Optimization Showcase in the Playground: Tales From the Crypt

[WhamBamSam]

INTRODUCTION
With more than a decade and a half of toying around with 3.5, I’ve accumulated a lot of spare builds and ideas. While I don’t have an active game going right now, I still like to pop open my builds folder and try to refine things. Recently I decided to make a dedicated effort to flesh out some of these builds into full write-ups, and reached out to some friends in the CO community who might be interested in doing the same. In the spirit of Tempest Stormwind’s Weekly Optimization Showcase (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?), I thought I’d showcase the end results here.

The goal is (usually) not to show off any fancy new TO trick, but to showcase effective, playable builds and spur discussion. While each of us has a different build philosophy, in general the intent is to create something that can be played in most groups from level 1 to level 20. Again, the goal is discussion, so feel free to discuss the build, talk about other options, make suggestions or tear it all to shreds. Also, feel free to use anything showcased here in any of your campaigns—and let us know how they work out if you do!

Right now the group consists of myself, the Viscount, Akal Saris, Venger and WhamBamSam, with a couple of other folks hopefully on their way. Typically one of us writes up the build concept and possibly a stub, the others share feedback on Discord or in some of the shared documents we have, and together we refine things until we’re happy with the final product. I’ll list the build’s main author whenever I showcase a particular build.


Buffsader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?559259-Optimzation-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Buffsader) (ToB/Gish/Party Support)
The Utility Belt (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?560988-Optimzation-Showcase-in-the-Playground-The-Utility-Belt) (Psionics/Stealth/Utility)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?569004-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Eternal-Sunshine-of-the-Spotless-War-Mind) (ToB/Psionics/Melee Damage)
The Melding Pot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?579458-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-The-Melding-Pot) (Incarnum/Utility)
That’s So Raven (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?581950-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-That%92s-So-Raven) (Gish/Ranged/Debuff)
Dancing in the Dark (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?582528-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Dancing-in-the-Dark) (ToB/Stealth/Lock-down)
Gladys Knight and the Pips (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?583657-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Gladys-Knight-and-the-Pips) (Arcane/Face/Utility)
Zen in the Art of Archery (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?584417-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Zen-in-the-Art-of-Archery)
I Choose You! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?588818-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-I-Choose-You!) (Divine/Summmoning)
Cold World (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?589769-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Cold-World) (Divine/Summmoning/Lockdown)
Holy Roller and His Holy Boulders (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?591809-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Holy-Roller-and-His-Holy-Boulders) (Ranged/Wild Shape/Exalted)
Big Brother is Watching (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?593033-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-Big-Brother-is-Watching) (Scrying/Arcane/Party Support)
The White Elephant ("") (Arcane/Debuff/BFC)


We’re going to do things a bit differently this time around. That’s right, it’s our Halloween Spooktacular: Tales from the Crypt!


https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XpoN4oztAzk/hqdefault.jpg

Tales from the Crypt
Are you afraid of the dark?

BACKGROUND
Hello, boils and ghouls!

Instead of our irregularly scheduled programming, we decided to put together a little Halloween treat for you all! Each of us here in the current Optimization Showcase group (your usual host Piggy Knowles, Venger, The Viscount, and myself) has decided to put together a quick extra-spooky Halloween-themed build for your enjoyment.

These will be a bit shorter than our usual showcases, as we reveal our respective optimization tricks Iron Chef style, but don’t worry, you’re getting four builds instead of one! How’s that for a treat? Each build will play off of a specific Halloween theme. Hope you enjoy - it’ll be a scream!

We’ll start things off with my own entry: Blooddrunk!


Blooddrunk
“You’re a tank, bro.”
https://i.imgur.com/WcbWnb0.png

For my submission, I present a gory, hard-drinking take on a classic tank concept to get turnt at your college Halloween party, even if said party is just you and your nerd friends playing Dungeons and Dragons. Contagious Paralysis is a perennial favorite of mine and features prominently here by way of Gravetouched Ghoul.

Stub: Gravetouched Ghoul Human Warblade 8/Crusader 4/Monk 2/Drunken Master 4
28 Point-Buy: 17 Str, 14 Dex, 8 Con, 11 Int, 8 Wis, 14 Cha
After Gravetouched Ghoul Adjustments: 19 Str, 18 Dex, - Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 16 Cha
32 Point-Buy: 18 Str, 14 Dex, 8 Con, 12 Int, 8 Wis, 14 Cha
After Gravetouched Ghoul Adjustments: 20 Str, 18 Dex, - Con, 14 Int, 12 Wis, 16 Cha



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


1st
Warblade 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Great Fortitude, Dodge
Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Steel Wind
Hunter’s Sense


2nd
Passive-Way Monk 1
+1
+4
+2
+2
Improved Unarmed Strike, Combat Expertise
Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike
-


3rd
Monk 2
+2
+5
+3
+3
Improved Trip, Knock-down, Multiattack*
Evasion
-


4th
Warblade 2
+3
+6
+3
+3
-
Uncanny Dodge
Wall of Blades


5th
Crusader 1
+4
+8
+3
+3
-
Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5
Mountain Hammer, Crusader’s Strike, Leading the Attack, Tactical Strike, Foehammer
Iron Guard’s Glare


6th
Drunken Master 1
+4
+10
+5
+3
Contagious Paralysis**
Drink Like a Demon, Improvised Weapons
-


7th
Drunken Master 2
+5
+11
+6
+3
-
Stagger
-


8th
Drunken Master 3
+6
+11
+6
+4
-
Swaying Waist
-


9th
Drunken Master 4
+7
+12
+7
+4
Combat Reflexes
AC Bonus +1, Improved Improvised Weapons
-


10th
Crusader 2
+8
+13
+7
+4
-
Indomitable Soul
Thicket of Blades


11th
Crusader 3
+9
+13
+8
+5
-
Zealous Surge
Defensive Rebuke


12th
Crusader 4
+10
+14
+8
+5
Deceptive Dodge
Steely Resolve 10
Leading the Attack -> White Raven Tactics


13th
Warblade 3
+11
+14
+9
+6
-
Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)
Mithral Tornado


14th
Warblade 4
+12
+15
+9
+6
-
-
Wolf Fang Strike -> Pouncing Charge
Leaping Dragon Stance


15th
Warblade 5
+13
+15
+9
+6
Ironheart Aura, Stormguard Warrior
Bonus Feat
Iron Heart Surge


16th
Warblade 6
+13
+15
+10
+7
-
Improved Uncanny Dodge
Steel Wind -> Manticore Parry


17th
Warblade 7
+14
+15
+10
+7
-
Battle Cunning (Damage)
Dazing Strike


18th
Warblade 8
+15
+16
+10
+7
Karmic Strike
-
Wall of Blades -> Scything Blade

*Obtained as a Bonus Feat when you become a Gravetouched Ghoul, not necessarily at character level 3.
**Can be delayed as far as 9 if you’re not a Gravetouched Ghoul yet.

I’m assuming the transition to Gravetouched Ghoul early, though if that doesn’t work out in your game, large HD, good base saves, and various initiator goodies help with survivability and effectiveness in the early going. Monk bonus feats allow for Combat Expertise and Improved Trip despite Int currently being too low and between. Once you’re into Gravetouched Ghoul, unarmed strikes combine with natural attacks for a nice long full attack routine, though you may want to also consider carrying around a reach weapon since two-handing more reliably triggers Knock-Down.
Drunken Master on an undead might seem like a little bit of a head-scratcher, but since the requirements say that you have to make it through a night of drinking without being poisoned, it’s arguably one of the only ways to qualify by RAW. By ECL 11 the most important tricks for the build are online. Contagious Paralysis combined with Drunken Master’s Improvised Weapons means you can use paralyzed creatures of an appropriate size to beat on opponents and force them to make a save against Paralysis as well. This is all very fun, but how do we make the most of it? By getting spooky and EEEVIIIL, that’s how! A Troll off the Neogi slave market (or just hunting one down yourself) is a drop in the bucket at this point, so acquire one, disembowel it, then light the rest on fire. Chew on the intestine every couple of rounds out of combat to maintain the paralysis and satisfy your Diet Dependency, while it just keeps regenerating. In combat, Drunken Master lets you use it as a reach weapon. Between being able to two-hand the intestine and the extra dice for improvised weapons, you’re also hitting the Knock-down threshold reliably now, which is a nice backup for when paralysis doesn’t work.
Thicket of Blades is the gold standard for tank/lockdown builds, and Defensive Rebuke is a staple that you’ll be happy to have as another layer of backup to paralysis and tripping. A 5th Drunken Master level would offer a little damage boost with improvised weapons and would avoid multiclass penalties, but in their (typical) absence another Crusader level for White Raven Tactics and an extra point of BAB is going to be preferable. You’ve also got Deceptive Dodge now, and since your troll intestine is an enemy, you always have an option to redirect attacks to it that miss you. At least attacks with natural weapons redirected to the intestine or another paralyzed enemy should constitute touching it and trigger Contagious Paralysis as well, so that’s fun.
Stormguard Warrior is always a decent damage source, and when even the touch attacks can paralyze it’s even better. You also pick up high level maneuvers which offer more ways to make more paralyzing attacks (Mithral Tornado, Pouncing Charge, Scything Blade), a new attack diverting maneuver in Manticore Parry, the utility of Iron Heart Surge, and Dazing Strike as another lockdown backup. If anyone you’re tanking does manage to get a hit through, Karmic Strike gives another chance to paralyze or trip them.

Complete Warrior: Karmic Strike
Dragon Compendium: Deceptive Dodge
Libris Mortis: Contagious Paralysis, Gravetouched Ghoul
Tome of Battle: Crusader, Ironheart Aura, Stormguard Warrior, Warblade, Maneuvers

[WhamBamSam]

Next up, The Howling Chorus by Venger:

Hey, all, For this showcase, I wanted something mask-focused for Halloween. Totemist offers plenty on its own, master of masks bolsters its strengths and gives you weapons, which exotic weapon master supports.



The Howling Chorus
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/6c/ef/bc/6cefbc2b39fe558f9b48adf07476e62c.jpg


TN human factotum 3/totemist 2/master of masks 5/exotic weapons master 3/totemist 7


str 14 (boost at 4, 12, 20)
dex 14 (boost at 8)
con 16 (boost at 16)
int 14
wis 12
cha 8





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


1st
factotum 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
autohypnosis 3, balance 4, bluff 4, craft (weaponsmithing) 3, disguise 4, lucid dreaming 1, perform (act) 4, sm 4, speak language 1 (draconic), spellcraft 4, tumble 4
able learner, power attack
inspiration, cunning insight, cunning knowledge, trapfinding


2nd
totemist 1
+0
+2
+4
+0
balance 1 (5), bluff 1 (5), disguise 1 (5), perform (act) 1 (5), tumble 1 (5), umd 2

wild empathy


3rd
totemist 2
+1
+3
+5
+0
bluff 1 (6), disguise 1 (6), jump 3, perform (act) 1 (6),tumble 1 (6)
multiattack
totem chakra bind (+1 capacity)


4th
factotum 2
+2
+3
+6
+0
bluff 1 (7), disguise 1 (7), jump 2 (5), perform (act) 1 (7), tumble 1 (7), umd 3 (5)

arcane dilettante (1 spell)


5th
factotum 3
+3
+4
+6
+1
bluff 1 (8), disguise 1 (8), perform (act) 1 (8), tumble 1 (8), umd 3 (8), sleight of hand 2

brains over brawn, cunning defense


6th
master of masks 1
+3
+4
+8
+3
bluff 1 (9), disguise 1 (9), tumble 1 (9), umd 1 (9), sleight of hand 3 (5)
weapon focus (spiked chain)
persona masks (gladiator, faceless)


7th
master of masks 2
+4
+4
+9
+4
bluff 1 (10), disguise 1 (10), tumble 1 (10), umd 1 (10), sleight of hand 1 (6), assume quirk

+1 mask (lich)


8th
master of masks 3
+4
+5
+9
+4
bluff 1 (11), disguise 1 (11), tumble 1 (11), umd 1 (11), sleight of hand 1 (7), second impression

mask specialist, +1 mask (assassin)


9th
master of masks 4
+5
+5
+10
+5/td]
[td]bluff 1 (12), disguise 1 (12), tumble 1 (12), umd 1 (12), sleight of hand 1 (8), social recovery
improved multiattack



10th
master of masks 5
+5
+5
+10
+5
bluff 1 (13), disguise 1 (13), tumble 1 (13), umd 1 (13), sleight of hand 3 (11)

many faces (2, move), +1 mask (savage)


11th
chameleon 1
+5
+5
+10
+5
bluff 1 (14), disguise 1 (14), tumble 1 (14), umd 1 (14), sleight of hand 3 (14)

aptitude focus 1/day (+2)


12th
chameleon 2
+6/+1
+5
+10
+5
autohypnosis 3 (6), bluff 1 (15), disguise 1 (15), umd 1 (15), sleight of hand 1 (15)
master pickpocket
bonus feat


13th
exotic weapon master 1
+7/+2
+6
+10
+5
autohypnosis 1 (7), bluff 1 (16), disguise 1 (16), umd 1 (16), sleight of hand 1 (16)

exotic weapon stunt (close quarters ranged combat)


14th
exotic weapon master 2
+8/+3
+7
+10
+5
autohypnosis 1 (8), bluff 1 (17), disguise 1 (17), umd 1 (17), sleight of hand 1 (17)

exotic weapon stunt (trip attack)


15th
exotic weapon master 3
+9/+4
+7
+11
+6
autohypnosis 1 (9), bluff 1 (18), disguise 1 (18), umd 1 (18), sleight of hand 1 (18)
open lesser chakra (shoulders)
exotic weapon stunt (uncanny blow)


16th
totemist 3
+10/+5
+8
+11
+7
autohypnosis 3 (12), bluff 1 (19), disguise 1 (19), umd 1 (19), sleight of hand 1 (19)

totem protection


17th
totemist 4
+11/+6/+1
+9
+12
+7
autohypnosis 3 (15), bluff 1 (20), disguise 1 (20), umd 1 (20), sleight of hand 1 (20)




18th
totemist 5
+11/+6/+1
+9
+12
+7
autohypnosis 2 (19), bluff 1 (21), disguise 1 (21), sleight of hand 1 (21)
open greater chakra (waist)
chakra binds (crown, feet, hands)


19th
totemist 6
+12/+7/+2
+10
+13
+8
autohypnosis 3 (22), bluff 1 (22), disguise 1 (22), sleight of hand 1 (22)

tottem chakra bind (+1 meldshaper level)


20th
totemist 7
+13/+8/+3
+10
+13
+8
autohypnosis 1 (23), bluff 1 (23), disguise 1 (23), lucid dreaming 3 (4), sleight of hand 1 (23)







You're laying foundation and providing what you'll rely on later. Totemist provides a huge amount of masks for your later use and factotum complements its versatility. Multiattack helps shore up your attacks, and brains over brawn boosts numbers.


As mentioned, master of masks boosts the dozens of masks totemist offers and gives tricks of its own. Most notably, gladiator mask gives proficiency with all weapons from the atlatl to the xen'drik boomerang. The sky's the limit. Of particular note (aside from classics like the fullblade and gnomish quickrazor) is the sand blaster, from mm3, which is a lot of fun. In addition to manufactured weapons, improved multiattack is helping shore up your natural attacks as well.


Chameleon adds additional versatility. You can use your free-floating feat to do whatever you like, including obscure options such as style feats to complement your exotic weapon use. Exotic weapon master lets you attack with ranged things without provoking aoos, trip enemies more efficiently with anything, and power attack with anything. You can also steal anything from enemies and your totem binds are pulling more weight with shoulder binds available enabling flight, ethereal movement, and more


Back into totemist to finish things out, getting your best tier of chakras with the waist. Put on as many masks as you like and scare to your heart's delight.

Adaptation: silverbrow human is at home on any meldshaper and will add a number of cool draconic melds to your repertoire

srd: power attack, weapon focus
dungeonscape: factotum
complete warrior: exotic weapon master
races of destiny: able learner, chameleon
city of stormreach: master pickpocket
magic of incarnum: totemist, open chakra
draconomicon: improved multiattack
complete scoundrel: master of masks, skill tricks

[WhamBamSam]

Third, The Viscount's The Clothes Horse of Forms


The Clothes Horse of Forms
“Who should I be today?”
https://cafart.r.worldssl.net/images/Category_44957/subcat_176025/4e2euV4T_120918132917lola.jpg


The basic idea for this is a Changeling that fully embraces their Doppelganger heritage, and then pushes those abilities to the limit. Cabinet Trickster is a class I’m very fond of that I don’t see discussed much, so this is me building a shapeshifting spy with an unnatural mien for the Halloween season.

N Changeling Rogue 1/Savant 2/Rogue 3/Swordsage 1/Cabinet Trickster 5/Warshaper 4/Mindspy 5

Stats
Str 14
Dex 12
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 15 (increases here)

Build


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


1st
Changeling Rogue 1
+0
+0
+2
+0
Balance 4, Bluff 4, Disguise 4, Diplomacy 4, Disable Device 1, Gather Information 1, Hide 4, Intimidate 4, Jump 4, Knowledge (local) 1, Knowledge (nature) 1, Move Silently 4, Sense Motive 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4
Able Learner
Sneak Attack +1d6, Social Intuition


2nd
Savant 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Balance 5, Bluff 5, Disguise 5, Hide 5, Jump 5, Move Silently 5, Tumble 5, Use Magic Device 5

Academic Lore, Skill Assistance (Hide) 5 feet, Trapfinding


3rd
Savant 2
+1
+0
+2
+3
Bluff 6, Concentration 1, Disguise 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 6, Use Magic Device 6
Darkstalker, (B)Persona Immersion
Talent Lore


4th
Rogue 2
+2
+0
+3
+3
Bluff 7, Concentration 5, Disguise 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Tumble 7, Use Magic Device 7

Evasion


5th
Changeling Rogue 3
+3
+1
+3
+4
Assume Quirk, Autohypnosis 1, Bluff 8, Concentration 8, Disguise 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Tumble 8, Use Magic Device 8

Minor Lore, Sneak Attack +2d6


6th
Unarmed Swordsage 1
+3
+1
+5
+6
Second Impression, Bluff 9, Disguise 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Tumble 9, Use Magic Device 9
Craven, (B) Improved Unarmed Strike, (B)Weapon Focus (Tiger Claw)
Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus), Unarmed Strike


7th
Cabinet Trickster 1
+3
+1
+7
+8
Bluff 10, Concentration 10, Disguise 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Tumble 10, Use Magic Device 10

Detect Thoughts 2/day, Doppelganger Insights


8th
Cabinet Trickster 2
+4
+1
+8
+9
Autohypnosis 2, Bluff 11, Concentration 11, Disguise 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 11
(B)Quick Change
Thought Trick (Daze), Bonus Feat


9th
Cabinet Trickster 3
+5
+2
+8
+9
Autohypnosis 3, Bluff 12, Concentration 12, Disguise 12, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Tumble 12, Use Magic Device 12
Martial Stance (Assassin’s Stance)
Detect Thoughts 4/day, Thought Trick (Disrupt)


10th
Cabinet Trickster 4
+6/+1
+2
+9
+10
Autohypnosis 4, Bluff 13, Concentration 13, Disguise 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Tumble 13, Use Magic Device 13
(B)Racial Emulation
Thought Trick (Confuse), Bonus Feat


11th
Cabinet Trickster 5
+6/+1
+2
+9
+10
Autohypnosis 5, Bluff 14, Concentration 14, Disguise 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Tumble 14, Use Magic Device 14

Change Shape, Detect Thoughts at Will, Thought Trick (Stun)


12th
Warshaper 1
+6/+1
+4
+9
+10
Concentration 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Use Magic Device 15
Staggering Strike
Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons


13th
Warshaper 2
+7/+2
+5
+10
+11
Bluff 15, Concentration 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 16

Morphic Body


14th
Warshaper 3
+8/+3
+5
+10
+11
Bluff 16, Concentration 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17

Morphic Reach


15th
Warshaper 4
+9/+4
+6
+10
+11
Bluff 17, Concentration 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 18
Multiattack
Morphic Healing


16th
Mindspy 1
+10/+5
+6
+10
+13
Bluff 18, Concentration 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19

Anticipate, Combat Telepathy, Spherical Detect Thoughts


17th
Mindspy 2
+11/+6/+1
+6
+10
+14
Bluff 19, Concentration 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20

Faster Mindscan


18th
Mindspy 3
+12/+7/+2
+7
+11
+14
Bluff 20, Concentration 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21
Improved Multiattack
Multiple Surface Thoughts (Two)


19th
Mindspy 4
+13/+8/+3
+7
+11
+15
Bluff 21, Concentration 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22

Instant Mindscan


20th
Mindspy 5
+14/+9/+4
+7
+11
+15
Bluff 22, Concentration 23, Hide 23, Move Silently 23

Multiple Surface Thoughts (Four)



Maneuvers
1st: Distracting Ember, Sapphire Nightmare Blade
2nd: Cloak of Deception, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer, Shadow Jaunt
Stances: Child of Shadow, Assassin’s Stance (at 9)

Level 5
These first levels are a bit ugly, but it picks up. We start with the king of racial substitution levels, Changeling Rogue. Take 10 with social skills, get 10 skill points, and never look back. As mentioned in Chameleon’s adaptation section Changelings can take able learner. Combined with a level of Savant you essentially have all class skills forever. Savant’s skill assistance can help the party hide using your expertise, and it even gives back the trapfinding you traded away. You can sneak, fight, and function well as a face. Darkstalker’s a necessity if you’re going to sneak. Persona immersion’s your only feat tax, helpfully provided by Savant’s bonus feat. Changeling Rogue’s chart at level 3 gives the BA and saves for level 4, which I’m assuming is a typo and not an additional benefit.

Level 10
We need one more level before we can start the PrC extravaganza, so a dip into swordsage to give us better sneaking, punch through DR, flank with yourself, and teleport. Unarmed strikes means you’re always ready in any disguise without having to carry weapons. Now it’s PrC time. I’ve chosen weapon focus in Tiger Claw because it covers both unarmed strikes and claws, a fairly common natural attack.

Cabinet trickster is a very back-loaded class, so at this point it’s not as impressive as it’s going to be in a level. For now, you can read the minds of enemies a few times per day or zap people to daze them. Quick change makes disguises faster, and racial emulation eliminates the penalty for impersonating other races that really annoys me, both for free. Craven and Assassin’s stance step up your sneak attack to more respectable levels. Assume Quirk means you can trick close friends, and Second Impression should cover the rare occasion your disguise fails. I’ve taken the opportunity to spend a few points in Autohypnosis because I like it, but feel free to invest in some scattered Knowledges or more in Diplomacy if you like.

Level 15
The final level of cabinet trickster completely changes the class. Your detect thoughts and the various tricks are now at will, and you have the most powerful version with stun. You also have the ability to change shape like a doppelganger, to turn into humanoids of Small, Medium, or Large size (hello Shinomen Nagas) and gain their movement modes, natural attacks, and Ex special attacks. Lizardfolk makes for an excellent combat form (2 claws and bite), Raptoran for flight, aquatic races for swimming. Varag’s worth mentioning for 60 ft movement speed if it’s time to go fast. Quick change means you can do this as a move action.

Once we’ve got this power, it’s time to exploit it with Warshaper. We technically qualified by virtue of being Changeling alone, but that’s generated enough threads of argument, so we’re double qualifying with change shape. You should essentially never be in your natural state, so enjoy these benefits forever. Immunity to critical hits means immunity to sneak attack, so we don’t need uncanny dodge. Fast healing helps you run all day, reach means you don’t have to be adjacent to any targets to fight, which also means they’ll provoke an AoO when approaching you. Assuming a conservative interpretation of Morphic Weapons (add one natural weapon, or increase the die of one natural weapon you already have) it’s still a useful addition and another vehicle for sneak attack. We’re not finishing the class because the capstone of changing form as a move action is something we already have. Multiattack makes it easier to use your natural attacks, and Staggering Strike means your sneak attack is a debuff as well as damage.

Level 20
Now that we’ve finished our others, it’s time for the weirdest (and realistically weakest) of our PrCs, Mindspy. By the end you can read the thoughts of up to 4 creatures within 60 feet in all directions, gaining +5 to attack and AC against them, and do it all in a single round instead of having to spend time concentrating. Then you can use a swift action to stun the target of your choice, and do it again on subsequent rounds. It is true that foes can resist with a save, but you have unlimited uses so can blast every round. We’ve been investing in Concentration this whole time for the purpose of Combat Telepathy, where you make Concentration check to keep detect thoughts active as a free action while fighting, though it also is used for Sapphire Nightmare Blade. Improved Multiattack eliminates the penalty for secondary natural attacks, so you can use them freely along with unarmed strikes.

You’ve got face skills for social encounters, you have full investment in stealth, you can tumble in the field without difficulty, and you’re making the UMD checks on a 1 for wands, so use them to fill in the gaps and supplement to your desire and budget constraints.

Adaptation
If you want to dial up the spookiness at the cost of reduced general survivability, you can trade out evasion for feign death at level 4.
It is possible to enter Cabinet Trickster a level early and thus shift your swordsage dip later, but it requires significant investment. Take Favored at 1, Primary Contact at 3, and use Savant’s bonus feat for persona immersion. Primary Contact’s wording is a bit vague, so if your DM doesn’t rule that you can use it to essentially elevate the cap, take your second level of Savant at 5 to have ironclad entry. This does unfortunately mean you cannot take Able Learner, and the last two PrCs have some rather yucky skill lists.

I’ll admit to following the spirit more than the letter for mindspy here. The technical requirement is that you’re able to cast detect thoughts as a spell or spell like ability, and Cabinet Trickster’s ability is Su. In my defense, the class writeup does say “Because the class relies utterly on detect thoughts, most mindspies are creatures who have it as a spell-like or supernatural ability usable at will[…]” and the sample mindspy is a doppelganger, who have detect thoughts as a Su just like Cabinet Trickster. At the risk of pretending that I know RAI, it seems like they wanted to allow this method of entry, just forgot or couldn’t find a good way to write it. It was never fixed in the errata though, so you can say this build isn’t valid if you don’t like me. If Mindspy is out, swordsage will welcome you back with more maneuvers for whichever direction you go.

Sources
Changeling: Eberron Campaign Setting
Savant: Dragon Compendium
Swordsage, Martial Stance: Tome of Battle
Cabinet Trickster, Persona Immersion, Quick Change, Racial Emulation, Changeling Rogue substitution levels: Races of Eberron
Warshaper, Mindspy: Complete Warrior
Able Learner, Chameleon: Races of Destiny
Darkstalker: Lords of Madness
Craven: Champions of Ruin
Staggering Strike: Complete Adventurer
Skill tricks: Complete Scoundrel
Rogue, Multiattack, Improved Multiattack: srd
image: artbook from John Carpenter's The Thing

[WhamBamSam]

Finally, Piggy's The Shoggoth:


The Shoggothhttps://davescorneroftheuniverse.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/shoggoth-2.jpg?w=796&h=684



The Shoggoth
Synad, Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Warblade 10/Slime Lord 5/Soul Eater 1/Crusader 2/Fighter 1



Level
Class
Feats
Maneuvers Known
Class Features
Notes (Click to Expand)


1st
Barbarian 1
City Slicker, Willing DeformityVile

Illiteracy, pounce, whirling frenzy 1/day
Spirit totem barbarian for cheap pounce should need no introduction. Combined with the whirling frenzy rage variant, you can do some pretty good damage at this level by charging and pouncing. City Slicker is there for the disguise requirements of slime lord; you could replace this with apprentice, if that’s more to your taste. And go ahead and dedicate yourself to an elder evil. It’s on theme, and it will give you free vile feats to start collecting deformities. I’m a fan of Ragnorra myself, or maybe Holashner, the Hunger Below.



2nd
Warblade 1

Moment of perfect mind, wolf fang strike, sudden leap, leading the charge (s)
Battle clarity (Reflex saves), weapon aptitude

Believe it or not, lowly little leading the charge is going to be one of the biggest damage engines you have. It scales surprisingly well for a level one stance, giving you and your allies +IL to charges. Since your IL continues to grow even when you’re not taking warblade levels, this provides a pretty solid boost all the way up to level 20.

As for your other maneuvers, wolf fang strike is a decent pseudo-TWF and qualifies you for sudden leap, giving you some fantastic swift action repositioning, while moment of perfect mind is literally a lifesaver.



3rd
Warblade 2
Alertness
Sapphire nightmare blade
Uncanny dodge
Boring level. Alertness is a pre-req feat and sapphire nightmare blade can be replaced with pretty much any first level maneuver; you’ve already taken all the ones you really care about and you’ll likely swap it out for a 2nd-level maneuver at your earliest opportunity, so grab whatever floats your boat.



4th
Warblade 3

Action before thought
Battle ardor (critical confirmation)

You’ll need some diamond mind maneuvers, and your reflex saves honestly aren’t going to be great, so go wild and grab action before thought.



5th
Warblade 4
Deformity (teeth)Vile
Sapphire nightmare blade -> emerald razor, punishing stance (s)


Hey, things are looking up. You’ll file your teeth down to points, giving you a nice little bite attack to add on to your attack routine. Now when you pounce you’re always making two attacks (or three with whirling frenzy), each of which gets a solid damage boost from leading the charge. And when you’ve closed with your enemy, spend a swift to switch over to punishing stance, which will add +1d6 damage onto all of your attacks at the cost of a minor penalty to AC.

And since you get a swap, might as well upgrade sapphire nightmare blade to emerald razor, which is less useful without Power Attack but can still be alright for landing a blow on high-AC foes.



6th
Slime Lord 1
Weapon Focus (teeth)

Paralytic slime, pseudopods 1/day
And with Slime Lord, we can really start to dial up the Lovecraftian horror. As for your feat, for now Weapon Focus will help eat into the penalty you take to your attack rolls for using a secondary natural weapon. Eventually your teeth will be your least exciting natural weapon, but that’s the beauty of being a warblade: when that happens, you can use weapon aptitude to swap it out for something more interesting. You can also turn your hands into pseudopods covered in paralytic slime once a day, so you know, you’ve got that going for you.



7th
Slime Lord 2







8th
Slime Lord 3


Charming gaze, pseudopod 2/day
And like any good creepy tentacle monster you can… charm people with a glance? I guess that’s a thing? Sure, slime lord, you do you.


9th
Slime Lord 4
Improved Natural Attack (teeth)

Sleep immunity
Just like with Weapon Focus, Improved Natural Attack can be shuffled over to your tentacles or pseudopods as needed thanks to weapon aptitude. As for your slime lord ability at this level… well, evil never sleeps.



10th
Slime Lord 5
Deformity (tall)Vile

Alter self, pseudopods 3/day
Ah, here’s the real selling point of slime lord: alter self at will. As an aberration, you have some very interesting forms. But let’s be real, we’re here for the creepy tentacle monster, right? So go ahead and spend the rest of your time as a grell, and enjoy a whopping eleven natural attacks on a full attack. TWFers, eat your heart out. Once you’ve transformed into your Lovecraftian nightmare fuel, you can charge and make a dozen attacks, each of which gets further boosted by leading the charge or punishing stance.

Oh, and you get another vile feat here, so pick up Deformity (tall). This definitely requires you to check in with your DM, but vile feats are (Su), which means you should still receive their benefits in your altered form. That means your creepy tentacle monster now also has reach. And I guess a bite attack, too. Although doesn’t it already have a bite attack? How does that work?

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/496/493/432.jpg

Oh :eek:


11th
Soul Eater 1


Energy drain 1
...and while you’re making a dozen or more attacks a round, why not go ahead and add in some nice level draining while you’re at it? That’s right, in addition to doing hundreds of points of damage, you’re also potentially draining a dozen levels too!


12th
Warblade 5
Rapidstrike, Ironheart Aura
Bounding assault
Bonus feat
With our permanent grell form and our soul eating out of the way, you can return to warblade. And just in time, too: enjoy bounding assault, which gives you all the benefits of making a charge attack but with none of the downsides. As for feats, Rapidstrike adds on yet more attacks to your natural attack routine, and like WF/Imp Natural Attack can be shuffled around to other natural weapons via weapon aptitude. With your warblade bonus feat, you’ll want to grab Ironheart Aura, which will open up a very nice attacking option in the near future.



13th
Warblade 6

Emerald razor -> dancing mongoose
Improved uncanny dodge
Emerald razor has long since stopped being useful, but luckily you get a swap at this level, so grab dancing mongoose for an extra pair of attacks as a swift action.


14th
Warblade 7

Rapid counter
Battle cunning (damage)
Rapid counter is effectively an extra AoO (remember, you have reach) on any round where you don’t have other plans for your immediate action, which in turn means an extra level drained. It also works especially well alongside Stormguard Warrior, which you will have in the near future.


15th
Warblade 8
Stormguard Warrior, Deformity (madness)Vile
Action before thought -> moment of alacrity

Ah, here we are. Stormguard Warrior has a few nice options. Anything that generates bonus damage is always fantastic, because you multiply that twelve-fold thanks to the huge number of attacks you make every turn. This means that refraining from taking AoOs that get generated can turn into some serious damage next turn. Don’t worry, you can still whack them thanks to rapid counter! But the real draw here is combat rhythm. This allows you to replace your attacks with touch attacks that deal no damage, but give you a very sizeable damage boost the following round. That would be good for you even if that was all… but you’re also a soul eater, meaning those “harmless” touch attacks are also draining levels to boot.

Oh, and moment of alacrity is a cute way to shuffle yourself up to the top of the initiative sequence. You can even use it to act twice in a row, which works perfectly alongside combat rhythm for a very strong finishing move: delay until the end of the round, make a full attack of touch attacks to charge up combat rhythm and dish out negative levels, then shuffle yourself back up to the front of the initiative cycle via moment of alacrity and make ANOTHER full attack, this time dealing an extra +60 or so damage on each attack.


16th
Warblade 9
Combat Reflexes
Wolf climbs the mountain
Bonus feat
Hey, since you’ve got Stormguard Warrior and channel the storm, might as well take full advantage and pick up Combat Reflexes too thanks to your warblade bonus feat.


17th
Crusader 1

Crusader’s strike, white raven tactics, war leader’s charge, doom charge, tide of chaos, martial spirit (s)
Furious counterstrike, steely resolve 5
Crusader this late in the game may seem like an odd choice, but you’ll actually want to delay your final warblade level so that when you do take it, you qualify for an 8th-level stance. That said, crusader offers you a lot: since you’ll have an IL of 9 at this point, you qualify for several very juicy charging maneuvers. War leader’s charge gives you a flat +35 damage on charges, while doom charge gives you +6d6 damage against good foes and tide of chaos gives you +4 attack and +4d6 damage against lawful foes. All three of these maneuvers are also worded in such a way that they should have no issue working with pounce, turning them into some seriously punishing options.


18th
Crusader 2
Improved Rapidstrike
Press the advantage (s)
Indomitable soul
You were forced into taking a first level stance at crusader 1, but luckily crusader 2 has no such restriction. Press the advantage is a great stance to shift to after your initial charge, giving you some decent mobility after closing with foes without sacrificing the ability to make a full attack.

And meanwhile you get Improved Rapidstrike this level, for even more full attacking goodness.



19th
Fighter 1
Martial Study (quicksilver motion)
Quicksilver motion
Bonus feat
Again, you want to hold off on that final warblade level, and another level of crusader will give you multiclassing penalties, so go ahead and dip fighter and use that free feat for quicksilver motion. This is a very nice step up from sudden leap in case you need to position yourself before charging.


20th
Warblade 10
Abominable FormVile
Rapid counter -> raging mongoose, stance of alacrity (s)

Rapid counter has lost some of its luster at this point (after all, realistically it’s just one extra attack when you’re making 15+ attacks in a round), but fear not: with IL 15, you now hit 8th-level maneuvers, meaning you can take raging mongoose for a whopping four extra attacks as a swift. And with stance of alacrity, you can actually keep that swift free for stance changes and boosts like this.

And for your final vile feat, go ahead and take Abominable Form. Honestly the DC and effect is pretty underwhelming for 20th level, but damn it it’s a perfect fit flavorwise, and sometimes you’ve got to go for the style options.




Maneuvers known:
WARBLADE:
1- Moment of perfect mind, wolf fang strike, sudden leap, sapphire nightmare blade, leading the charges, punishing stances
2- Emerald razor, action before thought
3- (none)
4- Bounding assault
5- Dancing mongoose, rapid counter
6- Moment of alacrity, wolf climbs the mountain
7- Quicksilver motion
8- Raging mongoose, stance of alacritys

CRUSADER:
1- Crusader’s strike, martial spirits
2- (none)
3- White raven tactics
4- (none)
5- War leader’s charge, doom charge, tide of chaos, press the advantages


BUILD SUMMARY
The Shoggoth is a play on a build archetype I’ve toyed with a bunch: the non-Power Attacking ubercharger. At its core, its basic MO is simple: turn into the nastiest tentacle-ridden form you can find (in this case, the grell), charge and make as many attacks as you can, each one benefiting from passive boosts like the leading the charge stance or active boosts like war leader’s charge, doom charge and Stormguard Warrior.

The final product leaves you with +18 BAB, 8th level warblade maneuvers, 5th level crusader maneuvers, alter self into aberration forms at-will, reach, pounce and the ability to make a whopping 18 attacks on a full attack… attacks that not only deal solid damage, but also dish out negative levels thanks to your energy drain.

[pabelfly]

Question. How does Totemist combine with Master of Masks to let you use a whole bunch of different masks at once?

[Venger]

Question. How does Totemist combine with Master of Masks to let you use a whole bunch of different masks at once?

soulmelds function as magic items. mask specialist will boost the DCs of all soulmelds with the word "mask" in them. Master of masks allows you to wear 2 of its masks at once, but unfortunately you do not have a high enough meldshaper level to take double chakra (brow) to wear 2 soulmelds on your face at once. If you wanted to change the levels a little to get 9 of totemist, you could do so.

[TheCount]

Beautifull, all of them!

I especially LOVE the changeling one:D

on a note though, the chorus has mixed up its table a bit, Totemist cut into factotum so fast the class features couldnt react lol

[Mike Miller]

Beautifull, all of them!

I especially LOVE the changeling one:D

on a note though, the chorus has mixed up its table a bit, Totemist cut into factotum so fast the class features couldnt react lol

And the stub makes no mention of chameleon

[Piggy Knowles]

Since Sam isn't online, I'll go ahead and post my Halloween build here until he gets on to edit it in:


The Shoggothhttps://davescorneroftheuniverse.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/shoggoth-2.jpg?w=796&h=684



The Shoggoth
Synad, Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Warblade 10/Slime Lord 5/Soul Eater 1/Crusader 2/Fighter 1



Level
Class
Feats
Maneuvers Known
Class Features
Notes (Click to Expand)


1st
Barbarian 1
City Slicker, Willing DeformityVile

Illiteracy, pounce, whirling frenzy 1/day
Spirit totem barbarian for cheap pounce should need no introduction. Combined with the whirling frenzy rage variant, you can do some pretty good damage at this level by charging and pouncing. City Slicker is there for the disguise requirements of slime lord; you could replace this with apprentice, if that’s more to your taste. And go ahead and dedicate yourself to an elder evil. It’s on theme, and it will give you free vile feats to start collecting deformities. I’m a fan of Ragnorra myself, or maybe Holashner, the Hunger Below.



2nd
Warblade 1

Moment of perfect mind, wolf fang strike, sudden leap, leading the charge (s)
Battle clarity (Reflex saves), weapon aptitude

Believe it or not, lowly little leading the charge is going to be one of the biggest damage engines you have. It scales surprisingly well for a level one stance, giving you and your allies +IL to charges. Since your IL continues to grow even when you’re not taking warblade levels, this provides a pretty solid boost all the way up to level 20.

As for your other maneuvers, wolf fang strike is a decent pseudo-TWF and qualifies you for sudden leap, giving you some fantastic swift action repositioning, while moment of perfect mind is literally a lifesaver.



3rd
Warblade 2
Alertness
Sapphire nightmare blade
Uncanny dodge
Boring level. Alertness is a pre-req feat and sapphire nightmare blade can be replaced with pretty much any first level maneuver; you’ve already taken all the ones you really care about and you’ll likely swap it out for a 2nd-level maneuver at your earliest opportunity, so grab whatever floats your boat.



4th
Warblade 3

Action before thought
Battle ardor (critical confirmation)

You’ll need some diamond mind maneuvers, and your reflex saves honestly aren’t going to be great, so go wild and grab action before thought.



5th
Warblade 4
Deformity (teeth)Vile
Sapphire nightmare blade -> emerald razor, punishing stance (s)


Hey, things are looking up. You’ll file your teeth down to points, giving you a nice little bite attack to add on to your attack routine. Now when you pounce you’re always making two attacks (or three with whirling frenzy), each of which gets a solid damage boost from leading the charge. And when you’ve closed with your enemy, spend a swift to switch over to punishing stance, which will add +1d6 damage onto all of your attacks at the cost of a minor penalty to AC.

And since you get a swap, might as well upgrade sapphire nightmare blade to emerald razor, which is less useful without Power Attack but can still be alright for landing a blow on high-AC foes.



6th
Slime Lord 1
Weapon Focus (teeth)

Paralytic slime, pseudopods 1/day
And with Slime Lord, we can really start to dial up the Lovecraftian horror. As for your feat, for now Weapon Focus will help eat into the penalty you take to your attack rolls for using a secondary natural weapon. Eventually your teeth will be your least exciting natural weapon, but that’s the beauty of being a warblade: when that happens, you can use weapon aptitude to swap it out for something more interesting. You can also turn your hands into pseudopods covered in paralytic slime once a day, so you know, you’ve got that going for you.



7th
Slime Lord 2







8th
Slime Lord 3


Charming gaze, pseudopod 2/day
And like any good creepy tentacle monster you can… charm people with a glance? I guess that’s a thing? Sure, slime lord, you do you.


9th
Slime Lord 4
Improved Natural Attack (teeth)

Sleep immunity
Just like with Weapon Focus, Improved Natural Attack can be shuffled over to your tentacles or pseudopods as needed thanks to weapon aptitude. As for your slime lord ability at this level… well, evil never sleeps.



10th
Slime Lord 5
Deformity (tall)Vile

Alter self, pseudopods 3/day
Ah, here’s the real selling point of slime lord: alter self at will. As an aberration, you have some very interesting forms. But let’s be real, we’re here for the creepy tentacle monster, right? So go ahead and spend the rest of your time as a grell, and enjoy a whopping eleven natural attacks on a full attack. TWFers, eat your heart out. Once you’ve transformed into your Lovecraftian nightmare fuel, you can charge and make a dozen attacks, each of which gets further boosted by leading the charge or punishing stance.

Oh, and you get another vile feat here, so pick up Deformity (tall). This definitely requires you to check in with your DM, but vile feats are (Su), which means you should still receive their benefits in your altered form. That means your creepy tentacle monster now also has reach. And I guess a bite attack, too. Although doesn’t it already have a bite attack? How does that work?

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/496/493/432.jpg

Oh :eek:


11th
Soul Eater 1


Energy drain 1
...and while you’re making a dozen or more attacks a round, why not go ahead and add in some nice level draining while you’re at it? That’s right, in addition to doing hundreds of points of damage, you’re also potentially draining a dozen levels too!


12th
Warblade 5
Rapidstrike, Ironheart Aura
Bounding assault
Bonus feat
With our permanent grell form and our soul eating out of the way, you can return to warblade. And just in time, too: enjoy bounding assault, which gives you all the benefits of making a charge attack but with none of the downsides. As for feats, Rapidstrike adds on yet more attacks to your natural attack routine, and like WF/Imp Natural Attack can be shuffled around to other natural weapons via weapon aptitude. With your warblade bonus feat, you’ll want to grab Ironheart Aura, which will open up a very nice attacking option in the near future.



13th
Warblade 6

Emerald razor -> dancing mongoose
Improved uncanny dodge
Emerald razor has long since stopped being useful, but luckily you get a swap at this level, so grab dancing mongoose for an extra pair of attacks as a swift action.


14th
Warblade 7

Rapid counter
Battle cunning (damage)
Rapid counter is effectively an extra AoO (remember, you have reach) on any round where you don’t have other plans for your immediate action, which in turn means an extra level drained. It also works especially well alongside Stormguard Warrior, which you will have in the near future.


15th
Warblade 8
Stormguard Warrior, Deformity (madness)Vile
Action before thought -> moment of alacrity

Ah, here we are. Stormguard Warrior has a few nice options. Anything that generates bonus damage is always fantastic, because you multiply that twelve-fold thanks to the huge number of attacks you make every turn. This means that refraining from taking AoOs that get generated can turn into some serious damage next turn. Don’t worry, you can still whack them thanks to rapid counter! But the real draw here is combat rhythm. This allows you to replace your attacks with touch attacks that deal no damage, but give you a very sizeable damage boost the following round. That would be good for you even if that was all… but you’re also a soul eater, meaning those “harmless” touch attacks are also draining levels to boot.

Oh, and moment of alacrity is a cute way to shuffle yourself up to the top of the initiative sequence. You can even use it to act twice in a row, which works perfectly alongside combat rhythm for a very strong finishing move: delay until the end of the round, make a full attack of touch attacks to charge up combat rhythm and dish out negative levels, then shuffle yourself back up to the front of the initiative cycle via moment of alacrity and make ANOTHER full attack, this time dealing an extra +60 or so damage on each attack.


16th
Warblade 9
Combat Reflexes
Wolf climbs the mountain
Bonus feat
Hey, since you’ve got Stormguard Warrior and channel the storm, might as well take full advantage and pick up Combat Reflexes too thanks to your warblade bonus feat.


17th
Crusader 1

Crusader’s strike, white raven tactics, war leader’s charge, doom charge, tide of chaos, martial spirit (s)
Furious counterstrike, steely resolve 5
Crusader this late in the game may seem like an odd choice, but you’ll actually want to delay your final warblade level so that when you do take it, you qualify for an 8th-level stance. That said, crusader offers you a lot: since you’ll have an IL of 9 at this point, you qualify for several very juicy charging maneuvers. War leader’s charge gives you a flat +35 damage on charges, while doom charge gives you +6d6 damage against good foes and tide of chaos gives you +4 attack and +4d6 damage against lawful foes. All three of these maneuvers are also worded in such a way that they should have no issue working with pounce, turning them into some seriously punishing options.


18th
Crusader 2
Improved Rapidstrike
Press the advantage (s)
Indomitable soul
You were forced into taking a first level stance at crusader 1, but luckily crusader 2 has no such restriction. Press the advantage is a great stance to shift to after your initial charge, giving you some decent mobility after closing with foes without sacrificing the ability to make a full attack.

And meanwhile you get Improved Rapidstrike this level, for even more full attacking goodness.



19th
Fighter 1
Martial Study (quicksilver motion)
Quicksilver motion
Bonus feat
Again, you want to hold off on that final warblade level, and another level of crusader will give you multiclassing penalties, so go ahead and dip fighter and use that free feat for quicksilver motion. This is a very nice step up from sudden leap in case you need to position yourself before charging.


20th
Warblade 10
Abominable FormVile
Rapid counter -> raging mongoose, stance of alacrity (s)

Rapid counter has lost some of its luster at this point (after all, realistically it’s just one extra attack when you’re making 15+ attacks in a round), but fear not: with IL 15, you now hit 8th-level maneuvers, meaning you can take raging mongoose for a whopping four extra attacks as a swift. And with stance of alacrity, you can actually keep that swift free for stance changes and boosts like this.

And for your final vile feat, go ahead and take Abominable Form. Honestly the DC and effect is pretty underwhelming for 20th level, but damn it it’s a perfect fit flavorwise, and sometimes you’ve got to go for the style options.




Maneuvers known:
WARBLADE:
1- Moment of perfect mind, wolf fang strike, sudden leap, sapphire nightmare blade, leading the charges, punishing stances
2- Emerald razor, action before thought
3- (none)
4- Bounding assault
5- Dancing mongoose, rapid counter
6- Moment of alacrity, wolf climbs the mountain
7- Quicksilver motion
8- Raging mongoose, stance of alacritys

CRUSADER:
1- Crusader’s strike, martial spirits
2- (none)
3- White raven tactics
4- (none)
5- War leader’s charge, doom charge, tide of chaos, press the advantages


BUILD SUMMARY
The Shoggoth is a play on a build archetype I’ve toyed with a bunch: the non-Power Attacking ubercharger. At its core, its basic MO is simple: turn into the nastiest tentacle-ridden form you can find (in this case, the grell), charge and make as many attacks as you can, each one benefiting from passive boosts like the leading the charge stance or active boosts like war leader’s charge, doom charge and Stormguard Warrior.

The final product leaves you with +18 BAB, 8th level warblade maneuvers, 5th level crusader maneuvers, alter self into aberration forms at-will, reach, pounce and the ability to make a whopping 18 attacks on a full attack… attacks that not only deal solid damage, but also dish out negative levels thanks to your energy drain.

[WhamBamSam]

The typos mentioned in The Howling Chorus should now be fixed and The Shoggoth has now shambled into its rightful place in the reserved post up-thread.

[Aegis013]

Considering these are supposed to be PO builds on the Shoggoth it's likely worth putting in a footnote for Soul Eater. I, and many others I suspect, interpret Soul Eater's energy drain as a separate special attack option that requires a standard action and lets you debuff an enemy with a negative level on a successful touch attack.

Even if the designer intent was to provide a passive buff to make long natural attack routines insanely strong, I think the RAW supports my interpretation. No listed action cost on a SU ability defaults to a Standard and the ability doesn't explicitly call out a different action cost.

Edit: I still really enjoy these. Excellent work. Also is the White Elephant link broken? I don't remember seeing that one and the link gives me an error and it didn't come up via google-fu.

[The Viscount]

The White Elephant link does appear to be broken. It's found here. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?600206-Optimization-Showcase-in-the-Playground-The-White-Elephant)

There is certainly controversy over Soul Eater, but I would like to mention that there are examples of energy drain being used in a full attack, such as with the vampire mind flayer in lords of madness.

[Aegis013]

Thank you for the link. White Elephant is an awesome build, I actually laughed out loud reading it.

Yes, I'm not trying to say the more powerful interpretation is wrong, simply it may be worth noting that it might not work at all tables and, if you'd want, suggest a suitable replacement level.

[TheCount]

So, i was curious why Savant was used in the horse of forms, instead of, say, factotum but then, i looked them both up....
Honestly, factotum looks like a buffed up savant, but thats not important, whats important though, is that, thanks to Savant, not only you get all class skills but the WHOLE build uses only Su abilities!
No spells, no psionics or -like abilities, its pure Su.
So, unless your opponents are paranoid enough or hate shapchangers with a passion to have Discern Shapechanger, you cant be detected after the change. at all.
Wel,, unless they catch you using detect thoughts or magic items you shouldnt have :P

Also, its nice knowing another class that has all clas skills

[The Viscount]

I'll admit that I use savant partially because I have a particular fondness for it over factotum. I'd definitely describe savant as a sort of first draft for factotum that gets always-on access to a few things rather than limited access to many things. It's an absolute machine for qualifying for prestige classes, though. I waffled over whether to enter early (as explained in adaptation) or get able learner when making it, and whenever I can get able learner I look very hard at getting all class skills. Savant tends to me my preferred form for the bonus feat at level 2, a rare treat in that it has no restrictions.

I hadn't actually realized that it's Su dependent only, that's a fun addition. I'm not sure how they'd be able to know if you were using detect thoughts, though. They'd be able to feel that something was happening if they passed their save, but I'm missing what they'd be able to use to know you're the one using it, besides process of elimination.

[Venger]

They're not entitled to a spellcraft check from su abilities, and even a ring of spell-battle or similar would not work. If they had persona immersion or similar they could metagame a little (you want surface thoughts? and youo're not pinging on detect magic? ok I think i know what effect you're using) but not know for sure.