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Macabaret
2020-04-08, 03:37 PM
Welcome to Junkyard Stadium! It is in this hallowed pile of miscellaneous parts that we will hold a competition of Practical Optimization with three components. The catch? Competitors may not use the third item in their builds!

Goal: Create a build that showcases the selected ingredients while steering clear of the Forbidden Ingredient.

This competition has two Necessary Components and one Forbidden Component. This round's components are...


Necessary: Evasive Reflexes feat (Tome of Battle p.30)
Necessary: Master of the Unseen Hand class (Complete Warrior p.60)
Forbidden: Ghost





Creation: 32 point-buy is the presumed creation method. You may assume that you will have enough exp to reach ECL 20, and that the occasional bit of crafting, use of spells with exp components, or the like won't prevent you from doing so. However, LA buyoff is an alternate rule which is not in play.
Workshop: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon Magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see below. Web-exclusive 3.0 or 3.5 materials by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion. If you use web material, please link it. Dragon Magazine Compendium is allowed, as are Oriental Adventures (and its 3.5 updates in Dragon Magazine) and the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt and fractional saves are not allowed, as they create a different playing field.
Leadership is banned: We're creating one thing, not all of the things. If your entry includes a prestige class or ACF that grants Leadership or a Leadership-like ability as a bonus feat, the feat should be ignored and is not eligible to be traded away for another feat or ACF through any means.
Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until after the reveal in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.
Disputes: Any scoring disputes should be sent to the Chair via PM. Valid disputes include RAW misreadings, arithmetic errors, things missed that are present in the entry, and inconsistently applied criteria. Invalid disputes include disagreements on matters of opinion, a judge not catching something not explicitly presented in the entry, and the like. Invalid disputes will be responded to via PM by the Chair, but valid disputes will be posted in-thread for the judge to review. When disputing, please indicate the judge the dispute is intended for and provide a quote of the disputed comment or comments. Note: the Chair may edit or paraphrase any disputes in presenting them to the judges.
Presentation: You will need to present a write-up of your build at at least one of the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build, as well as presenting a fully-fleshed out 20-level build in the table below. Please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability throughout its life. Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries. Also for this reason, PLEASE do not include any material that may or may not offend any potential viewers/judges/competitors OR break forum rules. Any builds which violate forum rules WILL be withheld from posting.




Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, please use the following table for their entry.
NAME OF ENTRY


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



Code immediately below (spoiler).

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


For other systems (Psionics, ToB, Incarnum, etc.) keep track of PP/maneuvers/essentia separately, preferably in a nice neat list.





Scoring: Each judge is required to provide the criteria by which they are judging the builds. By "criteria," we mean a simple explanation of what the judge is looking for in each of the below categories and what kind of scoring we can expect. If a judge deems a build to be illegal, they may provide a 0 in Elegance but may not refuse to judge any build presented by the Chairman.
The Categories: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Components.


Originality: Is the build unique? Does it deviate from the obvious? Does it forge its own path, or does it fall back on common, established optimization tricks? Some judges score entries for the quality of their concept & backstory as well, though not all do. Providing at least some backstory is heavily encouraged, as it helps the judges figure out who the entry is. Note that the purpose of this category is not to penalize entries that independently came up with the same idea as another entry, but rather to reward entries that explore underutilized and non-obvious areas of optimization, so, judges, try not to base your judging in this category too heavily on what other builds are doing. Multiple entries using the same element may certainly be evidence that the element is unoriginal, but you shouldn't impose anything like a "-1 for each other build using the same class" penalty.
Power: Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
Elegance: This category was formerly titled "Build Stability." Here, we're essentially measuring how skillfully you put your build together and how you balanced flavor with power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is an automatic loss of one point per flaw in this category. Other things that will cause lost points here are excessive multiclassing (meaning any multiclassing that results in an xp penalty), and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, may lose you points. Rule adherence and legality of sources is scored under this category; additionally, reliance on a questionable, controversial, or ambiguous ruling can and should result in a deduction. Neither the number of sources nor their relative obscurity should be penalized--contestants should feel free to use any books they like. Dipping should not be penalized unless it results in a multiclass xp penalty; if the system won't penalize it, neither should judges.
Use of Components: Was the Forbidden Component avoided? Were the Necessary Components showcased, or simply used because they were necessary?



Disputes: Any scoring disputes will be posted by the Chairman in-thread after reviewing them privately. Valid disputes include
RAW misreadings,
arithmetic errors,
things missed that are present in the entry,
and inconsistently applied criteria.
Invalid disputes include
disagreements on matters of opinion,
a judge not catching something not explicitly presented in the entry,
and the like.
Invalid disputes will be responded to via PM by the Chair, but valid disputes should be responded to by each individual judge. Judges are obligated to respond to disputes to ensure that everyone gets a fair shake. A judge's scores will only be recognized if they have recognized all disputes. In the absence of any other judges, the entries will be judged by the chairman.



Completion Time:

Contestants will have until 20:59 CDT Monday April 27, 2020 to create their builds and PM them to the chairman.
Builds will then be posted simultaneously to avoid copying.
Judges will have until 20:59 CDT Monday May 4, 2020 (May the ... er ... Telekinesis? be with you, judges!) to judge the builds and submit their scores. Judging deadline is subject to extension as required.
As the precedent has been set from Episode 2, should all prospective judges have posted their rulings in a neat, timely fashion and all disputes have been settled satisfactorily (to either judges, contestants, or the Chairperson), the judging period may end prematurely to give way to a new episode. No reason to keep working on a finished building and avoid moving onto the next one.


Looking for as many contestants and judges as feel like playing! We will award 1st through 3rd places, as well as a shout-out for honorable mention. The honorable mention prize is given to the most daring or unexpected build that doesn't gain a medal. Contestants are invited to vote for honorable mention via PM. Everyone else can vote in-thread. Ready? Set? Get to the junkyard and start building!



Junkyard Wars in the Playground I: Shadowdancer + Sneak Attack - Rogue (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?337864)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground II: Healing Spells + Ruby Knight Vindicator - Cleric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342896)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground III: Dragons + Theurges - Kobolds (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?347412)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground IV: BoED + Undead Type - Completes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?355278)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground V: Dread Witch + Reaping Mauler - Fighter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?360271)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground VI: Wonderworker + Profession Skill - Factotum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?369604)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground VII: Metamagic Feats + LA - Metamagic Reducers! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?374504)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground VIII: Pounce+Small Size-Barbarian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?388151)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground IX: Earth Dreamer + Ordained Champion - Cleric (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395791)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground X: Meldshaping + Natural Attacks - Totemist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?403880)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XI: Magical Darkness + Improved Familiar - Wizard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?409650)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XII: Dragonmark Heirs + Touchstones - Martial Weapons (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?430214)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XIII: Mulhorandi Divine Minion + Monk - Any Other Wildshaping (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?465901)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XIV: Racial Paragon Classes + Spellcasting - Base Classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?479427)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XV: Ruathar + Stoneblessed - Human (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?497904)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XVI: Trapsmith + Combat Trapsmith - Rogue (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?540521)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XVII: Elemental Warrior + Jaunter - Fighter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?552569)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XVIII: Argent Savant + Holy Scourge - Wizard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?555404)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XIX: Incarnum Blade + Exotic Weapon Master - Spiked Chain (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?562523-Junkyard-Wars-XIX-IB-EWM-SC)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XX: Xorvintaal Exarch + The Pact-Bound Adept - Sorcerer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?568541-Junkyard-Wars-XX-XE-PBA(a)-S)
Junkyard Wars in the Playground XXI: Rebuke Undead + Teamwork Benefits - [Divine] feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?572680-Junkyard-Wars-XXI-Halloween-Round!)
Junkyard Wars XXII: Battle Trickster + Magical Trickster - Uncanny Trickster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?577512-Junkyard-Wars-XXII-Show-Me-Your-Skillz)
Junkyard Wars XXIII: Spellwarp Sniper + Silver Pyromancer - Energy Substitution (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?581736-Junkyard-Wars-XXIII-Ready-Aim-Fire)
Junkyard Wars XXIV: Vow of Peace + Saint - Divine casting (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?585567-Junkyard-Wars-XXIV-VoPe-S-DC)
Junkyard Wars XXV: Silverwood Arcanist + Share Soulmeld - Soulcaster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?590622-Junkyard-Wars-XXV-SA-SS-S)
Junkyard Wars XXVI: RSL + ACF - PrCs (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?593374-Junkyard-Wars-XXVI-RSL-ACF-PrCs)
Junkyard Wars XXVII: Unholy Scion + Mark - Affiliation (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?598151-Junkyard-Wars-XXVII-US-M-A)
Junkyard Wars XXVII: 1MF + CPA&A - T (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?603826-Junkyard-Wars-XXVIII-1MF-CPA-amp-A-T)
Macabaret
2020-04-08, 03:39 PM
A Few Notes on Formatting


Your PM to the chair to enter your build is limited to a maximum character limit. If you need to split your entry into multiple PMs, that's fine. But please do not split your build mid-sentence; find a nice break point midway through and split it there. Also, when sending multiple PMs for the same entry, title your PMs appropriately. Indications such as "final" or "middle bit" are bad ideas. Be abundantly clear, for example: "Junkyard Wars XIIIII: [Character name], 3/3"


There are tables offered in the OP. All the coding is already done for you. Please do feel free to use them. They make life easier. If you have a table from previous iterations of these competitions (from years ago), do note that they may be non-functional. The coding for the site has changed over time and your version may be obsolete or incomplete. Utilize the tools offered here. If you find them to be broken in any way, please do report it to the Chair.


Color tags are not needed in your tables. The tables are built to have rows of table data that alternate colors automatically. Adding color tags for every row of your tables is just adding unneccessary characters to your post.
If you would like to change the color of your text (either within the table or in your write-ups or backstory), feel free to do so. If you do, make sure you've got everything formatted correctly.


Writing sentences in the same color of the background is usually a bad idea. It can be cute as a comical aside, where only those who are let in on your joke are those who can find the text. If, however, you include pertinent parts of your build or explination in such 'hidden' asides, there is every possiblity that a judge may not find it. If that happens, don't dispute judgements for not finding information that you've hidden. (Even if it is about the Darkstalker feat.)


No one likes to read a wall of text. Paragraphs and line breaks are certainly good ideas, but even with them, if your entry is taking up a sizable portion of a thread, using spoiler tags to shrink things down to less of an eyestrain is much appreciated.


Remember that the Chair is not your editor. I will not be sifting through your entry to fix your code. Before you submit your entry, click the preview button and make sure everything works the way you want it to. If a table is broken, fix it. If your bolded sentence doesn't stop 'bolding' where you meant it to (or, in fact, at all), fix it. Only send your entry once you've got everything as intended.
Macabaret
2020-04-08, 03:40 PM
FAQ

How about the Ghostwalk "Ghost"?
No.


What if you have an ability that grants one of telekinesis's options?
You have to be able to use telekinesis (whether as a spell, SLA, or SA), not just part of it.


Does Evasive Reflexes let you make more than one 5ft step per round, or are you stuck with the 1/round default limit?
For this round of the Junkyard Wars contest, in the interest of expanding options and usage of ingredients, you may use Evasive Reflexes to make a 5-foot step each time you have Opportunity.


If I cast the spell from a spell-trigger item/rune/tattoo/scroll/whatever, I still gain the benefits of the MOtUSH, right?
As long as you are the one concentrating on the spell effect, you can apply the class abilities' augmentations to a telekinesis effect from any source.
Sian
2020-04-08, 04:14 PM
yuck ... MotUH is easily bad enough that if they somehow managed to make it 10 levels long it would be a easy Iron Chef dish
Thurbane
2020-04-08, 05:02 PM
Well, with my current game (which I am DMing) on hold, I might have time to get an entry in. Seems like an interesting combo round. Really glad there's no Ghost allowed - that's the generally accepted "cheat code" for MotUH.

This might be obvious, but I'm assuming no Ghost includes no dip in the Ghost racial class?

How about the Ghostwalk "Ghost"?
AvatarVecna
2020-04-08, 05:40 PM
Talk about junk...lol
daremetoidareyo
2020-04-08, 06:18 PM
What if you have an ability that grants one of telekinesis's options? Is that fair play?
RaiKirah
2020-04-08, 06:38 PM
That image has haunted me for years. Can't wait to put something together! :D
PoeticallyPsyco
2020-04-08, 06:45 PM
Ah, my old weakness... casting.

I do have one kind of cool idea. Have to see if I can make it work before committing.

Also:
Does Evasive Reflexes let you make more than one 5ft step per round, or are you stuck with the 1/round default limit? It says you "can" make a 5ft step, which could imply that now you can even if you previously couldn't. (I've exploited that loophole before to create a monster that replicates the "horror movie walk": moves at a walking pace, but is still always just behind you).

EDIT: Okay, now that I've spent a bunch of time I should have spent on HW working this out, I'm quite liking what I have.
Macabaret
2020-04-10, 03:46 PM
Really glad there's no Ghost allowed - that's the generally accepted "cheat code" for MotUH.
This might be obvious, but I'm assuming no Ghost includes no dip in the Ghost racial class?
How about the Ghostwalk "Ghost"?

Yeah, that "cheat code" was the main reason for Ghost being the forbidden ingredient, so it's definitely a no-go on the racial class.

Ghostwalk ghosts are... well... Manifest is just weird. I'm going to say 'no' here and close that door, but I won't lock it. If you've got a specific argument, I'll listen. That said, I'm not eager to include it.



What if you have an ability that grants one of telekinesis's options? Is that fair play?

You mean....? As a means for qualifying for MotUH? I suppose, without specifics, I can't really say. But I would lean toward 'no'. You have to be able to use telekinesis (whether as a spell, SLA, or SA), not just part of it.
I hope that answers your question.




Does Evasive Reflexes let you make more than one 5ft step per round, or are you stuck with the 1/round default limit? It says you "can" make a 5ft step, which could imply that now you can even if you previously couldn't.


Ah, RAW vs RAI. For this round of the Junkyard Wars contest, in the interest of expanding options and usage of ingredients, you may use Evasive Reflexes to make a 5-foot step each time you have Opportunity.
daremetoidareyo
2020-04-10, 05:41 PM
That absolutely answers my question. Thanks
Heavenblade
2020-04-13, 01:10 PM
Im definetly building something for that competition...If I cast the spell from a spell-trigger item/rune/tattoo/scroll/whatever, I still gain the benefits of the MOtUSH, right?
Macabaret
2020-04-15, 01:50 PM
Im definetly building something for that competition...If I cast the spell from a spell-trigger item/rune/tattoo/scroll/whatever, I still gain the benefits of the MOtUSH, right?

My immediate inclination was to say no to this. But then I looked over the class abilities again and I think I've changed my mind. The fluff of the class seems to augment the magic after it has been cast (as opposed to, say, applying metamagic feats that would occur during casting) and certainly accounts for the notion of using the augmentations on telekinesis from sources other than spell slots (SLAs and SAs, specifically). So I'll rule this:

As long as you are the one concentrating on the spell effect, you can apply the class abilities' augmentations to a telekinesis effect from any source.

(Note that you will still have to qualify for the class normally.)
Heavenblade
2020-04-15, 02:44 PM
OK, awesome! thanks a lot for that ruling (:
Macabaret
2020-04-25, 04:51 AM
Sorry to have been so quiet here lately, folks.

The better part of a weekend remains for this challenge. How are you guys doing with your builds? Have you got everything well in... er... hand?
Heavenblade
2020-04-25, 12:17 PM
OMG! I was sure that the submission is due next saturday!:smalleek:
I got my build mostly ready, now I need to write it down and see if it's worth it as a whole.
RaiKirah
2020-04-25, 03:25 PM
I'm still thinking on a build, but certainly won't have it ready this weekend. Not having the easiest time concentrating these days
PoeticallyPsyco
2020-04-25, 03:49 PM
Wow, these deadlines have really been sneaking up on me. I think I can pull it together for this one, though.
Heavenblade
2020-04-26, 11:06 AM
Can we get a short extension? the build is ready, but I forgot how long formatting is, and Iv'e postponed all the workd to the last second...
Falontani
2020-04-27, 08:19 PM
frantically trying to finish >.> people keep interrupting me
PoeticallyPsyco
2020-04-27, 11:20 PM
And mine's in.
Macabaret
2020-04-29, 01:35 AM
Can we get a short extension? the build is ready, but I forgot how long formatting is, and Iv'e postponed all the workd to the last second...

Thank you for asking. And the answer is... yes. (As evidenced by the fact that this post is occurring after the deadline.) I'll give you a bit longer still, in the interest that more entries is better than fewer. Can you give an indication of just how much longer you might need?
Heavenblade
2020-04-29, 01:56 AM
Ill be done in a day or two, I suppose, depending on how long it will take meto actually formet everything (I kind of gave up since the day have passed so I didn't really advance since then)
Macabaret
2020-05-02, 10:33 PM
For clarity:
Due to my own schedule, our new deadline will be: 20:59 CDT Monday May 4, 2020, exactly one week after the original deadline. So for those trying to finish up an entry, "Try not! Do or do not!"
Heavenblade
2020-05-03, 11:05 AM
I guess this should have been asked earlier, yet only now I notice - if I don't get my telekinesis from being a wizard, a sorcerer, or from an inherent su/sla, what ability score do I use to calculate tlekinesis effects?
Macabaret
2020-05-03, 12:37 PM
I guess this should have been asked earlier, yet only now I notice - if I don't get my telekinesis from being a wizard, a sorcerer, or from an inherent su/sla, what ability score do I use to calculate tlekinesis effects?

It depends, I suppose, on the source of the telekinesis.
If you're getting it from a casting class that isn't wizard or sorcerer (Archivist, for example), then that class should define which casting stat to use.
If you're getting it through a class ability, that class should explain which stat to use. (If not, see below.)
If you're getting it through a non-inherent su/sla (and the ability doesn't otherwise describe how it's used), use Cha.

I hope that answers your question.
Heavenblade
2020-05-03, 01:03 PM
alright, it does. thanks a lot!
3Power
2020-05-03, 01:27 PM
Ok, so I wrote this in response to Heavenblade but apparently I was off the mark since I assumed he was referring to magic items. But since I just spent like 45 minutes researching this stuff I'm going to leave it up in the hopes that someone finds it interesting at the very least.



I guess this should have been asked earlier, yet only now I notice - if I don't get my telekinesis from being a wizard, a sorcerer, or from an inherent su/sla, what ability score do I use to calculate tlekinesis effects?
I'm going to assume it's a magic item. In that case, for saving throws you would use the modifier of the minimum ability score to cast the spell. It's 15, so the score would be +2. The actual stat is irrelevant. With the Master of the unseen hand ex abilities, it's a little trickier. The wording doesn't forbid you from using a magic item, but it makes reference to the stat based on class, so it assumes you're using the version of telekinesis you qualified for the class for. Since there are no clear rules either way, it's up to the DM to rule whether you would use the same generic +2 bonus as the saving throw, use whatever bonus is tied to your normal use of telekinesis, or whether you are just plain not allowed to use those ex abilities with a magic item. I would personally rule for the generic +2 bonus.

It's less complicated with staves since when you use a staff the saving throw is based as if the character cast the spell.

Please note that the language surrounding the the term "Casting" in regards to magic items is a little iffy. Rules compendium seems to go out of their way in the magic items section to say that when you use a magic item you are not casting a spell, for instance:

Even a character who can’t cast the spell stored in the item can use it from a spell trigger item as long as that spell is on his spell list.As such, I do not believe you can use a magic item to qualify for Master of the Unseen hand.
Falontani
2020-05-03, 03:48 PM
I'm going to assume it's a magic item. In that case, for saving throws you would use the modifier of the minimum ability score to cast the spell. It's 15, so the score would be +2. The actual stat is irrelevant. With the Master of the unseen hand ex abilities, it's a little trickier. The wording doesn't forbid you from using a magic item, but it makes reference to the stat based on class, so it assumes you're using the version of telekinesis you qualified for the class for. Since there are no clear rules either way, it's up to the DM to rule whether you would use the same generic +2 bonus as the saving throw, use whatever bonus is tied to your normal use of telekinesis, or whether you are just plain not allowed to use those ex abilities with a magic item. I would personally rule for the generic +2 bonus.

It's less complicated with staves since when you use a staff the saving throw is based as if the character cast the spell.

Please note that the language surrounding the the term "Casting" in regards to magic items is a little iffy. Rules compendium seems to go out of their way in the magic items section to say that when you use a magic item you are not casting a spell, for instance:
As such, I do not believe you can use a magic item to qualify for Master of the Unseen hand.
Back to the drawing board with me!
Macabaret
2020-05-05, 12:32 AM
Pencils down, folks. Please refrain from commenting or posting until all entries are on display, please. Thank you.
Macabaret
2020-05-05, 12:35 AM
Entry the first:

Githyanki are an ideal race for the Master of the Unseen Hand class as they gain Telekinesis as a SLA 3 times a day at character level 9. As such any Githyanki can qualify as early as level 10 as long as they pick up 8 ranks of concentration along the way. While this could result in any number of builds that sidestepped the need for a spellcasting class altogether, the inclusion of the Evasive Reflexes feat implies that we are both avoiding close combat and using a weapon that can threaten. (Which rules out melee-focused classes and ranged weapons.) In addition, going sorcerer maxes out the potential base uses of telekinesis to 9/day.

STR: 8 + 0 = 8
DEX: 16 + 2 = 18
CON: 14 + 2 = 16
INT: 10 + 0 = 10
WIS: 12 -2 = 10
CHA: 16 + 0 = 16

Because we are never going to cast spells above level 6, and a CHA score of 20 can be reached with a cloak of charisma +4 to get a bonus 5th level spell, our charisma is going to stay at 16. Most of our spells are not going to involve saving throws anyway. All additional stat points are going to be put into DEX, and when it hits 22, Yannich can essentially bunny hop away from a medium sized humanoid foe for 30 feet per round, forcing a charge which can be dodged with the help of the hold the line feat.


LevelClassBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSkillsFeatsClass Features
LA 1Githyanki----- --
LA 2Githyanki-------
1stSorcerer 1+0+0+0+2Spellcraft(4) Concentration(4) Combat ReflexesDaze & Mage Hand (3/day), Summon Familiar, SR 6
2ndSorcerer2+1+0+0+3Spellcraft(5) Concentration(5) -SR7
3rdSorcerer 3+1+1+1+3Spellcraft(6) Concentration(6) Evasive ReflexesBlur (3/Day), SR8
4thSorcerer 4+2+1+1+4Spellcraft(7) Concentration(7) -SR9
5thSorcerer 5+2+1+1+4Spellcraft(8) Concentration(8) -SR10
6thSorcerer 6+3+2+2+5Spellcraft(9) Concentration(9) Hold the LineDimension Door (3/Day), SR11
7thSorcerer 7+3+2+2+5Spellcraft(10) Concentration(10) -SR12
8thSorcerer 8+4+2+2+6Spellcraft(11) Concentration(11) -SR13
9thSorcerer 9+4+3+3+6Spellcraft(12) Concentration(12) Martial Weapon Proficiency (Greatsword)Telekinesis (3/day),Plane Shift (1/day),SR 14
10thMotUH 1+5+3+3+8Spellcraft(13) Concentration(13 -Improved Caster Level (ex),Versatile Telekinesis (ex), SR15
11thMotUH 2+6/+1+3+3+9Spellcraft(14) Concentration(14) -Telekinetic Wielder(ex), Sustained Concentration (ex), SR16
12th MotUH 3+7/+2+4+4+9Spellcraft(15) Concentration(15) Practiced SpellcasterFull Attack Telekinesis (ex), SR17
13thSorcerer 10+8/+3+4+4+10Spellcraft(16) Concentration(16) -SR18
14thSorcerer 11+8/+3+4+4+10Spellcraft(17) Concentration(17) -SR19
15thSorcerer 12+9/+4+5+5+11Spellcraft(18) Concentration(18) Boost Spell Like AbilitySR20
16thSorcerer 13+9/+4+5+5+11Spellcraft(19) Concentration(19) -SR21
17thMoTUH 4+10/+5+5+5+12Spellcraft(20) Concentration(20) -Improved Violent Thrust, Telekinetic Flight, SR22
18thMoTUH 5+11/+6/+1+5+5+12Spellcraft(21) Concentration(21) Quicken SLA(Telekinesis) Fling Skyward, SR 23


Yannich is one of many Githyanki with red dragon blood, a proof of their ancient pact.

At level 1, Yannich begins as a battlemage in a squad of Githyanki. He wields a long-spear in an effort to ward off any melee attackers from attacking him, with the knowledge that they would need to provoke an attack of opportunity in order to attack him.

At level 3, he tales the evasive reflexes feat. He can now sidestep up to four times away from a foe moving to attack him, and he usually uses this movement to draw the enemy closer to his allies. His new Blur SLA also helps increase his survivability..

At level 6, Yannich realizes that when his dexterity is boosted by cat's grace, the only way for individual humanoid enemies to attack him is to charge. He takes the hold the line feat, effectively enabling him to bypass the charge. His new dimension door SLA lets him also teleport away when enemies get too close.

At level 9, Yannich is bestowed a Githyanki silver sword, and reluctantly begins learning how to use it. One day, he absentmindedly uses his new Telekinesis spell like ability to pick up the blade and begins to wonder at the possibilities.

At level 10. Yannich becomes a Master of the Unseen hand, and his MotUH level begins to stack with his racial caster level, which is equal to his class level. This means that every level in the MotUH class nets him two caster levels when casting telekinesis as a SLA. At level 18, he will cast it as a 23rd level caster. He can also freely switch between telekinesis modes at this point.

At level 11, Yannich begins wielding his Githyanki Silver Sword telekinetically, using his caster level + charisma for BAB and gains the ability to concentrate on telekinesis as a move action, allowing him to cast other spells while using telekinesis. He can even concentrate on two telekinesis spells at the same time as long as he doesn't move during his turn. He continues using his longspear and evasive reflexes to avoid being attacked on his turn.

At level 12, Yannich can make full attack actions with his telekinetically wielded greatsword. his BAB for this is currently +19/+14/+9/+4 before any charisma enhancement bonuses. He also takes the practiced spell caster feat, increasing the caster level of all his sorcerer spells to level 12. This essentially allows him to count 4 out of 5 of his master of the unseen hand class levels twice for the purpose of determining the caster level of telekinesis.

At level 13, Yannich begins taking a break from the Master of the Unseen hand class and begins learning how to cast telekinesis as a spell.

At level 14, the lich queen becomes wary of Yannich's power. She arranges an honor duel between him and another high ranking githyanki, with the rules that they are unable to use anything except their silver swords and their psionic abilities. Yannich handily defeats his opponent, telekinetically ripping his sword away and beating him down with both silver swords, telekinetically wieled. Yannich shortly after finds himself constantly hounded by assassins and finds the need to leave githyanki society.

At level 15, Yannich takes the Boost Spell Like Ability feat, which boosts the save dc of all his SLAs by 2.

At level 16, Yannich reaches the max base number of 5th level spells, and therefore uses of telekinesis, at 6.

At level 17 Yannich returns to the Master of the Unseen hand class for the next two levels. He gains the ability to use his caster level to attack with violent thrust, as well as use violent thrust every 1d4 rounds. He carries around a bag of holding filled with his assassins' silver swords for this purpose, dumping them on the ground and flinging them at the enemy.

At level 18, Yannich learns how to quicken his Telekinesis SLA, effectively allowing him to begin two telekinesis spells on the first round of combat, should he desire to. He also learns how to fling opponents straight upwards.

At the end of the build, Yannich casts sorcerer spells at caster level 17. He casts telekinesis as a SLA at caster level 23, and as a sorcerer spell at caster level 22. With a cloak of charisma +6, he can make a full attack with a telekinetic greatsword with BAB +29/+24/+19/+14/+9/+4 when cast as a SLA.

Spells per Day

Level0lvl1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
1st54--------
2nd65--------
3rd66--------
4th674-------
5th675-------
6th6764------
7th6775------
8th67763-----
9th67774-----
10th677753----
11th677764----
12th6777653---
13th6777664---


Spells Known

Level0lvl1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
1st42--------
2nd52--------
3rd53--------
4th631-------
5th642-------
6th7421------
7th7532------
8th85321-----
9th85432-----
10th954321----
11th955432----
12th9554321---
13th9554432---

Spells Known at ECL 20 (Sorcerer level 13)
0: Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Read Magic, Prestidigitation, Message, Dancing Lights, Open/Close, Resistance, Ghost Sounds
1: Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Grease, Protection from alignment, Feather Fall.
2: Protection from Arrows, Cat's grace, Mirror Image, Bull's Strength, Scorching ray
3. Fly, Heroism, Keen Edge, Hold Person
4. Animate Dead, Polymorph, Greater Invisibility, Shadow Conjuration
5: Telekinesis, Shadow Evocation, Overland Flight
6 Summon Monster 6, Greater Dispel Magic

+5 Flaming Frost Shock Spell-storing Githyanki Silver Sword
+5 Defending Long-spear
Ring of Telekinesis
Cloak of Charisma + 6
Bag of Holding

Yannich is built around attacking from a distance using his pre-summonned/created minions and telekinetic attacks, while avoiding enemy attacks using a combination of buff spells and his array of AOO feats. His preferred tactic is to maintain two castings of telekinesis at once. Full attacking with his greatsword with one and using combat manuveurs with the other.


Evasive Reflexes: Tome of Battle: The Book of Nine Swords, p. 30
Hold the Line: Complete Warrior, p. 100
Practiced Spellcaster: Complete Divine, p. 82
Boost Spell-Like Ability: Book of Vile Darkness, p. 47
Macabaret
2020-05-05, 12:40 AM
Entry the second:

Zuul the Neutral Good Human Erudite 6/Cobra Strike Monk 2/Warblade 2/Eloacter 7/Master of the Unseen Hand 3





Stat

32 Pt

Poverty Bonus



Strength

10




Dexterity

14

+6



Constitution

14

+4



Intelligence

16

+8



Wisdom

14

+2



Charisma

10





All Level ups in Int





Level

Class

Base Attack Bonus

Fort Save

Ref Save

Will Save

Skills

Feats

Class Features


1st

Spell to Power Erudite

+0

+0

+0

+2

Concentration +4, Spellcraft +4, Psicraft +4, Knowledge (Arcana) +4, Knowledge (Psionics) +4, Knowledge (History) +4

Sacred Vow, Able Learner, Linked Power(b), Psicrystal Affinity(b)

Manifesting (1st)



2nd

Erudite

+1

+0

+0

+3

Concentration +5, Spellcraft +5, Psicraft +5, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Psionics) +5, Knowledge (History) +5





3rd

Cobra Strike Monk

+1

+2

+2

+5

Concentration +6, Spellcraft +6, Psicraft +6, Knowledge (History) +6, Autohypnosis +2, Escape Artist +2,
Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Psionics) +5

Kung Fu Genius, Dodge(b), Improved Unarmed Strike(b)

Unarmored Defense, Flurry of Blows



4th

Cobra Strike Monk

+2

+3

+3

+6

Concentration +7, Spellcraft +7, Psicraft +7, Knowledge (History) +7, Autohypnosis +4, Escape Artist +4,
Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Psionics) +5

Mobility(b)

Evasion



5th

Warblade

+3

+5

+3

+6

Concentration +8, Spellcraft +8, Psicraft +8, Knowledge (History) +8, Autohypnosis +6, Escape Artist +6,
Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Psionics) +5


Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude, Action Before Thought, Moment of Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Bolstering Voice



6th

Warblade

+4

+6

+3

+6

Concentration +9, Spellcraft +9, Psicraft +9, Knowledge (History) +9, Autohypnosis +8, Escape Artist +8,
Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Psionics) +5

Spring Attack

Uncanny Dodge, Emerald Razor



7th

Elocater

+4

+6

+5

+8

Concentration +10, Spellcraft +10, Psicraft +10, Knowledge (History) +10, Autohypnosis +10, Escape Artist +10, Knowledge (Arcana) +6, Knowledge (Psionics) +6

Sidestep Charge(b)

Scorn Earth, Manifesting (2)



8th

Erudite

+4

+7

+6

+8

Concentration +11, Spellcraft +11, Psicraft +11, Knowledge (History) +11, Autohypnosis +11, Escape Artist +10, Knowledge (Arcana) +7, Knowledge (Psionics) +7





9th

Elocater

+5

+7

+7

+9

Concentration +12, Spellcraft +12, Psicraft +12, Knowledge (History) +12, Autohypnosis +12, Escape Artist +12, Knowledge (Arcana) +9, Knowledge (Psionics) +9

Evasive Reflexes

Opportunistic Strike +2



10th

Erudite

+6

+7

+7

+10

Concentration +13, Spellcraft +13, Psicraft +13, Knowledge (History) +13, Autohypnosis +13, Escape Artist +12, Knowledge (Arcana) +10, Knowledge (Psionics) +10


Manifesting (3rd)



11th

Elocater

+7

+8

+7

+10

Concentration +14, Spellcraft +14, Psicraft +14, Knowledge (History) +14, Autohypnosis +14, Escape Artist +14, Knowledge (Arcana) +12, Knowledge (Psionics) +12


Dimension Step



12th

Erudite

+7

+8

+7

+10

Concentration +15, Spellcraft +15, Psicraft +15, Knowledge (History) +15, Autohypnosis +15, Escape Artist +14, Knowledge (Arcana) +13, Knowledge (Psionics) +13

Practiced Manifester(b), Combat Reflexes

Manifesting (4th)



13th

Elocater

+8

+8

+8

+11

Concentration +16, Spellcraft +16, Psicraft +16, Knowledge (History) +16, Autohypnosis +16, Escape Artist +16, Knowledge (Arcana) +15, Knowledge (Psionics) +15


Flanker



14th

Erudite

+9

+9

+9

+12

Concentration +17, Spellcraft +17, Psicraft +17, Knowledge (History) +17, Autohypnosis +17, Escape Artist +16, Knowledge (Arcana) +16, Knowledge (Psionics) +16


Manifesting (5th)



15th

Elocater

+9

+9

+9

+12

Concentration +18, Spellcraft +18, Psicraft +18, Knowledge (History) +18, Autohypnosis +18, Escape Artist +18, Knowledge (Arcana) +18, Knowledge (Psionics) +18

Vow of Poverty

Opportunistic Strike +4, +9 Exalted Bonus to AC, +6 Intelligence, +4 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, DR 5/evil+magic, Freedom of Movement, Exalted Strike +3 (Good), +2 Resistance Bonus to Saves, Energy Resistance 5, Greater Sustenance, +2 Deflection Bonus to AC, Mind Shielding, +1 Natural Armor, Sustenance, Endure Elements



16th

Master of the Unseen Hand

+10

+9

+9

+14

Concentration +19, Spellcraft +19, Psicraft +19, Knowledge (History) +19, Autohypnosis +19, Escape Artist +18, Knowledge (Arcana) +19, Knowledge (Psionics) +19, Martial Lore +1

Touch of Golden Ice(b)

Improved Caster Level, Versatile Telekinesis, +1 Natural Armor (total of +2)



17th

Elocater

+11

+10

+10

+15

Concentration +20, Spellcraft +20, Psicraft +20, Knowledge (History) +20, Autohypnosis +20, Escape Artist +20, Knowledge (Arcana) +20, Knowledge (Psionics) +20, Martial Lore +4


Transporter, Regeneration, +3 Resistance Bonus to Saves, Exalted Strike +4



18th

Master of the Unseen Hand

+12

+10

+10

+16

Concentration +21, Spellcraft +21, Psicraft +21, Knowledge (History) +21, Autohypnosis +21, Escape Artist +20, Knowledge (Arcana) +21, Knowledge (Psionics) +21, Martial Lore +5

Martial Stance: Press the Advantage, Vow of Chastity(b)

Telekinetic Wielder, Sustained Concentration, True Seeing, +10 Exalted Bonus to AC, +3 Deflection Bonus to AC



19th

Elocater

+13

+10

+10

+16

Concentration +22, Spellcraft +22, Psicraft +22, Knowledge (History) +22, Autohypnosis +22, Escape Artist +22, Knowledge (Arcana) +22, Knowledge (Psionics) +22, Martial Lore +8


Capricious Step, Manifesting (6th), +2 Intelligence, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, DR 10/Evil



20th

Master of the Unseen Hand

+14

+11

+11

+16

Concentration +23, Spellcraft +23, Psicraft +23, Knowledge (History) +23, Autohypnosis +23, Escape Artist +23, Knowledge (Arcana) +23, Knowledge (Psionics) +23, Martial Lore +8

Vow of Purity(b)

Full Attack Telekinesis, Exalted Strike +5, Energy Resistance 15








Zuul
Size/Type: Medium Humanoid
Hit Dice: 9d4 plus 2d8 plus 2d12 plus 7d6+80 (160 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 50 (+10 exalted, +5 dex, +9 int, +3 deflection, +2 natural, +11 armor), touch 37, flat-footed 36
Base Attack/Grapple: +14/+14
Attack: Telekinetic Wielder +32 (Varies)
Full Attack: Full Attack Telekinesis +32/+27/+22/+17 (Varies)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Manifesting, Flurry of Blows, Opportunistic Strike +4, Flanker, Exalted Strike +5 (Good + Magic), Full Attack Telekinesis, Telekinetic Wielder
Special Qualities: Unarmored Defense, Evasion, Battle Clarity (Ref), Weapon Aptitude, Uncanny Dodge, Scorn Earth, Dimension Step, DR 10/Evil+Magic, Energy Resistance 15, Capricious Step, Sustained Concentration, Regeneration, True Seeing, Freedom of Movement, Greater Sustenance, Mind Shielding, Endure Elements
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +16, Will +19
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 20, Con 18, Int 29, Wis 16, Cha 10
Skills: Concentration +27, Spellcraft +32, Psicraft +32, Knowledge (History) +32, Autohypnosis +26, Escape Artist +28, Knowledge (Arcana) +32, Knowledge (Psionics) +32, Martial Lore +17
Feats: Sacred Vow, Able Learner, Kung Fu Genius, Spring Attack, Evasive Reflexes, Combat Reflexes, Vow of Poverty, Martial Stance: Press the Advantage, Linked Power(b), Psicrystal Affinity(b), Dodge(b), Improved Unarmed Strike(b), Mobility(b), Sidestep Charge(b), Practiced Manifester(b), Touch of Golden Ice(b), Vow of Chastity(b), Vow of Purity(b)

Maneuvers Known: Action Before Thought, Moment of Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames,
Stances Known: Bolstering Voice, Press the Advantage

Maneuvers Readied: Action Before Thought, Action Before Thought, Moment of Perfect Mind

Current Stance: Press the Advantage

Manifesting: Manifester Level: 15, Power Points: 140/155
Power Repertoire:
1st: Inertial Armor, Call Item, Force Screen, Synchronicity, Force of Mind, Psionic Sleep, Energy Ray
2nd: Energy Push, Larval Flayers, Swarm of Crystals, Crystalstorm
3rd: Psionic Teleport*, Psionic Planeshift*, Body Adjustment, Solicit Psicrystal, Telekinetic Thrust, Telekinetic Force
4th: Telekinetic Maneuver, Trace Teleport, Psionic Dimension Door, Psychic Reformation
5th: Anticipatory Strike, Crystal Body, Telekinetic Buffer, Body Purification, Telekinesis(S) ML 18
6th: Psionic Contingency, Retrieve
*Powers granted to me by a class feature
(S)Spell turned into a power via Spell to Power Erudite, must be learned.
Unique Powers Per Day: 4/Power Level

Active Powers: Inertial Armor (15 hours)


Zuul disdains being touched. He has hated it as long as he can remember. When he was younger he would always wear light long sleeve shirts and gloves. As he grew older he became adept at avoiding physical contact. To the point that he could use his mind to perform any relevant interactions. Over time his distaste of being touched became an obsession of not being touched, and keeping all others out of his reach. Other than this Zuul is very pleasant to be around, giving others advice, helping as he can, and donating all that he doesn’t need.

Zuul abuses the 5 ft step. He abuses it as much as he can. One item that he would have used and that I would strongly request from a DM (but is technically not required) is the Sparring Dummy of the Master from Arms and Equipment. This item allows any monk that uses it to be able to take a 10 ft step whenever they could take a 5 ft step. This means that with Evasive Reflexes, whenever a creature provokes an attack of opportunity Zuul can take a 10 ft step away. Combining this with Elocator’s Capricious Step and Scorn Earth abilities, means that Zuul may take two ten foot steps in a round, even over difficult terrain. Finally combine all of the above with Press the Advantage, causes Zuul to be able to take up to 4 5-10 ft steps in a single round, allowing him to move anywhere from 5-40 ft with a 5 ft step, and up to 20 ft from a single activation of Evasive Reflexes. He has a 5 dex mod meaning that at most he can move 140 ft, without ever using a move action.

Meanwhile he uses his psionic abilities to grant him telekinetic power. He starts out a normal enough Erudite, getting things to allow him to move if someone comes close (Synchronicity), boosting his AC, and the like. However as early as third level he stops being a normal erudite. He trains as a monk to become more adept at dodging his foes, getting away from their touch, and eventually being recognized as a cunning martial artist he is taught the basics of the Diamond Mind school. But all this martial arts training had him stuck too close to his enemies for comfort, so he took his training, and went back to where he began, psionics. And then he combined the two. His first experience with Telekinetic power is at 10th level. And from there he is hooked. He takes all the different parts of the Telekinesis spell as different powers, and then learns the actual spell as a power. His Vow of Poverty makes all of his attacks +5, good, and magical.

Yea… IDK what else to say here… Thanks for reading I guess?

Erudite, Linked Power, Practiced Manifester: Complete Psionic
Cobra Strike Monk: Unearthed Arcana
Warblade, Martial Stance: Tome of Battle
Elocator, Psicrystal Affinity, Sidestep Charge: SRD or XPH
Spell to Power Erudite: Defunct Mind’s Eye Article :(
Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, Touch of Golden Ice, Vow of Chastity, Vow of Purity: Book of Exalted Deeds
Able Learner: Races of Destiny
Kung Fu Genius: Dragon Compendium
Individual Powers were found all over the place with the majority coming from: XPH, SoS, and CPsi; if the sources of powers are requested I will dig them all up and send them to the chair
Macabaret
2020-05-05, 12:44 AM
Entry the third:



Urizen,
The Nefarious Usurper

Chaotic Evil Human Spellthief 5/ Ur-Priest 2/ Mystic Theurge 10/ Nar Demonbinder 1/
Master of the Unseen Hand 4

“I need power… More power!”



Starting Ability Scores:
Str = 8, Dex = 12, Con = 14, Int = 10, Wis = 16, Cha = 16

Final Ability Scores (increase Wis at 4, 8, & 12, Cha at 16 & 20):
Str = 8, Dex = 12, Con = 14, Int = 10, Wis = 19, Cha = 18

Medium Humanoid (human)
CN > CE Human Spellthief 5/ Ur-Priest 2/ Mystic Theurge 2/ Nar Demonbinder 1/ Mystic Theurge +6/ Master of the Unseen Hand 4


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


1st
Spellthief 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Intimidate 2, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Knowledge (the planes) 2, Knowledge (religion) 2, Spellcraft 4
Educated (arcana, the planes), Iron Will
Sneak Attack +1d6, Steal Spell, (0, 1st), Trapfinding


2nd
Spellthief 2
+1
+0
+0
+3
Bluff 5, Concentration 5, Intimidate 2, Knowledge (arcana) 5, Knowledge (the planes) 3, Knowledge (religion) 4, Spellcraft 5

Detect magic, Spellgrace +1, Steal Spell Effect


3rd
Spellthief 3
+2
+1
+1
+3
Bluff 5, Concentration 6, Intimidate 3, Knowledge (arcana) 6, Knowledge (the planes) 3, Knowledge (religion) 6, Spellcraft 6
Spell Focus (evil)
Steal Energy Resistance 10


4th
Spellthief 4
+3
+1
+1
+4
Bluff 5, Concentration 7, Intimidate 3, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 5, Knowledge (religion) 7, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 7

Steal Spell (2nd)


5th
Spellthief 5
+3
+1
+1
+4
Bluff 6, Concentration 8, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 6, Knowledge (religion) 8, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 8

Sneak Attack +2d6, Steal Spell-Like Ability


6th
Ur-Priest 1
+3
+1
+1
+6
Bluff 6, Concentration 8, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 7, Knowledge (religion) 8, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 8
Evasive Reflexes



7th
Ur-Priest 2
+4
+1
+1
+7
Bluff 6, Concentration 9, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 8, Knowledge (religion) 8, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 9

Rebuke Undead


8th
Mystic Theurge 1 (Spellthief/Ur-Priest)
+4
+2
+2
+9
Bluff 6, Concentration 10, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 9, Knowledge (religion) 8, Sense Motive 1, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 9




9th
Mystic Theurge 2 (Spellthief/Ur-Priest)
+5
+2
+2
+10
Bluff 6, Concentration 10, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (religion) 8, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 10
Spell Focus (conjuration)



10th
Nar Demonbinder 1
+5
+2
+2
+12
Bluff 6, Concentration 11, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (religion) 8, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 11

Fiendish Familiar, Inimical Casting


11th
Mystic Theurge 3 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+5
+3
+3
+12
Bluff 6, Concentration 13, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (religion) 8, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 12




12th
Mystic Theurge 4 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+6
+3
+3
+13
Bluff 6, Concentration 14, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (religion) 8, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 14
Air Heritage



13th
Mystic Theurge 5 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+6
+3
+3
+13
Bluff 6, Concentration 15, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 11, Knowledge (religion) 8, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 15




14th
Mystic Theurge 6 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+7
+4
+4
+14
Bluff 6, Concentration 16, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 11, Knowledge (religion) 9, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 16




15th
Mystic Theurge 7 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+7
+4
+4
+14
Bluff 6, Concentration 18, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 11, Knowledge (religion) 9, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 17
Master Spellthief
Steal Spell (3rd or up to 5th)


16th
Mystic Theurge 8 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+8
+4
+4
+15
Bluff 6, Concentration 19, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 11, Knowledge (religion) 9, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 19

Steal Spell (3rd or up to 6th)


17th
Master of the Unseen Hand 1
+9
+4
+4
+17
Bluff 6, Concentration 20, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 11, Knowledge (religion) 9, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 20

Improved Caster Level, Versatile Telekinesis


18th
Master of the Unseen Hand 2
+10
+4
+4
+18
Bluff 6, Concentration 21, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 12, Knowledge (religion) 9, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 21
Versatile Spellcaster
Telekinetic Wielder, Sustained Concentration


19th
Master of the Unseen Hand 3
+11
+5
+5
+18
Bluff 6, Concentration 22, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 12, Knowledge (religion) 9, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 22

Full Attack Telekinesis


20th
Master of the Unseen Hand 4
+12
+5
+5
+19
Bluff 6, Concentration 23, Intimidate 9, Knowledge (arcana) 7, Knowledge (the planes) 12, Knowledge (religion) 9, Sense Motive 2, Speak Language (Abyssal), Spellcraft 23

Improved Violent Thrust, Telekinetic Flight




Spells per Day (Spellthief)


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


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


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


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


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


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


6th
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
-
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


10th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


11th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


12th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


13th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


14th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


15th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


16th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


17th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


18th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


19th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


20th
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-



New Spells Known (Spellthief)


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


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


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


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


4th
-
armor lock, grease
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


8th
-
benign transposition
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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




Spells per Day (Ur-Priest)


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


7th
5
4
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
5
4
2
1
-
-
-
-
-
-


9th
6
4
3
2
1
-
-
-
-
-


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


11th
6
4
4
3
2
0
-
-
-
-


12th
6
4
4
4
3
1
0
-
-
-


13th
6
5
4
4
4
2
1
0
-
-


14th
6
5
5
4
4
3
2
1
0
-


15th
6
6
5
5
5
4
3
2
1
0


16th
6
6
6
5
5
4
4
3
2
1


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


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


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


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




Spells per Day (Nar Demonbinder)


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


10th
-
-
-
-
2
1
-
-
-
-


11th
-
-
-
-
2
2
-
-
-
-


12th
-
-
-
-
3
2
1
-
-
-


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


14th
-
-
-
-
3
3
2
1
-
-


15th
-
-
-
-
4
3
3
2
-
-


16th
-
-
-
-
4
4
3
2
1
-


17th
-
-
-
-
4
4
3
2
1
-


18th
-
-
-
-
4
4
3
2
1
-


19th
-
-
-
-
4
4
3
2
1
-


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



New Spells Known (Nar Demonbinder)


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


10th
-
-
-
-
dismissal, lesser planar binding, wall of fire
summon monster V
-
-
-
-


11th
-
-
-
-
summon monster IV
dispel good
-
-
-
-


12th1
-
obscuring mist
gust of wind
wind wall
shout
telekinesis
control winds, fiendform
ethereal jaunt
summon monster VIII (air only)
freedom


13th
-
-
-
-
-
spell resistance
planar binding
-
-
-


14th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
blasphemy
-
-


15th
-
-
-
-
-
plane shift
greater dispel magic
fire storm
-
-


16th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
unholy aura
-


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


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


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


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



1. Air Bloodline acquired at this level



https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/a/ab/Urizen_Rooted_DMC5_Artbook_Render.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/700?cb=20190515162508


Power. That one word has defined Urizen’s life. Because he lacked power he had no control over his life, captured and enslaved. His parents had power, but their enemies had more, and so his family fell into ruin. The truth is simple, self-evident. You need power to survive. You need power to control your destiny. You need power to protect what’s important to you. And so, little Urizen began to steal the power that he so desperately needed.

It started small. Tricks gleaned from spying on teachers of students that had enough power to have teachers. Breaking into libraries to read, borrowing books from others’ private collections. Harmless, and he needed it ever so much.

Then he learned that he could steal power directly from his enemies, if he got the drop on them. This was only fair, he reasoned. If they would attack him from a position of strength, then it was only right that he take that strength and return the favor. But the truth was, he had already started relishing the power to drag others down on his way to the top.

As time went on, his craving for power grew ever stronger, and ever more twisted. He began siphoning power from the gods themselves, who had so fecklessly abandoned him to make his own way in the world. His quest for power was no longer about survival, protecting what was important to him, or even freedom; he cared only for power for its own sake.

He began to conquer, an army of enslaved fiends in his wake. He would prove that he was greatest. He would prove that he was king. He would prove that his ways, the sins he had committed, the sacrifices he had made, were right, that the losses he had suffered had made him strong!

The Master Spellthief feat is the linchpin of this build. The build uses a very conservative interpretation of the rules involved, though a less conservative interpretation of Mystic Theurge would result in a much more powerful build. The feat makes all of your “arcane spellcaster levels” stack for determining both the level of spell you can steal with Spellthief’s signature ability and your caster level for all arcane spells. Mystic Theurge advances caster level for both of the classes it advances, but is not technically an arcane casting class itself (as it lacks the Spellcasting class feature).

I believe it is both RAW and RAI that the caster level increase granted by Mystic Theurge counts for Master Spellthief, as it is increased “as if he had gained a level in he belonged to”. This gives you a final CL of (Spellthief 7 + Nar Demonbinder 12 + MotUH 4) 23 for telekinesis, 19 for other arcane spells, and 13 for Ur-Priest divine spells. (22/18/12 for the Sha’ir variant build below).

Because Mystic Theurge isn’t technically an arcane casting class, RAW you cannot count its levels for your Nar Demonbinder caster level. I’m inclined to believe that this is RAI as well, but if you can convince your DM otherwise, your caster level increases by a total of 3, which is nice. With the Sha’ir variant, a favorable ruling increases the CL by 8, which is much better.

Lastly, by RAW, neither Mystic Theurge nor the classes it advance count towards the level of spells you can steal. It does not seem like RAI to me that caster advancing prestige classes wouldn’t work for the feat, so I would argue against this one with your DM (or more likely, handwave it if you are the DM using this as an NPC). A favorable ruling here would let you steal up to 6th level spells (7th level for the Sha’ir variant: 1 Spellthief + 6 Sha’ir + 7 Nar Demonbinder = 1 Spellthief + 2 Sha’ir + 10 Mystic Theurge + 1 Nar Demonbinder = 14 effective Spellthief levels).



“I have walked among demons, and known their scorn. Merely human, they called me. Petulant mortal flesh. Cursed… the moment I was brought into this world.”

Spellthieves are fantastic generalists. A little bit of precision damage, some nice skills, trapfinding if you’re willing to reallocate some skill points or put a higher score in Int, and decent HP.

Of course, their most iconic ability is to steal the powers of others. Line up a flank, attack from ambush, or just cast grease or armor lock, and steal an enemy’s resistances, SLAs, buffs, and/or spell slots. You can only grab one of those with each attack (two once you reach 5th level), but that should be enough. Remember that even if you don’t know what specific spell/ability to target (or target one that they don’t have), you still steal one, just chosen at random. Stealing a spell lets you cast it, naturally. Stealing energy resistance is great against elemental foes, because this will usually make you resistant to their attacks (it also work on energy immune opponents). Stealing the right buff could potentially swing an encounter all on its own. Alas, the ability to steal SLAs is crippled by having a maximum level equal to 1/3 your class level, but that’s still enough to seriously annoy some enemies.

Don’t forget that you can borrow spells from your allies, too. With good coordination, this can potentially double the casters’ action economy.



“Demons? Gods? They shall exist to provide me with strength. How fortunate for them,
to serve such divine purpose.”

Now we start really growing in power. Thanks to the Education feat, we have all the class skills we need to qualify for Ur-Priest, which is the logical conclusion of the Spellthief archetype. Normally I avoid the class, but in this case it just fits too perfectly both into the fluff and into the level range I had to work with. Two levels of Ur-Priest gives us 2nd level divine spells, and we could already cast 2nd level arcane spells by stealing or borrowing them, so now we qualify for Mystic Theurge to keep our arcane caster level up while still progressing Ur-Priest. In addition to all the cleric spells, we pick up benign transposition from Spellthief, which will come in handy for setting up flanks, as well as potentially bailing allies out of trouble.

No longer content with merely stealing others’ power, Urizen is beginning to feel the need to prove that power by dominating others. Nar Demonbinder is the logical next step, given his dislike of demons both in the source material and in this version of him. After all, the most reliable allies are those you have summoned that are magically bound to obey your will, and now he can both dominate his minions and use them to dominate others.

Compared to that, Evasive Reflexes pales somewhat, but it’s a handy trick to have nonetheless. Wielding a longspear for reach (and gauntlets to threaten adjacent), enemies will provoke AoOs approaching, casting, and trying to escape. Urizen couldn’t do much damage with that AoO unless the opponent happened to be positioned for a flank… but with Evasive Reflexes he can reposition himself to foil the charge, set up a flank for his turn, or block an escape route.



“What creature stands against a king?”

And we neatly wrap up both Nar Demonbinder and Ur-Priest casting. Our spells known choices are prioritizing spells clerics don’t natively get, spells that benefit from a high CL, spells that become more versatile thanks to Inimical Casting, and spells that are useful to be able to cast spontaneously regardless of whether you prepared them enough times that morning. But two other very important things happen in this level bracket.

Master Spellthief lets us take the sum of our arcane CL for arcane spells. At level 16, this comes out to CL 19, which has all sorts of nice benefits, from making it easier to penetrate spell resistance to boosting spells with effects dependent on CL.

Which brings us to the second major development. Air Bloodline gives a new spell known for each spell level. I think by RAW all casting classes get access to these, but RAI is pretty clearly that only one spontaneous casting class gets them, so I’ve assumed they are only added to Nar Demonbinder’s spells known. Of these spells, potentially the most significant is telekinesis, which benefits massively from an inflated CL.

Telekinesis uses CL instead of BAB and your casting stat instead of Str or Dex for performing combat maneuvers. This gives us a modifier for any given maneuver roughly on par with an equal level Fighter that’s invested a feat or a magic item into boosting that specific combat maneuver. This makes it a great method for battlefield control via grappling, bullrushing, and tripping, and debuffing by disarming/sundering and tripping.

Even that, though, pales in comparison to the violent thrust use of telekinesis. It uses our regular BAB, but with one attack per CL that’s not a big deal. The way the maximum carry weight works out, Large greatswords are your best bet for damage/weight. That gives you an impressive 3d6 per CL, which can be further improved by 2d6 SA each if you’re flanking or invisible (it’s not a volley attack because you’re rolling for each attack separately), and you can sacrifice some or all of that SA to steal spells, energy resistances, buffs, or SLAs. The restrictions on Steal Spell Effects means it won’t be much use on full casters, but half-casters or opponents buffed by lower level minions are in trouble. Plus you can fling enemies around, bludgeoning other enemies with them, or you can do the same with allies (possibly summoned) to reposition them while still damaging the enemy. Invest in carts and donkeys for carrying around ammunition if you can’t get reliable access to a bag of holding or Tenser’s floating disc.



“ ‘Not fair’? That is nothing but the pitiful cries of those that lack strength. Come to me, heroes!
I. Shall. Enlighten. You!”

Why MotUH? Partially aesthetics. Urizen is more inspired by the Devil May Cry 5 villain than a direct adaptation of him, but it would feel remiss not to include his iconic combat tentacles. Using telekinesis works extremely well to represent his ability to attack, grapple, and fling his opponents around at range, and without visible physical effort. The other reason is that it makes mechanical sense. We’ve already got max casting in not one but two classes; those can’t be advanced any further, and advancing a third would be more than a little redundant. No, it’s time to specialize, and as discussed above, telekinesis is one of our strongest spells. Master of the Unseen Hand is the logical next step. So let’s talk what the class does for us!

Improved Caster Level – Every point of CL is another free attack. This is great.

Versatile Telekinesis – Lets us switch between using the spell for battlefield control, utility, mobility, and direct damage at will, which is nice; our spell slots are limited after all.

Telekinetic Wielder – No size limit, no requirement for proficiency… grab a Colossal greatsword and go to town. Your to-hit is about on par with an equivalent level Fighter. While flanking or invisible, use this to get some nice damage while using your Spellthief abilities. Not as good as telekinetic thrust, but can be used multiple turns in a row without burning through spell slots.

Sustained Concentration – With two casts of telekinesis, you can now levitate yourself (and maybe another party member, too) as a move action while attacking as a standard action. Or levitate yourself or something in the environment as a move action while casting other spells with your standard.

Full Attack Telekinesis – At this point, your CL based ‘BAB’ is over 20, giving you 5 attacks with a standard action, any of which or all of which can be swapped for a combat maneuver. Pretty sweet!

Telekinetic Flight – Your levitation trick just got better. Perfect maneuverability, and bring some friends along!

Improved Telekinetic Thrust – Most of the above tricks are somewhat situational or utility-focused, because in most combat cases it’s better to just use telekinetic thrust if you’ve got the spell slot to spare for telekinesis in the first place. However, now not only is your BAB equal to your fantastic CL, the spell isn’t lost when you telekinetic thrust. Keep two casts of the spell going at once, and rotate between thrusting, flying, levitating, and full attacking. Now this is a capstone.

I decided not to take the final level of MotUH. I just couldn’t justify an additional attack option that’s worse than telekinetic thrust at the expense of extra 9th level spells in one class, all 8th level spells in the other, and 5th/4th level spells for casting telekinesis in both.

Which brings us to the final trick of this build. Versatile Spellcaster lets you combine any two spell slots (including Ur-Priest spell slots) to cast any known spell one level higher. This lets you use Ur-Priest spell slots to cast Nar Demonbinder spells, including telekinesis (though they probably don’t benefit from your high arcane CL), and 8th level spell slots to cast your 9th level bloodline spell freedom.


Extra feats from flaws or magical locations open up quite a few options for this build. Craven potentially increases your telekinetic thrust damage by an incredible 460. Practiced Spellcaster increases your CL by another 4. Mage Slayer, Combat Reflexes, and/or Robilar’s Gambit or Karmic Strike will give you more use out of Evasive Reflexes. Southern Magician lets your Ur-Priest spells benefit from Master Spellthief, and potentially lets you enter Mystic Theurge at 7th level, netting you 2nd level Spellthief spells and an extra arcane CL. And Extra Spell lets you pick up greater planar binding in addition to unholy aura (I chose the latter because it can buff you as well as a decent-sized horde of minions, and can be customized with Inimical Casting).

I also worked on a variant of this build using early entry Mystic Theurge to meet the skill requirements for Ur-Priest, using Sha’ir and Precocious Apprentice to enter MT at 4th level. While Sha’ir was a good thematic fit, siphoning magic from the planes, and got you some highly flexible low-level spell slots that would be valuable even at high level, I’m glad I found the Education feat, as that’s a much more elegant method of qualifying. There was also the problem of Sha’ir being a divine caster and how that interacted with Ur-Priest; even though their fluff is actually highly synergistic, RAW you can’t enter Ur-Priest as a Sha’ir, and if you do you permanently lose the ability to cast divine Sha’ir spells.
Here’s a version of the build using Sha’ir (you could also go Sha’ir 1/Spellthief 2):



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


1st
Sha’ir 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Skills
Iron Will, Precocious Apprentice (aid)
Summon Gen Familiar


2nd
Spellthief 1
+0
+0
+0
+4
Skills

Sneak Attack +1d6, Steal Spell, (0, 1st), Trapfinding


3rd
Sha’ir 2
+1
+0
+0
+5
Skills
Spell Focus (evil)



4th
Mystic Theurge 1 (Spellthief/Sha’ir)
+1
+0
+0
+7
Skills




5th
Mystic Theurge 2(Spellthief/Sha’ir)
+2
+0
+0
+8
Skills




6th
Ur-Priest 1
+2
+0
+0
+10
Skills
Evasive Reflexes



7th
Ur-Priest 2
+3
+0
+0
+11
Skills

Rebuke Undead


8th
Mystic Theurge 3 (Sha’ir/Ur-Priest)
+3
+1
+1
+11
Skills




9th
Mystic Theurge 4 (Sha’ir/Ur-Priest)
+4
+1
+1
+12
Skills
Spell Focus (conjuration)



10th
Nar Demonbinder 1
+4
+1
+1
+14
Skills

Fiendish Familiar, Inimical Casting


11th
Mystic Theurge 5 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+4
+1
+1
+14
Skills




12th
Mystic Theurge 6 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+5
+2
+2
+15
Skills
Air Heritage



13th
Mystic Theurge 7 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+5
+2
+2
+15
Skills




14th
Mystic Theurge 8 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+6
+2
+2
+16
Skills




15th
Mystic Theurge 9 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+6
+3
+3
+16
Skills
Master Spellthief



16th
Mystic Theurge 10 (Nar Demonbinder/Ur-Priest)
+7
+3
+3
+17
Skills

Steal Spell (2nd or up to 7th)


17th
Master of the Unseen Hand 1
+8
+3
+3
+19
Skills

Improved Caster Level, Versatile Telekinesis


18th
Master of the Unseen Hand 2
+9
+3
+3
+20
Skills
Versatile Spellcaster
Telekinetic Wielder, Sustained Concentration


19th
Master of the Unseen Hand 3
+10
+4
+4
+20
Skills

Full Attack Telekinesis


20th
Master of the Unseen Hand 4
+11
+4
+4
+21
Skills

Improved Violent Thrust, Telekinetic Flight


You could also use Sublime Chord instead of (or even in addition to) Nar Demonbinder. However, I don’t believe Sublime Chord’s CL boosting actually interacts with Master Spellthief, as the former affects the spells directly while the latter is dependent on the classes, and without that the fluff is far less synergistic and you lose 8th arcane level spells (at least).


SRD – Human. Iron Will, Spell Focus. Mystic Theurge. Blasphemy, control winds, ethereal jaunt, fire storm, freedom, grease, greater dispel magic, gust of wind, planar binding, obscuring mist, shout, spell resistance, summon monster, telekinesis, unholy aura, wind wall.
Complete Adventurer – Spellthief.
Complete Divine – Ur-Priest.
Complete Scoundrel – Armor lock.
Complete Warrior – Master of the Unseen Hand.
Dragon Compendium – Air Bloodline.
Player’s Guide to Faerun – Education (also found in various other sourcebooks).
Spell Compendium – Benign transposition.
Tome of Battle – Evasive Reflexes.
Unapproachable East – Nar Demonbinder. Fiendform.


“How… How are you so powerful? You never lost anything!”
“It’s not about loss… Strength is a choice. Fighting like hell to protect what’s important.”
Macabaret
2020-05-05, 12:46 AM
Entry the fourth:

Cassius spell palm


Cassius was born to noble parents in thay, and when they were assassinated with deadly poisoned, that prevented him from ever fully developing into a Martial battle-mage like the rest of his family line. He was sent to live in a monastery, hidden there until politics would let him come back in the right time so he could be used in the intrigues of thay, but soon enough found the ways of magic much more fascinating than the mortal concerns of politics and the internal squabbles of nobles.
He saw magic as an opportunity for himself to become great, to achieve the power that was taken from him as a child, and to leave his mark on the world. He started researching magic in a fanatical devotion, looking for ways to exert his mental strength in places where his physical wasn't enough.
He went to adventure in order to hone his skills and connect to the truest from of magic he could find, and eventually became skilled enough so he could harness this magic in different ways and even bestow parts of it in others.

While adventuring, Cassius eventually learned to reshape his magic through pure force of will, to lock it inside the bracelet on his deformed hand, and exert his will force on the world from there - rising from an ambitious scholar into a famed mercenary, and it was said that he walked through entire armies without even scratches to show he did the deed.

Now he vigrously researches magic, scours the land in order to hone his skills, lends his hand (wink wink) in exchange for magical tomes and secrets, until his hunger for true power would be satisified.



Race: Human (mulan)
Class: Monk 2/crusader 1/cloistered cleric 5/crusader 1/Rune caster 6/Master of the unseen hand 3/Rune caster 2
Ability scores:
Str: 12 (+1)
Dex: 14 (+2)
Con: 12 (+1)
Int: 12 (+1)
Wis: 16 (+3)
Cha: 12 (+1)
After level modification
Str: 13 (+1)
Dex: 14 (+2)
Con: 12 (+1)
Int: 12 (+1)
Wis: 20 (+5)
Cha: 12 (+1)




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


1st
Monk
+0
+2
+2
+2
Concentration 4, listen 4, Knowledge (religion) 4, spot 4, tumble 4
Stunning fist, Improved grapple, choke hold
Decisive fist, AC bonus, unarmed strike, bonus feat


2nd
Monk
+1
+3
+3
+3
Concentration 5, listen 5, Knowledge (religion) 5, spot 5, tumble 5
Improved trip
Invisible fist, bonus feat


3rd
Crusader
+2
+5
+3
+3
Concentration 6, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 6, spot 5, tumble 5
Evasive reflexes
Furious counterstrike, steely resolve, maneuvers, stances


4th
Cloistered cleric (champion)
+2
+7
+3
+5
Concentration 7, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 6, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 2, Knowledge (the planes) 2, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 2
Knowledge devotion, improved initiative
Spellcasting, smite evil 1/day, spell domain, time domain, knowledge domain, lore


5th
Cloistered cleric
+3
+8
+3
+6
Concentration 8, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 6, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 4, Knowledge (the planes) 4, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 4




6th
Cloistered cleric
+3
+8
+4
+5
Concentration 9, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 6, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 6, Knowledge (the planes) 6, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 6
Southern magician
New Class Abilities


7th
Cloistered cleric
+4
+9
+4
+6
Concentration 9, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 9, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 8, Knowledge (the planes) 8, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 7




8th
Cloistered cleric
+4
+9
+4
+6
Concentration 9, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 10, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 10, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 9

Smite evil 2/day


9th
Crusader
+5
+10
+4
+6
Concentration 11, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 10, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 10, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 10
Inscribe rune
Indomitable soul, stance


10th
Runecaster
+5
+12
+4
+8
Concentration 13, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 10, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 10, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 10

Rune craft +1


11th
Runecaster
+6
+13
+4
+9
Concentration 14, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 11, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 11, Knowledge (the planes) 10, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 10

Rune power +1


12th
Runecaster
+7
+13
+5
+9
Concentration 15, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 11, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 11, Knowledge (the planes) 11, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 11
Practiced spellcaster
Improved runecasting


13th
Runecaster
+7
+13
+5
+9
Concentration 16, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 11, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 11, Knowledge (the planes) 12, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 12

Rune craft +2


14th
Runecaster
+8
+14
+6
+10
Concentration 17, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 12, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 12, Knowledge (the planes) 12, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 12

Rune power +2


15th
Runecaster
+9
+15
+7
+11
Concentration 18, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 13, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 13, Knowledge (the planes) 12, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 12
Death blow
Maximize rune


16th
Master of the unseen hand
+10
+15
+7
+13
Concentration 19, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 13, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 13, Knowledge (the planes) 13, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 13

Versatile telekinesis, Improved caster level


17th
Master of the unseen hand
+11
+15
+7
+14
Concentration 20, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 14, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 13, Knowledge (the planes) 13, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 14

Telekinetic wielder, sustained concentration


18th
Master of the unseen hand
+12
+16
+8
+14
Concentration 20, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 14, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 14, Knowledge (the planes) 14, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 14
Combat casting
Full attack telekinesis


19th
Runecaster
+13
+16
+8
+14
Concentration 21, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 15, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 14, Knowledge (the planes) 14, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 15

Rune craft +3


20th
Runecaster
+14
+17
+9
+15
Concentration 21, listen 6, Knowledge (religion) 15, spot 5, tumble 5, Knowledge (arcane) 15, Knowledge (the planes) 15, Knowledge (dugeoneering) 15

Improved rune casting





Spells per Day/Spells Known


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


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


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


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


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


5th
4
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


6th
4
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


7th
5
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


8th
5
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-


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


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


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


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


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


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


15th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-


16th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-


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


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


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


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









This build is based on a combination of the runecaster's ability to create runes that activate every time someone passes them, the evasive reflexes feat, and thicket of blade stance (If you can get your hands on a sparring dummy of the master, which will double the distance you move each time you use evasive reflexes.

In order to create the rune, Cassius uses the greater anyspell spell from his spell domain to prepare telekinesis, and then he uses southern magician in order to cast it as a divine spell, and into a rune

Now, in actual combat, the build works like this. Cassius wears on him a visible rune of telekinesis. in his non-deformed hand he wields a whip (with which he is non-proficient). When combat begin, Cassius lets enemies advance towards him. The moment an enemy moves inside his threatened area, Cassius moves aside, so when the enemy completes his movement he has "passed" the rune (The actual ruling on what counts as passing differs from a gm to gm, but a 5-10 ft step will usually suffice to be in the position to ensure the rune will actually be triggered.

Thus, pretty much every time an enemy approaches you, he is affected by telekinesis - and after taking three levels of the prc, he can push, pull, grab, or trip every enemy that approaches him.





While not having the raw power of the full build, at 15th all the pieces come together - you get the ability to affect enemies with the telekinesis rune you have (probably limited by charges, but whatever you prefer works here), you can use evasive reflexes + thicket of blades in order to keep throwing people around every time they try to reach you, and if you get someone into a grapple you can pin them in one round, choke them, and then coup de grace as a standard action in your turn.



At that level, you get two huge boons.
1 - you can craft a rune as a permanent item, meaningyoull never run out of juice again.
2 - you can full attack with each activation of telekinesis. That can make you into a whirlwind of movement every time someone gets close, and you can not only full attack each time you use it in order to move people around the battlefield like ragdolls - you can also maintain the casting as a move action, letting you pin someone and coup de grace them without actually leaving concentration of the spell.

In addition, you just got 7th level cleric spells - albiet at a pretty low CL - don't expect to throw debuffs and save-or-dies around, but you can get lots of heals and buffs in order to help you go through tougher battles, and the spells on you domains aren't shabby.



Knowledge devotion you get for free from the knowledge domain, and it gives you neat attack bonuses which will help your telekinetic attacks. All crusader features are neat little things that can help you push through injuries and give you a little "oomph" for attacks after you get hurt. Decisive strike helps you if you want to actually attack someone with an attack of opportunity using your UAS - you are not going to be brilliant, but if you approach a squishy guy that can also be helpful.

Finally, Invisible fist feature is pretty hillarious for the build - you turn insivible, run to the middle of the enemy group, and thus they are stuck in place or they "pass" in front of your rune, thus triggering said whirlwind.



While it seems that way at first, the example given in the runecaster class description of passing through a portal is just that - example. The description says it "counts" as being passed, not that it is the only condition. It seems from the vague description that the only limits to being passed include having a LoS to the rune and being in 30 ft range, but even it is narrowed down to something like "move adjacent" to the rune, this can also be arranged thanks to the evasive reflexes feat
Macabaret
2020-05-05, 12:48 AM
There they are, folks. Cast your eyes upon them (from afar, of course). Judges, begin your judging!
Thurbane
2020-05-05, 05:29 AM
I was contemplating a Githyanki build, but after realizing the MotP version with at will Telekinesis got nerfed, I couldn't really find inspiration.
Heavenblade
2020-05-05, 05:32 AM
What is Motp? sounds intriguing
wdit - oh, ok, got it - the version from manul of the planes:smalleek:
Thurbane
2020-05-05, 05:21 PM
What is Motp? sounds intriguing
wdit - oh, ok, got it - the version from manul of the planes:smalleek:

Yeah, I got quite excited looking for creatures with innate Telekinesis, finding this in MotP:


Psionics (Sp): At will - clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimension door, mage hand, telekinesis. Upon advancing to 8th character level, a githyanki can use plane shift once per day. These abilities are as the spells cast by a 16thlevel wizard.

Then it was pointed out to me that they'd been updated.


Psionics (Sp): 3/day - daze (DC 9), mage hand. In addition, githyanki of 3rd level or higher can use blur three times per day, githyanki of 6th level or higher can use dimension door three times per day, and githyanki of 9th level or higher can use telekinesis (DC 14) three times per day and plane shift (DC 16) once per day. Effective caster level equals the githyanki’s class levels. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

I thought maybe a Githyanki ToB build, then into MotUS...but abilities from the PrC just didn't seem to mesh that well with ToB stuff.

Congrats to the entrants in a difficult round.
Macabaret
2020-05-09, 02:41 PM
Out of curiosity, do we have anyone out there working on judging? Planning to?
Macabaret
2020-05-15, 01:35 AM
No judges? At all?
*Taps the mic*
Hello? Anyone?
PoeticallyPsyco
2020-05-23, 11:01 PM
If there're no judges, do we want to steal the Game Warpers' format for the contestants judging each other?



Once all the builds have been posted, follow these guidelines for judging:

1. Entrants will read all of the entries and rate all the other builds. Each build must be given at least a short paragraph of observations, including at least a passing elaboration on each of the following categories: Originality, Power, Elegance, and Theme*. Entrants will not judge their own builds.

2. The judge will summarize all of their thoughts comparing the entries into a final paragraph, and end with a first place selection and a second place selection. If there are at least 5 entries, a third place will also be chosen.

3. These judgments, just like the builds, will be PM'd to the chair. Any entrant that does not judge will be disqualified. You have one week from the posting of the builds to submit your judgment. At the end of this one week period, all the judgments will be posted and a final ranking given.

Scoring: All first place ratings will earn 4 points. All second place ratings will earn 2 points. All third place ratings, should they be needed, will earn 1 point. Ties will be broken by number of 1st place rankings, then by number of 2nd place rankings. If the builds are still tied after that, the medal is shared.

There is no dispute process! What you see is what you get. Take it all in good stride, keep things friendly and cordial, and we'll move on promptly to the next round.

Spectator input: Spectators may chime in a vote for Honorable Mention. It's your way of providing recognition, and votes may be either posted in the thread or PM'd to the chair. If we receive none, the chair may choose one, but there may not always be an honorable mention.


Disputes being impossible is a bit of a bummer, but it's definitely nice to get at least 3 different commentaries on your build.
Macabaret
2020-05-27, 10:10 PM
If there're no judges, do we want to steal the Game Warpers' format for the contestants judging each other?

Disputes being impossible is a bit of a bummer, but it's definitely nice to get at least 3 different commentaries on your build.

I'd like to thank you, PoeticallyPsyco, for your suggestion. I would be willing to entertain (and even enact) the notion, on a few conditions:

We all recognize that this is not a precedent for future rounds. I'm okay going to this well for a fix, but let's not leave here with the expectation that it will become the norm.
All (and I do mean all!) contestants this round agree to it. No one came into this competition with the understanding that we would do this. If someone is unable (for whatever reason) or unwilling to judge, we need to respect that. Contestants of this round: Do NOT reply in-thread about your intention or willingness (or lack thereof) to judge the other builds this round. Please, ONLY respond to this notion via PM to the Chair (me). By keeping it off-the-record and anonymous, hopefully we can reduce any "peer pressure" aspects that might otherwise arise.
Uhmmm.... something else that I was thinking about before I started typing out the above, but can't remember now. My brain used to work, honest, it did.


All of that being said, if we indulge this judging rubric this round, I see no reason that we couldn't augment it slightly to include disputes. We would just need to set up a system where responses to disputes were send via PM to the Chair, as the disputes themselves are.
PoeticallyPsyco
2020-05-31, 01:35 AM
Naturally, I'm up for it.
Macabaret
2020-06-23, 04:07 AM
I apologize for being so quiet here of late. I shouldn't be "gone" for nearly a month. These contests shouldn't take as long as this one has.
But...
A look out the window is enough to see just how topsy-turvy our world has become. A global pandemic. Economic strife. Murder bees. (Murder bees? Murder bees?!? Next Junkyard Wars: Necessary: Murder. Necessary: Bees. Forbidden: MURDER BEES!) And then, just a proverbial stone's throw from me, Mr. George Floyd is murdered. (And not by bees.)
Needless to say, my city has been busy of late. (As, no doubt, yours has become, too.)
I am safe (relatively speaking), and thankful to be so. But the last few weeks have taken more time and energy than I had prepared for. And time here for me has taken a backseat to life in the "real world".
I'd like to thank you for your patience during all of this.

That being said....
I have received responses from more than one contestant expressing an inability to judge this round (for differing reasons). So we will not be doing the 'judging each other' thing this round.
I do have another idea. I'll send a PM to someone about it. (I don't want to just "volunteer" someone else.)
Failing that, I will try to carve out enough time in my schedule to judge things myself. By this point, I've forgotten who submitted what, so anonymity shouldn't be an issue. I can't, however, make any promises as to when that might happen.

Again, thank you all for your understanding and patience. These are indeed trying times. And the best we can do in them is try.
Quentinas
2020-06-23, 04:18 AM
I can try to judge , i will need to read the build, but they are only four it shouldn't be so long
Macabaret
2020-06-23, 04:27 AM
I can try to judge , i will need to read the build, but they are only four it shouldn't be so long

Thank you. I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say: your efforts will be greatly appreciated!
PoeticallyPsyco
2020-08-07, 05:24 PM
Any word? Dang minimum 10 characters...
loky1109
2022-03-14, 10:36 AM
I asking about judging volunteers for Zinc Saucier XL (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?641758-Zinc-Saucier-XL-Our-Little-Loving-Friends/page2) as a chairman and Junkyard Wars XXXVI (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?642413-Junkyard-Wars-XXXVI-Vestige-Binding-MWP-Binder) as competitor, but it isn't fair ask something I myself don't do. I think I should be an example.
This round hadn't been judged for almost two years. Well, better late than never.

Originality. Starting from 3. Highly subjective category. Are your classes, feats, combos, and tricks obvious and expected? Did I see something similar before? Or were you able to surprise me?

Power. Starting from 0. Pun-pun is 10. Before you built your build it was able to do nothing. With every level, every feat, ability and spell it was starting to do more. I'll be evaluating not only raw power, but utility, survivability, flexibility, and other parameters.

Elegance. Starting from 5. Till you place the first brick in your build there were zero mistakes. Guaranteed. Each mistake which I can find will take away some part of this five.

Use of the Secret Ingredient (latter UotSI). Starting from 0, for obvious reasons. How well you use SI? Do it something for your build or you took it just because you need? What would happen if it'll be removed?


Classes and feats selected didn't give me some special. Sorcerer is expected, but 13 levels isn't (0). Githyanki is some original (+0.5).
Well, you have 6th level spells (+1). Your skills are... mech (+0). You can do damage, but until you become MotUH it isn't significant (+0.5). When your combo starts to work all becomes better (+0.25). Your saves, hp, AC are bad (+0).
Quicken SLA is late but good (+0.25)


At level 3, he tales the evasive reflexes feat. He can now sidestep up to four times away from a foe moving to attack him, and he usually uses this movement to draw the enemy closer to his allies.
This doesn't work. One action - one AoO (-1)

he can make a full attack with a telekinetic greatsword with BAB +29/+24/+19/+14/+9/+4 when cast as a SLA.
Sorry, only four iteratives (-0.5).
You are item dependent (-0.5).
Hold the Line while giving you something before entering MotUH, after is useless (-0.25).
Martial Weapon Proficiency (Greatsword), too (-0.25).
You have not sources for race and spells (-0.25)
All 5 levels of PrC, took feat, not took Ghost (+1).
Normal entry, but late finishing (+0.5).
You build around MotUH, yes, your main tactic is totally about this PrC (+1), but Evasive Reflexes... You try to use it on low levels (+0.5), but later... It gives you not much.



I see VoP. While it isn't too rare, it still isn't expected for casting based entry (+0.25).
Erudite, I like Erudite and see it less frequently than desired (+0.5). Erudite to Elocater isn't expected, either (+0.25).
Warblade on the other hand is always expected (-0.5).
And I like the haphephobia mentioned in the story. Nice catch (+0.25).
Using Sparring Dummy of the Master... Well, it isn't the first thing that appears in the mind, but while we have 5-ft step SI it easily finds. And 50% entries having it confirm my assumption (-0.25).
Well, you are an 11th level manifester. Very good (+1). But your power repertoire isn't very broad (+0). You have good skills (+0.5). Your offensive capability is good. Many power options and telekinesis full attack, you can be a pain in the ass, but action economy is your weak spot, you can't do all what you can do at the same time. Sustained Concentration helps a bit, but not as well as we want (+0.75). Almost perfect mobility (+1). Very good defenses - AC, saves, hp, DR, resists, FoM, etc. (+1), but you have VoP. Yes, you avoid its limitations in some way, but it still is a drawback (-0.5).

Maneuvers Readied: Action Before Thought, Action Before Thought, Moment of Perfect Mind
You can't prepare one maneuver twice (-0.5).
You can't take Linked Power on the first level, you trade Erudite's bonus feat for Convert Spell to Power ACF (-0.5).
You can't enter Master of the Unseen Hand on the 16th level.

You add Spellcraft to your class skill list, which allows you to attempt to convert an arcane spell into a power you can add to your repertoire. You treat the spell as a discipline power for the basis of learning it, and you must first succeed on a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell's level) and then a Psicraft check as per the normal rules of learning a discipline power.

An erudite can learn discipline powers only by directly learning a power from another's repertoire, learning it from a power stone, or taking the Expanded Knowledge feat. In any case, an erudite can learn a discipline-only power only if it is up to 1 level lower than the highest level power he can manifest.
You can't learn Telekinesis until 11th unmodified by Practiced Manifester ML (-2).
There can be some troubles to find Telekinesis to learn it, but it is inherent Erudite issue, I don't want penalize this (-0).
Took feat, not took Ghost, but only 3 levels of MotUH (+0.75).
Late entry (+0.25).
You are very good in using Evasive Reflexes (+1) and very thematic (point this in Originality). Your MotUH... Well, it gives you interesting combat options, but... I don't see why it is so better than 3 other Erudite levels (+0.75).




Your classes... Well, I didn't expect them (+1.5).
On the other hand Master Spellthief cheese (-0.5). Even conservative variant of cheese.
Feats are nothing special, but Air Bloodline (+0.25).
9th level Ur-Priest casting, 8th level Nar Demonbinder, Versatile Spellcaster, Spellthief's Stealing... Well, it's great (+2)! Good skills (+0.5). Your offensive capability is very good. Spells, of course, and MotUH Telekinesis uses. Yeah, action economy is some problem, it's always a problem (+0.75). Your defenses aren't so good. Saves are weak, hp too low, AC... don't know exactly, but don't expect something great (+0).

Ok. Here I have bad news.

and we could already cast 2nd level arcane spells by stealing or borrowing them, so now we qualify for Mystic Theurge
No. Stealing spells doesn't work for Mystic Theurge's requirements. And you even don't qualify later, via Nar Demonbinder, because it doesn't have 2nd level casting, either (-5).
You didn't qualify for Ur-priest, you need Fort +3, you have +1 (-5).

Full Attack Telekinesis – At this point, your CL based ‘BAB’ is over 20, giving you 5 attacks with a standard action, any of which or all of which can be swapped for a combat maneuver. Pretty sweet!
Sorry, only four iteratives (-0.5).
You named Air Bloodline Air Heritage in the tables. This is two different feats and mess isn't helpful (-0.25).
Took feat, not took Ghost, but only 4 levels of MotUH (+0.75).
Late entry (+0.25).
You almost don't use Evasive Reflexes (+0).
MotUH... I don't see why it is here. Yeah, I use it some way, it's a good PrC, it's hard not to use it, but in your build... Yes, you have 4 empty levels, but I don't think MotUH is the best option (+0.5).




Runecaster. I wasn't expecting you (+1).
Crusader as all initiators expecting everywhere (-0.25)
Sparring Dummy of the Master (-0.25)
Choke hold, Death blow? Interesting (+0.25).
Cloistered cleric with Knowledge devotion? I know you (-0.25).
7th level cleric casting. Good (+1). Good skills (+0.5). If your main trick works (more about this in Elegance) it is powerhouse (+1)! Defenses apart from spells... Well, I don't know your exact AC, but it doesn't seem like height, saves - normal, hp above the average, it's not all that bad (+0.5). Your runes are a good addition to your power and versatility (+0.25).

Okay. Where are your sources (-0.5)? Cleric with smite evil? Yeah, it is somewhere, but I don't want to search. An, why do you take smite evil instead turns (-0.25)?
What are your maneuvers and stances known are (-0.25)?
Combat casting on 18th level? Waist feat (-0.25).
Improved trip as 2nd level Monk's bonus feat (-0.25)?
Why did you mention a whip? You think it gives you a 15-foot threaten area? It doesn't.

The whip is treated as a melee weapon with 15-foot reach, though you don’t threaten the area into which you can make an attack.

Your main trick. It doesn't work. Telekinesis casted via your rune isn't equal Telekinesis casted by yourself. You can't use MotUH class features with it, you can't concentrate on it. It's just a portable trap, smart, but not so deadly (-1.5).
Took feat, not took Ghost, but only 3 levels of MotUH (+0.75).
Late entry (+0.25).
You try to use both parts of SI in a single combo. Combo doesn't work, but it still deserve attention (+2.5)



Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Chef Loky1109 Place
Cassius (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24490065&postcount=34) L? Human Monk 2/Crusader 2/Cloistered Cleric 5/Runecaster 8/Master of the Unseen Hand 3 12.75 1st
Zuul (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24490055&postcount=32) NG Human Erudite 6/Cobra Strike Monk 2/Warblade 2/Eloacter 7/Master of the Unseen Hand 3 12.00 2nd
Yannich (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24490046&postcount=31) ?? Githyanki Sorcerer 13/Master of the Unseen Hand 5 10.75 3rd
Urizen (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24490063&postcount=33) CE Human Spellthief 5/Ur-Priest 2/Mystic Theurge 10/Nar Demonbinder 1/Master of the Unseen Hand 4 9.00 4th

It's bad I can't know who the Chefs are, but I did what I could.
Macabaret
2022-05-16, 03:39 AM
Thank you for judging, loky. Your efforts are much appreciated!
Having received no disputes....

Cassius..... 12.25 ... Gold .......... HeavenBlade
Zuul ......... 12 ....... Silver ........ Falontani
Yannich .... 10.75 ... Copper ...... 3Power
Urizen ........ 9 ....... HM ........... PoeticallyPsycho

Congratulations, contestants!