Ultimate skillmonkey (level 7)

[weckar]

Playing in a game with a druid, paladin & psion, we are playing at lv7 with +1 free LA. The only mandate I have is to have skill points. So, what kind of build is viable at that level to make them go as far as possible?

Having basically all 1st/2nd party resources available I was thinking of taking dips in Dragonlance Master and DFA so I can have insane knowledge checks (picking up devotion while I am at it), but that still leaves 4 or 5 empty levels...

[Falontani]

Venerable Changeling Rogue: +3 int/wis/cha -str/dex/con. Grants rogue class skills +1 knowledge skill of your choice as class skills, and gets 10+int mod skills. Finally you are able to take 10 on all social skills and have several extras you can do with several of them.
You can also take the feats: Racial Emulation and Able Learner.
Able Learner essentially allows all class skills to continue being class skills forever after.
Racial Emulation allows you to count as any humanoid race for feat purposes. The main uses of this are:
Half elf Paragon: decent skills, gets a bonus feat at level 1, and gives large bonuses to social skills
Human Paragon: level 1 opens up 10 skills as class skills, and 4 more that are always class skills (whether you have able learner or not)
And if your dm allows it, you can break into Dragonwrought cheese (There is a lot of varying cheese there, but the one I'd be suggesting, is not getting penalties to your stats from being venerable)

A possible build like that would be:
1 Changeling Half Elf Paragon with 1 flaw: Racial Emulation, Able Learner, Dragonwrought
OR
1 Changeling Rogue with 2 flaws: Racial Emulation, Able Learner, Dragonwrought


As for which +1 la, I suggest Vecna Blooded.

Other classes:
Exemplar for 8+int mod skills, amazing skill list, and skill mastery at level 1
Chameleon is an amazing class you can use. Changeling wizard grants 4+int mod skills for a dabble.
If going chameleon you can do Changeling wizard 1, practiced spellcaster, spellthief 1, master spellthief.

[weckar]

Though racial emulation only allows emulating 1 race at a times right?
If you are going to use it mostly for paragon, wouldn't human with a factotum dip do the same?

[Falontani]

The classes specifically stay after you've taken them even if your form/race changes. It details that at the beginning of the paragon classes section.
It's why dragonwrought might not work.

In addition most prestige classes only check requirements upon entry. Big debate on whether it's on all prestige classes or just on complete warrior ones.

[Eldariel]

Cloistered Cleric. Guidance of the Avatar and Divine Insight combined with 6+Int skill points, Domains to expand your skill list and tons of utility/information spells on top of it is pretty hard to beat. Other options include Rogue 1/Wizard 4/Unseen Seer 2 (just in time to pick up Divine Insight from Advanced Learning) and Bard 7 (going into Sublime Chord, Bard has Improvisation, Glibness and few other awesome options for buffing skill checks).

Factotum isn't bad either but they get so little casting it's a bit of a chore to buff the checks skyhigh multiple times per day.

[BowStreetRunner]

Have you looked at Chronos's Unalliterative Skillmonkey Guide [3.x] (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?88715-Chronos-s-Unalliterative-Skillmonkey-Guide-3-x)? If not, it's worth a read. Keep in mind that if you give up skill points per level for a class that gives other bonuses to skills (spells, psionics, soulmelds, vestiges, invocations, etc.) the trade-off may be worthwhile. Some builds require you to go all-in to be effective (Bardic Knack?), but there are plenty of options for multi-classing/prestige classing that work as well. There are even feats that allow you to draw upon abilities outside your class, such as Shape Soulmeld.

[weckar]

As for which +1 la, I suggest Vecna Blooded.

Your builds do not qualify for that template.

[ben-zayb]

If your chosen race is changeling, then Rogue 1 / Wizard 4 / Unseen Seer 2 with Able Learner and Divine Insight. Once you hit level 8, pick up Wizard 5 and Spontaneous Divination.

Otherwise, Beguiler 5 / Unseen Seer 2 wouldn't be a bad choice for a skillmonkey.

[Thurbane]

Primordial Half Giant (or Eneko) gets +4 Int for LA +1: probably not as good for skillmonkeying as a Changeling Rogue, though.

[Ramza00]

Another good full caster prc is Urban Savant from Cityscape. It is 9/10 but the first 9 levels is full casting and the capstone is where you lose a caster level.

Urban Savant gives you 6+ skill points, and class abilities based off making knowledge checks. It is a different style of full caster with good skill points compared to Unseen Seer.

[bean illus]

Human: Able Learner

1. Factotum 3, open feat (open)
3. Level 3, font of inspiration
5. Human Paragon 2, bonus feat (open)
6. Chameleon 2, font of inspiration
7. Bonus floating feat (open).

Facto is Int based for 6 skill points per level, with all skills. Paragon let's you choose 10 skills, and 1 skill as a class skill forever, and a juicy feat.
Facto 1 gives cunning insight, which is great. Immediately action + Int mod to saves, attack, or damage, it's sadly a competence bonus, but your Int mod could exceed +10. Cunning knowledge is +1/class level to any skill you have a rank in. Better at high levels, but max ranks +3 is good for umd, sense motive, find traps, etc.
Brains over Brawn let's you add Int mod to all str and dex skills. At +6 it's worth 72 points.

With cunning knowledge + brains over brawn + as little as one rank (and one IP) and a take 10 can produce 10+3+Int+Dex/Str in physical skills.

Chameleon gives rapid caster advancement, and any spell in the game up to 6th+ level. Oh, and that wonderful FLOATING feat.

[Falontani]

Human: Able Learner

1. Factotum 3, open feat (open)
3. Level 3, font of inspiration
4. open level
5. Human Paragon 1, bonus feat (open)
6. Chameleon 2, font of inspiration
7. Bonus floating feat (open).

Facto is Int based for 6 skill points per level, with all skills. Paragon let's you choose 10 skills, and 1 skill as a class skill forever, and a juicy feat.
Facto 1 gives cunning insight, which is great. Immediately action + Int mod to saves, attack, or damage, it's sadly a competence bonus, but your Int mod could exceed +10. Cunning knowledge is +1/class level to any skill you have a rank in. Better at high levels, but max ranks +3 is good for umd, sense motive, find traps, etc.
Brains over Brawn let's you add Int mod to all str and dex skills. At +6 it's worth 72 points.

With cunning insight and brains over brawn as little as one rank (and one IP) and a take 10 can produce 10+3+Int+Dex/Str in physical skills.

Chameleon gives rapid caster advancement, and any spell in the game up to 6th+ level. Oh, and that wonderful FLOATING feat.

With able learner and factotum human paragon is worthless. Changeling Rogue 1 gives 10+int mod skills and can take able learner.

[Ramza00]

Links to the free Chameleon class on wizards.com

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?page=1&x=dnd/iw/20041210b

So if you go the Chameleon route like bean illus recommended there are a lot of good skill based spells like Guidance of the Avatar, Divine Insight, Lore of the Gods, Benevolence (Luck Rerolls for a Cleric 2nd level spell, can't use on yourself) and so on. Points to the guide BowStreetRunner posted.

But let me emphasize a great Bard level 1 spell that synergizes real well with Chameleon. Inspiration (Spell Compendium is the most recent version) is a lvl 1 bard spell that gives you a number of luck points equal to twice your caster level. (And remember Chameleon 1 gives you 2 CL, Chameleon 3 gives you 6 CL, and so on.) You can use these floating luck points to boost any attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks but the most you can boost per a single roll is equal to half your caster level (so equal to your chameleon level) in effect you can use a single casting of improvisation (whose duration is based off 1 round per caster level) to effect 4 different rolls in combat or out of combat.

And since it is a wonderful 1st level spell it works real well with pearls of power (500 gp if you craft them yourself), and the Circlet of Rapid Casting (15,000 gp or 7,500 gp if you craft it 3 times a day quicken a spell up to 2nd level.)

Post the Chameleon handbook for more info.

http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=135.0

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Now what 5 levels should you entry Chameleon with? 3 levels definately Factotum. Human Paragon is a good option, another option is Cloistered Cleric for its 6+ skill points, 3 domains (knowledge devotion plus 2 others), and 1st level Cleric Casting.

But Chameleon is not limited to just Humans and Dopplegangers (see the bottom of the web article for it mentioning if you are playing Eberron Changelings also qualify.)

Well Changeling Rouge has a Lvl 1 substitution option. You lose trapfinding but get 10 skillpoints and if Changeling Rogue is your 1st level they get multiple by 4. Furthermore Bluff, Intimidate, Gather Information, Diplomacy and Sense motive you can always take 10 on, and Gather information and Sense Motive gets faster version of their ability due to the Social Intuition that Changeling Rogues get instead of the Trapfinding normal rogues get.

[ben-zayb]

^ Improvisation, not Inspiration

[bean illus]

With able learner and factotum human paragon is worthless. Changeling Rogue 1 gives 10+int mod skills and can take able learner.

Paragon is an option for the bonus feat.

FoI increases each time you take it. Some games might get a +7 Int mod by 8th, and cham boost Int. An extra FoI is nice.

The 3rd FoI is = 3+(1+2+3)=9, @ +7 at 8th?

[Falontani]

Paragon is an option for the bonus feat.

FoI increases each time you take it. Some games might get a +7 Int mod by 8th, and cham boost Int. An extra FoI is nice.

The 3rd FoI is = 3+(1+2+3)=9, @ +7 at 8th?

Half elf Paragon gives bonus feat at level 1, human gives it at level 2, and you only had him take 1 human paragon

[bean illus]

Half elf Paragon gives bonus feat at level 1, human gives it at level 2, and you only had him take 1 human paragon
Of course you're right. I'll do a little editing above.