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

The Viscount

2021-05-29, 10:32 PM

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

This time, as correctly guessed, blue means we're doing some Incarnum. Not familiar with the incarnum subsystem? Don't worry, this class barely counts! Turn to Magic of Incarnum and try not to laugh at the names for your levels, this round we're cooking with Spinemeld Warrior!

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 June 13th, 2021 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 June 27th, 2021 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For other systems (Psionics, ToB, Incarnum, etc.) keep track of PP/maneuvers/essentia separately, preferably in a nice neat list.
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). PM if you'd like to contribute to the spreadsheet for access.

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)
Iron Chef CVI: Disciple of Mammon (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?620730-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CVI)
Iron Chef CVII: Insidious Corruptor (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?622560-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CVII)
Iron Chef CVIII: Crimson Scourge (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?624099-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CVIII)
Iron Chef CIX: Tattooed Monk (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?626458-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CIX)
Iron Chef CX: Rage Mage (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?628809-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CX)
Iron Chef CXI: Watch Detective (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?630421-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXI)

The Viscount

2021-05-29, 10:32 PM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One Mistake, One Penalty

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

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

Skills

Allowed:

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

Not allowed:

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

Prereqs

Allowed:

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

Not Allowed:

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

Other general things that are no longer allowed:

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

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.

Venger

2021-05-29, 10:34 PM

I knew this day would come. I'm in to cook.

AvatarVecna

2021-05-29, 10:54 PM

"Alright, so let's take that weird blue class that makes natural attack routines potentially viable, and lock them into a race with a dex penalty and into two-weapon fighting."

WhamBamSam

2021-05-29, 10:57 PM

"Alright, so let's take that weird blue class that makes natural attack routines potentially viable, and lock them into a race with a dex penalty and into two-weapon fighting."They TWF with said natural weapon though, weird as that is, and at Spinemeld Warrior at least waives the Dex requirement for TWF itself.

AvatarVecna

2021-05-29, 11:02 PM

They TWF with said natural weapon though, weird as that is, and at Spinemeld Warrior at least waives the Dex requirement for TWF itself.

Free TWF with natural weapons if you forgo using any others. My impression is that totemist tends towards a "death by a thousand claws" approach to combat, although I'll admit I'm not super-familiar with incarnum stuff in general. Of course, it's also worth mentioning that the PrC only waives the prereqs for TWF specifically, not for Improved Or Greater, so if you're not investing heavily in Dex, it probably ends up worse than if you'd deliberately aimed for TWF, and that's an awful low bar to begin with.

Elves

2021-05-29, 11:30 PM

Interesting that Noble Familiar means you can't be penalized for specific item dependence. I could even see it being used to justify custom magic items. That could be a gimmick.

Khatoblepas

2021-05-30, 12:37 AM

Not familiar with incarnum, but I know exactly what to build. Will probably be vizzinied to heck, but it'll be fun to put together.

I'm in.

Korahir

2021-05-30, 01:04 AM

*sarcasm*The capstone blows my mind. *end of sarcasm*

Can a native speaker enlighten me what the acquired title at level 10 could refer too? Is the month august known for roses?

MultitudeMan

2021-05-30, 01:10 AM

Can a native speaker enlighten me what the acquired title at level 10 could refer too? Is the month august known for roses?
It's not "August", the month, it's "august" the adjective (stress on the second syllable, not the first), which means "respected and impressive". The month August is named after Caesar Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome.

Korahir

2021-05-30, 03:42 AM

It's not "August", the month, it's "august" the adjective (stress on the second syllable, not the first), which means "respected and impressive". The month August is named after Caesar Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome.

Thanks for the clarification. Learned a new word. So the capstone of the class actually accomplished something already :D.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-05-30, 08:11 AM

Power is dead... But I'll see what I can do.

Seerow

2021-05-30, 08:51 AM

It's been years since I've done one of these, but I have an idea that is either terrible and obvious, or amazing, and I am not sure which and plan to find out.

It's time to cook. Breakingbad.jpg

mattie_p

2021-05-30, 12:26 PM

Oh my this is incredibly.... something. I have an idea if I can make it work I'm cooking this time

ciopo

2021-05-30, 12:35 PM

Question about Twin Spine Fightning : does it mean we treat the spines as if they were manufactured weapons for the purpose of full attack?
so at BAB 6 we would do +4/+4/-1 routine?
or do we treat them as two primary natural attack, and do a +6/+6 routine?

Beni-Kujaku

2021-05-30, 01:24 PM

Question about Twin Spine Fightning : does it mean we treat the spines as if they were manifactured weapons for the purpose of full attack?
so at BAB 6 we would do +4/+4/-1 routine?
or do we treat them as two primary natural attack, and do a +6/+6 routine?

Pretty obviously the first, or gaining TWF would not make much sense.

The Viscount

2021-05-30, 01:38 PM

Question about Twin Spine Fightning : does it mean we treat the spines as if they were manifactured weapons for the purpose of full attack?
so at BAB 6 we would do +4/+4/-1 routine?
or do we treat them as two primary natural attack, and do a +6/+6 routine?

If you're two weapon fighting with the spines, treat it like TWFing with manufactured weapons for iteratives.

ciopo

2021-05-30, 01:43 PM

Pretty obviously the first, or gaining TWF would not make much sense.
It's the obvious RAI, yeah, I was not so sure that was RAW, but either way The Viscount has spoken and I'm happy :)

Elves

2021-05-30, 01:55 PM

I've been waiting to throw my hat in the ring for one of the "lolbad" classes and this seems like the time. So I'll judge.

I won't have time to write a novel on each build but I'll make sure to read and understand them all.

Zaq

2021-05-30, 02:20 PM

The ideas I've come up with so far have actually had nothing to do with the class. As in I can remove it entirely and stay just as functional. So I probably won't do that.

There's an awful lot of dead weight on this table here. Don't like that one bit, no sir.

NotInventedHere

2021-05-30, 03:20 PM

Hmmmmm. Hmmmmm. I have a very ridiculous idea. Let's see if I can make it work.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-01, 04:57 AM

To add to the "What were they thinking when writing this?": I just noticed, but how does spinemeld warrior not have Gather Information as a class skill!? They literally have an ability based on it!

ciopo

2021-06-01, 07:07 AM

To add to the "What were they thinking when writing this?": I just noticed, but how does spinemeld warrior not have Gather Information as a class skill!? They literally have an ability based on it!
they probably intended the DC of 15+CL to be meaningful, and not trivial to meet.

From that point of view, it makes sense to me that it's not a class skill.

We're all going to have it anyway, but eh.

What I'm most salty about is the singular bind, soulborn arms bind effects are kinda bleh, we're probably all going to have the same one, if we bind one at all

I'm happy this round is being educational to me in getting a bit more familiar with incarnum, maving essentia around feels like a fun minigame, but the low amount of shapes make it a bit constrained, it'll basically be two soulmelds and the spines that they can be jostled about, assuming a nonincarnium entry

Paragon

2021-06-01, 12:13 PM

This class is a good mess...

On the continuity of fails, does the sentence from the 1st level Twin Spine Fighting : "You cannot combine this ability with attacks using any other weapons." include natural weapons as well ?

Question goes deeper I guess with the Skarn's Natural Weapon (Spines) : "A skarn can't attack with his spines and a weapon wielded by the same arm in the same round." What about unarmed strikes or additional natural weapons such as claws ?

The Viscount

2021-06-01, 08:51 PM

Re: Twin Spine Fighting: Yes, no other weapons.

Re: Skarn Spines: Natural weapons aren't wielded. Unarmed strikes can be made with any part of the body, so can dodge that issue entirely.

Elves

2021-06-01, 09:41 PM

Is it possible the weapon restriction for twin spine fighting is only in reference to the weapons you TWF with? Otherwise, the ability makes no damn sense.

The Viscount

2021-06-01, 09:54 PM

Right. If you are TWFing with spines, you cannot use any other combination of weapons to TWF. (See later post with bold text).

Khatoblepas

2021-06-01, 10:49 PM

Wait, so, if you had secondary natural attacks, such as a bite or tentacle, you can't use them after your iteratives with Twin Spine Fighting? It's a little confusing.

Elves

2021-06-01, 11:43 PM

That's what I was saying. Maybe the intent is for that restriction to only apply to the weps you TWF with, ie your primary and offhand -- if you want spine iteratives, you have to use both spines -- and not to prohibit secondary natural attacks. Otherwise it's a bizarre ability.

Zaq

2021-06-02, 09:40 AM

I won't say that skarn spines are the absolute jankiest PC-facing natural weapons in the game, but man, it's not for lack of trying.

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-02, 10:09 AM

Arm spines are dumb.

Thurbane

2021-06-02, 04:19 PM

Much like Psionics, Incarnum just isn't my thing. I'll neither compete nor judge, but I look forward to the reveal and the wonderful creativeness this forum inspires. :smallsmile:

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-02, 11:24 PM

*sarcasm*The capstone blows my mind. *end of sarcasm*
Is the capstone supposed to be the seventh Essentia point? ...that's almost worse than nothing except a hit die.

It's not "August", the month, it's "august" the adjective (stress on the second syllable, not the first), which means "respected and impressive". The month August is named after Caesar Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome.
August is named after Augustus, and Augustus was named after "august". (Or, well, the slightly different Latin version of the word that the English version was copy-pasted from a few centuries ago.)

Pretty sure this is my first time, but I've got an idea in my head and that's reason enough to dip my toe in.

WhamBamSam

2021-06-02, 11:58 PM

Is the capstone supposed to be the seventh Essentia point? ...that's almost worse than nothing except a hit die.It also raises the class level-based essentia cap on Spine Enhancement.

ciopo

2021-06-03, 12:42 AM

Obviously the capstone is the title!

Bragging rights, in other words

Paragon

2021-06-03, 03:08 AM

ciopo

2021-06-03, 03:18 AM

I'm cooking on the assumption that secondary naturals aren't allowed, per the "no other weapon" wording.The playing field changes quite a bit if it's otherwise.

Doing TWF iteratives with natural attacks is unique enough as a feature already, being granted TWF the feat on top of the spine fightning feels like making sure you're operating at -2/-2 with them instead of -4/-8.

I can see how we would see ourselves adding a bite/tail slap/whatever notclaws to the routine, but it doesn't feel like something they anticipated

Zaq

2021-06-03, 09:39 AM

[. . .] but it doesn't feel like something they anticipated

Welcome to Iron Chef, my friend!

ciopo

2021-06-03, 10:32 AM

Welcome to Iron Chef, my friend!

In the book with the totemist, that has natural attacks in spades, so maybe it was anticipated.

We can assume a bit of competency..... yes?

AvatarVecna

2021-06-03, 12:43 PM

In the book with the totemist, that has natural attacks in spades, so maybe it was anticipated.

We can assume a bit of competency..... yes?

Oh, bless your heart. You still give WotC a little bit of credit.

Elves

2021-06-03, 02:10 PM

I think it's a possible reading. After all, "this ability" is about TWFing with the spines, not necessarily the full attack action in which you do so.

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-03, 03:58 PM

Okay, turns out my idea is terrible. I'll share it once builds are released if anyone cares.

I assume it's alright to share aesthetic ideas related to our builds? Because the thing that kept me going after my first draft turned out to be hilariously underwhelming was the idea of a mineral warrior skarn being basically an obsidian Hork-Bajir, especially once I thought of naming him "the Edged Lord" and giving him a personality to match.
On a related note, I threw together a first-draft pixel animation of the Edged Lord before realizing the build was straight-up inferior to a vanilla fighter at the one thing it was supposed to be good at. I planned to make a few to spice up the Iron Chef submission, but that didn't work out.

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/ff8741eb-1f27-4565-b575-e0200b0bb1c5/dekuu9m-6b8e0350-f28d-40a1-a238-32f01435ab74.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJ IUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQz NzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZT BkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6 W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2ZmODc0MWViLTFmMjctNDU2NS1iNT c1LWUwMjAwYjBiYjFjNVwvZGVrdXU5bS02YjhlMDM1MC1mMjhk LTQwYTEtYTIzOC0zMmYwMTQzNWFiNzQuZ2lmIn1dXSwiYXVkIj pbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.pm8SmnJ3 L6hkGEOPUQugdT5jHCmqgbXLylX0PRLIap4

I'm not super happy with the end result (especially that xenomorph-looking head), but it's not shameful or anything.

mattie_p

2021-06-03, 09:04 PM

.... and submitted. so I will not be judging. Good luck everyone!

Venger

2021-06-03, 10:45 PM

The Viscount

2021-06-03, 10:53 PM

@Viscount, do you confirm this ?

Read over the text some more, and I think I see what's going on. I hope this clarifies. (I edited my earlier post to point here.)

Twin-Spine Fighting's second sentence means that you can TWF with 2 spines, but you cannot TWF with 1 arm's spines and a different weapon. You may TWF, then use other natural attacks as secondary attacks in a full attack.

Some examples, because I think it might be helpful. A skarn armed with a short sword could not use Twin-Spine Fighting to TWF with the short sword as main hand weapon, and the spines as the off hand weapon.
A skarn who has a bite attack could use Twin-Spine Fighting to TWF with 2 spines, and then use the bite as a secondary attack, just like a skarn who has 2 daggers and a bite attack could TWF with the daggers, then use the bite as a secondary attack.

Thurbane

2021-06-03, 11:02 PM

Just a side question: as a 1E player, I was always fascinated and amused that this PrC has "level titles", which were a thing for most classes back in the day.

I vaguely recall there may have been 1 or 2 other 3.5 classes/PrCs that had level titles...or am I imagining things?

ciopo

2021-06-04, 12:39 AM

Read over the text some more, and I think I see what's going on. I hope this clarifies. (I edited my earlier post to point here.)

Twin-Spine Fighting's second sentence means that you can TWF with 2 spines, but you cannot TWF with 1 arm's spines and a different weapon. You may TWF, then use other natural attacks as secondary attacks in a full attack.

Some examples, because I think it might be helpful. A skarn armed with a short sword could not use Twin-Spine Fighting to TWF with the short sword as main hand weapon, and the spines as the off hand weapon.
A skarn who has a bite attack could use Twin-Spine Fighting to TWF with 2 spines, and then use the bite as a secondary attack, just like a skarn who has 2 daggers and a bite attack could TWF with the daggers, then use the bite as a secondary attack.

Ohhh good to know!

What about claws? I'm assuming they compete for the usage of the "limb"

Edit to avoid doubleposting : I feel it would be helpful if we have a chair ruling in how the feats shape soulmeld and open chakra X feats works when taken while having meldshaping classes, which Spinemeld warrior is.

In essence, the possible disputes in that regard are two:
does Shape soulmeld feat grant you one more "soulmelds that can be shaped" per day, or is it just added to the soulmelds "Known"? Example : a 3rd level spinemeld warrior with no other meldshaping classes take the feat "shape soulmeld(A soulmeld not in the soulborn list)", is his limit of shaped soulmelds for a day still 1 per his class levels, or is it 1(from soulborn list) plus whatever soulmeld he selected with shape soulmeldfeat?

Similarly with the "open least/lesser/greater chakra (not arms)", a 7th level spinemeld warrior that took "Open least/lesser/greater chakra(not arms)" feat, how many binds does he have? only one (either arms or whatever other he chose) or two? (1 from class levels and one locked to the feat)?

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-04, 08:27 AM

Hey, that looks pretty good!
Thanks! If only I had a build to go along with it.

I vaguely recall there may have been 1 or 2 other 3.5 classes/PrCs that had level titles...or am I imagining things?
I'm pretty sure there were, but I couldn't say which ones.

Elves

2021-06-04, 01:35 PM

Edit to avoid doubleposting : I feel it would be helpful if we have a chair ruling in how the feats shape soulmeld and open chakra X feats works when taken while having meldshaping classes, which Spinemeld warrior is.

In the case of Open Chakra, we can see that it doesn't add any chakra binds for a meldshaper. The sample Sapphire Hierarch NPC (MOI 142) has Open Chakra Least, but still only has 2 binds, the normal amount for effective incarnate level 6th. That also demonstrates the use case for these feats: multiclass meldshapers, including those in PRCs that advance your meldshaping but not your chakra bind tiers.

In the case of a non-meldshaper, you could argue Open Chakra adds a bind due to this bit on MOI 6:

consider the follow-ing feats and prestige classes from this book, based on your character’s class:
[different classes...]
Any Character: ...Open Greater Chakra, Open Least Chakra, Open Lesser Chakra
If the Open Chakra feats are supposed to benefit any character, their benefit shouldn't rely on having meldshaper levels. But this could be a reference to multiclass characters, as above. And it creates complications: what if you have 3 open chakra feats but then take meldshaper levels that only give you 1 chakra bind? Is it a higher of the two situation? In other words, that requires additional speculative rules, so the simplest interpretation is that Open Chakra never adds binds.

(That's also my preference: I think allowing non-meldshapers chakra binds opens up too much access to meldshaper class features through feats.)

--

But as for Shape Soulmeld, MOI 126 suggests that it does let you shape the soulmeld if you have no meldshaping ability:

The second major requirement for entry is the ability to shape soulmelds. Since one of the greatest benefits of this class is continuous improvement of the character’s meldshaping abilities, taking a level of incarnate is a more effective way to meet this prerequisite than taking a feat that grants the ability to shape a soulmeld

A Shape Soulmeld meld doesn't use your class meldshaper level and the shaping seems to happen independently, which suggests it remains separate from your meldshaping for a particular class and so wouldn't benefit from features like expanded essentia capacity. I don't see anything clarifying whether it would raise a meldshaper's total number of soulmelds but the simplest interpretation is that it would.

ciopo

2021-06-04, 02:04 PM

Ohhh, example creature being useful, that's great! And excellently put! It wrecks havoc with using these feats, but there's the proof :(

but what about the spell/powers that open a chakra? "A creature benefiting from this spell can bind a soulmeld or magic item to his opened chakra just as if he had gained the ability to form a chakra bind from a feat or class feature"

This all could use some editing sigh

Opinion : the "open L/L/G (slot) chkra" feat line let us bind items, but not soulmeld unless a MoI class gives us a bind?

Wouldn't that also make the Skarn monk substitution level useless? the 10th level one, it opens the arms chakra... but the monk doesn't have any "bind" for binding

WhamBamSam

2021-06-04, 03:54 PM

Seerow

2021-06-04, 03:59 PM

mattie_p

2021-06-04, 04:29 PM

If a character had zero levels in an incarnum class, I feel it's obvious that shape soulmeld (x) and open y chakra (z) would allow the character to bind it. Much as taking martial study without taking levels as an initiator creates a separate pool. Even if one later takes a class, it remains separate.

But I'm away from books and this is my personal opinion, I'm not willing to post in the RAW thread without reviewing the rules.

But incarnum is weird. It really would not surprise me if there's an interaction that ends up hurting a character, much like a spectacular success on a knowledge (history) roll forces one to start chasing after Ghularak. :smalleek:

Thurbane

2021-06-04, 04:31 PM

I'm pretty sure there were, but I couldn't say which ones.

I thought Fochlucan Lyrist was one, but on checking, apparently not.

ciopo

2021-06-04, 04:36 PM

When I asked the chair via PM, I got the response that it is open to interpretation by the judges.

Best would be to have the volunteering judges chime in with their criteria and their feels on this matter, so the cooks can plan accordingly :) And Elves has expressed his opinion on this matter, so...

Elves

2021-06-04, 05:28 PM

What we know from the sample NPC on page 142 is that the feats don't grant more binds if you have existing binds from meldshaper levels.

They could still potentially grant a bind if you don't have any binds from class levels.

But in that case, it's unclear what would happen if you had more binds from feats than you later gained from a meldshaper class*. Since we don't have rules for resolving that situation, the most RAW assumption, in my view, is that it doesn't happen, suggesting the other reading (the feat never grants a bind).

*Because of p142, we know they don't stack. So would the meldshaper class(es) overrule the feats, screwing you over? Or would the higher number apply? In that case, what if you take multiple meldshaper classes -- is the "higher number" the sum of all binds granted by your meldshaper levels, or only the highest number granted by a single class? The point isn't which one; it's that we're in speculation territory now, not RAW territory.

The Viscount

2021-06-04, 10:35 PM

I thought it was pretty established consensus that the Open Chakra feats/spells/etc gave you an extra chakra bind that could only be used for that specific chakra. I feel like we even got an explicit ruling to that effect the last time we had a MoI ingredient, though that was under a different chair.

Let's cement it then.

Open Chakra grants you an extra chakra bind that can only be used for that specific chakra.

Shape Soulmeld adds 1 to the number of soulmelds you can shape the first time you take it. If you take it more than once, it merely adds to your list. The feat specifies it doesn't stack, just that you choose a new soulmeld if you take it again.

I recognize that the sample characters don't necessarily abide by these rules, but I'm leery of basing anything on sample characters. They're really all over the place, and very often wrong.

Elves

2021-06-05, 12:26 AM

I'm leery of basing anything on sample characters. They're really all over the place, and very often wrong.
They're also often useful for determining intent. (Another recent example I came across is fist of the forest and monk's AC bonus stacking.)

Like the FAQ, people seem to have taken a few mistakes as a mandate to ignore them. But they should still be presumed accurate unless proven otherwise. Sample characters even more so than FAQs, because they're part of the book.

In this case, it's the one example we have of how Open Chakra is meant to work. And it's clear. So on that one point (meldshapers with existing binds who take Open Chakra), I think the old ruling should be changed.

In any case, I'll see you all once the submissions are in.

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-05, 11:22 AM

(That's also my preference: I think allowing non-meldshapers chakra binds opens up too much access to meldshaper class features through feats.)
While you do make a good argument, I disagree with it.

First, I present a Rules As Interpreted argument: The descriptive text for each Open [adjective] Chakra feat reads "You open up one of your body’s centers of power, allowing you to bind a soulmeld or a magic item to that chakra." It seems obvious to me that the designers intended for this feat to let you bind soulmelds to a given chakra, regardless of whether you could bind soulmelds otherwise.
Second is...well, more of a philosophical difference. You think that meldshaping should be restricted to characters who take meldshaping class levels. I think the point of these feats (and Shape Soulmeld) is to make meldshaping not restricted to those characters.

Like the FAQ, people seem to have taken a few mistakes as a mandate to ignore them. But they should still be presumed accurate unless proven otherwise. Sample characters even more so than FAQs, because they're part of the book.
I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think the sample characters consistently abide by the rules well enough for us to derive rules interpretations purely from the sample characters in the absence of other evidence. (Same for the FAQs, for what that's worth.) They can support other arguments, but they can't be arguments in and of themselves.

Quick disclosure: I recently had an entry in another optimization contest who used Shape Soulmeld and Open Least Chakra to bind a soulmeld to her hands. That might affect my viewpoint. Certainly, having that viewpoint is why I built that character that way.

Elves

2021-06-05, 03:18 PM

Re Greatwyrmgold:

What I said about preference was an aside. It's not the reason for anything else I said there.

Shape Soulmeld actually is stated to add meldshaping ability if you don't have it (MOI 126).
Open Chakra it's not clear what happens if you don't have any existing binds. Only what happens if you do (you don't gain any extra).

I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think the sample characters consistently abide by the rules well enough for us to derive rules interpretations purely from the sample characters in the absence of other evidence. (Same for the FAQs, for what that's worth.) They can support other arguments, but they can't be arguments in and of themselves.
Well, they're in the rulebook. They can be wrong, but burden of evidence is on the reader to disprove them. And where they're demonstrably wrong they should be ignored, but it's not RAW to ignore them without cause.

In this case there's no cause because the feat and spell text are genuinely ambiguous. That's why the indication of intent is valuable.

Troacctid

2021-06-05, 03:53 PM

ciopo

2021-06-05, 04:31 PM

To be fair, a character without spellcasting can still take the feat Spell Focus, so there is precedence for "yes, technically you can take this feat, it won't do anything for you" ( minor funny : in the benefit section they don't say "spells you cast", so every time someone takes a spell focus feat, the DC for that school is increased forever for all casters :D (This works as a nice example for why we shouldn't only look at "benefits" for determining crunch/fluff of feats))

I'm in the camp that it does give us a bind, and I'm happy that Viscount chimed in and ruled it so for this round, but Elves argument and example is good enough reasoning for a "no", too, to me.

Elves

2021-06-05, 04:43 PM

The feat says "You can now bind a soulmeld or magic item to that chakra." I have a hard time agreeing with any reading that says no, you actually can't bind a soulmeld or magic item to that chakra. It plainly says that you can.
You can, but that doesn't mean you have enough binds to.
If I get a permit that says I can now do something, that doesn't mean I have the money in my pocket to go do it.

And if it required you to use up a bind slot from your class, it would say so.
Not necessarily.

The compromise ruling I'd suggest for Open Chakra is that it grants a bind if you don't have any, but not if you do (whether from class levels or another Open Chakra feat).

That's consistent with both the sample character on p 142 and with the "it says you can" argument. It's the same as the current Shape Soulmeld ruling except that it doesn't stack with existing meldshaping, in line with the given example.

ciopo

2021-06-05, 04:45 PM

So, like how if you're going to multiclass with some initiators and take martial study, you better make sure you take martial study before you start taking initiator levels, that way the manouver you've martial studied is always ready? as opposed to the much less useful "added to the manouver known, but no extra readied/granted amount, no sir!"

Well, it's the kind of convoluted shenanigany limitations I like building around, I'll just have to make sure to delay getting meldshaping until after I've taken the open X feat.

It's the kind of weird interactions/limitations that appeals to me strongly.

I don't think I've ever studied Incarnum as much as this week :D

Elves

2021-06-05, 05:07 PM

Order wouldn't matter. The suggestion is that you gain one bind if you don't have binds from other sources.

If you take totemist 2 and Open Hands Chakra, you'd have one bind, regardless of the order you took them in (but you can bind a meld to the hands chakra, which you would otherwise have to wait until totemist 5th for).

Or you could take Shape Soulmeld and Open Chakra with no meldshaper levels, which would also get you one bound soulmeld.

It's up to the Viscount, but I think it's a reasonable compromise that doesn't contradict any of the evidence we have.

ciopo

2021-06-06, 02:15 AM

order would matter, or otherwise you'd "lose" the bind you gained from Open chakra whenever you'd later gain a bind from a meldshaping class, such as Spinemeld warrior.

the most applicable example, and I hope I'm not infringing upon build speculation, is a soulborn 6 taking open least chakra at 6th level, or any other nonIncarnum class that take shape soulmeld and later an open X chakra.

anyway, any class that prior to entering Spinemeld warrior doesn't have any bind. This compromise renders Open chakra just as unusuable, unless we stop at most 6 levels of the SI, which is bleh, or do progress the SI further, but not use the arm bind it gives us, which is further bleh.

I'd rather prefer an all or nothing, or a nuance like martial study, where there is a distinction in behavior if it's taken before or after binds are gained naturally

Your stance "you lose that extra bind if later you gain normal binds" is not much a compromise, I understand it would make the Open chakra line of feat useable for characters that don't take any Incarnum classes.

But within the scope of this round it would be moot/counter to the SI, and you're judging, so I'm okay to abide with your ruling of "it doesn't give any bind".

But chair ruling said otherwise, so regardless of that being RAW or houserule, within the scope of this round, I'd probably treat it as "+1 bind" if I were judging.

Further evidence in support that "they don't give a bind" is that the "extra bind" feat is epic, so yeah, I see it valid that Open chakra doesn't grant a bind.

Elves

2021-06-06, 11:23 AM

anyway, any class that prior to entering Spinemeld warrior doesn't have any bind. This compromise renders Open chakra just as unusuable, unless we stop at most 6 levels of the SI, which is bleh, or do progress the SI further, but not use the arm bind it gives us, which is further bleh.
I don't see how it's unusable there. The SI only grants arms bind. A submission that wants to use chakra bound thunderstep boots might find Open Feet Chakra significantly preferable to taking 4 entire levels of incarnate or 5 of totemist.

Troacctid

2021-06-06, 11:45 AM

Further evidence in support that "they don't give a bind" is that the "extra bind" feat is epic, so yeah, I see it valid that Open chakra doesn't grant a bind.
Bonus Soulmeld is also epic, so I don't think this carries much water.

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-06, 11:50 AM

why are we postulating on nerfing meldshaping on one the most sparse and barebones ingredients offered in a while?

The Viscount

2021-06-06, 01:18 PM

why are we postulating on nerfing meldshaping on one the most sparse and barebones ingredients offered in a while?

We're all wretched and ruined from years of Iron Chef. We don't want gifts to make it better.

Korahir

2021-06-06, 02:23 PM

We're all wretched and ruined from years of Iron Chef. We don't want gifts to make it better.

Yeah, punish us more. Give us Warchief or Shining Blade so we can rejoice at Spinemeld Warrior.

Despite my initial disdain for the class I learned to like it. Heck, I want to play my build I just submitted. Good luck to everyone.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-06, 02:33 PM

Yeah, punish us more. Give us Warchief or Shining Blade so we can rejoice at Spinemeld Warrior.

Despite my initial disdain for the class I learned to like it. Heck, I want to play my build I just submitted. Good luck to everyone.

That's when you have Stockholm syndrome towards a fictional character that you created yourself that you know you've spent to much time in the playground.

ciopo

2021-06-06, 03:09 PM

It's not that bad, certainly better than Soulborn....

Has there been IC rounds where the SI was a base class? I gave a look at the list in the chair OP and at a spot they all seemed PrC to me, also I'm going to read the incandescent champion round now, toots!

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-06, 09:02 PM

Yeah, punish us more. Give us Warchief or Shining Blade so we can rejoice at Spinemeld Warrior.
That's not healthy. If you can't find joy in this competition except through ever-escalating suffering, you'll eventually end up submitting a Truenamer build and realizing there's nowhere left to go.

Zaq

2021-06-06, 10:52 PM

That's not healthy. If you can't find joy in this competition except through ever-escalating suffering, you'll eventually end up submitting a Truenamer build and realizing there's nowhere left to go.

I mean, I've taken silver with that. Gold, even, technically (in that the build had more levels in truenamer than in any other base class)...

Korahir

2021-06-06, 11:53 PM

That's not healthy. If you can't find joy in this competition except through ever-escalating suffering, you'll eventually end up submitting a Truenamer build and realizing there's nowhere left to go.
That's the beauty of 3.5 dnd to me. There is always somewhere to go to. Also isn't it lovely to spice up some throwaway potato with horseraddish, sour cream and salt and turn it into a beautiful baked potato?

ftafp

2021-06-07, 12:31 AM

That's not healthy. If you can't find joy in this competition except through ever-escalating suffering, you'll eventually end up submitting a Truenamer build and realizing there's nowhere left to go.

or worse, moving to 5e and spending your nights scouring the sourcebooks for something vaguely resembling a rule until the aneurysms rock you to sleep

Karl Aegis

2021-06-08, 12:17 PM

So you get a sole primary natural weapon that you add Strength and a half to your damage rolls, but can make iterative attacks as if it were a light weapon. Neat way to get more than one attack with a natural weapon. It's not a bad alternative to Two-Weapon Fighting.

Of course, the sample characters aren't consistent either way. So, who knows.

ciopo

2021-06-08, 12:23 PM

The way I parse spine fightning, it overrides the usual "a single natural weapon does 1.5 str bonus damage" with the light weapon 0.5 str bonus damage

Karl Aegis

2021-06-08, 02:04 PM

The way I parse spine fightning, it overrides the usual "a single natural weapon does 1.5 str bonus damage" with the light weapon 0.5 str bonus damage

A light weapon wielded in the primary hand still uses the full strength bonus of the wielder.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-09, 06:36 AM

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-09, 06:56 AM

Hey friends!

Life seems to be (hopefully) back on track, after a very confusing period of time. I'll try cooking for this one, I think, even though I have no concrete ideas at the moment. Two questions for the chair:

1. Did we ever get an answer on claws? They're usually unavailable when fighting with weapons, but the spines don't really occupy the hands...

2. If we replace TWF with another feat as per the class feature, do we need to have the required Dex for that feat? It would seem the answer is yes, but I thought I'd make sure.

Good luck guys!

The return of the halfling! Glad to hear that! Good cooking!

1. Don't think we have had an answer

2. Explicitly yes. The spinemeld warrior says "any feat for which you qualify", which includes Dex requirements.

The Viscount

2021-06-09, 10:45 PM

Hey friends!

Life seems to be (hopefully) back on track, after a very confusing period of time. I'll try cooking for this one, I think, even though I have no concrete ideas at the moment. Two questions for the chair:

1. Did we ever get an answer on claws? They're usually unavailable when fighting with weapons, but the spines don't really occupy the hands...

2. If we replace TWF with another feat as per the class feature, do we need to have the required Dex for that feat? It would seem the answer is yes, but I thought I'd make sure.

Good luck guys!

1. If you're asking whether the skarn spines as detailed in the race writeup preclude you from using claws:
Claws are not wielded, so skarn spines would not stop you. If the claws you gain have a restriction that would prevent you, that takes precedence.

2. Yes, you must qualify for the feat.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-10, 03:14 AM

1. If you're asking whether the skarn spines as detailed in the race writeup preclude you from using claws:
Claws are not wielded, so skarn spines would not stop you. If the claws you gain have a restriction that would prevent you, that takes precedence.

2. Yes, you must qualify for the feat.

Thank you! That was what I meant to ask.

Zaq

2021-06-10, 09:58 AM

AnimeTheCat

2021-06-10, 11:20 AM

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with this class. Basically everything I've come up with so far only works despite the SI rather than because of the SI. Which, you know, I tend to notice when I judge and I tend to ding people for.

I'm going to keep trying but I'm getting a little discouraged. I've already put together more than one build skeleton and just thrown it away because I don't like it.

I feel like the SI just isn't bringing... anything... that only it can do. I'm searching as well, but not finding much that can't already be done, or is already done better by something else.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-10, 11:20 AM

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with this class. Basically everything I've come up with so far only works despite the SI rather than because of the SI. Which, you know, I tend to notice when I judge and I tend to ding people for.

I'm going to keep trying but I'm getting a little discouraged. I've already put together more than one build skeleton and just thrown it away because I don't like it.

Yeah‚ it's not a good class. Silver lining! It's not a good race either.

ciopo

2021-06-10, 11:30 AM

Personally, I did identify a niche it seemingly fits in, I don't know if it falls under the umbrella of build speculation to talk about it tho.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-10, 11:48 AM

Personally, I did identify a niche it seemingly fits in, I don't know if it falls under the umbrella of build speculation to talk about it tho.

I'm pretty sure it does. Keep it for yourself, we will amaze at your creation during the reveal. Right now, sulking only!

Seerow

2021-06-10, 01:18 PM

Personally, I did identify a niche it seemingly fits in, I don't know if it falls under the umbrella of build speculation to talk about it tho.

I'm also pretty proud of where mine has shaped up. Curious to see if we found the same thing or not. Just hoping I get internet back soon so I can finish my formatting and submit on time, because that is one thing I definitely don't want to be stuck doing on a phone.

Troacctid

2021-06-10, 02:26 PM

Did we ever get an answer on claws? They're usually unavailable when fighting with weapons, but the spines don't really occupy the hands...
It doesn't really matter, does it? Twin spine fighting can't be combined with any other weapon, natural or otherwise.

ciopo

2021-06-10, 03:02 PM

The Viscount said otherwise, :

Read over the text some more, and I think I see what's going on. I hope this clarifies. (I edited my earlier post to point here.)

Twin-Spine Fighting's second sentence means that you can TWF with 2 spines, but you cannot TWF with 1 arm's spines and a different weapon. You may TWF, then use other natural attacks as secondary attacks in a full attack.

Some examples, because I think it might be helpful. A skarn armed with a short sword could not use Twin-Spine Fighting to TWF with the short sword as main hand weapon, and the spines as the off hand weapon.
A skarn who has a bite attack could use Twin-Spine Fighting to TWF with 2 spines, and then use the bite as a secondary attack, just like a skarn who has 2 daggers and a bite attack could TWF with the daggers, then use the bite as a secondary attack.

I suppose it comes down to the same reason that feats that do something with "melee weapons" do not grant their effects/bonuses to natural attacks, like melee mastery, for example.

Khatoblepas

2021-06-10, 03:22 PM

My build is coming along great, I think I've found something cool you can do with Spinemeld Warrior.

Though can I just say that Soulborn soulmelds are absolutely terrible? They're easily the least whelming of all the soulmelds.

Can I get a ruling on what magic items we can get with Noble Familiarity? Is it just pre-existing magic items or can we get custom magical items from it?

mattie_p

2021-06-12, 06:59 AM

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-12, 07:12 AM

Well, we're about 24 hours(ish) from the big reveal, time for everyone to go full Vizzini and completely re-do their entries from scratch! Viscount, you should probably clean your inbox to prepare for the surge.

How's the cooking everyone? Do we have any judges besides Elves?

Just finished my entry and submitted it. I think I would like to play this character, even though they might not be really adapted to an optimization contest.

My build is coming along great, I think I've found something cool you can do with Spinemeld Warrior.

Congrats! I look forward to it...

Zaq

2021-06-12, 01:18 PM

I'm out. I'm just not having fun with this entry, and a joyless entry never does well. Cheers to everyone who gets something in with this dud of an ingredient. I'll share a stub or two after the builds are up.

Khatoblepas

2021-06-12, 01:30 PM

I just submitted my build, and I had the most fun with it I ever could. If I get Vizzinied this round, it would be the most hilarious thing ever.

Seerow

2021-06-12, 01:33 PM

My build is submitted. I had a solid stub for a second build I wanted to try make work, but didn't have enough time.

mattie_p

2021-06-12, 01:43 PM

I just submitted my build, and I had the most fun with it I ever could. If I get Vizzinied this round, it would be the most hilarious thing ever.

I do believe that Vizzini refers to second-guessing yourself, and not submitting a build using a good idea you had, for fear that others would do the same, and thus lose on originality. I'm not sure what the proper terminology would be for duplicating a crazy idea. I'm sure we already have the word, it just escapes me.

The Viscount

2021-06-12, 04:32 PM

If you have a highly similar build with someone else as a result of you dancing around using/not using the same concept, I'd still say there was Vizzini going on and about. If both entries do worse as a consequence, you could refer to the specific instance as Vizzini's game, like cat's game in tic-tac-toe.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-12, 04:52 PM

Khatoblepas

2021-06-12, 05:04 PM

Should we understand this kind of comment from the chair as a confirmation that there were similar builds in there?

I think they were just commenting on the use of the word Vizzini.

I can't wait to see everyone's builds, it's going to be very exciting!

Thurbane

2021-06-12, 07:09 PM

I commit to my build and will not change a thing, even if Originality ends up in 0. Mostly because it works, and it wouldn't work as well otherwise. Also, because it's a build I did over...what, four or five years ago, waiting for this exact challenge to appear?

My gut instinct, though, is that it'll probably do well in USI, save for perhaps one little thing which I'll withhold to mention. Power and Elegance will be the do-or-die in here, though.

And again: gold or nothing.

Trust in yourself. I'm sure your entry will be top notch! :smallsmile:

I know there's been a couple of comps where I didn't enter because I thought my entry was too...obvious? And almost every time I've kicked myself after the reveal because my build probably would have scored quite well.

https://i0.wp.com/technocraticmethod.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Vizzini.png

Troacctid

2021-06-12, 07:25 PM

I personally think it's important for these contests to include the "obvious" execution of the prestige class, because future generations of optimizers will look back to us for inspiration one day, and they deserve to see good, clean, simple builds in addition to the weird and wacky ones.

The Viscount

2021-06-12, 09:01 PM

Should we understand this kind of comment from the chair as a confirmation that there were similar builds in there?

No, it is not.

WhamBamSam

2021-06-12, 09:51 PM

Should we understand this kind of comment from the chair as a confirmation that there were similar builds in there?
No, it is not.Viscount is a consummate professional and would never confirm such a thing.

Doing two entries again and both are now in. Excited for the reveal.

Karl Aegis

2021-06-12, 10:34 PM

My build sucked, so I'll judge.

mattie_p

2021-06-12, 11:37 PM

Viscount is a consummate professional and would never confirm such a thing.

Semi-trained quasi-professional (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0358.html), at a minimum.

But I gotta zoom in on something you said.

Doing two entries again and both are now in. Excited for the reveal.

Doing two entries again

two entries

Wut?

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-13, 01:08 AM

Semi-trained quasi-professional (https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0358.html), at a minimum.
But I gotta zoom in on something you said.

Wut?

You can submit as many builds as you want‚ if you have the inspiration. But mad respect to him for 2 builds with this SI

mattie_p

2021-06-13, 01:22 AM

Oh I know we can do multiple entries, I'm just not sure why anyone would want to

ciopo

2021-06-13, 01:26 AM

I did two too ...

and have an "obvious" idea for a third

and they're all quite distinct from each other, not little variations like "base class X instead of Y"

Krym

2021-06-13, 01:37 AM

Just submitted my build. Still new to this thing but I like how it turned out :D

Piggy Knowles

2021-06-13, 11:24 AM

I had a build I liked, got halfway through the write-up and got bored, hammered something else out very quickly and submitted. Is it my best work ever? We'll see! (Spoiler alert: it is not.)

Khatoblepas

2021-06-13, 11:37 AM

I'm rubbing my little paws together waiting for the builds to be posted, I really want to see what direction people went with! Incarnum is super hard to work with.

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-13, 08:37 PM

Before the contest continues I just want you all to know that whatever happens, it’s the skarns fault.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-14, 12:20 AM

Before the contest continues I just want you all to know that whatever happens, it’s the skarns fault.

Guys‚ I believe we have an undercover Rilkan here

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-14, 11:09 AM

Do we have any judges besides Elves?
I'm willing to judge, though whether we have any good judges besides Elves is yet to be determined.

My build sucked, so I'll judge.
Okay, that ruined the joke. But I'll still try judging.

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-14, 08:28 PM

Guys‚ I believe we have an undercover Rilkan here

Don’t believe this demagoguery, I definitely submitted a skarn...

Remember the old skarn adage:

“if you hear something silken, it was probably a rilkan.”

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:46 PM

Long day at work. Reveal now, comments later.

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:48 PM

Who wouldn't want to be a Skarn?

N. Sept-Chyon

https://i.imgur.com/ly3pqbe.png

LN Changeling -> Dwarf -> Skarn Changeling Rogue 1 / Duskblade 4 / Cloistered Cleric 1 / Warshaper 2 / Incarnate 1 / Shaper of Form 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 10

Umbara Dal rode the chariot down the avenue, a purple mantle draped over his brightly shined mithril plate armor. Rose petals fluttered in the breeze, flung into the air by the cheering crowds from windows and rooftops. He grinned and waved, victorious. His companion stood beside him, staring only at Umbara's ear.

"Remember, Umbara, thou art mortal," Iskadro said to Umbara. "Memento te esse mortale."

The words took the smile from Umbara's face. Yet he kept waving to the adoring masses. No one seemed to notice, or if they did, they guessed at the exchange.

"I know, old friend, I remember. Every day," Umbara replied.

Eventually the chariot arrived outside the coliseum. Umbara dismounted and started walking inside.

"Aren't you going to pay your respects in temple?" Iskadro asked.

"Not today, Iskadro, the council meeting starts within the hour, and I have reports to peruse."

"You know, it doesn't get easier avoiding the priests. Eventually the gods and their servants get their due."

"Iskadro, you know that the clergy and I ... don't exactly see eye to eye. Best for us all if I abstain."

Iskadro looked at Umbara and sighed. "Very well, I know you to be a stubborn man. Your will be done, most August Perfect of Roses. By your leave."

He bowed swiftly, then turned away. Umbara stood and watched as Iskadro walked across the courtyard, up the marble steps into the temple. "If only it were that easy, O Wind of the North."

---------------

"... The last agenda item is the matchups for the Feast of the Founders tomorrow. There being no active blood fueds nor rank challenges, I propose that the duels be selected, as is tradition, by the drawing of lots, overseen by the High Priest. Are there any objections?"

Umbara scanned the room. He opened his mouth to speak, when Iskadro cut in.

"Umbara, there is one rank challenge that you were not told about. Until now. Vorgara Kel, known as 'The Black,' has traveled for 3 moons and has sent word to us. She means to challenge you in front of the eyes of the gods and of the city."

Umbara looked Iskadro in the eyes, not a glimmer of a smile on his face. "I know Vorgara. I look forward to see her try."

Therin walked into his apartment, shut the door quietly behind himself, then threw his backpack across the room.

Blast these constant challengers. Will I never get some rest?

Therin reminded himself of the day that the Dwarven elders sent him to live here, in this city, wearing skin not his own, so far far away from the hold-under-the-mountain.

Corruption abounds. The priests of this fat land are all on the take. They think nothing of sabotaging the lots - in front of the gods, no less - to make a few gold pieces on the betting odds. The rot goes all the way to the top, I have enough information to bring this city down, priests, the Heirarchy, and all the nobility too.

Therin stroked his beard, then plucked idly at his arm spines, listening to the gentle twang.

At least I'll be rid of these spines one day. But I can never seem to grow a beard just right, not in a long time.

Therin grabbed a glass of wine then sat down in the arm chair. He had a few moments before he was to change and join some "friends" for dinner.

Perhaps after this next fight, they will send the messenger with the correct signs. I can give them all this information and we can finally burn this lawless heirarchy to the ground.

How long can I keep doing this? I don't even remember who I am anymore. Am I in too deep? How would I even know? Am I ruler or am I a pawn? Whose face do I wear? What does it mean to live among a people but to be apart? I ask these questions, and no one responds. But I still wonder. Did I do a good job? And how would I even know?

32 Point Buy, no racial adjustments at level 1.

Abilities Initial Level 4 Level 8 Level 8 (Warshaper 2) Level 12 Level 16 Level 20
Str 10 10 10 14 (+4) 14 14 14
Dex 15 16 (+1) 17 (+1) 17 17 18 (+1) 18
Con 11 11 11 15 (+4) 16 (+1) 16 16
Int 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
Wis 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 (+1)
Cha 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

Languages: Common, Dwarven, Draconic, Celestial

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Changeling Rogue 1 +0 +0 +2 +0 Balance 4, Bluff 4, Craft (Flower Arranging) 4, Diplomacy 4, Disguise 4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 4, Knowledge (Nobility) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 4, Tumble 4, UMD 4 Able Learner, Two-Weapon Fighting (b) Social Intuition (Ex) (sub level), Fighter Bonus Feat (ACF)
2nd Duskblade 1 +1 +2 +2 +2 Balance 5 (+1), Bluff 5 (+1), Craft (Flower Arranging) 4, Diplomacy 4, Disguise 4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 4, Knowledge (Nobility) 3 (+1), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5 (+1), Tumble 5 (+1), UMD 4 N/A Arcane Attunement, Armored Mage (Light)
3rd Duskblade 2 +2 +3 +2 +3 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 1 (+1), Craft (Flower Arranging) 5 (+1), Diplomacy 4, Disguise 5 (+1), Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5 (+1), Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 4, Knowledge (Nobility) 3, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 5 (+1) Racial Emulation, Combat Casting (b) Combat Casting
4th Duskblade 3 +3 +3 +3 +3 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 3 (+2), Craft (Flower Arranging) 6 (+1), Diplomacy 4, Disguise 5, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 4, Knowledge (Nobility) 4 (+1), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 6 (+1) N/A Arcane Channeling
5th Duskblade 4 +4 +4 +3 +4 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 4 (+1), Craft (Flower Arranging) 7 (+1), Diplomacy 5 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 4, Knowledge (Nobility) 5 (+1), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 7 (+1) N/A Armored Mage (Medium)
6th Cloistered Cleric 1 +4 +6 +3 +6 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5 (+1), Craft (Flower Arranging) 8 (+1), Diplomacy 6 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 6 (+2), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 6 (+2), Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 9 (+2) Extra Favored Class (Duskblade)*, Great Fortitude (b), Knowledge Devotion (ACF), Law Devotion (ACF) Turn Undead, Dwarf Domain
7th Warshaper 1 +4 +8 +3 +6 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 8 (+2), Disguise 5, Gather Information 7 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 7 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 10 (+1) Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons
8th Warshaper 2 +5 +9 +4 +7 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 9 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 9 (+2), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 8 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 11 (+1) Morphic Body
9th Incarnate 1 +5 +11 +4 +9 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 10 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 10 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 10 (+2), Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 12 (+1) Spell Focus (Transmutation) Aura, detect opposition
10th Shaper of Form 1 +5 +13 +4 +11 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 12 (+2), Disguise 5, Gather Information 11 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 11 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 13 (+1) N/A Like Begets Like, Modify Self: Renaissance (Skarn), +1 Level Spellcasting (advancing Duskblade)
11th Spinemeld Warrior 1 +6 +15 +4 +11 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 13 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 13 (+2), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 12 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 5, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 14 (+1) Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (b) Twin Spine Fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting
12th Spinemeld Warrior 2 +7 +16 +4 +11 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 14 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 14 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 13 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 6 (+1), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 15 (+1) Urban Tracking Noble familiarity, spine enhancement
13th Spinemeld Warrior 3 +8 +16 +5 +12 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 15 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 15 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 15 (+2), Knowledge (Nobility) 6, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 16 (+1) N/A N/A
14th Spinemeld Warrior 4 +9 +17 +5 +12 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 16 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 16 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 16 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 7 (+1), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 17 (+1) N/A N/A
15th Spinemeld Warrior 5 +10 +17 +5 +12 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 17 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 18 (+2), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 17 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 7, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 18 (+1) Resourceful Buyer Spine rend
16th Spinemeld Warrior 6 +11 +18 +6 +13 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 18 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 19 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 18 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 7, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 18, Collector of Stories N/A N/A
17th Spinemeld Warrior 7 +12 +18 +6 +13 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 19 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 20 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 19 (+1), Knowledge (Nature) 1 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 8 (+1), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 18, Collector of Stories N/A Chakra bind (arms)
18th Spinemeld Warrior 8 +13 +19 +6 +13 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 21 (+2), Disguise 5, Gather Information 21 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 20 (+1), Knowledge (Nature) 2 (+1), Knowledge (Nobility) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 18, Collector of Stories Improved Initiative N/A
19th Spinemeld Warrior 9 +14 +19 +7 +14 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 22 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 22 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 22 (+2), Knowledge (Nature) 2, Knowledge (Nobility) 9 (+1), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 18, Collector of Stories N/A Adamantine spines
20th Spinemeld Warrior 10 +15 +20 +7 +14 Balance 5, Bluff 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Flower Arranging) 8, Diplomacy 23 (+1), Disguise 5, Gather Information 23 (+1), Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 2, Knowledge (Local) 23 (+2), Knowledge (Nature) 2, Knowledge (Nobility) 11 (+2), Knowledge (Religion) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, UMD 18, Collector of Stories N/A N/A

Level Class Arcane 0th Arcane 1st Arcane 2nd ---- Divine 0th Divine 1st ---- Soulmelds (Incarnate) Soulmelds (Spinemeld) Essentia Chakra Binds
1st Changeling Rogue 1 - - - ---- - - ---- - - - -
2nd Duskblade 1 3 3 - ---- - - ---- - - - -
3rd Duskblade 2 4 4 - ---- - - ---- - - - -
4th Duskblade 3 5 5 - ---- - - ---- - - - -
5th Duskblade 4 6 6 - ---- - - ---- - - - -
6th Cloistered Cleric 1 6 6 - ---- 3 1+1 ---- - - - -
7th Warshaper 1 6 6 - ---- 3 1+1 ---- - - - -
8th Warshaper 2 6 6 - ---- 3 1+1 ---- - - - -
9th Incarnate 1 6 6 - ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 - 1 0
10th Shaper of Form 1 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 - 1 0
11th Spinemeld Warrior 1 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 0 1 0
12th Spinemeld Warrior 2 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 0 2 0
13th Spinemeld Warrior 3 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 1 3 0
14th Spinemeld Warrior 4 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 1 4 0
15th Spinemeld Warrior 5 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 1 4 0
16th Spinemeld Warrior 6 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 1 5 0
17th Spinemeld Warrior 7 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 2 6 1
18th Spinemeld Warrior 8 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 2 7 1
19th Spinemeld Warrior 9 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 2 7 1
20th Spinemeld Warrior 10 6 6 3 ---- 3 1+1 ---- 2 2 8 1

By level 5 N. Sept-Chyon has a single level of Changeling Rogue for a million skills and 4 levels in duskblade. Able learner allows all skills going forward to be bought at the in-class rate, but doesn't change max skill ranks. Knowledge (Arcana) is not normally a Rogue Skill but the Changeling Sub Level adds a single knowledge skill. Fortunately once we get the rest of the knowledges as a Duskblade this is no longer an issue. We wait on Craft (Alchemy) until there are spellcaster levels. Some of the skills are purchased just for synergy / utility. We're a little weaker than a standard Duskblade, mostly because we're MAD, can't do much about that except press on to the good stuff.

**I'm going to mention Extra Favored Class here instead of the next snapshot. We won't start incurring multi-class XP penalties until the Cleric dip at level 6, but we need to start preparing for it now. We select Racial Emulation now so we can get the XP feat at 6, and also because we need to be a dwarf before we can be a cleric of Moridin. If you don't think multiclass penalties are a thing, great! I'd vastly prefer to take Improved Initiative at level 6. Elegance or power hit either way. Power is already tanked so we'll go with less power to avoid a possible elegance hit.

We take duskblade 4 levels to get Armored Casting (Medium) which means ultimately, when we can afford it, we wear Mithril Fullplate. Started putting ranks in UMD and we basically max it out from here on out. We're gonna need something from this build, 2nd level duskblade spells won't cut it long-term. I'm well aware that Changeling Racial Emulation is a known entry for racially restricted prestige classes, which is why I'm using it to emulate dwarf and using a different, lesser known method, to become a Skarn. If you can't awe them with your power, impress them with originality!

Tactics: Useful spells at low levels include Obscuring mist (concealment), True Strike (+20 to hit, ignores concealment), Shocking Grasp, Color Spray (status effects), Chill Touch, Blade of Blood, and Bigby's Tripping Hand (prone enemies are good). We do have two-weapon fighting, which helps when we are low or out of spells. We never pick up the Somatic Weaponry feat so disposable daggers as an off-hand weapon (either melee or thrown) are acceptable.

So 4 different classes in 5 levels here, each plays an important part. Cloistered Cleric is a favorite dip for a reason. This adds Knowledge and Law Devotion, giving us some insight bonuses to attack and damage rolls (knowledge devotion, every combat), and sacred bonuses to attack rolls or AC (for Law Devotion, starts at twice a day). Mostly focus on Knowledge Local for the eventual ceremonial duels against other Skarn. We're going to be a city-dweller for sure, but have enough ranks in most of the other knowledges for small boosts. Cleric also nets us a few more transmutation spells known to let us enter Shaper of Form.

Next we detour through Warshaper, which allows us to eventually grow spines that we can enhance in Spinemeld Warrior. Immunity to stunning and critical hits are very nice boosts for a melee fighter. 2nd level also nets +8 in physical ability scores (+4 STR, +4 CON), which this build sorely needs both for melee and meldshaping. Some might point out that warshaper class features "function only when the warshaper is in a form other than her own." N. Sept-Chyon is consistently in the form of a dwarf at this point, which is not their natural form. "A changeling reverts to his natural form when killed."

Incarnate gets us an essentia pool which we need to get into Spinemeld Warrior. We delayed entry into a meld-shaping class until we had a high enough CON score to shape all the soulmelds the class will permit. It offers a lot of utility soulmelds that we will be using through-out the rest of the levels.

Finally we jump into Shaper of Form, whose Modify Self: Renaissance ability definitely 100% changes your race when you get it. It's unclear exactly how it works mechanically, because it doesn't change type (and therefore probably not subtype?) and doesn't change abilities. I think you're supposed to erase your previous race and pencil in the new one? So anyhow, now we're no longer a changeling pretending to be a dwarf, that's old news, Skarn is where it's at. We're still taking UMD, Diplomacy, and Gather Information, which will pay off soon.

Tactics: Somewhere in this range we start being able to reliably UMD wands. Let's look at level 9. UMD is: 12 (ranks) + 2 (CHA modifier) + 4 Mage's spectacles soulmeld (insight) = +18 to checks. N. Sept-Chyon only fails on a natural 1, and that risk goes away at level 10. So we place a wand chamber in our primary weapon, wand of Nerveskitter. We can use that as a flatfooted immediate action, when combined with Bluesteel Bracers soulmeld we get a + 3 (DEX mod) + 5 (Nerveskitter - untyped) + 2 (soulmeld - insight), or a total of + 10 on initiative (+14 if I don't need to take extra favored class feat and instead get Improved Init). In following rounds they will roll their knowledge devotion check, activate law devotion (swift action, will wait for round 2 as we already used the swift as an immediate when rolling initative) (+3 sacred bonus to AC or attack, determined by the result of the knowledge check), and go from there. Higher level wands are mostly out of reach due
to cost for now, but partially charged wands of greater invisibility, haste, web, glitterdust, etc, are well appreciated when we find them.

Now we finally qualified for Spinemeld Warrior and we enter the class. Wee! We already have two-weapon fighting so I pickup improved two-weapon fighting for iterative attacks with both arm-spines. And then we can rend at level 15. But since we have still have little in the way of spells or meldshaping or anything, we're going to outsmart them.

So Knowledge (Nobility) is a class skill and there's a whole ability (Noble Familiarity) dedicated to it, we get a boost to the knowledge check but I've looked everywhere and can't really engage in shenanigans with it. Any useful check against Know (Nobility) has an identical DC in Know (Local), so this serves as a backup knowledge check. And buried in the same paragraph is the pseudo-class skill of Gather Information along with a new use for it. It allows us to learn the name of the seller for a particular item. Bingo. Changeling Rogue allows me to take 1d4+1 x 10 minutes for a Gather information check. So 20-50 minutes instead of 2-5 hours. But just knowing the name doesn't exactly do us any good, we gotta find them too! That's where Urban Track comes in. Urban Tracking allows us, if the seller is moving about, to follow them, or to find them. Takes 1-3 checks to find a guy in a hamlet using gather information, so while my competition is taking 6-15 hours, w
e're at 3 hours tops. It's even longer in a major city. So Urban Tracking is a flat 1 hour, (instead of 1d4+1 hours), and by adding 5 to the DC we can reduce that in half to 30 minutes.

Does that stack with Changeling Rogue? Sadly, both - as written - are flat times or time ranges, instead of a % time reduction. But there's an argument to be made that if Urban Track reduced from 1d4+1 hours to a flat 1, then UT combined with Changeling Rogue reduces 1d4+1x10 minutes to a flat 10 minutes. Cut in half to 5 minutes and we're flying around town buying up all the good items that our competition wants for their next fight. If you go for that sort of thing. Even if the combination doesn't work mechanically, each ability alone allows me find and buy way faster than the competition.

With Strong Gather Information and Knowledge (Local) skills, I'm getting the scoop on the competition and buying stuff to specifically target their weak areas or neutralize their strengths. And with a wand of Guidance of the Avatar (+20 competence), plus Truthseeker goggles soulmeld, and we have no problem reaching "epic" uses of gather information (taking a -20 penalty to gather information without arousing suspicion). They don't even know we're looking. (18 ranks + 2 CHA +3 CHA Item +20 guidance of avatar* (competence) +2 Synergy (know-local) +8 Truthseeker goggles w/ 3 essentia (insight) is a +53 to gather information check at level 15. I can take 10 for a total of 63. Subtract 20 to avoid suspicion, so 43. Check is 15 + CL so I can find a seller for items up to caster level 28 at level 15 without arousing suspicion. With resourceful buyer, I treat every community I'm shopping in as if it were 1 size larger for the gp limit on items I can source. *Don't care for gu
idance of the avatar? We could use a wand of Divine Insight (Spell Compendium) with a boosted CL of 10 instead. That drops us to a +15 instead of 20, so we can only shop for CL 23 items without anyone knowing.

Finally we never pay list price for items, getting a 10% discount on every purchase due to haggling and my diplomacy ranks (Take 10 + 56 (more synergies) (silvertongue mask at throat) = 66). Remember I can shift essential around as a swift, easy to pump these checks out of combat. Now that we're loaded for war, we change loadout to prepare for the duels.

So if gather information is the pseudo-class skill that let's us find magic items, then UMD is the silent and unmentioned pseudo-pseudo-class skill that we need to take advantage of the items we just scored. So before the duel we load up mage's spectacles for another boost for UMD - don't even need to bind it to a chakra, just drop some essentia in there. (We have two load-outs, shopping and fighting). No I can't take 10 here but with a +38 (18 ranks +2 CHA +3 CHA Item +10 Mage's specs** insight +5 Spellsight Spectacles** competence) we can use a scroll at CL 19 if I roll a natural 1. We can emulate yet another race if we wanted. Natural 1s are not my enemy here. **Note, per MoI p50 we can have soulmelds occupy the same body slot as a magic item and gain the benefits of both, so long as the soulmeld isn't bound to a chakra there. So yes, they benefit from both the soulmeld and the item.

Tactics: What items, you ask? I'm not going to list every item, the point is that I can find out what the other guy's tricks are (via gather information) and counter them, by either a) buying what he wants before he can, or b) buying something he can't even use (without their knowledge) and using it against them. But let's talk a few items. I already mentioned boosting initiative checks above. That's going to be pretty important. There's some interesting incarnum spells we can UMD via scrolls at this point. An interesting wand or scroll would be Essentia Lock, No Save SR:Yes spell to prevent my opponent from shifting essentia around their soulmelds, feats, spines, or other receptacles for 7 rounds. We could follow up with a wand/scroll of Unbind Chakra if we think they have a weak will save, or unshape soulmeld if they don't, to target a soulmeld we don't want the opponent to have (for example, Keeneye Lenses, negating our ability to wand greater invis). Last resort ge
ts expensive but a scroll of Soulmeld Disjunction is doable against a very strong opponent. All achievable with our UMD skills here.

Anyway, this is the sweet spot right here I think.

Last 5 levels are a bit of a plateau after that. I can bind a soulmeld to my arms chakra, finally at level 17. That would be bluesteel bracers or mauling gauntlets depending on what I'm facing. Improved Initiative is taken now (or if already taken, combat reflexes) so I can go first and start mauling before they get a chance, and it stacks with the bracers. Adamantine spines. More BAB, 1 more soulmeld, a few more essentia. We continue to round out skills, UMD is high enough so we start adding Collector of Stories and the missing ranks in Knowledge (Nature) to get a complete set for Knowledge Devotion. And we get a nifty title. yay.

Tactics: Now that we have a soulmeld bind available, another new option presents itself. Pre-combat spells can include Open Least or Lesser Chakra, giving a 24-hour window where a normally closed chakra is now open for binding. That presents some opportunities like shaping and binding Diadem of Purelight to my crown, enhancing my will saves and negating concealment from blur and fog. If going up against a ranged specialist we could shape and bind a Wind Cloak to the shoulders for DR against ranged weapons and Deflect Arrows. Anyone expecting us to only have an arms soulmeld would be sorely mistaken. Against a skarn in our ceremonial duels, we have 23 ranks in local, +3 (int mod), +5 collector of stories, for a guaranteed +4 or +5 via knowledge devotion.

Frequently Asked Questions

So... you're a changeling using racial emulation to become a Skarn?

Nope! N. Sept-Chyon uses racial emulation to become a Dwarf!

Wait, why are you a dwarf again?

A changeling's Minor Shape Change is based upon Disguise Self, so it didn't seem likely I could get the Skarn's Natural Weapon (Spines) from it.

So how does becoming a Dwarf help?

Becoming a Dwarf allows me to worship Moradin and pick up the Dwarf Domain, which grants Great Fortitude as a bonus feat.

Seems tricky.

Not really, completely legal and Lawful, even got Law Devotion out of it.

But a Dwarf isn't a Skarn.

First of all that's not a question. Second of all, not yet! Shaper of Form 1st level grants a class ability that allows N. Sept-Chyon to change race (without changing type or ability scores). Best of all it requires Great Fortitude as a pre-requisite, which I picked up for free by being a dwarf!

You weren't answering my questions anyway. But you still seem ... spineless?

That's what Warshaper is for. I know it is commonly used to get near infinite Natural Weapons, but surely growing Spines on a Dwarf Skarn isn't cheesy.

But why didn't you use Racial Emulation on Skarn and then get the Spines from Warshaper?

Because I was already using racial emulation on Dwarf. I figured that stopping being a dwarf might violate the Moradin code of conduct, and didn't want to risk becoming an ex-cleric.

But you could have skipped the dwarf step altogether!

That's crazy, I became a dwarf so I could pickup bonus feats and extra spells to qualify to become a Skarn. It's clearly the intended entry for the class.

Surely there was another hoop you could have jumped through as well? Stoneblessed perhaps?

I did think about it. I have a discarded stub where N. Sept-Chyon emulated a human to enter human paragon and advance duskblade, then stoneblessed into cleric, but that was 5-6 levels deep and I would have lost way too much on UoSI for marginal gains (at best) in originality. I also thought about cheesing the alignment requirement, maybe I could have finagled Divine Minion of Set or something for the Lawful subtype. And then got scalykind domain, but sadly it's to rebuke reptilian animals only, not humanoids. So that fell apart.

Did you just take Urban Track because it got some play in Watch Detective?

No, pure coincidence, it just fell right into place at the same level as Noble Familiarity. We're working within the system here.

Class Pre-Requisites
Rogue: Sub level racial requirement met as a changeling.

Duskblade: None.

Cleric: "Choose a deity. If the typical worshippers include the members of a race, a cleric must be of the indicated race." Moradin is deity of dwarves, at this point via racial emulation N. Sept-Chyon is a changeling dwarf.

Warshaper: BAB +4 (met at level 5). Special: Must be able to change shape in a specified way. N. Sept-Chyon has the shapechanger subtype.

Incarnate: Alignment must be NG, NE, LN, CN. We chose LN.

Shaper of Form: Skills: Craft Alchemy (5) - LV 6, Craft (any other) 8 ranks in Craft (Flower Arranging) - LV 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 5 - LV 3. Feats: Great Fortitude - LV 6 (bonus via Dwarf Domain), Spell Focus (Transmutation) - LV 9. Spells: 6 spells from Transmutation School. N. Sept-Chyon has Duskblade 1 jump, magic weapon, swift expeditious retreat, and Cleric 1 bless water, and magic stone, just from the PHB spells alone. Special: Spirits of form, mysterious beings from beyond the normal ken of mortals, must have contacted the character. As best I can tell, these spirits only exist within the scope of the class description. I would certainly hope that a changeling emulating a dwarf, sprouting horns, tentacles, spines, and Moradin knows what else, and sitting around arranging flowers would attract their attention enough for a visit. If that doesn't do it for them, I don't know what will!

Spinemeld Warrior: Race: Skarn. As a changeling dwarf Skarn (at least as of level 10 we are), we're good! Alignment: Lawful. Check. BAB +5, got it at level 8. Essentia Pool 1. Achieved at level 9.

Sources
PHB II: Duskblade p19
Complete Adventurer: Haggling via Diplomacy Skill p98
Complete Champion: Knowledge Devotion p60, Law Devotion p61
Complete Scoundrel: Collector of Stories p85
Complete Warrior: Warshaper p89
Cityscape: Urban Tracking p64
Dragon Compendium: Shaper of Form p85
Dungeonscape: Wand Chambers p34
Faiths and Pantheons: Moradin's Portfolio (Dwarf Domain) p121
Magic of Incarnum: Incarnate p20, Skarn p15, Spinemeld Warrior p149, spells
Magic Item Compendium: Spellsight Spectacles p138
Monster Manual 3: Craft (Flower Arranging) p120
Races of Destiny: Able Learner Feat p150 & Changeling Variant p116, Resourceful Buyer Feat p153
Races of Eberron: Changeling p41, Changeling Rogue Substitution Level p122, Racial Emulation Feat p110
Spell Compendium: Dwarf Domain p273, Nerveskitter,
Unearthed Arcana/SRD: Martial Rogue ACF p58, Cloistered Cleric ACF p50, Extra Favored Class Feat p100
Web Enhancement: Guidance of the Avatar http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/sb/sb20010504a
PHB/SRD: Everything Else

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:50 PM

(redacted per chef request)

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:53 PM

Does it still count as teamwork if the other people don't know they're working together? (The chef has requested this entry not be judged (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25092239&postcount=181))

Ladies and Gentle Skarn!

Welcome to the 86th Oewff regional annual spinemeld championships. I’m sure you remember entrant #1 from the posts two above, and entrant #2, who is right up there. Perhaps entrant #4 below us, or #5 below them?

What fantastic contenders!!!! Let’s have a round of applause.

(Psst hey you, judge. I work for the king, and we’ve got a very intriguing request from someone with a killer racial bonus to gather info checks. And rather than make you read an extra four whole build write ups, you can just use the build write ups right here in the competition! Isn’t that cool?!? Ooops the applause is dying down)

But now is the imminent event that you’ve been waiting for. The spinemeld-meld warrior show-down spine match jamboree!!!!

Put those spines together and give us a round of Clackety clacks! Whooooo!

(Psst. Yo judge, feel free to mix and match other contestants into these slots too, like a paper doll!. Feel free to make wierd skarn chimeras and make them battle it out. Compliments of the king. So like if this entrant is not #3, just adjust accordingly, so if Frack is the first entrant, the penultimate entry then becomes a modified #1 and so on.)

Introducing, in this corner, weighing in at 10 tons: the beast with five backs, the 8 spine renderererer, the Ante-Ante-Ante-penultimate Mishtai, The Skarn-ti abomination, The Humanoid Skarntipede, the one, the many........

Frack, Tall-Skarn!

Lawful Evil
Symbiotic entrant 5 + (Symbiotic entrant 4 + (Symbiotic entrant 2 + (Symbiotic entrant 1 + half fiend malebranche-variant half ogre))))

ABILITY SCORES

Strength
30

Dexterity
14

Constitution
28

Intelligence
10

Wisdom
12

Charisma
6

At HD 4 add one to dexterity
AT HD 8 add one to con.

Being Size HUGE:
From the variant half fiends web article:

"A very small number of fiends are Huge, and their hugeness gets passed to offspring. If the model fiend is Huge size or bigger, and the base creature is size Large or smaller, then increase the base creature's size by one category. The relevant changes to the base creature's statistics can be found on page 291 of the Monster Manual"

We add this to our half ogre who is already size large:
(+8str, -2 dex, +4 con, +3 Natural Armor)

Natural armor +4 from half ogre
Natural armor improves by +1 (this stacks with any natural armor bonus the base creature has). from half fiend
Natural armor +3 for advancing to huge
=+8 NA

Speed:
A half-fiend has bat wings. Unless the base creature has a better fly speed, the creature can fly at the base creature's base land speed (average maneuverability).

Here is the ability score calculation:

Malebranche Abilities
Str 30, Dex 9, Con 25, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 10

STR+20, Dex -2, Con +14, int: -2, Wis: +4

Half of the ability score bonuses for malebranch go to str, so half of the 16 allotted half fiend points become a strength bonus. Both the con bonus and wis bonus add up to about half the remaining bonii. Seeing as how malebranch only have bonuses to three stats, we’ll divy the remainder of our +16 ability points (a remainder of 8) between the remaining two scores. The con score bonus is much larger than the wis score bonus, so an allotment of +6 con, and +2 wisdom preserves the remaining balance.

Str = +8 Dex = +0 Con = +6 Int = +0 Wis = +2 Cha = +0

For the grand total of the following modifiers:

Str = +22 Dex = -4 Con = +12 Int = -2 Wis = +2 Cha = -2

At 32 point buy it looks like this:

FINAL ABILITY SCORES (pointbuy + bonuses)
Strength 8+22=30
Dexterity 18-4=14
Constitution 16+12=28
Intelligence 12-2=10
Wisdom 10+2=12
Charisma 8-2=6

Symbiotic Template:
You gotta see it to believe it. +1 LA and you get to add an entire creature of any amount of HD to another creature to yourself and their feats! and their abilities! and their skill ranks as stacking racial bonuses!

So, yeah, let's qualify as a skarn by merging with one as a size huge creature of the humanoid type via the symbiotic template. The humanoid type is obtained in perpetuity thanks to the human heritage feat. The template doesn't say where, exactly on the body they merge, so lets merge them on our arms right underneath our hands. Then we can go spinemeld warrior without having to be a skarn or changeling. Changelings love impersonating skarn. The skarn are lousey with them.

And because human heritage is still in effect, despite turning from outsider to abomination, we still count as humanoid, so we can enter symbioses with another Skarn, attached of course, on our other wrist. So that way, when we hit with spines from both arms on one arm we get a rend, and if we hit with both our arms swinging another skarn or changeling with two spine attacks on our left arm, we get another set of rends. And if both our symbiotes spines hit, our half fiend half ogre gets a third rend because they hit with spines on two arms. Like this:

spine/spine spine/spine

V. .V

left Arm RightArm

V

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
So, let's rap. If entrant 1 doesn't qualify for spinemeld warrior by virtue of not being skarn or racial emulation changeling, or if their type deviates from humanoid, well...then this build doesn't qualify for spinemeld warrior. And that, my friends, will definitely come at the cost of some elegance. And imagine if when the symbiotic template is applied, that somehow the mental ability scores of the guest are deeper trash than Frack's? That's a gamble. A gamble we'll have to take!

And look, I could give you four sub-characters to voltron this monster together, but you're gonna be not very surprised when it's a Skarn of legend paladin into blackguard 10/spinemeld 10, a racial emulation changeling rogue 3/ skarn monk 2/ urban ranger 2/spinemeld warrior 10, a skarn incarnate 10/spinemeld warrior 10, and a LN skarn druid 5/warshaper 3/spinemeld warrior 10.

And believe me, those sub entries would be a lot of fun to write and read.

OOOOOORRRR

We can acknowledge that this SI is a numbers game. As in, get big numbers on two weapon fighting... using a clever gimmick. Well, this build nabs those gimmicks and stacks them. At ECL 20 our meldshaper level is through the roof, with different 20 level skarn or skarngelings, using those TWF natural attack gimmicks, and potentially up to 4 different rends. All on a Huge Chassis, which grants more damage than any single one of those gimmicks. we will have at minimum 9 levels of spinemeld warrior here, and thats if every symbiosis contender only took a single level of spinemeld warrior, which they probably wouldn't do if they wanted to do well. So we're looking at a maximum potential of 85 spinemeld warrior levels on this guy, with each new symbiote triggering the choose a new twf feat thing, cuz they all have twf.

Remember that you get to choose the best saves between the symbiotic skarn and skarngelings that you're in symbiosis with.

So remember which build packed the strength of 4 different spinemeld warriors when we're adjudicating power here.

Race Sources:
Half fiend variant: (http://http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630a)
Malebranche: Fiendish Compendium 2 126
Half Ogre: Races of Destiny 97-98
Symbiotic creature: Savage species 131.
Human Heritage Feat: Races of Destiny 152

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

LA 2
2
Half Ogre
-
-
-
-
-
-
+6 Strength, –2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, –2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma. Natural Armor: +4 Level adjustment +2. Size Large, Type giant.

LA 6
6
Half Fiend (Malebranche)
-
-
-
-
-
-
Size Huge (+8str, -2 dex, +4 con +3NA), Type outsider (+8 str, +6 con, +2 wis), flyspeed = landspeed, NA +1, Resistance to acid, cold, electricity, and fire 10, Damage reduction:5/magic, Darkvision out to 60 feet, Immunity to poison, Spell resistance equal to creature's HD + 10 (maximum 35), smite good 1/day, 2 claws 1d10 and gore 2d6,

1st
7
swashbuckler 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
20 skill ranks: 4 bluff,gather info 2(cc), intimidate 1(cc), survival 2(cc), balance 4, umd 1 (cc)
Human Heritage
weapon finesse

2nd
8
Swashbuckler 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Bluff 5, tumble 3

grace +1

3rd
9
Swashbuckler 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Bluff 6, tumble 6
Multiatttack
insightful strike

4th
10
Dead Levels Swashbuckler 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Bluff 7, tumble 7, gather info 3

seduce to learn secret

LA 7
11
Symbiotic Entrant 1
+3
+3
+1
+1
-
All of the feats of Entrant 1
all of the abilities of entrant 1, all of the skill ranks become a stacking racial bonus to those skill checks. Type: Aberration

5th
12
Shield of blades Swashbuckler
+5
+4
+1
+1
Bluff 8, Tumble 8, gather info 4

shield of blades

6th
13
Spinemeld Warrior 1
+6
+6
+1
+1
Handle animal 1, k. nobility and royalty 1
Two weapon fighting (or better!), improved multi-attack
Twin spine fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting

LA 8
14
Symbiotic Entrant 2
+6
+6
+1
+1
-
All of the feats of Entrant 2
all of the abilities of entrant 2, all of the skill ranks become a stacking racial bonus to those skill checks. Type Aberration

7th
15
Spinemeld Warrior 2
+7
+7
+1
+1
gather information 5

Noble familiarity, spine enhancement, +1 essencia

8th
16
Spinemeld Warrior 3
+8
+7
+2
+2
gather information 6

1 soulmeld, +1 essencia

LA 9
17
Symbiotic Entrant 4
+8
+7
+2
+2
-
All of the feats of Entrant 4
all of the abilities of entrant 4, all of the skill ranks become a stacking racial bonus to those skill checks. Type aberration

9th
18
Spinemeld Warrior 4
+9
+8
+2
+2
gather information 7

+1 essencia

LA 10
19
Symbiotic Entrant 5
+9
+8
+2
+2
-
All of the feats of Entrant 5
all of the abilities of entrant 5, all of the skill ranks become a stacking racial bonus to those skill checks. Type aberration

10th
20
Spinemeld Warrior 5
+10
+8
+2
+2
gather information 8

Spine rend

ECL 5: For these are the days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.

The changeling artificer paced, thinking this planar binding scroll better work! The skarn expeditions into the half-ogre lands was costly in terms of skarn life and obvious heinous barbarity of what they were doing would leave a mark on all who are involved's souls. If these calculations bear out, the ultimate fighting machine would be theirs to harness!

We’re still brewing this baby up at ecl 5. Why are we brewing this thing up? Because spinemeld warrior is only fixed by getting more spinemeld warrior levels than humanly (reptilian subtype) possible. Like, to be anything approaching a good class, it needs so much more.

So, we planar bind a malebranche to make some half ogre/half fiend babies for us. That’ll set us up for symbiosis with skarn. Considering that humans and devils are endowed with as much genetic complementariness as dragons in their ability to hybridize, it makes a bit of sense that a half fiend taking after its human parent would be great at multi-organismic commensalism.

With the size of huge, entire skarns could operate as your arms. As the symbiotic template requires a two size category difference between guest and host. The only thing better than a spinemeld warrior (besides anything better than a soul knife) is a bunch of spinemeld warriors. And this chassis is able to pack them on. In perpetuity even.

ECL 10: For my part, if a man must needs be a knave, I would have him be a debonair knave

The thing, we discovered, was much more intelligent than we were planning. It did NOT take after it's half ogre father. And so, we named it Frack, an ancient skarn word for a cursed mishtai. At least we think it's a skarn word, the last time we had a big match, i used my monocle of true seeing, all i saw were various affiliations of changelings pretending to be every single skarn in attendance. Do skarn even exist? Are we in an emperor has no clothes situation? A lot of my friends get paid good money to do this deep cover gig.

Like i was saying, the thing wanted spinemeld warriors, specifically. It was thirsty for them. This thing wouldn't have time to sell second hand spine polish down by the docks because it was so busy playing the field for spinemeld warriors. And despite being an obvious 10 ton abomination, it was kind of charming.

Four swashbuckler class levels. Seduce to learn secret allows Frack to convince spinemeld warriors to join in unholy union with them. The ability bonus goes to dexterity so that frack can qualify for twf feats pre-Reqs with a dex of 15.

Frack gets +1 ref saves, weapon finesse, which sucks when your strength is double your dexterity, full bab, and an ok skill list. With +9 hp per HD at con 28, frack should have over 50 HP.

With two 1d10 claws and a 2d6 +10 damage gore that is doubled on a charge, I think frack can survive, but it’ll be tough. Multi attack is nice little add on that will help later.

After this benchmark, this is no longer an unplayable character.

ECL 15: The devil comes dressed as everything you've ever wished for

I hadn't seen Frack in a while. They...uhh...had hooked up with an up and comer from the frontier. A real epic spinemeld warrior of renown. And they are beginning to tour on the gladiatorial circuit. Although some interested noble persons told me that unless Frack starts playing a little more nicely, they would start cutting off the access to the dude with all the candles of invocation.

I heard that in an unprecedented turn of events, Frack merged with a second spinemeld warrior as part of the tournament circuit, and they've become a smash hit. I head rumors that one of the spinemelded warriors on Frack is not indeed a changeling. I wonder what this culture was actually like before us changelings invaded and turned the entire race's culture into a fascist demolition derby.

The final level of swashbuckler, our first and second spinemeld warrior on each of our arms and level 1 and 2 of spinemeld warrior.

Every feat of the symbiotic spinemeld warrior is added to Frack’s list as bonus feats. And because frack now has 3 arms, all twf feats become multi-weapon fighting feats. With two spine fighting, frack still counts as having twf, so when we get the first spinemeld warrior level, we will get to choose another twf feat. It’s a gamble, but hopefully multi-weapon rend or improved two weapon fighting gets added to the docket. With these being bonus feats, we don't need to qualify for them, as per the definition of bonus feats in the monster manual.

Fracks type switches from outsider to aberration, but for all effects they count as a humanoid. Thus allowing for future symbiosis.

With entrant #1 now enjoying the benefit of a strength of 30, they also get the bonus from shield of blades which covers up the AC penalty for being huge. All of Fracks mental scores become the same as entrant 1s. Maybe they’ll get to add int to damage with swashbucklers insightful strike. Or maybe the new symbiont has sapphire smite, which stacks with Frack's smite good.

There’s no need to take a feat to qualify for spinemeld warrior as entrant #1 provides all of the prereqs...unless they don’t qualify for spinemeld warrior, or they aren't humanoid, animal, plant, or vermin type, and thus unavailable for symbiosis. in which case, it would be clear that the judge must make their first and potentially only deduction from Frack's elegance. It's a gamble. A gamble that's more fun than working with spinemeld warrior.

Multiattack allows you to fight with your symbiotic spinemeld warriors weapons as a secondary natural attack at only a -2. Adjudicating whether the spines are natural attacks or multi-weapon fightable is a mess. I think each symbiote makes 2 or more spine attacks at -4 each.

With the addition of 20 class levels from the symbiotic entrant, it becomes possible to start buying off LA immediately, should you encounter a scenario where a quarter million xp would be a better investment than more class levels. We have 103 hp, which is a bit low for this level on a bruiser.

With your spinmelded arm, when you take spinemeld warrior class for yourself, a new twf feat is selectable, as you have spines that you can wield with TWF, even if it's overwritten with multi-weapon fighting.

And, you have somewhere between 2 and 12 class levels in spinemeld warrior, so spine investiture makes sense, especially when you pick up a second level 20 skarn or skarngeling on your other arm, adding 1 to 10 more spinemeld warrior levels, which may, arguably, all stack, thus meaning as a swift action, Frack may be able to get up to an 11 essencia bonus to attack and damage rolls with spines.

Further, with noble familiarity, which has no skill support by the class, you can add a racial bonus to the other two entrants to your gather information score to access any gear that you need. Monks belts, fanged rings, necklaces of nat attacks keyed to aptitude or the tentacle enchantment, you name it, you roll gather info, and it’s yours if you have sufficient cash, which you should, because you’re a commensal organism comprised of two level 20 iron chef dishes and an unholy pairing between devils and half giants. If you can’t turn that into profit, you’re seducing the wrong skarn to join your hive mind. so get yourself a +5 item of dexterity or two!

With a skarn or skarngeling on each arm, that's a minimum of four spine attacks, with up to 3 bonus rends (right sub arms/ left sub arms/ each arm) although the jury is out on whether or not having multiple cases of the rend class feature causes additional rends. I reckon we'll find out soon enough. Because entrant #2 has joined the symbiotic creature half-fiend + entrant #1, we now use entrant #2's mental ability scores and treat Frack +1 entrant #1 as its own discrete organism. So it's racial skill modifiers stack. And my lord...look at all of this essencia! I hope entrant 2 has some sweet soulmelds.

ECL 20 Neo-Tokyo is about to explode.

Well, I think we can qualify this bit of arcane eugenics a complete success! Frack is part of a spinemeld warrior poly-cule of very powerful warriors and they now have four arms covered in spines per arm, and it's a pretty potent meldshaper to boot. They stomp their opponents every year now and force the strongest in their opinion to merge with them.

I do worry a bit how much interest this thing has in non-skarn culture. Frack has been trying to get local surrounding races to create gladiatorial arenas with exhibition matches against the skarn. And he’s picking on some tough races too. He said he wants an ur priest to join them all in marriage. And he’s been asking questions about “initiator level?”

And i have wealthy donors asking me to make a similar creature for their kingdoms.

Complete Success!

Ending with ~150 hp, with two symbiotically attached skarn per arm, somewhere between 9 and 45 levels of spinemeld warrior in aggregate, potentially multiple rends per occurrence of 1 spine per arm hitting, and a ridiculous number of attacks, as well as so many soulborn soulmelds that you can potentially attach to the arms chakra, you are the ultimate meld of skarn spines. And we only stopped because we ran out of ECL. you can seduce skarn into symbiotically attaching to your legs and back. So when you get to level 20, start buying off that LA! Add more spinemeld warrior levels and just keep growing, each real HD adds at a minimum 10 HP.

Sources

Race Sources:
Half fiend variant: (http://http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060630a)
Malebranche: Fiendish Compendium 2 126
Half Ogre: Races of Destiny 97-98
Symbiotic creature: Savage species 131.
Human Heritage Feat: Races of Destiny 152

Classes
Swashbuckler: Complete warrior 11
Dead levels swashbuckler (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20070227x)
Shield of Blades: Players handbook 2 62
Spinemeld warrior: magic of Incarnum 147

Feats
Human Heritage Feat: Races of Destiny 152
Sapphire Smite: Magic of Incarnum 40
Multiattack: Monster Manual 304
Improved Multiattack: Savage Species 36
Multiweapon Fighting: Monster Manual 304
Multiweapon Rend: Epic Level Handbook 63
Two-Weapon Rend: Player's Handbook II 84

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:55 PM

More like Ken-spines, am I right

So, I was looking at what this fine class gives us, and what my mind kept going to were basically two things.

Thing one : that 2nd level feature, it's the perfect "find the thing" feature for finding exactly what you want even if your DM is magic-mart adverse

Thing two: using essentia to give enhacement bonus to your spines. Sure, we're probably all thinking "so what? have a friendly druid cast greater magic fang on you!" , but from an "independence" point of view, this means we free up WBL for doing other stuff, or most likely, to stay in theme with the weapon, to "find" a "Necklace of natural weapons +1 (insert X other qualities here)" and still have a full +5 enhacement if we commit to 10 level of the class.

So I got thinking, in what other way can I make use of this.

Well, in the end, Kensai felt like an obvious followup, it's flavor compatible, and the inbue weapon has these interesting tidbits :

tidbit 1 "His current class level limits the amount of enhancement a kensai can place into his signature weapon", so the inbuing done with Kensai is additive with whatever properties the weapon already have

tidbit 2 "The XP cost presented here assumes that the weapon being imbued does not already have an enhancement bonus. If it does, the cost to imbue it with additional power is reduced. For instance, if a kensai has a +1 longsword and wants to imbue it with the power to be a +3 longsword, he may do so by paying the difference in XP cost between creating a +1 weapon and a +3 weapon" What does that mean for us? Well, to me it means that if we imbue our spines, what essentia we planted on it effectively works as a discount on this imbuing cost! A discount that's independent from any party member or the likes ;) Yay for little synergies!

this originally had shape soulmeld(sphinx claws) at 1st level and open least chakra(hands) at 6th level, for the sweet pounce, but Elves argument convinced me, so I revised accordingly. this caused a reshuffle of the feats order and let me pick higher level manouvers with martial study, and change the manouvers around, it used to be more a mix of Iron heart/Stone dragon, with IHS at level 5 and no WRT at all, but needs must and all that

LG Warblade 5 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 / Kensai 5
Skarn (+2STR, -2 DEX)
Str 26 (15 +2racial +5 level up +4 item), Dex 14 (12 -2 racial +4 item), Con 20 (16 +4 item), Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 10
HP:12 + 4d12+15d10 + 100 (220)
(kensai bonuses (wrathful healing +3 Wounding +2)
(necklace of natural weapon +1 Flaming, Corrosive, Frost, Shock)
Full Attack Routine on a charge : +35/+35/+30/+25/+20 for 2d6 +4d6 elemental +13(5 enhancement +4 cobalt charge +4 1/2str)
saves:Fortitude 12+5 , Reflex 5+2 28, Will 8 28
Skills:Concentration 28, Diplomacy 10, Gather Information 23(+2+10), Jump 25, Knowledge(nobility) 25, Ride 7, Tumble 18

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

1st
Warblade 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Concentration +4, Diplomacy +4, Jump +4, Knowledge(nobility) 2(+4), Ride 2(+4), Tumble +4
Weapon Focus(Spines)
Weapon Aptitude, Battle Clarity(Reflex saves)

2nd
Warblade 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Concentration 4+1, Diplomacy 4+1, Jump 4+1, Knowledge(nobility) 2.5(4+1), Ride 2.5(4+1), Tumble 4+1

Uncanny Dodge

3rd
Warblade 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Concentration 5+1, Diplomacy 5+1, Jump 5+1, Knowledge(nobility) 3(5+1), Ride 3(5+1), Tumble 5+1
Cobalt Charge
Battle Ardor(Critical Confirmation)

4th
Warblade 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Concentration 6+1, Diplomacy 6+1, Jump 6+1, Knowledge(nobility) 3.5(6+1), Ride 3.5(6+1), Tumble 6+1

5th
Warblade 5
+5
+4
+1
+1
Concentration 7+1, Diplomacy 7+1, Jump 7+1, Knowledge(nobility) 4(7+1), Ride 4(7+1), Tumble 7+1
IronHeart Aura (Bonus)
Bonus feat

6th
Skilled City-Dweller Spinemeld Warrior 1 / Warblade 5
+6/+1
+6
+1
+1
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information +2 , Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 4+1, Ride 4.5(8+1), Tumble 8
Combat Expertise
Twin spine fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting

7th
Spinemeld Warrior 2 / Warblade 5
+7/+2
+7
+1
+1
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 2+2, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 5+1, Ride 5(9+1), Tumble 8

Noble familiarity, spine enhancement

8th
Spinemeld Warrior 3 / Warblade 5
+8/+3
+7
+2
+2
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 4+3, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 6+1, Ride 5, Tumble 8

9th
Spinemeld Warrior 4 / Warblade 5
+9/+4
+8
+2
+2
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 7+3, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 7+1, Ride 5, Tumble 8
Bonus Essentia

10th
Spinemeld Warrior 5 / Warblade 5
+10/+5
+8
+2
+2
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 10+3 , Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 8+1, Ride 5, Tumble 8

Spine rend

11th
Spinemeld Warrior 6 / Warblade 5
+11/+6/+1
+9
+3
+3
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 13+1, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 9+3, Ride 5, Tumble 8

12th
Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Warblade 5
+12/+7/+2
+9
+3
+3
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 14+1, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 12+3, Ride 5, Tumble 8
Stormguard Warrior
Chakra bind (arms)

13th
SKilled City-Dweller Kensai 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Warblade 5
+12/+7/+2
+9
+3
+5
Concentration 8+6, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 15, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 12+3, Ride 5, Tumble 8

Signature Weapon

14th
Kensai 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Warblade 5
+13/+8/+3
+9
+3
+6
Concentration 14+3, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 15, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 15+2, Ride 5, Tumble 8

Power Surge

15th
Kensai 3 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Warblade 5
+14/+9/+4
+10
+4
+6
Concentration 17+1, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 15, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 17+1,Ride 5, Tumble 8+4
Martial Study(Pouncing Charge)

16th
Kensai 3 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 / Warblade 5
+15/+10/+5
+11
+4
+6
Concentration 18, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 15+4, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 18, Ride 5, Tumble 12

17th
Kensai 4 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 / Warblade 5
+16/+11/+6/+1
+11
+4
+7
Concentration 18+2, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 18, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 18+2, Ride 5, Tumble 12+2

Ki projection

18th
Kensai 4 / Spinemeld Warrior 9 / Warblade 5
+17/+12/+7/+2
+11
+5
+8
Concentration 20, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 18+3, Jump 8, Knowledge(nobility) 20+1, Ride 5, Tumble 14
Superior Expertise
Adamantine spines

19th
Kensai 4 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 / Warblade 5
+17/+12/+7/+2
+12
+5
+8
Concentration 20, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 21+1, Jump 8+2, Knowledge(nobility) 21+1, Ride 5, Tumble 14

20th
Kensai 5 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 / Warblade 5
+17/+12/+7/+2
+12
+5
+8
Concentration 20+3, Diplomacy 8, Gather Information 22+1(2), Jump 10, Knowledge(nobility) 22+1, Ride 5, Tumble 14

Withstand

Note : the essentia pool has a second number within elipses (+/-), this is to indicate "bonus/malus" essentia due to donating some to fill Ring of essentia for higher rank members, and "gained" essentia due to receiving donations in Ring of essentia when the character is the higher rank member :), One ring for the membership in the Spinemeld warrior and one ring for the membership in the Pentifex Order, with the malus/bonus going indicatively "up" one amount every 3 title advancements (so the progress is -1,-1,-1,0,0,0,+1,+1,+1)

Level
Readied Manouvers
New Manouvers and stances learned
Essentia Pool
Soulmelds
Chakra Binds
Titles

1st
3
Punishing stance, Moment of perfect mind, Wolf fang strike, Sudden leap
-
-
-
-

2nd
3
Douse the flames
-
-
-
-

3rd
3
Wall of blades
1
-
-
-

4th
4
Stance of Clarity
1
-
-
-

5th
4
White Raven Tactics
1
-
-
-

6th
4
-
1
-
-
Green spine

7th
4
-
2(-1)
-
-
Red spine

8th
4
-
3(-1)
1
-
Flaw seeker

9th
4
-
6(-1)
1
-
Spine of rain

10th
4
-
6(0)
1
-
Spine of snow

11th
4
-
7(0)
1
-
Spine of mist

12th
4
-
7(0,-1)
2
1
Spine fighter, Dolmen Novice

13th
4
-
8(0,-1)
2
1
Dolmen Initiate

14th
4
-
8(0,-1)
2
1
Dolmen Master

15th
4
Pouncing Strike
8(0,0)
2
1
Monolith Ward

16th
4
-
9(+1,0)
2
1
Perfect of the south wind, Monolith Keeper

17th
4
-
9(+1,0)
2
1
Monolith Founder

18th
4
-
9(+1,+1)
2
1
Pentifex Monolith

19th
4
-
10(+1,+1)
2
1
Perfect of the north wind, High Monolith

20th
4
-
10(+1,+1)
2
1
August perfect of roses, Wellspring Monolith

the levels of Spinemeld and Kensai are "weaved" because it makes sense to me that the capstone from Spinemeld is delayed as much as possible, since it's a "prestige" thing and therefore more sensible to be attained at level 19-20 rather than 15. But I didn't want to do a spinemeld 7/kensai 5/spinemeld 10, it felt iffy to me and besides I had class skills to pump up :)
Skilled city dweller trades Handle animal for Gather information for Spinemeld, and Ride for Tumble for both Spinemeld and Kensai.

ANYWAY

Alekk Dal (not a Dalek) is a the brash third son of the third brother of the current head of house, as such he has less pressure put on him to "perform to the expectations of high nobility" (no noble class :) ).

Level 1-5:
He likes the martial arts training ( Jump, Tumble, concentration), somewhat excel at etiquette despite his abrasive attitude (diplomacy but flat charisma), but despite his best efforts keeps on falling off horses (crossclass ride) and he finds studying heraldies and lineages "boring as hell" (crossclass nobility)
He's less concerned about defense than offense ( punishing stance, cobalt charge ), he's just too hyperactive! ( tiger claw manouvers)
He gets better at being less of an hothead as he grows up (Wall of blades, stance of clarity), but a penchant for tactics (White raven tactics, not cheesed!) that let's him win a mixed martial arts tournament, which wins him being inducted as a squire in the prestigious order of Spinemeld warrior

At these levels, and until pouncing charge is unlocked, the likely readied manouvers are : Sudden leap, White Raven Tactics, Moment of perfect mind, wall of blades and the stance will be Punishing stance.
level 6-10:
Intensive training in the secret arts of Spinemeld warriors begins, never he would have known that he could infuse his very soul in his own claws spines!

he's also surprised at what doors and new possibilities his status as a Spinemeld warrior open to him. from level 8 he starts to be able to shape soulmelds other than the trusty clawlike superimpositions that accompanied him since forever. He makes use of imbued truthseeker googles for scoring nifty items to help him along his path (16 modifier to gather information at level 8).

Combatwise, he hits that much more often, with better damage! ( TWF, free enhancement bonus, rend)

At level 10, he scores a seemingly normal leather belt (Belt of battle) in a little shop (DC28, combined bonus to Gather information at this level is 24 (13 rank +5 competence + 6 truthseeker, so finding it is an automatic success with a potion of eagle splendor)

He happily does his duty to the order, and donate one point of essentia each day to fill up a ring of essentia for higher rank members

levels 11-15: He starts a more formal vow of service to the house/throne and enters the Pentifex Order. gets schooled in the secret arts of Kensais, learning how to sap his enemies strengths to increase his own ( Imbue spines with wrathful healing ). His control over his soul also improves, which manifests into Being Able to bind a shaped soulmeld to his spines, usually hardening them (Astral Vambraces, DR 2/magic + 2 more per essentia invested, if any) and usually granting him a cheap 20ft. of average flight.

His fightning spirit abounds! (power surge) He can still full attack courtesy of Belt of battle. Stormguard warrior Combat rhythm is solid, giving up the lowest iteratives for straight up more damage of the higher iteratives of next turn

And finally he can full attack on a charge, switching sudden leap for pouncing charge on the readied manouvers

levels 16-20: There's not much to say here, he gets better at shredding. More Essentia to play with, higher skill numbers, numbers went up!

We have the Gather information numbers ( with a kensai bonus on top, even!) To find ourselves a Necklace of the seasons (Necklace of Natural attacks +1 with the properties : corrosive flaming shock frost, defending, 100600 gp, or 64600 if the mandatory +1 can be waived). On top of adding some more bonuses to the Kensai Inbuing.

Can we change the Kensai bonuses by reinbuing? The class doesn't says, but if we do, that other +2 we have will of course be a bane effect, to whatever we need it to be, it only takes 24 hours and some ( or none?) paltry XP to change the bane effect.

If not, I'm thinking wounding, no save CON damage is scary

the assumed tactic is Pouncing charge, full attack and "sacrifice" the worst 2-3 attacks to combat rhythm, then white raven tactics to act again and full attack but with a bonus 10/15 damage to all attacks, with moment of perfect mind and wall of blades to cover our defenses. Plus superior expertise if we really need to pump up the AC. We even have Withstand to substitute concentration for reflex saves (against AoE spells only).

Abridged version on how soulmelds work : we know the whole list, each day we chose X of them to shape, kinda like how a wizard prepares spells. Shaped soulmelds are "just there" and provide passive bonus, at the same time we can choose if we want to bind any of these to any of the open chakra we have, this let us benefit of a bigger effect linked ot the soulmeld, at the cost of the soulmeld taking up hte item slot associated with that chakra location.
Putting essentia in a soulmeld/class feature/other is a swift action, the essentia stays infused until it's moved elsewhere with a swift action or the user goes unconscious.

We can have at most Constitution SCORE -10 soulmeld shaped at any one time, not a problem for us given our meager soulmeld amounts

Most days, we'll want to shape a soulmeld that we can bind to our open chakra(arms), the usual candidate for combat would be Bluesteel bracers, which if bound is a +2 initiative to us and allies, and an insight ESSENTIA bonus to weapon damage roll (to us and allies). But it conflicts with the feat we took for qualifying ( insight ESSENTIA bonus to attack AND damage rolls when charging), so most likely we are going for Astral vambraces, because it gives us the option of one alternative movement type "for free", and DR(2 to 10)/magic which is not that great, but not terrible either against opponents that don't bypass it and we don't really need to put essentia in it, since we're kinda tight with it if we put 4 in the feat and 5 in the spines

We have a pool of 10 essentia (plus 2 rings, eventually) to play around, 4 gets locked to the feat if we empower it for the day , that leaves us 6/8 essentia to move around the 2 soulmelds and the spines. During "off time", the soulmelds are likely to be those that are social-related, such as Truthseeker googles and Silvertongue Mask, for gather information and diplomacy bonuses. For days with combat missions, it'll likely be bound Astral vambraces and a Spellward shirt(5-21 spell resistance) So It's effectively between the spines and the Astral vambraces, unless we feel the need to pump up our spell resistance.
Astral Vambraces are a nice choice and a strong endorsement to going spinemeld warrior, because unless you spend a feat on shape soulmeld, the only other way to access them are incarnate 9 or soulborn 14. Soulborn is terrible, and Incarnate has the worst BAB progression, meanwhile Spinemeld has high BAB! if all you care about is straight damage, then you'll probably grab the improved natural attack, but otherwise, it can be used for a free flight/swim speed form an unusual slot, or even free trip attempts if the GM is friendly in how he interprets the Trip(Ex)

Weapon Aptitude: canq ualify for fighter only feats, can change the weapon of weapon-specific feats
Battle Clarity: insight bonus to reflex saves equal to INT modifier when not flat-footed
Cobalt Charge: infuse essentia on the feat for insight bonus to attack and damage when charging
Battle Ardor: INT modifier bonus to confirm critical hits
IronHeat Aura: +2morale bonus to all saves to allies while in a iron heart stance
Twin Spine Fightning: can TWF with Skarn natural weapon
Stormguard warrior: three tactical options; forgo AoO for +4 to attack and damage on next turn; sacrifice attacks for +5 damage on next turn;conditional +2 attack when using combat expertise against multiple enemies
Noble Familiarity: competence bonus to knowledge(nobility), can make gather information check to find a seller of specific item
Spine enhancement: can use essence to give enhancement bonus to the spines
Spine Rend: if you hit with two spine attacks in one round, do bonus 2d6+1.5STR damage
Chakra bind(arms): can bind soulmelds to arms
Signature Weapon: can spend xp to increase weapon enhancement bonus or grant it weapon qualities, up to a limit of CLASS granted extra bonus
Power Surge: at will move action concentration check DC15+5/(uses-1) to gain untyped +8str for CLASS/2 rounds
Ki projection: CLASS/2 bonus to social skills
Superior expertise: uncaps combat expertise form max +5 to max BAB (why I took this and not the complete warrior Improved combat expertise : I like the name more!)
Withstand: can make concentration check instead of reflex save for resisting area damage spells
Wolf Fang Strike: standard action attack with two weapons at -2/-2
Sudden Leap: swift action make jump check and move accordingly
Moment of Perfect Mind: can use concentration check in place of will save
Punishing stance: all attacks deal +1d6 damage but -2 AC
Douse the flame: enemy is denied making Aoo for 1 round
Wall of blades: Can use attack roll in place of AC
Stance of Clarity: +2 insight AC versus single target, -2 AC against others
White Raven Tactics: Swift action change initiative of ally, ally acts again
Magic Of Incarnum: Skarn, Spinemeld warrior, some feats
Tome of Battle:Warbalde, some feats
Complete Warrior:Kensai
Savage Species:Necklace of natural weapons
Magic Item Compendium:Belt of battle
Enemies and allies:Wrathful healing weapon property
Faith and Pantheons: Superior Expertise
Mind Eye article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a) : Astral vambraces

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:56 PM

Are you not entertained?

Mayalaran

Worthy
Master Fior sat crosslegged in the sand of the arena. "Tell me again, why do you want to join the forces of Zargon the Returner?" Mayalaran looked up under her hood. She was naked and shaking a little. It was a chilly night. "I want this world to end and be rebuilt better. I want to proof myself to Zargon as worthy of his gifts and seek glory in his name by challenging impossible opponents just as he did and beat them fair and square. I won't cheat nor retreat." Master Fior nodded. Mayalaran stripped herself of her cloak and picked up the jar in front of her. She threw it in the air and slashed through it with her left spine. The jar shattered and acid rained down on her burning her hair and skin. The pain made her scream but the agony made her feel warm inside. She did this to herself. It was her way of proofing herself to the world. She would bask in glory later. Now is the time of endurance. The pain was excruciating but she forced herself to stay conscious. She sat down again and bowed before Master Fior. Nothing happened for at least a minute. Than Master Fior stood up: "If you are alive when the sun rises, you are accepted by Zargon. You may not seek help to bandage or heal those wounds. Zargon's gift may not be washed away so easily." Then he left. Mayalaran collapsed in the sand.
The next morning she woke up to itching skin and thrumming pain. Part of her hair lay beside her. She felt her remaining hair on her scalp. She must have looked hideous. Yet she smiled. "I am worthy", she whispered. "Reborn under your patronage." She rose and glinted at the sun. She probably had been unconscious for almost a day. She dragged herself to the gates of the arena. Usually Master Fior was doing bookwork at this hour. She found him in his office. He looked up and nodded. "Good. Very good. Go lay down now. Give yourself time to rest. When your wounds have healed, we will start training." Mayalaran tried to speak but her throat felt hoarse and dry. "I know what you want to say. Your first fight will be soon enough. If Zargon favors you, you will survive it, but now rest and then learn."

Asking the right questions
Mayalaran joined the Zhentarim because it was what Master Fior told her to do but she soon saw why it was an obvious choice. She had learned so much in her time with the organization but the most crucial part was how and when to ask the right questions. Right now she was trying to convince a halflling named Eloi Toor the Zhentarim wanted dead to surrender. Mayalaran way never sent on missions to negotiate and she never pretended to negotiate. She demanded answers. But to get answers you had to find the right question. Right now the question was, who was of so much value to that little sneaky Eloi that he would sacrifice himself for that someone. To Mayalaran's surprise it wasn't Mrs. Toor but their dog. Right now she had a spine on the neck of Mrs. Toor and Eloi just encouraged her to slit her throat. Yet when Fin, Mayalaran's companion, pointed his crossbow at the dog, suddenly Eloi begged them to spare the dog and he gave himself to them. He didn't even resist when they chained him. With a dismissive wave of her spine Mayalaran released his wife and gave her some words of advice on her way: "Don't mourn for this piece of ****. Find someone worth your love."
On their way back, with gagged and shackled Eloi in toe, Mayalaran asked Fin: "How did you know?" Fin smiled. "I heard he was spending a lot of time with the dog and not so much time with his wife. Took an educated guess." Mayalaran sighed. "Too bad. I heard little Eloi is very good with his knifes." Fin raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes I wonder where your bloodlust stems from. You are such a calm professional yet always itching to fight. Be careful with that. Life is so much easier without fights." Mayalaran didn't respond. She pondered his words and came to a single conclusion: greatness isn't achieved by easy living.

The spine dance
Mayalaran's chance in the arena came later than she hoped but she took the first offer she got. The Zhentarim tried to interfere but Master Fior told them that he would insure Mayalaran which basically meant that he had to pay them a hefty fee if she died. Mayalaran was chosen to fight 2 dire wolves. The fight was named "Many bones for two dogs". Mayalaran chose light armor and no weapons other than her spines. She entered the arena cloaked. The crowd hushed when she dropped the cloak and revealed her disfigured body. Master Fior gave the signal and the crowd immediately cheered when the two dire wolves were released into the arena. The snarled and bared their fangs. Mayalaran's favorite strategy of tripping her opponents was pretty useless against them so she had devised a much simpler plan: hit them harder than they hit you. The plan worked. It was a slugfest and the crowd loved it. Her spines hit the wolves again and again. When the two wolves coordinated their attack and manage to trip her she simply continued to hack at them with her spines. In the end both wolves fell but she took major bite wounds in all four limbs and a particularly nasty one in her right shoulder. It took her quite some effort to rise. Master Fior yelled to the crowd: "You just witnessed a very rare technique. The spine dance. Give it up for Mayalaran, the green spine." Mayalaran bowed and the crowd erupted. Mayalaran basked in their applause, their cheers. This was what she lived for.

A red wizard's gift
Mayalaran stood once again naked in an arena. This time it was before the Zulkir of Transformation Druxus Rhym. She managed to get acknowledgement from him through her many fights. He evaluated her body. "Some graft work done by a fiend, but there is something more to your body. Interesting. I shall grant you your wish. You may join the ritual. I will look forward to your fights." Mayalaran bowed her head. "I am deeply grateful. My sources tell me that you don't have a personal champion. What do I have to do to achieve that status." Druxus expression didn't change. He still wore an all knowing smirk with a glint of disdain in his eyes. "Ambitious... I see. Well let's say, I would have need for someone like that. What can you do that no one else can?" Mayalaran looked up. "Do you have a disposable target and a healer at hand? then I can show you." Druxus seemed to be curios so he called for a slave and a cleric. Both showed up within minutes. Mayalaran stepped up to the slave and slashed his wrist with her spine. It was just a minor scratch but a wound nonetheless. Mayalaran nodded to the cleric "Would you mind healing that?" The cleric looked to Druxus which gestured for the cleric to hurry. The cleric walked over and touched the slave. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again his mouth was open. "What vile power is that. Zulkir Rhym, I cannot heal that wound." Druxus walked over and checked the wound again. "Does it hurt?" he asked the slave. The slave nodded. "Speak!" Druxus ordered. The slave yelped: "Only a little but it hurts." Druxus sent the Cleric and the slave away. "It seems you may have something I am interested in. Before I name you my champion though, you will proof yourself in the arena. I think something spectacular would be a great entrance for you. How about a fight in burning water against some dire sharks?" Mayalaran shook her head: "Doable but very poor visibility for the crowd. How about I beat some trolls without acid or fire?"

LE Skarn Fighter 6/Spinemeld Warrior 10/Thayan Gladiator 4

Attributes

Base
Race
Deformity
(5th level)
Class Level
Advancement
Final

Strength
15
+2
-
+4 (8th, 12th, 16th, 20th)
21

Dexterity
17
-2
+2
-
17

Constitution
14
-
-2
+1 (4th)
13

Intelligence
13
-

-
13

Wisdom
8
-

-
8

Charisma
8
-

-
8

Table

Level
Class
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Skills
Feats
Class Features

1st
Fighter
+1
+2
-
-
Intimidate 4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (nobility) 2
Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Willing Deformity (B)
Bonus feat

2nd
Fighter
+2
+3
-
-
Intimidate 5, Gather Information 5, Knowledge (nobility) 2.5
Combat Reflexes (B)
Bonus feat

3rd
Fighter
+3
+3
+1
+1
Intimidate 6, Gather Information 6, Knowledge (nobility) 3
Azure Toughness
Skill Focus (Intimidate)

4th
Fighter
+4
+4
+1
+1
Intimidate 7, Gather Information 7, Knowledge (nobility) 3.5
Two Weapon Fighting(B)
Bonus feat

5th
Fighter
+5
+4
+1
+1
Intimidate 8, Gather Information 8, Knowledge (nobility) 4
Deformity (Gaunt) (B)
Extended Intimidation

6th
Spinemeld Warrior
+6
+6
+1
+1
Intimidate 9, Gather Information 8, Knowledge (nobility) 4, Skill trick: Never outnumbered
Improved Two Weapon Fighting, Double Hit (B)
Twin spine fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting

7th
Spinemeld Warrior
+7
+7
+1
+1
Intimidate 10, Gather Information 9, Knowledge (nobility) 5

Noble familiarity, spine enhancement

8th
Spinemeld Warrior
+8
+7
+2
+2
Intimidate 11, Gather Information 10, Knowledge (nobility) 6

9th
Spinemeld Warrior
+9
+8
+2
+2
Intimidate 12, Gather Information 11, Knowledge (nobility) 7
Imperious Command

10th
Spinemeld Warrior
+10
+8
+2
+2
Intimidate 13, Gather Information 11, Knowledge (nobility) 8
Abominable Form (B)
Spine rend

11th
Fighter
+11
+9
+3
+3
Intimidate 14, Gather Information 13, Knowledge (nobility) 8
Two Weapon Rend (B)
Bonus feat

12th
Spinemeld Warrior
+12
+10
+4
+4
Intimidate 15, Gather Information 14, Knowledge (nobility) 9
Robilar's Gambit

13th
Spinemeld Warrior
+13
+10
+4
+4
Intimidate 16, Gather Information 15, Knowledge (nobility) 10

Chakra bind (arms)

14th
Spinemeld Warrior
+14
+11
+4
+4
Intimidate 17, Gather Information 16, Knowledge (nobility) 11

15th
Spinemeld Warrior
+15
+11
+5
+5
Intimidate 18, Gather Information 17, Knowledge (nobility) 12
Weapon Focus (Spines), Insane Defiance (B)
Adamantine spines

16th
Spinemeld Warrior
+16
+12
+5
+5
Intimidate 19, Gather Information 18, Knowledge (nobility) 13

17th
Thayan Gladiator
+17
+14
+5
+5
Intimidate 20, Gather Information 19, Knowledge (nobility) 13

Improved natural attack,
study opponent

18th
Thayan Gladiator
+18
+15
+5
+5
Intimidate 21, Gather Information 20, Knowledge (nobility) 13
Knockdown
Improved critical,
natural armor +1

19th
Thayan Gladiator
+19
+15
+6
+6
Intimidate 22, Gather Information 21, Knowledge (nobility) 13

Stunning critical,
silver strike

20th
Thayan Gladiator
+20
+16
+6
+6
Intimidate 23, Gather Information 22, Knowledge (nobility) 13
Vile Natural Attack (B)
Natural weapon focus

As Spinemeld warrior pretty much forces two weapon fighting onto you, I wanted to use multiple feats of the feat chain but wanted to stay away from the usual movement shenanigans (sudden leap, dimension hop, etc.) to enable full attacks and instead focus on something a little more unusual. So the first thing I was adding to the build was the robilar's gambit - double hit combo since spine rend compliments this strategy. Two weapon rend is another piece of the two weapon fighting feat chain that adds to this. At this point I realized that this whole fighting style was very flashy and probably entertaining to watch. I stumbled across Thayan Gladiator and it fit right in. Azure Toughness allows me to enter Spinemeld warrior and it counts as Toughness for the Thayan Galiator prerequisite and Weapon Focus (spines) seemed an acceptable feat tax. Especially the possible stunned condition after a critical on a triggered AoO from Robilar's Gambit is a great way to lock down an attacker near you and leave them vulnerable to a full attack. Since I knew that this would only be available late I wanted to add another option to stop attackers from fleeing earlier. This did lead me down the Combat Expertise - Improved Trip - Knockdown line of feats. This way I could use trip attempts with double hit and try to lock down enemies. At this point I was sure that I had to go Fighter to hit all the feats at the right BAB: robilar's gambit at 12, two weapon rend at 11 (fighter level 6 bonus feat), double hit at 6.
Regarding skills I thought that Noble familiarity not only is a great way to secure magic items you want but also is important for a gladiator to stay ahead of competition: gather information will help in locating arenas in general and locating renowned fighters to be challenged. Knowledge (nobility) helps in finding someone who may pay your expenses for stepping up as their champion and also may help to know who not to kill in the arena to avoid reprimand.
Furthermore the flexibility of soulmelds and chakra bind (arms) for Spinemeld Warrior is a great selling point for a gladiator. Without any magic items many different scenarios can be covered:

A classic jousting tournament or a fight on flying mounts: shape and bind Riding Bracers
A fight in or above water: shape and bind Sailor's Bracers, shape Cerulean Sandals (and invest Essentia to increase your speed since Sailor's Bracers swim speed refer to base land speed)
A fight in or around fire: Shape Flame Cincture and invest essentia in it

Since Thayan Gladiator already forced my alignment to be evil I decided to add one more thing: serving an Elder Evil. I remembered that Zargon the Returner was described as an unstoppable force in combat who challenged even gods. I thought a gladiator idealizing this unique trait would be very fitting and of course 5 free Vile feats over 20 levels are very welcome in such a feat intensive build. Deformities help a lot boosting Intimidate as it is a useful action to take while waiting for your enemies to attack you. Only after checking the table in Elder Evils did I realize that Deformity (Gaunt) was a slick way to get my Dexterity up, of course at the cost of Constitution. Deformity (Tall) is not among the feats listed in Elder Evils and therefor by strict RAW is not available. It would be a nice addition if it is allowed by your DM (pick it at 10, Abominable Form becomes the lvl 20 feat and Vile natural attack gets dropped).

The build is possible without serving an Elder Evil and without the Vile bonus feats. Point buy attributes would have to be: Str 14, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 8 and the fourth level increase would have to be switched from Con to Dex.

If flaws are allowed, pick up Midnight Dodge and Karmic strike and change Azure toughness to Toughness.

Breakdown by level:
Level 1: Skilled City dweller switches Handle animal for gather information (for both fighter and spinemeld warrior levels). Mayalaran picks up a guisarme and the best armor she can find. She starts as a simple tripper with reach and a fall back spine weapon if she has to drop the guisarme. Demoralizing enemies is also an option. Willing Deformity's +3 untyped bonus makes up for the -1 penalty from Charisma.

Level 2: Combat Reflexes increases Skin's AoO to three (1 base and two from Dex).

Level 3: Azure Toughness is a feat tax we have to pay and it gives us a single essentia point which means +3 HP for now. Working for the Zhentarim gives us a free Skill Focus (Intimidate). The build works fine without it but I think it fits.

Level 4: You probably already found Armor with armor spikes (or can hire someone to craft it for you) so you can two weapon fight with the guisarme and the armor spikes for now.

Level 5: Deformity (gaunt) adjusts Dex and Con to be able to qualify for Improved two weapon fighting and still qualify for Azure Toughness. It also adds a +2 circumstance bonus to Intimidate which out of combat is now more useable thanks to he Zhentarim substitution level.

Level 6: An absolute key level: Spines can now be used for two weapon fighting, double hit and improved two weapon fighting increase our number of attacks on AoO and Full attacks. Never outnumbered boosts the usefulness of the demoralize action.

Level 7: Noble familiarity helps us in finding a fiend to graft some long arms on us (fiend folio) and give us reach with natural weapons. This costs 5k for each arm (WBL should be high enough to allow that expense). Check with your DM if he enforces the -6 penalty on Intimidate before getting them done; RAW it gives a -6 penalty to charisma based checks, RAI it sure as hell shouldn't be less scary and intimidate wasn't mentioned in Fiend Folio only Bluff and Diplomacy. Even with the penalty I would get them. Spine enhancement and one more Essentia point don't change much. The one point obviously goes right into the spines and our second one stays in Azure Toughness.

Level 8: We can finally shape a single soulmeld and the choice will hurt no matter what. I listed some possible shapes in the introduction above for very specific arena fights. The go to soulmeld depends heavy on your magical items but here is my recommendation: Bluesteel Bracers and switch the Essentia point from Azure Toughness to end up with a +2 insight bonus on weapon damage. Getting more damage is vital on two weapon fighting builds and since for reasons beyond my understanding there is no belt of giant strengths +2 which means you need 16k before you can increase your strength. If you feel you need a boost in mobility, shape Cerulean sandals. Out of combat the Truthseeker goggles might help if you really roll poorly when using gather information with Noble familiarity. Finally Fearsome Mask is another bonus for Intimidate if needed.

Level 9: Imperious Command is another arrow in your arsenal. Shaping Fearsome Mask might even be better than shaping Bluesteel Bracers at this point. No matter what you decide on, the Fearsome armor enhancement (Drow of the underdark) should be another priority for you. ! more point of essentia goes straight into thes spines.

Level 10: Abominable Form: another arrow of the fear arsenal. Triggers on sight and is rather short on duration but given the fact that you most likely like to use your first action in every encounter to demoralize, it just adds to the duration your nemeies are shaken. Spine Rend adds much needed damage if you hit wiht both main and offhand. Most satisfying if done with double hit.

Level 11: A short step back into fighter to be able to pick up two weapon rend which has BAB 11 as a prerequisite. Increases rend damage to 3d6 + 3 times Str bonus.

Level 12: Robilar's Gambit is here and it is the absolute cornerstone of this build. Activate it, get hit, retaliate twice, repeat until you are out of AoO (Get Bracers of Opportunity for 8k). Chances are high rend gets triggered some time. Fun times. Also you get to shape another soulmeld and more essentia. Bluesteel Bracers + Fearsome Mask recommended.

Level 13: Chakra Bind (Arms) is pretty underwhelming except for gladiator specific uses (see above).

Level 14: Our first dead level. Just one more essentia to be put into spines.

Level 15: Adamantine spines don't need any explanation. Weapon Focus (spine) is our last feat tax. Insane defiance is great way to increase a save or suck spell from an ally. Just bounce it off you for no cost with strongheart vest shaped. The Fighter level at level 11 (and sixth total) makes it possible to pick up insane defiance at 15 because it requires a Willpower base save bonus of +5 and the sixth level of fighter improves Will by one.

Level 16: Another almost dead level. Worth it to take for the extra Essentia capacity of the spines (now +5). The oncreased bonus for Noble familiarity is also welcome.

Level 17: The first level of Thayan Gladiator improves the damage of the spines by one step which meets the prerequisite of Vile natural attack. Study opponent probably does nothing for us. Spending a standard action at level 18 in combat to buff yourself so little is never worth it.

Level 18: Knockdown is our cherry on top of the cake. Enemy triggers an attack of opportunity, you get to roll two attacks which at this point both always deal 10 damage. Enjoy your free trip attempts. Improved critical also is a nice damage boost. +1 Natural armor is something I take gladly too.

Level 19: Spines are now adamantine, silver and possibly law (if you bound something to your arm chakra ) weapons. Also your enemies now get to roll a Fortitude save or be stunned for every critical you confirm.

Level 20: Another hit with your chosen weapon when full attacking at -5 by the class ability. I'd choose the offhand spine for the class ability and therefor increase the chance for rend to trigger. Also BAB 20 for another attack in the full attack routine. Vile Natural attack is not a great feat but it can help in dealing with enemies that have fast healing/regeneration and it is also very effective against pesky BBEGs who tend to fight you more than once. Although they probably will have the resources to heal the Vile damage at level 20. In the backstory Mayalaran has this ability already when meeting Druxus which does not correlate with the table since thayan gladiator is already entered at level 17. I just had no idea what else to write about.

Thayan Gladiator: Champions of Ruin
Knockdown: Deities and Demigods
All Vile Feats: Elder Evils
Robilar's Gambit: PHB II
Two Weapon Rend: PHB II
Imperious Command: Drow of the Underdark
Double Hit: Miniatures Handbook
Never outnumbered: Complete Scoundrel
Azure Toughness: Magic of Incarnum
Skilled City dweller: Cityscape
Zhentarim Solder Fighter ACF: Champions of Valor Web Enhancement

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:57 PM

I want a little bit of everything.

https://i.imgflip.com/5ca8q7.jpg
Ok, this is not the straight man, this is bendy!

What I wanted to showcase here was the spinemeld unique TWf-ing with his natural weapons, by piling more attacks in his routine.
First in my mind was going monk, because there is the Skarn substitution level that give us the ability to flurry with the spines
then there was going down tigerclaw discipline warblade, enough for that "plus two attacks" boost. Just with that we are at 5 attacks at "full BAB" ( TWF+flurry+manouver)
And there I was, with a kernel of a build, but I had no big plan, and no reason really to go Spinemeld warrior so far..

In the making of my first entry, I came across the little exploit of Astral Vambraces possibly granting us feats forever
Here's how it goes : if you bind astral vambraces to your arms, you get the benefit of one option from the menu A of the astral constructs.
Some of these options are "gains the X feat"

Apparently you don't lose the feat when you lose the feature that grants it, so with this bit of cheddar we have, assuming we meet the prerequisites, "free" power attack, cleave, improved bull rush, improved natural attack.

It's unclear to me if we can PA with the spines (why yes : they're natural weapons) (why no: we treat them as light weapons when we TWF) , so I'm not going shocktrooper (also bleh on the overused ingredient)so what else can we do with this?
Well, I got looking into what these would qualify me for, maybe there was something interesting?

Enter the tribal protector: Basically only one feat tax, which it gives us back anyway, AND it gives one extra attack to our routine? sign us up! plus it's kinda on point with the flavor of spinemeld! Being protectors etcetera.

Of course, "tribal" feel made me think totemist would fit right in, so that got added too.

Why does this showcase the SI? Well, if we want to bind those vambraces AND have BAB 16+ by level 20, that's kinda the only choice we have here :), plus that goodie about twin spine fightning and the item radar.

Except with the feat, Astral vambraces are only accessible to Soulborn and Incarnate and PrC (and 10th level skarn monks), Soulborn is terrible, and Incarnate is more or less a "full caster", so not someone interested in melee binds. Spinemeld warrior is a natural fit for this, a monk/spinemeld warrior even more so!

What shall we do with this bunch of extra feats? well, they are all fighter feats, so melee stuff.

Surprisingly, a lot of meleeish feats I considered weren't tagged "fighter", but in the end I managed to fit a coherent whole, theme "whatever it is you'll do, you'll probably be giving me an AoO"

LG Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 2 / Warblade 2
Skarn (+2STR, -2 DEX)
Str 26 (15 +2 racial +5 level up +4 item), Dex 14 (12 -2 racial +4 item), Con 18 (14 +4 item), Int 14, Wis 18 (14 +4 item), Cha 10
HP: 8+ 5d8 +12d10+ 2d12 + 80 (189)
Dancing mongoose Routine : +29/+29/+29/+29/+29/+29/+24/+19/+14 (17BAB+4 enhacement +4 insight + 8 str +2 charging - 2 TWF -2 flurry -2 wild) for 2d6+16 (4 spines +4 cobalt charge +8 str) and whatever we're putting on the necklace of natural weapons
Saves :Fortitude 28, Reflex 15, Will 9 27
I'm including some item bonuses because Noble familiarity guarantee we'll be able to find exactly what we want.

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

1st
Monk 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Concentration +4, Gather Information 2(+4), Jump +4, Knowledge(Nobility) 2(+4), Spellcraft 2(+4), Tumble +4
Cobalt Charge, Improved Grapple
AC bonus, flurry of Blows, Spine Strike, Fightning style(Denying Stance)

2nd
Monk 2
+1
+3
+3
+3
Concentration 4+1, Gather Information 2(4), Jump 4+1, Knowledge(Nobility) 2.5(4+1), Spellcraft 2, Survival 1(+2), Tumble 4+1
Combat Reflexes
Evasion

3rd
Skilled city-dweller Fighter 1 / Monk 2
+2
+5
+3
+3
Concentration 5+1, Gather Information 2+2, Jump 5, Knowledge(Nobility) 2.5(5), Spellcraft 2, Survival 1(2), Tumble 5+1
Hold the line, martial Study(Moment of Perfect Mind)(Fighter Bonus)

4th
Fighter 1 / Monk 2 / Skilled City-Dweller Totemist 1
+2
+7
+5
+3
Concentration 6+1, Gather Information 4+1, Jump 5, Knowledge(Nobility) 2.5(5), Spellcraft 2, Survival 1+3, Tumble 6+1

Wild Empathy, Meldshaping

5th
Fighter 1 / Monk 2 / Totemist 2
+3
+8
+6
+3
Concentration 7+1, Gather Information 5+3, Jump 5+1, Knowledge(Nobility) 2.5(5), Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 7+1

Totem Chakra Bind (+1)

6th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Totemist 2
+4
+9
+6
+3
Concentration 8+1, Gather Information 8+1, Jump 6+1, Knowledge(Nobility) 2.5(5), Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 8+1
Open least Chakra(hands), Martial Study (Foehammer) (Fighter Bonus)

7th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+5
+11
+6
+3
Concentration 9+1, Gather Information 9, Jump 7+3, Knowledge(Nobility) 3(5+1), Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 9+1

Battle clarity (Reflex saves), Weapon Aptitude

8th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Skilled City-dweller Spinemeld Warrior 1 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+6/+1
+13
+6
+3
Concentration 10+1, Gather Information 9+2, Jump 10, Knowledge(Nobility) 3+1, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10

Twin spine fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting

9th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 2 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+7/+2
+14
+6
+3
Concentration 11, Gather Information 11+1, Jump 10, Knowledge(Nobility) 4+3, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10
Ironheart Aura
Noble familiarity, Spine enhancement

10th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 3 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+8/+3
+14
+7
+4
Concentration 11, Gather Information 12+1, Jump 10, Knowledge(Nobility) 7+3, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10

11th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 4 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+9/+4
+15
+7
+4
Concentration 11, Gather Information 13+1, Jump 10, Knowledge(Nobility) 10+3, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10

12th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 5 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+10/+5
+15
+7
+4
Concentration 11+1, Gather Information 14+1, Jump 10, Knowledge(Nobility) 13+2, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10
Stormguard warrior
Spine rend

13th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 6 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+11/+6/+1
+16
+8
+5
Concentration 12+2, Gather Information 15+1, Jump 10, Knowledge(Nobility) 15+1, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10

14th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+12/+7/+2
+16
+8
+5
Concentration 14+2, Gather Information 16+1, Jump 10, Knowledge(Nobility) 16+1, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10
Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Natural Attack, Improved Bull Rush (Astral Vambraces cheese)
Chakra bind (arms)

15th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Totemist 2 / Warblade 1
+12/+7/+2
+18
+8
+5
Concentration 16+2, Gather Information 17, Jump 10+2, Knowledge(Nobility) 17, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10
Mage Slayer, Great Cleave(Psychic Warrior Bonus)

16th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 1 / Warblade 1
+13/+8/+3
+20
+10
+5
Concentration 18+1, Gather Information 17, Jump 12+3, Knowledge(Nobility) 17, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10
Martial Stance(Thicket of blades) (Tribal Protector Bonus)
Tribal Enemy, Homeland

17th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 2 / Warblade 1
+14/+9/+4
+21
+11
+5
Concentration 19+1, Gather Information 17, Jump 15+1, Knowledge(Nobility) 17+1(2), Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10

Wild fightning

18th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 7 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 2 / Warblade 2
+15/+10/+5
+22
+11
+5
Concentration 20+1, Gather Information 17+1(2), Jump 16+1, Knowledge(Nobility) 18+1(2), Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10
Robilar's Gambit
Uncanny dodge

19th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 2 / Warblade 2
+16/+11/+6/+1
+23
+11
+5
Concentration 21, Gather Information 18+1, Jump 17, Knowledge(Nobility) 19+3, Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10

Adamantine spines

20th
Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 2 / Warblade 2
+17/+12/+7/+2
+24
+11
+5
Concentration 21+2, Gather Information 19, Jump 17, Knowledge(Nobility) 22+1(2), Spellcraft 2, Survival 4, Tumble 10
Defensive Sweep(Psychic Warrior bonus feat)

Level
New Manouvers and stances learned
Essentia Pool
Soulmelds
Chakra Binds
Title

1st

1

2nd

1

3rd
Moment of perfect mind (no recovery)
1

4th

2
2

5th

3
3
1

6th
Foehammer (no recovery)
3
3
1

7th
Rabid wolf strike, Sudden Leap, Wall of Blades, Punishing stance
3
3
1

8th

3
3
1
Green spine

9th

4
3
1
Red spine

10th

5
4
1
Flaw seeker

11th

6
4
1
Spine of rain

12th

6
4
1
Spine of snow

13th

7
4
1
Spine of mist

14th

8
5
2
Spine fighter

15th

8
5
2

16th
Thicket of Blades
8
5
2

17th

8
5
2

18th
Dancing Mongoose
8
5
2

19th

9
5
2
Perfect of the south wind

20th

9
5
2

The whole of it is with the end goal of comboing Robilar gambit+Stormguard warrior + Thicket of blades + mage slayer + Defensive Sweep to make sure we always do "some" manner of AoO, to fuel stormguard warrior.

Even if we had only one AoO, if we don't take it, we're granted the opportunity to use it again, so stacking up modifiers on stormguard warrior should be easy enough.

Then on the next turn, we mongoose down and do 6 attacks at "full BAB" (-6 from flurry+wild+TWF), with whatever modifiers we stacked from stormwarrior.

Those martial studies are there for two reason, firstly to give us concentration as a class skill to all classes, and second, by taking them before the warblade levels, we have them ready for every encounter on top of the warblade manouvers.

We have multiple competing *things* we can do with our swift action, but they are relevant at different levels of plays, generally speaking we alternate mongoose with swift action recover (full attacking, of course), while the other manouvers are early level tools,

Spinemeld makes this possible because the cheese flavor of this build hinges around Astral vambraces, and we access them in a timely manner with the PrC *and* still have a good BAB, plus it gives us that yummy free trip on each successfull attack :3

The readied manouvers are, well, all of them :D later we switch one out for Dancing mongoose, but otherwise, 3 we know and 3 we can ready, so there they are!

Stance is of course Thicket of blades, so if the opponent moves, it's an AoO, if it stay still, it's an AoO, if it attacks us, it's multiple AoO, and if it casts it's an AoO :D we sacrifice them all to the first tactical option of stormguard warrior, giving us +4 to attack and damage for each such AoO we refrain from taking, yum!

I did not list powers known and power points because I'm operating under the assumption/houserule that by way of magic-psionic transparency, the mage slayer "reduce caster level by 4" is also applied to the manifester level, so no powers for us. if you think we'd have the ML to make use of powers, see these differences: exchange 4 ranks of jump for 4 ranks of psicraft, we take practiced manifester at level 20 in place of Defensive Sweep. we have the powers Expansion and Vigor, We have 2 power points at level 15-19 and 13 power points at level 20, assuming a +4 wisdom item

For the Skilled city-dweller ACF, we are exchanging handle animals for gather information and ride for tumble, where applicable.

This is my second entry and I'm partecipating to ALL THE THINGS, I got to go make Godzilla!, I'm a creature of numbers, not stories :( sorry for the sparse blurb!

Something something defend the portal to the plane of positive energy that leads to close the Bastion of souls, we have a duty to protect it yadda yadda yadda (Blurb out)

level 1-5
We are a monk/fighter/totemist doing monkey things, not much to say, punch stuff and hope they die first? We have the brawn to hit consistently, but our AC/hp aren't anythink to write home about, at least the totemist levels give us a wide range of possible skill bonus to take here and there, or survival related melds like natural armor, and if the GM rules that we can flurry of blow then use claw attacks, we all know about doing Girallon arms goodnyness plus we even have Improved grab from monk!

level 6-10
Totemist gives us straight pounce, so we can pour or essentia on the feat/the spines, depending if we have one or two binds we'll also have a bite attack. with the invested essentia between the feat and the spines we should be hitting reliably, our routine should be in the neighbourhood of +13/+13/+13/+8 with the spines for at least 2d6+7 each attack, and possibly a bite tacked on.

Sudden Leap stays surprisingly relevant up until level 17 when we switch it out for Dancing mongoose : in the case of a single enemy, we can swift action sudden leap away from it, therefore allowing us to charge it again! Shape the soulmeld that give a jump bonus (Landshark boots), and we're se tot have 10 feet of jumping distance from the starting modifier alone, our tumble modifier is at a baseline of 14 too, so we auto succeed at moving half speed, Divert some skill ranks to tumble if you feel the want of auto succeeding the full speed too!

level 11-15
The build is taking shape, we got them vambraces, so the cheese is just around the corner! Finally we got stormguard warrior, so we're about ready to take advantage of both Channel the storm and Combat rhythm. By now we should have a monk belt, so between that, essentia invested on the feat and spines, and improved natural attack our charging routine should look in the thereabouts of : +22/+22/+22/+17/+12 for 3d6+12, that's not counting the possible expansion from the psychic warrior level, because as stated I'm reading mage slayer as lowering the manifester level, too.

level 16-20
and so we conclude our tale, we switch sudden leap for dancing mongoose, fill out some more essentia for bigger numbers, and poke at things.

We got some tribal enemies, let's say that duskling other tribe from the valley over yonder that wants access to the bastion of souls, and we're fightning in our homeland, which is.. this valley with the portal to the bastion of souls :)

Abridged version on how soulmelds work : we know the whole list, each day we chose X of them to shape. Shaped soulmelds are "just there" and provide passive bonus, at the same time we can choose if we want to bind any of these to any of the open chakra we have, this let us benefit of a bigger effect linked ot the soulmeld, at the cost of the soulmeld taking up the item slot associated with that chakra location.

We can have at most Constitution SCORE -10 soulmeld shaped at any one time, so 4 soulmeld if we don't have any constitutionb oosting item, otherwise our full complement, 2 from the soulborn list courtesy of Spinemeld warrior, and 3 from the totemist list.

Pretty much always shaped in those days when combat is expected are, from Spinemeld warrior : Astral Vambraces(arms/bracers) and either Spellward shirt(heart/shirt) or Thunderstep boots(feet), It depends on how the boots are ruled : if their damage is applied "once per charge" or "once for each successfull attack while charging"

from the totemist list : sphinx claws(hands) , Wormtail belt(waist), one of those throat soulmeld that gives a bite attack when bound

We have either 2 or 3 binds, depending on the reading of Open chakra feat. If it's two, the shaped and binded soulmelds will be sphinx claws and Astral vambraces. This gives us pounce with all natural attacks and the trip(ex) special quality, that let us attempt a free trip on each successfull melee attack, without provoking AoO. if instead we have 3 binds, the other will usually be one of those binds that grants us a bite attack, and doesn't need to be shaped to hands/arms. Not Ankheg breastplate unfurtonately, because it's clause precludes us from making use of the monk unarmored defense

Our pool of essentia, 9 will generally be split with 4 points into the talent, which gives us an insight bonus to attack and damage when we charge, and probably 4 points in the spines, unless we have cause and the spare swift action to put those points in the various soulmelds, but the only real candidates are either the wormtail belt for extra natural armor or the spellward shirt for heftier spell resistance.

in days we don't expect trouble, we can shape soulmelds with an eye for skills, between the soulborn and the totemist lists we have the gamut of basically almost all skills, of course the one we care the most about is gather information, so the Truthseeker Googles are the first choice.

Weapon Aptitude: can qualify for fighter only feats, can change the weapon of weapon-specific feats
Spine Strike: for all monk related purposes, treat the spines as unarmed attacks
Fightning style: locks monk bonus feats to Improved grapple and combat reflexes, get +2 to tumble
Cobalt Charge: infuse essentia on the feat for insight bonus to attack and damage when charging
Hold the line: can Aoo against enemies when they enter a square you threaten
Martial study: add key skill to all class skills and the manouver is always ready to be used 1/encounter
Open least chakra(hands): can bind soulmelds to hands
pounce: can full attack on a charge
Totem Chakra bind +1: can bind soulmelds to totem, essentia limit for totem bind is 1 higher
Battle Clarity: insight bonus to reflex saves equal to INT modifier when not flat-footed
Twin Spine Fightning: can TWF with Skarn natural weapon
IronHeat Aura: +2morale bonus to all saves to allies while in a iron heart stance
Noble Familiarity: competence bonus to knowledge(nobility), can make gather information check to find a seller of specific item
Spine enhancement: can use essence to give enhancement bonus to the spines
Spine Rend: if you hit with two spine attacks in one round, do bonus 2d6+1.5STR damage
Stormguard warrior: three tactical options; forgo AoO for +4 to attack and damage on next turn; sacrifice attacks for +5 damage on next turn;conditional +2 attack when using combat expertise against multiple enemies
Chakra bind(arms): can bind soulmelds to arms
Improved natural attack: damage die of natural attack improves by 1 step
Mage slayer: casters can't cast defensively while you threaten them
Great cleave: as cleave but without the 1/round limit
Martial stance: add elipsed stance to stances known
Tribal Enemy: +3 to bluff, sense, damage rolls against the tribal enemy
Homeland: + 2 to hide, survival, move silently while in the homeland
Wild fightning: can add an extra attack to the full attack routine at highest BAB, all attacks are at -2
Robilar's Gambit: special stance enemy attacks at +4 to hti and +4 damage, each attack against you provokes an AoO
Adamantine spines: spines overcome adamantine DR
Defensive Sweep: An opponent that begins his action adjacent to you and does not move provokes an AoO form you at their action end
Moment of Perfect Mind: immediate action can use concentration check in place of will save
Foehammer: standard action attack deals +2d6 damage and ignores target DR
Punishing stance: all attacks deal +1d6 damage but -2 AC
Rabid wolf strike: standard action attack at +4 for extra 2d6 damage, -4AC for 1 round
Sudden Leap: swift action do a jump check to move
Wall of blades: Immediate action can use attack roll in place of AC
Thicket of blades: stance, while in this stance, any type of movement provokes an AoO form you, even 5ft. steps
Dancing Mongoose: swift action, next time you attack you can do up to two extra attacks at full BAB
Magic Of Incarnum: SI and everything else Incarnum related
Tome of Battle:Warblade, some feats, all manouvers and stances
Unearthed Arcana: Monk ACF fightning style
Savage Species:Necklace of natural weapons
Sword and fist: Tribal protector
Cityscape: Skilled City-Dweller ACF
Mind Eye article (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a) : Astral vambraces
3.0 to 3.5 skill conversion (Wilderness lore -> survival) (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20030718a)

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:58 PM

His attack has no defense.

Chainsaw, the Imperfect

"I never claimed to be perfect, my mistakes are all written in ink. My flaws helped to make me special, they pushed me and kept me strong."

https://i.imgur.com/oS4PltG.png

I have always known I was destined to do great things. That's what my parents always told me. When I am older, I would take the throne of this country. That is what I was born for, and nobody could ever change that. Even more than the other members of my family, I was born close to perfection, close to absolute strength. Because that's what it was all about. In a skarn family, even more so in skarn nobility, the weak dies, and the strong thrives. And I was the strongest. I was to become a "perfect" in no time, and some members of the court believed I even had the potential to become an August Perfect of Roses someday. Emphasis on 'had'.

I just had to keep my mouth shut. But, during a meeting with the old king, a pig who had seemingly stayed on his throne for years and gotten so fat that it was hard to believe he once vainquished his predecessor in combat, I couldn't resist. He had forbidden me from becoming a spinemeld warrior because I was too young for the order, even though I was already better at using my two spines than most Green Spines and even some Red Spines.

"Why should I abide by your rules, you who neglect your body and stray from perfection instead of seeking it?"

20 words. Not even a Sending. And yet, how they could change a life. The king stood up. Something he never did, except to sit at the dinner table. Blindingly fast, he moved towards me, spines forward. Before I even knew it, my left arm was gone.
"Because, young man, I am still the king. For your arrogance, the name that was given to you by your family shall never be used again. You shall henceforth be known as 'the Imperfect'. May you remember this every time your lost arm hurts. Dismissed."

Being down an arm is the ultimate demise for someone who prides in twin-spine fighting. My life was over. It being a royal decree meant that there was no way I could have it Regenerated. I was stuck, exiled by my family, dishonored. But my pride would not disappear. I would seek refuge in the monasteries close to the capital. There, I would create a new martial art, effective even with one arm, and nobody would be able to deny me that I belong in the spinemeld warrior corp!

This build is based on a number of really questionable readings, a lot of them definitely not RAI. Chainsaw is kind of a dysfunction thread all by himself. If you remove Elegance points for that, so be it, but just so you know that it was kind of the point of it.

LN Skarn

Invisible Eye style, Decisive Strike Monk 2, Skilled City-Dweller (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) Fighter 2, Warblade 2, Spinemeld Warrior 2, Swordsage 1, Spinemeld Warrior 7, warblade 3, Kensai 5

32-point buy :
Str 18 (16), Dex 8 (0), Con 14 (6), Int 13 (5), Wis 8 (0), Cha 13 (5)
Ability scores with Racial modifier (32 points, lv 1) :
Str 20, Dex 6, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 13

Ability boosts :
lv 4 : Cha ; lv 8 : Str ; lv 12 : Str ; lv 16 : Str ; lv 20 : Str

Ability scores at level 20 :
Str 24, Dex 6, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 14

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

1st
Skarn Monk 1
+0
+2
+2
+2
Climb 2, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Gather Information 1*, Jump 4, Listen 4
Improved Unarmed Spine strike (monk 1), Combat Reflexes (monk 1), Combat Expertise
Spine Strike, Decisive Strike, +2 Ref

2nd
Monk 2
+1
+3
+3
+3
Climb 3, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 1*, Jump 5, Listen 5
Lightning Reflexes (Monk 2)
Evasion

3rd
Fighter 1
+2
+5
+3
+3
Climb 3, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 4, Jump 5, Listen 5
Power Attack (Fighter 1), Cobalt Power
-

4th
Fighter 2
+3
+6
+3
+3
Climb 3, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 7, Jump 5, Listen 5
Weapon Focus (Spines)
-

5th
Warblade 1
+4
+8
+3
+3
Climb 3, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 6, Jump 8, Listen 5
-
Battle clarity (Reflex saves), weapon aptitude, Maneuvers

6th
Warblade 2
+5
+9
+3
+3
Climb 5, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 6, Jump 9, Listen 5
Riposte
Uncanny dodge

7th
Spinemeld Warrior 1
+6
+11
+3
+3
Climb 5, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 6, Jump 9, Listen 5, Ride 3
Two-Weapon Fighting (Spinemeld Warrior 1)
Twin Spine Fighting

8th
Spinemeld Warrior 2
+7
+12
+3
+3
Climb 5, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 6, Jump 10, Listen 5, Ride 5
-
Noble familiarity, spine enhancement

9th
Swordsage 1
+7
+12
+5
+5
Climb 5, Concentration 12, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 6, Jump 12, Listen 5, Ride 5
Weapon Focus (Desert Wind : Light Mace), Extreme Leap skill trick (Complete scoundrel), Lightning Mace
Maneuvers, Quick to Act +1

10th
Spinemeld 3
+8
+12
+6
+6
Climb 5, Concentration 12, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 7*, Jump 13, Listen 5, Ride 5
-
1 soulmeld (most of the time, Draconic tail, especially after lv 12)

11th
Spinemeld 4
+9
+13
+6
+6
Climb 5, Concentration 13, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 8*, Jump 13, Listen 5, Ride 5
-
- (Sadness)

12th
Spinemeld Warrior 5
+10
+13
+6
+6
Climb 5, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 8*, Jump 13, Listen 5, Ride 5
Prehensile Tail
Spine Rend!

13th
Spinemeld Warrior 6
+11
+14
+7
+7
Climb 5, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 9*, Jump 14, Listen 5, Ride 5
-
- (Sadness n°2)

14th
Spinemeld Warrior 7
+12
+14
+7
+7
Climb 5, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 10*, Jump 14, Listen 5, Ride 5
-
2 Soulmeld (most of the time, Mauling Gauntlet bound to Arms), Chakra Bind

15th
Warblade 3
+13
+14
+8
+8
Climb 5, Concentration 16, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 11*, Jump 15, Listen 5, Ride 5
Sense Weakness
Battle ardor

16th
Kensai 1
+13
+14
+8
+10
Climb 5, Concentration 17, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 11, Jump 19, Listen 5, Ride 5
-
Signature Weapon

17th
Kensai 2
+14
+14
+8
+11
Climb 5, Concentration 20, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 11, Jump 20, Listen 6, Ride 5
-
Power surge

18th
Kensai 3
+15
+15
+9
+11
Climb 5, Concentration 21, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 12*, Jump 21, Listen 7, Ride 5
Extended Reach
-

19th
Kensai 4
+16
+15
+9
+12
Climb 5, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 13*, Jump 22, Listen 8, Ride 5
-
Ki Projection

20th
Kensai 5
+16
+15
+9
+12
Climb 5, Concentration 23, Diplomacy 5, Gather Information 14*, Jump 23, Listen 9, Ride 5
-
Withstand

At low level, the Imperfect is still pretty crippled by his lack of a left arm. He is preparing his body for his unique martial art, by learning to manipulate his strike however he wants (combat expertise, power attack, Cobalt power, Decisive strike). However, the use of decisive strike from the skarn monk, and maneuvers like Steel Wind and Mountain Hammer can alleviate his lack of damage a bit. Already at this point, Action Before Thought will help the Imperfect make his Reflex saves, despite both a poor dexterity bonus and a poor class-based reflex bonus. He also starts to gather informations about the court, to prepare his return.

Dysfunction : since his spines are treated as unarmed strike for « all purposes related to monk class feature », that includes the « the monk can use any part of their body to make an unarmed strike ». Theoretically, the Imperfect could make spine attack with his leg, however little sense that makes, allowing him to use a one-handed weapon in his hand. Plus, that also includes « there is no notion of off-hand weapon for a monk », which means both attacks will be made without a malus. Plus, Decisive Strike, contrarily to Flurry of Blows, doesn’t mention it can’t be used with an armor, which means the Imperfect can fight in heavy armor and still get double damage with a full-round action.

Maneuvers : (3, initiator level 3, max maneuver level 2) : Action Before Thought, Steel Wind, Mountain Hammer,
Stance (1) : Blood in the water

The Imperfect has finally mastered his very own martial art, and has been accepted as a spinemeld warrior. He is now a Flaw Seeker, an ironic yet fitting title for him. His art is a weird yet functional one, using mental, seemingly nonsensical triggers, like having a light mace in his hands allows him to move faster and grind his opponent with his spines. These multiples attacks with only one arm have granted him the nickname of « Chainsaw », as once his spine come sinto contact with you, it seems like a chainsaw is cutting you a dozen times in a row. Coming back into the court’s grace also allows him to find items, even from underground sellers.
At the same time, Chainsaw improves his martial art capabilities, allowing him to approach his enemies more easily (Sudden Leap, Extreme Leap, Leaping Dragon Stance, Shadow Jaunt, Cloak of Deception), or to hit them from afar or several times (Flashing Sun, Burning Brand), one way or the other, while protecting himself with Moment of Perfect Mind.

Dysfunctions : This is the point of the build where dysfunctions really start to pop up. First, twin-spine fighting allows Chainsaw to TWF with his spines, but two-weapon fighting is based on the notion of firsthand/offhand weapon. However, the skarn monk removes the notion of firsthand/offhand weapon when it comes to the skarn spines. Which means Chainsaw can TWF with only one arm, making both his firsthand attacks and offhand attack with it, completely offsetting his handicap. The lightning mace feat does require Two-Weapon Fighting, but only mentions « wielding a mace in each hand ». You don’t have to attack with the mace to be wielding it, which means Chainsaw can have a light mace in his hand, and TWF with only his spine, and still get more attacks every time he gets a critical threat. This also allows him to enhance the mace with special properties that don’t require the wielder to attack with the weapon, like Crazed, which gives him a rage-like ability, Blindsighted, or Blurring.
Finally, Noble Familiarity is worded in a way that allows Chainsaw to find even items that would never appear in a normal shop. Notably, an item of metamagic-reduced persisted wraithstrike 1/day with a caster level of 3 (you might even be able to reduce the caster level to 2 if the crafter is an artificer/ur-priest, but I’m not sure if it is even possible). Low caster level means the cost of the item is super low (360*3*(2+6)=8640 gp, way below your WPL at this point), but also that it is pretty easy to find with your decent Gather Information modifier. That allows you to use Combat Expertise and Power Attack to their fullest, and to make yet one more attack per round whenever somebody attacks you, with Riposte. You could even add a persisted critical strike item (2520 gp). Finally, you can use a Necklace of Natural Weapons to give Soulbound to your spine. Since both Soulbound and Spine Enhancement only check how many essentia are invested in « the weapon », and Soulbound states that it « increases it’s enhancement bonus », not that it gives one, that means the two abilities stack and for each one essentia invested in your spine, it gets a +2 enhancement bonus to hit and damage rolls.

Maneuvers : (1 more from warblade 2, initiator level 4, 6 more from swordsage 1, initiator level 6) : Warblade : Action Before Thought, Steel Wind, Mountain Hammer, Sudden Leap
Swordsage : Burning Brand, Flashing Sun, Soaring Raptor Strike, Moment of Perfect Mind, Shadow Jaunt, Cloak of Deception, Stone Vise
Stances (1 more from Swordsage) : Blood in the water, Leaping Dragon Stance

Chainsaw is still Imperfect. Never will he be able to gain the last three levels of Spinemeld Warrior. Yet, with a Soulbound spine, he still has as much power as an August Perfect, while only being a Spine Fighter (which is a really lame title, by the way, but that’s off-topic). Moreover, he has learned to rip the flesh of his opponents apart with each strike, instead of just cutting them, meaning almost nobody can stand up to him in melee combat. That is even more accentuated by his newfound ability to shape soulmelds. Notably, he has learned to use the Draconic Tail soulmeld as some sort of substitute hand, making him able to wield a shield in it. Most people don’t use this because they depend on dexterity for TWF, but Chainsaw doesn’t have this problem, and can wield a heavy wood shield (the only reason he doesn’t use a tower shield is because he uses Jump a lot to move around, a darkwood shield doesn’t even have a check penalty). It can also be enhanced, of course.
Chainsaw also gains the ability to meld the Mauling Gauntlets, doubling the number of bonus attacks from Lightning Mace, giving a good chance to make at least one more attack per round.
That is the level where damage reduction become usual, and Chainsaw the Imperfect has the Sense Weakness feat, that allows him to bypass most of it with his Weapon Focused natural weapons, that is to say, his spine, with which he makes most of his attacks. Finally, Chainsaw also completes his martial training, learning how to use all of his attacks with Pouncing Charge.
At this level, it is even possible to find an item of persistent metamagic-reduced Righteous Might 1/day (17820 gp), which would allow for a huge increase in damage, since your attack scales as 2.5*Str.

Dysfunction : Spine Rend doesn’t mention hitting with both spines. Only with « the spine on each arm ». Chainsaw has only one arm. He can rend with each attack. Even more than that, he can rend with AoO if he can hit with one. That means the base damage of his spine becomes 3d6+2.5*Str overnight, which will help a lot to keep up at higher levels. Prehensile Tail is also a good way to circumvent the « each arm, each hand » restrictions. The tai lis definitely not an arm, nor does it have a hand, but it can be used as one, allowing to increase Chainsaw AC and versatility even more.

Maneuvers : (1 more from warblade 3, initiator level 9) : Warblade : Action Before Thought, Steel Wind, Mountain Hammer, Sudden Leap, Pouncing Charge
Swordsage : Burning Brand, Flashing Sun, Soaring Raptor Strike, Moment of Perfect Mind, Shadow Jaunt, Cloak of Deception, Stone Vise
Stances : Blood in the water, Leaping Dragon Stance

Chainsaw has understood his lesson. Never again would he show cockiness without being sure to be able to back it up. He entered in the king’s court, as one of his closest guards, a Kensai. This allowed him to increase his spine potential to unseen levels. If he doesn’t need something specific, he will create a Ravenous, Strength Sapping spine.

High concentration means Chainsaw will be able to increase his strength several times per day, each one having a great impact, since each strike from Chainsaw the Imperfect uses a very high strength bonus to damage. Chainsaw also has extended reach, meaning people will not approach him without getting hit at least once.

Dysfunction : Extended reach checks if you have a modelable weapon, like Chainsaw’s Draconic Tail, but then applies the extended reach seemingly to all of one’s attacks.

Arms and Equipment Guides : Crazed
Book of Vile Darkness : Strength Sapping
Champions of ruin : Ravenous
Cityscape web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) : Skilled City Dweller ACF
Complete Scoundrel : Extreme Leap skill trick
Complete Warrior variant : Kensai, Lightning Mace
Draconomicon : Sense Weakness
Dragon Compendium : Riposte
Magic of Incarnum : Cobalt Power, Spinemeld Warrior, Draconic Tail, Soulbound Weapon, Mauling Gauntlets,
Oriental Adventures : Blurring
PHB : Combat Expertise, Power Attack, Combat Reflexes, Lightning Reflexes, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus, Righteous Might
PHB II : Decisive strike Monk ACF
Savage Species : Prehensile Tail, Extended Reach
Spell Compendium : Wraithstrike, Critical strike,
Tome of Battle : Warblade, Swordsage, all maneuvers and stances.
Underdark : Blindsighted
Unearthed Arcana : Invisible Eye fighting style Monk ACF

The Viscount

2021-06-14, 11:59 PM

Every Thon has its august perfect of roses

Vorlance Thon

https://imgur.com/Wy7viJP.jpg

My name is Vorlance Trakkisin Alekk Thon, conjure by it at your own risk. My parents named me after four legendary Spinemeld Warriors of the Skarn. At an early age my father paid the Monks of the Passive way to raise and train me in their ways of bodily perfection. That was the last time I saw my father and the first day I got in trouble at the monastery.

The Monks of the Passive Way taught me how to use my spines and how to use my opponents aggression to protect myself. Unfortunately, I was never a great student of the Passive Way. Do not get me wrong, I can perform each of the techniques they taught me. However,their philosophy never found purchase in my heart. Instead, I have learned to gather from people not what they want but instead I give them what they need. Fortunately, the monks’ techniques have served me well in that regard because I have learned what people frequently need is to be knocked on their ass sometimes. In fact, a once friend swore to me, that I will “die doing the right thing.”

My personal philosophy has caused me no end of grief and my inability to take the wants of others above the needs of many others will no doubt continue to cause me grief well into the afterlife.

Race: Skarn
32 Point Buy
Str: 16+2; Dex: 10-2; Con: 14; Int: 12; Wis: 14; Cha: 12

Progression: All bumps go to Strength.

LevelClassBase Attack BonusFort SaveRef SaveWill SaveSkillsFeatsClass Features

1stSkarn Monk (Passive Way) 1+0+2+2+2
Balance 4 Ranks, Gather Information 4 Ranks, Intimidate 4 Ranks, Sense Motive 4 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 4 Ranks
City Slicker, Combat ExpertiseFlurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike (1d6), AC Bonus

2ndMonk(Passive Way) 2+1+3+3+3
Balance 5 Ranks, Gather Information 5 Ranks, Intimidate 5 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks
Improved TripInvisible Fist

3rdMonk 3+2+3+3+3
Gather Information 6 Ranks, Intimidate 6 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 1.5 Ranks
KnockdownStill Mind

4thMonk 4 (Holy Strike)+3+4+4+4
Gather Information 7 Ranks, Intimidate 7 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 3 Ranks
-Holy Strike, Slow Fall 20ft, Unarmed Strike (1d8)

5thTotemist 1+3+6+6+4
Gather Information 8 Ranks, Intimidate 8 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 3.5 Ranks
-Wild Empathy, Meldshaping

6thTotemist 2+4+7+7+4
Gather Information 9 Ranks, Intimidate 9 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 4 Ranks
Open Least Chakra(Hands)Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Capacity)

7thTotemist 3+5+7+7+5
Gather Information 10 Ranks, Intimidate 10 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks
-Totem's Protection

8thSpinemeld Warrior 1+6/+1+9+7+5
Gather Information 11 Ranks, Intimidate 11 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 1 Rank
-Twin Spine Fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting.

9thSpinemeld Warrior 2+7/+2+10+7+5
Gather Information 12 Ranks, Intimidate 12 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 2 Ranks
Expanded Soulmeld Capacity (Mauling Gauntlets) Noble Familiarty, Spine Enhancement

10thSpinemeld Warrior 3+8/+3+10+8+6
Gather Information 13 Ranks, Intimidate 13 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 3 Ranks
--

11thSpinemeld Warrior 4+9/+4+11+8+6
Gather Information 14 Ranks, Intimidate 14 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 4 Ranks
--

12thSpinemeld Warrior 5+10/+5+11+8+6
Gather Information 15 Ranks, Intimidate 15 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks
Split Chakra(Hands)Spine Rend

13thSpinemeld Warrior 6+11/+6/+1+12+9+7
Gather Information 16 Ranks, Intimidate 16 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 1 Rank
--

14thSpinemeld Warrior 7+12/+7/+2+12+9+7
Gather Information 17 Ranks, Intimidate 17 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 2 Ranks
-Chakra Bind (Arms)

15thSpinemeld Warrior 8+13/+8/+3+13+9+7
Gather Information 18 Ranks, Intimidate 18 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 3 Ranks
Bonus Essentia-

16thSpinemeld Warrior 9+14/+9/+4+13+10+8
Gather Information 19 Ranks, Intimidate 19 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 4 Ranks
-Adamantine Spines

17thSpinemeld Warrior 10+15/+10/+5+14+10+8
Gather Information 20 Ranks, Intimidate 20 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 5 Ranks
--

18thLegacy Champion 1+15/+10/+5+14+10+10
Gather Information 21 Ranks, Intimidate 21 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 7 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 5 Ranks
Double Chakra(Hands)Reduced Ritual Cost(Lesser), Bond of Lore

19thLegacy Champion 2+16/+11/+6/+1+14+10+11
Gather Information 22 Ranks, Intimidate 22 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 9 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 5 Ranks
-Replace Legacy Ability(Least) [Scroll Use->Enlarge Person 1/day]

20thLegacy Champion 3+17/+12/+7/+2+15+11+11
Gather Information 23 Ranks, Intimidate 23 Ranks, Knowledge(History) 11 Ranks, Sense Motive 5 Ranks, Balance 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Local) 5 Ranks, Knowledge(Nobility and Royalty) 5 Ranks, Diplomacy 5 Ranks
-Extra Legacy Ability Use(Least)[Scrollcasting]

LevelTotemist MeldsTotemist BindsSoulborn MeldsSoulborn BindsEssentia
[/th]

1st-----
2nd-----
3rd-----
4th-----
5th20--1
6th31--2
7th31--2
8th31002
9th31003
10th31104
11th31105
12th31105
13th31106
14th31207
15th312110
16th312110
17th312111
18th312111
19th312111
20th312111

My insides were on fire and it wasn’t my fault.

At this point in my life I was considered an adult at the monastery. I was free to pursue my own goals and objectives, stay and eat at the monastery, and was still required to caretake the monastery and train with the masters. Right then I was unable to care about what the monastery wanted of me when I knew on the otherside of this frozen pass a town needed the crates of medicine on the sled behind me. I took another sip of the brandy I stole and focused my mind on the fire blooming inside me, I fed into that feeling my pain, my cold, and my essence. My heart was of fire and blazed at my abdomen.

I didn’t see the ice troll before it tried to grab me. I suddenly realized why no one else was willing to attempt this trek. When the ice troll quickly released me and his hands came away burned as if the flames in my core were a living violent thing, I saw for the first time the small translucent totem I had been imagining fully visible before me. Not willing to let the troll recover I quickly struck out and saw the burns left by my fists on his flesh. I let him retreat and continued with my sled to the town.

When I returned to the monastery they did not want to hear about the delivery of the medicine, the ice troll along the route, or even the lives saved in the small town, they were only concerned with my missed training and the stolen brandy. This was the last straw before they sent me to boot camp as a punishment.

Here we are in the early days for Vorlance. The big highlight here is the Skarn Monk racial substituion level. It lets us use Arm Spines as an unarmed strike for all purposes. While that includes for damage, that has some really nice synergy that we'll highlight later. Once or twice a combat we can turn invisible as an immediate action which is great either defensively or offensively (probably more defensive at this level), and anytime we are fighting evil creatures deal 1d6 extra damage (making it much more likely to land that Knockdown).

With Open Chakra(Hands) we have either 2 soulbinds at this level. Our first bind is Sphinx Claws, giving us +1-3 to strength checks and pounce. Vorlance's second bind goes to Totem Chakra and can be flexed based on need, but by default will usually be Heart of Fire, for some 0-2d4 Fire Damage per attack. Last shaped soulmeld can go to whatever utility is needed for the day.

For right now though he has a 1d8 Spine attack, with trip and Knockdown. When it triggers the trip attempt is at a solid +11.

Out of combat, being able to go Invisible every few rounds can be great in stealth despite otherwise poor stealth skills. The flexibility in soulmelds gives 1-2 melds to invest in whatever skill is needed for the day. Without melds, his skills are focused on what he does best, gathering information and intimidating people, with a smattering of other knowledges and such mixed in.

That was the day I learned that blood does not stain a Spinemeld Warriors’ spines. Having seen the blood hit the ground from the execution of the court-martial immediately before mine did not exactly fill me with hope as I was brought, still bound, into the circle of judgement.
The counsel of 6 stood above me as I was driven to my knees and compelled the truth out of me. So I told them exactly what happened:

“My commanding officer was screaming at us to charge the dragon at the end of the street. I know the difference between what needs to happen and what he wants to happen. His attitude was getting us nowhere. It was at this point my spines light up and I punch him in the face knocking him down. Sometimes the thing someone needs the most is to be knocked on their ass. While he slept I told me plan to the rest of my compatriots. They did not argue as they know the difference between a glorious charge into certain death and the kind of planning ahead that leaves you alive at the end.

So running along the rooftops, invisible, I leap at the dragon and put all of my focus into this one punch…and the four that follow. On the third strike I finally knock the dragon to the ground. My team pounces on him with their spheres and we are able to take the street.”

Upon hearing my testimony compelled under truth they confer almost silently and nod to the executioner behind me. Knowing my fate is sealed I close my eyes and hear the “thunk’ of the executioner’s spines and am glad he is good at what he does because I don’t even feel them. Strangely, I do feel a body hit the floor beside me and see my old commanding officer eyes wide dead beside me.

The leader of the council took the rank insignia from his corpse and presented it to me.

Here we have entered the secret ingredient, and this really is our sweet spot. Remember earlier I mentioned some future synergy? With the ability to shape a Spinemeld Warrior Soulmeld, Vorlance can now shape and bind the oft overlooked Mauling Gauntlets meld. This gives a +2 morale bonus to strength checks, with an additional +2 for each essence invested. When bound that bonus adds to damage with unarmed strikes, which his spines count as. With an essentia cap of 3 in Mauling Gauntlets (2 for other melds), that gives him a flat +8 bonus to damage and trip attempts, and given he just got Two Weapon Fighting from Spinemeld Warrior, he's got even more attacks to use to take advantage of those bonuses. At this point a +18 trip check is not unusual.

On that note, we also hit Spinemeld Warrior 2 during this time. Meaning Vorlance now has the ability to gather information to buy almost any Magic Item. At this level Vorlance has a +19 Gather Information when searching for items, and can shape Truthseeker Goggles during downtime for bonuses to Gather Information, getting up to a +25, enough to easily secure most low-mid level items, and have a solid chance even at rare high level items. Items of note he is interested in locating/acquiring, and should somewhere between level 9 and level 18: Gloves of the Balanced Hand (improved TWF), Incarnum Focus for Hands/Arms, Fanged Ring, Monk's Belt, and the Legacy Weapon Lorestealer. Of these, none are build essential besides Lorestealer (or at the very least some other legacy item)

We've got a check-in here after obtaining Spinemeld Warrior's pentultimate ability, Adamantine Spines. At this point Vorlance has an essentia cap of 3 and should have been able to track down an Incarum Focus, so have an Essence Capacity of 4 for most things, including for his Spines. Meaning his spines can act as +4 weapons dealing somewhere between 1d8 and 3d6 base damage (depending on items found at this point, though anything with a CL pre-epic should be easily found with a 1 by this level), bypassing as though Good and Adamantine. Also picked up an Arm Chakra Bind, which in almost all circumstances should be going to Bluesteel Bracers. Because group initiative buffs are wonderful.

At this point his Gather Information to locate items without any other items purchased to aid in that is +19(ranks)+9(Spinemeld Warrior)+1(Cha)+2(synergy)+10(Truthseeker Goggles) = +41. So on a roll of a natural 1 he can find someone willing to sell an item up to CL27. Not bad!

Damage per hit can be up around 3d6+20 before any other Magic Items besides what was listed above (including basic +str items, or amulet of natural attacks with special weapon enhancements), and Trip Checks of +6(str)+10(mauling gauntlet) +4(improved Trip) = 20. Which is pretty solid for anything within his size category. Ideally he'll find some items to increase size or effective size to be able to trip larger things, but he is also fully capable of just going on without tripping if need be.

Last thing of note at this level is that last check-in I mentioned Vorlance wants to use his ability to play magic-mart to grab Lorekeeper. By this level Vorlance should acquire it and go through the Rituals to utilize it. He easily meets the prerequisites (no spellcasting, BAB+3), and the ritauls include throwing yourself into harms way to protect a loved one (completely in character), and to deliberately Mishap a scroll (which the ritual gives you the ability to do).

In doing so, he picks up the Least Legacy(Lorestealer) and Lesser Legacy(Lorestealer) feats as bonus feats. These are not listed on the table because they could be done at any time. Lorestealer does come with some penalties (at this level -2 to hit, -10 HP, -2 to a save), but in exchange he gets the ability to stab a scroll of up to 6th level to activate it twice a day, and a spell storing returning axe (in case you want to store the spell from that scroll and use it later either on yourself or an enemy). This gives Vorlance a little extra utility both in and out of combat, as he can purchase basically any scroll he wants thanks to his Gather Information check and Noble Familiarity. Is it necessary? Not really, is it a great utility to have, yes. Alternatively can substitute for any other Legacy Weapon Vorlance can qualify for and complete the Least Ritual for.

I obtained the most elite title amongst the Spinemeld Warriors, “August perfect of roses.” Joining the Spinemeld was my greatest achievement up until that point. I felt like my years of dedication and perfection was still not enough. I need to push further. Digging into the history of the axe I obtained from the nobility, “Lorestealer,” that let me cleave scrolls into casting themselves I realized there is somewhere further I can go. Since obtaining it I met the rituals. I defended my friends, compatriots, and fellow soldiers by divine in front of blows for them; I specifically caused problems with a scroll just to further empower the axe, and it hurt. I am ready to take the order of the Spinmeld Warrior further than anyone has ever taken it before. I will perfect my rank above all others and with my axe I shall make its legacy my own.

And here is the real reason we wanted a Legacy Weapon. What better way to exemplify the Spinemeld Warriors than having 12 levels of Spinemeld Warrior? Because that's what Legacy Champion provides. Normally Legacy Champion in Iron Chef wouldn’t be kosher, but our unique class ability to pick up whatever item we want makes it work. What Vorlance gets out of this is two things: 1) An extra +2 Gather Information because you get to add class level to that 2) The ability to increase the Spinemeld Cap to half his level which is now 6... meaning he gets to bypass DR/Epic early. And that I feel makes it worth taking not 10, but 12 levels of our Secret Ingredient. Sadly there's no set incarnum progression to continue here (I could make an argument for patterns resulting in one extra shaped meld and 2 extra essentia, but I am assuming you do not get that in the progression table below)

Another big pickup was Dual Chakra. It requiring Meldshaper Level 9 instead of Character Level 9 meant not being able to grab it until level 18, but hey at least here at the end we can pick back up the Pounce option we had at the beginning and use it with Mauling Gauntlets, the two combining together to great effect.

At this level, Essentia cap for non-Spinemelds is up to 5, and an extra 1 higher for Mauling Gauntlets. His damage is 3d6+26 (3d6+23 offhand) per hit, with 7 attacks per round, 8 if hasted or grabs a speed weapon, if any of those successfully trips (which he attempts at a roughly +30 at this point). Basically Vorlance is still doing what he's always been best at, he's just now much better than the best at it... and that is knocking people on their ass.

Legacy Champion's other abilities are not terrible, but not overly important either. Replace Legacy Ability(Least) lets him swap out Scroll Use (whose UMD check bonus he will never use and instead rely on Scrollcasting) with Enlarge Person 1/day (it is late, but it does play into his strengths giving extra damage, allowing him to trip bigger creature, and getting a +5 to trip checks). Extra Legacy Ability use Axe Casting gets us 3 scroll casts of up to 6th level spells each day for that little extra bit of utility.

Passive Way Monk (UA/SRD)
Holy Strike Monk ACF (Complete Champion)
Invisible Fist Monk ACF (Exemplars of Evil)
Knockdown Feat (Sword and Fist)
Legacy Champion/Lorekeeper (Weapons of Legacy)
Gloves of the Balanced Hand (Magic Item Compendium)
Fanged Ring (Dragon Magic)
Monk’s Belt (DMG)
Everything else not listed (Magic of Incarnum)

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:01 AM

Eh sure that looks fine

The lazy chef's spinemeld warrior

Picture: OK I don’t have a good picture here but imagine a really tough looking skarn with like a faraway look on his face, kind of thoughtful but also determined, and maybe he has a scar on one side of his face and is wearing a cool outfit

"Likely better than anything else that gets submitted" -A wise person, probably

"I mean it's pretty hard to screw up, you could take toughess for every feat and still make it work" -ibid.

Skarn, Warblade 10/Spinemeld Warrior 10
1 Warblade1- Azure Toughness
2 Warblade2-
3 Warblade3- Toughness
4 Warblade4-
5 Warblade5- Ironheart Aura
6 Spinemeld Warrior1- Toughness, Two-Weapon Fighting
7 Spinemeld Warrior2-
8 Warblade6-
9 Spinemeld Warrior3- Stormguard Warrior
10 Spinemeld Warrior4-
11 Warblade7-
12 Spinemeld Warrior5- Toughness
13 Spinemeld Warrior6-
14 Warblade8-
15 Spinemeld Warrior 7- Toughness
16 Spinemeld Warrior8-
17 Warblade9- Improved Initiative
18 Spinemeld Warrior9- Toughness
19 Spinemeld Warrior10-
20 Warblade10-

Maneuvers:
1- Wolf fang strike, sudden leap, moment of perfect mind, leading the attack or something idk
2- Wall of blades, claw at the moon
3- Iron heart surge
4- Death from above
5- Dancing mongoose, pouncing charge
6- Nothin’, because pouncing charge is better than any of the 6ths you qualify for
7- Swooping dragon strike
8- Raging mongoose

Stances:
1- Punishing stance, hunter’s sense, wolf pack tactics

Stats:
Put a bunch in strength

Skills:
Make it so he can like jump around a bunch and maybe intimidate for when he speaks in a real gravelly voice

Backstory:
OK this is a really cool backstory where a skarn had something really sad happen, maybe his parents died? And then he dedicated his life to learning how to fight with his spines so that he could - wait no that’s batman. OK make it his girlfriend who died? Hm, no, don’t want to fridge someone just for character development. Maybe an uncle who died. That one’s pretty original. Anyhow he gets really good at fighting and talks in a cool voice and one day he finds out who killed his uncle and then beats them up using this really cool move he learned from an old man in a cave somewhere (oh wait maybe the old man was his mentor and the old man died!!!)

oh and make him an orphan

Level by level:
Level 5- Walk around with a boatload of HP and kill stuff with your maneuvers
Level 10- Walk around with a boatload of HP and kill stuff with your maneuvers, also you can TWF (who needs dex) and charge up Stormguard Warrior and buy cool stuff
Level 15- Walk around with a boatload of HP and kill stuff with your maneuvers, also you can TWF (who needs dex) and charge up Stormguard Warrior and buy cool stuff, also also your spines are +3 and you can use like bluesteel bracers and stuff
Level 20- RAGING MONGOOSE ATTACK!!!!!!! (backstory notes maybe this is the cool move he learned from the old man??)

Sources: the book with all the swords and the weird book with a bunch of blue stuff

EDIT: so apparently I need a build table damn, sorry about that

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/647393639886094337/853350861862207488/build_table_2.jpg

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:02 AM

Yep I'm totally a Skarn I like spines.

The Black Cat
The Imposter
https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/484/55/666/movie-the-thing-1982-wallpaper-preview.jpg
White Dragonspawn Changeling Armored Mage Skilled City Dweller Fighter 1/Soul Eater 7/Warshaper 4/Skilled City Dweller Spinemeld Warrior 7

"Did you see Morgelle the other day? He was acting a bit suspicious. Very intense. More and more of us are going missing, I'm getting concerned there might be an assassin among us. But you? I can trust you." - Spinemeld Warrior Stergan Drott's last words.

PART ONE: THE BLACK CAT
Lawful Evil White Dragonspawn Changeling Armored Mage Skilled City Dweller Fighter 1/Were-Dire Puma 8/Soul Eater 3

People think monsters are born. That badness comes from an inherent evil that lurks within monstrous hearts. That when you defeat an evil, it goes away forever. Not so. Sometimes, evil comes back stronger, and it comes for you.

Nobody knows who The Black Cat was originally. Perhaps they were a city guard who fell to corruption. Perhaps they were a thief who stole more than they could pay back. If you asked them a thousand times, they would give a thousand answers. But one thing is certain: Whatever they became was not something they were born with.

We know that they had many masters before that gave them their dark gifts. Bitten by a were-cat, and warped into a draconic slave. They revelled in their power, delighting in tearing their marks to pieces disguised as their loved ones, feeding on their souls and gaining strength from it. People feared The Black Cat as it prowled the night, performing dark deeds for its masters. It was from this that it gained a sense of identity - the only identity it would ever take as it's own. No matter what mask it wore, underneath it was always The Black Cat.

This was naturally when adventurers would step in, and defeat The Black Cat. A group of Skarn, to be exact - lured by it's claws and teeth and the promise of honour and glory, these brave folk would protect the people The Black Cat preyed upon so freely. Spinemeld Warriors each one, some Soulcasters, some warriors, all equipped with arm spines and bravery.

"Why kill me?" it told them. "My masters will only raise me from the dead and I will kill again. I will keep killing until there is nobody left to kill. There is nothing you can do to stop me, my power is complete."

"But, monster, did you not see the shape of the moon? How full and bright it is tonight?"

"Hah! The moon, pitiful mortals, is my domain. It grants me strength. Tonight the moon will bear witness to... wait..."

"That's right, monster. You picked the one time when we can rid you of your curse. Break Enchantment!"

And with that, the fur fell away from the body of the monster previously known as The Black Cat. Scrabbling, desperate, it tried to grab the heroes, but all its power was gone. It couldn't muster the strength to drain their souls, it couldn't become a cat and run away. Shifting, screaming, the pitiful humanoid that remained had been utterly defanged with a single spell. But still, the adventurers refused to kill it.

"There is no honour in killing a defenseless creature. You will live, and you will spend your every day regretting the path you chose."

It tried to find the lycanthrope that turned it to get its abilities back. But it was no good, the curse could not take hold. No curse could, apart from the curse of having it's only identity ripped from it. It vowed revenge on the adventurers, on their race, on their very faces. Killing them was not enough, no, what they had done to it was far worse than mere death. It would become them, and steal from them their identities and ruin them.

White Dragonspawn Changeling Fighter 1/Were-Dire Puma 8/Soul Eater 3
Str 18
Dex 8 (+2 white dragonspawn)
Con 14 (+2 white dragonspawn)
Int 10
Wis 8
Cha 15

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

1st
White Dragonspawn
--
--
--
--
--
--
breath weapon, death throes, spellcasting

2nd
Fighter
+1
+2
+0
+0
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks
Racial EmulationRoD, Weapon Focus (Claw)
Armored Mage

3rd
Lycanthrope 1
--
--
--
--
--
--
--

4th
Lycanthrope 2
--
--
--
--
--
--
--

5th
Dire Puma 1
+1
+4
+2
+0
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 2 ranks
Alertness
improved grab, pounce, rake

6th
Dire Puma 2
+2
+5
+3
+0
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks
--
--

7th
Dire Puma 3
+3
+5
+3
+1
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 2 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks
Track
--

8th
Dire Puma 4
+4
+6
+4
+1
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks
--
--

9th
Dire Puma 5
+4
+6
+4
+1
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks
--
--

10th
Dire Puma 6
+5
+7
+5
+2
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 6 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 6 ranks
Weapon Focus (bite)
--

11th
Soul Eater 1
+6
+9
+7
+4
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 7 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 7 ranks
--
energy drain 1

12th
Soul Eater 2
+7
+10
+8
+5
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 9 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 9 ranks
Bonus EssentiaMoI
soul strength

13th
Soul Eater 3
+8
+10
+8
+5
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 11 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 11 ranks
--
soul blast

Spells per Day/Spells Known

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

1st
5 (4)
4 (2)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

Spells Known:

LevelSpells
0
Prestidigitation
Ghost Sound
Mage Hand
Arcane Mark
1st
Disguise Self
Blood WindRoTD

PART TWO: ...
Lawful Evil White Dragonspawn Changeling Armored Mage Skilled City Dweller Fighter 1/Soul Eater 3/Warshaper 2

During this time in the build, the creature is almost entirely defenseless. It has its breath weapon, claws, and the 1st level magic spells that are afforded to it by Dragonspawn, but it is hardly a match for anything level appropriate. Having been cured of lycanthropy, the creature has lost it's ability to drain souls - its main form of attack. This part of the build will be incredibly tough, and rely on the character avoiding combat at all costs. Thankfully, it only needs to gain two levels of Warshaper in order to unlock its abilities, at which point it has BAB +5, its Bonus Essentia feat back (and thus an Essentia Pool of 1), and most importantly, the ability to grow arm spines. This is incredibly important for the build: with Racial Emulation, the creature can pass as a skarn for all purposes, including prerequisites. With arm spines, it can use the abilities of Spinemeld Warrior.... without actually being a skarn.

PART THREE: THE IMPOSTER
White Dragonspawn Changeling Armored Mage Skilled City Dweller Fighter 1/Soul Eater 3/Warshaper 2/Skilled City Dweller Spinemeld Warrior 2/Soul Eater +4/Spinemeld Warrior +5/Warshaper +2

Morgelle crept down the hallways of the great halls of the mishtai, his footsteps echoing in the dark, bleak halls. It had been so busy recently, and now it was quiet and haunting. So many friends went missing. others turned up long dead when he could have sworn they were alive just a few moments ago. He had only just finished his tasks, he had to taken on so much more now that his friends had gone. He saw a shadow flickering in the torchlight. Alekk! It must be Alekk! He called out, and Alekk stepped from the darkness.

"Oh, Alekk! I was so worried, I thought something awful had happened to you."

"Don't worry, Morgelle. Nothing happened to me."

"What were you doing over there? You know there's a curfew on."

Morgelle strained their neck to look around the corner Alekk had appeared from. There was... a boot? And blood. A lot of blood. Morgelle stepped back, aghast. It was Alekk, lying in a pool of his own blood, torn to shreds. Then the Alekk in front of him....

Was no longer him. It was striding towards him, arm spines flicked out and flailing impossibly, the false Alekk's mouth opening too wide revealing rows upon rows of teeth, a tongue that lashed towards him. He heard a voice, a voice that he only heard once before, and would never hear again..

"I TOOK HIM. JUST LIKE I WILL TAKE YOU."

And darkness overtook Morgelle. The last, fleeting thought was of a black cat, looking at him from the darkness, licking its lips.

Feats:
1) Racial EmulationRoD
B) Weapon Focus (Claw)
3) Bonus EssentiaMoi
6) Alertness
9) Open Least Chakra (Hands)MoI
12) Shape Soulmeld (Sphynx Claws)MoI
15) Improved Energy DrainLM
18) Spell DrainLM

Rituals taken:
Draconic Rite of Passage (Nerveskitter 1/day)* RoTD Web Enhancement
Ritual of Dark FlamesLoD pg. 11

*Using Racial Emulation, The Imposter can transform into a kobold and count as a kobold for the purpose of the draconic rite of passage. Since the rite of passage only has a prerequisite for having done it, not for keeping the resulting spell like ability, The Imposter has a spell like ability that has a caster level equal to their HD. This is important for qualifying for Spell Drain much later on, which requires a caster level of 5th. I feel bad about doing it, but I ran out of feats for Practiced Spellcaster, and stealing another race's rite of passage seems like something they'd do.

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

1st
White Dragonspawn
--
--
--
--
--
--
breath weapon, death throes, spellcasting

2nd
Fighter
+1
+2
+0
+0
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks
Racial EmulationRoD, Weapon Focus (Claw)
Armored Mage

3rd
Soul Eater 1
+2
+4
+2
+2
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks
--
energy drain 1

4th
Soul Eater 2
+3
+5
+3
+3
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 4 ranks, Intimidate 4 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks
Bonus Essentia
soul strength

5th
Soul Eater 3
+4
+5
+3
+3
Climb 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks
--
soul blast

6th
Warshaper 1
+4
+7
+3
+3
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 2 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks
--
morphic immunities, morphic weapons

7th
Warshaper 2
+5
+8
+4
+4
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 4 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks
Alertness
morphic body

8th
Spinemeld Warrior 1
+6
+10
+4
+4
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 6 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks
Two Weapon Fighting (B)
twin spine fighting

9th
Spinemeld Warrior 2
+7
+11
+4
+4
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 8 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 5 ranks
--
noble familiarity, spine enhancement

10th
Soul Eater 4
+8
+12
+5
+5
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 8 ranks, Hide 7 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 7 ranks
Open Least Chakra (Hands)
soul enhancement

11th
Soul Eater 5
+9
+12
+5
+5
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 8 ranks, Hide 9 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 9 ranks
--
soul enhancement

12th
Soul Eater 6
+10
+13
+6
+6
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 8 ranks, Hide 11 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 11 ranks
--
soul radiance

13th
Soul Eater 7
+11
+13
+6
+6
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 8 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
Shape Soulmeld (Sphynx Claws)
energy drain 2

14th
Spinemeld Warrior 3
+12
+13
+7
+7
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 10 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
--
--

15th
Spinemeld Warrior 4
+13
+14
+7
+7
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 12 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
--
--

16th
Spinemeld Warrior 5
+14
+14
+7
+7
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 14 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
Improved Energy Drain
spine rend

17th
Spinemeld Warrior 6
+15
+15
+8
+8
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 16 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
--
--

18th
Spinemeld Warrior 7
+16
+15
+8
+8
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 4 ranks, Gather Information 18 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
--
chakra bind (arms)

19th
Warshaper 3
+17
+15
+8
+8
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 6 ranks, Gather Information 18 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
Spell Drain
morphic reach

20th
Warshaper 4
+18
+16
+8
+8
Climb 4 ranks, Disguise 8 ranks, Gather Information 18 ranks, Hide 13 ranks, Intimidate 6 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks, Move Silently 13 ranks
--
morphic healing

The Imposter attacks mostly using its energy drain ability, which is greatly enhanced by its arm spines. The arm spines, thanks to Twin Spine Fighting, get iteratives +1 attacks, which is 5 attacks at level 18. This isn't including morphic weapons' other natural weapons, which would be cumbersome and obvious in normal situations. So not having to use 5 move actions to grow additional weapons is sometimes advantageous, and it makes a necklace of natural attacks a lot cheaper if you didn't have to enchant 5 different natural weapons. The Imposter is always in Skarn form, so having this invisible weapon is very important to them. Sphynx Claws is used by level 12 to give Pounce back to The Imposter, something they lost after being cured of lycanthropy. A full attack from them would be incredibly dangerous. If they find themselves having to attack at range, they can fly and also use blood wind to attack with all their natural weapons from a safe place. Using that spell, they deal damage as if they had attacked from melee range, which I assume includes the energy drain damage. They also can use the ritual of dark flames to deal HDd6 damage at will, using Strongheart Vest to soak the damage up. One point of essentia for immunity to the wisdom damage is a good deal. Other cool natural weapons The Imposter could use to deal negative levels include the Dire ToadMMII's tongue, and perhaps the Coral GolemSW's coral stars. Is it still touching them if you've hucked a part of your body you've torn off yourself? Who knows, that might be gilding the lily a little.

The Imposter can use Noble Familiarity to find access to magical items such as the aforementioned necklace, wands of Blood WindSpC, and items such as The Shirt of Wraith StalkingMIC to become invisible to undead. Since undead are immune to most of their tricks (energy drain and negative energy blast), it's best to avoid them altogether. The Imposter is an assassin, not an exterminator. A Hat of Disguise augments their disguising abilities,

Spine Enhancement is a useful way of getting cheap bonuses on the spines, so that the necklace of natural attacks can be given more special abilities.

Chakra bind (arms) can be used to bind the mauling gauntlets - effectively giving him improved critical for his arm spines. I don't think that you wield other natural weapons, but you definitely wield your spines thanks to Twin Spine Fighting.

I chose to drop the last three levels of Spinemeld Warrior as damage is not really important to The Imposter - it doesn't matter if he does less damage if he can drain the life out of his foes, and nothing really has DR/Adamantine worth worrying about.

Later on, Soul Radiance and Spell Drain become much more important - shapechanging into powerful monsters and using Minor Shape Change to appear as a skarn again gives The Imposter an edge, and Spell Drain allows them to cast spells they've stolen. Theft, if you haven't guessed, is a very important part of the character.

Skilled City Dweller is vitally important to using Noble Familiarity, and thankfully Spinemeld Warrior has Handle Animal on it's skill list. Note that the ACF states "any class with these skills" can take the ACF, which does not preclude prestige classes.
Being cured of lycanthropy is an important part of the character, as it sparks the rest of their career and sets their trajectory. This does mean that they are left with three dead levels of Soul Eater, but they keep the BAB. By levelling up a different class in the meantime, I'm able to self qualify for Soul Eater, saving precious levels I would have otherwise had to fill with useless base classes. I asked The Viscount, and they stated that self qualification was legal.
Yes, I know, morphic weapons can give you NI natural weapons to use with Soul Eater, but no DM will ever let you do this. For this build I assume that you can grow a few extra natural weapons for that The Thing flavor, and focus on how cool it is arm spines give you iteratives.
I am using the reading that every touch a Soul Eater does deals energy drain, and for that I am truly sorry.

Races of Destiny (Changeling, Racial Emulation)
Magic of Incarnum (Spinemeld Warrior, Bonus Essentia, Open Least Shakra, Shape Soulmeld)
Libris Mortis (Improved Energy Drain, Spell Drain)
Races of the Dragon Web Enhancement (Draconic Rite of Passage)
Complete Mage (Armored Mage ACF)
Cityscape (Skilled City Dweller)
Lords of Darkness (Ritual of the Dark Flames)
Dragonlance Campaign Setting (White Dragonspawn)
Spell Compendium (Blood Wind)
Races of the Dragon (Nerveskitter)
Sandstorm (Dire Puma)
Races of Eberron (Racial Emulation)

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:03 AM

Yo dawg I heard you like incarnum

Kim Pogona
LN Changeling Warblade 3/Thug Fighter 2/Warshaper 2/Spinemeld Warrior 3/Ironsoul Forgemaster 10

“Do you know how they used to make steel in olden times?” The old dwarf asked gruffly.

Pogona shook his head.

“Bones,” she grunted through her soot-blackened beard. “You cook up iron with bone, and you get steel. Some say that there’s something in the bone that changes the iron. Some say that it gives a little spark of soul to the metal that toughens it.”

“Which is it?” Pogona asked.

“Could be either. Could be both.” She laughed. “Either way though, there’s iron in all our blood and we’ve all got bones, and a soul of our very own. So everybody’s definitely got the ingredients to make a sword before they ever step up to the forge. Just got to make them work for you, but you’ve a knack for that.”

She pinched his cheek affectionately. It stretched out from his face a bit more than one would expect. He blushed as his body drew it back sharply, hardening it to the reptilian scaliness of one of his skarn friends. The old smith tousled his hair affectionately. “Don’t worry about it, lad. You’ll understand one day.”

Ability Scores
16 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Con, 12 Int, 8 Wis, 10 Cha
Increase Dex at 4th, 8th, and 12th, Str at 16th and 20th
Alternately, as Noble Familiarity makes items more reliably available, consider increasing Dex only at 12th and buying +2 Gloves of Dexterity.

Build Table

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

1st
Warblade 1
+1
+2
+0
+0
Tumble 4, Jump 4, Balance 4, Gather Information 2, Knowledge (Local) 2, Craft (Armorsmithing) 4
Able Learner
Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude

2nd
Thug Fighter
+2
+4
+0
+0
Tumble 5, Jump 5, Balance 5, Gather Information 3, Knowledge (Local) 2, Craft (Armorsmithing) 5
-
-

3rd
Thug Fighter 2
+3
+5
+0
+0
Tumble 6, Jump 6, Balance 5, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Local) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 6
Racial Emulation, Urban TrackingB
Draconic Rite of Passage (Magic Weapon* 1/day)

4th
Warblade 2
+4
+6
+0
+0
Tumble 7, Jump 7, Balance 5, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Local) 5, Craft (Armorsmithing) 7
-
Uncanny Dodge

5th
Warshaper 1
+4
+8
+0
+0
Tumble 8, Jump 8, Balance 5, Gather Information 5, Knowledge (Local) 6, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8
-
Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons

6th
Warshaper 2
+5
+9
+0
+0
Tumble 8, Jump 9, Balance 5, Gather Information 5, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8
Touchstone (Bastion of Souls)
Morphic Body

7th
Spinemeld Warrior 1
+6
+11
+0
+0
Tumble 8, Jump 10, Balance 5, Gather Information 7, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8
Two-Weapon FightingB
Twin-Spine Fighting

8th
Spinemeld Warrior 2
+7
+12
+0
+0
Tumble 8, Jump 11, Balance 5, Gather Information 9, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8
-
Noble Familiarity, Spine Enhancement

9th
Spinemeld Warrior 3
+8
+12
+1
+1
Tumble 8, Jump 12, Balance 5, Gather Information 9, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
-

10th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 1
+8
+14
+1
+3
Tumble 8, Jump 13, Balance 5, Gather Information 11, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
-
Shield Bond

11th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 2
+9
+15
+1
+4
Tumble 8, Jump 14, Balance 5, Gather Information 13, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Craft Magic Arms & Armor
Secrets of the Forge

12th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 3
+10
+16
+2
+4
Tumble 8, Jump 15, Balance 5, Gather Information 15, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Bonus Essentia
Forge Lore

13th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 4
+11
+16
+2
+5
Tumble 9, Jump 16, Balance 5, Gather Information 16, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
-
Armor Bond

14th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 5
+11
+16
+2
+5
Tumble 10, Jump 17, Balance 5, Gather Information 17, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
-
Armor Bond

15th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 6
+12
+17
+3
+6
Tumble 11, Jump 18, Balance 5, Gather Information 18, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
Greater Two-Weapon Fighting
Chakra Bind (Waist)

16th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 7
+13
+17
+3
+6
Tumble 12, Jump 19, Balance 5, Gather Information 19, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2
-
-

17th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 8
+14
+18
+3
+7
Tumble 12, Jump 20, Balance 5, Gather Information 20, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1
-
Chakra Bind (Shoulders)

18th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 9
+14
+18
+4
+7
Tumble 13, Jump 21, Balance 5, Gather Information 21, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1
Martial Study (Dancing Mongoose)
Weapon Bond

19th
Ironsoul Forgemaster 10
+15
+19
+4
+8
Tumble 14, Jump 22, Balance 5, Gather Information 22, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1
-
Chakra Bind (Heart)

20th
Warblade 3
+16
+19
+5
+9
Tumble 17, Jump 23, Balance 5, Gather Information 23, Knowledge (Local) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1
-
Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)

*If Noble Familiarity can be used for spellcasting services to help with crafting and Magic Weapon is not necessary to craft a Soulbound Weapon, then take something more useful, like Benign Transposition.

Maneuvers

Level
Maneuvers Known
Maneuvers Readied
Stances Known

1st
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Steel Wind
3
Hunter’s Sense

4th
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Steel Wind, Claw at the Moon
3
Hunter’s Sense

18th
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Steel Wind, Claw at the Moon, Dancing Mongoose
3
Hunter’s Sense

20th
Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Steel Wind, Dancing Mongoose, Pouncing Charge
3
Hunter’s Sense

Meldshaping

Level
Soulmelds
Essentia
Chakra Binds

6th
0
1
0

8th
0
2
0

9th
0
3
0

10th
1
3
0

11th
1
4
0

12th
1
6
0

13th
1
7
0

14th
2
8
1

15th
2
9
1

17th
2
10
1

[/tr]

Level 6Needing full BAB to enter Warshaper on time means no Changeling Rogue, but Thug Fighter and Warblade are at least 4+Int instead of 2. Warblade provides some tactical movement with Sudden Leap and a few ways to make multiple attacks as a standard action. Warshaper is always fun, and makes Racial Emulation Changeling entry into the SI viable by giving Pogona spines that he otherwise wouldn’t have. As there isn’t really an Incarnum feat that does more for you than just giving the requisite point of essentia to enter the SI, the lower-order ability of the Bastion of Souls Planar Touchstone site gets the job done there. Per Sandstorm, Planar Touchstone sites are also Touchstone sites, so Knowledge (Local) covers qualification (as well as granting a synergy bonus to Gather Info), and the higher-order ability will be very useful later on.
Level 11Only three levels of the SI. The class features run out at level 2, but you need the ability to shape soulmelds to enter Ironsoul Forgemaster, and that doesn’t come online until the 3rd level of Spinemeld Warrior. Ironsoul Forgemaster does maintain the important parts of the SI, however, as it progresses meldshaping, provides more chakra binds, and even offers a workaround to the essentia cap on Spine Enhancement that would otherwise be stunted by leaving early. Namely, it (along with the ability to cast Magic Weapon acquired from emulating a kobold long enough to undergo the Draconic Rite of Passage, which also gives you a CL equal to character level to stack with your Forgemaster level for crafting with Secrets of the Forge), to add the Soulbound weapon enhancement (or once you can afford it, the greater version) to your Necklace of Natural Weapons (the necklace itself requires Craft Wondrous Item to create for some reason, but Noble Familiarity ensures that you’ll be able to find one). With the Soulbound enhancement on your spines, you can invest essentia into your spines up to the cap set by the enhancement, rather than that of Spinemeld Warrior, but they are still invested in the spines, so the Spine Enhancement bonus still applies, and indeed double dips with the enhancement. Enjoy swinging away with a much higher enhancement bonus on both spines than a normal TWFer could ever afford and between Noble Familiarity and Secrets of the Forge crafting, you’re free to add other fancy enhancements that apply to both as well.
Level 15Progressing Spinemeld Warrior’s meldshaping progression with Ironsoul Forgemaster means having more chakras open than you get binds, but Bastion of Souls higher-order ability (which Noble Familiarity should be able to finagle you some reliable portal or Plane Shift access to reliably recharge) has you covered, as it gives you an extra bind, allowing you to bind to the Arms chakra as soon as it’s open, and both the Arms and Waist when the bind from progression and Waist chakra come online at level 15. Greater Two-Weapon Fighting is now online, and with a +8 enhancement bonus from a fully invested Greater Soulbound weapon double dipping with Spine Enhancement, and a high Str score (20 before items thanks to Morphic Body, and items are reliably available with Noble Familiarity), later iteratives and off-hand attacks hit a bit more often and harder than they otherwise might.
Level 20Finishing out Ironsoul Forgemaster means Weapon Bond is now online, granting another perk for investing essentia into your spines (which are, after all, a weapon you made yourself), namely that every hit (with either main or offhand of a 16 BAB Greater Two-Weapon Fighting routine where both weapons have a +8 enhancement bonus) comes with a rider of a DC 14+Con Fort save against daze. You also have a wider variety of chakras open, so pick whatever two are suitable for a given day. Martial Study and a dip back into Warblade nab a few higher level manuevers, namely Dancing Mongoose for extra attacks as a swift and Pouncing Charge which makes the ability to full attack every round more reliable than it was with Sudden Leap alone.

Complete Warrior: Warshaper
Magic of Incarnum: Open Lesser Chakra, Ironsoul Forgemaster, Spinemeld Warrior, Soulmelds, Bastion of Souls
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Races of Eberron: Changeling, Racial Emulation
Races of the Dragon: Draconic Rite of Passage
Sandstorm: Touchstone
Tome of Battle: Martial Study, Warblade, Maneuvers
Everything else is SRD.

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:04 AM

One spine, two spine, red spine, er... green spine.

Trakkisin Rus
LE Skarn Ranger 10/Monk 2/Spinemeld Warrior 8

“Face each other! Bow!”

Trakkisin bowed to the other Green Spine that stood across from him. He’d rushed into the class from the look of it. He’d probably been a regular grunt in the army a few weeks ago, and was now in front of a crowd of hundreds with a fancy title. Shame what had to happen to him, really.

“Ready,” the referee called out as the two assumed their stances. “Begin!”

The other skarn rushed forward, quick on his feet, swinging a spined arm down to catch Trakkisin’s shoulders. Trakkisin grimaced, but rolled with the blow, twisting into a heavy blow with his own spines, before vanishing into thin air and stepping to the side. He had never been the stealthiest, even among Skarn, but the roar of the crowd and inexperience were disorienting his fellow Green Spine, who moved a way that he shouldn’t have and opened himself up to another two slashes across his back. There was a feeble attempt at a blow in response, but Trakkisin caught the other skarn’s spines with his own, opening his adversary up to a knee to the gut that drove the wind out of them. Ripping into his opponent’s flesh once more with his spines, he brought the battle to an end as quickly as he could.

Standing over his fallen adversary, Trakkisin raised both arms, that the crowd could see the blood dripping from his spines.

“Red Spine!” The crowd chanted, delightedly. “Red Spine! Red Spine!”

Ability Scores
32 Point-Buy: 16 Str, 14 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 14 Wis, 10 Cha
After Racial Modifiers: 18 Str, 12 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 14 Wis, 10 Cha
Increase Str at all opportunities.

Build Table

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

1st
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
Ride 4, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Gather Information 4, Swim 4, Spot 4, Listen 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 1cc
Improved Unarmed Strike, Urban TrackingB
Urban Tracker, Favored Enemy (Arcanists), UA Planar Ranger, Skilled City-Dweller (Handle Animal for Gather Information)

2nd
Monk 1
+2
+4
+4
+2
Ride 4, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Gather Information 4, Swim 5, Spot 4, Listen 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 1, Quick Swimmer
Stunning FistB
Decisive Strike, Skarn Monk

3rd
Monk 2
+2
+5
+5
+3
Ride 4, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Gather Information 4, Swim 5, Spot 4, Listen 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
Ascetic Hunter, Combat ReflexesB
Invisible Fist

4th
Ranger 2
+3
+6
+6
+3
Ride 6, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Gather Information 6, Swim 5, Spot 5, Listen 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
Two-Weapon FightingB
Combat Style

5th
Ranger 3
+4
+6
+6
+4
Ride 8, Knowledge (The Planes) 4, Gather Information 8, Swim 5, Spot 6, Listen 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
EnduranceB
-

6th
Ranger 4
+5
+7
+7
+4
Ride 9, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Gather Information 9, Swim 5, Spot 8, Listen 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
Sapphire Fist
-

7th
Ranger 5
+6
+7
+7
+4
Ride 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 6, Gather Information 10, Swim 5, Spot 9, Listen 9, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
-
Favored Enemy (Humanoid (Reptilian))

8th
Ranger 6
+7
+8
+8
+5
Ride 11, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 11, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
Improved Two-Weapon FightingB
Improved Combat Style

9th
Spinemeld Warrior 1
+8
+10
+8
+5
Ride 12, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 12, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus), Double HitB
Twin Spine Fighting, Skilled City-Dweller (Trade Handle Animal for Gather Information)

10th
Spinemeld Warrior 2
+9
+11
+8
+5
Ride 13, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 13, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
-
Noble Familiarity, Spine Enhancement

11th
Spinemeld Warrior 3
+10
+11
+9
+6
Ride 14, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 14, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
-
-

12th
Spinemeld Warrior 4
+11
+12
+9
+6
Ride 15, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 15, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
Snap Kick
-

13th
Spinemeld Warrior 5
+12
+12
+9
+6

-
Spine Rend
Ride 16, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 16, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
14th
Spinemeld Warrior 6
+13
+13
+10
+7
Ride 17, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 17, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
-
-

15th
Spinemeld Warrior 7
+14
+13
+10
+7
Ride 18, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 18, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Quick Swimmer
Robilar’s Gambit
Chakra Bind (Arms)

16th
Spinemeld Warrior 8
+15
+14
+10
+7
Ride 18, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 19, Swim 5, Spot 10, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1, Quick Swimmer
-
-

17th
Ranger 7
+16
+14
+10
+7
Ride 18, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 20, Swim 5, Spot 13, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1, Quick Swimmer, Clarity of Vision
-
Crowd-Walker

18th
Ranger 8
+17
+15
+11
+7
Ride 18, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 21, Swim 5, Spot 18, Listen 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1, Quick Swimmer, Clarity of Vision
Superior Unarmed Strike
Portal Intuition

19th
Ranger 9
+18
+15
+11
+8
Ride 18, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 22, Swim 5, Spot 18, Listen 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1, Quick Swimmer, Clarity of Vision
-
Evasion

20th
Ranger 10
+19
+16
+12
+8
Ride 18, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Gather Information 23, Swim 5, Spot 19, Listen 19, Knowledge (Arcana) 1, Balance 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 1, Quick Swimmer, Clarity of Vision
-
Favored Enemy (Humanoid (Human))

Ranger Spells/Day

Level
1st
2nd

6th
0
-

8th
1
-

18th
1
0

20th
1
1

*Does not include bonus spells from a high Wis score.

Meldshaping

Level
Soulmelds
Essencia
Chakra Binds

6th
0
1
0

10th
0
2
0

11th
1
3
0

12th
1
4
0

14th
1
5
0

15th
2
6
1

16th
2
7
1

Level 5Skarn Monk means losing Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat, and needing to spend a regular feat on it in order to qualify for Ascetic Hunter, but it’ll pay off, as the two together give the spines the damage dice of a Monk of our combined Monk/Ranger level. Skarn Monk also allows us to Decisive Strike with the spines, dealing double damage on the attack as well as any attacks of opportunity that might be incurred during the round (for the moment being, carry around a longspear to get a few extra double-damage hits in).
Level 10Sapphire Fist, along with Decisive Strike, makes Stunning Fist more of a threat, and Ranger covers both Two-Weapon Fighting and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting without our needing to meet the Dex prerequisites, while progressing spine damage. This sets up our entry into the SI. Double Hit is one of only a few feats that require Two-Weapon Fighting but not a high Dex score, and it pairs well with Decisive Strike, allowing us to hit an enemy that provokes with both spines, with the damage doubled on both. An enemy who we attack twice, most likely in this way, can also be rendered flat-footed by Invisible Fist as an immediate action, allowing for an additional attack from Planar Touchstone (Oxyrhynchus)’s lower-order ability.

In addition to providing Knowledge (Planes) to qualify for Planar Touchstone, UA Planar Ranger furnishes us with a Fiendish Horse that’s smart enough to understand directions in common. Fast mounting/dismounting will become trivial shortly (first with Riding Bracers and then just with ranks), but for the time being nothing stops us from Decisive Striking from the saddle, even if we don’t want to risk sinking a move action getting out. For when we are out of the saddle, Noble Familiarity should be able to set us up with a Sparring Dummy of the Master, allowing for 10-ft steps.
Level 15Snap-Kick doesn’t work to grant an extra spine attack with Skarn Monk, sadly, but an unarmed strike on top of the one attack from Decisive Strike is enough to meet the two attack threshold for Oxyrhynchus without needing an enemy to provoke attacks of opportunity. Enemies likely will be provoking them, however, as Robilar’s Gambit is now online, meaning we can attack with both spines against any enemy that attacks us. Any enemy hit with both spines, whether from the Oxyrhynchus shuffle, Double Hit, or some combination thereof, now also takes damage from Spine Rend.

The Arms chakra is now open. Our favorite meld to bind to it is the Astral Vambraces, which grants any of the options from Astral Construct Menu A. Improved Natural Attack is a good default option with our Monkish damage dice, but also noteworthy is the swim speed. With the ability to make 10-ft steps and the Quick Swimmer skill trick, we can potentially move 20 ft as a free action when on aquatic adventures. For some of these levels, Riding Bracers will be a default meld to trivialize the checks to leapfrog our horse for free movement, but as of 15 we hit DC 20 on a 1, and can devote our second soulmeld slot to something else.

Level 20We duck out of Spinemeld Warrior a few levels early, but only miss out on Adamantine Spines and the last point of essentia cap for Spine Meld. This frees up two more levels for Ranger, which alongside Superior Unarmed Strike and a Monk’s Belt acquired through Noble Familiarity, gets our spine damage to that of a 20th level Monk. It also nabs a third favored enemy, which is handy for Stunning Fist attacks.

Arms & Equipment Guide: Sparring Dummy of the Master
Complete Adventurer: Ascetic Hunter
Complete Mage: Arcane Hunter
Complete Scoundrel: Skill Tricks
Exemplars of Evil: Invisible Fist
Magic of Incarnum: Sapphire Fist, Skarn Monk, Spinemeld Warrior
Mind’s Eye (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a): Astral Vambraces
Miniatures Handbook: Double Hit
Planar Handbook: Planar Touchstone, Portal Intuition, Oxyrhynchus
Player’s Handbook II: Decisive Strike
Tome of Battle: Snap Kick, Superior Unarmed Strike
Everything else is SRD.

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:05 AM

Slish-slash, using skarn spines is trash.

SLISH-SHLASH
https://i.imgur.com/t6BpBan.jpg

Spines: They are a trap.
Use a sword like a grown up.
Spines are really dumb

Samurai 2/ samurai 3/ paragnostic initiate 1/ spinemeld warrior 8/fighter 2/ incandescent champion 4

Lawful Good Dragonborn Skarn (heart aspect)

ABILITIES
str 16,
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 10
Wis 10
Cha 15
AT 4, 8, 12 add +1 dex
At 16 add +1 cha
At 20 add +1 dex

BACKGROUND:
There once was a samurai meldshaper who wandered the land restoring honor and truth to the peoples of the province. Skarn are a lame race, so they dragonborned away from the super eugenics-y culture trading the one thing that incarnum tried to saddle the skarn with: the Rules disobedient spines, and just used spinemeld warrior for meld shapes, chakra binds, a free feat and full bab. Reptilian dragonmen samurais are way cooler than skarn anythings.

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

1
OA samurai 1 (OA p.20)
1
2
0
2
16: Knowledge (arcana) 2 ranks , Knowledge (religion) 2 ranks , Knowledge (nature) 2 ranks, ride 2, iaijutsu focus 2
Exotic weapon proficiency: gold (Magic of Faerun p.179) alchemy (Magic of Eberron p.137) kneeblade (ComSco p.110)
Ancestral daisho

2
CW samurai 1 (CW p.8)
2
4
0
2
2: concentration 2
Exotic weapon proficiency (katana)
daisho proficiency

3
CW samurai 2
3
5
0
2
2: concentration 4
TWF, cobalt critical (MoI p.35)
two swords as one

4
OA samurai 2
4
6
0
3
4: knowledge (nature) 3, gather information 1
Weapon focus (katana)
bonus feat

5
Paragnostic initiate (ComChamp p.96)
5
8
2
3
6: knowledge nature 4, knowledge (religion) 7

Assist casting (penetration), tactical combat (deady strike)

6
Spine Meld Warrior 1(MoI p.147)
6
10
2
3
2: gather information 2
Open least chakra: hands (MoI p.39), two weapon rend (PHB2 p.85)
Twin spine fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting

7
SpineMeld Warrior 2
7
11
2
3
2: gather information 3

Noble familiarity, spine enhancement, 1 essentia

8
SpineMeld Warrior 3
8
11
3
4
2: gather information 4

1 meld, 2 essentia

9
SpineMeld Warrior 4
9
12
3
4
2: gather information 5
Power critical: katana (ComWar p.103)
3 essentia

10
SpineMeld Warrior 5
10
12
3
4
2: iaijutsu 3

spine rend

11
spineMeld Warrior 6
11
13
4
5
2: iaijutsu 4

4 essentia

12
spineMeld Warrior 7
12
13
4
5
2: iaijutsu 5
power attack
chakra bind arms, 2 melds, 5 essentia

13
fighter
13

15
4
5
2: gather information 5
weapon focus shortsword,
bonus feat, heavy armor pro,

14
fighter
14

16
4
5
2: iaijutsu 6
power critical shortsword
bonus feat

15
Incandescent champion 1 (MoI p.115)
14

16
4
7
2: marital lore 1
open least chakra (crown)
incandescent strike, +1 essentia

16
Incandescent champion 2
15

16
4
8
2: gather information 6

Fast healing (self) +2 essentia

17
Incandescent champion 3
16

17
5
8
2: martial lore 2

unbearable countenance +3 essentia

18
Incandescent champion 4
17

17
5
9
2: iaijutsu 7
improved two weapon fighting
Incarnum overload 1/day

19
spinemeld warrior 8
18

18
5
9
2: iaijutsu 8

6 essentia

20
CW samurai 3
19

19
5
10
4: iaijutsu 12

kiai smite

SOULMELDS SHAPED AND BOUND:
Mauling gauntlets bound to arms: improved critical on melee weapons
Necrocarnum weapon bound to hands: +1 profane to attack/damage/confirm per essentia
Crystal helm bound to crown: force descriptor on items

LEVEL 5
Full bab, a free ancestral daisho, and all the feats you need to use it well. A kneeblade is treated as a shortsword, but you use your knee to wield it, so that frees your hands for a two handed katana. An alchemy blade is affecting by any effect that affects a shortsword if you have the exotic weapon pro for it. If your spending feats on exotic weapon pro for a shortsword anyway, might as well make it out of a heavy material and get a larger damage die. Because it's an alchemy blade, you can load it with alchemical frost or fire. Paragnostic initiate grants a few skill points and gives you a black +2 on confirming crit rolls. Cobalt critical gives you another +1.

LEVEL 10
Necrocarnum weapon is in play, and you have 4 essentia to split between that and cobalt critical.

HIGH POINT 12-14:
6 essentia splite between cobalt critical and necrocarnum weapon, mauling guantlets bound to arms double the crit range for the heavy alchemy kneeblade wakizashi and the two handed wielded masterwork bastard sword to 17-20. That's a 20% per attack of which you have 4 or 5 chances to get a threat of a critical hit per round. If you need to confirm that critical hit, you have a +3 insight (cobalt critical), +3 profane (necroweapon), +2 (paragnostic initiate deadly strike) +4 power critical for an additional +12 to confirm the critical hit. Ancestral Daisho should allow for some weapon customization: An illthidwrought tentacle katana should work nicely on this build, which comes online around level 13. Noble familiarity can be used to locate and purchase other neat weapon enchantments on your kneebladeizashi. If you coup de gras someone or get a crit, you get 3 bonus essentia, which might be sweet to use for some other class features. An aptitude soulbound eager heavy katana with some sort of burst effect should work as a back up blade. And you can swing these katanas with two hands for better power attack returns on damage.

LEVEL 18:
We made it here? Well now we can attack 6 times per round, our weapons deal force damage, and if we confirm a critical our illithidwrought tentacle katana family heirloom gets to rip out a brain (fort save 21) but statistically you should be making them save against this once per round.

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:06 AM

I am... the law!

Irtrar Kalmanar Qath
LE > LN Unseelie Fey Skarn Ranger 6/Spinemeld Warrior 10/Incarnate 4

At this point in the day, as the sun was beginning to set, most people were starting to wind down for the day, coming home from work, preparing for their last meal, closing up shops, stalls and storefronts, and the crowded streets of Tal Daggard began to disperse as people walked up and down the ramps to their homes. But on the third-highest plateau, there was one person that was still fully working. Glowing with various shades of blue, he was swinging blow after blow at a training dummy that appeared to be made of a material that was a mixture of stone and wood that had several large gashes in it caused by his arm spines, which also were glowing. The shades sometimes altered in intensity, but he continued his attack until the training dummy had been torn to shreds. He laid the pieces on the ground, and as they started to reform there was a knock at his door. Who could be disturbing him at this hour?
He opened the door to see Duke Andien standing there, alongside two of his bodyguards, one of whom had knocked. “You can wait outside. I trust Irtrar Kalmanar enough.”
The fact that even with his bodyguards, he could probably kill Duke Andien if he wanted to. “Come on in, Duke Andien, I’m in the middle of training right now, but this is obviously something important if you came in person.”
“The Grand Tournament of Power is coming up in three days, Irtrar Kalmanar, are you sure you’re ready for it?”
“Of course, Duke Andien, I’ve been doing this for years, and I’m the strongest out of the regulars, and from what I’ve heard, there’s not going to be anyone too strong coming in as guests.”
“Heh, where’d you hear that from?”
“An old family friend, Lady Deladier, has some inroads with the planning staff, although I suspect you already know that. The Lord Mayor gives you a lot of power, you know.”
That seemed to be amusing for some reason. “We need to defend our city, you know. And I’ve defended your family and other fey from persecution for centuries, and the Lord Mayor’s city is the best place for this.”
“Definitely, so what did you want to talk about?”
“Arcanist promised me a custom ring, I decided to give you a shot at it first.”
“The price?”
“Crown Prince Sherzhad of Andaria runs a fighting ring in Hayyder palace, if you can get first place in the ranked tournament, I can get you the custom ring.” Sensing his hesitance, the Duke added. “And the best part is, the Crown Prince has skin in the game as well. Andarian’s top warrior, Kanon Hassin, is participating. You heard the rumors as well as I did.”
Indeed he had. And Kanon definitely was a powerful warrior. This wouldn’t be easy, but if it was to protect Tal Daggard, he could do it.
“I’m in.”
“I knew you would. It’s time to show that pompous prince what an Irtrar really means.”
“Let’s not go that far, Duke Andien, wars are good for nobody.”

The spinemeld warrior seems to be focused on the spines, so I decided to go all in. A couple of ranger levels to pick up normal and improved two-weapon fighting, as well as picking up weapon finesse to take advantage of a high Dex score. To get around the iron vulnerability of the fey, Kalmanar uses bronze weapons and bronze studded leather armor (And it looks better, in his opinion), until he can use mithril and his natural attack. Something interesting about the Incarnate is that you have access to all the soulmelds at 1st level (Although you can’t power them up as effectively because of essentia maximums and chakra binds), so taking a few levels of Incarnate at any point is effective.

At level 5, Kalmanar started taking levels in Incarnate, granting him two soulmelds and some essentia. Against fey, he will invest essentia into Azure Enmity. One point of essentia in the Midnight Dodge feat makes it act like a normal dodge feat. An Incarnate Weapon wielded in one hand and a bronze shortsword in the other is his preferred method of engagement at this level.
Also he has an eagle animal companion. It exists, but doesn’t do much.
Three levels in Spinemeld Warrior allow Kalmanar to have another soulmeld, using Cerulean Sandals to enhance his movement speed.
Instead of the Incarnate Weapon soulmeld, he uses Adamant Pauldrons, relying on his spines solely.
Improved Two-weapon fighting and Improved two-weapon defense allow for four attacks a turn and a small increase to AC, aided in damage by Spine Enhancement.
The second favored enemy (Humanoid, reptilian) is the one that gets the additional +2 bonus, meaning he gets a +4 bonus against fellow Skarn.
Kalamar’s increased training allows him to attack three times each with both spines, increasing the odds of a Spine Rend, and binding the Bluesteel Bracers into his arm chakra allows him to enhance his allies if he has them. Using Adamant Pauldrons and Cerulean Sandals make him a fast-moving powerhouse.
Midnight dodge defends against a single target and Crystal Helm helps with protection.
In his final incarnation, Kalamar Qath binds Impulse Boots to his feet to gain uncanny dodge and Evasion abilities, and the Crystal Helm, making him more potent. and has the additional soulmelds of Keeneye lenses and Adamant Pauldrons for his incarnate soulmelds and Bluesteel Bracers and Lucky Dice for his Spinemeld Warrior soulmelds. He distributes essentia into Midnight Dodge and Azure Enmity when fighting in combat events, both private and public. Despite how much of his time is devoted to fighting in the competitions, Kalmanar is still a powerful fighter out in the wild. Seven attacks per turn for a full attack, each with devastating power behind them, make for a fearsome fighter. The Law aspect of Incarnum Radiance increases this further.

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Urban Ranger 1 +1 +2 +2 +0 Hide +4, Move Silently +2, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +2, Diplomacy +2, Spot +4, listen +4, Gather Information +5, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Urban Tracking(b), Azure Enmity Favored Enemy (Fey), Urban Tracking, Wild Empathy, Champion of the Wild ACF
2nd Urban Ranger 2 +2 +3 +3 +0 Hide +5, Move Silently +2, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +2, Diplomacy +2, Spot +5, listen +5, Gather Information +5, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Two Weapon Fighting (b) Combat Style
3rd Urban Ranger 3 +3 +3 +3 +1 Hide +5, Move Silently +2, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +3, Diplomacy +3, Spot +6, listen +6, Gather Information +5, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Endurance(b), Midnight Dodge Endurance
4th Urban Ranger 4 +4 +4 +4 +1 Hide +5, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +3, Diplomacy +3, Spot +7, listen +7, Gather Information +5, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Weapon Finesse (b) Animal Companion
5th Incarnate 1 (Law) +4 +4 +6 +3 Hide +5, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +4, Diplomacy +3, Spot +7, listen +7, Gather Information +5, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Aura, detect opposition
6th Urban Ranger 5 +5 +4 +6 +3 Hide +5, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +4, Diplomacy +4, Spot +8, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Improved Natural Attack 2nd Favored Enemy (Humanoid, Reptilian)
7th Urban Ranger 6 +6 +5 +7 +4 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +5, Diplomacy +5, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Improved Two-Weapon Fighting (b) Improved Combat Style
8th Spinemeld Warrior 1 +7 +7 +7 +4 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +6, Diplomacy +6, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Two-Weapon Defense (b) Twin spine fighting, Two-Weapon Fighting
9th Spinemeld Warrior 2 +8 +8 +7 +4 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +7, Diplomacy +7, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Improved Two-Weapon Defense (b) Noble Familiarity, Spine enhancement
10th Spinemeld Warrior 3 +9 +8 +8 +5 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +8, Diplomacy +8, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB)
11th Spinemeld Warrior 4 +10 +9 +8 +5 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +9, Diplomacy +9, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB)
12th Spinemeld Warrior 5 +11 +9 +8 +5 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +10, Diplomacy +10, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Greater Two-weapon Fighting Spine Rend
13th Spinemeld Warrior 6 +12 +10 +9 +6 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +11, Diplomacy +11, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB)
14th Spinemeld Warrior 7 +13 +10 +9 +6 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +12, Diplomacy +12, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Chakra Bind(Arms)
15th Spinemeld Warrior 8 +14 +11 +9 +6 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +13, Diplomacy +13, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Greater Two-Weapon Defense
16th Spinemeld Warrior 9 +15 +11 +10 +7 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +14, Diplomacy +14, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Adamantine Spikes
17th Spinemeld Warrior 10 +16 +12 +10 +7 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +15, Diplomacy +15, Spot +9, listen +8, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB)
18th Incarnate 2 (Law) +17 +13 +10 +8 Hide +6, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +15, Diplomacy +16, Spot +9, listen +9, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Cobalt Charge Chakra bind (crown)
19th Incarnate 3 (Law) +17 +13 +11 +8 Hide +7, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +16, Diplomacy +16, Spot +9, listen +9, Gather Information +7, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Expanded Soulmeld Capacity +1, Incarnum Radiance
20th Incarnate 4 (Law) +18 +14 +11 +9 Hide +7, Move Silently +6, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +16, Diplomacy +17, Spot +9, listen +9, Gather Information +8, Climb +2(RB), Intimidate +6(RB) Chakra bind (Feet, hands)

Abilities Initial Skarn Unseelie Fey Level 4 Level 8 Level 12 Level 16 Level 20
Str 14 16(+2) 14(-2) 14 14 14 14 14
Dex 18 16(-2) 18(+2) 19(+1) 19 20(+1) 20 20
Con 15 15 13(-2) 13 14(+1) 14 15(+1) 16(+1)
Int 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Wis 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
Cha 8 8 10(+2) 10 10 10 10 10

Level Class Soulmelds (Incarnate) Soulmelds (Spinemeld) Essentia Chakra Binds
1st Urban Ranger 1 1
2nd Urban Ranger 2 1
3rd Urban Ranger 3 2
4th Urban Ranger 4 2
5th Incarnate 1 (law) 2 3
6th Urban Ranger 5 3
7th Urban Ranger 6 3
8th Spinemeld Warrior 1 0 3
9th Spinemeld Warrior 2 0 4
10th Spinemeld Warrior 3 1 5
11th Spinemeld Warrior 4 1 6
12th Spinemeld Warrior 5 1 6
13th Spinemeld Warrior 6 1 7
14th Spinemeld Warrior 7 2 8 1
15th Spinemeld Warrior 8 2 9 1
16th Spinemeld Warrior 9 2 9 1
17th Spinemeld Warrior 10 2 10 1
18th Incarnate 2 (law) 3 12 2
19th Incarnate 3 (law) 3 13 2
20th Incarnate 4 (Law) 4 14 2

Player’s Handbook- Ranger, Two-weapon fighting, weapon finesse, combat reflexes, Improved two-weapon fighting, greater two-weapon fighting, two-weapon defense.
Complete Warrior- Improved Two-weapon defense, Greater Two-weapon defense
Complete Champion- Ranger Alternate ability
Magic of Incarnum- Incarnate, Spinemeld Warrior, Azure Enmity, Midnight Dodge, Cobalt Charge, Chakras, Soulmelds
Dragon Compendium- Unseelie Fey
Arms and Equipment Guide- Bronze shortswords/armor
Monster Manual- Improved Natural Weapon.
Unearthed Arcana- Urban Ranger

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:07 AM

Rip and tear!

Presenting: B.C!

Bellordaine Cho, Supreme judge of the church of the church of Wee Jas and august perfect of roses, sat at his throne delivering judgement. Every face looked at him with adoration and respect, even the face of those he had condemned, for they knew his word was law, and that law was justice. Every citizen of the city had to admit to the superiority of the Skarn when they gazed upon Bellordaine Cho. He was –

"Sir? There's a letter for you. Delivered by a raven - a mage's familiar, unless my senses deceive me."

Bellordaine blinked, his servant's words turning his thoughts back to the present moment. Which was good – he had business to attend to, and he would never achieve perfection of form by amusing himself with idle thought. His sharp, analytical mind turned back to the matters at hand. He was no more than a flaw seeker for now, and it was made clear to him that if he was to rise in the ranks, he had to get to the bottom of the attacks made on the border patrols. Who were the attackers, and why did they attack?

"Thank you, Adonasi. It's probably just Esh Idrivan Sol asking for another favor. Put it on the table, I'll get to it soon enough." The servant bowed, and did as he was commanded.

Bellordaine already knew who the attackers were, of course. There were too many witness accounts, recounting the incidents. The attackers were clearly Swamp Skarn – damned forever, a blight on the race's honor! – and they were obviously the worshippers of some dark god. The accounts told of their leader, a huge nightmare of spines and claws, who managed to slaughter fighters and mages alike. He Wasn't wearing the furs of the swamp dwellers, but the fine attire of the city's nobility – probably one of the many filthy immigrants who made a mockery out of the Skarn claim to superiority. Bellordaine's task was clear – figure out a way to make justice, while diverting the fire away from the Skarn community. There must be a solution. He just needed to think.

He chased himself in circles for an hour before deciding he was in need of a distraction. He carefully opened Idrivan's envelope with his spine, unfolding the letter – only to find an unfamiliar handwriting, made of crude, bulky letters:

Dear sir

I found some informaition I believe you will find intriging. My reserch shows that your great-great-great-great grandfather, Inomallous Cho, desided in his will to make his second son his heir "if-and-only-if" his "Eldest" rimained childless. This was hidden from Eldest. I traced the lin-ee-edge of Eldest, and found his desendents, the legitimet rulers of your house. Unless you want every1 to know this, you work for me now. If you refuse, I will ruin you and then maybe kill your entyre family. We'll see.

With rispect –
Bong Chadley, servant of Tiamat, spine fighter of the spinemeld warriors.

Bong Chadley, LE male feral skarn. Ranger 4 (arcane hunter, champion of the wild, spiritual connection, urban companion), warblade 1, soul eater 1, spinemeld warrior 7, witchborn binder 6.

Ability scores:
32 PB: Str 18, Dex 8, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 8.
Post racial, template: Str 24, Dex 4, Con 20, Int 4, Wis 10, Cha 8.
All level enhancements go to Str.

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

LA 1
Feral template
-
-
-
-
-
-
Monstrous humanoid, claws, darkvision, fast healing, +6 NA, +10 ft movement, Improved grab.

1st
Ranger 1
+1
+2
+2
+0
knowledge (arcana) 1 (cc), knowledge (religion) 1 (cc), search 4, Survival 2, use rope 2.
Track (b), shape soulmeld (girallon arms)
favored enemy: arcanists, spiritual connection,

2nd
Ranger 2
+2
+3
+3
+0
knowledge (arcana) 2 (cc), knowledge (religion) 1.5 (cc), search 4, Survival 2, use rope 2.
TWF (b)
-

3rd
Ranger 3
+3
+3
+3
+1
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 2 (cc), search 4, sense motive 1 (cc) Survival 2, use rope 2.
Endurance (b), weapon focus (spine)
-

4th
Ranger 4
+4
+4
+4
+1
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 3.5 (cc), search 4, sense motive 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
Blind fight (b)
Familiar (raven), Pounce (Feral)

5th
Warblade 1
+5
+6
+4
+1
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4 (cc), search 4, sense motive 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
weapon aptitude, maneuvers (see below)

6th
Soul eater 1
+6
+8
+6
+3
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 0.5 (cc), search 4, sense motive 2, Survival 2, use rope 2.
Bonus essentia
Emergy drain 1

7th
Spinemeld warrior 1
+7
+10
+6
+3
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 1.5, search 4, sense motive 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
Reaping talons (b)
two spine fighting, bonus feat, meldshaping

8th
Spinemeld warrior 2
+8
+11
+6
+3
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 2.5, search 4, sense motive 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
Noble familiarity, spine enhancement, Rake (feral)

9th
Spinemeld warrior 3
+9
+11
+7
+4
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 3.5, search 4, sense motive 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
steadfast determination
-

10th
Spinemeld warrior 4
+10
+12
+7
+4
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 4.5, search 4, sense motive 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
-

11th
Spinemeld warrior 5
+11
+12
+7
+4
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 5.5, search 4, sense motive 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
Spine rend

12th
Spinemeld warrior 6
+12
+13
+8
+5
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 5.5, search 4, sense motive 1.5, Survival 2, use rope 2.
Two weapon rend
Rend (feral)

13th
Spinemeld warrior 7
+13
+13
+8
+5
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 5.5, search 4, sense motive 2, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
Chakra bind (arms)

14th
Witchborn binder 1
+13
+13
+8
+7
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 5.5, search 4, sense motive 2, spellcraft 1, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
detect magic, meldshield, royal purse (1/level)

15th
Witchborn binder 2
+14
+13
+8
+8
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 5.5, search 4, sense motive 2, spellcraft 2, Survival 2, use rope 2.
mage slayer
dispelling orb, +1 essentia

16th
Witchborn binder 3
+15
+14
+9
+8
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 6, search 4, sense motive 2, spellcraft 2, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
-

17th
Witchborn binder 4
+16
+14
+9
+9
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 6.5, search 4, sense motive 2, spellcraft 2, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
Mage shackles

18th
Witchborn binder 5
+16
+14
+9
+9
knowledge (arcana) 2, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 7, search 4, sense motive 2, spellcraft 2, Survival 2, use rope 2.
Pierce magical concealment
-

19th
Witchborn binder 6
+17
+15
+10
+10
knowledge (arcana) 3, knowledge (religion) 4, Knowledge (nobility) 9, search 4, sense motive 2, spellcraft 2, Survival 2, use rope 2.
-
Word of abrogation, +1 essentia

Maneuvers: Rabid wolf strike, sudden leap, wall of blades.
Stance: Leading the charge.

Level 5:
Throughout the early levels, Bong gets carried mainly by his huge Str & Con, and the benefits of the feral template – though that will come into play much more in the next level. He doesn’t have the Wis to cast or the Cha for wild empathy, which is why he takes the CoTW (which will be necessary for a certain PRC entry) and spiritual connection ACFs. His high natural armor and the wall of blades counter help him stay safe despite his atrocious dexterity. He hates arcanists with a passion – a hatred which will come further into play later into the build.

Level 10:
Deep into the SI now, as a spine of rain. Bong qualifies for soul eater by being a monstrous humanoid, and getting alertness from his raven urban companion, Bing. Energy drain is extremely useful to him – not only does he have 4 natural weapons (two claws, two spines), he can attack with all of them while getting iteratives with his right-hand spine. Lots of opportunities for energy drain, making him incredibly dangerous as early as level 7. Reaping talons comes along at that point as well – it has many options which require hitting with both claws, but the benefits apply to attacks made with the spines as well. It's a great use for his bonus feat. Steadfast determination covers his most dangerous shortcoming, allowing him to make will saves much more reliably.

Level 15: Done with the SI after gaining its most prominent feature, the opening of the arm chakra. He shapes soulmelds as an 8th level spinemeld warrior, and will have complete shaping by level 18. The only things truly lost by swapping to witchborn binder at this point (which he qualifies for using track from ranger and the already mentioned awareness from Bing) will be making the spines +5 instead of +2 at the cost of valuable essentia, and adamantine spines – which, I mean, come on. He has detect magic at will and meldshied, which is an excellent use of essentia when fighting his favored enemies, which mage slayer leans into as well. Two weapon rend can be taken by twfing rangers even without the required Dex, and along with spine rend, the rend from feral, and the rend he can get from girallon arms, Bong is a rending machine – leaning into the SI's strength (and his own Str :smalltongue:) to make two rend attacks whenever he hits with both claws or with both spines.

Level 19:
Full meldshaping is Bong's. He has 1 more essentia than a soulborn 10/ spinemeld warrior 10 (not that that's a good build) and he has a few great utility options. While word of abrogation is perhaps flashier, and makes for a nice pinnacle to the build, mage shackles are the true reward, and they allow him to utilize his grappling and combat prowess for good. He has many advantages against mages, and is a terrifying enemy for most melees. Bong has achieved his own version of perfection of form – one that sheds away the unnecessary complications of the mind, and supports the actual advantages of the SI.
Book of Vile Darkness: Soul eater.
Complete champion: Champion of the wild, spiritual connection.
Complete arcane: Mage slayer, pierce magical concealment.
Complete mage: arcane hunter.
Cityscape web enhancement: urban companion.
Magic of Incarnum: Skarn, soulmelds, shape soulmeld, bonus essentia, witchborn binder, spinemeld warrior.
PHBII: Two weapon rend, Steadfast determination.

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:07 AM

Let's talk about what's really important.

Vornicaal Rex, Kavval of Hextor
LE Unseelie Fey Scarn (Reptilian)
Cloistered Cleric 3 / Totemist 1 / Ordained Champion 1 / Sapphire Hierarch 6 / Soul Eater 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 8

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91CErz75bJL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

Rex

Ability
Point Buy
Race
Template
Total Starting Score

STR
14
2
-2
14

DEX
14
-2
+2
14

CON
15
0
-2
13

INT
8
0
0
8

WIS
15
0
0
15

CHA
12
0
+2
14

Rex

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

1st
Cloistered Cleric 1
+0
+2
+0
+2
Climb 0+2 (Race), Concentration 4, Intimidate 0+2+4 (Race/Template), Knowledge Arcana 4, Nobility 4, Religion 4, The Planes 4
Natural Weapons (Spines), Fly Speed (AVG 60ft), Autumn Harvest, Iron Vulnerability, Low-light Vision, Incarnum Spellshaping
Law Domain, War Domain, Knowledge Devotion

2nd
Totemist 1
+0
+4
+2
+2
Climb 0+2, Concentration 5, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 5, Nobility 4, Religion 4, The Planes 4, Spellcraft 1
-
Wild Empathy

3rd
Cloistered Cleric 2
+1
+5
+2
+3
Climb 0+2, Concentration 6, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 5, Nobility 6, Religion 6, The Planes 4, Spellcraft 1
Shape Soulmeld (Soulspark Familiar)
Alertness (from above)

4th
Cloistered Cleric 3
+1
+5
+3
+3
Climb 0+2, Concentration 6, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 5, Spellcraft 1
STR+1
DR 5/Cold Iron (Unseelie Fey)

5th
Ordained Champion 1
+2
+7
+3
+5
Climb 0+2, Concentration 6, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 6, Spellcraft 1
-
Domination Domain, Domination and Law powers traded for Two-Weapon Fighting and Weapon Focus (Spine), Continued Advancement (Rebuke), Modified Spontaneous Casting

6th
Saphire Hierarch 1
+2
+7
+3
+7
Climb 0+2, Concentration 6, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
Extend Spell
Consultation 3/level, Smite Chaos 1/day, Totemist 2/Cleric 4

7th
Saphire Hierarch 2
+3
+7
+3
+8
Climb 0+2, Concentration 7, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
-
Favored of the Eidolon, Totemist 3/Cleric 5

8th
Saphire Hierarch 3
+3
+8
+4
+8
Climb 0+2, Concentration 8, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
STR+1
DR 10/Cold Iron, Damage Reduction 1/Adamantine, Totemist 4/Cleric 6

9th
Saphire Hierarch 4
+4
+8
+4
+9
Climb 0+2, Concentration 9, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
Divine Metamagic
Smite Chaos 2/day, Totemist 5/Cleric 7

10th
Saphire Hierarch 5
+4
+8
+4
+9
Climb 0+2, Concentration 10, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
-
Sapphire Body (25% fortification), Totemist 6/Cleric 8

11th
Saphire Hierarch 6
+5
+9
+5
+10
Climb 0+2, Concentration 11, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
-
Damage Reduction 2/Adamantine, Totemist 7/Cleric 9

12th
Soul Eater 1
+6
+11
+7
+12
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
Persistent Spell, STR+1
DR 15/Cold Iron, Energy Drain 1

13th
Spinemeld Warrior 1
+7
+13
+7
+12
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 1, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
-
Skilled City-Dweller (Handle Animal -> Gather Information), Twin Spine Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting

14th
Spinemeld Warrior 2
+8
+14
+7
+12
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 2, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
-
Noble Familiarity, Spine Enhancement 1

15th
Spinemeld Warrior 3
+9
+14
+8
+13
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 3, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
Open Least Chakra (Hands)
-

16th
Spinemeld Warrior 4
+10
+15
+8
+13
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
STR+1
Spine Enhancement 2

17th
Spinemeld Warrior 5
+11
+15
+8
+13
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 5, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
-
Spine Rend

18th
Spinemeld Warrior 6
+12
+16
+9
+14
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 6, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
Greater Two-Weapon Fighting
Spine Enhancement 3

19th
Spinemeld Warrior 7
+13
+16
+9
+14
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 7, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
-
Chakra Bind (Arms)

20th
Spinemeld Warrior 8
+14
+17
+9
+14
Climb 0+2, Concentration 14, Intimidate 0+2+4, Gather Information 8, Knowledge Arcana 7, Nobility 7, Religion 7, The Planes 7, Spellcraft 1
WIS+1
Spine Enhancement 4

I have a lot of thoughts on Skarn fashion and other culturally adjacent industries that need to be unloaded. Skarn spines, flexible though they may be, are incompatible with many garments that most humanoids take for granted. It should be noted that the artists for Magic of Incarnum clearly understood these difficulties and chose to ignore them. The only Skarn whose back spines are clearly visible is shirtless and yet the spines of armored Skarn are visible, clearly protruding through their garb but with no explanation as to how. Furthermore, with their prominent calf and forearm spines on display, all of the illustrated warriors spurn any sort of long sleeve or pant leg.

Esh Rokirice Dol pulled her hair back and away from her eyes as a gust of wind blew up from behind her. Shielding herself from the sun with one hand, she looked up to the sky to check on the positioning of her servant now aloft and drifting in lazy circles on the breeze. A twinge of jealousy shot through her but she firmly stomped it out. Vornicaal had been the absolute best servant she could ever have asked for and was her most prized possession. His ability to support her in combat was unmatched but he was also the last gift to her from a doting father who had shown her so much love despite the fact that Rokirice was not a legitimate heir. -But I’m going to change all that- she thought to herself as they continued the drill, “I am not some little lordling, soon all will know who the true Dol is!” -Plus he’s kind of cute- she thought and she smirked to herself as she marveled again at the magnificent black wings that bore him through the air.

In any case, Rex begins as a lowly LE cleric of Hector with a nod to the influence of Incarnum on Skarn culture which all seems to fit perfectly with what's written in MoI. Ordained Champion also seems pretty in line with the whole pursuit of perfection thing and a further commitment to the lawful structure of Skarn society. At ELC 5 build wise, Rex has 2nd level divine spells and decent soul melding and taking just one level of OC does wonders for qualifying for later choices and also some more cool spells like dominate person. Being an Unseelie Fey gets him that nice fly speed and DR 5/CI for staying alive against low CR threats and a dispelling touch is versatile on its own.

And you know, especially as reptiles, you would think that Skarns would have a higher appreciation for layering up. I think that the main reason that they don’t is because messing with the spines is uncomfortable. Sure the spines can fold down but if it was as easy as that then the guy in full plate wouldn’t have bothered to commission whatever special nonsense was required to allow his spines to protrude.

Esh Rokirice Dol tried to wipe clear her vision but her tears would not relent. Her troop lay around her, slain to the last by the anathemic necrocarnates whose corpses too now decorated the shady grove in which she sat. Rokirice delicately hugged Vornicaal’s head to her chest and an icy fear began to seep through her as his breathing began to slow. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. Rex had only just returned from his last quest for the Saphire Eidolon and reunited with her. She had been ecstatic when regaling him with her own exploits and the strides she had made up the ranks of the nobility. The disturbance at the edge of her realm was supposed to be an opportunity to show each other all that they had become… one rouge necrocarnate in the wilds. Instead they had found a whole cabal from the Union of Darkened Souls, and Rex had died saving her life. She would not accept this and in her suffering she offered prayer to all the powers she knew. One answered.

Vornicaal’s eyes snapped open. No longer did he lay in the arms of his lord, the arms of the woman he loved. Now he stood in a shallow pool of blood that extended as far as he could see. In front of him sat a god, Rex’s own six armed deity of destruction. He stood in the presence of the Herald of Hell.
“How proud you were, to turn your back and take up that impotent rock as your new idol. Thought you had finally found your purity of form had you? Well my little servant, let me teach you some humility.”

ELC 11 has meldshaping as totemist 7 and divine casting as cleric 9 which is why we're talking about 11 instead of stopping at ELC 10. Incarnum Spellshaping lets Rex force his hand chakras open so that he can bind Sphinx’s claws for pounce, has TWF, has access to divine power, and he still has that handy spontaneous casting from OC so every spell can be flame strike. Coupled with his potent essentia pool and DR from both Sapphire Hierarch and Unseelie Fey, Rex could wade into battle alongside pretty much any other cleric and functions almost exactly like the book description for hierarchs but with a little more melee flavor. Extend spell and DMM are online so the direction is clear. Consulting the Sapphire Eidolon and access to the Order’s vault should fill every magic item requirement he could have.

So if clothes are enough to make Skarn uncomfortable, what about furniture? Do chairs have cutouts for spines? Must couches be extra fluffy for spines? Or do all of these pieces of furniture need to be extra sturdy so as not to be damaged by wayward protrusions? If a Skarn rests an arm on your newly buffed solid oak table is it an insult to you or would asking them to remove it be insensitive. Do elderly Skarn have an equivalent to your grandma’s plastic coverings for everything?

Rex looked down in disgust at the battered boy struggling to stand himself up. This so-called ‘August perfect of Roses’ was a young man, a champion in his own right, but little more than a child in the eyes of Vornicaal Rex. Vornicaal and Rokirice had initially thought him lucky that Rex had joined the order of spinemeld warriors shortly after one of the bi-anual tournaments. This was Rex’s first and he was already a Flaw Seeker, he had risen through the ranks far more quickly than his fellow initiates. But the explanation for that was obvious to Rex. He was at least twice as experienced as most of the other junior warriors and his prey was that much more challenging. This young man before him would not sate Rex’s thirst; only the soul of a necrocarnate could provide satisfaction. So Rex smiled at the thought of how his love may reward his victory and he engulfed his opponent in holy fire.

We stopped at ELC 11 last time because the movement from 11 to 12 marks a definitive change in Rex’s direction and source of his power. ELC 15 sees Rex with 3 levels of the SI for additional poignancy. Rex is now a Soul Eater doling out negative levels with every hit of his Improved TWF spines or the myriad of melds that grant natural attacks. All the old combat enhancing abilities are there but lets tack on a tentacle whip symbiote or two that can deliver Rex's negative levels over a 15ft reach and also fits with the spine ascetic; courtesy of the consultation mentioned previously. Persistent DMM is online and an instance of extra turning for more fuel there. While Rex was previously a tough caster who wasn’t helpless in melee that has flipped around. Rex is now a melee powerhouse who still has access to 5ths.

After some deliberation I have come to the conclusion that all Skarn are either side sleepers or belly sleepers for obvious reasons. But what about sheets? Do Skarn sleep on beds even? Maybe Skarn just sleep in some nice clean sand that they heat up before bed time. Are Skarn cold blooded? Do Skarn hatch?

As Vornicaal leaned back and sleep teased at the corners of his eyes, he felt happy. His wife dozed on his shoulder, his daughter snored loudly in his lap, and Rex realized that he had finally obtained the perfection he had sought. This purity of soul had eluded him for so long that he had almost resigned himself to believe that it was a curse placed on him by Hextor all those years ago. Purity of mind had come to Rex first as a cleric and then as a hierarch. His mind was a bastion that no foe could assail. Then had come purity of body; Rex’s glorious spines glowed with power and his very touch drained beings of their essence. But Rex had chased purity of spirit through the consumption of a thousand necrocarnum souls. He realized now, the true lesson that his god had been trying to teach him all those years ago. Humility. Rex was not the perfect warrior for himself, he was the perfect servant to his family.

Leaning into the theme with greater two-weapon fighting, chakra binding to arms, and spine enhancement up to 4 finish out the build with an investment into gather information to make use of Rex's noble #RelationshipGoals. That last perk is a nice transition away from having to consult the eidolon for such knowledge. That lets Rex find items that take away the sting of losing out on adamantine spines and frankly he already had enough essentia to pour into his spines as well as fuel the melee centric totemist soul melds.

Dragon Compendium: Unseelie Fey
PHB: Cleric
Unearthed Arcana: Cloistered Cleric
Magic of Incarnum: Skarn, Totemist, Saphire Hierarch, Spinemeld Warrior
Complete Champion: Ordained Champion
Book of Vile Darkness: Soul Eater

The Viscount

2021-06-15, 12:09 AM

That should be the builds. Judges, over to you.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-15, 02:52 AM

Finally, they're here!
Tough job for the judges. 16? By Heironeous!

Only three changelings warshapers? (Plus whatever Frac-Tall is) I would have expected more.

Anyway, I love so many of these, thank you to all entrants

Also, the lazy chef's warrior is probably better than everything else that gets submitted.

Venger

2021-06-15, 03:22 AM

What an incredible turnout. I can't wait to look at these.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-15, 03:32 AM

So many great entries, and a surprising amount of non-changeling skarn! Well done, all!

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-15, 07:17 AM

This....THIS ingredient inspired 16 builds?

Piggy Knowles

2021-06-15, 07:19 AM

I'd been working on a few different versions of an artificer build. I figured that one (small) advantage to the PrC was that the spines are technically just a single weapon, but you get to use them as two weapons, letting you essentially get double value out of weapon enhancements. So, I figured an infusion-focused artificer was an interesting way to go.

I played with a bunch of versions. Multiclassing penalties were kind of the bane of my existence, since artificer wants a decent investment (ideally you want to at least hit 4th-level infusions, which requires 8 effective levels) and isn't a favored class, meaning it's almost impossible to dip any other class. Still, I had a couple of versions that were cute: a robotic skarn renegade mastermaker with nauseating spikes and a holy spiked bear. I was actually pretty happy with the renegade mastermaker version, and got pretty far into the write-up, but suddenly about halfway through the build table I got really bored with the whole thing and decided not to submit. Anyhow, here's the basic build:

Skarn Artificer 3/Monk 3/Renegade Mastermaker 7/Spinemeld Warrior 7
1 Artificer1- Scribe Scroll, ((any incarnum feat))
2 Artificer2- Brew Potion
3 Monk1- Power Attack, Cleave
4 Monk2- Improved Bull Rush
5 Monk3-
6 Artificer3- Craft Wondrous Item, Craft Magic Arms and Armor
7 Renegade Mastermaker1-
8 Renegade Mastermaker2-
9 Spinemeld Warrior1- Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus (morningstar)
10 Spinemeld Warrior2-
11 Renegade Mastermaker3-
12 Renegade Mastermaker4- Three Mountains
13 Renegade Mastermaker5-
14 Renegade Mastermaker6-
15 Spinemeld Warrior3- Open Least Chakra (hands)
16 Renegade Mastermaker7-
17 Spinemeld Warrior4-
18 Spinemeld Warrior5- Superior Unarmed Strike
19 Spinemeld Warrior6-
20 Spinemeld Warrior7-

And here are the notes I wrote up for the build snapshots:

Levels 1 - 5
Artificer 2/Monk 3

In the early levels you’re a strange sort of brute: a monk who plays more like a fighter than a ninja, with artificer largely serving to augment your existing abilities. With Power Attack, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush and a high Strength, you’ll do best switching between a two-handed weapon and your arm spines. With even a little bit of prep time, your artificer infusions go a long way toward boosting your damage here. Personal weapon augmentation is fantastic and can carry you through the low levels almost by itself, lasting 10 minutes/level and providing you with any +1 boost on your weapon. The gold standard here, if you have some inkling of what you’ll be up against, is bane, but it’s far from the only option. Magebane and earthbound are similarly decent damage boosters. The elemental power options are great, giving you access to a large elemental in the flavor of your choice with just a minute’s prep time - not bad at all for these levels. Smoking is of course incredible. Basically, flip through the MIC and look at all those kinda cool enhancements that feel a bit too situational to spend gold on, and realize that they’re absolutely perfect here.

On top of all that you have utility to spare, between your artificer infusions, invisible fist and above-average skills for a brute. Lesser armor enhancement is incredibly flexible and can provide some great defensive option or general utility - think blurring, death ward, heraldic crest of courage, etc. Pending potion makes your Brew Potion feat actually decent, as it lets you pre-buff with potions and then activate them as a swift action as needed, and skill enhancement has tons of use out of combat.

Chef’s note: The progression may look a little bit funny (monk 3 isn’t ideal, and in a perfect world you’d rather take artificer up to 3 right away for 2nd-level infusions and better crafting before taking monk), but your hands are tied a bit by multiclassing penalties, as neither artificer nor monk is a favored class for the skarn. Similarly, monk’s multiclassing restrictions mean you can’t return to monk once you leave it. For that reason, you’re forced into going artificer 2 -> monk 3 -> artificer +1 here. If you are playing in a campaign without multiclassing penalties, I highly recommend you go artificer 4/monk 2 instead, as the 4th level of artificer is far better than the 3rd level of monk.

Levels 6 - 10
Artificer 3/Monk 3/Renegade Mastermaker 2/Spinemeld Warrior 2

You don’t quite have the BAB to take spinemeld warrior yet, but two levels of renegade mastermaker fix that right up. Right away they give you the option of creating a battlefist. In addition to just looking really cool, if you have monk levels, a battlefist increases your damage as though you’ve gone up a size. Combined with the skarn monk ACF, which says that your spines are treated as a monk’s unarmed strike and increase in damage accordingly.

Now here’s where spinemeld warrior comes in. You can TWF with your spines - big whoop, right? After all, you could TWF with weapons any old time. Bypassing the Dex requirement is definitely nice for you, but where it becomes especially good is the fact that even though you’re TWFing with your spines as though they were two weapons, they’re only actually considered one single natural weapon. This means that your infusions and enhancements essentially have double impact. It also means that your damage increases from monk and your battlefist apply to “both” weapons. And since you can combine both TWF and flurry against lower AC enemies, any such changes become multiplicative.

Your infusions also continue to increase. The big winner here is armor enhancement. How about some vanishing armor for the party sneak? Or exalted for permanent protection from evil? Or mirror image? You also get to be more party friendly with lesser weapon augmentation, and can do a bit of crafting on the side with unseen crafter.

As for your noble familiarity, this may seem like an odd ability on an artificer, but remember that your actual crafting is a bit limited, making it ideal for picking up items such as wands. Eventually it will become downright required for finding things such as docents as well, as those explicitly can never be crafted.

Levels 11 - 15
Artificer 3/Monk 3/Renegade Mastermaker 6/Spinemeld Warrior 3

Some interesting things going on here. Another level of spinemeld warrior opens up soulborn melds. Soulborn may not be as flexible as incarnate or totemist, but it has some neat choices. At the top of the list for you are the mauling gauntlets. By binding these to your hands chakra, you get a sizable damage boost (2+2/essentia) on your spine attacks, in addition to improving Strength checks such as bull rushes or trips. It also gives you the benefits of Improved Unarmed Strike, which the skarn monk actually lacks, and which will come in handy down the road.

As for your other feats, since you already have Power Attack, Cleave and Improved Bull Rush, it’s just a quick step over to the Three Mountains style. This feat is absolutely devastating, allowing you to nauseate foes if you hit them twice in a round with a greatclub, morningstar or mace. Of course, you don’t HAVE a greatclub, morningstar or mace… but screw all that, you’re an artificer! The aptitude enhancement is just a 1st-level infusion away. Slap aptitude on your arm spines, and now you’re dishing out some heavy debuffs on top of your damage.

And with 3rd- and 4th-level infusions you get a ton of great options. 3rd-level infusions are nice… but let’s be real, the one you really care about is armor enhancement. Now that you’re using the greater version, you’re slapping +5 equivalent enhancements on armor. How about proof against enchantments/transmutation to completely negate an entire school of magic, or freedom for continuous freedom of movement, or etherealness for, um, etherealness? The options are nearly limitless. 4th-level infusions, on the other hand, are downright incredible across the board. Take concurrent infusions to imitate three 1st-level infusions at once without the costs, or item alteration to stack up ridiculously high bonuses by changing the bonus type, or minor creation to create buckets of poison, or weapon augmentation for some incredible offensive options (up to a +3 or 70,000gp enhancement).

Levels 16 - 20
Artificer 3/Monk 3/Renegade Mastermaker 7/Spinemeld Warrior 7

While the 7th level of renegade mastermaker doesn’t progress infusions, you’ve already hit 4ths (aka the most important infusion level), and you don’t really get anything interesting from progressing spinemeld warrior beyond 7, so go ahead and take it. This allows you to attach warforged components (there are some neat ones), artifact components and docents. Docents in particular are fun - they are basically little AI cores that provide some really nice abilities for relatively low cost. Unfortunately, docents can’t be crafted… but hey, you’ve got noble familiarity for a reason, right?

And with spinemeld warrior continuing to progress, you pick up several more nice little goodies. The rend attack is a great damage boost, given how many attacks you can toss out in a round, but by far the best thing here is the soulmeld progression. These add quite a lot of utility to your day to day activities. Once you get the arms bind, they can also provide a very nice damage boost as well via the astral vambraces. With the arm bind you can effectively increase the size of your spine attacks even further. Add on Superior Unarmed Strike (I mentioned that nabbing IUS via mauling gauntlets would come in handy, right?) and a monk’s belt, and your spines are doing 4d6 base damage. Now let’s add in the enhancement bonuses - you get two separate sources of these between your battlefist and your ACF, and with item alteration you can make them stack - and your boosts from mauling gauntlets, and suddenly these attacks are doing some real damage. Which is nice, because with +16 BAB, flurry and TWF, you can make 6 attacks a round, or 7 with haste (don’t forget that haste is one of the powers a docent can provide). And of course any time you hit someone twice with your spines they have to make a DC 20+Str save or be nauseated as well.

The bear version didn't get as far in the write-up, mostly because I couldn't think of a great reason for it having more than two levels in spinemeld warrior, but I must admit the concept of a holy bear covered in spines and TWFing was pretty funny to me:

Artificer 6/Sentinel of Bharrai 3/Warshaper 1/Spinemeld Warrior 10
1 Artificer1- Scribe Scroll, Sacred Vow
2 Artificer2- Brew Potion
3 Artificer3- Craft Wondrous Item, Knowledge Devotion
4 Artificer4- (bonus feat)
5 Artificer5- Craft Magic Arms and Armor
6 Artificer6- Craft Wand, Vow of Obediance
7 Sentinel of Bharrai1-
8 Sentinel of Bharrai2-
9 Sentinel of Bharrai3- ((incarnum feat))
10 Warshaper1-
11 Spinemeld Warrior1- Two-Weapon Fighting
12 Spinemeld Warrior2- Surrogate Spellcasting
13 Spinemeld Warrior3-
14 Spinemeld Warrior4-
15 Spinemeld Warrior5- xxx
16 Spinemeld Warrior6-
17 Spinemeld Warrior7-
18 Spinemeld Warrior8- xxx
19 Spinemeld Warrior9-
20 Spinemeld Warrior10-

Turn into a bear, morphic up some spines, enhance them with infusions and TWF them. Rawr.

Super fun round. No regrets in not getting my builds in, as there is a lot of competition this round and a surprisingly high number of entries considering how lackluster this ingredient is. Good luck to all!

Khatoblepas

2021-06-15, 07:23 AM

I love that almost nobody submitted a vanilla skarn, and everyone got weird with it. This round was a blast to build for, especially since Spinemeld Warrior offered so little.

Frac-Tall is amazing in concept, using Human Heritage to skirt the prerequisites of symbiotic is just *chefs kiss*, nothing better. It's so elegant in its inelegance.

ciopo

2021-06-15, 07:52 AM

Seerow

2021-06-15, 07:52 AM

Not a single Paladin in the mix, I am now officially stumped as to which build T.G. Oskar submitted.

But man a lot of fun entries out here for this round. Not envious of the judges with this many builds to dig through. Good luck to everyone!

Elves

2021-06-15, 01:54 PM

And I expected the ingredient would drive people away. Man, you know, I thought I was signing up for an easy gig here.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-15, 03:25 PM

And I expected the ingredient would drive people away. Man, you know, I thought I was signing up for an easy gig here.

This ingredient was exactly what people here like: limiting, but with a few oddities that make it interesting. There were a lot fewer submissions in something much broader, like Legacy Champion. (also, I'm not sure what is the most appropriate in english: a lot fewer, a lot less, many less, many fewer?)

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-15, 03:28 PM

This ingredient was exactly what people here like: limiting, but with a few oddities that make it interesting. There were a lot fewer submissions in something much broader, like Legacy Champion.

Legacy champ had a subsystem mini game that bled off chef confidence tho

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-15, 03:45 PM

What's a Vanilla skarn?

I believe he meant "Skarn with no template", or "Skarn with no type-changing template"

H_H_F_F

2021-06-15, 03:59 PM

This....THIS ingredient inspired 16 builds?

A few possible causes:

1. It's a full BaB martial class. 3/4 BaB makes meeting +16 very hard, and half casters are much more stressful power wise. You can mess around more when building something like this, and know that you'll probably still be in the same league, power wise, as everyone else. There's less system mastery involved. Less stress.

2. It's trash, but it's focused trash. It's easy to understand what the class is about, and the fact that there aren't many class features helps not to get lost.

3. Incarnum is fun, but it usually doesn't really mesh with SIs. Independent meldshaping means you get all the gun of incarnum, but aren't restricted.

mattie_p

2021-06-15, 06:35 PM

No one made a table yet? I'll make it then.

Thurbane

2021-06-15, 07:12 PM

Congrats to all the entrants.

My HM goes to Alekk Dal: I love the relative simplicity of this build, and the use of Kensai.

Elves

2021-06-16, 12:58 AM

I'm thinking of the grappling thread, but I'm surprised there are no scaled horror builds given that skarns have the reptilian subtype and scaled horror's improved grab would work with the spines.

Khatoblepas

2021-06-16, 02:13 AM

I had a build stub that tried to combine the SI with Scaled Horror and Black Blood Cultist, but it was impossible to qualify for both at the same time, since they needed to be both Lawful and Chaotic.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-16, 02:53 AM

I'm thinking of the grappling thread, but I'm surprised there are no scaled horror builds given that skarns have the reptilian subtype and scaled horror's improved grab would work with the spines.

I played around with scaled horror for a while, but it didn't work out.

I thought I was being clever. Damn.

ciopo

2021-06-16, 01:43 PM

a funny : I almost made an urban druid 10/ SI 10 again, just like in the last competition, because of that information network feature

loky1109

2021-06-16, 03:06 PM

I expected Dragonborn or other turn into dragon (or aberration) template + Improved Rapidstrike.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-16, 04:54 PM

I expected Dragonborn or other turn into dragon (or aberration) template + Improved Rapidstrike.

That's a weird interaction. I feel like as a judge I'd penalize it heavily in elegance, but I like it.

Can't do it with DoB though - doesn't change your type.

Elves

2021-06-16, 05:00 PM

I expected Dragonborn or other turn into dragon (or aberration) template + Improved Rapidstrike.
Dragonborn loses you the spines and PRC qualification but you could use half dragon, insectile or spellwarped.
Or aberrant paragon 3 for no HD loss, but that's Dragon content.

Khatoblepas

2021-06-16, 05:01 PM

I expected Dragonborn or other turn into dragon (or aberration) template + Improved Rapidstrike.

The only low LA way I could have seen to qualify for Rapidstrike was to get a custom item of Aberrate to gain the Abberation type, but that would have been So Very Inelegant, using an item to qualify for a feat, even if we have a literal class feature that gives us access to these items. Insectile was actually in one of my early experiments, but it was such a boring build.

I expect Fract Tall could have qualified for Rapidstrike on one of his limbs, I guess.

Thurbane

2021-06-16, 05:13 PM

That's a weird interaction. I feel like as a judge I'd penalize it heavily in elegance, but I like it.

Can't do it with DoB though - doesn't change your type.

Doesn't Dragonlood subtype allow you to count as a dragon for reqs, or am I misremembering?

Even if it did, you lose your spines and has other issues

H_H_F_F

2021-06-16, 05:29 PM

Doesn't Dragonlood subtype allow you to count as a dragon for reqs, or am I misremembering?

Even if it did, you lose your spines and has other issues

It's the other way around, IIRC. Dragons qualify for dragonblood feats, but not vice versa - dragonbloods only count as dragons for item usage.

And yeah, other problems too.

loky1109

2021-06-16, 06:00 PM

That's a weird interaction. I feel like as a judge I'd penalize it heavily in elegance, but I like it.

Can't do it with DoB though - doesn't change your type.

What is DoB?

Dragonborn loses you the spines and PRC qualification.
Oops.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-16, 06:11 PM

What is DoB?

Oops.

DoB is Dragonborn of Bahamut‚ the full name of the template‚ not to be mistaken with the Dragonborn race from 5e‚ who are really half-dragons.

I don't think you lose the prereqs. You count as any subtype you had before becoming DoB‚ which includes your race subtype. You do lose the spines though. You might get one of them back with Warshaper‚ or even both with a permissive reading‚ but otherwise‚ the class is pretty worthless (except if you're a "think outside the mold but still loyal" kind of samurai‚ of course)

Also you count as a dragon for any "effect affected by race" (that's a specificity of dragonborns‚ not the dragonblood subtypke).
Now‚ if prerequisites are counted as an "effect" is left to the reader's appreciation.

Elves

2021-06-16, 06:30 PM

Insectile has lower LA than halfdragon and has extra arms. I'd be interested to see an insectile skarn with rapidstrike.

WhamBamSam

2021-06-16, 09:08 PM

I expected Dragonborn or other turn into dragon (or aberration) template + Improved Rapidstrike.Dragonborn would lose the spines, and might not qualify for Rapidstrike (depending on the exact language on when you count as a dragon) since they're still humanoid.

I did, however, have a Half-Dragon build that didn't make the cut as I'd already submitted two.

Half-Shadow Dragon Skarn Paladin of Tyranny 4/Fighter 4/Spinemeld Warrior 8/Soul Eater 1
1. Fighter 1 – Shape Soulmeld (Sphinx Claws), Two-Weapon Fighting
2. Fighter 2 – Weapon Focus (Spines)
3. Fighter 3 – Bonus Essentia
4. Paladin 1
5. Paladin 2
6. Paladin 3 – Open Least Chakra (Hands)
7. Paladin 4 – Extra Turning
8. Spinemeld Warrior 1 – Alertness (Soulspark Familiar), Improved TWF
9. Soul Eater 1 – Death Devotion
10. Spinemeld Warrior 2
11. Spinemeld Warrior 3
12. Fighter 4 – Greater TWF, Rapidstrike
13. Spinemeld Warrior 4
14. Spinemeld Warrior 5
15. Spinemeld Warrior 6 – Improved Rapidstrike
16. Spinemeld Warrior 7
17. Spinemeld Warrior 8

Death Devotion on the spines as a single weapon, plus Soul Eater, plus Pounce, Greater TWF, and Improved Rapidstrike. Dex requirements are rough, but the Half-Dragon statline helps make the investment less painful by shoring up Str/Con/Cha. Annoyed me somewhat that I couldn't fit Dragon Breath and Quicken Breath

Also thought briefly about using Noble Familiarity to wrangle Aspect of the Wolf+Awaken to become a Magical Beast, since that's 2 RHD with full BAB instead of LA, but didn't really pursue it.

Elves

2021-06-17, 12:35 AM

Judgments part 1.

- The emojis are to make it easier to read. They aren't +1/-1 point.
- There were a lot of rules issues in this batch. Correct me if I got something wrong.
- Don't put these scores into tables until I do the second batch, I might change them.

Originality - 1
👉 The dwarf>skarn gimmick is original but unhelpful and unnecessary. 1 for attempt.
👎 The build’s attempts to be powerful in spite of itself rely on things like UMD and cleric 1 for kdev/lawdev that aren’t original.

Power - 1
👍 warshaper is powerful and changeling opens it to generic (non-WS) 0 LA meleers, who have plenty to gain from the stat boosts, nat wep and immunities. Would have been nice to fit in 3 for the improved reach.
👎 Arcane channeling isn’t compatible with TWFing.
👎 TWF but no source of bonus damage?
👎 Taking shaper of form 1 so that you can pose as a dwarf to save a feat, but to save a feat you spend 2 entry feats and 1 class level?
👎 You don’t even need to be a dwarf to take the dwarf domain. You can just be a non-deity-worshipping cleric of dwarfism.
👎 Doesn’t end up with clear tactics, has to motion at UMD and items but with few specific plans.
🛑 Taking shaper of form’s renascence to become a skarn means you lose Able Learner, Racial Emulation and potentially the rogue sub level.
🛑 Shaper of form’s renascence doesn’t say it doesn’t change type, it says you can’t change type. You don’t retain racially derived subtypes when switching, since those subtypes are a characteristic of the race. Thus, this level also disqualifies you from warshaper.

Using warshaper to grow arm spines is an interesting thought that doesn’t work because you need to be a skarn for spinemeld entry.
The low rating is not a judgment of absolute power level, but because the build’s central premise ends up harming it

Elegance - 0
👍 Social intuition and Resourceful Buyer both synergize with noble familiarity.
👎 The build is a hodgepodge of different abilities with little gluing them together.
👎 Disqualifications hurt your elegance as well as diminishing your power (since power is judged with those things disqualified).

Use of Ingredient - 2.5
👍 good use of fluff — it justifies why he has to take all 10 levels of the SI, because he’s playing this senior role in order to manipulate skarn society. This works for this class because the seniority system is built right into the class table. This is the best part of the build.
👍 noble familiarity, a spinemeld class feature, is a strength of the build that you invest in augmenting.
👉 I like the reference to essentia lock and tactics to use against the other spinemeld gladiators he regularly fights.
👎 Fluff aside, has no mechanical reason to use the spines and no compelling use of the meldshaping.

TOTAL: 4.5
The strongest part of this build, for me, is the fluff. I would have liked to see you lean into the concept of the changeling living in skarn society, manipulating it from his perch as an August Prefect. Improving the build is as easy as starting again from changeling x7/warshaper 3/spinemeld 10.
Originality - 3
👍 The strategies you use aren’t original but I’ve never seen anyone use skarn monk and spinemeld warrior with them.

Power - 3.25
👍 Hard to go wrong with sweeping strike + extra attacks. Knock down, double hit, and expansion are all good.
👎 OTOH, you aren't seriously pumping your trip, your AoOs, your natural weapon damage, or your manifesting. So it has good foundations that are underexploited.
👍 Strength of my enemy combos well with your spines. (But you don't have the ML to augment it enough that the strength boost to yourself will be that meaningful once you get a +6 item).
👉 Noticing that this build would benefit a lot from flaws. Then you could add Azure Talent, freeing up 3 class levels. Odd choice to take Education instead of Kdev (or simply dip psywar). As it is, you're probably better off with psywar 2/x1 instead of monk 3-5, negating the need for Education and adding sorely needed feats. (Alternately, full BAB2 and use x1 to max out the SI.)
👎 On the whole you badly need more feats.
Some combo opportunities that could be explored: monk invisible fist + spectral skirmisher + sweeping strike +double hit = nasty. Amp it up with decisive strike and Robilar’s Gambit (Double Hit justifying the use of spinemeld warrior, even though decisive strike itself can’t be used with TWF). Decisive would also negate the loss of monk AC bonus, which is relevant since you need Wisdom for psionics.
Another consequence of the feat scarcity: no Tashalatora.
👉 No multiple rends as we discussed, but the sweeping strike rend trick is coolio

Elegance - 3.75
👍 Skarn monk and spinemeld warrior are a natural fit, and war mind slides in like butter.
👍 Overall, clean and simple build.

Use of Ingredient - 3
👎 Seems like too much secret spice in the pot. Little reason for you to stay in the class after 5th and none after 7th. Those extra spare levels would have been crucial without making you any less of a spine fighter, since you ultimately chose not to go for august prefect anyway.
👉 Is it even worth taking spinemeld past 1st when you could just take Two-Weapon Rend and save 4 levels? As I read it, the spinemeld warrior ability is also 1/round, and it's only 1d6 more damage. I guess you could also take 2W Rend and double rend like Mayalaran does below.

TOTAL: 13.5
A solid base: skarn monk plus spinemeld warrior is a good idea, combining it with knock-down is effective and thematic, and sweeping strike is always great. But you’re not seriously pumping any individual component of the build, and you end up with stunted potential due to feat scarcity. The answer is to drop some monk and spinemeld warrior levels and replace them with levels that grant you more feat space, using Azure Talent or a meldshaper class for spinemeld entry. Most likely, monk2/psywar2/war mind 6/spinemeld1/x9.
>Put those spines together and give us a round of Clackety clacks! Whooooo!
👍 Funny flavor touch, could see that being a thing.

Originality - 4.5
👍 Very original concept. Comes with a built-in backstory about a skarn so intent on victory in the arena that he was willing to merge with this half fiend abomination. Used as an NPC, the “detach” clause of symbiotic would make for a fun fight in a colosseum. The build concept also fits with the mishtai flesh-shaper lore from MOI: we can imagine the skarn guest researched those old secrets.

However, can't give full points because it doesn't work as used.

Power - 0.25
👎 The LA is a problem, especially since symbiotic uses host creature’s HD and BAB. [If Dragon is on the table you can at least use half minotaur half-orc to save an LA.]
👍 That said, using the variant half-fiend rules to reach Huge size for symbiotic is clever. Half fiend is actually granting you +5-+6 NA, depending how you read the web enhancement.
🛑 Taking symbiotic multiple times is suspect. The only thing I could find to suggest you can take a template multiple times is this: http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/eo/20070608a, which is not an especially definitive rules source. What it says may seem to make sense in the case of multiheaded creatures, but it fails to generalize when you consider all the templates that don’t change type (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?281882-3-5-Master-Template-List-(sorted)). If it were true, it would mean a druid could train her animal companion as a warbeast dozens of times to give it massive amounts of HD. That’s dysfunctional so I have to conclude the article is wrong. This means 4 of your symbiotic levels are disqualified. While that reduces your power, unlike N-Sept-Chyon, the gimmick is still functional with 1 guest. The problem is, as mentioned in Use of Ingredient, a single spinemeld warrior guest isn’t giving you much.

Elegance - 0.25
👎 A symbiotic creature is two separate characters. The mandate in IC is to create one character (for example, Leadership isn’t allowed). A symbiotic creature’s CR is as a mixed pair of the two creatures, reinforcing that it’s really two characters. The use of symbiotic isn’t in the spirit of the contest — if you get to include two creatures as part of your build, why can’t someone else use a “helper wizard” to buff them, etc?
👉 That said, if you were running a multi person team I would have liked to see more detail on the guest, not just a stub.
👉 Variant half fiends aren’t supposed to boost Wis, but justifiable exception given malebranche’s stats.
👍 Choosing a base race that can take Human Heritage for symbiotic is clean.

Use of Ingredient - 0
👎 “A symbiotic creature uses the host’s base attack bonus and attack forms. However, if the guest has a different attack form (such as a stinger), the symbiotic creature can make a secondary attack with that weapon.” Sounds like you could make a single secondary attack with spines, but not use spine TWFing. With that being the case all the SI is giving you is the rend, which you can’t use because you can’t take symbiotic multiple times. One solution would be warshaper on the host creature, but then why exactly do you need a spinemeld warrior guest?

TOTAL: 5
Half-malebranche [Large race] symbiotic creature is a solid idea, but in the context of spinemeld warrior it all breaks down once you realize you can’t take symbiotic multiple times. I would take that base and use it for something that doesn’t suck as much as spinemeld warrior. Maybe there’s even a cheaper way to become Huge.

if we imbue our spines, what essentia we planted on it effectively works as a discount on this imbuing cost!
Smart idea, but may not work because spine enhancement “grants you an enhancement bonus…on attack rolls and damage rolls with your spines”, rather than directly giving them an enhancement bonus.

but Elves argument convinced me, so I revised accordingly.
Rank flattery won’t win you any points here, skarn. :smallwink:
Sphinx Claws aren’t much to miss since you’re fighting with light weapons.

Originality - 2
The build’s appeal isn’t that it’s original but that it’s clean, simple and on-theme. But combining kensai with SW was a solid idea.

Power - 1.75
👎 The energy damage properties aren’t great choices for your necklace. Worse, they’re obviated when you choose to use combat rhythm.
👉 Astral vambraces DR not great. The fly speed option is ok at mid levels but quickly obsolete. Looks like you’re choosing between +10ft land speed, Cleave, and Improved Natural Attack (equates to +1d6 damage if you can get enlarged).
👎 Pouncing charge is an odd choice when fighting with light 1h weapons and I don’t see either Battle Jump or valorous weapon to complement it. Dancing mongoose or the IH save reroll would be a better choice.
👎 Superior Expertise and Ironheart Aura>Stormguard Warrior aren’t the most prudent feat choices when you have a problem with raw offensive power.
👉 Without a combo like avalanche of blades>time stands still, Stormguard isn’t a very impressive feat. It seems like the combo you’re going for is combat rhythm combined with Superior Expertise? The problem there is it only applies vs the foe you attack, who could be out of your reach by next turn. And if you’re doing a WRT/belt of battle double attack nova, you’re better off attacking normally on pretty much all your attacks. To be fair, since you have few damage bonuses, Stormguarding the last 2 attacks on the first full attack in a nova is still a decent damage boost.

Elegance - 4
👍 Kensai both thematic with spinemeld warrior, and a cost effective combo due to spine TWFing (normally, when you pay for multiple natural weapons with kensai, you’re only getting 1 attack with each). Great. And ki projection synergizes with noble familiarity? Even better.
👍 Warblade MOPM synergizes with kensai’s withstand and power surge, and sudden leap is great for mobility with TWF.
👍 Clean simple build.

Use of Ingredient - 3
👍 Straightforward use of the PRC. Obviously, there are better levels you could take, but nothing in your build is actually pulling you away from the SI -- in other words, you are building around it.
👉 I’m not 100% clear on whether you can apply skilled city-dweller to a prestige class but not looking it up since it’s not instrumental to your build, just a bonus.

TOTAL: 10.75
This is a straightforward build with some reasonable and thematic synergies. It has decent defense. The problem is its offense is weak. It's slightly above the average of 10.5/20.
Originality - 4
👍 It’s seemingly obvious but stacking multiple rends hadn’t occurred to me.
👍 Thayan gladiator is surprising but a perfect thematic as well as mechanical match for SW.

Power - 3
👍 Double hit is natural for TWF characters and Robilar’s is a natural companion (and also aids the gladiator fluff, creating a visceral sense of close and nasty fighting). Knockdown is always good.
👎 Since you don’t take Zhent fighter to 9th there’s no fundamental synergy between your AOO/TWF tactics and your fear tactics.

Elegance - 3.5
👍 Azure Toughness doubles for thayan and spinemeld prereq.
👉 Relying on Elder Evil free bonus feats is inelegant and shouldn’t become something every evil IC submission feels like they should do. No penalty just because you acknowledged how to do it without them and put some nice fluff in.
👎 Long arm clearly applies to Intimidate, though I agree it’s one of several situations where having Intimidate as a Cha skill is problematic since it doesn’t rely on being charming. Would definitely houserule the penalty doesn’t hit Intimidate but RAW it does.
👎 Though they’re somewhat connected by the fearsome mask soulmeld, the separation between the intimidation and the TWFing creates an elegance problem as well as a gameplay problem. Maybe drop the fear tactics part entirely.
👍 Very clean stub.

Use of Ingredient - 3
👎 Too much spice drowns out the dish. Thayan gladiator 7/spinemeld 7 would be stronger than 4/10 and also, in this case, actually seems more appropriate to the character’s story. (They sound like a “spine fighter” arena queen, not a springpole rosepetal whatever). Or ftr5/thayan8/spinemeld7 (I’m not sure whether extended intimidation pulls its weight, so maybe ftr2/x3). Alternately, ftr9/spinemeld7/thayan 4 would have created synergy between your two suites of combat tactics.

Misc
With Dragon content, kensai fighter variant would allow extra attacks. Might combine well with the fighter 9 build above since that gives you more feat room.

>Furthermore the flexibility of soulmelds and chakra bind (arms) for Spinemeld Warrior is a great selling point for a gladiator. Without any magic items many different scenarios can be covered:
That’s a cool point.

TOTAL: 13.5
Thayan gladiator and spinemeld warrior make a beautiful fluff and crunch pairing. But the build is brought down by two things: lack of synergy between your two combat tactics and an imperfect stub with 3 too many levels of SW and either too many or too few levels of Zhent fighter.

It's unclear to me if we can PA with the spines (why yes : they're natural weapons) (why no: we treat them as light weapons when we TWF) , so I'm not going shocktrooper (also bleh on the overused ingredient)so what else can we do with this?
When you TWF with them you’re treated as fighting with two light weapons so to me it seems not. But you could still PA when attacking with them normally.

Originality - 2
👍 Might be originality or might be my ignorance but tribal warrior’s flurry equivalent is new to me.
👉 OTOH monk2/ftr2/psywar2 is standard for feat hungry melee builds, and the rest of the tactics are conventional.

Power - 2.5
🛑 “Apparently you don't lose the feat when you lose the feature that grants it, so with this bit of cheddar we have, assuming we meet the prerequisites, "free" power attack, cleave, improved bull rush, improved natural attack.” Beep beep no. At the very least if something is “apparent” you should argue why. This disqualifies you from tribal warrior but you can certainly use 1 feat from the vambraces and it wouldn’t be hard to re-qualify if you played around with the feats.
👍 The feats and strats might be conventional but they’re also reasonably strong.

Elegance - 1.5
👍 Totemist and tribal protector fluff mesh.
👎 All over the place.
👍 But at least somewhat united around getting extra attacks (unfortunately you can only rend once per round though).
👎 Ugly use of feat cheese hits elegance as well as power.

Use of Ingredient - 1
>Well, if we want to bind those vambraces AND have BAB 16+ by level 20, that's kinda the only choice we have here :),
👎 That’s a good attempt at justifying it, but you could just take Open Chakra. So this build has no real reason to use spinemeld. There are basically 100 better things you could do with those levels.

TOTAL: 7
I see you also did Alekk Dal, that one's much better in my opinion because it feeds off a genuine synergy between kensai and spinemeld. This one uses some well-worn melee strats but ultimately has no use for the SI. It also uses cheese that doesn’t work.
👍 Enjoyed the fluff.

Theoretically, the Imperfect could make spine attack with his leg, however little sense that makes, allowing him to use a one-handed weapon in his hand.
🟢 True. But this doesn’t work with Twin Spine Fighting, which specifies it must be the spikes on your arm — and that’s not a monk feature.

Plus, that also includes « there is no notion of off-hand weapon for a monk », which means both attacks will be made without a malus.
🛑 Not true. If there’s no such thing as an unarmed offhand attack that simply means you couldn’t make an offhand attack with it. Fortunately the FAQ clarified that monks can voluntarily use unarmed strikes as offhand weapons.

the skarn monk removes the notion of firsthand/offhand weapon when it comes to the skarn spines. Which means Chainsaw can TWF with only one arm, making both his firsthand attacks and offhand attack with it, completely offsetting his handicap.
❓As we discussed this rests on whether a technicality -- "both arms" -- disqualifies it.

Finally, Noble Familiarity is worded in a way that allows Chainsaw to find even items that would never appear in a normal shop. Notably, an item of metamagic-reduced persisted wraithstrike 1/day with a caster level of 3 (
👍 This is the kind of thing I expected to see more of. Where a “reasonable DM” might draw the line is whether you can get the MM-reduced version of it, which pushes up when you can get it. But getting an item of persisted wraithstrike, I buy.

Since both Soulbound and Spine Enhancement only check how many essentia are invested in « the weapon », and Soulbound states that it « increases it’s enhancement bonus », not that it gives one, that means the two abilities stack and for each one essentia invested in your spine, it gets a +2 enhancement bonus to hit and damage rolls.
🛑 Fails because imbue spine doesn’t grant the weapon an enhancement bonus, it grants you an enhancement bonus on attacks with it. The weapon itself doesn’t have a bonus for soulbound to increase.

🛑 You need to be dragonblood to shape the dragon tail meld.
👍 Prehensile Tail to fulfill Lightning Mace’s “in each hand” clause is clever, but see above. Also I get you’re trying to do this one handed concept but could just be fulfilled with aptitude, saving a feat and a soulmeld.

Originality - 3.5
Bold concept, but requires a generous interpretation and not granting you much benefit once multiple rends are off the table.

Power - 1.5
👍 Using decisive strike (no armor limit) to offset the downside of skarn monk during low level play is smart.
👎 Lightning Mace but no crit optimization.
👉 You have a sort of decisive strike thing AoO going on but don’t really commit to it. Why would you take Sense Weakness over something like Robilar’s Gambit?
👎 You can’t TWF in conjunction with decisive strike because it’s a special full round action, not a full attack. So either that feat is wasted as nothing more than a prereq, or decisive strike is wasted. How do they fit together? Is TWF just being used as a LM prereq?

Elegance - 2
👍 Kensai and spinemeld are a thematic match.
👉 Prehensile Tail qualifying for Extended Reach but then applying it to spines (if I understand right) is a little eh but I’ll grant that you’re doing an exploits build.
👎 Some of the exploits you're attempting fail though.

Use of Ingredient - 2.5
👎 The gimmick may not work and isn't super advantageous.
👍 Only build in this batch that's serious about using noble familiarity to get the best items possible.

TOTAL: 9.5
I wanted this build to work because the story is good, but as far as I can tell it doesn't the main concept may, though parts don't.
👍 The fluff conveys his personality.
👎 Wastes a feat on City Slicker instead of taking skilled city dweller ACF with totemist.
👍 Holy strike is a good trade and the synergy with knockdown at low levels is icing.
👍 Mauling gauntlets synergize with Knockdown.
🛑 Mauling gauntlets don’t increase your spine damage. Your spines only count as unarmed strikes for "purposes related to monk class features.”
👎 Split Chakra is an indefensible feat choice when noble familiarity is a perfect justification for getting alternate-slot magic items.
👍 Obtaining a specific legacy item is a good use of noble familiarity. But would like to have learned the specific ways you’ll use axe casting.
👎 Enlarge person is a bad choice of ability replacement, indefensible since you have noble familiarity. Potions of it are like 50gp.
🛑 You can’t advance a PRC past 10th pre-epic. LC shenanigans don’t change that. That’s why the class is used to advance PRCs with less than 10 levels like abjchamp and hfw [at least by those who consider that legal, which is ambiguous to begin with].

Originality - 1.5
The build’s main points of originality are its use of legacy champion and mauling gauntlets. Unfortunately, both are partly illegal.

Power - 1.75
👎 You have pounce but do nothing to enhance it, instead spending feats on stuff like Split Chakra and Bonus Essentia. And pounce was already going to be a tough sell with light weapons.
👎 You have Knockdown, and while you get a high trip bonus with the mauling gauntlets, you don’t put any effort into further enhancing this combat style.
👎 Maybe you can correct me by showing your combat routine but his offense seems pretty piddling at high levels.
👎 As mentioned above, two wasted feats.

Elegance - 1
👉 Even if the two main ideas (gauntlets and Champ) worked, the build would be a bit of a hodgepodge, and with them partly nonfunctional, it starts to fall apart.

Use of Ingredient - 2
👍 Using noble familiarity to get a specific legacy weapon is a bright idea (score would be much higher if you had the audacity to use it for a custom legacy item).
As for the rest of the class I’m unconvinced. You’re leaning into the arms bind with sphinx claws doubled on mauling gauntlets, but as mentioned, don’t commit to the pounce they offer. And you don’t lean into the spine fighting with even basic things like Double Hit.

TOTAL: 6.25
Here’s what I would like to see: using noble familiarity to justify obtaining a *custom* legacy weapon, and then designing a legacy weapon to provide the maximum benefit for a spinemeld warrior. You could still use LC to advance SW — just not past 10th.

Seems underappreciated that noble familiarity is a way to justify getting custom items. That’s actually a great value for a 2-level dip and by far the most powerful thing the SI offers. But many of the builds only mention it as QOL.

Troacctid

2021-06-17, 12:44 AM

Seems underappreciated that noble familiarity is a way to justify getting custom items. That’s actually an incredible value for a 2-level dip and by far the most powerful thing the SI offers. But many of the builds only mention it as QOL.
Well, the usual trouble with custom items isn't whether you can find them, it's whether you can find them at the price you want. It's still up to the DM to devise an ad hoc market price for whatever custom item you're looking for, which might sync up with the formula you're hoping for or it might not.

Khatoblepas

2021-06-17, 07:00 AM

H_H_F_F

2021-06-17, 07:14 AM

We never got a firm ruling on whether we could use custom items at DMG price, so I don't think anyone felt comfortable abusing it like that. I don't think it should be a points-docking offense to not abuse it, especially with a history of item reliance itself docking points. It feels like a catch 22 - Don't abuse it and get docked by one judge, or do abuse it and get docked by another judge for item reliance.

As someone who didn't use said mechanic (don't think this is too much of a hint) I think it's a legitemate criticism. You're right about item reliance, but it's mostly criticized when people try to qualify with items, or "cheat" the power category simply by giving a thorough explanation of their use of WBL. Using a class feature to mention an item that would cleverly synergize with what you do? That's a legitemate reason to award more points.

I also think that different judges emphasizing different things is a feature, not a bug. It makes for a more diverse competition.

But maybe we should wait to continue this discussion until after we've seen all the entries judged?

Elves

2021-06-17, 12:41 PM

I don't think it should be a points-docking offense to not abuse it, especially with a history of item reliance itself docking points. It feels like a catch 22 - Don't abuse it and get docked by one judge, or do abuse it and get docked by another judge for item reliance.
No one's losing points for it, only gaining for good use. Different judges might disagree on what good use is but that's why their opinions get averaged. You should do what you think is right and then argue for it in disputes if it gets trashed.

Thurbane

2021-06-17, 05:44 PM

The Viscount

2021-06-17, 10:42 PM

Dispute for you, Elves.

Also, a reminder that per the rules and FAQ, the minimum score for each category is 1 (with the exception of elegance, which can be 0 in the case of a build that is not legal).

Dispute on Chainsaw the Imperfect

👍 Enjoyed the fluff.

🟢 True. But this doesn’t work with Twin Spine Fighting, which specifies it must be the spikes on your arm — and that’s not a monk feature.

Thank you, I really like this character, and would probably play it if I have a lenient DM.
I agree that it doesn't work with Twin Spine Fighting (even though if we really want to nitpick, Skarn monk says "all purposes related to class features", and Unarmed Strike says "A monk's unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons." which means every effect improving either is "related to monk class features", and you could treat spines as unarmed strikes in that case, since TWF clearly improves manufactured weapons; but that is a bit too much cheddar for me), but I wouldn't use it this way, this is purely for low level, when I can't TWF.

🛑 Not true. If there’s no such thing as an unarmed offhand attack that simply means you couldn’t make an offhand attack with it. Fortunately the FAQ clarified that monks can voluntarily use unarmed strikes as offhand weapons.

🛑 Not true. You can’t make an offhand attack with a non-offhand weapon.

I don't understand. If a monk can treat his unarmed strikes as off-hand, whatever the arm with which they attack, then a skarn monk can treat his spine strikes as off-hand, whatever the arm with which they attack. And since there is no difference in the malus on each hand when you TWF (each has -2), then Chainsaw really doesn't have any disadvantage compared to someone using two hands. (I agree that he would only be able to add 1/2 his Str on the offhand attack, but he would do the same number of attacks, just with one arm)

🛑 Fails because imbue spine doesn’t grant the weapon an enhancement bonus, it grants you an enhancement bonus on attacks with it. The weapon itself doesn’t have a bonus for soulbound to increase.

That took me off-guard. The difference between "the weapon has an enhancement bonus to attack and damage" and "you have an enhancement bonus to attack and damage when attacking with the weapon" is so subtle that I didn't even consider it might not work that way. Well, back to Permanent Greater Magic Fang I go at high level.

🛑 You need to be dragonblood to shape the dragon tail meld.
👍 Prehensile Tail to fulfill Lightning Mace’s “in each hand” clause is clever, but see above. Also I get you’re trying to do this one handed concept but could just be fulfilled with aptitude, saving a feat and a soulmeld.

Ah damn, didn't see the dragonblood thing. At first I wanted to use a graft, like the whip tail. That is kinda cheap and I could leverage it as another Noble Familarity thing ("Come on, don't tell me there's not a demon-managed black market selling sentient body parts in any big city")

Originality - 3
Bold concept, but can't give full points because it doesn't work and you'd be better without it. One of those would have to be true.

It doesn't work, I'd say that's arguable, but possibly. I'd be better without it, however, I disagree. Being able to rend with each one of your strike is a huge increase of damage. Even if I can't TWF, at level 20, between 5 attacks and one rend and 4 attacks and 4 rends, mine is very clearly ahead of the other.

Power - 1.5
👉 You have a sort of decisive strike thing AoO going on but don’t really commit to it. Why would you take Sense Weakness over something like Robilar’s Gambit?
👎 You can’t TWF in conjunction with decisive strike because it’s a special full round action, not a full attack. So either that feat is wasted as nothing more than a prereq, or decisive strike is wasted. How do they fit together? Is TWF just being used as a LM prereq?

Decisive strike is really only for low levels, just to not have a completely useless flurry of blows. I want to attack multiple times at higher level to gain rend with each strike, so decisive strike is not really interesting there. Also, unless I get a big Dex item, I only have one AoO per turn, why would I choose Robilar's Gambit? I would much rather increase my AC than decrease it, if I get an AoO in any case.

So you could say that decisive strike is kind of wasted at high levels, but it's really there to make the connection before I can get into the spine warrior goodness. However, TWF, wasted? No! At least not in my original build. It allows for LM, yes, but also Prehensile Tail, and possibly allows me to make one more attack with my spine. That really doesn't seem like a wasted bonus feat for me. Except if you mean Combat Reflexes. In this case, yes, 2 feats and a soulmeld is a bit high a cost for an average of 0.66 more attack per round. If we went with the ultra-permissive reading of Skarn Monk above, then I would have chosen Snap Kick instead, and a fighting style giving me Power Attack. But I really wanted to show that Lightning Mace could still work with only one hand, and even if you don't even attack with the mace.

Thank you for your comprehension, and good luck for the other ratings.

Elves

2021-06-18, 02:17 AM

Also, a reminder that per the rules and FAQ, the minimum score for each category is 1 (with the exception of elegance, which can be 0 in the case of a build that is not legal).
I'll change it so that there are no sub-1 scores where nothing is illegal.
Edit: done.

Responses:

Entry for Spinemeld Warrior involves a BAB of +5 and an essentia pool of 1. Skarn Monk 5's substitution level grants that point of Essentia while providing the rest of the Monk bonuses: the speed increase at level 3, the increase in spine damage at level 4 and the reduction to Flurry penalties at 5. Though at first it may seem like a minor increase (1 point on average), with Expansion in play it grows even further (1d8 --> 2d6), and it further grows if a Monk's Belt is added (1d10 --> 2d8). This is per hit, including the extra attack from Improved Trip AND Double Hit applying it to both.
Compare monk5 to monk3/psywar 2 with a monk's belt. Both save a feat (psywar - educated/KDev, monk - an Azure feat). Monk gets +10 ft speed, +1 to hit with flurry. Psywar gets +2 feats and some pp and powers. Those feats would be far more impactful to your build than the monk benefits when there's low hanging fruit like Robilar's Gambit. Then you have to judge if that extra damage step from monk 3 outweighs ftr 1 or bbn 1 or whatever. That might make the build stub slightly less clean, but I don't think psywar would since you already use psionics.

Honestly, I'd rather be talking about this in terms of workshopping the build than in terms of laying down a verdict like it's final.

Education was chosen because, for practical senses, Knowledge Devotion does nothing, unless you devote your other skill points to cross-class Knowledge skills. Of the three Knowledge skills selected (two of which are prerequisites, and the other synergizes with Nobility and Royalty), only Psionics could benefit from the bonus, and only with psionic creatures.
You can buy a cross class skill for automatic +1-2 to atk and dmg. Monk gets arcana and religion.

Also: do note that you can't take Knowledge Devotion from the get-go
Swapping the 1st and 3rd is no problem in your build. It actually lets you grab Hidden Talent instead of Wild which is slightly better if you get a +cha item.

Spine Rend doesn't have this restriction.
It's not as explicit but it does. "Whenever you hit a single opponent with a spine attack from each arm in the same round". Notice the trigger condition is per-round, so it triggers the first time you hit an opponent with separate spine attacks in the same round (even if it's as part of multiple actions, AoOs, etc) but has no mechanism to trigger again.

I'll leave to your consideration whether Spine Strike, as a modification to the Monk's method of unarmed strike, allows choosing which spine to use in each attack in order to ensure [one, not multiple] Spine Rends
Definitely. This is also used by Trakkisin Rus.

and furthermore, whether the reading of "single" opponent would mingle with Sweeping Strike.
Yes, even with no multiple rends, this is a good trick I didn't realize: you can rend opponents with sweeping strikes without ever having to attack them directly. That's a cool synergy between war mind and the SI. +1/2 point.

Ki Strike (magic) activates at 4th level (even though Spine Enhancement makes it redundant)
You should take holy strike like Vorlance Thon (or see this as another reason to leave monk earlier).

binding a soulmeld to the Arms chakra grants the equivalent to Ki Strike (lawful), whereas Adamantine Spines compensates for Ki Strike (adamantine).
I can see how this fits, and the value you place on it justifies stopping at spinemeld warrior 9 which improves elegance. +1/4 point.

for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons
I read this to mean things like GMW, not anything that is a good ability involving US. Twin spine fighting is a new option not an improvement.

I don't understand. If a monk can treat his unarmed strikes as off-hand, whatever the arm with which they attack, then a skarn monk can treat his spine strikes as off-hand, whatever the arm with which they attack. And since there is no difference in the malus on each hand when you TWF (each has -2), then Chainsaw really doesn't have any disadvantage compared to someone using two hands.
I see now what you're saying. Because of this quote,
"Plus, that also includes « there is no notion of off-hand weapon for a monk », which means both attacks will be made without a malus."
I thought you were arguing that you could somehow make an off-hand attack as a primary attack.
So let's look at this.

By default, both of your arm spines are a single weapon that can be used either primary or offhand.
Spine TWFing says:

you can attack with the spines on both of your arms as if you were fighting with two light weapons
The underlined might be a technicality problem since both arms isn't the same thing as primary/offhand. I'll have to think on that when I rescore the builds. But it will be higher because a technicality is a smaller problem than what I thought the issue was.

It doesn't work, I'd say that's arguable, but possibly. I'd be better without it, however, I disagree. Being able to rend with each one of your strike is a huge increase of damage. Even if I can't TWF, at level 20, between 5 attacks and one rend and 4 attacks and 4 rends, mine is very clearly ahead of the other.
I also had to clarify this with Spayne Render above. The ability doesn't allow multiple rends per round. "Whenever you hit a single opponent with a spine attack from each arm in the same round". Notice the trigger condition is per-round, so it triggers the first time you hit an opponent with separate spine attacks in the same round (even if it's as part of multiple actions, AoOs, etc) but has no mechanism to trigger again. Otherwise you'd have to be counting and "pairing" attacks over multiple actions, and due to the per round wording of the ability, it becomes more complicated to adjudicate than something like a troll's rend which is only within a single attack action -- it's not clear whether rend would trigger whenever an alternated "pair" of spine attacks is formed, or whenever a pair is formed in an absolute count. Given that we don't have rules for resolving that, it's not just simpler but also closer to the text to take that wording at face value.

Decisive strike is really only for low levels, just to not have a completely useless flurry of blows.
How is flurry of blows useless to you? Maybe you can clarify your attack routine?

H_H_F_F

2021-06-18, 10:23 AM

I'll change it so that there are no sub-1 scores where nothing is illegal.
Edit: done.

Emphasis mine; Just making sure you've noticed that Frack and N-Sept-Chyon's scores haven't been updated in the post, while Dipp deserves a 0.5 increase to their total score, based on the current math.

Thanks again for judging!

mattie_p

2021-06-18, 10:39 AM

What's the world coming to when we have disputes before the first judge is even done.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-18, 11:03 AM

What's the world coming to when we have disputes before the first judge is even done.

LOL.

There is an efficency to this method of split-judging, for sure, but it's weirding me out. I wouldn't feel comfortable saying "thanks elves, no disputes from me" (or whatever) before judgement is done. I assume others are feeling the same way. So this is kind of an awkward phase where we see disputes but no thanks, and it feels very unkind towards our esteemed judge.

Elves

2021-06-18, 11:34 AM

Emphasis mine; Just making sure you've noticed that Frack and N-Sept-Chyon's scores haven't been updated in the post, while Dipp deserves a 0.5 increase to their total score, based on the current math.
Illegality hence sub 1 scores. Fixed Dipp. My view is, there's a big gap between something that works and something that doesn't. If you take aristocrat levels, that's weak but functional. But if you're getting disqualified from some of your key class levels or the main build concept is illegal, that's dysfunctional even if the remaining levels are technically stronger than something that might get a low, but higher, score. It's about the use of your power, not the power in an absolute sense (otherwise all primary casters would get 5s).

Disputes are great -- please do correct me if I get something wrong.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-18, 11:43 AM

Illegality hence sub 1 scores...

The FAQ suggest 0s only in elegance for illegality. Not telling you how to do your job, but giving sub-1 scores in power or other categories for illegality is very unorthodox.

I am not one of the chefs responsible for these two entries, so this isn't a dispute or anything, just a note.

The Viscount

2021-06-19, 12:03 PM

The FAQ suggest 0s only in elegance for illegality. Not telling you how to do your job, but giving sub-1 scores in power or other categories for illegality is very unorthodox.

I am not one of the chefs responsible for these two entries, so this isn't a dispute or anything, just a note.

H_H_F_F makes an excellent point here.

A message from a chef.

I would like the following to be Fracks’ epitaph:

“I would like to formally withdraw Frack-tall skarn from the competition. It is inarguably an “illegal build.” And thus should not be allowed to continue. Please, other judges, if you’ve already started, quit frack tall now. I want to save you at least that effort if I can. Thank you for understanding.

But, psst… other judge’s, if you want to meet up later, after the match. And we can get to know each other’s opinions on Frack, more intimately… you know. Perhaps we can come to a more…commensal arrangement.

Eyebrow

Wink”

mattie_p

2021-06-19, 12:27 PM

Updated table. I have not yet entered scores, as no judge has completed a full set at this time.

{edit} Removed table to keep only 1 current

The Viscount

2021-06-19, 12:55 PM

A response from chainsaw's chef about the questions posed.

I also had to clarify this with Spayne Render above. The ability doesn't allow multiple rends per round. "Whenever you hit a single opponent with a spine attack from each arm in the same round". Notice the trigger condition is per-round, so it triggers the first time you hit an opponent with separate spine attacks in the same round (even if it's as part of multiple actions, AoOs, etc) but has no mechanism to trigger again. Otherwise you'd have to be like counting and "pairing" attacks over multiple actions, or something...due to the per round wording it's more complicated to do it that way than for something like a troll's rend which is within a single attack action, so simpler to take that wording at face value.

I really don't read it like that. I think the "in the same round" applies to the "attack with each arm". When you hit an opponent with both arms (in the case of a two-armed character), it checks if both attacks were made in the same round, and if so, you rend. If you attack several times with each arm, then you deal several times the rend. The "whenever" really pushes this interpretation, to be opposed with other rending abilities (for example, the Two-Weapon Rend in the Epic Level Handbook has an additional clause about that:
"If you hit an opponent with a weapon in each hand in the same round, you may automatically rend the opponent. [...] You can only rend once per round, regardless of how many successful attacks you make. [...]".

Note that the wording is almost exactly the same as Spine Rend, but one has the once per round, while the other does not.
Of course, the final say is yours, but I just wanted to share my views.

How is flurry of blows useless to you? Maybe you can clarify your attack routine?

Well, I am in heavy armor, and later with a shield, that's what allowed me to dump Dex and Wis and be way less MAD than the average monk (also having a good Dex while being a skarn requires a lot of investment. Also that leverages a bit more the use of "Two-Weapon Fighting without the conditions"). So I just can't use flurry of blows, since it requires unarmored. However, Decisive Strike does not, so I can still use it, and when I only have one attack anyway, that is a nice increase in damage. My attack routine is quite simple: Spine as much as I can, then secondary spine, or, if I can't, rapier in the tail, then all the bonus attacks due to lightning mace, all made with the spine, then probably one attack of opportunity. No malus to BAB except for Power Attack and one point of Combat Expertise to get Riposte.

Thurbane

2021-06-19, 06:21 PM

The 1E enthusiast in me would like to see Fochlucan Lyrist as an ingredient, but I'm guessing it's too strong to be an IC round?

Venger

2021-06-19, 06:29 PM

There aren't terribly many ways to enter either.

The Viscount

2021-06-19, 08:02 PM

Indeed, and that's a 1-2 punch that, like magelord, makes it hard to use as an ingredient.

Elves

2021-06-20, 09:08 AM

Funny that this is Iron Chef but we only eat things RAW.

Anyway...Judgments batch 2 (batch 1 (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25089393&postcount=168))

Originality - 2
Wait, let me get this straight…you combined…the blue book…with the sword book? wow.

Power - 2
Yeah it could beat a CR appropriate encounter so it’s strong enough.
Oh, but wait..you forgot to take Improved Toughness, which impacts your power significantly. -1 point.

Elegance - 3
2 classes that’s pretty elegant I guess.

Use of Ingredient - 3
You took 10 levels of that thing I’m not giving you a bad score.

TOTAL: 10
Best of all, easy to judge.
👍 I was impressed by how your fluff justified the unconventional combination of 2 PRCs and the main build gimmick.

Originality - 3.5
Stacking multiple sources of essentia investment in a weapon is a fun concept. Other builds use the soulbound trick but I haven’t seen it before this contest, so I call it original.

Power 0.5, Elegance 0, Use of Ingredient 0.5
🛑 Am I missing something? Racial Emulation only lets you emulate one race at a time. You can’t be both a dwarf and a skarn at once. (Or are you arguing there’s no PRC disqualification in 3.5? I'm sympathetic to that view but it seems like it’s not the traditional law of the land here.) The build doesn't work and your disqualified levels cost you either all of your meldshaping and your sw features (as a dwarf) or all but 3 levels of it and your ironsoul features (as a skarn).
👍 I do like the kobold trick.
👎 Without native plane shift or similar, getting to the Bastion of Souls each day to charge up your touchstone feat will be impractical.
👎 The build wastes 2 levels of meldshaping. Could replace spinemeld 3 with spinemeld 2/x1 to waste only one level (or no levels if x1 is a meldshaper class).
👉 By strict RAW, the spine enhancement doesn’t add an enhancement bonus directly to your spines and so wouldn’t be eligible for soulbound weapon. Clever idea though and I suppose arguable. The points for cleverness go in originality.
👉 Stacking weapon bond and invest spine works theoretically, but not in practice since you don't qualify for both classes.

TOTAL: 4.5
Stacking multiple sources of essentia investment in a weapon is a fun concept for using the PRC, but both methods run into rules problems.
Originality - 3.5
👍 Didn't expect a build that takes more than 2 ranger levels, certainly not non-WS rgr. The other skarn monk builds don't use Sapphire Fist so I consider that slightly original despite being the "obvious" pick for skarn monk SW entry. Decisive strike on a spinemeld warrior is unexpected but may turn out to be inelegant since it clashes with SW's main feature.

Power - 2.75
👍 Decisive strike stunning fist snap kick oxy rend followed by double AOO threat is a very respectable strat.
👉 Would like to have seen more tactics to milk decisive strike: swift/immediate attacks, sweeping strike, etc.
👉 Since you aren't making iterative attacks you also could have trashed your BAB without consequence. At the very least, that you don't need BAB removes one benefit of Ascetic Hunter. You could have found ways to exploit your BAB despite using decisive; you don't even mention belts of battle (surely noble familiarity could have secured you one belt for each encounter).
👎 10 ranger levels? Sure, what you really want is mystic ranger, but that’s not on the table in IC so those levels look lackluster. Take rgr2/x8 vs rgr 10: is +1-2 to Stunning Fist DC vs select foes, a weak animal companion and some casting and feats you don't use remotely worth what you could be getting from 8 levels in any number of classes, even among PRCs that advance US damage?
👍 Ascetic Hunter, decisive strike and Sapphire Fist mean a high stun DC.
👎 Ascetic Hunter doesn’t advance stunning fist uses, so you only have 7 uses per day @ 20, 8 with belt. (Maybe what this build really wants to do is use enlightened fist to advance mystic ranger casting.) If you could fit in extra stunning it would be kind of plausible, but with 8 you’re looking at potentially half your combat rounds per day and for much of your career even less (which is bad because it's higher level combat that tends to be shorter).
👉 Would have been cool to combine Ascetic Hunter and Sapphire Fist with Azure Enmity. Since you can invest an odd number of essentia in Azure Enmity it could then pair with Improved Favored Enemy (perhaps from champion of the wild ACF) to even out the bonus to Sapphire Fist. Missed opportunity.
👉 Spectral Skirmisher would have been nice to fit in since it’s a budget-Robilar’s at low levels and can double the effect of a Robilar’s attack at higher levels.
👍 When they see a horse, most people expect a mounted combat build, but just using it for mobility with fast mount/fast dismount is cheeky and cool.
👎 The problem is your horse is weak and at high levels it’s going to fall right over. With Dragon content you could take that ACF that requires you to choose an animal on the basic list but sets your effective druid level to rgr lvl -2.
👉 What do you expect to use your rgr casting on?

Elegance - 3
👍 Sapphire Fist, skarn monk, and spinemeld warrior synergize. So do your combat strategies except the horse. Great.
👎 As you note, skarn monk sub level and Ascetic Hunter are dis-synergistic. Rather than spending a feat, you could have made this less painful by using noble familiarity to get the super cheap bracers of striking from MoF.
👎 ITWF wasted by using decisive strike. (And if you were TWFing, redundant with gauntlets of the balanced hand gained via noble familiarity -- I assume you'd take 1 more rgr level in that case.)
👉 Decisive strike to offset the downside of skarn monk is smart, but conflicts with the natural way for a spinemeld warrior to fight. Using Double Hit to still get some TWF action saves this from being a negative.
👉 Your second two FE aren’t the best powerwise but their fluff is evocative (the skarn manhunter).
👉 Clean stub, but in this case maybe cleaner than it should be.
👎 AC has dis-synergy with skilled city dweller since you need Handle Animal to make it a warbeast.

Use of Ingredient - 2.75
👍 I’m a fan of the PT(Oxy)/decisive strike/Snap Kick combo and used it in a past build of my own, and here it’s actually augmented by the SI due to the rend. Easily the best part of the build and what saves it from being subpar.
👎 Relegating your spine TWF to Double Hit wastes the advantage of spine iteratives.
👉 Is SW 8 really the best use of a level?

TOTAL: 12
you have 4 gimmicks here: decisive strike/oxy/snap kick rend, stunning fist, double hit/robilar's AoOs, and the horse. The first three naturally synergize (though lack of stunning uses is a problem). The horse is fun but weak and a little random, driving home the problem: I just don't buy that you need 10 ranger levels. They give you a slightly higher BAB that you don't need, an ITWF feat that you don't use and could get from an item anyway, an Endurance feat you don't need, some casting you don't use, a weak animal companion, and a slightly higher Stunning Fist DC vs. select foes. That's not worth so many levels. The basic 3 tricks have the makings of a great build but I think you went down...the wrong Trak.

A TWF build could have gone rgr11/spinemeld 7 instead of 10/8 which would have gained in elegance, but then you'd lose your main combo.
Originality - 3
The idea of a dragonborn incarnum samurai is cool.
There's a good idea here -- necrocarnum weapon/incandescent champion crit build. I'm not sure what it has to do with spinemeld warrior.

Power - 1
👍 Fairly strong concept (4)
👍 Original or not, incandescent champion and necrocarnum weapon is an awesome combo because it turns incarnum overload's 1 round duration into a 10 round (all encounter) benefit. Alas you only get that combo for 1 encounter per day. +1
👎 You have an entire 8 SW levels, almost half your build, doing virtually nothing for you except being the incarnum equivalent of an NPC class. -2
👎 No maxing of threat range/multipliers beyond keen? Why are you using a bastard sword? The samurai EWP could be used for a critfisher weapon via aptitude enhancement. -.25
👎 Excessive focus on boosting confirmation rolls. Necrocarnum weapon is probably enough. -.25
👎 Iaijutsu focus but seemingly no way to trigger it -.25
👎 Incandescent champion and samurai yet you don't take enough samurai for the fear synergy to kick in. -.25
👎 Crit immune foes ruin your shtick -.5
👎 Instead of spending 7 character levels for bound mauling gauntlets, would have been much easier on build resources to just shell out for keen weapons (or even to take the feats). -.5

Elegance - 1
👎 Levels in both OA samurai and CW samurai. Fishy.
🛑 Two swords as one doesn't grant you an actual virtual feat so it's redundant with spinemeld warrior 1, thus you're down a feat (and synergy between samurai and SW is negated)
🛑 You can't double dip on EWPs like that with the kneeblade.
👍 Potential for Charisma synergy in Iaijutsu, Intimidate, incarnum overload, and kiai smite...but all of those elements are underdeveloped.

Use of Ingredient - 1
👎 Poor use of the ingredient. You don't need noble familiarity for enhancements to an existing wep and OA samurai partly covers that anyway. The TWF feat is redundant with the TWF from samura since you're using samurai weapons. Spending 7 character levels for bound mauling gauntlets and some essentia is inefficient.

TOTAL: 6
This could be a super cool build but it's underdeveloped and has nothing at all to do with spinemeld warrior. I'd love to see you post a "real" version that doesn't use SW.
👍 Name fits the character and the fluff concisely portrays his life.

Originality - 2.5
Not as audacious in use of ranger as Trakissin, but still more levels than I expected. Let's see if it pays off.

Power - 2
👎 You don't say which unseelie fey aspect you're taking or seem to leverage it.
👎 Where is the "devastating power" coming from? Light weapons with 14 str and the only bonus damage I see is +6 from bluesteel bracers and +1 from lucky dice, equating to just 2d6 SA or skirmish. Unseelie fey could compensate for your low damage by using winter aspect to deliver save debuffs (it's great for magic items, which typically have low save DCs -- potentially synergistic with spinemeld's noble familiarity to obtain such items) but no mention of that. It seems like you seriously lack offense.
👎 In light of the above, spending 3 feats on the weak Two Weapon Defense line is a strange choice, especially when 2Weapon Rend is right there and synergizes with the SI's rend. Were you going for maximum defense? But no Combat Expertise/Improved Expertise to maximize AC when fighting defensively, and crystal helm used for AC would soak up much of your essentia to ultimately be barely better than a +5 deflection item. Ok, I guess you have Midnight Dodge in there which stacks.
👉 But if you're going to put a lot of essentia into Midnight Dodge I question the use of both it & Azure Enmity. Heavy investment in both will leave you with little essentia for melds. I can sort of see the justification for having both -- maybe if you're going into an arena match you put it all in Enmity -- but is optionality there more important than the other feats you could take?
👎 Cobalt Charge is a bad choice when you don't optimize for charging in any other way and are already trading off your scarce essentia between several soulmelds and 2 feats.
👉 Skarn FE isn't the strongest choice but it's a thematic fit with spinemeld's gladiator fluff. FE fey harder to defend.
👎 No description of your gear except mithril armor.

Elegance - 2.75
Comparing uses of rgr:
Trekkisin thought of a use for his AC, used rgr's K(planes) skill for Planar Touchstone, and went for an Ascetic Hunter/Sapphire Fist synergy.
👍 OTOH you use ITWF to get GTWF, which you couldn't just get with gloves of the balanced hand, and you smartly use champion of the wild to trade weak casting for a bonus feat.
👎 But there's a dis-synergy with using rgr to get ITWF: one of the main benefits is bypassing the Dex req, which is great for skarn with their dex penalty, but since you still need to take GTWF normally you can't leverage that. You could if you stopped at 2 (getting ITWF from gloves) or 11 (getting all 3 feats).

Use of Ingredient - 2.25
Very straightforward use of the PRC, but no real opportunities taken to synergize or exploit it and no use of noble familiarity.

TOTAL: 9.5
The build is united around one theme: TWFing with Weapon Finesse. But it doesn't pursue that goal effectively.
Using soul eater in IC is ballsy since no one knows for sure how it works. (This is why it's good to have sample characters.) For a class as lousy as SW I guess it's a gambit to take, since it's certainly wonderful if it works. I have some doubts though.

Here's the quote:

the touch of a soul eater bestows one negative level on its target. At 7th level the Soul eater bestows two negative levels with a touch
So is it a passive buff to all your "touches" (usually interpreted to mean natural weapon and unarmed attacks), or an active use ability that requires a touch attack (in which case, as a su ability, it defaults to a standard action)?

- First of all, it requires less of an interpretive leap to read "touch" as a metonym for touch attack, a shorthand we see elsewhere, than to read it as an IRL word and re-interpret it into the game rules as a natural weapon or unarmed attack. We should prefer readings that require less reader extrapolation. We should also prefer readings that stay within the game system rather than resorting to real-world logic, except where the system breaks down (drown healing).

- A su ability is a standard action unless stated otherwise. Because it's not clearly stated otherwise, this clause would trigger by default, so burden of evidence is on the passive buff argument.

- Several other soul eater features speak of "using" your energy drain ability, which makes more sense if it’s an active-use ability rather than a passive buff.

- Other BOVD classes from the same chapter use "touch" as a colloquialism for touch attacks.

Beginning at 2nd level, the touch of a cancer mage carries a contagion spell once per day per classlevel ... Once per day per class level beginning at 3rdlevel, the touch of a cancer mage carries a poisonspell
This is the same wording as soul eater -- "the touch of a [class member]" -- here clearly referring to a touch attack.

Slay Mortal (Su) A 10th-level mortal hunter can attemptto slay a mortal with its touch once per day. If the mortalhunter succeeds at a melee touch attack, the mortal mustmake a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + class level + mortalhunter’s Cha modifier) or die instantly.
And this feature draws a direct connection between "your touch" and "a melee touch attack." Notably, this one is (su) just like soul eater's energy drain, not an SLA, so it can't be argued as different because it's governed by the rules for touch spells.

>But unlike SE's energy drain, slay mortal explicitly states the involvement of a touch attack
True, but this may be because the existence of a save required an expanded phrasing: if there were no save, it's not hard to imagine it would just say "can slay a mortal with its touch once per day". So that omission isn't necessarily informative.

Baseline: It would be weird if "the touch of a soul eater" meant something completely different from "the touch of a cancer mage" just a few pages earlier.

What "touch" means is a problem throughout BOVD:

[effect of a magical disease] Creature’s touch causes minor pain, dealing 1 point of damage.
...
Ring of Weeping:This dull gray ring allows the wearerto bestow weeping, crippling sadness by touch. A humanoidtouched by the wearer of a ring of weeping must succeed at aWill save (DC 11) or be incapacitated
...
the pained creature can give feel-ings of intense pain to others by touch. The painful touchproduces the effect of a wrack spell
(Wrack isn't normally a touch spell.)
Which if any of these require touch attacks? In the last case, to deliver the spell I would say it almost certainly does, which would give another example of "touch" meaning touch attack.

- Here are the main arguments that have been brought up in favor of the passive buff reading.

>MM glossary entry says energy drain happens automatically when a melee or ranged attack hits.
1) if the ability is a standard action touch attack, that's the triggering attack.
2) it's not a hard and fast rule anyway. Even within MM, the nightcrawler and succubus are exceptions.

>Many monsters have an energy drain effect that rides on a nat weapon.
Some also have an energy drain that doesn't (like succubus and nightcrawler). And under the passive buff reading, "touch" would have to also include unarmed strikes, which would actually be abnormal w.r.t. monster examples.

>The PRC requires Weapon Focus for a natural attack
This is the one strong argument, since it implies that your natural attacks are supposed to relate to the class somehow.

Summing it Up

- In favor of the passive buff reading is that the PRC feat requirement seems to suggest synergy between the class's abilities and natural weapons.

- In favor of the touch attack reading is that the same wording is used for touch attack abilities in the same chapter of the same book, that other class abilities refer to you "using" the energy drain ability in a way that's more natural for an active use ability, that it requires a smaller interpretive leap to equate touch with touch attack than with natural attacks/unarmed strikes, and that in the absence of indication otherwise it defaults to a standard.

The passive buff argument is about divining developer intent, whereas the touch attack reading is based on interpreting the text as written. By strict RAW, what the feat requirement happens to be has no weight, whereas the way rules language is used in the same book is a valid interpretive tool. So the RAW ruling has to be that it's a standard action touch attack.

But because it's much debated and there's no certain answer, I'm not going to put in stop signs or just go "no".

❗ Since there's such a big gap here between the two SE readings, I'll give both a does-work and does-not-work score and weigh them 75:25 to express my interpretation.

🛑 The most reasonable reading of morphic weapons is that it gives you one natural weapon at a time (“a natural attack”), though I know there are two sides to this debate. But your strategy still works with one.
👎 Lycanthropy RHD tricks are cheesy as hell, especially when used to evade prereqs. Hits you on elegance and also on power because for several levels you’re extremely weak.
👍 OTOH, the kobold trick is cool and straightforward.
👍 Spell Drain plus Soul Eater is an awesome combo.
👉 I'm surprised you don't seem to mention using soul eater shape change and then warshaping skarn spines in the assumed form
👍 Thematic harmony between soul eating, incarnum , changeling and warshaper -- builds the idea of a creature who plays with, steals and devours different creatures' "essence of self"

FAVORABLE READING

Originality - 4
👉 Were-dire-puma white dragonspawn changeling who pretends to be a skarn? I want more backstory to explain this one.

Power - 4.75
👍 Destroys everything not immune to drain
👎 Seemingly no answer to drain immunity short of stealing GDM or similar which requires careful setup (correct me if wrong)
👍 At least it can cast stolen spells against immune targets or use drain shapechange to assume a powerful form to fight immune creatures, but that requires setup (finding and defeating such a caster or monster).
👎 Spends much of its career very weak
👍 Wight army

Elegance - 1
👎 Lycanthropy tricks are gross. Not kosher in my view. Retroactive qualification in itself is ok, but most ways to get there are inelegant (retraining, etc).

Use of Ingredient - 3.25
If soul eater only applied to natural weapons, this would be a brilliant way of leveraging spine TWFing and the clear contest winner (unless its score were brought down by lycanthropy cheese). Unfortunately most passive buff readings also make unarmed strikes eligible, reducing the uniqueness of application -- could be done better by a generic US build than SW.

TOTAL: 13

UNFAVORABLE READING

Originality - 3.75
Debate ensues about whether you can call an idea that fails as original as one that works.

Power - 1.25
👍 You still get a wight army
👍 You can still shape change
👉 SE shapechange and morphic weapon skarn spines would do a lot to justify even the failed version of this build but can't give you points for that strat since you don't specifically mention it
👎 Energy drain and TWF don't synergize anymore and the basic build is now a miscarriage of power.

Elegance - 0
👎 Lycanthropy cheese and illegal use of soul eater

Use of Ingredient - 1
Effectively no use for SI, although could be useful in edge cases - steal shapechange forms that can't wield manufactured weapons, you can grow spines to TWF with?

TOTAL: 6

WEIGHTED TOTAL: 7.75
>He carefully opened Idrivan's envelope with his spine
Nice touch.
Like the bait and switch in your backstory.

Originality - 3
There are two ideas here: an unexpected pairing of PRCs, apparently stemming from the observation that they share something with ranger (and both use incarnum). That's decent, if not deep. And second, SE to augment natural attack iteratives, using feral to qualify while giving yourself more natural attacks to benefit. That's an original idea even if 2 other submissions used it; the problem is it likely doesn't work.

Power - 3, Elegance - 2.5
👍 Dispelling orb grants an inbuilt way to deal with energy drain immunity from spells
👉 This build would have combo'd beautifully with Spell Drain feat like Impostor used, since it only requires CL not class lvl and is thus still compatible with witchborn binder. That would bind SE and witchborn tightly together.
👎 SE most likely doesn't work the way you hoped. To be fair, feral is so OP that it's still a strong choice, so you're only down 1 level, though it does remove your strongest form of offense. You could get a weaker version with an enervating necklace of natural weapons + add keen or bind mauling gauntlets. Loss of this drain takes away your main advantage and makes your combat ability average to below average. It also largely negates the nice synergy with dispelling orb and SE.
👍 Reaping Talons creates a connection between your claws and spines that persists despite loss of SE drain (though cornered predator seems the only useful part for you).
👉 Witchborn binder is connected to spinemeld through prereqs but there's no synergy in substance: your mageslayer angle is better achieved through lockdown than TWF, especially once spell-draining negative levels are out of the picture.
👍 That said, witchborn 6/spinemeld 7 is an elegant stub that maxes your spinemeld shaping while getting you the best features of each class.
👎 The warblade dip is fine, but doesn't seem especially connected. And 2 of the maneuvers are swift/immediate, conflicting with essentia investment and witchborn binder class features.
👉 Alertness can be had from a 10k ioun stone via noble familiarity so rgr 2 is likely worse than ftr 2.
🛑 [S]"Two weapon rend can be taken by twfing rangers even without the required Dex" -- Source for this? You aren't meeting the Dex req for TWF Rend even with a +6 Dex item, so it looks disqualified. Only -.25 penalty because you can noble familiarity a Dex tome and use an enhancement item to qualify. My bad, it's a special clause of the feat.

Use of Ingredient - 1.75
👍 Girallon arms fit with your gimmick, justifying the value of arms bind.
👎 Like the other souleater builds, this has the problem that the permissive reading of SE is usually logically concluded to apply to US as well as nat weps, turning what could have been a brilliant idea for uniquely leveraging spine iteratives into something better pursued through a conventional US build. From the other perspective, however, starting from the SI as a base, that was a great idea to empower it (so great 2 other contestants had the same thought). Unfortunately the gimmick probably doesn't even work, a second dampener.

TOTAL: 10.25
The build is capable enough but the likely failure of the SE gimmick leaves it average instead of powerful (and with a level that's not doing much). And I'm left wondering if spinemeld and witchborn really synergize that much. On the upside, of the SE builds, this one is least affected by its likely failure.
Under the unfavorable ruling, I assume you'd have gone totemist 1/clr3/oc1/sapphire 10/spinemeld 5, spinemeld7/sapphire 8 or spinemeld 9/sapphire 6. I like the 7/8 build, 6ths means spontaneous blade barrier.

Originality - 3.5
Mixing spinemeld with SE, adding totemist to maximize natural attacks on the presumption of a passive buff reading, and if you're going to take totemist you might as well advance it with hierarch to get some casting on the side, which also helps fulfill prereqs. It constitutes an original idea but is undermined by SE likely failing.

Power - 2.75, Elegance - 2.25
👉 Choosing spinemeld levels over primary casting is obviously a little bit iffy, but I'm looking at it from the other direction -- what is the casting adding to spinemeld? Primarily, a lot of buff spells.
👍 Spine fighting and spontaneous flame strikes is a cool and fun playstyle.
👎 Only one level of SE. But the loss hurts you more than the above build because your use of totemist is to get natural attacks with the assumption of delivering energy drains. With that likely failing, a large part of the build's elegance and power is undermined. For example, it severs the link between spinemeld and totemist -- though even so, presuming a hierarch build, incarnate wouldn't necessarily be a better choice.
👉 Better use of unseelie fey than Irtran Kalamar Qath. OTOH, taking a strength hit and then boosting Str kind of sucks. Why not just use an enhancement item to get ITWF/GTWF, eventually buying a +5 tome to qualify innately? Sucks if you get dispelled I guess but with persisted buffs you already have that problem so you're going to be investing in whatever anti dispel measures you can.
👉 instead of a feat for soulspark couldn't you just noble familiarity up a 10k ioun stone?
👉 Incarnum spellshaping justified vs Open Chakra feat, better in the hierarch 10 stub for open lesser.
👉 A non-SE build loses the prereq synergy of clr/OC and SE.

Use of Ingredient - 1.5
👎 Like the other souleater builds, this has the problem that the permissive reading of SE is usually logically concluded to apply to US as well as nat weps, turning what could have been a brilliant idea for uniquely leveraging spine iteratives into something better pursued through a conventional US build. From the other perspective, however, starting from the SI as a base, that was a great idea to empower it (so great 2 other contestants had the same thought). Unfortunately the gimmick probably doesn't even work, a second dampener.

TOTAL: 10
Likely failure of SE means the build fails to a greater degree than B.C., but less than Impostor. It harms the main build concept by weakening the bond between totemist and spinemeld and therefore between hierarch and cleric and spinemeld as well, since hierarch's main appeal here is as a way to get extra goodies (casting) from a totemist progression.
There were a lot of rules problems this round. People were trying some pretty crazy things to make this class good, and in the end, many of those attempts ran afoul of the rules. That's just a sign of what we all knew, that the class is crap and there’s not much to do with it. People showed up and tried to wring something out of it anyway and I appreciate that. My favorite things were:

- Using soulbound weapon + invest spine for double essentia returns on enhancing a weapon: by strict RAW this doesn't work but it's still a clever idea and many tables would accept it.
- Mayalaran’s discovery of the synergy between Thayan gladiator and spinemeld warrior.
- Frack’s concept of a parasitic spinemeld warrior host, even if it didn’t work.
- Spayne Render’s skarn take on a warmind build, including his use of sweeping strike to do AOE spine-rends.
- Trakkisin's use of Planar Touchstone to spine-rend with decisive strike.

HM goes to Chainsaw for being willing to get into the thick of the rules to see if he can make something unconventional work and for pushing noble familiarity to its full extent, plus the cool opening blurb.

Misc
- Disappointed we didn’t get a wild shape, alter self or polymorph build that uses warshaper to gain skarn spines while transformed. This seems like a logical extension of changeling SI entry.
- Another combo would have been using skarn's (reptilian) subtype to enter Scaled Horror, allowing you to use improved grab with each one of your SW spine iteratives.
- If soul eater were a passive buff and only affected natural weapons, it would be a brilliant idea and would give the SI a unique and powerful use. Unfortunately, it probably doesn't work that way and even if it did it would probably also work on unarmed strikes. We were so close to this being a "wow" round but that's ok, not every experiment works.
- I'd be happy to see further drafts of these builds, either PM me or post them in this thread. I hate to be laying down some kind of gavel rather than helping to workshop them.

mattie_p

2021-06-20, 10:12 AM

It appears that Elves has completed judging all builds. Table updated here.

{edit} one table only

H_H_F_F

2021-06-20, 10:35 AM

Thanks for your full judgement, Elves! Much appreciated. And thank you Mattie_P for the table!

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-20, 02:54 PM

Thank you very much Elves for your hard work!

mattie_p

2021-06-20, 03:02 PM

Elves, it was brought up before by H_H_F_F and the chair, but it appears that some of your judgment in this most recent round of scoring is outside the bounds set by the rules of the competition.

Kim Pogona has scores in Power, and Use of Ingredient below 1. Slish-Slash has a score in Use of Ingredient below 1.

Thank you for your efforts for the competition thus far.

Elves

2021-06-20, 04:11 PM

In the case of the ironsoul forgemaster build, it feels like I must be missing something, because as I read it half the levels would be disqualified due to race. If I am missing something, please post a dispute.

In my view there's a difference between weakness and actual dysfunction, which is the difference between a 1 and a sub 1. A build that simply chooses weak options is different from one whose strategies actually don't work.

It also doesn't make sense to me that only one category but not the others could be sub 1. If the scores are 3-20 they're really 0-17.

Slish Slash: made u.o.i. 1 and transferred part of that criticism to power, now 6 total.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-20, 04:20 PM

It also doesn't make sense to me that only one category but not the others could be sub 1. If the scores are 3-20 they're really 1-17.

So, here are my personal thoughts on this, which have not been affirmed by the chair or anyone else:

I generally haven't given builds 0 in elegance simply for having a rules error, or being extremely inelegant. I've only given it to wholly illegal or incomplete builds, I believe. 0 is reserved not for "very bad" (that's an auto-1), but for "goes against the very idea of the category".

Everything can be 0, but elegance is simply the only case you could realistically expect to see - flat out illegal or incomplete as a whole. It's beyond inelegant - it just doesn't work. It goes against elegance itself.

What would that look like for the other categories?

Not taking the SI is an example of a valid reason to give a 0 in UoSI, in my opinion. It's the equivalent of "beyond inelegant, this just doesn't work" - beyond terrible use, this is just isn't the SI. However, we would assume bad faith from anyone trying that, so you might ask for their entry to be DQ'd. In short, you probably will never see an entry that goes against UoSI itself.

Power? Hard to say. Being "extremely weak" is an auto-1. Something like "actively harmful to itself" would be a good idea of what 0 is. A fish that lives on land and has to be constantly helped by an NPC to not die? The closest case I can think of from the actual competition would be Zaq's Li'l Brudder, from the order of the bow initiate round. I love that build, but I could see that as a 0 in power. It's beyond weak - the build philosophy is actively harmful. Very unlikely to show up.

An ultra boring build using very well known mechanics would be 1 in originality. What would 0 even look like? My best thought: someone copying a build from a different forum, or something. But again, we'll probably see that as bad faith and ask for a DQ.

So, in my view, the nature of the differentiation between what an automatic 1 is to what 0 is makes 0s in elegance far more likely. Elegance is the category to adress rules issues, and those are one of the only arenas in which something could realistically go that wrong.

Edit: I believe I remember someone making similar points a couple of rounds ago, but I can't recall who that was or what exactly they said. Whoever you are, you probably influenced my thoughts on this, so thanks.

The Viscount

2021-06-20, 05:48 PM

H_H_F_F is on the money here. Elegance has a floor of 0 because it's possible to make a build that is illegal. The builds as presented were created by individual people, are capable of doing things, and use the class features of the SI, so 1 would be the lowest.

Messages from the chefs.

Good day to you Elves, I wish to dispute several aspects of your judgement of N. Sept-Chyon which I believe are in error. It is clear that this dish was not to your taste. I am not looking to change your opinion of my build, but correct you where I believe you to be in error. This has been spoilered for length.

My disputes with your judging broadly fall into 4 categories, Illegalities, application of 1 Mistake, 1 Penalty, Inelegancies/Interpretations, and Inconsistencies. All quotes are yours except where I specify others. I request a re-evaluation on the merits based upon the following:

A large portion of the penalties against N. Sept-Chyon appear to fall into this category. You initially gave below minimum scores in 3 categories due to "rules violations." It was only after another forum member and the chair reminded you 3 times, that you increased scores in two categories to a "1". In the past, illegal builds were entries that deliberately violated the rules of the competition (such as knowingly using Dragon Magazine Magazine material) or blatantly violating the RAW.

Additionally, I wholeheartedly dispute your assertion that the entry is illegal. First, I ask if you read the section of the entry about pre-requisites? I had a whole spoiler. At each step of the process, selection of Prestige Classes and Feats were legal. Base classes (even substitute levels) do not have any clauses about retroactive loss of them. Only CW and CM have such clauses about Prestige Classes (and we will get to that). Losing a pre-requisite may cause a character to lose access to a feat (we will get to that too), but the fact remains that each step was legal at the time when N. Sept-Chyon made those decisions.

🛑 Shaper of form’s renascence doesn’t say it doesn’t change type, it says you can’t change type. You don’t retain racially derived subtypes when switching, since those subtypes are a characteristic of the race. Thus, this level also disqualifies you from warshaper.

You are making an assertion that is not backed up by the RAW. Here is the full quote of the ability:

Renaissance: The shaper of form changes race, gender, or general physical appearance. She cannot change type and no ability score adjustments occur as a result of the change. Thus, if the character is weak and becomes an orc, she becomes a weak orc. The shaper of form cannot choose to become a member of a race with a level adjustment.

That's all we have to go on. There are basically several examples within the RAW to figure out what this means. One is adding a template, and all the subsequent examples follow from it.

Reading A Template
A template’s description provides a set of instructions for altering an existing creature, known as the base creature. The changes that a template might cause to each line of a creature’s statistics block are discussed below. Generally, if a template does not cause a change to a certain statistic, that entry is missing from the template description.

The ability doesn't meantion subtypes, and thus no previous subtypes are lost. The ability says that no ability score adjustments are made (i.e. no previous racial traits are gained or lost). The shapechanger subtype is one of the racial traits of changelings, and thus is not lost.

Another RAW example of a race change would be via becoming a dragonborn. First of all, that has several pages of rules text covering various mechanical aspects of the change, which Shaper of Form lacks. But let's look at P11.

Type, Subtype, and Race: You retain your original type and subtypes, gaining the dragonblood subtype. You still count as a member of your original race for the purpose of any effect or prerequisite that depends on race.

Adding this template doesn't change subtypes either. But do note that it spells out exactly what changes (adds a new subtype).

Alter Self/Plymorph and Alternate Form Special ability also offer examples, but they likewise specify exactly what they do and do not do. Reincarnation is probably the closest to this change (aside from dragonborn), but spells out how it affects the character and how it doesn't. The absence of rules text within the Renaissance Special Ability is still covered by the rules. I acknowedged in the submission that the RAW was fuzzy for this ability, I wish you had done the same.

🛑 Taking shaper of form’s renascence to become a skarn means you lose Able Learner, Racial Emulation and potentially the rogue sub level.
It is possible that N. Sept-Chyon loses the pre-requisites for Able Learner and Racial emulation, which might be inelegant, but is not illegal. The RAW covers situations in which pre-requisites are lost.

Based upon the above, requesting re-evaluation of your definition of "illegal" and the scoring for this.

It was difficult to determine if this applied in your judgement, due to the method you selected to score. However, I believe it is apparent from your comments that you debited a single "mistake" in more than one category. I am requesting a re-evaluation of the scoring in 3 categories under this rule.

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.

Under Originality, apparent penalties to originality, power, and elegance:

👉 The dwarf>skarn gimmick is original but unhelpful and unnecessary.

Under Originality, apparent penalties to originality and power:

👎 The build’s attempts to be powerful in spite of itself rely on things like UMD and cleric 1 for kdev/lawdev that aren’t original.

Under Power, apparent penalties to power and elegance:

The low rating is not a judgment of absolute power level, but because the build’s central premise ends up harming it

Under Power, the perceived illegalities of the build (not re-quoting you here).

Under Elegance, explicit penalties to power and elegance:

👎 Disqualifications hurt your elegance as well as your power.

I am assuming that these comments are elegance penalties despite being under various other headings.

Under Power:

👎 You don’t even need to be a dwarf to take the dwarf domain. You can just be a non-deity-worshipping cleric of dwarfism.

Just so I'm sure that I understand your scoring metric, you believe that it would be more elegant to be a non-dwarf that worships the ideals of law and dwarfism than to racially emulate a dwarf to worship the head of the dwarven pantheon? I'll keep it in mind for future competitions where you judge.

👎 Arcane channeling isn’t compatible with TWFing. This is discussed in tactics at the level 1-5 range. Each of the 4 groups of levels have a tactics paragraph. Later on once I get spines or other natural weapons (via warshaper) we can arcane channel into those instead.

👉 PS, shaper of form 1 is giving you duskblade 3rds.. N. Sept-Chyon may have caster level 5 at ECL 10, but only gets 2nd level spells here.

👉 The dwarf>skarn gimmick is original but unhelpful and unnecessary. 1 for attempt. I will note that of all the entries, this entry ranked the lowest, receiving a grade of "1" or "very poor." It is unclear what metric you used to determine originality when judging N. Sept-Chyon. I'll remind you that unhelpful may refer to power and unnecessary may refer to elegance. In what manner is this entry very poor in comparison to my peers?

👎 TWF but no source of bonus damage?

👎 ... rely on things like UMD and cleric 1 for kdev/lawdev that aren’t original.
You explicitly acknowedge that they add to power but ignore them in the power category.

Using warshaper to grow arm spines is an interesting thought that doesn’t work because you need to be a skarn for spinemeld entry.
So we're disqualified from things because we're a skarn but I also don't qualify for Spinemeld because I'm not a skarn?

👎 Doesn’t end up with clear tactics, has to motion at UMD and items but with few specific plans.

👉 I like the reference to essentia lock and tactics to use against the other spinemeld gladiators he regularly fights.
So I don't have clear tactics but you like the tactics?

Hi Elves, thank you for judging. I've decided to dispute mainly to request you remove an erroneous penalty, but since I'm disputing anyway, I thought I’d mention other things I disagree with or worry about – so I'll go through everything in corresponding order to your original comments. I hope I didn't cross the line into petty squabbling. Thank you for taking the time to do this!

I understand your reading of the energy drain ability of SE, and therefore accept you choosing to punish it. I'd just like to make sure that the multiple times you mentioned it were saying "if this would have worked you would have gotten a huge boost here, however…" and not penalties unto themselves. The rule is "one mistake, one penalty", so I wanted to make sure you feel your judgement is beholden to that principal.

Spell drain is a good thought, but it would require a huge investment in Cha, which would not only be mechanically costly – it would mean giving up on the guiding principle behind Bong Chadley. He is a subversion of Skarn norms – a feral being, not sophisticated, completely physical. He rejects the mental, he rejects magic. I also really like the fact that the build works while investing 32 PB solely into getting 18s in con and strength. I wouldn’t like to change that for a feat.

As for the ranger/fighter decision: alertness qualifies B.C for two of his PRCs, so relying on an ioun stone for it seems risky (what if it's lost or shattered?), not to mention inelegant. Using a bonus feat for that (which comes with the added benefit of a familiar!) is much more appealing, in my view. Endurance is also a crucial feat here, as will saves become essential from around mid-game for most adventurers. Fighter would also never allow me to qualify for the things I do in time – B.C's int score meant I had to dance around qualifications in a very precise manner. Not being a ranger would also mean giving up on arcane hunter, which synergizes with wirtchborn binder thematically and with soul eater mechanically (I had to take K. arcane anyway to qualify for SE, so AH is essentially free).

Much more importantly than all of these, however, ranger is the only way for a build that completely dumps Dex for Str to get two-weapon rend, which is a cornerstone feat for the build. B.C has 4 rend options, and a huge Str score to pump into them. Two-Weapon Rend's "special" section says: "A fighter can select Two-Weapon Rend as one of his fighter bonus feats. A ranger who has chosen the two-weapon combat style can select Two-Weapon Rend as long as he has a base attack bonus of +11 and is wearing light armor or no armor. I request you remove the associated penalty.

The rending, in general, wasn't mentioned either in UoSI or in elegance, which is surprising to me – the SI gives a rend, which has damage based on Str, so I double down on Str, and complement it by further rends – one of which triggers simultaneously with the SI's rend, and the others realistically in the same round. Perhaps your belief that B.C did not qualify for TWR influenced this absence, or perhaps you just don't see it as a good use of the SI's 5th level feature. Either way, I thought I'd at least mention it.

Thanks again for your judgement! I'm really glad you liked some aspects of my fluff.

Ah, I knew that a judge might severely ding me for Soul Eater, but I didn't think they'd ding me that hard. Que sera sera, that's what happens when you play with fire.

You mention several times that I don't mention shapechanging and regrowing the arm spines but:

shapechanging into powerful monsters and using Minor Shape Change to appear as a skarn again gives The Imposter an edge

I thought was enough, since my build was built entirely around growing natural weapons, I didn't think it necessary to reiterate my build's main schtick on this edge case. Of course I'd be regrowing the arm spines, otherwise I would be out 5 natural attacks. It looks like a skarn (arm spines and all), but has the abilities of the monster as well.

🛑 Am I missing something? Racial Emulation only lets you emulate one race at a time. You can’t be both a dwarf and a skarn at once. (Or are you arguing there’s no PRC disqualification in 3.5? I'm sympathetic to that view but it seems like it’s not the traditional law of the land here.) The build doesn't work and your disqualified levels cost you either all of your meldshaping (as a dwarf) or all but 3 levels of it (as a skarn), plus class features.
👉 Stacking weapon bond and invest spine works theoretically, but not in practice since you don't qualify for both classes.That is in fact my contention. As Magic of Incarnum lacks the PrC language of Complete Warrior or Complete Adventurer (as, in fact, do most splatbooks), Pogona is not disqualified from Spinemeld Warrior when he emulates a dwarf in order to go Ironsoul Forgemaster.

👎 Without native plane shift or similar, getting to the Bastion of Souls each day to charge up your touchstone feat will be impractical.I mention Noble Familiarity as a way to access Plane Shift. Amulet of the Planes is an SRD option (albeit somewhat expensive and with some issues), but not the only one. For a single destination, even something like getting a two-way portal might be viable.

👎 The build wastes 2 levels of meldshaping. Could replace spinemeld 3 with spinemeld 2/x1 to waste only one level (or no levels if x1 is a meldshaper class).Spinemeld Warrior 3 is the minimum level to be able to shape soulmelds, which is necessary to qualify for Ironsoul Forgemaster. I could, I suppose, have dipped Incarnate, but that would have cost me my fourth iterative. The extra two levels of meldshaping also do count toward meldshaper level, which is sometimes relevant.

👉 By strict RAW, the spine enhancement doesn’t add an enhancement bonus directly to your spines and so wouldn’t be eligible for soulbound weapon. Clever idea though and I suppose arguable. The points for cleverness go in originality.Soulbound Weapon is on a Necklace of Natural Weapons, which then confers the enhancement onto the natural weapon. So the spines become a Soulbound weapon, and hence the thing that essentia for the enhancement is invested in.

👉 Would like to have seen more tactics to milk decisive strike: swift/immediate attacks, sweeping strike, etc.All AoO attacks benefit from Decisive Strike.

👎 The problem is your horse is weak and at high levels it’s going to fall right over. With Dragon content you could take that ACF that requires you to choose an animal on the basic list but sets your effective druid level to rgr lvl -2.A standard action that an enemy spends on my horse is probably enough to make up for the potential mobility it offers, and I can get a new one in 24 hours with no real loss of resources.

👎 ITWF wasted by using decisive strike. (And if you were TWFing, redundant with gauntlets of the balanced hand gained via noble familiarity -- I assume you'd take 1 more rgr level in that case.)ITWF is a prerequisite for Double Hit, which is synergistic with Decisive Strike, as AoO damage is doubled, and allows the build to work around the Skarn Dex penalty while still making use of TWF.

👎 AC has dis-synergy with skilled city dweller since you need Handle Animal to make it a warbeast.It is my position that the Warbeast rules do not allow for making an Animal Companion a Warbeast. Therefore, since the Fiendish Animal Companion has Int 3 and understands instructions in common, the build has no use for Handle Animal.

👎 Relegating your spine TWF to Double Hit wastes the advantage of spine iteratives.The build *can* TWF with the spines, but Decisive Strike+Double Hit is generally better, while still making use of the Twin-Spine Fighting and TWF bonus feat.

👉 Is SW 8 really the best use of a level?It increases the essentia cap on Spine Meld to 4 and fits with the number of unarmed damage progressing levels necessary for the spines to hit the damage of a 20th level monk. I guess it's technically weaker than dipping Warblade or Swordsage at 17 for Dancing Mongoose, but that's a standard that's going to be tough for any SI level to meet.

Elves

2021-06-20, 08:56 PM

What would that look like for the other categories? Power? Hard to say. Being "extremely weak" is an auto-1.
I mentioned what my ratings are for power. 1 as very weak, <1 as actively dysfunctional from a rules standpoint. (2 as subpar, 3 as typical for that kind of build, 4 for high-op, 5 for very high op/approaching t-op).

Something like "actively harmful to itself" would be a good idea of what 0 is.
Self defeating is a good definition of 0. For the build with .5 power, depending on which minor change shape form it chooses, it's losing most of its class abilities. So whichever choice it makes, it's badly harming itself.

We're talking about a difference of 1 point here, but I do stand by the score. Viscount can overrule that, but I think it's nicer if judges are allowed to express their viewpoint. Here, I'm expressing my view that there's a difference between, say, a noncaster who takes a bunch of Spell Focus feats, rendering them very weak, and a build that actually malfunctions.

--

It looks like we need a Chair ruling on PRC disqualification. I've said before (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24953372&postcount=130) that by strict RAW I don't think it exists, but this is debated (see the rest of that thread) and in practice it's usually assumed. That's what I was assuming here as well, since if it's allowed it changes a lot about PRC entry -- alignment reqs don't matter, feat reqs can be bypassed with heroics, domain draughts and similar, you can buy items to meet reqs and then resell them (and face no risk of losing abilities if an item gets dispelled), CL reqs and even some casting reqs can be met with certain spells and items. So it should be either yes or no to create a level playing field.

Base classes (even substitute levels) do not have any clauses about retroactive loss of them.
No points were docked specifically for the sub level. For that one I said "arguably", meaning some DMs would cry foul.

Only CW and CM have such clauses about Prestige Classes (and we will get to that).
As above, Viscount has to rule on this.

Renaissance: The shaper of form changes race, gender, or general physical appearance. She cannot change type
It says "cannot", not "does not". It's prescriptive, not descriptive.
This ability isn't the same as adding a template, becoming dragonborn or using alter self.

It is possible that N. Sept-Chyon loses the pre-requisites for Able Learner and Racial emulation, which might be inelegant, but is not illegal.
It impacts your power because it means two feats are partly wasted. It also means some skill choices are illegal.

I believe it is apparent from your comments that you debited a single "mistake" in more than one category.
In the case of illegality or disqualification, it's going to impact elegance, but power is also going to be judged with any disqualified elements missing, so it's going to be lower than if those elements were intact. And if an element related to someone's use of the class doesn't work, that means the class wasn't used as well as it would have been if it worked.

Otherwise, a massively cheesy, massively powerful build that falls apart in practice would be a 15 score.

you believe that it would be more elegant to be a non-dwarf that worships the ideals of law and dwarfism than to racially emulate a dwarf to worship the head of the dwarven pantheon?
Mechanically, it's an unnecessary hoop to jump through.

Later on once I get spines or other natural weapons (via warshaper) we can arcane channel into those instead.
But not as part of a full attack which is required to TWF.

. N. Sept-Chyon may have caster level 5 at ECL 10, but only gets 2nd level spells here.
I goofed. That was not affecting the score btw.

I will note that of all the entries, this entry ranked the lowest, receiving a grade of "1" or "very poor." It is unclear what metric you used to determine originality when judging N. Sept-Chyon.
The things unique to this build are using duskblade with SW and starting as a changeling but using shaper of form to turn into a real skarn. But I don't see a specific original idea underlying the first, and the second seems a little convoluted.

In what manner is this entry very poor in comparison to my peers?
Frack for example got a high originality because even though the concept was far out from a rules perspective, it was wacky and viscerally interesting. It got me rooting for it to work.

You explicitly acknowedge that they add to power but ignore them in the power category.
The power judgment was based on the fact that the build's concept fails. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. In this case it's not about adding every little smidge, but the message that I don't think this specific experiment worked (which is not to say something about you). To return to the Frack comparison, he actually got a lower score in substance, it was only comparable/higher because I thought the idea was entertaining.

If Viscount rules no PRC disqualification I will rescore.

I'd just like to make sure that the multiple times you mentioned it were saying "if this would have worked you would have gotten a huge boost here, however…" and not penalties unto themselves. The rule is "one mistake, one penalty", so I wanted to make sure you feel your judgement is beholden to that principal.
I'll quote what I said for Sept-Chyon above:

In the case of illegality or disqualification, it's going to impact elegance, but power is also going to be judged with any disqualified elements missing, so it's going to be lower than if those elements were intact. And if an element related to someone's use of the class doesn't work, that means the class wasn't used as well as it would have been if it worked.

Otherwise, a massively cheesy, massively powerful build that falls apart in practice would be a 15 score.
For BC, power did not incorporate a strong buff to your attacks that would have been there, and there was 1 class level (and a prereq feat) that weren't doing much for you under an unfavorable SE reading.

Endurance is also a crucial feat here, as will saves become essential from around mid-game for most adventurers.
You did use it for SD which is especially useful vs your presumed prey. Elegance +.25.
Arcane hunter thematic synergy is good, but you could still do that at rgr 1.

Two-Weapon Rend's "special" section says: "A fighter can select Two-Weapon Rend as one of his fighter bonus feats. A ranger who has chosen the two-weapon combat style can select Two-Weapon Rend as long as he has a base attack bonus of +11 and is wearing light armor or no armor. I request you remove the associated penalty.
My bad. Power +.25.

The rending, in general, wasn't mentioned either in UoSI or in elegance, which is surprising to me – the SI gives a rend, which has damage based on Str, so I double down on Str, and complement it by further rends – one of which triggers simultaneously with the SI's rend, and the others realistically in the same round. Perhaps your belief that B.C did not qualify for TWR influenced this absence, or perhaps you just don't see it as a good use of the SI's 5th level feature. Either way, I thought I'd at least mention it.
Yes, triple rend is cool. TWR is a worthwhile feat use but not a huge power boost. Elegance +.25 for synergy with SW.

I didn't fully get the concept of feral, primitive mage-hater, you saying that gives me a better grasp of the build. At the end of the day, even at 1 level, that SE dip which I don't believe works as intended stops me from scoring it too high, both because of the wasted level and because while some rend/Reaping Talons synergy remains it breaks the fundamental reason to take feral
In comparison with BC's new score, Alekk Dal gets +.25 elegance for working as intended.

I thought was enough, since my build was built entirely around growing natural weapons, I didn't think it necessary to reiterate my build's main schtick on this edge case. Of course I'd be regrowing the arm spines, otherwise I would be out 5 natural attacks. It looks like a skarn (arm spines and all), but has the abilities of the monster as well.
Fair enough, but there's no detailing of what forms you would look for, how you'd find and defeat them, or how your strat changes as a result. Power +.5

That is in fact my contention. As Magic of Incarnum lacks the PrC language of Complete Warrior or Complete Adventurer (as, in fact, do most splatbooks), Pogona is not disqualified from Spinemeld Warrior when he emulates a dwarf in order to go Ironsoul Forgemaster.
Waiting on Viscount's ruling. I would do a full rescore if he rules no disqualification.

I mention Noble Familiarity as a way to access Plane Shift. Amulet of the Planes is an SRD option (albeit somewhat expensive and with some issues), but not the only one. For a single destination, even something like getting a two-way portal might be viable.
Fair enough. +.25

👎 The build wastes 2 levels of meldshaping. Could replace spinemeld 3 with spinemeld 2/x1 to waste only one level (or no levels if x1 is a meldshaper class).
Spinemeld Warrior 3 is the minimum level to be able to shape soulmelds, which is necessary to qualify for Ironsoul Forgemaster. I could, I suppose, have dipped Incarnate, but that would have cost me my fourth iterative.
Good point I overlooked. +.25

Soulbound Weapon is on a Necklace of Natural Weapons, which then confers the enhancement onto the natural weapon. So the spines become a Soulbound weapon, and hence the thing that essentia for the enhancement is invested in.
"As a swift action, you can invest essentia in your spines as if they were a soulmeld. Doing so grants you an enhancement bonus equal to the points of essentia invested on attack rolls and damage rolls with your spines"
They're getting the essentia but not the enhancement bonus. Even so since this feeds into your main shtick I'm willing to kind of buy it if ironsoul also is ruled to work.

Even if it isn't, isn't there some class or thing that lets you count as a dwarf? Maybe that's an option?

All AoO attacks benefit from Decisive Strike.
I mean in addition to that, eg swift/immediate action atks.

A standard action that an enemy spends on my horse is probably enough to make up for the potential mobility it offers, and I can get a new one in 24 hours with no real loss of resources.
That there is no cost for loss unlike familiar is a good point. +.25

ITWF is a prerequisite for Double Hit
But still could be gained without reqs from gloves of the balanced hand.

It is my position that the Warbeast rules do not allow for making an Animal Companion a Warbeast. Therefore, since the Fiendish Animal Companion has Int 3 and understands instructions in common, the build has no use for Handle Animal.
Disagree re warbeast but wasn't docking score for this. Fiendish obviating practical use of HA is a good point.

The build *can* TWF with the spines, but Decisive Strike+Double Hit is generally better.
That's what I mean, no real use for it. I suppose sometimes it's useful against multiple foes, and it's good you can switch to it without having to draw a weapon.

I really don't read it like that. I think the "in the same round" applies to the "attack with each arm". When you hit an opponent with both arms (in the case of a two-armed character), it checks if both attacks were made in the same round, and if so, you rend. If you attack several times with each arm, then you deal several times the rend. The "whenever" really pushes this interpretation, to be opposed with other rending abilities (for example, the Two-Weapon Rend in the Epic Level Handbook has an additional clause about that:
"If you hit an opponent with a weapon in each hand in the same round, you may automatically rend the opponent. [...] You can only rend once per round, regardless of how many successful attacks you make. [...]".
I clarified the language in my original response, but counting would be difficult due to the per round wording. Does rend trigger every time a "closed pair" is formed, or every time an "alternating pair" is formed? No way to tell and when we have to do adjudication that isn't provided for that suggests to me we've gone outside RAW.

Whenever is often used as, effectively, filler language.

Baseline: I think it clearly applies only once per round per opponent, just like Two-Weapon Rend.

The Viscount

2021-06-20, 11:47 PM

For the purposes of clarity, I will rule it.

As per the OP, the minimum score for Power, Originality, and UotSI are 1.

The Chair abstains from ruling on whether a character must qualify at all times for a prestige class. A judge should apply their interpretation (whichever way it falls) consistently across all builds.

This argument is old. The two camps have had years to settle into their positions, and there isn't any new information that's going to make everyone arrive at a shared conclusion. There are problems that arise with either interpretation. Whichever way I ruled, the other camp would resent my high-handed intervention. This way, there will be judges that fall one way and judges that fall the other, and neither camp has an advantage. I don't want the Chair to be dictatorial about things; I got enough consternation at my attempt to clarify binds.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-21, 05:18 AM

Assuming, then, that Elves' work is concluded for now (thanks again, by the way!) Have we any news from our other judges?

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-21, 08:50 AM

I'll get to judging at some point, but while I don't have the time I might as well share some details about the build I didn't submit but did make a pixel animation for: Mineral Warrior Skarn Monk* 5/Totemist 2/Spinemeld Warrior 7/Assassin 5.
*Skarn substitution levels, of course

The idea was that I'd maximize the number of attacks I could make in a full attack (through TWF and FoB), add Sphinx Claws for Pounce, and use wraithstrike so that I could actually hit with those attacks. Unfortunately, when I crunched the numbers, I realized I only had four attacks at level 15, one more than an equal-level warrior (who would catch up at level 16) and barely more than half as many as a basic TWF ranger. And those characters didn't need wraithstrike to hit anything.
I tried to rework the build, using unarmed swordsage and getting FoB elsewhere, but I wasn't seeing much improvement and I'm just not very familiar with the Tome of Battle classes (or Incarnum, for that matter). Plus, the lack of substitution levels makes it harder to justify using the spines as part of a flurry of blows. Maybe someone could have turned this idea into a workable build, but it wasn't me.

I added Mineral Warrior as much for the aesthetic of a spiky obsidian warrior as anything. Oh, and I named this near-stillborn build "Umbrite the Edged Lord" and planned to write him as a selfish prick who makes up tragic backstories to suit whatever he wants to do at a given time. Possibly a Garou (https://onepunchman.fandom.com/wiki/Garou)-ish last-student-of-his-master type, given the monk levels? I never got past the point of considering ideas that might fit, because I realized that my make-lots-of-attacks build wasn't actually making many attacks.

The Viscount

2021-06-21, 10:26 PM

Thank you for the quick response to disputes from the chefs, Elves.

Two more for you.

Hi Elves, thanks for judging!

No dispute for Alekk, the choices were thematics, not "for power", at most I could argue that equipment/soulmelds are "easy to fix" even within the scope of a campaign, with the player getting better at shaping/buying better things, but as presented I know they are subpar choices and you're rightly dinging my power for it.
I do want to point out that spinemeld warrior spine enhancement feature does not make them magic, the way other similar features explictly says "this X now counts as magic weapon for the purpose of DR bypassing". so the vambraces have a little relevance in SW vs SW duels ( unless they are kensai/have the amulet), but I should have thought of saying that in the entry. I did say there are martial tournaments right? *checks back*

Hi Elves, thanks for judging!
I do want to dispute Dipp "UotSI", the core concept of that build is "getting many extra attacks with iteratives", being skarn, monk flows directly into SW and it's a natural choice to get at least 2 levels of SW, because otherwise it's hard to combine Flurry with TWF, unless we use monk weapons but then we lose the flavor of spine fightning and the fact that monk skarn gives Unarmed attack progression to the spines.
Also, the feat open chakra (arms) require character level 12, so it's not trivial getting it that way and still be able to take all those other feats with high BAB requirements, and that's ignoring that by your own ruling open chakra does not give a bind ;)
On astral vambraces cheese : I swear I wrote a paragraph about it :O how did it get lost :(, I don't expect a point adjustment for this posthumously explanation: If you lose a feature that grants you a feat ( the actual feat, not a "virtual 'you receive the benefit of X' ", you do not lose the feat! Using spinemeld warrior itself as an example, if we went with the "you lose the class features when you meeting the PrC prerequisites", then if our alignment changed away from lawful, we would lose "twin spine fightning" and most everything else that SW grants us... but we would still have Improved two weapon fightning, because that's a feat the class gave us, not "the benefit of the feat".
By that same count, my reading of the RAW of astral vambraces is that.. it's disfunctional, because we're not an astral construct, but if we accept "gaining the benefit of the feature even if we're not an astral construct, per the wording of astral vambraces", we get the benefit of the Special ability "Power attack(EX)", which is "you gain the power attack feat".
we don't care if we later lose the special ability because we unbound the astral vambrace, the feat once gained is only invalidated if you don't meet the prerequisites to use it, but the feat itself isn't lost. That's the crux of the cheese with it. I point out that most other soulmelds have the wording "you gain the benefit of the feat X while you blabla", so this is most likely (and obviously) unintended, but since it's a little trick I was unaware of before this round of IC, I felt it was proper making a build that showcased it. I regret my failure at properly explaining it in the build itself

Elves

2021-06-22, 09:12 PM

Thank you for the quick response to disputes from the chefs, Elves.

Two more for you.

I do want to point out that spinemeld warrior spine enhancement feature does not make them magic
You're right and I brought this up as a complaint with the soulbound weapon tricks. +.25

I do want to dispute Dipp "UotSI", the core concept of that build is "getting many extra attacks with iteratives", being skarn, monk flows directly into SW and it's a natural choice to get at least 2 levels of SW, because otherwise it's hard to combine Flurry with TWF, unless we use monk weapons but then we lose the flavor of spine fightning and the fact that monk skarn gives Unarmed attack progression to the spines.
It's debated whether you can TWF with US alone; if you can, spine is bringing no advantage hence no special use of SI (in some cases UOI may be low because there genuinely isn't much use for it). If you can't, then yes spines bring some advantage through larger damage die (though also can't be walloped as easily). +.125

and that's ignoring that by your own ruling open chakra does not give a bind ;)
Viscount gave a contest ruling that it does, and even so a meldshaper dip is better than so many SI levels.

UoI is low b/c it's a fairly generic monk extra attacks build with SW subbed in for things that would be significantly better. The one unique use of an ability is the feat cheese and that is not only inelegant it also doesn't work, leaving you in the lurch.

If you lose a feature that grants you a feat ( the actual feat, not a "virtual 'you receive the benefit of X' ", you do not lose the feat!
I disagree, that relies on a very specific and cheesy interpretation of how the feat granting works. (And in the case of classes, I don't see why bonus feats wouldn't count as class features, since they're an ability granted by the class.)

Final Adjustments
I realized a couple of builds need some final tweaks. Sorry to give you more work mattie.

Chainsaw: Alas look at this from the skarn sub level."This benefit replaces a standard monk's unarmed strike class feature gained at 1st level." In other words, the gimmick doesn't work, because skarn monks don't get the ability to unarmed strike with every part of their body, which is part of the unarmed strike feature. -1 :(
Vorlance Thon: Deserves originality +.25
Kim Pogona: I think it's better for the contest and fairer to the other entries in this round if PRC disqualification is a yes, but since it can be argued otherwise, +.5 originality for a cool build idea.
Spayne Render: His optimization was rated unfairly low just because I felt it could go further. +.25 power, +.25 elegance. I'll leave it to the other judges to break the resulting tie.

This is it for me unless someone new disputes.

Troacctid

2021-06-23, 12:40 AM

Chainsaw: Alas look at this from the skarn sub level."This benefit replaces a standard monk's unarmed strike class feature gained at 1st level." In other words, the gimmick doesn't work, because skarn monks don't get the ability to unarmed strike with every part of their body, which is part of the unarmed strike feature. -1 :(
Technically, what the unarmed strike feature says is "A monk’s attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet." So the phrase "the monk can use any part of their body to make an unarmed strike" that Chainsaw quoted in the entry is...not from anywhere, as far as I can tell? At least, not from any English texts.

ciopo

2021-06-23, 12:43 AM

feels to me it might have come from the srd description of (unimproved) unarmed strike, not the monk class feature, the "attacking without a weapon" blurb

Lilapop

2021-06-23, 03:39 AM

So the phrase "the monk can use any part of their body to make an unarmed strike" that Chainsaw quoted in the entry is...not from anywhere, as far as I can tell?.

Looks paraphrased to me. It'd be "her" body anyway, as the example monk character is female.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-23, 03:43 AM

Chainsaw: Alas look at this from the skarn sub level."This benefit replaces a standard monk's unarmed strike class feature gained at 1st level." In other words, the gimmick doesn't work, because skarn monks don't get the ability to unarmed strike with every part of their body, which is part of the unarmed strike feature. -1 :(

I'm wondering, isn't the extra damage also part of Unarmed Strike? By strict RAW, Spine Strike shouldn't it remove extra damage too, since there is no "regular" bonus damage without Unarmed Strike?

Elves

2021-06-24, 03:03 AM

I'm wondering, isn't the extra damage also part of Unarmed Strike? By strict RAW, Spine Strike shouldn't it remove extra damage too, since there is no "regular" bonus damage without Unarmed Strike?
They do, this is called out.

And in the case of classes, I don't see why bonus feats wouldn't count as class features, since they're an ability granted by the class.
Since this means you can use spines for US-exclusive monk bonus feats (most obviously, Stunning Fist, which Traksin did this round), thinking about the options you can access through martial monk from Dragon. Versatile Unarmed Strike would let you put mighty wallop on your spines and could open up options like Staggering Blow.
Ring the Golden Bell, Weakening Touch are also options.

mattie_p

2021-06-24, 04:02 AM

Elves, this table is updated based upon your original judging posts as of this minute. It is unclear to me if the adjustments that you made in this post (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25096189&postcount=200) are reflected in those. Timestamps for the edit seem to reflect that it does but doesn't look like scores moved much.

Since this means you can use spines for US-exclusive monk bonus feats (most obviously, Stunning Fist, which Traksin did this round), thinking about the options you can access through martial monk from Dragon. Versatile Unarmed Strike would let you put mighty wallop on your spines and could open up options like Staggering Blow.
Ring the Golden Bell, Weakening Touch are also options.

Since Dragon Magazine material is disallowed for the purposes of this competition, it probably doesn't need to be brought up while we're still judging, as it shouldn't be a basis of comparison.

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Chef Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3 Total Place
N. Sept-Chyon (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086663&postcount=122) LN Changeling -> Dwarf -> Skarn Rogue 1 / Duskblade 4 / Cloistered Cleric 1 / Warshaper 2 / Incarnate 1 / Shaper of Form 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 4.5
Spayne-Render (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086665&postcount=123) LN Skarn Monk 5 (Passive Way)/War Mind 6/Spinemeld Warrior 9 13.5
Frack (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086667&postcount=124) LE Symbiotic x4 ( half fiend malebranche-variant half ogre) Swashbuckler 4 / Spinemeld Warrior 5 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Alekk Dal (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086668&postcount=125) LG Skarn Warblade 5 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 / Kensai 5 10.75
Mayalaran (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086671&postcount=126) LE Skarn Fighter 6/Spinemeld Warrior 10/Thayan Gladiator 4 13.5
Dipp (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086672&postcount=127) LG Skarn Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 2 / Warblade 2 7
Chainsaw (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086673&postcount=128) LN Skarn Monk (Invisible Eye, Decisive Strike) 2/ Fighter 2/ Warblade 5/ Spinemeld Warrior 9/ Swordsage 1/ Kensai 5 9.5
Vorlance Thon (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086675&postcount=129) ?? Skarn Monk (Passive Way, Holy Strike) 4 / Totemist 3 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 / Legacy Champion 3 6.25
The lazy chef's spinemeld warrior (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086679&postcount=130) ?? Skarn Warblade 10/Spinemeld Warrior 10 10
The Imposter (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086680&postcount=131) LE White Dragonspawn Changeling Fighter 1/Soul Eater 7/Warshaper 4/Spinemeld Warrior 7 7.75
Kim Pogona (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086681&postcount=132) LN Changeling Warblade 3/Thug Fighter 2/Warshaper 2/Spinemeld Warrior 3/Ironsoul Forgemaster 10 4.5
Trakkisin Rus (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086682&postcount=133) LE Skarn Ranger 10/Monk 2/Spinemeld Warrior 8 12
Slish-shlash (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086683&postcount=134) LG Dragonborn Skarn Samurai 2/ samurai 3/ paragnostic initiate 1/ spinemeld warrior 8/fighter 2/ incandescent champion 4 6
Irtrar Kalmanar Qath (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086684&postcount=135) LE > LN Unseelie Fey Skarn Ranger 6/Spinemeld Warrior 10/Incarnate 4 9.5
B.C. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086686&postcount=136) LE Feral Skarn Ranger 4 / warblade 1/ soul eater 1/ spinemeld warrior 7/ witchborn binder 6 10.25
Vornicaal Rex (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086687&postcount=137) LE Unseelie Fey Skarn Cloistered Cleric 3 / Totemist 1 / Ordained Champion 1 / Sapphire Hierarch 6 / Soul Eater 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 10

WhamBamSam

2021-06-24, 08:38 AM

I can tell that at least some of those scores are the same as they were before, despite changes from disputes. I don't think Elves edited the dispute changes into the original judging posts.

mattie_p

2021-06-24, 08:49 AM

That complicates things, as I've been deleting tables as I make new ones. I might have some version history but I won't be able to check until way later.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-24, 11:17 AM

Elves, have you tracked the scores you increased and those you didn't? If not, hopefully everyone can recall their own scores and tell us through the chair whether or not they've been fully or partially updated.

How are our other judges doing?

mattie_p

2021-06-24, 11:32 AM

I got a pm from Elves. Hard to update tables on my phone so I will wait until later.

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Chef Judge 1 Judge 2 Judge 3 Total Place
N. Sept-Chyon (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086663&postcount=122) LN Changeling -> Dwarf -> Skarn Rogue 1 / Duskblade 4 / Cloistered Cleric 1 / Warshaper 2 / Incarnate 1 / Shaper of Form 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 4.5
Spayne-Render (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086665&postcount=123) LN Skarn Monk 5 (Passive Way)/War Mind 6/Spinemeld Warrior 9 13.5
Frack (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086667&postcount=124) LE Symbiotic x4 ( half fiend malebranche-variant half ogre) Swashbuckler 4 / Spinemeld Warrior 5 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Alekk Dal (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086668&postcount=125) LG Skarn Warblade 5 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 / Kensai 5 10.75 11.25
Mayalaran (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086671&postcount=126) LE Skarn Fighter 6/Spinemeld Warrior 10/Thayan Gladiator 4 13.5
Dipp (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086672&postcount=127) LG Skarn Fighter 2 / Monk 2 / Psychic Warrior 2 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 / Totemist 2 / Tribal Protector 2 / Warblade 2 7 7.125
Chainsaw (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086673&postcount=128) LN Skarn Monk (Invisible Eye, Decisive Strike) 2/ Fighter 2/ Warblade 5/ Spinemeld Warrior 9/ Swordsage 1/ Kensai 5 9.5 8.5
Vorlance Thon (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086675&postcount=129) ?? Skarn Monk (Passive Way, Holy Strike) 4 / Totemist 3 / Spinemeld Warrior 10 / Legacy Champion 3 6.25 6.5
The lazy chef's spinemeld warrior (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086679&postcount=130) ?? Skarn Warblade 10/Spinemeld Warrior 10 10
The Imposter (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086680&postcount=131) LE White Dragonspawn Changeling Fighter 1/Soul Eater 7/Warshaper 4/Spinemeld Warrior 7 7.75 8.25
Kim Pogona (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086681&postcount=132) LN Changeling Warblade 3/Thug Fighter 2/Warshaper 2/Spinemeld Warrior 3/Ironsoul Forgemaster 10 4.5 5.5
Trakkisin Rus (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086682&postcount=133) LE Skarn Ranger 10/Monk 2/Spinemeld Warrior 8 12 12.5
Slish-shlash (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086683&postcount=134) LG Dragonborn Skarn Samurai 2/ samurai 3/ paragnostic initiate 1/ spinemeld warrior 8/fighter 2/ incandescent champion 4 6
Irtrar Kalmanar Qath (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086684&postcount=135) LE > LN Unseelie Fey Skarn Ranger 6/Spinemeld Warrior 10/Incarnate 4 9.5
B.C. (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086686&postcount=136) LE Feral Skarn Ranger 4 / warblade 1/ soul eater 1/ spinemeld warrior 7/ witchborn binder 6 10.25 11
Vornicaal Rex (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25086687&postcount=137) LE Unseelie Fey Skarn Cloistered Cleric 3 / Totemist 1 / Ordained Champion 1 / Sapphire Hierarch 6 / Soul Eater 1 / Spinemeld Warrior 8 10

H_H_F_F

2021-06-25, 02:18 AM

Thank you very much for your effort, mattie_p!

Khatoblepas

2021-06-25, 08:47 AM

Thank you for your judgement, Elves! And thank you for putting it into a table, mattie_p.

How are our other judges doing? Are they close to finished?

The Viscount

2021-06-25, 11:07 PM

Beep beep 2 more disputes.

Originality - 3
The idea of a dragonborn incarnum samurai is cool.
There's a good idea here -- necrocarnum weapon/incandescent champion crit build. I'm not sure what it has to do with spinemeld warrior.

Please reconsider this notion in light of the following disputes.

Power - 1
👍 Fairly strong concept (4)
👍 Original or not, incandescent champion and necrocarnum weapon is an awesome combo because it turns incarnum overload's 1 round duration into a 10 round (all encounter) benefit. Alas you only get that combo for 1 encounter per day. +1

Is this not original? Here I thought it was a natural synergy. Why isn’t this hedging against that assertion of this Dragonborn samurai having nothing to do with spinemeld warrior?

👎 You have an entire 8 SW levels, almost half your build, doing virtually nothing for you except being the incarnum equivalent of an NPC class. -2

In all fairness, this class offers more to my katana and wonkyzashi than it does to any skarn dumb enough to use spines as weapons. I even benefit from the twf class feature intended for spines., but we’ll discuss that in elegance. Only two class features are ignored, blowing essentia on spines I don’t have ( because Dragonborn killed that racial trait), and the spine rend, which as we’ve seen and will likely continue to see is legality issues pertaining to whether or not multiple strikes per turn initiate multiple rends. Plus, if your aptitude assertion below works with spine rend, that leaves only a single ignored SI level.

The spinemeld warrior provides the following:
Unlimited bonus katanas of every stripe and access to all sorts of alchemical stuff.

And like, why is this getting punished both in power and uosi? We also get 6 essentia, a bind and two soulmelds from the unique soul born list. But we’ll address this further in uosi.

And yeah, spines are a trap. The game wants you think that they’re cool. But they’re janky. Both skarn monk and this class make a mess of the spines, by ignoring the numbers game of twf with a crappy natural weapon that doesn’t play well with other nat attacks, we are freed to see the real seeds of value this class has.

👎 No maxing of threat range/multipliers beyond keen? Why are you using a bastard sword? The samurai EWP could be used for a critfisher weapon via aptitude enhancement. -.25

The aptitude enchantment is available on the ancestral daisho. But I don’t see how that is the optimal way to be? Unless your contention is claim spine rend works with it, which you know, means that spinemeld warrior offers this samurai quite a bit.

The masterwork bastard sword is a katana, because this dude is a samurai and that’s what katanas are. Or is your question, “why didn’t I engage in item reliance availability of aptitude to justify a build choice for a different weapon?”

Because then I wouldn’t have TWF from using a katana and wakizashi. Which you later claim means i don’t get a leveled up twf feat with the first level of spinemeld warrior.

👎 Excessive focus on boosting confirmation rolls. Necrocarnum weapon is probably enough. -.25

Necrocarnum weapon adds, at best, measly pluses to confirmation rolls because you’re limited in how much essentia to put into it because of character level. If we’re crit fishing on two different weapons, mauling gauntlets lets both weapons have the effect of keen and that stacks with nothing. Explicitly so. With the exception of opting for the obvious disciple of dispaters crit stuff. But why would I gamble on trying to exploit the verbiage for the non updated 3.0 prestige class, especially if it is a boring crit fishing rehash?

This dude routinely makes 4 or 5 attacks in a round, and each has a 20% of being a threat. If expanding the crit range is inelegant with the chassis available, that means confirmation on those 20% of threats is important. And remember, i threw out some weapon enchantments in that write up that have insta-death as an option. So yes, +10 on confirmation rolls makes that important.

👎 Iaijutsu focus but seemingly no way to trigger it -.25

Except the normal way of when you get lucky on the first rounds’ initiative. And that’s fine. Plus that whole kneeblade thing that’s hidden and pops out as a move action.

👎 Crit immune foes ruin your shtick -.5
👎 Instead of spending 7 character levels for bound mauling gauntlets, would have been much easier on build resources to just shell out for keen weapons (or even to take the feats). -.5

Then you lose out on bab, essentia, and flavor, and keen isn’t allowed to stack with vorpal.

Elegance - 1
👎 Levels in both OA samurai and CW samurai. Fishy.

How fishy tho? OA samurai was updated after CW samurai, and the general consensus is to treat them as separate classes. Like mountebank and mountebank. But they do jive pretty well.

🛑 Two swords as one doesn't grant you an actual virtual feat so it's redundant with spinemeld warrior 1, thus you're down a feat (and synergy between samurai and SW is negated)

Two Swords as One (Ex): At 2nd level, a samurai has learned to wield the katana and wakizashi together. He is treated as having the Two-Weapon Fighting feat when wielding a katana and wakizashi, even if he does not meet the prerequisites for that feat.

How is that not a virtual feat? When you use a katana and wakizashi, you get twf. A katana and wakizashi are a masterwork bastard sword and shortsword. I use both of those…

And are we just ignoring all of the oodles of essentia wracked up from critical hits? Which is then invested in doing more damage via the first level of incandescent champion or more into necrocarnum weapon, if for some reason that’s not full.

🛑 You can't double dip on EWPs like that with the kneeblade.

I didn’t. Kneeblade is a martial weapon. It counts as a shortsword. That’s why. What is a wakizashi? A masterwork shortsword. But, do you know what else is treated as a shortsword for all effects? An alchemy blade. So long as you have EWP. Do I have EWP alchemy blade? Yes I do. Even if it’s made out of heavy magic gold. And you don’t need to take EWP heavy alchemy blade and EWP alchemy blade to use it. It’s my ancestral daisho. It’s what I’ve been practicing with as a samurai . Plus I get to keep alchemists fire near by my dragonborn bahanuts.

👍 Potential for Charisma synergy in Iaijutsu, Intimidate, incarnum overload, and kiai smite...but all of those elements are underdeveloped..

This isn’t a charisma build tho. It’s a TWF soulborn meldshaping build.

Use of Ingredient - 1
👎 Poor use of the ingredient. You don't need noble familiarity for enhancements to an existing wep and OA samurai partly covers that anyway. The TWF feat is redundant with the TWF from samura since you're using samurai weapons. Spending 7 character levels for bound mauling gauntlets and some essentia is inefficient.

Not only have I lost points for uosi, despite having 8 levels in it, a myriad of applicable melds and meldshaping complimentary combos, with force damaging vorpal two handed katana use that grants bonus essentia to damage from three sources, all dealing with Incarnum. Hell, I even wrote a haiku about how spines are dumb. It seems like this build is punished unfairly because it doesn’t look like a spinemeld warrior. And we both agree, Dragonborn samurai is cooler than spinemeld warrior. And I think the disconnect from a cool entry made out of this flaming trash heap of a class is what is at play here.

TOTAL: 6
This could be a super cool build but it's underdeveloped and has nothing at all to do with spinemeld warrior. I'd love to see you post a "real" version that doesn't use SW.

Here’s the thing, you gotta be skarn or changeling to get into this class and it is superior to going soulborn or losing bab and more feats to incarnate. Obviously you saw more value in debuffing via charisma, but with what skill points? Having a plus 10 to confirmation seems like overkill on the first iterative, but by the time your taking power attack into account and calculated off hand penalties and stuff, you need it. The power attacks which you can do two handed cuz your wonkyzashi is actually a knee codpiece that can occasionally iaijutsu strike and set your opponent on fire. Fire that does force damage. Plus you have nobles hooking you up with all sorts of wierd heavy shortswords to twf with to get your surprise kneeblade into place for that bonus 1d6 via skill check.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to judge so many builds, just wanted to throw in my two cents.

Originality - 3.5
Mixing spinemeld with SE, adding totemist to maximize natural attacks on the presumption of a passive buff reading, and if you're going to take totemist you might as well advance it with hierarch to get some casting on the side, which also helps fulfill prereqs. It constitutes an original idea but is undermined by SE likely failing.

You referenced the mechanics of SE under originality for both BC and Rex, I’d like clarification on whether that affected the originality score or was just included early.

Power - 2.75, Elegance - 2.25
👉 Choosing spinemeld levels over primary casting is obviously a little bit iffy, but I'm looking at it from the other direction -- what is the casting adding to spinemeld? Primarily, a lot of buff spells.

Yes, adding the cleric list and dmm seemed like an effective way to boost the physical combat abilities of the SI and grant significant versatility. I’m not sure that the full cleric list was considered in this power ranking when comparing it to other power rankings here for builds that have no casting. I would have expected access to revivify, greater stone shape, etc. to rank relatively higher.

👍 Spine fighting and spontaneous flame strikes is a cool and fun playstyle.

Thanks!

👎 Only one level of SE. But the loss hurts you more than the above build because your use of totemist is to get natural attacks with the assumption of delivering energy drains. With that likely failing, a large part of the build's elegance and power is undermined. For example, it severs the link between spinemeld and totemist -- though even so, presuming a hierarch build, incarnate wouldn't necessarily be a better choice.

I don’t see how the unfavorable ruling on SE’s soul drain hurts elegance any more than the one level dip otherwise would have. Totemist bonuses to existing natural weapons and additional essentia still compliment spinemeld warrior even without delivering negative levels.

👉 Better use of unseelie fey than Irtran Kalamar Qath. OTOH, taking a strength hit and then boosting Str kind of sucks. Why not just use an enhancement item to get ITWF/GTWF, eventually buying a +5 tome to qualify innately? Sucks if you get dispelled I guess but with persisted buffs you already have that problem so you're going to be investing in whatever anti dispel measures you can.

Traditionally I have thought that buying your way into a feat is less elegant than qualifying naturally. Divine agility meets that requirement without burning funds. Additionally the increased starting AC seemed relevant for levels where Rex’s DR hadn’t caught up to his Iron Vulnerability. Iron arrows and what not.

👉 instead of a feat for soulspark couldn't you just noble familiarity up a 10k ioun stone?

Alertness was required to take the SE dip before the SI. The additional soul meld and essentia point were also necessary to get into hierarch with only one level of totemist, the final essentia point coming from incarnum spellshaping. Getting Alertness through noble familiarity would have delayed SE and SH.

👉 Incarnum spellshaping justified vs Open Chakra feat, better in the hierarch 10 stub for open lesser.

I don’t know which direction this pushed the score but as just mentioned, the additional essentia point was necessary for SH. But yes, the open chakra line of spells is made available by Incarnum Spellcasting which negates the need to take Open Least Chakra. Least Chakra is needed in order to gain pounce which is essential to the SI in this form even without SE.

👉 A non-SE build loses the prereq synergy of clr/OC and SE.

Cleric/OC levels were still essential to SH.

Use of Ingredient - 1.5
👎 Like the other souleater builds, this has the problem that the permissive reading of SE is usually logically concluded to apply to US as well as nat weps, turning what could have been a brilliant idea for uniquely leveraging spine iteratives into something better pursued through a conventional US build. From the other perspective, however, starting from the SI as a base, that was a great idea to empower it (so great 2 other contestants had the same thought). Unfortunately the gimmick probably doesn't even work, a second dampener.

So let's talk about Soul Eater since I, and two other chefs, must dispute your interpretation as evidenced by the entries themselves. Significant discussion of Soul Eater during IC LXVII: Fang of Lolth and CV: Primeval never mentioned an interpretation of Soul Eater that the line “the touch of a soul eater bestows one negative level on its target” as instead meaning ‘the touch of a soul eater [may, as a standard action, bestow] one negative level on its target’. I did not realize that this ability was up for debate and had believed the matter was settled.

Since we’re here; I argue that the MM glossary does present the definitive ruling as each exception, including the examples that you listed, explicitly states how its particular instance of energy drain differs from the base ability. You further point out that a reading that applied energy drain to unarmed strikes would be “abnormal”, however the sample elite vampire given in the MM specifically shows that energy drain is applied to the monster’s unarmed strike. Rather than an anomaly, there is strict precedent to apply energy drain in this way. You also point to cancer mage as support that an energy drain must be delivered as a touch attack. This has also already been discussed in IC III: Cancer Mage, in which it was pointed out that the feat rulings in Complete Arcane clearly allow a cancer mage’s touch attack to ride on a monk’s unarmed strike. The same should be true for soul eater, though in this case natural weapons. Furthermore, the vampire’s wording for energy drain does not specifically state that it should apply to US as it only mentions the slam attack. This leads me to believe that the base energy drain applies to US and other natural weapons unless stated otherwise. The vampire's description continues to state that it’s particular energy drain ability is only usable once per round which explicitly differs from other energy drains. The soul eater energy drain does not give any such explicit limitations.

TOTAL: 10
Likely failure of SE means the build fails to a greater degree than B.C., but less than Impostor. It harms the main build concept by weakening the bond between totemist and spinemeld and therefore between hierarch and cleric and spinemeld as well, since hierarch's main appeal here is as a way to get extra goodies (casting) from a totemist progression.

As both builds took a single level dip I’d like some more clarification on how one suffered more than the other. Totemist binds such as dread carapace still apply to spinemeld warrior and sphinx's claws still grant pounce to the TWF build. Hierarch is a class with similar purity of form emphasis as the SI and requires access to the Law domain to enter which ties to the particular cleric/OC levels. Soul eater was not the crux of this concept.

Elves

2021-06-26, 02:02 AM

We also get 6 essentia, a bind and two soulmelds from the unique soul born list. But we’ll address this further in uosi. ...by ignoring the numbers game of twf with a crappy natural weapon that doesn’t play well with other nat attacks, we are freed to see the real seeds of value this class has.
This helps me better understand what you were going for -- using it as a better soulborn.
You could do this much more efficiently with incarnate 4 and normal keen weapons, and even totemist 8 (or 9, replacing paragnostic) with a feat for necrocarnum weapon is stronger, but given the nature of the competition it's close enough to be a plausible choice. +.75

The aptitude enchantment is available on the ancestral daisho. But I don’t see how that is the optimal way to be?
Put aptitude on any exotic weapon (kaorti, etc) and it benefits from the EWP
You actually could double dip on your EWP to get a kaorti katana, which would be cute.

Because then I wouldn’t have TWF from using a katana and wakizashi.
This makes it seem like samurai is trapping you into using weapons not ideal for your combat style.
+ as mentioned, could've at least done kaorti versions.

Like mountebank and mountebank.
Isn't one of those a PRC and one a base class?

How is that not a virtual feat? When you use a katana and wakizashi, you get twf. A katana and wakizashi are a masterwork bastard sword and shortsword. I use both of those.
Technically you could argue you get to pick a new SW bonus feat every time you pick up and drop the katana. More reasonably, maybe you choose 1 and gain it while wielding them. Either way it's awkward and imo elegance penalty is merited.

And are we just ignoring all of the oodles of essentia wracked up from critical hits? Which is then invested in doing more damage via the first level of incandescent champion or more into necrocarnum weapon, if for some reason that’s not full.

🛑 You can't double dip on EWPs like that with the kneeblade.
I didn’t.
Used both gold and alchemical.

This isn’t a charisma build tho. It’s a TWF soulborn meldshaping build.
The synergy is there though and underexploited.

Not only have I lost points for uosi, despite having 8 levels in it
Imo, UOI isn't about the levels you take, it's a) do you have something cool to do with the class's abilities, b) barring that are you building around it, rather than just using it. I've been swayed that you're trying to work with it. +1

Having a plus 10 to confirmation seems like overkill on the first iterative, but by the time your taking power attack into account and calculated off hand penalties and stuff, you need it.
Fair enough. +.25

You referenced the mechanics of SE under originality for both BC and Rex, I’d like clarification on whether that affected the originality score or was just included early.
I admit I had to question whether something not working makes it less original. Saying no is fair I suppose. +.25

I’m not sure that the full cleric list was considered in this power ranking when comparing it to other power rankings here for builds that have no casting. I would have expected access to revivify, greater stone shape, etc. to rank relatively higher.
I tried to score power "for type", otherwise wizards would always get 5s.

I don’t see how the unfavorable ruling on SE’s soul drain hurts elegance any more than the one level dip otherwise would have. Totemist bonuses to existing natural weapons and additional essentia still compliment spinemeld warrior even without delivering negative levels.
Like I said, it's still probably your best option but removes some of the shine that would otherwise be there.

Traditionally I have thought that buying your way into a feat is less elegant than qualifying naturally. Divine agility meets that requirement without burning funds.
I don't see item/spell entry as an elegance so much as a power problem due to dispel threat (but likely better on net if it lets you take a strong feat, depending how much it hurts you to have it dispelled). Graft entry no problem because no dispels or losing them.

Alertness was required to take the SE dip before the SI. The additional soul meld and essentia point were also necessary to get into hierarch with only one level of totemist, the final essentia point coming from incarnum spellshaping. Getting Alertness through noble familiarity would have delayed SE and SH.
Note Shape doesn't grant essentia. So that's actually a problem since you need both +1 ess and +1 soulmeld to enter hierarch. And not solvable by feat reordering. So barring flaws looks like you need to swap a clr lvl for totemist, then swap SE 1st for clr 3rd. -.25

I don’t know which direction this pushed the score
Even fingers are things not affecting the score. Sorry if this wasn't clear.

soul eater

Significant discussion of Soul Eater during IC LXVII: Fang of Lolth and CV: Primeval never mentioned an interpretation of Soul Eater that the line “the touch of a soul eater bestows one negative level on its target” as instead meaning ‘the touch of a soul eater [may, as a standard action, bestow] one negative level on its target’. I did not realize that this ability was up for debate and had believed the matter was settled.
The RAW reading as far as I can tell is that it's a standard action touch attack. Most tellingly, the same phrase, "the touch of a cancer mage", was used that way just a few pages earlier in the same book.

You further point out that a reading that applied energy drain to unarmed strikes would be “abnormal”, however the sample elite vampire given in the MM specifically shows that energy drain is applied to the monster’s unarmed strike.
Interesting, but I also notice the monk vampire erroneously doesn't have their slam attack listed as an attack option, so this is probably a case of confusing a slam with an unarmed strike just because both are "hitting with an appendage".

This leads me to believe that the base energy drain applies to US and other natural weapons unless stated otherwise. ...the vampire’s wording for energy drain does not specifically state that it should apply to US as it only mentions the slam attack.
Couldn't find an example in MM1, but look at the linnorms in MM2. Their energy drain says bite and in their attack routine, with multiple nat weps, only bite has drain. Vampire energy drain explicitly applies to all natural weps, but unless specified as such that doesn't seem to be the case elsewhere.

You also point to cancer mage as support that an energy drain must be delivered as a touch attack. This has also already been discussed in IC III: Cancer Mage, in which it was pointed out that the feat rulings in Complete Arcane clearly allow a cancer mage’s touch attack to ride on a monk’s unarmed strike. The same should be true for soul eater, though in this case natural weapons.
That's for touch spells, not su abilities. I also don't believe it applies to natural weps.

As both builds took a single level dip I’d like some more clarification on how one suffered more than the other.
Yours used it to more effect, so missing out hurts more.

Soul eater was not the crux of this concept.
For sure, and like I said it's clear what you would have done otherwise. I wish one of the people using SE had asked about interpretation before submitting, perhaps by PM to Viscount.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-26, 01:27 PM

How are our other judges doing? Are they close to finished?

I, too, would like an update on where the rest of our judges are standing (assuming they're still in). The deadline for judgement is tomorrow (not that I of all people have any right to stress that, given last round!) and I'd like to know how you guys are doing.

The Viscount

2021-06-26, 04:40 PM

The deadline is a guideline; I'm happy to wait for the judgments still in progress.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-26, 04:51 PM

The deadline is a guideline; I'm happy to wait for the judgments still in progress.

Oh, for sure! Wasn't trying to say anything to the contrary. Just thought it was a good time to get an update.

Karl Aegis

2021-06-26, 05:05 PM

I'm trying to get done judging before tomorrow, but having to look up all the rules is taking more time than I want to spend. I have all my criteria standardized, but am having trouble finding time to write it into a post for our contestants while also judging the builds. Also, I am kind of disappointed nobody I've seen so far has used the lack of "Aligned Soulmelds" class feature in their build.

AnimeTheCat

2021-06-26, 05:54 PM

I, too, would like an update on where the rest of our judges are standing (assuming they're still in). The deadline for judgement is tomorrow (not that I of all people have any right to stress that, given last round!) and I'd like to know how you guys are doing.

I've been ill the past week, but am much better now and plan on posting tonight.

H_H_F_F

2021-06-26, 06:02 PM

Thank you for the updates!

I'm sorry if my tone got across wrong, I only wanted to make sure we know who's judging and when about to expect said judgement. Thank you guys for your work.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-26, 06:08 PM

We have *four* judges!? Incredible, congrats to all of you for your courage.

Karl Aegis

2021-06-26, 07:22 PM

My build ended up being a Divine Mind 12/ Spinemeld Warrior 8 with Knowledge Devotion and Magic Mantle backed up by an Astral Construct with Boost Construct so he could get two Option C abilities and provide a flanking bonus. I figured Concussion Blast and weapons treated as magic would be enough to actually do something vs incorporeal opponents. Oh and Winter Mask bound to the throat chakra so I could shift my essentia around without losing out on offense.

The Viscount

2021-06-26, 11:27 PM

Mulling over ideas for next round, here's the top candidates.

A paradox
Fabulous cats
I can't believe it's not psionics!

None of the above are any of the previously listed ingredients.

Venger

2021-06-26, 11:35 PM

Paradox sounds fun.

Troacctid

2021-06-27, 01:01 AM

Celebrant of Sharess could be interesting.

Paragon

2021-06-27, 04:28 AM

Fabulous cats ofc

H_H_F_F

2021-06-27, 06:26 AM

Paradox sounds interesting.

Beni-Kujaku

2021-06-27, 09:59 AM

Cats here. I‚ too‚ hope for some Sharess weirdness

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-27, 11:03 AM

I can’t believe it’s not psionics!

AnimeTheCat

2021-06-27, 11:18 AM

I'm having internet woes and am limited to submitting responses only via mobile at the moment. That is not conducive to giving good judgement or feedback, so I'm asking for a brief bit of patience until this is resolved. Should be able to have everything posted by tomorrow though.

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-27, 11:47 AM

H_H_F_F

2021-06-27, 11:48 AM

Thanks for the update, Animethecat.

Zaq

2021-06-27, 01:02 PM

I never shared the idea(s) I threw out, did I?

I actually had the entire level/feat structure all set for a couple of different spins on a black blood cultist build, since I thought that we were originally using the interpretation that you couldn't use any other weapons in the same round as the spines. The idea was that I'd use the essentia from SW to pump up some poached grapple-boosting melds (stolen from totemist with Shape Soulmeld) and use BBC's 8th level ability (which has you deal damage as though you had hit with all your natural weapons whenever you make a successful grapple check) to bring in the spines and the spine rend without actually having the spines slow me down.

Thing is, SW requires lawful and BBC requires you to be within one step of CE (and also needs rage), so I needed Ordered Chaos and I needed it early so I could get into barbarian on time to get into BBC on time to actually get the savage grapple ability before the game was 100% over. And since SW requires +5 BAB, I basically couldn't lose any BAB at all. My first take on the build, then, had five different classes for my first five levels (ranger for track, knight for +2 will, duskblade for another +2 will to get the prereq for Ordered Chaos, fighter for IUS, barbarian for rage) before diving into SW and BBC. The idea is that it was, under my first interpretation of the rules, very challenging to use the spines and any other natural weapons at the same time, and this was a workaround to (effectively) use them both at once. That lost some of its shine once we got Word of Chair that you're allowed to use other natural weapons in the same turn as twin spine fighting.

I then tried to rework the build to get a level of wizard (for the ability to use wizard wands without UMD or rolling a check), picked up Ranged Pin, and planned to use noble familiarity to buy lots of wands of blood wind to make a whole bunch of ranged grapple attacks with my spines (and maybe with other natural weapons, I forget at this point), trying to lean into the TWF tree as hard as I could because if you're not going into at least ITWF, you're not actually better off with twin spine fighting than with, like, a basic set of claws. But I kept shaving levels off of SW (to fit in prereqs and other abilities) and I eventually just had to admit that SW was sandbagging the core concept. The build was functional, but it was functional despite the SI rather than because of the SI, and I don't reward such builds when I judge, y'know?

I also was trying to put together an insectile skarn with the Rapidstrike line, since the ability to use Rapidstrike and TWF at the same time is actually a mildly interesting/unique ability that non-SWs just can't really do, but I just plain wasn't having fun with it and I know damn well (from both sides of the contest, cooking and judging) that you can always tell the builds where the chef wasn't really having fun, and those builds just don't do well. So I stopped.

Viscount, all three of those options scare me. Paradox sounds like it's going to be prevented from doing what it's obviously supposed to try to do. I can't believe it's not psionics sounds like it's going to require psionics to get in and then it won't actually advance them, or something. I don't even know what to make of fabulous cats.

Khatoblepas

2021-06-27, 01:24 PM

Thing is, SW requires lawful and BBC requires you to be within one step of CE (and also needs rage), so I needed Ordered Chaos and I needed it early so I could get into barbarian on time to get into BBC on time to actually get the savage grapple ability before the game was 100% over. And since SW requires +5 BAB, I basically couldn't lose any BAB at all. My first take on the build, then, had five different classes for my first five levels (ranger for track, knight for +2 will, duskblade for another +2 will to get the prereq for Ordered Chaos, fighter for IUS, barbarian for rage) before diving into SW and BBC. The idea is that it was, under my first interpretation of the rules, very challenging to use the spines and any other natural weapons at the same time, and this was a workaround to (effectively) use them both at once. That lost some of its shine once we got Word of Chair that you're allowed to use other natural weapons in the same turn as twin spine fighting.

Oh god dang, I never knew about Ordered Chaos, or I would have used it in one of my BBC builds. I planned on using Were-Dire Wolverine and get cured to self qualify for BBC (Feral Rage is rage, so losing the wolverine's rage wouldn't disqualify me) so I could get enough levels in both BBC and SW to make the build worth it, plus Scaled Horror. I had also planned Rapidstrike, but getting the correct type involved a custom item of Abberate and I was already knee deep in elegance penalties and removing the reptilian subtype would have disqualified me from Scaled Horror and its cool improved grab, and I was getting a headache.

The Viscount

2021-06-27, 01:36 PM

The only idea I had was a quasi-protest build, safe in the knowledge it would never be judged, where I used Changeling with Racial Emulation to enter the class, but without a way to mimic the spines so it can't actually use any of the features. The character would be someone who obsesses over the theory and history of spine-fighting, but who is actually completely useless at it. I unfortunately didn't even have enough time to finish my watch detective writeup, so it didn't happen.

Not sure if it will help the decision any, but I can promise the fabulous cats choice is not Jellicle.

Zaq

2021-06-27, 02:23 PM

By the way, everyone, something very important:

If you're a spinemeld warrior and you shape the thunderstep boots

and then you charge and you attack with your spines

that is

a SONIC SPINE DASH

Thank you.

Khatoblepas

2021-06-27, 02:37 PM

Not sure if it will help the decision any, but I can promise the fabulous cats choice is not Jellicle.

I'd choose fabulous cats just to make a jellicle choice. I'm up for making a whole bunch of Cats references.

Elves

2021-06-27, 04:04 PM

I also was trying to put together an insectile skarn with the Rapidstrike line, since the ability to use Rapidstrike and TWF at the same time is actually a mildly interesting/unique ability that non-SWs just can't really do, but I just plain wasn't having fun with it and I know damn well (from both sides of the contest, cooking and judging) that you can always tell the builds where the chef wasn't really having fun, and those builds just don't do well. So I stopped.
Sounds like you didn't like it, but would have liked to see that one. Technically you can rapidstrike while twfing with secondary natural weapons but there are ways to exploit it being your main weapon - cost efficiency if nothing else, since that means you're getting all TWF attacks plus all rapidstrike attacks for one enhancement cost.

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-27, 04:16 PM

I had a changeling with two horned lizard companion, which has a spine attack, which then strapped said lizards to their arms and fought with them as the spines they could enchant

H_H_F_F

2021-06-27, 04:46 PM

I had a changeling with two horned lizard companion, which has a spine attack, which then strapped said lizards to their arms and fought with them as the spines they could enchant

Would that actually achieve anything interesting, or was it meant to just be silly?

The Viscount

2021-06-27, 05:47 PM

Being silly accomplishes much.

daremetoidareyo

2021-06-27, 06:10 PM

Would that actually achieve anything interesting, or was it meant to just be silly?

All it has to do is outcompete other spinemeld champs. And so, you know, reduced time for gather info checks from changeling rogue, a dip of urban ranger for the first lizard a beast master dip for another lizard.

GreatWyrmGold

2021-06-28, 08:30 PM

I'll get to judging at some point...
Okay, so that was a lie. I expected there to be about a quarter this many entries, and kept being dissuaded from actually getting into the meat of things because of the sheer scale of judging sixteen builds without my incompetence getting in the way. And the deadline rolled past yesterday with basically the only things I finished being First Impressions for everyone and an explanation of why one of the build’s tricks doesn’t work. The First Impressions got more elaborate as I started to suspect that I might not get to the actual judgement, so please don’t be annoyed if I only gave you two sentences while others got a page.

BWOOONG (https://youtu.be/G2jUhnCU9iA)
First Impressions:
Being a changeling to pretend to be a dwarf and a skarn at the same time sure is something. I'm not convinced it works, but it's something. Really messes up the story something fierce, too—I can't tell if the character is supposed to be a short skarn, a spiky dwarf, a changeling pretending to be a short spiky guy, or what.
Pretty neat that N focuses on buying and using magic items instead of just stabbing people.

Elegance: 0
I'm used to Elegance penalties being used for rules violations, so I'm doing that.

Modify Self (Renaissance) changes N's race from Changeling to Skarn, which means he no longer qualifies for Racial Emulation, which means he no longer qualifies for the Dwarf domain. If you argue that N should retain feats and such after he no longer qualifies for them, then you could just as easily drop the dwarf guise as soon as you have the domain and avoid having to change races at all.

For that matter...either Renaissance actually changes the character's race, including special abilities and qualifications (but not ability scores), or it just changes physical appearance. In the former case, Warshaper boosts no longer apply in dwarf/skarn form, because N isn't minor-shape-changed; in the latter, he doesn't qualify for Spinemeld Warrior.

Moreover, that whole kerfuffle (which seems to be the whole reason for the Shaper of Form dip and race choice) seems to have been done entirely to...get Great Fortitude? A feat tax that you only needed for Shaper of Form? That's an awful lot of effort for what seems like virtually zero benefit. (Like Begets Like is a neat, potentially exploitable utility ability, but no related exploits are mentioned, so...)

But even if that's completely legal, it's complicated and low-return enough to earn an Elegance penalty. And there's plenty of other un-Elegant parts to this build, most notably the five (arguably six) dips. The "Urban Track + Changeling Rogue = Find Shop" hack is pretty clunky, too, even with a "This might not work, but if it doesn't N's still pretty good at this" note.

Midori Days (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/MidoriDays) as an edgy shonen battle manga?

First Impressions:
"Oh hey, please don't judge my build, it's illegal" is one heck of a first impression. Disappointing, yet tantalizing. But double-symbiotic skarn-arms would have definitely earned you high marks for originality, despite being illegal.
All the jokes about changelings pretending to be skarn would probably land better if it made any sense? I don't get the joke. Google didn't help me understand it any better either. What's going on? (The phrase "fascist demolition derby" confuses me too, but for different reasons.)
Sometime around when you wrote "45 levels of spinemeld warrior in aggregate," you probably should have realized something was up with your calculations. 3.5 is broken, but it's not quite that broken. Usually.

First Impressions:
The "Skilled City-Dweller" substitution levels are minor, but I like the idea of being able to make class skills more flexible that way, but I feel like that sort of weakens the point of class skills? Off-topic, but I could probably do a whole thing about that one thing.
Attempts to connect character traits to mechanical abilities are always nice. Feels like listing off each individual skill and the personality/training it relates to is a rather blunt way to do that though.
Another build which brings up the find-magic-items thing, just not as much. Maybe not so original after all.
A quick overview of how soulmelds work would be really handy if I hadn't just turned them into a contest build the other week. It's a good thing someone wrote it, though.

“Are you not entertained?”
First Impressions:
Backstory is very wordy for how vague it is. It’s also formatted awkwardly, missing some line breaks (especially between lines of dialogue from separate characters) that would make it flow better. Crunch section has the same problem; it’s not quite a wall of text, but those paragraphs could stand to be broken up more.
Using a fluff ability for fluff purposes? I approve.
Serving an Elder Evil for “free” bonus feats feels cheesy.

Exactly What It Says on the Tin
First Impressions:
The Astral Vambrace feat cheese needs more explanation. It seems pretty obvious that the choice doesn’t linger between manifestations of the Vambrace.
Seems like a decent build, nothing else really sticks out.

“Imperfection is beautiful! At least, to me.”
—Chainsaw, probably
First Impressions:
That’s a lot of intentional rules dysfunction, but it’s all themed around the one-armed skarn finding his own path to success in martial arts, so I love it. (Aside from Soulbound and Spine Enhancement stacking, which...if I’m honest doesn’t feel that cheesy? And Prehensile Tail, which isn’t OP but it’s mechanically disallowed.)
Having him nicknamed after a chainsaw is…“anachronistic” is a bad word to use in a fantasy setting, but it feels that way. (Especially since I imagined him just making a bunch of rapid attacks with his one elbow.)
Referencing how good your build would be with custom-designed magic items is a risky maneuver. At least it was only done at one level, but it was done a lot at that level.

If you haven’t watched the 2018-20 She-Ra, you should. But that’s not relevant to this contest.

I have no regrets. This is the only path. My whole life was - Unlimited Axe Works
First Impressions:
The way this build uses meldshaping feels unique, but not in a way I can actually identify what’s unique about it. The legacy weapon and two phantom levels of Spinemeld Warrior are unique, though! If I ever do this contest, I’ll need to remember that.

First Impressions:
I’ll add these later

Wait, that sounds a lot meaner when it's not followed by an actual judgement. Speaking as a fairly incompetent power-judge, this looks like a...competent entry? The only thing that stands out to me is picking Toughness five times, like you're a whale or something. (At least make one of them Improved Toughness.)
I assume this is a meme build or something?

black sus
I’m so sorry
First Impressions:
Okay, so it looks like the Imposter Cat was a changeling dragonspawn dire werepuma who lost their felithropy and gained a bunch of sharp tricks. Well, off the bat let me tell you—as written, the build is illegal. The dragonspawn template came before the lycanthrope felithrope one, the former changes type to monstrous humanoid, and the latter only applies to humanoids and giants. It sounds like dragonspawn is an acquired template (though it isn’t clearly identified either way), so there’s a way to make this work, but that way was explicitly not taken.
Still, the story is really neat. The Black Cat comes off as a fairly generic villain on the inside, but on the outside it’s a really effective horror trope that doesn’t usually get paired with that humanly malicious, vengeful villain archetype, and seeing someone have power taken from them only to build themselves back up is a good framework for a plotline. It’s neat, I want it to win.

”I am the sword of my bone. Steel is my blood and fire is—wait, I think I messed up, can I start over? No?”
I’ve never actually seen any Fate anime, this is apparently just a really good contest for referencing that speech.
First Impressions:
Much as I like flavorful section titles, I also like being able to tell what a spoiler contains from the title. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.
Changeling Warshapers are a lot more common than I had anticipated. Adding the Draconic Rite of Passage is a pretty clever way to get extra bang for that Racial Emulation, one which as far as I can tell is 100% legitimate. (It doesn’t seem you, technically, need to have any dragon blood to Search for the Dragon.) The same isn’t true of Ironsoul Forgemaster; you can’t qualify for both it and Spinemeld Warrior at the same time. That said, I suppose there’s an argument that you could be a dwarf long enough to invest your gear with essentia through ISFM and then switch to SMW for actual combat? It works better than the other guy trying to be a dwarf and a skarn at the same time.
Double-dipped Soulbound spikes are a great exploit, too; the focus on “enchanting” the spines in general (even through the DRP exploit) gives this build a more solid mechanical theme than many.
The Iron and Bone section confuses me. It sets up a lot of narrative stuff that doesn’t really pay off, since there’s no other narrative/characterization stuff. I guess it sets up the theme of forging one’s own body into a weapon, which is paid off through ludic elements in the build itself?

..sorry, I’ve got nothing. Something planar?
First Impressions:
Why do people like starting their entries with short narrative segments that might set stuff up, but can’t because everything else is pure mechanics? It’s much worse with Trakkisin than Kim, because while Kim’s segment focuses on what sets their build apart from the others, Trakkisin’s focuses on what they all have in common.
Your description of the tactics is intricate and detailed, but incomplete in some ways. It took a while to figure out what Snap Kick had to do with the Oxyrhynchus touchstone. (For the record, the feat grants an extra attack when you’re allowed to make more than one and the opponent is flat-footed.) It’s an odd ommission.
Speaking of which, the planar flavor of this build stands out as something that makes it Distinctive. I wish that was explained, or at least showcased, in the narrative segment instead of just a scene of him...killing? someone in a...test? Seriously, what was up with that?

“Change is not always growth, but growth is often rooted in change.” —Drizzt Do’Urden
First Impressions:
If you’re going to go that far with the name, stop pretending otherwise and just call him Slish-Slash.
Dragonborn of Bahamut? Interesting! But dragonborn lose racial qualities, and I don’t see an exception made for natural weapons.
Casual tone aside, the idea of a noble warrior recognizing the cruelty and depravity built into their society without being a drow is, if not unique, at least interesting. It also fits in well with becoming a dragonborn. I like it. It’s a good foundation for a character.
Taking levels in two samurai classes isn’t against the rules, but it’s...odd. Having a kneeblade and two-handed katana would normally feel similarly cheesy, but this is a skarn samurai-samurai, so having a fighting style that includes blades attached to his limbs feels natural.
The big problem is that, while you take eight levels of Spinemeld Warrior (why eight?), you don’t seem to use anything except the meldshaping—not even Noble Familiarity. Though the phrase “illthidwrought tentacle katana” isn’t helping (even though it’s 100% legal from a rules perspective*.)

*Though since “tentacle” is a weapon special ability, there’s an argument to be made that it’s actually a tentacle illithidwrought katana.

There’s probably some pop culture reference I could make about someone from a city that serves as a refuge for supernatural creatures subject to Fantastic Racism (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasticRacism), but I can’t think of one.
First Impressions:
More of these race-restricted builds should use templates.
Having the character use bronze weapons because he’s vulnerable to iron is a neat little detail, and you use it as an opportunity to characterize Irtrar. Speaking of which, maybe it’s just the contrast with the “orphaned narrative fragment” approach, but I really like how you actually tried to give your character...character. The prose is subpar, a bit purple in some places and a bit incomplete in others, and it’s still weird how the narrative is condensed into this one section and never even mentioned after that, but this segment actually gives me a sense of who this character is and what they want.
The mechanics are pretty standard-looking, though.

“Planning doesn't matter. Strategy doesn't matter. Only two things matter: Force in as great a concentration as you can manage, and style. And in a pinch, style can slide. Energy Drain! You can have your finely-crafted watch—give me the sledgehammer to the face any day. Energy Drain!”
(optionally, substitute “rend” for “energy drain”.)
First Impressions:
Neat, another template. Also a very heavily modified ranger. It makes for a very wild character, in contrast to the air of nobility most entrants (and to be fair, the class itself) went for.
The feral template is of course very good (perhaps cheesily so), and it’s partly there to qualify for Soul Eater (which is also easy to cheese). If it wasn’t for the martial maneuvers and the classes in the build, I’d call it a straightforward entry. (So this build is straightforward, except for the build.)

If I had an electrum piece for every unseelie fey spinemeld warrior, I’d have a gold piece. But it’s still weird that it happened twice.
Quintaal: Back to barracks, August? Or to Magnimar?
Vornicaal: Home... Wife, daughter, the church.
Quintaal: Vornicaal the priest... I still have difficulty imagining that.
Vornicaal: You know, dirt cleans off a lot easier than blood, Quintaal.
First Impressions:
It’s surprisingly hard to tell where authorial commentary, characterization, and (to a lesser extent) build explanation. For all that I’ve criticized having one little block of narrative and then nothing but mechanics, having some sort of segmentation between narrative and other parts of a build is standard for a reason!
Bringing up symbionts isn’t a red flag, but it’s a yellow flag. If you want credit for something reliant on such an esoteric item, you’ll have to take the penalty for relying on such an esoteric item. But it’s only mentioned once, so it’s just weird.

EDIT: Just checked my PMs and realized there's a tie that I was asked to break. So, um, I guess I can judge Mayalaran and Spayne Render to break the tie if nobody else does that first?

ciopo

2021-06-29, 01:30 AM

I don't feel making a full judging only of the current winners would be fair, it isn't a 0 sum game and you might have given other entrants an higher score, thus upsetting the rankings?

Personally I wouldn't know where to begin, so I don't envy you, curse our productivity, eh? :D

It's absolutely okay to take a step back and not judge! So long we know it so that VIscount can tally / get started on the next round / do chair stuff

H_H_F_F

2021-06-29, 02:28 AM

Thanks for your thoughts, Greatwyrmgold. These things happen, no worries.

As for tie breaking - we should have 2 judgements on the way, so I heavily doubt there'll be a tie. Even if there is one, well, we can live with that IMO.

AnimeTheCat

2021-06-29, 11:34 AM

Judgements! Sorry for the delays. Between sickness and cruddy interwebs, I've finally managed to get it done. Without further adieu, let's get in to it.

Secret Ingredient Breakdown, Criteria, Methodology:
The Secret Ingredient was the Spinemeld Warrior from Magic of Incarnum. I'm a big fan of the Incarnum subsystem, but unfortunately this SI doesn't bring much to the table in terms of the subsystem. Looking at the class, the prerequisites are simple. Be a Skarn, have BAB +5, Have an essentia pool of 1, and a lawful alignment. No fancy entry requirements or jumping through hoops needed here, a very simple set. Digging in to the class, the features are somewhat uninspired and bland, but we've received what we've received.

The Ability to treat your spines as individual light weapons for the purposes of two weapon fighting
Two Weapon Fighting Bonus Feat (with replacement options if you already have it)
Boost to your Knowledge (Nobility) skill, as well as a means of locating any manner of obscure, specific, or otherwise interesting equipment or magic.
The ability to add an enhancement bonus to your spines, dependent on invested essentia and capped by level
Very minor meldshaping ability, limited to the Arms chakra bind
A rend special ability when you hit with both of your spines
The ability to treat your spines as adamantine

With that being said, here's how I judge each category:
Originality: This is very much a flavor category for me. Is the character you've presented an original concept, or are you seeking to mimic a well known figure, entity, character, etc? Examples of low marks would be methodically recreating Drizzt Do'Urden in flavor, backstory, techniques, abilities, etc. High marks would be giving a unique flavor and spin to a fun and interesting concept that doesn't directly draw to any one identifiable character. Overly playing in to clichés or archetypes that are widely known and used is a minor penalty as I think it's possible to avoid them, and will reduce the maximum possible score to 4.5.
Power: How well do you do the thing you do, compared to others of your kind? This is largely a mechanical question. When I consider this, I try to identify a particular ability that you are using, and compare it individually to "standard" builds. For example, and relevant to this particular challenge, I would be looking at how well characters compare to other two weapon fighters in ability to hit and damage the enemy. I will using the packages in PHBII as my "standard" builds are that I'm placing the comparison against. Additional note however, I'll look at more than the build's primary submission and make again similar comparisons of strength across all of the submissions strongest points. Deductions result when something is touted or presented as a strength, yet it is outperformed by the standard builds that have those features as strengths. Reason is applied when considering the submission as a whole of it's parts, and a weighted average is arrived at.
Elegance: This is another flavor category. As is expanded in the heading post, how skillfully did you put your build together. Did you create unnecessary hoops for yourself to jump through? Did you needlessly add Epoisse de Bourgogne when some Blue Cheese would have sufficed? Things that warrant deductions would be going down a tangential tree of feats, skills, or class features for minimal gains. Examples of what I consider inelegant are dips in to one or two class levels of more than two or three classes. Multiclassing is ok, and to some extent expected, but jumping through five different base classes is excessive and, while adds power, detracts from the elegance of a build.
Use of Secret Ingredient: Mechanical category, for a nice balanced 2 flavorful/2 mechanical categories from me. Simply, did you use what was presented to you? How much of it? If you make use of the entire class and all of it's class features, you're looking at 4 points. If you leave out a level or two of a 10 level class, the most you'll get is 3 points. Using half or less of the class or its features will net you 1 point. Failure to qualify for the secret ingredient will get you 1 point, regardless of how much is included in the submission. Leaning in to, enhancing, or improving upon class features presented in the Secret Ingredient will get the remainder of the 1 point.

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
4
3
1
2.5
10.5

And the competition starts off with a zinger.
Originality: 4. I think that the flavor of the character was quite enjoyable, and I didn't really feel as though it was attempting to imitate any other well-known fictional character (or at least none that I know of).
Power: 3. If we're comparing this strictly to other two weapon fighters, you'll either lag behind in to-hit or you'll lag behind in damage at every step of the way. I understand that's not without it's own merits though, as there are other aspects of the build that are not simply "I use two weapon fighting", but the sources of additional damage, as near as I can tell, are improvements from warshaper (which aren't bad), spine rend, and spine enhancements from the Secret Ingredient. Your primary means of damage are going to come from elsewhere, or have to be prompted by the use of other abilities such as magic before you can deal the greatest sum of your damage. As far as information gathering, you're looking good at pretty much every step of the way, certainly performing as well as any other character who simply maxes out ranks, but you are behind in Knowledge Nobility as you don't start taking ranks until later.
Elegance: 1. This is a very inelegant build. There is little-to-no benefit from all of the hopping around other than to use the variety of other classes as grab-bags of abilities. The sole purpose of the story of going changeling looking like dwarf to skarn, while interesting, is... not really helpful to the build other than as a way to let you get warshaper always on, which is just... I can't describe it well. It just feels overly gamey and I think there was likely a better way to go about getting improvements to your spines, such as feats or spells in conjunction with those feats.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 2.5. This was actually difficult for me to decide on. There was clearly attempts to use each aspect of the secret ingredient. Two weapon fighting progression, feats to improve your buying power... but there was something that sat wrong with me. The whole dish feels like Magical Warshaper that HAS to use Spinemeld Warrior rather than a Spinemeld Warrior that is presented with supporting flavorful ingredients. I waffled between 2.5 and 2 points, and decided to settle on 2.5 because the clear attempt was made at using the whole thing, even if it was second fiddle in the build.

Total: 10.5

{Redacted by Request of Chef}

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
3
3.5
4
4
14.5

Originality: 3. The backstory is basic, and bland. Sorry there's just not much for me there unfortunately. It's not so bad that it warrants deductions, but not good in any real way.
Power: 3.5. Definitely strong. The mix of Kensai and Warblade bring a good deal of versatility and support to your Spinemeld Warrrior. You have good means and ability to deal damage, with a variety of damage improving maneuvers. I still don't think you're getting your full amount of power out of it, but it's definitely a strong build, and certainly stronger than the "normal" builds. I think there's also a distinct lack in your Gather Information ability as well. Ideally, you would have a higher base chance (since the DC is base of 15), though I am happy with the points of Knowledge Nobility.
Elegance: 4. Again, same as Spayne-Render, I was wondering how to blend both Kensai and some flavor of Martial Adept with the build. Simple, effective, no jumping all over the place. Well constructed.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 4. You pointed out and made use of all of the abilities in the secret ingredient. I don't think that any were particularly highlighted or used overly well, but they are all there.

Total: 14.5

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
4
4
4
4
16

Originality: 4. Tasty delicious weaving of story, class fluff, mechanics, everything. I liked reading your preamble a lot. Well written.
Power: 4. Of all of the classes thus far, I think this build does the most with the spines and goes the furthest in terms of getting its hands on extra damage dice (thanks to Two Weapon Rend and a way to Proc it early). I think that there is some suffering power wise as there are no size increasers to further extend the range granted by the long arms, and the attempts to improve the base weapon damage aren't online until much later levels, meaning that your damage is going to be alright for most of the game, and not achieving it's highest form until the tail end of the game when it might not be all that impressive anymore.
Elegance: 4. Just like the others, very simple and well put together. You get all the bang for your buck where you can. I could have seen mixing up the prestige class levels to get more powerful options earlier, and wouldn't have even minded it to be quite honest. Overall, well put together.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 4. You make use of all the different aspects of the class, from the spines to the item hunting. I appreciate that care was taken from the beginning on the skills to make the most use of Knowledge Nobility and Gather Information as well.

Total: 16

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
2
3.5
1
2
8.5

Originality: 2. I feel like there was tons of potential to do a little bit more effort here. Just because it's a second build doesn't mean that care can't be taken in the story or development of your dish. I feel like you could have done a lot more here, and the lack of anything at all detracts from the sum of the parts.
Power: 3. Definitely a powerful build. It does what it does, and it does it well. From two weapon fighting to gather information and knowing the noble houses, the average or standard is certainly out performed. I have a slight concern with the to-hit at those highest levels, as +29 isn't even enough to make sure you're hitting a Pit Fiend 50% of the time, though you are hitting a Balor or Tarrasque fairly regularly, so I'm not holding one of the higher AC's against you necessarily. Just that other builds have out performed this category.
Elegance: 1. The grab-bag style of this hurts the elegance a lot, and not even for that great of a power boost either. I don't think this was well put together.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 2. You are lacking 2 levels of the SI and the Meldshaping is more heavily reliant on the Totemist levels than the SI levels. To liken this to food, you were given prawns to cook with as the secret ingredient and you decided to plate them with lobster.

Total: 8

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
4
3
1
1.5
9.5

Originality: 4. Very enjoyable read. I don't have much of anything to expand up on here.
Power: 3. You deal damage. You hit regularly. The choice to neglect dex in favor of strength is an interesting one, but I'm not sure how much it helps you on the power spectrum. Not too much to say here as I don't think there's anything particularly standing out here. The neglect of knowledge skills, specifically knowledge nobility, is penalizing you here. Further penalizing you here is that I don't think that Spine Rend will ever activate. Simply cutting off your arm so that you can always rend doesn't make sense, as each would denote more than a singular arm is needed. Even if you accept that this is a valid reading of the ability (which I don't) you're not out performing any single weapon, two-handed fighters, and you're only moderately more powerful in damage than a standard sword and board fighter.
Elegance: 1. This is a messy messy build. It's all over the place for little added benefit, only serving to push a manufactured narrative to exploit a dubious reading of a class feature.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 1.5. You're missing 3 full levels of the class, you're ignoring twin spine fighting, you don't reach the adamantine spines level, and you're ignoring the knowledge nobility bonuses. From a class that only gives you 5 notable features, you're ignoring 2.5 of them and you're obviating the enhancements with kensai, effectively ignoring the spine enhancements. This dish has more non-secret ingredient in it than things that support the secret ingredient, and I really think it detracts from the overall presentation.

Total: 9.5

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
4
3.5
3
3
13.5

Originality: 4. The story behind Vorlance was great. I really enjoyed it.
Power: 3.5. It gets the job done, but I'm not getting particularly powerful vibes from this. Definitely out performs the "standard" in most ways, just not so outperforming that it deserves incredibly high marks. I think that more powerful builds have been presented.
Elegance: 3. There's not much dipping, and things don't get messy.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3. The SI is completely used, but the benefits to Knowledge Nobility are neglected, and the meldshaping is simply outclassed by the 3 levels of Totemist, sort of obviating the benefits of the SI which detracts from it's use in my opinion.

Total: 13.5

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
1
3
4
3
11

Originality: 1. Womp, womp... I get it though, it's all about the easy mode.
Power: 3. You perform at least as well as a standard warrior of pretty much any variety. I'm not feeling the heat from this one.
Elegance: 4. Simple, exactly what it sets out to be.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3. It uses the full course of levels, but there's no mention of the skills, so it's an incomplete usage of the Secret Ingredient.

Total: 11

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
3.5
3.5
1
2
10

Originality: 3.5. I quite liked this, it was a very good read start to finish, but it was somewhat cliche. Not bad, and not mimicking any specific character as near as I can tell, but not really strongly developed in to it's self. I just feel like I've seen many stories about morphic creatures changing and developing in to other things, although this one felt forced for spinemeld warrior when other things would have felt more appropriate.
Power: 3.5. It's above "standard" in most ways, but I'm not seeing anything above and beyond in terms of power. There is a neglect of Knowledge Nobility, which is a negative here as it is a key part of the SI.
Elegance: 1. I don't think that you're getting anything major here from Changeling, White Dragonspawn, or War Shaper, and you're reducing Spinemeld Warrior to second fiddle. You're mechanically qualifying to take the class, but you're taking it because you have to, not because you want to. Aside from that, I think that the cheese of flipping between a lycanthropic build to the build that actually uses the secret ingredient hardly nets you anything.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 2. You've only used 7 levels, missing out on adamantine spines, you've neglected Knowledge Nobility, and you are less of a two spine fighter and you've more leaned in to Soul Eater than Spinemeld Warrior.

Total: 10

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
3.5
2.5
1
1.5

Originality: 3.5. Interesting exchange that generally gives a good feeling to the character. I like it.
Power: 2.5. You're not any stronger than a totally average two weapon fighter specialist, and that's kind of bad. You also aren't spotting any noble houses or royal flags with that Knowledge Nobility either. Overall, I am kind of unimpressed here. You've missed out on any real or meaningful bonus damage, you aren't increasing your size in any meaningful way (minor changes from Warshaper), you aren't capitalizing on the spine enhancements... There's just a lot to be desired here.
Elegance: 1.5. The build is kind of all over the place, and the use of changeling with racial emulation is just boring and inelegant. The concessions in elegance doesn't even seem to be made up for with any grand improvement in power either.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 1. You only used 3 levels of the SI. This wasn't a competition for the Ironsoul Forgemaster. You're more Dwarf than Skarn, even as your Changeling. This was disappointing.

Total: 8.5

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
3
3
4
2
12

Originality: 3. The build seems like little more than a Dojo trained monk of some variety, using spine titles as opposed to belts. It's not bad and not entirely unoriginal, but I think you could have done more here.
Power: 3. I have some issues here, especially since you specifically called them out. Decisive Strike won't work with a Longspear. It's not a Monk special weapon. So, if the plan is to make an unarmed strike or a spine strike as your full round action, you need to do a lot of work to make that helpful at all with a longspear, because you'll only get the extra damage on the attacks of opportunity if you hit with an unarmed strike or special monk weapon. Next is the issue of the fact that you're building a sort of attack of opportunity build, but you're heavily relying on getting a chance to full round attack with decisive strike, which is stuck at a -2 penalty because you're not progressing monk at all beyond level 2, in order to deal higher amount of damage, the only sources of extra damage coming from Astral Vambraces size improvement, spine enhancements (that cap out at +4), and spine rend (sort of). It looks like you've branched yourself out a bit much to be super effective with any one aspect of the combat here. On top of that, Superior Unarmed Strike will not improve your spine damage. Your spines are distinctly not unarmed strikes, which is what SuS improves, and nothing in the Skarn Monk substitution levels changes this except for monk class features, of which SuS is not. Swift Ambusher might not even improve your spine damage either, as the feat improves unarmed strike damage, though I'm not penalizing anything here because I do think it's reasonable to think that the damage should or would be increased.
Elegance: 4. It's not inelegant. There are some things that give me less than great vibes from the dish, but overall it fits well together and I don't have any egregious issues.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 2. You're missing 2 levels of the SI and you've only got a single rank of Knowledge Nobility. You're not getting the most bang for your buck in terms of Spine Enhancement.

Total: 12

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
2
2
1
1
6

Originality: 2. I'm not getting much here, and the use of the background to complain about a key component of the Secret Ingredient is... less than appetizing.
Power: 2. As far as two weapon fighting goes, this is pretty strong. However, you do not qualify for Two Weapon Rend at level 6, because you do not meet the BaB +11 prerequisite, and that warrants power deductions.
Elegance: 1. I do not like the use of both OA Samurai and CW Samurai. I also don't think that getting rid of the primary focus of the Secret Ingredient is particularly clever either. The dish also dances all around and has dips for the sake of dips. All in all, no an elegant presentation.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 1. You've only used 8 levels of the SI. You've completely forsaken the spine capability of the SI, rendering more than one class feature useless. You used the SI for the sake of using the SI only because you had to in order to compete.

Total: 6

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
4
3.5
3.5
3.5
14.5

Originality: 4. A relatively original character concept, and well written story bite at the beginning. Much enjoyed.
Power: 3.5. You do the Two Weapon Fighting thing moderately better than other Two Weapon fighters, thanks only to Two Weapon Rend and Spine Enhancement. It's not bad, but certainly could have been better. For example, instead of Cobalt Charge, you could have grabbed Two Weapon Pounce or Two Weapon Rend. Dual Strike, Two Weapon Pounce, and Two Weapon Rend have fantastic synergy with each other, and Spinemeld Warrior.
Elegance: 3.5. I want to give this 4. It is a simple, elegant build that doesn't have much at all in the way of excess or tangential things for the sake of power. I'm a little put off by Incarnate because it simply overshadows all of Spinemeld Warrior's meldshaping with a few levels, and you took nearly half as many Incarnate levels as you did Spinemeld Warrior.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3.5. You used all of the Secret Ingredient, but you aren't making any use of the Gather Information ability of the class, at least not with any great degree of success (Base 15 GI check with only 8 ranks is not impressive). I already deducted some points in Elegance for Incarnate meldshaping overshadowing Spinemeld Warrior, so I have not deducted any points here for that.

Total: 14.5

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
4
4
2
2
12

Originality: 4. You had me going for a loop there. Loved the interaction between Chadley and Cho.
Power: 4. Yes. Bong is a rending machine. This is pretty good, and probably my favorite of the damage dealing options presented here.
Elegance: 2. Boo on using something with LA, in my opinion. Also, not super keen on the singular warblade dip. Overall, it's a pretty messy presentation. I feel like much was sacrificed for the power it received. Finally, it seems strange that you are a feral skarn, but you're still a lawful skarn (since you have to be lawful to be a Spinemeld Warror).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 2. You didn't finish the SI, and you're nearly as much witchborn binder as you are spinemeld warrior. You don't make use of the Gather Information class ability nor do you improve your knowledge nobility ranks to anything respectable.

Total: 12

Category
Originality
Power
Elegance
Use of Secret Ingredient
Total

Score
4
4
1
2
11

Originality: 4. Loved how you wrote in capabilities in to the fiber of the presentation. Well done.
Power: 4. There's a lot of power here. Pretty good spellcasting and DMM plus two weapon fighting isn't too shabby.
Elegance: 1. This isn't a Spinemeld Warrior build, this is a classic cleric build that slapped Spinemeld Warrior on it. Most of your Meldshaping is Totemist, and most of your power is from Cleric/Sapphire Heirarch or Soul Eater. Not an impressive display of the secret ingredient.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 2. You didn't finish the SI, You aren't using the Meldshaping from the SI much at all, you are truly more Totemist and Cleric than you are any concept of Spinemeld Warrior.

Total: 11

That should be everything. Sorry again for the delays!