use of the word ‘mountebank’ to describe the level is just an artifact of the writer’s assumption that the class is so awesome that no-one would multiclass.

So, we can use all of our abilities from the mountebank class in any armor, and we need as much ability as possible to boost sneak attack. We'll mass beguile from 130 ft. Away and toss precision based damage modified alchemical flasks. We'll take a dip into sneak attack fighter for armor and shield proficiencies and +1d6 sneak attack and +1 BAB. We will be the mook destroyer! Elegance be damned!

Beguiled characters basically lose dexterity, armor and shield bonii to AC against flasks. Seeing as how you can destroy dex to AC from distance with mass beguile, we will need access to the snipers shot spell to lift the 30’ prohibition on ranged sneak attack. Assassin 1 supplies that with death attack and a +1d6 sneak attack, bringing our total to 4d6 damage.

As a halfling, we have access to the shaped splash feat and the halfling rogue sub level that adds 1d6 to thrown sneak attacks at the cost of -1d6 to melee sneak attacks. All in addition to a blanket +1 to thrown weapon attacks.

Rapid shot and twf on mass beguiled enemies allow for 2d6 + 4d6 fire damage on two targets per attack. That's 6 attacks per round if the enemies are clustered closely enough.

This build needs equipment. Elegance be damned, we will be using ambush feats to create some neat debuffs from a distance.

Masterwork Mithral Shield Gauntlet with shield sheath.

So let's go through this step by step.




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


1st
Halfling Mimic (p. 21 exemplars of evil) Rogue
+0
+0
+2
+0
36: Disguise 4, Disable Device 4, Gather information 4, Hide 4, Move silently 4, Sleight of hand 4, Spot 4, Tumble 4, UMD 4
Craven (p.17 Champions of Ruin), Point Blank Shot
Ranged sneak attack +1d6, melee sneak attack +0, trapfinding disguise self 1/day


2nd
Mountebank
+0
+0
+4
+0
Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Spellcraft 4, UMD 5

Beguiling stare, bonus language, mark of damnation, trapfinding


3rd
Mountebank
+1
+0
+5
+0
Hide 6, Move silently 6, UMD 6, Disable device 6, spot 5
Shaped Splash (p.111 Races of Eberron)
Deceptive attack +1d6


4th
Sneak Attack Exotic Shield proficient (p.139 Races of Stone) Fighter
+2
+2
+5
+0
craft(alchemy) 3
Exotic Shield Proficiency (Shield Gauntlet)[p.139 Races of Stone]
Sneak Attack +1d6, Medium & Heavy armor proficiencies, Exotic Shield proficiency


5th
Mountebank
+3
+3
+5
+1
Hide 8, Move silently 8, UMD 8, disable device 7

Infernal patron, mass beguile


6th
Assassin
+3
+3
+7
+1
5 UMD 9, craft 7
Rapid Shot
Sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use, spells



Epic Feats
1. Practiced Spellcaster (p.82 Complete Divine)
2. Craft wand
3. Two weapon fighting
4. Far shot OR exotic weapon proficiency (gnome calculus [Arms & Equipment Guide p.6)
5.improved unarmed strike
6. Weapon focus (unarmed strike)
7. Versatile unarmed strike (p.86 PHB2)
8. Head shot (p.77 Complete Scoundrel)
9. Disembowling strike (p.76 Complete Scoundrel)
10. Deafening strike (p.76 Complete Scoundrel) OR Throat punch (p.78 Complete Scoundrel)

Break it down for us
Level 1.
Fireball is a rogue at first level to get 8 extra skill points to waste. We trade out trapfinding because mountebank provides it. In return, Fireball get’s the mimic ACF from Exemplars of Evil. This grants disguise self 1/day. It ain’t supergreat, but it’s good and very mountebank themed. Fireball takes the halfling substitution level found in races of the wild to get 2d6 thrown sneak attack. Fireball takes craven and pointblank shot. The worst parts of craven are mitigated by halfling racial morale bonus against fear, and eventually the feat will add a full 6 points of damage to fireball’s precision damage. At first level, carry some thrown weapons that rogues get access to, and use your +6 modifier (dex+point blank shot +thrown weapon) to do an extra 2d6+1 precision damage against those you catch flatfooted or flank. Craven should work with melee sneak attacks at this level as well, netting you +1 damage! Get a bunch of spot, as well as assassin pre-requisite skills. You should easily survive to level up. Make sure you seed your play session with some passing interest in spellcraft.


(p.17 Champions of Ruin) Craven [General] Like most sly rogues, you are a dangerous coward. However, your sneak attacks deal more damage than normal. Prerequisite cannot be immune to fear, Sneak attack class feature, Benefit You take a -2 penalty on saving throws against fear effects. However, when making a sneak attack, you deal an extra 1 point of damage per character level.


Level 2:
Mountebank level the first. We get our practiced spellcaster pre-requisite skills (spellcraft 4) filled out. We get beguiling stare, and we use it to hook ourselves up with a perma target for thrown precision damage. Carry a few flasks of alchemical goodies with you. Beguile the baddy and kill them dead. You get trapfinding. But I’ve neglected to put any ranks into search, so you’ll be using disable device on your environment and on your enemies stuff, including weapons, rules for which can be found in City of stormreach. You have a +7 to disguise, so you can disguise stuff you’ve ruined with disable device to appear operational. Let’s hope this level has a caravan heist or something.

Level 3.
Time to choose a new feat! Shaped splash from races of eberron makes this whole build possible. Here’s the text.


(p.111 Races of Eberron) Shaped Splash [General] Your expertise with thrown weapons enables you to use splash weapons more effectively. Prerequisite: DEX 13, base attack bonus +1, Halfling, Benefit: If you throw a splash weapon and it hits the creature you target, you can immediately make a second attack against any creature adjacent to the first. If the second attack succeeds, the secondary target also takes direct hit damage from the thrown splash weapon. In addition, you can choose not to deal splash damage to specified creatures that occupy spaces adjacent to one or both targets. If your initial attack fails, determine location and damage for the splash attack as normal (see Throw Splash Weapon, page 158 of the Player's Handbook).

Sweet, now you can throw a flask of alchemical evilness if you get the drop on your opponent, or if you attack from concealment (using your +11 hide skill) to hit more than one opponent, to whom you do an extra 2d6+3 precision damage of the same damage characteristics as the flask. If you’re in melee, you now have +1d6 deceptive attack against beguiled enemies. Ask your DM if craven applies to deceptive attack. It should be easy to make a case for it, you’re stabbing a charmed person, that’s pretty craven. Actually it doesn’t matter, just invoke that races of the wild says “melee sneak attack +0” PLUS ZERO, as in zero D6s. But it IS still a sneak attack, so you should be able to add craven precision damage to it.

Level 4
The sneak attack fighter level. We gain a buttload of weapon and armor proficiencies, another BAB, and another sneak attack die. We treat this as an opportunity to waste skill points on craft (Alchemy). You may be thinking, why not go with the thug variant from UA? Because we want that heavy armor, and we want that tower shield. I know you may be thinking, “to get hit and run fighter from Drow of the Underdark?” Nope. Apparently that only works with opponents who are flatfooted. Being denied dex to AC isn’t flatfooted, it’s just really similar. We are going to trade that tower shield proficiency for exotic shield proficiency in basically any other shield. I suggest the stilletto shield from arms and equipment guide. Anyways, make sure that you get a shield sheath installed. Stash a flask in there. Sweet! Free action second flask. When we get rapid shot that will help. Heavy armor will only conflict with the assassin spellcasting, which we will address by getting the assassin spells onto wands later. Now you can survive anything.


(p.158 Races of Stone) Shield, Gauntlet: A favorite of divine spellcasters, this exotic shield is a heavy steel shield built with a special bracing gauntlet. The special gauntlet allows you to carry other items in your shield hand (such as material spell components), although you cannot use weapons with it. The shield hand is likewise free to perform somatic spell components.

(p.158 Races of Stone) Shield Sheath: This small sheath fits on the inside of a shield (but not a buckler) and holds one light weapon (of your size category or smaller). As long as you have the shield ready, drawing the weapon in the shield sheath is a free action. No shield can have more than one shield sheath attached to it.

(p.17 A&EG) Stilletto shield: Shield, Stiletto: This small wooden shield has a special switch located on the inside grip. When triggered, four blades pop out from the edges of the shield, and one larger blade springs out from the middle. Triggering and retracting the blades is a free action. When the blades are activated, the stiletto shield counts as a spiked shield in all respects.

Exotic shield proficiency
(p. 139 Races of Stone) Exotic Shield Proficiency Choose an exotic shield, such as a gauntlet shield or battle cloak. You are proficient with that type of exotic shield. Prerequisite base attack bonus +1, Shield Proficiency, Benefit You are proficient with a specific type of exotic shield and take no shield nonproficiency penalties when you wear it (see Table 7-2: Armor and Shields, page 158).
Special As a variant rule, the DM can allow fighters to choose one free Exotic Shield Proficiency feat instead of the Tower Shield Proficiency feat they receive at 1st level. A fighter may select Exotic Shield Proficiency as one of her fighter bonus feats (see page 38 of the Player's Handbook).


Level 5
We staggered levels with fighter to keep our skill points up enough and within class to be able to qualify for assassin. We finally got mass beguile! Sweet, now we can beguile from afar, get within 30’ and begin lobbing alchemists elements at our opponents. It may be time to google up the wide variety of fantastic alchemical items sold in this game.

Level 6
A proper mountebankian prestige class: Assassin! Another d6 sneak attack (4d6 thrown +6 craven)! Death attack is a nice touch because you can beguile from afar! While using the next 3 turns in observation in full armor doing full defense until you can kill them all dead with a melee weapon one at a time. Assassin offers some absolutely necessary spells to take this build even further. Rapid shot allows you to use that shield sheath/ spring sheathed masterwork bandoleer to toss two flasks in a round. That’s nice because shaped splash means that you hit even more people. The problem with Assassin spellcasting is the sheer shortage of castings per day, which you will modify by taking craft wand later. The reason we are choosing craft wand and scribe scroll is that i basically don’t want to do the research on activation time, and i believe that there are some confounding rules on spell trigger items with the rules compendium saying that a wand with a swift action spell is a swift action to use. The two spells known are sniper’s shot. This spell is a swift action that allows you to make all of your sneak attacks until next turn work at any distance. Spring sheath allows you to avoid the need to waste a feat on quickdraw. Just buy a bandoleer!



Spring Sheath (Song and Silence: A Guidebook to Bards and Rogues) Transmutation Level: Assassin 1, Components: V, S, Casting Time: 1 action Range: Touch Effect: One sheath, buckle, or strap Duration: 10 minutes/level Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless, object) Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless, object) You can use this spell to turn an ordinary weapon sheath into a helpful magic device. Any quick hand motion in front of the affected weapon-holding device (a free action) causes the weapon inside to shoot forth of its own volition and settle into your hand. The overall effect is the same as that of the Quick Draw feat. Although this spell is usually cast on a sword sheath, it also works on the straps, buckles, and pockets that hold other weapons. You could, for example, cast spring sheath on the strap of the backpack that usually holds your longbow to make that weapon fly into your hand.

Sniper's Shot (Spell Compendium, p. 194) Divination Level: Assassin 1, Ranger 1, Sorcerer 1, Wizard 1, Components: V, S, Casting Time: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: 1 round While muttering a short chant you focus your awareness, looking only at the areas of your foe that seem most vital to its survival. Your ranged attacks made before the start of your next turn can be sneak attacks regardless of the distance between you and your target. You must still fulfill the other conditions for making a sneak attack against the target. This spell doesn't grant you the ability to make a sneak attack if you don't already have that ability.

(p.97 FRCS) Masterwork Bandoleer: This leather belt has loops or pouches for carrying small items (up to dagger size). It is usually worn across the chest. It holds twelve items.



Epic Feat 1: Practiced manifester
Need to get that caster level up in order to craft wands

Epic Feat 2: craft wand
We can craft 3 wands, disguise self, spring sheath, and sniper’s shot. Try to barter disguise self wands for something like golem strike (p.106 Spell compendium), grave strike (p.107 Spell compendium), and/or hunter’s eye (p.114 PHB2). A wand of hunter’s eye will be cheaper for later shenanigans than adding sneak attack boosting weapon enchantments to your chosen aptitude morphing weapon. But more on that later. I’m gonna go ahead and say that the hunter’s eye wand is nearly a must have for you to use with UMD.


Hunter's Eye (Player's Handbook II) Divination Level: Ranger 2, Components: V, S, Casting Time: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: 1 round:
This spell grants you the sneak attack ability. You deal an extra 1d6 points of damage per three caster levels. If you already have the sneak attack ability, this damage stacks with it.

Epic Feat 3: Two weapon fighting
Time to throw three flasks per round! Sure their at -4 to hit, but you should have something like more than a 50% chance of hitting any target per throw (AC 10 for most beguiled opponents unless they have insight or deflection bonuses to AC)

Epic Feat 4: Far shot or Exotic weapon proficiency (gnome calculus)
With far shot, your range increment on flasks increases to 20. So you only eat a -5 penalty to hit folks 120 feet away. If you would rather use the gnome calculus, it fixes the range increment to 50, and if you have some sort of modular aptitude (tome of Battle) enchantment laying around, you can port that exotic weapon proficiency around to other exotic weapons. More about that later.


CALCULUS, GNOME p.6 Arms & Equipment guide (3.0)
Exotic Ranged Weapon
Cost: 50 gp
Damage: Per ammo
Critical: -
Range: 50 ft
Weight: 2 lb
Type: -
Ammo: Flask
Calculus, Gnome: This oversized sling is made to fire flasks filled with liquid. Common ammunition includes acid, alchemist’s fire, and other alchemical substances. Alchemical ammunition deals damage according to its properties, but it gains the range increment of the gnome calculus.

Epic feat 5: Improved unarmed strike
Eventually you’re gonna run out of things to throw…
Actually, It’s time to play with some rules shenanigans. This is one of 2 feat taxes.

Epic feat 6: weapon focus unarmed strike
Here’s a feat tax also.

Epic feat 7: Versatile unarmed strike
We are now going to get into those rules shenanigans.
Precision damage is of the same type as the weapon used to cause damage. So if you’re using alchemists fire, the precision damage is of the fire type. But what if you needed to do a bunch of splash damage, but you couldn’t use elemental alchemy items? That’s where versatile unarmed strike, the aptitude enchantment, the morphing enchantment, and the Dragonshard Pommel Stone come in. You can enchant the pommel stone with weapon enhancements, like the aptitude and morphing enchantments. You can then attach them to a melee weapon, like that stilleto shield (get a throwing or returning enchantment on that thing) that i gave you stats for above for no real apparent reason. So now, you have this spiked shield that you can morph into any other weapon of the same handedness, with which you can apply any feat that is applied to another weapon. Morph it into a flask of alchemists fire, use a swift action to change its damage to slashing, bludgeoning, or piercing by using the aptitude property in concert with versatile unarmed strike, (get a free +1 to hit from weapon focus too) load it into your gnome calculus or just throw it. Bang! 2d6+4d6+6 piercing damage per person hit, instead of fire and additional splash piercing damage. I know what you’re thinking, won’t that destroy the pommel stone? Probably not, especially if it has the returning property...Ask your GM first.


(p.85 PHB2) Versatile Unarmed Strike Prerequisite Improved Unarmed Strike (PH)
Benefit: As a swift action, you can opt for your unarmed strikes to deal your choice of bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. Once you make this choice, your unarmed strikes continue to deal the chosen damage type until you use another swift action to change it.
Special A fighter can select Versatile Unarmed Strike as one of his fighter bonus feats.

Forge of War p.121: Dragonshard Pommel Stone Price (Item Level): See text Body Slot: — Caster Level: See text Aura: See text Activation: See text Weight: 1/4 lb. This Eberron dragonshard swirls with abnormally deep red patterns beneath its lighter surface. It has clearly been shaped to fi t into the pommel of a weapon. Perhaps one of the most broadly useful creations of House Cannith before the Last War, dragonshard pommel stones allow warriors and adventurers to easily transfer enchantments between weapons. Although they gained great favor with certain offi cers during the Last War, they were not sufficiently cost-effective to see widespread use. A dragonshard pommel stone can be enchanted as though it were a melee weapon. It can have an enhancement bonus of +1 to +5, and any melee weapon special ability, such as keen or fl aming burst. As with a weapon, it must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus before it can receive any special abilities, and it is limited to an effective total bonus of +10. On its own, a dragonshard pommel stone serves little purpose. Over the course of 1 minute, however, it can be attached to any masterwork melee weapon. The weapon then takes on all the qualities imbued in the pommel stone. For instance, if a stone is enchanted to be a +2 spell storing item, any melee weapon it is attached to becomes a +2 spell storing weapon. If the pommel stone is removed—requiring a fullround action—the weapon reverts to its prior state, and the stone can be attached to some other weapon. A dragonshard pommel stone can be attached to a weapon that already has an enhancement bonus and possibly also one or more special properties, but the magic of the pommel stone supersedes the existing enchantments; the weapon cannot benefit from both at once. A dragonshard pommel stone fails to function when attached to an epic weapon, a weapon of legacy, or an artifact (and indeed this failure might be the first indication that such an item is more than it appears.) A weapon can have only a single pommel stone attached at any time. Double weapons are an exception to this rule; such a weapon can have two pommel stones, each of which grants its benefit to a single end of the weapon. The base price of a dragonshard pommel stone is 125% of the base price of a weapon that has the same abilities. For instance, a +2 spell storing longsword is effectively a +3 weapon, and thus has a base price of 18,000 gp. A dragonshard pommel stone with the same enhancements (or any others totaling an effective bonus of +3) would instead have a base price of 22,500 gp (resulting in a cost to create of 11,250 gp, 900 XP, 23 days). Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, varies. Cost to Create: Varies.

APTITUDE - TOME OF BATTLE (3.5) Price: +1 bonus Property: Any Caster Level: 7th Aura: Faint; (DC 17) evocation Activation: Wielded Description: Aptitude weapons have no special appearance. Anyone can wield an aptitude weapon, but to gain any benefit from it, a wielder must have feats that are tied to the use of a particular weapon type. The aptitude property lets a wielder apply his expertise with another type of weapon to the aptitude weapon. Thus, the master of a greatsword the also the master of any aptitude weapon. A wielder who has feats that affect the use of a particular type of weapon, such as Weapon Focus, Greater Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, or the like, can apply the benefits of those feats to any weapon that has the aptitude quality. In addition, if any of the wielder’s weapon use feats are specifically keyed to the aptitude weapon’s type, he gains a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls. Construction: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Weapon Focus (weapon being enchanted).

MORPHING - MAGIC ITEM COMPENDIUM (3.5) - UNDERDARK (3.5) Price: +1 bonus Property: Melee/Thrown Caster Level: 9th Aura: Moderate; (DC 19) transmutation Activation: Standard (command) Description: This weapon’s shape constantly flows and reforms in slightly different compositions. You can reshape a morphing weapon into any other melee or thrown weapon of the same size and type (light, one-handed, or two-handed). For instance, a morphing greatsword could become a spear, great-axe, or dire flail. If a single weapon created with the morphing property becomes a double weapon, only one end of the double weapon retains the weapon’s magical bonus, although the other end is masterwork. If a double weapon created with the morphing property becomes a single weapon, it can have the properties of either end of the original double weapon. The properties of the other end are dormant but not lost; they become active again when the morphing weapon once again becomes a double weapon. Construction: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, fabricate.

Epic Feat 8. Head shot (p.77 Complete Scoundrel)
Ok, now you can hit people with your flasks from 100 ft away. What if we wanted some sweet rider effects. First off, you’ll need that item of hunter’s eye that i talked about above or the following enchantments on your pommel stone, in addition to morphing and aptitude: Assassination from Cityscape (+1d6 sneak attack) and deadly precision from Magic item compendium (another +1d6 sneak attack). Aptitude and morph and versatile your weapon into a bludgeoning flask, and boom! They need a DC 20 save against confusion. They’ll start attacking each other! If all of this sounds way too corny, take the throw anything feat from complete warrior, and use your death attack with melee weapons that you throw.

Head Shot (Complete Scoundrel, p. 77) Prerequisite Weapon Focus (PH) (any bludgeoning weapon) , Sneak attack +6d6,
Benefit Your successful sneak attack with a bludgeoning weapon for which you have selected Weapon Focus leaves your foe confused for 1 round. A successful Will save (DC 10 + the number of extra damage dice normally dealt by your sneak attack + your Dex modifier) negates this effect. If you use this feat a second time on a target before 1 round has elapsed, the effect of the first use expires. Using this feat reduces your sneak attack damage by 5d6.
Special You must be able to reach your foe's head to use this feat with a melee attack.

9. Disembowling strike (p.76 Complete Scoundrel)
Same deal as last time, except morph your melee weapon into a flask that deals slashing damage via aptitude versatile strike shenanigans. Throw some constitution damage into the fray.
"Disemboweling Strike ( Complete Scoundrel, p.74) [Ambush] Prerequisite Weapon Focus (PH) (Any slashing weapon) , Sneak attack +5d6, Benefit Your successful sneak attack with a slashing weapon for which you have selected Weapon Focus deals 1d4 points of Constitution damage in addition to its normal damage. You can't use this feat against the same target more than once per day. Using this feat reduces your sneak attack damage by 4d6."

10. Deafening strike (p.76 Complete Scoundrel) OR Throat punch (p.78 Complete Scoundrel)
I don’t really care anymore, if you’ve been allowed to get away with all of this so far, go throat punch (with a flask) and take out the big bad caster...if they fail their save against your beguilement.

[Zaq]

Build the second!


Ibli al-Tanin
LE Venerable Dragonwrought Desert Kobold Mountebank 6

The Desert Knight
Ability Scores
Point Buy: 14 Str, 14 Dex, 13 Con, 11 Int, 12 Wis, 15 Cha
After Racial and Age Adjustments: 10 Str, 16 Dex, 13 Con, 14 Int, 13 Wis, 18 Cha
Increase Con at 4th level



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


1st
Mountebank 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Bluff 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Use Magic Device 4, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Tumble 4
Dragonwrought
Beguiling Stare, Bonus Language (Infernal), Mark of Damnation, Trapfinding


2nd
Mountebank 2
+1
+0
+3
+0
Bluff 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Use Magic Device 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Tumble 5, Open Lock 1, Disable Device 1
-
Deceptive Attack +1d6, Draconic Rite of Passage (Insightful Feint 1/day)


3rd
Mountebank 3
+2
+1
+3
+1
Bluff 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Use Magic Device 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 6, Tumble 6, Open Lock 1, Disable Device 1, Forgery 1, Gather Information 1
Weapon Finesse
Infernal Patron, Mass Beguile


4th
Mountebank 4
+3
+1
+4
+1
Bluff 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Use Magic Device 7, Knowledge (The Planes) 7, Tumble 7, Open Lock 1, Disable Device 1, Forgery 1, Gather Information 1, Diplomacy 2
-
Infernal Guise


5th
Mountebank 5
+3
+1
+4
+1
Bluff 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Use Magic Device 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Tumble 8, Open Lock 1, Disable Device 1, Forgery 1, Gather Information 1, Diplomacy 2, Group Fake Out
-
Disguise the Soul’s Aspect


6th
Mountebank 6
+4
+2
+5
+2
Bluff 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Use Magic Device 9, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Tumble 9, Open Lock 1, Disable Device 1, Forgery 1, Gather Information 1, Diplomacy 5, Group Fake Out
Flyby Attack
Deceptive Attack 2d6
*This assumes that the character will age up sometime between 1st and 2nd level. Taking longer to do it will result in slightly fewer skill points, whereas being able to do it before taking the first Mountebank level will result in a few more.
Epic Feats
1. Combat Expertise
2. Improved Feint
3. Draconic Reservoir
4. Darkstalker
5. Great Flyby Attack
6. Assume Supernatural Ability (Shadow Wyrmling’s Breath Weapon)
7. Flyby Breath
8. Strafing Breath
9. Surprising Riposte
10. Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus: Bite)


The Shifting SandsAlter Self being Mountebank’s most powerful feature by far, the most important facet of optimizing one is picking a race that offers better forms than your garden variety humanoids. Dragonwrought Kobold not only allows for this, but grants a favorable stat line and allows Ibli to gain a first level Sorcerer spell as a SLA through the Draconic Rite of Passage, with Draconic Reservoir eventually boosting it up to three uses per day. That SLA is Insightful Feint from the Spell Compendium, which makes feinting more effective and less of a tax on our action economy. So he’ll be transformed into a dragon of some sort, optionally make a Flyby Beguiling Stare/Mass Beguile or use a swift action for an Insightful Feint (possibly with Group Fake Out), then Flyby Attack or Great Flyby Attack to deliver Deceptive Attacks. On a Great Flyby Attack, any creature successfully feinted against is rendered flat-footed by Surprising Riposte and so as Ibli can make multiple attacks in the round, he gets an extra bite against one target from Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus). The Shadow Wyrmling would be a favored form anyway as most dragons hit Alter Self’s 120 ft flight speed cap, and it has unusually high natural armor, but with Assume Supernatural Ability for its Breath Weapon it gets even better. Flyby Breath and Strafing Breath offer more options for hit and run attacks.

Complete Scoundrel: Group Fake-Out
Draconomicon: Shadow Wyrmling
Dragon Compendium: Mountebank
Dragonlance Campaign Setting: Flyby Breath, Strafing Breath
Drow of the Underdark: Surprising Riposte
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Planar Handbook: Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus)
Races of the Dragon: Dragonwrought, Draconic Rite of Passage
Races of the Dragon Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a): Draconic Reservoir
Savage Species: Great Flyby Attack, Assume Supernatural Ability
Spell Compendium: Insightful Feint
SRD: Everything Else

[Zaq]

Build the third!


"I was born tainted. I was young and stupid. I made sold my soul to a fiend for power and revenge. And it worked!

But it wasn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be. I looked around and realized I'd become almost as bad as the creatures I destroyed. So I resolved to make amends.

And it would have worked, too! All I needed was time. But I ran out of time.

As the blackness claimed me, I found myself hovering over the black, writhing mass that is the Nine Hells. I knew this was my fate: dissolution of personality, loss of self, and eventual disintegration into that writhing mass. Something in me rebelled, and the light behind me granted me one more chance to set things right.

I awoke a changed man, terrified of what would become of me when I fell again. In that moment of weakness, I made another fiendish pact: I agreed to become a demonic herald, sowing my patron’s will across the world. But I don't want to be a harbinger of chaos and evil.

There's got to be a way out of this. I can find a way out of this. Can’t I…?"

Jakal was a fiendish tiefling who sold his soul for warlock powers. His account is mostly honest: he got his revenge, he did repent, he was scourged by the Powers Above, and granted a second chance, reborn as a hellbred. But back on the Prime Material, he succumbed to his fear and made another demonic pack. He reluctantly set about furthering his demonic patron's agenda.

But the festering, growing, sense of decency would not leave him alone. Jakal worked to minimize the damage he did while trying to find. As time passed, he moved from passive defiance to actively searching for an escape clause. When contacted by a third entity, Jakal was at first suspicious. But the entity did not offer a pact for power. Instead, it desired assistance finding a lost relic. In return for a home in Jakal, the entity would attempt to remove the demonic mark from Jakal's soul. The entity did not guarantee grace, but if it was successful, Jakal would at least be his own man.

Jakal accepted.

Through a series of tribulations, Jakal learn of and acquired Crimson Ruination, a dragonsbane weapon. The example of its original wielder inspired him. Jakal bonded with the weapon and learned to wield it. Its legacy and his growing partnership with the entity gave him hope. Jakal cannot escape this trap on his own. With the right sacred sponsor, maybe he can at least win free of his damnation. That is no guarantee of salvation, but breaking even the only hope Jakal can see.

His fiendish heritage and his infernal patron's influence are growing stronger, empowering Jakal. Each boon makes it harder to achieve his endgame. But Jakal has hope as well. First was his acceptance by Crimson Ruination; now he's recently learned to channel the essence of the phoenix, a symbol of hope and rebirth. Jakal walks a fine line. But time is running out...



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


1st
Mountebank 1
+0
+1
+4
+0
(Skill ranks, 24/1st level mountebank)
Bluff/4, Diplomacy/4, Disable Device/4, Intimidate/4, Search/4, Sense Motive/5
Ability Focus (beguiling stare), Devil's Favor (bonus)
Beguiling stare, bonus language (Abyssal), mark of damnation, trapfinding


2nd
Mountebank 2
+1
+1
+5
+0
(Skill ranks, 6/level/mountebank)
Bluff/5, Diplomacy/5, Disable Device/5, Intimidate/5, Search/5, Sense Motive/5
-
Deceptive attack +1d6


3rd
Mountebank 3
+2
+2
+5
+1
(Skill ranks, 6/level/mountebank)
Bluff/6, Diplomacy/6, Disable Device/6, Intimidate/6, Search/6, Sense Motive/6
Pacifist
Infernal patron, mass beguile


4th
Mountebank 4
+3
+2
+6
+1
(Skill ranks, 6/level/mountebank)
Bluff/7, Diplomacy/7, Disable Device/7, Intimidate/7, Search/7, Sense Motive/7
-
Infernal guise


5th
Mountebank 5
+3
+2
+6
+1
(Skill ranks, 6/level/mountebank)
Bluff/8, Diplomacy/8, Disable Device/8, Intimidate/8, Search/8, Sense Motive/8
Least Legacy (bonus, Crimson Ruination)
Disguise the soul's aspect, Protection from evil (Crimson Ruination)


6th
Mountebank 6
+4
+3
+7
+2
(Skill ranks, 6/level/mountebank)
Bluff/9, Diplomacy/9, Disable Device/9, Intimidate/9, Search/9, Sense Motive/9
Martial Weapon Proficiency (greatsword)
Deceptive attack +2d6, Dragon armor+1 (Crimson Ruination), endure elements (Crimson Ruination)


Male hellbred mountebank 6
CN Medium humanoid (hellbred, psionic)
S-10
D-14
C-13 (-2 at 1st level)
I-10
W-10
Ch-20 (+2 at 1st level, +1 at 4th level)

HP: 28 (7 + (3.5 * 5(all) - 2 (Crimson Ruination) + 5 (Con bonus))
AC: 19, flat-footed 17, touch 15 (+2 Dex, +1 defection (Crimson Ruination), + 4 armor (chain shirt) + 2 natural armor (Abyssal Heritor feats))
Init: +2
Damage: 2d6+1 (Crimson Ruination)

BAB +4
Fort +2
Reflex +7
Will +2

Manifester level 1/2 HD; save DC 11 + Cha modifier; Power Points: 0.
Meldshaping level 1/2 HD; save DC 11 + Cha modifier; Essential Pool: 3;Essentia Capacity: 2

Skills: (Skill points, ability bonuses, and racial bonuses, 54 (24 level 1, 6/levels 2-6))
Bluff/13, Diplomacy/15, Disable Device/9, Intimidate/18, Search/9, Sense Motive/11
Skill Penalies: -2 to Disguise, Escape Artist (Abyssal Heritor feats), -3 to all Cha-based skill checks with good-aligned creatures and animals.

Languages: Common, Abyssal, Infernal

(Monster Manual II, p. 18)
[Creature, General]
The special attack of a creature with this feat is more potent than normal.
Prerequisite: Special attack.
Benefit: Add +2 to the DC for all saving throws against the special attack on which the creature focuses.
Special:A creature can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time the creature takes the feat, it applies to a different special attack.

(Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells, p. 81)
[Devil-Touched]
You have entered into an infernal pact with a dark power. In return for an indelible stain on your soul, and possibly an eternity of torment in Hell, you gain the ability to call upon the powers of Hell to aid your efforts.
Prerequisite: Pact with devil.
Benefit: When you attempt an attack, save, or check of any sort, you can beseech the dark powers to aid you. You gain a +2 bonus on the attack, save, or check. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to the total number of devil-touched feats you have selected, including this one.

(Complete Psionic, p. 60)
[Host]
You host a psionic entity that dislikes combat and provides you psi-like abilities to help you avoid a fight.
Prerequisite: None.
Benefit: A psionic entity takes up residence within your flesh. The entity grants you the following psi-like ability: Psi-like Ability: 1/day--deaden blow (see page 82) or entangling ectoplasm. Manifester level 1/2 your HD; save DC 11 + your Cha, Int, or Wis modifier.
Special: You can use one or the other of your entity-granted psi-like abilities once per day--you can't use both. Once you use one, you can't use the other for the rest of the day.

(Weapons of Legacy, p. 14)
[Legacy]
You awaken the basic abilities of a specific item of legacy.
Prerequisite: Character Level 5, learn and perform the associated least legacy ritual of the chosen item.
Benefit: Choose one item of legacy (or candidate item, if founding a legacy). If you meet the other prerequisites for wielding that item, you can use any of the item's least legacy abilities that are available to a character of your level.

(Player's Handbook v.3.5, p. 97)
[General]
Choose a type of martial weapon, such as longbow (see Table 7-4: Weapons, pages 98-99, for a list of martial weapons). You understand how to use that type of martial weapon in combat. Use this feat to expand the list of weapons you are proficient with beyond the basic list in the class description.
Prerequisite: None.
Benefit: You make attack rolls with the weapon normally.
Normal: A character who uses a weapon without being proficient with it suffers a -4 penalty on attack rolls.

(Complete Mage, p. 43)
[Heritage]
You are descended from creatures native to the Lower Planes. You share some of your ancestors' natural resistance to poison, and you are resistant to the magic of good foes.
Prerequisite: Non-good alignment.
Benefit: You gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saving throws against poison. You also gain a +1 bonus on saving throws against spells or other effects produced by good creatures.

(Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss, p. 87)
[Abyssal Heritor]
You are either stunningly beautiful or wretchedly hideous. Either way, your appearance can be terribly unsettling to others upon whom you focus your attentions.
Prerequisite: CHA 15.
Benefit: When you take this feat, you must decide whether you are unusually beautiful or unusually hideous. Once you make this choice, you cannot change it. You gain a bonus on Perform checks (if you chose beauty) or Intimidate checks (if you chose ugliness) equal to the number of Abyssal heritor feats you possess. As a full-round action, you can attempt to distract a target within 30 feet by focusing your attention upon it. The target must be able to see you and can resist your distracting appearance by making a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Cha modifier). Failure indicates that the target is fascinated (if you are beautiful) or sickened (if you are ugly) for as long as you remain in its line of sight. You can affect a specific creature in this manner only once per day. This ability is usable a number of times per day equal to the number of Abyssal heritor feats you possess.
Special: Your appearance is so striking that it's difficult to hide. You take a -2 penalty on Disguise checks.

( Magic of Incarnum, p. 35)
[Incarnum]
You can use incarnum to boost your physical vigor.
Prerequisite: CON 13.
Benefit: Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. You gain three temporary hit points per point of invested essentia. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours, even if the temporary hit points are lost. You gain 1 point of essentia.
Special: Azure Toughness can be used in place of the Toughness feat to qualify for a feat, prestige class, or other special ability.

(Complete Mage, p. 43)
[Heritage]
You share your ancestors' ability to tamper with the minds of weak-minded fools.
Prerequisite: Fiendish Heritage (CM) , character level 6th, Non-good alignment.
Benefit: You gain the following spell-like abilities, each usable once per day: cause fear, detect thoughts, and suggestion. Your caster level equals your character level.

(Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss, p. 85)
[Abyssal Heritor]
Your skin has rough, scaly patches that enhance your natural armor.
Prerequisite: None.
Benefit: Your natural armor bonus improves by 1. This improvement increases by 1 for every two Abyssal heritor feats you possess. If you do not have natural armor, assume your natural armor bonus is +0.
Special: Your thickened skin tends to catch on objects and makes you less flexible. Because of these effects, you take a -2 penalty on Escape Artist checks.

(Magic of Incarnum, p. 40-41)
[General]
You gain the ability to shape a single soulmeld.
Prerequisite: CON 13.
Benefit: When this feat is selected, choose a soulmeld from any class's soulmeld list. You can shape that soulmeld using the normal meldshaping rules (see page 49). Once chosen, the soulmeld granted by this feat can never be changed. Your meldshaper level for this soulmeld is equal to one-half your character level.
If you have essentia, you can invest essentia in the soulmeld as normal. See Table 2?1: Essentia Capacity on page 19 to determine the soulmeld's essentia capacity.
If you have the ability to bind a soulmeld to a chakra, you can bind this soulmeld to any chakra available to you (as long as the soulmeld can be bound to that chakra).
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, choose a new soulmeld.

(Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells, p. 81)
[Devil-Touched]
Your close association with diabolic powers stains your soul. By focusing your power, you can cause other creatures to become unsettled and nervous in your presence.
Prerequisite: Devil's Favor (FCII) , Intimidate 9 ranks, CHA 13.
Benefit: You can generate an aura of fear for 1 round as a swift action. All living creatures within 10 feet must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your HD + your Cha modifier) or become shaken for 1d3 rounds. Multiple exposures to the same aura have no additional effect. The aura lasts for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to the total number of devil-touched feats you have selected, including this one.

(Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells, p. 83)
[Devil-Touched]
You gain a devil's talent for trickery and deceit. Your words form a verbal maze that clouds your opponent's mind. As a physical mark of this ability, your tongue becomes forked like a serpent's.
Prerequisite: Devil's Favor (FCII) , CHA 15.
Benefit: As a standard action, you can speak soothing words of friendship and amity to any opponent within 60 feet. The target must be able to hear and understand you. The target must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your HD + your Cha modifi er) or be dazed for 1 round. In addition, he is rendered flat-footed. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to the number of devil-touched feats you possess. You can choose to spend two uses of this ability to use it as a swift action rather than as a standard action. This is a mind-affecting, language-dependent, supernatural ability.

(Magic of Incarnum, p. 35)
[General]
You are better able to harness your personal store of incarnum.
Prerequisite: Con 13, character level 6th.
Benefit: You gain 1 point of essentia. If you are capable of shaping soulmelds, you instead gain 2 points of essentia.

(Draconomicon, p. 105)
[General]
Like a dragon, your mere presence can terrify those around you.
Prerequisite: Intimidate 9 ranks, CHA 15.
Benefit: You gain the use of the frightful presence ability. Whenever you attack or charge, all opponents within a radius of 30 feet who have fewer levels or Hit Dice than you become shaken for a number of rounds equal to 1d6 + your Cha modifier. The effect is negated by a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Cha modifier). A successful save indicates that the opponent is immune to your frightful presence for 24 hours. This ability can't affect creatures with an Intelligence of 3 or lower, nor does it have any effect on dragons.

You're a squishy face who's wielding a melee weapon of legacy. You're going to have to pick your battles. You are a trap disabler, *not* a scout. Stick with the meat shields.

Try talking before fighting. Your special ablilities and skill are focused on social encounters. Intimidation is your strongest intercation, but you have enough skill points for other, less threatening, interactions. Let one of your good-aligned party mates deal with the good folk you meat.

When fighting, disable your opponents as fast as possible. Sicken, shaken, beguiled, fearful prescence all give you an opportunity for your deceptive attack. If drawn into melee, assign your essentia ahead of time. It will save you.

Your fiendish abilities give you a little more staying power than most faces. Use that to get out of melee as soon as possible.

If you do find redemption, you're going to lose access to most of your powers. Plan accordingly


All hellbred share the following racial traits:
• Humanoid (Hellbred): Hellbred are humanoid creatures, despite their monstrous appearance.
• Infernal Mien (Ex): Hellbred have a sinister presence. They gain a +2 racial bonus on Intimidate checks.
• Evil Exception (Ex): Regardless of alignment or class restrictions, a hellbred can cast spells with the evil descriptor and never gains negative levels while wielding evil magic items, such as unholy weapons or demon armor. This ability does not shield a hellbred from losing access to class features if he violates a class’s code of conduct. For example, using a +1 unholy longsword to slay orcs would not violate a hellbred paladin’s code of conduct, though using the weapon to kill another paladin would.
• Hellbound (Su): A devil has a claim on a hellbred’s soul. As a result, a hellbred can be restored to life only by a resurrection spell or greater magic.
• Devil’s Favor: A hellbred gains Devil’s Favor as a bonus feat for which it does not need to meet the prerequisite. See the new feats section later in this chapter for information on devil-touched feats.
• Infernal Aspect: Upon completing the Scourging, a hellbred chooses one of the following aspects to manifest. Once the choice is made, it cannot be changed.
Spirit (Su): A hellbred who selects the spirit aspect acquires infernal senses, gaining darkvision out to 30 feet and a +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks. In addition, the process of the Scourging leaves him with a strong mind but a weak body. The hellbred gains a +2 bonus to Charisma and takes a –2 penalty to Constitution.
At 6 HD, his darkvision extends to 60 feet.
• Automatic Languages: Infernal. Hellbred gain the ability to speak Infernal upon their transformation, but they do not lose the ability to speak languages they previously knew before the Scourging.
• Favored Class: Paladin. A multiclass hellbred’s paladin class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing. Furthermore, hellbred paladins can leave that class and return to it without penalty.

CRIMSON RUINATION
This broad-bladed greatsword bears a series of wicked barbs along the lower third of its blade. The steel has been infused with a substance that gives it a reddish tinge, except for three dwarven runes inlaid in gold. Wrapped in red dragonhide, the grip ends in a pommel crafted of a 3-inch-long dragon fang. The guard is made of a bright red metal shaped into the likeness of a pair of leathery wings.
Nonlegacy Game Statistics: +1 greatsword; Cost 2,350 gp.
Omen: Regardless of the ambient temperature, the blade is always warm to the touch, and it occasionally seems to reflect the image of a great conflagration on its surface, even when no fire is present.
Legacy Ritual: Hero’s Prayer: You must travel to the monument that marks the site where Tarkalkatos was slain, as well as the legendary Sir Endrik’s tomb. Once there, you must spend 24 hours in prayer and meditation, requesting Sir Endrik’s approval to wield his legendary sword. Cost: 1,650 gp. Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Crimson Ruination).
LEGACY ITEM ABILITIES
All the following are legacy item abilities of Crimson Ruination.
Protection From Evil (Su): At 5th level and higher, you constantly benefit from the effects of a protection from evil spell. Caster level 5th.
Dragon Armor (Su): At 6th level, you gain a +1 deflection bonus to Armor Class. This bonus increases to +2 at 13th level. At your discretion, this ability causes shimmering, translucent dragon scales to appear on top of your skin and clothing, or the effect can be invisible.
Endure Elements (Su): The red dragons Crimson Ruination was crafted to destroy often lair in inhospitable environments, such as active volcanoes or geothermal caves. Beginning at 6th level, you act as if continually under the effects of an endure elements spell. Caster level 5th.

[Zaq]

Build the fourth!


Silas "Rusty" Formaux


https://www.aidedd.org/dnd/images/grell.jpg



CE Daelkyr half-blood Mountebank 5/battle dancer 1
str 10
dex 16
con 14
int 10
wis 12
cha 15 +1 at level 4 for 16 total




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


1st
Mountebank 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
bluff 4, intimidate 4, hide 4, move siltently 4, use magic device 4, search 4
weapon finesse, Symbiont mastery(Racial Bonus)

Beguiling stare, bonus language (Abyssal), mark of damnation, trapfinding


2nd
Mountebank 2
+1
+0
+3
+0
bluff 5, intimidate 5, hide 5, move siltently 5, use magic device 5, search 5
-
deceptive attack +1d6


3rd
battle dancer 1
+2
+0
+5
+0
bluff 6(cc), intimidate 5, hide 6, move siltently 6, use magic device 5, search 5

claws of the beast, improved unarmed strike (class bonus)
AC bonus, unarmed strike (1d6)


4th
Mountebank 3
+3
+1
+5
+1
bluff 7, intimidate 6, hide 7, move siltently 7, use magic device 6, search 6
-
infernal patron, mass beguile


5th
Mountebank 4
+4
+1
+6
+1
bluff 8, intimidate 7, hide 8, move silently 8, use magic device 7, search 7
-
infernal guise


6th
Mountebank 5
+4
+1
+6
+1
bluff 9, intimidate 8, hide 9, move siltently 9, use magic device 8, search 8
demonic skin
disguise the soul's aspect




Cloak of obyrith
shape soulmeld (wormtail belt)
shape soulmeld (bloodwar gauntlets)
bonus essentia
Poison talons
Martial study(rabid wolf strike)
vestigial wings
martial study (sudden leap)
primordial scion
martial stance (hunter's sense)





Level 1-4
For the first 4 levels, your play-style is fairly typical for a mountebank. You stare people in their eyes before stabbing them, or apply some fast talking to get through social situations. The level of battle dancer allows you to add your CHA bonus to AC when unarmored, and gives you unarmed strikes that are actually worth a damn. The claws of the beast feat add to your unarmed fighting style, adding a profane bonus to damage with unarmed attacks and, importantly for later, natural weapons. At this point it's only +1, but by the end of the build you'll have 6 abyssal herritor feats, meaning you add +4 to damage from this feat(+1 for starters, and then +1 per abyssal feat).

During the early levels you'll also use the throwing scarab symbiotic with some regularity, as it gives you a nifty 2d6 damage throwing weapon.

Level 5-6
At level 5 one of the builds main tricks comes online. You get the ability to cast alter self (SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/alterSelf.htm)) as a sorcerer of your mountebank level 5 times per day. Alter self allows you to change into other creatures within your own creature type, and Daelkyr half-bloods are aberrations, rather than humanoids. This gives you access to a wide variety of forms for both utility (as you retain special movement modes, such as flight, swim or burrow and racial skill bonuses) and combat (as you get the creatures Natural armor and natural attacks, and aberrations tend to have pretty silly amounts of natural attacks) For combat, the grell is of particular note, with a decent amount of natural armor and silly blender of tentacle attacks.

The level 6 feat is Demonic skin, another abyssal heritor feat that gives you an untyped bonus to natural armor of 1, +1 per two abysal heritor feats (for a total of +4 by build completion)

This is also where a particular 'ask your DM' Shenanigan comes into play. Given that this shenanigan pretty much requires your DM to give a ruling on whether it works at all I won't consider it for the rest of the build, but I've put a write-up in the sidebar describing how it might work out

Daelkyr halfbloods naturally get a Symbiont. A symbiont is a tiny or fine aberration that's attached to you, and gives you some minor ability. They also get share spells, which means that any spell you cast on yourself is also automatically cast on the symbiont. You'll be regularly casting 'alter self' on yourself, so then the question ebcoems about what happens to the symbiont. The most permissive reading would allow you to pick what kind of aberration your symbiont turns into independently from what you turn yourself into to get an additional creature on your side. The least permissive reading will rule that nothing happens unless you turn yourself into an abberation that the symbiont could turn into as well (IE: you pick a small creature and the symbiont is tiny). Another thing that comes up is whether your symbiont changing shape results in taking damage from the symbiont detaching or not.


Epic feats
Cloak of Obyrith
Straight up DR/Lawful with 1 point per Abyssal heritor feat. Starts at 3 and goes up to 6 by the end of the build. Straightforward defensive buff.

shape soulmeld (wormtail belt)
Allows you to shape the wormtail belt soulmeld, which gives you a +2 enhancement bonus to your natural armor. As it's a different type of bonus than the one from Demonic skin, its tacks for a very healthy +6 Natural armor by the end of the build.

shape soulmeld (bloodwar gauntlets)
The Bloodwar gauntlets give you a +1 to melee attack rolls. It's just a tiny bit better than weapon focus, but it comes into its own more with the next feat:

Bonus essentia
This feat gives you 1 point of essentia, or 2 if you can shape soulmelds. The previous two feats allow you to shape soulmelds (note that the feat doesn't ask for the meldshaping class feature, just the ability to shape soulmelds), so you get two points of essentia. You can divide these over the wormtail belt and blood war gauntlets as you prefer. Each point in the wormtail belt gives you +1 NA, and each point in the gauntlets gives you +1 damage on melee attacks. Moving essentia around is a swift action, so you can reallocate for more offense or defense as you prefer.

Poison talons
This allows you to attack with a DC15 poison that does 1d4 strength damage both primary and secondary. Not particularly impressive on its own, though it could be useful in a hit-and-run situation against a low-strength opponent, and application is a swift action and it's used on your next damaging hit, so nothing's lost using the ability in a fight. Remember that the inclusion of this feat also buffs the other abyssal feats though!

Martial study (sudden leap)
Martial study allows you to get a martial maneuver that you meat the prerequisites for. Your initiator level is 3, so you can pick 1st and 2nd level maneuvers that don't have other maneuvers as prerequisites.
This gives you a 1 per encounter attack that gives you +4 to hit and an extra 2d6 damage, though you take a 1-turn -4 penalty to AC. This is a neat damage boost when closing distance to opponents, but its most important role is that of filling a prerequisite later.

Vestigial wings
A pretty hefty jump bonus (+15 when taking the feat, +18 at build's end) and slow-fall while conscious if neat for maneuverability. It'also an additonal abyssal heritor feat, buffing the other ones.

Martial study (sudden leap)
This is the other reason you got rabid wolf strike earlier. Sudden leap allows you to jump to cover distance as a swift action once per battle, putting you in range to initiate a tentacle blender.

Primordial scion
Because DR/Chaotic is really common... \sarcasm.

In all seriousness though, this feat rounds out your abyssal heritor feats to an even 6, adding another +1 Natural armor and +1 damage on melee attacks from earlier feats, as well as a variety of other boons. Lawful opponents will also die really quickly, given that you get a 6d6 damage bonus against them.

Martial stance(hunter's sense)
This effectively gives you the scent ability. It's useful because dealing with invisible foes sucks, and track is a bonus feat for the rune hound (5HD aberration), so you could go and track some lawful fool by scent in a pinch.


putting it all together
Outside of combat you can probably bluff and intimidate yourself out of and into trouble, while you've got access to a variety of forms for skulking around. In combat your AC will be somewhere between 22 (no alternate form, no essentia in the wormtail belt) and the low thirties, depending on the form you've taken, and damage will be between 1d6+4 (average 7) while punching someone once using your iterative and with no essentia in the gauntlets and 10d4+70d6+60 (average 330) against a hapless beguiled fool that got in your way while you where in grell form and the to-hit dice where on fire.



Magic of eberron: Daelkyr half-blood race, symbiont mastery feat, throwing scarab (symbiont, listed under creatures)
Dragon compendium: Mountebank, battle dancer
Fiendish codex I: Claws of the beast, demonic skin, cloak of obyrith, poison talons, vestigial wings, primordial scion
Tome of battle: feats: Martial study, martial stance, maneuvers: rabid wolf strike, sudden leap, hunter's sense
magic of incarnum: feats: Shape soulmeld, bonus essentia, soulmelds: wormtail belt, bloodwar gauntlets

[Zaq]

Last but not least, build the fifth!



Xenon Zendel
N Otherworldly Kalashtar Mountebank 6



Ability Scores14 Str, 14 Dex, 12 Con, 10 Int, 14 Wis, 15 Cha
Increase Cha at 4th level.
Build Table


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


1st
Mountebank 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Bluff 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Tumble 4, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Intimidate 4
Otherworldly
Beguiling Stare, Bonus Language (Abyssal), Mark of Damnation, Trapfinding


2nd
Mountebank 2
+1
+0
+3
+0
Bluff 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Tumble 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Intimidate 5
-
Deceptive Attack +1d6


3rd
Mountebank 3
+2
+1
+2
+1
Bluff 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Tumble 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 6, Intimidate 5, Jump 2
Wolf Fang Strike
Infernal Patron, Mass Beguile


4th
Mountebank 4
+3
+1
+4
+1
Bluff 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Tumble 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 7, Intimidate 5, Jump 4
-
Infernal Guise


5th
Mountebank 5
+3
+1
+4
+1
Bluff 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Tumble 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Intimidate 5, Jump 6
-
Disguise the Soul’s Aspect


6th
Mountebank 6
+4
+2
+5
+2
Bluff 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Tumble 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Intimidate 5, Jump 9
Kalashtar Mindlink
Deceptive Attack +2d6
Epic Feats
1. Metamorphic Transfer
2. Combat Expertise
3. Improved Feint
4. Darkstalker
5. Surprising Riposte
6. Multiattack
7. Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus: Longsword)
8. Martial Study (Sudden Leap)
9. Metamorphic Transfer
10. Improved Multiattack


Mountebank optimization necessarily centers around optimizing Alter Self. Metamorphic Transfer is a cool thing to have when doing so, as it allows for a supernatural ability from any form assumed rather than the one ability Assume Supernatural Ability grants. Reaching the requisite ML 5 in E6 requires either dipping a Psionic class with Practiced Manifester or being of a race that not only has a racial PLA, but a racial feat that can boost its ML from ½ HD to equal to HD. That rules out Elan and Synad, which is a bit of a bummer for the main facet of Alter Self optimization – getting a non-humanoid type for better forms – but thanks to the Celestial-Attended Birth option in Champions of Valor, we can use Otherworldly to staple the Outsider type to a Kalashtar and boost our ML with the Kalashtar Mindlink feat. We’ll eventually take a second Metamorphic Transfer to open up even more shenanigans from creatures with multiple (Su) abilities. Kalashtar also have a racial bonus to Bluff, and Improved Feint to bring it down to a move action helps make Deceptive Attack more viable, but that still means it’s hard to move and attack. Sudden Leap helps there, and in the process of qualifying we also pick up Wolf Fang Strike for an extra attack on the standard action left after feinting (a creature should count as ‘weilding’ all its natural weapons). With Surprising Riposte, the target is also flat-footed, so all the requirements for an extra attack with Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus) are met. So Xenon can leap up to an enemy as a swift action, feint as a move action, then hit them with his longsword, some natural attack, and then his longsword again, getting an extra 2d6 on the first longsword attack.

Dragon Compendium: Mountebank
Champions of Valor: Celestial-Attended Birth
Drow of the Underdark: Surprising Riposte
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Planar Handbook: Planar Touchstone, Oxyrhynchus
Player’s Guide to Faerun: Otherworldly
Races of Eberron: Kalashtar
Secrets of Sarlona: Kalashtar Mindlink
Tome of Battle: Martial Study, Maneuvers
Everything else should be in the SRD.

[Zaq]

Five mountebanks for your judging pleasure. Again, I appreciate everyone's patience with everything involved. I'll have a table up in the OP shortly. Judges, do your thing!

[jdizzlean]

im surprised no one went montebank 5/montebank (PrC) 1

[thorr-kan]

im surprised no one went montebank 5/montebank (PrC) 1
Or Mountebank 4/Mountebank 2.

I considered it. But it didn't really seem to mesh well.

[daremetoidareyo]

I love how the three best alter self types (aberration, dragon, outsider) all got representation and they were all done super well!

[DeTess]

Sooo, did we already have someone who wanted to judge?

[Long_shanks]

Job has been a little slower lately. If it continues so next week, I'll give a try at judging. I'll know for sure by tuesday.

[Long_shanks]

I'll throw my hat in the ring to judge. I'm away tomorrow all day, but will start analyzing the builds on wednesday. I don't know how long I will need (since I've never judged before), but I'll try to do it as fast as I can.

[Zaq]

Thanks in advance for your efforts, Long_shanks! I have faith in you. Just judge the way you want to be judged and stay even-handed across the board, and you’ll do fine. Make us proud!

[Zaq]

Quick Monday bump! Hope the judging’s going well.

Got a few ideas in mind for the next ingredient. We just had a class with 6 skill points, so I’m leaning towards one with fewer, but if anyone has any really strong opinions about what you’d like to see in the next round or two, I welcome discussion.

[DeTess]

Quick Monday bump! Hope the judging’s going well.

Got a few ideas in mind for the next ingredient. We just had a class with 6 skill points, so I’m leaning towards one with fewer, but if anyone has any really strong opinions about what you’d like to see in the next round or two, I welcome discussion.

Maybe something from magic of Incarnum that doesn't suck as much as the Soulborn? I haven't done much with Magic of Incarnum, so I wouldn't mind a chance to really sink my teeth into that subsystem.

[Long_shanks]

Quick Monday bump! Hope the judging’s going well.


Work has started back up a bit, so I might be a bit longer than expected. I've read through all the builds, wrapped my head around them. I hope to really start digging tomorrow and have judging finished next weekend.

[Zaq]

Maybe something from magic of Incarnum that doesn't suck as much as the Soulborn? I haven't done much with Magic of Incarnum, so I wouldn't mind a chance to really sink my teeth into that subsystem.

Interesting option. Thing is, having played each, Incarnate and Totemist are both absolute rockstars in an E6 environment. They're flexible, they can cover their bases well, and they even get some utility options (including mobility and, for the Incarnate in particular, defensive tricks) that are actually remarkably hard for other classes to replicate in E6, at least with a similar level of investment. Their tricks haven't stopped scaling, and they're just strong all around if you know what you're doing.

Doesn't mean that we can never have a round with them, of course! But I'm thinking that'd need to be another round where Originality counts for a higher percentage of points than any of the other three categories.

[Long_shanks]

Quick update: I'm about halfway done. It is however longer than anticipated; I don't think I'll finish on the weekend as I said. It shouldn't be much longer though.

[Zaq]

Yeah, judging is hard work. We appreciate your efforts!

Thinking we might go with another round where Originality is worth 10 points. Everyone’s down to cook with an ingredient that’s actually not bad, right?

[Long_shanks]

Quick update: I'm about halfway done. It is however longer than anticipated; I don't think I'll finish on the weekend as I said. It shouldn't be much longer though.

Unless my girlfriend's grandmother passes away on the weekend. I'll be MIA for a couple of days.

[DeTess]

Unless my girlfriend's grandmother passes away on the weekend. I'll be MIA for a couple of days.

Oof, my condolences.

[RaiKirah]

Everyone’s down to cook with an ingredient that’s actually not bad, right?

What is this sorcerery??!!!?

[Long_shanks]

Ok, that last week was a godd*mn whirlwind. I'm finally back to an almost normal schedule (I had to catch back on work). So, I expect to be able to start judging anew tonight or tomorrow. Again, sorry for the delay.

[DeTess]

Ok, that last week was a godd*mn whirlwind. I'm finally back to an almost normal schedule (I had to catch back on work). So, I expect to be able to start judging anew tonight or tomorrow. Again, sorry for the delay.

It's okay, real life happens to us all.

[Zaq]

Hey folks!

Sorry I haven’t been able to babysit the thread. This has been a crazy month for me, and I still have two very challenging weeks ahead of me.

Anyone still working on judging?

[Long_shanks]

Hey folks!

Sorry I haven’t been able to babysit the thread. This has been a crazy month for me, and I still have two very challenging weeks ahead of me.

Anyone still working on judging?

I still am, but it's been equally crazy for me. And this week doesn't look to be any calmer, so I won't hazard a guess as to when I'll be done.

[daremetoidareyo]

Just checking in.

[Zaq]

Any updates from judges, announced or unannounced? Remember that anyone* is allowed to judge, not just people who previously said they would.

*(If you're a contestant, we prefer you stick in rather than drop out and judge, but it's not unprecedented!)

I have 30 hours left in the Quarter From Hell that's preventing me from adulting, let alone from playing. If there's no motion by the time I have something resembling my own life back, we'll see if we need to talk about desperate measures.

To prevent any sort of desperate measures, if anyone can offer to judge or can offer a clear status update/timeline on judging, that'd be rad.

Thanks for being patient, folks.

[Zaq]

Okay. Deep breath. Time to solve some problems.

This isn't the way I want things to go, but at this point, I see it as a better alternative than letting the contest go down the drain.

I'm on spring break this week (I mean, relatively speaking; work continues as usual, but I have a tiny breather from school). I've pretty much forgotten who submitted what. If I don't get a judgment in (from anyone who cares to do so) before I finish this task, I'll just throw together some really simple judgments myself and get some scores on the table. This is NOT going to be a novel-length judgment like I normally do! I'm going to try to limit it to about 2-3 sentences per category per build. The goal is just to get down some numbers and get moving.

No, it's not typical or even especially good for the Chair to judge. I recognize that. But at this point I see it as a choice between letting the contest die and just getting my hands dirty and doing what must be done. This is NOT a slight against any prospective judges. Life happens. Believe me, I know that. I've had to walk away from a promised judgment before, and it sucks to be in that position. Everyone's cool and has nothing to apologize for. It's all a game.

If anyone has a screaming objection to this, well, I won't do it if someone else does it for me. Right now. I just don't think we can really wait any longer. I know better than to promise anyone a timeline, but I'm going to try to keep it short and sweet so as to get this show on the road sooner rather than later.

Thanks for putting up with everything, folks. You're all awesome.

[WhamBamSam]

Thanks for judging Zaq. I'll have some more free time after the end of March, so I'll commit to judging the next round now, sight unseen.

[DeTess]

I see no issue with you judging, Zaq!

One thing that might be worth considering is maybe taking a look at the judge-less format used by daremetoidareyo's gamewarpers competition, either as an emergency back-up or cases like these, or even as a standard complement to normal judgings (so the contestants ranking and the judges ranking would get added together to get the final score, and if there are no judges after a reasonable amount of time it'd stand on its own)? I'm afraid I haven't followed that competition too closely, but the judging format itself looks solid and since it didn't go down in flames after the first run there probably aren't too many issues with it. Someone that kept a closer eye on it should feel free to tell me how wrong I am, of course.

Edit: Let me quickly add the rules from the gamewarpers comp, for those that missed that one entirely.
Judging: By Entering an entrant into this contest, you agree to become a judge. That's right. This is pay to play. Judging works like this:

1. Once all of the submissions are made to the chair: ME (daremetoidareyo) at the end of the challenge period, they will be posted to the forum by the chair, (me).

2. Entrants will read all of the entries and score the other builds by the following metrics:

If there are three entries: The judge will address the following 4 categories: Originality, Power, Elegance, and Use of the ingredient. Each category will need at least two sentences explaining the judge's thoughts and ideas about the build. The submitter only judges the other contestant's build. All Contestants will share the gold/silver/bronze medals.

If there are 4-6 entries: The Builds will be assessed in the following 4 categories: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of the ingredient. Each category will need at least one sentence that evaluates how the build performs in that categories.

The submitter only judges the other contestant's builds, not their own. The Judge will then rank each of the entire builds based on the insights received through the assessment of the build categories from first to last (first place, second place, third place, etc.) Don't rank each induvidual category, only use them as the axes by which you judge the quality of the build. We are ranking the entire build holistically as it were, not by individual category. If a submitter fails to provide a judgement to every other entrant, all of the scores received for their build rendered by other entrants are treated as zeros. If you want to win, you have to judge.

To determine the medalists, Each build will then receive a number of points depending on what ranks they received from judges. The point gain rubric for this formula is this:

1st place = Number of Contesants -1
2nd place - Number of contestants -2


Each of the builds will then have a tally of the total points from between the judge's rankings. The highest point total wins.

If there are 7 or more entries: Builds will be assessed by the following 4 categories: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of the ingredient. The Judge will then rank each of the entire builds based on the insights received through the assessment of the build categories from first to last (first place, second place, third place, etc.) Don't rank each induvidual category, only use them as the axis by which you judge the quality of the build. We are ranking the entire build holistically as it were. In your judgment, you are expected to achieve at least this minimum standard:

There must be at least one sentence addressing the Elegance of the Build.

There must be one sentence that begins with "What i liked most about this entry was....."

And there must be one sentence that must begin with "An area of this build that needed more attention was...."

You can write more if you wish. But you don't have to.

The submitter only judges the other contestant's builds, not their own. If a submitter fails to provide a judgement to every other entrant, all of the scores received for their build rendered by other entrants are treated as zeros. If you want to win, you have to judge. We then move to the ranked choice system explained in the "If there are 3-6 entries" section above.

OVERALL Simply use the established definitions of the rating categories (originality, power , elegance, UoSI) from the Iron Chef Optimization Challenge. Again, don't rank each category for every build, simply use them to justify your decision for what rank you give the entire entry.

3. These judgments are PMed to the chair, You can send google doc links or similar formats so long as i don't have to sign up for anything, and I will cut and paste the judgments into the thread.

4. We tally up and determine the winner There is no dispute process, so these scores may wildly fluctuate and some contestants will potentially have to manage feelings of injustice on their own. If someone actively works to game this judging system we will edit it in the future to preclude optimization that hurts the spirit of the contest.

[jdizzlean]

as i think a chair judging a round is very bad precedent, and in the hopes of fostering some goodwill and getting others to step up and judge once in awhile, i humbly submit the following.

E6 montebank judging
Fireball Burrhowl 9.5

Originality: Halfling, rogue, all expected. Flask shenangiganery not so much.
Score 3.5
Power: Just about every class/PrC has the same verbiage whereby something is based off of “class level”. I myself have often desired that to be overall level, and not class level. However, I think it is pretty well established that in all of these cases it is levels in that class, and not overall levels total.
You stack on sources of Sneak Attack, but they don’t function well with Deceptive Attack since that feature specifically calls out it isn’t precision damage. I don’t know how you can have an attack that is both precision damage, and not precision damage at the same time. So, you are either sneak attacking, OR Deceptive Attack striking, but never both.
A beguiled character doesn’t lose their AC bonus, just their DEX to AC bonus.
Beguile and Mass Beguile only last you 4 rounds, so using Mass Beguile from afar, to then use your Death Attack (3 rounds of study) to close, only leaves you w/ 1 round to get that bonus.
Sniper’s Shot is an interesting take at getting past the no sneak attack damage of distracting attack. I’m not sure I’d allow it to work, but it does make for interesting brain fodder.
Score 3
Elegance: Small penalty for using a variant ruling that requires DM approval as a key tenet of your build (shield proficiency for a feat).
Those (massive amounts of) equipment dependencies.
You have effects that are 7th and 9th level casters in an e6 game where they shouldn’t be available at all…
You can’t use spell effects that aren’t permanent to qualify for feat pre-reqs (Using hunter’s Eye to qualify for Head Shot at 8th, to meet the 6d6 SA requirement). Likewise, you have 4d6 SA, not 5d6 so you also can’t take disemboweling strike at 9th.
Score 1
UoSI: You also are prohibited from using deceptive attack on ranged attacks, meaning all the SA bonus damage you pick up is not a good use of the SI.
You focus a lot on applying sneak attack damage, but take zero ranks in Bluff to allow yourself to feint in combat and apply Deceptive Attack.
Craven is great, but also doesn’t apply to the SI at all.
All in all, this is a Sneak Attack/flask build, and not very much a Montebank focused build.
Score 2

Ibli al-Tanin 12.75

Originality: nothing bad or awesome here.
Score 3
Power: negative levels are a big thing in an e6 game
7 uses of alter self for 1 hour each. Not bad at all. That really opens up lots of breath weapon and flyby attacks.
Great Flyby and Deceptive Strike combined w/ Mass beguile can be a strong attack.
Score 4
Elegance: DWK age category cheese.
Debatable as to whether alter self qualifies as “flight” for the purposes of Flyby attack and it’s successors. Despite flyby stating you can gain flight from shapechanging, I feel this is a grey area.
You don’t have a natural breath weapon, nor a natural flight speed, so flyby breath and Strafing breath aren’t qualified for.
Score 2
UoSI: Feint stacking abilities for more Deceptive Strike opportunities.
A weird mix of melee (weapon finesse, touchstone, darkstalker) and ranged/breath weapon feats. It provides you options, but I don’t see a general focus beyond using alter self. If you run out of time/uses on that, a lot of your build goes away.
Score 3.75


Jakal 12.5

Originality: Hellbred would’ve been my choice. Weapons of Legacy not so much.
Score 3.5
Power: Assuming you qualified for Crimson Ruination, I could see you having quite a few nifty things. Taking that away leaves your build stripped down a little bit.
Lots of abyssal feats which is a nice synergy w/ the infernal language side of Montebank from a fluff standpoint. You make a decent face/anti-face, but as stated better find someone else to soak hits for you.
Score 3.5
Elegance: Legacy Weapon dependency. Also, you must be non-chaotic to wield it, so you can’t.
Your point buy is off by 1.
A Hellbred must choose Body or Spirit, I assume you went w/ Spirit. A hellbred is also not naturally psionic, so where do you get that subtype from to qualify for Pacifist?
Score 2.5
UoSI: Ability focus is nice for beguiling stare, and you could probably make a decent argument that it also affects mass beguile, I’d listen to that.
Lots of ways to force deceptive attack, but no mention of any of the other class abilities and how’d you’d use them.
Score 3


Silas “Rusty” Formaux 16.75

Originality:Daelkyr not expected.
Score 4
Power:massive NA total.
Grell is OP as hell, but it’s a use of Alter Self which is OP in and of it’s own. I think grell actually led your racial choice more than anything. In that form you’re a combat beast, out of it, substantially less so.
Lots of combat bonus’s for abyssal feats, you’re a competent beatstick
Score 4
Elegance:Typo in your feats explanation, you list sudden leap twice, no deduction.
Everything appears legal otherwise
Score 5
UoSI: throwning scarab doesn’t stack w/ deceptive strike, and I don’t see where you would change to a different symbiont later on.
UMD is great, but what are you taking it for (specifically)?
Score 3.75


Xenon Zenel 12.75

Originality:I’m not inspired to penalize, nor award.
Score 3
Power:I’m not entirely sold that Metamorphic Transfer is viable w/ Alter Self. MT states it works w/ things like the metamorphosis power which has a HD cap of 15, as opposed to the 5 HD cap of Alter Self.
I’m not seeing how mindlink (or kalashtar mindlink) can affect your ML at all, in fact I’m surprised you took it, and then didn’t attempt to use mindsight, although since your telepathy would be from a temporary source, you might not qualify for that either.
As with other builds this round, if you run out of Alter Self uses, you have little left to contribute.
Score 4
Elegance:Otherworldly requires you to be either Deep Imaskari, elf, or spirit folk, which you aren’t. You use Celestial attended to get around this, but I don’t see how Celestial Attended meshes with a class that gains its power from a deal w/ the devil. And, you provide no fluff that would somehow make this leap of faith (haha) a reality.
Celesital Attended also seems close enough to a bloodline feat as to be illegal.
As w/ other builds this round, you’re using a class ability that isn’t permanent to qualify for feats, in your case you don’t qualify for Multiattack, and so of course later Imp Multiattack, as you don’t have 3 natural attacks.
Score 2.5
UoSI: You go to a lot of hassle to get a different racial subtype, but don’t give any examples of what you might use alter self for because of that.
You’re using your race/celestial attended to get into some dubious qualificaitons for alter self.
You’re also using feint to get more deceptive attacks, which is at least something.
Score 3.25

[DeTess]

Thanks for judging Jdizzlean! I do have some things to say about my build after the reveal, but I have no disputes.

[Zaq]

Thanks for stepping up, jdizzlean! Got a couple disputes. Here's one from Xenon Zendel:


Thanks for judging jdizzlean. I do have a few points of contention however.


I’m not entirely sold that Metamorphic Transfer is viable w/ Alter Self. MT states it works w/ things like the metamorphosis power which has a HD cap of 15, as opposed to the 5 HD cap of Alter Self.
I’m not seeing how mindlink (or kalashtar mindlink) can affect your ML at all, in fact I’m surprised you took it, and then didn’t attempt to use mindsight, although since your telepathy would be from a temporary source, you might not qualify for that either.It says "such as through the metamorphosis power," which is clearly not an exhaustive list of ways that you can "change your form."

The mindlink PLA has a ML. It's ordinarily equal to 1/2 of character level, and the Kalashtar Mindlink feat increases the ML to character level. This is spelled out very explicitly. All that Metamorphic Transfer requires in order to qualify is that you have ML 5, even if that manifester level is in a PLA unrelated to the abilities you're actually using the feat with.


Otherworldly requires you to be either Deep Imaskari, elf, or spirit folk, which you aren’t. You use Celestial attended to get around this, but I don’t see how Celestial Attended meshes with a class that gains its power from a deal w/ the devil. And, you provide no fluff that would somehow make this leap of faith (haha) a reality.
Celesital Attended also seems close enough to a bloodline feat as to be illegal.I was in kind of a rush to get the build out around the holidays, which is why I didn't write up fluff. The idea was going to be that the celestials in attendance at his birth would have inadvertently sparked an interest in outsiders of all sorts. The TN alignment was an attempt to bridge the divide between the celestials and fiends.

I'm not sure what you mean by bloodline feat in this context.


As w/ other builds this round, you’re using a class ability that isn’t permanent to qualify for feats, in your case you don’t qualify for Multiattack, and so of course later Imp Multiattack, as you don’t have 3 natural attacks.I strongly disagree with this. I lose access to the Multiattack line when not in an appropriate form, but I can certainly take them so long as I'm in an appropriate form when gaining the feat, and regain use of it in most forms that would want to.


You go to a lot of hassle to get a different racial subtype, but don’t give any examples of what you might use alter self for because of that.As I said, I was in a bit of a rush around the holidays, but the list is incredibly extensive. I can provide a long list of examples if you want, but I would argue that in an E6 environment, "I have Outsider Alter Self 6 times/day* and Metamorphic Transfer twice" should be read as essentially analagous to "I have T1 prepared spellcasting" as it's about as broad and versatile in what it can accomplish.

*Also, among the long list of things Outsider Alter Self+MMT can do is drain Cha from creatures by assuming the form of a Visilight, which can increase the uses/day.

Here's one from Ibli al-Tanin:





DWK age category cheese.Why do you consider it cheese? It's just about the most explicit thing that DWK does, written in plain English on the kobold age table in the book the Dragonwrought feat comes from. I don't see how -2 feats relative to human for the Dragon type and that statline (in absence of any of the more questionable DWK cheese that I avoided), is particularly objectionable.


Debatable as to whether alter self qualifies as “flight” for the purposes of Flyby attack and it’s successors. Despite flyby stating you can gain flight from shapechanging, I feel this is a grey area.Why? Alter Self explicitly gives you flight from forms that have it, and Flyby Attack explicitly states that changing form is a valid way to get flight, so it would seem to be very clearly kosher at every step.


You don’t have a natural breath weapon, nor a natural flight speed, so flyby breath and Strafing breath aren’t qualified for.Honestly though, I even disagree with this. Ibli loses access to those feats when not in Shadow Wyrmling form, but he can absolutely take them as long as he's in the form of a Shadow Wyrmling when he levels up, and he should be able to maintain that form for the entirety of a given adventuring day.

Think we can get this wrapped up by tomorrow or Wednesday and move on to the next round?

[jdizzlean]

Xenon:

MT vs Alter Self was more of an observation, i didn't straight deduct points for that.
MT qualified for via Kalash Mindlink: i'm picking up what you're laying down.
Power +.5

Otherworldly:
That might've been a good arguement, but it wasn't included in the build, so can't be assumed at judgement time. No change
Bloodline feats are banned in the IC competition which this is based off of, part of the reason I assume they're banned is they give you far to many things for free, or to drastically change the playing field. In your build, you are using something that costs you absolutely nothing, to change the playing field for what your entry is.

spell use for feat qualification:
if you were using class abilities, like wild shape for example, to qualify for feats (that require wild shape) that you can't use all the time, that would be valid as you HAVE that ability. now, alter self is a class ability, but it's far to wide of a thing to qualify for X things as a pre-req. You can alter your form, you can't neccessarily have flight in ALL those forms, nor a breath weapon in ALL those forms, etc etc. Multiattack requires you to have 3 or more natural weapons, which you don't have. I'm pretty sure you knew this would be dubious going into it, you took the risk including it in your build, you weren't the only one penalized for doing so either. no change

on alter self forms:
another build took the time to clarify a specific option that they would want to use their alter self form for. I'm not asking for an exhaustive list, i can google up a list quite easily, but this is something in your build you took a lot of pain to accomplish, but then provided no reason nor example WHY you did that. I can't assume for you why your did something in your build, it's your job to tell me why you're doing the things you're doing.
No change


Ibli

Age Category is cheese because you are getting something for nothing. It costs you nothing to get a substantial boost to your attributes. This is widely accepted as a special flavor of smelly cheese. even if you took a human and gave it age category, you'd still get a ding for it, this is not exhaustive of DWK's. DWK's simply are the most common abuse of it. no change

I didn't ding you for flight from alter self qualifying you, that was an observation.

see above for alter self vs feat qualification. no change

[Zaq]

If there are no other disputes, we’ll move on to the next round tonight!

[The Kool]

If there are no other disputes, we’ll move on to the next round tonight!

Woot! I'd like to begin dabbling in optimization contests and E6 seems like a great place to start. Excited to get my first shot at it.

[DeTess]

Woot! I'd like to begin dabbling in optimization contests and E6 seems like a great place to start. Excited to get my first shot at it.

If nothing else, formatting the submission in e6 is less of a pain than when doing the full 20 :P

[thorr-kan]

I'm good.

Thanks, all!

[daremetoidareyo]

No disputes here

[Zaq]

Name
Alignment/race
Stub

Score (place)

Chef



Fireball Burrhowl (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620710&postcount=28)
CE Strongheart Halfling

Rogue 1 / Mountebank 3 / Fighter 1 / Assassin 1

9.5 (5th)

daremetoidareyo



Ibli al-Tanin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620711&postcount=29)
LE Venerable Dragonwrought Desert Kobold
Mountebank 6
12.75 (Bronze)

WhamBamSam



Jakal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620713&postcount=30)
CN Hellbred
Mountebank 6
12.5 (4th)

thorr-kan



Silas "Rusty" Formaux (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620715&postcount=31)
CE Daelkyr Half-Blood
Mountebank 5 / Battle Dancer 1
16.75 (Gold)

Randuir



Xenon Zendel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23620720&postcount=32)
TN Otherworldly Kalashtar
Mountebank 6
13.25 (Silver)

WhamBamSam




And that's a wrap! Congrats to our medalists Randuir and WhamBamSam!

jdizz, I couldn't tell if you'd edited your judging post to include Xenon's updated score. However, thanks to the way this contest panned out, WhamBamSam takes both non-gold medals regardless of whether Xenon's score is 13.25 or 12.75, so it's a wash!

Thank you all for your time, dedication, and patience. Next round will be up shortly!

[jdizzlean]

i did go back and update it, but no worries :)

[DeTess]

Well then, as I mentioned before, there was something I wanted to say about my build. Jdizzlean mentioned that I'd almost certainly gone abberation for the Grell-form, and if I'd known about the Grell in advance, I certainly would have. In reality, I'd initially tried to make a rustmonster form work properly, but I could figure out a way to get their [ex] rust attacks to work with alter self. Only after all that fell through did I start looking at other abberation forms and ended up finding the meatgrinder that was the Grell.

Anyway, this was a fun round, with an ingredient that was quite useful on third glance.

[WhamBamSam]

12.75 is Xenon's updated score, so it's a double silver.

Good round all. Like I said earlier, I'll commit to judge the next one to expidite the process.