Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground CVI

[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 Book of Vile Darkness. Just in time for the spooky season, here's our next ingredient. Light your black candles and invert your pentagrams, because this round it's Disciple of Mammon!

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, Nov 1st, 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 Sunday, November 15th, 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 of 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)
Iron Chef CIII: Psion Uncarnate (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?614461-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CIII)
Iron Chef CIV: Atavist (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?615697-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CIV)
Iron Chev CV: Primeval (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?618136-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CV)

[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.
Unarmed Swordsage grants Improved Unarmed Strike at level 1.
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)
Spelltouched feats are legal and can be taken just like any other feat when you meet the prerequisites and have the feat slot available.

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

Q: Will we be using the 3.5 update?
A: No. The 3.5 update is unofficial, and thus not binding.

Q: Do we use the messed-up BAB?
A: No. Use average.

Q: What spell equivalents are the summons?
A: Summon osyluth is as SM7, Summon gelugon is as SM9.

Q: How many times per day can you use steal?
A: It is usable at will

[Venger]

I am appropriately spooped for halloween. Down to cook. Nonstandard BA will always crack me up.

[The Viscount]

Speaking of, in the interests of making this ingredient normal, adjust for the following
Pick Pocket 4 ranks changes to Sleight of Hand 4 ranks
Disciple of Mammon has average BAB
Skill list includes Bluff instead of Innuendo and Sleight of Hand instead of Pick Pocket

[Venger]

I guess nonstandard BA won't always crack me up. Thanks for the clarification, chair.

[Zaq]

I can’t wait for the fluff on your entry, Venger.

[Thurbane]

Wow, this is pretty awful. Not getting any ideas right now, but if something pops into my head, may have a try.

[WhamBamSam]

I too am saddened by the loss of nonstandard BA, but ah well.

[jdizzlean]

this doesn't seem that bad really, if i have time, i may try one

[Heavenblade]

From what Im reading, the summoning abilities of the prestige class aren't tied to a particular "tir" of the summon monster spell (summon monster I, II, III, etc.)

Is this a thing in 3.5, or just a leftover from previouus editions? And if it is in need of a change, which summon monster spells would these abilities count as.

[Venger]

I can’t wait for the fluff on your entry, Venger.

Thanks! I've already got ideas.

[H_H_F_F]

I'm down to judge this round. Good luck, everyone!

[The Viscount]

From what Im reading, the summoning abilities of the prestige class aren't tied to a particular "tier" of the summon monster spell (summon monster I, II, III, etc.)

Is this a thing in 3.5, or just a leftover from previous editions? And if it is in need of a change, which summon monster spells would these abilities count as.

I don't see any evidence for 3.0 being like that. Bone devil appears on the Summon Monster 7 list, so that seems a logical choice for that one. Ice devil doesn't appear on any of the lists, but going based off the CR and the caster level, we'll say it's summon monster 9.

[ExLibrisMortis]

I have an idea for this... should I start ceremonially complaining about the class now, or when it turns out it won't work?

Anyway, let's cook.

[The Viscount]

I have an idea for this... should I start ceremonially complaining about the class now, or when it turns out it won't work?

Anyway, let's cook.

By all means complain about the class. I draw sustenance from it.

[Zaq]

So the general 3.0->3.5 update fixed this because of the whole Innuendo thing, but can we take a moment to appreciate how insulting it is that the only thing you get at level 1 is literally called “lie,” it imparts a +4 to Bluff, and in 3.0, the class didn’t give Bluff as a class skill?

Yes, this was fixed. But it was fixed by accident. It’s still insulting. Also hilarious.

[Venger]

Hey, you're right!

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I think I might be a bit spoiled by Junkyard Wars and Villainous Competition being so free for what classes you can take (at least the recent rounds), leaving me looking at this and going... "What the heck even do I do with it?"

[Empyreal Dragon]

I think I have to sit this one out. See you guys for warhulk someday!

[Venger]

I'm having the exact same reaction. My first idea, which I'd had all plotted out, turns out to not actually work and to be unsalvageable. Back to the drawing board.

War hulk might be interesting. I've got at least one idea for it, anyway.

[DeAnno]

This is the kind of class I really don't like to bother doing anything with. It's just a collection of weak abilities and mediocre summons that you don't get frequently enough to bother to optimize around. I don't even know how I'd begin to judge it fairly, it almost feels like it'd be an exercise in creative persuasion more than UotSI.

[daremetoidareyo]

This is the kind of class I really don't like to bother doing anything with. It's just a collection of weak abilities and mediocre summons that you don't get frequently enough to bother to optimize around. I don't even know how I'd begin to judge it fairly, it almost feels like it'd be an exercise in creative persuasion more than UotSI.

C'mon, once a day you can make a 1sp spoon worth 1sp, 30 cp. All hail the Lord of greed!

[Venger]

Spoons McGee: Origins

[Piggy Knowles]

May we have a clarification on the number of times per day a Disciple of Mammon can use its steal ability?

[daremetoidareyo]

May we have a clarification on the number of times per day a Disciple of Mammon can use its steal ability?

It clearly has no limit by my reading.

[The Viscount]

May we have a clarification on the number of times per day a Disciple of Mammon can use its steal ability?

The class feature is usable at will.

[Thurbane]

OK, I've got a couple of dumb ideas - I'll try to mash them together, if I can get the time.

[nosborm]

Long time lurker, first time poster and I'm down to potentially cook if I can dream up some half-decent idea. I actually subscribed to the previous IC thread so I could figure out when this one started! Excited for the spooky Halloween theme.

[The Viscount]

Welcome! Always glad to see more people down to cook. I don't know that I have anything for this one.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Why does everything require so many feats ;-;.

I'm fine, really, no need to worry for my sanity just yet. But feats, man. So many stupid ones.

[Venger]

Like any other fundamental aspect of the rules, I'm pretty sure the designers forgot how many feats a normal character actually had access to.

[The Viscount]

Or, like with Faerun divine prestige classes, they assumed you would only take 1 prestige class and that you would dedicate yourself to entering it at character generation with your 1 base class.

Except for the PrCs that require you to multiclass if you want to enter. Those just hate you.

[Wolfem]

Added stub to ICO Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oyjVU5JmeCnC8YTMqDArDqE5PszHl0Ysadz630kuTGk/edit?ts=59a4835f#gid=0&range=A1081) for this cook.

[Hiro Quester]

I have a weird idea worth exploring. If it pans out (!) I’ll cook it up.

Some of the requirements are odd. I assume the fluff requirement of “The character must go through a disgusting and humiliating sexual ritual” will have to be handwaved or alluded to, since we’re supposed to be PG over here. but should we assume that the ritual is a particular one, that the PC participates in as part of becoming a Disciple. Not just any humiliating and disgusting sexual experience will count?

And I find it odd that a class whose adherents are described as being “quick to betray her friends and allies” and as having “no honor, shame or scruples” could be any evil, even lawful evil. You’d think that would be describing a non-good non-lawful character.

And you’d think that a PC who specializes in betrayal would be summoning demons rather than devils. But okay....

[Falontani]

A devil will not break their word, but they will lie, cheat, and betray as often as they desire. They just have to word their sentences and promises very precisely.

[Sian]

I have a rather entertaining idea ... which I'm 99% sure doesn't work

[Thurbane]

I'm actually ahead of schedule with my dumb idea, so I should be able to get an entry in with time to spare.

[AvatarVecna]

I have a dumb and bad idea that I will be building on.

[The Viscount]

I have a weird idea worth exploring. If it pans out (!) I’ll cook it up.

Some of the requirements are odd. I assume the fluff requirement of “The character must go through a disgusting and humiliating sexual ritual” will have to be handwaved or alluded to, since we’re supposed to be PG over here. but should we assume that the ritual is a particular one, that the PC participates in as part of becoming a Disciple. Not just any humiliating and disgusting sexual experience will count?

And I find it odd that a class whose adherents are described as being “quick to betray her friends and allies” and as having “no honor, shame or scruples” could be any evil, even lawful evil. You’d think that would be describing a non-good non-lawful character.

And you’d think that a PC who specializes in betrayal would be summoning demons rather than devils. But okay....

Good question. Forum rules are pretty strict about this, and more importantly I don't want to make anyone have to write anything they don't want, so I'm ruling on this.

No build is required to discuss the ritual in their backstory. Judges may not penalize a dish for not discussing the ritual.

You are not prohibited from having it in your backstory, but please practice some discretion with the detail it receives.

As for the alignment thing, it's to match the fact that devils are LE. One could certainly argue that treachery is unlawful since it often involves breaking promises, but the lords of the nine are always betraying each other over stuff, so I got nothing.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

This!? This is the class that gives me my best* idea in... well, in quite some time?! Man, I hope it's not the same wacky idea the others have.

* Well, for a given value of best. It's sure hilarious.

EDIT: Okay, so this idea is either illegal or pretty cheesy. Will I proceed? Maybe.

[The Viscount]

I mean, we had a build delve deep into TO last round and do well, so...

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Holy crap. I just found a feat that makes my idea work with no cheese at all! And gives additional benefits!

EDIT: Well, without straining RAW, at least. "No cheese" is a stretch.

[Zaq]

I've only got one little seed of an idea. It's kind of far out there and it hasn't properly germinated yet. We'll see if I can find a trick that's sufficiently audacious to justify what I'd have to do...

[Venger]

I can’t wait for the fluff on your entry, Venger.

It is done. I hope you enjoy it.

[ExLibrisMortis]

I have submitted a build. Let's see whether I have the time and will to finish my second stub. And before you ask, yes, they were supposed to be one build, but the feats got in the way. Truly, sadness radiates from my every pore, knowing that I will never see their stupidity combined. Unless Iron Chef DCLXVIII is gestalt Disciple of Mammon, in which case I'm cooking.

[daremetoidareyo]

Rules Clarification: The Non-detection cast at 9th level of Disc. of Mammon.


"A 9th-level disciple of Mammon can constantly produce an effect identical to a nondetection spell cast by an 18th-level caster. This ability cannot be dispelled, but it can be suppressed."

Nondetection


"If a divination is attempted against the warded creature or item, the caster of the divination must succeed on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against a DC of 11 + the caster level of the spellcaster who cast nondetection. If you cast nondetection on yourself or on an item currently in your possession, the DC is 15 + your caster level.

If cast on a creature, nondetection wards the creature's gear as well as the creature itself."

It doesn't say that the caster is you, it just says that you produce the effect.

Are we using DC 15 + caster level?

or DC 11+caster level?

[The Viscount]

Use DC 15 + caster level for caster level checks made against your nondetection.

I can give you this much.

[Piggy Knowles]

Build finalized, table done as well as most of the write-up, and I'm happy with my idea. Going to be a race against time, though; busy day at work tomorrow and I'll be traveling without computer Friday through Sunday, so I basically have Thursday to get the fluff together and make it all aesthetically pleasing. We'll see!

[Hiro Quester]

I have a kind of awesome and stupid idea, but I doubt it's a particularly original idea (based on a bad joke, mostly). It seems kind of obvious to me, and I suspect to many of you.

And I have a really busy week ahead. So I'l keep my idea as a bad joke and a (literal) back of an envelope sketch, since I won't be able to make time to pad it all out into a full entry.

I'm desperately curious what you all can do with this though. A few aspects of this class seem to have potential for exploitation in interesting ways, but I can't yet see what they are, beyond the one or two that my build would focus on. (That's why this class is a good SI.)

I can't wait for the reveal.

[H_H_F_F]

I, as well, am anxious to see what y'all came up with. It seems a few people are opting out of submitting this time around - I hope we'll have a nice number of entries (though a small number would certainly make my job easier). Good luck to everyone!

[Venger]

Figured out my build. Excited to see what other people have come up with.

[Falontani]

Skills always give me a headache! I've gotten the table ready, once the headache is gone and I find time I will begin writing the mechanical stuff and fluff. I'm cutting it close to the deadline so it might be.... not the best.

[The Viscount]

Skills always give me a headache! I've gotten the table ready, once the headache is gone and I find time I will begin writing the mechanical stuff and fluff. I'm cutting it close to the deadline so it might be.... not the best.

Let this song encourage you. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLmw7X8Lh7o)

[daremetoidareyo]

I submitted a thing. It's a glorious mess. I don't think I need to worry about vizzinni, but considering what I put down, I also don't think I need to worry about winning either.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Real life has caught up to me in a big way. Don't think I'll be able to get mine in. Ah well, I was having trouble thinking of good fluff for it anyway.

[Falontani]

Build Submitted, can't wait to see everyone else's tomorrow!

[Thurbane]

I don't have a lot of confidence that my build will score well, but I'm glad I got it in.

[daremetoidareyo]

I don't have a lot of confidence that my build will score well, but I'm glad I got it in.

There's no way that i dont get last.

[nosborm]

OK, my (first ever Iron Chef!) build is in. It's bad, but at least I got it done. Didn't realize how early builds were due! I apologize in advance to the judge(s) and I'm happy to clarify any/every thing. I wish I had more time to work on the flavor (it could have been so cool!) and filling out all the abilities. At least my core trick is in there, which I hope is original!

[The Viscount]

Hush falls over Optimization Stadium. The reveal begins! (Please don't post until the all clear)

[The Viscount]

I challenge you to a children's card game!



♠ Wynfrith d'Acker ♠

https://i.imgur.com/jJhVTKU.png

Wynfrith was born into a relatively well-to-do family, but from an early age was very wilful, and often an embarrassment. She fell in with a bad crowd, who spent their time gambling, carousing and generally getting up to petty mischief. The final straw came when she lost some very expensive family jewels in a card game, which she had taken without asking. She was booted out, and disinherited on the spot.

Wynfrith relied on her skills with a blade to make her way as a sell-sword, roaming far and wide, looking for adventure and trouble. How she fell in cahoots with the cult of Mammon is not known, but is suspected to have began as the result of a lost wager. She rose quickly in their ranks, through misdirection, force and seduction. The cult afforded her many opportunities to indulge her love of gambling, theft and manipulation of others.

She relished the chance to deceive others, steal their wealth, and humiliate them in games of Three Dragon Ante. Her down time was usually spend tinkering with gems and jewels (won or stolen), then re-selling them for greater profit. Wynfrith honed the preternatural gifts granted by the cult to develop impressive powers of manipulating objects and creatures with the power of her mind. The other cult members feared her greatly, afraid they may be hurled hundreds of feat into the air at her whim.

Eventually she rose to higher and higher power in the cult, and while never officially recognised a a leader, is widely rumoured to run the show from behind the scenes.

NE Female Human Warblade 5/Disciple of Mammon 10/Master of the Unseen hand 5

HD: 5d12+10d6+5d4+80

Langauges: Common, Dwarven, Infernal




Point Buy
4th
8th
12th
16th
20th
Final


Str
14
-
-
-
-
-
14


Dex
14
-
-
+1
-
-
14


Con
14
+1
+1
-
+1
+1
18


Int
14
-
-
-
-
-
14


Wis
10
-
-
-
-
-
10


Cha
14
-
-
-
-
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14





Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skill Ranks
Feats
Class Features


1st
Warblade 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Appraise 2, Bluff 2, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Intimidate 4, Open Lock 2, Profession (gambler) 2, Sense Motive 2, Sleight of Hand 2, Tumble 4
Able LearnerB, Disciple of Darkness
Battle clarity (Reflex saves), weapon aptitude


2nd
Warblade 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Appraise 2, Balance 3, Bluff 2, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Intimidate 5, Open Lock 2, Profession (gambler) 2, Sense Motive 2, Sleight of Hand 2, Tumble 5
-
Uncanny dodge


3rd
Warblade 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Appraise 3, Balance 4, Bluff 3, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Intimidate 5, Open Lock 3, Profession (gambler) 3, Sense Motive 3, Sleight of Hand 3, Tumble 5
Appraise Magic
Battle ardor (critical confirmation)


4th
Warblade 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Appraise 6, Balance 4, Bluff 3, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 6, Intimidate 6, Open Lock 3, Profession (gambler) 3, Sense Motive 3, Sleight of Hand 3, Tumble 5
-
-


5th
Warblade 5
+5
+4
+1
+1
Appraise 6, Balance 5, Bluff 4, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 6, Open Lock 4, Profession (gambler) 4, Sense Motive 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Tumble 5
Improved InitiativeB
Bonus feat


6th
Disciple of Mammon 1
+5
+4
+3
+3
Appraise 9, Balance 5, Bluff 4, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 6, Open Lock 4, Profession (gambler) 4, Sense Motive 4, Sleight of Hand 8, Tumble 5
Power Attack
Lie


7th
Disciple of Mammon 2
+6
+4
+4
+4
Appraise 10, Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 9, Intimidate 6, Open Lock 4, Profession (gambler) 4, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 10, Tumble 5
-
Cheat


8th
Disciple of Mammon 3
+7
+5
+4
+4
Appraise 11, Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 11, Intimidate 6, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 4, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 11, Tumble 5
-
Thief, steal


9th
Disciple of Mammon 4
+8
+5
+5
+5
Appraise 12, Balance 5, Bluff 8, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 12, Intimidate 6, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 12, Tumble 5
Cards Over Swords
Divert attack


10th
Disciple of Mammon 5
+8
+5
+5
+5
Appraise 13, Balance 5, Bluff 11, Concentration 10, Diplomacy 13, Intimidate 6, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 13, Tumble 5
-
Summon osyluth


11th
Disciple of Mammon 6
+9
+6
+6
+6
Appraise 14, Balance 5, Bluff 12, Concentration 12, Diplomacy 14, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 1, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 14, Tumble 5
-
Take object


12th
Disciple of Mammon 7
+10
+6
+6
+6
Appraise 15, Balance 5, Bluff 13, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 15, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 2, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 15, Tumble 5
Master Pickpocket
Enhance value


13th
Disciple of Mammon 8
+11
+6
+7
+7
Appraise 16, Balance 5, Bluff 14, Concentration 16, Diplomacy 16, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 3, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 16, Tumble 5
-
Divert spell


14th
Disciple of Mammon 9
+11
+7
+7
+7
Appraise 17, Balance 5, Bluff 16, Concentration 17, Diplomacy 17, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 4, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 17, Tumble 5
-
Nondetection


15th
Disciple of Mammon 10
+12
+7
+8
+8
Appraise 18, Balance 5, Bluff 18, Concentration 18, Diplomacy 18, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 5, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 18, Tumble 5
Martial Study (pouncing strike)
Summon gelugon


16th
Master of the Unseen Hand 1
+13
+7
+8
+10
Appraise 19, Balance 5, Bluff 19, Concentration 19, Diplomacy 19, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 5, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 19, Tumble 5
-
Improved caster level, versatile telekinesis


17th
Master of the Unseen Hand 2
+14
+7
+8
+11
Appraise 20, Balance 5, Bluff 20, Concentration 20, Diplomacy 20, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 5, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 20, Tumble 5
-
Telekinetic wielder, sustained concentration


18th
Master of the Unseen Hand 3
+15
+8
+9
+11
Appraise 21, Balance 5, Bluff 21, Concentration 21, Diplomacy 21, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 5, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 21, Tumble 5
Quicken Spell-Like Ability (telekinesis)
Full attack telekinesis


19th
Master of the Unseen Hand 4
+16
+8
+9
+12
Appraise 22, Balance 5, Bluff 22, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 22, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 5, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 22, Tumble 5
-
Improved violent thrust, telekinetic flight


20th
Master of the Unseen Hand 5
+17
+8
+9
+12
Appraise 23, Balance 5, Buff 23, Concentration 23, Diplomacy 23, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (nobility & royalty) 5, Open Lock 5, Profession (gambler) 5, Sense Motive 5, Sleight of Hand 23, Tumble 5
-
Fling skyward




Maneuvers known:
1 - Douse the Flames, Moment of Perfect Mind, Steel Wind, Stone Bones
2 - Disarming Strike
3 - Mind Over Body
5 - Pouncing Charge

Stances known:
1 - Blood in the Water, Hunter's Sense


Level Breakdowns:
1-5: Pretty straightforward Warblade here, but skills are focused on social skills, and gambling. Still, a pretty competent melee type. Saves are shored up by maneuvers that allow a Concentration check in place of a save.
6-10: This is where one the main gimmicks comes online. The Cheat ability syngergizes well with Cards Over Swords. You can now try to force enemies into playing cards to settle a beef - and with your skills and Cheat ability, there's a better than average chance you are going to win. If you do, they give you all their stuff, and walk away! There's always the chance you may lose, but this isn't a build overly reliant on gear - and you can always leave your valuables off your person when you are expecting to challenge someone to a game. It's dumb, but it works. The Steal ability, which is explicitly based on Telekinesis, will come into its own later in the build.
11-15: Take Object works well with the Disarming Strike maneuver - I'd also suggest fighting with a one-handed weapon like a flail (you can always two-hand it when you need to Power Attack), keeping the other free for disarms and Sleight of Hand as needed. Speaking of which, the Master Pickpocket allows for some outrageous Sleight of Hand antics. Enhance Value can boost the profit from much of the loot gained by gambling and pick-pocketing.
16-20: Using the Steal ability to qualify, MotUH opens up combat and other options for your at will Telekinesis SLA, including flight. It also boosts your CL. Quicken allows you to use it as a swift action 3/day. Also being full BAB, MotUH compliments your melee prowess nicely. Pouncing Charge, picked up through a feat, allows for some full-attacking goodness on a charge. In the end, this is a versatile melee build, with some nice tricks including summoning devils and telekinesis; not to mention your pick pocketing and Cards over Swords shenanigans. You also have solid "face" skills, and can lie through your teeth with little chance of being caught out. You are fairly resilient, with saves shored up by maneuvers, and the ability to divert melee and spell attacks back on the allies of your attacker.
Sources:

BoVD - Disciple of Darkness, Disciple of Mammon
City of Stormreach - Master Pickpocket
CW - Master of the Unseen Hand
RoD - Able Learner
ToB - Warblade, maneuvers, stances
Online - Appraise Magic (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sg/20051125a), Cards Over Swords (http://www.ravenoaks.org/jim/3da/files/LUCK_OF_THE_DRAW.PDF)

https://i.imgur.com/1RoLwWQ.jpg

[The Viscount]

If the people stare/then the people stare


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/5b/d8/c45bd84fbc4c0c1eef4282e1556d08f1.jpg
Danielle May-the-Blood-of-Ilmater-Sustain-Me-in-Hunger the Hand in the Glove


Danielle peeled carrots for the pot and flicked peels to her bird. Paulette pecked them up off the counter and gave an occasional chirp.

“Someone at the door,” Paulette said before they knocked. One perk of a familiar spirit, even if she earned Danielle a few unkind looks at church.

Danielle toweled off her hands and answered the door. An aspirant stood before her. Another stood by his side.

She swallowed. There was only one reason the church ever sent them in pairs.

“Good evening, Miss May-the-Blood-of-Ilmater-Sustain-Me-in-Hunger. May we come in?” said the one wearing a fox stole. Miss, not Mrs. Her suspicions were confirmed.

The one in a wolf pelt didn’t wait for an invitation and had to duck his head to squeeze his bulk through the doorway.

“Of course,” Danielle said and stepped aside. Some of Ilmater’s faithful wore shirts of hair to inflame the skin, that their discomfort may bring them closer to the broken god. Among those, some interpreted fur as a close enough way to show their devotion.

Fox stole sat in her husband’s chair. Neither of them introduced themselves.

“How did it happen?” she asked. Danielle and her husband hadn’t been especially close. This was hardly uncommon in marriages arranged by the church. They had little in common, and ever since he had earned approval to join the crusades against Loviatar, the two saw little of each other. Still, she hoped it had been painless.

“Oh, so you’ve heard the news already?” Fox stole said, not entertaining the notion Danielle had figured it out. There was no point correcting him.

“Not exactly,” she said as diplomatically as she could.

Wolf pelt ate a ladleful from the pot, still steaming. Paulette picked at lice crawling across the fur hanging across the stony muscles of his shoulders.

"Got ‘et by a sea serpent or something way I heard it,” he said and belched. “It were workin’ for Loviatar, so he still counts as martyred.”

“I was just getting to that, brother. Need I remind you food is a mere side path on the road that leads to salvation through Ilmater?” Fox stole said with a raised eyebrow.

Wolf pelt nodded, picked up a paring knife from the counter and gave himself a small, brisk cut on the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.

“Of course, brother. Thank you,” he said through clenched teeth.

Aspirants were those who wished to martyr themselves for the glory of Ilmater, but always seemed to have an excuse for why it hadn’t happened yet. To make up the difference, they mortified themselves when they fell short of Ilmater’s ideals. Once more, traditional doctrine prescribed these wounds, should a member of the faithful find self-administering them necessary, were to be hidden away. However, as always, different interpretations abounded, as the many fresh and long scarred over wounds on both mens’ bare arms and chests showed. Those who weren’t of a charitable mind to this aspect of devotion to Ilmater were known to refer to aspirants as “scabs” for this reason.

Danielle ran her thumb along the mark of Ilmater on her finger. Her husband had given it to her instead of one of gold or jewels so it could be neither lost nor taken.

“Being martyred is what he’s always wanted. He told me he dreamed of it as a boy. Thank you for bringing me this news. When will he be back?” Danielle asked. Resurrections through the church were part of what their monthly tithe entitled them to. In theory, anyway. They’d never had to draw upon this service before, and she’d counted them as lucky for it.

“Oh, well, I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that,” fox stole said. “You see, this is only his first time being martyred. Resurrections are generally prioritized for faithful who’ve been martyred twice or more.”

Danielle felt her heart quicken.

“I see. Will a matchmaker be by soon, then?” She didn’t exactly relish the prospect of another husband, but it wasn’t as though the church was going to ordain her to fill his vacancy and let her earn a living on her own.

“Not exactly. Just because your husband is with Ilmater doesn’t mean you aren’t still his. I’m sure no member of the faithful would dream of disrespecting him by intruding in this way, you see,” fox stole said.

“I see,” she said. “Did his raiding party come away with enough for this month’s tithe?”

Wolf pelt jamming her silver noisily into a sack answered this question for her.

“The faithful must tithe, my dear,” fox stole said as he pocketed a pair of silver candlesticks. “Oh, have you picked a name yet?”

Danielle sat down, her head swimming. “Pardon?”

“Oh, I thought he must’ve told you. Your husband glimpsed the future. You’ll be having a son soon.” He tsked. “And while widowed, no less. I wish Ilmater favored me so heavily.”

Wolf pelt swatted Paulette off his shoulder and stood by the door. “Envy is the worm inside the bread of humility Ilmater provides us in His infinite generosity, innit, brother?” he said with a sneer.

Fox stole rose from his chair and slammed his hand in a drawer on the end table. “It is, of course. Thank you, brother. We’ll be on our way then. Congratulations on your loss, Miss May-the-Blood-of-Ilmater-Sustain-Me-in-Hunger.”

It took everything in her to thank him.


It wasn’t long before Danielle was on the street. It hadn’t been long before she had nothing left to tithe.

It had been hardest to say goodbye to Paulette. She went to a young student at a prestigious wizarding academies. Though she’d had to sell for half of what she was worth, Danielle could be sure she’d be well cared for.

Ignorant of street politics, Danielle had first attempted to sit on the corner below her former home. One benefit of being the wife of a cleric of Ilmater was a house constructed literally on the city’s upper echelons.

Spots on the streets in the center of Keltar were inherited by the sons of beggars who had staked them out generations ago. It had been years since Danielle had set foot on the sandy streets that lay on the ground.

She used to step along the tops of the wide, earthenware walls surrounding their neighborhood to go to the bazaar safe in sandals of fine camel leather. They’d been the first things taken on her nights sleeping in the rough.

The beggars whose spots she’d unwittingly usurped brought her down to earth. Somehow, the marks they left on her didn’t make her feel more closely connected to Ilmater. The faithful obviously didn’t drop so much as a copper unarche into her cup, lest they weaken her connection to Ilmater, so she moved further away from her former home, even though it meant rattling her cup in rougher parts.

Using an ancient and strongly discouraged branch of magic, one rumored to predate even Ilmater, she had to take what no one would give her. Even though it meant keeping one eye always open for patrols both of city guard and competing criminal guilds, Danielle drew upon spirits of the best thieves, whose names she would never know and bathed her bare, freezing hands in their skill. With these, she pocketed the occasional coin or ring or pearl of absentia, cheaper than the coarsest blanket.

A spot by the docks brought in the most cash, even if it didn’t come free. Despite Keltar’s size, travelers abounded here due to the Calim river. A Rashemi with a gray beard disembarked a rotting hulk of a ship. A braided leather whip at his belt and meandering tattoo across his bare scalp let anyone who care to set eyes on him know he was a slaver. He probably had plenty of money to spare.

He strutted down the gangplank and turned to walk toward Danielle. She prepared herself, but a scab from the church of Ilmater rounded the corner and bumped into him before he crossed her path.

“Watch where you’re going, bloodbag!” he shouted as their shoulders touched.

Danielle’s all too thorough training over the past few months as a thief drew her eye to the scab’s belt. He’d been relieved of his purse, not that he seemed to notice. The Rashemi’s bluster was a distraction to keep him from realizing.

“Don’t they teach you any manners in this glorified pigpen? I’d be within my rights to thrash you to within an inch of your life!” He slammed the man against the retaining wall and lifted him up by the front of his crude robe, baring his stomach, latticed with burns and scars and puckered remnants of stab wounds.

The scab grinned.

He dropped to the floor and crumpled in a heap as the Rashemi yanked his hands back like he’d been burned. He spat on him in disgust.

“Get out of my sight, pervert. You won’t get it off me for free.” He walked on. Danielle counted his footsteps and held her breath as he passed by her without turning his head.

She reached for his belt and cut his purse with a phantom claw from some long dead beast. She’d sold her last blade weeks ago.

He stopped and turned on his heel.

“That was pretty good,” he said with an amiable smile. He leaned on the wall she had her back to. Danielle got unsteadily to her feet.

“I don’t know what you mean, sir,” she said.

“Please. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s false modesty. Probably the thing I hate most about you punchbags,” he said, glancing at a wilting bruise around her eye.

“I don’t worship Ilmater,” she said at the disparaging term. Maybe he’d go easier on her.

“You’ve got that going for you, at least. Tell you what: you look desperate. How’d you like to make some money?” He didn’t look her in the eye, his head bowed toward her belly. She’d been showing a while now.

She waited for him to reach for his purse. He didn’t.

“Here, or are you staying someplace?”

“Oh, no, not for that. I’m sure you were lovely once, but not my type. If my divinations are correct, you’ve got the firstborn son of a martyred of Ilmater cooking, right?” he said with a gesture to her belly, but blessedly did not touch her.

“Let’s get you fed. I’ve got credit at ’The Ringed Nose,’ so feel free to keep the purse. Call it a down payment.” He shrugged off his cloak and held his arm out straight so she could take it in her own time. She did and wrapped it tight around her to ward off the cold. It had magic on it to do just that. The moment she’d fixed its clasp, she didn’t feel a thing.

When they got inside, an orcish girl behind the bar doled out two bowls of soup. Danielle, still standing, lifted her bowl and slurped until she had to come up for breath.

“I must admit, it’s a relief not to have to talk you into a sale,” her benefactor said and took a seat on a stool by her side. He flicked a bowl of nuts over to her and she cradled it close to her chest on the bar, guarding it with her forearm.

“I can’t afford to stay out here myself. It won’t do either of us any good to pay twice for two,” she said in between swallows.

“Room’s in back. Ask the girl for keys when you’re ready to turn in. I’ll find you when I need you,” he said.

“What, and that’s it?” Danielle asked.

“More or less. I’m hands off with my investments. I’ll be back when it matures. Til then, you do what you like,” he said and stood up.

He offered his seat to a Mulan tourist, his purse hanging heavy from his belt, slouching over the edge of the stool.

“Here, friend. I’m heading out. Take mine. It’s still warm,” he said with a hand on his shoulder. He looked to Danielle and winked. With that, he was off.

“That fella your husband or something?” the tourist asked and leaned in close, already half-drunk. Danielle touched her gloved hand to his and surreptitiously picked his pocket.

“Something,” she said and retired to the room after getting the key.

An imp crouched before her, busying itself making the bed.

“Get out of here, or I’ll scream,” she said, hopefully a phrase she’d need to use less often from now on.

“Relax, sweetheart. Dorian sent me to take care of you,” it said. With a flick of its leathery wings, it perched on the headboard to fluff her pillow.

“I take it he’s the one who brought me here.” She took an uneasy step closer.

“’s what he told me to call him. He paid me enough I don’t really feel like askin’ too many questions.”

“I’ve never heard of a demon providing turndown.” Danielle sat on the mattress. It was only straw, but it was better than the gutter.

The thing only a handspan from her face huffed. “Devil, please. It’s one of the many services I provide. Anything else you need, just ask.” It crawled over to a bedpost and perched there.

“Is it safe for you to be here? The church is always on patrol for dem—for devils,” she said, catching herself in time.

It laughed. “You’re sweet, ain’cha? I’m only seen when I want to be.” It disappeared for a moment to illustrate its point. “If it’ll make you more comfortable, I can change.” Its wings grew feathers and it blossomed into an all too familiar form: a raven.

Danielle held her hand out until it alit on her finger. She handed it a foreign coin from the stranger’s purse. It took the coin in its beak.

“You givin’ me a tip?” it mumbled around the metal.

“It’s customary for good service.” She gently ran her thumb across an upturned feather along the top of its head. “What should I call you?”

“Oh, our kind don’t have names. ‘Hey, you’ is fine,” it said and rubbed its cheek against her hand.

“Would you mind terribly if I were to call you Paulette?”

“No problem.”

Once Danielle had some time to heal the worst of her injuries and maladies months of pauperism gifted her, removing the last traces of the gutter was a simple matter. With the purses she got last night, she had enough for a new dress from a secondhand shop and a wig and hat besides. She’d had to shave her hair to get rid of the lice, and this would tide her over until she could climb a few more social rungs for a bit of cosmetic glamer. If she played her cards right, maybe even a bit of ‘morph down the line.

The dress from the secondhand shop let her parlay her way into a local auction house, even if it was only to watch. Danielle didn’t have her eye on the art, though. She kept an eye on people who came in second to the highest bidder. They had money to spend, but weren’t going to be paying it out.

Not to the auction house, anyway.

Paulette surveyed the scene ahead of time or flitted in invisibly where Danielle couldn’t sneak to tell her where the choicest morsels were.

After a few gleanings at such events, Danielle had enough to purchase something bespoke, which would let her get into events in society’s upper rungs. When she lunched with the wives of school board officials, bankers, and governors, every meal was an opportunity for a ring here, an earring there to go missing. Danielle hardly had to do anything to make the women blame the help.

With every social circle she outgrew, the hats she wore to keep the sun off her skin grew larger and more elaborate until they could easily accommodate Paulette. After long periods of scouting, it would occasionally complain of fatigue. The mock bird’s nests and cornucopias of wax fruit and later entire flocks easily camouflaged its slumbering form. After all, who at a typical rooftop garden party would notice if a woman’s hat had six birds on it or seven?

With more exposure to art, Danielle found she had an eye for it. Soon, it became a trivial matter to remove gems from baubles she’d relieved their former owners of and even to improve their appearance. There were plenty of gallery exhibits she attended nowadays where she didn’t steal at all.

It was at one of these she encountered a young lady very much like herself.

A wealthy cattleman wanted to lend himself an air of sophistication. To that end, he was throwing an event to honor a young artist and showcase his work. Something terribly avant-garde representing realms beyond human perception. The work even had a tint of blasphemy to it, which attracted a certain subset of the idle rich.

Danielle performed one of her favored maneuvers. She had Paulette remove the back of one of her earrings so it fell underneath the long white tablecloth where she and the others lunched on cold lobster salad and cucumber sandwiches. She made a show of crouching and grunting to get under the table to look for it herself. It was impossible to conceal her pregnancy at this stage, and she was insistent on maintaining her independence when performing this trick. It typically made everyone so uncomfortable they were all too willing to avert their gazes. While underneath the table, she could easily cut her mark’s purse and stow it away inside a hidden pocket within her dress’s long Mulan-style sleeves in fashion this season.

She was surprised to see as she reached for his purse, another young lady’s hand was already gripping it, alongside a calling card. She didn’t seem intent on keeping it for herself, but instead offered the purse to Danielle.

“Find everything all right?” she asked with a smile, watching as Danielle reattached her earring. The menagerie of birds festooning her hat seemed to nod as she tilted her head: a peacock, a swan, and a goose amongst their number.

“Oh, yes. I should count myself lucky. I’d have hated to lose these,” she said and regaled the table with the story of how she’d acquired these earrings from some distant relative. The story changed every time, as did the one explaining her husband’s absence from these events. Sometimes he was killed in the war, others merely away on business. Whatever she said, people seldom seemed interested in asking questions.

When she got a moment to excuse herself, she read the card. It told her to stay after the party dispersed.

“You think it’s a good play?” she whispered to Paulette.

“I smelled imp on her. It’s someone I know. You can relax. She’s good people,” Paulette said .

When the other guests made their excuses and their host retired for the evening, the other woman remained behind, flicking a wand at crystal punch cups to clean them.

“Don’t they have people for that?” Danielle asked when Paulette quietly assured her they were alone.

“Oh, of course, but it does pay to make a good impression. You can call me Mignon,” she said, offering a hand in a crushed velvet glove with a man’s ring on over it. The emerald set in its center was the size of a grape.

“Danielle,” she said and kissed the ring, half out of manners, half to see if it was made of sugar glass. It was real.

“That’s quite a piece you have,” Danielle said, biting back the urge to slip it off her finger.

“Oh, thank you kindly,” Mignon said. One of the birds on her hat unfurled itself into an imp and went off with Paulette, who too assumed its true form. They nibbled at leftover melon balls and slurped dregs from cups of tea as they caught up.

“You know, if you’d like it slightly altered, I’ve recently developed quite the affinity for it,” Danielle offered.

Mignon pulled her hand protectively to her breast. “Oh, no, please don’t. If this thing gets any more valuable, I’ll never be able to flog it.”

“Oh?” Danielle arched an eyebrow.

“I represent a group of people with the same knack. We have a little syndicate that helps us iron out schedules for events that’re easy pickings like this. That way none of us have to walk away empty handed,” she said. There was no aggression in her tone.

“Do you want the purse back? I didn’t know you were here first.” Danielle reached into her sleeve.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Come to a meeting or two and see if you’re interested. Before you ask, we don’t demand a percentage. Our chapter president takes care of the place themselves,” Mignon said.

She unfurled a parasol over her head and offered her elbow to Danielle to lead her off the roof. Danielle took it and they drifted lazily off on the wind, some unobtrusive enchantment made them lighter than air. Their imps became invisible and followed.

They were high enough up Danielle didn’t feel obligated to clamp her skirts closed.

“And if I’m not interested?” she said loud enough to be heard over the wind.

Mignon turned her head to the side. “Well, then I drop you.”

Danielle swallowed.

“Only joking, dear. We’re here,” Mignon said and touched them down at a charming salon.

Inside, a dozen people in everything from hoop skirts to shirtsleeves bustled around various pieces of art, hammering at swords on anvils, groping at wet lumps of clay, singing arias and stopping every few notes to scribble on the scores.

“So it works with everything?” Danielle asked and stepped over a pile of machine parts whose purpose she couldn’t gather.

“It does. We’ve experimented some and it turns out our patron doesn’t even require expertise or even knowledge,” Mignon said.

“Really?” Danielle said.

“Oh, yes. Why, just a tenday ago, I revised some antique tome in Ancient Sueloise well enough for a hefty markup when I passed it on to a dealer.”

“I’ve never met anyone who spoke Ancient Sueloise,” Danielle said.

Mignon giggled demurely. “You still haven’t. Can’t read a whit of it. Isn’t that marvelous?”

Danielle nodded and glanced at a large chalkboard on the wall with odds and bets laid on it.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Ah, that. Well, influencing the value of art gives us a bit of an inside advantage when it comes to things like contests, shows, things like that. Doesn’t hurt to make a little extra on the side. That, I’m afraid you need to be a member for,” Mignon said with an appropriately polite grimace.

Danielle set her jaw. “I’ve got an idea.”


Danielle sweated and panted as the first contraction ripped through her. She’d moved several times since her room at The Ringed Nose. The apartment in the upper layers of the city was warded with silence, so her screams of pain wouldn’t disturb people nearby.

Before she could collapse on the plush feather bed, Dorian teleported in and helped her down.

“Didn’t think I’d forgotten about you, did you?” Dorian clutched a rolled oilskin under his arm.

Danielle wanted to say something terribly clever, but couldn’t find the words.

Behind Dorian, attached to him by a length of black chain in his hand, was what was unmistakably an angel. Danielle recognized it even though it bore something like an iron bell over its head, its hands tightly held in manacles.

Paulette hissed. “What the hell’s that thing doing here?”

“Relax. It’s tame. Or tame enough. Births attended by these are supposed to bring pots of money. Problem is they come and go as they please. If my hunch is right, I might have an angle on mass production. Help get her ready, would you?” Dorian said to Paulette like Danielle wasn’t there.

Danielle lay on her back and Paulette set up a screen so she didn’t have to see Dorian’s grisly work. It would only panic her, they said.

“He brought a magic ring. Says it’ll help with the pain,” Paulette said.

Danielle held out her hand. Paulette shook its head. “Not that kind of ring.”

Danielle, red creeping in around the edges of her vision, gripped Paulette’s neck. “Just get it over with.”

The metal bit into her breast and at once, all thoughts of pain left her. For the next she didn’t know how long, she wasn’t giving birth in some anonymous penthouse, the same as the ten like it in this district, and no knives were anywhere near her flesh. As far as she was concerned, she was in a haze of warmth and comfort more all-encompassing than any delirium she’d ever been in, even once she could afford the most expensive narcotics money could buy.

The sun was lower in the sky by far when Dorian greeted her by the head of the bed, wiping blood off his hands with a white towel.

“It’s done,” he said, beaming.

“I gather it worked,” Danielle said dreamily.

“Oh, yeah.” He tossed the towel on the floor. Housekeeping could get it later. They didn’t ask questions.

The angel held the last thing tying Danielle to her old life, already bundled tight so she couldn’t see him at all.

“You, uh, want to say a few words?” Dorian said, clearly in uncharted territory judging from his inability to look her in the eye.

“Can I keep the ring?”

Dorian was silent a moment then laughed. “Guess I’ll have to start introducing myself as the second most ruthless in the business. It’s yours. I’ll make enough from this to be the richest man in Bezantur. You can take it out if you don’t want it to scab over. I had the angel heal the rest of your wounds. Well, see you around.” And with that, he, her son, and the angel disappeared.

Paulette fetched her a bundle of clean clothes. “There anything I can get you, miss?”

Danielle rubbed behind its horns. “Fancy taking in a play?”

Danielle strode into the church of Ilmater for the first time since she’d gotten that terrible news all those months ago. Paulette was elsewhere. No matter how sneaky the pair of them were, circumventing the church’s wards against fiends was likely more trouble than it was worth. She wore fine, simple garments of black wool. As far as the church was concerned, she was still in mourning.

A handful of people lounged on the pews as actors meandered on the church’s main stage. One with grease paint wounds dotted all over his body lurched his way through one Ilmater’s famous speeches, forgiving those who had martyred him for their evildoing.

Danielle watched him quietly for the next hour as he missed cue after cue. The director finally called for a cut when his loincloth caught on a loose nail as he hopped onto the torture rack and bared his backside to the spectators, drawing a few hastily suppressed chuckles.

“Cut! Weeping wounds! Go get another costume and be quick about it!” barked a familiar voice from the front row.

Danielle made her presence known with a gentle clearing of her throat.

“You know what they say about a bad rehearsal, eh?” she said good-naturedly.

A man in a fox stole turned to look at her. “Ah! Fancy seeing you here. I’d offer you a seat but, well, you know,” he said with the helpless smile that was highly infectious among members of Ilmater’s church. Widows were considered ritually unclean, a mere part of a whole, and were not permitted to sit on the pews lest they pollute them.

Danielle conjured a a cloth chair of her own in the aisle with a flick from a wand.

“Think nothing of it. Since we last spoke, I’ve received quite a lot of training in the dramatic arts. Do you mind if I offer some constructive criticism?” she said from behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses that did enough to make her feel shielded from this man.

“Have you now? Isn’t that nice? You know what, I’m desperate enough to try anything now. Why don’t you tell me what you and your girlfriends have been studying about being a thespian?”

Danielle sat down.

“The fellow playing Ilmater. Have him start taking exercise more regularly. Swimming, specifically. Holding his breath under the water will help him strengthen his lungs so he doesn’t need to stop in the middle of the lines as often. There are a lot of long ones in the speech Ilmater gives after he’s put on the rack but before they start going over him with the hot pokers. The rack is too heavy for the girl playing the torturer to move. It spoils the pacing of the scene. I know someone who can get you a few pieces of magically lightened stuff for cheap. It’s salvage, but it’ll help it look more authentic. Sheets of steel will make a deeper noise for the thunder than tin when storms gather once they start whipping him. Provides more gravitas,” she said, counting off the points as she spoke.

He nodded along as she spoke. “Well, those are all very interesting points. I must thank you.”

Danielle leaned in. “Then resurrect my husband,” she said.

He gave another helpless smile. “I’m afraid that’s quite impossible.” She hadn’t really expected anything else.

She rose from her chair and dismissed it. She rested her hand on his bare shoulder, feeling the raised flesh of old scars even through her black gloves.

“I want you to remember I gave you a chance to make things right,” she said and left.

She returned to the meetinghouse and flounced into her seat at the head of the table. Other members were waiting there for her news, practically salivating.

“Well?” Mignon asked.

“He said no,” Danielle said. She tossed down a tiny pad she’d taken notes on so the others would see what she had suggested about the play.

“You know what to do,” she said and dismissed them.

Danielle continued to observe rehearsals, albeit in disguise to avoid unwanted attention. One by one, her compatriots came and offered various suggestions on how to improve the show. They helped with pacing, rhetoric, breath control. Some offered to have artisan contacts of theirs donate props or spellcasters to create moody fog onstage during the scene when Ilmater had breathed his last. Fox stole gamely listened to all their advice, but consistently refused to pay them for their expertise, as Danielle had told them he would.

The open rehearsals began to be fuller and fuller until there was a line out the door as the play’s quality improved. Fox stole was over the moon. Selling tickets to this play was how the church made the bulk of its money for the season. As something with a numerical value attached to it, it was possible to find certain individuals who wanted to bet on a spread of how much would be produced on opening night.

Danielle had a plan.

Eventually, Fox stole began to catch on, or seemed to. He had authority to manage the play, largely a sinecure position, but he could do little to stop people from showing up to attend. Even though he no longer listened to advice when approached by members of Danielle’s cabal, fobbing them off by telling them how busy he was and fleeing to his office, it did not matter. The observation and the time was the thing, and he couldn’t keep every member of the company under lock and key. The actors were more than happy for free advice from expert directors and clothiers and dancers.

In the tendays leading up to opening night of the play, there was the customary command performance for the head bishop of Keltar. He thought himself a man of the people, so relaxed the normal rules about it being a private affair. By now, he had certainly heard how popular it was in the city.

The performance that night was the finest yet. The actor playing Ilmater was commanding. Even Danielle felt something like awe stirring in the oldest parts of her. By the time the curtain closed, the sound of weeping rolled through the church like thunder.

The bishop stood and addressed the stage, dabbing at his eyes with his handkerchief.

“Where is the man responsible for this?” he said with a heaving sob. Fox stole proudly strode onto the stage and let himself be clapped on the back.

“Brother, you truly honor Ilmater with this display of his deeds. Never in all my years have I seen such a fine performance,” the bishop said.

Fox stole grinned. “You shame me with your praise. I only did my best,” he said falsely.

“Lies are but the honey in poisoned wine, brother. I mean it with every fiber of my being when I say this performance is a thing too fine to be witnessed by any save Ilmater himself.” The bishop drew a dagger from the tip of his staff and calmly gouged out his own eyes.

“I will not return on the opening night of this play. To do so would be to consider myself Ilmater’s equal. I am sure the faithful all feel the same way,” he said, gesturing vaguely toward the crowd he couldn’t see. They made noises of assent through their tears.

The bishop rested his bloody hand on the man’s fox stole. “To think of all your hard work in creating such a thing of beauty no one will see. Your suffering must be immeasurable. Truly, you are closer to Ilmater than I am this day, brother.”

Fox stole swallowed, anguished, his face a mask of neutrality. “Thank you, brother.”

Danielle walked along the street to the entrance of her organization’s new clubhouse. The church had to sell this location when no one came to the play. It had been improved to a thing of such immeasurable quality, there wasn’t anyone in the world who could afford to attend. With the money Danielle and her associates had made betting on this outcome, they were able to scoop it up at a good discount.

It operated now as an artists’ cooperative. Danielle had analyzed the numbers and found with time and effort spent taken into consideration, they made far more money producing and enhancing art than cutting purses. It was less dangerous as well, and there were fewer bureaucrats whose palms needed greasing. Besides, many of their members had developed an affinity and even a liking for the arts.

On her way toward the church, her skirts caught on something. She turned to see if it was a loose branch of piece of debris only to see an emaciated hand.

“Please, miss, can you spare a few unarche? Weeping wounds, I’m so hungry,” said a man she almost didn’t recognize without his fox stole.

Danielle crouched and tugged her skirts out of his fist, barely any effort at all due to his weak grip.

“I wouldn’t dream of weakening your connection to Ilmater, brother. Truly, he smiles on you.”

She turned and left.

A busker at the door for the clubhouse handed her a flyer.

“Spare a few unarche, miss? Divine interventions? Don’t cost much and the tenth one’s free,” he said with a charming earnestness.

She flashed her badge marking her as a founding member.

“Oh, dear. Sorry, miss, It’s my first day.”

“I like the enthusiasm. Here you go.” She tossed in the coins she’d taken from the beggar’s cup without him noticing. “The faithful must tithe.”

Danielle saw the actor who’d played Ilmater climbing the boards, his face daubed with green makeup. He muttered his way through something sounding like a spell, but as she got closer, she determined he was murmuring “red leather, yellow leather” to himself to warm up.

“So we got him back, did we?” Danielle said to Mignon as she sidled up and handed her a copy of the script.

“He was pretty good, and he’s willing to take direction,” Mignon said. One of the quickly multiplying acolytes flitted by and handed them each a cup of tea, bowed his head, and went to go paint some scenery.

“Oh, hey, it’s you! Thanks so much for the tip about swimming. I got an agent. I’m doing opera next month in Raven’s Bluff. Can you believe it? Me!” he said with glee.

“I’m happy for you,” Danielle said.

“You want to show her what we’ve been working on?” Mignon asked.

“Oh, yes, miss, of course. Are my sides for the next act done yet? I’ve only got this one scene,” the actor said.

“That’s still being rewritten. We’ll get you a complete one as soon as it’s finished. We appreciate your patience.” Mignon sipped her tea.

“Don’t worry about it. Hey, who’s this one about anyway?” he asked.

“Mammon.”

“Huh. Don’t think I know him,” he said.

“I can’t think of a better way to learn. Why don’t you show Danielle what you’ve got down? She can give you notes after if you’re ready.”

“Of course!”

Danielle gathered her skirts beneath her and for the first time sat in the center of the front pew. She nodded.

“All right. From the top.”

LE silverbrow human human paragon 1/totemist 2/human paragon 3/chameleon 2/ disciple of mammon 10/ chameleon 5

str 10
dex 12 (+2 from human paragon, + at 4)
con 15 (+ at 8 and 12)
int 16 (+ at 16 and 20)
wis 15
cha 8


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


1st
human paragon 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
appraise 4, bluff 4, disguise 4, ol 4, soh 4, spellcraft 4, umd 4
able learner, shape soulmeld (theft gloves)
adaptive learning (autohypnosis), custom class list (appraise, autohypnosis, bluff, diplo, forgery, gather info, open lock, sleight of hand, umd, use rope), martial weapon proficiency (rapier)


2nd
totemist 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
sm 3, spellcraft 4

wild empathy, illiteracy


3rd
totemist 2
+1
+3
+3
+2
sm 1 (4), tumble 6
disciple of darkness
totem chakra bind (+1 capacity)


4th
human paragon 2
+2
+3
+3
+3
appraise 2 (6), bluff 3 (7), disguise 2 (6)

bonus feat (weapon finesse)


5th
human paragon 3
+3
+4
+4
+3
bluff 1 (8), disguise 2 (8), umd 4 (8)

ability boost +2 (dex)


6th
chameleon 1
+3
+4
+4
+3
forgery 2, soh 4 (8), umd 1 (9)
master pickpocket
aptitude focus 1/day (+2)


7th
chameleon 2
+4
+4
+4
+3
forgery 4 (6), soh 2 (10), umd 1 (10)

bonus feat


8th
disciple of mammon 1
+4
+4
+6
+5
appraise 4 (10), balance 1, soh 1 (11), umd 1(11)

lie


9th
disciple of mammon 2
+5
+4
+7
+6
balance 2 (3), soh 1 (12), umd 1 (12), tumble 3 (9)
obtain familiar (raven)
cheat


10th
disciple of mammon 3
+6/+1
+5
+7
+6
balance 1 (4), soh 1 (13), umd 1 (13), tumble 4 (13)

thief, steal


11th
disciple of mammon 4
+7/+2
+5
+8
+7
balance 1 (5), autohypnosis 4, soh 1(14), umd 1 (14)

divert attack


12th
disciple of mammon 5
+8/+3
+5
+8
+7
autohypnosis 5 (9), soh 1 (15), umd 1 (15)
open lesser chakra (shoulder)
summon osyluth


13th
disciple of mammon 6
+9/+4
+6
+9
+8
craft (epic) 5, soh 1 (15), umd 1 (16)

take object


14th
disciple of mammon 7
+10/+5
+6
+9
+8
appraise 7 (17)

enhance value


15th
disciple of mammon 8
+11/+6/+1
+6
+10
+9
appraise 1 (18), forgery 4 (10), umd 2 (18)
improved familiar (imp)
divert spell


16th
disciple of mammon 9
+11/+6/+1
+7
+10
+9
appraise 1 (19), autohypnosis 1 (10), soh 4 (19), umd 1 (19)

nondetection


17th
disciple of mammon 10
+12/+7/+2
+7
+11
+10
appraise 1 (20), autohypnosis 4 (14), soh 1 (20), umd 1 (20)

summon gelugon


18th
chameleon 3
+13/+8/+3
+8
+12
+11
appraise 1 (21), autohypnosis 5 (19), soh 1 (21)
open greater chakra (waist)
mimic class feature 1/day


19th
chameleon 4
+14/+9/+4
+8
+12
+11
appraise 1 (22), autohypnosis 3 (22), forgery 2 (12), soh 1 (22)

ability boon +2


20th
chameleon 5
+14/+9/+4
+8
+12
+11
appraise 1 (23), autohypnosis 1 (23), forgery 4 (16), soh 1 (23)

aptitude focus 2/day (+4)



Spells per Day


Level
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


6th
4
2
0
-
-


7th
4
3
1
-
-


No progression from 8-17


Level
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


18th
4
3
2
0
-


19th
4
4
3
1
-


20th
4
4
3
2
0



Human paragon gets you a passel of custom skills, which you use mostly to pay taxes. It also grants you a free martial weapon proficiency with the rapier. Silverbrow human gives you disguise as a permanent class skill. Skilled city-dweller lets totemist swap survival for sense motive and ride for tumble. Spending your points here now allows you to focus your disciple of Mammon points things like appraise. Your ability boost beefs up dex, helping out with your melee attacks, init, and lets you spend level up boosts to improve your meldshaping

Totemist’s melds grant a huge amount of utility, skill boosts and natural attacks. Natural weapons are always light, so will benefit from weapon finesse. Theft gloves help shore up your sleight of hand until you can focus more heavily on it soon afterwards. Blink shirt provides tactical teleportation to bypass locked doors and barred windows

Able learner ensures you keep every skill from all classes as class skills from then on, which is why your skill choice for human paragon is somewhat eclectic. Disciple of darkness grants a luck bonus as long as you’re acting in character to serve your master
Congratulations, you’re in disciple of Mammon. Chameleon offers unrivaled versatility granting access to every spell list, including ones to boost your skills such as guidance of the avatar. This is useful in tandem with disciple of Mammon’s enhance value ability to beef up appraise checks, ensuring you maximize price of the things you spruce up. UMD stays maxed to ensure you can take full advantage of your spell access in addition to your spell slots. Since your list is all spells, you don’t need to make checks for arcane spells while you have your arcane focus up, but while you’re in arcane mode, this will help you still enjoy your divine wands and vice versa

Your iconic bonus feat can be changed daily to grant you any ability you need. The options are too numerous to list, but of particular note are shape soulmeld for things outside of the totemist list, open chakra for new binds, and crafting feats for things like wands or other magic items. You can qualify for these with the caster level provided straight away by silverbrow human’s racial feather fall sla, and later a much higher one from disciple of Mammon’s slas

These slas are arcane (being cast as a sorcerer,) which grants you an arcane caster level, allowing you to qualify for obtain familiar. Ravens can fly, speak, and use wands. Extremely handy for scouting, gathering intelligence, doing wand stuff (utility, bfc, debuff, buff, etc) and later being able to cast skill boosting spells such as guidance of the avatar on you at the right time while you enhance items to ensure you extract maximum value from them so your focus is not interrupted

Cheat lets you supplement your income with games of whist, lie helps you get away with your crooked Hazzard county schemes and can easily be reinforced with a boost from the silvertongue mask (accessible through your chameleon feat)

Thief’s competence bonus to sleight of hand synergizes with the insight bonus provided by the theft gloves. When used in tandem with steal and master pickpocket, you shouldn’t be detected while lightening marks’ purses

Master pickpocket is up, allowing you to steal any items not held in your target’s hand with no aoos and make the checks as a free action for only a -10, alongside providing a +4 to taking items while grappled. This seriously bolsters your ability to thieve
You’re further in disciple of Mammon now and have unlocked further abilities, including the enticing enhance value. Your familiar is now upgraded to an imp which has a great many powers over your raven including shape shifting, poison, invisibility, and commune, which is incredibly useful sniffing out cool stuff to steal, enhance, and sell

Divert attack is now up and can be used with impunity to redirect attacks toward your summoned osyluths, alongside divert spell. Though it may be unsportswomanlike, these abilities can also be used to redirect unfriendly advances to your imp, who should be invisible on or near your person during most of your daily Mammon-related activities before they break into combat. Of particular use is shunting unfriendly divinations who you are wary of beating lie’s spell resistance, since it will let you keep lying and get enemies to let their guards down

Aside from their combat prowess through poison and fear, osyluths also provide valuable utility and bfc. Major image can hide the absence of things you’ve stolen and walls of ice can help you block off areas of the battlefield to funnel enemies where you want them. Due to your ability to fly, teleport, move ethereally, etc, you can handicap your enemies while you’re free to move around and beat a retreat with your stolen goods or get into a good location to finish enemies off

An amusing function present in your enhance value ability is while you yourself cannot enhance something more than once, there is no rule preventing another disciple of Mammon from enhancing something that has already been enhanced. Nor is there a rule against a third one coming along afterwards, and so on. Since the greater value is exponential, the price can rapidly get out of hand

Something fun your disciple(s) of Mammon might do is approach someone with a suitably valuable thing and threaten to enhance it to such a degree its price becomes unattainable for any available buyers to actually purchase the thing. Unless he makes a small donation to the local artists’ cooperative, of course. Such schemes involving chicanery, deceit, and blackmail fit perfectly with expected behavior for a servant of Mammon

Your shoulder chakra is now open, granting access to many binds. It opens important utility like flight and enhancing the damage of your natural attacks. Of particular note is the phase cloak. This enables you to become ethereal as you move, an invaluable tool for a thief. It also provides the shadow mantle, which lets you surround yourself in a giant globe of magical darkness. Magical darkness is difficult to see through and the ability to do so isn’t common. You circumvent this with spells like devil’s eye which you nab from the blackguard list
Have your imp commune on valuable things to steal, send it invisible ahead to find things for you to steal, clip through walls, take stuff, and leave
You’re finished with disciple of Mammon now. Nondetection helps keep you safe even after your heists are finished. Gelugons offer more offensive punch in combat, alongside more utility. Persistent image can replace things you’ve stolen and create illusory reinforcements for yourself (if your enemy saw you summon one monster, why not assume you’ve summoned more?) In addition, persistent image can provide illusory walls of ice in addition to real ones to let you rook enemies. After finishing disciple of Mammon, you have time left to go back into chameleon. It provides more spells, a floating +2 to an ability of your choice, and aptitude focus a second time a day, letting you enjoy both halves of your spellcasting ability

Your waist chakra is now open, allowing you to spring attack, flyby attack, heal from fire, and more when used with your chameleon bonus feat opening up access to other class’s melds

Flit around, steal, and don’t get caught. You’ve got everything you need to do it.

[The Viscount]

Sources in a separate post due to length.


srd:human paragon
dragon magic:silverbrow human/draconic soulmelds
magic of incarnum:totemist/shape soulmeld/open lesser chakra/open greater chakra
races of destiny:chameleon/able learner
champions of ruin:disciple of darkness
city of stormreach:master pickpocket
complete arcane:obtain familiar/improved familiar
skilled city dweller (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)

[The Viscount]

You may not call her auntie.


Bhedana Bharu
LE Vriscika Human Ranger 2/OA Samurai (Kshatriya) 2/Disciple of Mammon 10/Fighter 2/Swordsage 4
Dedicated to the Hulks of Zoretha
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/647393639886094337/769493210933755964/Z.png

First CutThe finance minister’s chandelier was a sprawling, gaudy thing. Though it was clearly very expensive, Bhedana’s trained eye noted multiple deficiencies in the craftsmanship. She suspected the minister had been taken for a ride by the foreign trader he had purchased it from.

Just at the moment, however, it was the minister taking her for a ride. Bhedana turned her attention away from the chandelier toward the man, whose rotund, perspiring physique was not flattered by the light from the similarly garish candelabras set all around them, as he slurred a directive that she turn over. She complied pressing her face down into the mat. It felt rough against her cheek, a lower thread count than expected.

A pattern was emerging, and Bhedana began to speculate as to whether it was all worth it. Her mind drifted to memories of sitting in the back of crowded meetings, listening to a young man deliver an impassioned oration to a rapt audience about a new and better world freed from the tyranny of the rajah and his allies from across the sea. They would, he said, return to the land that had been stolen out from under them and be able to lead lives of dignity unbound by caste.

In more private settings, Amartya spoke with less of his confident authority but the same infectious passion. When he had excitedly told her that she needn’t be ashamed of her family’s decline in status, that it was just a symptom of the old order falling away, her heart skipped a beat as she feared that she had been discovered. It had then skipped another when he said that when they were freed from the bonds of caste, there would be nothing stopping them from becoming man and wife.

He had certainly been a better lay than the finance minister, she thought as a twinge of embarrassment started to set in, but there was no sense in dwelling on it. He was probably dead now, and his followers along with him. She could wash her hands and whatever else of this whole affair soon enough.

She resumed her idle examination of the décor, taking particular interest in an ornate and tightly secured chest in the back corner. Just as she turned her attention to the chamber’s great wooden double doors, and was assessing the quality of their carving and varnish job, they were flung open to reveal a pair of babau demons carrying the slumped figure of a man.

“Don’t you knock?” The minister sounded mildly annoyed at being distracted.

“Discretion wasn’t spelled out in the contract,” one of the tanar’ri noted idly, adding “nothing we haven’t seen before.”

“No matter,” the minister grunted. “I suppose now’s as good a time for this as any.” He strode over to his sword belt and drew his tulwar. “Amartya of the Zardula Kala, by order of Rajah Yanja Bhayyam, for acts of sedition and conspiracy to commit high treason, I sentence you to die.”

The rebel leader raised his head weakly. His eyes met Bhedana’s for a moment and a look of horrified realization spread across his face to then be affixed there in a rictus as his head was parted from his shoulders. “That will be all,” the minister said dismissively to the devils, who disappeared back to their own reality, before redirecting his attention to Bhedana. “Now then,” he gave her backside a light slap with the flat of his still bloodied sword. “Come finish pledging your loyalty to the rajah.”

Kneeling before the minister, Bhedana laid her own scabbarded tulwar and kris before her in submission. The ruby necklace that Amartya had presented her, more valuable than anything he had seen for most of his life, glittered in the firelight, now inlaid into the hilt of her sword.

The BuildPoint Buy:
16 Str, 14 Dex, 14 Con, 14 Int, 10 Wis, 10 Cha
Increase Dex at 4th, 8th, and 12th levels, Str at 16th and 20th.

Build Table:


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


1st
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Sleight of Hand 4, Appraise 4, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 4, Bluff 4, Craft (Jewelry) 4, Knowledge (Local) 4, Iaijutsu Focus 2, Balance 2, Jump 2, Sense Motive 2,
Able Learner, Criminal Background, Urban Tracking, Disciple of Darkness
Rival Organization, Urban Tracker, Celestial Slayer, Skilled City-Dweller (Handle Animal for Gather Info and Local for Nature), Middle-Class Background (Appraise)


2nd
Samurai (Kshatriya) 1
+2
+4
+2
+2
Sleight of Hand 5, Appraise 5, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 4, Bluff 4, Craft (Jewelry) 4, Knowledge (Local) 4, Iaijutsu Focus 5, Balance 2, Jump 2, Sense Motive 2
-
Ancestral Daisho (Tulwar and Kris)


3rd
Samurai 2
+3
+5
+2
+3
Sleight of Hand 6, Appraise 6, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Jewelry) 5, Knowledge (Local) 4, Iaijutsu Focus 6, Balance 2, Jump 2, Sense Motive 2
Combat Expertise, Improved Disarm
Bonus Feat (Scorpion Clan)


4th
Ranger 2
+4
+6
+3
+3
Sleight of Hand 7, Appraise 7, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 7, Bluff 7, Craft (Jewelry) 6, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 7, Balance 2, Jump 2, Sense Motive 2
Two-Weapon Fighting
Combat Style (Two-Weapon Fighting)


5th
Disciple of Mammon 1
+4
+6
+5
+5
Sleight of Hand 8, Appraise 8, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 7, Bluff 7, Craft (Jewelry) 7, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 8, Balance 5, Jump 2, Sense Motive 2
Willing Deformity
Lie


6th
Disciple of Mammon 2
+5
+6
+6
+6
Sleight of Hand 9, Appraise 9, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 7, Bluff 7, Craft (Jewelry) 9, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 9, Balance 5, Jump 2, Sense Motive 2, Sudden Draw
Quick Draw
Cheat


7th
Disciple of Mammon 3
+6
+7
+6
+6
Sleight of Hand 10, Appraise 10, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 7, Bluff 7, Craft (Jewelry) 10, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 10, Balance 5, Jump 5, Sense Motive 2, Sudden Draw
-
Thief, Steal


8th
Disciple of Mammon 4
+7
+7
+7
+7
Sleight of Hand 11, Appraise 11, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 7, Bluff 7, Craft (Jewelry) 11, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 11, Balance 5, Jump 5, Sense Motive 5, Sudden Draw
-
Divert Attack


9th
Disciple of Mammon 5
+7
+7
+7
+7
Sleight of Hand 12, Appraise 12, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 7, Bluff 7, Craft (Jewelry) 12, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 12, Balance 5, Jump 6, Sense Motive 7, Sudden Draw
Hurling Charge
Summon Osyluth


10th
Disciple of Mammon 6
+8
+8
+8
+8
Sleight of Hand 13, Appraise 13, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 7, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 13, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 13, Balance 5, Jump 7, Sense Motive 8, Sudden Draw
Deformity (Tall)
Take Object


11th
Disciple of Mammon 7
+9
+8
+8
+8
Sleight of Hand 14, Appraise 14, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 8, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 14, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 14, Balance 5, Jump 7, Sense Motive 10, Sudden Draw
-
Enhance Value


12th
Disciple of Mammon 8
+10
+8
+9
+9
Sleight of Hand 15, Appraise 15, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 8, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 15, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 15, Balance 5, Jump 8, Sense Motive 12, Sudden Draw
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Divert Spell


13th
Disciple of Mammon 9
+10
+9
+9
+9
Sleight of Hand 16, Appraise 16, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 8, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 16, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 16, Balance 5, Jump 9, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
-
Nondetection


14th
Disciple of Mammon 10
+11
+9
+10
+10
Sleight of Hand 17, Appraise 17, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 8, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 17, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 17, Balance 5, Jump 12, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
-
Summon Gelugon


15th
Fighter 1
+12
+11
+10
+10
Sleight of Hand 18, Appraise 18, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 8, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 18, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 18, Balance 5, Jump 15, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
Robilar’s Gambit*, Snatch Weapon, Deformity (Tongue)
Hit-and-Run Tactics, Bonus Feat


16th
Fighter 2
+13
+12
+10
+10
Sleight of Hand 19, Appraise 19, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 8, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 19, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 19, Balance 5, Jump 16, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
Double Hit*
Bonus Feat


17th
Swordsage 1
+13
+12
+12
+12
Sleight of Hand 20, Appraise 20, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 9, Bluff 8, Craft (Jewelry) 20, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 20, Balance 5, Jump 20, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
Weapon Focus (Shadow Hand)
Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus)


18th
Swordsage 2
+14
+12
+13
+13
Sleight of Hand 21, Appraise 21, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 11, Bluff 10, Craft (Jewelry) 21, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 21, Balance 5, Jump 21, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
Crescent Moon
AC Bonus


19th
Swordsage 3
+15
+13
+13
+13
Sleight of Hand 22, Appraise 22, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 13, Bluff 12, Craft (Jewelry) 22, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 22, Balance 5, Jump 22, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
-
-


20th
Swordsage 4
+16
+13
+14
+14
Sleight of Hand 23, Appraise 23, Open Lock 4, Gather Information 15, Bluff 14, Craft (Jewelry) 23, Knowledge (Local) 5, Iaijutsu Focus 23, Balance 5, Jump 23, Sense Motive 14, Sudden Draw
Hellbound Knight
Discipline Focus (Insightful Strikes: Tiger Claw)

*The Combat Reflexes prerequisite is met with the Reflex Weapon enhancement on Bhedana’s Ancestral Tulwar.

Maneuvers:


Level
Maneuvers Readied
Maneuvers Known
Stances Known


17
4
Shadow Stride, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Dancing Mongoose, Pouncing Charge, Rapid Counter
Stance of Clarity


18
4
Shadow Stride, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Dancing Mongoose, Pouncing Charge, Rapid Counter, Bounding Assault
Stance of Clarity, Assassin’s Stance


19
5
Shadow Stride, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Dancing Mongoose, Pouncing Charge, Rapid Counter, Bounding Assault, Wolf Climbs the Mountain
Stance of Clarity, Assassin’s Stance


20
5
Shadow Stride, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Dancing Mongoose, Pouncing Charge, Rapid Counter, Bounding Assault, Wolf Climbs the Mountain, Strength Draining Strike, Ghost Blade
Stance of Clarity, Assassin’s Stance



BreakdownLevel 4Bhedana starts out as the scion of a warrior caste house from the Mahasarpa setting tucked away in an Oriental Adventures Web Enhancement, that has fallen out of favor and drifted downward into a middle class that begins to emerge out of cracks in the caste system. This is important for a few reasons. First, Cityscape has Class Background rules which allow her to pick up Appraise as a class skill for this alone, and second, it allows her to fall in with a Chaotic Good criminal element picking up the other skills she needs for Disciple of Mammon through Criminal Background, before becoming a sleazy informant and ratting on them to the feds. Second, because Mahasarpa’s variant of the Samurai, the Kshatriya, gets a tulwar and kris (scimitar and dagger) in place of the usual Ancestral Daisho katana and wakizashi (bastard sword and short sword), which is preferable for her since the scimitar can be wielded one-handed without Exotic Weapon Proficiency, and having her secondary weapon be a dagger will be important later on. Her act of betrayal is really just speeding up the timetable, as the Hulks of Zoretha, who she dedicates herself to for the purpose of paying the Disciple of Darkness feat tax will eventually have everyone at each other’s throats should they be roused. With that, she meets all prerequisites for the SI at the earliest possible point.

Being otherwise identical to OA Samurai, Kshatriya grants Iaijutsu Focus, which Able Learner will maintain as a class skill throughout Bhedana’s career, which will make for solid damage on an opening strike at these levels when she gets the jump on someone, before falling back to disarming or two-weapon fighting. Celestial Slayer is a minor thing, but a favorable and flavorful trade for Wild Empathy and with high threat range weapons, that +4 to confirm crits against creatures with the Good subtype is something that will come in handy when it does come up. Criminal Background also provides a +4 on Gather Information, which feeds into Urban Tracking and gives the ability to sense criminal motives with a nice flat DC 15 Sense Motive check, which help to round out her utility out of combat.
Level 11Entering Disciple of Mammon at the earliest possible point has its perks. Summon Osyluth will remain useful at all levels, for something to redirect to with Divert Attack and later Divert Spell if nothing else, but getting a CR 9 creature at your beck and call at level 9 is especially nice. Disarming also improves thanks to Take Object, and she picks up Enhance Value at ECL 11, allowing her to bump up the value of art objects (whether crafted herself, looted, or purchased at regular value), which can then be used to enhance her Ancestral Tulwar and Kris without needing any intermediary to help liquidate the assets or the right magic mart to get the enhancements she wants. Blurstrike to ensure flat-footedness for Iaijutsu Focus is a solid choice for both weapons (if used on a Hurling Charge throw, Steal is handy to retrieve the weapon and turn the effect off quickly after the fight so you don’t bleed through its 10 rounds/day), and she’ll want Disarming and eventually need the Reflex Weapon enhancement from an obscure web archive on the tulwar. Other enhancements can be chosen to taste or to suit the nature of the campaign.

Hurling Charge is now online as well, giving Bhedana a way to move in and make Iaijutsu attacks with both a dagger (whether her kris or another dagger) and tulwar, and leaves her with one hand free to Sudden Draw another dagger for an Iaijutsu AoO when anyone passes through her threatened area, which is now expanded via Deformity (Tall).

Level 15Bhedana finishes out the SI, getting the Gelugon, like the Osyluth, at a level when it’s still a match for many CR-equivalent challenges in its own right, before dipping out into Fighter for some feats. The aforementioned Reflex Weapon enhancement on Bhedana’s tulwar gives her Combat Reflexes, allowing her to qualify for Robilar’s Gambit, which will trigger even if she uses Divert Attack to redirect the provoking blow away from herself. She also picks up Snatch Weapon which, since as before her off-hand will generally be open, affords her an extra attack when she disarms a light or one-handed weapon. Since we’re putting the effort in to make enemies flat-footed and needed a high Dex for Improved Two-Weapon Fighting anyway, Hit-and-Run Tactics provides a nice little damage boost.
Level 20Fighter nabs another feat for Double Hit to strike with either tulwar and kris, tulwar and a weapon disarmed and stolen via Snatch Weapon, or tulwar and another dagger drawn with Sudden Draw on each AoO, before we finish out the build with Swordsage. Like any martial build, Bhedana gets some nice things from maneuvers, including swift action repositioning with Sudden Leap, move action tactical teleportation via Shadow Stride, more extra attacks from Dancing Mongoose, Pouncing Charge as a situational alternative to Hurling Charge, a double move from Bounding Assault that can be used to sheathe weapons to reactivate Iaijutsu Focus, Ghost Blade as a backup means of rendering an opponent flat-footed, and Wolf Climbs the Mountain to irritate larger enemies who are more resilient to disarming and pressure them to provoke more AoOs, but Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus) is also a significant draw for her, as Shadow Hand’s discipline weapons include both the dagger and short sword, meaning it covers both Weapon Focus prerequisites for Crescent Moon. Despite qualifying with Weapon Focus (Short Sword), it will still work with a scimitar (or indeed any sword), so an enemy hit with both a dagger and sword attack (such as a kris and tulwar Hurling Charge) is subject to a free disarm attempt (and in the case of Hurling Charge where Bhedana retains a free hand, a subsequent Snatch Weapon attack).
Adaptations and EquipmentIf getting Appraise just for growing up middle class rubs you or your DM the wrong way, Apprentice (Craftsman) also works. This means either taking a flaw or losing Able Learner, which will constrict skills considerably as Iaijutsu Focus will be cross-class for most of your career, and Appraise cross-class after level 14, but is workable.

While the use of Ancestral Tulwar is meant to limit the necessity of being able to reliably liquidate art objects or access magic marts, Enhance Value is essentially a license to print money, so equipment is worth at least some passing consideration. Bhedana is MAD enough that a Belt of Magnificence may be worth the investment. While it need not be as fancy as the kris, some sort of second dagger option is helpful to streamline Hurling Charge and Iaijutsu tactics. Any item that give bonuses to key skills will be welcome, especially an Appraise booster, such as a Monocle of Perusal or a higher competence bonus if you can get one, which won’t take long to pay for itself. A Ranger dip means Ranger wands, which offer some nice utility.

While not useful except perhaps as a McGuffin, the Zoretha Scrolls are, amusingly, non-magical, and therefore a valid target for Enhance Value, though the process of doing so may risk establishing a link to them.

Hidden BladeThe great wooden double doors swung wide. Thick sheets of ice cut off most of the household troops the finance minister had holed himself up with from intervening as Bhedana rushed forward, her kris whistling through the air in a blur in front of her to slice into the shoulder of a demon that barred her path. In a fluid motion she drew her tulwar, slashing across the creature’s chest and slamming the ruby pommel into the back of its weakened sword hand. Catching the weapon as it dropped, she cut into the creature once more for good measure, forcing it back from whence it came. Its sword disappeared as well, but that merely saved Bhedana the trouble of dropping it, as it was unwieldy to hold in her left hand. Another demon lurched forward claws bared, but she had a dagger between its ribs and her tulwar ripping out its throat before it reached arm’s length. A pike was thrust at her head, but she deflected it to strike the gelugon she had summoned instead, before cutting its wielder down as well.

She strode forward to where the minister was cowering, sheathing the dagger she had just drawn and recalling her kris into her hand from where it had fallen with a gesture. “Get that chandelier down gently and that chest open before you go,” she called back casually to her ice devil, which was still rubbing the place where it had been struck by the blow meant for her. It gave her a dirty look but complied. The osyluth half-turned from where it was menacing the remaining soldiers to keep them cowed to let off a rattling laugh. Turning back to the minister, she set the edge of her tulwar against his throat. “For your embezzlement of state funds and acts of corruption, by order of Rajah Yanja Bhayyam, I sentence you to die.”

He spat at her feet. “I suppose this is revenge?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. My feelings are no harder than any part of you,” she said, with a kick to his gut and then another to his groin, “but you should know better than to trust an informant too fully, or to think yourself indispensable.” She let out a cold laugh as he grunted in pain. “The old world is falling and a new one rising in its place, and the rajah has determined that your services will no longer be required in it. Nor is there really time to be wasting on idle chit-chat with a dead man,” she said. “Those Zoretha scrolls were quite a find, but on the whole, it would be a grave and unworthy insult to my business associates to describe your tastes as hellish. I’ll have my work cut out for me fixing this place up.” She slit the minister’s throat, then paused for a moment before ultimately deciding that his clothes would not be worth salvaging, wiping her blade on a dry patch, and sheathing it to turn her attention to the chandelier.

SourcesBook of Vile Darkness: Disciple of Mammon
Champions of Ruin: Disciple of Darkness, Hellbound Knight
City of Stromreach: Criminal Background
Cityscape: Social Classes for Adventurers
Cityscape Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a): Skilled City-Dweller, Urban Tracker
Complete Scoundrel: Sudden Draw
Complete Warrior: Crescent Moon
Elder Evils: Dedication to an Elder Evil, Hulks of Zoretha
Exemplars of Evil: Celestial Slayer
Heroes of Horror: Willing Deformity, Deformity (Tall), Deformity (Tongue)
Magic Item Compendium: Disarming enhancement, Belt of Magnificence, Monacle of Perusal
Miniatures Handbook: Double Hit, Hurling Charge
Oriental Adventures: Samurai, Iaijutsu Focus
Oriental Adventures Mahasarpa Setting Web Enhancement (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Mahasarpa.pdf): Kshatriya, Vriscika Human
Player’s Handbook II: Robilar’s Gambit
Races of the Wild: Blurstrike enhancement
Song and Silence: Snatch Weapon
Tome of Battle: Swordsage, Maneuvers
Web Archive (http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/MagicItems.pdf): Reflex enhancement
Everything else is SRD.

[The Viscount]

Milo Minderbinder, eat your heart out.



https://i.pinimg.com/564x/6a/41/36/6a413689844f309fc9ed8f0b7e871adc.jpg
Dukat d’Cannith
Human, LE Artificer 6/Binder 1/Disciple of Mammon 10/Cannith Wand Adept 3

God of the World and Worldlings I me call,
Great Mammon, greatest God below the Sky,
That of my Plenty pour out unto all,
And unto none my Graces do envy:
Riches, Renown, and Principality,
Honour, Estate, and all this Worldes Good,
For which Men stink and sweat incessantly,
Fro me do flow into an ample Flood,
And in the hollow Earth have their eternal Brood.

Wherefore if me thou deign to serve and sew,
At thy Command to all these Mountains be;
Or if to thy great Mind, or greedy View,
All these may not suffice, there shalt to thee
Ten times so much be numbred frank and free.

--Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen

Greed is good.

--Gordon Gekko, Wall Street




There is a greater power in this world, a power that moves king and peasant alike, a power that exalts or that drives men mad. It is a power beyond that which is channeled by the greatest priest of Pelor or the most cunning wizard of the Congress Arcane. It is a power found in every ingot of iron, in the stamping on every gold coin rubbed smooth by countless hands, growing in strength with every exchange.

For what else would you call the power that catapulted House Cannith above all other houses? What else would you call the power that led us to do what must be done, to wield the ancient and foreign weapon, to put an end to the Last War? Oh, many of my brethren in the House would like to forget our role there, to hide our role in that great calamity, to bury it deep below the Mournland just as the weapon Pandorym itself is buried. But I do not forget. I remember how House Cannith once wielded the power of gold and iron and crystal, how for one brief and shining moment we were gods. No, not gods. We were more than gods.

Some may call me unfaithful. My own House believes I betray them. But I am faithful - faithful to my House, faithful to the great crystal power that thrums below the Mournlands, and most of all faithful to that higher power that motivates all, that power that so many here dismissively label “greed.” Such a nasty word for such a noble motivator! And so I mask my words, I lie and steal, and I gather bits of power to myself to wield in service of my lords. And when House Cannith once again wields the power of Pandorym, when the other Dragonmarked houses are reduced to ashes, and when Khorvaire is remade into a true world, a just world where the Great God Mammon’s laws are the only laws that one must obey… it is then that I will be exalted.



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


1st
Artificer 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Appraise 4 ranks, bluff 2 rankscc, craft (poisonmaking) 4 ranks, diplomacy 2 rankscc, intimidate 2 rankscc, knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, open lock 4 ranks, sleight of hand 2 rankscc, spellcraft 4 ranks, use magic device 4 ranks
Able Learner, Least Dragonmark (mark of making - make whole), Scribe Scrollbonus, Disciple of Darknessvile
Artificer knowledge, artisan bonus, disable trap, item creation, Scribe Scroll


2nd
Binder 1
+0
+2
+0
+4
Appraise 5 ranks (+1), bluff 3 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 5 ranks (+1), diplomacy 3 ranks (+1), intimidate 3 ranks (+1), use magic device 5 ranks (+1)

Soul binding (1 vestige)


3rd
Artificer 2
+1
+2
+0
+5
Appraise 6 ranks (+1), bluff 6 ranks (+3), craft (poisonmaking) 6 ranks (+1), diplomacy 4 ranks (+1), intimidate 4 ranks (+1), use magic device 6 ranks (+1)
Improved Binding, Brew Potionbonus
Brew Potion


4th
Artificer 3
+2
+3
+1
+5
Appraise 7 ranks (+1), bluff 7 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 7 ranks (+1), diplomacy 7 ranks (+3), intimidate 5 ranks (+1), use magic device 7 ranks (+1)
Craft Wondrous Itembonus
Craft Wondrous Item


5th
Artificer 4
+3
+3
+1
+6
Appraise 8 ranks (+1), bluff 8 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 8 ranks (+1), diplomacy 8 ranks (+1), intimidate 8 ranks (+3), use magic device 8 ranks (+1)
Fell Drain, Dark Speechvile
Craft homunculus, bonus feat


6th
Artificer 5
+3
+3
+1
+6
Appraise 9 ranks (+1), bluff 9 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 9 ranks (+1), diplomacy 9 ranks (+1), intimidate 9 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 4 ranks (+2), use magic device 9 ranks (+1)
Craft Magic Arms and Armorbonus, Lesser Dragonmark (mark of making - minor creation)
Craft Magic Arms and Armor, retain essence


7th
Artificer 6
+4
+4
+2
+7
Appraise 10 ranks (+1), bluff 10 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 10 ranks (+1), diplomacy 10 ranks (+1), intimidate 10 ranks (+1), spellcraft 6 ranks (+2), use magic device 10 ranks (+1)
Craft Wandbonus
Craft Wand


8th
Disciple of Mammon 1
+4
+4
+4
+9
Appraise 11 ranks (+1), bluff 11 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 11 ranks (+1), diplomacy 11 ranks (+1), intimidate 11 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 6 ranks (+2), use magic device 11 ranks (+1)

Lie


9th
Disciple of Mammon 2
+5
+4
+5
+10
Appraise 12 ranks (+1), bluff 12 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 12 ranks (+1), diplomacy 12 ranks (+1), intimidate 12 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 8 ranks (+2), use magic device 12 ranks (+1)
Wand Mastery
Cheat


10th
Disciple of Mammon 3
+6/+1
+5
+5
+10
Appraise 13 ranks (+1), bluff 13 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 13 ranks (+1), diplomacy 13 ranks (+1), intimidate 13 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 10 ranks (+2), use magic device 13 ranks (+1)
Chosen of Evilvile
Thief, steal


11th
Disciple of Mammon 4
+7/+2
+5
+6
+11
Appraise 14 ranks (+1), bluff 14 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 14 ranks (+1), diplomacy 14 ranks (+1), intimidate 14 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 12 ranks (+2), use magic device 14 ranks (+1)

Divert attack


12th
Disciple of Mammon 5
+7/+2
+5
+6
+11
Appraise 15 ranks (+1), bluff 15 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 15 ranks (+1), diplomacy 15 ranks (+1), intimidate 15 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 14 ranks (+2), use magic device 15 ranks (+1)
Supernatural Transformation (steal)
Summon osyluth


13th
Disciple of Mammon 6
+8/+3
+6
+7
+12
Appraise 16 ranks (+1), bluff 16 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 16 ranks (+1), diplomacy 16 ranks (+1), intimidate 16 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 16 ranks (+2), use magic device 16 ranks (+1)

Take object


14th
Disciple of Mammon 7
+9/+4
+6
+7
+12
Appraise 17 ranks (+1), bluff 17 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 17 ranks (+1), diplomacy 17 ranks (+1), intimidate 17 ranks (+1), knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 17 ranks (+1), use magic device 17 ranks (+1)

Enhance value


15th
Disciple of Mammon 8
+10/+5
+6
+8
+13
Appraise 18 ranks (+1), bluff 18 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 18 ranks (+1), diplomacy 18 ranks (+1), intimidate 18 ranks (+1), spellcraft 7 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 18 ranks (+1), use magic device 18 ranks (+1)
Skilled Telekinetic, Evil Brandvile
Divert spell


16th
Disciple of Mammon 9
+10/+5
+7
+8
+13
Appraise 19 ranks (+1), bluff 19 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 19 ranks (+1), diplomacy 19 ranks (+1), intimidate 19 ranks (+1), spellcraft 8 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 19 ranks (+1), use magic device 19 ranks (+1)

Nondetection


17th
Cannith Wand Adept 1
+10/+5
+7
+8
+15
Appraise 20 ranks (+1), bluff 20 ranks (+1), diplomacy 20 ranks (+1), intimidate 20 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 20 ranks (+1), use magic device 20 ranks (+1)

Identify wand, wand focus


18th
Cannith Wand Adept 2
+11/+6/+1
+7
+8
+16
Appraise 21 ranks (+1), bluff 21 ranks (+1), diplomacy 21 ranks (+1), intimidate 21 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 21 ranks (+1), use magic device 21 ranks (+1)
Twin Spell
Wand quick draw, dual wand use


19th
Cannith Wand Adept 3
+12/+7/+2
+8
+9
+16
Appraise 22 ranks (+1), bluff 22 ranks (+1), diplomacy 22 ranks (+1), intimidate 22 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 22 ranks (+1), use magic device 22 ranks (+1)

Siphon charge, improved dragonmark


20th
Disciple of Mammon 10
+13/+8/+3
+8
+10
+17
Appraise 23 ranks (+1), bluff 23 ranks (+1), craft (poisonmaking) 22 ranks (+3), diplomacy 23 ranks (+1), intimidate 23 ranks (+1), sleight of hand 23 ranks (+1), use magic device 23 ranks (+1)
Master’s Willvile
Summon gelugon






Dukat d’Cannith is devoted to the elder evil known as Pandorym. There is some history between House Cannith and Pandorym (see Elder Evils, p82). Having learned the secret history of House Cannith and how they harnessed Pandorym to end the Last War, he believes that this eldritch presence buried beneath the Mournland can be harnessed once more - this time in pursuit of a more lasting peace, one borne from absolute dominance.

As per the rules for elder evil devotion in Elder Evils, Dukat receives a bonus [Vile] feat at 1st level and every 5th level. These feats are marked accordingly on his build table.



32 point buy:
Str 8/Dex 14/Con 12/Int 16/Wis 10/Cha 16

Boost Charisma at every available level.



Infusions per Day (does not include bonus infusions due to high Int bonus)


Level
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th


1st
2
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
2
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
3
-
-
-
-
-


4th
3
1
-
-
-
-


5th
3
2
-
-
-
-


6th
3
3
1
-
-
-


7th
3
3
2
-
-
-






Final Skill Layout
Appraise 23 ranks
Bluff 23 ranks
Diplomacy 23 ranks
Intimidate 23 ranks
Sleight of hand 23 ranks
Use magic device 23 ranks
Craft (poisonmaking) 22 ranks
Spellcraft 8 ranks
Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks
Open lock 4 ranks



Disciple of Mammon is an interesting class: a lawful betrayer, focused on lying and cheating and greed beyond measure. There is only so much information on Mammon in BoVD and other sources, so I looked beyond a bit, especially to Spenser and Milton, who described a devilish creature devoted above all else to the accumulation of worldly goods. In The Faerie Queen Mammon’s cave of wealth is conspicuously placed right at the entrance to the Underworld, and from within Mammon calls himself the greatest God below the sky and tempts Guyon with the world itself, confident that there is nothing in the world that cannot be bought for gold.

This fits in well with the Disciple of Mammon class, whose most interesting (and unique) class feature is its ability to enhance the value of nonmagical items. I wanted, then, a disciple of the greatest God below the sky to be proof positive of this concept, and of all that Guyon was tempted with: a demonstration that true power derives first from wealth, from stamped coin and rude ingot.

Artificer became a perfect fit then, and also gave an interesting way to benefit from enhance value. Most similar abilities have specific restrictions that enhanced or otherwise magically manipulated objects cannot be used as material components. However, enhance value lacks any such proviso. With many of the best artificer infusions possessing material components (for example, the excellent greater armor enhancement costs 100gp a pop, which may seem minimal in any given encounter but certainly adds up over time).

Tying things to Eberron and House Cannith also brought on another interesting possibility. On page 82 of Elder Evils, the book discusses Pandorym’s role in Eberron. Here it suggests that Pandorym was entombed beneath the Mournland, and that House Cannith brought the alien weapon to Eberron in a bid to challenge the gods and finally end the Last War. From there, the idea of a member of House Cannith who attempted to use Pandorym as a weapon to secure control of his House solidified. A true devotee of Mammon, he would not view House Cannith’s use of Pandorym in the Last War as a great shame but instead as his House’s crowning achievement, a shining example of how wealth and artifice can turn the tide of what many saw as an endless war. He would be a powerful manipulator, dedicated to artifice and seduction, and determined to further use Pandorym to see the ascendancy of his House and his devilish patron.

As for the class itself, obviously enhance value was key, but there were several other aspects of the secret ingredient that worked quite well alongside the build concept. Early access to a high-CL spell-like ability like cheat allowed Dukat to qualify for Wand Mastery despite only six levels in artificer. His skill bonuses and resistance to spells that would expose his lies allow him to properly play the social manipulator role. His ability to create homonculi from an early level provides him with a perfect target for diverting attacks and spells, especially as said homonculi explode when slain. Perhaps most importantly, steal and nondetection combine to provide Dukat with his best late-game offensive strategy: using Skilled Telekinetic, his steal ability can allow him to manipulate wands and other magic items from afar at will, and he only needs to maintain line of sight, not line of effect, to his target. (Instead, the wand itself needs to maintain LoE.) Combined with stonemelding armor or a meld to stone spell trigger item and Malphas’s bird’s eye viewing ability to maintain line of sight, and a high-CL nondetection to prevent him from being magically identified while melded, Dukat can telekinetically wield wands (for which he adds a +5 to the caster level and DC, and can easily apply metamagic such as Fell Drain or Twin Spell via metamagic item) to attack his foes while safely melded into a wall or floor to avoid any counterattacks.



Dukat d’Cannith is designed to be a player rather than an NPC, but could function well in either role. Dukat’s “sweet spot” is level 15, but he is designed to be functional at any level. While Dukat mostly prefers to avoid direct combat, this does not mean he is passive. He serves as an effective buffer and minionmancer from early on, with the latter being especially potent at low levels when his summoned homonculi (which he has access to starting at level 1 via summon marked homonculus) far outstrip most similarly-leveled summons. He also has incredible flexibility thanks to his ability to access a wide variety of spells and abilities with only a minute’s preparation via his armor enhancement/weapon augmentation/spell storing item infusions. And in addition to supercharging his social skills, Naberius also allows him to debuff at-will via Dark Speech thanks to its rapid ability score healing. This ability score healing also allows him to apply the poisons he creates to the weapons of his homonculi for a further debuff (especially effective with the arbalester), or he can bind Malphas for poison use.

As the levels progress, Dukat’s manipulation and utility abilities come into stronger focus. Enhance value allows him to spam his more costly artificer infusions without worrying about falling behind in WBL. Offensively he relies most heavily on wands, which he can easily craft himself and with which he adds a +5 to the caster level and DC. By level 15 he can manipulate and activate these wands from afar via his at-will steal ability combined with Skilled Telekinetic, and with access to Malphas he can use his ravens to maintain line of sight to his foes and fire off wands at them from afar or summon powerful devils, while he himself is safely hidden away somewhere out of sight or melded into stone. Any spells or effects that do manage to target him can instead be harmlessly diverted to his army of robots homonculi, who explode on destruction to cause even more mayhem.

For those interested in seeing what it might be like to play Dukat d’Cannith at all levels of the game, please check out these build snapshots:


Levels 1 - 5
Artificer 4/Binder 1

At the very earliest levels, before you are able to craft significant items, your most potent option is summon marked homonculus. This 1st-level infusion gives you access to a homonculus that lasts an hour per level. Your best offensive choice is likely the arbalester, but the furtive filcher is also a lot of fun, especially for someone as greedy as you. Meanwhile binder gives you access to quite a lot of nice options, though in particular you’ll be looking at Naberius and Malphas. Naberius is just fantastic combined with your skills and Charisma focus, making you into a potent manipulator and diplomancer. It also gives you the ability to quickly heal off any ability damage, which combines with Dark Speech or poison crafting to become a nice little offensive one-two punch. Malphas will become particularly good later, but its poison use and bird’s eye view and sudden strike are all excellent even now.

As you progress in artificer you’ll pick up several more potent abilities. In addition to summon marked homonculus, you’ve got quite a few powerful augmentations. In particular, personal weapon augmentation, lesser armor enhancement, lesser weapon augmentation, unseen crafter (perfect for crafting poisons so that your arbalesters can fire off poisoned bolts!) and armor augmentation have tons of utility. Remember that the weapon augmentation line can nab things like bane, sudden stunning and air/earth elemental power, while the armor enhancement line can get you things like displacement, death ward, blinding, mirror image, menacing or speed. These are absolutely incredible, and especially with the long duration of the armor enhancement line, you can provide some powerful effects to yourself or your allies.

Levels 6 - 10
Artificer 6/Binder 1/Disciple of Mammon 3

A lot of your primary abilities begin coming online here. Two more levels of artificer give you 3rd-level infusions, Craft Wand and retain essence. Retain essence is of course essential for any crafter, allowing you to convert items you find into more useful crafted items. This is especially nice alongside Craft Wand, as wands will be your primary offensive tool. And with 3rd-level infusions you have a couple of incredible options, most notably metamagic item, which lets you apply a metamagic feat that you possess to a spell trigger item for free for 1 rd/level. Remember that Fell Drain feat you took earlier? Yeah, now you can apply it to your wand and have it trigger on every use, without costing you any extra charges. There are other great infusions as well, such as greater armor enhancement, which lets you apply a whopping +5 equivalent (or 100,000gp) bonus to a suite of armor. Proof against enchantments, slippery aura, whirlwind, undead controlling, stonemeld, etherealness, radiant, heavy fortification, time buttress... there’s a LOT you can do with this one. At this level it’s downright incredible.

Your dragonmark also improves, which has a few nice bonuses. Minor creation is a great spell and can easily allow you to create large quantities of poison. Your binder level comes into play here, as Naberius can easily heal off ability damage and Malphas can provide poison use. And in case that wasn’t enough, it also allows you to access the more powerful homonculus forms with your summon marked homonculus infusion, allowing it to really swing outside of its weight class as a 1st-level infusion. And speaking of 1st-level infusions, I didn’t mention spell-storing item previously because the UMD checks were beyond what you could consistently make, but by this level they’re no longer out of reach (especially with Chosen of Evil, which combines with Naberius to give you a +3 bonus to basically any d20 roll you make with almost no drawback). With just a minute’s preparation, you can create a quick single-use wand of ANY spell, off of ANY list, up to 3rd-level. This is insanely flexible, and while it won’t likely be something you’ll do in combat, it still provides an incredible amount of utility.

And, you enter into the SI. Your ability to lie without detection is huge and augmented nicely by Naberius. Cheat is a cute ability that probably won’t see a ton of combat use unless your DM is really liberal about what constitutes a game of change, but it is still important because it gives you a high caster level with which you can qualify for feats. This is perfect timing, since it lets you nab Wand Mastery at 9, which you otherwise wouldn’t qualify for. Enjoy a free +2 to the DC and caster level on every single wand you use! Finally, thief and steal are both a lot of fun, letting you manipulate objects and steal from afar. Steal in particular is going to be a major part of your tactics soon, but even before you hit that point, it’s really handy.

Levels 11 - 15
Artificer 6/Binder 1/Disciple of Mammon 8

The secret ingredient continues to improve, providing you with great bonuses. Divert attack is a lot of fun, letting you channel attacks to your allies. Of course, it helps if you have disposable allies as targets… but luckily, you do! In particular you have access to homonculi, both by crafting them and via the excellent summon marked homonculus infusion. Not only does this allow you to avoid attacks (always handy), but it can even turn an attacker’s own attacks against themselves, as your homonculi explode when reduced to zero hit points. You can also divert these attacks to your osyluth, which is a decently powerful little beasty at this level, or to one of your many Malphas ravens.

Enhance value is another absolutely incredible ability. While you can only enhance nonmagical items, unlike most similar abilities, there is NO restriction on using these enhanced items as material components. Why is this relevant? Well, take a look at many of your artificer infusions! Greater armor enhancement was always a fantastic ability, but at 100gp a pop it’s definitely something you notice over time. Now you can effectively cut that cost down by 30-50%, depending on your appraise roll (and with skill enhancement and wide access to spells, you have lots of ways to boost your appraise checks into the stratosphere).

You also get two particularly notable feats: Supernatural Transformation and Skilled Telekinetic. Your steal ability explicitly functions as telekinesis, making it a legal target. With Skilled Telekinetic, you can now wield wands and other magic items from afar using your at-will telekinetic ability to manipulate small objects.

Why is this handy? Well, let’s break it down a bit. To use this ability you need to have line of sight to your target, but NOT line of effect. Instead, line of effect must be maintained between the magic item and your target. That’s where Malphas comes in: your bird’s eye view allows you to maintain line of sight even when you yourself are somewhere else. Go ahead and use your greater armor enhancement to add the stonemeld enhancement to your armor, or UMD a scroll/wand of meld into stone or a similar ability. Meanwhile, your raven allows you to maintain line of sight, and you can telekinetically manipulate your wands to attack safely while you yourself remain practically invulnerable. Even if your opponent has a spell that can hit you despite the lack of line of sight or line of effect, you can always use your divert spell ability to bounce it to one of your homonculi instead. And considering that you can apply Fell Drain to your wands via metamagic item, this is quite a potent combination.

Levels 16 - 20
Artificer 6/Binder 1/Disciple of Mammon 10/Cannith Wand Adept 3

Nondetection comes online, making you even more difficult to spot while you play turtle. And since wands are such a big part of what you do, go ahead and take Cannith wand adept. This three level class will give you +3 to the caster level and DC of all your wands, which stacks with Wand Mastery to bring the total up to +5. It also has some other handy benefits, such as improving the attack bonus on spells that require an attack roll to hit and letting you siphon away unused charges to improve a d20 roll. And while you can’t use this alongside your telekinetic wand wielding, you can even go nova and dual wield wands if you want, firing off multiple spells per round.

And just in case all of this wasn’t good enough, Master’s Will is a fun little feat that lets you roll a d20 and either get a +8 to a roll, or take 20 points of damage, depending on whether you roll even or odd. +8 is a very nice bonus, even exceeding the +5 you get from Chosen of Evil (which is less good now that you are spending more time bound to Malphas and less bound to Naberius), though it’s a bit risky. But luckily, rather than having you flip a coin, the ability specifies a d20 roll - meaning it’s a fair target to be improved by your siphon wand ability in a pinch.





Eberron Campaign Setting: Artificer, infusions, dragonmarks and associated feats, Wand Mastery feat
Dragonmarked: summon marked homonculus infusion
Tome of Magic: Binder, Improved Binding feat, vestiges
Races of Destiny: Able Learner feat
Book of Vile Darkness: Disciple of Mammon
Sharn: City of Towers: Cannith Wand Adept
Elder Evils: Elder Evil devotion, Pandorym, Chosen of Evil/Dark Speech/Evil Brand/Master’s Will feats
Savage Species: Supernatural Transformation feat
Lords of Madness: Skilled Telekinetic feat
Libris Mortis: Fell Drain feat
Complete Arcane: Twin Spell feat
Champions of Ruin: Disciple of Darkness feat*


*This feat also appears in BoVD. However, Champions of Ruin represents its latest publication, and therefore takes precedence. CoR is technically a Faerun book, and this build otherwise has no Faerun elements and solidly exists within the Eberron setting. However, its inclusion in the source list does not imply Dukat d’Cannith is mixing settings, and if that is problematic in your campaign, I would direct your DM to the BoVD version instead.




Vain-glorious Elfe, said he, dost not thou weet,
That Money can thy Wants at will supply?
Shields, Steeds, and Arms, and all things for thee meet
It can purvey in twinkling of an eye;
And Crowns and Kingdoms to thee multiply.
Do not I kings create, and throw the Crown
Sometimes to him that low in Dust doth lie?
And him that reign’d, into his room thrust down,
And whom I lust, do heap with Glory and Renown?

--Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen

[The Viscount]

Air Bud rules, the best kind of rules



Wolfgang Xor Von Taalstreet

https://i.imgur.com/p7muATN.jpg

"Rags are Riches"



Lawful Evil
Frostblood Half orc
Xorvintaal Exarch, taken between 6th and 15th level
Ranger 3/Red Dragon Shaman 3/Menacing Brute 2/Disciple of Mammon 10



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


1
Spiritual Connection Trap Expert Ranger 1
1
2
2
0
36 Ranks: Search 4, Disable Device 4, open lock 2 (cc), Survival 4, Sleight of Hand 2 (cc), Knowledge (local) 2 (cc), Knowledge (nature) 4, Knowledge (Religion) 1(cc), Listen 1, Handle animal 1
Iron will, Endurance
Trapfinding, Speak with Animals or Plants 3/day, Favored Enemy, Skilled City Dweller (k. local)


2
Dragon Shaman (Red)1
1
4
2
2
5 Ranks: Appraise 5

Draconic Aura +1, Red Totem Dragon, 3 Auras: Vigor, Resistance, Toughness


3
Dragon Shaman (Red)2
2
5
2
3
5 Ranks: Appraise 6, Search 6, Sleight of Hand 3(cc)
Disciple of Darkness, Skill Focus (appraise)
Skill Focus (Appraise)


4
Ranger 2
3
6
3
3
9 Ranks: Disable Device 6, Open Lock 3 (cc), Craft (gemcutting) 5
Two Weapon Fighting
Two Weapon Fighting Combat Style


5
Dragon Shaman (Red) 3
4
6
4
3
5 Ranks: Appraise 7, Open Lock 4 (cc), Sleight of Hand 4 (cc)

Draconic Adaptation: Treasure Seeker: +5 comp bonus to appraise and Search, Aura: Energy shield


6
Disciple of Mammon 1
4
6
6
5
7 Ranks: Intimidate 5, Appraise 9
Wild Cohort
Lie


7
Disciple of Mammon 2
5
6
7
6
7 Ranks: Appraise 10, Disable Device 10, Search 8

Cheat


8
Ranger 3
6
6
7
7
10 Ranks: Disable Device 11, Concentration 4, craft (trapmaking) 5
Endurance Forge Ring
Endurance


9
Menacing Brute 1
7
8
7
7
8 Ranks: Search 12, Listen 5
Landlord
Demoralizing Stare


10
Menacing Brute 2
8
9
7
7
8 Ranks: Knowledge (Religion) 2 (cc), Knowledge (planes) 2 (cc), Search 13, Spot 1

Resourceful Search


11
Disciple of Mammon 3
9
10
7
7
8 Ranks: Appraise 14, Disable Device 14

Thief, Steal


12
Disciple of Mammon 4
10
10
8
8
8 Ranks: Appraise 15, Disable Device 15, Search 15, Concentration 5(cc), open lock 5
Maximize Spell like Ability (Cheat)
Divert Attack


13
Disciple of Mammon 5
10
10
8
8
8 Ranks: Appraise 16, Disable Device 16, Search 16, Spot 6

Summon Osyluth


14
Disciple of Mammon 6
11
11
9
9
8 Ranks: Appraise 17, Disable Device 17, Search 17, Balance 5

Take Object


15
Disciple of Mammon 7
12
11
9
9
8 Ranks: Appraise 18, Disable Device 18, Search 18, Forgery 5
Fiendish Summoning Specialist
Enhance Value


16
Disciple of Mammon 8
13
11
10
10
9 Ranks: Appraise 19, Disable Device 19, Search 19, Concentration 8(cc)

Divert Spell


17
Disciple of Mammon 9
13
12
10
10
9 Ranks: Appraise 20, Disable Device 20, Search 20, Forgery 11

Non-Detection


18
Disciple of Mammon 10
14
12
11
11
9 Ranks: Appraise 21, Disable Device 21, Search 21, Spot 11
Mindsight
Summon Gelugon


19
Xorvintaal Exarch LA +1









20
Xorvintaal Exarch LA +2










Abilities
STR 12
DEX 12
CON 14
INT 16
WIS 12
CHA 6

At levels 4,8,12,16 add +1 to Intelligence.

"Have you ever read the story of Gruumsh, God of the orcs?

I have.

It's a story that begins with gods throwing a lottery with one fewer shares than players. Drawing lots for which part of the world would be inhabited by their followers, the gods of the gnomes, elves, dwarves, humans and halflings divided the world up, then laughed in the face of the last god to draw lots from hand that hadn’t any lots left to draw: Gruumsh.

I wonder what orcs were like before that.

Left no lot in the world from a game they were cheated in, led by a proud and angry god, we all know what the orcs became.

I’ve had a lot of time to wonder about this. I’m half-orc. And being a half-orc is to be born in tragedy and raised by the traumatized. You get to experience others' fear, ridicule, rage, and pity for your entire existence.

And when I think about it, what right had the gods to divvy up an entire world, consigning the death and destruction of land, plant, and animal? On top of the blatant aggression pointed at the orcs, there is something exploitative that these races inflict on the land, though they can't see it from their insider's perspective. And look, I get that the act of existence is cruelty to something, but there seems to be no deep reparative work being done to make things right by anyone. I’ve never seen a paladin refuse a smite until they’re god fixed their sins, but I sure as heck have seen orcs heads on pikes. I’ve never seen an orc try diplomacy with anything other than a bugbear, but I’ve sure as heck seen them fight like hell for something they’ll never truly have, only to endanger the most beleaguered members of their tribes, their womenfolk.

It’s all a mess, and no-one is solving it, cuz they don’t care who they hurt, they only care about their own hurt.

So, it occurs to me that there is a lesson in all of this. A painful long mockery of a life that spells it all out loudly and clearly for me; what this is really all about: power. And the abstraction of that power; money.

So, my oath is this: I will play the games and take it all back. The forests, mountains, hills, everywhere. Restore everything to what was before the gods broke it. Before their followers revisited millions of cruel reprisals for rights to claim soil. I shall use the rules of property to get exactly what was never desired by any god: true equity.

It'll never fix a mother's revulsion, but it might fix it for others like me. Maybe they won't feel so broken and lonely."

I don't even know where to start. So I'll start with something that I’ll call “Under Obligation Synopsis Information” or UOSI for short. Not to be confused with the judging category for the iron chef contest by any measure; and if it does affect the judging, that is due to structural deficits of human cognition, and not at all attributable to any efforts on my behalf. If any of this seems like a charisma 6 bluff in a game of chance, consider that it might be modified by a maximized cheat in a crazy game of xorvi….I mean life. So here’s the UOSI.

A frostblood half orc, Wolfgang receives endurance as a bonus feat, which allows for a feat swap when he receives endurance from his third ranger level. Further, his dragon blood status helps justify the dragon themed choices moving toward. Being a half orc grants the prereq for being a menacing brute, the prestige class that grants the ability to find free stuff through scrounging for a few hours. This synergizes with the Disciple of Mammon’s ability to increase value of stuff through appraise checks.

The feat and class selection then is utilitarian towards maximally using every lame tidbit that the Lord of Greed offers. Three levels of red dragon shaman gives +8 to appraise checks and some auras that help in combat. I would like to point out that this might be the only “optimal” use of red dragon shaman that exists. The landlord feat gives bonus money for building strongholds, bonus money on top of the bonus money that you can dig out of the trash everyday. With enhance value, you should be able to make some good scratch from finding disused gems or something. You can build a library a day with that sort of largesse just being wasted by cityfolk.

Wild cohort grants a buddy that can help by becoming a landlord itself. Sure it’s an animal, but animals want things to be nice for animal kind too, so yeah, this animal is a landlord. At 12th level, your wild cohort gains 7HD, so if you begin with a 2HD cohort, they can take the pre-requisiteless landlord feat.

Fiendish summoning specialist gives extra choices for the Disciple of Mammons summon devil abilities, doubling the options available to a Disciple of Mammon: Green Abishae and Pleasure Devil are added to the spell lists for summon monster at the same levels that you get Gelugon or Bone devil, so those will be the additional options. Green abishae come festooned with potions of haste, which you can steal off of them and use while diverting attacks onto their dumb faces. Pleasure devils can straight up possess people to do stuff, and that is a fantastic addition to their SLAs.

The steal ability offers you telekinesis as a 15th level sorcerer, and this qualifies you for forge ring, which you can use to make a ring of telekinesis for optimum utility with the ability.

The cheat ability is lame unless you run a casino, but seeing as how xorvintaal, the dragon real life/time strategy game, is described as a combination of chess and poker, and how poker is a game of chance...cheat should work on it. This gives a reroll with your cheat ability if that roll is helpful in determining the outcome of xorvintaal. Maximize spell-like ability then maximizes that reroll via the cheat spell, so you can get a free 20 on such a roll. You can just roll 20’s three times a day if it is xorvintaal related. Plus by level 18, you can cheat another 7 times in that day. Cheat by RAW alters probability[/b] so choosing improbable courses of action in Xorvintaal and saying things like, "I hope this works!" Is probably the best way to plow forward.

Being a Xorvintaal Exarch grants 100 mile telepathy with your dragon benefactor, which is then ju-jitsued into real usefulness with the mindsight feat. You know the whereabout, type, and brainpower of all living things within 100 miles of yourself. If LA buy off is allowed, your final two levels are used for entry into master of the unseen hand, allowing you to use your steal ability and ring of telekinesis to actually do stuff at level 20. I'm assuming that buy off is an elegance penalty, so, Master of the Unseen Hand is omitted from the table and write-up, but mentioned periodically so that you know it's an option

We will dive into the raw of each of those later, but it's only fair that you see in aggregate what the Disciple of Mammons' lackluster hodge-podge of abilities can be bent into doing, and it's unexpectedly powerful.


Level 1
Wolfgang is a Spiritual connection trap expert ranger. Trade track for trapfinding and disable device, and trade animal empathy for the ability to talk to plants or animals. A bucket load of skills and skill ranks help. The Iron Will feat is there for Menacing Brute prerequisites.

Level 2
Dragon shaman (red) offers appraise as a class skill, a d10 hit die, and some auras that are decidedly helpful for combat.

Level 3
Dragon shaman grants Skill Focus (Appraise) which won't be very helpful until much later. Disciple of Darkness grants a plus one on a roll, which won't be very relevant until you get the enhance value ability, when it can be valued at about 4 gp a day using enhance value on some trash you find via menacing brute.

Level 4
Time for more Ranger. We don't want multi class penalties to slow us down. Two weapon fighting is nice, so let's choose that.

Level 5
Dragon shaman 3 grants an Ex +5 to appraise and search checks, helping with trapfinding and enhancing value later.

LA BUYOFF NOTE
If LA Buyoff is permitted, this is the level in which it is ideal be become a Xorvintaal Exarch. One of your two levels of LA will be bought off next level. You’ll be in a prime position to use the cheat ability without the later shenanigans of maximizing, so it will feel like you earned those maximized cheats. And it’s the end of your red dragon shaman levels, so to keep the drama going, this might be the best point to agree to be an exarch of one dragon and immediately betray it for another or something, I don’t know how the rules work. Whatever. Mammon will be pleased, just have a dragon explain to him that it’s about hoards and betrayal was definitely involved.

I’ll be honest, dragon shaman isn’t GREAT but a 1 level dip is pretty good paired with ranger, heal up to one half of your hp back slowly after getting into scrapes. The DR 1 is great in the first 5 level of D&D. It’s not as good as more ranger levels in a non-disciple build, but it is solid. The energy shield aura helps with for racial issues with fire damage. You get shield and armor proficiencies and a nice hit die. And on top of that you can search for and disable traps while giving the bad guys the double whammy with your two weapon fighting. Trapfinding is advantageous with the whole hoard and bluff hoard thing that xorvintaal is predicated upon. It also allows that third level of dragon shaman's +5 to appraise & search checks do more than boost enhance value and menacing brute's scrounge ability.

In all, you don’t have fireball, but you can do stuff.

Level 6
We qualify for Disciple of Mammon. The first level ability is trash. But I guess Spell Resistance vs. Zone of truth isn’t technically nothing. We load up on those intimidate ranks we need for menacing brute.

At this level we take the Wild Cohort feat from the web. Because we are level 6, we add 3 HD to the cohort in question, bringing its total to 4 or 5HD. (if you choose Vulture or Wolf) The vulture helps the short game (the next few levels) more, and the wolf gets the landlord feat sooner. So it’s a matter of preference. Both are on theme for a servant of darkness whose allegiances are to return the world to the wild through scheming and property rights.

Wild Cohort helps Wolfgang in a few ways. Both creature options can track, with scent helping out; this basically buys back the tracking that you lost by becoming a trap expert. Further, the cohort can scrounge up 50gp worth of booby trapping supplies for you with a DC 20 survival check and 10 minutes worth of work. (DMG2 p.41) Setting this trap is a DC 20 craft trapmaking check and takes only 1 minute of work. Even Further, Extraordinary natural items (Magic of Faerun page 180) are things that can be found with a DC 20 or 30 survival check by the Vulture or Wolf and brought to you to sell for a profit, notably weirwood and fairy dust, with their sale rates of 100gp/ounce and 50gp/pound. You can talk to the these animals, so directing them to get these things should be relatively straightforward. Lastly, if we are selecting our animal cohort’s feats, as we are absolutely asserting, they can pick up a wild cohort of their own, (best option is more wolves) and because our cohort has 4 or 5 HD, the next wolf also gets the opportunity to choose a feat, which can be wild cohort again,
and on,
and on,
and on,
until you have a whole pack of wolves or camels or riding dogs or if the sidebar in stormwrack (page 168) is available to you, terrestrially adapted stingrays (nauseated for 1d4 hours! WHAT?), or a blend betwixt them all.

Going forward, your primary cohort winds up with a total of 12-13 HD, and all of the subsequent ones wind up with 9HD. Here’s a little cheat sheet:

Primary Cohort
1: animal feats
3: Wild Cohort
6: Martial Study (distracting Ember)
9: Landlord
12: Martial Study (Fan the Flames)

Distracting Ember is there for the cohort to put a flanking buddy up for you to divert attacks onto. Fan the flames is a 6d6 1/encounter ranged fire attack, which is something.

Secondary Cohorts
1: Base feats
3: Wild Cohort
6: spell hand (complete arcane p.83)
9: landlord

Spell hand offers these animals the ability to open doors through the use of mage hand or open/close, and they can just cart themselves around on tenser’s floating disks or whatever. Yes it is ridiculous, but we’re playing Xorvintaal to win, and having n^infinity wild cohorts using floating disks to set up hoards and sham hoards just seems like a winning strategy somehow.

Obviously, this wild cohort hack is massively cheesy and unlikely to fly at any table ever. So, a vulture is a fantastic cohort due to the survival abilities it possesses and flight. A wolf is a better choice because of the extra HD and the landlord feat coming online sooner.
“What is it you want, little morsel?” Bellatrixadros scratched some shmutz off of their red scales. Sometimes if you flame up a hill giant in armor, there is a messy gooey core, that just seems to get everywhere.

The frightful presence washed over Wolfgang like breakers smashing against a jetty. “I...uh...have a business proposal for you.”

Bellatrixados chuckles, but it sounds more like a growl. “Well, well, little entrepreneur, let’s hear this ProPoSaL of yours.”

Wolfgang draws in a large breath and silently demands that his legs stop insisting on running away.

“I think you may want to know the whereabouts of a few little hoards in the territory of Ixildramamine...Do these belong to you, by chance?” Wolfgang fishes out some poisoned arrows, a magic lamp, and a few hundred gems in a sack from his travel bag.

The countenance of Bellatrixados changes. He isn’t pleased.

“What of it, little orcling?” He demanded, authoritatively.

“I think you want to employ me. Because I know where to put these back, and I know where to look on your mountain to find the Aasterinian Gambit.

Bellatrixados’ countenance changed. He had just eaten a hill giant, yet he looked even hungrier than before that grizzly display. “Yeah, or I could kill you right here and find it myself.”

This caught Wolfgang a little off guard, but not entirely so. “But, you see, sir, this betrayal of Ixildramamine is double points, on top of the reversal that the information I have right here.” Wolfgang points at his head.

“You think that I’m so vain that I wouldn’t even consider this entire encounter a farce?!” Bellatrixados countered, gruffly.

“I need you to win the next four rounds, Sir..For my own purposes. And I think, in the spirit of good faith, I’ll give you this, to prove that my loyalty is in earnest.” He pulls the permission slip from Ixildramamine to revere one of the Lords of Nine, signed by truename, in return for establishing a winning hoard in Bellatrixados’s volcano home.

The dragon scrutinized the scroll. His tone hushed, “A septupling of points? Outerplane, exarch in training betrayal, and the proximity hoards multiplier bonus? No...An Octupling of points?!!!”

His mind reeled at the possibility: all he has to do is recruit this foundling as an exarch on the tuesday before the full moon after apparently accidentally flying into the broadside of a snowy mountain with at least 3 half-dragon half/goat witnesses, and he had oodles of half goat children. With a possible avalanche bonus!!!??! He could make it into the top 8 and qualify for the aasterinian league!

“All right, little mammon, let’s talk about my demands.” Bellatrixados acquiesced. If he killed this guy, he definitely lost this round in the arcano-gambit sub-playoff, due to the new exarch in training widdershins rule.

“Good, Because I have some demands of my own.” Wolfgang did not dare relax even a little, he has a plan that will fix everything and he needs this dragon to play ball.



Level 7
Disciple of mammon 2 offers cheat as a 15th level sorcerer. This caster level will allow you to forge rings next level. So hire some spell casters to help you make rings and sell them for a profit.

Let’s expound on Cheat while we’re here, because this class pretends like this ability deserves to be alone as a class feature at this level. And a strict reading of the ability leads me to believe that it is almost useless.

At one point during the duration of this spell, you can attempt to alter the outcome of a game of chance. This spell can affect only nonmagical games, such as those using cards or dice. [I]It cannot affect a game involving magic, nor a magic item involved in a game of chance (such as a deck of many things). Whenever a dice roll is made to determine the outcome of the game, a character under the effect of this spell can demand a reroll and take the better of the two rolls. Anyone observing the game of chance is allowed a Will saving throw to realize something fishy is going on, and might suspect that the outcome of the game has been magically altered. For example, Darkon is playing a game that he has a 1 in 4 chance of winning. The DM secretly rolls 1d4 and tells the player that Darkon lost. Because Darkon is under the effect of a cheat spell, the player can have the DM reroll. The spell alters probability, so there is no subterfuge that another character could notice (except for the casting of the spell itself).

I bolded the phrase which makes this spell useless. Once you cast this spell you are playing a game involving magic. Obviously, the limits on this spell were put there to keep you from affecting a deck of many things, or the lucky dice soulmeld, or jumanji (never cheat at jumanji). So, outside of gambling on a mundane card game, which isn’t exactly great roleplay, that doesn’t come up unless you meet that thrall of Demogorgon who challenges you via cards over swords, you can’t really get much mileage out of this ability.

Later, we will be participating in the draconic game, Xorvintaal. Which is described as “At its heart, xorvintaal is a combination of chess and poker, played with the world as the board and “lesser” creatures as the pieces.” (MMV p.38). Chess is not a game of chance, but poker absolutely is. So while playing xorvintaal, there are a lot of dice rolls involved, often to determine the outcome of the match, or however it works, cuz it’s basically calvinball. Towards this end, cheat allows rerolls on any roll you do that is affected by probability. It’s 7 levels away, but at level 15, when Wolfgang takes maximize spell-like ability, we’ll discuss the RAW of that rerolled die.

Level 8
Popping back into ranger to get the endurance feat and some more skill points. Because Wolfgang is a frostblood half orc, he can instead choose to take a different feat than endurance, and towards this end, we are selecting forge ring as the caster level of 15 on the cheat ability qualifies us for it. Now we can craft magic rings with a little help from hired spell casters. This will be helpful at level 11, when you can make a ring of telekinesis, the brute ring from MIC page 83. If you buy a scroll of the Knock spell, you can make a ring of lockpicking (MIC page 114), which is totally germane to your skill set. Plus, you can use the custom item creation rules to basically make a ring that does anything: Do you need a skill check boost for a few skills or your Intelligence Score? Just carve it out and make it.

We now have craft (trapmaking) which is a fantastic addition to the wild cohorts’ capable of finding 50gp worth of trap supplies with a DC20 survival check every 10 minutes. They’re only CR ½ traps, and they take 1 minute to set with a DC 20 trapmaking check. So if you have masterwork craft (trapmaking) tools, you can take 10 and just litter places with wimpy traps. If you make a ring that grants +10 to craft (trapmaking) checks, you can set these up as a full round action. The standout booby trap is the duster: spraying any vial of fine powder that you choose. I can’t immediately think of a fantastic fine powder to use for this, but I’m sure that there’s plenty. It specifies some sort of blindness powder, but I’m sure you can spike that with something more sinister. I know this is a weird diversion, but part of Xorvintaal is about making hoards and “sham hoards” in enemy territory as part of a gambit to score “points” and putting traps in these establishments is part of the game.

Level 9
RED, WHITE, and BRUTE!
Menacing Brute Landlord! We get 25k to just make stuff. I’m going to leave the details of landlording all of this open until I finish writing the rest of this build and edit in what i find from the stronghold builder’s guide. I suggest making taverns and infirmiraries to make people like you and your efforts to rule. A mobile 20×20 keep seems like a relatively cheap and utilitarian option.

Your Cohort gets its 6th HD, which qualifies it for martial study (distracting Ember), and all of your cohort’s cohorts gain their 5HD. The distracting ember will be helpful with your divert attack later.

Menacing brute adds some minor buffs to intimidate, but mostly it’s negligible.

This is a level where you can buy off the rest of your Xorvintal exarch LA if you are allowed to. It is also a pretty good level to earn the template.

Level 10
Here we go! Half way through our class levels and we already have an army of terrestrially adapted stingrays and wolves and camels following each other, following your fire elemental summoning vulture, who is following you, a red dragon venerating frostblood orc landlord/jeweler/trapsmith. I don’t know if we’ve really captured the whole zeitgeist of the Disciple of Mammon shtick, but at this point, too much digital ink has been committed to digital paper to turn back.

Resourceful Search is finally in play! We can find “discarded” equipment in any community. It can’t be masterwork or magical, but it can absolutely be something that has 100% resale value like gems or jewelry or art. Plus, while we’re in town scrounging we can sell off all of the oodles of weirwood and fairy dust our army of animals survival skilled up for us, and deliver the payment to them, so they have a nice little nest egg for when they too become landlords. We aren’t going to cheat our animal buddies.

We have 13 ranks in search, +5 from being red dragon shaman (SWEET), +4 from our Intelligence modifier, and so we only need to roll higher than a 2 in a metropolis for a 200gp value piece of jewelry. So we can begin printing money immediately. When it comes to the great game of xorvintaal, you can find 200 gp a day and take it to your enemies territory and begin to build a hoard there, or you can take the 200 gp, invest it in your landlord feat, hire some carpenters and build a huge building and call it a hoard there. Building a casino seems like a smart way to hide a hoard in plain site and use your stupid cheat ability the legitimate way. Thereby getting you ahead in xorvintaal, and in your UOSI score.

Level 11
You get a +4 to sleight of hand and open locks, which is nice. But the steal ability is phenomenal. No per day limit, high caster level that is overtly arcane. And now you qualify for those rings we mentioned back at level 8 when we got the forge ring feat. You not only have 5 lb telekinesis at a quarter mile range, but you also have the "really attack your enemies with stuff" kind of telekinesis. If you make the ring of telekinesis require LE alignment, it costs less than 30k to make. That’s only a half year of scrounging around in a metropolis for a new breastplate to sell everyday. And earning the requisite funds goes even faster if you go adventuring! The range on this ability is huge too; something to the tune of over 1,000 feet away you can be knicking things. If you buy a scroll of bull’s strength, you can forge a ring of the ram.

Level 12
Divert attack, in addition to a number of expendable cohort cohorts, your main cohort can 1/encounter summon up a fire elemental to flank your enemy as a swift action via the distracting ember maneuver offered by martial study, and your enemy can contend with catching on fire.

Our feat choice allows us to maximize our spell like ability to cheat. That means, “All variable, numeric effects of the spelllike ability are maximized, dealing maximum damage, curing the maximum number of hit points, affecting the maximum number of targets, and so on.” So if you reroll a die when you’re cheating at Xorvintaal with a roll that could determine the outcome of the game, and it involves probability, you get the maximum roll on that die. Cheat has a 15 minute duration, so work to develop a sense of when you’ll be in a situation where you’ll need a free 20. Buy a vorpal sword. Heck, with TWF get a vorpal dagger too. Nuff said. Two beheadings in a round should give you a nice circumstance bonus on your intimidate check that you've been neglecting for other priorities.


“You spent a lot of resources to commune with me, worm, and you’re not nearly heartless enough to honor the boon of me addressing you. Waste my time more expeditiously, will you.” Mammon sent the message racing to Wolfgang, a little half orc upstart who’s heart was full of hatred, but his actions were so...benign. The Orcmongrel could make money, but he used it, frivolously, and he used it in ways that didn’t overtly help in the blood war nor bring souls to Mammon.

Wolfgang didn’t expect to be so angry during a seance. “Lord, I can make money out of trash, and the idea that you can’t see value in setting up taverns that serve cheap alcohol to anyone will to publicly renounce their racial god as a coupon upsets my judgment about your commitment to longterm evil. The free infirmiraries of Mammon have franchised into 4 kingdoms, and the orphanages extolling the power of the “free market” create an excellent apostate force that will result in so many souls streaming towards you, happy and carefree, that I really fail to see your impatience with the effort. You’ll have divine ranks through my plan If I can get Bellatrixadon to have the entire planet count as his territory. Have some ambition. Plus it’s my recycling program, and it’s thrifty as hell, I assumed that you’de respect that. Anyway, I need minions of tiamat on loan to finish the aasterinian cup, master.”

“Pfft. Lay off the white powder, frostblood, it makes you far too bold.
In return for this favor what will you offer me?”

“One feat slot.”

“Humanoids like you only get 7 of those...You’re a sucker, Frostblood. I’ll send an ice devil to tiamat to negotiate terms.”

Level 13
This is the level that you summon the bone devil. A fantastic summon on its own.
Do you want a ring of greater teleport, dimensional anchor, fly, invisibility, major image, or wall of ice? Make the ring and summon this guy to finish the job by casting from his SLAs. Here's two options: Ring of invisibility and the Ring of the darkhidden (makes you invisible to darkvision (MIC page 122).

I would like to refer you to the table in FC2 on page 108, the alternative SLA options, like gaseous form instead of fly, wall of fire instead of wall of ice, blur instead of invisibility, or displacement instead of major image. I'm sure there's some rings you could make there. Make your cohorts blurry or invisible or gaseous clouds. How hard is it to put a ring on a wolf?

Summoning a Bone Devil is the equivalent of a summon monster VII. In two levels, when you get fiendish summoning specialist as a feat, you can add one creature to a summon monster spell you can cast. In this case, we'll add the green abishae because they come with a bunch of fantastic potions festooned to their person, notably a potion of haste, potion of sanctuary, and oil of magic fang. They also get suggestion, which also has the potential option of being swapped for hold person. This is a viable option for an alternative summon for a summon monster spell of a lower level, and thus, is a reasonable addition to your ability to summon a bone devil.

Level 14
Take object is the one class feature that we can’t really take advantage of in any substantive way other than trying to snatch something as an AOO.

Level 15

Here we are! The apex of the Build!
http://joshedwards.com/newlywed/20071221_moneybin.jpg



Our Wild Cohort is now capable of taking the landlord feat. Whatever your vulture wants, up to 25k, is now theirs! Your secondary cohorts all now have 7HD and can gain a feat. The spell hand feat has been selected for them, which grants mage hand, open/close, and tensers floating disk. How animals choose to use these spells is gonna be interesting, but now a lack of opposable thumbs no longer hinders them from sauntering into village's houses and eating their potato chips.

As for Wolfgang, Enhance value is the thing that really makes Disciple of Mammon special. Appraise is a relatively useless skill, but with DoM, you can actually use it for something.

18 (ranks)
+ 4 (int mod)
+3 (skill focus)
+5 Treasure seeker
+1 disciple of darkness
+5 Circumstance (Jeweler’s loup, magnifying glass, scale)
+1d20, or just 20 if it is related to the outcome of xorvintaal.

= 32-56% increase in value, depending on whether you can use your appraisal tools.

So with craft gem cutting, you also gain that +2 synergy bonus, and gems resale at full value rather than half, so the value of a gem increases between 39-58%

If you’re using menacing brute to scrounge up 200gp Jewelry or gems from a metropolis everyday, you can then increase the value of each find with an additional hour of work to make something worth 278-316 gold. Free money that you can feed into your landlord feat to make double the output for costs directly relevant to stronghold building. In the case of xorvintaal, the ability to add over 500gp to a hoard, daily, means that you can just generate tons of little hoards all over an enemy dragon’s territory. Use your booby traps to make sham hoards.

But there’s another thing we can do. Plants are considered objects, despite being alive. I already discussed Weirwood, which provides 50gp per pound of wood. What if you were to enhance the entire tree? Each pound increases by 32-51%. And your animals can just become guardians/logcutters.

Races of stone has rules for appraising artistic performances, which means you can go to a play, punch up some notes on how to improve it by say 31%-51% percent, and you can sell those notes to them for half of the mark-up value for additional revenue streams. You’re in a metropolis anyway, you might as well soak in some culture and get some grift. Who cares if the solution is to always add more explosions and nudity to the plays? This game is about MONEY, not art.

So, you can also use this money and your summoned creatures to create resetting traps. If you use mobile stronghold rules, you can just make a 20X20 cart of resetting traps with the SLAs that your summons can provide. Resetting Trap of greater teleport? Yes sir, we are going anywhere we want. Resetting trap of major image seems fun. Resetting trap of fly or invisibility? You can send a pack of your flying invisible animal cohorts anywhere in the world to open up peoples chicken coops and mage hand their important documents, or whatever your imagination can muster. And the neat thing about that is the implications for robbing other dragon’s hoards. Rob them blind and leave illusions of treasure. Then enhance that treasure and sell it, or stuff it in your hoards to make more resetting traps of crazy high level spells. Those teleport traps are helpful in that you are then capable of making moves against multiple xorvintaal players within a single day of effort. Like a squirrel that plants so many acorns that they forget where they are all buried, you can absolutely swamp the opposition in the game, create favor for your dragon benefactor, and move them into dictatorial power over the entire planet, with safe havens being only where you and your animal strongholds hold power.

As if that weren’t enough, you take the fiendish summoning specialist feat at this level, adding the green abishae to your summon list. This thing comes with potions of haste, which is better than the higher CRed blue abishae with its slightly better sla’s but inferior elixir of dragon’s breath. Typically a bone devil is going to be the better use of this 1/day ability, but there somethings you can do with a potion of haste that the bone devil cannot.

This is the level where moreso than in the previous levels, money stops really mattering as much as what you’re capable of doing with it, and that means that your real battle is the number of hours in the day to do all of your chicanery. The game has shifted away from fantasy table top RPG to Sim-city: Xorvintaal edition. The only reason you adventure anymore is to regain xp after crafting so many traps, but even then, just buy a few scrolls of transference (PHB2) and hire adventurers to farm xp in return for a cost reduction on your magic rings.

Level 16
At this level, you get divert spell, which is amazing. You can divert an opponents spell onto anyone of their enemies, so feel free to use up your vulture’s burning brand on that one. What happens if your animal cohort’s cohort’s cohort’s cohort’s cohort dies? Do all of the cohort’s further down the chain become freed? And then when cohort get’s a new one, does a whole new roster of animals show up in your daisy chain of animal chicanery? This is a pretty neat way to swap out feats on some cohorts. Kill camel 287 by diverting an angry opposing exarch’s ray of death onto it, and then when camel 286 get’s a new replacement cohort, all of the cohorts down the line show up fresh with new feat load outs. Get some shape soulmeld cohorts. Get some Touchstone cohorts and link them to whatever cool site has a higher power that you’re willing to adventure to. Embrace the dark Cohort Shuffle.

Level 17
Non Detection constantly running will be very helpful with the xorvintaal stuff we’re doing. I wonder how we could spend our filthy lucre to extend the effect to our cohort chaingang.

Level 18
Your Cohort Chain-Gang all reach 9th Level! They all get 25k strongholds, with the landlord feat that they’ve been coveting, and they can match funds. So they better get out there and use those survival checks to dig up fog rocks or something and bring them to you for you to sell if they want that self resetting trap of spell thematics create food and water. At this point, you’re probably stretching that 3/day talk to animals and plants that you got way back in level one. (Trees are like, “Bro, you’ve changed, we don’t even talk anymore”). Put out the funds to make a big ole ring of talking to animals so you can design their strongholds with them.

As a xorvintaal exarch you have 100 mile telepathy with one creature, your dragon benefactor. But if you take mindsight, the range of that telepathy allows you to know the whereabouts of everything with 100 miles of yourself. That is fantastically useful in a game of xorvintaal where all sorts of agents are doing shady things.

The Gelugon summon is a fantastic powerhouse.

Here’s his SLAs:
At will—cone of cold (DC 20), fly, ice storm (DC 19), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), persistent image (DC 20), unholy aura (DC 23), wall of ice (DC 19). Caster level 13th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

And due to fiendish summoning specialist we can choose another appropriately commensurate Devil to add to the mix. Gelugon looks like it would land on Summon Monster IX or X, so the additional option should be in that power level. The pleasure Devil, look at this beast.


Beguile (Su) A pleasure devil can temporarily gain control of a living creature. When a pleasure devil uses thisability, it gains immediate control of the creature, which immediately takes a full turn’s worth of actions under the pleasure devil’s control. A pleasure devil can use this ability up to two times per day on any living creature within 30 feet that fails a DC 25 Will save. This is a mind-affecting enchantment ability.

Poison (Ex) Contact, Fortitude DC 22, 1d6 Wis/1d6 Wis. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Combat Gear: potion of invisibility, potion of misdirection, potion of nondetection
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 17th):
At will—charm monster (DC 23), clairaudience/clairvoyance, enthrall (DC 21), greater teleport (self plus50 pounds of objects only), morality undone* (DC 24), polymorph, produce flame, suggestion (DC 22), vampiric touch
1/day—plane shift (self only), trap the soul

“Lawful evil spellcasters can permanently replace a fiendish dire shark with a brachina among their choices for a summon monster IX spell.”

I have no idea what this campaign would look like at this point, but I’m pretty sure that between the pleasure devil and the gelugon, and the 600,000 gold stronghold and the infinite Feifdom of High HD animals with strongholds in every kingdom that you ostensibly control...Between all of THAT that you retire to a life of picking through trash, destabilizing kingdoms, and generally defying the will of the gods by using the lord of greed to create a giant stable wildlife preserve where dragons play chess combined with cardgames on their day off.

LA 1 and LA2
The final two levels are here. If you bought off your Level adjustment, these levels can filled with master of the unseen hand, (you might need to re-jigger some skill ranks), which grants you the use of your telekinesis abilities through your ring of telekinesis for more combat options.

Sources:
CLASSES
Dungeonscape, page 12: Trap Expert ACF
Complete Champion, page 50: Spiritual Connection Ranger
Player's Handbook 2, page 11: Dragon Shaman
Races of Destiny, page 123: Menacing Brute
Book of Vile Darkness, page 60: Disciple of Mammon
Monster Manual V, page 47: Xorvintaal Exarch Template LA
Cityscape Web: Skilled City Dweller (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)


FEATS
Champions of Ruin, p.23: Disciple of Darkness
Random Encounters, Wildlife Web (http://"http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a"): Wild Cohort
Planar Handbook, page 39: Fiendish Summoning Specialist
Stronghold Builder's Guide, page 10: Landlord
Lords of Madness, page 126: Mindsight
Complete Arcane, page 81: Maximize spell like ability

RACE/EQUIPMENT/OTHER
Dragon Magic, page 10: Frostblood Orc
Player's Handbook, page 30: Merchant's scale, Magnifying Glass
Arms & Equipment Guide, page 24: Jeweler's loup
Fiendish Codex 2, page 109 & 112 Green Abishae, summon list; page 134: Pleasure Devil
Sandstorm, page 48 and 195: vulture Wild Cohort
Stormwrack, page 50, 168 and 169: Aquatic druid companions, Terrestrial adaptation and Stingray
Dungeon Master’s Guide 2, page 41: Booby traps
Magic of Faerun, page 180-181: Extraordinary natural items
Magic Item Compendium, page 83 and 114: Ring of the Brute and Lockpicking Ring
PHB2 Web Enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060526a): Transference

[The Viscount]

He has wares, if you have coin.



Peribsen, Renegade Satay Salesman

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/46/8c/bc/468cbceaa23202f03901b7ee4c1dc7cf.jpg

(Looking slightly more competent than usual, but he chose the picture, so that figures.)

Stub
Catfolk passive way monk 7/disciple of Mammon 5/swordsage 1/marshal 1/Disciple of Mammon +5

Ability Scores
32-point buy: 15/14/14/10/8/16
Starting stats with racial adjustments: 15/18/14/10/8/18
Each ability increase goes in Strength
Final stats: 20/18/14/10/8/18



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


1st
catfolk LA 1









2nd
monk 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Appraise 4, Open Lock 2, Sleight of Hand 2, Use Magic Device 2
Apprentice (Craftsman), Combat ExpertiseB, Improved Unarmed StrikeB, Skill Focus (Diplomacy)F, flaw: Weak Will
AC Bonus, Flurry of Blows


3rd
monk 2
+1
+3
+3
+3
Appraise 5, Open Lock 2.5, Sleight of Hand 2.5, Use Magic Device 2.5
Improved TripB
Invisible Fist (invisibility)


4th
monk 3
+2
+3
+3
+3
Appraise 6, Open Lock 3, Sleight of Hand 3, Use Magic Device 3
Catfolk Pounce
Fast Movement +10 ft., Still Mind


5th
monk 4
+3
+4
+4
+4
Jump 1, Open Lock 3.5, Sleight of Hand 3.5, Use Magic Device 3.5

Ki Strike (magic), Slow Fall 20 ft.


6th
monk 5
+3
+4
+4
+4
Jump 2, Open Lock 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Use Magic Device 4

Purity of Body


7th
monk 6
+4
+5
+5
+5
Jump 5, Use Magic Device 4.5
Disciple of Darkness, Improved FeintB, Faustian Pact: Skill Focus (Bluff)
Slow Fall 30 ft.


8th
monk 7
+5
+5
+5
+5
Tumble 3, Use Magic Device 5

Wholeness of Body


9th
disciple of Mammon 1
+5
+5
+7
+7
Bluff 4

Lie


10th
disciple of Mammon 2
+6
+5
+8
+8
Bluff 8
Mantis Leap
Cheat


11th
disciple of Mammon 3
+7
+6
+8
+8
Bluff 12

Steal, Thief


12th
disciple of Mammon 4
+8
+6
+9
+9
Balance 2, Bluff 14

Divert Attack


13th
disciple of Mammon 5
+8
+6
+9
+9
Balance 5, Bluff 15
Craft Staff
Summon Osyluth


14th
swordsage 1
+8
+6
+11
+11
Tumble 9

Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus)(Setting Sun), maneuvers, Quick to Act +1


15th
marshal 1
+8
+8
+11
+13
Tumble 13
Two-Weapon FightingB
Minor Aura (Art of War), Skilled City-Dweller (Ride → Tumble)


16th
disciple of Mammon 6
+9
+9
+12
+14
Bluff 18, Tumble 13.5
Eilservs School
Take Object


17th
disciple of Mammon 7
+10
+9
+12
+14
Bluff 19, Tumble 15

Enhance Value


18th
disciple of Mammon 8
+11
+9
+13
+15
Bluff 20, Tumble 16.5

Divert Spell


19th
disciple of Mammon 9
+11
+10
+13
+15
Bluff 21, Tumble 18
Magical Artisan (Craft Staff)
Nondetection


20th
disciple of Mammon 10
+12
+10
+14
+16
Balance 5, Bluff 21, Jump 5, Open Lock 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Tumble 20, Use Magic Device 5

Summon Gelugon



Maneuvers Known


ECL
1st
2nd
3rd
4th


1st through 13th
-
-
-
-


14th and onwards
Sudden Leap (boost)
Counter Charge (counter)
Leaping Dragon Stance (stance), Shadow Garotte (strike)
Comet Throw (strike), Strike of the Broken Shield (strike)




Peribsen is an apprentice craftsman who's a cut above the rest. He's going to make it big, and don't anyone forget it. Strutting around town, Peribsen knows what life's all about. He's a catfolk monk with cross-class UMD, so he's getting into the partial wand game—buying and selling (sometimes even activating). With a little more banter than the average monk, he doesn't always lose money, either, but for some reason, he's never quite as rich as he imagined he'd be. Still, there's always the next batch of off-brand magical items to shift, and one day he will find his gold-plated groove—he's certain of it.

In combat, Peribsen prefers to get surprice so he can pounce. He likes to trip his opponents before delivering lethal claws punches, and he'll periodically blink out of sight to steal a can of tuna you've just opened. Basically, he's like any feline you ever met.


After five levels slaving away, procuring the finest (well, cheapest) wands money can buy for discerning (well, penny-pinching) customers, Peribsen has yet to strike it big. Questioning his life's choices, he's become increasingly desparate in his cash-grubbing, and an imp by the name of Qrippom neatly takes advantage. Dangling great rewards in front of Peribsen's hairy nose, it leads him down the path of Mammon and eternal damnation for the low, low price of Skill Focus (Bluff). (The Faustian Pact is essentially taking the place of a flaw.)

Skill Focus (Bluff) is required to make use of the Passive Way monk "capstone", which makes it easier to trip targets denied their Dexterity bonus to AC—something that invisibility] can supply. Besides that little buff, Peribsen is playing much the same game as he was from level 3, making surprise charges and tripping. At ECL 10, however, the mighty Mantis Leap comes online, which has some serious repercussions.

Mantis Leap allows Peribsen to make a charge-with-bonus-damage as part of a move action, as long as his target is within the maximum distance he can reach by Jumping. With a +20 ft. enhancement bonus to a 40 ft. base speed, Peribsen is sitting at +20 Jump before items, so he can reach opponents 20 ft. away with a running start, or 10 ft. away without. Luckily, 10 ft. is just enough to Jump across a (tripped) Medium opponent and kick them some more in the other flank. Nobody ever said Peribsen was a sporting fighter.

(The bonus damage is 2×STR, added to your normal damage, which includes STR already. Conservatively, let’s say the damage only applies to the first attack of a Catfolk Pounce.)

Speaking of sporting, the best people to pounce are those that are busy doing something else—say, Balancing. With a bag of marbles, anyone without 5 ranks in Balance can be made "busy". You can bet (but not too much) that Peribsen is carrying his marbles with him wherever he goes.

Peribsen has quickly recognized and adopted Qrippom's deceptive style. He can Feint (reasonably) well before making a Mantis Leap charge, improving his chances of hitting and tripping.

Note: There is an interpretation of Mantis Leap that lets you make a charge for every 5' moved. Peribsen hasn't heard of it.


Having peddled wands for many a year, Peribsen finally strikes upon the idea that will make him rich. He learns to craft staves (using his Disciple of Mammon SLAs—which have absurdly high CLs—to qualify) and produces the awesome satay of cheating. Here's how it works:


Take one Fine masterwork quarterstaff. This is a wooden stick about the size and shape of a satay skewer.
Craft the quarterstaff into a [I]staff of cheat.
Add meats of your choice.
Serve at a casino.
???
Profit! Your friends will never realize how you keep drawing the aces when the stakes are high, allowing you to keep winning while enjoying a bit of grilled peanut-y goodness.

The scheme is, of course, brilliant, but for some reason, it does not immediately resonate with the buyers. Having sunk some significant cash into a stock of Fine quarterstaves, Peribsen is now struggling to ship enough units to survive, nevermind support the deposit-refund system he has set up. The final drop in the bucket comes when Qrippon turns in an even gross of staves for a refund (43 200 gp, for the curious), draining Peribsen's last reserves. With his creditors getting more and more insistent (not to mention optimized), he feels the need to enhance his martial arts skills and run.

Swordsage 1 grants a number of useful maneuvers, including Leaping Dragon Stance and Sudden Leap to support Peribsen's Mantis Leaps, two maneuvers that make a target flat-footed (Shadow Garotte and Strike of the Broken Shield) to allow him to pounce more often, and a two-for-one tripping maneuver (Comet Throw) that might just proc some sweet Improved Trip bonus attacks. It also grants Weapon Focus for both unarmed strike and quarterstaff. Finally, Peribsen learns to Tumble a bit, letting him avoid all the nasty AoOs that come from jumping around all the time.

Marshal 1 lets Peribsen add his Charisma bonus to disarm, trip, bull rush, and sunder attempts (it is a well-known secret that "art of war" simply means "fighting dirty"). Technically, it also works on allies who can hear him speak, but Peribsen doesn't tend to keep allies for long (although he's not sure why—surely allies should be happy to tank hits for you?), and in any case he mutters too softly to hear. Which is probably for the best, because whatever he's saying, it's not likely to be complimentary. In addition, marshal grants a bonus feat, which will be Two-Weapon Fighting—goes nicely with a quarterstaff.

Making his getaway, Peribsen summons an osyluth to keep his creditors occupied, and to his surprise, it is a complete victory. Who knew that combat summoning would be effective, right? For the first time fully realizing the utility of infernal service, he immediately finds that it is also rather limited: the osyluth will only come out once a day. To mitigate that little problem, Peribsen spends much of his time in exile perfecting his personal weapon: a staff of summon monster VII (limited to osyluths, presumably, because he's not that capable). Sure, he needs a little help activating it (a masterwork tool, a +5 amulet or admiral's bicorne, and a Charisma booster—the DC is 20), but that's not bad, for a monk.


As a renegade satay salesman, Peribsen becomes more elusive than ever. With permanent nondetection and the ability to redirect scrying spells to anyone who hates debt collectors (which, given the kind of watering holes he frequents, includes just about anyone), he keeps ahead of the law—usually. When he has to fight, though, he is more dangerous than anyone could have believed. Because with his new staff (which he's rather better at crafting and wielding now), Peribsen has finally found power.

With Eilservs School, Peribsen can activate his magic staff if he hits an enemy with both sides of the quarterstaff. Unlike a more typical Eilservs School-user, Peribsen gets his double hits in without TWF. Instead, he simply makes one Mantis Leap with one side of the staff, flips the thing over, jumps across his opponent, and makes another Mantis Leap with and on the other side. If successful, he summons the devil in a flanking position, where it can immediately attack the (now presumably tripped) opponent. You know what's better than two (pouncing) charges per round? Two charges and a free summon monster VII, that's what!

As a final upgrade, Peribsen can craft a staff of summon monster IX. This one's a bit tricky, because while osyluths are on the SMVII list, gelugons are not on the SMIX list—they're a little more powerful than the usual summons. However, let's be nice to our poor Peribsen—all he ever wanted is to be extremely filthy rich at everyone else's expense—and assume he can, in fact, summon gelugons (only). Gelugons are nice. Large, five-attack full attack with four of them inflicting slow, at-will wall of ice and persistent image, regeneration, all ability scores over 20. These guys are relevant at ECL 20, which is impressive enough. One of these guys per round is straight-up powerful.

Of course, with each charge costing about 900 gp, Peribsen will still spend his life wondering where all his money's gone off to… much diabolical laughter ensues.


Apprentice - Dungeon Master's Guide II
Catfolk, Catfolk Pounce - Races of the Wild
Disciple of Darkness, Disciple of Mammon - Book of Vile Darkness
Eilservs School - Drow of the Underdark
Faustian Pact - Fiendish Codex II
Invisible Fist - Exemplars of Evil
Magical Artisan - Player's Guide to Faerûn
Mantis Leap - Sword and Fist
Marshal - Miniatures Handbook
Passive Way monk - Unearthed Arcana
Skilled City-Dweller - web (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)
Swordsage - Tome of Battle

[The Viscount]

If time is money, and all you've got is time...


Morgan Stanley
LE Necropolitan Human
Duskblade 2 / Swashbuckler 1 / Battledancer 1 / Disciple of Mammon 7 / Ur-Priest 4 / Nar Demonbinder 1 / Mystic Theurge 4

All the warmth of the world washed away and was replaced by cold, unrelenting, agony. Icy fire ripped through her body from fingertip to brainstem and forced screams from her lungs until her vocal cords were naught but shredded sinew in her throat. The dark curse of the nails wove its way through her veins and violated her soul until, after an eternity, the last vestige of light faded from her eyes and she felt a stake impaled through her heart.

Morgan smiled fondly at the memory and gazed out over the City of Doors from her office. It was a magnificent view from the 333rd floor and reminiscing on old memories was a habit of hers while she passed the time. An endless sea of devils scurry about below in order to meet her deadline, countless gold coins in the balance. She checked her watch; they only had 15 minutes left to provide her a product to enhance. Enough time to gaze at the wispy little soul on her desk and reflect on all that she had accomplished since she’d left it behind.

Morgan’s lord had blessed her with an avarice second only to his own. In all the multiverse, only Morgan’s soulless shell hungers so powerfully. Morgan leads a one-woman war of conquest against all that is and ever was without conscience or remorse. A million infernal warriors march under her banner, bound to her purpose and a million kingdoms exist in her name, purchased by her capitol. It has been a year since Mammon revealed the secret of Enhance Value to Morgan Stanley and now Morgan’s assets are worth more gold coins than all the grains of sand on every world in a billion galaxies across a billion universes. Eyes normally dead and devoid of emotion flutter and open wide for a moment as Morgan realizes that she is about to complete her 365th full work day and glances down at her projected value: 30000 * 1.2^(12*365) = 1.954*10^351

The infinite multiverse trembles.


https://lparchive.org/Advance-Wars-Dual-Strike/Update%2006/32-Blue16.png





Ability
Point Buy
Template
Ability Increase
Total Score


STR
7
0
0
7


DEX
14
0
0
14


CON
7
N/A
0
N/A


INT
12
0
0
12


WIS
15
0
+3
18


CHA
18
0
+2
20









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


1st
Duskblade 1
1
2
0
2
Appraise 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Open Lock 2
Apprentice (Craftsman), Disciple of Darkness
Arcane attunement, armored mage (light)


2nd
Duskblade 2
+2
+3
+0
+3
Appraise 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 2, Spellcraft 2
-
Combat Casting


3rd
Swashbuckler 1
+3
+5
+0
+3
Appraise 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 2, Sense Motive 6, Spellcraft 2
Ordered Chaos
Weapon Finesse


4th
Battledancer 1
+4
+5
+2
+3
Appraise 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 6, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 2
Undead Traits, Resist Control, Turn Resistance, Unnatural Resilience, WIS+1
AC bonus, improved unarmed strike


5th
Disciple of Mammon 1
+4
+5
+4
+5
Appraise 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 6, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 2
-
Lie


6th
Disciple of Mammon 2
+5
+5
+5
+6
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 6, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 2
Iron Will
Cheat


7th
Disciple of Mammon 3
+6
+6
+6
+6
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 6, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 5
-
Steal, Thief


8th
Disciple of Mammon 4
+7
+6
+7
+7
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 6, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 8
WIS+1
Divert Attack


9th
Disciple of Mammon 5
+7
+6
+7
+7
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 3, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 6, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 8
Spell Focus (Evil)
Summon Osyluth


10th
Disciple of Mammon 6
+8
+7
+8
+8
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 6, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 8
-
Take Object


11th
Disciple of Mammon 7
+9
+7
+8
+8
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 9, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 8, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 8
-
Enhance Value


12th
Ur-Priest 1
+9
+7
+8
+10
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 13, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 8, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 8
Spell Focus (Conjuration), WIS+1
-


13th
Ur-Priest 2
+10
+7
+8
+11
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 16, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 8, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 9
-
Rebuke Undead


14th
Ur-Priest 3
+11
+8
+9
+11
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 16, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 8, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 13
-
-


15th
Ur-Priest 4
+12
+8
+9
+12
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 16, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 8, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 17
Axiomatic Bloodline
Divine Spell Resistance 15


16th
Nar Demonbinder 1
+12
+8
+9
+14
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 18, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 8, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 19
CHA+1
Fiendish Familiar, Inimical Casting


17th
Mystic Theurge 1
+12
+8
+9
+16
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 19, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 11, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 19
-
+1 Nar Demonbinder / +1 Ur-Priest


18th
Mystic Theurge 2
+13
+8
+9
+17
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 19, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 15, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 19
Evil's Blessing
+1 Nar Demonbinder / +1 Ur-Priest


19th
Mystic Theurge 3
+13
+9
+10
+17
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 19, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 19, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 19
-
+1 Nar Demonbinder / +1 Ur-Priest


20th
Mystic Theurge 4
+14
+9
+10
+18
Appraise 6, Bluff 6, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 20, Open Lock 4, Sense Motive 20, Slight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 20
CHA+1
+1 Nar Demonbinder / +1 Ur-Priest






At ECL 5 Morgan Stanley is a versatile character with solid ranged options and the benefits of Undead Traits. Duskblade provides useful spells and gets us spontaneous arcane casting which will be important later. Her AC is at 17 while unarmored and 19 towards anything that is not an animal, beast, fey, or magical beast. High charisma goes to concentration checks and her saves are great. We take the SI as early as possible because everything changes once we have access to Enhance Value.



At ECL 11 Morgan Stanley ruins the economy. The effectiveness of Enhance Value seems to be very dependent on external factors but we will endeavor to eliminate uncertainty to the greatest extent possible. Bottom line up front: limitless money.

The Enhance Value ability has a few limitations: we cannot enhance a magical item or an item with a readily obvious value, we cannot enhance the same object twice, we enhance one item at a time, and it takes us an hour to enhance. Note that the hour requirement is actually the best feature of this ability when compared with alternative use limitations and should not be viewed as a limitation.
So we need some kind of item that has a fluctuating value, can be bought and sold, has no value limit, and is extremely liquid. It is time to introduce CDOs to D&D. A CDO is a collateralized debt obligation and is the sort of thing that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Luckily we are a lawful evil character anyways so this is exactly what we are looking for. A single CDO has variable value, no value limit, and can be bought and sold multiple times throughout the day.

Morgan Stanley has 66000 gold for wealth by level at 11. Lets subtract 3000 for her Ritual of Crucimigration leaving her with 63000. Suppose that she sells equipment until she has 30000 in currency. 6 ranks in Appraise and bonuses for masterwork tools and her INT modifier and supposing average rolls we will assume that each enhancement increases value by 20%. Morgan purchases a CDO worth 30k and enhances it over the course of an hour. Within the next hour she finds a buyer and sells it at value. Page 112 of the PHB details selling loot and specifically states that trade goods can be sold at value and are not subject to the usual half-value rule that plagues most adventuring equipment. Morgan then buys a new CDO with her 120% and repeats this process. As a Necropolitan, Morgan has no need for rest and can continue this process indefinitely. Morgan completes 12 of these transaction loops per day. 30000 x (1.2)^12 = 267,483 gold in the first day. 1,690,425,431 gold sits in Morgan’s account at the end of her first 5-day work week.

As an aside; we don’t specifically have to use a CDO but if you understand the context then you could think of Morgan’s Enhance Value ability as allowing her to buy a CDO and re-layer the underlying assets such that the CDO receives a higher rating. Example: Morgan buys a AA CDO and Enhances the Value to a AAA item.
We will eventually run into the problem of Community Wealth. As per page 137 of the DMG, even a Metropolis would not have the amounts of money available that Morgan intends to manage. Thankfully the DMG also provides the solution: The City of Sigil on page 167 which explicitly has no gold limit on buying or selling goods. Additionally, Sigil is described as so huge that “anything you can imagine probably exists in Sigil somewhere.”

When Morgan began her climb to monetary dominance she had 9 ranks in Knowledge (The Planes), gets to talk to an Osyluth once a day, and with whatever money she had made on the material plane could pay for interplanar travel.

We’ll nab Iron Will and Spell Focus: Evil for later.




At ECL 15 We already paid the feat tax (taxation is theft) so now Morgan’s 4 levels of Ur-Priest grant her access to the cleric list and in Sigil she should have access to all the spell trigger/completion items she could ever want. Even without those there is no reason for Morgan to ever leave the office without 5 lesser planar allies and favorable sacrifice on everyone from her own spellcasting. Rebuke undead and divine spell resistance are cool too. We pick up Spell Focus: Conjuration for another tax and Axiomatic Bloodline via Duskblade too.



At ECL 20 Morgan reaches 8th level cleric spells through Ur-Priest and 7th level arcane spells from the Nar Demonbinder list. Our 4 levels of Ur-Priest and bonus language got us into Nar Demonbinder and we can cast the 2nd level spells from Axiomatic Bloodline through the Demonbinders slots which gets us into Mystic Theurge. For Demonbinder we're just interested in Planar Binding, Plane Shift, and other ways to spend money or extend influence. So of note we have access to both Greater Planar Ally and Planar Binding. Planar Binding is especially great because we can basically guarantee a +6 to our bargaining opposed charisma check by offering millions of gold and just start hiring outsiders into Morgan Stanley’s new interplanar company for year long contracts. Morgan’s own charisma modifier is awesome anyways and we have a high sense motive to see if the outsiders lie. We also get an imp as a secretary.

Again none of this really matters because as soon as Morgan has nigh infinite gold in Sigil she can just buy whatever she needs and would probably have retired from adventuring at that point anyways. Her material influence has unlimited potential and the City of Doors contains portals to every plane through which Morgan can exert this influence.

[The Viscount]

Dennis's lesser-known cousin




https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a2/41/aa/a241aa4500286979a510b3d74a903537.jpg





Stat

Base

Level Up

Final



Strength

14


14



Dexterity

12

4, 8, 12

15



Constitution

14


14



Intelligence

14


14



Wisdom

8


8



Charisma

16

16, 20

18










Level

Class

Base Attack Bonus

Fort Save

Ref Save

Will Save

Skills

Feats

Class Features


1st

Changeling Martial Rogue

+0

+0

+2

+0

Appraise +4, Open Lock +4, Sleight of Hand +4, Perform (Comedy) +4, Tumble +4, Bluff +4, Disguise +4, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +4, Sense Motive +4, Intimidate +4

Wild Cohort, Combat Expertise(b)

Social Intuition, Dire Rat Companion



2nd

Battle Dancer

+1

+0

+4

+0

Appraise +4, Open Lock +4, Sleight of Hand +5, Perform (Comedy) +5, Tumble +5, Bluff +5, Disguise +4, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +5, Sense Motive +4, Intimidate +4

Improved Unarmed Strike(b)

Unarmed Strike, AC Bonus



3rd

Jester

+1

+0

+6

+2

Appraise +4, Open Lock +5, Sleight of Hand +6, Perform (Comedy) +6, Tumble +5, Bluff +6, Disguise +5, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +6, Sense Motive +5, Intimidate +5

Disciple of Darkness

Jester’s Audacity +1, Jester’s Performance (JP 1/day), Fascinate, Inspiring Quip, Spellcasting (0th, CL 1)



4th

Jester

+2

+0

+7

+3

Appraise +5, Open Lock +6, Sleight of Hand +7, Perform (Comedy) +7, Tumble +6, Bluff +7, Disguise +6, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +6, Sense Motive +5, Intimidate +5

Deflect Arrows(b)

JP 2/day, Spellcasting (1st, CL 2)



5th

Jester

+3

+1

+7

+3

Appraise +6, Open Lock +6, Sleight of Hand +8, Perform (Comedy) +8, Tumble +6, Bluff +8, Disguise +7, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +6, Sense Motive +6, Intimidate +6


JP 3/day, Taunt



6th

Jester

+4

+1

+8

+4

Appraise +6, Open Lock +7, Sleight of Hand +9, Perform (Comedy) +9, Tumble +7, Bluff +9, Disguise +8, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +7, Sense Motive +7, Intimidate +6

Cutpurse

JP 4/day, Spellcasting (2nd, CL 4)



7th

Disciple of Mammon

+4

+1

+10

+6

Appraise +6, Open Lock +7, Sleight of Hand +10, Perform (Comedy) +9, Tumble +7, Bluff +9, Disguise +9, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +8, Sense Motive +7, Intimidate +7, Social Recovery


Lie, Horrid Rat Companion



8th

Disciple of Mammon

+5

+1

+11

+7

Appraise +6, Open Lock +7, Sleight of Hand +11, Perform (Comedy) +9, Tumble +7, Bluff +9, Disguise +10, Diplomacy +4, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +9, Sense Motive +7, Intimidate +8, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk


Cheat 2/day



9th

Disciple of Mammon

+6

+2

+11

+7

Appraise +6, Open Lock +7, Sleight of Hand +12, Perform (Comedy) +9, Tumble +7, Bluff +9, Disguise +11, Diplomacy +4.5, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +10, Sense Motive +7, Intimidate +8, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape

Combat Reflexes

Cheat 3/day, Thief, Steal



10th

Jester

+6

+2

+11

+7

Appraise +6, Open Lock +8, Sleight of Hand +12, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +8, Bluff +10, Disguise +11, Diplomacy +5, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +10, Sense Motive +8, Intimidate +8, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack

Snatch Arrows(b)

JP 5/day, Jester’s Audacity +2



11th

Jester

+7

+3

+12

+8

Appraise +6, Open Lock +8, Sleight of Hand +12, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +10, Disguise +11, Diplomacy +6, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +10, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack


JP 6/day, Calming Performance



12th

Martial Rogue

+8

+3

+13

+9

Appraise +6, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +14, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +10, Disguise +11, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +12, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape

Improved Disarm(b), Grappling Block

Spell Reflection



13th

Disciple of Mammon

+9

+3

+14

+10

Appraise +8, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +16, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +10, Disguise +13, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +12, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape


Cheat 4/day, Divert Attack



14th

Disciple of Mammon

+9

+3

+14

+10

Appraise +10, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +17, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +10, Disguise +16, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +12, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape


Cheat 5/day, Summon Osyluth 1/day



15th

Disciple of Mammon

+10

+4

+15

+11

Appraise +10, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +18, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +10, Disguise +18, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +15, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape

Combat Panache

Cheat 6/day, Take Object



16th

Disciple of Mammon

+11

+4

+15

+11

Appraise +10, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +19, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +10, Disguise +19, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +19, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape


Cheat 7/day, Enhance Value



17th

Disciple of Mammon

+12

+4

+16

+12

Appraise +10, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +20, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +10.5, Disguise +20, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +20, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape, Conceal Spellcasting


Cheat 8/day, Divert Spell



18th

Disciple of Mammon

+12

+5

+16

+12

Appraise +10, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +21, Perform (Comedy) +10, Tumble +10, Bluff +11, Disguise +21, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +21, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape, Conceal Spellcasting, Slipping Past

Master Pickpocket

Cheat 9/day, Nondetection



19th

Disciple of Mammon

+13

+5

+17

+13

Appraise +10, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +22, Perform (Comedy) +11, Tumble +10, Bluff +12, Disguise +21, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +22, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape, Conceal Spellcasting, Slipping Past


Cheat 10/day, Summon Gelugon



20th

Jester

+14

+5

+17

+13

Appraise +10, Open Lock +10, Sleight of Hand +23, Perform (Comedy) +17, Tumble +10, Bluff +12, Disguise +21, Diplomacy +8, Concentration +1, Spellcraft +1, Escape Artist +23, Sense Motive +10, Intimidate +10, Social Recovery, Assume Quirk, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape, Conceal Spellcasting, Slipping Past


JP 7/day, Spellcasting (3rd, CL 7th)






Tables cut down massively to only reflect which levels progress spellcasting.
Spells Known




Level

0lvl

1st

2nd

3rd


3rd

4

-

-

-



4th

5

2

-

-



5th

6

3

-

-



6th

6

3

2

-



10th

6

4

3

-



11th

6

4

3

-



20th

6

4

4

2




Cantrips: Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Create Water, Dancing Lights, Lights
1st: Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, Charm Person, Shocking Touch, Magic Aura
2nd: Misdirection, Undetectable Alignment, Eagle’s Splendor, Mirror Image
3rd: Tongues, Suggestion
Spells/Day (before ability score bonus slots)




Level

0lvl

1st

2nd

3rd


3rd

2

-

-

-



4th

3

0

-

-



5th

3

1

-

-



6th

3

2

0

-



10th

3

3

1

-



11th

3

3

2

-



20th

3

3

3

0






The Menace is largely not wanting to enter into combat. While in combat he doesn’t rely too much on actually hurting his foes, he more just wants to leave. With that in mind combat is inevitable at times. Some tricks and the times he can pull the tricks off!

Right off we start off strong at level 1 with our skill monkeying. Our Wild Cohort is largely how we contribute to combat, otherwise Terrance is only a face. Level 2 adds us some defensiveness, allowing us to add our charisma to our AC, while simultaneously allowing us to easily wear our costume at all times. At level 6 we add our first real thing we can do, and it is largely going to be something we specialize in.

The Cutpurse feat allows us to steal things off our opponent in combat. This generally means spell component pouches, holy symbols, ammunition, but it also allows us to take their consumables that they have ready. In addition, with our detect magic going we can see if our opponent happens to have magic rings, a magic necklace, or the like. It is only a DC 20 to snatch those, DC 30 after they’ve seen us do it. Even if they can beat our check with a spot check, they can’t stop us from taking their things. With a DC 40 sleight of hand check in the midst of combat we are able to hide something we have taken as a free action. It is a DC 10 if we are willing to take a standard action, DC 20 if the target has caught us using sleight of hand at all, DC 30 to do it as a free action if they haven’t caught us yet, and DC 40 is the hardest we ever have to work. When we first start out snatching things in combat like this, we have a 55% chance to successfully take something from our opponent.

At level 9 we get a fun trick with the combined usage of Steal and Thief! Thief increases our sleight of hand to a +22 (12 ranks, 2 stat, 2 masterwork item, 2 from synergy, 4 from thief). We can not fail to steal our first item against an unsuspecting foe. And using Steal we can do this from 1,000 ft away.

At level 12 we add our next big combat thing to our repertoire. We have Improved Disarm and Grappling Block. After we have stolen something from our opponent while in melee range, it is likely that they will attempt to harm us, more than likely with a weapon. And we will be ready to snatch their weapon from them. If it is necessary at this point we can use the Taunt Jester Performance to force this interaction, although at this point in time, we still don’t want to be a target.

At level 13 we add the beginnings of our next combat trick, the Divert Attack. For this we have our Wild Cohort always next to us to use. When we do get attacked by the scary person whose ring of protection we just nicked, we will attempt to steal his weapon, and then divert his attack to our wild cohort. What is our wild cohort at this time, you may be asking yourself. Well it is a Horrid Dire Rat. A fun little companion with the following statblock:

Horrid Rat
Medium Animal
Hit Dice: 4d8+16 (39 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 22 (+3 Dex, +9 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+6
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d8+4 plus 2d6 acid plus disease)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d8+4 plus 2d6 acid plus disease)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Acidic attack, disease
Special Qualities: Ill-tempered, immunity to acid, improved natural healing, low-light vision, scent, Evasion
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +7, Will +5
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 4
Skills: Spot +8, Climb +11, Swim +11
Feats:Improved Natural Attack: Bite(b), Weapon Finesse(b), Constant Guardian, Dutiful Guardian
Alignment: Usually neutral evil
Advancement: 5-6 HD (Medium)
This enormous rat is covered with bony armored plates, and caustic saliva drips from its nasty fangs.
Horrid rats resemble dire rats, except they are encased in bony armor and have larger fangs.
Combat
Horrid rat packs attack fearlessly, biting prey within reach with their acid-dripping jaws.

Acidic Attack (Ex): A horrid rat deals an extra 2d6 points of acid damage with a successful bite attack.
Disease (Ex): Filth fever—bite, Fortitude DC 16, incubation period 1d3 days, damage 1d3 Dex and 1d3 Con. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Ill-Tempered (Ex): Handle Animal checks involving a horrid rat take a —4 penalty, since horrid rats are more difficult to control than normal rats or even dire rats.
Improved Natural Healing (Ex): A horrid rat heals naturally at three times the normal rate, recovering 3 hit points with a full night's rest.

At level 14 we get to use an Osyluth once per day for the redirect.
At level 15 we get an additional +4 on all our disarm checks, so we are definitely taking their weapons, jewelry, coin purses, holy symbols, and spell component pouches in just a few rounds. But we also get our Combat Panache. Combat Panache allows us to redirect the opponent’s attacks into his own allies. We can play dead when a situation seems dire, or let’s face it, when we have gotten most of the enemy’s stuff that we care about and are ready to dip out. And finally, we can help out the allies we do care about by decreasing someone’s attack bonus by our charisma modifier.

Level 16 we get a 10% increase in a large number of our sales, when we sell our ill gotten goods.

Level 17 we improve our redirecting with Divert Spell. It combos well with our level 12 spell deflection.

Level 18 we nab our Master Pickpocket feat, which allows us to only drop our sleight of hand by 10 to do it as a free action, grants us a +4 to our sleight of hand while in a grapple, we can now steal their handy haversack and their bags of holding, and we have a lovely use for all of our grapple skill tricks.
Step 1: Standard action initiate a grapple with some melee oriented character that will think it beneficial to grapple their opponent.
Step 2: Deal unarmed damage as part of the grapple. This is how it has always worked, and since we have improved unarmed strike we are likely to deal at least one point of damage, this allows us to trigger Sneering Glower to penalize his attack rolls
Step 2: Take a series of free actions to steal and hide the opponent’s equipment
Step 3: Either employ the Quick Escape skill trick to leave the grapple, or on your next turn employ the Escape Attack skill trick to leave grapple and steal their two handed weapon on the way out. If we have stolen his weapon on the way out, then unless they have improved unarmed strike or a second weapon, they aren’t going to hit us as we casually walk away. (optionally we can have a summoned minion join the grapple so that when we leave the opponent is still grappling our summoned friend)

Out of combat we function as a face through to the end, we are good at self deprecating humor, getting people to allow us to join them using bluff, diplomacy (Social Recovery bluff), and disguises. We are good enough at disguises that we can do so mundanely and magically, so that true seeing isn’t an issue. We are a liar and a cheat. We take anything that we care to take, and when combat is joined they are more likely to give their friend a bloody nose than land a good attack on you. I suggest carrying a few Candles of Truth, or getting a runestaff that allows you to cast zone of truth, as that is one of the best bluffs we can perform. The Calming Performance will be a great ability to use to get us into parties that we shouldn’t be in.

Terrance has been a trickster since before he could talk. His favorite pastime was making his mother worry. And worry she did. He grew up in the Sharn the City of Towers, down in Lower Dura.

Once the heart of Sharn, Lower Dura has slowly decayed as the rest of the city moved higher into the sky. Now it is a dark and dangerous place... Today, Lower Dura is home to the miserable poor... The inhabitants of the ward may be shielded by gang allegiances, ties to one of the major criminal organizations, or the simple fact of having nothing to steal... Street violence occurs on a regular basis, amateur and professional cutpurses abound, and the Sharn Watch won’t do much to help.
Terrance’s household simply had nothing left to steal. Terrance’s mother did whatever was necessary to raise Terrance, hoping against hope that he would turn out alright despite his shenanigans at home. Being a changeling definitely helped Terrance’s mother when it came to paying rent and getting food.

Despite her best efforts they lived in poverty. Terrance, now a teen decided that it was up to him to be the ‘man of the house’. He got a job. But the only kinds of jobs left in Lower Dura are the shady kind. At first it was just illicit trade, but it steadily got worse. One day Terrance brought home a little too much, and his mother did not have protection.
.
.
.
And neither did they.
.
.
.
Distraught over what happened to his mother he went harder, and joined a gang. The gang protected him and his mother. But his mother couldn’t look Terrance in the eye anymore. A sister and a few short years later his mother and sister were dead. Terrance believed foul play, but everyone told him otherwise. Terrance hated the world. He would make it pay one day. But for that he needed power. He travelled to Fallen to meet with a mysterious yet powerful entity.

The Glass Tower broke apart as it fell, and while most of the floating citadel landed in the Dagger River, some of its spires struck the district of Godsgate, shattering buildings and killing hundreds… The folk of Lower Dura also talk about the spirits of the restless dead that haunt the worst ruins of the district, and the mysterious and apparently mad “ravers” who commune with them. Within a year, the district became known as Fallen, and ever since then the citizens of Sharn have shunned it… The ravers inhabit these places, bloodthirsty feral folk who appeared after the disaster. Anyone who seeks the lost treasures of the Glass Tower must face the ravers—and perhaps the restless spirits of the dead. The city council also uses Fallen as a makeshift asylum, throwing the insane into the district, where they either join with the ravers or quickly die…
”You do not fear, and you are not insane, so why do you come here?”
“...I wish for power to get revenge on all of those that spit on us, to get revenge on those that killed my mother, and become someone that will be remembered in this pitiful world.”
“I will grant you your wish and more, but you must pay, you must collect the materials, and you must complete the ritual.”
“Anything.”
“You will have to become that which you hate.”
“I will become worse than they could possibly imagine if that is what it takes.”
And thus, a deal was struck, a ritual performed, Terrance ‘died’, and The Menace arose. A Disciple of the most Greedy immortal to have ever walked Eberron.

Sources! Because it won’t be easy to find everything by yourself!
Changeling - Monster Manual 3, Eberron Campaign Setting, and Races of Eberron
Changeling Rogue - Races of Eberron
Martial Rogue - Unearthed Arcana (sometimes referred to as feat rogue?)
Wild Cohort - http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a)
Battle Dancer - Dragon Compendium
Jester - Dragon Compendium
Cutpurse - Dragon Compendium
Grappling Block - Oriental Adventures
Spell Reflection - Complete Mage
Combat Panache - Player’s Handbook 2
Master Pickpocket - City of Stormreach
Skill Tricks - Complete Scoundrel
Candle of Truth - DMG
Runestaff - Magic Item Compendium

[The Viscount]

Thief Mike just doesn't have the same ring to it.


Killer Mike
NE Strongheart Halfling Savant 1 / Duskblade 4 / Nosomatic Chirurgeon 1 / Disciple of Mammon 5 / Nar Demonbinder 4 / Nosomatic Chirurgeon 4 / Savant 1


- Always tempted (touch of summoning), finally turned as Nosomatic Chirurgeon; pledged to Mammon for more power
- Addicted to summoning and controlling demons, ever since child
- Abandoned and betrayed Mammon and return to demons / old ways for even more power



Ability Scores
32 Point Buy: Str 17, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 15
Racial: Str 15, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 15
4: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 15
8: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 16
12: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8 Cha 17
16: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 18
20: Str 17, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 18

Build Table


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


1st
Savant 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Appraise 4, Heal 4, Know. (Nature) 4, Know. (Planes) 4, Open Lock 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Sense Motive 2
Iron Will, Touch of Summoning
Academic Lore, Trapfinding, Skill Assistance (5 ft)


2nd
Duskblade 1
+1
+2
+0
+4
Heal 5, Know. (Planes) 5

Arcane Attunement, Armored Mage (Light)


3rd
Duskblade 2
+2
+3
+0
+5
Appraise 4.5, Heal 6
Least Dragonmark (Healing), Combat CastingB



4th
Duskblade 3
+3
+3
+1
+5
Appraise 5, Heal 7

Arcane Channeling


5th
Duskblade 4
+4
+4
+1
+6
Appraise 5.5, Heal 8

Armored Mage (Medium)


6th
Nosomatic Chirurgeon 1
+4
+6
+1
+8
Appraise 6, Know. (Planes) 6
Disciple of Darkness
Heir's Mark, Nosomatic Chirugry, Pestilential Touch


7th
Disciple of Mammon 1
+4
+6
+3
+10
Intimidate 1, Know. (Planes) 7

Lie


8th
Disciple of Mammon 2
+5
+6
+4
+11
Intimidate 2, Know. (Planes) 8

Cheat


9th
Disciple of Mammon 3
+6
+7
+4
+11
Intimidate 3, Know. (Planes) 9
Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Thief, Steal


10th
Disciple of Mammon 4
+7
+7
+5
+12
Intimidate 4, Know. (Planes) 10

Divert Attack


11th
Disciple of Mammon 5
+7
+7
+5
+12
Intimidate 5

Summon Osyluth


12th
Nar Demonbiner 1
+7
+7
+5
+14
Spellcraft 1
Poison Spell
Fiendish Familiar, Inimical Casting


13th
Nar Demonbinder 2
+8
+7
+5
+15
Spellcraft 2

Iron Sign


14th
Nar Demonbinder 3
+8
+8
+6
+15
Spellcraft 3

Master Summoner


15th
Nar Demonbiner 4
+9
+8
+6
+16
Spellcraft 4
Maximize Spell
Brazen Sign


16th
Nosomatic Chirurgeon 2
+10
+9
+6
+17
Spellcraft 5

Plague Bearer


17th
Nosomatic Chirurgeon 3
+11
+9
+7
+17
Spellcraft 6

Isolate Pathogen


18th
Nosomatic Chirurgeon 4
+12
+10
+7
+18

Power Attack
Nosomatic Touch


19th
Nosomatic Chirugeon 5
+12
+11
+7
+19


Ascendant Carrier


20th
Savant 2
+13
+11
+7
+19

Mastery of Day and Night




Duskblade Spells


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


1st
3
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
5
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
6
5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
6
5
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-



Nar Demonbinder Spells


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


1st
-
-
-
-
3
1
-
-
-
-


2nd
-
-
-
-
4
2
-
-
-
-


3rd
-
-
-
-
4
2
1
-
-
-


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


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


6th
-
-
-
-
4
4
3
2
-
-


7th
-
-
-
-
4
4
3
2
1
-







You're a Duskblade who also took a level of Savant for some reason. Wonder why. Not great but not horrible.


O, now it makes sense. PrC designers don't realize how hard it is to get Appraise and Heal through non-cheesy means. Anyway, you've reached what I think is the most interesting point of the build. Duskblade Channeling Unlimited Inflicts on every attack. You could also use mass inflicts instead if you have mobs of enemies. Plus you're wearing medium armor, have decent BAB, and a mix of Duskblade spells to sling around.


Another interesting trick here, using 4-th level spontaneous Inflicts to qualify for Nar Demonbinder. We can also 'milk' our friendly Osyluth for poision (appiled via Poison Spell) or bring him to bear in combat.


...and a nice little bit of 8th's to top everythin off. Summon a bunch of demon/devil baddies every day to fight alongside you and go to town. Don't forget to maximize your inflicts! O, and you can also hit people with Mummy Rot once that comes online (or any other disease you pick up).





OK, now for some random ramblings, notes on potential optimizations for future people who stumble on this post, myself, etc

Notes:
- I've always wanted to use Savant!
- Ebbern / Fareun conflict(s)
- The build has a nice reflexiveness to it (Savant / NC / NC / Savant)

More Power:
- Swap Factotum (+Ref save, Inspiration)
- Otyguh Hole (Iron Will, 3k gp)
- Lesser Planetouched Wispling (or D'Hin'ni Dr350) for better stats (not sure if they qualify as Halflings)
- Savant to Bard and Nar Demonbinder to Sublime Chord
- or move ND earlier
- Plus take a +1 / CL PrC (e.g. Malconvoker or Abjurant Champion, Eldritch Knight, etc)
- Swap in Warblade 1 and JPM 1+
- Craft Staff (my other build, powered by Osy's spells; at will means you can make 50 charges with one use each)

Cheese:
- Summon Devil == Summon Monster for Nar Demonbinder (skip Touch of Summoning)
- Legacy Champion and/or Uncanny Trickster for 9'ths
- Free Appraise via Cityscape

[The Viscount]

And that's our entries for this round. Judges, do your stuff!

[Falontani]

Holy crap that is a lot of very varied builds! Not too much vizzini compared to what I would have expected.

[H_H_F_F]

Wow, lots of entries. I'll get to reading tomorrow evening.

[daremetoidareyo]

All of these builds working together as bad guys would be a ridiculous intrigue campaign.

[jdizzlean]

completely ran out of time, went to ask for extension, and they're up already. no worries.

my initial build was half daelkyr martial rogue 6/mammon 4/jaunter 4/mammon +6. with planar rogue at 6th.

after that I had an idea for a psionic entry, but never even got that off the ground.

have to dig into these more later.

[Hiro Quester]

Wow. Looking forward to reading these carefully. So many things I did not expect (two nar demonbinders!)

I was playing with psychic rogue5/Hoardstealer 4/DoM +7/inquisitor1/ DoM +3

Starting with Psychic rogue 5 to get the dimensional pocket ability (small weightless invisible pouch in your hand) to steal things well, and eventually work with the telekinesis

Then hoardstealer, for the 3rd level ability to turn that dimensional pocket (among others) into a full bag of holding. Then I could hide many dragonhoard valuables into my hand and disappear them. (And eventually use the steal ability to telekinetically Hoover them into that invisible weightless pocket).

And hoardstealer 4 gives treasure dowsing to help find that treasure.

Inquisitor 1 gives you the ability to add your ranks in concentration to an intelligence check (like the DoM appraise check you use to enhance the value of the valuable you steal).

That was the main parts of the build. Also using the summoning ability to distract and deal with guards or dragons when I get caught stealing and need to hide and sneak away.

I didn’t find a way to get much power, though. Nor did I figure out much of the skills and feats, apart from intending to maximize appraise, keeping concentration high (to add extra enhanced value to stolen items) and devoting the rest to sneaking and burgling skills.

I also had a bad joke in mind about having been caught by a dragon stealing its treasure, and kept as a prisoner. Betraying my burgling partner to become a prisoner/slave instead of being eaten.

Using Hoardstealer’s ability to make any “container” into a bag of holding to survive the dragon’s attempt to engage in a humiliating and disgusting sexual ritual. (Hopefully ‘nuff said.)

Branching into DoM as a way of getting more good at stealing dragonhoards as revenge.

I really have not had time to write all that up. And I figured maximizing the ability to steal things and enhance their value would be a common tactic.

From my brief look at the submitted builds, y’all went in some very unexpected directions.

[Venger]

Hoardstealer's an interesting complement to the SI. I hadn't thought of that. Interesting synergies outlined in your sample build, but paying all those taxes would've been a pain.

[Piggy Knowles]

My discarded idea, which I still absolutely love, was to find a way to get an intelligent and Good animal companion, convince it to take Ancestral Relic and let me use the relic, and then use Disciple of Mammon's enhance value ability to enhance the value of all the nonmagical loot I came across to feed into Ancestral Relic to improve it. Ideally it would be a mounted build as well, because divert attack to divert an attack to my mount and then Mounted Combat to negate the attack with a ride check seemed really cool.

I scoured lots and lots of places trying to find a legit way to get a Good animal companion, and only found one: the Totem Companion feat, which includes unicorns on the list of available totems but is NOT alignment-locked. I ended up writing up an evil fangshields ranger, with the fluff that he pretended to be a good guy, tricked his way into the fangshields and convinced a unicorn that they were fighting in the service of good - all while secretly furthering the cause of Mammon and bogarting the unicorn's magical family heirloom.

The final build looked like this:

Unseelie Fey Human, Rogue 2/Ranger 4/Beastmaster 4/Disciple of Mammon 10
1 Martial Rogue1- Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Able Learner, Disciple of Darknessvile
2 Martial Rogue2- Power Attack, Unseelie Court Noble Kelirfey
3 Ranger1- Track, Skill Focus (handle animal)
4 Ranger2- (fighting style feat)
5 Ranger3- Endurance, Blessing of the Godlessvile
6 Ranger4- Beast Totem
7 Beastmaster1-
8 Beastmaster2- Alertness
9 Disciple of Mammon1- Natural Bond
10 Disciple of Mammon2- Apostatevile
11 Disciple of Mammon3-
12 Disciple of Mammon4- Totem Companion
13 Disciple of Mammon5-
14 Disciple of Mammon6-
15 Disciple of Mammon7- Spirited Charge, Hellbound Knightvile
16 Disciple of Mammon8-
17 Disciple of Mammon9-
18 Disciple of Mammon10- Wanderer’s Diplomacy
19 Beastmaster3-
20 Beastmaster4- Evil’s Blessingvile

I still love the fluff, and it used three of the more interesting aspects of the secret ingredient really well (the lying abilities, divert attack and enhance value), but I was annoyed that I couldn't really get some of the other cool aspects like the telekinetic theft to do anything interesting. Unfortunately the huge number of feats and levels required to have an animal companion of level 12 (enough to get a unicorn and advance it at least 2HD, so that it would pick up a bonus feat) kinda locked me in for other options. Even with dipping martial rogue and going with Elder Evil devotion, I just barely managed to squeak everything in on time. In the end, I decided to go in a different direction and didn't have the energy to do two builds. Still, this was a fun concept and I'm a bit sad I couldn't quite end with a final version that I loved.

[Thurbane]

Wynfrith d'Acker: (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781459&postcount=61) NE Human Warblade 5/Disciple of Mammon 10/Master of the Unseen Hand 5
Danielle: (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781534&postcount=62) LE Silverbrow Human Human Paragon 1/Totemist 2/Human Paragon +2/Chameleon 2/Disciple of Mammon 10/Chameleon +3
Bhedana Bharu: (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781538&postcount=64) LE Vriscika Human Ranger 2/OA Samurai (Kshatriya) 2/Disciple of Mammon 10/Fighter 2/Swordsage 4
Dukat d'Cannith (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781546&postcount=65): LE Human Artificer 6/Binder 1/Disciple of Mammon 10/Cannith Wand Adept 3
Wolfgang: (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781554&postcount=66) LE Frostblood Half Orc Xorvintaal Exarch Ranger 3/Red Dragon Shaman 3/Menacing Brute 2/Disciple of Mammon 10
Peribsen: (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781559&postcount=67) LE Catfolk Passive Way Monk 7/Disciple of Mammon 5/Swordsage 1/Marshal 1/Disciple of Mammon +5
Morgan Stanley: (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781566&postcount=68) LE Necropolitan Human Duskblade 2/Swashbuckler 1/Battledancer 1/Disciple of Mammon 7/Ur-Priest 4/Nar Demonbinder 1/Mystic Theurge 4
Terrance 'The Menace': (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781574&postcount=69) CE Changeling Rogue 2/Battle Dancer 1/Jester 7/Disciple of Mammon 10
Killer Mike: (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24781580&postcount=70) NE Strongheart Halfling Savant 1/Duskblade 4 /Nosomatic Chirurgeon 1/Disciple of Mammon 5/Nar Demonbinder 4 /Nosomatic Chirurgeon +4/Savant 1

[Hiro Quester]

Hoardstealer's an interesting complement to the SI. I hadn't thought of that. Interesting synergies outlined in your sample build, but paying all those taxes would've been a pain.

Since Hoardstealer was an Iron Chef SI not too long ago, I thought of it as one that many who follow IC would have thought of as low hanging fruit, and so not original enough to bother with.

I’m surprised not to see an inquisitor dip for the +concentration to Improve Value appraise checks, too. Plus the ability to gather information about treasure, etc. seemed easy to make thematically consistent.

[The Viscount]

I'll admit I completely forget about Dragonlance Campaign Setting most competitions, probably because I don't have the book. You don't really see stuff from it very often in IC, so maybe not that many chefs have it.

[daremetoidareyo]

Since Hoardstealer was an Iron Chef SI not too long ago, I thought of it as one that many who follow IC would have thought of as low hanging fruit, and so not original enough to bother with.

I’m surprised not to see an inquisitor dip for the +concentration to Improve Value appraise checks, too. Plus the ability to gather information about treasure, etc. seemed easy to make thematically consistent.

Inquisitor is bangarang for int checks, but the alertness feat blows if you don't get it for free. And hoardstealer delays entry into DoM cuz it begs for a skill monkey base.

[WhamBamSam]

Inquisitor is bangarang for int checks, but the alertness feat blows if you don't get it for free. And hoardstealer delays entry into DoM cuz it begs for a skill monkey base.Urban Companion Ranger, maybe?

[Hiro Quester]

Inquisitor is bangarang for int checks, but the alertness feat blows if you don't get it for free. And hoardstealer delays entry into DoM cuz it begs for a skill monkey base.

I figured Psychic rogue 5 with a decent int would cover it well (all skills are in-class). It is steep, though. If you needed more skills you could take Hoardstealer later, after some DoM. I just liked the joke of using Hoardstealer’s ability to make a container into a bag of holding, in order to survive the humiliating sexual ritual (with a dragon) prerequisite for DoM. That’s putting comedy above practicality, which has bitten me before, though.

Plus there a few psionic abilities that would help a depraved thief. Psychic rogue 5 knows 4 powers and has 6pp to use per day.
Dimensional pocket (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723c) would be key to stealing and instantly hiding things. Spending 4pp on it makes it last all day.
Cloud Mind (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/cloudMind.htm) makes the target unaware of your presence. That’s gold.
Far hand (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/farHand.htm) would also help until you got telekinesis.
Conceal thoughts (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/concealThoughts.htm) could be useful for bluffing you way out of tricky situations

[ExLibrisMortis]

I had a second build stub focused on redirecting attacks, with maneuvers, Elusive Target, Spell Reflection, Live My Nightmare (for when people use detect thoughts against you), Word Given Form/Temerad Mastery I, and so on. Unfortunately, getting into Master of Nine is really feat-intensive, and the build just didn't do that much with Disciple of Mammon.

[WhamBamSam]

I had a second build stub focused on redirecting attacks, with maneuvers, Elusive Target, Spell Reflection, Live My Nightmare (for when people use detect thoughts against you), Word Given Form/Temerad Mastery I, and so on. Unfortunately, getting into Master of Nine is really feat-intensive, and the build just didn't do that much with Disciple of Mammon.I'm a little surprised we didn't see a Defensive Rebuke+Divert Attack Crusader build.

[Venger]

I am too, to be honest. Perhaps the chefs found it too hard to qualify as a crusader and thought ways to get in (feats, dips, etc) slowed down maneuver progression too much?

[ExLibrisMortis]

I'm a little surprised we didn't see a Defensive Rebuke+Divert Attack Crusader build.
You mean, redirecting attacks to force an opponent to attack someone else and provoke? I hadn't even thought of that. It's a cool trick, but runs into the usage limit on Divert Attack really quickly. Three uses a day is very limiting once you have the tools to force attacks to hit you.

Edit: Elusive Target does not have a usage restriction, and Defensive Rebuke doesn't say your opponent has to attack an ally, so... crusader with Combat Reflexes, Elusive Target, and Temerad Mastery (gives you two Dodge targets) or Might of the Hand (WIS mod Dodge targets). Any time you redirect an attack, you get to punish the enemy with an AoO as well.


I am too, to be honest. Perhaps the chefs found it too hard to qualify as a crusader and thought ways to get in (feats, dips, etc) slowed down maneuver progression too much?
It is hard to qualify as crusader, and some of the classic redirecting maneuvers (Manticore Parry, Scorpion Parry) aren't available to crusaders. And getting a crusader into Master of Nine is... trying.

My stub was spellthief 2/monk 2/swordsage 2/disciple of mammon 10/master of nine 4 (weaving the Mo9 levels into the DoM levels), but that fails to qualify for DoM on account of the base attack requirement. I usually use fractional bab when building, and with that you do qualify, but that is not allowed in this competition.

Going with the "thief" aspect of DoM, spellthief 2 lets you steal active buff effects, which are not limited by spellthief level the way stolen spells are. You can even steal the devil summons' fly and unholy aura buffs. But with trickster spellthief unavailable and Disciple of Mammon without casting, pure spellthief didn't do as much as I'd have liked.

All in all, the build ended up being better without the SI, which is usually a sign you have to stop building and think of something else :smalltongue:.

[daremetoidareyo]

I think the class would have benefited from damnation points per encounter spent & regained like factotum's inspiration rather than per day limits. Maybe 2 per class level. 1 point for steal, 4 for divert attack, 5 and 10 for the summons.

[Venger]

Or just let us do the cool stuff at will (except maybe the summons.)

[ExLibrisMortis]

The class is unrelated to anything else. It doesn't have an obvious entry that it actually "works" with. I think the intended entry is bard 6 or rogue 6, but it doesn't advance spellcasting, sneak attack, music, or even many skills.

If it's intended to be a stand-alone class that turns any entrant into a typical Mammonite, the Appraise requirement should be reconsidered, because it greatly limits entry, and the grab bag of powers should either be expanded (you have fifteen single-use Mammon-themed tricks in a given day, be creative), or given some direction (here's five abilities related to feinting and stealing in combat, you are now a master of the craft).

[Thurbane]

The class is unrelated to anything else. It doesn't have an obvious entry that it actually "works" with. I think the intended entry is bard 6 or rogue 6, but it doesn't advance spellcasting, sneak attack, music, or even many skills.

If it's intended to be a stand-alone class that turns any entrant into a typical Mammonite, the Appraise requirement should be reconsidered, because it greatly limits entry, and the grab bag of powers should either be expanded (you have fifteen single-use Mammon-themed tricks in a given day, be creative), or given some direction (here's five abilities related to feinting and stealing in combat, you are now a master of the craft).

Agreed. Standalone PrCs, that don't advance base class features, really need to be well designed, and good at (at least) one or two things in their own right. DoM is a bit of a mess, honestly. Not the worst I've seen, but not great either.

[Venger]

Honestly, even if you got everything, including demon summoning at will, I still wouldn't suggest anyone take this class in actual play.

[The Viscount]

I think the class would have benefited from damnation points per encounter spent & regained like factotum's inspiration rather than per day limits. Maybe 2 per class level. 1 point for steal, 4 for divert attack, 5 and 10 for the summons.

Speaking of damnation points, had I made a build, it probably would have started with mountebank. Likely a class we Vizzini'd ourselves out of.

[Sian]

Morgan did my idea in a more hilarious way

was considering ways to fit DoM-7 with Exemplar-5 to combine Enhance Value and Persuasive Performance, and going around buying art and publicly improve on it, and get fanatical followers from it

[WhamBamSam]

Speaking of damnation points, had I made a build, it probably would have started with mountebank. Likely a class we Vizzini'd ourselves out of.I played with Mountebank entry a bit, but between having just done an Alter Self build last round and various issues arising from playing around with weird typing ended up putting me off of it.

[daremetoidareyo]

We were discussing how to optimize divert attack and I had the opinion that what you divert the attack to has to be punishing for the attacker in order to maximize the low number of uses. Jovoc comes to mind. But the engulfing terror spell from dotu gets you a gelatinous cube to play with. Check that spell out, it's hilarious. Conjuration (creation).

Get yourself an amulet of ooze riding from a&eg and ready your action to disarm so the attacker winds up punching the ooze.

A red dragonblood battle sorcerer with criminal background can get the spell and get into the si, and maybe with the right feat can boost you taking the ooze domain from that acf that grants domains.

Still, it's less mammon...and more goofy

[The Viscount]

We were discussing how to optimize divert attack and I had the opinion that what you divert the attack to has to be punishing for the attacker in order to maximize the low number of uses. Jovoc comes to mind. But the engulfing terror spell from dotu gets you a gelatinous cube to play with. Check that spell out, it's hilarious. Conjuration (creation).

Get yourself an amulet of ooze riding from a&eg and ready your action to disarm so the attacker winds up punching the ooze.

A red dragonblood battle sorcerer with criminal background can get the spell and get into the si, and maybe with the right feat can boost you taking the ooze domain from that acf that grants domains.

Still, it's less mammon...and more goofy

The old gum baby. Absolute classic.

[H_H_F_F]

I haven't been able to do bay significant dive-in so far. Haven't been able to really do anything. I still hope to get the judging done in time, but I'd say my emotional availablity largely depends on certain events expected to come to fruition some time soon.

I'm really sorry if I end up not judging this time, you guys. I'll try to either way.

[AvatarVecna]

Morgan did what I was gonna do better and more efficiently. My idea involved a weird mix of the DMG2 business rules (which don't technically require you to spend any time managing your business, and allows you to have multiple businesses, so you can make absurd profit per-month if you've got the initial downpayments and properties), the BoVD sacrifice rules (both as qualification for DoM and just for the general benefits that come with sacrifices made 1/day), and various cheesy ways of pumping skill bonuses for Appraise. But it ramps up way slower than what Morgan's doing, and I didn't even think to use Trade Goods to do this at all. Very impressive.

[daremetoidareyo]

I haven't been able to do bay significant dive-in so far. Haven't been able to really do anything. I still hope to get the judging done in time, but I'd say my emotional availablity largely depends on certain events expected to come to fruition some time soon.

I'm really sorry if I end up not judging this time, you guys. I'll try to either way.

Yo, I get it. My capacity for hope is white knuckling it. Sieze all the self care you can.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Yo, I get it. My capacity for hope is white knuckling it. Sieze all the self care you can.
Let me distract you with a pointless spelling detail. It's "seize", not "sieze". Like "reign" (not to be confused with "rein", as in "rein in") and "Seine" (the river), and unlike "siege" and "sieve".

Sure, these spellings are pronounced the same in English, but they are very, very different in Dutch. It hurts my eyes to see them swapped around.

[daremetoidareyo]

Let me distract you with a pointless spelling detail. It's "seize", not "sieze". Like "reign" (not to be confused with "rein", as in "rein in") and "Seine" (the river), and unlike "siege" and "sieve".

Sure, these spellings are pronounced the same in English, but they are very, very different in Dutch. It hurts my eyes to see them swapped around.

For all the hijinx that autocorrect plays on me, one would think it would catch those weird compound vowels.

[ExLibrisMortis]

For all the hijinx that autocorrect plays on me, one would think it would catch those weird compound vowels.
You would--it's exactly the sort of thing spellcheckers are supposed to be good at. Incidentally, "weird compound vowels" are "diphthongs" (got to use that linguistics degree when I can, right?), which is also very stupidly spelled--that phth cluster will get you every time (I had it wrong just now, until I looked it up). It is, as you'd expect, a rather literal borrowing from Ancient Greek.

[Piggy Knowles]

While we’re looking at distractions… can I just say how impressed I am at how thoroughly WotC nixed most ways of getting explicitly Good-with-a-capital-G companions or mounts on an evil character? I was sure when I thought of messing around with an evil guy who tricked a good companion into serving him for purposes of shenanigans involving feeding enhanced items into a companion’s Ancestral Relic, that I’d be able to quickly come up with something. After all, animal companion as a class feature doesn’t have the alignment reqs that the familiar has, and lots of weird animal-like things like blink dogs, giant eagles/owls, etc. are good.

Turns out… nope! Just about every method to expand the typical animal companion list that includes such animals comes with a strict alignment requirement. Beast heart adept gives you animals like the blink dog, but explicitly changes their alignment to match your own. All of the classes that give fancy ACs or mounts also have alignment requirements built in. Waverider almost does it - you can get a hippocampus mount, which in 3.0 was always good, without needing any special alignment - but Stormwrack updated the hippocampus to be neutral instead.

In the end the only methods I found to explicitly get a good mount/AC on an evil character without requiring special DM adjudication or weird mid-game alignment shifts were Totem Companion from ECS (adds unicorn to the list of animal companions at druid level -9 without requiring any special alignment), or being a creature with the [Good] subtype (there’s a scant few with a reasonably low LA, but a divine minion diabolus could do it at +2 LA), which per MM p310 should allow you to take feats as though you were good regardless of your actual alignment. (Hat tip to Darrin for finding that last one, by the way.)

It’s kind of moot because I ended up going in a different direction for my character, but this is the sort of thing that 3.5 was notoriously shoddy at patching up, so I have to say I’m kind of impressed that they managed to be so consistent for once.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

My wacky idea was going heavy into disarming. Specifically, Warblade into Bloodstorm Blade to disarm at range. You see, I found a lovely little feat called Snatch Weapon, which if you have a hand free (say, because you just threw your two-handed weapon) lets you immediately pick up the weapon you knocked out of your opponent's hand and make an attack with it "as if it were a second attack with an offhand weapon". No restriction on range, no restriction on the number of times you can do it per round, and nothing saying you can't use that attack to immediately make another disarm attempt. Between Jotunbrud or Powerful Build for a +4 size bonus, +4 for improved disarm, +2 for having hurled a heavy flail, and +4 from DoM, you are very likely to beat your opponent's opposed attack roll, and can immediately repeat against the next armed opponent within convenient range (Throw Anything + Far Shot makes that actually pretty good) still with at least +4, and so on and so forth until none of your opponents have weapons. If you have enough Iron Heart maneuvers to expend, you can even make all of those weapons Returning so they land at your feet instead of your opponents'.

I was gonna make the character a pirate to take advantage of Enhance Value, because 1 hour to increase the value of a 10,000 gp prize ship (if it's a caravel, the default ship in D&D; most other open sea ships are even more expensive) by 20+% is a pretty sweet deal. I didn't have any clever tricks for the rest of the class features, though, and the fluff I was able to come up with was limited to "is a pirate, and also not very nice". And on top of that, I just haven't had enough free time these last two weeks. Ah, well, maybe next time.

[The Viscount]

Also might have been a way to improve a crummy ship up to the 10k value for dread pirate.

Any word from our esteemed judges?

[Zaq]

Someone submitted a build similar to my only idea, so I won't comment on it too much at this point except to say that I'm glad that someone else went in that similar direction.


You mean, redirecting attacks to force an opponent to attack someone else and provoke? I hadn't even thought of that. It's a cool trick, but runs into the usage limit on Divert Attack really quickly. Three uses a day is very limiting once you have the tools to force attacks to hit you.

Edit: Elusive Target does not have a usage restriction, and Defensive Rebuke doesn't say your opponent has to attack an ally, so... crusader with Combat Reflexes, Elusive Target, and Temerad Mastery (gives you two Dodge targets) or Might of the Hand (WIS mod Dodge targets). Any time you redirect an attack, you get to punish the enemy with an AoO as well.


What's Temerad Mastery from? Don't think I've heard of that one before. Or Might of the Hand, for that matter.

[Sian]

What's Temerad Mastery from? Don't think I've heard of that one before. Or Might of the Hand, for that matter.

Google says Dragon#309

[PanosIs]

What's Temerad Mastery from? Don't think I've heard of that one before. Or Might of the Hand, for that matter.

Both are Dragon magazine martial arts.

> Might of the Hand is from Dragon 303, requires Combat Expertise, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Improved Disarm, Improved Unarmed Strike and Power attack, allows you to select up to Wisdom modifier Dodge targets when fighting defensively while unarmed.

> Temeread Mastery is from Dragon 309, requires Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Mobility and Spring Attack, improves Dodge bonus to +2 and allows you to split it between one or two targets.

Besides the obscene feat tax, Might of the Hand is pretty sweet for something like Elusive Target or Word Given Form, although for the second, Temeread Mastery makes more sense as there is a lot of prerequisite overlap.

Notably, Might of the Hand should work multiplicatively with Midnight Dodge, as it doesn't set a specific bonus. Thus at high levels it should allow you to get the full +4 invested essentia bonus against Wisdom modifier targets.

[H_H_F_F]

Also might have been a way to improve a crummy ship up to the 10k value for dread pirate.

Any word from our esteemed judges?

I have a couple of free days, I should be able to get it done by the deadline. Best wishes!

[ExLibrisMortis]

What's Temerad Mastery from? Don't think I've heard of that one before. Or Might of the Hand, for that matter.
What PanosIs said, basically. I had a thread (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?533976-A-martial-arts-style-for-Dodging) on this a good while back. There's a lot of fun stuff you can do with Dodge, if you have a stupid amount of feats. You could play a character like this in a very mature E6 game, perhaps. Then again, you can't qualify for Word Given Form with only 6 HD, so you need some of them special E6-only feats that increase skill rank maximums.

[PanosIs]

...if you have a stupid amount of feats...

Getting the feats to do all the fancy dodge stuff isn't that hard.

You basically need Elusive Target, Word given Form and a Dodge multiplier, anything after that is gravy - which means you can get there by level 9 and have a couple of feats or a couple of levels to spare aftrer Monk / Fighter.

The issue is being relevant when people aren't actually wasting actions on trying to hit you. (Plus you really need uncanny dodge and a good initiative so you don't get taken down before you get your defenses up)

Going into Sneak Attack with Craven or Indigo Strike is one possibility, especially since you can get Invisible Fist - but you really don't have a lot of room to play with.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Getting the feats to do all the fancy dodge stuff isn't that hard.

You basically need Elusive Target, Word given Form and a Dodge multiplier [...]
I didn't say it was hard, I said it was a stupid number of feats.

Just Elusive Target + Word Given Form (which grants Temerad Mastery automatically) requires Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Elusive Target, Combat Expertise, Improved Unarmed Strike, and Truename Training, plus 12 ranks in two skills. Might of the Hand requires three additional feats, and Mantis Mercenary requires one more. Yes, it is possible to get all the feats on time, but you need all the right bonus feats and then some. That's a stupid number of feats.

[nosborm]

I am just now catching up on everything and, just, wow! I had considered a second build that used the high CL from DoM SLAs to qualify without being an actual caster but it just ended up not being as exciting. Also glad to see people had similar ideas about disarm/steal so I feel less bad my take on that didn't pan out in the build phase. Anyway, as this was my first time through I didn't expect do so well (and I feel like I've learned a lot for next round) but this experience does leave me with a few questions:

1. Primary Question: How did y'all find all of this stuff? There are so may obscure finds I had no inkling about. I don't want to spoil what I'm shocked by but I'd love a quick primer on how people do research on a build.

2. Secondary Question: What's the general cheese level? Again, skipping specifics to keep it neutral but I saw some of the 'cheesy tricks' and didn't incorporate them due to worrying about points getting docked and now I feel dumb. Is there a good way for me to judge? Someone to ask? Or should I lay on the cheese thick and then hope it's legal or give alternates if they don't pan out? I also think there a few (minor) violations of the rules as I understand them but I don't want to disqualify or dock any builds but rather just have the legality explained to me, even after the judging/prizes are over.

Thanks again to everyone who encouraged me to submit, ran this competition, and judged or is judging. Even though I'm unlikely to win this round I'm psyched for the next one and much more prepared! Seems like I should start even earlier :)

[Falontani]

I am just now catching up on everything and, just, wow! I had considered a second build that used the high CL from DoM SLAs to qualify without being an actual caster but it just ended up not being as exciting. Also glad to see people had similar ideas about disarm/steal so I feel less bad my take on that didn't pan out in the build phase. Anyway, as this was my first time through I didn't expect do so well (and I feel like I've learned a lot for next round) but this experience does leave me with a few questions:

1. Primary Question: How did y'all find all of this stuff? There are so may obscure finds I had no inkling about. I don't want to spoil what I'm shocked by but I'd love a quick primer on how people do research on a build.
I can't claim to be good at finding this stuff, but generally my process is:
1. Come up with an idea. A concept. Something that I want to work around. For instance the high CL of the DoM SLAs.
2. Easy google searches to see what has come before, and what is easily found.
3. RAM. Yea I know that a computer term isn't the best to use when your talking about your own brain, but that is the best way I know to parse it. The harder part for me, was how long it took to read all the books cover to cover. It is impossible to remember it all for me, but after reading it there are definitely times when the brain does what the brain does best, and pulls information you didn't even realize you knew out when something relevant comes up. Such as linking MotUH with DoM's telekinesis. The same general principle applies to web articles, but keeping all the different things straight isn't easy. It is largely more efficient to catalogue (see Thurbane) or to remember where that type of information is generally found. It is a running gag with my friends that I can estimate to whereabouts in a book a feat, class, or spell will appear, and I'm usually within about 3-6 pages.
4. The deep dive. This is the most arduous process for me. It is where I have a basic concept, and a general idea on how to accomplish it. I have several things written down to the side to remember, but this is where things like Skilled Telekinetic usually come up. Something so niche that you would almost think it to be a dragon mag feat, something that you might remember, but have no idea where that kind of feat would be. This is where you look at the content that contains things that you might be able to use. This is where most arcane users are refreshing themselves with Complete Arcane, Complete Mage, and sometimes even Complete Divine. This is where they delve into Secrets of Xen'drik to find that obscure metamagic that they remember another Iron Chef competitor used like 12 challenges ago. They refine the google searches, scan through the relevant catalogues created by several people (see Thurbane). But don't forget that you don't have to be alone in creating your dish! Give out as little information as you can about your build, while asking people on the boards, but also don't forget that there may be people that you happen to play DND with that also look into these things. I can't count how many times I have forgotten a feat like Skilled Telekinetic, or sometimes more obscure ones that one of my friends just kind of casually tosses out like it is nothing.


2. Secondary Question: What's the general cheese level? Again, skipping specifics to keep it neutral but I saw some of the 'cheesy tricks' and didn't incorporate them due to worrying about points getting docked and now I feel dumb. Is there a good way for me to judge? Someone to ask? Or should I lay on the cheese thick and then hope it's legal or give alternates if they don't pan out? I also think there a few (minor) violations of the rules as I understand them but I don't want to disqualify or dock any builds but rather just have the legality explained to me, even after the judging/prizes are over.

It is said several places.
A lite drizzle of cheese is great, but don't overload on the cheddar, unless you are making a fondue. Basically feel free to use a little cheese, but unless you are specifically trying to showcase something absolutely dripping with a dozen cheeses, try not to go overboard with your cheese. If your build only functions if you are using Energy Transformation Field or Greater Consumptive Field loops, then you should really be showcasing something highly above either of those tricks.

I hope I went into enough depth without saying too much about anything. I specifically mention elements that were hopefully not exclusive to a single build, but rare enough that it may have caught several (like nosborm) off-guard. I also only mention Thurbane (twice) because it is usually his catalogues that I reference, but I know that there are many that make such catalogues and handbooks. Like Eggynack's druid guide, or Treant's guide to Gods.

[daremetoidareyo]

Sometimes you find a cool trick that requires no cheese. Do that trick!

Sometimes your trick, when cheese is applied, is impressive in some way. Do that trick!

And sometimes, after discovering one impressive cheese, you completely abandon not being cheesey and go full TO. Full TO doesn't typically win. But some people like seeing the far reaches. Don't do that trick and expect to win.


....

I also made a handful of skill guides that are helpful for things like this

https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?561288-Appraise-this!-A-reference-for-the-Appraise-skill

[The Viscount]

For me a lot of it I picked it up over time, and then it's a matter of having the vague recollection of classes and feats. Then it's something like
"Oh hey this class is about diabolic servitude, will mountebank do anything with it? Let me google."

For cheese, my approach is to assume if I'm doing something very cheesy that I won't score high in elegance. Similar to when I have a very off-the-wall idea, I expect to score well in originality but not necessarily in power. Important to remember that a penalty is not an automatic last place. I've always been happier with builds that I really swung for the fences with when compared to builds that I played safe. We're all just playing for internet points here, after all.

[H_H_F_F]

Update: I hope to be done by the deadline, but I might be up to 48 hours late. I apologize in advance if that ends up being the case.

[Venger]

Thanks for the update.

[nosborm]

Thank you all so much! It seems that I'm (understandably) just still new to this and I'll likely get better with practice. I really appreciate all the tips and guides. I did end up finding the Appraise This guide so thank you for making it! I'm just glad to know I didn't miss some vast and obvious well of knowledge, and that it's really just building up my personal mental library and heuristics. And don't worry, I understand exactly what you mean regarding thinking of the brain as RAM. If only it didn't get reset when I went to sleep!

I also really appreciate the suggestions and interpretations of the cheddar, especially the suggestion to think in terms of Elegance / Power and Originality / Power trade-offs. From what I gather, it seems interpreting rules/DM fiat in my favor is allowed as long as it's sane. I might post a few specific questions after judging is over to just get a general feel for where the line is so I have better intuition for next time.

All that being said, thank you to H_H_F_F for judging and I'm excited to see the final results and the next SI!

[ExLibrisMortis]

I can't claim to be good at finding this stuff, but generally my process is:
1. Come up with an idea. A concept. Something that I want to work around. For instance the high CL of the DoM SLAs.
2. Easy google searches to see what has come before, and what is easily found.
3. RAM. Yea I know that a computer term isn't the best to use when your talking about your own brain, but that is the best way I know to parse it. The harder part for me, was how long it took to read all the books cover to cover. It is impossible to remember it all for me, but after reading it there are definitely times when the brain does what the brain does best, and pulls information you didn't even realize you knew out when something relevant comes up. Such as linking MotUH with DoM's telekinesis. The same general principle applies to web articles, but keeping all the different things straight isn't easy. It is largely more efficient to catalogue (see Thurbane) or to remember where that type of information is generally found. It is a running gag with my friends that I can estimate to whereabouts in a book a feat, class, or spell will appear, and I'm usually within about 3-6 pages.
4. The deep dive. This is the most arduous process for me. It is where I have a basic concept, and a general idea on how to accomplish it. I have several things written down to the side to remember, but this is where things like Skilled Telekinetic usually come up. Something so niche that you would almost think it to be a dragon mag feat, something that you might remember, but have no idea where that kind of feat would be. This is where you look at the content that contains things that you might be able to use. This is where most arcane users are refreshing themselves with Complete Arcane, Complete Mage, and sometimes even Complete Divine. This is where they delve into Secrets of Xen'drik to find that obscure metamagic that they remember another Iron Chef competitor used like 12 challenges ago. They refine the google searches, scan through the relevant catalogues created by several people (see Thurbane). But don't forget that you don't have to be alone in creating your dish! Give out as little information as you can about your build, while asking people on the boards, but also don't forget that there may be people that you happen to play DND with that also look into these things. I can't count how many times I have forgotten a feat like Skilled Telekinetic, or sometimes more obscure ones that one of my friends just kind of casually tosses out like it is nothing.

For me a lot of it I picked it up over time, and then it's a matter of having the vague recollection of classes and feats. Then it's something like "Oh hey this class is about diabolic servitude, will mountebank do anything with it? Let me google."
This sums up my experience as well. (Less so in Iron Chef specifically, since this is my first time entering, but building stuff in general.) Building characters is a learned skill, and like other learned skills, practice and critical review/discussion help a lot. I find that I remember feats I've actually discussed a lot better than feats I've merely read about.

For cheese, I think the main point to keep in mind is that cheese is relative. Once you have an interesting concept, you build to keep that concept front and centre, with cheese appropriate to the concept. Don't add so much cheese that the concept no longer matters. For example, don't overwhelm a disarm-focused DoM build by also adding Shock Trooper "just to hit the DPR benchmark". At the other end of the scale, if your build is employing a (new) bit of TO, adding Shock Trooper "to hit the DPR benchmark" is going to look a little silly, because the "DPR benchmark" for TO is basically infinity anyway. So figure out the power level your "interesting" bit is useful at, build to that power level, and identify your power level in your writeup.

[H_H_F_F]

Update: I tried, guys, but I need to sleep. I won't get it done by the 14:00 GMT delayed-deadline I promised, but I will get it done tomorrow. There shall not be a 60 hour delay.

Apologies for making all of you wait, I should have planned my time better. :smallredface:

[Venger]

Thanks for the update.

[nosborm]

Thanks for trying! I know I really appreciate that someone is stepping up to the plate and judging, especially since this is my first time. I hope you get some rest!

[daremetoidareyo]

Update: I tried, guys, but I need to sleep. I won't get it done by the 14:00 GMT delayed-deadline I promised, but I will get it done tomorrow. There shall not be a 60 hour delay.

Apologies for making all of you wait, I should have planned my time better. :smallredface:

Thanks for the update. Some of these builds have some wild elements in them, so it makes sense that it's time consumptive. And of course, thanks for judging.

[H_H_F_F]

Judgement is here!
First thing first: I apologize again for being late. I underestimated the amount of time some of work I'd have to put into many of these builds. I hope you’ll forgive me.
I also apologize if I had more to say about certain entries than about others. You know how it is.

To business. Considering the nature of the SI, I’ve decided not to punish anyone who leaned into Sleight of hand cheese or reliance on money. However, excessive reliance on specific items may still be punished, and builds that lean into the chassis of DoM without relying on pickpocket or money will get an originality boost. I’d like to add that I enjoyed entries this round more than I thought I would; they were very diverse and creative. Well done.

And now, judgement:
Originality:
Your fluff, though short, is enjoyable. You use some very obscure sources in interesting ways, which is a + in my book, and Master of the unseen hand is brilliant (more on that later.) I’ll also give you a boost for cards over swords, though again – more on that later. Thematically, you lean well into the spirit of the SI.
But other than that, you’re a human warblade, and I don’t have a lot to say for you other than that. What you have is enough to get you a respectable score though.
score: 3.75 points.

Power:
This is a complicated category for me to judge. Leaving cheese aside for a second, I’d say you’re kind of slightly above middle-of-the-road, power wise. Sure, late game unlimited MotUH is pretty bonkers, but up to very late levels, you’re a decent face/melee with stagnant initiation and some unique mid-power tricks. You’re all right, but no more than that, with good face skills (no intimidate) to help.
Score:… Wait. What’s that smell?

Oh, right.
The cheese.
So, I’m never quite sure how to handle cheese in this category. In general, I feel that if I punish it in elegance, I should definitely reward it here. I’m not punishing (master!) pickpocket cheese, but I think I should still give some credit – though not “unlimited free-action attempts per turn” credit, because then not giving you 1 in elegance would be a criminal act. You do get some credit for it though.
I would say I have to give you massive credit for cards over swords, while giving you massive punishments for it as well. Except, I think your card shtick is unfortunately worse than cheesy.
I believe it’s also illegal, and it doesn’t seem like an easy fix.

After consideration, I’ve decided to not give you credit for it in power. You still got a boost in originality for it, and we’ll discuss it further in elegance as well as UoSI. All in all, you did no more than O.K here, mainly because I think you’re underwhelming in your early-to-mid levels.
Score: 3.6 points.

Elegance:
Let’s get this out of the way first: Cards over Swords.
To start with, this is cheese. Diplomancy cheese, with extra steps. Evil steps. SWIFT ACTION DIPLOMANCY steps. I don’t think I’ve ever met a DM or a group that would be willing to let this fly, and the rest of the build definitely isn’t TO, so I can’t judge it by TO standards.
Worse, as I’ve said, I believe it’s illegal. The feat clearly states a “1st level character” prerequisite. You’re not a first level character when you take this feat, and unfortunately for you, your build is too well designed to make this an easy fix. Swap out DoD or Appraise magic, and you can’t qualify. Lose able learner, and your entire build changes drastically. I guess you’d probably give up able learner, but that’s not just a small feat-order fix, that’s a different build to the one that was submitted. Cards over swords is a massive blow for your score in this category.
Which is a shame, because other than that, the only complaint I have are you being MAD as a hatter. I loved the elegance of the build, otherwise. Everything harmonizes, 5-10-5, finishing two prcs, clever use of a feat to qualify for the SI, listing your sources, qualifying neatly for everything (aside from you know what), having a strong feat at 18 and an impressive capstone… I loved it, and I hate that I can’t give you a 4.5 here.
Score: 2.55 points.

Use of the SI:
Good news here. You use high BAB classes and get excellent BAB reliant ranged abilities, which synergizes very well with the class’s D6 HD and average BAB. Your use of steal is brilliant, powerful and creative, and while you lean into it quite heavily, you get use out of other aspects of the SI as well. You attempted to use cheat as extensively as you do steal, and you get credit for that here. You lean into take object, which is cute, and you maintain and extensively use 2/3 of the class’s prerequisite skills and their appropriate class features.
As far as I can tell, you don’t do anything interesting with your summons and diverting abilities. You claim to be able to divert attacks back at your enemies, but I don’t see how.
score: 4.2 points.

Total score: 14.1 points. It’s a very clever build with a glaring issue at its center. Still, it’s one of my personal favourites this round.
Originality:
Totemist was a surprise, though I’m disappointed in how little it reflects in your fluff. Human paragon is clever. Silverbrow human solely to get feather fall is… new. I’m not sure if it’s necessary, but it’s pretty damn awesome. I expected more chameleons to be honest, but that was just because those tend to pop up a lot with unfocused SI’s. Human Paragon is damn clever.
You have some excellent storytelling in there, innovative and compelling. The character’s choices and motivations make sense and harmonize well with the idea of the class. I don’t think a play counts as an object, but as this is not a crux of the build mechanically I don’t mind. However, again, Danielle doesn’t read as a totemist even a bit. It’s basically never addressed, and that’s a shame.
You’re a human, like most of the field, and I didn’t see any mechanical innovations others than the ones mentioned, but that’s enough to get you a pretty good score here. Well done.
score: 4.25 points.

Power:
Danielle is extremely good at what she does. Unfortunately, what she does sucks. It is the chassis of the class, but it’s still a terrible gig. Your redeeming quality is your focus on versatility, which I like a lot, but you still seem like you’d be very underwhelming in combat, and you’re really not enough of a skill monkey or of anything else to justify that.
Obligatory “Master pickpocket bonus” here.
Score: 2.1 points.

Elegance:
Your level layout is kind of a mess. It’s completely justifiable, but it’s not pretty. I’ll also take this opportunity to comment on the poawaeci (prevalence of abbreviations, which aren’t even capitalized, in your table.) It didn’t affect your score, but it was kind of a headache to read through. Maybe try to tone that down next time.
You seem to have had a goof with your skills, I believe. You take Spellcraft 4 twice, the first of them illegally. This is not a big issue, as it only results in you screwing yourself out of 4 skill points at level one, but it’s careless. In the same vein, you should have one more skill point at level 20, because of your increased Int modifier.
You qualify for everything though (I think – I’m still confounded by your feather fall trick), and you list your sources clearly. I don’t think the build is very “pretty”, but it’s not ugly either.
Score: 3.25 points.

Use of the SI:
You keep two of the three prerequisite skills maxed out, and use them appropriately. You have an imp to redirect attacks and spells to, if need arises. You put a lot of thought into interesting things to do with the suggested summons. Your versatile skill set compliments the erratic nature of the SI – but nothing actually synergizes directly too much. Which is weird, because it feels like it does.
You’re definitely more a disciple of Mammon than anything else. Your other capabilities feel like nice little bonuses to enhance the core, which is the SI. That’s nice, and you get credit for it – but I don’t really see you doing anything super interesting with what the SI had to offer.
Score: 2.4 points

Total score: 12 points. I liked this build more than the score may imply.
Originality:
OA Samurai is certainly creative. My original notes said that the Samurai has been updated (updated to utter ****, but updated nonetheless) so it’s not a legal choice. However, the Dragon Compendium explicitly makes it legal to play, and since that’s allowed, you do you I guess. Kshatriya is very nice and extremely obscure. You’re also almost completely mundane aside from the SI.
You’re another human, and you’re one of the two rangers – which admittedly, I thought we might see more of.
I’d say thematically, you’re kind of a mess. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you don’t seem deformed in your story or in your provided picture. You also don’t really evoke any “Dedicated to elder evil” feelings. It’s kind of like you’ve got a very concise idea of who this person is, and were forced into tacking on deformities and the hulks for purely mechanical reasons, not giving it any space in your idea of the character. On the other hand, your idea of the character feels a lot like a disciple of Mammon, which offsets my complaints in this area.
You’re also incredibly cool, you use SoH for non-cheese purposes, and you use CRESCENT MOON. Yes. Love it.
(You know we’ll talk about it in power, though.)
score: 3.6 points.

Power:
The bad news here is that Bhedana pours a lot of resources into disarming. I like it a lot, but you and I both know that it’s extremely suboptimal. She’s a TWFer with Iaijutsu focus as her only source of extra damage. Iajutsu focus is definitely a decent way to get extra damage, and you do what you can to make it work with sudden draw, but with a 14-17 dex score and no improved Initiative, no hide, no move silently, and no utilities, you’re going to be very hard pressed to go first often enough to make it really work.
Swordsage levels, coming late in the build, give you a lot of good options, but they don’t really harmonize with what you’re already doing. They’re nice alternatives, and they give you good flexibility, but you’re never a real powerhouse. It’s still an incredibly cool way to fight, and I like it, but you’re never going to be a powerhouse.
Score: 2.6 points.

Elegance
So, I’ve got a few big issues here, but I’d like to say that this build is smart. Things flow well, they make sense, and you’ve got a few very clever workarounds. Using discipline focus to take care of two prerequisite feats at the same time is clever, combining hurling throw and crescent moon is clever, it’s all very clever. Besides the early ranger-samurai-ranger, which is common when using very skilled classes, your table is pretty to look at. You qualify* for everything, and you had your sources listed, with an abundance of information about recommended play. This is all great.
Thing is, I really don’t like the way you qualify* for stuff.
Devotion to an Elder Evil is a “get 5 feats pay nothing” deal, in the context of a competition like this one. You use it to get some cute capabilities, and to get a prerq for free. It’s cheesy, and I think there’s a good reason most of the field avoided this option. It does mesh well with anything in BoVD, though I’ve talked about thematic conflicts in this particular case.
Qualifying for feats through a weapon enhancement also leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I won’t reprimand you anywhere near as severely as I usually would for this – you’re doing it through a class feature, using money and not exp (see reliance on money at the top of this post). If this by itself gave you a useful feat or ability which helps the build, I would applaud it. When using it to qualify, it’s still bad, in my opinion, and it’s still a hit – though not as major as it would’ve otherwise been.
Finally, the worst offender for me is the class background thing. You knew this was wrong, friend. You knew it. This is a variant rule, giving free stuff. In its own description, it clearly advises DMs not to let some player use it while others don’t, because that would be unfair. The same logic applies here. It’s unfair to the rest of the field, and in my view, it’s worse than a flaw.
Other than that, you’ve got to be a MAD woman for missing a skill point at level 2. You could have had 5 points in open lock this whole time! Imagine the glory! This is obviously an extremely major issue.
All in all, a very pretty build with a few very ugly asterisks.
Score: 2.65 points.

Use of the SI:
I see two main positives here. One is a strong focus on disarming, which works well with take object. The other is an assured way to get value for money without a magic mart, which I like a lot in conjunction with enhance value.
You also keep 2/3 prerequisite skills maxed out, and use SoH in ways which gave you points in originality. You’re a melee build, taking advantage of average BAB.
And… that’s it. You don’t do anything interesting with most of DoM’s class features.
Score: 2.75 points.

Total score: 11.6 points. I had my issues with your submission, but I think she’s definitely the coolest person on the field.
Originality:
You put a lot of thought into what I’d call “soft fluff” – not story, more lore. House d’Cannith and Mammon, the connection to Pandorym – I like it. I’ll also always be a sucker for English poetry.
Mechanically, your build harmonizes fantastically. I wouldn’t have thought of artificier, but it makes a lot of sense from the “Corruption through wealth” angle. So does binder, and so does wand adept. It’s also mechanically creative, using your resources in clever ways (more on that in UotSI).
Another human with able learner is not an enormous surprise, though.
Score: 4 points.

Power: Interesting category for sure. At its heart, this is a fundamentally weak build – wands just aren’t heavy hitters. However, due to some very clever manoeuvring, you manage to get yourself to a semi-decent power level. Even if no wand will be hugely effective at level 20, not having any line of effect to the wand’s wielder is a big annoyance, and a significantly increased DC means some enemies might actually fail their saving throw, even at high levels. You’re also starting off pretty strong. There’s a theme of people using clever tricks to elevate sub-optimal strategies this round, and I like it. You’re also a very good face, with all 3 skills maxed out and very good Cha.
Mentioning your master’s will trick, it’s not as reliable as you allude it to be. It succeeds on an odd roll and fails on an even roll, which means you can’t save yourself from a nat 20, and you add 1d6*level, not 1. A 1st level wand will give you a 70% charge of success instead of 50%, and higher levels will be significantly less useful. A 30% chance to lose 20 HP is still a pretty big deal to someone with ~95 HP at level 20, so I’d say it’s still very high-risk-high-reward, and a very suboptimal use of siphon charge. This rant shouldn’t have been this long, probably, and doesn’t really affect your score a lot, I just thought it was interesting. If someone found a way to always get odds here that would be extremely powerful.
Score: 2.9 points.

Elegance:
Devotion to an Elder Evil is a “get 5 feats pay nothing” deal, in the context of a competition like this one. I appreciated the mindful selection of the appropriate elder evil, and it does fit BoVD classes in general, but it’s still cheesy and still a problem.
The classes flow quite well and make sense with each other, but I’m not too huge on the jumpy table and the second level binder dip. You’re also very item dependent, but you’re not dependent on any specific items, and you can make your own. Given that you have 9 levels of item-centric classes, and 10 of the other levels are the SI, we can certainly let that fly.
On the other hand, you’ve got a clever build that harmonizes very well mechanically. You qualify for everything, you’ve got sources and snapshots, the whole shebang. I like the way your feat progression flows.
Aside from everything else, you gave yourself a free extra skill point at level 20, and I can’t find a good reason. What is it with this round and skill points?
Score: 2.9 points.

Use of the SI:
Obviously, you use steal phenomenally, and devote a significant amount of effort to make that use efficient. You also indirectly use cheat to your favour, you have better uses for diverting than most, you’re a fully-fledged face so you get mileage out of lie, and you get a tiny bit of extra use from nondetection. You maintain 2/3 relevant skills (I was hoping one of y’all would find a reason to put 23 in open lock.)
Paying attention to most abilities and getting massive use out of one is pretty good.
score: 4.25 points.

Total score: 14.05 points. I liked your meticulous attention to detail, in all aspects of the build.
Originality:
Half orc! Spiritual connection! Dragon shaman! Half! Orc! On an Int build! This guy is already a welcomed breath of fresh air, and it doesn’t stop there. I doubt Menacing Brute has ever been in play before in any iron chef competition, and I only know about Xorvintaal because I read about it while looking for god-blooded recently. I could go on, but honestly, I don’t see a reason to. I wasn’t a fan of a Frostblood becoming a red dragon shaman, but at this point, I couldn’t care less. Your Eco-Anarchist slumlord blew my mind.
Score: 5 points.

Power:
This is a rough one for you. 100 mile radius mindsight is ridiculous, yes. Completely insane. But other than that, you’re not really… good. You don’t do much, except for summoning and looking for traps. I get why it’s the way it is, and I like it, but I believe you knew this wasn’t your category – unless you were expecting a 5 for your endless ocean of cohorts.
You’re not getting that.
You can do a lot of cool tricks relying on DoM, and we’ll talk about that in the synopsis information category for sure, but I’m sorry to say it just doesn’t seem like enough to be actually useful. It’s not nothing, you don’t get minimum here (mainly due to your insane mindsight trick), but it’s not much. You’re very good with traps, but that doesn’t count for much when you can’t move silently or hide and your spot and listen are trash. You’ve got 14 BAB. I feel like I’m being mean, but I’m just trying to make it clear that I looked at the build and understood it, I’m not slacking off here. I just don’t think this is very good. I’m sorry.
Score: 1.8 points.

Elegance:
I’ll get this out of the way first: I’m not happy with what you were trying to do with wild cohort. It’s cheap, it’s not creative, and it’s ugly. If I may quote: “We're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners.” Wild cohort is explicitly allowed. Wild cohort recursion is cheap, and goes hard against the spirit of the competition. I know you had a “if it doesn’t fly” section, but throughout the explanation you keep treating it as an essential part of the build, devoting a lot of text to explain what your endless chain of camels is doing at any particular second. A landlord wolf is fun-dumb. This is just dumb.
On top of that, I don’t follow your math. I don’t know why your secondary cohorts are all the same level. Let’s look at your level 18 (ECL 20). You have a wolf (2 HD) increased to 13 HD because of the feat. Her name is W1. She has another wolf (W2) with 9 HD. W2 has a wolf (W3) with 7 HD, who has a wolf (W4) with 5 HD. W4 has a wolf (W5) with 3 HD, who has a wolf with 3 HD, and so on. You’d need an animal with 4 base HD for the recursion to stabilize at 9 HD, and you don’t have that option – the most you have is 3 HD, and that recursion would stabilize at 6. If I’m right about that, you’ll never get endless landlords.
Your presentation is a little messy – You repeat yourself a few times. I believe you could have used some more editing. On the other hand, that messiness is the result of an abundance of information, which I appreciate.
Your levels are kind of going everywhere, though that’s generally justifiable. I also don’t like your LA popping up only at the end of the table, I think it should be represented at the point in the build in which it’s taken.
However, you do list all your sources in a very clear and comfortable way, you do qualify for everything – and some of what you qualify for, you qualify for with style.
I also have to give you an extra good-boy-treat for specifying how many ranks you deserve and expend each level. If you wanted to go all out you would specify the increase and not just the total, but it still makes it much easier to follow your skill progression.
Which is why it was pretty clear that you somehow screwed yourself out of 4 skill points at level 1.
At this point I’m starting to go a little bit crazy. I get the feeling I’m being stupid, missing something obvious. Am I going to get pummelled with a ton of disputes politely calling me an idiot for failing to grasp how skill purchasing works in 3.5? I don’t know, but I have to trust myself. And myself is telling me you have 18 ranks in class skills and 7 ranks in cross class skills, totalling in 32 and not in 36. You strike again at level 12, losing one skill point, and at level 18, losing 1 skill point again. This deep dive also helped me notice that you straight up lied about using skilled city dweller to swap Knowledge (nature) for Knowledge (local). You bought local cross class and nature as a class skill.
I can’t keep talking about this. There isn’t anything horrible, it’s just a lot of issues, overturning what you had for being smart and efficient.
Score: 2.75 points.

Under Obligation Synopsis Information:
I like that you put thought into every single thing the class offers, and tried to improve on it. If the normal approach is “What can I build that gets a lot of use out of the class” your approach is more “What can I do to support this class feature?”
I think that’s a very nice way to approach the task, even if the less holistic approach cost you dearly in the power category. Not all of your improvements are very impressive. By the time resourceful search comes online, it’s a waste of time. By the time enhance value can use it, it’s practically nothing. We’re talking strictly mechanics here; fluff-wise, I think it’s awesome, and you got yours in originality for that. Forge ring is another example of not really doing that much with an ability, and you do nothing with take object.
However, divert + distracting ember is much better, as is enhance value + landlord. Finding a cannon mechanically appropriate setting to do your nonsense in with Xorvintaal Is excellent, especially in conjunction with cheat.
But one combination reigns supreme. One is a truly innovative and powerful. Maximizing Cheat is some bonkers genius move, if you can find interesting things to do with cheat – which you have. I’m not buying the “this fight is technically part of Xorvintaal, which is a game of chance, free crit please” argument, but honestly, you don’t need it. Getting a Nat 20 on rolls which have to do with your main business up to 10 times per day is insane.
Overall, very good effort.
score: 4.5 points.

Total score: 14.05 points. Wild ride of a build. Lots of bad, but lots of good, too.
originality:
First thing first, you’re funny. Enjoyable and unique fluff, and I’ll always dig characters being presented as not particularly capable. I also like your creative feat choices and combat style.
Unfortunately, like most of the field, you’re playing a catfolk with seven levels of monk. I get that this is the expected and easiest entry, but it’s still boring. I wish we’d see at least one really crazy entry, like a human with the able learner feat or something like that.
Score: 4.75 points.

Power:
You’re a monk 7 melee without power attack or bonus damage dice, no AoO abuse, No skill monkey capabilities… nothing. You’re a melee with 12 BAB at ECL 20. Your ability allocation is wrong, and so I’d say is your skill allocation and some of your feats. By all accounts, you should be totally, completely useless. Why are you not useless?
Mantis leap gets things done. Charge as a move action. Combined with catfolk pounce, and your decent STR, it’s extremely powerful. You need to catch your enemies flat-footed for your pounce to work, and you do that the best you can. You could use invisible fist, and I assume you would, but that would mess with your swift action summons through Eilservs School. You can also feint, or later use a strike, but that would mean just one pounce. Don’t get me wrong – these are good options, but improved initiative or a higher Dex score would do wonders for you. On top of that, even with leaping dragon stance, you can’t get as far as I’d like you to with your jump modifier. It should have been higher, to give you the option in more scenarios. You have sudden leap, but, again – that wastes the swift action you’d need to activate Eilservs School.
I also don’t know why you wouldn’t TWF whenever you get to pounce – you can barely afford the -2, that’s true, but you need to get some hits in, and the mantis bonus damage doesn’t care whether you’re THFing or not. Despite all of this, you’ve somehow gotten yourself to be actually useful. If you can double pounce you’re doing decent damage through your mantis leap, and you can activate staffs as a swift action quite often. You’re also not that much of a late bloomer – you’re double pouncing at ECL 10, and you add your staff shenanigans by ECL 16.
You’re not super powerful by any means, but you can get stuff done.
Edit: score adjusted due to dispute. Lack of investment in jump explained, and jumpless Mantis Leap shown to be more viable under a legitimate interpretation. +0.2
Score: 3.05 points.

Elegance:
Oh boy.
Well, you’re missing two ranks in spellcraft for Eilservs School, but that’s an easy fix – and aside from that, you qualify for everything. Your sources are clearly listed, your table isn’t too messy, your snapshots are clear, and you have the right amount of skill points – which apparently, is an achievement in this round. I’m not a fan of your skill allocation, I think you’re way too reliant on jump and UMD to pump tumble that hard, but that’s a very minor issue. You get a slight bonus for getting Passive Way’s bonus ability. You were doing well.

But…

You know what, I’m just going to copy-paste from my notes:

M’aiq, big no no’s:
1. Bonked by the multiclassing penalties police: BONK!
2. Bonked by the flaw police: DOUBLE BONK!
3. I am kind of uncool with you just getting a feat through Faustian pact, so I’ll follow through on your direction and treat it like it takes the place of a flaw. TRIPLE BONK! YOU’RE OUT!
Yeah. Flaws, as per the rules of the competition, are 1 elegance point per flaw. That’s a huge gap to cover, and you’re not covering it with what you have – not with multiclassing penalties hanging over your head. I get the feeling that you either forgot or didn’t know about that rule – suffering this punishment for stuff like magical artisan and a tripping bonus seems absurd. You could have given those up and lose about 0.1-0.15 points overall in power, and 0.1 here in elegance. That’s an awful trade for you, but that’s life sometimes. You’ll get ‘em next time, buddy.
Score: 1.25 points.

Use of the SI:
On the one hand, starting at level 16, your build gets a lot of juice from your summons. As a professional liar, you also enjoy lie.
But you don’t care about thief and steal. You don’t care about take object, and you do nothing to emphasize anything else. This is DoM as “summon monster with average BAB, the prc.” in BoVd’s near you now.
You do make a hilarious joke with cheat, but that’s less UoSI and more just you, the creator of the build, being a cool and funny person.
Edit: Score adjusted due to dispute. More investment in take object than originally met my eye. Also, +0.05 points for unmentioned trick.
Score: 1.9 points.

Total score: 10.95 points.Adjusted. I’m sorry, little one. You were one of my favourites.
She did the math! She did the monster math!

Originality:
Okay, let’s talk. I’m hijacking this category. This is rant time.
(Don’t worry I’m getting to the point)
When I skimmed over the class, one thing jumped out to me. One thing which I was amazed could ever be allowed.
The page said “Enhance value”, in simple print, black ink on white paper.
But what I saw was

COMPOUND INTEREST SPEEDRUN BONANZA!!!
This is insane. Turning D&D from a TTRPG to a clicker game. Free money.
I was prepared for everyone to say “Also, at this point I have infinite money, but let’s put that aside…” and my first thing I wrote down in my notes, as soon as I finished reading the class, was:
Buy and sell art. But what about the limits of the economy?
And then, 5 minutes later:
They need to go to חותם (Look up the English name later.) Unlimited, and much quicker.
I was waiting for it. Anyone who told me they had infinite money would have gotten “Aha! Well, you need to go to Sigil, so no infinite money for you. Gotcha!”
But no one claimed they had infinite money. People were talking about selling their stolen goods, or their adventuring spoils, or other more creative stories. No one seemed to do the math. Assuming this isn’t just a case of mass Vizziny, I’d like to recommend everyone on this competition go to a personal finance course.
This leaves only you, and you’re doing what I believed to be the most obvious and least original thing to do with this class – trading goods for infinite money. However, there are a few things working in your favour:
One, no one else is actually doing it. All (but one) of them can, but none of them are.
Two, you did go to Sigil.
Three, you leaned into it. You didn’t just proclaim infinite money, you decided to make it efficient. In particular, I’m looking at Necropolitan, which makes perfect sense and didn’t cross my mind, and at CDO’s – I was thinking art as the obvious “mundane trade good with no value floor or ceiling”, but CDO’s make much more sense, and are way better fluff.
Speaking of, I Loved the libertarian fluff, loved the tongue in cheek, and loved the attention to detail. Surprisingly, your classes also harmonize with each other thematically, though I’m unsure of how much of that is on purpose. I will say that slapping theurge on two fast-advancement spellcasting classes to get high level spells without investing too many levels is not at all original, and humans haven’t been too incredibly rare this round.
Score: 3.25 points.

Power:
This is a complicated issue. My tendency was to neutralise money, unless someone had an innovative way to use it. Everyone can have infinite money, so what’s the point, right?
But can doesn’t equal does. Everyone talks about their Enhance Ability, and no one mentioned infinite money but you.
After consideration, I’ve decided not to give you an automatic 5 here on the one hand, and not to ignore it on the other. Instead, you’re going to just get a big boost, as if you’ve got 9th level spells while everyone else is stuck at 4th.
Lucky for you, you’ve also got lots of options and strength at early levels, and 8th+7th level spells at the end. You didn’t need that to get max score, but it’s nice to have a safety margin.
Score: 5 points.

Elegance:
Despite how much it surprisingly makes sense, I still get the feeling of “Well, let’s forget everything else and just go for raw power” from your later levels. Why not keep the theme? Maximize appraise, go Exemplar, take skill focus, stuff like that? I know that would complicate the math, but still. It’s a strong shift in the middle of the build, resulting from you feeling the build was done at 11. But, the build would have been done at 11 without necropolitan, as well. You did the math, you know how fast this compounds. Your choice to go necro was a choice to lean into it, to make the numbers crazier. You could have kept doing that, and left the initial calculation as is (well, as would be, with higher appraise) and just tell us how much faster it could have been done at level 20 in the snapshots.
But that’s the least of my issues here.
Your skill table is totally botched. At level 2, you give yourself 2 skill points, free of charge, as well as somehow having 6 ranks in appraise when you should max out at 5. Also, you missed intimidate in DoM’s class skills, buying it cross class for no reason. You miss a point at level 20 to close out the build.
You don’t qualify for ordered chaos. It requires a base will save of +4, and you only have +3. That would mean you’d either have to go CE->LE, on which I’ll call alignment shenanigans, or remain CE, on which I’ll call extreme alignment shenanigans – and that assumes ordered chaos would’ve allowed you to take battle dancer as a lawful character, which I don’t think it would. “Spells and effects”, says the text, and a class IMO is neither.
The only parts of this build that say “elegant” to me are Axiomatic bloodline through duskblade before taking demonbinder, which is cute, and the early entry method, which causes some alignment problems.
You also committed the cardinal sin of NOT LISTING YOUR SOURCES.
All in all, bad category for you.
Score: 1.55 points

Use of the SI:
Interesting category. You didn’t finish the class, for obvious reasons – you don’t need anything except for enhance value. The issue with that, of course, is that you don’t really use anything except for enhance value. This reminds me of last round’s Primo Valentiono Starchild, who was only in primeval for a new TO build based on regression.
Unlike Valentino, you do take 7 levels of the class, and you get some use out of it aside from your main trick. However, your “Main trick”, at its heart, really comes down to reading comprehension and remembering Sigil exists. There are strong forces pushing both ways here.
Score: 3.1 points.

Total score: 12.9 points. This was hands down my favourite entry – I’m a sucker for clever fluff and presentation. I’m sorry I couldn’t have given it a better score.
Originality:
This build is weird as hell, which works wonders for you in this category. You’re not a human, which is great. You also didn’t take able learner, even though you could have (and frankly – probably should have).
You’re also a jester.
Rogue is obviously less of a surprise, and you didn’t have room in your build for more big surprises, but those are enough to get you a good score here.
You’re styling hard, and that’s worth something as well, and I’d say your base classes harmonize incredibly well, thematically – though that doesn’t dully carry over to the SI.
Score: 4.3

Power:
I’ll be straight forward: You can’t do much. I mean you’ve got a few interesting tricks up your sleeve, and jester + combat panache is a cool move, but at the end of the day, what do you do? Grappling block is cool, but by the time it comes along you’d have to be suicidal to go to the frontline, with the damage you can do. Your jester abilities are helpful, but not that much and they stagnate fast. You’ve got a lot of skill tricks which would put you in prime position to be a spy or a face – if only you had the necessary skill ranks, which you just don’t.
You do get the obligatory pickpocket boost though, with master pickpocket cheese on your side.
Score: 1.65 points.

Elegance:
Let’s start out with the good stuff: your presentation is extremely detailed without being overbearing. You list your sources properly, and you qualify for everything. Your classes do support each other mechanically – not exceptionally well, but they do so nonetheless. I like that you found a way to do something useful with your battle dancer and jester bonus feats.
Unfortunately, the aforementioned battle dancer level means you suffer from multiclassing penalties from level 5 onward. This is part of a trend of careless class and skills progression – you take class levels very erratically, and you end up wasting a lot of skill points by taking ranks cross class, when you could have easily rearranged to be in better shape. Speaking of skill points, you missed the chairman’s ruling that bluff is on the class skills list, replacing the 3.0 skill innuendo. You unfortunately wasted a lot of skill points you didn’t have to.
Score: 2.9 points.

Use of the SI:
You’re using steal and thief, but only in the intended and expected way. You’ve got a cohort to divert attacks to, and your focus on disarm makes take object valuable – and with grappling block, disarm is slightly less suboptimal for you than it usually is. You intend to be a face, which would get use out of lie, but the ranks just aren’t there. Nondetection is good for your style, but you don’t get anything extra from it.
I like that you’re leaning into the class fairly well, but I’m not seeing anything really good here.
Score: 2.4 points.

Total score: 11.25 points. This seemed like a build by someone with a very good handle on splatbooks or google-fu, and with a well-developed sense of style, but little or no experience in optimisation or high level play. You need to start paying more attention to questions like “Is this a good use of my character’s time and resources? Does this synergize?” And “Does this achieve what it sets out to achieve?” I think style and creativity are the most important parts of optimisation, so there’s definitely potential here. I’m sorry if I appear condescending or something, I just wanted to cheer you on to continue developing your mechanical skill.
originality:
You’re not human, good for you. You also brought savant to the table, and you have a very original central idea, which is very unexpected as far as DoM goes. On the other hand, your classes really have no thematic cohesion, and you don’t feel like a DoM. Also, I tend to reward good fluff in this category, but I’ll almost never penalize bad fluff. Not badly written fluff, nor short fluff, nor obscure fluff, nor irrelevant fluff. However, having no fluff at all besides a dry shorthand description, in my opinion, deserves some penalty. Fluff is part of the competition, and part of a complete submission.
Score: 3.4 points

Power:
You start out kind of slow because of your savant levels, but you do end up with 8ths (Demonbinder 8ths though, so very limited,) and your main trick is decently powerful. It’s important to note that without being able to support undead, the mileage you can get out of unlimited inflicts decreases significantly – inflict is not a great option most of the time. Still, it’s a useful thing to do in melee for you, especially once Mastery of day and night comes along at level 20. It’s neat, but it’s not crazy. On top of demonbinder 8ths and being able to get away with low BAB due to never full attacking, I’d say it’s got you in a good spot. You have no skill ranks to speak of, and essentially no versatility, and that’s an issue.
Score: 3.95 points.

Elegance:
Good stuff: some very clever qualifying, class structure makes a lot of sense even if messy.
Bad stuff:
It’s not mechanically very cohesive. Your snapshots are extremely limited, and offer almost no insight as to how the character should be played. You’ve got conflicting setting sources with Eberron/Faerun. You don’t list your sources. You’re careless about feat progression – maximize spell and mastery of day and night are the engines behind your main trick, and you push them extremely far into the build – did you really need PA more than free maximization? Was poison spell really such a high priority? That carelessness carries over to the skill column, where you’re lacking 2 skill points at level 1. “The savant counts all skills as class skills.” Of course, you also completely stop giving a damn by the time DoM comes around – your table is incomplete. This is the continuation of a theme – no fluff, no snapshots, no table. I was really considering disqualifying this entry, as it is far from being complete. I decided I would judge it, but that doesn’t mean all of that stuff went under the radar. Honestly, if you can’t or don’t want to complete your entry, consider just not submitting it.
Score: 0 points.

Use of the SI:
You only take 5 levels of the SI, which is not good, but there’s a very clear reason you’re doing that. What you needed was an at-will SLA and a summon monster, and as soon as you had both you were out. As a melee character, you put the SI’s BAB to good use. The way you utilise steal is creative, cool, and OK power wise, and it double functions to give you fourth level spells to qualify for Nar Demonbinder, making you the only one to use solely the SI’s capabilities to qualify for another PRC.
This situation is quite similar to the one discussed at Morgan Stanley’s UoSI section, except you take less levels on the one hand, but use more and have a more creative use on the other – which I consider to be more important for this category.
Score: 3.75 points.
Total score: 11.1 points. I think this could have been a really awesome submission, if you were to complete it.

I’d like to state that I didn’t compare final scores until I was completely done with everything. There was no score manipulation. I was very surprised to see how close it turned out to be at the top.

I have preliminary notes written out about each character, helping me remember what I liked and disliked at first glance and who’s who. They’re usually very light-hearted, more so than my actual judgment. I thought I’d share the pet names everyone had in those notes:

Wynfrith d'Acker is: Winnie the Pooh!

Dannielle the Hand in the Glove is: Bloody Dannie!

Bhedana Bharu is: Bibi!

Dukat d’Cannith is: Harry Potter!

Wolfgang Xor Von Taalstreet is: Amadeus!

Peribsen, the Renegade Satay Salesman is: M’aiq!

Morgan Stanley is: Ms. Monopoly!

Terrance ‘The Menace’ is: Terry the Clown! (I’m sorry Terrance)

Killer Mike is: Mickey Mouse!

Have a nice day!

[Piggy Knowles]

Thanks for judging! No disputes here, and I enjoyed reading everything.

[daremetoidareyo]

Thanks for judging. No disputes here

[Venger]

No disputes from me either. Thanks for judging. Your writeups were detailed and easy to follow. Now that we have judgings in, here's a table:



Name of Dish
Stub
Score
Chef


Wynfrith d'Acker
NE Female Human Warblade 5/Disciple of Mammon 10/Master of the Unseen hand 5

14.1
[/COLOR]


Danielle, the Hand in the Glove
LE silverbrow human human paragon 1/totemist 2/human paragon 3/chameleon 2/ disciple of mammon 10/ chameleon 5

12



Bhedana Bharu
LE Vriscika Human Ranger 2/OA Samurai (Kshatriya) 2/Disciple of Mammon 10/Fighter 2/Swordsage 4

11.6[/COLOR]



Dukat d'Cannith
Human, LE Artificer 6/Binder 1/Disciple of Mammon 10/Cannith Wand Adept 3

14.05



Wolfgang Xor Von Taalstreet
LE Frostblood Half-orc Ranger 3/Red Dragon Shaman 3/Menacing Brute 2/Disciple of Mammon 10
14.05
[/COLOR]


Perisben, Renegade Satay Salesman
LE Catfolk passive way monk 7/disciple of Mammon 5/swordsage 1/marshal 1/Disciple of Mammon +5

10.95



Morgan Stanley
LE Necropolitan Human
Duskblade 2 / Swashbuckler 1 / Battledancer 1 / Disciple of Mammon 7 / Ur-Priest 4 / Nar Demonbinder 1 / Mystic Theurge 4


12.9
[/COLOR]


Terrance the Menace
CE Changeling Rogue 2/Battle Dancer 1/Jester 7/Disciple of Mammon 10
11.25



Killer Mike
NE Strongheart Halfling Savant 1 / Duskblade 4 / Nosomatic Chirurgeon 1 / Disciple of Mammon 5 / Nar Demonbinder 4 / Nosomatic Chirurgeon 4 / Savant 1

11.1

[daremetoidareyo]

If you're taking honorable mentions, I really liked bhedana bharu.

[Venger]

Added that in, and I'll second that nomination.

[H_H_F_F]

So, I've been lying in bed trying to fall asleep (It's 2 AM here) but I couldn't because I was too bothered by so many people seeming to have skill point errors - seems improbable, more likely that I missed something because I was in a rush.

I believe I may have ignored bonus skill points granted by the apprentice feat, at least in some of the builds. I'll check tomorrow when I have some time, and correct if needed. If that is the case, and you were planning to send a dispute regarding only this point, there's no need to. You can rest assured - I'll get to it.

[daremetoidareyo]

So, I've been lying in bed trying to fall asleep (It's 2 AM here) but I couldn't because I was too bothered by so many people seeming to have skill point errors - seems improbable, more likely that I missed something because I was in a rush.

I believe I may have ignored bonus skill points granted by the apprentice feat, at least in some of the builds. I'll check tomorrow when I have some time, and correct if needed. If that is the case, and you were planning to send a dispute regarding only this point, there's no need to. You can rest assured - I'll get to it.

I mean in at least my case, I had to redo skill points in the table after noticing a mistake, so that's probably the source of that error. It's likely a similar story for others.

[Thurbane]

The skill tables, from the point of view of both a competitor (creating/formatting), and as a sometime judge (reading/checking), can be a major headache, for sure.

I try to be extra careful with mine, but errors still slip in on occasion.

[nosborm]

Well, now I feel embarrassed. First off, thanks (again) so much for judging! I also have no disputes here, I think most of my confusion and nits regarding cheese were addressed in the judging so I have a good handle on how that is viewed now. All that being said, I just wanted to apologize. I feel bad that my submission was so spartan but I ran out of time as I originally thought I had an extra day. I really did care about my character and wanted to complete my entry, next time I'll plan ahead and explain myself more. This was my first submission, I'm sure it shows, and I figured it was better to submit something rather than nothing, otherwise I'd never participate, but I apologize again if I wasted your time. I really appreciate the feedback, I learned a lot and I'll be sure to address everything in the next round in the hopes that I don't waste your time again.

[WhamBamSam]

I mean in at least my case, I had to redo skill points in the table after noticing a mistake, so that's probably the source of that error. It's likely a similar story for others.Yeah. It's a skillful ingredient, which means you're more likely to have cause to rejigger points more often and hence have more chances to make a small error somewhere along the line.

[Venger]

Well, now I feel embarrassed. First off, thanks (again) so much for judging! I also have no disputes here, I think most of my confusion and nits regarding cheese were addressed in the judging so I have a good handle on how that is viewed now. All that being said, I just wanted to apologize. I feel bad that my submission was so spartan but I ran out of time as I originally thought I had an extra day. I really did care about my character and wanted to complete my entry, next time I'll plan ahead and explain myself more. This was my first submission, I'm sure it shows, and I figured it was better to submit something rather than nothing, otherwise I'd never participate, but I apologize again if I wasted your time. I really appreciate the feedback, I learned a lot and I'll be sure to address everything in the next round in the hopes that I don't waste your time again.

We learn through experience. I'm sure you'll do great next time. You've got a great attitude. Always nice to welcome a new chef.

[Aplatypus]

I'd also like to offer my thanks and apology. I didn't think that my build would get anywhere near as far as it did and I let myself get lazy as the deadline approached. I submitted without final edits and I'm sorry. Thank you so much for judging all of these!

[The Viscount]

Thank you for judging, H_H_F_F.

I have one dispute for you.


First of all, thank you very much for the judging, and the kind words you have for my build.

Only one contention, on the legality of taking the Cards Over Swords feat at 9th level.

Note the differences in wording between this:


Prerequisite: 1st level character, Diplomacy 4 ranks

...and these:


Special: This feat may only be taken at 1st level.


Prerequisites: Non-good alignment, Fiendish Heritage, character level 9th.

Able Learner is very clear that you may only take the feat at 1st level. Fiendish Heritage, however, isn't restricted to be taken only at 9th level. It can be taken any time thereafter. That is my reading of the Cards Over Swords reqs as well. This was discussed quite a bit in the thread on optimising the feat (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?501738), and the general consensus was the feat didn't have the same restriction as, say, Able Learner does. To be honest, it's a weirdly worded req, to be sure, but I don't believe taking it after first level is illegal.

I'll give everyone a few days for any more disputes and response period. I might not have time for reveal until Friday or Saturday.

[H_H_F_F]

Response to Wynfrith's dispute:

I can see where you (and the three on the thread you linked) are coming from, but I disagree. I believe we can all agree that RAI is on my side - having a "1HD" prerequisite is practically meaningless, and 1st level only feats are common enough to assume intent. However, and much more importantly in this context, I also believe RAW is on my side. To me, "1st level character" reads very differently from "Character level 1st" (or 9th).

Character level 6th, or 9th, or 1st, is something you have, like 8 skill ranks or a feat. "I have 9 character levels - my first to my ninth."

A 1st, 6th, or 9th level character is something you are, like an elf or an epic level character. "I am a fifth level character."

This was the obvious reading for me, with intention completely aside. It may be considered pedantry, or my brain not processing English correctly, but this is the way it reads to me. This is a point I probably would have caved on if RAI was obviously on your side. I would say that I'm probably just being a lawyering ****, and let you off with a warning. But, since I believe RAI is clearly on my side, I'm not changing my ruling here. Scoring remains.

Just to clarify: I'm judging based on RAW here, not RAI. All I'm saying is that RAI would have caused me to be more lax if it was clearly on your side, but it isn't so it doesn't so I ain't.

Edit: just in case it makes my post clearer: I think "Character level 9th" is an equivelant phrase to "[has a] 9th character level" not to "[is a] 9th level character".

[daremetoidareyo]

What's on the docket for next rounds' special ingredient? Something shiney? Something blade-y? Something Heironious-y?

[Thurbane]

Maybe something caster-y after the last two rounds. You know how much we looove our 5/10 casting classes! :smalltongue:

[ExLibrisMortis]

Is there a Mind's Eye PrC that hasn't been used yet? I'd be in for some psionic silliness.

[The Viscount]

Might do something caster-y. Still mulling over using the ingredient that has a vision and fails to execute I mentioned last round.
As for psionics, I love a good psionic dish and have at least one on the pile, but I'm a little wary after the low turnout for the last psionic SI.
I couldn't do Shining Blade to you anytime soon. We've suffered more than enough this year without adding that insult to injury.

One more dispute




Unfortunately, like most of the field, you’re playing a catfolk with seven levels of monk. I get that this is the expected and easiest entry, but it’s still boring.
I'm a little confused by this. There's no other catfolk or monk amongst the entries. I don't think catfolk monks are very common in general, either. Monk is not mentioned as one of the classes likely to enter Disciple of Mammon. Monks do not, in fact, have the class skills required for Disciple of Mammon. How is this entry easy or expected?

Granted, it doesn't seem to have hurt my score much (if at all), so maybe it's sarcasm. In which case, no dispute here.


On Power (and a little UotSI)
I think there are one or two things that were missed because they weren't explicitly mentioned in the writeup, in particular regarding Mantis Leap and combat maneuvers.

(1) Mantis Leap does, in fact, let you move (in whatever way you see fit, including jumping) before the final charging jump, since jumping is part of a move action. You move some distance, designate an opponent you can reach with a Jump check, Jump, then charge (though without the movement usually associated with a charge, I would think), all as part of that single move action.

Due to the way Mantis Leap is phrased, you can even use it as part of a Withdraw action. This is a tactic associated with Mammon specifically--see the Mark of Minauros feat in FCII. Unfortunately, you have to be a devil to qualify for the Mark feats, or it'd make a great capstone for Peribsen.

(2) Take Object is used by Peribsen. It is supported by Master of War, which adds Peribsen's Charisma modifier to Disarm checks, and by the fact that he wields a two-handed weapon, resulting in a minimum of +12 to Disarm rolls. I didn't mention Disarming specifically, as it's not Peribsen's "core" trick and doesn't work on many opponents, but it is part of the greater concept of "fighting dirty", which was mentioned as something Peribsen is good at (or at least likely to try).

Just for fun: Assuming standard ability boosters (+6 enhancement STR/CHA, +4 inherent STR) and a decent staff (e.g. +5 tiger claw), with no further attack bonuses, Peribsen has a better-than-even chance of disarming a solar angel. It's only +45 vs. +43, which isn't brilliant, but it's a friggin' solar angel--Large and +22 base attack! Take Object is doing great work here!

(3) I forgot to add this to the writeup, and am now duly kicking myself. Peribsen can craft a staff of telekinesis, using steal to meet the prerequisite. Such a staff lets him perform combat maneuvers at a distance, such as Disarming or Tripping (enhanced by Master of War and Improved Trip or Take Object) before making a Mantis Leap. I don't expect any points for this, but just in case someone is browsing these builds in 2120: steal is definitely a thing Peribsen uses. He insists, however (by way of a strongly-worded letter from his attorney), that he is a legitimate and very successful businessman, not a thief.


On all other points, I agree and thank you for your detailed feedback. First place for judging this round!

[H_H_F_F]

Response to Peribsen's dispute:

Oh man. I should know better than using sarcasm on the internet, but I really though this one would carry. Guess I should have colored it blue. Yes, your submission was extremely unique, especially in a field that was so human oriented, hence your very good originality score - second only to Wolfgang, I believe.

As for the rest: I wouldn't allow that interpretation of Manits Leap at my table, as it completely invalidates the need to be able to jump - anyone can jump 5 ft, so under that frame, "within your movement" is the only limit. However, I do accept that it's a legitimate reading, RAW wise - though I think so is bunny hopping around an enemy for 24 pounces a turn, and you were very smart in not trying to let that fly. But since that was the interpretation you worked under, I get why you didn't pump jump as much as I believed you should have, and I'll adjust the score somewhat.

As for take object: you're right that I saw Art of War mostly in the context tripping, not disarming. You'll notice that those I've noted for leaning into take object still put more effort into it than you in that regard, especially considering disarm is way more viable (IMO) at ECL 10-11 than 16. Still, it's a fair point.

Staff of telekinesis, unfortunately, comes to the point I made with Morgan Stanley: can does not equal does. You should've mentioned it. You'll get a tiny boost nevertheless, as it is a tactic your build is especially suited for, but I can't act as if you've mentioned it - that's a can of worms I'm not willing to open.

Score will be adjusted momentarily.

And thank you for giving me gold on judging! I feel almost as proud as I did when I got a medal on the Atavist contest, when I submitted 2 of the 4 entries :tongue:

[Venger]

Updated the chart.

[The Viscount]

The time has come. The reveal is here!



Name of Dish
Stub
Score
Chef


Wynfrith d'Acker
NE Female Human Warblade 5/Disciple of Mammon 10/Master of the Unseen hand 5

14.1
Thurbane[/COLOR]


Danielle, the Hand in the Glove
LE silverbrow human human paragon 1/totemist 2/human paragon 3/chameleon 2/ disciple of mammon 10/ chameleon 5

12
Venger


Bhedana Bharu
LE Vriscika Human Ranger 2/OA Samurai (Kshatriya) 2/Disciple of Mammon 10/Fighter 2/Swordsage 4

11.6[/COLOR]
WhamBamSam


Dukat d'Cannith
Human, LE Artificer 6/Binder 1/Disciple of Mammon 10/Cannith Wand Adept 3

14.05
Piggy Knowles


Wolfgang Xor Von Taalstreet
LE Frostblood Half-orc Ranger 3/Red Dragon Shaman 3/Menacing Brute 2/Disciple of Mammon 10
14.05
daremetoidareyou[/COLOR]


Perisben, Renegade Satay Salesman
LE Catfolk passive way monk 7/disciple of Mammon 5/swordsage 1/marshal 1/Disciple of Mammon +5

10.95
ExLibrisMortis


Morgan Stanley
LE Necropolitan Human
Duskblade 2 / Swashbuckler 1 / Battledancer 1 / Disciple of Mammon 7 / Ur-Priest 4 / Nar Demonbinder 1 / Mystic Theurge 4


12.9
Aplatypus[/COLOR]


Terrance the Menace
CE Changeling Rogue 2/Battle Dancer 1/Jester 7/Disciple of Mammon 10
11.25
Falontani


Killer Mike
NE Strongheart Halfling Savant 1 / Duskblade 4 / Nosomatic Chirurgeon 1 / Disciple of Mammon 5 / Nar Demonbinder 4 / Nosomatic Chirurgeon 4 / Savant 1

11.1
nosborm



Congratulations to our chefs for an excellent round! Special thanks to H_H_F_F for judging and responding to disputes in such a timely manner.

Next round up shortly.

[Venger]

Congratulations to the medalists. This was a fun round.

[Thurbane]

Wow, my first ever win in IC! Fairly unexpected with my offbeat entry, I must say. :smallsmile:

Congrats to everyone who entered, was a tough round.

Thank you again to H_H_F_F for the judging, and as always, the chair for the hard work in running the show.

[H_H_F_F]

Congratulations Thurbane, and the rest of the medalists! I again apologize for being late, but I hope I sonewhat made up for it by responding to disputes as quickly as I could.

I would also like to congratulate our first timers for submitting interesting and creative entries. I know I may have been harsh, and I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings. I hope to see you all again, now that you have a better grasp on the rules of the competition. Good luck on the next round, everyone!

[Falontani]

I'd like to argue that my build was better in the power department than rated, however I didn't feel so powerfully about it to make a full dispute. I was called squishy, yet with standard magic items I'm not very squishy in melee combat. I don't deal damage, but that's what a party is for, to cover other's weaknesses. My character's strength was in taunting as a tank type, redirecting attacks to others, and disarming and stealing anything that could give the enemy power. As a skill money my face skills are good enough to win against anything that didn't themselves invest in sense motive or spot. I didn't read all the judging of the other contestants, so I don't know if they were likewise penalized in the power department.
Finally it really depends on what you are comparing a character against when it comes to power.

[WhamBamSam]

I didn't bother disputing because I figured I wasn't gonna get 1.3 points out of it, and I was happy with HM and for Bhedana to be singled out as cool, but I also had some minor disagreements.


She’s a TWFer with Iaijutsu focus as her only source of extra damage. Iajutsu focus is definitely a decent way to get extra damage, and you do what you can to make it work with sudden draw, but with a 14-17 dex score and no improved Initiative, no hide, no move silently, and no utilities, you’re going to be very hard pressed to go first often enough to make it really work.No Improved Initiative, but I do get a +2 Initiative boost from Hit-and-Run Fighter, and can flat-foot people with the Blurstrike weapon enhancement, which Enhance Value+Ancestral Daisho makes easily available.


Finally, the worst offender for me is the class background thing. You knew this was wrong, friend. You knew it. This is a variant rule, giving free stuff. In its own description, it clearly advises DMs not to let some player use it while others don’t, because that would be unfair. The same logic applies here. It’s unfair to the rest of the field, and in my view, it’s worse than a flaw.I it wasn't actually judged as worse than a flaw. Since I name Apprentice (Craftsman) as a specific feat that can remove the need for it, it's at worst equivalent to a flaw.


I see two main positives here. One is a strong focus on disarming, which works well with take object. The other is an assured way to get value for money without a magic mart, which I like a lot in conjunction with enhance value.
You also keep 2/3 prerequisite skills maxed out, and use SoH in ways which gave you points in originality. You’re a melee build, taking advantage of average BAB.
And… that’s it. You don’t do anything interesting with most of DoM’s class features.I maintain that early entry is its own reward for the summons, since they come online at levels where they're a match for equivalent CR encounters on their own. It's a minor thing, but I also mention Steal as an expedient way to retrieve thrown daggers, and that this can potentially save Bhedana rounds/day off of Blurstrike. The big one that isn't mentioned in the judging though, is using Divert Attack to avoid the downside to Robilar's Gambit.




Also, something that a lot of people missed, which comes up with basically every BoVD PrC, is that the updated 3.5 Thrall to Demon/Scion of Sorrow/Disciple of Darkness were updated to be alignment restricted to CE/NE/LE. This is a major issue for a few builds who missed it, which have alignment conflicts that are difficult to reconcile.

[H_H_F_F]

As a response to both Falontani and Wham Bam Sam:

Since the competition is over, I won't go into my agreements and disagreements with the points you've made. I would like to make a couple of general points though:

1. I know I'm not a perfect judge. I'd like to think I'm perceptive, methodical and eloquent enough to be of use, and I have a lot of experience with all levels of play and most levels of optimisation - but I'm very aware that I have waaaay less familiarity with most books than most of y'all, and that I am going to miss some things or misjudge the effectiveness of some techs. Thing is, I can't let those facts make me afraid of penalising things that I think deserve it. I hope I'm receptive enough of criticism, and open minded enough, to change a ruling if that's the right thing to do.

2. Leaving all that aside, I'd like to say I'm sorry if you felt my judging was not fair. All I can say is I've done my best, and really tried to make sure I was completely unbiased and gave every dish enough time to truly understand it. I mean, my favourite dish got bronze, and my second favourite got last place. Still, I never want to leave anyone feeling bad about the competition. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they make you feel better about the competition, disputes are welcomed even if they don't change your placing.

[ExLibrisMortis]

N.B. The name is Peribsen, not Perisben. It was spelled right on the first table, I'm pretty sure, but a typo snuck into the second (and third).

Edit: I also want to say that using Enhance Value to build a Mammon-worshiping financial analyst is just brilliant. It's such a natural fit.


I would also like to congratulate our first timers for submitting interesting and creative entries. I know I may have been harsh, and I'm sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings. I hope to see you all again, now that you have a better grasp on the rules of the competition. Good luck on the next round, everyone!
I think you were fair. Maybe harsh, but only in the "critical and demanding" sense, which is motivating (once you get past the initial shock).


You’re a monk 7 melee without power attack or bonus damage dice, no AoO abuse, No skill monkey capabilities… nothing. You’re a melee with 12 BAB at ECL 20. Your ability allocation is wrong, and so I’d say is your skill allocation and some of your feats. By all accounts, you should be totally, completely useless. Why are you not useless?
This is pretty much what I was going for. Note that Peribsen technically does have bonus damage (from Eilservs School, +1/10 charges in the staff), but it's so tiny as to barely make a difference.

I was aware of the rule on flaws (not on the multiclassing XP penalties), but I figured finishing a UA fighting style would give me a little je-ne-sais-quoi, particularly since the style lines up so well with Catfolk Pounce. But I definitely should've assigned more points in UMD, and picked up Live My Nightmare as 18th-level feat (it's hilarious, and with nondetection and Lie, you aren't too vulnerable to Divinations anyway). I was tinkering with a second build focused on redirecting attacks, and I was saving LMN for that build, not wanting to use it twice. In retrospect, that was a bit too ambitious. A few more ranks in Sleight of Hand with Conceal Spellcasting might've helped sell cheat as well. A few little things that just drive the point home.

I tried a variant with anthropomorphic tiger instead of swordsage/marshal, which works out to the same feat expenditure but with always-on Pounce and an extra +6 Strength. I felt that made the build too much of a straight übercharger, though. Higher in power, no multiclassing penalty, but also just... meh. No maneuvers, no Leaping Dragon stance, less Charisma synergy. Peribsen is supposed to fight dirty because he doesn't have the raw power to trade blows, and always-on Pounce + 2-3 charges per round overwhelms Disciple of Mammon (even more than Mantis Leap already overwhelms the build right now).

The reason not to use TWF for Eilservs is that you can't get 1.5xSTR on your staff main-hand when using the off-hand. You can get an off-hand unarmed strike, but that's -2 attack for maybe 15 damage, which isn't amazing (worse than PA for -2/+4*4 attacks).

If I actually had to play Peribsen, I'd buy off the LA, throw in a level of rogue or spellthief, and add Coward + Craven (since I always play with buyoff + flaws - multiclass penalties). That would make the whole build a little better, since you'd actually get UMD, Open Lock, Sleight of Hand, and Appraise in-class, saving a feat. Plus you'd get Tumble in-class before level 15 and more skill points at level 1. Probably would've been better than swordsage 1, too.

Overall, room for improvement, but enough good bits to build on.

[Thurbane]

As a response to both Falontani and Wham Bam Sam:

Since the competition is over, I won't go into my agreements and disagreements with the points you've made. I would like to make a couple of general points though:

1. I know I'm not a perfect judge. I'd like to think I'm perceptive, methodical and eloquent enough to be of use, and I have a lot of experience with all levels of play and most levels of optimisation - but I'm very aware that I have waaaay less familiarity with most books than most of y'all, and that I am going to miss some things or misjudge the effectiveness of some techs. Thing is, I can't let those facts make me afraid of penalising things that I think deserve it. I hope I'm receptive enough of criticism, and open minded enough, to change a ruling if that's the right thing to do.

2. Leaving all that aside, I'd like to say I'm sorry if you felt my judging was not fair. All I can say is I've done my best, and really tried to make sure I was completely unbiased and gave every dish enough time to truly understand it. I mean, my favourite dish got bronze, and my second favourite got last place. Still, I never want to leave anyone feeling bad about the competition. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they make you feel better about the competition, disputes are welcomed even if they don't change your placing.

I think your judging was of very good quality. :smallsmile: Granted, I disagreed with one aspect of your judging for my entry, hence the dispute. I still disagree with your final ruling somewhat, but I 100% concede that there are two distinct readings of how the feat reqs work, so no issues or hard feelings there - I respect your interpretation of RAW.



I have a question about another entry, mainly because I ran into an issue with a similar style entry for an old Junkyard Wars entry: how does Morgan Stanley qualify for Mystic Theurge; specifically the "2nd-level arcane spells" part? The comp I was entering had a req of "must have casting, without any base classes", so my entry was a Yuan-ti Pureblood (with Human Heritage) 4RHD/Human Paragon/Ur-Priest/Nar Demonbinder/Mystic Theurge...

My issues was this: since Nar Demonbinder starts at 4th level arcane spells, do you technically meet the requirements of being able to cast 2nd level arcane spells?

This is certainly not meant as a criticism of Morgan Stanley as an entry, I'm curious about the logistics.

[WhamBamSam]

As a response to both Falontani and Wham Bam Sam:

Since the competition is over, I won't go into my agreements and disagreements with the points you've made. I would like to make a couple of general points though:

1. I know I'm not a perfect judge. I'd like to think I'm perceptive, methodical and eloquent enough to be of use, and I have a lot of experience with all levels of play and most levels of optimisation - but I'm very aware that I have waaaay less familiarity with most books than most of y'all, and that I am going to miss some things or misjudge the effectiveness of some techs. Thing is, I can't let those facts make me afraid of penalising things that I think deserve it. I hope I'm receptive enough of criticism, and open minded enough, to change a ruling if that's the right thing to do.

2. Leaving all that aside, I'd like to say I'm sorry if you felt my judging was not fair. All I can say is I've done my best, and really tried to make sure I was completely unbiased and gave every dish enough time to truly understand it. I mean, my favourite dish got bronze, and my second favourite got last place. Still, I never want to leave anyone feeling bad about the competition. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they make you feel better about the competition, disputes are welcomed even if they don't change your placing.Oh, I don't think your judging was unfair or at least I wouldn't phrase it that way. Those were things that I would've disputed, but didn't as I figured it wouldn't get me onto the podium anyway and I didn't want to delay the reveal. As I said, I'm happy with HM, and to be considered the coolest entry, if not the very best.


My issues was this: since Nar Demonbinder starts at 4th level arcane spells, do you technically meet the requirements of being able to cast 2nd level arcane spells?

This is certainly not meant as a criticism of Morgan Stanley as an entry, I'm curious about the logistics.Morgan has a Bloodline feat, which adds a spell at each level, including 2nd. The 2nd can then be cast out of a 4th level slot.

[Falontani]

As a response to both Falontani and Wham Bam Sam:

Since the competition is over, I won't go into my agreements and disagreements with the points you've made. I would like to make a couple of general points though:

1. I know I'm not a perfect judge. I'd like to think I'm perceptive, methodical and eloquent enough to be of use, and I have a lot of experience with all levels of play and most levels of optimisation - but I'm very aware that I have waaaay less familiarity with most books than most of y'all, and that I am going to miss some things or misjudge the effectiveness of some techs. Thing is, I can't let those facts make me afraid of penalising things that I think deserve it. I hope I'm receptive enough of criticism, and open minded enough, to change a ruling if that's the right thing to do.

2. Leaving all that aside, I'd like to say I'm sorry if you felt my judging was not fair. All I can say is I've done my best, and really tried to make sure I was completely unbiased and gave every dish enough time to truly understand it. I mean, my favourite dish got bronze, and my second favourite got last place. Still, I never want to leave anyone feeling bad about the competition. As far as I'm concerned, as long as they make you feel better about the competition, disputes are welcomed even if they don't change your placing.


Oh, I don't think your judging was unfair or at least I wouldn't phrase it that way. There were things that I would've disputed, but didn't as I figured it wouldn't get me onto the podium anyway and I didn't want to delay the reveal.
Same sentiment here. I didn't think it would be worth arguing to get even a 2-3 point difference. I just wanted to give my thoughts afterwards.

[daremetoidareyo]

What did y'all think of using cheat for xorvintaal? I know it's cheeseybut I really wanted to find a use for the seemingly useless cheat ability

[PoeticallyPsyco]

What did y'all think of using cheat for xorvintaal? I know it's cheeseybut I really wanted to find a use for the seemingly useless cheat ability

I thought it was super clever. I find the argument compelling that for cheat to work at all the players of the game casting magic doesn't make the game magical. I'd be a bit stricter in my interpretation from there, though; I'd say that you still can't use cheat against magical game elements (including magic-wielding enemies) that aren't also 'players' in the game (that is, knowingly and willingly participating in Xorvintal, probably by being a dragon or another Xorvintaal Exarch).