Optimization The Phantom of the Opera: Bardic Music, Line of Effect, and You [Archive]

Doctor Despair

2021-01-23, 01:13 AM

Hello, friends. I was reflecting on the feedback (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24883744&postcount=89) I received for my recent submission to the Spooks and Spectre's competition (1 (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24809446&postcount=41), 2 (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24809451&postcount=42)), and I reconsidered the direction I took the build in. Some of the main criticisms of the build were that it required too many complicated interactions to exist, and that it included too many traditionally powerful elements, so I decided to see how a similar take on the concept could look if I returned to an old project of mine: optimizing Bardic Music.

https://www.joshuad.net/new-bard-handbook-files/imgs/dirgesinger.jpg

Necropolitan
Telthor
Changeling

Stat
Array
After Racial/ Template Modifiers
4th
8th
12th
16th
20th
Final

Str
8
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

Dex
12
12
-
-
-
-
-
12

Con
10
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

Int
14
14
-
-
-
-
-
14

Wis
13
13
-
-
-
-
-
13

Cha
15
15
+1
+1
+1
+1
+1
20

HD
CR/ECL
Class
BAB
Base Fort Save
Base Ref Save
Base Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features

1
2/3
Dread Necromancer
+0
+0
+0
+2
4 Arcana, 4 Religion, 8 Speak Language
Racial Emulation
Charnel touch, rebuke undead

2
3/4
Bard
+0
+0
+2
+4
5 Arcana, 5 Listen, 1 Perform, 5 Religion, 8 Speak Language
-
Bardic knowledge, bardic music (1; countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1)

3
4/5
Half-Elf Paragon
+0
+0
+4
+4
5 Arcana, 6 Listen, 6 Perform, 5 Religion, 8 Speak Language
Skill Focus: Listen, Keen-Eared Scout
Divided ancestry (human), elven vision

4
5/6
Human Paragon
+0
+0
+4
+6
7 Arcana, 7 Listen, 7 Perform, 7 Religion, 8 Speak Language
-
Adaptive learning (Knowledge: Arcana)

5
6/7
Human Paragon
+0
+0
+4
+7
8 Arcana, 8 Listen, 8 Perform, 8 Religion, 2 Sense Motive, 8 Speak Language
Requiem
-

6
7/8
Dirgesinger
+0
+0
+4
+9
9 Arcana, 9 Listen, 9 Perform, 9 Religion, 4 Sense Motive, 8 Speak Language
Fell Conspiracy, Skill Focus: Perform (Magical Location: Heward's Hall)
Dirgesong (2; Song of Sorrow)

7
8/9
Dirgesinger
+1
+0
+4
+10
10 Arcana, 10 Listen, 10 Perform, 10 Religion, 6 Sense Motive, 8 Speak Language
-
Dirgesong (3; Song of Bolstering)

8
9/10
Dirgesinger
+2
+1
+5
+10
11 Arcana, 11 Listen, 11 Perform, 11 Religion, 8 Sense Motive, 8 Speak Language
-
Dirgesong (4; Song of Grief)

9
10/11
Dirgesinger
+3
+1
+5
+11
12 Arcana, 12 Listen, 12 Perform, 12 Religion, 10 Sense Motive, 8 Speak Language
Subsonics
Dirgesong (5; Song of Horror)

10
11/12
Dirgesinger
+3
+1
+5
+11
13 Arcana, 13 Listen, 13 Perform, 12 Religion, 13 Sense Motive, 8 Speak Language
-
Dirgesong (6; Song of Awakening)

11
12/13
Seeker of the Song
+3
+1
+5
+13
13 Arcana, 14 Listen, 14 Perform, 12 Religion, 14 Sense Motive, 11 Speak Language
-
Rapture of the song (+2 AC), seeker music (7; Burning Melody)

12
13/14
Seeker of the Song
+4
+1
+5
+14
13 Arcana, 15 Listen, 15 Perform, 12 Religion, 15 Sense Motive, 14 Speak Language
Ghostly Grasp
Combine songs, seeker music (8; Song of Unmaking)

13
14/15
Seeker of the Song
+4
+2
+6
+14
13 Arcana, 16 Listen, 16 Perform, 12 Religion, 16 Sense Motive, 17 Speak Language
-
Seeker music (9; Dirge of Frozen Loss)

14
15/16
Seeker of the Song
+5
+2
+6
+15
13 Arcana, 17 Listen, 17 Perform, 12 Religion, 17 Sense Motive, 20 Speak Language
-
Rapture of the song (+2 saves), seeker music (10; Song of Life)

15
16/17
Seeker of the Song
+5
+2
+6
+15
13 Arcana, 18 Listen, 18 Perform, 12 Religion, 18 Sense Motive, 23 Speak Language
Green Ear
Subvocalize, seeker music (11; Anthem of Thunder and Pain)

16
17/18
Seeker of the Song
+6
+3
+7
+16
13 Arcana, 19 Listen, 19 Perform, 12 Religion, 19 Sense Motive, 26 Speak Language
-
Seeker music (12; Hymn of Spelldeath)

17
18/19
Seeker of the Song
+6
+3
+7
+16
13 Arcana, 20 Listen, 20 Perform, 12 Religion, 20 Sense Motive, 29 Speak Language
-
Rapture of the song (DR 2/-), seeker music (13; Ballad of Agony Reborn)

18
19/20
Seeker of the Song
+7
+3
+7
+17
13 Arcana, 21 Listen, 21 Perform, 12 Religion, 21 Sense Motive, 32 Speak Language
Extra Music
Seeker music (18; Aria of Everywhere)

19
20/21
Seeker of the Song
+7
+4
+8
+17
13 Arcana, 22 Listen, 22 Perform, 12 Religion, 22 Sense Motive, 35 Speak Language
-
Seeker music (19; Dirge of Songdeath)

20
21/22
Seeker of the Song
+8
+4
+8
+18
13 Arcana, 23 Listen, 23 Perform, 12 Religion, 23 Sense Motive, 38 Speak Language
-
Rapture of the song (freedom of movement), seeker music (20; Hymn of Revealing)

Spells per Day/Spells Known

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

1st
-
4/~ (DN)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

2nd
4/2 (B)
4/~ (DN)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

3rd
4/2 (B)
4/~ (DN)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

4th
4/2 (B)
4/~ (DN)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

5th-19th
5/3 (B)
4/~ (DN), 1/2 (B)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

20th
5/3 (B)
5/~ (DN), 2/2 (B)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

1-9: At HD 1 (ECL 3), we can heal through the Telthor damage using Dread Necromancer's Charnel Touch; as we have a level adjustment, we should have enough XP to have Necropolitan active from level 1, providing our backstory places our bound location somewhere where it is feasible to apply the Necropolitan template. The Telthor damage can break our concentration if we use Fascinate, but apart from that shouldn't be problematic, as we don't really have any other bardic music that requires concentration. If we are a good-aligned character, there's no real loss in taking Dragonborn of Bahamut upon reaching 5HD (as we no longer need Racial Emulation to qualify for anything), but we don't need to be Dragonborn to survive. We can stalk enemies with Charnel Touch from full cover underground; 99% of enemies won't be able to detect us, and most enemies won't be able to retaliate effectively, both due to our full cover and due to our incorporeality. We don't sleep, eat, or drink, and we can heal ourselves to full if they patiently prepare an attack to strike us while we use CT, so much like humans throughout history, we can basically use persistence hunting to wear down enemies and earn XP as long as we aren't downed in a single strike. We can also use Inspire Courage to buff others and leech xp from their exploits from underground, as the ability only requires that those affected be able to hear us, not that we have line of effect; this synergy between music and incorporeality is at the heart of the build. At level 3, Keen Eared Scout makes it a lot easier and more reliable to pinpoint enemy locations to hunt them down. Fell Conspiracy allows us to communicate telepathically with our allies (if we have any), and Subsonics allows us to use our bardic buffs and debuffs without those dirty surface-dwellers (*spit*) becoming aware.

10-15: We can now raise a strong ally and basically lean into the "the big guy's with me" archetype, but without actually having a "me" visably present. Because we don't sleep, we can perform our Song of Awakening basically as long as we want, so our infinite-HP damage-sponge (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?625878-How-Does-Dirgesinger-5-Work) can interact with the physical world for us and do all the heavy lifting. We can communicate with our Pokemon using Fell Conspiracy; the Message mode should work, as we position ourselves in our square such that there is 11 inches or less blocking the spell, but the telepathy mode gives us such a tempting typless buff to listen that it may be worth the gold at times. As we level and encounter stronger or more versatile enemies, we can trade out our minion for a new Pokemon to increase our effective power. As such, this ability scales with the difficulty of the campaign and/or the power of the forces sent to eliminate this villain. Notably, the animated corpse is a creature, so should be able to gain XP and level if we find a creature we really enjoy as a Pokemon. Should they use Greater Turning or some other mechanism to destroy or otherwise disable our Pokemon without using damage, we can stop performing and leave the enemies none the wiser, then snag a new fresh corpse from a safe location elsewhere (or persistence hunt again for a replacement if it seems safe to do so). When Ghostly Grasp comes online, we can interact more easily with the physical world (more of a quality of life pick), and once Combine Songs comes online, we can buff our minion with resistances from underground. If somehow forced to leave the ground by a force effect or something similar, we can use the powerful Seeker songs to fight directly, too.

16-20: This functions more or less as 10-15 did, but we now constantly have a powerful buff active with the addition of the Hymn of Spelldeath. This means that any spellcaster that would be able to hear our Hymn (a very large range; DC 0 +1/10 feet, so assuming folks are taking 10, even a character with average wisdom and no listen ranks would be affected out to 100 feet) were it not modified by Subsonics must make a concentration check to cast a spell (or else lose it) with DC = our perform check. If spellcasters haven't been putting maximum ranks into concentration, or if this villain faces a heroic party of lower level than him, this will no-sell a lot of their tools for combat (and escape). It's a mind-affecting ability, so it won't work on every spellcaster, but if the spellcaster is relying on undead or plant immunities instead of Mind Blank, this should hit them. This grants our damage-proof minion a protective field similar to an AMF. If our minion is a spellcaster themselves, we can deafen them or get them mindblank ahead of time to ensure it is one-sided.

Listen Check: By level 3 (ECL5), our listen when we take 10 is a 29. It's a DC + 10 to pinpoint an unseen creature's location (with Keen Eared Scout), so we should be able to pinpoint most things. It's DC0 to hear people moving around without trying to move silently, so we should also be able to relatively consistently learn their their size, speed, direction of movement, type of armor worn, carried objects, type, and subtypes. It only gets better as we level and gain ranks.

Stealth: As an incorporeal creature, we don't interact with most special senses, and by blocking line of effect by staying underground, we don't interact with most spells, but there are a few abilities that sneak through. Sense Magic (Mageripper Swarm or character who ability-ripped it, 30ft range) and Nemesis (characters with favored enemy, 60ft range), for example, don't require LOE. Total Vision (Ethergaunt, 40ft range) and Earth Sight (Earth Dreamer, 30ft range), more frighteningly allow creatures to just see through the rock, but fortunately have a short-ish range. At a more TO level, Ice Assassin and Metafaculty would allow a spellcaster or psion to learn about our habits or strategies, but the long cast times should create difficulties getting up-to-date information. Epic-CR threats like the Elder Brain have super-senses that reach out hundreds of feet, but by that level we can hopefully afford an item of Mind Blank or some sort of similar protection. We're missing the powerful anti-stealth options of God Blooded of Vecna and Slayer 6's Cerebral Blind, but as long as we try to stay 60 feet away from creatures whose capabilities we aren't familiar with, this should be able to stealth around 99% of creatures in dnd.

Fluff: Along the same lines of Jandar in the competition, I could easily see this character using its minion to abduct potential replacement minions and testing them to see if their capabilities make them a worthwhile replacement. This string of disappearances is a viable plot-hook at any level for a group of heroes. Leaning into the bard theme, such a character may be fascinated with crafting the perfect immortal hero to persist through the ages, time touching them lightly. The world, the might conclude, no longer produces the heroes it once did, and this character might romanticize the idea of rolling up their sleeves and creating new legends the world over, like a curator of oral history rather than a mere record-keeper of it. Like Jandar, this character has access to Ghostly Grasp to use theft as a plot-hook, too.

I wanted to share the work I've done so far, and ask for any suggestions, comments, or constructive criticism. :smallsmile:

I've tried to avoid including items to depend on in the interest of elegance, but I'd definitely be interested to hear any suggestions for items that would be helpful, setting-permitting.

I included a lot of ranks in Speak Language because it's always a class skill for Changelings (drawing me towards leaning into that unique strength), and so that we can communicate via Message to our marks no matter what languages they do or do not possess. However, I'm certain 38 languages may end up being a bit excessive for that task. There may be 88+ languages in 3.5 according to a doc I saw while working on this, but a lot of them are very obscure and spoken by a specific race that also speaks other languages. If anyone has suggestions for skills that may be helpful here in lieu of quite that many ranks, I'd appreciate that, too. Notably, we can pick class skills for Human Paragon, so that could be relevant (even if we end up paying double for them at later levels).

Doctor Despair

2021-01-23, 01:32 PM

I'm a little confused on the templates there - are you actually applying Necropolitan or Telthor at some point? Telthor changes the type to Fey, which would interact strangely with the Changeling's Minor Shape Change ability. You'd need a favorable DM ruling to allow you to use Racial Emulation to still emulate a Half-Elf (since you'd be using Disguise Self to emulate something of a different type, Fey vs Humanoid). Similar thing, with Necropolitan and Undead. I could see a couple ways around it (emulating a half-elf Telthor rather than a half-elf, would probably give you the goodies you want) but I could also see a DM turning it down.

If you're planning this as an encounter, no worries there.

Changelings have the supernatural ability to alter their appearance as though using a disguise self spell that affects their bodies but not their possessions. This ability is not an illusory effect but a minor physical alteration of a changeling's facial features, skin color and texture, and size, within the limits described for the spell. A changeling can use this ability at will, and the alteration lasts until he changes shape again. A changeling reverts to his natural form when killed. A true seeing spell reveals his natural form. When using this ability to create a disguise, a changeling receives a +10 circumstance bonus on Disguise checks. Using this ability is a full-round action.

Changelings should be able to physically change themselves to assume the physical form (for the purposes of non-true seeing appearance) of any creature within the limits of the Disguise Self spell.

You make yourself—including clothing, armor, weapons, and equipment—look different. You can seem 1 foot shorter or taller, thin, fat, or in between. You cannot change your body type. Otherwise, the extent of the apparent change is up to you. You could add or obscure a minor feature or look like an entirely different person.

The spell does not provide the abilities or mannerisms of the chosen form, nor does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or audible (sound) properties of you or your equipment.

If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on the Disguise check.

A creature that interacts with the glamer gets a Will save to recognize it as an illusion.

Following the spell, you can make yourself look like any creature that shares your body type; RAI might include size category, given the height description. It does not say anything about racial type, notably. Helpfully, body type is elaborated on in the Disguise Self description in the PHB (but omitted from the SRD version for some reason):

You make yourself—including clothing,
armor, weapons, and equipment—look
different. You can seem 1 foot shorter or
taller, thin, fat, or in between. You cannot
change your body type. For example, a human caster could look human, humanoid,
or like any other human-shaped bipedal
creature. Otherwise, the extent of the
apparent change is up to you. You could
add or obscure a minor feature or look like
an entirely different person.
The spell does not provide the abilities
or mannerisms of the chosen form, nor
does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or
audible (sound) properties of you or your
equipment. A battleaxe made to look like a
dagger still functions as a battleaxe.
If you use this spell to create a disguise,
you get a +10 bonus on the Disguise check.
A creature that interacts with the glamer
gets a Will save to recognize it as an
illusion. For example, a creature that
touched you and realized that the tactile
sensation did not match the visual one
would be entitled to such a save.

A human-shaped caster can therefore assume the form of any bipedal creatures with two arms, two legs, and no extra appendages that would cause them to not be "human shaped." This includes half-elves, for example, as well as Necropolitans and human-shaped Fey.

Benefit
When you use your minor change shape ability to assume the form of a humanoid creature, you can also emulate any of that humanoid's subtypes. Though you do not gain any of the humanoid's traits, you are considered to be a member of that race for all other purposes (allowing you to use magic items or spells keyed to race, for example). You can also ignore the normal penalty on Disguise checks when disguising yourself as a different race (see the Disguise skill description, page 72 of the Player's Handbook). You can only emulate one race at a time, and you always retain the shapechanger subtype.

When a Telthor Changeling assumes the form of a half-elf while in possession of this feat, they are considered to be a member of that race for all other purposes. This includes entry into race-specific classes, access for race-specific feats, and entry into race-specific templates. As such, a Changeling can apply the Telthor template at level 3 (or level 1 as described here if you then gain 1 level afterward before proceeding), use their Minor Change Shape to assume the form of a Half-Elf, then apply the Necropolitan template.

But to adventure, he'd need something like an Acorn of Far Travel.

I'm guessing you're mentioning this with regard to the Telthor "Bound to the Land" ability; the Dread Necromancer's Charnel Touch allows them to top off their hp at will, so the 1 damage/minute tick isn't a barrier. Alternative ways would be to gain fast healing or take Dragonborn of Bahamut, of course, among other things, but the DN pick should save us a feat and an alignment requirement.