ftafp
2021-06-17, 01:16 AM
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 subclasses.
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 subclass as a "Secret Ingredient".
What is the secret ingredient for this competition you ask? Only the most flavorful will do. For this, the first competition of this kind in 5e we will be cooking with The Arcane Trickster!
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 4, 10, 16, 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 almost any sourcebook, with the exception of the most recent release for the sake of accessibility
Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 5e rulebook in constructing their builds. Unearthed Arcana and the Planeshift articles are banned in this competition as they are not official content, as is content found only in published adventure paths. However The Tortle Package, One Grung Above and Locathath Rising are permitted. We will not be using any of the variants from the Dungeon Master's guide, nor will Supernatural Gifts from any sourcebook be allowed. Builds will only have access to starting equipment between levels 1-4. From levels 5-20, characters will be presumed to have access to any non-magical equipment with a listed price, a single Bag of Holding, and a single +1 Weapon. Any other magic items must be created by a class feature such as an Artificer's Infusions. You may use either Point Buy or the Standard Array for stat generation, but please specify which you are using in the build
Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 23:59 EST on Thursday June 24th, 2021 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, FTaFP. 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 23:59 EST on Thursday July 1st, 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. 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. 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 5e 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!
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.
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.
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 subclass as a "Secret Ingredient".
What is the secret ingredient for this competition you ask? Only the most flavorful will do. For this, the first competition of this kind in 5e we will be cooking with The Arcane Trickster!
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 4, 10, 16, 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 almost any sourcebook, with the exception of the most recent release for the sake of accessibility
Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 5e rulebook in constructing their builds. Unearthed Arcana and the Planeshift articles are banned in this competition as they are not official content, as is content found only in published adventure paths. However The Tortle Package, One Grung Above and Locathath Rising are permitted. We will not be using any of the variants from the Dungeon Master's guide, nor will Supernatural Gifts from any sourcebook be allowed. Builds will only have access to starting equipment between levels 1-4. From levels 5-20, characters will be presumed to have access to any non-magical equipment with a listed price, a single Bag of Holding, and a single +1 Weapon. Any other magic items must be created by a class feature such as an Artificer's Infusions. You may use either Point Buy or the Standard Array for stat generation, but please specify which you are using in the build
Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 23:59 EST on Thursday June 24th, 2021 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman, FTaFP. 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 23:59 EST on Thursday July 1st, 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. 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. 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 5e 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!
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.
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.