Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground CIII

[The Viscount]

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, wild, and wonky prestige classes.

This round we turn to Expanded Psionics Handbook. Open your third eye and expand your consciousness, because this round it's Psion Uncarnate (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/psionUncarnate.htm)

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&D 3.5 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. Here's a guide to most of what has and hasn't been updated. (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20050110x) 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, July 5th, 2020 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, The Viscount. You may submit build by email if it is too large for a single PM. 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 July 19th, 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)

Iron Chef CI: Night Mask Deathbringer (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?610308-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CI)
Iron Chef CII: Blade Dancer (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?613031-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CII)

[The Viscount]

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.
Weapons from soulmelds are considered to be magic weapons.
Not finishing Savage Progression is subject to a penalty to Elegance
One dispute per entry. Submit disputes by PM to the Chair.
Ghostwalk ghost is banned
Gold, silver, and bronze are awarded regardless of ties (e.g., 2 silvers does not preclude bronze)

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

Q: How does the augment effect for telekinetic force work?
A: When using it, it is augmented as if you spent your manifester level in PP, just like using psi-like abilities. This does not use any PP, and you cannot spend PP to augment it.

Q: What if I drop some of my assumed equipment?
A: Assumed equipment remains incorporeal, and hovers where you dropped it because it is weightless. When you next become corporeal, it also becomes corporeal.

Q: How do I use incorporeal touch?
A: Incorporeal touch is an attack action. You cannot use it in a full attack. You can use it to deliver touch powers.

Q: How does assume equipment work with 10th level on?
A:Like with shed body, except unlimited duration. If you use the ability to become corporeal, your gear also becomes corporeal.

Q: Does inertial armor and the like prevent me from phasing into objects?
A: Yes

Q: Does mundane clothing count for assume equipment limit?
A: No, that's free.

Q: Do I still have access to shed body at level 10 on?
A: Yes, though it doesn't normally do anything. For clarity, you have the +1 to DCs up all the time past level 10, you don't need to spend a use of shed body on it.

Q: Does the ability to sense surrounding creatures and objects extend to when outside objects?
A: No, that perk only is on when inside an object.

Q: How do I use weapons when under shed body/uncarnate
A: You use your Dex modifier for attack rolls and your Str modifier (which is 0 for a nonability strength) for damage rolls as the default. If you have something allowing you to substitute other ability scores, that can apply.

[Venger]

Hell yeah. I'm down to cook.

[PhantasyPen]

I was literally thinking just last week that I wanted to try this PrC out!

[Heavenblade]

Is there any general rule regarding using adaptations for prcs etc. That are offered in the book in ehich a certain class was presented?

[The Viscount]

Not really, no. Adaptations for classes are all over the place in terms of detail and how drastically they change the class. For example, unarmed swordsage makes a small number of changes, and is fairly clear about how to do that. The adaptation for using spells instead is very vague.

This kind of variance makes it hard to do any sort of broad ruling.

[Heavenblade]

Ok, makes sense!

[Falontani]

What happens if an incorporeal creature attempts to use the class ability?

What if a creature using this ability drops something while incorporeal?

Does all equipment become incorporeal when you do?

Are you considered a ghost (for ghostwalk) while incorporeal?

[Evoker]

This will be my first Iron Chef, but I would be interested in participating.

[Venger]

Welcome. Good luck in the competition.

[The Viscount]

What happens if an incorporeal creature attempts to use the class ability?

What if a creature using this ability drops something while incorporeal?

Does all equipment become incorporeal when you do?

Are you considered a ghost (for ghostwalk) while incorporeal?

If you are already incorporeal when you use shed body, you remain incorporeal. You gain the other benefits of shed body as normal.

Equipment is handled by uncarnate armor and assume equipment.

If you drop a piece of incorporeal equipment during use of shed body, it remains incorporeal hanging in the air (because it's weightless) until your shed body ends, at which point it becomes corporeal again.

You are not considered a ghost while incorporeal. Remember that ghostwalk ghost is banned.

[Empyreal Dragon]

I'm down to cook but I have some questions.


How does "cheese fondue" work? Like if I'm actually GOING for some crazy TO build.

Would items still penalize elegance if the build is designed around item use/item creation?


How does the chair feel about pulling material from specific adventures?

[WhamBamSam]

I think I'll judge this one. Here are my criteria.

OriginalityStart from a baseline score of 3.

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty based on whether the classes and such you used were things I expected and whether they were used by other entrants. Known cheese or standard handbook fare will see a deduction here (though I don't penalize Human or similar default race choices). Note that I don't reward "shameless originality grabs." If you use something that's unique or unusual for its own sake (rather than because it actually does something relevant for your build), you won't get points for it.

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty to a build doing something interesting or something we've all seen it before respectively. You can fill a common niche without incurring my wrath, but I'd like to see a new spin on it. Cool factor in your crunch may see a bonus here.

A 0.25 point bonus if I find your fluff to be entertaining. An additional +0.25 for the "best in show."

PowerStart from a baseline score of 3.

Up to a 0.5 point bonus or penalty based on whether the SI enhances the build or seems to be significantly ineffective compared to further progression in entry classes.

Up to a 0.5 point bonus or penalty based on whether the build is capable of doing what it claims to do.

Up to a 0.5 point bonus or penalty based on the build's ability to meaningfully contribute to level-appropriate encounters.

Up to a 0.5 point bonus or penalty for gear independence or item reliance.

EleganceStart from a baseline score of 4.

Each failure to qualify for a non-SI class or feat results in a 0.5 point deduction.

Up to 1 point of penalty for questionable rules interpretations and for extremely stinky cheese.

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty based on the overall flow of the build and how well everything fits together. A clean, flowing progression will score more points, whereas something that feels awkward may be penalized. As with cheese, I'm not going to try to be especially punitive toward dipping, unless you're really asking for it. Note that I try not to reward "shameless elegance grabs" any moreso than I will "shameless originality grabs." For example, I may consider 2/3/5/10 more elegant than 5/5/10 depending on circumstances.

I'll assign a 0.25 point penalty for incurring multiclass penalties that can't be easily resolved by rearranging levels. They're a stupid, stupid rule, but they are a rule.

Up to 0.5 points of bonus or penalty if the build just screams classy or is especially distasteful in a way not quantified by the above.

Use of Secret IngredientStart From a Baseline Score of 1.

I'll assign a score between 0 and 0.75 in increments of 0.25 for use/handling of each of the following: The collective prereqs/class chassis, Incorporeal Touch, Uncarnate Armor, Shed Body, Assume Equipment, Assume Likeness, Telekinetic Force, Uncarnate Bridge, and Uncarnate. Some will be easier to score higher in than others.

Failure to qualify for the SI will result in a -0.25 point penalty to each class ability, to a minimum of 0. So abilities that you neither use nor qualify for don't hurt you, but you need to qualify for the things you do use to get rewarded for them. Some abilities will be harder to score highly in than others, and in all cases, a +0.75 in a category requires that you go "above and beyond" and really floor me with how you've optimized the feature in question.

If you leave the SI early, but provide a convincing explanation as to why this is a better use of the secret ingredient (better use of the ingredient, mind, not just making your build better), then you will receive partial credit for abilities you miss (+0.25 each).

[Empyreal Dragon]

Hmmm. Unfortunately I'll have to bow out as a chef this round. My build would have been item focused

Edit:as before I'm volunteering to judge again

[Zaq]

Hmmm. I'm not feeling this one, to be honest. Maybe I'll come up with something but it's not immediately singing to my soul.

Four lost ML. Yikes.
Supernatural ability that does forgettable damage a forgettable number of times per day (usable at-will when incorporeal), but I suppose it's gently useful once you're incorporeal? Seems weird not to bake that into shed body, honestly.
Armor works weirdly, but okay.
Signature ability is usable for up to 1 minute a day at ECL ~7ish and twice per day (still 1 minute each) at ECL ~11ish. Huzzah? The class really does very little when you don't have this active...
Assume equipment is fine.
Assume likeness is cute.
Telekinetic force is cute, but the action price is bad. Standard action to go incorporeal and standard action to turn on telekinesis. Hmm. Not great. Also it requires concentration.
Uncarnate bridge is cute but it's way too limited for something that you aren't expected to have until ECL ~13ish.
Uncarnate is the good stuff, I guess.

I'm struggling. Not seeing too many hidden gems buried in this muck that aren't flat-out stupid and cheesy (and done better elsewhere). Maybe inspiration will strike out of nowhere, but maybe not. I might sit this one out. All the best to anyone who sees something fun here, though! Sincerely. That'll be fun to see.

Just in case I do get any ideas, though...

Requests for clarification:

Do inertial armor and/or mage armor (which are both described as "tangible") prevent an incorporeal character from entering a solid object?

At 10th+ when uncarnate comes online, how does that interact with assume equipment?

Just because I feel like making things difficult, does mundane clothing (not armor) count against your assume equipment limit? "It does make it impossible for the character to enter or pass through solid objects while wearing solid equipment." With assume equipment, "he can enter or pass through solid objects while wearing nothing other than the designated equipment." Do you have to take off your clothes and be totes nekkid (or use one of your assume equipment uses on "my pants") if you want to phase through a wall?

I can't think of a use of it offhand, but does a 10th+ level psion uncarnate (who is permanently uncarnate) still have access to shed body?

"He can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to his current location." Does this sentence apply only when inside an object?

[Evoker]

How does the Incorporeal Touch attack work? No action is given, so is it a standard action? Can they be used as part of a full-attack action?
Can you attack a non-incorporeal target with a natural weapon without using Incorporeal touch? Assume equipment presumably allows you to attack corporeal creatures, as it does not alter the function of the weapon.

[Zaq]

How does the Incorporeal Touch attack work? No action is given, so is it a standard action?

Yes. Supernatural abilities without a listed action type are standard actions.

[WhamBamSam]

Hmmm. Unfortunately I'll have to bow out as a chef this round. My build would have been item focusedTrying not to go too far into specifics so as to avoid speculation as much as possible, but generally (and certainly for me as a judge) item reliance generally refers to things for which you require a magic mart. If you're doing crafting or something, that's fine.

[The Viscount]

I'm down to cook but I have some questions.


How does "cheese fondue" work? Like if I'm actually GOING for some crazy TO build.

Would items still penalize elegance if the build is designed around item use/item creation?


How does the chair feel about pulling material from specific adventures?

As Sam mentioned, it's ok to use items you make. We shy away from item-dependent builds here partially because over-reliance on items can overshadow other aspects of a build and partially because not every campaign assumes access to a fully stocked item seller. Items you make are part of your character's power and reflect your class/feat choices.

If the adventures are official, such as Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde, they are legal sources.



Requests for clarification:

Do inertial armor and/or mage armor (which are both described as "tangible") prevent an incorporeal character from entering a solid object?

At 10th+ when uncarnate comes online, how does that interact with assume equipment?

Just because I feel like making things difficult, does mundane clothing (not armor) count against your assume equipment limit? "It does make it impossible for the character to enter or pass through solid objects while wearing solid equipment." With assume equipment, "he can enter or pass through solid objects while wearing nothing other than the designated equipment." Do you have to take off your clothes and be totes nekkid (or use one of your assume equipment uses on "my pants") if you want to phase through a wall?

I can't think of a use of it offhand, but does a 10th+ level psion uncarnate (who is permanently uncarnate) still have access to shed body?

"He can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to his current location." Does this sentence apply only when inside an object?

Inertial armor and mage armor prevent an incorporeal character from entering a solid object, because they interact with the corporeal world normally.

Assume equipment for a 10th level Psion Uncarnate functions similar to when using shed body, except with unlimited duration. The items you select become incorporeal for as long as you remain incorporeal. If you use your ability to become corporeal, your assumed equipment also becomes corporeal.

Mundane clothing does not count against your assume equipment limit. For the sake of our sanity, your clothes are a freebie.

Yes, a 10th level Psion Uncarnate does still have access to shed body, though obviously it doesn't normally do anything. Sorry about that. For the sake of clarity, a 10th level Psion Uncarnate, being incorporeal naturally, enjoys the +1 to DCs constantly so long as they remain incorporeal.

The ability to sense creatures or objects in adjacent squares only applies when inside an object.


How does the Incorporeal Touch attack work? No action is given, so is it a standard action? Can they be used as part of a full-attack action?
Can you attack a non-incorporeal target with a natural weapon without using Incorporeal touch? Assume equipment presumably allows you to attack corporeal creatures, as it does not alter the function of the weapon.

Normally supernatural abilities are standard actions, but I'm going to say the Incorporeal Touch is an attack action. You cannot make multiple incorporeal touches as a full attack. If you are incorporeal and you want to attack a corporeal target, your natural weapons are useless against them, and theirs are useless against you. Assume equipment does not allow you to attack corporeal creatures, since the equipment is made incorporeal. Magic weapons have 50% chance of inflicting damage, and ghost touch weapons have full effect, just like when a corporeal creature tries to attack an incorporeal one. Rules Compendium has a good compiled section on incorporeal creatures, a little beyond just what the srd has to say on the subtype.

[Falontani]

Assume equipment does not allow you to attack corporeal creatures, since the equipment is made incorporeal. Magic weapons have 50% chance of inflicting damage, and ghost touch weapons have full effect, just like when a corporeal creature tries to attack an incorporeal one. Rules Compendium has a good compiled section on incorporeal creatures, a little beyond just what the srd has to say on the subtype.

Just asking for clarification!


He can use equipment normally, deriving benefits from items that enhance his capabilities; however, all his equipment remains material even when the character is uncarnate (but see the assume equipment ability, described below).

Since equipment from Shed Body are still corporeal, what is the interaction of an Incorporeal creature using their physical weapon to make attacks. Normally you use your str for attack rolls and damage rolls; however

Strength: Any creature that can physically manipulate other objects has at least 1 point of Strength.

A creature with no Strength score can’t exert force, usually because it has no physical body (a spectre, for example) or because it doesn’t move (a shrieker). The creature automatically fails Strength checks. If the creature can attack, it applies its Dexterity modifier to its base attack bonus instead of a Strength modifier.
Would this allow someone to use their dexterity modifier to hit with a weapon not normally able to be used with dexterity (for example a fullblade, since I don't know of any weapon other than that one that explicitly can't be used with dex)? What about damage rolls? Would this mean that their str mod is considered to be 0? What is the interaction with feats such as power attack? prestige classes such as Blackguard?



sorry for the block of questions! Thank you Viscount, and if you want to leave any of these rulings up to the judge, just say so! I would just like as much information as I can get before I start thinking about exactly how I am going to attack this class.

[The Viscount]

Sorry if any of my comments sounded snappish. That was not my intention; I was just bringing up a source for well condensed rules I like to refer to sometimes. For example, I learned in the RC section on incorporeality that incorporeal creatures do not need to eat, drink, or breathe.

Good question about weapons. If you are incorporeal and are using corporeal weapons that you have not designated with assume equipment, they still use your Dex modifier for attack rolls. You use your Str modifier for damage rolls. Because your strength is a nonability, the modifier is 0. This is the default, if you're doing something to apply different stat to damage rolls, do that. When you are incorporeal your strength is a nonability, so you cannot meet prerequisites for feats such as power attack that call for a specific strength score after level 10.
This is part of the reason I chose this ingredient. Being incorporeal all the time is cool, but there's definite downsides to it as well.

I don't mind at all answering questions clarifying how the ingredients work. It gives everyone an even playing field for the ingredient. As far as I'm concerned it's part of my job to field questions and make rulings.


I'll also throw in that your incorporeal touch can be used to deliver any psionic powers with a range of touch.

[Falontani]

Sorry if any of my comments sounded snappish. That was not my intention; I was just bringing up a source for well condensed rules I like to refer to sometimes. For example, I learned in the RC section on incorporeality that incorporeal creatures do not need to eat, drink, or breathe.


Thank you for the quick response! I don't think you've come across as snappish at all. Now to look into [redacted]!

[Venger]

Chair, can we please get a ruling re: soulmelds?

[Zaq]

Ugh. I might have an idea for a protest build.

[The Viscount]

Soulmelds are not equipment, so you don't have to use assume equipment on them. Natural weapons granted by soulmelds become incorporeal when you do, and are treated as magic weapons for the purposes of corporeal/incorporeal interaction.

Because I hate that it's not explicit in the rules already, I'm adding a houserule for all current and future ICs. Weapons derived from soulmelds are treated as magic weapons.

[Empyreal Dragon]

I think given what I've learned I'll still be down to cook then. I have something I haven't seen before in mind.... is it cool if I use an old cohort from an actual game?

[Heavenblade]

Is the assume likeness ability a polymorph effect, Illusion effect, or none of them?

[ranagrande]

Can you create incorporeal items while you're incorporeal?

[The Viscount]

I think given what I've learned I'll still be down to cook then. I have something I haven't seen before in mind.... is it cool if I use an old cohort from an actual game?

You can use whatever characters from wherever you want. If you're asking about using a cohort on this build with Leadership, leadership is banned.


Is the assume likeness ability a polymorph effect, Illusion effect, or none of them?

It is neither.


Can you create incorporeal items while you're incorporeal?

The material you start with would have to be incorporeal for you to be able to interact with it. If it was, then yes, you could craft with it. The items you craft in this manner would stay incorporeal and would not need you to use assume equipment.

[Wolfem]

Created placeholder in ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0&range=A1062) for this cook.

[H_H_F_F]

I think I'll try to participate (for the first time) next time I know the SI (assuming it's not shining blade of Heironeous or something). However, I don't have the psion book, so I'll have to wait for another time. Good luck to all!

[The Viscount]

Psionics rules, classes, and even the SI can be found on the srd (https://www.d20srd.org/index.htm). The class itself is linked in the OP, you can also navigate to it through the psionics section.

[H_H_F_F]

I have never had access to psionic rules and never played with them, so I heavily doubt I'll be able to provide anything not humiliating. I have only ever used core and the 4 Complete Series books, and I have limited familiarity with some of the PHB 2 and Unearthed Arcana. The rest is a complete mystery to me. Thank you very much for the resource though! I appreciate it, and the fact that you took the time to help me get involved.

You guys are a really nice community over here.

[The Viscount]

You're quite welcome.

In an attempt to open up the abilities a bit more, I'm overturning my previous ruling.
Using your incorporeal touch is an attack action. You still may not make a full attack of incorporeal touches.

[Falontani]

You're quite welcome.

In an attempt to open up the abilities a bit more, I'm overturning my previous ruling.
Using your incorporeal touch is an attack action. You still may not make a full attack of incorporeal touches.

For clarity's sake: it functions like a natural attack, in that you can combine your incorporeal touch attack with a manufactured weapon, or other natural attacks similar to how the lich's touch attack works, correct?

[The Viscount]

As an example, if you are making a full attack with a BA of 11, you can make one attack with the incorporeal touch and one with a claw, or sword, or something else you have.

[Empyreal Dragon]

Would the uncarnate abilities function normally for everything else Involving being incorporeal?

[The Viscount]

Could you rephrase that question? I don't understand what you're asking.

[Heavenblade]

Would the uncarnate abilities function normally for everything else Involving being incorporeal?

The class actually specifies which abilities work while "incorporeal" and which ones only work while using shed body. If I recall correctly, the only two "general" abilities are assume likeness and the semi telekinesis ability. The other ones require shed body

[The Viscount]

The class actually specifies which abilities work while "incorporeal" and which ones only work while using shed body. If I recall correctly, the only two "general" abilities are assume likeness and the semi telekinesis ability. The other ones require shed body

If this is what you are asking, I'll take the wording in the class as deliberate.
Incorporeal touch being used freely, uncarnate armor, assume likeness, telekinetic force, and uncarnate bridge can all be used whenever you are incorporeal.
Assume equipment can only be used with shed body (and also with uncarnate at 10th level).

[Empyreal Dragon]

I'm just wondering if feats, spells, items, classes etc that specify incorporeal would work for it

[The Viscount]

Yes anything that turns you incorporeal works with everything but assume equipment.

[Zaq]

My build has metastasized in a direction I could not have predicted.

[Empyreal Dragon]

My build has become completely different since I began. And I don't even know who this character is anymore

[Zaq]

Build in! The write-up took a lot longer than I anticipated, but I hope it'll pay off with its desired effect.

What a weird ingredient...

[Venger]

Mine's in. This was an amazing secret ingredient. Can't wait for the reveal.

[daremetoidareyo]

I'm not going to make the deadline. Inspiration came too late. Good luck

[The Viscount]

And that's time! Now, let us sample what the chefs have prepared for us. Hold off until the all clear, please.

[The Viscount]

When there's trouble you call T. W.!


The king smiled lovingly as he tucked his young son into bed.

"Dad? You made all of the tapestries in this wing of the palace, didn't you?"

The prince just never knew how to quiet his brain down for bed, thought the king with a chuckle! Oh well. The prince was indeed his father's son.

"Almost all of them, yes! It's important for even a monarch to know how to work with their hands, after all. It won't be long at all before you'll be big enough for me to show you how."

"Almost all? So not all of them. Does that mean you didn't make that really, really big and extra-pretty one in the throne room?"

The king paused for a moment. "Well. I made… let's say an early draft of that one? But I definitely had some help. Some help from her. Who knows, maybe she'll even pay you a visit too! We're getting close to that time of year, after all…"




Note: Items in boldface are prerequisites. Superscript numbers indicate what they are a prereq for; see below.


NG 1 gray elf


Stat

Base

Cost

Racial

Total



STR

10

2

-2

8



DEX

10

2

+2

12



CON

16

10

-2

14 3



INT

14

6

+2

16



WIS

16

10

--

16



CHA

10

2

--

10




CON +1 6 at 12th. WIS +1 at 4th, 8th, 16th, and 20th.



LevelClassBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSkillsFeatsClass FeaturesPowers
1Ardent 10+0+0+2
Psicraft 4 4
K: Psionics 4
Concentration 4
Craft: Armorsmithing 4
Craft: Weaving 4
Psionic Body 2Primary mantles (Energy, Deception)energy ray; psionic charm
2Ardent 21+0+0+3
Psicraft 5
K: Psionics 5
Concentration 5
Craft: Armorsmithing 5
Craft: Weaving 5
Bonus: Ectopic Form (emerald gyre)Secondary mantle (Creation)astral construct
3Ardent 32+1+1+3
Psicraft 6
K: Psionics 6
Concentration 6
Craft: Armorsmithing 6
Craft: Weaving 6
Shape Soulmeld: astral vambracesenergy push
4Ardent 43+1+1+4
Psicraft 7
K: Psionics 7
Concentration 7
Craft: Armorsmithing 7
Craft: Weaving 7
concealing amorpha
5Ardent 53+1+1+4
Psicraft 8 3
K: Psionics 8 3
Concentration 8
Craft: Armorsmithing 8
Craft: Weaving 8
Secondary mantle (Force)energy bolt 2
6Psion uncarnate 13+1+1+6
Concentration 9
Bluff 2 (+2)
Disguise 2 (+2)
Practiced ManifesterIncorporeal touch 1d6, uncarnate armorN/A
7Psion uncarnate 24+1+1+7
Concentration 10
Bluff 4 (+2)
Disguise 4 (+2)
Shed body 1/day 8psionic fabricate
8Psion uncarnate 34+2+2+7
Concentration 11
Bluff 6 (+2)
Disguise 6 (+2)
Expanded Knowledge: expansionAssume equipmenttelekinetic maneuver; expansion
9Psion uncarnate 45 1+2+2+8
Concentration 12
Bluff 8 (+2)
Disguise 8 (+2)
Assume likenessN/A
10Berserk 15+4+2+8
Skill trick: Assume Quirk
Spot 3 (+3)
Battle fury 1/day, +10 ft movementN/A
11Berserk 26+5+2+8
Skill trick: Second Impression
Spot 6 (+3)
DR 1/—N/A
12 6Berserk 36+5+3+9
Skill trick: Swift Concentration
Spot 7
Speak Language: Buommi (cross-class)
Open Lesser Chakra: armsBeast shape 1/day (cachalot whale)N/A
13Psion uncarnate 56+5+3+9
Concentration 16 (+4)
Bluff 9
Incorporeal touch 2d6mass cloud mind
14Psion uncarnate 67+6+4+10
Concentration 17
Bluff 11 (+2)
Disguise 10 (+2)
Shed body 2/dayenergy wave
15Psion uncarnate 77+6+4+10
Concentration 18
Bluff 13 (+2)
Disguise 12 (+2)
Craft Psionic Arms and ArmorTelekinetic forceN/A
16Psion uncarnate 88+6+4+11
Concentration 19
Bluff 15 (+2)
Disguise 14 (+2)
Uncarnate bridgegreater psionic fabricate
17Psion uncarnate 98+7+5+11
Concentration 20
Bluff 17 (+2)
Disguise 16 (+2)
Incorporeal touch 3d6bend reality
18Psion uncarnate 109+7+5+12
Concentration 21
Bluff 19 (+2)
Disguise 18 (+2)
Flyby AttackUncarnateN/A
19Ardent 610+8+6+13
Concentration 22
Craft: Weaving 12 (+4)
psionic telekinetic sphere
20Ardent 711+8+6+13
Concentration 23
Craft: Weaving 16 (+4)
true creation






LevelMLPP/day (base)WIS, no itemsBonus PP from ML/WIS (see XPH pg. 18)Total PP
1121613
2261639
33 51116415
441717623
55 72517732
662517934
7735171045
8846181662
9946181864
101046182066
111146182268
121146182268
131258182482
141372182698
151372182698
1614881928116
17151061930136
18151061930136
19161261932158
20171472042189




Prereq footnotes:
1: Prereq for berserk. Nonlawful, BAB +5, proficient in medium armor, proficient in shields, proficient in longsword. Note: Proficiencies do not appear on table; armor/shields comes from ardent and longsword comes from elf.
2: Prereq for psion uncarnate. Psionic Body, K: Psionics 8, Psicraft 8, 3rd level powers
3: Prereq for Shape Soulmeld. CON 13
4: Prereq for Practiced Manifester. Psicraft 4
5: Prereq for Expanded Knowledge. Manifester level 3rd
6: Prereq for Open Lesser Chakra. Character level 12th, CON 15
7: Prereq for Craft Psionic Arms and Armor. Manifester level 5th
8: Prereq for Flyby Attack. Fly speed (see XPH pg. 149)






In her words…

I'd always known that there was more to me than just… this, what you see here. That this wasn't how I would end up. It's not quite accurate to say that I wasn't happy with myself, but I knew that I had more growing to do. That there was something in my heart that didn't match what people could see.

Whatever my true self was, I knew it was within. So I trained what was within. I focused the spark of potential in my mind; although I learned what all elves learn to do with their hands, working with my mind felt more natural. Closer to me and to my truth.

I yearned to let that which was within my heart break free and show as the real me. I found a book of teachings by the Golden Mind, and one line in there resonated with me like no other. It said that "in order to reveal what is in your heart, you must learn to let go of your physical form."

Okay, I said. Let's do that, then.

Ardents aren't hard to have fun with early on! Good armor, flexible powers, life is good. Elven weapon proficiencies aren't bad to have in the super early game when PP is scarce; that won't be a strategy that matters for long, but having a longbow in reserve can make levels 1-3 (or so) easier. Energy ray solves problems by using dice, astral construct solves problems by using an extra set of hands/actions, and so on. This character is something of a typical psionic blaster early on, really. Use whatever damage type does the job, but being able to access a beam of sonic energy anytime is remarkably useful.

Defensively, Psionic Body gives an extra +2 HP at 1st level and another +2 at 2nd level (Ectopic Form, obtained as a bonus feat from the Creation mantle, is a [Psionic] feat), right when it's most critical. DR 2/magic, from the astral vambraces, is quite relevant at this level range. Ardents are naturally proficient with shields and with heavy armor, so this character has pretty good AC, as well. Shouldn't have much trouble staying in the fight. Concealing amorpha adds a miss chance on top for extra survivability, and interestingly enough, the granted ability from the Deception mantle doesn't seem to be based on sight, so it's effective against pretty much absolutely anyone if it comes to it. Honestly, this character is something of a defensive powerhouse in this level range.

From a utility standpoint, psionic charm and astral construct add some flexibility. Never underestimate the power of a temporary friend, whether that's someone created from semi-stable ectoplasm with handpicked abilities or whether that's an existing person who might not have been your friend a few moments ago.

Cool thing about being an elf: trance isn't sleep, so there's no penalty for trancing in armor. Just a little note of convenience that's worth pointing out whenever you've got a heavily-armored elf.





In her words…

I learned how to start letting go of my shell. Let it fade. The song in my heart grew stronger; louder. Whatever my heart wanted me to be like, it was big. Real big. So I learned to get bigger; that felt great. So much closer to what I should be.

The freshness that came along with slipping free of my body made me feel like a new person. I was reminded of the last time I was a new person--my childhood. I remembered the stories my parents told me growing up, all the traditional fables. Stuff I'd planned to pass down to my own kids… the things kids believe in but that adults only believe in enough to teach their kids. You know what? I'm not ashamed. Those stories have power. They gave me a backbone to hang my new story on. They helped shape me.

I started to be able to change how I looked, at least when my body wasn't in the way. That felt better, though I still had to work on just what I wanted that to be.

I knew how I had to train. It was like a second adolescence, really working into what I should be. Just like an adolescent, I went through a period of emotional instability, but I left it behind me. It's so clear now!


Practiced Manifester may be a gimme feat when the SI costs ML, but it's got a job and it does that job well.

Shed body doesn’t last long yet, but it's key for getting out of scrapes now and then. Bluff and Disguise weren't class skills previously, but a quick set of investments gets them up to workable levels. Berserk has no class skills in common with the prior classes, so the character takes the opportunity to get some relevant skill tricks.

For new powers, telekinetic maneuver makes fighting a lot more interesting and seems thematically appropriate for a ghost-like ingredient. Psionic fabricate is, honestly, darn near OP; since nearly anything can be a material, the power is like a diet version of polymorph any object without the janky "create life" rules. Door in the way? Craft it into something more to your liking. Need some fancy armor to ensure that uncarnate armor and assume equipment matter? Suit up. It's great.

Battle fury is to be ignored. I guess it could theoretically be used in really bizarre circumstances, but no. Don't waste the time.

Since both Practiced Manifester and Expanded Knowledge are [Psionic] feats, they do double duty to make Psionic Body stronger.

The character starts on the path to her ultimate destiny around now.






I'M HERE.

I HAVE ARRIVED.

THE TIME IS NOW.

BEHOLD ME AS I TRULY AM. THE FORM THAT WAS IN MY HEART.






I






AM



THE TAPESTRY WHALE




Whale, whale, whale, what do we have here? The little elf girl was a cachalot whale all along! Her a-sperm-ations of greatness paid off!

Level 12 is where everything clicks into place. Berserk's beast shape has no duration; it just lasts literally forever unless you choose to turn back, and why would that ever happen?

What's that you say? Whales don't do well out of water? Please. This didn't come out of the blue. Binding the astral vambraces to the arms chakra grants a Menu A ability—in this case, a fly speed. No need to get all melon-choly. I know how to ce-tus it that this can go smoothly.

From MoI pg. 169: "If in doubt, err on the side of granting the creature access to all chakras." If anything, it falls under "no legs" ("no limbs" is not appropriate because whales absolutely have limbs), which simply states that the feet chakra moves. Whales have an arms chakra.

Taking expansion wasn't a fluke—cachalot whales are already Gargantuan, and so it's easy to get up to Colossal.

Telekinetic maneuver becomes extraordinarily important here. Nothing says that size pod-ifiers don't apply to the maneuver; therefore, they do. So a whale is better at using telekinetic maneuver than an elf is, and a Colossal whale is better than a Gargantuan whale. This is definitely going to skew the total bonus to the right side of the bel-uga curve! Gilding the lily somewhat, using Open Lesser Chakra (arms) gives a +2 insight bonus to grapple checks. This can easily make enemies start crying and blubbering.

Worried about not having armor? Worry not. Just fabricate it. Maybe even straight onto the body. Heavily armored whale is go. Want bonuses? Craft Psionic Arms and Armor is right there! A mouthpick weapon requires fabricate to make and a bite attack to use, so there's no problem there; both are present. Assume equipment thus remains useful. The build wouldn't be calf as good without it. This is shaping up to be a real blowout.

Shed body, naturally, makes it easier for a really really big whale to get around. It's great for baleen yourself out of trouble when you'd otherwise be up the creak!

There's no connection between the size of the original creature and the size that assume likeness has you appear as, so if people are prejudiced against whales and she'd therefore cachalot of flack for looking like her real self, our elf friend doesn't have to look like a whale.








The prince looked back at his father. "Tell me her story again, please?"

The old king smiled at his son. "Of course.

"In the heart of the planting season, if you've left a tapestry out for her and also been very good, the Tapestry Whale comes in through your ceiling—"

"How does she get in through the ceiling? Does she drill a hole or something?"

"She's very crafty! She always finds a way. No need to worry about that."

"How does she fit in the room, Dad? Aren't whales really big?"

"They are, you're right! But the Tapestry Whale is special. She simply makes it work. Anyway, if you've been very good, she comes in through your ceiling and reweaves the tapestry you left on your wall. You might start with an average tapestry, and she'll reweave it into a masterpiece for you in the blink of an eye!"

"Has anyone ever seen her, Dad? Have you?"

"Well, they say she only appears to children, and then only to the ones she likes. I know she visited me when I was young, as you can see from that tapestry you mentioned that's so much better than the ones I made alone, but I must have been asleep, because I didn't see her myself. She's absolutely silent! That's okay, though! Most children never get to see her at all."

Later that night, the prince opened his eyes at the sound of the tapestry on his wall rustling as the threads rewove themselves. As he shook himself awake, he saw her! Far larger than he'd ever imagined, her armor gleaming softly in the moonlight, there she was before his very eyes! She turned to him and gave a wink with one of her gigantic eyes, and he knew that he didn't need to be afraid. She was clearly a friend.

For some reason, the ever-watchful guards in the room seemed completely oblivious to the fact that a good 70% of the room was full of whale and that the whale was creating a new masterpiece on the wall in front of them, but the prince knew that was simply what to expect out of adults. They might not even really believe in the Tapestry Whale! How silly.

And then she was gone, silently as she came. Her story would definitely survive another generation. The prince certainly would see to that.



This is it! Her true, final form! An incorporeal whale all day every day! Feel free to rebind those astral vambraces to another Menu A option (doesn't really matter what, but even Buff or Deflection aren't literally useless even if they're small) since now the fly speed has been thoroughly outclassed by that granted by the SI.

Flyby Attack is nice enough for someone who can't swim through the ground. For someone who can? A better defensive option is hard to think of, honestly. Pop up, do your thing, pop back.

Greater psionic fabricate is, quite simply, fun. It's like the normal one, only bigger and cooler. Massive items that previously thwarted the whale's ability to craft them are now hers to command.

The powers that cost XP obviously aren't to be used every day, but that's why they come late in the build--by this point, our whale friend has no shortage of everyday powers to rely on. The opportunity cost is low, and sometimes you simply need to bend reality to be more to your liking.

Let's talk a bit about how this build uses the secret ingredient:

An incorporeal whale has a much easier time fitting through doorways than a corporeal whale does.
Craft, fabricate, and Craft Psionic Arms and Armor ensure that both uncarnate armor and assume equipment are used fully.
Assume likeness is great for when you're in areas that have an irrational anti-whale bias.
The fly speed from uncarnate is far superior to that obtained earlier.
The 50% miss chance from the granted power of the Deception mantle stacks with (or rather, is triggered separately from and is not ignored by the same things as) the miss chance from being incorporeal, which is just delightful.
"An incorporeal psion uncarnate can enter or pass through solid objects but must remain adjacent to the object's exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than his own." Therefore, a bigger character has an advantage here. What's bigger than a whale with expansion? Not much, honestly. A whale (let alone an expanded one) therefore has more ability to take advantage of incorporeality than a smaller creature can.
Incorporeal touch is hard to love, but hey, an expanded whale has really big reach and can therefore use it from really far away, if appropriate!
Who needs hands when you've got telekinetic force?
Uncarnate bridge… okay, I got nothing. It's no worse on the whale than on anyone else, but it's also no better on her than on anyone else. Fine.
Three extra [Psionic] feats, each of which comes online relatively early, helps the prereq feat of Psionic Body not be a total waste of space.


Honestly, this class is about as good as it gets for a whale.








Complete Psionic

Class: ardent
Feats: Ectopic Form, Practiced Manifester


Complete Scoundrel

Skill tricks: Assume Quirk, Second Impression, Swift Concentration


Deities and Demigods

Class: berserk


Expanded Psionics Handbook

Feats: Psionic Body, Expanded Knowledge, Craft Psionic Arms and Armor
Powers: energy ray, psionic charm, astral construct, expansion, energy push, concealing amorpha, energy bolt, psionic fabricate, telekinetic maneuver, mass cloud mind, energy wave, greater psionic fabricate, bend reality, psionic telekinetic sphere, true creation
Class: psion uncarnate


Lords of Madness

Magic item: mouthpick weapon


Monster Manual

Race: gray elf
Feat: Flyby Attack


Magic of Incarnum

Feats: Shape Soulmeld, Open Lesser Chakra


Planar Handbook

Language: Buommi


Web (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a)

Soulmeld: astral vambraces

[The Viscount]

"What is my purpose?"
"You win optimization contests."



https://filmshortage.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Screen-Shot-2013-04-18-at-11.47.15-PM.png



Hallowhall: Ghost from the machine







“How long you think we’ll be at this? I was supposed to be on the train an hour ago.” Gerrold grunted and brought the welding mask protecting his eyes up to wipe the sweat from his brow. He inspected the join around the knee.



“I dunno. Long as it takes til it’s online, I guess. We’re behind as it is. I don’t like the idea of telling Merrix we’re short on our quota two tendays in a row. I’ve got a payment on my airship coming up and if I’m late again, the dealer’s coming down here to the garage and she’s gonna bite my thumbs off.” Jenta soldered the last of the wires around the left hand and flicked a wand at them to blow out the last of the debris.



“I don’t know why you bother with that thing. ’s like I always say, an airship ain’t nothin’—“



“—but a hole in the sky you hurl money into. That’s cute.”



“You studying ventriloquism or somethin’?” Gerrold asked.



“Nah, why? Why’d you stop talking?” Not that I’m complaining, of course,” Jenta teased.



“Ha ha. Go lubricate something,” Gerrold said and stood to stretch. “I’ve got to stop pulling doubles; it’s making me nuts. It wasn’t you, I guess it’s that thing on the table,” he said.



“I’m perceiving the distinct sensation of being on a table, so I gather I’m what you’re referring to. Don’t call me a ‘thing,’ though. I won’t ask you again.”



Gerrold dropped his torch and swore before muttering the command word to turn it off.



“Is that you? I’ve not even got your jaw on yet,” he said.



“Then I surmise it’s not necessary for me to speak, is it?”



“Hey, careful with that! Is it on?” Jenta asked.



“Oh, there are two of you. One of you had better install an eye next. I think I can handle the rest from there. Let’s see, Gerrold is him, and she’s Jenta.”



“A telepath. Great. What should we call you?” Jenta screwed a bulb into one of the empty eye sockets.



“I’m not sure yet, precisely. From what I’ve gleaned, I gather I’m warforged, but I don’t feel much of an affinity with either of you. You can stick with ‘them’ for right now. Wind the crank for my right arm and you can go home to your mother.”



“Hey, I didn’t say anything about that,” Jenta scolded, but wound the crank regardless.



Their arm enabled the relay to the single eye and took over the light mechanical work. Now that the mind was online, the rest was mere grunt work.



“There is no such thing as unskilled labor, human. I’ll finish my own assembly if it means I don’t have to kick up any of my earnings for the two next tendays.” They started on the knees next and Gerrold took a step back.



“That’s a laugh. One tenday and I’ll leave the keys for the spray gun so you can get one of those fancy metallic paintjobs you clanks are so nuts for,” Jenta said.



They removed the fitting for the mandible entirely and coiled the loose wire around a magnet in their neck.



“There, this can serve as a crude speaker until I’m done since you two seem lacking in the department of brains. Can you hear me all right?” they spoke aloud for the first time.



“You ain’t got a brain in your head, y’know. Don’t care what kind of mind you’ve got going on in there.” Gerrold grabbed his coat from the hook, punched out and put on his hat.



“Well, then it looks like I don’t need that either, do I? Two weeks and I won’t tell Merrix you called me a clank.” They snapped on the housing over the chest plate. Most of what was left was detail work.



“Fine,” Jenta said. Gerrold was already out the door.



“Great. See you on Monday.”





Merrix was especially effusive upon their first meeting at the lightning rail station. There hadn’t been a telepath forged from this workshop yet. Not officially anyway.



“I’m thrilled to meet you, just thrilled,” she said, offering her hand, palm down, fingers wilted under the weight of several forms of corundum. Some were even real.



“You want me to shake it or kiss it or some third thing?”



“To be honest, just do whatever you want with it. I couldn’t give a whit,” Merrix put an arm around their shoulder. “And what should I call you, m’dear?”



“Hallowhall, I think for now. I like the evenness of it. I abominate plosives,” they said and examined the clarity of Merrix’s stones.



“Ha! Oh, you’re just a scream, aren’t you? Sure.” She guided the two of them into her private car.



“Drink?” she asked and poured herself a large brandy.



Hallowhall rifled through her mind. Much like the car, it was spacious and comfortable and there wasn’t too much in it.



“I take it you don’t have social calls with your employees often, do you, miss d’Cannith?” A few days ago, the bulb serving as their eye had been damaged in the field. Hallowhall had realized their vision wasn’t actually impaired, and without the encumbrance of vital organs such as a brain, they removed the head entirely. It provided one less extremity for enemies to latch onto, and the speaker previously in their throat was now housed in their chest. It provided a deeper pitch, which seemed to make warmbloods take their words more seriously.



Hallowhall gestured to the level plane between their shoulders and Merrix cleared her throat.



“Well, you’re really just so exceptional I thought I’d make an, ah, an exception, you see,” she said and had a seat within what Hallowhall had observed to be smaller than the minimal socially acceptable distance between non-coupled warmbloods. So she wanted something.



“Tell me, do you get to the theater often?” she drained her lipstick smudged glass.



“I have been operational for thirty-three days. No.”



“Well, there’s this fellow who’s rather important to our organization who’ll be at the next show of the Phiarlan troupe, and we’d really like to show you off. We’d cover your ticket and foo—“ she caught herself “—and, whatever else it is you might need to make sure you’ve got an enjoyable evening on your hands,” she said with a hand on the rubber seal over Hallowhall’s knee. Hallowhall skimmed through what she wasn’t saying and found it was more out of habit than desire. Merrix was looking for investors. That meant money.



“Whatever he invests, I want ten percent,” Hallowhall said.



Merrix choked and sprayed liquor across their breastplate.



“Who said anything about— oh, right. Well, that’s why we’re sending you, I suppose. Sounds a little steep for your pay grade, no?” She reached into her sleeve for a handkerchief and blessedly just handed it over rather than pawing at the wet metal herself.



“Call it a finder’s fee. If that’s what you think, I guess you’ll just have to promote me.” Hallowhall had no face to engage in warmblood pantomime, so projected some clownish wink into Merrix’s mind.



She laughed.



“Oh, I like you. You’ll do fine, just fine,” she said.



At last, they agreed on something





It was after the play now. Hallowhall had found it difficult to concentrate on what the players were saying when what they were thinking was so much more interesting. How could they concentrate on one playwright’s shallow scribblings when what lay behind the stage was so much juicier?



But Merrix hadn’t asked their help in uncovering Phiarlan’s true nature. Hallowhall’s job for now was to do whatever the warforged equivalent of “smile and look pretty” was.



The investor stood out even before he’d made himself visible. His mind was cavernous and cathedral-like. It was full of ancient, valuable, and disused things that had laid dormant for who knows how long.



“How do you do?” he’d said and offered his elbow to take them to the cocktail hour after the play and couldn’t hide his shock at the modifications that had taken place since whenever Merrix had shown him a few preliminary sketches.



Taking his arm was possible, but unnecessary. Hallowhall had lost part of their left arm in the field to a rust monster, but found their ability to perform basic tasks and even lift weight completely unaffected. The important things, the mental ones, obviously suffered even less. As a result, they’d gotten rid of the arms, substituting a pair of articulated, rubber-tipped claws in a non-ferrous housing held at a flexible distance by a telekinetic field generator housed within the hollow of the former shoulder joints.



“Councilman Gossamer. An honor to make your acquaintance,” Hallowhall said and neither bowed nor curtsied. Neither was possible due to a similar subtraction of excess material in the area formerly known as the leg.



“Yes, I’m sure. Well, better get you acquainted with the rest of the Cannith board, eh? Why don’t you come into the lounge and get more comfortable?” he said. His thoughts were something else entirely, sharp, critical, and suspicious.



Hallowhall slithered after him on a wisplike pool of ferrofluid, formed into a parody of the high heeled boots he had on, but no one seemed to appreciate the effort. As they did, they filed those rough corners off the ugly parts of his mind.



By the time they were in the lounge, he wasn’t asking them to hold a glass of some amber poison to fit in with the warmbloods, as he would’ve without intervention. The others seemed genuinely interested in hearing Hallowhall espouse their ideas of what one could do once one learned what one could do without.



When Merrix asked at the end of the night if they’d had fun, Hallowhall could give an honest yes.





“I’m just saying I don’t trust it, that’s all,” Gerrold said. He took a belt from his nearly empty flask and threw it into his locker. He shut the door a little louder than he really needed to.



“Look, we’re finally catching a break, and you want to screw it up? Do you have any idea what we could accomplish in this place if we actually had a share in it? Why do you want to jeopardize that?” Jenta looked over her shoulder for the hundredth time to see if anyone else was skulking around the garage after hours.



“Well, you and me, fine, but giving ‘forged shares in this place? Things that we flipped a switch and turned on a month ago? Yesterday? They should get a say in what I make with my own two hands? It’s ridiculous!” He shrugged on his jacket and did so carefully, so he didn’t disturb the weight in the pocket. Jenta was a good kid. She didn’t need to know what was going to happen next.



“Host, listen to yourself! You know Seren couldn’t work here when you were my age, what the hell’s the difference?” Jenta shouted.



Gerrold shook his head. “You’ll understand when you’re older. All I’m saying is people don’t change. Not overnight. Least of all not folk like Merrix.”



Jenta flicked a wand out of her purse and put a bubble of silence over her head. Judging from the blood rushing to her face and her open mouth, she was screaming. She dismissed it and caught her breath.



“You’re impossible. Next thing you’ll be saying she was replaced with a changeling as part of some Riedran plot.”



“It’s what they do, y’know,” Gerrold mumbled, not wanting to look her in the eye.



“Whatever. I’ll see you Monday.” Jenta grabbed her keys and left, not even going back to her locker for her umbrella despite the dark clouds outside.



Gerrold sighed in the empty locker room. He knew there would have to be some evidence in Merrix’s office, even if it meant breaking in.



Before his knees had failed him, he’d nearly been one of the silver keys. Would’ve been too if it weren’t dwarves only. That’s what he told anyone who’d listen, at least. There wasn’t a lock in the world that could stand in his way. After a moment or two, he was in the office. He went through the darkened room and muttered a spell so he would be able to see well enough to get something concrete before going through the file cabinet.



“What’re you doing in my office?” Merrix said from behind him.



“You can’t be in here,” he said more out of surprise than anything else. He’d made sure he was the only one in the building.



“Funny. I could say the same thing to you,” she said.



“Look, I just want it straight: why’re you taking the garage co-op? Is someone blackmailing you or something? You’ve worked hard for this place. I’d hate to see you throw it all away,” he pleaded. He even made a move to put a hand on her shoulder for good measure and with the other hand reached into his pocket for his wand.



“Wait, don’t—“



His hand passed straight through her shoulder, like air. His weight off, he fell forward onto the floor. His head glanced off the edge of the trash can and some machine parts scattered.



One he even recognized. It was part of the speaker box he’d installed in Hallowhall during initial construction.



His roguish training illuminated a catch, almost flush with the wood of her desk, carved from some ancient thing’s ivory, but this was slightly the wrong color. He tapped it.



The far wall dissolved, either teleported away or an illusion. That wasn’t his specialty. But he didn’t need magical training to say what was behind it: big, white sacs, like eggs being guarded by dusky hounds whose flesh was made of pure darkness. He couldn’t tell who, but there were people inside the milky spheres.



“What the hell are you?” he growled and leveled his wand at her, letting loose a spell the vendor told him would kill. Beyond that, he hadn’t wanted to know the details. It passed right through her like it was nothing.



“I think we already know the answer to that,” she said. Her mouth didn’t move.



“You’re—“



“Yes, Gerrold. I knew you’d get there eventually,” Hallowhall said inside his mind. Gerrold found his limbs moving against his will and he walked into the secret compartment.



“You’ll have plenty of time in here to figure out the final details, but to answer your earlier question, I don’t need the surplus value generated by the workers like you, so I’m getting rid of it. Like that old metal that’s in the trash. I don’t need armor if I can’t get hurt. I’ve certainly got designs on the new hot thing, but that doesn’t happen in this realm of screws and nuts and bolts. That’s all in the mind. Everything else is just a distraction.” The thing that looked like Merrix let a low-pitched hum out and strands of spidery ectoplasm began to cloak Gerrold while his body despite his wishes held so terribly still.



“I found you,” he said. That, at least, still seemed within his power. “Others will too.”



Hallowhall laughed and Merrix’s form before him dissolved into his own. It walked through the door to the office without opening it and on the way out spoke one last word into his mind before he disappeared into darkness and silence forever:



“Do you really think coming here alone was your idea?”





NE warforged telepath 5/psion uncarnate 10/ body leech 5





raw abilities

str 8

dex 14

con 14

int 16 (all increases here)

wis 16

cha 8



finishing abilities

str ø

dex 14

con 16

int 21

wis 14

cha 6







Level

Class

Base Attack Bonus

Fort Save

Ref Save

Will Save

Skills

Feats

Class Features





1st

telepath 1

+0

+0

+0

+2

bluff 4, diplo 4, k (psionics) 4, psicraft 4, sm 4

psiforged body

bonus feat (psionic body +2hp), discipline (telepathy)





2nd

telepath 2

+1

+0

+0

+3

bluff 1 (5), diplo 1 (5), k (psionics) 1 (5), psicraft 1 (5), sm 1 (5)









3rd

telepath 3

+1

+1

+1

+3

bluff 1 (6), concentration 1, diplo 1 (6), k (psionics) 1 (6), psicraft 1 (6)

body fuel (+4 hp psionic body)







4th

telepath 4

+2

+1

+1

+4

bluff 1 (7), concentration 1 (2), diplo 1 (7), k (psionics) 1 (7), psicraft 1 (7)









5th

telepath 5

+2

+1

+1

+4

bluff 1 (8), concentration 1 (3) diplo 1 (8), k (psionics) 1 (8), psicraft 1 (8)



telepathy





6th

psion uncarnate 1

+2

+1

+1

+6

autohypnosis 5

mindsight

incorporeal touch 1d6, uncarnate armor





7th

psion uncarnate 2

+3

+1

+1

+7

bluff 2 (10), disguise 3



shed body 1/day





8th

psion uncarnate 3

+3

+2

+2

+7

bluff 1 (11), disguise 3 (6), assume quirk



assume equipment





9th

psion uncarnate 4

+4

+2

+2

+8

bluff 1 (12), disguise 3 (9), second impression

expanded knowledge (ectoplasmic cocoon), (+6 hp psionic body)

assume likeness





10th

psion uncarnate 5

+4

+2

+2

+8

autohypnosis 1 (6), bluff 1 (13), disguise 4 (13)



incorporeal touch 2d6





11th

psion uncarnate 6

+5

+3

+3

+9

autohypnosis 4 (10), bluff 1 (14), disguise 1 (14)



shed body 2/day





12th

psion uncarnate 7

+5

+3

+3

+9

autohypnosis 4 (14), bluff 1 (15), disguise 1 (15)

expanded knowledge (quintessence), (+8 hp psionic body)

telekinetic force





13th

psion uncarnate 8

+6/+1

+3

+3

+10

autohypnosis 2 (16), bluff 1 (16), concentration 2 (5), disguise 1 (16)



uncarnate bridge





14th

psion uncarnate 9

+6/+1

+4

+4

+10

autohypnosis 1 (17), bluff 1 (17), concentration 3 (8), disguise 1 (17)



incorporeal touch 3d6





15th

psion uncarnate 10

+7/+2

+4

+4

+11

bluff 1 (18), concentration 4 (12), disguise 1 (18)

inquisitor (+10 hp psionic body)

uncarnate





16th

body leech 1

+7/+2

+4

+4

+13

bluff 1 (19), concentration 7 (19), disguise 1 (19)



drain cocoon, stasis cocoon





17th

body leech 2

+8/+3

+4

+4

+14

bluff 1 (20), concentration 1 (20), diplo 5 (13), disguise 1 (20), forgery 1



create tether hound





18th

body leech 3

+8/+3

+5

+5

+14

bluff 1 (21), concentration 1 (21), diplo 6 (19), disguise 1 (21)

burrowing power

stay conscious





19th

body leech 4

+9/+4

+5

+5

+15

bluff 1 (22), concentration 1 (22), diplo 3 (22), disguise 1 (22), forgery 3 (4)



greater stasis cocoon





20th

body leech 5

+10/+5

+5

+5

+15

bluff 1 (23), concentration 1 (23), diplo 1 (23), disguise 1 (23), forgery 5 (9)



cheat death









powers known:

five 1s: entangling ectoplasm, crystal shard, grease (psionic), charm (psionic), vigor



four 2s: amethyst burst, control sound, ego whip, suggestion (psionic)



four 3s +1 ek + leech: telekinetic thrust, dispel psionics, time hop, + ectoplasmic cocoon (ek), stasis cocoon



four 4s + ek + leech: gemstone breath, dominate (psionic), schism, telekinetic maneuver, quintessence, create tether hound



four 5s+ leech: anticipatory strike, ectoplasmic shambler, plane shift (psionic), mind probe, greater stasis cocoon



three 6s: mind switch, disintegrate (psionic), temporal acceleration



three 7s: personal mind blank, eyes of the basilisk, decerebrate







Welcome to the world. Telepath is the most popular choice of discipline for a good reason. You’ve got access to a great breadth and depth of powers that will only grow as time wears on. The mind’s eye acf allows you to trade your bonus feat at 5 for telepathy which is frankly, a no-brainer (no pun intended.)



You’ve got bfc, direct damage, and utility. Your psiforged body allows you to treat your body as a cognizance crystal and extra power points never hurt either.



Psionic body is online already and will pay dividends now and in the future, imparting 2 extra hit points per psionic feat taken. You take five psionic feats for an extra 10 hp, shoring up your d4 hd for the few things that are able to affect you once you become permanently uncarnate.





You’re in the si, and the journey is begun. Mindsight is operational allowing you to pinpoint enemies with your ever-growing telepathy, and your assume likeness is online, hence the heavy investment in bluff and disguise. Assume quirk allows you to negate the spot bonus a familiar viewer gets while disguised, and second impression allows another check if someone sees through your disguise, both highly useful and a good way to make your skill points work for you.



Expanded knowledge offers access to the shaper-exclusive ectoplasmic cocoon. It provides an sr-less way to target enemy ref saves and completely remove them from combat. Later on, it lays groundwork for more sordid tasks.



Restrain enemies with ectoplasm, damage abilities, do direct damage, dispel, time hop obstacles and bad guys away, and get ready for what comes next.





You’re wrapping up the secret ingredient and are leaving behind what you can do without. You are now uncarnate permanently. Enjoy.



Due to the quirks of the incorporeal subtype, I have made the choice for this non-egoist psion not to take expanded knowledge (metamorphosis.) Since your incorporeality is an ex ability derived from class levels, it would stick with you in new forms. Fear not, you have other fun things to do with your powers and your expanded knowledge.



There’s a huge pool of weird stuff you can do with quintessence. Specifically, you’ll be saving tubs of it to keep bodies in indefinitely, without needing to expand extra power points, and it’ll allow you to study ahead and pick out useful batteries and stock up on desirable cheat death hosts, but we’ll talk about that later. For now, whenever you’re done adventuring for the day and/or have downtime, use your extra pp making quintessence. You won’t regret it. In the meantime use it to make preserves, I dunno.





Welcome to the complement accompanying the secret ingredient. I conceived of this ingredient as something like sugar. It holds great appeal, and it’s used as a garnish in a great number of other things, but it is not a meal itself. It needed something meatier to accompany.




https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KyQutCayUQE/VW6I_PdTOGI/AAAAAAAAA6o/QYQqKRZQbQo/s320/pork%2Bbelly.jpg



Allow me to introduce possibly my favorite class in the game:



body leech.



This obscure mind’s eye prestige class understands that if you can use your own body as fuel, then so can anyone else. Fuel is food.



Burrowing power is up. Now that you’re incorporeal, you can phase into and through things at your leisure. In tandem with mindsight, this provides valuable utility when it comes to targeting hard to reach enemies as long as you maintain loe.



Inquisitor helps bolster your prodigious social skills enhanced significantly by your enormous telepathic powers. If there’s something a target knows, you’ll learn it before long.



You can imprison good hosts in stasis cocoons as long as you can spare a few pp once every two weeks or so and burn their ability points to turn into pp for yourself. You gain the benefits of die hard when knocked into the negatives, extremely useful for a warforged, especially, can create horrible beasts known as tether hounds to protect your charges (or is that chargers?) and can even cheat death itself, stealing the most useful body should anyone have delusions about permanently getting rid of you.



You’ve already divested yourself of one body, what are a few more? Enjoy your life of the mind. It’ll last as long as you want it to.





srd: psion, psion uncarnate, psionic body, expanded knowledge, body fuel, inquisitor, burrowing power

monster manual 3: warforged

magic of eberron: psiforged body

lords of madness: mindsight

mind's eye: web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040925a) body leech

telepathic communication (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070411a)

[The Viscount]

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen/Nobody knows but the psionic entity I'm permanently bonded to



https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/-/media/images/ucmc/forefront/channel-pages/science-life/bensmaia-hand-brain.jpg?h=385&as=1&hash=A9DC145BBB79F312FE49DDEC638556B68DD572D9
The Demon-Possessed, Scourge of Riedra

CG Kalashtar Telepath 5/Psion Uncarnate 10/Quori Nightmare 5

Stats
Str 9
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 17(increases here)
Wis 10
Cha 12

Build


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


1st
Kalashtar Telepath 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (Psionics) 4, Psicraft 4
Mind Mask
Discipline (Telepath), Mindlink, Telepathic Talent


2nd
Telepath 2
+1
+0
+0
+3
Bluff 5, Diplomacy 1, Concentration 5, Knowledge (Psionics) 5, Psicraft 5




3rd
Telepath 3
+1
+1
+1
+3
Bluff 6, Diplomacy 2, Concentration 6, Knowledge (Psionics) 6, Psicraft 6
Psionic Body



4th
Telepath 4
+2
+1
+1
+4
Bluff 7, Diplomacy 4, Concentration 7, Knowledge (Psionics) 7, Psicraft 7




5th
Telepath 5
+2
+1
+1
+4
Bluff 8, Diplomacy 6, Concentration 8, Knowledge (Psionics) 8, Psicraft 8

Telepathic Communication


6th
Psion Uncarnate 1
+2
+1
+1
+6
Bluff 9, Concentration 9, Disguise 4
Mindsight
Incorporeal Touch 1d6, Uncarnate Armor


7th
Psion Uncarnate 2
+3
+1
+1
+7
Bluff 10, Concentration 10, Disguise 8

Shed Body 1/day


8th
Psion Uncarnate 3
+3
+2
+2
+7
Autohypnosis 1, Bluff 11, Concentration 11, Disguise 11

Assume Equipment


9th
Psion Uncarnate 4
+4
+2
+2
+8
Autohypnosis 4, Bluff 12, Concentration 12, Disguise 12
Combat Expertise
Assume Likeness


10th
Psion Uncarnate 5
+4
+2
+2
+8
Autohypnosis 7, Bluff 13, Concentration 13, Disguise 13

Incorporeal Touch 2d6


11th
Psion Uncarnate 6
+5
+3
+3
+9
Autohypnosis 10, Bluff 14, Concentration 14, Disguise 14

Shed Body 2/day


12th
Psion Uncarnate 7
+5
+3
+3
+9
Autohypnosis 14, Bluff 15, Concentration 15, Disguise 15
Riposte
Telekinetic Force


13th
Psion Uncarnate 8
+6/+1
+3
+3
+10
Autohypnosis 16, Bluff 16, Concentration 16, Disguise 16, Intimidate 5 (2)

Uncarnate Bridge


14th
Psion Uncarnate 9
+6/+1
+4
+4
+10
Autohypnosis 17, Bluff 17, Concentration 17, Disguise 17, Intimidate 6.5 (3)

Incorporeal Touch 3d6


15th
Psion Uncarnate 10
+7/+2
+4
+4
+11
Autohypnosis 18, Bluff 18, Concentration 18, Disguise 18, Intimidate 8 (3)
Practiced Manifester
Uncarnate


16th
Quori Nightmare 1
+7/+2
+4
+4
+13
Autohypnosis 19, Bluff 19, Concentration 19, Disguise 19, Intimidate 13

Disturbing Touch


17th
Quori Nightmare 2
+8/+3
+4
+4
+14
Autohypnosis 20, Bluff 20, Concentration 20, Disguise 20, Intimidate 18

Nightmare Shroud


18th
Quori Nightmare 3
+9/+4
+5
+5
+14
Autohypnosis 21, Bluff 21, Concentration 21, Disguise 21, Intimidate 21, Psicraft 12
Burrowing Power
Nightmare Touch


19th
Quori Nightmare 4
+10/+5
+5
+5
+15
Autohypnosis 22, Bluff 22, Concentration 22, Disguise 22, Intimidate 22, Psicraft 16

Terror


20th
Quori Nightmare 5
+10/+5
+5
+5
+15
Autohypnosis 23, Bluff 23, Concentration 23, Disguise 23, Intimidate 23, Psicraft 20

Embodiment of Nightmares



Powers Known
1st: Psionic Charm, Primal Fear, Conceal Thoughts, Telempathic Projection, Psionic Grease
2nd: Brain Lock, Read Thoughts, Cloud Mind, Ego Whip
3rd: Hostile Empathic Transfer, False Sensory Input, Body Purification, Dispel Psionics
4th: Psionic Dominate, Schism, Thieving Mindlink, Psionic Modify Memory, Psionic Dimension Door
5th: Mind Probe, Psionic True Seeing, Psychic Crush
6th: Mass Cloud Mind, Psionic Contingency, Psionic Disintegrate, Temporal Acceleration
7th: Personal Mind Blank, Psionic Moment of Prescience
8th: Bend Reality

Backstory
The rattling of the metal slot in the cell door roused its sole occupant from her meditation. The voice of the guard behind the door echoed through the emptiness.
“It’s feeding time 586, come get your slop.” A bowl of unappetizing and unidentifiable mash slid through, spilling much of its contents on the floor.
“Generous though your offer is, I am rising above the need for food. The body is a prison, frail though it may be, for the mind. When I shed my body, my honed mind will be free from both it and this much more literal prison.”
The guard’s harsh laughter boomed through the narrow opening. “You’re sounding crazier than usual 586. Are you trying to become like the great ones who inspire the Chosen and guide us all? That’s blasphemy beyond what I thought you capable of. Even the demons cannot help you accomplish that. I’ll be back to beat that evil out of you.”
“Take the pleasure while you can. One day I will perfect the methods I am practicing, and it will be the last time any of the guards ever touch me. When my mind is perfected and freed, you will not find me here. It will be my turn to find you, and you will not enjoy it.”
He leaned down and opened his mouth to reply but was halted by the intensity of her gaze. He felt the alien prickling of her thoughts at the back of his mind before he shut the slot and walked away, faster than usual.

In the long hours of her imprisonment she occupied her time by becoming acquainted with the minds of those around her. At first her ability was limited, but with more training she could reach farther and maintain longer, until she was able to converse with those in the opposite cell mentally as if they were sitting in front of her. She learned of the recent developments of the outside world, of the many indignities committed against the other prisoners, and one fortunate day, of the teachings of the Golden Mind. She learned from the man in the cell below her about the Golden Mind’s teachings about transcending physical form to become purely mind. Her own dual mind and the tutelage of her Quori spirit, well suited to incorporeality, meant she took to it faster than most.

One day the guard opened the cell door and called out to prisoner 586, but he did not find her. He slept fitfully that night, her promise echoing in his mind. It was several such nights before she visited him. He was turning in for the night when he felt an unbearable pressure in his head that increased until he burst, collapsing on the floor. Standing above him was his former prisoner, her form rippling until it mirrored his.
“I should have known a cruel mind as narrow as yours would not be able to contain mine.” She slipped the keys from his belt and walked out into the night, not bothering to open the door.

Level 5
Telepath seems a fitting start for a character who’s into mind over matter. The Kalashtar racial sub level is very nice, adding Intimidate, increasing ML for telepathy powers, and improving racial mindlink. I’m passing on the other two because I don’t have a psicrystal and I’m trading away my level 5 bonus feat for one of the best ACFs in existence: Telepathy. Just like the monster ability, out to 100 feet. You know where this is going. Mind mask is a surprisingly strong effect that you can nab at 1, and helps conceal your nature when you’re using assume likeness.

Level 10
Mindsight is of course where that was going. How could I not? The middle levels of psion uncarnate are very awkward. It’s definitely back-loaded. Combat Expertise is setup for later. You can use it if you want, since you’re mostly making touch attacks.

Level 15
Now that we’re finished and incorporeal all the time, we can make use of a mean little trick. Riposte allows you to make an AoO against a foe that misses you. If you begin combat with assume likeness up there’s a strong chance enemies will make normal attacks against you and miss, triggering Riposte. If you want to get funky with it, you can choose to manifest a power without doing it defensively, provoking an AoO from the enemy. When that AoO misses, you can make your own AoO on your own turn.

Level 20
Quori Nightmare is a fun fear-based class to really play up this aspect of being feared and hated, especially as an unnatural incorporeal creature. Don’t ask me why all of its class features are Cha-based. I’m assuming you can use your incorporeal touch to channel your disturbing touch. Nightmare shroud’s augment to gain concealment is another opportunity to activate Riposte. Something I was surprised to learn is that Empty Vessels still sleep, so are vulnerable to nightmare touch. The other abilities are limited, but nice if they work. It’s a bit irritating that your class features cost PP, but the costs are fairly low and generally worth it. Burrowing power allows for one last mean trick. You can enter the ground or wall or similar solid object, then use Mindsight to locate your target. You can then burrowing power from within the safety of your unreachable position.

Background/Adaptation
A little Eberron background for those who aren’t familiar: Riedra is the empire that rules most of Sarlona, run by the Inspired, who are Empty Vessels possessed by Quori. The populace is subject to vast amounts of misinformation and propaganda, including that Kalashtar are possessed by or in league with demonic entities, hence the colorful title on a good-aligned character. This character and story is set in Eberron, which is why I didn’t’ take the otherwise excellent (but unfortunately Faerun regional) Dreadful Wrath for a fear-dabbling build. For a more permissive table I’d consider it, trading out practiced manifester.

Sources
Quori Nightmare, Kalashtar Telepath: Races of Eberron
Telepathic Communication: Mind’s Eye ACF (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070411a)
Mind Mask: Secrets of Sarlona
Mindsight: Lords of Madness
Practiced Manifester: Complete Psionic
Riposte: Dragon Compendium
Primal Fear: Races of Eberron
Hostile Empathic Transfer: Complete Psionic
Psion, Burrowing Power, Combat Expertise, other powers: srd

[The Viscount]

And that's all I have this time. Judges, do your thing!

[Venger]

Interesting looking round. Good luck, everyone.

[WhamBamSam]

Looks exciting on my first readthrough. I'll get started on my judging proper tomorrow. Should be pretty painless with only 3 entries.

[H_H_F_F]

I read up on psionics and looked up all elements I was not familiar with in each build. I believe I "get" all the builds and understand their mechanics. If the contestants are comfortable with my inexperience with psionics, I'm willing to judge this round.

[The Viscount]

You don't have to feel obligated, but if you like we welcome more judges.

[Piggy Knowles]

I had a build more or less written up, but kinda stalled out on the fluff and for whatever reason really struggled to get myself back into it. Basic idea was a lurk/swordsage combining ruby nightmare blade with the mind assault lurk augment and the uncarnate touch attack to deliver lots of stat damage with a touch. Bonus for being able to run Weapon Finesse + Shadow Blade to help with the fact that the uncarnate touch doesn't get Strength to the attack.

Here was what I had on the write-up, if anyone is interested:


((insert snappy image here))
Serpenov Lukomorye
Human, Swordsage 2/Lurk 8/Psion Uncarnate 10

Fluff teaser







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


1st
Swordsage 1
+0
+0
+2
+2
Autohypnosis 1 rank (cc), balance 4 ranks, bluff 2 ranks (cc), concentration 4 ranks, disguise 2 ranks (cc), forgery 1 rank (cc), jump 4 ranks, knowledge (psionics) 2 ranks (cc), psicraft 2 ranks (cc), tumble 4 ranks, use psionic device 2 ranks (cc)
Shadow Blade, Psionic Body
Quick to act +1, discipline focus (weapon focus)


2nd
Lurk 1
+0
+0
+4
+4
Balance 5 ranks (+1, cc), bluff 3 ranks (+1), concentration 5 ranks (+1), disguise 3 ranks (+1), jump 5 ranks (+1), tumble 5 ranks (+1), use psionic device 3 ranks (+1)

Lurk augment


3rd
Lurk 2
+1
+0
+5
+5
Bluff 4 ranks (+1), concentration 6 ranks (+1), disguise 4 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 3 ranks (+1), psicraft 3 ranks (+1), tumble 6 ranks (+1), use psionic device 5 ranks (+2)
Weapon Finesse
Psionic sneak attack +1d6


4th
Lurk 3
+2
+1
+5
+5
Bluff 5 ranks (+1), concentration 7 ranks (+1), disguise 5 ranks (+1) knowledge (psionics) 4 ranks (+1), psicraft 4 ranks (+1), tumble 7 ranks (+1), use psionic device 7 ranks (+2)




5th
Lurk 4
+3
+1
+6
+6
Bluff 6 ranks (+1), concentration 8 ranks (+1), disguise 6 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 6 ranks (+2), psicraft 5 ranks (+1), tumble 8 ranks (+1), use psionic device 8 ranks (+1)




6th
Lurk 5
+3
+1
+6
+6
Bluff 7 ranks (+1), concentration 9 ranks (+1), disguise 7 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 7 ranks (+1), psicraft 7 ranks (+2), tumble 9 ranks (+1), use psionic device 9 ranks (+1)
Psicrystal Affinity



7th
Lurk 6
+4
+2
+7
+7
Bluff 9 ranks (+2), concentration 10 ranks (+1), disguise 8 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 8 ranks (+1), psicraft 8 ranks (+1), tumble 10 ranks (+1), use psionic device 10 ranks (+1)

Initiative boost


8th
Lurk 7
+5
+2
+7
+7
Bluff 10 ranks (+1), concentration 11 ranks (+1), disguise 9 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 10 ranks (+2), psicraft 9 ranks (+1), tumble 11 ranks (+1), use psionic device 11 ranks (+1)

Psionic sneak attack +2d6


9th
Lurk 8
+6/+1
+2
+8
+8
Bluff 11 ranks (+1), concentration 12 ranks (+1), disguise 11 ranks (+2), knowledge (psionics) 11 ranks (+1), psicraft 10 ranks (+1), tumble 12 ranks (+1), use psionic device 12 ranks (+1)
Psychic Renewal



10th
Psion Uncarnate 1
+6/+1
+2
+8
+10
Bluff 13 ranks (+2), disguise 12 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 12 ranks (+1), use psionic device 13 ranks (+1, cc)

Incorporeal touch 1d6, uncarnate armor


11th
Psion Uncarnate 2
+7/+2
+2
+8
+11
Bluff 14 ranks (+1), concentration 14 ranks (+1), disguise 13 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 13 ranks (+1), use psionic device 14 ranks (+1, cc)

Shed body 1/day


12th
Swordsage 2
+8/+3
+2
+9
+12
Bluff 15 ranks (+1, cc), concentration 15 ranks (+2), disguise 14 ranks (+1, cc), knowledge (psionics) 14 ranks (+1, cc), use psionic device 15 ranks (+1, cc)
Psicrystal Containment
AC Bonus


13th
Psion Uncarnate 3
+8/+3
+3
+10
+12
Bluff 16 ranks (+1), concentration 16 ranks (+1), disguise 15 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 15 ranks (+1), use psionic device 16 ranks (+1, cc)

Assume equipment


14th
Psion Uncarnate 4
+9/+4
+3
+10
+13
Bluff 17 ranks (+1), concentration 17 ranks (+1), disguise 17 ranks (+2), knowledge (psionics) 17 ranks (+2)

Assume likeness


15th
Psion Uncarnate 5
+9/+4
+3
+10
+13
Bluff 18 ranks (+1), concentration 18 ranks (+1), disguise 18 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 18 ranks (+1), Second Impression skill trick
Craven
Incorporeal touch 2d6


16th
Psion Uncarnate 6
+10/+5
+4
+11
+14
Bluff 19 ranks (+1), concentration 19 ranks (+1), disguise 19 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 19 ranks (+1), Assume Quirk skill trick

Shed body 2/day


17th
Psion Uncarnate 7
+10/+5
+4
+11
+14
Bluff 20 ranks (+1), concentration 20 ranks (+1), disguise 20 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 20 ranks (+1), psicraft 12 ranks (+2)

Telekinetic force


18th
Psion Uncarnate 8
+11/+6/+1
+4
+11
+15
Bluff 21 ranks (+1), concentration 21 ranks (+1), disguise 21 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 21 ranks (+1), psicraft 14 ranks (+2)
Maiming Strike
Uncarnate bridge


19th
Psion Uncarnate 9
+11/+6/+1
+5
+12
+15
Bluff 22 ranks (+1), concentration 22 ranks (+1), disguise 22 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 22 ranks (+1), psicraft 16 ranks (+2)

Incorporeal touch 3d6


20th
Psion Uncarnate 10
+12/+7/+2
+5
+12
+16
Bluff 23 ranks (+1), concentration 23 ranks (+1), disguise 23 ranks (+1), knowledge (psionics) 23 ranks (+1), psicraft 18 ranks (+2)

Uncarnate



Final skill outlay:

Bluff 23 ranks
Concentration 23 ranks
Disguise 23 ranks
Knowledge (psionics) 23 ranks
Psicraft 18 ranks1
Use psionic device 16 ranks2
Tumble 12 ranks3
Jump 5 ranks
Balance 5 ranks
Autohypnosis 1 rank
Forgery 1 rank
Swift Concentration skill trick
Second Impression skill trick
Assume Quirk skill trick

1Skills pause at 10 ranks, enough to give a 75% chance of identifying a 9th-level power or below (assuming at least a +5 Int bonus). In the last levels, when Serpenov has skill points to spare, he reinvests to come up to 18 ranks, enough to successfully identify a 9th-level power already in place and in effect on a 2 or better (assuming at least a +7 Int bonus by ECL 20).
2Guarantees success with a dorje of non-lurk powers alongside a masterwork tool (DC 20).
3Guarantees success with tumbling through an occupied space alongside a Dex bonus of +7 or higher and a masterwork tool (DC 25).




Starting Stats (32 PB):
Str 8 / Dex 16 / Con 12 / Int 16 / Wis 14 / Cha 10

Level 4: Dex +1
Level 8: Dex +1
Level 12: Dex +1
Level 16: Dex +1



Lurk Powers Known:
1- Psionic grease, conceal thoughts, compression
2- Detect hostile intent, energy adaptation (specified), psionic levitate
3- Touchsight, greater concealing amorpha, escape detection
4- Wall of ectoplasm, steadfast perception, detect remote viewing
5- Ethereal agent, psychofeedback

Serpenov has 59 PP/day before taking into account items and bonus PP for a high Intelligence.



1- Child of shadowstance, sapphire nightmare blade, moment of perfect mind, counter charge, shadow blade technique, distracting ember, stone bones
3- Assassin’s stancestance, ruby nightmare blade




Fluff goes here



ECL 1-5: (Swordsage 1/Lurk 4)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

ECL 6-10: (Swordsage 1/Lurk 8/Psion Uncarnate 1)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

ECL 11-15: (Swordsage 2/Lurk 8/Psion Uncarnate 5)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

ECL 16-20: (Swordsage 2/Lurk 8/Psion Uncarnate 10)
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.



Review of abilities goes here



Sources:
Expanded Psionics Handbook/SRD (Psionic Body, Psicrystal Affinity, Psicrystal Containment, Psion Uncarnate, all powers except ethereal agent)
Complete Psionic (Lurk, ethereal agent)
Tome of Battle (Swordsage, Psychic Renewal, all maneuvers/stances)
Champions of Ruin (Craven)
Exemplars of Evil (Maiming Strike)

[MrSinister]

Clicking the Show button on "Spoiler: Birth of the true form (12-17)" might be the best thing I've done so far today, lol.

[H_H_F_F]

Hey kids! Do you know what day it is?

Do you?

it...

is...





JUDGEMENT DAY!


General notes:
I enjoyed all builds on both the crunch and the fluff fronts. They were all well explained and clearly listed their sources. I did have more to say about some builds than others, but I took the time to fully dive into everyone's dishes. Great job everyone!

Judgement:
Originality: Grey Elf was unexpected. Berserk was… I’m sorry what?


What?

You’re… a tapestry whale. I feel like there’s a pun I’m not getting. Tapestry whale = tapestry wall? Is that it?
The whole concept is just so awesome and so bizarre. The Fluff was alright at first (I’m not in love with that writing style, sorry), turned marvellous later.

Honestly, bravo. You obviously put a lot of creativity and thought into this build.

Score: 5 points.

Power: I think you probably knew you might get hit here. You’re pretty powerful considering how strange your build is, and Ardent helps you make sure you don’t lose too much power when combined with practiced manifester (more on that in elegance) but all in all, you’re just not as strong/flexible as you should probably be. You have a very limited selection of powers, and while bend reality certainly addresses that, it comes online late and costs XP. You also don’t have a ton of PP, especially later on. Your flyby attack can’t utilise your non-existent strength score (which would have been enormous if you were corporeal) and has no extra sources of damage. You’re colossal, so it’s still decent, but it doesn’t quite cut it. Your +11 BAB gets you a third attack, but as a colossal creature it will probably never hit.

You’re very much a nova character before level 18. Assuming a normal adventure with at least some closed spaces, your main shtick can only be used once per day. You can do some bluffing in your mid-levels, and you can craft psionic weapons and armor later, so some out of combat utility. However, your bluff becomes nearly useless once you embrace your new form – assume likeness still wouldn’t let you talk while in whale form, and I don’t believe you have access to telepathy. Correct me if I’m wrong. Also, though I applaud the intention, I’m not giving you any skill monkey credit for spot. It’s too little too late. If no one in your party has more than 7 ranks in spot by level 12, you have a big problem. To sum up, your main issues are lack of flexibility and resources for most of your career.

All of that justifies a very big hit in power. However, you have access to (and use) heavy armor and a shield from level 1, and you can keep using armor all the way through. Your manoeuvrability while colossal is very helpful, especially with telekinetic maneuver, as you point out. Finally, you also get access to a few extremely powerful powers. These considerations help you overcome most of the penalties for your weaknesses.

Score: 2.5 points.

Elegance: Your build is very, very well explained and easy to read, with prerequisites bolded and sources pointed out clearly. You obviously put a lot of effort into augmenting the table and into the footnotes. All math seems correct, and you seem to legally take all classes, feats, skills and powers. With one base class and two prestige classes, the build is uncluttered. You enter the SI as soon as possible, though you finish slightly late.

Taking elf to qualify for berserk is brilliant. It costs you with a sub-optimal distribution of ability points but basically gains you a level you would have had to waste on a martial class. There’s a voice in my head whispering that you could have taken human and just take martial weapon proficiency, but then I would have complained about you having to waste a feat. Once elf was settled on, grey elf makes a lot of sense. Made me smile when I figured it out.

I’m a big fan of you being able to make your own armor. You’re a person with a very non-conventional physique, so being self-reliant in that regard is excellent. Unfortunately, it seems that despite your claims, you can’t actually make your own weaponry. You have fabricate, which is what you need for a mouthpick enchantment, but you have no relevant craft skill – and trying to find a colossal weapon you’re proficient with is going to be very difficult. This is an easy fix, as you have a lot of points in weaving and you could redirect a few to weaponsmithing, but this is still a hit, which is really a shame. If I missed something in that regard please let me know.

Ardent manifesting with practiced feat seems cheesy and broken. You get to have many incredibly strong powers when you manifest like a level 13 ardent. This saved your power score from being obliterated, but you’re paying for it here. I find it very hard to believe that ardent manifesting was intended to work this way, but I don’t have the experience to call it too cheesy for sure. So, no significant penalty – but a slap on the wrist from me for sure (-0.1).

That brings us to Berserk. Using a 3rd edition source is a hit, I believe, when it seems like the class has basically been updated – to be precise, split and adapted to frenzied berserker and bear warrior in 3.5. I can’t really trash your score for this, because there is no Berserk equivalent in 3.5 and I don’t know for sure that the split I describe was intentional, but still. If berserk has been Okayed by a chairman before, I will withdraw this complaint. As for now, it’s a penalty. Edit: ruled as legal. Score and total score adjusted (0.5 points)

On that note, your use of animal shape doesn’t seem RAI, but I honestly can’t for the life of me get any clue as to what the intention was, so no hit.

I feel like there would be horrible side effects to existing as a flying whale while corporeal. Overheating and such. No penalty, just be careful not to end up exploding.

Score: 4.65 points.

Use of Secret Ingredient:I’ll start with my issues: first of which is your fly speed. It seems to me that RAW the so called “outclassing fly speed” offered to you by uncarnate is… 0. Whales don’t have land speed. I’m open to disputes on this, but for now I have to ding you.

You brought up your reach as giving you an advantage when it comes to incorporeal touch, but speaking honestly, it’s completely useless to you. Assume likeness is also not as useful as one might think, as mentioned in power, since you can’t speak – but that has been covered in the power category. I should point out I really don’t think anti-whale bias is going to be as big of a problem as you assume in most campaigns. So, not great, but it’s still used, considering your normal form is difficult to blend in with. By the way, I keep saying you can’t speak, but I recognize and appreciate your skill point investment for making whale sounds.

You don’t give the prerequisite skills any love after level 5.

And… that concludes my complaints. The build uses assume equipment and uncarnate armor to their fullest, utilises telekinetic force (low PP and limited powers known makes it slightly more useful to you than to most), and utilises incorporeality itself to its absolute fullest, while overcoming the special limitations of uncarnate perfectly. I’m also unsure as to why you disparaged your use of Uncarnate Bridge – it seems as useful to you as to anyone, and the image of the tapestry whale exploding from someone’s chest is both hilarious and terrifying. You use the feat tax satisfyingly, though not exceptionally well – getting 4 HP by level 2 is fine use.

There is no other prestige class that would make this build work, and most of what the prestige class offers is utilised creatively. T.W certainly feels like a Psion, but there is no way one could say “you’d be better off just staying as your base class”, which, for this SI, is a damn good result.

Score: 4.75 points.

Total score: 16.9 points. I’ve enjoyed reading through a lot of the Iron Chef, but this build is one of my favourites ever. It is very reminiscent of the sort of builds Akal Saris used to submit on the early rounds, and I love those. If applicable in a 3-submission-contest-context, it is my pick for honourable mention.

Originality: You hate plosives, do you now? Just because you English speakers like to speak like your mouth is full of slugs doesn’t mean you get to be all high-and-mighty about it. That’s an automatic 1 in this category from me.

Warforged is not what this class made me think of, even though I doubt that a psiforged body warforged is ground-breaking for a psionic SI. There is a penalty for taking telepath, which is the most obvious choice here in my opinion. However, if you would have shown me Body leech before this round I probably wouldn’t have called it as a sure bet.

I loved your writing style, and your fluff in general. The way you fluffed Uncarnating was very cool and very creative, and really made me buy Hallowhall as a character. That’s enough to counteract most of the previous drawbacks, and joined with Body Leech it’s enough to get you back to a neutral score. On top of that, you get a +.25 for your creative cerebrate + quintessence trick, which is very clever, seems original, and very useful for the build. It seems like it should work in my view.

Score: 3.25 points.

Power: No surprises here. You’re a body leech telepath, you’re going to be quite powerful. You’ve got diverse and powerful powers (no bend reality though, unlike your competitors) and an OK amount of PP. Body leech grants you way more PP to work with, useful friends at your home base, and as a final capstone to the build, the ability to cheat death.

You have good bluff throughout the build, you have good disguise for most of the build, and you use your high INT to get that diplomacy rush at the end. These are all very good options, enhanced by your telepathic capabilities and your assume likeness.

I had a huge internal debate about Warforged in this category. Losing out on stamina hurts you badly, and you have to spend a feat for psiforged body. That feat, as shall soon be discussed, is sorely missed. There are a lot of considerations on other sides, however. At first I thought you should be wearing armor without proficiency, which warforged keeps you from doing, but a better look at your power list showed me that enough of it was composed of ranged touch attacks to make such an option viable. I’ve settled on not dinging you here, and on not penalising nor granting you points for your use of uncarnate armor in the UoSI department.

Now, feats. Your cerebrate + quintessence combo is extremely clever, and would have gotten you huge praise for your use of body leech if it was the SI. As is, I’m debating whether or not it’s worth your sacrifice of practice manifester. Your strongest powers are not as effective as they could be, and can’t be used with burrowing power. Those are very significant losses of potential power that I think could have been more significant than the power granted to you by your unique trick.

Your burrowing power is not supported by a significant investment in Psicraft, making its use more limited than desirable.

Overall, you’re still a flexible and decently powerful manifester with a few very strong tricks and amazing survivability, and your score represents that.

Score: 4.2 points.

Elegance: Oh boy. First thing first: 5-10-5, entering and finishing the Secret Ingredient ASAP, finishing two prestige classes, moving from one class to the next without ever going back. B-E-A-utiful.

Seems like you qualify for everything, and all of your math seems correct. Which is strange, because I really thought you made a BAB mistake. You didn’t. What sort of class goes 0/1/1/2/3?

I am sort of conflicted about these two prestige classes put together. They seem kind of conflicting to me, like two completely different approaches to psionics. Body fuel is kind of wasted on you for about 12 levels. It’s a very small issue, and if it was my only problem in this department I wouldn’t mention it as it doesn’t affect your score on its own, but I’m not a fan.

A bigger issue for me is you choosing forgery 5 at level 20 (nearly useless and comes out of nowhere) when 4 more points of sense motive, a class skill for body leech, were all that you needed for inquisitor to have an excuse to exist as something beyond a feat tax. It felt careless and sloppy, like you just had skill points to waste and you didn’t even ask yourself what would be good and fit the character and the build – you just had to spill them somewhere in order to complete your table. Maybe I’m missing the mark here, but while this is not a huge issue it bugs me enough to ding you here.

Score: 4.25 points.

Use of Secret Ingredient: Here’s the thing: unfortunately, I don’t really get why you take the SI. You try and synergise it with burrowing power, and your fluff makes a lot of sense for it (helped your originality score). You’re getting credit for those, but other than that, why are you uncarnate? You don’t seem to really gain too much from being incorporeal, you don’t use incorporeal touch (granted, it sucks), you have no interest I can see in assume equipment. You get a tiny boost from uncarnate armor. The rest of your bleed is kind of doing its own thing, not really trying to enhance the unique qualities of the SI.

You also give no love to the prerequisite skills.

Your saving graces are the aforementioned burrowing power + mindsight, your use of assume likeness for Bluff+disguise+diplomacy and your dedicated use of the feat tax that is psionic body, using it throughout the build to support your fully D4 HD. Your superior use of diehard benefits has also been noted.

In conclusion, I sadly have to sadly say that if I had to describe the crunch of your build, I’d say “Body leech” – and if the sugar drowned the taste if your dish, maybe it wasn’t distinct enough to begin with.

Score: 2.5 points.

Total score: 14.2 points. I liked the spirit of the dish, I liked the idea of a robot releasing themselves from the constraints of their body, I liked a few of your unique tricks and I liked the cleanliness and elegance of the build. I felt like the dish didn’t do enough to focus in on the unique advantages of the SI and compliment them, but overall a good build.
Originality: Very little fluff, but I liked it. I’m kind of bothered by her seemingly waiting for level 20 to escape when she could have done so far earlier, but when detached from that your version is better. Overall, it’s a bonus.

Telepath, as has been stated, is in my opinion the most obvious entry. Kalashtar doesn’t help you either – and no, kalashtar telepath is not a fix. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Quori nightmare also seems sort of obvious, but I had no idea it existed before this round so I can’t penalise you for lack of originality.

Your sole saving grace here is the riposte trick, which is creative and neat, though I think you’re overestimating its power. More on that later.

Score: 2.15 points.

Power: This category starts strong for you, with a lot of useful powers and lots of PP. Burrowing power trick is very powerful, as discussed in the previous entry – and you can use it to its full extent, due to having a manifester level only one level below your character level.

Your riposte trick seems very potent on its surface. However, it does force you to use combat expertise, which means you have to melee attack every round you wish to use this trick. I am unsure how much that actually plays to your strengths, as the contestants with most powers and power points on the field. It is my understanding that you can’t manifest most powers while using combat expertise, so the trick doesn’t really work as described. I’d also point out that without combat reflexes you’re limited to one AOO per round, and riposte is limited to 1/round anyway, so triggering AOO’s on purpose seems redundant and a bad idea most of the time. Still, very clever, and can be useful.

You maintain good bluff and disguise scores throughout the build, and get a full intimidate score at the end. These are good options, enhanced by your telepathic capabilities, your mind mask feat, and your assume likeness. Your Quori nighmare capabilities are also cute, though pretty outscaled at the levels they come into play. Also, without serious CHA I can’t give you too much credit. They do make you harder to hit and have good synergies, which will be discussed later.

Overall, you’re a pretty powerful Psion with a few unique twists and access to some pretty serious powers.

Score: 3.85 points.

Elegance: Again, 5-10-5, entering and finishing the Secret Ingredient ASAP, finishing two prestige classes, moving from one class to the next without ever going back. B-E-A-utiful. All of your math seems correct, and you seem to qualify for everything legally.

From powers, to feats, to skill points and classes, everything you take seems to flow together naturally. This build screams elegance to me. It is all thought out, everything flows together, it feels like everything is there for a reason. The only issue is you’re slightly MAD, and largely ignore said MADness. That means your Quori nightmare abilities are on the weak side, and that leaves a sour taste in my mind.

Overall, very elegant build.

Score: 4.75 points.

Use of Secret Ingredient: You have no use I can discern for assume equipment or uncarnate armor. Other than that, very well done.

You use the feat tax somewhat less effectively than your competitors, but it’s still decent. You do give psicraft lots of love in the late levels, and you find a good use for it through burrowing power. Riposte is a very clever use of your miss chance, and an actual way to use your touch attacks – though as has been noted, it’s problematic. You try to enhance its use and incorporeality’s benefits by stacking more concealment and AC on top. You also try to enhance incorporeal touch, a pile of burning garbage no one else wanted to get close to, by giving yourself more reasons to melee touch attack someone. You maxed out bluff and disguise, and with mindsight they give you a good use of assume likeness.

None of those factors is huge, but they really add up to an impressive use of the class.

Score: 4.35 points.

Total score: 15.1 points. I like this build. I like the cleanliness and elegance of the class structure, I like the idea of miss chance riposte, and I like the idea of uncarnation as an unnatural terror. I’m not a fan of the “Obvious” starting point and of the underwhelming capstone, but I am a big fan of all the effort you clearly put into looking at the most boring aspects of the SI, and the way you tried to make them more interesting, stronger, and fun. Well done!

[Zaq]

Thank you for a swift and thoughtful judgment, H_H_F_F!

[MinimanMidget]

You’re… a tapestry whale. I feel like there’s a pun I’m not getting. Tapestry whale = tapestry wall? Is that it?

I don't know for sure, but I really hope it's a reference to the Wind Fish from Link's Awakening.

[The Viscount]

Thank you for judging, H_H_F_F.

A note on T.W's entry. Berserk has been used once before in Aerial Avenger, but more importantly, for the rules of the competition, only a clear update counts. Berserk was not explicitly updated, which means that for the purpose of our contest, it is legal. The most complete collection of what is and isn't updated I've found is here (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20050110x). I'll add it to the OP from here on so everyone can find it.

[H_H_F_F]

Thank you for judging, H_H_F_F.

A note on T.W's entry. Berserk has been used once before in Aerial Avenger, but more importantly, for the rules of the competition, only a clear update counts. Berserk was not explicitly updated, which means that for the purpose of our contest, it is legal. The most complete collection of what is and isn't updated I've found is here (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20050110x). I'll add it to the OP from here on so everyone can find it.

Elegance section edited and score adjusted. New total score for T.W: 16.9, as now written in the original post

[The Viscount]

How are people feeling for next ingredient? I'm trying to decide between

an oft-requested old chestnut
an old reference
a class I have never seen anyone discuss

[Venger]

a class I have never seen anyone discuss

What have you never seen anyone discuss? I vote for that one.

[tterreb]

I do like that third option. It's a great feeling to take an almost unknown class and make a good build with it. But you also increase the risk of more people being unable to come up with ideas.

[Zaq]

Door number three!

[PhantasyPen]

I too wish to see that third option, if I might vote.

[The Viscount]

Door number three!

In this special variant of the Monty Hall problem, every door conceals a goat.


I too wish to see that third option, if I might vote.

Of course, everyone's input is welcome.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I love the Tapestry Whale. Actually, all the builds had some good fluff this round, but the TW also had a lot of puns. I think I'd have to give that bonus points, were I judging (probably +0.1 in Elegance, as a counterpart to a -0.1 penalty for spelling and table errors). And of course being colossal as a workaround for having to be close to the edge of solid objects while incorporeal is genius.

And I too am curious about this heretofore undiscussed class.

[The Viscount]

If it turns out it has been discussed and I've just forgotten, I"m going to have major egg on my face.

[WhamBamSam]

Judging is in. I really liked all three entries this round.

T.W. – 18Originiality – 4.5Ardent is obvious on a psionic PrC that loses manifester levels, but you have my attention with Berserk. Some slightly unusual feat choices too, and I like Elf racial proficiency as a way to meet Berserk reqs (Otherworldy, Militia, or even MWP on a human is net neutral for feats and skill points with +2 Con and hence probably a superior choice in practice, but this feels better somehow). (+0.5)

Size increases to get around the incorporeality restrictions is cute, and that they also apply to Telekinetic Maneuver is cool. I also like that you’re able to transition Astral Vambraces from the frontloaded early usefulness of their DR to maintain usefulness throughout the build. (+0.75)

Fluff is whimsical, fun, and punny. (+0.25)
Power – 5As an Ardent, you can largely laugh at lost manifester levels, so Uncarnate definitely helps with class features more than it hurts with lost manifesting. Even tossing a few more MLs at Berserk doesn’t keep you from hitting 9ths. (+0.5)
You have slight issues with one of your tricks (see Elegance), but I suppose it doesn’t impede your tactics that much and the rules prohibit me penalizing twice. You can do the things you say you can. (+0.5)
You can contribute meaningfully and effectively to level appropriate encounters, and seem to have your bases relatively well covered despite Ardent’s limited powers known. (+0.5)
You avoid reliance on specific items to the point of emphasizing self-sufficient crafting abilities. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4You qualify for everything. (0)
Unfortunately, Expansion says…
Multiple effects that increase size do not stack, which means (among other things) that you can’t use a second manifestation of this power to further expand yourself.So you can’t use Expansion to springboard to Colossal from Cachalot Whale form. This effectively makes Expanded Knowledge (Expansion) a dead feat apart from a few Psionic Body HP, so I’m penalizing as if it were a failure to qualify. (-0.5)
A 3 level dip in Berserk isn’t going to raise too many eyebrows. You should be fine with any reasonable DM. (+0.5)
You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

UoSI – 4.5Psionic Body is bolstered by taking a bunch of psionic feats and combines with the DR 2/magic from Astral Vambraces for early game survivability. Psicraft ranks pull double duty in qualifying for Practiced Manifester. (+0.25)
Having a long reach to help deliver Incorporeal Touches is enough for points. (+0.25)
Your crafting focus and Fabricate powers ensure that you get good value out of Uncarnate Armor. (+0.5)
Increasing size to be able to pass through thicker solid objects is a clever way around Shed Body’s weird limitations relative to standard Incorporeality. Incorporeality helps you clear the hurdles that vex most larger adventurers, and if I’m not mistaken, being able to choose options from the Astral Construct menu means you can even get things like Improved Bull Rush for Telekinetic Maneuver despite not having a Str score. You even found another miss chance that works independently of incorporeality. Really well done. (+0.75)
Assume Equipment is good for you for largely the same reasons Uncarnate Armor and Shed Body are. You care about actually being able to pass through things incorporeality, but also about the assuredly good equipment you’re wearing. (+0.5)
You invest in the requisite face skills (plus Assume Quirk) to make Assume Likeness convincing and spend a lot of time in a conspicuous form that’s worth disguising. (+0.5)
Telekinetic Force doing the things you’d ordinarily do with hands when you have flippers is cute. (+0.25)
As you admit, you don’t really do anything special with Uncarnate Bridge. (0)
You care about being incorporeal for the same reasons given regarding Shed Body and made it all the way through the SI to the capstone to ensure that you remain so at all times. (+0.5)


Hallowhall – 17.5Originiality – 4.25Body Leech is a fun little obscure PrC and Warforged is a nice little wrinkle. (+0.5)

The build mostly follows the trajectory of a standard, albeit well-done Telepath build, but there’s something compelling about the interplay between Uncarnate and Body Leech that’s difficult to concisely articulate (see several items in UoSI). (+0.25)

Everyone’s fluff was good this round, but yours was particularly well-written and affecting. (+0.5)

Power – 4.5You lose some manifesting from Uncarnate on top of what Body Leech already costs you, limiting you to 7ths. That’s not as bad with psionics as it would be for a caster, but you lack Practiced Manifester to keep up with augmentation. You still get enough from Uncarnate that you’re not really losing out, but you fall short of getting a bonus here. (0)
You can do the things you say you can. (+0.5)
Those things allow you to contribute to a wide variety of level-appropriate encounters. (+0.5)
You function without undue item reliance. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4.5You qualify for everything. (0)
You avoid questionable rules interpretations. (0)
5/10/5 is nice and clean. Hard to imagine any reasonable DM taking issue. (+0.5)
You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

UoSI – 4.25Psionic Body is bolstered by taking a bunch of psionic feats, some of which pay taxes for Body Leech, and which shore up your lowish Psion’s HP. (+0.25)
You don’t really do anything with Incorporeal Touch.
Getting your armor bonus from Warforged Composite Plating means you can get the benefit from Uncarnate Armor and still do cool incorporeal things like walking through walls before you even get Assume Equipment. (+0.5)
Burrowing Power and Mindsight synergize nicely with incorporeality from Shed Body by allowing you to put solid barriers between yourself and the scrubs who care about such things while still sensing and doing mean things to them. (+0.5)
As you don’t need Assume Equipment to make your armor, cognizance crystal, or anything else that’s part of your Warforged being incorporeal, that gives you one extra slots for other magical doodads to assume. (+0.5)
You invest in the requisite face skills (plus Assume Quirk) to make Assume Likeness convincing and often want to avoid suspicion about what may have become of the people you’re impersonating. (+0.5)
You don’t really do anything special with Telekinetic Force. (0)
I’m fond of replacement body shenanigans, and I like the idea of being able to enter a new host body after ‘dying,’ and have another creature with an intelligence score within reach to Uncarnate Bridge back into the fray through, even if that only works against people who have forced their way pretty far into somewhere you’d rather they not. (+0.5)
You care about being incorporeal for the same reasons given regarding Shed Body and made it all the way through the SI to the capstone to ensure that you remain so at all times. (+0.5)


The Demon Possessed – 16.5Originiality – 4Kalashtar Telepath is pretty much Default Psion, and you’ll often see Quori Nightmare tacked on, but you have some unusual feat choices that keep my interest from waning too much. (0)

I have to say, making people miss due to incorporeality and triggering an Incorporeal Touch Riposte is more fun than it has any right to be, and Mind Mask is more interesting on an Uncarnate than it would ordinarily be, since you yourself are rendered psionic/magical in ways that aren’t excluded. (+0.25)

Fluff is a fun take on the tried and true “becoming free from the physical self.” (+0.25)
Power – 4.5You lose manifesting, but not enough to fall below 8ths, and the nature of augmentation means psionics don’t suffer from the loss of higher level powers in quite the way casting does when limited to lower level spells. You come out ahead with Uncarnate. (+0.25)
You can do the things you say you can. (+0.5)
You lean a little harder on Mind-Affecting powers than I’d like, but between several broad utility choices and, eventually, Psionic Disintigrate covering the types of enemies that most commonly bedevil Mind-Affecting reliance, you largely should hold up in most level-appropriate encounters. (+0.25)
You avoid excessive item reliance. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4.5You qualify for everything. (0)
You avoid questionable rules interpretations. (0)
5/10/5 is nice and clean. Hard to imagine any reasonable DM taking issue. (+0.5)
You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

UoSI – 3.5You don’t take as many psionic feats as some of your competition, but take two in the early going when shoring up your HP matters most, and use the Psicraft ranks to qualify for Practiced Manifester. I suppose technically the fact that you have psionic feats qualifies you for Quori Nightmare as well. (+0.25)
Use of touch attacks means you can afford to take penalties for Combat Expertise and is a vector for Quori Nightmare’s Distubing Touch/Nightmare Touch. (+0.5)
You don’t really seem to do anything special with Uncarnate Armor and as you rely on Cha a bit more than the other builds, trading the usual deflection bonus for an armor bonus doesn’t feel as good. (0)
Burrowing Power and Mindsight synergize nicely with incorporeality from Shed Body by allowing you to put solid barriers between yourself and the scrubs who care about such things while still sensing and doing mean things to them. The added option of making people miss due to incorporeality so you can Riposte them, and concealment for another synergistic miss chance takes you above and beyond. (+0.75)
You like gear as much as the next adventurer, but you don’t seem to really do anything special with Assume Equipment. (0)
You invest in the requisite face skills to make Assume Likeness convincing, and take relevant powers and Mind Mask to thwart magical discovery. (+0.5)
You don’t really do anything to optimize around Telekinetic Force. (0)
You don’t really do anything to optimize around Uncarnate Bridge. (0)
You care about being incorporeal for the same reasons given regarding Shed Body and made it all the way through the SI to the capstone to ensure that you remain so at all times. (+0.5)

[Zaq]

Thank you, Sam! I have no disputes. For either judge, which I just realized I didn't say before.

[Zaq]

Table after 2 judges and the current disputes/lack thereof. Feel free to check my math.



Build
Judge 1: H_H_F_F
Judge 2: WhamBamSam
Total
Place
Chef


T.W.
16.9
18
34.9
Gold
???AN UNKNOWABLE MYSTERY???


Hallowhall
14.2
17.5
31.7
Silver
???AN UNKNOWABLE MYSTERY???


586, the Demon-Possessed
15.1
16.5
31.6
Bronze
???AN UNKNOWABLE MYSTERY???



I haven't checked The Spreadsheet, but I'm not sure I've ever seen 2nd and 3rd separated by 0.1 points before.

[The Viscount]

Wow that's close. Thank you for the table Zaq. I'll give our chefs a few days for disputes. If we hear back from everyone we can start the next round early.

[H_H_F_F]

Thank you, Sam! I have no disputes. For either judge, which I just realized I didn't say before.

Good to know, but couldn't saying that be bad for anonymity? Espicialy in such a small round?

[H_H_F_F]

Table after 2 judges and the current disputes/lack thereof. Feel free to check my math.



Build
Judge 1: H_H_F_F
Judge 2: WhamBamSam
Total
Place
Chef


T.W.
16.9
18
34.9
Gold
???AN UNKNOWABLE MYSTERY???


Hallowhall
14.2
17.5
31.7
Silver
???AN UNKNOWABLE MYSTERY???


586, the Demon-Possessed
15.1
16.5
31.6
Bronze
???AN UNKNOWABLE MYSTERY???



I haven't checked The Spreadsheet, but I'm not sure I've ever seen 2nd and 3rd separated by 0.1 points before.

That's probably on me for using both 0.25 and 0.1 increments in my judging. Very close! Do we have any more judges we know of?

[Venger]

Thanks for judging, WhamBamSam. No disputes from me either for either judge.

[The Viscount]

Good to know, but couldn't saying that be bad for anonymity? Espicialy in such a small round?

Maybe just a little, but it means I can get a head count of who's seen the scores and if I'm waiting on any more disputes. It's pretty normal for chefs to announce that they have no disputes.

Speaking of, we've heard back, so it's time for the reveal!



Build
Judge 1: H_H_F_F
Judge 2: WhamBamSam
Total
Place
Chef


T.W.
16.9
18
34.9
Gold
Zaq


Hallowhall
14.2
17.5
31.7
Silver
Venger


The Demon-Possessed
15.1
16.5
31.6
Third
The Viscount



Which also means its time for me to admit to my little deception. I made a build for this round to keep my skills sharp, and because I don't want to inflict an ingredient on everyone I would consider using myself. I saw that we had a very small round of 2 with no other submissions in sight, so I decided to put mine in to fill out the round, because I knew I couldn't push anyone off the pedestal. Since I'm Chair I have an unfair advantage so won't have a medal this round. Sorry if anyone feels tricked.

Congratulations to everyone, and thanks to our judges for their speedy evaluations! I'll have the new round up shortly.

[Venger]

I certainly don't have an issue with it. Makes sense to me. Congrats, Zaq. Great dish. Can't wait for the next one.

[H_H_F_F]

What a twist! Well done everyone!

[The Viscount]

New round is now! (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?615697-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CIV)
I hope everyone likes what we voted for.

[Zaq]

Thanks, everyone! The Tapestry Whale was a weird joke/protest build that kind of works, I guess? I originally just thought "wow, this ingredient is so bad that I'd rather just screw off and be a whale instead." So I did. Then I realized that there was just the tiniest bit more synergy than I had originally thought, so I leaned into it however I could.

The tapestry part was after I realized that I needed to take fabricate to make the SI's equipment-related stuff functional (I mean, really, are you just gonna find whale-sized/shaped armor for sale?), it dawned on me that I really should take some kind of other Craft skill to go with it. When the idea of "eh, use Craft: Weaving to turn a tapestry into a fancier tapestry" came up, I decided to turn the build into a weird Tooth Fairy / Easter Bunny kind of figure, just because we were already a heavily-armored psionic ghost whale, so what's a little bit more absurdism in the mix?

So no, it wasn't a pun, and it wasn't even really a reference (except to the general concept of "mythical figure that visits children in the night"). Just cheerful nonsense, really, because the SI was so bad that I couldn't think of anything that wasn't nonsense.

Oh, okay, I guess there was something of a reference: anyone ever played Baten Kaitos? If you haven't, eh, don't, it's pretty bad. But if you have, you remember that confusing and somewhat nonsensical thing at the very end about how the whale was in your heart all along or some such? That was definitely why I kept using the phrase "in my heart" to refer to the character's whale-ness.

I'm glad that the puns were well-received. (That section of the build was full of whale puns and armor!) Being extremely careful to not give away the game too early was more challenging than I thought, but it seems to have paid off.

...Anyone else feel like their builds are getting weirder lately? I mean, my builds have always been weird, but I think I'm going nuts in quarantine or something and just saying "screw it, anything goes, tapestry whale, make it happen."

[PoeticallyPsyco]

...Anyone else feel like their builds are getting weirder lately? I mean, my builds have always been weird, but I think I'm going nuts in quarantine or something and just saying "screw it, anything goes, tapestry whale, make it happen."

If anything, my builds are getting more tame. Probably a large part of why I haven't been finishing them; without something that makes me sit up and go "Yes! That's hilarious/awesome!" what's the point?

EDIT: Although looking through my submissions, it looks like my grappling halfling builds (and to a lesser extent War Child) both came after the relatively straight-laced Jackie the Jinx, Atriox, and Azoth. So maybe it's cyclical, and I've got some wacky nonsense to look forward to!

[daremetoidareyo]

...Anyone else feel like their builds are getting weirder lately? I mean, my builds have always been weird, but I think I'm going nuts in quarantine or something and just saying "screw it, anything goes, tapestry whale, make it happen."

...maybe? I think it's particularly hard for me to judge that.

[Zaq]

...maybe? I think it's particularly hard for me to judge that.

What was your too-late inspiration, dare?

[daremetoidareyo]

What was your too-late inspiration, dare?

I was referring to princess flower, but for uncarnate I was kicking around a couple of ideas.

I had a deja vu based stub with combat panache and assassin, where you linked deja vu the opponent after using them to hit their friends with combat panache and use those rounds to set up death attacks. But once you're full time incorporeal, just use psionic clairvoyance to watch from inside the ground or walls.

My other idea was to be a troglodyte were-cockroach and just smell bad in people's squares.

[Zaq]

My other idea was to be a troglodyte were-cockroach and just smell bad in people's squares.

This sentence is cursed and I love it so, so much.

[Hiro Quester]

I have to say that I loved the absurdism, Zaq. The weirder the better, in my book. And the whale puns and tapestry-crafting had me chuckling. It's all a weird beautiful crazy ball of Huh? and Oh! and Wow...

Well done everyone.

Psionics aren't really a game mechanic I have had much to do with (let alone play with), so I have just been lurking here. But all the builds were a fun learning experience for me.

The new SI is really weird and underwhelming (but interestingly versatile and possible to take in all kinds of weird directions), and I'm crazy-busy lately, so I'll be lurking there too, I guess. But I can't wait to see what y'all can do with that.

[Wolfem]

Sorry for the late update. Added dishes, judging, and chefs to the ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0&range=A1062:A1064) for this cook.

[Venger]

Thanks. Looks great as always, Wolfem.

[The Viscount]

No apologies necessary. Thank you, Wolfem.