Cannibal Character (Help) 3.5

[Skullruss]

Title says it all, i have an idea for a cannibal character, which in theory could end up kind of broken, but the idea is quite basic as it stands... The idea is as follows: PC takes the https://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/templates/beastxvim.shtml template for the Feed (Su) to make cannibalism actually beneficial, the template has no actual limitation on type, it just says there's a preference for animals and monsters, nothing to prevent say a human from taking the template, even just for the free HD, as there's no Level Adjustment listed. Next we need to toss in the https://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/classes/prestige/evil/life-eater.shtml prestige class for it's Feed (Su), which as it originates from strictly different sources would stack, allowing our Cannibal to have two HD gaining pools.
1. Alone this sounds like a neat concept and could work pretty well, I would love to get any tips you guys have on a base class to lead into Life-Eater, spells/feats to enhance the concept, etc.
2. The Basic plan for the build, as loose as this might be, is:
Human or Changeling (CE)
1- Base Class (rogue/druid?)
2- Base Class
3- Base Class
4- Base Class
5- Base Class
6- Life-Eater
7- Life-Eater
8- Life-Eater
9- Life-Eater
10- Life-Eater
11- Life-Eater
12- Life-Eater
13- Life-Eater
14- Life-Eater
15- Life-Eater
16- extra
17- extra
18- extra
19- extra
20- extra
3. I peeked at the Illithid Savant prestige class (Savage Species variant, p. 77) which gives MAJOR bonuses for eating creatures, especially when say a party ally dies and there's only crocodile tears coming from the guy gaining free skills, feats, class features, and special abilities/qualities. Is there any legal way to get into this class without level adjustment?
(Does Racial Emulation feat or the Ritual of Association in Savage Species work at all?)
4. If I used Polymorph Other for a permanent change into a Mind Flayer in order to qualify for the Illithid Savant prestige class, what measures could I take to ensure that the polymorph won't get dispelled and make me waste levels until I can recast the spell (maybe off a scroll if necessary)
5. Any RP related advice? I want this build to be a blast to play fluff and crunch, so if there's any idiosyncrasies that you think a cannibal might have, a particular fighting style that perhaps complements the build and concept I would love to hear some insights.

6. LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT: When I gain these HD, do they just net me some extra HP or do they get me levels as a PC, if the answer is just plain extra HD lying around, what spells/abilities can I use to make the most of my egregious amount of racked up HD.

[Flickerdart]

These are hit dice based on your character's race's creature type. They just give you more HP, BAB, and feats, and make it harder for you to level up (since your total level for level-ups is your class levels plus your HD plus your LA). If all you want is to use Feed to gain useless HD, a spellcaster using shapechange can assume the form of a barghest and go wild.

[Troacctid]

as there's no Level Adjustment listed.
That's because it's 3.0 material. There wasn't such a thing as level adjustment when Monsters of Faerun was originally printed. It was later updated in a web document that gave the sample hell hound a level adjustment of +4 (cohort).


3. I peeked at the Illithid Savant prestige class (Savage Species variant, p. 77) which gives MAJOR bonuses for eating creatures, especially when say a party ally dies and there's only crocodile tears coming from the guy gaining free skills, feats, class features, and special abilities/qualities. Is there any legal way to get into this class without level adjustment?
(Does Racial Emulation feat or the Ritual of Association in Savage Species work at all?)
Racial Emulation only works for humanoids, not aberrations. The Ritual of Association can only grant subtypes, and there is no illithid subtype. I'm not aware of any way to get into the class without actually eating the LA.


4. If I used Polymorph Other for a permanent change into a Mind Flayer in order to qualify for the Illithid Savant prestige class, what measures could I take to ensure that the polymorph won't get dispelled and make me waste levels until I can recast the spell (maybe off a scroll if necessary)
I assume you mean polymorph any object? The ultimate proof is the Tenacious Magic feat. Failing that, spellblade weapons keyed to the various dispelling effects you're concerned about make a good solution. Just keep in mind that you will gain the mind flayer's +7 LA if you PAO yourself into one.


6. LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT: When I gain these HD, do they just net me some extra HP or do they get me levels as a PC, if the answer is just plain extra HD lying around, what spells/abilities can I use to make the most of my egregious amount of racked up HD.
They are racial hit dice. Essentially chaff that boosts your stats in the short-term, but slows down your acquisition of actual class levels.

[Skullruss]

These are hit dice based on your character's race's creature type. They just give you more HP, BAB, and feats, and make it harder for you to level up (since your total level for level-ups is your class levels plus your HD plus your LA). If all you want is to use Feed to gain useless HD, a spellcaster using shapechange can assume the form of a barghest and go wild.

Is there a way I can retrain the hit dice to be useful or no? Or even a spell that's based on HD that could be really strong with all the extras?

[Maat Mons]

I suppose you could level-drain yourself, then use Greater Restoration. That might let you use the xp represented by those racial HD for something other than racial HD.

[WhamBamSam]

Is there a way I can retrain the hit dice to be useful or no? Or even a spell that's based on HD that could be really strong with all the extras?Psionic Restoration might work as a slightly lower level alternative to Greater Restoration mentioned above after you finish high-fiving a Wight.

You can cheese into Life Eater a level early if you get an unspecified bonus feat at 4th level to spend on Primary Contact. If you're driving straight for the Feed ability, that might be worth it.



Here also are a few other ways I can think of to mechanically benefit when you food some dudes...

You might look into the Ravening Dragon Psychosis from Dragon Magazine 313. You need to be a True Dragon, whatever that means at your table, but it really is the bees knees for a breath weapon focused build, assuming you can manage the requisite eating of creatures to avoid the Con drain.

Gravetouched Ghoul is another option that at least involves cannibal fluff, and perhaps mechanics if your DM goes in on Libris Mortis' dependencies for undead. This post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20332565&postcount=12) has a build I made that wields a still-living troll intestine that it constantly eats from out of combat.

Mortal Hunter can increase the duration of its polymorph ability from 1 hour to permanent by eating a piece of the being it wants to turn into.

There's also always Swallow Whole or the similar 8th level Hunger/Gluttony domain spell Bite of the King, though those are a little tough to build around.

[MrSinister]

I have no idea how this would be, power-wise, but base class of spellthief seems kind of perfect to go with this concept.

[Skullruss]

Psionic Restoration might work as a slightly lower level alternative to Greater Restoration mentioned above after you finish high-fiving a Wight.

Gravetouched Ghoul is another option that at least involves cannibal fluff, and perhaps mechanics if your DM goes in on Libris Mortis' dependencies for undead.

Won't restoring negative levels beget the racial HD again? If so is there any way to make use of a stock pile of HD?

Also as for GtG I don't want any level adjustment.

[WhamBamSam]

Won't restoring negative levels beget the racial HD again? If so is there any way to make use of a stock pile of HD?

Also as for GtG I don't want any level adjustment.It looks like that probably is the case for Greater Restoration, but the way Psionic Restoration is phrased sets your exp level, and seems to generally be interpreted as allowing the level to be retrained, though it's clearly cheesy and abusive in this case.

As Troacctid noted, Beast of Xvim post-update has LA. Based on the Hell Hound example, it should be LA+1.

If you don't want a level adjustment, then you should probably just lean all-in to optimizing Life Eater or go with Otherworldly (Celestial-Attended Birth or Mulhorandi Royal to circumvent the usual racial restrictions) [LA+0 Race] with Urban Companion Ranger into Mortal Hunter.

[Particle_Man]

Are they immune to diseases from eating humans? Or would you need to cast purify food and drink on a human corpse just to be on the safe side?

[InvisibleBison]

I suppose you could level-drain yourself, then use Greater Restoration. That might let you use the xp represented by those racial HD for something other than racial HD.

I'm not sure negative levels can remove racial hit dice. The ability description (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#energyDrainAndNegativeLevels) only talks about losing levels, not hit dice.

[Maat Mons]

Okay, how about this:

Gain a bunch of hit dice.
Lose a level.
Your xp total is now halfway between levels.
Spend the spare xp.
Repeat steps 2-4 as necessary.
Enjoy whatever it is you spent the xp on.

[icefractal]

IIRC, you can use temporary HD with Psychic Reformation to put more ranks in a skill than your permanent HD would allow, giving you early access to some PrCs/feats.

They'll boost your IL for ToB too, but without a way of adding a Swordsage level after the HD, it won't get you higher level maneuvers.

[ShurikVch]

Note: both of Ghoulish Creature and Ghastly Creature templates from the Dragon Compendium are lacking any LA. While this oversight is rather obvious, by the strict RAW - they're both LA: +0

Worghest (Goblin+Barghest) planetouched (Dragon #350) - gets benefits of Death Knell when eats corpses; LA +1 (+0 - with Lesser Planetouched)

Illithid Heritage feat line (Complete Psionic) - inflict 2d4 Int damage (via extracting a brain with your tentacles), get equal amount of temporary power points

Absorb Mind and Absorb Strength spells (Book of Vile Darkness) are require to eat at least a portion of the brain/flesh of another creature’s corpse

Dragon #312 have Hunger domain, which is notably different from the one in Libris Mortis (and no, it wasn't "updated"! Completely different entity, just the same name.) The 3rd-level spell is Cannibalize - it gives bite attack, and for every 3 hp of damage - inflicted with it on living creature - get 1 temporal hp (lasts up to 1 hour)

How about the Flesheater (https://www.realmshelps.net/charbuild/classes/prestige/Flesheater) PrC?

Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead have the Voracious feat - by eating humanoid flesh in amount needed for a Ghoul of your size, you get +2 enhancement bonus to Str and Con, and heal 1 hp/level (like you're just rested); eating more don't increase the bonus, but extends duration (1 week)

Also, The Body Leech (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040925a) PrC

[Thurbane]

I'm not sure how much help this would be in a PC build, but my entry in a recent VC was all about cannibalism: Clawdius Buforthon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=23056025&postcount=66)



Clawdius Buforthon

"I ate his liver with some stygian pumpkin and a nice aleeian"

CE male Human (Natural) Were-Poisonous Giant Toad Tainted Raver Animal 2/Sorcerer 18

Medium Humanoid (human, shapechanger)

http://i65.tinypic.com/av0irq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5js82JXh.jpg


Clawdius was born in a small coastal village, and would have most likely led an uneventful life, except for two things: he inherited his father's curse of lycanthropy, and his parents were both members of a secretive doomsday cult of Leviathan, the great chaotic serpent who slumbers.
As a youngster, Clawdius was inducted into the cult: as with his father, the members were in awe of his “gift” of lycanthropy. He quickly rose in it’s ranks, often presiding over the disturbing rituals.
It’s unknown whether his unnatural craving for the flesh of sentient beings was a result of his indoctrination, the changes that the subsequent taint wrought on his mind and body, or if the desire was there all along. The rituals of the cult provided ample opportunities for him to satisfy his ghoulish desires…

Ability Scores:


Level
Array
Lycanthrope
Tainted Raver
4HD
Deformity (obese) feat (5th)
8HD
12HD
16HD
20HD
Final Score


Str
13
-
+4 (perpetual rage)

-
+1
-
-

18


Dex
12
(+4 in animal/hybrid form)
-
-
-2
-
-
-
-
10 (14)


Con
14
(+4 in animal/hybrid form)
+4 (perpetual rage)
-
+2
-
-
-
-
20 (24)


Int
10
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
10


Wis
8
+2
-6
-
-
-
-
-
+1
5


Cha
15
-
+6
+1
-
-
+1
+1
-
24






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


3
Animal 1
+0
+2
+2
+0
Craft (cooking) +2, Hide +4, Jump +4
Dodge, Gape of the SerpentB, Iron WillB, Willing DeformityB
Alternate Form, Curse of Lycanthropy, DR 10/silver, Improved Grab, Low-light Vision, Lycanthropic Empathy, Posion, Scent, Swallow Whole


3
Animal 2
+1
+3
+3
+0
Craft (cooking) +2, Hide +5, Jump +5
-
Fast Healing 3, Madness, Perpetual Rage


3
Sorcerer 1
+1
+3
+3
+2
Concentration +3, Craft (cooking) +2, Hide +5, Jump +5
Earth Bloodline
Spells, Summon Familiar (toad)


4
Sorcerer 2
+2
+3
+3
+3
Concentration +6, Craft (cooking) +2, Hide +5, Jump +5
-
-


5
Sorcerer 3
+2
+4
+4
+3
Concentration +8, Craft (cooking) +3, Hide +5, Jump +5
Deformity (obese)B
-


6
Sorcerer 4
+3
+4
+4
+4
Concentration +9, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5
Multiattack
-


7
Sorcerer 5
+3
+4
+4
+4
Bluff +2, Concentration +10, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5
-
-


8
Sorcerer 6
+4
+5
+5
+5
Bluff +4, Concentration +11, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5
-
-


9
Sorcerer 7
+4
+5
+5
+5
Bluff +6, Concentration +12, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5
Silent Spell
-


10
Sorcerer 8
+5
+5
+5
+6
Bluff +8, Concentration +13, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5
Evil's BlessingB
-


11
Sorcerer 9
+5
+6
+6
+6
Bluff +10, Concentration +14, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5
-
-


12
Sorcerer 10
+6
+6
+6
+7
Bluff +10, Concentration +14, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +3
Arcane Preparation
-


13
Sorcerer 11
+6
+6
+6
+7
Bluff +10, Concentration +14, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +6
-
-


14
Sorcerer 12
+7
+7
+7
+8
Bluff +10, Concentration +14, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +9
-
-


15
Sorcerer 13
+7
+7
+7
+8
Bluff +10, Concentration +14, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +12
Chosen of EvilB, Rapid Metamagic
-


16
Sorcerer 14
+8
+7
+7
+9
Bluff +10, Concentration +17, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +12
-
-


17
Sorcerer 15
+8
+8
+8
+9
Bluff +10, Concentration +20, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +12
-
-


18
Sorcerer 16
+9
+8
+8
+10
Bluff +12, Concentration +21, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +12
Quicken Spell
-


19
Sorcerer 17
+9
+8
+8
+10
Bluff +14, Concentration +22, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +12
-
-


20
Sorcerer 18
+10
+9
+9
+11
Bluff +16, Concentration +23, Craft (cooking) +5, Hide +5, Jump +5, Spellcraft +12
Enemy of GoodB
-



Spells Per Day (Bonus Spells For Ability Score Shown):


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


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


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


3rd
4
2 (+2)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


5th
5
3 (+2)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


7th
6
4 (+2)
2 (+2)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
7
4 (+2)
2 (+2)
1 (+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
7
5 (+2)
3 (+2)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
8
5 (+2)
3 (+2)
2 (+1)
1 (+1)
-
-
-
-
-


11th
8
5 (+2)
4 (+2)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-
-


12th
9
5 (+2)
4 (+2)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
1 (+1)
-
-
-
-


13th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-
-


14th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
1 (+1)
-
-
-


15th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+1)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-
-


16th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
1 (+1)
-
-


17th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
-
-


18th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
2 (+1)
1
-


19th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
3 (+1)
2
-


20th
9
5 (+2)
5 (+2)
4 (+2)
4 (+1)
4 (+1)
3 (+1)
3 (+1)
2
1



Spells Known (Bonus Spells From Bloodline Feat Shown):

0


Caltrops (SC)
Detect Magic
Detect Poison
Launch Bolt (SC)
Mage Hand
Preserve Organ (BoVD)
Prestidigitation
Read Magic
Slash Tongue (BoVD)

1st

Expeditious Retreat
Grease
Hoard Gullet (DrM)
Mage Armor
Ray of Enfeeblement
Enlarge Person

2nd

Blade of Pain and Fear (SC)
Invisibility
Jaws of the Moray (St)
Razorfangs (SC)
Slow Consumption (BoVD)
Shatter

3rd

Fang Trap (SK)
Fly
Haste
Manyjaws (SC)
Keen Edge

4th

Doom Scarabs (PHB2)
Parboil (Sa)
Polymorph
Vortex of Teeth (SC)
Stone Shape

5th

Death Throes (SC)
Draconic Might (SC)
Illusory Feast (SC)
Teleport
Transmute Rock to Mud

6th

Greater Dispel Magic
Tenser’s Transformation
Transfix (SC)
Move Earth

7th

Barghests’s Feast (SC)
Bite of the Werebear (SC)
Whirlwind of Teeth (BoVD)
Statue

8th

Mind Blank
Polymorph Any Object
Iron Body

9th

Maw of Chaos (SC)
Summon Monster IX (earth creatures only)



Racial/template traits -

Human: bonus feat; bonus skill point per level
Lycanthrope: +2 natural AC bonus in all forms; 2 claws and a bite in hybrid form (1d4/1d4/1d6); cannot cast spells with verbal components in hybrid form.
Giant Poisonous Toad: +3 natural armor bonus, +4 racial bonus on Hide checks, +6 racial bonus on Jump checks; poison (initial damage unconsciousness, secondary 3d6 Con).
Tainted Raver: -2 penalty to AC from perpetual rage; +2 bonus on Will saves from perpetual rage; no longer gains taint


Taint/depravity traits (mild) -

Bestial: +2 circumstance bonus on Handle Animal, Ride and wild empathy checks; -1 on Cha based ability and skill checks
Skin Seeps: +2 circumstance bonus on Escape Artist checks, and on grapple checks to escape a grapple or pin; -2 on Climb and Sleight of Hand checks; opponents add +2 bonus on disarm checks


CLAWDIUS (HYBRID FORM)

Medium Humanoid (Human, Shapechanger)

Hit Dice: 2d8+7d4+66 (96hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 20 (+4 mage armor, +2 Dex, +5 natural, +1 deflection, -2 perpetual rage), touch 11, flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+8
Attack: Claw +8 (1d4+4)
Full Attack: 2 claws +8 (1d4+4) and bite +6 (1d6+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Curse of lycanthropy, spells
Special Qualities: DR 10/silver, fast healing 3, low-light vision, lycanthropic empathy, scent
Saves: Fort +12 (+14 against poison) Ref +7 Will +16
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 14, Con 24, Int 10, Wis 6, Cha 24
Skills: Bluff +16, Climb +2, Concentration +21, Craft (cooking) +5, Escape Artist +4, Handle Animal +9, Hide +7, Intimidate +6, Jump +9, Listen +0, Ride +4, Spot +0
Feats: Deformity (obese)B, Dodge, Earth Bloodline, Gape of the SerpentB, Iron WillB, Multiattack, Silent Spell, Willing DeformityB
Environment: Any
Organization: Solitary (+ Gobbles)
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: Combat gear + 145gp
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: -

Combat Gear: cloak of charisma +2, periapt of wisdom +2, potions of cure moderate wounds (2), ring of protection +1, wand of web (10 charges), scroll of magic circle against good, scroll of nondetection

Spells: Clawdius casts spells as a 7th level sorcerer.
Spells Known (6/8/8/6, save DC 17 + spell level):
0 – caltrops, detect magic, detect poison, preserve organ, prestidigitation, slash tongue;
1st – enlarge person, expeditous retreat, grease, hoard gullet, mage armor, ray of enfeeblement;
2nd – invisibility, jaws of the moray, razorfangs, shatter;
3rd – fly, keen edge, manyjaws.
CR Highlights/Play Tips:

CR 1-5: Clawdius is primarily a melee combatant at this point. In toad form, he can grapple and swallow whole, and thanks to Gape of the Serpent, can swallow creatures of up to medium size (with some difficulty). The toad form also has a powerful poison (unconsciousness/3d6 Con) with its bite. DR and fast healing make him fairly resilient in battle. Perpetual madness boosts his Fort and Will saves, as well as its other benefits. His toad familiar (Gobbles) also adds a few hit points, and grants the Alertness feat when close. His casting is pretty limited at this point: Grease and Ray of Enfeeblement can hamper opponents; Expeditious Retreat and Mage Armor increase manoeuvrability and defence. Enlarge Person, though the Bloodline feat, carries over to toad form, allowing him to swallow creatures of large size. The Dodge feat comes from the base animal (giant poisonous toad): due to the feat reqs, it may only be available for use in toad or hybrid form. Worshipping an elder evil gives a bonus feat every 5 levels, including the thematically fitting Deformity (obese).

CR 6-10: Sorcerer casting continues to improve. Spells like Polymorph, Haste, Fly and Invisibility improve versatility and combat options. Clawdius can polymorph Gobbles into combat forms, if he's willing to risk losing his familiar. With Multiattack and Silent Spell available, he prefers to be in hybrid form, able to cast most spells and use his bite and claw attacks. Evil's Blessing is a great boost for saves, if he has time for short term buffs. Parboil is useful for preparing his enemies as meals, and debilitating to Int based casters. Jaws of the Moray and Razorfangs augment his bite attack in animal or hybrid form.

CR 11-15: Clawdius now has Arcane Preparation: this is primarily so he can make use of corrupt spells. Absorb Mind, Absorb Strength and Consume Likeness are all obvious choices. He could offset the cost with Potions of Restoration or similar methods (if Wis drops to 0, he may require someone to administer them to him: possibly Gobbles in a polymorphed form). Rapid Metamagic allows him to use Silent spells with no increased casting time, and Chosen of Evil can offer a minor boost to a roll in exchange for Con damage (not recommended most of the time). Powerful self buffs are coming online now: while there is a lot of overlap between Draconic Might and Tenser's Transformation, each has it's uses (the former also boosts his primary casting stat; the latter boosts BAB, and would be used to boost his animal or hybrid form once he is committed to melee and not casting further spells). Teleport and Greater Dispel Magic are obvious in their applications. Transmute Rock to Mud and Move Earth can help shape the battleground to his advantage. Transfix can immobilize large groups of creatures, allowing Clawdius to dine on them at his leisure. Death Throes is the ultimate "From Hell's heart, I stab at thee" spell: a nasty surprise for the party that defeats him.

CR 16-20: Quicken Spell (combined with Arcane Preparation or through Rapid Metamagic) greatly enhance action economy. Enemy of Good can be handy for the forces of good that are likely to be going up against the cult of Leviathan. Bite of the Werebear and Iron Body are yet more powerful self buffs. Mind Blank is almost a must have at these levels, and Polymorph Any Object opens up a world of options. Summon Monster X helps fill out the battlefield, even if it is only earth-based creatures, and Maw of Chaos is one of the most devastating direct damage spells out there.

General Tips/Adaptations:
Clawdius is, primarily, a thematic villain. A large chunk of his spell selection is dedicated to biting and consuming other creatures, and spells to facilitate the same. A DM could easily tweak the spell selection to make Clawdius more of a challenge for the party as an optimized caster. Earth Bloodline could also be swapped out for Water Bloodline to better fit the cult of Leviathan, if desired (Earth Bloodline offers better buffs for a melee oriented caster), or possibly Necromantic Bloodline for a more ghoulish feel.
The Domain Sorcerer ACF for either the Gluttony or Hunger domains is an option (Bite of the King is a perfect fit for Clawdius!), but, in my opinion, the cost in lost spells outweighs the benefits.
Straight Sorcerer is chosen for simplicity, but a more “gish friendly” prestige class, like Abjurant Champion, can easily be slotted in by changing some feat choices.
Clawdius works best if supported by other monsters or cult members (despite his self buffs and template-based resilience, he is relatively squishy). At lower level this would probably include Adepts, and monsters like ixitxachitl or giant toads, depending on the environment. At higher levels, krakens and aspects of Leviathan could appear.
His tactics can be tailored to a party: he can be a blaster, or a melee type. A mix of both would often be viable.

Recommended Gear:
Potions of lesser restoration (or full restoration, if you get them from a Healer) to deal with ability damage from corrupt spells etc.; runestaves to expand spell selection (if Dragon magazine is allowed, knowstones as well); raiment of the four and robe of mysterious conjuration to swap out spells on the fly; scrolls and wands of utility and defensive spells (mirror image, resist energy etc.); ability boosters (Cha mainly); a great guide for other item ideas can be found here: [3.5] Lists of Necessary Magic Items (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?187851)
Sources:

Book of Vile Darkness: absorb mind, absorb strength, consume likeness, deformity (obese), preserve organ, slash tongue, slow consumption, whirlwind of teeth
Complete Arcane: arcane preparation

Complete Mage: rapid metamagic
Dragon Magazine Compendium: earth bloodline
Dragon Magic: hoard gullet
Elder Evils: chosen of evil, enemy of good, evil's blessing, Leviathan, willing deformity
Oriental Adventures: giant toad, poisonous (including Dragon 318 update material)
Heroes of Horror: taint and depravity traits (bestial & skin seeps), tainted raver template
Player's Handbook II: doom scarabs

Sandstorm: parboil

Serpent Kingdoms: fang trap, gape of the serpent
Spell Compendium: barghests's feast, bite of the werebear, blade of pain and fear, death throes, illusory feast, draconic might, caltops, launch bolt, manyjaws, maw of chaos, razorfang, transfix, vortex of teeth

Stormwrack: jaws of the moray