Optimization Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground CI [Archive]

View Full Version : Optimization Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground CI

The Viscount

2020-04-11, 05:58 PM

Welcome to Optimization Stadium, the field of combat for our storied competition. Here the contestants will be transmuting lead into gold as we showcase the overlooked, underused, weird, and wonky prestige classes.

This round we turn to Champions of Ruin. Bring out your best cape and plastic fangs, it's time for Night Mask Deathbringer!

Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef. Here in Optimization Colosseum, contestants will endeavor to create an optimized and flavorful character using a specified D&D3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient".

Contestants: You will need to present a full 20-level build for your entry. Also required is a rundown of how your build works at lower levels, to demonstrate that it is a functional character that could be played from 1-20 in a real game. Traditionally contestants give "snapshots" of tactics and abilities at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20. The purpose of these snapshots is not just to showcase your use of the SI, it is to demonstrate that your character is playable at every level. For this reason, it's still worth giving a snapshot before you have entered the SI.

Menu: The "special ingredient" can be drawn from any legal source. Originally, the plan was to mostly use Core and Completes, but that was a long time ago, and we've started running out of interesting classes to use if we restrict ourselves to those.

32 point-buy is the presumed creation method.
If you do use a different point-buy, please make your case for its necessity in your entry. Keep in mind that for using exceptionally large or small point-buys may warrant deductions in elegance and/or power.

Kitchen: 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 Elegance 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. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Also, item familiars are forbidden. Please refrain from using Taint unless it's necessary for the Secret Ingredient.
NB: Official Errata and 3.5 updates to 3.0 content are considered valid regardless of whether their sources would otherwise be legal. This includes the 3.5 update of Oriental Adventures given in Dragon Magazine, and the 3.5 updates of Dragonlance Campaign Setting content given in later third party Dragonlance books.

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 13:59 GMT on Sunday, ***May 3rd***, 2020 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, The Viscount. Please put the name of your build in the subject line of your PM. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 13:59 GMT on ***May 17th***, 2020 to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

Judging: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Secret Ingredient.

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 could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for 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 considered in poor taste, and judges are asked to take a dim view of this option, taking it into account while grading. Other things that will cause penalties here are excessive multi-classing, and classes that don't fit the concept.Please note the following: a legal source's relative obscurity should not be considered as penalizing Elegance, excepting the aforementioned issues with Unearthed Arcana. Using conflicting setting material may result in a penalty to Elegance at the judges' discretion, but a book's relative obscurity may not. In that same vein, drawing solely from the Core 3 (and the d20 SRD) should not be punished for lacking Originality.
Presentation: 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!

Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to 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
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
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.
Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

Leadership is banned; we're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners. 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.

So! Who wants to sign up as a contestant, and who wants to sign up as a judge? 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. Judges, contestants and guests alike are invited to vote for honorable mention via PM. If there are no votes, Honorable Mention will go to the chairman's favorite build.

Past Competitions

Courtesy of some wonderful volunteers, there is a handy-dandy spreadsheet guide to all previous builds here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0).

Iron Chef I: Entropomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142470)
Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146583)
Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148584)
Iron Chef IV: Stonelord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=150595)
Iron Chef V: War Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152543)
Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156876)
Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158633)
Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160266)
Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162702)
Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164381)
Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166539)
Iron Chef XII: War Mind (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9426386)
Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172233)
Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174434)
Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176049)
Iron Chef XVI: Assassin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178202)
Iron Chef XVII: Ardent Dilettante (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182492)
Iron Chef XVIII: Unseelie Dark Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=186097)
Iron Chef XIX: Dread Pirate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190607)
Iron Chef XX: Incandescent Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=10976416)
Iron Chef XXI: Ghostwalker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198921)
Iron Chef XXII: Dervish (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206576)
Iron Chef XXIII: Divine Crusader (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210071)
Iron Chef XXIV: Tactical Soldier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214198)
Iron Chef XXV: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217441)
Iron Chef XXVI: Shadowdancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220956)
Iron Chef XXVII: Mindbender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224008)
Iron Chef XXVIII: Cryokineticist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=227304)
Iron Chef XXIX: Consecrated Harrier (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229688)
Iron Chef XXX: Initiate of Pistis Sophia (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233346)
Iron Chef XXXI: Shadow Sentinel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236908)
Iron Chef XXXII: Temple Raider of Olidammara (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239786)
Iron Chef XXXIII: Drow Judicator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243052)
Iron Chef XXXIV: Dragon Disciple (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246072)
Iron Chef XXXV: Death Delver (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249542)
Iron Chef XXXVI: Acolyte of the Skin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252923)
Iron Chef XXXVII: Justiciar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13865473)
Iron Chef XXXVIII: Hand of the Winged Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255215)
Iron Chef XXXIX: Renegade Mastermaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260333)
Iron Chef XL: Nightsong Infiltrator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263173)
Iron Chef XLI: Geomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266709)
Iron Chef XLII: Shadowblade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=270196)
Iron Chef XLIII: Bladesinger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=274122)
Iron Chef XLIV: Urban Soul (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279116)
Iron Chef XLV: Talon of Tiamat (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15216595)
Iron Chef XLVI: Cipher Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287314)
Iron Chef XLVII: Cold Iron Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291294)
Iron Chef XLVIII: Shadow Sun Ninja (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297327)
Iron Chef XLIX: Thrall to Orcus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302487)
Iron Chef L: Corrupt Avenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=307823)
Iron Chef LI: Black Flame Zealot (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312773)
Iron Chef LII: Anointed Knight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317934)
Iron Chef LIII: Zerth Cenobite (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325164)
Iron Chef LIV: Osteomancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330890)
Iron Chef LV: Mountebank (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?336373-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LV)
Iron Chef LVI: Dwarven Defender (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?342807-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVI)
Iron Chef LVII: Darkrunner (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?349040-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVII)
Iron Chef LVIII: Spellsword (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?357412-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LVIII)
Iron Chef LIX: Fleet Runner of Ehlonna (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?364667-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LIX)
Iron Chef LX: Lasher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?371835-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LX(II): Acolyte of the Ego (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?372145-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LX)
Iron Chef LXII: Dungeon Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?376810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXII)
Iron Chef LXIII: Witchborn Binder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?382632-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIII)
Iron Chef LXIV: Slime Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?387166-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIV)
Iron Chef LXV: Thunder Guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?394981-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXV)
Iron Chef LXVI: Dwarven Chanter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?400810-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVI)
Irogn Chef LXVII: Gnome Giant Slayer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?406613-Irogn-Chef-Optimisatiogn-Challegnge-ign-the-Playgrougnd-LXVII)
Iron Chef LXVIII: Fang of Lolth (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?412530-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXVIII)
Iron Chef LXIX: Shiba Protector (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420165-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXIX)
Iron Chef LXX: Order of the Bow Initiate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?425634-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXX)
Iron Chef LXXI: Silver Key (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?431484-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXI)
Iron Chef LXXII: Spellfire Channeler (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?439020-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXII)
Iron Chef LXXIII: Flux Adept (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448596-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIII)
Iron Chef LXXIV: Crinti Shadow Marauder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?458711-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIV)
Iron Chef LXXV: Thief of Life (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?472831-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXV)
Iron Chef LXXVI: Legacy Champion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?477153-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVI)
Iron Chef LXXVII: Great Rift Skyguard (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?482249-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVII)
Iron Chef LXVIII: Risen Martyr (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?487560-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXVIII)
Iron Chef LXXIX: Black Blood Hunter (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?492923-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXIX)
Iron Chef LXXX: Master of Many Forms (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?498359-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXX)
Iron Chef LXXXI: Serene Guardian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?502666-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXI)
Iron Chef LXXXII: Elocator (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?505762-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXII)
Iron Chef LXXXIII: Winterhaunt of Iboorighu (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?510581-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIII)
Iron Chef LXXXIV: Waverider (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?514631-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIV)
Iron Chef LXXXV: Astral Dancer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?519296-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXV)
Iron Chef LXXXVI: Twisted Lord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?525401-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVI)
Iron Chef LXXXVII: Shadowsmith (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?528361-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVII)
Iron Chef LXXXVIII: Arboreal Guardian (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?533367-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXVIII)
Iron Chef LXXXIX: Thrall of Demogorgon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?536247-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-LXXXIX)
Iron Chef XC: Bloodstorm Blade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?542380-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XC)
Iron Chef XCI: Fatemaker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?550203-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCI)
Iron Chef XCII: Eye of the Xanathar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?556092-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCII)
Iron Chef XCIII: Hoardstealer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?560330-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCIII)
Iron Chef XCIV: Doomlord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?564804-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCIV)
Iron Chef XCV: Gnomish Artificer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?571065-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCV)
Iron Chef XCVI: Oozemaster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?576075-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCVI)
Iron Chef XCVII: Aerial Avenger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?579553-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCVII)
Iron Chef XCVIII: Visionary Seeker (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?583331-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCVIII)
Iron Chef XCIX: Life Eater (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?589964-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XCIX)
Iron Chef C: Swiftblade (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?601292-Iron-Chef-Optimisation-Challenge-in-the-Playground-C)

The Viscount

2020-04-11, 06:00 PM

FAQ:
Q: What's this even about?
A: I'm glad you asked, actually... (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15415117&postcount=1)

Q: Is Dragon Compendium Allowed?
A: Yes (as well as its Errata), but individual issues of Dragon Magazine are not.

Q: What about 3.0 materials?
A: 3.0 materials, whether online or in printed form, are allowed unless they've been officially updated to a 3.5 edition.

Q: Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources?
A: The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is allowed, but the subsequent books for Dragonlance are considered 3rd party, and are therefore not eligible, despite the "WotC approved" status of those books. The same holds for Oriental Adventures (1st party) and the subsequent Rokugan books (3rd party). Materials from Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, and Kingdoms of Kalamar are considered 3rd party for purposes of this contest, and are therefore not allowed.

Q: What about online sources in general?
A: If the online source is a) published by WotC, and b) not replaced by an updated version at a later time, it is eligible. Use it, link it.

Q: Where's the line drawn with "acceptable/unacceptable" for Unearthed Arcana? This will likely vary a bit from Chairman to Chairman. Item Familiars and Gestalt have always been verboten, since before IC migrated to GitP; don't expect that to change. Flaws have similarly always been noted as warranting a deduction; while I am Chairman, I'm extending that to Traits, though they warrant 1/2 the penalty in Elegance that a Flaw would because they're roughly 1/2 as useful. Alternate spell systems, alternate skill systems and alternate crafting rules all create an uneven playing field, and as such, will be disallowed for as long as I am Chairman. In a similar vein, LA buyoff and fractional BAB are also disallowed. Bloodlines and the Retraining options presented in the PHB2 are ripe for abuse, and will be strongly discouraged as long as I am Chairman. Note that judges are allowed to look askance at any use of Unearthed Arcana not specifically mentioned above, at their discretion, and otherwise penalize Elegance according to their preference.

Q: What, exactly, does the ban on Leadership mean?
A: As folks have started to try to work around the edges of this one, I'm forced to spell it out more plainly. No Leadership, Draconic Cohort, or Feats that grant a similar ability are allowed EXCEPT Wild Cohort. Any PrC you choose with Leadership or a Leadership-analog has that ability entirely ignored for this contest, as it may neither be used nor traded away via any means whatsoever.

Q: What's the minimum score in a category?
A: Assuming an entry is legal, the minimum score in any category is 1. If a judge is convinced that an entry is mechanically illegal by the RAW, the judge may give the build a score of 0 in Elegance, and proceed to judge the entry as if the offending material was not included. Failing to meet a special requirement for a prestige class does not merit a 0, but may qualify for a penalty, at the judge's discretion. Because this contest focuses on Player Characters, an entry that is not technically allowed for a PC, but is viable as an NPC, counts as a legal entry, but may receive a minimum score at the judges' discretion.

Q: Creatures and templates with no listed LA are playable, right?
A: No. No listed LA is equivalent to LA: -. It is not suitable for PCs. If you use it, expect judges to look extremely disfavorably on it.

Q: So what's the deal with equipment, anyway?
A: There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list. Historically, judges have frowned upon "item dependent" builds, but unfortunately the definition of that has been applied to mean anything from builds that don't function if you remove one very specific item, to builds that so much as mention a particular weapon. Builds that don't list gear should be assumed to buy useful generics - items to boost their primary stats, cloaks of resistance, appropriate magical weapons and armor, and so forth. If a build would find particular items useful, they should be listed, but experience suggests that the more generic you keep them, the more favorably judges are likely to look upon them, as a build being shut down because the Thundering Bagpipes of Urist McTrumpetbritches were unavailable is considered a weakness. Similarly, requiring items in order to be able to qualify for things tends to be frowned upon.

Q: Do you have any other rules and guidelines on how to judge?
A: We do, actually, designed to try and avoid unpleasantness we've encountered in past contests. The things we've come up with to avoid repeating this are given below.

One Mistake, One Penalty

Judges are only allowed to penalise once for a given mistake. If someone messes up their skills and doesn't qualify for a PrC, ding them as hard as you like. Once. In one category. You don't then get to declare that because they didn't qualify for that PrC, they don't get those levels, and thus don't qualify for anything else. If Ranger is a common ingredient, ding them for Originality. Once. Don't also take off points for Two-Weapon-Fighting being a common ingredient.

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

Skills

Allowed:

Giving a penalty for miscalculating the number of skill points gained
Giving a penalty for not having enough ranks to meet a prerequisite
Increasing the harshness of a skill miscalculation penalty if it affects critical skills including prereqs

Not allowed:

Giving separate penalties for miscalculating skill points and for non-qualification where the non-qualification is solely caused by the miscalculation

Prereqs

Allowed:

Giving a penalty for not meeting prereqs
Scaling the penalty depending on how important the item that the build failed to qualify for is
Giving minimum score in UotSI for not qualifying for the SI
Not giving credit for (note: not the same as penalising for) tactics using feats or classes other than the SI that were not qualified for (but see below)

Not Allowed:

"Cascading" failures to qualify - declaring that because a build doesn't qualify for a feat, for example, it also doesn't qualify for anything using that feat as a prereq
Treating a build as having fewer levels than it does because of FtQ for classes

Other general things that are no longer allowed:

Penalizing because someone has chosen to build a tribute to an existing creative work
Deciding that a backstory has not met a fluff prerequisite well enough, or because its method of meeting it is "unrealistic". You may penalize if a fluff prereq is not addressed at all, but not for how well it is addressed.

Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.

Q: Do you have any contest house rules or clarifications to ambiguous rules?
A: Some that have come up in previous contests and needed answers to:

All creatures are proficient with any natural weapons they may have or acquire.
Bonus feats that are granted even if you do not meet the prerequisites do not require you to meet the prerequisites in order to use.
Able Learner's benefit applies to the level you take it.

Q: Can I submit more than one entry?
A: You may submit up to two entries into a given competition.

Q: Why did you change the spelling?
A: Geographical differences in practice.

Q: How do I use hesitating stare?
A: The class states you can use it even when surprised, so I'm going to say this is an immediate action you can take even when flatfooted, similar to Barbarian's Ferocity ACF.

Q: Does ghost step make you invisible for 1 round even if you attack?
A: Yes. Attacking does not end the effect early.

Q: What are applicable targets for lesser/greater blood bond?
A: They specifically reference charm/dominate person and not charm/dominate monster, so they only apply to humanoids.

Q: What is the duration of a blood bond?
A: Blood bond's effect lasts until you exceed the number of blood bonds allotted or something else ends the effect.

Q: Does lesser blood bond have a penalty to the DC if the target is threatened or attacked like with charm person?
A: Yes.

Q: How does the "active or not" and "inactive" blood bond thing work?
A: An active blood bond is one where you have spoken to a target to turn on the charm/dominate effect. When they say "or not" we will say that means a blood bond is one where the target has ingested your blood, but you have not yet turned on the charm/dominate effect. Since as written "oldest blood bond becomes inactive" doesn't make sense with the number limit of outstanding blood bonds, active or not, I will say that when you exceed your number of blood bonds, the oldest bond ends the charm/dominate effect, and you must get the target to ingest your blood again.

Q: What is the action do bleed directly into a pinned target's mouth?
It is a free action, but it only takes if you keep the target pinned for 1 round.

Q: How many pools for blood bond and greater blood bond?
A: Only one.

The Viscount

2020-04-11, 06:13 PM

NEW CHANGES

I'd like to implement a few alterations to the rules for this competition. I'm placing them here so they're more visible. If nobody likes these we can change them, but I'd like to try them for this round, at least.

1. Judges are strongly encouraged to penalize builds that do not complete a savage progression template class in their 20 level build. You don't have to take all the levels in a row, but the intent is to make complete characters, and leaving extra levels to be taken in the vague future runs counter to that.

2. You are limited to 1 dispute per entry, so say everything you need to in the first one. If there's some extreme circumstances that really necessitates something else you can PM me about it, but don't expect to get an extra just because you forgot.

3. The "sweet spot" is now removed from recommended writeup. We've been moving away from this for a while, so I'm making it official. You can certainly highlight a level that you feel is super cool if you want to, but the standard recommended entry is just the level breaks at 5, 10, 15, 20.

4. Ghostwalk ghost is banned as a playable race. It doesn't interact well with the rest of the game, it's messy, and it conflicts with normal ghosts.

5. Gold, silver and bronze will be awarded regardless of ties. We don't have to conserve physical medals, so I don't see a problem with giving out a bronze if there's a tie for silver, for example.

6. If your entry is too big for one PM, you can email me. I know the PM limits are kind of annoying, and they can make breaking up a build's formatting difficult, so you can send it by email if it's too big.

7. I removed the bit about using a large number of sources being a possible elegance hit. I don't see making use of your full resources as inelegant, so long as you don't have conflicting elements.

AvatarVecna

2020-04-11, 06:22 PM

Traaaaash.

Venger

2020-04-11, 06:22 PM

I can't wait to get started on cooking. This class is worse than I remember.

daremetoidareyo

2020-04-11, 08:04 PM

Ewwwwwwwwwwwww

DeTess

2020-04-12, 01:27 AM

Well, this isn't that bad...

WhamBamSam

2020-04-12, 08:02 AM

This is a very particular sort of Iron Chef-bad PrC. Nice find Viscount.

jdizzlean

2020-04-12, 09:30 AM

This is a very particular sort of Iron Chef-bad PrC. Nice find Viscount.

lol, it's atrocious at best.

Piggy Knowles

2020-04-12, 09:48 AM

The Viscount

2020-04-12, 10:50 AM

Some questions I was hoping to see clarified:

1. Ghost step makes you invisible for one round but does not reference "as the spell." Am I correct in assuming this means you remain invisible even if you attack during that round?

2. Lesser/greater blood bond references the charm/dominate person spells. Do they work on non-humanoid targets, or do they carry the same type restriction as those respective spells?

3. There is no duration listed for lesser/greater blood bond. Does this mean that the effect never expires (barring exceeding the maximum number of blood bonds, etc.)?

4. Lesser blood bond references the charm person spell. Does this include the -5 to the save DC if the target is being threatened or attacked by you or your allies?

5. You can have a number of blood bonds, "active or not," equal to your Charisma modifier. What is an active vs. inactive blood bond?

Interesting ingredient. Hopefully I'll be able to cook something up. I've got a couple of ideas, but only time will tell if they'll coalesce into a full build. Have fun, everyone!

This is what I get for choosing a weirdo ingredient.

1. This is correct, you remain invisible for the round regardless of attacking.

2. I'm going to say that they are only effective against humanoid targets, as the spell. They chose not to say charm monster (compared with Mindbender).

3. Correct. The charm/dominate effect does not end unless you exceed the maximum number of bonds or something else intervenes to end the effect.

4. Yes, threatening the target decreases the DC.

5. Boy, they worded this one poorly. An active blood bond is one where you have spoken to a target to turn on the charm/dominate effect. When they say "or not" we will say that means a blood bond is one where the target has ingested your blood, but you have not yet turned on the charm/dominate effect. Since as written "oldest blood bond becomes inactive" doesn't make sense with the number limit of outstanding blood bonds, active or not, I will say that when you exceed your number of blood bonds, the oldest bond ends the charm/dominate effect, and you must get the target to ingest your blood again. It's the only way I can see this making sense.

In case anyone didn't see in the FAQ, hesitating stare is an immediate action you can take even when surprised. I'll add these questions to the FAQ at the top for ease of reference.

Piggy Knowles

2020-04-12, 11:08 AM

daremetoidareyo

2020-04-12, 11:18 AM

5. Boy, they worded this one poorly. An active blood bond is one where you have spoken to a target to turn on the charm/dominate effect. When they say "or not" we will say that means a blood bond is one where the target has ingested your blood, but you have not yet turned on the charm/dominate effect. Since as written "oldest blood bond becomes inactive" doesn't make sense with the number limit of outstanding blood bonds, active or not, I will say that when you exceed your number of blood bonds, the oldest bond ends the charm/dominate effect, and you must get the target to ingest your blood again. It's the only way I can see this making sense.

Ok I think I figured it out.

You have modifier number of blood bonds. You turn them on by speaking to the target. While charmed, they are active. If you've blood imbibed them, they inactive until spoken to.

If you bloodbond a new target, the oldest active is inactived and may need to be bloodbonded again.

The wording implies a version of this ability that was nerfed was an unlimited number of inactive bloodbonded, which was nerfed down to be contained by the limit for active blood bonds. So the original vision for this was likely designed to allow you to shuffle anyone you bloodbonded before into action. They then introduced a total limit for inactive blood bonds because of probably paperwork bloat and gamebreaking caused by up to infinite bloodbonded being able to be mass activated

So RAW, it looks like if you bloodbond a new guy over your max limit, the effect is totally nullified for 1, your oldest active bloodbonded. And 2, if you haven't activated them, you lose an inactive one, probably your oldest, but it's not specified.

WhamBamSam

2020-04-12, 11:19 AM

lol, it's atrocious at best.Yes, but it finds unusual ways to be atrocious, especially considering how little it actually does. For instance, because like almost all Faerun PrCs, it was designed to be a one-off NPC in some devs game and then never used again, the prerequisites don't even countenance the notion that you'd want to use anything but the intended entry. Which, for Iron Chef, makes it a mildly interesting little challenge, far from insurmountable, but enough that however you surmount it is going to largely define your entry into the class.

AvatarVecna

2020-04-12, 11:39 AM

Yes, but it finds unusual ways to be atrocious, especially considering how little it actually does. For instance, because like almost all Faerun PrCs, it was designed to be a one-off NPC in some devs game and then never used again, the prerequisites don't even countenance the notion that you'd want to use anything but the intended entry. Which, for Iron Chef, makes it a mildly interesting little challenge, far from insurmountable, but enough that however you surmount it is going to largely define your entry into the class.

This is very much my impression, yeah. Somebody made "rogue becomes a worse rogue in exchange for pretending to be a ****ty vampire" into an NPC PrC cuz it makes sense for their game, and like the only neat thing is does is have a small handful of humanoids perma-charmed/dommed. It's not useless, and it's maybe got a tiny bit of utility as a party member, but every time I find something neat, it either just straight-up doesn't work, or would be cool in gestalt with something else...but this contest doesn't do gestalt, and doing it without gestalt comes online way too late to be interesting.

The Viscount

2020-04-12, 12:00 PM

Sorry, one more:

6. The night mask deathbringer can force a target to ingest their blood by pinning them for one round and "bleeding directly into his mouth." What kind of action is it to bleed directly into a pinned creature's mouth? And does the night mask deathbringer need to damage themselves in order to do so?

They're already requiring you to pin the target for 1 round, which is difficult enough. I'll say that if you keep the target pinned for 1 round, it's a free action, but if they aren't pinned for 1 round, it doesn't count. You don't need to damage yourself to bleed directly into a pinned creature's mouth. There are classes that mention pricking your finger or whatever, but since this one didn't I'll let you have it for free. Same goes for bleeding into a container or food.

Ok I think I figured it out.

You have modifier number of blood bonds. You turn them on by speaking to the target. While charmed, they are active. If you've blood imbibed them, they inactive until spoken to.

If you bloodbond a new target, the oldest active is inactived and may need to be bloodbonded again.

The wording implies a version of this ability that was nerfed was an unlimited number of inactive bloodbonded, which was nerfed down to be contained by the limit for active blood bonds. So the original vision for this was likely designed to allow you to shuffle anyone you bloodbonded before into action. They then introduced a total limit for inactive blood bonds because of probably paperwork bloat and gamebreaking caused by up to infinite bloodbonded being able to be mass activated

So RAW, it looks like if you bloodbond a new guy over your max limit, the effect is totally nullified for 1, your oldest active bloodbonded. And 2, if you haven't activated them, you lose an inactive one, probably your oldest, but it's not specified.

That seems very likely.
Just to make sure there's no confusion, for this contest:
If you bloodbond a new target the oldest bond is ended and you need to get them to eat your blood again as if you've never hit them.
If you haven't activated bloodbonds, you still lose the oldest one, regardless of whether you turned on the effect by speaking to them.

Zaq

2020-04-12, 12:22 PM

Literally the first three responses:

Traaaaash.

This class is worse than I remember.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwww

Oh man. I better read this myself.

[reading]

What... what am I even looking at, though? Like, dayum. Incredible find, but wow this is remarkably lackluster. It's like they started with a rogue PrC and applied monk sensibilities to it. At least it only requires one garbage feat, not that the rest of the prereqs are nothing if you want to use any sort of unusual entry.

How does the "even when you are surprised" language in Hesitating Stare interact with the fact that it's a (Su) ability with no listed action cost (and therefore defaults to being a standard action)? Saw the FAQ. Thanks Viscount.

I am not likely to have the time/energy to be involved in this round (27 days left in school and counting; the capstone course is a bit of a sucker punch), but stranger things have happened. The urge to procrastinate and distract oneself from important matters is strong, and Iron Chef often presents an opportunity to do just that. That said, nothing is leaping to mind right now, though. Wow but this one's bad.

Serious philosophical question for the room: would this be more shoddily designed / more painful to work with if it were 5/10 casting instead of 0/10?

AvatarVecna

2020-04-12, 12:31 PM

Serious philosophical question for the room: would this be more shoddily designed / more painful to work with if it were 5/10 casting instead of 0/10?

I can't speak for anybody else, and I don't wanna get into specifics in case any poor soul is attempting the route I saw, but there's a caster PrC this would pair okay-ish-ish with if Death Night Maskbringer did literally anything to support a caster entry. As it currently stands, they can still be combined, but you're taking the casting to support this class rather than taking this class to support the casting. With 0/10, comboing them is kinda like burning the mona lisa to cook a hot pocket, and 5/10 would at least put some real meat in your meal.

TL;DR 5/10 would take this class from being "NPC rogue, but worse" into being "unseen seer, but worse", which still isn't good but at least means that you could have CL 10 at lvl 15 which is still waaaaaaaay better than most classes get.

Venger

2020-04-12, 12:55 PM

Serious philosophical question for the room: would this be more shoddily designed / more painful to work with if it were 5/10 casting instead of 0/10?

Infinitely worse and more painful. It would cut the pool of entry down by 90%, forcing some kind of caster entry

The Viscount

2020-04-12, 01:08 PM

I think the class might technically be stronger if it were 5/10ths casting, but I think it would be worse to work with if it did. With casting you'd have to showcase abilities you could probably duplicate, but without it it's maybe easier to showcase? Plus this way entry is more open, which I wanted after last round. Knowing Faerun, this class would require you to be a cleric of Mask or something if it advanced casting.

Macabaret

2020-04-12, 03:37 PM

daremetoidareyo

2020-04-12, 04:07 PM

I could read complaints about bad prestige classes forever

WhamBamSam

2020-04-12, 04:29 PM

Just as a point of clarification:
Do Lesser Blood Bond and Greater Blood Bond share one collective "blood bond" pool? Or do they have their own separate pools of maximum targets?The text of Greater Blood Bond seems pretty clear to me that they share a pool.

Also,
I seem to recall a point of contention happening in some round of Iron Chef (or its spin-offs) about this, but I can't remember off hand how it got decided (or if it even did), so:

Is our focus for this requirement only on "evasion" and "uncanny dodge"? Or are we paying specific attention to "class features" as well? (In other words, do we need evasion and uncanny dodge as class features, or can we get either/both via some other means in order to qualify?)I may have been the one being a stickler about it in years past, but since most of the non-class things that give you Evasion (or whatever else) say that it's "as the class feature," it should also function as the class feature for qualification.

The Viscount

2020-04-12, 04:33 PM

Just as a point of clarification:
Do Lesser Blood Bond and Greater Blood Bond share one collective "blood bond" pool? Or do they have their own separate pools of maximum targets?

Also,
I seem to recall a point of contention happening in some round of Iron Chef (or its spin-offs) about this, but I can't remember off hand how it got decided (or if it even did), so:

Is our focus for this requirement only on "evasion" and "uncanny dodge"? Or are we paying specific attention to "class features" as well? (In other words, do we need evasion and uncanny dodge as class features, or can we get either/both via some other means in order to qualify?)

You have one pool for lesser and greater blood bond. If you have already dosed a target with your blood, you may use the dominate person effect regardless of whether it has been activated for the charm effect. No need to re-dose them.

For the purpose of entry, anything that grants evasion and uncanny dodge is legal. I'm not going to block anything out or mention specifics so there's no speculation.

Bucky

2020-04-12, 08:02 PM

Why is two rounds ago "Iron Chef XCIX" instead of "Iron Chef IC"?

Thurbane

2020-04-12, 08:11 PM

Skillmonkey PrCs are generally worse than levels in Rogue, and this one is no exception. Usual mishmash of abilities that range from almost OK to awful. At least it gets 8 skill points/level.

Venger

2020-04-12, 08:11 PM

Why is two rounds ago "Iron Chef XCIX" instead of "Iron Chef IC"?

Interesting question. It's because in Roman numerals, you say the digits one at a time. For 99, the tens place isn't 100, it's 90, so first you must get 90, which is XC. (10 from 100, the 10 to the left of 100) and then to add onto it, you put the 9 on the right (IX, 1 from 10) thus XCIX

The Viscount

2020-04-12, 08:35 PM

Skillmonkey PrCs are generally worse than levels in Rogue, and this one is no exception. Usual mishmash of abilities that range from almost OK to awful. At least it gets 8 skill points/level.

A very rare thing in prestige classes, especially here. I think last time we saw it was twisted lord. The SI also has almost the rogue's entire list, minus appraise. Given that there's no appraise anywhere in the book, it's possible the writers just forgot about it.

WhamBamSam

2020-04-12, 08:50 PM

A very rare thing in prestige classes, especially here. I think last time we saw it was twisted lord. It also has almost the rogues entire list, minus appraise. Given that there's no appraise anywhere in the book, it's possible the writers just forgot about it.Eye of the Xanathar was 8+Int skill points/level.

The Viscount

2020-04-12, 08:53 PM

Eye of the Xanathar was 8+Int skill points/level.

But it came at a terrible price.

Venger

2020-04-12, 08:56 PM

Eye of the Xanathar was 8+Int skill points/level.

It does, though it lacks appraise, decipher script, swim, umd, and use rope.

What a weird list to cut.

Karl Aegis

2020-04-13, 12:56 AM

The kind of class where you have to open up a dictionary to find out what outstanding, active and inactive all mean. "Well, once you've ingested three drops of blood there is no conditions where you can undo that so it's in sort of a limbo state if they have more inactive bloodbonds than your charisma modifier". And then you look up what lighting conditions you can even use sneak attack in because it gives you Dazzled all day.

Venger

2020-04-13, 01:17 AM

Dazzled just gives -1 to stuff. You can still sa normally. Very annoying this class confers 2 disabilities.

Zaq

2020-04-13, 05:11 PM

I have two things that could maybe be fleshed out. The problem is that each one is dumb and I’m not convinced yet that either one is dumb enough to be funny. I’ll keep thinking.

The Viscount

2020-04-15, 01:13 PM

Dazzled just gives -1 to stuff. You can still sa normally. Very annoying this class confers 2 disabilities.

Especially weird considering that an unsettling aura that makes animals angry isn't a feature of vampires, it's a feature of spectres and wraiths. They reference the animals used in children of the night, so I guess they think that's linkage enough.

WhamBamSam

2020-04-19, 07:44 AM

Build submitted. I'm actually really happy with how it turned out.

PoeticallyPsyco

2020-04-20, 01:45 AM

This class is remarkably... resistant... to optimization. Most of my ideas simply won't work as well with only 10 levels to play with. That said, I have one idea I'm not too displeased with.

The Viscount

2020-04-24, 01:58 PM

Hey everybody,

Deadline is approaching and was just wondering how we were doing. I'm sure some people are planning (like I have in past rounds) to finish over today and tomorrow. I just wanted to check in and see if people think they'll need more time.

DeTess

2020-04-24, 02:33 PM

I've got a build that's only missing its writeup by this point, which I'll finnish over the weekend.

Zaq

2020-04-24, 08:04 PM

There's no way I can get something in this round within the next few days, but I only have a germ of an idea anyway, not even a serious stub, so don't worry about that. That's to be expected, anyway. 15 days left until I'm done...

PoeticallyPsyco

2020-04-24, 08:42 PM

Don't have any inspiration for backstory/characterization/flavor, and I'm not happy enough with my build mechanically to submit it without that. I'll post the stub I had after the reveal, though I bet someone else came up with something similar.

Korahir

2020-04-26, 12:43 PM

I have a table, not sure if i can manage to finish the write up in the next days. I'd love to submit but I'd probably need at least another week.

Gorthawar

2020-04-26, 03:24 PM

I have a table, not sure if i can manage to finish the write up in the next days. I'd love to submit but I'd probably need at least another week.
I'm in the same boat. 1 more weak to get it in the right format and put some words down to tie it all together.

Piggy Knowles

2020-04-26, 03:26 PM

I've got all the crunch written up, put into tables and formatted, but I'm still writing the fluff. I could probably have my entry ready by this time tomorrow, but I don't think it'll be finished today.

DeAnno

2020-04-26, 03:31 PM

I've been juggling around with some things that are roughly a third of a full idea every once and a while, and inspiration could strike, but don't hold up on my account.

The Viscount

2020-04-26, 05:29 PM

Since we need some more time, I'm extending the deadline for 1 week.

New deadline is 13:59 GMT Sunday May 3rd!

Korahir

2020-04-27, 01:28 AM

Much appreciated.

Piggy Knowles

2020-05-01, 11:48 AM

Submitted! Thanks for the extension!

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:05 AM

Pencils down, everyone. It's time for the reveal! Please refrain from posting until I give the all clear.

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:19 AM

"Eww, he got it in my mouth!"

Spike Punch
LE Human Monk 2/Warblade 8/Night Mask Deathbringer 10
https://img.vavel.com/image-4632862075.jpg

Punch Drunk“Keep up!”

The dummy darted out of reach of Spike’s swing once again. He swore and lunged after it once more, another heavy swing coming a few inches short of making contact. Adjusting to its new trajectory, he took another step, pivoting into a spinning wheel kick which finally grazed its target. He stopped his follow through and flicked his foot back to touch the bag once more.

“Too soft! You have to be able to catch it with your full power.”

Spike steadied himself and sprung up, running along the wall into a flying elbow, slamming the dummy into the ground. With a snarl he grabbed at two of its jutting posts and pulled, heaving forward to smash it with a headbutt.

The dummy preternaturally slipped free of his grasp and Spike slammed face first into the stone floor. He rose back to his feet, tasting blood and feeling the sting as the sweat pouring from his face dripped down over his split lip. He winced, more in frustration than pain, and spat a crimson blotch onto the floor.

“No need to waste food.” The pale, robed figure hanging casually from the ceiling looked down appraisingly at Spike. “But that was an improvement. I think you’ll have it in another few days.”

Spike grunted in the affirmative and reached for his water and towel, only to be interrupted by a clang and clatter from the stairs as Lou, the owner of the front restaurant above them descended with his armored bodyguard in tow. “I thought you was supposed to be sneaky? Whatta you slamming around for? Been almost four weeks now! Scarin’ away the cats so’s the rats have the runna the kitchen. I’m tryin’ to run a legitimate business here!”

“Master says it will only be a few more days,” Spike said. “Please try to be patient.”

“Patient?! I’ll show you patient you dumb thug.” Lou looked toward his bodyguard and jerked his chin toward Spike, but Spike was already hurtling through the air to tackle the restauranteur and wrestle him to the ground. His bodyguard moved to draw her sword, but Spike turned his head to meet her eye and she staggered back, wretching not from the sight of the trickle from the corner of Spike’s bloodied mouth into Lou’s screaming one, but seemingly from some other vision only she could see.

“That’s enough.” The upside-down face of the figure on the ceiling looked bored.

“Yes master,” Spike said, standing up and stepping back from Lou, who pushed himself to his feet, coughing and sputtering. “Sorry about that Lou, but we’re cool, right?”

Lou looked incredulous, but then slowly blinked twice, furrowed his brow in confusion, then broke into a grin. “Of course. Just do try to keep it down. Best of luck finishing with your training.”

“You’re the best, Lou. And hey, if you’re ever looking to add something new to your menu, I’ve got an old family recipe that’s all yours.”

Body BlowsAbility Scores32 Point Buy: 14 Str, 13 Dex, 10 Con, 13 Int, 15 Wis, 14 Cha
Increase Cha at 16th level, Str at all other opportunities.

Build Table

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

1st
Monk 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Climb 4, Tumble 4, Jump 4, Diplomacy 4
Improved Unarmed StrikeB, Stunning FistB, Improved Grapple, Darkstalker
Bonus Feat, Unarmed Strike, Decisive Strike

2nd
Monk 2
+1
+3
+3
+3
Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Climb 5, Tumble 5, Jump 5, Diplomacy 5
Combat ReflexesB
Bonus Feat, Evasion

3rd
Warblade 1
+2
+5
+3
+3
Hide 6cc, Move Silently 6cc, Climb 5 Tumble 6, Jump 6, Diplomacy 5
Pain Touch
Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude

4th
Warblade 2
+3
+6
+3
+3
Hide 7cc, Move Silently 7cc, Climb 5 Tumble 7, Jump 7, Diplomacy 5
-
Uncanny Dodge

5th
Warblade 3
+4
+6
+4
+4
Hide 8cc, Move Silently 8cc, Climb 5 Tumble 8, Jump 8, Diplomacy 5
-
-

6th
Warblade 4
+5
+7
+4
+4
Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Climb 5 Tumble 9, Jump 9, Diplomacy 6, Knowledge (Local) 3
Scorpion’s Grasp
-

7th
Warblade 5
+6
+7
+4
+4
Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Climb 5 Tumble 10, Jump 10, Diplomacy 8, Knowledge (Local) 3, Leaping Climber
Great FortitudeB
Bonus Feat

8th
Night Mask Deathbringer 1
+6
+7
+6
+4
Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Climb 5 Tumble 11, Jump 11, Diplomacy 8, Knowledge (Local) 3, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent
-
Creature of Darkness, Hesitating Stare 1/day, Light Sensitivity, Spider Climb

9th
Night Mask Deathbringer 2
+7
+7
+7
+4
Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Climb 5 Tumble 12, Jump 12, Diplomacy 9, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent
Snap Kick
Feral Senses (Low-light Vision)

10th
Night Mask Deathbringer 3
+8
+8
+7
+5
Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Climb 5 Tumble 13, Jump 13, Diplomacy 13, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab
-
Speak with Creatures of the Night, Ghost Step 1/day

11th
Night Mask Deathbringer 4
+9
+8
+8
+5
Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Climb 5 Tumble 14, Jump 14, Diplomacy 14, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 5, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab
-
Hesitating Stare 2/day, Lesser Blood Bond, Sneak Attack +1d6

12th
Night Mask Deathbringer 5
+9
+8
+8
+5
Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Climb 5 Tumble 15, Jump 15, Diplomacy 15, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 10, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab
Craven
Improved Evasion

13th
Night Mask Deathbringer 6
+10
+9
+9
+6
Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Climb 5 Tumble 16, Jump 16, Diplomacy 16, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 15, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab
-
Slippery Mind, Ghost Step 2/day

14th
Night Mask Deathbringer 7
+11
+9
+9
+6
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Climb 5 Tumble 17, Jump 17, Diplomacy 17, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 17, Spot 3, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab
-
Hesitating Stare 3/day, Feral Senses (Darkvision)

15th
Night Mask Deathbringer 8
+12
+9
+10
+6
Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Climb 5 Tumble 18, Jump 18, Diplomacy 18, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 18, Spot 7, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab
Irresistible Gaze
Sneak Attack +2d6

16th
Night Mask Deathbringer 9
+12
+10
+10
+7
Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Climb 5 Tumble 19, Jump 19, Diplomacy 19, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 19, Spot 11, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab
-
Ghost Step 3/day

17th
Night Mask Deathbringer 10
+13
+10
+11
+7
Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Climb 5 Tumble 20, Jump 20, Diplomacy 20, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 20, Spot 13, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab, Clarity of Vision
-
Hesitating Stare 4/day, Greater Blood Bond

18th
Warblade 6
+14
+11
+12
+8
Hide 21cc, Move Silently 21cc, Climb 5 Tumble 21, Jump 21, Diplomacy 20, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 20, Spot 13, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab, Clarity of Vision
Piercing Gaze
Improved Uncanny Dodge

19th
Warblade 7
+15
+11
+12
+8
Hide 22cc, Move Silently 22cc, Climb 5 Tumble 22, Jump 22, Diplomacy 20, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 20, Spot 13, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab, Clarity of Vision
-
Battle Cunning (Damage)

20th
Warblade 8
+16
+12
+12
+8
Hide 23cc, Move Silently 23cc, Climb 5 Tumble 23, Jump 23, Diplomacy 20, Knowledge (Local) 3, Balance 5, Forgery 20, Spot 13, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent, Acrobatic Backstab, Clarity of Vision
-
-

Maneuvers

Level
Maneuvers Readied
Maneuvers Known
Stances Known

3
3
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack
Hunter’s Sense

4
3
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer
Hunter’s Sense

5
3
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer, Wall of Blades
Hunter’s Sense

6
4
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer, Wall of Blades, White Raven Tactics
Hunter’s Sense, Tactics of the Wolf

7
4
Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer, Wall of Blades, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge
Hunter’s Sense, Tactics of the Wolf

18
4
Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack, Mountain Hammer, Wall of Blades, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Dancing Mongoose
Hunter’s Sense, Tactics of the Wolf

19
4
Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack, Wall of Blades, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Dancing Mongoose, Order Forged From Chaos
Hunter’s Sense, Tactics of the Wolf

20
4
Sudden Leap, Leading the Attack, Wall of Blades, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Dancing Mongoose, Order Forged From Chaos, Clarion Call
Hunter’s Sense, Tactics of the Wolf

Ground & PoundLevel 5Monk covers the SI’s Evasion requirement and nabs us some important feats, including its trademark discount on Stunning Fist, opening up Pain Touch at 3rd level forcing the opponent stunned by Stunning Fist to effectively lose another round after being stunned to the nearly as debilitating nauseated condition. Warblade covers another prereq in Uncanny Dodge, grants proficiency in a wider variety of reach weapons to threaten further away for double damage AoOs following a Decisive Strike, and nabs some useful maneuvers. Swift action movement from Sudden Leap helps to set up Decisive Strikes, Mountain Hammer breaks down mundane obstacles and high DR enemies, and Wall of Blades bolsters defense a bit especially in a compromising position like a grapple, which we can now enter more easily thanks to Scorpion’s Grasp.
Level 10By continuing to Warblade 5, we finish qualifying for the SI with Great Fortitude as a bonus feat. White Raven Tactics, Tactics of the Wolf, and Iron Heart Surge are all nice to have as well, to the point where we don’t really have to feel bad about missing out on higher-level maneuvers later on by putting so many Warblade levels early. Snap Kick and Decisive Strike are two great tastes that go great together, letting us double up on double damage attacks. Spider Climb is always nice to have and is particularly handy for us here. Having a Climb speed means that we can take 5-ft steps while climbing, and auto-succeed on the Climb check to do so. With the Leaping Climber skill trick, we can make a jump check as a swift action to start the 5-ft step and add the vertical jump distance to the climb (because it’s added to the climbed distance and not actually movement itself, this does not conflict with the ability to take a 5-ft step). Leaping Climber treats us as having a running start even when we don’t, so with a DC 20 check, we can increase the distance from 5 ft to 10 ft, meaning we’ll have succeeded on a Climb check to move at least 10 ft, and thus can use the Speedy Ascent skill trick for an extra 5. The upshot to all of this is that we can move up to 20 ft with only a swift action to set up Decisive Strike and no longer have to rely solely on Sudden Leap for swift movement. If we can get access to a Sparring Dummy of the Master (we are a Monk after all and don’t even need to trick it with UMD) so as to make our 5-ft steps into 10-ft steps, then this increases to potentially 25 ft, or we can trigger Speedy Ascent without necessarily needing Leaping Climber, freeing up the swift action for something else that round. Last but certainly not least, because Pain Touch only refers to “victims of a successful stunning attack,” and not to those stunned by Stunning Fist specifically, it also works on Hesitating Stare. Enemies stunned by our gaze will also be nauseated on the following round, effectively taking them out of the fight with an immediate action.
Level 15With Scorpion’s Grasp, Improved Grapple, and stunning/nausea to keep targets busy, we’ve got the grappling ability to pin the humanoids who are the only valid targets for Blood Bond, assuming they won’t just eat the red-velvet cupcakes we set out with a Forgery-produced note in their significant other’s handwriting. We also take advantage of having Sneak Attack to grab Craven, which is always a nice damage boost, but especially so for us, as flat bonuses, unlike extra dice, are multiplied by Decisive Strike. Ghost Step can be used to skulk into position, set up a Sneak Attack, grant concealment for defensive purposes in a grapple, or, since it lasts the whole round and unlike the Invisibility spell isn’t dismissed as a result of attacking, some combination thereof. Irresistible Gaze bumps the save DC of Hesitating Stare so that the Pain Touch trick is more likely to be effective.
Level 20Dominated ‘allies’ flank as well as anyone else, and can be leveraged further with White Raven maneuvers. We’re also now at the point where trivializing a DC 40 Tumble check to make a 10-ft step is within reach of more standard competence bonus gear if the Sparring Dummy of the Master wasn’t in the cards. Even without items it has a reasonable chance of succeeding and shouldn’t stop us making a regular 5-ft step, so there’s always Leaping Climber to fall back on if we need to hit the Speedy Ascent threshold. On rounds where moving in to make a Decisive Strike does not require a swift action, we now have Dancing Mongoose for an extra double damage attack or two (if we’re holding a weapon, and what else were we doing with our hands, really?). For enemies that are a bit further away, Piercing Gaze increases the range of Hesitating Stare to 60 ft.

Presented by Monster EnergyArms & Equipment Guide: Sparring Dummy of the Master
Champions of Ruin: Craven, Night Mask Deathbringer
Complete Scoundrel: Acrobatic Backstab, Clarity of Vision, Leaping Climber, Speedy Ascent
Complete Warrior: Pain Touch
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Oriental Adventures: DC 40 Tumble check to take a 10-ft step
Player’s Handbook II: Decisive Strike
Sandstorm: Scorpion’s Grasp
Serpent Kingdoms: Irresistible Gaze, Piercing Gaze
Tome of Battle: Snap Kick, Warblade, Maneuvers
Everything else is in the SRD.

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:20 AM

"Try the wine!"

The Cook
real name unknown
The grand banquet at the summer palace had concluded, and the three kings had been left alone by their sycophants to discuss matters in private. Not that there was much to discuss. The lands governed by the kings had known peace and prosperity for generations, and they were good friends.
“Well, my fellow monarchs, this has been a truly fantastic banquet.” One king spoke.
“Indeed. This cook was recommended to me by one of my dukes, and he’s done a truly fantastic job, it has to be said.” The second king agreed.
“And a truly charming fellow as well. My own head chef is a pretentious fellow that tends to look down on everyone not as accomplished in the cooking arts as he is, but this fellow was only too happy to explain the nuances of his various dishes to me.” The third king added.
“It seems we’re all in agreement. I’ve asked the cook to join us here so we can give him our compliments.” The second king spoke again.
A moment later the cook entered the room. And approached the three kings of the most peaceful countries in the worlds. “So… what would you all think of starting a little war.” The cook said, a massive grin on his face.
The three kings could only nod in agreement to that suggestion.

Stub: CE human rogue 4/marshal 1/spymaster 1/night mask deathbringer 10/spymaster+4
Ability scores

Base
Racial
Level 4
Level 8
Level 12
Level 16
Level 20
total

STR
8
-
-
-
-
-
-
8

DEX
16
-
-
-
-
-
-
16

CON
11
-
-
-
-
-
-
11

INT
12
-
-
-
-
-
-
12

WIS
10
-
-
-
-
-
-
10

CHA
17
-
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
22

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

1
rogue 1
0
0
2
0
bluff 4, diplomacy 4, disguise 4, forgery 4, gather information 4, sense motive 4, hide 4, move silently 4, knowledge(local) 4, profession(cook) 4
able learner, skill focus(bluff)
sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding

2
rogue 2
1
0
3
0
bluff 5, diplomacy 5, disguise 5, forgery 5, gather information 5, sense motive 5, hide 5, move silently 5, knowledge(local) 5, profession(cook) 5

evasion

3
rogue 3
2
1
3
1
bluff 6, diplomacy 6, disguise 6, forgery 6, gather information 6, sense motive 6, hide 6, move silently 6, knowledge(local) 6, profession(cook) 6
weapon finesse
sneak attack +2d6, penetrating strike

4
rogue 4
3
1
4
1
bluff 7, diplomacy 7, disguise 7, forgery 7, gather information 7, sense motive 7, hide 7, move silently 7, knowledge(local) 7, profession(cook) 7

uncanny dodge

5
marshal 1
3
3
4
3
bluff 8, diplomacy 8, disguise 8, forgery 8, gather information 8, sense motive 8, hide 7, move silently 7, knowledge(local) 7, profession(cook) 7
skill focus (diplomacy) (bonus)
minor aura (motivate charisma)

6
spymaster 1
3
3
6
3
bluff 9, diplomacy 8, disguise 9, forgery 9, gather information 8, sense motive 8, hide 9, move silently 9, knowledge(local) 8, profession(cook) 9
great fortitude
cover identity, undetectable alignment

7
night mask deathbringer 1
3
3
8
3
bluff 10, diplomacy 10, disguise 10, forgery 10, gather information 9, sense motive 9, hide 10, move silently 10, knowledge(local) 8, profession(cook) 10

creature of darkness, hesitating stare 1/day, light sensitivity, spider climb

8
night mask deathbringer 2
4
3
9
3
bluff 11, diplomacy 11, disguise 11, forgery 11, gather information 11, sense motive 10, hide 11, move silently 11, knowledge(local) 8, profession(cook) 11

feral senses (low-light vision)

9
night mask deathbringer 3
5
4
9
4
bluff 12, diplomacy 12, disguise 12, forgery 12, gather information 12, sense motive 12, hide 12, move silently 12, knowledge(local) 8, profession(cook) 12
darkstalker
speak with creatures of the night, ghost step 1/day

10
night mask deathbringer 4
6
4
10
4
bluff 13, diplomacy 13, disguise 13, forgery 13, gather information 13, sense motive 13, hide 13, move silently 13, knowledge(local) 9, profession(cook) 13

hesitating stare 2/day, lesser blood bond, sneak attack +3d6

11
night mask deathbringer 5
6
4
10
4
bluff 14, diplomacy 14, disguise 14, forgery 14, gather information 14, sense motive 14, hide 14, move silently 14, knowledge(local) 10, profession(cook) 14

improved evasion

12
night mask deathbringer 6
7
5
11
5
bluff 15, diplomacy 15, disguise 15, forgery 15, gather information 15, sense motive 15, hide 15, move silently 15, knowledge(local) 11, profession(cook) 15
craven
slippery mind, ghost step 2/day

13
night mask deathbringer 7
8
5
11
5
bluff 16, diplomacy 16, disguise 16, forgery 16, gather information 16, sense motive 16, hide 16, move silently 16, knowledge(local) 12, profession(cook) 16

hesitating stare 3/day, feral senses (darkvision)

14
night mask deathbringer 8
9
5
12
5
bluff 17, diplomacy 17, disguise 17, forgery 17, gather information 17, sense motive 17, hide 17, move silently 17, knowledge(local) 13, profession(cook) 17

sneak attack +4d6

15
night mask deathbringer 9
9
6
12
6
bluff 18, diplomacy 18, disguise 18, forgery 18, gather information 18, sense motive 18, hide 18, move silently 18, knowledge(local) 14, profession(cook) 18
master manipulator
ghost step 3/day

16
night mask deathbringer 10
10
6
13
6
bluff 19, diplomacy 19, disguise 19, forgery 19, gather information 19, sense motive 19, hide 19, move silently 19, knowledge(local) 15, profession(cook) 19

hesitating stare 4/day, greater blood bond

17
spymaster 2
11
6
14
6
bluff 20, diplomacy 20, disguise 20, forgery 20, gather information 20, sense motive 20, hide 20, move silently 20, knowledge(local) 16, profession(cook) 20

quick change, scrying defense

18
spymaster 3
12
7
14
7
bluff 21, diplomacy 21, disguise 21, forgery 21, gather information 21, sense motive 21, hide 21, move silently 21, knowledge(local) 17, profession(cook) 21
fade into violence
magic aura, sneak attack +5d6

19
spymaster 4
13
7
15
7
bluff 22, diplomacy 22, disguise 22, forgery 22, gather information 22, sense motive 22, hide 22, move silently 22, knowledge(local) 18, profession(cook) 22

cover identity, slippery mind

20
spymaster 5
13
7
15
7
bluff 23, diplomacy 23, disguise 23, forgery 23, gather information 23, sense motive 23, hide 23, move silently 23, knowledge(local) 19, profession(cook) 23

dispel scrying

level 5
four levels in rogue and one in marshal for that sweet motivate charisma aura make the cook an accomplished smooth talker and decent sneak. He's not horrible in combat either, but the builds focus so far is very much on being a skill monkey. Most feats so far are spend on prerequisites for prestige classes, as well as feat taxes like weapon finesse.

The ranks in profession(cook) are only for flavor at this point.

level 10
Its in these levels that the build starts coming together. One level in spymaster gives su access to the cover identity feature, which allows the cook to easily discard and pick up new identities as the situation necessitates it. Undetectable alignment is also pretty useful for keeping his identity secret in those settings where the Evil tag brings out a 'kill on sight' response.

The abilities provided by the first three levels of the ingredient are a mixed bag. Creature of darkness is a bit annoying, but as long as you're not working with living animals a lot (and you shouldn't) it shouldn't be an issue. Light sensitivity can be dealt with simply by staying indoors during the day, and as a good cook should be working during the day, that's hardly a problem.

Hesitating stare can be a nice panic button, though you don't get enough uses to really rely on it for anything else. Spider climb, feral senses, speak with creatures of the night and ghost step can all be used for spying and getting around easily, which is nice.

However, the main trick of this build comes at level 10, when lesser blood bond unlocks. The ability specifically says that the blood can be administered by hiding it in food or drink, and this character is an excellent cook with the ability to talk and bluff himself into the kitchens of the mighty. Nothing else you're going to get (not even the greater bloodbond) is going to top this ability. Between your social skills and the marshall aura giving you double charisma to those opposed charisma checks invoked in the charm person spell you should be able tog et a lot done once you've got the right people charmed. Charm person says that the charmed person won't do anything harmful or suicidal, but that they can be convinced something dangerous is worth it, so this is the time to use those bluff and diplomacy skills.

level 15
Over the next 5 levels, you just get more of what you already had. The master manipulator feat gives some small extra tricks to diplomacy, but that's about all that's worth mentioning.

level 20
greater bloodbond comes online at level 10, but its less useful than the lesser one in most cases, as it's fairly easy to tell that someone has been dominated. Still, if you need to stage an assassination or other incident, it can come in handy.

The extra levels in spymaster give us a second cover identity, as well as some minor boons that make it easier to get around unnoticed.

fade into violence is another funny little feat. By this time you should have been given some burly bodyguards by whatever person is currently being charmed by you, so you can use it to slip out of fights without much trouble.

In combat, the cook sin't particularly good (and pretty frail), but thanks to craven any sneak attacks should still do respectable damage. The cook should also be a pretty good assassin, as with the blood bonds it shouldn't be that much of a problem to get a target helpless for a coup-de-grace with sufficient preparation.

HP=6+18d6+1d8 (average 73)
charisma check bonus=+12
bluff bonus=+32 (+34 when in a cover identity)
diplomacy bonus=+32
disguise=+29 (+33 in cover identity)
gather information=+29 (+31 in cover identity)

PHB rogue, skill focus, weapon finesse
dungeonscape penetrating strike rogue ACF
complete adventurer spymaster, open minded
miniatures handbook marshal
PHB2 fade into violence, master manipulator
lords of madness darkstalker
champions of ruin craven

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:24 AM

That's one wicked loogie.

Thou Shalt Love The Tentacle
Ciliren, the CE Voidmind Killoren Barbarian 2 / Psion 2 / Rogue 2 / Night Mask Deathbringer 10 / Marshal 1

Str 14 -> 18
Dex 10 -> 12
Con 14 -> 16
Int 10 -> 12
Wis 8 -> 8
Cha 18 -> 20
Adjusted for the Voidmind template and 4 points to CHA from HD

A story of questionable ponytails and melancholy rocks.

“Gesundheit,” the paladin offered after a moment of stunned silence. Several of his party were still somewhat taken aback by the violence of the sneeze which had just erupted from their new acquaintance… and over themselves. Luckily breakfast had not been served yet and the offender vanished back into the kitchen with embarrassed accusations towards pollen and bright red cheeks.

They’d chanced upon the charming fey Ciliren on their way into Westgate the night before and had saved her from a marauding band of vampires no doubt eager to sample the girl’s exotic blood. Weary from their travels and longing for rest, the party had accepted Ciliren’s offer of thanks and had spent the night at the inn where she worked.

As Ciliren fetched their food the party leaned in to the center of their table and began to deliberate in hushed voices. The wizard was convinced that it was not a sneeze which had just accosted them, but an attack and pointed urgently to the globs of slime eating away at his cloak. But this was nonsense and the Paladin said as much, after all had their battle not proven that Ciliren was a trusted friend and ally? Certainly this unfounded paranoia was simply a byproduct of the dour mood their party had noticed since waking up. Clearly something evil truly was afoot here in Westgate and needed rooting out and they should not dishonor themselves by allowing these negative emotions color their relationship with this new friend. Besides, a magical affliction of some sort wouldn’t be the strangest thing they’d dealt with and certainly couldn’t be blamed upon the girl.

When Ciliren finally returned with platters piled high with food and plenty of drink the party was glad to finally dig in. Perhaps filling their bellies with the freshly cooked eggs and bacon would lift their spirits. They were all glad for the warning that Ciliren had given them about the iron content in the local water because the taste was slightly off putting. Nevertheless, the paladin was relieved to notice that when Ciliren had finished her duties and came to join him and his companions at the table, his friends seemed glad for her company. In no time it appeared that she was a natural member of their group and even proposed an interesting lead in their quest to rid Westgate of the shadowy vampires rumored to rule from the dark. The dark mood from earlier had all but vanished in the presence of their newest party member. They would set out in the evening after Ciliren had finished her work at the inn, and the sun had gone down.

Valindra

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

1st
Fox Spirit Totem UA Variant Barbarian 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Craft (Poison) 4
Charming the Arrow
Illiteracy, Fox's +4 bonus to Hide and Move Silently, Favored Enemy: Aberration

2nd
Shaper Psion 1
+1
+2
+0
+2
Craft (Poison) 5, Knowledge Nature 3
Psicrystal: Nimble, Bind Vestige
Discipline: Shaper, Psicrystal Affinity

3rd
UA Variant Barbarian 2
+2
+3
+0
+2
Craft (Poison) 6, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3
Linked Power, Psicrystal: Improved Bind Vestige
Uncanny Dodge, Archery Combat Style: Rapid Shot

4th
Psion 2
+3
+3
+0
+3
Craft (Poison) 7, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3
CHA+1
-

5th
Voidmind Template
+3
+3
+0
+3
Craft (Poison) 7, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3
+4 Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/magic, Spell Resistance 10+HD
Sentient Tentacle with improved Grab and Constrict, Cone of Slime

6th
Voidmind Template
+3
+3
+0
+3
Craft (Poison) 7, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3
Mind Flayer Host, STR +4, DEX +2, CON +4, INT +2, CHA -2
Immunities to acid, mind-affecting spells and abilities, ability damage/drain, and energy drain

7th
Voidmind Template
+3
+3
+0
+3
Craft (Poison) 7, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3
+4 Racial bonus on Bluff, Escape Artist, and Intimidate checks
Alertness, Combat Reflexes, and Great Fortitude

8th
UA Variant Rogue 1
+3
+3
+2
+3
Craft (Poison) 7, Handle Animal 3, Hide 4, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 4
-
Improved Unarmed Strike, Poison Use

9th
UA Variant Rogue 2
+4
+3
+3
+3
Craft (Poison) 7, Handle Animal 3, Hide 8, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 8
Darkstalker, Psicrystal: Fey Herritage
Improved Grapple, Evasion

10th
Night Mask Deathbringer 1
+4
+3
+5
+3
Craft (Poison) 10, Handle Animal 3, Hide 10, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 10, Slight of Hand 1
-
Creature of Darkness, Hesitating Stare 1/Day, Light Sensitivity, Spider Climb

11th
Night Mask Deathbringer 2
+5
+3
+6
+3
Craft (Poison) 11, Handle Animal 3, Hide 11, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 11, Slight of Hand 6
CHA+1
Feral Senses (Low-Light Vision)

12th
Night Mask Deathbringer 3
+6
+4
+6
+4
Craft (Poison) 12, Handle Animal 3, Hide 12, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 12, Slight of Hand 11
Charmed Life, Psicrystal: Fey Legacy
Speak with Creatures of the Night, Ghost Step 1/Day

13th
Night Mask Deathbringer 4
+7
+4
+7
+4
Bluff 3, Craft (Poison) 13, Handle Animal 3, Hide 13, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 13, Slight of Hand 13
-
Hesitating Stare 2/Day, Lesser Blood Bond, Sneak Attack +1d6

14th
Night Mask Deathbringer 5
+7
+4
+7
+4
Bluff 7, Craft (Poison) 14, Handle Animal 3, Hide 14, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 14, Slight of Hand 14
-
Improved Evasion

15th
Marshal 1
+7
+6
+7
+6
Bluff 11, Craft (Poison) 14, Handle Animal 3, Hide 14, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 14, Slight of Hand 14
Empower Supernatural Ability: Cone of Slime, CHA+1, Psicrystal: Martial Study Douse the Flames
Minor Aura: Motivate Dexterity, Skill Focus: Diplomacy

16th
Night Mask Deathbringer 6
+8
+7
+8
+7
Bluff 11, Craft (Poison) 16, Handle Animal 3, Hide 16, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 16, Slight of Hand 16
-
Slippery Mind, Ghost Step 2/Day

17th
Night Mask Deathbringer 7
+9
+7
+8
+7
Bluff 15, Craft (Poison) 17, Handle Animal 3, Hide 17, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 17, Slight of Hand 17
-
Hesitating Stare 3/Day, Feral Senses (Dark Vision)

18th
Night Mask Deathbringer 8
+10
+7
+9
+7
Bluff 18, Craft (Poison) 18, Disguise 1, Handle Animal 3, Hide 18, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 18, Slight of Hand 18
Venemous Strike, Martial Study White Raven Tactics
Sneak Attack +2d6

19th
Night Mask Deathbringer 9
+10
+8
+9
+8
Bluff 19, Craft (Poison) 19, Disguise 4, Handle Animal 3, Hide 19, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 19, Slight of Hand 19
CHA+1
Ghost Step 3/Day

20th
Night Mask Deathbringer 10
+11
+8
+10
+8
Bluff 20, Craft (Poison) 20, Disguise 7, Handle Animal 3, Hide 20, Knowledge Local 3 Nature 3, Move Silently 20, Slight of Hand 20
-
Hesitating Stare 4/Day, Greater Blood Bond

* The arrangement of Voidmind benefits are not meant to suggest that the template is taken in any sort of progression, only to be easier to read and organize. *

Psion 1: 2 points plus bonus, learns Synchronicity, Minor Creation, and Astral Construct
Psion 2: 6 points plus bonus, learns Entangling Ectoplasm and Psionic Grease

At 4th level this lovely green plant maiden possesses enough strength and charisma to perform well with a composite longbow, especially as she only missed out on 1 point of BAB. The Killoren ability Manifest Nature's Might is especially helpful for preparing, tracking, and killing the aberrations which invade her forest with Aspect of the Ancient, Hunter, and Destroyer respectively. Aspect of the Destroyer especially pairs well with Charming the Arrow for high attack rolls. Ciliren's pet rock normally binds Karsus for free perpetual detect magic and the initiative boost is always helpful. Getting free poison from Minor Psionic Creation is nice to pair with Rapid Shot and the additional actions from Linked Synchronicity.

Lots of changes between ECL 5 and 10. Our heroine was lobotomized and got her first taste of the SI (literally haha ha). Barbarian, Rogue, and Voidmind let us qualify for the SI and Ciliren is almost done dipping now. Her sentient tentacle is able to grapple with disregard for the character's other actions and at a +8 bonus from Imp. Grab and Imp. Grapple. Empowering Cone of Slime puts out more damage and more stunning for enemies with bad fort saves or who happen to be standing next to the psicrystal which is binding Focalor at this point for Aura of Sadness. Unfortunately, besides finally being able to poison every arrow without fear of hurting herself, ECL 10 is definitely a low point for Ciliren.

5 more levels and precious HD allow this character to really utilize the weird and wacky abilities she's accrued with synergy. Since she's still Fey and had to take Great Fortitude anyways she qualifies for Charmed Life. Sneak attack from the SI lets her use craven to try to catch up in damage as she continues to use her abundance of poison and linked synchronicity to sneak around (and Ghost Step) behind the front line and force saves which are hopefully hampered by the sad pet rock scuttling around underneath her foes. The rock itself gets several handy SLAs from Fey Legacy, and all of Ciliren's Blood Bonded friends had a good shot at going first with their own poisoned weapons due to her Motivate Dexterity Aura that she picked up from Marshall. If people really don't want to be her friend then her tentacle can always hold them down while Ciliren slimes them and her rock makes them sad which nearly negates the bonus the target receives for being threatened/attacked. And of course anyone that became helpless due to eventually failing a save against poison is going to get a few drops in the mouth and auto fail against the Blood Bond.

In all honesty there are only a few notable benefits from the last 5 levels. Venomous strike makes poison a tiny bit better and White Raven Tactics continues to make the psicrystal a valued member of the team. Ciliren hit BAB +11 just in time to finish the build and Greater Blood Bond benefits from all the same shenanigans used earlier to reduce saves or make targets helpless.

Worn items that boost CHA and DEX, help Ciliren to be sneaky
Gloves of Titan’s Grip or other grapple check booster
Weapons that help deliver poison: Assassination, Virulent, Toxic, etc.

PHB: Lots
Champions of Ruin: SI, Craven
Complete Champion: Spirit Totem ACF
Complete Mage: Fey Heritage Line
Complete Psionic: Powers and Feats
Drow of the Underdark: Rogue ACF, Venemous Strike
Expanded Psionics Handbook: Psion, Psionic Feats
Fey Feature: Life in a Noble House (WEB): Charming the Arrow, Charmed Life
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Miniatures Handbook: Marshal
Monster Manual III: Voidmind Template
Races of the Wild: Killoren
Tome of Battle: Martial Study and Maneuvers
Tome of Magic: Bind Vestige, Empower Supernatural Ability
Unearthed Arcana: Barbarian ACF, Rogue AFC

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:27 AM

You haven't arrived until you're in at least 2 shadowy organizations.

Malik Abn Alzilu

Race: Human of Netherese descent (home region Anauroch, Bedine raised by the Zhentarim)
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Class Levels: Feat Rogue 2/Paladin of Tyranny 3/ Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Cultist of the shattered peak 5
Languages: Common, Loross
HP: 8+1d6+2+3d10+6+10d6+20+5d6+10

Attributes

Base
Class Level Advancement
Final

Strength
8
-
8

Dexterity
14
-
14

Constitution
14
-
14

Intelligence
13
-
13

Wisdom
10
-
10

Charisma
17
+5
22

Phultan Hammerwand was seated in a lush red velvet chair. His fingers ran across a marble table placed between him and his fellow night mistress Dhalia Vhammos. The duke of whispers as Phultan Hammerwand was referred to was eager to hear what brought the duchess of venom into his chambers. After some flattering and discussig some of the finer points of westgate politics Dhalia Vhammos finally spilled the beans: „I hear you acquired a man of many talents named Malik Abn Alzilu.“ Phultan Hammerwand sipped a dip red wine. He needed to muse over this blunt approach by the duchess of venom. „True and as I expect you to know he can hear you. “ Dhalia Vhammos smirked. „I assumed so. Tell me about him. Direct order from Orbakh.“ That was more than enough reason for her bluntness. Phultan Hammerwand knew in that moment that this was not a negotiation. It was a mere formality. Orbakh had decided the Malik Abn Alzilu would be trained as an assassin from now on. His days as Phultan’s messenger/spy/healer/right hand man were over. Phultan spoke quietly and fast: „Malik hails from Anauroch. Probably Bedine blood but neither he nor anyone else can tell for sure. The Zhentarim found him orphaned after an attack in his village. Took him in. Another slave for them. First all he did was running errands but soon Malik worked as a hidden messenger between the Zhentarim Garrisons in Anauroch because he was very talented at getting not cought and wringle himself out of pickles. His talents were honed and a Zhentarim merchant brought him to Westgate. The Zhentarim merchant had business with me and I was interested in his new servant. He told me he used him as a taster and Malik survived three poison attempts against the merchant, which is unfortunate because I was responsible for one of them. I discovered that he was not only absolutely loyal to any authority but also had extremely useful talents. He is very hard to see or hear. He can pinpoint incorruptible guards and possible traitors just by looking at them. He can heal undead like you and me and he is never sick. I decided to buy him and test his skills. I used him primary as a messenger and occasionally as a thief. I taught him the basics of our guild. He is quite apt at making people drop their weapons thanks to his gaze. Very handy when you get attacked. Oh, and he likes to cook. “ Phultan seemed to have finished his story. Dhalia Vhammos chuckled. „A cook you say. Thanks for sparing me to ask for details and simply including them right away. Malik, step out of the shadow and present yourself to your new night mistress. “Close to Phultan Hammerwand a human of average height and weight stepped out of the shadow. Dhalia did not even look at him but kept eye contact with Phultan Hammerwand. „Phultan didn’t talk about your skills in arms. Do you know how to wield a sword? “ Dhalia Vhamos asked still locking eyes with Phultan Hammerwand. „Yes. The Zhentarim taught me. “ Dhalia paused. „How would you like to be my cook? “ Dhalia said with a wide grin and now looking directly at Malik. Malik gasped. It was the first time Phultan had heard him gasping. „Cook? As in preparing meals? For you? “ The words fell out of Maliks mouth in a way Phultan had never heard before. Seemed like Malik really loved cooking. „Oh, yes my dear. For me and my guests. I want you to make them meals they will not forget. Once in a while we will spice things up a bit but for the most part you will be just my cook and all the things you did for Phultan on top of that.“ Phultan stood up and placed a hand on Malik’s shoulder. „Our master has commanded so. Go Malik. Go and make some temporary friends for our guild. “„Or kill some enemies “, Dhalia added.

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

1st
Martial Rogue
+0
+0
+2
+0
Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Bluff 4, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 4, Disguise 4, Spot 4, Listen 4, Search 4, Disable Device 4
Shape Soulmeld (Impulse Boots) [Uncanny Dodge]; Fiendish Heritage
Trapfinding; Bonus Feat: Weapon Finesse

2nd
Martial Rogue
+1
+0
+3
+0
Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Bluff 5, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 5, Disguise 5, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 1
-
Evasion

3rd
Paladin of Tyranny
+2
+2
+3
+0
Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Bluff 5, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 5, Disguise 5, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 1
Great Fortitude
Aura of evil, detect good, smite good 1/day

4th
Paladin of Tyranny
+3
+3
+3
+0
Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Bluff 5, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 5, Disguise 5, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 1
-
Divine grace, deadly touch

5th
Paladin of Tyranny
+4
+3
+4
+1
Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Bluff 5, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 5, Disguise 5, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 1
-
Aura of despair,divine health

6th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+4
+3
+6
+1
Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Bluff 7, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 5, Disguise 7, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 3
Dark Stalker
Creature of darkness, hesitating stare 1/day, light sensitivity, spider climb

7th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+5
+3
+7
+1
Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Bluff 9, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 6, Disguise 9, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 1
-
Feral senses (low-light vision)

8th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+6
+4
+7
+2
Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Bluff 11, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 8, Disguise 11, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 2
-
Speak with creatures of the night, ghost step 1/day

9th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+7
+4
+8
+2
Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Bluff 12, Profession (Cook) 1, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 10, Disguise 12, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
Fiendish Legacy
Hesitating stare 2/day, lesser blood bond, sneak attack +1d6

10th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+7
+4
+8
+2
Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Bluff 13, Profession (Cook) 4, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 13, Disguise 13, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Improved evasion

11th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+8
+5
+9
+3
Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Bluff 14, Profession (Cook) 9, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 14, Disguise 14, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Slippery mind, ghost step 2/day

12th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+9
+5
+9
+3
Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Bluff 15, Profession (Cook) 14, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 15, Disguise 15, Spot 5, Listen 5, Search 5, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
Craven
Hesitating stare 3/day, feral senses (darkvision)

13th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+10
+5
+10
+3
Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Bluff 16, Profession (Cook) 16, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 16, Disguise 16, Spot 6, Listen 6, Search 6, Disable Device 5, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Sneak attack +1d6

14th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+10
+6
+10
+4
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Bluff 17, Profession (Cook) 17, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 17, Disguise 17, Spot 7, Listen 7, Search 7, Disable Device 6, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Ghost step 3/day

15th
Night Mask Deathbringer
+11
+6
+11
+4
Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Bluff 18, Profession (Cook) 18, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 18, Disguise 18, Spot 8, Listen 8, Search 8, Disable Device 7, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
Martial Study (Wall of Blades)
Hesitating stare 4/day, greater blood bond

16th
Cultist of the Shattered Peak
+11
+6
+13
+6
Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Bluff 19, Profession (Cook) 19, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 19, Disguise 19, Spot 9, Listen 9, Search 8, Disable Device 7, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Ominous presence, zeal

17th
Cultist of the Shattered Peak
+12
+6
+14
+7
Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Bluff 20, Profession (Cook) 20, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 20, Disguise 20, Spot 10, Listen 10, Search 8, Disable Device 7, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Sneak attack +1d6

18th
Cultist of the Shattered Peak
+13
+7
+14
+7
Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Bluff 21, Profession (Cook) 21, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 21, Disguise 21, Spot 11, Listen 11, Search 8, Disable Device 7, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
Martial Study (Shadow Stride)
Smite mage

19th
Cultist of the Shattered Peak
+14
+7
+15
+8
Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Bluff 22, Profession (Cook) 22, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 22, Disguise 22, Spot 12, Listen 12, Search 8, Disable Device 7, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Sneak attack +1d6

20th
Cultist of the Shattered Peakl
+14
+7
+15
+8
Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Bluff 23, Profession (Cook) 23, Knowledge (local) 3, Use Magic Device 23, Disguise 23, Spot 13, Listen 13, Search 8, Disable Device 7, Decipher Script 4, Knowledge (history) 4
-
Death attack

All abjuration and enchantment spells of the sorcerer/wizard list are known.

Abbreviated list for picking relevant spells (without a save):
1: Hold portal, Protection from x, Shield
2: Touch of Idiocy, Resist Energy
3: Anticipate Teleportation, Magic Circle against X, Explosive runes (for fun) - can only be cast at level 20 if Int is raised to 16 via magic items/wishes

My premise for this build was that Night Mask Deathbringer is such a bad class that I want to avoid overshadowing the class with more powerful classes. This means in a way I am actively trying to not optimize which sounds weird in a contest named optimization challenge. Maybe this way is the best way to put it is this build is a functioning example of a roleplay heavy build.
Some things I ruled out:

no poison use. A cook that poisons her targets? Way to obvious. Who would suspect a cook to mingle some drops of blood in the meals and make their employer their friend/puppet.
No casting class until the very high levels (15+).
No ToB class.
No Eberron material.

What did I want to build: a sneaky fast talking con man. Someone who could hide under your nose for years and then strike. Not necessarily an assassin but also a thief or spy who does not rely on his speed but his tongue and cunning.

Level 1-5
The first two levels of Rogue serve to pick up evasion and to make use of the vast skill points available to a Night Mask Deathbringer later. For uncanny dodge I went with shape soulmeld and I hope judges don’t mind that Night Mask Deathbringer is worded in this weird way: „Special: Evasion and uncanny dodge class features.“ I tried fiddling in uncanny dodge as a class feature (one try was Commoner1/Survivor2) but in the end the smoothest build was picking it up via shape soulmeld.
I decided early that I didn’t want a combat-oriented rogue but settled for weapon finesse to be at least able to wield a weapon somewhat properly. I wanted the social chameleon thief type (with max hide, move silently, bluff, disguise and umd) and I think that Night Mask Deathbringer has a strong Charisma theme. The abilities are based on Charisma and they need high values therein else the saves are to low to matter. So picking up 3 levels of Paladin of Tyranny fixed 2 problems I had with the build: saves get a boost as soon as level 4. Especially the Willpower save is very low until then and Aura of despair makes all future save or sucks (stunned, charmed, dominated) way more dangerous. The price of this is obviously the skill points that are lost but the progression I pictured in the table works out for me.
Great fortitude is combined with fiendish heritage for some poison resistance stacking. Surely something nice to have for any character at home in the dark alleys of towns.
A weapon enchant that may already be affordable (2000 GP), is hidden in the DMG II: sudden stunning: as a swift action force a Reflex(!) save against 10+1/2 level+ CHA bonus or be stunned for 1d4+1 rounds. Usable CHA Bonus times per day. That is amazing.

Level 6-10
First level of Night Mask Deathbringer grants hesitating stare once per day. Which I think is of course possible to be used in combat but Malik primary way of using it is for stealing anything held by someone that he needs. Let’s assume someone is holding a precious weapon or wand: get close to target with hide and dark stalker thereby get the malus of aura of despair on the save, use hesitating stare and if successful your target drops the precious weapon/wand. Pick it up and bolt with either spider climb and hide/dark stalker or simply teleport away after picking up Fiendish Legacy at level 9 in one round. Dark Stalker is always a must have in any hide/move silently build and therefor is picked up at 6. Because Malik is human feral senses actually does something for him. Not sure why it is necessary to give Night Mask Deathbringer two flaws disguised as class feature but they are at least somewhat thematic and possible reasons for hilarious bluff checks (that animal hates me cause I know how to turn them in the most delicious stew you ever tasted).
At level 9 lesser blood bond is of course the main reason to pick up the SI in the first place. The profession (cook) skill was one of the first things i forced myself to use. I would have liked to have more ranks at level 9 but I wanted Malik to be more of a capable rogue early on. Also at level 9 the first sneak attack die would unlock Craven but I think fiendish legacy is more powerful and useful to the build at level 9. Use the summon monster V to occupy guards or pursuer. Unholy Blight is okay. I am not a big fan but in a build with such limited powerful options: yeah it's free and CHA based. I am sure it will come in handy from time to time. At level 8 Malik's skills start to smooth out and finally at level 10 the ranks in profession (cook) pile up to really shine behind the stove. If your group allows glibness, get a wand of it. It may be worth it to blow charges with failed UMD checks, to get away with some REALLY incredible lies. Other than that I would invest in a ring of freedom of movement.

Level 11-15
Usually Slippery mind isn’t a thing I would talk about at all. It is just nice to have but, in a guild, run by vampires with a rather low save around +7 (depending on stat-boost items for charisma and/or wisdom) this is actually pretty useful. At level 12 the Craven feat means we finally will very likely kill with a Coup de Grace or get decent damage with a full attack while using ghost step and it is very much akin to the thinking process of Malik. Bravery is usually stupidity. Malik’s BAB is ahead of a usual rogue progression thanks to the 3 levels in paladin of tyranny. That was not really the focus of that splash but it is nice to have a third iterative attack at level 15. Also at around level 12-13 UMD is high enough to reliable activate any wand. I would suggest getting a weapon with a wand chamber. A wand of bestow curse (-6 to wisdom) could be very useful when trying to activate blood bonds or hesitating stares. I could probably stop putting ranks into UMD as soon as Malik has +19 but I like my UMD high enough to be able to activate artifacts too, not only wands.

Level 16-20
Why cultist of the shattered peak? First I need a class that has a rogue theme (6+Int skill ranks). Then I need casting even though it is Intelligence based it should be sufficient to get some more tricks into the arsenal. I am a fan of hold portal as a utility sneak option. Protection from X can help friends in a pickle against a mind affecting spell. Touch of Idiocy has surprised me more than once in actual play. This thing can wreck casters and is a very nice option to have. Feats are spent on Martial Study and I chose Wall of Blades and Shadow Stride. Wall of Blades is one of my favorite maneuvers because i can choose to activate the counter after the gm tells me the result of the attack roll. Shadow Stride is just a nice mobility tool. More sneak attack and smite mage add to the offensive arsenal of Malik.

Sources:
Feat Rogue, Paladin of Tyranny: Unearthed Arcana
Shape Soulmeld: Magic of Incarnum
Fiendish Heritage, Fiendish Legacy: Complete Mage
Dark stalker: Lords of Madness
Craven: Champions of Ruin
Martial Study, Wall of Blades, Shadow Stride: Tome of Battle
Cultist of the Shattered Peak: Lost Empires of Faerun

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:33 AM

Never smile at a crocodile. Actually, best to avoid this one altogether.

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zTY-UGMkg9c/Uj4i82DzOII/AAAAAAAAGts/vTedRra1rI0/s320/fayum.jpg
Sang Buaya, the Weeping Crocodile
Diabolus Divine Minion of Sebek (Neutral Evil)
Bardic Sage 3/Binder 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Fiend of Corruption 2

Father Llymic, soon I come
To your icy tomb.
I feel your essence beat and thrum,
I feel your presence loom.

Too long the sun’s bright shining
Beat against my eyes.
Too long was I sent covering
Beneath the river’s guise.

Father Llymic, I implore,
Strike the sun away.
Let it be night forevermore;
I’ve seen enough of day!

Oh yes, you can snuff this light,
Once you become free,
So I shall wear this mask of night
And give my life to thee!

--Ode to Father Llymic, by Sang Buaya, the Weeping Crocodile

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

1st
Bardic Sage 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks, knowledge (local) 3 ranks, knowledge (nobility & royalty) 4 ranks, bluff 4 ranks, diplomacy 4 ranks, hide 4 ranks, move silently 4 ranks, perform (poetics) 4 ranks, sense motive 1 rank
Shape Soulmeld (impulse boots), Evil Brande
Bardic music, lore song, mimicking song, fascinate, inspire awe

2nd
Binder 1
+0
+2
+0
+4
Intimidate 4 ranks (+4)

Soul binding (1 vestige)

3rd
Binder 2
+1
+3
+0
+5
Intimidate 6 ranks (+2), diplomacy 5 ranks (+1), bluff 5 ranks (+1)
Great Fortitude
Pact augmentation (1 ability), suppress sign

4th
Bardic Sage 2
+2
+3
+0
+6
Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks (+1), knowledge (nobility & royalty) 5 ranks (+1), bluff 6 ranks (+1), diplomacy 6 ranks (+1), hide 6 ranks (+2), move silently 5 ranks (+1), perform (poetics) 5 ranks (+1)

5th
Binder 3
+3
+3
+1
+6
Intimidate 8 ranks (+2), diplomacy 7 ranks (+1), bluff 7 ranks (+1)
Dark Speeche

6th
Bardic Sage 3
+4
+4
+2
+6
Hide 8 ranks (+2), move silently 8 ranks (+3), bluff 8 ranks (+1), diplomacy 8 ranks (+1), perform (poetics) 6 ranks (+1)
Open Least Chakra (feet)
Inspire competence

7th
Night Mask Deathbringer 1
+4
+4
+4
+6
Disguise 5 ranks (+5), sense motive 5 ranks (+4), bluff 9 ranks (+1)

Creature of darkness, hesitating stare 1/day, light sensitivity, spider climb

8th
Night Mask Deathbringer 2
+5
+4
+5
+6
Disguise 10 ranks (+5), sense motive 9 ranks (+4), bluff 10 ranks (+1)

Feral senses (low-light vision)

9th
Night Mask Deathbringer 3
+6/+1
+5
+5
+7
Sense motive 10 ranks (+1), perform (poetics) 10 ranks (+4), diplomacy 11 ranks (+3), knowledge (religion) 6 ranks (+1)cc
Improved Binding
Speak with creatures of the night, ghost step 1/day

10th
Night Mask Deathbringer 4
+7/+2
+5
+6
+7
Knowledge (religion) 7 ranks (+1)cc, perform (poetics) 12 ranks (+2), diplomacy 13 ranks (+2), bluff 11 ranks (+1), intimidate 11 ranks (+3)
Chosen of Evile
Hesitating stare 2/day, lesser blood bond, sneak attack +1d6

11th
Fiend of Corruption 1
+7/+2
+7
+8
+9
Knowledge (religion) 11 ranks (+4)

Alternate form, fiend’s favor

12th
Fiend of Corruption 2
+8/+3
+8
+9
+10
Knowledge (religion) 15 ranks (+4)
Expel Vestige
Suggestion, mind shielding

13th
Night Mask Deathbringer 5
+8/+3
+8
+9
+10
Knowledge (religion) 16 ranks (+1)cc, diplomacy 16 ranks (+3), bluff 15 ranks (+3), intimidate 12 ranks (+1), perform (poetics) 13 ranks (+1)

Improved evasion

14th
Night Mask Deathbringer 6
+9/+4
+9
+10
+11
Knowledge (religion) 17 ranks (+1)cc, diplomacy 17 ranks (+1), bluff 17 ranks (+2), intimidate 14 ranks (+2), perform (poetics) 16 ranks (+3)

Slippery mind, ghost step 2/day

15th
Night Mask Deathbringer 7
+10/+5
+9
+10
+11
Knowledge (religion) 18 ranks (+1)cc, diplomacy 18 ranks (+1), bluff 18 ranks (+1), intimidate 18 ranks (+4), perform (poetics) 18 ranks (+2)
Undead Empathy, Enemy of Goode
Hesitating stare 3/day, feral senses (darkvision)

16th
Night Mask Deathbringer 8
+11/+6/+1
+9
+11
+11
Knowledge (religion) 19 ranks (+1)cc, diplomacy 19 ranks (+1), bluff 19 ranks (+1), intimidate 19 ranks (+1), perform (poetics) 19 ranks (+1), Never Outnumbered skill trick (+2), Social Recovery skill trick (+2)

Sneak attack +2d6

17th
Night Mask Deathbringer 9
+11/+6/+1
+10
+11
+12
Knowledge (religion) 20 ranks (+1)cc, diplomacy 20 ranks (+1), bluff 20 ranks (+1), intimidate 20 ranks (+1), perform (poetics) 20 ranks (+1), sense motive 14 ranks (+4)

Ghost step 3/day

18th
Night Mask Deathbringer 10
+12/+7/+2
+10
+12
+12
Knowledge (religion) 21 ranks (+1)cc, diplomacy 21 ranks (+1), bluff 21 ranks (+1), intimidate 21 ranks (+1), perform (poetics) 21 ranks (+1), sense motive 18 ranks (+4)
Sickening Strike
Hesitating stare 4/day, greater blood bond

eBonus Vile feat for devotion to Father Llymic.

Final skill outlay (assuming no LA buyoff):

Knowledge (religion) 21 ranks
Diplomacy 21 ranks
Bluff 21 ranks
Intimidate 21 ranks
Perform (poetics) 21 ranks
Sense motive 18 ranks
Disguise 10 ranks
Hide 8 ranks
Move Silently 8 ranks
Knowledge (nobility & loyalty) 5 ranks
Knowledge (local) 3 ranks)
Never Outnumbered skill trick
Social Recovery skill trick

NOTES:

If playing in a game where LA buyoff is allowed, Sang Buaya completes the build by taking two more levels of Fiend of Corruption. This will provide him with a mark of iniquity to keep followers in line, as well as major creation as a spell-like ability several times per day and the ability to grant one of his followers a fiendish graft once a month. Alternately, consider either more binder levels or (if multiclass XP penalties are being enforced) Knight of the Sacred Seal. This will allow you to bind Astaroth or Tenebrous, both of which are extremely strong vestiges that fit well with the character concept.
Ancient knowledge and Undead Empathy are both from Eberron sourcebooks, but Sang Buaya is very decidedly Faerunian. Neither the spell nor the feat have any setting-specific elements associated with it. However, if the use of cross-setting material is disallowed in a game, ancient knowledge can be replaced with comprehend languages or detect good, while Undead Empathy can be replaced with Lichloved or with a feat that augments wild shape or sneak attack, such as Staggering Strike, Frozen Wild Shape or Savage Grapple.
If playing in a game where XP penalties for multiclass characters are not enforced, consider swapping levels 4 and 5 for slightly earlier access to 2nd-level binds and a smoother level progression. You can also consider replacing the final level of bardic sage at level 6 with a level of marshal (for motivate Charisma and a free Skill Focus on a key skill).

Alternate class features:
Bardic sage
Inspire awe (replaces inspire courage)
Mimicking song (replaces countersong)
Lore song (replaces bardic knowledge)

Starting Stats (32 PB):
Str 8 / Dex 10 / Con 14 / Int 14 / Wis 10 / Cha 18

Level 4: Int +1
Level 8: Cha +1
Level 12: Cha +1
Level 16: Cha +1

(If LA buyoff is allowed or the campaign reaches epic levels, boost Charisma again at level 20.)

Bard spells known:
0- Detect magic, daze, mage hand, prestidigitation, message, ghost sound, read magics
1- Charm person, grease, improvisation, ancient knowledges
sBonus divination spell known for being a bardic sage

As a 3rd-level bardic sage, Sang Buaya can use six cantrips and three 1st-level spells per day, not including bonus spells from a high Charisma.

What happens when Sebek, the Lord of the Crocodiles, plucks a creature from the Far Realms and places it in Faerun to bring death and wreak havoc? If Sebek was the Smiling Death, the great grinning crocodile who delighted so in devouring humans, then Sang Buaya, his divine minion, was the Weeping Crocodile, whose great and shining crocodile tears belied the savage beast within.

Sebek was a simple god, a god with few plans beyond the immediate, the gratifying, and so his greatest follower had to be something more. For this reason he chose the diaboli, those great agents of anarchy, as the seed for his minion. Sang Buaya was born of this anarchy but tempered by the river’s dark waters, where he learned to hunt, to drag prey beneath the rushing waters and drink their blood.

But each simple excursion brought Sang Buaya before the oppressive light of the sun. It was ever-present in the outskirts of Sekras, where he made his home. The burning sun was a mocking face, a burnished holy symbol that drove Sang Buaya underwater or into the comforting embrace of night.

And in truth he could have lived there forever, beneath the pale moonlight, could have lived a gleeful life of sacrifice and bloodlust by simply never venturing out during the day. But Sang Buaya was ambitious. Sang Buaya did not wish to live but half a life. His god, the Smiling Death, perhaps had the power to do something about it, but he was trapped far away in Heliopolis, having been forced there so very long ago. And so Sebek’s minion sought a power here in the realms, until he found word of Father Llymic. Father Llymic was a great alien thing, entombed in ice somewhere within the realms, and it was said that as the shackles that Father Llymic were struck open, the sun would fade until it winked out altogether.

Sang Buaya did not know where Father Llymic’s tomb was, but he could feel his presence, feel that alien strangeness thrumming somewhere within Faerun. And so Sang Buaya set out, leaving Sekras for the Dragon Coast and the seedy and squalid city of Westgate, where he might steal the secret to Father Llymic’s domain.

It was in Westgate that he learned to use the night as a mask, where he learned to speak with creatures of the night, learned to use his tainted blood to bind others to him. He was insidious, charming despite his strange and warped diabolus body, able to play upon the feelings of those around him as one plays a lute, to thrum one great note of fear or trust or even love that overwhelmed the mind. He played on lust and played on greed, taking comely forms or offering great boons for a small price… just, perhaps, the sharing of a drink. Just three drops of blood were enough to capture someone’s soul, to override their senses. And so he built a network, a cult. He bound followers to him, sometimes even by force (for he still had the strength and form of a crocodile when desired), used them until they were nearly spent, then sacrificed them before his god and Father Llymic.

And so he lives still, the day when he frees Father Llymic and snuffs out the sun drawing closer and closer, closer and closer. And somewhere beyond time and space, a great and terrible crocodile grins, pleased to see the death and destruction his agent shall soon bring...

ECL 3-5: (Bardic Sage 1/Binder 2)
At his lowest levels, Sang Buaya relies heavily on his crocodile form in melee, with his bardic sage and binder levels providing plenty of out-of-combat utility. As a divine minion of Sebek, Sang Buaya can take crocodile form as a free action at-will, giving himself great physical stats, natural armor, natural weapons and Improved Grab. Sang Buaya’s main strategy at these levels, then, is to mislead, hide and intimidate, using inspire awe to debuff groups, then turn into a crocodile and pick foes off. His binder levels allow him to further augment this strategy: using pact augmentation for extra hit points helps ease the pinch of LA that keeps him otherwise below the HP curve, and with Amon he gets another natural weapon and the ability to breathe fire.

However, as fun as Amon can be at this level, his favorite bind is by far Naberius. Disguise self at-will and a quick and dirty save-or-be-inconvenienced with command are both handy, but the real key is the skill boosting and ability score healing. Being able to take 10 on social skills and make accelerated diplomacy checks is huge, as is the ability to use untrained skills (the latter of which combos particularly well with lore song for a quick skill boost). And the ability score regeneration will become quite big very soon.

ECL 6-10: (Bardic Sage 3/Binder 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 2)
With a couple more bard levels, Sang Buaya picks up more uses of his inspire awe and other musical abilities, another use of lore song and several handy spells. As a bardic sage, Sang Buaya gets an extra divination spell known at each spell level, which he uses for ancient knowledge. This, combined with his ranks and various synergy bonuses, allows him to use those he drags off into the darkness as sacrifices. By ECL 6, Sang Buaya can make knowledge (religion) checks for a sacrifice with a +16 bonus without taking into account any of the special modifiers. Throw in an altar (+2), perform a ceremony (+1) and sacrifice a creature with 6-10 HD or class levels (+2), and he’s already at +20, giving him a 75% chance to hit the DC 25 necessary for powerful effects such as a 24-hour divine power or the service of an extraplanar creature for several hours.

And in addition to his awe-inspiring bard song, Sang Buaya picks up another powerful debuff in Dark Speech. With a single word of this foul tongue, Sang Buaya can force all nearby foes to flee in fear, charm evil creatures or boost his attempts at diplomacy. While he takes Charisma damage every time he uses this ability, Naberius ensures that such damage never lasts long. Beyond the standard debuffing, Dark Speech has other uses as well: weakening physical objects so they can be sundered or broken, boosting his spellcasting or even creating hiveminds in vermin.

Speaking of Naberius, it remains Sang Buaya’s best possible bind, but he also now has access to 2nd-level bindings as well. Malphas is particularly tempting, allowing him to scout from afar, giving him poison use, sudden strike and even some limited invisibility. And with levels in Night Mask Deathbringer, he no longer needs Amon for its darkvision, and gets yet another excellent debuff in its hesitating stare ability.

ECL 11-15: (Bardic Sage 3/Binder 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 5/Fiend of Corruption 2)
These levels are perhaps where Sang Buaya is strongest. There are several abilities of note. Perhaps most importantly are the Night Mask Deathbringer abilities, especially the lesser blood bond. While it has several limitations, this is a high-DC, permanent charm effect, allowing him to create long-term allies that he can activate as needed. He has several ways to force foes to drink his blood, from rote trickery (with excellent social skills and the ability to assume any humanoid form, convincing someone to share a drink should not be a terrible challenge) to the old standby of turning into a crocodile and holding someone in his jaws until they are pinned. It is worth noting that the target of the ability does not have to save against its effect until Sang Buaya chooses to activate it, meaning that even if he forces foes to drink his blood in combat, he can later appear under a different guise when that same target no longer views him as a threat so that they do not receive bonuses to the save.

Meanwhile, a couple of levels in Fiend of Corruption provide him with some powerful abilities that augment his other tactics quite well. Alternate form allows him to assume any humanoid form, small to large, as frequently as he needs to. Combined with his supernatural mind shielding effect, which masks his alignment and allows him to evade divinations such as detect thoughts or discern lies, this lets him seamlessly take on new faces or even impersonate others. Fiend’s favor is both a powerful buff for his allies and a way to keep them under his thrall, as any time he does not refresh it, they take a sizable penalty to an important stat. He also uses offers of these favors to entice targets to share a drink with him. And finally, Sang Buaya gains the ability to issue suggestions several times per day. This ability already has a high DC for a suggestion effect, and foes that are charmed take an additional -2 penalty on their save, which combines quite nicely with the Night Mask Deathbringer’s lesser blood bond.

His binding abilities also improve, thanks to Improved Binding and Expel Vestige. The latter is particularly handy, as it allows him to expel a vestige and bind a new one any time he has a bit of downtime. This means he is no longer forced to stay locked into, say, Naberius, as he can assume another bind temporarily as needed but still switch back to Naberius otherwise. And with Improved Binding that includes 3rd-level binds, most notably Focalor. The lightning strike is handy, and blinding is a nice little debuff, but the real draw is the Aura of Sadness. Sang Buaya’s crocodile tears give all adjacent creatures -2 to pretty much everything relevant, including saving throws. Throw in a fear effect (either from inspire awe or Dark Speech) and that’s a -4, meaning that doing something like activating his lesser blood bond effectively has a DC of 19+Cha at this level. And against creatures with a good aura such as clerics or paladins, or against good-aligned foes, his Enemy of Good feat raises the DC by another +2. Not too shabby.

Finally, Sang Buaya’s devotion to Father Llymic pays off even further thanks to Chosen of Evil, which allows him to take a point of Constitution damage as an immediate action to add a bonus equal to the number of Vile feats he has on a skill check, save or attack. Combined with Naberius for ability damage regeneration, this is effectively a free +4 to a roll every single round with virtually no drawback.

ECL 16-20: (Bardic Sage 3/Binder 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Fiend of Corruption 2)
For his final five levels, Sang Buaya continues with his current strategies, but dials them all up several notches. First, he’s had a consistent weak spot in his abilities thus far, namely dealing with the mindless undead, who are immune to sneak attack and mental manipulation. With Undead Empathy combined with Naberius’ fast talk, though, Sang Buaya can more or less eliminate them as reasonable enemies.

And with Night Mask Deathbringer improving Sang Buaya’s sneak attack, he adds on yet another debuff to his routine thanks to Sickening Strike. Now foes are sickened, shaken and saddened as he attacks them, making them extremely vulnerable. But perhaps most importantly, his blood bond increases from a charmed effect to a dominated one, giving him full control over his thralls.

Oh, and speaking of thralls, with his skills improving rapidly, Sang Buaya can do fun things like convert enemies to friends mid-combat as a standard action (hostile to friendly is child’s play to Sang Buaya at DC 35, and thanks to Naberius he takes no penalties for a rushed check), or even convert his charmed colleagues (which have an attitude of friendly) to fanatic (which will explicitly lay down their lives for him) with a DC 60 check. His sacrifices become supercharged as well: with Chosen of Evil, ancient knowledge and improvisation, Sang Buaya gets a whopping +39 to his knowledge (religion) checks without any of the circumstantial bonuses (of which there should always be a few coming into play). That means Sang Buaya could drag a foe to the side following a battle and sacrifice them without an altar or any ceremony, and still be guaranteed to get the service of a powerful evil outsider (as though summoned with greater planar ally) or a limited wish. Add in a handful of other easily obtainable bonuses (there’s a whole table of them on BoVD p27), and the DC 50 check for a full wish from his patron is similarly guaranteed.

As should probably be obvious from reading the entry, when cooking this dish, the blood bond ability is what jumped out at me. On the one hand, a charm effect that’s limited to humanoids and has extremely specific and awkward requirements to activate really isn’t that great. On the other hand, it’s a permanent effect with a very high DC (eventually 20+Charisma).

My first thought, then, was to build around a character that capitalized on those good features while reducing the drawbacks. The idea of building this alongside fiend of corruption was immediately captivating to me. Fiend of corruption provided some excellent complementary abilities, in particular the ability to grant boons to followers (a great way to convince others to drink your blood!), a suggestion effect with a super-charged DC against any enemy already charmed (making that charm effect much more powerful). Even better, a divine minion of Sebek would not only help me qualify for fiend of corruption but would also give me a grappling form to help pin those who did not drink my blood willingly.

The next bit of fluff came to me when I was reading the sections on light sensitivity. This was clearly a character who hated the glaring sun, who (both physically and metaphorically) preferred to lurk in murky waters rather than being exposed by the burning radiance of day. That brought Father Llymic, the elder evil who sought to block out the sun, to mind. The rest of the build came together from there, an infiltrator, liar and fast-talker who used his powers to build a following that would be dedicated to reviving Father Llymic, who would pluck the sun out of the sky.

As for the individual abilities, here is how the build utilized them:

Entry requirements: While Sang Buaya can’t claim to do anything special with the required evasion/uncanny dodge/Great Fortitude (other than passively benefit from them all), the hide and move silently ranks combine with mimicking song and the racial bonuses from Sang Buaya’s crocodile form to allow him to ambush foes despite not being a stealth-focused character.
Hesitating stare: Between focusing on Charisma and having various ways to increase the DC or nuke the enemy’s saves (Enemy of Good, aura of sadness, save debuffing via shaken or sickened), this is a strong way to stop a foe in their tracks.
Light sensitivity/feral senses: Sang Buaya’s devotion to the elder evil Father Llymic derives from these abilities: his hatred of the sun and desire to see it blotted out of the sky is what drove Sang Buaya to Father Llymic. It also frees up a vestige for Sang Buaya, who otherwise needed to bind something subpar any time he was expected to see in darkness.
Blood Bond: Both the lesser and greater versions are probably the single most important ability to this thread. The permanent duration and extremely high DC (+9 above what a standard charm spell DC would be) are the big draws here. Sang Buaya has numerous ways of getting enemies to consume his blood: he has excellent diplomacy and bluff skills despite the diabolus’ racial penalty, he can offer powerful boons to people via his fiend’s favor ability in exchange for drinking of his blood and he can turn into a crocodile and pin foes with improved grab when necessary. Once they have ingested his blood, he can assume an alternate form and activate the bond when the enemy is unsuspecting, using various debuffs (dark speech, sickening, fear, aura of sadness, Enemy of Good feat) to make sure it lands. Once charmed, he can use his supercharged diplomacy checks to convert them from friendly to helpful or even fanatic, and he can use his suggestion ability, which has an increased DC against charmed foes. And when he is done with one of his thralls, he can sacrifice them to Sebek and Father Llymic for a deific favor.
Sneak attack: Though damage is hardly Sang Buaya’s priority, sneak attack serves as an excellent way to deliver yet another no-save debuff via Sickening Strike, something he can activate easily by use of his ghost step ability.
Ghost step: See above. Sang Buaya uses his ghost step ability to escape, to give himself an opportunity to change form mid-combat without being seen and perhaps most importantly, to trigger sneak attack in order to sicken his foes.
Creature of darkness/speak with creatures of the night/spider climb/slippery mind: While Sang Buaya is not specifically built around any of these abilities, they all add to the general theme of an unsettling but alluring corruptor that Sang Buaya is going for.

Sources:
Champions of Ruin (Night Mask Deathbringer)
Elder Evils (Father Llymic, elder evil devotion, Dark Speech, Evil Brand, Chosen of Evil, Enemy of Good)
Unearthed Arcana/SRD (Bardic Sage ACF)
Tome of Magic (Binder, bindings, Improved Binding, Expel Vestige)
Book of Vile Darkness (Sacrifice rules)
Fiend Folio (Fiend of Corruption)
Dungeonscape (Lore song and mimicking song ACFs)
Dragon Magic (Inspire awe ACF)
Magic of Eberron (Ancient knowledge)
Eberron Campaign Setting (Undead Empathy)
Complete Scoundrel (skill tricks)
Drow of the Underdark (Sickening Strike)
Magic of Incarnum (Shape Soulmeld, Open Least Chakra, impulse boots)
Dragon Compendium (Diabolus race)
Divine minion template: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:40 AM

Take this oath and shove it, I don't serve you anymore.

The Fortune Teller (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lct6x-XqWrw)

https://i.ibb.co/GHkSJKf/Screen-Shot-2020-04-13-at-2-18-29-AM.png

Kiara Cloudbreaker found herself in front of a slavering demon, holding its quarry, who she knew to be her mistress, Nayra Bathed-by-the-Sun, tight in its many arms. It leaned in and began to suck her soul out.

Kiara wasn’t in this battle a moment ago. She hadn’t been anywhere, she realized. Despite this, she still knew well the heft of the sword she held in her hands and the best course of attack against the creature before her.

“What’re you waiting for, stupid? Kill this thing already, my pact’s running out!” Nayra wheezed. Kiara heard a rib snap as the demon flexed its greasy muscles.

“But I’ll clip you too, mistress,” Kiara said, shifting her weight from foot to foot in case the creature lashed out at her with its tail so she could jump over it. She felt like she’d done this many times before, despite her knowledge to the contrary.

“Just do what I tell you already!” An ornate playing card fluttered from her mistress’s hand, a bloody thumbprint on its blue and white checkered back.

Kiara shrugged, the thought of disobeying not even crossing her mind. She got a running start and leapt into the air. She took a step up onto the spines of the demon’s tail, wrapped around Nayra’s legs and climbed up it, and kicked off the hem of Nayra’s robe. She drove the point of her sword through the back of Nayra’s neck, just underneath the base of her skull. The blade jutted out through her still-complaining mouth and pierced the demon through the eye, killing both of them instantly. They crumpled to the ground together in a heap.

Kiara knelt by the corpses and put her foot on Nayra’s shoulder. With a grunt, she yanked her blade out and looked to the rest of Nayra’s party, standing around.

“Didn’t see that coming,” said their guide.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t rub it in.” A swordsman with a fur cap handed him a fistful of coins.

Nayra got to her feet with a horrible sucking sound as her wound closed. She was unsteady on them and turned around. She grabbed her lolling jaw with one hand and steadied the back of one pointed ear with the other.

“Oh, I hate this part.” The guide buried his face in the swordsman’s chest. “Tell me when it’s over.”

Nayra wrenched her neck around until it sat straight with a wet crunch. She leered at Kiara as the blood drained away from her eyes and back wherever in her body it belonged.

“Sure took you long enough. Come on. We’ve got another ten miles easy before we’re in the duke of darkness’s domain. Get my bags, knight,” Nayra said with a wave of her hand.

“No.”

“What? You’re supposed to do whatever I say. That’s what the card’s for. Everyone knows that,” Nayra said.

“Read the fine print.” Kiara sheathed her sword and took her fair share from the demon’s purse. She turned her back to leave.

“The fighter appears out of nowhere and serves loyally until death. He or she is of the same race (or kind) and gender as the character.” Nayra looked her over, as though checking.

“Right. You died. See you around,” Kiara said without turning around.

“I didn’t know fighters could read,” Nayra spat.

“I didn’t know clerics were ambulatory bags of garbage. Have someone who isn’t lawful evil use that thing next time.” Kiara set off toward town, which she knew the way to.

After walking a while, she came upon an animated carriage sans horse with a sign on the side advertising its services. She flagged it down and hopped inside.

“Good afternoon, miss. Where to?” the driver asked asked.

Finally, something she didn’t know. She had no family, no friends.

“I’m… I’m not sure,” she said.

“There’s a fair in town. That might be fun. Why don’t I leave you there? I’m sure you can find something to do,” he said.

“Sounds fine.” Kiara put some coins in the box in the back.

He got her there soon enough, so she tipped him. He was off with a doff of his cap.

The fair was pretty good. Kiara was certain of this despite realizing she had no frame of reference. She bought a candy apple and stood in line for a fortune teller. If anyone could see her future, they could.

The line moved quick enough. Another thing she apparently had an opinion on.

An attendant came out of the tent bedecked in a bright paisley.

“Welcome, miss, to the cave of wonders!” He hurled magic dust in the air that sparkled in the sunlight. “You’re next up. I’ll come get you when it’s your turn. In the meantime, would you care for some light refreshment? I’ve got jhuild and twistroot beer.”

“Oo, twistroot beer, please,” she said. “I’m not going to have to do a bunch of errands for the twisted lords and ladies, am I?”

“No, miss. I think you need to do a bunch of spells for that. You’re good.” He spirited a frosty mug from the ether and handed it to her. “It’s complementary,” he said as she reached for her purse. It was good. Sweet and cold and earthy.

Soon enough, it was her turn and he waved her in. She nursed her beer and looked around the inside of the tent. It was glamered to look like the inside of a literal cave. A small table with a fancy cloth bedecked in stars and sky sat in the room’s center, but the ceiling was bespelled to look like it went up for miles, giant stalactites like teeth hanging down with water falling from them like bestial drool. Kiara’s eye was drawn to motion on one of them. A man was hanging there like a bat.

“Dare you enter my magical realm?” he intoned ominously. He opened his eyes which burned like dark stars in the blackness of the tent.

“Can’t you tell me?” she joked.

He scampered down the wall of the tent like a spider and took his spot in the chair on the far side.

“Fair enough, miss Cloudbreaker. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

She took a seat and hesitated before setting her mug down. He conjured a coaster beneath it and she plunked it down.

“That’s as good a place as any to start, I suppose. How is it I have a last name? I didn’t get it from my mother or my father. I don’t have a mother or father. How is it I know the best way to kill a demon? Or how good this beer is compared to other beer when I’ve never had one before? How do I know I’m an elf if I’ve never met one before today? Where do people like me live?” she said breathlessly. “Oh, I’m a knight from a deck of cards, by the way.”

“I gathered.” He shined a huge ball of crystal on the table between them like he was polishing a shield. Within its surface, a cheery tavern showed itself. The shingle hanging on its side read “The Serpent’s Mouth.” She was grateful that he didn’t ask her if she could read it.

He levitated into the air so his robe hung down around him like a cloud. His eyes burned until they cast everything around him in deep shadow. He spoke in a voice that filled the whole cave that she almost forgot was a tent.

“Go ye into the serpent’s mouth and there shall ye remain until the dying of the light. The answer shall suggest itself when you find what you seek among its own kind.”

Kiara applauded politely. “I like the part with the lights.”

He touched down into his chair and cleared his throat, going back to normal. “Thanks. Keeps the punters coming in. Is that all?” he asked with a smile.

“Depends on whether I get what I’m after, I suppose. I’ll be back if I’m not,” she said.

“I know better than to cross you, miss Cloudbreaker. Please tell your friends once you make some,” he said.

She walked to the tavern and took the first empty seat.

“Ale, miss?” the barman asked.

“No thanks. I don’t drink alcohol. Have you got any twistroot beer?” she asked. “I’ve got a craving for some.”

The barman poured her a mug and slid it across the bar to her.

“Thanks.”

“Sure. You waiting for someone, miss?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said. He left to service another customer before she realized what a ridiculous answer it was.

She killed time around the place with a few games of dice and darts until the fortune teller’s words made themselves evident. After a few more beers, she felt slightly disappointed as most of the customers had trickled out. On the other hand, a few of them had invited her to their card game in a ten-day.

A while later, she was the only guest left. The barman was too polite to start stacking chairs and stuck to sweeping in the corner.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to keep you,” she said. “Something a fortune teller told me.”

“Nothing the matter with that. If you’re sticking around, you mind throwing a log on the fire? he said.

She tossed one into the fireplace since the embers were guttering out.

“You’re sure you don’t mind? Isn’t your family expecting you?” She picked up a chair and flipped it upside down to set it onto a table for him.

He blushed and set his broom down. He picked up the chair next to her and set it down on the table.

“It’s a little embarrassing, actually. You see, I’m a knight from the deck of many things.”

Kiara smiled. “Tell me about it.”

str 8 dex 14 (boost at 8) con 14 int (all other boosts here) wis 12 cha 14

LE human wizard (diviner) 5/divine oracle 2/ruathar 1/night mask deathbringer 10/ruathar 3

Level

Class

Base Attack Bonus

Fort Save

Ref Save

Will Save

Skills

Feats

Class Features

1st

Wizard 1

+0

+0

+0

+2

concentration 4, k (arcana) 4, k (local) 4, k (religion) 4, k (planes) 4, spellcraft 4,

skill focus knowledge: (religion), darkstalker

summon familiar (raven), scribe scroll, specialization: (diviner, ban evocation)

2nd

Wizard 2

+1

+0

+0

+3

concentration 1 (5), k (arcana) 1 (5), k (local) 1 (5), k (religion) 1 (5), k (planes) 1 (5), spellcraft 1 (5)

3rd

Wizard 3

+1

+1

+1

+3

concentration 1 (6), hide 1, k (arcana) 1 (6), k (religion) 1 (6), k (planes) 1 (6), spellcraft 1 (6)

martial study (shadow blade technique)

4th

Wizard 4

+2

+1

+1

+4

hide 6 (7)

5th

Wizard 5

+2

+1

+1

+4

k (religion) 3 (8), k (planes 3 (8)

domain granted power (dwarf: great fortitude)

6th

Divine Oracle 1

+2

+1

+1

+6

concentration 3 (9), hide 1 (8), spellcraft 3 (9)

planar touchstone (fate: uncanny dodge)

oracle domain, scry bonus

7th

Divine Oracle 2

+3

+1

+1

+7

concentration 1 (10), k (arcana) 4 (10), spellcraft 1 (10)

prescient sense, trap sense +1

8th

Ruathar 1

+3

+1

+3

+9

ms 8

word of friendship, gift of the elves

9th

Night Mask Deathbringer 1

+3

+1

+5

+9

sleight of hand 8, umd 4

master pickpocket

creature of darkness, hesitating stare 1/day, light sensitivity, spider climb

10th

Night Mask Deathbringer 2

+4

+1

+6

+9

hide 5 (13), ms 5 (13), umd 2 (6)

feral senses (llv)

11th

Night Mask Deathbringer 3

+5

+2

+6

+10

balance 5, hide 1 (14), ms 1 (14), tumble 4 (5), umd 1 (7)

speak with creatures of the night, ghost step 1/day

12th

Night Mask Deathbringer 4

+6/+1

+2

+7

+10

hide 1 (15), ms 1 (15), tumble 8 (13), umd 1 (8)

staggering strike

hesitating stare 2/day, lesser blood bond, sneak attack +1d6

13th

Night Mask Deathbringer 5

+6/+1

+2

+7

+10

hide 1 (16), ms 1 (16), sleight of hand 3 (11), umd 8 (16)

improved evasion

14th

Night Mask Deathbringer 6

+7/+2

+3

+8

+11

diplo 4, hide 1 (17), ms 1 (17), sleight of hand 6 (17), umd 1 (17)

slippery mind, ghost step 2/day

15th

Night Mask Deathbringer 7

+8/+3

+3

+8

+11

diplo 10 (14), hide 1 (18), ms 1 (18), sleight of hand 1 (18)

craven

hesitating stare 3/day, feral senses (darkvision)

16th

Night Mask Deathbringer 8

+9/+4

+4

+9

+11

bluff 5, diplo 5 (19), hide 1 (19), ms 1 (19), sleight of hand 1 (19)

sneak attack +2d6

17th

Night Mask Deathbringer 9

+9/+4

+5

+9

+12

bluff 9 (14), diplo 1 (20), hide 1 (20), ms 1 (20), sleight of hand 1 (20)

ghost step 3/day

18th

Night Mask Deathbringer 10

+10/+5

+5

+10

+12

bluff 7 (21), diplo 1 (21), hide 1 (21), ms 1 (21), sm 2, sleight of hand 1 (21)

maiming strike

hesitating stare 4/day, greater blood bond

19th

Ruathar 2

+11/+6/+1

+5

+11

+13

diplo 1 (22), hide 1 (22), ms 1 (22), sm 10 (12)

llv improved llv, elfwise

20th

Ruathar 3

+12/+7/+2

+6

+12

+13

diplo 1 (23), hide 1 (23), ms 1 (23), sm 10 (22)

star blessing, arvandor’s grace

You gain one extra spell slot at each level that can be used to prepare a divination spell

Spells per Day

Level

0lvl

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

1st

3

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

2nd

4

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

3rd

4

2

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

4th

4

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

5th

4

3

2

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

6th

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

-

7th

4

4

3

2

1

-

-

-

-

-

8th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

9th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

10th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

11th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

12th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

13th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

14th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

15th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

16th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

17th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

18th

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

-

19th

4

4

4

3

2

1

-

-

-

-

20th

4

4

4

3

3

2

-

-

-

-

At this stage, enjoy life as any wizard. Martial study provides additional offensive capability. Darkstalker helps you skulk around, and your familiar can help with scouting and later with wands. The domain granted power acf gives you the granted power for the dwarf domain, which is great fortitude, in preparation for the secret ingredient. It also shores up your fort save, which any wizard appreciates. Cast cool spells and hang out in the shadows. Things are about to change.

Divine oracle is now online, adding access to the oracle domain (which grants you augury, commune, divination, not normally on the wizard list) and giving you +2 to the caster level of all your divination spells. Rather than stay here for uncanny dodge later, you add it through planar touchstone through the fate domain. It grants you the fate domain’s granted power, which is uncanny dodge. The reason for this is the skill requirements of the secret ingredient, many of which Divine oracle lacks. Helpfully, ruathar provides these, namely move silently to complement our hiding skills and brought to its full potential with darkstalker. It also helps you get along better with elves and gives you free boots of elvenkind, further boosting your hide and ms. Thanks, ruathar. Both these classes also advance your spellcasting, which will give you additional wizard spells to supplement the secret ingredient’s special powers. Master pickpocket lets you steal with impunity, eliminating the aoo and allowing free action attempts at a lesser penalty. You’re in the secret ingredient now and are doling out hesitating glares.

You’re deeper into the secret ingredient now, and can speak to spooky animals and use ghost step. Your blood bond is up, and its utility is greatly bolstered by master pickpocket, which will let you befoul comestibles and surreptitiously return them so your targets are none the wiser. Improved evasion shores up your defenses further, as does slippery mind. Darkvision is up so you can harry people in the dark as well, and craven greatly boosts your offensive potential, alongside staggering strike, which incapacitates enemies quite handily.

You’ve finished the secret ingredient to improve your blood bond and also picked up maiming strike. You can give up some sneak attack and deal charisma damage to enemies, which is cool. You head back into ruathar, which grants another level of spells and improved low-light vision. Star blessing also boosts your combat ability when fighting at night, which is a good thematic mesh with the secret ingredient. Arvandor’s grace provides unnatural long life, a dilute form of immortality, a fitting capstone for a build featuring a secret ingredient that makes you somewhat (but not entirely) like a vampire.

You can mitigate your light sensitivity with some sundark goggles (from races of the dragon) which negates this penalty and provides a +2 on saves against gazes. Your feral senses even negate the penalty to spot checks, so if possible, I recommend them.

srd: skill focus, wizard

complete champion: domain granted power acf

complete divine: divine oracle

races of the wild: ruathar

lords of madness: darkstalker

tome of battle: martial study

planar handbook: planar touchstone

city of stormreach: master pickpocket

complete adventurer: staggering strike

champion of ruin: night mask deathbringer, craven

exemplars of evil: maiming strike

races of the dragon: sundark goggles

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:49 AM

Come here often?

Lily The Lawful Evil Strongheart Halfling Mountebank 5/Black Dog 3/Shadowdancer 2/Night Mask Deathbringer 10

Stat

32 Pt

Racial

Level Ups

Strength

12

-2

Dexterity

14

+2

Constitution

14

4, 8

Intelligence

14

20

Wisdom

8

Charisma

16

12, 16

Level

Class

Base Attack Bonus

Fort Save

Ref Save

Will Save

Skills

Feats

Class Features

1st

Mountebank

+0

+0

+2

+0

Hide +4, Move Silently +4, Perform: Dance +2, Bluff +4, Sleight of Hand +4, Profession: Barmaid +2, Craft: Poison +2, Diplomacy +4

Least Dragonmark of Hospitality: Prestidigitation 2/day, Evasive Reflexes

Mark of Damnation, Beguiling Stare, Trapfinding, Bonus Language: Infernal

2nd

Mountebank

+1

+0

+3

+0

Hide +5, Move Silently +5, Perform: Dance +2.5, Bluff +5, Sleight of Hand +5, Profession: Barmaid +2.5, Craft: Poison +2.5, Diplomacy +5

Deceptive Attack +1d6

3rd

Mountebank

+2

+1

+3

+1

Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Perform: Dance +3, Bluff +6, Sleight of Hand +6, Profession: Barmaid +3, Craft: Poison +3, Diplomacy +6

Dodge

Infernal Patron 4/day, Mass Beguile

4th

Mountebank

+3

+1

+4

+1

Hide +7, Move Silently +7, Perform: Dance +3, Bluff +7, Sleight of Hand +7, Profession: Barmaid +3, Craft: Poison +3, Diplomacy +7, Disguise +3

Infernal Guise, Infernal Patron 5/day

5th

Feat Rogue

+3

+1

+6

+1

Hide +8, Move Silently +8, Perform: Dance +5, Bluff +8, Sleight of Hand +8, Profession: Barmaid +3, Craft: Poison +3, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +3, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +3

Mobility(b)

Mimic

6th

Black Dog

+3

+3

+8

+1

Hide +9, Move Silently +9, Perform: Dance +5, Bluff +9, Sleight of Hand +9, Profession: Barmaid +4, Craft: Poison +5, Diplomacy +9, Disguise +3, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +3

Great Fortitude

Poison Use, Heir’s Mark, Improved Hospitality

7th

Black Dog

+4

+4

+9

+1

Hide +10, Move Silently +10, Perform: Dance +5, Bluff +10, Sleight of Hand +10, Profession: Barmaid +5, Craft: Poison +7, Diplomacy +10, Disguise +3, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +3

Death Attack, Dhurinda's Trick

8th

Black Dog

+5

+4

+9

+2

Hide +11, Move Silently +11, Perform: Dance +5, Bluff +11, Sleight of Hand +11, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +9, Diplomacy +11, Disguise +3, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +3

Create Poison, Refine Poison

9th

Shadowdancer

+5

+4

+11

+2

Hide +12, Move Silently +12, Perform: Dance +6, Bluff +12, Sleight of Hand +12, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +9, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +5, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +3

Darkstalker

Hide in Plain Sight

10th

Shadowdancer

+6

+4

+12

+2

Hide +13, Move Silently +13, Perform: Dance +6, Bluff +13, Sleight of Hand +13, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +9, Diplomacy +13, Disguise +8, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +3

Evasion, Uncanny Dodge

11th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+6

+4

+14

+2

Hide +14, Move Silently +14, Perform: Dance +6, Bluff +14, Sleight of Hand +14, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +10, Diplomacy +14, Disguise +10, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5

Creature of Darkness, Hesitating Stare 1/day, Light Sensitivity, Spider Climb

12th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+7

+4

+15

+2

Hide +15, Move Silently +15, Perform: Dance +7, Bluff +15, Sleight of Hand +15, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +12, Diplomacy +15, Disguise +12, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5

Poison Immunity: Psychotropic Rot

Feral Senses (Low Light Vision)

13th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+8

+5

+15

+3

Hide +16, Move Silently +16, Perform: Dance +8, Bluff +16, Sleight of Hand +16, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +14, Diplomacy +16, Disguise +14, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5

Speak with Creatures of the Night, Ghost Step 1/day

14th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+9

+5

+16

+3

Hide +17, Move Silently +17, Perform: Dance +9, Bluff +17, Sleight of Hand +17, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +16, Diplomacy +17, Disguise +16, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5

Hesitating Stare 2/day, Lesser Blood Bond, Sneak Attack +1d6

15th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+9

+5

+16

+3

Hide +18, Move Silently +18, Perform: Dance +10, Bluff +18, Sleight of Hand +18, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +18, Diplomacy +18, Disguise +18, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5

Ability Focus: Lesser Blood Bond

Improved Evasion

16th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+10

+6

+17

+4

Hide +19, Move Silently +19, Perform: Dance +11, Bluff +19, Sleight of Hand +19, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +19, Diplomacy +19, Disguise +19, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5, Sense Motive +2

Slippery Mind, Ghost Step 2/day

17th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+11

+6

+17

+4

Hide +20, Move Silently +20, Perform: Dance +12, Bluff +20, Sleight of Hand +20, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +20, Diplomacy +20, Disguise +20, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5, Sense Motive +4

Hesitating Stare 3/day, Feral Senses (Darkvision)

18th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+12

+6

+18

+4

Hide +21, Move Silently +21, Perform: Dance +13, Bluff +21, Sleight of Hand +21, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +21, Diplomacy +21, Disguise +21, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5, Sense Motive +6

Poison Expert: Ingested

Sneak Attack +2d6

19th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+12

+7

+18

+5

Hide +22, Move Silently +22, Perform: Dance +14, Bluff +22, Sleight of Hand +22, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +22, Diplomacy +22, Disguise +22, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5, Sense Motive +8

Ghost Step 3/day

20th

Night Mask Deathbringer

+13

+7

+19

+5

Hide +23, Move Silently +23, Perform: Dance +15, Bluff +23, Sleight of Hand +23, Profession: Barmaid +6, Craft: Poison +23, Diplomacy +23, Disguise +23, Knowledge (Local: Sharn) +5, Sense Motive +10

Hesitating Stare 4/day, Greater Blood Bond

Foreword: Doing this part on 5/3/2020, please pardon the rushed job.

Lily was raised as part of House Ghallanda, the House of Hospitality. Their Taverns, Inns, and Hotels are known about, but what isn’t widely known is their nightclubs. Where halflings like Lily serve alcohol, dance, and well, do more adult things. And she did not like her lot in life. She wanted something more. She wanted to be more than just a dancer in a Ghallanda Nightclub. But how does one become more than just a dancer? Well, you sell your soul to an Elder Evil. (Note the above Lily did not specifically sell her soul to an Elder Evil, but if you wish to follow this hook, please see the Serving Elder Evils section on page 10 of Elder Evils. If Lily sells her soul to an Elder Evil, many Vile Feats may fit the theme, please imagine that I gave you a full load out of such feats and a specific Elder Evil that she would serve.) You bargain for power. And you nurture your power.

Lily is a Mountebank from Dragon Compendium. One of the class specific class features here is the Mark of Damnation. It has mechanical properties of; once you have died, you have to make a bluff check if someone attempts to bring you back, because someone or something has possession of your soul. This isn’t good for an adventurer, but Lily isn’t an adventurer. She preys on men that visit Nightclubs. She poisons their drinks, stalks them after they leave, and murders them in dark alleyways. She isn’t good at fighting, her only real skills are social in nature, and hiding. But she can employ her Beguiling Stare to help drop the defences of a drugged person fairly easily. Lily is the weakest at this point.

Lily did it. She murdered someone and got away with it. Many people. Her nightclub got closed down. House Medani is assisting the city watch trying to figure out who did it. Their lead suspect: A changeling by the names of Rori, Dori, and Lori. They haven’t even questioned Lily. She’s free from the nightclub! She gets hired on at a normal Ghallanda bar. She thinks she may just kill one more person. She has chosen her mark, poisoned his drink, and is stalking him out the back. She’s about to attempt to do the deed, when he turns around, and calls her name. Shocked she attempts to run away, only to be caught by another halfling. Both of them a part of Ghallanda. She thinks her life is ruined, and that she is going to jail. They tell her that no, she is to become a Black Dog of Ghallanda. She’s never heard of Black Dogs, but apparently they are a secret assassin organization within House Ghallanda that specializes in the use of poison, specifically poisoned food/drink. So she gains some mentors. She often works with House Phiarlan, who apparently has an espionage team. Are these Mercantile Houses all corrupt? Lily doesn’t care, she gets to kill.

At this point Lily has become a Black Dog, an Eberron themed halfling assassin that has Death Attack, Poison Use, and instead of gaining spells and slow resistance to poison, gains better use in poison and enhances what Lily’s dragonmark can do. She also learns a bit from the House Phiarlan agents who possess the Dragonmark of Shadow. She becomes great at stalking people after poisoning them, and using her death attack. Combat wise she is still an ambusher, and still not very powerful against anything more than one poisoned foe.

I’m not just some tool. I don’t want to kill because I’m told to. I want to kill because I want to. And they don’t like that. I have to check every drink, every meal, and every bed that I use. They are trying to kill me, because I don’t want to kill for them. Okay it is probably because they learned that I killed one or two.. Okay twelve of them. It’s fine. They were evil. Wait, I’m evil, that’s not okay. Lily at this point is constantly thinking about murder, and getting away with it. And when she least expects it, she runs into a creature of the night. A vampire. Apparently poison doesn’t work on vampires. Neither does garrotes. She attempted to flee, but it kept up with her. This is it, she’s going to die…. It didn’t kill me. It told me that it could teach me. That it didn’t care if I killed as I pleased. That it was interested in my continued success. What’s it’s motive. But those abilities. I could do so much better with those abilities. Maybe just a little bit. And it helps that he is handsome… He is very skilled.

Lily fell in with a vampire. And she is going to make the most of it. She has finally upgraded her Beguiling Stare into the Hesitating Stare. She can still Beguile if she wishes to, but stunning is so much better. She can cling to walls, which makes following people in the City of Towers so much easier, and much safer. She gains the ability to see in the dark, which is very valuable when attempting to murder at night. She can turn invisible if someone paranoid attempts to look behind them and cover isn’t immediately available. But the power that she covets the most, is the Lesser Blood Bond. Merely dropping a few drops of blood into a poisoned drink and heavily disguising the taste with a very potent drink, and possibly looking at them in just such a way that they drop their guard, and they are hers. She can ask them politely to come up to her room, so she can have her way with them. She can drag them out to an alley, or even out of the city. Her killing spree is legendary, and the city watch has begun hiring heroes to try to find her. At this point House Tharaashk, Medani, Deneith, and Kundarak are all trying to catch me. They use Vadalis hounds. Night clubs get shut down one by one, but they keep opening up, because there is always a nightlife. No one walks home alone, but it doesn’t matter, because people that go out with a girl, sometimes never come back. Lily is the murderer of the club.

Mountebank from Dragon Compendium (not Complete Scoundrel)
Dragonmark stuff is all from Eberron Campaign Setting and Dragonmarked
Mimic is from Exemplars of Evil
Feat Rogue ACF is from Unearthed Arcana
Darkstalker is from Lords of Madness
Shadowdancer is from the SRD or DMG
Ability Focus is from the MM
Evasive Reflexes are from Tome of Battle
Poison Immunity is from Champions of Ruin
Poison Expert is from Complete Scoundrel
Psychotropic Rot is from Drow of the Underdark
Sharn is from Eberron, and has a book with a large amount of information if you wish to read how Lily interacts with the world.
Finally not actually used in the build, but would help a lot with the build and would be a good story introduction is the Elder Evils

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 11:52 AM

That's our entries! Judge away!

Venger

2020-05-03, 11:54 AM

Looks like an exciting round. Good luck, everyone.

Falontani

2020-05-03, 12:06 PM

Agreed, good luck everyone!

daremetoidareyo

2020-05-03, 01:42 PM

I was trying so hard to find a way to get poison blood which I would load into a&egs mister, which allows ingested poisons to affect people. But all of the poison blood ideas I could come up with were statted as acid instead of poison.

I even tried the horrible taste spell, but it didn't seem to confer the right things.

The Viscount

2020-05-03, 02:27 PM

I had a build centered on poison blood, and I was very scared one of the chefs would do it. I wanted to hold off on posting it until after the builds got judged.

Zaq

2020-05-03, 05:43 PM

Oh good, someone used my idea, and better than I could have done. Or at least better than I had the time/energy to do this time around.

My other not-even-a-stub was a wilder who poached psychic warrior powers to make a CHA-focused grappler, which I would have presented as a luchador. But I obviously didn't even try to see what that level structure would actually look like. Probably would have been challenging to make the prereqs work.

PoeticallyPsyco

2020-05-03, 06:03 PM

My idea was Monk 1/ Totemist 9/ SI 10, to lean hard into grappling, with the SI being a big boost to utility with talking to animals, actual skill points, improved vision that doesn't require skipping one of your default melds, and of course charms and eventually dominate that we can inflict with our primary shtick. I had a cool trick for using a few of the other class features, too, but since I'm planning to re-use it soon I think I'll keep it to myself for now...

The key for qualification was the chairman ruling that class features that grant you Uncanny Dodge and Evasion count for the requirement. Impulse Boots bound to the Foot Chakra give you both, so it only costs you one feat for Shape Soulmeld. Or I could have dipped Incarnate instead of Monk, but that means a net loss of one feat for a bit more utility.

The main problem I had is that I couldn't come up with any interesting fluff for the guy. Big strong enforcer dude is not exactly the height of originality, and with all the cool stuff other people came up with on that front I'm glad I abstained.

Wolfem

2020-05-06, 09:08 AM

Add cook to ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0&range=A1046:A1052) and put the dishes in for this cook.

DeTess

2020-05-06, 09:33 AM

Oh good, someone used my idea, and better than I could have done. Or at least better than I had the time/energy to do this time around.

Out of curiosity, what was your idea?

WhamBamSam

2020-05-06, 01:28 PM

Anyone thinking of judging?

Zaq

2020-05-08, 12:25 AM

Out of curiosity, what was your idea?

I try not to talk about the specifics of my ideas that actually showed up as dishes until after the judging. Less chance of accidentally influencing anyone that way. I'll comment on that one after we're all done!

KrimsonNekros

2020-05-08, 06:12 PM

wasn't able top get my build in in time unfortunately cause i had to leave last weekend, but I'll include it here. Basic idea was just trying to abuse the Ascetic Rogue feat while qualifying for the SI, but it looks like Spike did a better job in attempting that build than I did. Especially since I was item dependent to pull off what I wanted to do.

Ex-Monk 1/ Battle Dancer 1/ Rogue 10/ Night Mask Deathbringer 8

Attributes Strength Dexterity Constitution Intelligence Wisdom Charisma
Point Buy 10 14 12 12 14 16
4th 10 14 12 12 14 17
8th 10 14 12 12 14 18
12th 10 14 12 12 14 19
16th 10 14 12 12 14 20
20th 10 14 12 12 14 21

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features Special
1st Monk +0 +2 +2 +2 Balance 2
Hide 4
Jump 4
Listen 2
Move Silently 4
Spot 4
Tumble 4
Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, Great Fortitude, Weapon Finesse Decisive strike, unarmed strike Unarmed damage 1d6
2nd Rogue +0 +2 +4 +2 Balance 3
Hide 5
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 2
Listen 2
Move Silently 5
Spot 5
Tumble 4
Use Magic Device 3 - Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding Helm of Opposite Alignment (LG to CE)
3rd Battle Dancer +1 +2 +6 +2 Balance 4
Hide 6
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 2
Listen 3
Move Silently 6
Spot 5
Tumble 6
Use Magic Device 3 Ascetic Rogue AC bonus (Cha) -
4th Rogue +2 +2 +7 +2 Balance 5
Bluff 1
Disable Device 1
Hide 7
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 4
Listen 4
Move Silently 6
Open Lock 1
Spot 5
Tumble 6
Use Magic Device 5 - Evasion Unarmed damage 1d8
5th Rogue +3 +3 +7 +3 Balance 6
Bluff 2
Disable Device 3
Hide 8
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 5
Listen 4
Move Silently 7
Open Lock 2
Spot 6
Tumble 6
Use Magic Device 6 - Sneak attack +2d6, penetrating strike -
6th Rogue +4 +3 +8 +3 Balance 7
Bluff 2
Disable Device 5
Hide 9
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 5
Listen 6
Move Silently 10
Open Lock 3
Spot 7
Tumble 7
Use Magic Device 8 Improved Natural Weapon (Unarmed Strike) Uncanny dodge Unarmed damage 2d6
7th Night Mask Deathbringer +4 +3 +10 +3 Balance 8
Bluff 3
Disable Device 7
Gather Information 1
Hide 10
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 5
Listen 6
Move Silently 10
Open Lock 3
Spot 7
Tumble 7
Use Magic Device 8 - Creature of darkness, hesitating stare 1/day, light sensitivity, spider climb -
8th Rogue +4 +3 +10 +3 Balance 9
Bluff 3
Disable Device 8
Disguise 1
Gather Information 1
Hide 11
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 6
Listen 6
Move Silently 11
Open Lock 4
Spot 8
Tumble 8
Use Magic Device 9 - Sneak attack +3d6 -
9th Night Mask Deathbringer +5 +3 +11 +3 Balance 10
Bluff 4
Disable Device 8
Disguise 2
Gather Information 2
Hide 12
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 7
Listen 7
Move Silently 12
Open Lock 5
Spot 8
Tumble 9
Use Magic Device 9 Martial Study Feral senses (low-light vision), shadow jaunt (maneuver) -
10th Rogue +6/+1 +4 +12 +4 Balance 10
Bluff 5
Disable Device 9
Disguise 3
Gather Information 3
Hide 13
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 7
Listen 7
Move Silently 13
Open Lock 6
Spot 9
Tumble 10
Use Magic Device 10 - - Unarmed damage 2d8
11th Night Mask Deathbringer +7/+2 +5 +12 +5 Balance 10
Bluff 7
Disable Device 11
Disguise 4
Gather Information 4
Hide 14
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 8
Listen 7
Move Silently 14
Open Lock 7
Spot 9
Tumble 10
Use Magic Device 10 - Speak with creatures of the night, ghost step 1/day -
12th Rogue +8/+3 +5 +12 +5 Balance 10
Bluff 8
Disable Device 11
Disguise 5
Gather Information 5
Hide 15
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 8
Listen 8
Move Silently 15
Open Lock 8
Spot 10
Tumble 11
Use Magic Device 11 Martial Stance Sneak attack +4d6, assassin's stance -
13th Night Mask Deathbringer +9/+4 +5 +13 +5 Balance 10
Bluff 9
Disable Device 12
Disguise 6
Gather Information 6
Hide 16
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 9
Listen 9
Move Silently 16
Open Lock 9
Spot 11
Tumble 11
Use Magic Device 11 - Hesitating stare 2/day, lesser blood bond, sneak attack +5d6 -
14th Rogue +10/+5 +6 +14 +6 Balance 10
Bluff 10
Disable Device 12
Disguise 7
Gather Information 7
Hide 17
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 9
Listen 10
Move Silently 17
Open Lock 10
Spot 12
Tumble 12
Use Magic Device 12 - Improved uncanny dodge -
15th Night Mask Deathbringer +10/+5 +6 +14 +6 Balance 10
Bluff 11
Disable Device 13
Disguise 8
Gather Information 8
Hide 18
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 10
Listen 11
Move Silently 18
Open Lock 11
Spot 13
Tumble 12
Use Magic Device 12 Craven Improved evasion -
16th Rogue +10/+5 +6 +14 +6 Balance 10
Bluff 12
Disable Device 13
Disguise 9
Gather Information 9
Hide 19
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 11
Listen 12
Move Silently 18
Open Lock 12
Spot 14
Tumble 13
Use Magic Device 13 - Sneak attack +6d6 -
17th Night Mask Deathbringer +11/+6/+1 +7 +15 +7 Balance 10
Bluff 13
Disable Device 14
Disguise 10
Gather Information 10
Hide 20
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 12
Listen 13
Move Silently 19
Open Lock 13
Spot 15
Tumble 13
Use Magic Device 13 -
Slippery mind, ghost step 2/day -
18th Rogue +12/+7/+2 +7 +16 +7 Balance 10
Bluff 14
Disable Device 14
Disguise 11
Gather Information 11
Hide 21
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 13
Listen 14
Move Silently 19
Open Lock 14
Spot 16
Tumble 14
Use Magic Device 14 Snap Kick Crippling Strike Unarmed damage 3d6
19th Night Mask Deathbringer +13/+8/+3 +7 +16 +7 Balance 10
Bluff 15
Disable Device 15
Disguise 12
Gather Information 12
Hide 22
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 14
Listen 15
Move Silently 20
Open Lock 15
Spot 17
Tumble 14
Use Magic Device 14 -
Hesitating stare 3/day, feral senses (darkvision) -
20th Night Mask Deathbringer +14/+9/+4 +7 +17 +7 Balance 10
Bluff 16
Disable Device 15
Disguise 13
Gather Information 13
Hide 23
Jump 5
Knowledge (Local) 15
Listen 16
Move Silently 20
Open Lock 16
Spot 18
Tumble 15
Use Magic Device 15 -
Sneak attack +7d6 -

The Viscount

2020-05-13, 09:57 AM

We're approaching the initial deadline and no-one's declared intent to judge.

If we can break from tradition a little, I can judge this round. Not looking to make it a recurring thing; I'd just like to keep the process moving. I understand that we haven't done it previously for the sake of anonymity, and if anyone isn't comfortable with it we can wait for another judge.

If there aren't any strong objections, I can start and probably be finished by the deadline.

Venger

2020-05-14, 12:11 PM

Sounds like a great idea. Looking forward to judgement. Thanks.

Piggy Knowles

2020-05-14, 12:16 PM

WhamBamSam

2020-05-14, 12:59 PM

I'm fine with you judging, but we should try to find a way to line up judges for future rounds so that it doesn't fall to you every time.

The Viscount

2020-05-15, 06:35 PM

I completely agree, and I'd love to hear any ideas anyone's got about it. Definitely looking at this as a stopgap measure and not a permanent fixture.

While I work on judging, check out the non-entry I made. I thought it only fair that I struggle with a difficult ingredient just like everyone else. I didn't have anything prepared for this ingredient; I just thought it was neat.

PS I'm not updating until I get five good reviews! Didn't want to torture the forum with more My Immortal-accurate spelling.

https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-67286cb36a72db4b0ee1c700ef17de6b
Vileblood Temptress, Agent of the Queen

NE Halfling Binder 5/Survivor 2/Black Dog 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 10

Stats (with racial mods)
Str 14 (12)
Dex 10 (12)
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 16 (increases here)

Story
“There is power in the blood. But of course you knew that, as does everyone in Yharnam. Many fear that power for the changes it can bring. They are wrong to do so. Do you fear the sunset for changing day to night? The power in the blood is exactly why we should embrace it!

I apologize. I know I should keep quiet. There are many who are no receptive to the truth, and we do not need their attention. But you’re receptive, I can tell. You’re not all wrapped up in zealotry and nonsense. You’ve finished your drink? Here, let me pay for another.

They have deceived you if you think that the blood brings only healing or change. It can do so much more. Speaking of, do you feel that? The ecstatic burning of the blood within you? No, don’t run from it. Run towards it, and feel the power coursing within it.

Oh? You’ll help me in my little errand? So kind of you. I knew you were willing to listen to reason.”

Build

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

1st
Binder 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
Bluff 4, Hide 4, Intimidate 4, Sleight of Hand 2(4)
Martial Study (Shadow Blade Technique)
Soul Binding (1 Vestige)

2nd
Binder 2
+1
+3
+0
+3
Bluff 5, Diplomacy 1, Hide 5, Sleight of Hand 2.5(1)

Pact Augmentation (1 ability), Suppress Sign

3rd
Binder 3
+2
+3
+1
+3
Bluff 6, Diplomacy 2, Hide 6, Sleight of Hand 3(1)
Great Fortitude

4th
Binder 4
+3
+4
+1
+4
Bluff 7, Diplomacy 3, Hide 7, Sleight of Hand 3.5(1)
(B) Improved Binding
Bonus Feat

5th
Binder 5
+3
+4
+1
+4
Bluff 8, Diplomacy 4, Hide 8, Sleight of Hand 4(1)

Pact Augmentation (2 abilities)

6th
Survivor 1
+3
+6
+3
+6
Bluff 9, Diplomacy 6, Hide 9
Least Dragonmark (Mark of Hospitality, purify food and drink)
Uncanny Dodge

7th
Survivor 2
+3
+7
+4
+7
Bluff 10, Diplomacy 8, Hide 10

Evasion

8th
Black Dog 1
+3
+9
+6
+7
Bluff 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 6

Heir’s Mark, Improved Hospitality, Poison Use

9th
Black Dog 2
+4
+10
+7
+7
Bluff 12, Hide 12, Move Silently 12
Lesser Dragonmark (Mark of Hospitality, Leomund’s secure shelter)
Death Attack, Dhurinda’s Trick

10th
Black Dog 3
+5
+10
+7
+8
Bluff 13, Hide 13, Knowledge (local) 3, Move Silently 13, Sleight of Hand 6

Create Poison, Refine Poison

11th
Night Mask Deathbringer 1
+5
+10
+9
+8
Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Use Magic Device 8

Creature of Darkness, Hesitating Stare 1/day, Light Sensitivity, Spider Climb

12th
Night Mask Deathbringer 2
+6/+1
+10
+10
+8
Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Tumble 1, Use Magic Device 15
Daylight Adaptation
Feral Senses (Low-light vision)

13th
Night Mask Deathbringer 3
+7/+2
+11
+10
+9
Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Tumble 9

Speak with Creatures of the Night, Ghost Step 1/day

14th
Night Mask Deathbringer 4
+8/+3
+11
+11
+9
Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Tumble 17

Hesitating Stare 2/day, Lesser Blood Bond, Sneak Attack +1d6

15th
Night Mask Deathbringer 5
+8/+3
+11
+11
+9
Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Sleight of Hand 14
Cunning Evasion
Improved Evasion

16th
Night Mask Deathbringer 6
+9/+4
+12
+12
+10
Bluff 16, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Sleight of Hand 19

Slippery Mind, Ghost Step 2/day

17th
Night Mask Deathbringer 7
+10/+5
+12
+13
+10
Bluff 20, Diplomacy 11, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Sleight of Hand 20

Hesitating Stare 3/day, Feral Senses (Darkvision)

18th
Night Mask Deathbringer 8
+11/+6/+1
+12
+14
+10
Bluff 21, Diplomacy 17, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Sleight of Hand 21
Martial Study (Shadow Stride)
Sneak Attack +2d6

19th
Night Mask Deathbringer 9
+11/+6/+1
+13
+14
+11
Bluff 22, Diplomacy 22, Hide 22, Intimidate 5, Move Silently 22, Sleight of Hand 22

Ghost Step 3/day

20th
Night Mask Deathbringer 10
+12/+7/+2
+13
+15
+11
Bluff 23, Diplomacy 23, Hide 23, Intimidate 10, Move Silently 23, Sleight of Hand 23

Hesitating Stare 4/day, Greater Blood Bond

Level 5
I like Bloodborne, so I decided to go that direction for fluff. From what I can understand through the unforthcoming lore, the Vilebloods consume blood and don’t die, which is close enough to vampire for me. Their covenant is evil, so fits very well with the Westgate guild. Halfling’s a necessity for Black Dog. I elected not to use Strongheart because of the requirement of being in the Dragonmarked House, which some DMs might interpret to mean only standard halfling. If your DM does, go wild. Black Dog and Night Mask Deathbringer are each tied to mutually exclusive campaign settings which might get a stern look from a DM or judge, but this is just for fun. You might not qualify for Shadow Blade Technique since your initiator level is ½, which would round down to 0. It’s not important; the part I care about is getting Hide. Improved Binding is an almost automatic choice for Binder, but in this case I want it for Eurynome. Her abilities are all over the place. The +1 Large warhammer you wield one handed makes for a pretty good representation of the Kirkhammer (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/88ttNY5ETSc/maxresdefault.jpg) to keep the Bloodborne theme going, and being able to drop it to make it disappear is helpful for sneaky assassinations or entering spaces where weapons are prohibited. Her other abilities are surprise tools that will help us later.
Level 10
Before the SI I gotta qualify, which I’ll be doing via Survivor. Both abilities in 2 levels is the most efficient way I’ve found. Black Dog is a great class, and I’m bummed I couldn’t grab its 4th level, but I just couldn’t fit it. Death attack is fun, and the class even lets you do it without sneak attack. Dhurinda’s trick means you can poison enemies at a distance, and you can even make your own poison with the class. One of Eurynome’s granted abilities is poison blood that deals damage when ingested, making it a target for Dhurinda’s trick. Lesser Dragonmark means more uses, and also provides Leomund’s secure shelter. Due to the SLA rules, you get to cast this as a standard action, so you can use it in combat to take cover, break line of sight/effect, and hide, as well as sleep safely wherever you are.

Level 15
Boy this SI isn’t very good. Blood bond was the feature that caught my attention, even if the rest is rather lackluster. I’ve thought about using this class in several rounds of Iron Chef, but never did because of how long it takes to get the actual interesting abilities. Light sensitivity irritated me, so I got rid of it with daylight adaptation. Cunning evasion lets evasion do a little more, and even if I can’t use it to hide, it’s a free 5-foot step. I like the odds, given the ref save I rack up here. Eurynome’s got another ability that pairs with the SI in a happy accident, making all animals have a friendly attitude. Presumably this combines with creature of darkness to only make most animals indifferent. In the case of the “creatures of the night” (quick aside, not sure why the SI calls them that instead of children of the night like the vampire entry, maybe the writer was a Rocky Horror fan) it means they’re friendly so more willing to help when you speak with them.
Blood bond is of course what I’m here for, and you likely saw where this was going. Eurynome means your blood is an ingested poison, and Black Dog lets you put that ingested poison into the food and drink of others at a distance. The damage effect of the poison is unlikely to kill targets unless they’re incredibly weak, and a little blood isn’t as likely to raise suspicion as vials of poison.

Level 20
Upping the power to dominate means friends become pawns. Same delivery method means it’s just as easy to pull off the central trick. I’ll bring up here that stunning via hesitating stare makes a creature a valid target for sneak attack, and thus for death attack. Invisibility from ghost step will of course also do it, and it can also provide a round (or more, with extra uses) to finish up study if necessary. For a foe that can’t be easily hooked when eating, an alternative strategy is to hit them with the paralyzing option of death attack. Black dog helpfully gives this option. Assassin states the effect lasts for 1d6 rounds +1 per assassin class level; presumably black dog levels apply here. While the target is paralyzed they’ll be easy prey to be pinned, and then bleeding directly into their mouth initiates the blood bond. They’ll know it happened, of course, but won’t be able to do anything about it until the dominate effect expires. Shadow Stride provides tactical teleportation, and can be used to duck into or out of cover. Combine with ghost step for fun. Hope this proved amusing; I certainly had fun cooking it up.

Sources
Binder, Improved Binding: Tome of Magic
Black Dog: Dragonmarked
Least Dragonmark, Lesser Dragonmark: Eberron Campaign Setting
Survivor: Savage Species
Martial Study, Shadow Blade Technique, Shadow Stride: Tome of Battle
Daylight Adaptation: Races of Eberron
Cunning Evasion: Player's Handbook II
Image: The Incredible Hulk

Venger

2020-05-15, 08:01 PM

I'll crib your criteria (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24283651&postcount=150) since I like them so much:

Originality
1 Does the build present a compelling backstory or concept? Your method of entry is unique. +0.5
2 Does the build enter the Secret Ingredient through interesting or distinctive classes, or use interesting or distinctive means to fulfill prerequisites? I never even considered binder or survivor +0.5
3 Does the build make use of any interesting race, class, feats, or mechanical tricks that the judge hasn't seen in common use before? Black Dog is a natural fit and complements the SI nicely +0.5
4 Does the build avoid "known cheese" and overused optimization suggestions? Yes. +0.5

Power
1 Is the build capable of doing what it claims to do? You can poison people and charm targets. You invest in having hide through martial study, but don't pay for darkstalker, so you're too easy to detect. +0
2 Does the build function at the same power level throughout an entire adventuring day, rather than relying on "nova" powers? Yes. +0.5
3 Does the build thrive without requiring specific magic items, templates, or other "add-ons" to qualify for anything? You manufacture your own poison so can function without any extra goodies. +0.5
4 Does the build contribute significantly in terms of offense, defense, and utility? Your offensive punch is seriously limited versus targets who are immune to poison, precision damage, or death effects (to say nothing of those who are immune to all three) If you can't get the drop on an enemy, it's hard to say what you do. -0.5

Elegance
1 Does the build qualify for all classes taken outside the Secret Ingredient? Yes +0.5
2 Does the build qualify for all feats taken? Yes +0.5
3 Does the build avoid any rules errors, questionable rules interpretations, cross-setting material, or material specifically disallowed from this competition? Yes +0.5
4 Does the build avoid excessive dipping (defined as taking 2 or fewer levels in 2 or more base/prestige classes)? Yes +0.5

Use of the Secret Ingredient
1 Does the build qualify for the Secret Ingredient and make special use of entry requirements? It's hard to showcase great fortitude. You keep your ref save up to showcase evasion as much as possible and maintain positive dex for uncanny dodge. +0.5
2 Does the build complete the Secret Ingredient or present a compelling reason why not doing so is actually a better use of the Secret Ingredient? Yes +0.5
3 Does the build pair mechanical abilities of the Secret Ingredient with the rest of the build in unique ways (e.g. do something not every other entry can do)? Your ability to poison from afar is unique amongst the competitors. +0.5
4 Does the build complement the concept of its chassis through use of the Secret Ingredient (i.e. does the entry feel like a Night Mask Deathbringer)? It definitely does through the use of black dog. +0.5

WhamBamSam

2020-05-16, 11:24 AM

I knew there had to be a way to make your blood poisonous so Black Dog would work with the SI. I also had not previously noticed that any single-classed 5th level character could take Survivor. That's a good find as a dip-based way to qualify.

Venger

2020-05-16, 11:31 AM

I'm right there with you. I thought for some reason you'd need to take chameleon or something weird to get in, but that's probably because i usually use it as a stopgap at late levels rather than try to enter it this early.

The Viscount

2020-05-17, 07:14 PM

I had looked at the other poison blood option from warlock using the dotu acf, but it needs a ton of levels and is contact(even though it mentions similar triggers), so it was out.

Zaq

2020-05-18, 07:52 PM

Viscount, your build is almost exactly where my mind was going but didn't have the time/energy to actually put together. Thumbs up.

Incidentally, something that I found but couldn't use: the language on blood magus (CArc) and alchemist savant (MoE) is such that technically a character with both blood draught and brew spellvial can make spellvials in their own blood and just have 'em waiting in their arteries. ("You create the spellvial just as you would any other potion.")

I... decided against trying to make the argument that an enemy hit with such a bizarre thing would count as having "ingested" the character's blood, but still, that's a delightfully weird use of two abilities that really, really, really were not written with each other in mind. Anyone got any fun ideas for what one could actually do with that particular combo?

PoeticallyPsyco

2020-05-18, 08:31 PM

Incidentally, something that I found but couldn't use: the language on blood magus (CArc) and alchemist savant (MoE) is such that technically a character with both blood draught and brew spellvial can make spellvials in their own blood and just have 'em waiting in their arteries. ("You create the spellvial just as you would any other potion.")

I... decided against trying to make the argument that an enemy hit with such a bizarre thing would count as having "ingested" the character's blood, but still, that's a delightfully weird use of two abilities that really, really, really were not written with each other in mind. Anyone got any fun ideas for what one could actually do with that particular combo?

You can force people to ingest your blood by grappling, so give them a potion along with it? Something unpleasant, like tree shape.

Falontani

2020-05-19, 12:34 AM

You can force people to ingest your blood by grappling, so give them a potion along with it? Something unpleasant, like tree shape.

oh daaang, that could have been fun. Blood Magus can turn their blood into potions.

PoeticallyPsyco

2020-05-19, 02:32 AM

oh daaang, that could have been fun. Blood Magus can turn their blood into potions.

Hmm, Night Mask Deathbringer definitely lets you force them to drink your blood if you pin them for a round; I think that means they then have to use their next full-round action to consume an ounce of your blood as per the rules for Blood Magus if you're going that route. A little iffy, but cool if the DM says it works. More problematic is that it looks like the Blood Magus also automatically gets the effects of the potion by activating it this way, and there aren't many spells that you want both yourself and your opponent to be receiving.

In fact, I don't know of any, but I'm sure there're some out there!

(Unless they actually fail the save for the charm effect, I guess).

And you're burning four levels on a noncasting class in a caster build, which is hard to stomach (heh) with anything but a fast-progression casting class.

The Viscount

2020-05-19, 11:25 PM

Darrin

2020-05-24, 02:18 PM

Immanentize the Enjudgementationism

But first... a little something extra:

The 8 Stages of Iron Chef Judging

1. Excitement.

I haven't done this in awhile, and it's important to keep this tradition going. This is a really interesting ingredient, and some of these builds look really creative! This looks like a really good round to judge!

2. Unease.

This is taking a lot longer than I thought. Some of these builds are really complicated. Oh, crap, is that psionics? I've never really understood psionics. Can subtypes have a subtype? I just spent two hours digging through all my books and a bunch of dead forum posts looking for a either a spell or a typo. Maybe it's a typo? I should have started cooking dinner an hour ago. Maybe if I skip the shower tomorrow I can squeeze in another hour?

3. Panic.

I've barely got two builds done, and I started this how many days ago? I'm never going to finish! Not enough time. How the hell do I explain to friends/family why I'm doing this? If I try to explain it's Dungeons & Dragons they're going to roll their eyes and make snarky comments. F*** F*** F*** this is taking too long. PEOPLE KEEP ASKING ME FOR THINGS. I AM BUSY. WITH THIS THING THAT I CAN'T EXPLAIN TO MUGGLES. YES IT'S GOING TO TAKE 10, 15, 20 HOURS AT LEAST. F*** F*** F*** this is taking too long!

4. Psychosis.

It doesn't matter. It's just numbers! I can make up numbers, but what flavor should they be? Alcohol might help. Or the pills? Time has no meaning, so that means I can waste all of it and still dish the washes! Wash the fishes? Aquatic escape, Complete Scoundrel! Incarnum! That web article I memorized the URL but I can't remember my mother's birthday! I snort the nose. Schnozzberries taste like schnozzberries!

5. Despair.

I will never finish. Haven't touched it in days. Can't... black hole, can't get sucked in. I don't have the time, too many people... need me... failing them. Failure... Not enough time! Can't do judging. Can't do real-world things either. Can't do anything. No point, don't even try.

6. Resignation.

This is complete garbage, but I can just throw down some numbers. Write a few meaningless sentences that state the completely obvious. Where's my five-sided die? I've sunk so many hours into it, might as well just finish it. Garbage bargum argle-barble garbage. Give it a number, move on.

7. Relief.

Done. Not my best work, but hey, it's not like anyone is paying me... well, maybe most of it's garbage, but it's better than nothing, right? Might as well post it...

8. Terror.

F*** F*** F*** it's all S***. There's going to be disputes. Oh gawd, the disputes! My arguements are S***, my reasoning is S***, nothing I wrote makes any sense. There are going to be flamewars, personal attacks, people will get banned, people will leave the forums, no one will ever let me judge again.

Hey everybody, wecolme to stage 8!

Spike Punch: 15
Originality: 3

My initial take was this build looks a little bland. A monk who specializes in grappling isn't all that particularly unusual, and Warblade is a popular class. I guess my initial thought on the SI was "grappler". Eh, call it a wash.

Power: 3.5

From a combat standpoint, unarmed builds have a tendency to punch below their weight level, for all the usual reasons. Compared to a vanilla monk, this one hits a little harder once you get Craven into the mix, but relying on grappling at higher levels gets iffy as CR-equivalent enemies get bigger and immunities/counters become more common. Fortunately, you've got other interesting options, with debuffs, some minionmancy, and Warblade maneuvers. Pain Touch on a gaze attack is a genius find. Outside of combat, you've got an impressive skill package that can handle sneaking and party face roles. Overall, this doesn't feel like a particularly strong build, but has enough interesting options that it would certainly not be boring.

Elegance: 4.5

While I griped a little in Originality for using bland ingredients, what you *do* with them and how they complement each other is impressive. Monks are good at grappling, which makes your Blood Bond ability more effective. Warblade helps shore up your lackluster unarmed damage and the White Raven maneuvers improves the effectiveness of your charmed/dominated "allies". You've done a wonderful job putting together ingredients that work well with each other and make the SI stronger.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4

You worked Forgery into the build. I *adore* Forgery. However, you took it one step further. You combined Forgery with *cupcakes*. Evil cupcakes that enslave your enemies to your will. That's my kind of devious. You used most everything in the SI and did something interesting with it. You made the SI the focus of your build, and what you've added to it made it better at what it was designed to do. There are a few class abilities that you didn't do anything interesting with (such as Ghost Step), but overall this is a very well-crafted build.

The Cook: 15
Originality: 3.5

The stand-out ingredient here is Spymaster. Marshal dip is a nice little touch on a Charisma-based build.

Power: 3.5

You're a little on the squishy side when it comes to combat, but the levels in Rogue and Spymaster actually give you 5d6 sneak attack, which I think is the most sneak attack dice out of all the entries. Outside of combat... as Keanu might say: WHOA. That is a buttload of skill points. This is not a skill-monkey build, this is a skill-gorilla. You also maxed out Forgery, which is one of my favorite skills.

Elegance: 4

My favorite part of this build is Fade Into Violence. Charm your enemies, then use them to soak up damage as *Mook Armor*. That's devious. The rest of the build ties together pretty well around the "Spymaster" theme.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4

The key element that leverages what you're doing with the SI is Spymaster's Cover Identity. It reminds me of the Mountebank round, which featured the "Alter Ego" ability, but Spymaster gets Cover Identity right off the bat. While you may not have done anything particularly ground-breaking with the SI, I think you do a good job of showing how to get the most out of everything the class was designed to do.

Cilirin: 17.5
Originality: 5

I don't think I've every seen anyone use the Fox Spirit Totem for Barbarian. So that's certainly unusual. Also... Archery Barbarian! And then Voidmind template... it feels a little like you started with the idea, "What's the most bizarre and obtuse way to pick up Great Fortitude?" and progressed from there... ok, fine, you kinda already had me at 'Tentacle'.

Power: 4.5

Voidmind is a powerful template, but you lose three class levels to it in the lower levels of the build. The key question for this build would be, is losing out on those three class levels worth what you gain from Voidmind? And while you do become a meatpuppet for three powerful squidfaces, the benefits are pretty darned hefty: SR 10 + HD, stat buffs, NA +4, DR 5/magic, Cone of Slime, the tentacle thing, etc. Also, there's the immunities, which includes acid, ability damage, ability drain, energy drain, and then the equivalent of mind blank. I'm a little disappointed that you're not leveraging some of these immunities elsewhere in the build (for example, the ability damage from Dark Speech or Chosen of Evil). The Spell Resistance is the stand-out, since it's beefy through the mid-levels and still respectable at higher levels. Combat-wise, you're a little squishy on HP, and your archery isn't getting much love outside of Charming the Arrow and Rapid Shot. It looks like your bow is primarily a poison-delivery system. The tentacle is great for lockdown, but the best counter for grappling outside of freedom of movement is size modifiers. How is Cirilen dealing with creatures that are immune to poison/stunning/mind-effects (particulary undead), and creatures that are too large to grapple? (Answer: psionic skull-busting energy blasts from one of the three squidfaces riding around in her skull.) Also, the charmed minions that haven't been dissolved by acid slime can cover some of these weak spots. Skill-wise, you have a slow start but finish up as a decent sneaker, but outside of Bluff you're a little thin on support skills.

Elegance: 4

This looks like a kitchen-sink approach to qualifying for everything you need, but it's a very well-crafted kitchen sink. Mechanically, I don't see any major issues. Fluff-wise, I have a concern about why would a thieves' guild run by vampires employ someone who has a slimy tentacle growing out of her head and is controlled by three extremely powerful off-screen squidfaces? And that would only make sense if the vampires controlling the guild *WERE* the squidfaces. And that's already a thing that exists (Lords of Madness p. 160). However, that's not mentioned in the write-up. Then there's the larger issue of whether a reasonable DM would allow a player to take the Voidmind template, as it opens the door (or at least jiggles the doorknob) to a Full Henderson Scale Event. In some campaigns, allowing off-screen high-level mindflayers to arbitrarily take over or heavily influence a player's actions might be a hard sell, if the DM wasn't planning on doing that already. So Voidmind might be off the table, at which point the build falls apart.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 4

You lean very heavily into the Blood Bond ability, perhaps at the expense of ignoring some of the other class abilities. Sneak attack, for example, doesn't get much attention until Venomous Strike at ECL 18. You already have low-light vision, but getting darkvision later is useful. Hesitating Stare does get some love from Aura of Sadness. Slippery Mind has what might be an interesting interaction with Voidmind, as it suggests you could get a second save against a squidface vampire taking over your brain... except Slippery Mind only works after a *failed* save, and Mind Flayer Host (Su) does not allow a save at all. I feel like Voidmind tends to overshadow the SI.

Malik Abn Alzilu: 12.5
Originality: 3.5

There are a few stand-out elements here, notably Paladin of Tyranny and Cultist of the Shattered Peak. Also, a little garnish with Incarnum and Tome of Battle. Overall, some interesting choices, which is a good thing to see in this category.

Power: 3

So, let me see if I understand this... in order to make a *better* Night Mask Deathbringer, you had to choose *weaker* elements so you don't ruin the terribleness of the SI... that is some pretty epic-level reverse-psychological mind-wankery right there. If your goal was not to overshadow Night Mask Deathbringer, then it feels like you have succeeded. I'm having trouble guaging the combat effectiveness... for example, Paladin of Tyranny puts your BAB slightly ahead of vanilla rogue, but trading sneak attack for feats puts you behind on bonus damage. You get 1d6 sneak attack at 9th when a same-level Rogue would have 5d6, and Craven comes in at 12th when most Rogues take it as early as possible. Cultist of the Shattered Peak works well to improve what you've got, but it comes in late, and at the higher levels it just doesn't have much 'oomph' to it. At the levels other PCs are mowing down armies and tossing moons at each other you've got... Smite Mage 1/day. Assassin feels like a stronger pick there: more sneak attack and better Int-based spells with decent sourcebook support, although Int-based casting is an odd choice on a Charisma-focused build. Outside of combat, you've got an impressive skill package, and I appreciate that you continued to put ranks in Profession (Cook).

Elegance: 3

I'm fond of Incarnum, so I'm fine with using Impulse Boots for Uncanny Dodge, although I kinda wish you'd done something a little more interesting with soulmelds. Feat Rogue has some issues... you can't take Weapon Finesse at level 1 because you don't have BAB +1... which is a really stupid prereq, so I'm not inclined to hold it against you. I'm also not sure what your 2nd-level Fighter Bonus feat is supposed to be... so I'm going to assume it was Weapon Finesse. I like how you leverage your debuff abilities with Paladin of Tyranny's Aura of Despair, but I also have some trouble understanding how skulking around and sabotaging your foes via deception and subterfuge is promoting an Ethos of Tyranny. You explain why you finish off with Cultist of the Shattered Peak, but I'm having trouble understanding how it fits your backstory and theme. So Malik was of Netherese-descent but was orphaned, raised as a Zhentarim slave, then acquired by the Westgate vampires as a servant/cook/assassin. Does he get rediscovered by his Netherese family and recruited by the Cult to spy on the vampires? That's a cool idea, but Cultist of the Shattered Peak is a terrible PrC for anti-vamping, as they are immune to pretty much all of the class abilities. But really he also has a Fiendish Heritage! ... which doesn't seem to go anywhere.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 3

You've leveraged some of the SI class abilities, such as Aura of Despair with the debuffs, and adding more sneak attack with Cultist of the Shattered Peak. You even discuss how some of the more passive abilities, such as Slippery Mind, are useful. However, I feel like the pieces of this build are more of a hodge-podge that keep pulling it in different directions. Your stated goal for this build was: "What did I want to build: a sneaky fast talking con man." In that respect, I think you largely succeeded. However, I'm not sure you demonstrated that this SI was a good way to accomplish that goal outside of being required to use it.

Sang Buaya: 20
Originality: 5

An evil fire-breathing crocodile poet that bites people to force them to drink his blood, and eventually wants to blot out the sun? JUST TAKE THE POINTS ALREADY.

Power: 5

Ok, I think I only understand about half of what this build can do... but the half I do understand is extremely scary. You have a very depraved mind. I hate you and admire you in equal measure. Normally, my go-to metric for a "5" in Power is 9th level spells, or some game-breaking loophole that is roughly equivalent. You don't get 9th level spells, but you get close enough via the Sacrifice rules from BoED (DC 30 to grab an efreet for wish abuse). Actually, I'm a little bit disappointed you didn't work in one more level of Bard casting, which would get you Dark Speech + summon swarm + sonorous hum = Hivemind with 89 Sorcerer levels. Outside of combat, I could ding you for abandoning your sneak skills, but the rest of your skills/abilities more than make up for it.

Elegance: 5

I *thought* I had caught a RAW mistake: Diaboli are outsiders with the Chaotic subtype. Fiend of Possession prereqs specify an outsider with the Evil subtype. However, the Divine Minion template switches your alignment subtypes to match your patron deity. Sebek is Neutral Evil, so you do have the Evil subtypte, and you do qualify for Fiend of Possession. It would have been very helpful if you'd MENTIONED this subtype switch in the write-up somewhere. There might be one last thing I could ding you on, which would be Night Mask Deathbringer's prereqs specify "Evaction and uncanny dodge class features" (emphasis added). You used soulmeld feats, but I've already stated in previous competitions that involved Craven (which has a similar "class feature" wording) that I believe feats should count. If you're playing under a bloodyminded/pedantic DM who insists on extremely strict RAW, be aware they could rule that Impulse Boots don't qualify. Fortunately, I'm judging, so you get the full score.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 5

I have some quibbles here. Diaboli already have Darkvision, so Feral Senses doesn't appear to be useful. However, you have access to alternate forms (Crocodile, Fiend of Possession) that don't necessarily have enhanced vision, so it is useful. You don't do much with sneak attack until your very last level, so it's a little hard to argue that you're *using* Sickening Strike throughout this build. It's hard to bring up a problem with this build when your go-to solution is to turn into a crocodile, bite whatever is bothering you, and then death-roll them until they become your friend.

The Fortune Teller: 13
Originality: 4

You've got an interesting concept: a person created from a Deck of Many Things card, set loose into the world with no past, history, family, etc. I don't quite see how that connects to the rest of the build, but still, a cool idea! Entry via specialist diviner was unexpected, and there's some cleverness in how you satisfy your prereqs.

Power: 2.5

For the first 8 levels, this is a solid arcane caster build. Then... you give up spell progression for 10 levels to get some sneak attack, a few stealth abilities, a gaze attack, and some charm/divination minionmancy... all of which can be duplicated or exceeded by taking caster levels instead. While I do feel that divination magic is more powerful than most people give it credit for, the loss of 10 caster levels is difficult to justify. In combat, I like how you're using sneak attack to debuff (staggering strike, maiming strike), but I have some doubts about how effective this is going to be with the slow BAB progression and the tepid bonus damage. Outside of combat, you're good at sneaking, pilfering, and party-face stuff.

Elegance: 3.5

I'm having some issues with the backstory. The Knight card from the Deck of Many Things generates a 4th level Fighter, but this build doesn't have any fighter levels. The rest of the classes in this build don't appear to be related to the backstory either, outside of fortune tellers or diviners might use tarot cards as divination tools. Fluff-wise, this doesn't really hurt you, but the disconnect between the fluff and the crunch doesn't entirely help you, either. Ok, so moving on to mechanics... There's an argument that Prescient Sense (from Divine Oracle 2) doesn't count as Evasion, but the text more or less settles this argument when it says, "This form of evasion works no matter what armor the divine oracle wears, unlike the evasion ability used by monks and rogues." (emphasis added) You get the Dwarf domain via the Domain Granted Power ACF, which requires worshiping a deity in the Dwarven pantheon, but don't specify which deity, or why a human would be worshiping outside of their typical pantheons. I assumed this was some sort of Carrot Ironfoundersson situation, but this didn't fit the backstory. If you're looking for a deity with the Dwarf and Fate domains, Gendwar Argrim might work (Dwarven deity of Fatalism and Hopeless Causes). But then you go into Ruathar, which requires some great service to the elf community, which is not explained. It sort of makes sense that someone created via an artifact with no past/history/family might scatter around into different communities to see if she "belonged" there, but mechanically it's a bit Rando Calrissian. [EDIT: Adding +0.5 for sneaking in a reference to jhuild and twistroot beer that I completely failed to notice.]

Use of Secret Ingredient: 3

I think the biggest piece of this build that I'm missing is the "Why?". Given the character's origin, the focus on divination magic sort of makes sense, but I'm not seeing why this character would consider becoming a Night Mask Deathbringer. The dots are a little too far apart. Diviner 20 or Diviner 10/Divine Oracle 10 would be much stronger builds. Actually, I think what I'm really missing is Unseen Seer, particulary for grabbing the hunter's eye spell. On the other hand... adding divination spells to a typical Night Mask Deathbringer does make an SI based around subterfuge and manipulation a little more potent, although your write-up doesn't go into a lot of detail with the practical implementation of this. Overall, half of this build is a diviner, and half is the SI, and I don't quite see how they fit together all that well.

Lily: 12.5
Originality: 4.5

This entire build is full of surprising ingredients. Enrty with Mountebank? Using Black Dog's poison abilities to trick people into drinking your blood? Adding Shadowdancer puzzled me for a bit, as I thought taking another level of Rogue was more efficient, but you get a lot of bang for that two levels of Shadowdancer: HiPS, Evasion, and Uncanny Dodge.

Power: 2.5

Combat effectiveness is not your strong suit. In fact, most of your abilities are best used to *avoid* combat, which... when viewed from a certain angle, could be a particular kind of 'combat effectiveness'. Outside of combat, your debuffs/charm/poison abilities make you dangerous, but there are situational circumstances and creature types/immunities that could really hosejob this character. Skill-wise, you are a top-notch sneaker and party face, but not so good at Trapfinding.

Elegance: 2.5

I would have liked to see a little more effort to reconcile the different campaign elements: strongheart halflings and the Westgate thieves' guild don't exactly exist in Eberron, although there are vampires in Sharn that could conceivably employ creepy emo-goth assassins. But my biggest concern in this category is the ingredients don't quite work all that well together. Mountebank's Beguiling Stare can be used to make Hesitating Stare better, but Deceptive Attack doesn't work well with sneak attack. Presumably, you took the Mimic ACF because Mountebank already had Trapfinding, but didn't put any skill ranks in Search/Disable Device. Also, Poison Expert: Ingested comes in very late for something that's pretty integral to the build.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 3

I see a lot of work to make your Blood Bond abilities more effective, but the rest of the SI class abilities don't get much attention. Using Black Dog to make ingesting poisons/blood more interesting was a wonderful idea, but this pulls the build pretty far into "One Trick Pony" territory.

The Inescapable Clutch of Entablementarianism:

Entry
Alignment/Race
Stub
Judge: Darrin
Total

Sang Buaya (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487006&postcount=54)
NE Divine Minion Diabolus
Bardic Sage 3/Binder 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Fiend of Corruption 2
20
20

Ciliren (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24486995&postcount=52)
CE Voidmind Killoren
Barbarian 2/Psion 2/Rogue 2/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Marshal 1
17.5
17.5

Spike Punch (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24486984&postcount=50)
LE Human
Monk 2/Warblade 8/Night Mask Deathbringer 10
15
15

The Cook (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24486986&postcount=51)
CE Human
Rogue 4/Marshal 1/Spymaster 1/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Spymaster +4
15
15

The Fortune Teller (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487018&postcount=55)
LE Human
Wizard 5/Divine Oracle 2/Ruathar 1/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Ruathar +2
13
13

Malik Abn Alzilu (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487000&postcount=53)
LE Human
Rogue 2/Paladin of Tyranny 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Cultist of the Shattered Peak 5
12.5
12.5

Lily (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487035&postcount=56)
LE Strongheart Halfling
Mountebank 5/Black Dog 3/Shadowdancer 2/Night Mask Deathbringer 10
12.5
12.5

Let the terror ensue...

H_H_F_F

2020-05-24, 02:34 PM

Darrin, you're hilarious. Your judging is terrible though.

Just kidding.

By the way, I've been off-again-on-again lurking in these forums for two or three years and I recently ran into the Iron Chef challenges. I've been reading those that are about PRCs I know, and I just wanted to say you guys are awesome. All of you. :smallsmile: Maybe I'll try to participate in one some day, though I'm a bit reluctant because yáll have way more books and experience than I do.

Best wishes.

Venger

2020-05-24, 03:52 PM

Thanks for judging, Darrin. Looks great.

Zaq

2020-05-24, 04:55 PM

I read up to "stage 2: unease" and immediately called my roommate over so I could read the whole thing to him out-loud. Cold.

This was a good choice. Also very, very relatable.

I'm not even in this round, but thanks for judging, Darrin!

The Viscount

2020-05-24, 05:10 PM

Excellent insight into the judging process Darrin. Thank you for judging this round. I've definitely gone through many of these stages when I've judged.

Someone's already sent in something, see below

Thanks for judging, Darrin. I have no specific quibbles with any of the mechanical things, but wanted to clarify something about backstory. The character is not Kiara, it's the fortune teller she goes to in the tent. That's why the build is called the fortune teller.

We have scores up, so I'll give 48 hours for disputes, or if everyone's sounded off before then I'll post reveal when I've heard from everyone.

Darrin

2020-05-24, 06:41 PM

Thanks for judging, Darrin. I have no specific quibbles with any of the mechanical things, but wanted to clarify something about backstory. The character is not Kiara, it's the fortune teller she goes to in the tent. That's why the build is called the fortune teller.

Oh! Well, that makes more sense than what I came up with. I should have read the backstory a little more closely.

I said your fluff wasn't hurting you, and the mechanics are scored about where I want them. I was going to say, no change in score...

But now I just noticed your reference to jhuild and twistroot beer. The first is a drug that lowers Wis and makes the target more vulnerable to suggestion. The second is a reference to a previous Iron Chef competition. That is pretty devious! So, I'm increasing your Elegance by +0.5.

Now I have this idea of all these 4th level fighters left over from the DoMT, maybe they get together and form a guild of some sort?

Falontani

2020-05-25, 01:36 PM

Truly amazing. I'm not going to dispute because you're pretty accurate even if it's just random numbers as you've said. Definitely sending the forward to a person...Or eight.

The Viscount

2020-05-26, 06:49 PM

It's time for the reveal!

Entry
Chef
Alignment/Race
Stub
Judge: Darrin
Total

Sang Buaya (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487006&postcount=54)
Piggy Knowles
NE Divine Minion Diabolus
Bardic Sage 3/Binder 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Fiend of Corruption 2
20
20

Ciliren (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24486995&postcount=52)
Aplatypus
CE Voidmind Killoren
Barbarian 2/Psion 2/Rogue 2/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Marshal 1
17.5
17.5

Spike Punch (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24486984&postcount=50)
WhamBamSam
LE Human
Monk 2/Warblade 8/Night Mask Deathbringer 10
15
15

The Cook (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24486986&postcount=51)
DeTess
CE Human
Rogue 4/Marshal 1/Spymaster 1/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Spymaster +4
15
15

The Fortune Teller (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487018&postcount=55)
Venger
LE Human
Wizard 5/Divine Oracle 2/Ruathar 1/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Ruathar +2
13
13

Malik Abn Alzilu (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487000&postcount=53)
Korahir
LE Human
Rogue 2/Paladin of Tyranny 3/Night Mask Deathbringer 10/Cultist of the Shattered Peak 5
12.5
12.5

Lily (link) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24487035&postcount=56)
Falontani
LE Strongheart Halfling
Mountebank 5/Black Dog 3/Shadowdancer 2/Night Mask Deathbringer 10
12.5
12.5

Honorable mention goes to the Fortune Teller. Congratulations to everyone, and many thanks to Darrin for judging. I'll post the next round shortly.

Venger

2020-05-26, 06:51 PM

Thank you for the timely reveal. Congratulations to the medalists. Can't wait for the next round!

The Viscount

2020-05-26, 07:37 PM

New round is up. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?613031-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CII)

Falontani

2020-05-26, 11:10 PM

By the way, I want to say thank you to Viscount. I should not have been able to enter into the competition in the first place. I checked to see if there was a reveal, and there wasn't yet, so I was racing to finish Lily (as can probably be seen in her entry and rushed fluff), and as when I finished I began sending her in. When I finished I realized that Viscount had already said pencils down, and was on the third to last entry. Crestfallen I went off to do other things expecting to not actually have successfully entered the competition, then went to look at the other entries to see if I could at least attempt to judge. I was so happy to see that Lily was there! I have been wanting to say thank you to Viscount since then, but was afraid that he'd realize his mistake, and strike me from the competition to make it easier for anyone to judge.

tldr: Thank you Viscount! I'll try not to do that again. (And I hope it was intentional that you let me participate rather than accidental.)

The Viscount

2020-05-26, 11:46 PM

You're quite welcome. I'm always glad to have more competitors. As far as I'm concerned, the deadline is there for guidance of time frame, not to lock out any dish that doesn't get in by a certain minute. I'll accept entries until I finish posting all the dishes. I saw that your dish came in close to the wire, but the reveal was still happening, so I see that as just fine. I post something like pencils down just to keep anyone from posting in between the entries for ease of reading.

Wolfem

2020-05-27, 06:43 AM

The ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0&range=A1046:A1052) has been updated with the judge scores as well as listing the cooks to their dishes.

Venger

2020-05-27, 07:49 AM

Thank you, Wolfem. Looks great.