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

The Viscount

2022-06-19, 10:39 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.

To mark the release of the new chapter, we're going to be working with a very special janky ingredient. Crack open Deities and Demigods and unleash your animality, this time we're cooking with Berserk!

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 Saturday, July 9th, 2022 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, July 24th, 2022 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. (A fillable, pre-formatted version found here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BG0-5sq4dL9Ooh7-QfXuyHzO4rXSz-CRcj29t6BeUVE/edit#gid=0))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 (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?255215-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-XXXVII)
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)
Iron Chef CXII: Spinemeld Warrior (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?632291-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXII)
Iron Chef CXIII: Celebrant of Sharess (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?633637-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXIII)
Iron Chef CXIV: Thayan Gladiator (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?635212-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXIV)
Iron Chef CXV: Shining Blade of Heironeous (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?637097-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXV)
Iron Chef CXVI: Peregrine Runner (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?638522-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXVI)
Iron Chef CXVII: Imaskari Vengeance Taker (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?640260-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXVII)
Iron Chef CXVII: Siren (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?641848-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXVIII)
Iron Chef CXIX: Arcane Duelist (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?645786-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CXIX)

The Viscount

2022-06-19, 10:40 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?
A: A few specific things are explicitly acceptable. The elemental/environmental races, spelltouched feats, variant character classes, specialist wizard variants, whirling frenzy, aspect of nature, and racial paragon classes are legal. 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; 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 for the purpose of overcoming DR.
Unarmed Swordsage grants Improved Unarmed Strike at level 1.
Not finishing Savage Progression is subject to a penalty to Elegance
One dispute per entry. Submit disputes by PM to the Chair.
Ghostwalk ghost is banned
Gold, silver, and bronze are awarded regardless of ties (e.g., 2 silvers does not preclude bronze)
Spelltouched feats are legal and can be taken just like any other feat when you meet the prerequisites and have the feat slot available.

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

Q: How do we interpret the prerequisites to enter the class?
A: Your character must be proficient with medium armor and shields, as well as a battleaxe, longsword, or warhammer. Your character does not have to have taken these feats to get them.

The Viscount

2022-06-19, 10:49 PM

Please note, I've updated the FAQ section on Unearthed Arcana to more accurately set the expectations on what is in and out.

Venger

2022-06-19, 10:56 PM

In to cook.

ciopo

2022-06-20, 01:10 AM

Venger

2022-06-20, 01:33 AM

While in a fury, berserks attack every being they can see. When a berserk begins attacking a foe, she continues until that foe dies, the berserk dies or becomes incapacitated, or the fury ends.

Since "incapacitated" is not a discrete RAW term, how is the chair defining it for the purposes of this round?

Also can we get confirmation we don't need to take those proficiencies as feats? If we are proficient with them say through class, that that counts.
EDIT: Read the FAQ, disregard.

H_H_F_F

2022-06-20, 01:38 AM

Also can we get confirmation we don't need to take those proficiencies as feats? If we are proficient with them say through class, that that counts.

FAQ already has that confirmation.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-06-20, 02:29 AM

I have something very bad in mind. Will probably cook.

Animal shape states "retain her human intelligence". Does this mean your intelligence become 10? Your intelligence racial modifier becomes 0? Or just that your intelligence doesn't change?

loky1109

2022-06-20, 02:50 AM

I have one question. Is this (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24939079&postcount=123) true?

H_H_F_F

2022-06-20, 03:44 AM

Ugh. I remembered that this class was essentially trash from level 4 onward. I was ready for that. What I forgot was, that this class had no abilities that referenced your class level, and has no capstone - which makes it, I think, the most worthless last level we've had as long as I've been here.

If I end up judging this, you can feel free to stop at level 9 with absolutely 0 repercussions. Being asked to actually use more uses per day of a non-stop ability is one thing. Being asked to "use" a +1 to BaB and Fort, a d12 and 2+int skill points is quite another.

ciopo

2022-06-20, 03:53 AM

with some mental gymnastic, the bonus hit point from increased constitution, as written, apply only to class level and not character level.

Which is, ehhhhhh, but "level" without qualifiers refers to class, not character, so their "helpful" clarification that the increased constitution does grant hit points...
and now that I went and double checked, that's also for the barbarian, but I'm probably reading too much into it :)

another question: on damage reduction, unlike barbarian damage reduction, it does not specify that it only applies to weapon and natural attack damage. compare barbarian "Subtract 1 from the damage the barbarian takes each time he is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack" to berserk "Subtract 1 from the damage the berserk, takes each time she is dealt damage" ... does berserk DR apply to *all* damage?

Paragon

2022-06-20, 05:23 AM

I second the "incapacitated" question, what does that include ? ( what about Calm Emotion spell for instance) as well as the status of Battle Fury counting as a "Rage or Frenzy" ability ? As a "Wild Shape or similar ability" ?

And lastly, is the +2 Ref & Will save on the table for Berserk a typo or is it the only class that doesn't improve those saves for 4 levels :D AFB and never trust the internet my mom said

H_H_F_F

2022-06-20, 05:45 AM

I think a full clarification of what animal form is and what it does is required. Like, a "RAW" text on it for the purposes of this round. Because as-is, it's a mess.

loky1109

2022-06-20, 07:54 AM

Ugh. I remembered that this class was essentially trash from level 4 onward. I was ready for that. What I forgot was, that this class had no abilities that referenced your class level, and has no capstone - which makes it, I think, the most worthless last level we've had as long as I've been here.

Two words: Wild Empathy.

And lastly, is the +2 Ref & Will save on the table for Berserk a typo or is it the only class that doesn't improve those saves for 4 levels :D

What are you talking about?

H_H_F_F

2022-06-20, 08:02 AM

Two words: Wild Empathy.

Is there a rule in the update booklet or something that says any class with animal empathy as a class skill gets wild empathy? Or is there a deities and demigods errata adding that class feature?

loky1109

2022-06-20, 08:20 AM

Is there a rule in the update booklet or something that says any class with animal empathy as a class skill gets wild empathy? Or is there a deities and demigods errata adding that class feature?

In my update booklet Animal Empathy skill has Note: "Not a skill; class feature of druid, ranger." But it's part about PHB, so of course there is no mentions about something outside it.

I looked into MM2 update. There were six monsters with Animal Empathy skill. All of them have Wild Empathy (Ex) in updated version.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-06-20, 08:25 AM

And lastly, is the +2 Ref & Will save on the table for Berserk a typo or is it the only class that doesn't improve those saves for 4 levels :D

It's a typo from D&D tools, the original book has the right save bonus.

Zaq

2022-06-20, 01:10 PM

Can… can we go back to shining blade instead? :smalleek:

H_H_F_F

2022-06-20, 01:19 PM

I feel like you've done enough with the SI already, Zaq.

Speaking if which, when are you updating your extended sig?

Gruftzwerg

2022-06-20, 03:05 PM

Wildstag

2022-06-20, 04:19 PM

Hmmm, this is a fun PrC that appeals to my play-style. That being said, I'll have to find a way to not be predictable.

The Viscount

2022-06-20, 08:19 PM

Questions questions:

Does battle fury count as rage for feat/features that either require rage or modify rage?

What's the duration of beast shape? It looks like it's "until dismissed" ?

What exactly do hybrid form give and take and animal form give and take?

My understanding so far :
Hybrid form gives +2STR and +2CON and forbids the use of some skills and "abilities"

Animal form is .... like wildshape but it also changes your wisdom and charisma?? It only mentions movement modes and "abilities" which in this istance I'm not at all sure they mean the game term abilities. It makes no mention of natural attacks, natural armor or special qualities. The list of totem animal isn't long but for example would a bear berserk gain improved grab?

Does beast shape count as wild shape for feat/features that require or modify wild shape? I don't have a 3.0 PHB to compare how wild shape was worded there

Beast shape either animal or hyrbid does not trasform our equipment with us, does it mean it "drops to ground" or does it mean it "keep on giving us the benefits"?

Battle fury counts as rage for feats and effects that discuss rage. Don't say I never gave you anything.

Beast shape does not count as wild shape. That's a bridge too far.
Beast shape lasts until you choose to change shape again.
When in hybrid form, you gain +2 Str and Con. You lose the ability to speak normally and to use skills and abilities that require concentration. That's it.
For sanity's sake, we'll follow some general trends (basically like alternate form).
When in animal form, you gain the physical ability scores of the animal. You also gain the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, special attacks, and special qualities of the animal. Your size changes to that of the animal. You lose your own movement modes. Your type does not change.

When you change form with beast shape, if the new shape could wear your equipment, it does. Refer to Magic Item Compendium page 219 for what should carry over.

Since "incapacitated" is not a discrete RAW term, how is the chair defining it for the purposes of this round?

We'll say unconscious.

Animal shape states "retain her human intelligence". Does this mean your intelligence become 10? Your intelligence racial modifier becomes 0? Or just that your intelligence doesn't change?

Anthropocentric writing strikes again. It just means your intelligence doesn't change.

I have one question. Is this (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24939079&postcount=123) true?

No.

with some mental gymnastic, the bonus hit point from increased constitution, as written, apply only to class level and not character level.

Which is, ehhhhhh, but "level" without qualifiers refers to class, not character, so their "helpful" clarification that the increased constitution does grant hit points...
and now that I went and double checked, that's also for the barbarian, but I'm probably reading too much into it :)

another question: on damage reduction, unlike barbarian damage reduction, it does not specify that it only applies to weapon and natural attack damage. compare barbarian "Subtract 1 from the damage the barbarian takes each time he is dealt damage from a weapon or a natural attack" to berserk "Subtract 1 from the damage the berserk, takes each time she is dealt damage" ... does berserk DR apply to *all* damage?

The lines about hp increase from Constitution are reminder text, they work like any other increase to Constitution.
Berserk DR follows the normal rules for DR as given in the srd/Rules Compendium.

We'll follow the update booklet and say that Berserk grants Wild Empathy as a class feature at 1 instead of having animal empathy as a skill.

The Viscount

2022-06-20, 09:06 PM

Does a creature with no listed "land speed" count as having a land speed of "0 feet" or "N/A"? It's relevant to shapes.

It's N/A to the best of my knowledge, unless someone can find text saying otherwise.

Zaq

2022-06-20, 09:41 PM

The temptation to go full [REDACTED] is very, very strong.

H_H_F_F

2022-06-20, 11:20 PM

I might have an idea.

It's pretty freaking stupid, and won't score very well, so maybe not, but... who knows?

Gruftzwerg

2022-06-21, 12:51 AM

ciopo

2022-06-21, 03:27 AM

Battle fury counts as rage for feats and effects that discuss rage. Don't say I never gave you anything
You're too nice for our own good!

How does that interact with other rage/frenzy effects? Like if we go barbarian/berserk, can we rage and battle fury, or are they mutually exclusive?

loky1109

2022-06-21, 09:27 AM

When in hybrid form, you gain +2 Str and Con. You lose the ability to speak normally and to use skills and abilities that require concentration. That's it.

No Nat attacks, no speeds, no NAC, no SQ and SA?

ciopo

2022-06-21, 01:08 PM

I'm hating how the fury and the shape can't be used together *much teeth gnashing*

H_H_F_F

2022-06-21, 01:35 PM

I'm pretty sure I'll submit this entry I've been workshopping, unless I run into an issue.

Might also try to submit an actually good entry, if I think of one.

daremetoidareyo

2022-06-21, 02:07 PM

loky1109

2022-06-21, 02:46 PM

I think I have an idea...

Gruftzwerg

2022-06-21, 04:14 PM

Raven is smaller.

I don't consider that as bonus ^^. They have the same AC, but the raven has still less dmg (due to size^^) has less speed and is overall worse imho. Raven Berserk need some love.

H_H_F_F

2022-06-22, 01:01 AM

I don't consider that as bonus ^^. They have the same AC, but the raven has still less dmg (due to size^^) has less speed and is overall worse imho. Raven Berserk need some love.

Overall worse is very different from strictly worse. Raven has a potential asset that eagle does not.

Malphegor

2022-06-22, 01:37 AM

I assumed the hybrid form changed your size in this but on a reread it doesn’t seem to say that. So you can be a man sized whaleperson when not full sized whale.

Wildstag

2022-06-22, 01:37 AM

I assumed the hybrid form changed your size in this but on a reread it doesn’t seem to say that. So you can be a man sized whaleperson when not full sized whale.

You could even go Darfellan to be a whale-man-sized whale-person.

loky1109

2022-06-22, 03:09 AM

You could even go Darfellan to be a whale-man-sized whale-person.
Were-orca? Who did say were-orca? Show yourself!

ciopo

2022-06-22, 05:04 AM

I got ideas so stupid I'm looping back to hyped

H_H_F_F

2022-06-22, 05:38 AM

I got ideas so stupid I'm looping back to hyped

I think I'm about to submit my worst-scoring build ever.

Wildstag

2022-06-22, 10:54 AM

I got ideas so stupid I'm looping back to hyped

I think I'm about to submit my worst-scoring build ever.

You'll be in good company!

ciopo

2022-06-22, 11:03 AM

As always, if anyone wants to do a collaboration, I'm all hands!

Tohron

2022-06-22, 02:39 PM

I've got a quasi-joke build in mind. I'm not sure whether or not it's actually valid, but if not, it'll hopefully at least be entertaining.

H_H_F_F

2022-06-22, 04:56 PM

My stupid build got less stupid, which is a shame.

I also have another idea for a build that is stupid in a very different way.

Wither way, this'll be a terrible round for me. I'm thrilled.

WeaselGuy

2022-06-22, 09:25 PM

I'm cooking up something for the first time in... years. I was doing something silly, then as I was formatting it, I was like "well, I'm already taking this... if I could fit that in instead, it'd open up this other thing too, but then I wouldn't have room for those things, and then that prestige class is basically worthless, and ah crap, now it's a completely different build."

So you know, the usual.

The Viscount

2022-06-22, 09:27 PM

I have a question regarding the raven (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/raven.htm)form. While comparing the animal forms with each other I noticed that it is straight inferior to the eagle (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/eagle.htm)form. The eagle has either the same stats or better. Not a single advantage to take the raven. Which is said imho (that one form won't be picked for the contest..^^).
So imho from a logical RAI point of view, we should argue that raven Berserk should retain their ability to speak. I mean we know that Ravens in real life and even Familiars in 3.5 can learn to speak. And the SI retains his INT score in the forms (the score important to learn and speak languages). Since even in 3.5 ravens seem to be able to produce (and learn) humanoid language sounds, the Raven Berserk should therefore also retain the ability to speak.

It's not that I wanna build a Raven Berserk (not set on a build so far/ dunno if I will enter / still waiting for the big inspiration here). But as said, it would be sad if the Raven wouldn't get any builds just because it totally inferior and has nothing to offer.

If you'd like to make a persuasive argument in your build, I'm not going to stop you.

You're too nice for our own good!

How does that interact with other rage/frenzy effects? Like if we go barbarian/berserk, can we rage and battle fury, or are they mutually exclusive?

We'll follow the precedent set by frenzy and say you can rage and battle fury at the same time.

No Nat attacks, no speeds, no NAC, no SQ and SA?

That is correct. Your size does not change in hybrid form, either, to clarify an above question.

ciopo

2022-06-23, 05:14 AM

Battle fury counts as rage for feats and effects that discuss rage. Don't say I never gave you anything.

followup on this : does greater rage also increase battle fury?
do classes that says "add this class level to barbarian level to determine rages per days" also work with berserk battle fury?

yeetusmcgeetus

2022-06-23, 06:41 AM

Not a submission, but might I recommend Thrallherd for a future secret ingredient? That PrC is so ridiculously cheesable it's insane.

H_H_F_F

2022-06-23, 07:24 AM

Thrallherd gives a leadership effect, which is banned. It's all about that effect, too.

Also, it's kind of the opposite of what we usually go for here: It's a very good, very focused, very obviously powerful PRC with no downfalls and is trivial to enter with a synergic entry.

loky1109

2022-06-23, 07:32 AM

If we talk about possible next SI I want suggest Red Avenger.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-06-23, 07:33 AM

I'm honestly surprised there wasn't a Void Disciple round yet.

H_H_F_F

2022-06-23, 07:50 AM

I'm honestly surprised there wasn't a Void Disciple round yet.

Nightmare fuel.

Gruftzwerg

2022-06-23, 10:39 AM

I'm honestly surprised there wasn't a Void Disciple round yet.

I already have a totally game breaking Void Disciple build. Imho that is more than enough imho. :p

I would prefer a crafting focused SI. Imho that would make an interesting round.

Zaq

2022-06-23, 06:59 PM

If we talk about possible next SI I want suggest Red Avenger.

You monster.

daremetoidareyo

2022-06-23, 07:45 PM

As always, if anyone wants to do a collaboration, I'm all hands!

Expound on this. Are you in need of fluff composition or hijinx advice.

The Viscount

2022-06-23, 07:50 PM

followup on this : does greater rage also increase battle fury?
do classes that says "add this class level to barbarian level to determine rages per days" also work with berserk battle fury?

Greater rage does not increase battle fury.
Things that give you more uses of rage per day based on barbarian levels do not give you more uses of battle fury per day.

ciopo

2022-06-24, 12:41 AM

Things that give you more uses of rage per day do not give you more uses of battle fury per day.
Not even the feat extra rage? Is that an exception to the previous question of "it counts as rage for things that modify rage".

Or only class feature that says to "add to barbarian levels"?

I would split the difference between those features that says "you have X extra uses of rage per day" (increases battle fury uses) and those that says "add this class level to your barbarian level to determine rages per day". Seems to be the meaningful distinction to me

Seward

2022-06-24, 02:44 PM

Hm, my ideas were both based on Change Shape, not Alternate Form (as in you retain your actual ability scores, blah blah).

And yes, it was a raven. I wanted an incredibly strong strength raven by level 20, but now that isn't going to happen. Then there was <scrubbed, probably a bit too late>.

Think I'll attend to real life this round. I got nothing with alternate form that can't be done better with a straight wildshape ranger/barbarian1/extra rage/nature warrior/master of many forms.

Gruftzwerg

2022-06-24, 03:40 PM

Hm, my ideas were both based on Change Shape, not Alternate Form (as in you retain your actual ability scores, blah blah).

And yes, it was a raven. I wanted an incredibly strong strength raven by level 20, but now that isn't going to happen, especially as its size won't change to tiny. Then there was the air-breathing flying whale...which isn't very exciting if it is size medium.

Think I'll attend to real life this round. I got nothing with alternate form that can't be done better with a straight wildshape ranger/barbarian1/extra rage/nature warrior/master of many forms.

I guess you missed something there:

Your size changes to that of the animal.
But yeah, you are still struck with the STR 1 score of the raven.

loky1109

2022-06-24, 04:11 PM

It sounds like speculations.

The Viscount

2022-06-24, 08:48 PM

Not even the feat extra rage? Is that an exception to the previous question of "it counts as rage for things that modify rage".

Or only class feature that says to "add to barbarian levels"?

I would split the difference between those features that says "you have X extra uses of rage per day" (increases battle fury uses) and those that says "add this class level to your barbarian level to determine rages per day". Seems to be the meaningful distinction to me

You know what, you're right.

You cannot gain more uses of battle fury for things that say "add to your barbarian level to determine rages per day" but you may gain more uses through other means.

Paragon

2022-06-25, 02:02 PM

Entry is in !

Had a lot of fun writing this one but those are not usually my best scores. Oh well, hope people will enjoy it as much as I do.

H_H_F_F

2022-06-25, 02:13 PM

With a week left to the reveal, I hope to be able to submit two entries this round.

Do we have any prospective judges in the crowd?

loky1109

2022-06-28, 04:36 PM

I finished it! Just one entry, but I proud it very much!

Wildstag

2022-06-29, 09:08 PM

Well it's not the worst build I've submitted...

H_H_F_F

2022-06-30, 07:37 AM

Well it's not the worst build I've submitted...

I don't think Either of mine are the worst builds I've made. I do think one or both of them will be the worst-scoring builds I've made. But the important thing is that I enjoyed them, and I hope all of you will too.

Edit: Who's still cooking? How are you doing?

Gruftzwerg

2022-06-30, 08:35 AM

My entry is kinda finished, just need some time to check for errors (typos, grammar, rules ..).

I had a silly concept and went all out^^

I'm aiming for the silliest entry, but less see who will earn that title :smallbiggrin:

Tohron

2022-06-30, 10:08 AM

I'm finishing up my build writeup, should have it in today or tomorrow.

EDIT: Entry is in!

loky1109

2022-06-30, 12:50 PM

Edit: Who's still cooking? How are you doing?

I had only single idea this round.

Need to reread it, I think.

ciopo

2022-06-30, 01:02 PM

I am hype and all done!

H_H_F_F

2022-06-30, 03:21 PM

I'm hyped as well.

Seward

2022-06-30, 04:24 PM

It sounds like speculations.

If so I apologize....they're speculations based on something not allowed, so I thought it was ok. But I probably should not have done that and then been offline for over a week.

Lets just say a 1 str raven really wouldn't work for my idea. Scrubbing the other thought, as I was wrong on some of the facts, even though I am not going to do anything with it.

Korahir

2022-07-02, 05:50 AM

Any chance we could get an 72 hours extension? I have a table I like but I'd need time for the write up and the story.

The Viscount

2022-07-02, 10:45 AM

You got it. New deadline Wednesday July 6th.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-02, 01:05 PM

The more the merrier! Looking forward to the ****show.

WhamBamSam

2022-07-03, 10:44 AM

Submitted. This should be a fun one.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-03, 11:46 AM

Yup. I like my entries, but I'm looking forward to seeing what actually competent people achieved this round :smalltongue:

Any potential judges waiting in the wings? It'd be nice if we manage to avoid another Siren scenario.

Edit: by the way, anyone interested in cooking for this round of the Villainous Competition is welcomed to hop by!

Gruftzwerg

2022-07-03, 10:24 PM

I've finished my build and sent it in. I'm very happy how it turned out. I somehow managed to surprise myself here^^

I wish everybody good luck and have fun. I'm curious to see the menus served this time.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-05, 12:32 PM

Is everyone good on the current deadline?

Hype!

Wildstag

2022-07-05, 01:01 PM

Yeah, I'm eager to see how dissimilar my build is to everyone else's. Probably NOT the worst build I've submitted, but who knows?

H_H_F_F

2022-07-05, 01:12 PM

Probably NOT the worst build I've submitted, but who knows?

Is it probably not the worst?
probably not the worst?
Probably not the worst?
Probably not the worst?

Gruftzwerg

2022-07-06, 12:51 PM

Any status update? Any cooks still cooking?
Or are we waiting for The Viscount to show up when he has some spare time for it?

I'm hyped for the reveal^^

H_H_F_F

2022-07-06, 01:06 PM

Same. The Viscount is American though, he might be at work.

loky1109

2022-07-06, 02:11 PM

+1! I'm so eager!

Venger

2022-07-06, 07:26 PM

I'm slammed this week and would really like to get my dish in. Is it possible to get an extension?

The Viscount

2022-07-06, 07:29 PM

Same. The Viscount is American though, he might be at work.

I was.

I'm slammed this week and would really like to get my dish in. Is it possible to get an extension?

Sure thing. I believe a few other chefs are also still cooking. New deadline same time Saturday, July 9th.

Zaq

2022-07-06, 10:15 PM

H_H_F_F

2022-07-07, 09:30 AM

Well, I guess I can live with another delay :smalltongue: Especially if it means two Zaq entries.
Good luck to everyone still working!

ciopo

2022-07-07, 10:34 AM

I feel it in my bones, we shall have 40+ entries!

Gruftzwerg

2022-07-07, 10:58 AM

Excellent. One build in already and I should have no problem getting in a second by the new deadline. Much appreciated.

I'm genuinely not sure which of these two to call "the silly one" vs. "the serious one" this time. Which is an excellent feeling.

I feel the urge to squeeze in maybe another build. But I'm afraid to lose my sanity on this SI..^^

I'm for a second community vote for this round. Besides from the most honorable mention, imho we need a most insane build vote here. So many chefs speaking about silly builds. We all need a sanity check

H_H_F_F

2022-07-07, 11:17 AM

I'm for a second community vote for this round. Besides from the most honorable mention, imho we need a most insane build vote here. So many chefs speaking about silly builds. We all need a sanity check

I don't know that that's necessary. If you feel that the most insane build is what impresses you the most, just vote for it for HM! After all, the entire point of honorable mention is to be detached from the concrete rules of judging and reward the build you liked / were impressed by the most.

Tohron

2022-07-07, 01:55 PM

While we're waiting, I was wondering whether Viscount could confirm that the build I sent in is actually allowed. If not, I suppose I could post it to occupy everyone while we wait.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-07, 02:37 PM

While we're waiting, I was wondering whether Viscount could confirm that the build I sent in is actually allowed. If not, I suppose I could post it to occupy everyone while we wait.

That would break the speculation rule... However, it is customary (and enjoyed by all) to post unsubmitted builds after the reveal.

Zaq

2022-07-08, 08:01 PM

Builds are in. I now know which one is the silly one. (They're both pretty silly. But this is a pretty silly ingredient.)

I cannot wait to see What Horrors Are Lurking Elsewhere, Seriously.

Gruftzwerg

2022-07-08, 11:10 PM

Builds are in. I now know which one is the silly one. (They're both pretty silly. But this is a pretty silly ingredient.)

I cannot wait to see What Horrors Are Lurking Elsewhere, Seriously.

Same here.

But I also try to finish a 2nd entry here. Almost done (with giving up my sanity..).

edit: I'm finished and lost my sanity at some point. Who cares..^^ Now I'm even more hyped for this round.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-09, 11:24 AM

I'm very much looking forward to the reveal! I hope it goes up before I go to sleep.

The Viscount is American though, he could be at a secret CIA meeting.

daremetoidareyo

2022-07-09, 02:39 PM

I just got my entry in. I wish i had even more time to make it more beautiful. But, that's life in the fast lame.

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 02:54 PM

Thank you everyone for your patience.
Now it's time for the reveal!
(Please hold off on posting until I give the all clear.)

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 02:57 PM

When the hammer meets the anvil, which do you think breaks first?

I was the first to arrive on the agreed upon spot on the shore. I drew the protective circles to defend us from any intervention or divination, and waited. Seven more heralds of light should have arrived – some I knew, some not – to take the fight to Magnadon the Apocalyptic, the scourge of mankind.

Over the next two days, they arrived. Among them were Hironimus the Healer, a Kingsman whom I knew but did not like; Krang of the wastes, frightening to look upon, who had later proven himself to be a real asset and a staunch companion; and Magnentia of the court of the Viscount, a dear ally and a true friend. We were all waiting for the eighth herald, who was yet to arrive – a woman none of us knew, a shapeshifter from the rank of the Champions, called simply "Anvil."

That last night, a storm broke out, and we could hear wailing and the sound of combat from deep in the sea. Krang wished to spring to action, but I ordered him to stay put. We couldn't risk a fight with Magnadon's forces. We could not afford to alert him to the magnitude of the force that has gathered on his doorstep.

When day broke, wee all witnessed a gruesome sight. About 200 feet from our camp laid an unmoving gigantic form, its armor dinted and singed. The stench of rotting flesh hit us as we got closer to the beached sperm whale, already unnaturally bloated with gas. One giant eye, bloodshot and already veiled in thin white foam, stared empty into the sky.

Hironimus stepped closer to inspect the body, one hand pinching his nose. He told us what we all already knew. "No illusions or transmutation spells at work here. It's dead."

There was quiet for a moment.

"Howdy, friends!" Said a shrill voice. An unusually sized black raven sat atop the carcass, scratching its head. Tied to its neck was a brown leather pouch, which it now reached into. "It's a pleasure meeting y'all." It flew down from the corpse to where we were standing.

Magnentia raised her hand. "Um, excuse me, but-"

"If you'd all be so kind to put these on," the raven cut her off, pulling an engraved platinum ring from its pouch and clawing it over to the surprised Hironimus.

Magnentia took a step forward, "You'll have to forgive me, but-"

"Yeah, you too, Sugar. Chop chop. We're on a tight schedule, you know, and I haven't even started applying the lard." said the raven, hopping between us and handing out rings.

"I'm so sorry to inter-"

"No, you needn't worry, Sugar. Those aren't magical rings. You can wear them on a string or as an earing or on your toes as far as I'm concerned, it won't make a damn dif–"

"EXCUSE ME!" Magnentia shouted.

The raven ceased its blabbering and halted in place. Even animals aren't stupid enough to bother a shouting wizard.

"I'm sorry to be rude, but my lord and master, the Viscount, has clearly indicated that you have to present a legal argument if you want to be a speaking raven, and you haven't done so!"

I felt sweat dripping down my back. I tried to be as cordial as I could when I whispered "Magnentia, my friend. Is this really the time? I've been trying pretty hard to establish a theme here, and you going off breaking the fourth wall like that is…" I stammered for words.

"No, no." said the raven. "It's quite alright, I don't mind giving my legal argument. Now, Sugar, if you'll simply open your copy of the PHB to page 52, you'll see that-"

"Call me Sugar one more time and I'll make you into a hat." Magnentia said coldly. "And besides – that phrase is in regard to familiars."

"And?" asked the raven.

"And? AND IT DOES DIDDLY SQUAT FOR YOU, unless you can provide me with an actual quote about actual ravens!"

"And why would I need to do that, Su--- I mean, why would I need to do that, miss?"

"Because you're not a ****ING FAMILIAR, are you now?"

The raven blinked in confusion. "Sure I am."

Magnentia stopped in her tracks, befuddled. "You are?"

"Umm, Doi."

"So where's the shapeshifter?"

"Well, she's right here isn't she – oh, would you stop that already, you big oaf!" The raven turned around and smacked the beached corpse with its wing.

Within a second, the terrible stench of rotting whale-meat was gone. The swelling from the gas disappeared, as the white foam receded from the eye, that filled with life and joy. The whale blinked once, soared 20 feet off the ground, and sang.

"It's alive? Impossible!" Cried Hironimus. "It was dead, I'm sure of it!"

"Wrong on both counts, Bucko." Said the raven. "She wasn't dead, and she's not alive." It turned to face the whale, and cawed. The whale sang back, and the raven nodded and turned back to us. "Have you all put your rings on?"

We all affirmed that we did, and the whale happily wiggled her tail and loudly released a series of clicks and pulsed calls. I felt a wave of cool wind wash over my entire body all at once.

"I know that feeling!" said Magnentia. "That’s shield other. Has it cast it on all of us? It'll die!"

The raven sighed in annoyance. "We've covered that, sweethe- I mean, miss. Not alive, can't die." It pulled a jar from its pouch and deftly opened it. "Now, I understand that we'll have to pass through a tunnel. Can anyone please help me with the lard?"

https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/a-beached-whale-wears-a-hasidic-rabbi-hat-paul-noth.jpg

Anvil

As Shield Anvil, my faith demanded that I relieve others of their pain… This I have done.
CG female AzurinMoI 7->Dragonborn (heart)RotD 8->NecropolitanLM 114
Duskblade 5PHbII 19, Berserk (whale) 3DD 201, Champion of Gwynharwyf 2BoED 56,Flux Adept 10DC 76.

Abilities 32 PB 4th Dragonborn 8th Whaled up 12th Necropolitan 16th 20th Final Form
STR 8 35 35
DEX 8 6 (-2) 13 13
CON 13 (5 points) 15 (+2) 24 NULL 24
INT 12 (4 points) 12
WIS 17 (13 points) 18 (+1) 19 (+1) 20 (+1) 21 (+1) 22 (+1) 22
CHA 16 (10 points) 16

Beast shape does not count as wild shape. That's a bridge too far.
Beast shape lasts until you choose to change shape again…
For sanity's sake, we'll follow some general trends (basically like alternate form).
When in animal form, you gain the physical ability scores of the animal. You also gain the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, special attacks, and special qualities of the animal. Your size changes to that of the animal. You lose your own movement modes. Your type does not change.

When you change form with beast shape, if the new shape could wear your equipment, it does. Refer to Magic Item Compendium page 219 for what should carry over.

Can this be treated as a conclusive text as to what beast shape does and doesn't, counts as and countn't? Or does it include all of the small rules, helpful and annoying, associated with alternative form / change shape?

Basically, I'm wondering if I need to go "okay, it's just longer wild shape that doesn't count as wild shape for other effects" or if I can go shenanigans-hunting.

I would not say it's explicitly alternate form. Feel free to hunt for shenanigans.
…Oh, and I did.

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Duskblade 1 1 2 0 2 Craft (alchemy) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, UMDcc 2. Shape SoulmeldMoI 40: Astral Vambraces (https://web.archive.org/web/20151102155215/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a), Knight of StarsBoED 44 (A), Great Fortitude (F) Arcane Attunement, Armored Mage (light).
2nd Duskblade 2 2 3 0 3 Craft (alchemy) 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, UMDcc 2.5. Combat Casting (B) [Lost in the Rite of Rebirth] -
3rd Duskblade 3 3 3 1 3 Craft (alchemy) 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, UMDcc 3. Sudden EnlargeMH 28 Arcane Channeling
4th Duskblade 4 4 4 1 4 Craft (alchemy) 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 7, UMDcc 3.5. - Amored Mage (medium)
5th Duskblade 5 5 4 1 4 Craft (alchemy) 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMDcc 4. - Quick Cast 1/day
6th Berserk 1 (Rebirth) 5 6 1 4 Craft (alchemy) 8, Escape Artistcc 1, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMDcc 4.5 Righteous WrathBoED 45 Quick Movement, Battle Fury, Wild Empathy
7th Berserk 2 6 7 1 4 Craft (alchemy) 8, Escape Artistcc 2, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMDcc 5. - Damage Reduction
8th Berserk 3 7 7 2 5 Craft (alchemy) 8, Escape Artistcc 3, Healcc 0.5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. - Beast Shape
9th Champion of Gwynharwyf 1 8 9 2 5 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 3, Healcc 2.5 Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. Endurance Detect Evil, Smite Evil, Rage
10th Champion of Gwynharwyf 2 9 10 2 5 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 3, Healcc 5 Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. - Divine Grave, Furious casting
11th Flux Adept 1 9 10 4 5 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 6, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. - Grace through Will
12th Flux Adept 2 10 10 5 5 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 9, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. Open Lesser Chakra: ArmsMoI 40 Pheronomic Control, Thermoregulation +2
13th Flux Adept 3 (Crucimigration) 11 11 5 6 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 12, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. - Iron Stomach
14th Flux Adept 4 12 11 6 6 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 15, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. - Bitter Tides
15th Flux Adept 5 12 11 6 6 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 18, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 5. Nonverbal SpellPlH 40 Feign Death
16th Flux Adept 6 13 12 7 7 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 19, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 7. - Taste of Truth
17th Flux Adept 7 14 12 7 7 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 20, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 9. - Haste
18th Flux Adept 8 15 12 8 7 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 21, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 11. Obtain FamiliarCAr 81 Boiling Blood
19th Flux Adept 9 15 13 8 8 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 22, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 13. - Polyhaemia
20th Flux Adept 10 16 13 9 8 Craft (alchemy) 9, Escape Artist 23, Heal 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, UMD 15. - Regeneration 1
Arcane channeling is mostly used early on, but there are plenty of situation where its useful. Never say no to free damage. Spells per day below do not include bonus slots from ability scores.

Duskblade spells known:

0 – Disrupt undead, Ray of frost, touch of fatigue.
1 – Chill touch, Ray of enfeeblement, resist energyLevel 2, Shocking GraspLevel 3, Blade of BloodLevel 4.
2 – Spider Climb.

Duskblade spells per day:
Level 0th 1st 2nd
1st 3 2 -
2nd 4 3 -
3rd 5 4 -
4th 6 5 -
5th 6 5 2

Champion spells per day:
Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
9th 0 - - -
10th 1 - - -
11th 1 0 - -
12th 1 1 - -
13th 1 1 - -
14th 1 1 - -
15th 1 1 1 -
16th 1 1 1 -
17th 1 1 1 -
18th 1 1 1 -
19th 2 1 1 1
20th 2 1 1 1
When I'm talking about shenanigans here, I'm talking about abusing the differences between the rules governing Animal Form was defined and the rules governing Alternate form and such abilities usually. This build does that in a couple of ways – some minor, some major – mainly by noticing absences within the rules given to us on animal form and checking to see if the general rules which we would default to can be made more useful to us than the specific rules of alternate form, which do not apply here.

So, obviously this build is pretty absurd and convoluted. It goes for some weird stuff, but it's also just a functioning normal build for a lot of Anvil's career. I'll break it down level-by-level, and note the things that will be used for shenanigans later.

Anvil starts play as an Azurin Duskblade with the Vulnerable flaw (unfortunate). She makes up for her bad defenses, which are so crucial early on, with her astral vambraces, which absorb her point of essentia. DR 4/magic is trash later in the game, but it's better than a plate armor made of gold during these very early levels.

She does pretty normal duskblade stuff early on, with her spell selection being mostly usual. The main standout perhaps is spider climb, which has to do with later shenaniganry.

Level 6 is the breakoff point. Anvil leaves her class and her race, and begins her journey as a dragonborn berserker. The dragonborn pick has to do with a couple of things, including later shenaniganry. Level 6 is a good point to do it mechanically – her DR/magic has become less relevant, so losing the point of essentia doesn't hurt as much. Add that to the fact that this is a level with a damage increase for the breath weapon, and level 6 is the point. As an azurin, she can choose what feat she loses, and she chooses combat casting.

Thematically… Maybe she's just afraid to die, you know? Azuring die very young, dragonborn die very old.

The feat she takes at this level is Righteous Wrath. Battle Fury sucks, but thanks to counting as rage per the chair, Anvil can use righteous wrath to avoid killing her friends or nearby rocks when she uses it. Battle Fury therefore becomes a decent choice if there's time for a buff round and Anvil wants to conserve her spells. It's also just a decent feat by itself – shaken for the encounter is very helpful, especially if you have fear causing bodies.

The next big level is level 8.
It's whaling time.

Shenanigans have begun. The first instance of shenaniganry Anvil uses is pretty easy to understand, and therefore demonstrates well the general form shenaniganry will take throughout the build.

The rules of alternate form and other such abilities say your HP doesn't change due to the increase in constitution. This is an exception to the general rule, that your hp is changed when your Con increases or decreases. Since the way Animal Form was defined here doesn't have that line, we default to the general rule – which means that the Con score of Anvil's new form becomes much more important. This makes the beefiest form, the whale, more attractive than it already is – Anvil can become far tankier than she was.

Another thing missing from the rules here is losing breath weapons. All you lose with animal form is movement modes – so Anvil can keep her heart aspect breath weapon, which keys off of our 24 constitution. This is why we went through the ritual of rebirth in the first place.

Now, obviously, having no form of movement that applies to land travel is pretty rough – but we can adjust. Casting Spider Climb before transforming gives us 50 minutes of a 20 feet climb speed. Climb speed lets you climb at your climb speed instead of at a quarter of your land speed. And climbing happens like this: ( https://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/climb.htm)

With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, a wall, or some other steep incline (or even a ceiling with handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed. A slope is considered to be any incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more.
So as long as Anvil is not on a mathematically perfect plane, she can move. This gives her an hour a day of whaling with no constraints, and she can always play sentry besides that, thanks to the breath weapon.

Once Anvil starts whaling around, she leaves Berserk never to return. The eventual goal is being a whale pretty much 24/7, so more rages and beast shape uses aren't interesting. Anvil is about using what's unique and good about this class to the max, not about dredging through 7 worthless levels of it.

She utilizes the absolutely essential Righteous Wrath feat to dive headfirst into Champion of Ghfyhfar. It's a strong class, and offers Anvil a lot for the two levels she's there. For starters, she gets to stack her level with her barb level for purposes of rage – so there's a case to be made here that she stacks with 0, and gains rage, getting to rage while in animal form – making her a far superior berserk to a 10th level berserk.

Even if you disagree with that case, Champion of Gwhyfun gets her spells, divine grace, and furious casting – which means she can use Arcane Channeling while in primal fury. She's really becoming a fighter here, and as appropriate for a true servant of Geernwolf, she takes the most martial feat she has so far… endurance? Well, yeah. It's a prereq for her next class, Dragon Compendium's Flux Adept. We're not going to delve super deeply into everything it does, but by the end of the build everything but Iron Stomach and boiling blood is usable, and at least occasionally useful.

"But wait!" You say. "I thought Anvil did not want to trudge through 10 levels of a useless class!"

But the answer is simple: you don't tell me what to do. I tell me what to do, and I've told me what you're telling me, but I'll be damn if I let me tell me what to do.

Anyway, Anvil qualifies for Flux Adept with her Duskblade casting, but she uses it to advance her Champion of Greenywaffl casting. At level 11, that mostly means buffs like bless weapon and protection from evil at 1st level. Galwhynf offers a pretty small spell list, but it has gems. At 2nd level, we have warcry – and with a decent DC thanks to our wisdom, it could be a fine choice here and there. Preparing the sanctified spell Luminous Armor from BoED is also probably a good idea, until you get yourself a more permanent whaling armor.

At level 12, Anvil opens her Arms Chakra, and binds her astral vambraces. Giving her Dr Magic/2 when she already has DR -/1, they've been pretty irrelevant for a while – but now, they give her any ability from Menu A of the astral construct abilities, found in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, page 186. She chooses, of course, flight. Level 12 is when she really starts whaling. All day flight makes spider climb obsolete, but it served her well for 4 levels, and should be appreciated for that. The bound soulmeld greatly expands the number of hours every day she spends as a whale. She's gargantuan, so she's mostly an outside person obviously, but her investment in escape artistry means that if she has the time, she can cram through narrower spaces than one would expect without changing her form by taking 20 on a DC 30 check. Escape artistry will receive a lot of attention in this build, and do a lot more for Anvil. We'll talk about it in its own section under Item Recommendations.

Level 13 grants more spells per day, and 11 BaB. It's a level so nice, she went through it twice. The ritual of Crucimigration is here.
Whale, whale, whale. One of the 2 biggest shenanigans in the build is here.

As you recall, anvil doesn't want to die of old age, and undead don’t die. Is it evil to become undead? Maybe, but everyone makes mistakes. It's not like Anvil's a paladin or something – one non-good act, that doesn't involve any murdering or pillaging or the like isn't going to knock her out of her alignment. She can ask someone to cast atonement, if she's that worried about it. As we said, she was afraid.

In fact, in my head-cannon, Anvil quit adventuring around level 12, and spent the next few centuries very slowly leveling up to 13. Only when she was truly ancient, did she let fear lead her to that decision. That would mean better Cha for divine grace and righteous wrath, better casting for duskblade and Champion of Guamswharf, and 8 more skill points (maxing out UMD). However, that wouldn't be appropriate in the context of a PC character in a party, so we'll give that idea up here, even though it's an excellent alternative.

Anyway, necropolitan, bringing us back down to level 12. It's an excellent template, but being undead in melee is just rough: you need the HP from an actual constitution score. Having no constitution score also disqualifies Anvil from using her soulmeld.

Except…

You already know it. Animal form gives us the constitution score of our new form, no ifs and buts about it, including the associated HP. She can still fly while in whale form, and she has HP. In fact, Anvil has MORE HP after the change, not less – she keeps her 24 Con score, but all her HD change to d12s. She's a perfectly tanky whale in melee, who's also immune to half the conditions in the darn game. Undead immunities are scary good, and she gets them without the main downside. Thanks, berserk!

Among these immunities are the immunity to fatigue (you can rage if you want to, you can leave your friends behind) and the immunity to ability drain and physical ability damage, which really opens up sanctified spells for Anvil. Their downside of getting ability damage when they're over is mitigated. The aforementioned Luminous Armor becomes a more tempting choice, Ayailla's radiant burst, also from BoED. The first level spell Vision of PunishmentCoV 59 also becomes a very tempting aggressive first level options.

Only two levels later, we've arrived at Flux Adept 5, and at the other of the two really big shenanigans.
Wiggle wiggle wiggle.

Our level 15 feat is Nonverbal spell from the planar handbook. It lets us cast spells with whale songs instead of speech. And that's important, because with alternate form's rule on the new form having to have hands to cast spells with somatic components, we need to go and look if we have a general rule we can refer to instead. If we don't, we'll have to refer to alternate form as the closest thing.

Luckily, we do.
A spellcasting creature that lacks hands or arms can provide any somatic component a spell might require by moving its body. Such a creature also does need material components for its spells. The creature can cast the spell by either touching the required component (but not if the component is in another creature’s possession) or having the required component on its person.
We're a spellcasting creature, and we happen to lack hands or arms. But that's not an issue – all we need is to do is wiggle, and have material components on our person if applicable. That's huge. We can cast spells as a whale. All we were missing were verbal components – and now we got them.

So it is very fitting that this is also the level where we get 3rd level spells. Dispel magic can be situationally useful (no more than that with Anvil's caster level) and magic circle against evil is great. Sanctified spells from this level are awesome, for someone who doesn’t have to worry about the drain and damage involved: create lantern archon is from CoV and is great, while BoED offers among others celestial aspect for support and faster flight.

This level also gives Anvil the extremely fun ability Feign Death: extra fun on undead, extra-extra fun on undead that look like living healthy whales. Anvil keeps crusing through her levels, getting haste as a free action at level 17. Level 18 brings forward a long-awaited friend. Her Raven familiar. Can she use the rules on DMG 204 for unusually sized masters to get a small sized raven? I think so, and if so that's nice: more carrying capacity means it can carry around a bag of holding and a bunch more stuff.

So, why is our familiar important? Well, many reasons. It's got very agile feet, and its smaller. It can finely manipulate a lot of things we can't. It can give us the aid another action, which helps with our escape artistry shenanigans. And it can talk – meaning it can activate wands and other such devices with our UMD ranks, and as importantly – translate for us. 5 levels of Duskblade mean we're just high level enough to talk in our own little language, that doesn't require normal communication capabilities. We talk to each other, and then the raven talks to everyone else. At this point in the build, with the escape artistry (the explanation is coming, it's coming), the perma-flight, and our little helper, we should only be leaving whale form once in a blue moon.
Level 19 brings 4th level spells. Level 20, however…
Here it is.

Regeneration + immunity to nonlethal damage is a notoriously powerful tool – damage immunity is quite valuable. Outside of Dragon Magazine, I've seen regeneration for this achieved with wendigo or with Master of Many Forms (trolls) and I've seen the immunity part achieved through Crimson Scourge or Warforged Juggernaut. The more trivial way to achieve it would be undeath, but creatures without a con score can't regenerate.

But Anvil's undead, and has a Con score.

Now, is it total immunity to damage? No. No it is not. Cold, electricity, fire and sonic still hurt her. But thermoregulation helps with two of those, and 20d12 +140 hp without a Con boosting item is a lot to grind through with elemental damage. I'd say damage has become a fairly inconsequential threat to Anvil, and undead immunities take care of most of what's left. She's extremely hard to get rid of, but that's not all. Regen + immunity to NL damage means Anvil is immune to untyped damage. That means Blade of Blood and Divine Sacrifice (spell compendium 70) just became much more tempting options, but it means so much more than that.

Enter glory of the martyr.

It's a spell Anvil became able to cast last level. Pick a number of creatures equal to your caster level (7, in our case). For that number of hours, as long as they stay within range and don't take their rings off (you only have to have yours "on your person" per the MM rule, but I think it'd look cool if you wear it on a tooth or as a piercing) Half of all damage they take is negated, and you take damage equal to the amount negated. With her immunity, Anvil can afford to keep that running for the full 7 hours. For a full adventuring day, Anvil's entire party (and their familiars/companions, probably – most parties aren’t 8-people) take half damage. How's that for a capstone? Tank fallacy my tail.

The issue with this spell is having to keep your allies within short range. That's a hard task, especially given that it's a spell only accessible to Paladins and Champions of (and this shows you how serious I'm being) Gwynharwyf, which won't have a high CL at all.

This is why we took sudden enlarge as our prerequisite metamagic feat for Flux Adept, all the way back at level 3. This is why we insisted on going for a whale, even though bear would've been much easier and (I'm guessing) less common this round. Keeping the entire party within 40 feet of a large creature for 7 hours is extremely hard. While it looks good on paper, it would always cause issues in an actual game. But keeping everyone within 85 feet of the edge of a gargantuan creature? That's… trivial. Full-distance charge? No problem. Fly and burrow? No problem. Get bullrushed, blasted, retreat? No problem. Scatter on a large area, keeping 100 feet of distance between the front and backline, before you start tactical movement? No freaking problem. We're covering a 190 feet diameter here.

Yeah, other factors of these last couple levels are good too (other 4th level spells, 16 BaB) but this is what we came here to see, and now that we've seen it, we're done here.

See you in the Item Recommendation section, to realize (among other things) what one can achieve once lard and oil are smeared on the same whale.
So, pretty normal stuff earlier in your career. Later in your career, you spend most of your time as a whale, which is quite limited body slot-wise - but you also have undead immunities, which free up a lot of the defences people usually try to shore up with WBL. When you start whaling full-time or near it, getting gargantuan armor (mithral plate, ideally) is a good idea. You can manage without thanks to luminous armor, but it's a good pick. As for weaponry – getting a gargantuan mouthpick weapon or a sizing mouthpick weapon is a very good idea here.

As a whale and as a human, you have a waist body slot. The belt of Endurance from A&EG is a 10,000 GP item, which you can use to not take a flaw, as it gives great endurance. (If you, the judge, find this solution more elegant than a flaw, I'd appreciate a nod in elegance for including it here).

A wisdom enhancement is probably a good pick too, being a caster, and you have the head slot for it. Even a +4 by level 20 (not too much to ask for, I think) you could get another level 4 spell slot. A pearl of power is good for the same reason and costs the same 16,000 gp. That spell level has many gems – Break enchantment, death ward, dispel evil, freedom of movement and holy sword. Like your buff spells from other levels, many of these greatly enjoy your 1/day quick cast. As for sanctified spells – most of this level aren't as important to us (unless we still don't have armor, in which case greater luminous armor is helpful) but holy fire shield can cover cold or fire damage very well – two of your weaknesses are blocked more efficiently than your existing resist energy can achieve. The build functions perfectly well without any of these, but they're cheap, common, and nice to have.

Other than that – access to UMD from very early levels and access to a raven familiar means all word-activated magic items are in play. Polyhaemia, our 19th level ability, gives potions more kick than they usually have.

Enough about stuff like that though. Let's talk pig fat.
So, it turns out that escape artist is ridiculously cheap and easy to optimize – especially if you have craft (alchemy) to make some of these compounds yourself. Now, it takes time to prepare for it, but not too much, unless you're in active combat – and it lets us move through a lot of spaces you wouldn't think we'd move through without dropping whale form. Of course, you can still always drop whale form for a few minutes and change back once per day if you need to, so all this isn't strictly necessary – but any way we can avoid spending that resource is helpful.

Our base number as a whale by the end of the build is a +29 (23 ranks, +1 dex, +5 from grace through will). That means we can completely reliably squeeze in a tight space even when unable to take 10. We can do that by taking 10 far earlier, and even earlier than that with some of the tricks that will be described here.

The first of this trick is simple lard. It's extremely easy to come by, more so than non-magical arrows or a shortspear, and it costs 2 SP for 10 lb. As detailed in Dungeonscape 32, it gives a +5 circumstance bonus (hey, those stack!) to escape artist checks. If our raven smears itself in lard too, it can give us a +4 by taking 10 through the aid another action using the rules found in CAdv 96. So far, we've spent basically nothing, and we're already talking about a +38 to our skill check, if we have a moment.

The next item on our list is Spelunking oil, which gives us a +2 alchemical bonus, from DoTU 93. It's more expensive than lard, but it's still cheap – especially since we can make it ourselves. A total of +40, or 50 when taking 10.

Slippery oil from Dragon Compendium is also an alechemical item we can make, but it's more expensive – 50 GP at store price. Luckily, it gives an untyped +5.

Now, we come to the part our raven plays in all of this: the wands. Kuo-toa skin is a first level druid/ranger spell from stormwrack 118, lasts an hour, and only costs us 15 gp per hit. +8 untyped, bringing us to +53.

A flexform (Secrets of Sarlona 127) wand is slightly more expensive, but gives us a further untyped +10, though it's a shorter duration. That brings us to +63.

Finally, a wand of grease (15 gp per hit again) is very accessible, and brings us to a +73 with another +10 circumstance bonus. That means that by level 18 (2 ranks lower, 1 less grace through will bonus) we can use this tactic to take 10 and reach a DC of 80.

As you can read here (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/skills.htm#escapeArtist), that means that with a few rounds of preparation and a loss of a 100 gp or so, we can afford to squeeze through a 16-inch diameter tube without wasting precious time on taking 20s.

A more expensive and particular option is the (improved? Greater?) slick enhancement for armor from the DMG, which has a flat cost. I'd recommend it in a campaign with an active magic mart, because it's always on and offers a big boost. In this context, I thought it better to rely on more common and cheaper items.

Other alternative items if you can't find some of the above include a salve of slipperiness (expensive, very strong), and the bolt of freedom from A&EG (have your raven stab you. Expensive, short duration). I don't think you can use a spelunker's kit from underdark, but check with your DM. Between all of these options, you can probably find a way to reliably squeeze through passages that even humans would have a hard time going through. If you can't get the items – well, not too bad, just increasing the risk of occasionally having to spend time in your non-whale body. And besides, you're still more squeezable than most whales by virtue of your ranks and class features alone allowing you to consistently meet the DC 30 check.

Finally, if you have all these options, you can ask your DM what happens if you crawl into a 2-inch orifice in an enemy's body and turn into a whale. Ought to be interesting, at the very least.

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 02:59 PM

The noble lazer bear, probably the best Age of Mythology cheat unit.

Baloo
"Look for the BEAR necessities”

https://dspncdn.com/a1/media/692x/68/86/9f/68869f87124be28d9fade61fe279f269.jpg

TN Human Bear Totem Barbarian3/Werebadger Template2/Badger Animal Class1/Battle Dancer1/Fist of the Forest3/Warshaper5/Bear Warrior1

Alignment : Chaotic Neutral
Race : Human
Level 1 : Spellfire Wielder, Tireless (Human Bonus), Toughness (Bear Totem)
Level 2 : Agile (Werebadger Template Bonus), Track (Werebadger Template Bonus)
Level 3 : Mad Foam Rager, Weapon Finesse (Werebadger Template Bonus), Iron Will (Werebadger Template Bonus)
Level 5 : Improved Grapple (Bear Totem)
Level 6 : Power Attack, Great Fortitude (Bear Totem)
Level 7 : Improved Unarmed Strike (Battle Dancer Bonus)
Level 9 : Snow Tiger Berserker
Level 12 : Instantaneous Rage
Level 15 : Extra Rage
Level 18 : Scorpion's Grasp

Point Buy at level 1
STR 16
DEX 14
CON 18
INT 8
WIS 8
CHA 8

All increases in Con

Through the thick branches of a nearby bush, two red-shot eyes were watching over the trade deal happening between some merchants and a tribe. The formers reeked of sewers like most city-dwelling individuals do. This particular smell took our silent watcher back

It was years ago that a trade much like this one took place. The merchants told them they were from Immilmar, the capital of the region, and they were scouting the Rashemen for new talents. They had heard from the neighboring tribes about a boy born with the spirit of the bear. It was believed that his karmic ties to his Ancestors was strong. So strong in fact that he was bestowed extraordinary stamina as well as some magical abilities.
Among the Rashemen, grooming such a talent was a great honor but for those human-traffickers, this was the allure of payday. Those men were in fact trying to recruit hardied berserkers from the Rashemi lodges to sell them to the highest bidders as arena fodder. In essence, those who had the misfortune to follow them in exchange for some money for their tribe were taking a one-way ticket to the arena until death released them.

Of course, the boy was sacred to the Snow Berserker lodge so they refused the merchants’ offer but the latters weren’t going to take no for an answer. In the cover of night, some spellcasters ensured no one would hear them and they kidnapped the boy in his sleep.
Next thing he knew, he was fighting for his life in some hellhole he was thrown in. He fought tooth and nails and ended up becoming quite the celebrity. So much, in fact, that they sent deadlier opponents at him but the boy managed to triumph over them by the sheer strength of his rage he harbored for those who put him there until, one day, he met his match. An unseemingly man at first glance but after the boy gave him a couple of rough hits to put him down easy, the unthinkable happened. Before his befuddled eyes, he saw the man turn into a rabid badger and jump at his throat. After being beaten (and bitten) to the brink of death, the boy got thrown in the pile of cadavers and disposed of somewhere outside the city. When he regained consciousness he felt a presence inside of him, as if all the rage he had built up for so long had actually gained sentience and pushed on his mind to take over his body.

To this day he doesn’t really remember what happened the first night the Rage took over, just that his hands were bloodied and the smell of some of his jailers filled his nostrils - his sense of smell had become quite extraordinary. The next thing he did was to regain his homeland where he resorted to some kind of Primal Living and became the Guardian of these sacred grounds.

As the years went by, he learned to harness the power of this Rage and controlled it to some degree up to the point he could turn into a raging bear at any time.
And right now, he felt this familiar tugging at his conscience as he recognized one of the merchants that sold him into slavery.
Vengeance is a dish best served cold they say and, after all these years, he was hangry

LevelClassBase Attack BonusFort SaveReflex SaveWill SaveSkillsFeatsClass Features
1stBear Totem Barbarian 11200Handle Animal (+4) 4; Jump (+4) 4; Survival (+4) 4; Control Shape (+4 CC) 2; Spellfire Wielder, Tireless (Human Bonus), Toughness (Bear Totem)Illiteracy, Rage 1/d
2ndWerebadger Template Class 11200Handle Animal 4; Jump 4; Survival 4; Control Shape 2; Agile (Werebadger Template Bonus), Track (Werebadger Template Bonus)Wis +2, Natural Armor +2, Alternate Form (Badger), Low-Light Vision, Shapechanger Subtype, Werebadger Feat (Agile, Track)
3rdWerebadger Template Class 21200Handle Animal 4; Jump 4; Survival 4; Control Shape 2; Mad Foam Rager, Weapon Finesse (Werebadger Template Bonus), Iron Will (Werebadger Template Bonus)Alternate Form (hybrid), Badger Empathy, Damage Reduction (5/silver), Werebadger Feats (Iron Will, Weapon Finesse)
4thBadger (Lycanthrope) Class 11420Handle Animal 4; Jump 4; Survival 4; Control Shape (+2) 4; Dex +6, Con +4, Natural Armor +1, Badger Abilities, Claws and Bite, Rage, Scent
5thBear Totem Barbarian 22530Handle Animal 4; Jump (+2) 6; Survival 4; Control Shape (+2) 6; Improved Grapple (Bear Totem)
6thBear Totem Barbarian 33531Handle Animal (+4) 8; Jump 6; Survival 4; Control Shape 6; Power Attack, Great Fortitude (Bear Totem)
7thBattle Dancer 14551Handle Animal 8; Jump (+2) 8; Survival 4; Control Shape (+2) 8; Improved Unarmed Strike (Battle Dancer Bonus)Cha to AC, Improved Unarmed Strike (1d6)
8thFist of the Forest 15771Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 9; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 9; AC Bonus, Feral Trance 1/d, Fast Movement, Primal Living
9thBerserk 15971Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 10; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 10; Snow Tiger BerserkerBattle Fury 1/day, +10ft. movement
10thBerserk 261071Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 11; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 11; Damage Reduction 1/-
11thBerserk 371082Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 12; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 12; Beast Shape 1/day
12thBerserk 481182Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 13; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 13; Instantaneous RageBattle Fury 2/day, Damage Reduction 2/-
13thWarshaper 181382Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 14; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 14; Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons
14thWarshaper 291482Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 15; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 15; Morphic Body
15thWarshaper 3101493Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 16; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 16; Extra RageMorphic Reach
16thWarshaper 4111593Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 17; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 17; Morphic Healing
17thWarshaper 5111593Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 18; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 18; Flashmorph/Multimorph
18thFist of the Forest 21216103Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 19; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 19; Scorpion's GraspUncanny Dodge, Untamed Strikes
19thFist of the Forest 31316104Handle Animal 8; Jump (+1) 20; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 20; Feral Trance 2/d, Scent
20thBear Warrior 11418104Handle Animal (+2) 10; Jump (+1) 21; Survival 4; Control Shape (+1) 21; Bear Form (Black)

Starting off with Bear Totem Barbarian probably makes Baloo the 1st level character with the most HP possible 1d12 +4 from Con +3 from Toughness and another +2 when raging for a wooping 21 hp. Tireless will let us rage to our heart’s content and in all the forms we want without getting fatigued. It can only be taken at 1st level by humans and human we want to be since we also want the 1st-level-only Spellfire Wielder.
Baloo gets bitten by a natural werebadger.
While lycanthropy is usually bad, it is really great for our build. We get access to Control Shape as a class skill (more on that later), the shapechanger subtype, +3 Natural Armor, +2 Wis. Agile, Iron Will, Track and Weapon Finesse as bonus feats, Scent, DR 5/Silver and even a burrow speed in animal form.
But the real draw here is the badger’s ability increases (+6 Dex and +4 Con) and its Rage (Ex) which we both get as a class feature by taking the Badger Animal Class.
We can still use the barbarian’s rage class feature according to Alternate Form which means double raging for an additional +4 Str and Con as soon as we take damage !
At this point it’s safer to remain in badger form to avoid failing Control Shape checks and losing a standard action.
While double raging we can use our unarmed strikes and our natural attacks (2 claws, 1 bite) as secondary.
Spellfire has bad press but CONd6 of fire/raw magic damage on a 400ft range attack (Ref 20 to half) from our constitution buffed Baloo is an encounter solver at lower levels ; we’re talking 30d6 max potential here.
“But it takes a standard action to ready an action to absorb spells”.
This is when Mad Foam Rager comes in. This feat allows you, once per rage, to delay the effect of a spell for 1 round. So you can decide whether you want to recharge your Spellfire level capped by your massive Con score and completely cancel a spell cast on you (as well as any additional ones cast on you this turn because yes, it says “spellS” in the description) or soldier through the spell and rather go “medieval on their ass” to quote Marcellus. Spellfire damage is great at low level, the ability to absorb Save-or-Die spells is, literally, a life-saver at higher ones.
While Barbarian only gives you 1 rage per day, badger has no such limitations. So long as you kill your target, you stop raging and can heal up with your Spellfire (yes it can do that too) and restart that combo all over again next chance you get damaged.
Of course finding friendly mages to throw their remaining spells at the end of an adventuring day helps a ton or just hire a sorcerer mercenary whose only job is to refill you.
More Bear Totem Barbarian gives us Great Fortitude (it’s getting harder to fail fort saves) and Improved Grab which is a great addition to our obscene Str score. A dip into Battle Dancer to get our Improved Unarmed Strike (1d6) so we can use our BAB in animal form. Speaking of, we also get Power attack which specifically works with unarmed strike and natural attacks even though they’re considered light weapons.

First stop, Fist of the Forest. 1d6 to 1d8 unarmed strikes, another rage-like ability that specifically stacks with others, fast movement (which we lost with Bear Totem) and oh sweet Con to AC.
Instantaneous Rage is a big deal. The first obvious benefit is to be able to rage even when flat-footed meaning you can trigger that Spellfire readied action + Mad Foam Rager even when you’ve lost the initiative but the real added benefit is that it’s a free action. This is no change to the Barbarian’s Rage but it works for Feral Trance (defaults to standard action), Battle Fury and most importantly, the badger’s Rage ability !
Anytime you’re targeted by a spell you can choose to trigger any one of them, use the combo to delay the effect and ready an action to absorb the spell next round. It helps that even if you happen to be full of Spellfire, most rage-like abilities improve your Con meaning you have extra room to fit those spell levels into.
We hate cities ; it fits our decision to remain in badger form and the fluff from the Rashemi Berserker lodge of the Snow Tiger whose feat basically gives us Pounce since we’re fighting unarmed (always considered light).
We enter the SI and grab everything of interest in 4 levels. Battle Fury is said to stack with our 3 other rage-like abilities (ty Viscount) which makes our Str, Dex & Con skyrocket while our penalty to AC is abundantly mitigated by the increased Dex, Nat Armor and Con to AC.
We have another fast movement adding up to 50ft. which is nothing to sneeze at when you can Pounce.
While niche the Lycanthrope Empathy (Badger) and Handle Animal ranks help with the Wild Empathy class Berserk ought to have because charisma isn’t our strong suit.
And finally, Beast Shape.
Our totem has been chosen from level 1, Baloo is a Bear Totem obviously.
While Battle Fury and Beast Shape can’t be used at the same time, nothing is said about the other types of rage as well as our ability increases from the animal badger class feature. Stacking up over the brown bear form (27 Str, 13 Dex, 19 Con) you have +8 Str, +10 Dex, +12 Con.
Now all this is fine but Beast shape is only 1/day (and would be 3/day if we were mad enough to go to 9th level). This is where the fondue starts.
After a thorough reading of the Control Shape skill, I found this :
an afflicted lycanthrope aware of his condition may attempt to use this skill voluntarily in order to change to animal form, assume hybrid form, or return to humanoid form
A character can retry voluntary changes to animal form or hybrid form as often as he likes and lastly, from the Berserk class itself
A berserk can always change back to human form I rest my case.
The Control Shape skill enables Baloo to change into hybrid/animal form at will and Beast Shape allows him to always go back to human form, dodging that awfully steep DC 25

Those levels are dedicated to Warshaper. Each level is great :
1 : Get additional natural weapons (or bigger ones) and immunity to stuns and crits.
2 : More Str and Con, because MOAR !
3 : Reach, yes please
4 : Fast healing is fun because you might actually be able to stop raging as a badger thanks to this (just “might” because logically speaking, “wound cause rage” isn’t equivalent to “not wound cause no rage” but you get the jist)
5 : Flashmorph. As a lycanthrope you already get unlimited transformations per day so having them as a move action is nice since you get to use your standard to ready an action to absorb spells for instance and the best part is, it extends to Beast Shape.

Our last 3 levels. We could have gone Berserker for more Battle Fury uses per day but Extra Rage will take care of that (and if it applies to every type of rage we have, which I think it does, even better). As we’ve seen, we already have DR 5/silver so DR4/- is only marginally better and infinite Beast Shape uses. All in all, we’re already a full-fledged Berserker.
So let’s finish Fist of the Forest to have our unarmed attacks deal 1d10 and another Feral Trance per day bringing our total to 4 (2 from FotF +2 from Extra Rage) in order to have it ready for every encounter of the day which is important because of our own little capstone ; a level in Bear Warrior !
This Bear Form (Black) differs from the usual polymorph in that it replaces the bonuses from the rage ability by the bear ability adjustments and that’s gravy for Baloo and since we have 4 of them, we go to replace the Feral Trance to trade +4 Dex for +4 Str & Con once again.
Quick recap.
We have the ability increases from the Lycanthrope/Animal Class as well as our Rage (Ex) and ability increases from the badger, since both are class features. So when Baloo Beast Shapes into a brown bear, he gains its ability scores for Str, Dex and Con, and then add the badger’s ability increases as well as our rage-like abilities bonuses (except Battle Fury because of the well known “melee can’t have nice things”).
The detail is explained in The Rage Within but we end up with a 49 Con (+19) and that’s an average of 450 hit points. You can store 49 levels of Spellfire and if you stop all your different rages and revert to your natural form, you release up to (49-23=)26d6 of destructive spellfire to a random target in range. How’s that for Berserk ?
As for your Str score, it can go higher than the Tarrasque’s in Beast Shape mode !
Scorpion’s Grasp gives you free grapple attempts with each unarmed strike or light weapon attack (which natural attacks are) and we have a lot. This is an improvement over the Improved Grab ability of the brown bear since the latter requires a specific “claw” attack and the target to be at least 1 size category smaller than you which is very limiting.

You have 2 “modes”.
The Feral Trance ability is subsumed in the Black Bear Form entry since the class feature replaces bonuses from the rage ability, making the not-that-useful one into pure bonus. It lasts 3 + Con modifier rounds so around 2 minutes (you arguably keep the +2 to damage with Unarmed Strikes)
Ability Increases stand for the 5 increases from levels 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20.

The “no Beast Shape” mode :
AbilitiesInitialAbility IncreasesBadger ClassBarbarian RageBadger RageBattle FuryWarshaper 2Black Bear
Str16 2024303442
Dex14 20 22
Con1823273135414549

The “Beast Shape” mode :
Trade your own abilities scores and Battle Fury for the Brown Bear ability scores (-16-6+27 to Str, -14+13 to Dex, -18-6-5(ability increases in Con)+19 to Con) hence the differences in the total :
AbilitiesBrown BearBadger ClassBarbarian RageBadger RageWarshaper 2Black Bear
Str27 31353947
Dex1319 21
Con192327313539

The first one is your go-to form but, when you need to Grapple someone reallllyy badly, the Beast Shape mode gives you extra Str and Large size for an extra +6 total on the grapple check.

- Transformations.
Lycanthropy and Beast Shape both use Alternate Form mechanics on your human natural form meaning you shouldn’t be able to get the benefits of both at the same time BUT I found a loophole : Savage Progression classes article.
By taking the Badger Animal Class, you get the +6 Dex and +4 Con theoretically even in human form but mostly you get to have the badger’s Rage (Ex) ability as a class feature. That is a big deal since both Alternate Form and Polymorph’s (piggybacking on Alter Self) text tell us that we get to keep all extraordinary abilities derived from class levels. As a result, you can use Beast Shape while keeping your badger rage.

- Warshaper’s saves progression is wrong, I took the liberty to correct them in my build

- Since all those rage types are unnamed bonuses, they stack but what’s more is that you can add a Manual of Bodily Health +5 and an Amulet of Con +6 to get to 60 (+25) Con for 568 HP. That’s a personal best I’m proud of.
Same goes for Str obviously, which makes it 58.

- If you can get a custom Control Shape skill bonus item you should. The workaround is to spend your time in badger form but even though some Fists of the Forest give up speech entirely, as a PC it might be hard to do.

- Agile/Weapon Finesse could be retrained for Endurance/Steadfast Determination in order to never miss a will save, EVER. Track is somewhat useful since we have Scent and 4 ranks in Survival but if you want to give it up for Reckless Rage because you just need that +2 Str and Con, I say go for it.

- This build works best with the favorable ruling from Viscount that Battle Fury is a rage ability and I applied the same ruling to Feral Trance.

- Using a Werecarcass eater instead of badger gives you another +2 to Con but you can only rage when your targets actually bleed ; golems, undead, plants etc. are off limits.

SRD - Barbarian, usual feats, Alternate Form, Polymorph (for text), Control Shape
Web - Savage Progression : Ghost and Werewolf Template Classes (https://web.archive.org/web/20191220081431/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040117a)
Complete Warrior - Bear Warrior, Warshaper, Instantaneous Rage, Extra Rage
Dragon Compendium - Battle Dancer
Complete Champion - Fist of the Forest
Magic of Faerun - Spellfire Wielder
Unapproachable East - Snow Tiger Berserker
Sandstorm - Scorpion’s Grasp
Races of the Stone - Reckless Rage
Dragon Mag 318, OA update - Tireless
PHBII - Mad Foam Rager, Retraining rules, Steadfast Determination
Deities and Demigods - Berserk

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:03 PM

No relation to Zagzag from the Swiftblade round.

Mandatory red paint for all the orkz/tyranids crossovering out there!

I started intent on making a totem rager + ragemage and I ended up with a textbook pounce barbarian, how did that happen!?

Old one eye... smash? Smash!

Chaotic Evil Frostblood orc, Barbarian 2 / Berserk 3 / Eye of gruumsh 7 / Fighter 2 / Warblade 1 / Warshaper 5
AbilitiesInitialRace / TemplateAbility score IncreaseRage+swing blindly+recklessHybrid+warshaperEnhancementInheren tTotalSTR18451066554DEX88CON18666440INT8-26WIS8-26CHA8-26
HP 12 +12d12 +2d10+ 5d8 + 180 (291) +60 hybrid form +60 rage (411)
AC : low, it's like -6 from just the rage modifiers, safe to say we're hit on a two, in other words business as usual!

Saves, with generic cloak of resistance +5 Fort 34 Reflex 8 Will 18 ; +3 to Fort and Will when in hybrid form, +3 to Fort and Will when raging from higher constitution, +2 morale to will save when raging, for a total of 40 / 8 / 26

Generic +1 Glaive, 20ft reach BAB 17, baseline STR +14, "always on" hybrid from +3 (6 STR), 4/day rage +5 (10STR) = "+40" , refer to here (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?623578-3-5-Average-Monster-Stats-UPDATED-TABLE) what this means for power attack, I'm going to say a generic "5".
therefore, +35/+30/+25/+20 for 1d10+43 and one random natural attack from warshaper at +30 for 1d6+16
All of that is doubled on a charge thanks to headlong rush
Successfull attacks trigger a trip attempt, the touch attack is likely to hit, and we are at +26 on the opposed check, modulo dedicated equipment

A dashspit of polish in the form of save-or-suck with blinding splitte, DC 32!

A bit of general utility with scent, "free" always on flight, and tactical movement via Sudden leap

LevelClassBase Attack BonusFort SaveReflex SaveWill SaveSkillsFeatsClass Features1stWarblade 1+1+2+0+08: {+4} Jump: 4; {+4} Tumble: 4Exotic weapon profiency(spiked chain), EnduranceBattle clarity, weapon aptitude2ndBarbarian 1+2+4+0+02: {+1} Jump: 5; {+1 CC} Tumble: 4.5Illiteracy, pounce, rage 1/day, Spiritual totem(lion)3rdBarbarian 2+3+5+0+02: {+1} Jump: 6; {+1 CC} Tumble: 5Improved trip, knock-downWolf totem4thFighter 1+4+7+0+01: {+1} Jump: 7; Tumble: 5Power attackBonus fighter feat5thFighter 2+5+8+0+01: {+1} Jump: 8; Tumble: 5Headlong rushBonus fighter feat6thBerserk 1+5+10+0+01: {+1} Jump: 9; Tumble: 5Extra rageBattle fury 1/day, +10 ft movement, Wild empathy7thBerserk 2+6/+1+11+0+01: {+1} Jump: 10; Tumble: 5 Damage reduction 1/-8thBerserk 3+7/+2+11+1+11: {+1} Jump: 11; Tumble: 5 Beast shape 1/day9thWarshaper 1+7/+2+13+1+11: {+1} Jump: 12; Tumble: 5Steadfast determinationMorphic immunities, morphic weapons10thWarshaper 2+8/+3+14+1+11: {+1} Jump: 13; Tumble: 5 Morphic body11thWarshaper 3+9/+4+14+2+21: {+1} Jump: 14; Tumble: 5 Morphic reach12thWarshaper 4+10/+5+15+2+21: {+1} Jump: 15; Tumble: 5Weapon focus(spiked chain)Morphic healing13thWarshaper 5+10/+5+15+2+21: {+1} Jump: 16; Tumble: 5 Multimorph14thEye of Gruumsh 1+11/+6/+1+17+2+21: {+1} Jump: 17; Tumble: 5 Blind-fight, command the horde, rage15thEye of Gruumsh 2+12/+7/+2+18+2+21: {+1} Jump: 18; Tumble: 5Blazing berserkerSwing blindly, Rage 2/day16thEye of Gruumsh 3+13/+8/+3+18+3+31: {+1} Jump: 19; Tumble: 5 Ritual scarring +117thEye of Gruumsh 4+14/+9/+4+19+3+31: {+1} Jump: 20; Tumble: 5Blinding spittle 2/day18thEye of Gruumsh 5+15/+10/+5+19+3+31: {+1} Jump: 21; Tumble: 5Reckless rageBlindsight 5ft19thEye of Gruumsh 6+16/+11/+6/+1+20+4+41: {+1} Jump: 22; Tumble: 5 Rage 3/day, Ritual scarring +220thEye of Gruumsh 7+17/+12/+7/+2+20+4+41: {+1} Jump: 23; Tumble: 5 Blinding spittle 4/day
Frostblood: orc (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/orc.htm) subtype from Dragon magic pg. 10. Gives dragonblood subtype, Cold resistance 10, Endurance as a bonus feat and fire vulnerability. Amusingly we could have made use of dragonscale husk from the same book, but the SI prerequisite precludes that

Warblade: Tome of battle pg 20. base class d12 hit die, 4 skill points, full BAB, High/low/low fort/refl/will saves. features Battle clarity, INT bonus to reflex saves, so nothing
Weapon aptitude : can change the weapon of feats formatted as FEAT(WEAPON), will be used to change spiked chain for orc double axe
3 manouvers and 1 stance :
Wolf fang strike, no prereq to take but requires using two weapons. standard action attack with both weapon but at -2
Sudden leap, prereq 1 other tiger claw manouver. Swift action move in a straight line the result of a jump check
Douse the flames strike, no prerequisites. standard action make one attack, if successfull the target can't take attack of opportunities for 1 round
Hunter's Sense, prereq 1 other tiger claw manouver. Gain scent (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#scent) special ability while in this stance
Spiritual totem(Lion): Barbarian alternate class feature from Complete Champion pg 46. Replaces fast movement with pounce (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#pounce)
Wolf totem:Barbarian ACF from Unearthed Arcana pg 49, replaces Uncanny dodge with Improved trip (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedTrip) , ignoring prerequisites
Knock-down: Sword and fist pg 7. Prereq Improved trip, 15 STR. When you do 10+ damage with a single attack, you can attempt to trip as a free action on that same target. The successful trip does not provoke an additional attack from improved trip
Headlong rush: Races of faerun pg 164. Prereq orc/half orc, BAB 4. Special charge that provokes also on entering a square, deals double damage.
Extra rage: Complete warrior pg 98. Prereq rage, Two more rages per day

Berserk: the SI, prereq BAB 5, nonlawful, and some easy profiencies. d12 hit die, 2 skill points, medium BAB, high/low/low saves. features battle fury: count as rage, standard action 13/day 3+CON duration, +6STR/+6CON/+3morale to will saves, -2AC, must focus one enemy at a time, must be attacking something, requires will save (15+elapsed duration) to avoid attacking allies/bystanders
Movement bonus: +10ft while in human or hybrid form
Wild empathy: can use diplomacy with animals, with a bonus equal to class level
Damage reduction (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#damageReduction)
beast shape: alternate form usable 1/day, last until dismissed, two alternate forms granted. Can't enter battle fury while in hybrid/animal form
hybrid form : stay humanoid shaped, same skill use limitation of rage, plus can't speak. +2STR/+2CON.
animal form (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#alternateForm): from list of totemic animals, we pick eagle (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/eagle.htm) because flight is a thing

Steadfast determination: Player's Handbook II pg 83. Prereq endurance, we use CON instead of WIS for will saves, fort saves can no longer fumble

Warshaper: Complete warrior pg 90. Prereqe BAB 4 and "able to change shape". d8 hit die, 2 skill points, medium BAB, high/low/low saves. features(only while not in our natural form) Morphic immunities: Immune to stunning and critical hits
Morphic weapons: move action grow a natural weapon you woulnd't otherwise have. We'll go with gore
Morphic body: untyped +4STR/+4CON
Morphic reach: +5ft of reach
Morphic healing: fast healing (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#fastHealing) 2, and can heal 10 with a full round concentration check (DC equal to current damage
Multimorph: standard action can change form at will during the duration of the (limited use / multiple forms) class feature, so basically can change between hybrid and animal form at will. Going human ends the beast shape as normal

Eye of gruumsh: Complete warrior pg 32. prereq Orc/half orc, BAB 6, worship Gruumsh and aligned alignment, profiency and focus with orc double axe, roleplay requirement special eye ritual. d12 hit die, 2 skill points, full BAB, high/low/low saves. features Blind fight (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#blindFight) as a bonus feat and no penalties from missing one eye
Command the horde: friendly nongood orc/half orcs within 30ft gain +2 morale bonus to will saves if they follow our orders
Rage: add eye of gruumsh levels to barbarian levels to determine how many normal rages per day we have
Swing blindly: add an extra +4STR/-2AC when raging
Ritual scarring: natural armor bonus improves by the listed amount
Blinding spittle: successful ranged touch attack at -4 against one enemy within 20ft, fort save 10+CLASSLEVEL+CON or blinded until they can rinse away the splittle.
Blindsight (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#blindsightAndBlindsense)

Blazing berserker: Sandstorm pg 49. prereq rage. we gain the fire (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#fireSubtype) subtype while in a rage
Reckless rage: Races of stone pg. 143, prereq CON 13, rage. When you rage you gain an extra +2STR/+2CON/-2AC

this was a romp to make! I know I ended up with something that's fairly "textbook" but eh, only so many ways you can spin a pouncerbarian.

Amusingly, the starting idea was of warforged artificierEberron campaign settings 8 / berserk 3 / warshaper 5 / spellcarved soldierRaces of eberron 4 , basically "berserk+warshaper = changeling warshaper but 50% stronger", artificier = "haha jokes on you I can craft my own pearl of speech and whatever else I might want" and spellcarved soldier = "archmage rune says I can wear X, so I'm going to wear X in animal form and thumb my nose at the technical limitation!"

It was fun to think about, but it was not much of "a berserking dude"

I moved on toward "let's get as many "extra uses as possible" , which was a convoluted mess of halforc paragon 3 / "feat wizard" 1/ human paragon 3all 3 Unearthed arcana / berserk 4/totemist 2/ totem rager 4 Magic of Incarnum those two / ragemage 3 Complete Warrior, not in this precise order because annoying prerequisites are annoying, but I had fun with the trifecta of terribleness berserk\totem rager\ragemage

This became a different kind of "let's get as many *different kind* of rages as possible" when Viscount said battle fury stacks with rage, that's when I went for eye of gruumsh because "omg I can triple dip that Swing blindly". But like, barbarian2/fighter2/warblade1 into berserk 3/eye of gruumsh 2 / feat wizard 1 / abjurant championComplete mage 2 /ragemage 3 / frienzed berserkercomplete warrior 1 had *a lot* of hoops to jump through to qualify for everything, it's like 6 feat taxes, hikes!

So I scaled back, especially when I got to the conclusion that no, Swing blindly probably doesn't double dip, so I can make a more focused build.

There I was mulling things over, having settled on that fairly solid "Pouncer enthusiast starter pack" of barbarian2/fighter2/warblade1 package, that I decided to go back to warshaper, with the simple reasoning that since swing blindly doesn't stack, I can rage+hybrid form to get the best of both worlds! Plus, you know, extra range makes trips go vroooom

A late revision was moving away from the split berserk 8/ eye of gruumsh 2 to the split berserk 3 / eye of gruumsh 7. Because sure it was "more uses of battle fury", but realistically it's inimical to his other class feature, beast shape, and we can be in that one "forever" with very little drawback, so that's that. berserk 6 / eye of gruumsh 4 has a stronger argument, coming down to "do you want a second use of beast shape if for whatever reason you had to go orcform or do you want 2 more blinding splitted ,1 more normal rage, 1more BAB?".

I'm firmly on the camp of not taking SI level just because it's the SI. And more uses per day of a feature I can't use because I make 100% use of it's other feature it's definetively in the area of "just because it's the SI"
The question becomes "how would you make a warshaper/eye of gruumsh with at will/always on warshaper bonuses" I guess there's racial emulation changelingRaces of eberron, but come on
1
I'm going to exercise my chef-ly powers and say we're from a minor orcish tribe, specifically the frostbloods (shocking!), that are not at all prominent in the "politics" of the great steppes, but we are the prized young prodigy of good old great-great-greatmotherwho totally isn't a bored white dragon wyrm of warDragons of eberron of indeterminate age, because we are STRONG and RESILIENT, but most importantly, DUMB AS A ROCK, making us perfectly pliable to her manipulations! Her favor is manifested in very special training

And that's my story justification for being warblade, now go do what every 1st level martial do: apply weapon to enemy! Reasoning of the manouvers chosen : Wolf fang strike is "tax" for prerequisites. Scent was chosen above other stances because I value a bit of utility more than the little bit of damage the other stance available to us , and the other utility stance (morale bonus to will saves) wouldn't stack with command the horde giving out the same thing much later in the build.
I doubt I need to expounse on the utility of a swift action movement option, and douse the flame goes well with it if the purpose of said tactival movement is getting away from danger, since with only 5 rank of tumble we ain't avoiding all that many AoO with it. Tumble is mainly there for the sinergy bonus

2-5
Having come of age and performed satisfactory for the old bag, we're sent out on our first mission : go bash heads and make a name for ourselves in the territory of the prideful lion tribe, bash enough heads to gain by right of conquest their specific learning, the old bat assures us It will be very useful in the days to come
after having learnt their carefully guarded secretpounce ("Swing your weapon as you run, don't run THEN swing, run AND swing!"), dear greatgranny congratulates us with a pat on the head, and send us to do the same at the wolf tribe!
after having learnt their carefully guarded secretImproved trip+ knockdown ("swing your weapon at their legs, not their center mass!"), the wrinkled one bid us to stay a while and listen:
"Swing with your shoulders too, not just the arms!"power attack and "if you're running at an enemy, put your weight behind your blow!"headlong rush

Never be said I can't spin some coherent reason to have cookie-cutter feat selection!

now we go do what every 5th level martial do : apply weapon to enemy, but with bigger numbers!

6-8
"Listen young Zugzug, you did well subjugating the lions and the wolf, here is your next target : the eagles! They seem to know the secret of our bane : flight!" go there and learn it, now git!"
Dear diary, the duel with the young champion of the eagle tribe was strange! She shouted not once, but twice at the start of it! and I could feel the power emanating from her glistening muscles! But after that, it was a bit odd, she sauntered close to me and... not took a swing? perhabs she was as distracted by MY glistening muscles as I was by hers? Either way a duel is a duel, I shouted my own defiance, jumped away to get room to take a mighty swing, and that was that. I'm married, again!

I guess we can conceivably rage+fury, but the combination of standard action+attacking allies is ehhhhhhh... just rage and attack, sorry :) we're built around beast shape not standard action 150% rage! I suppose with a duration of 1minute or more, we can occasionally "prefury" and hey, at least both it and rage are 3/day now! but really sweet flight is our ambrosia here. Mandatory "DR 1/- is better than no DR at all"
The beast shape will be, of course, eagle.

tactic: apply weapon to enemy, now sometimes with twice the fervor!

9-13
"Well done young Zugzug, have you started making offsprings yet? I want some great-great-great-great-grandchildren! anyway, take this gift" *honored Grika hands out a priceless pearl of speechMagic item compendium, 600gp * "this will help you control the magic you feel coursing through you, it's time for you to have some detailed training. Also you should start learning about Gruumsh, you will need his approval to become great chieftain"

In other words, the reason we manage to learn warshaping is thanks to the tutelage of a dragon. I like how this is somewhat coherent with being frostbloodI know that white dragon don't have alternate form shush let me live my beautiful lie. Pearl of speech negates the main drawback of hybrid form, and once we hit warshape 5 we have effectively at will flight or 150% changeling, at the low cost of no using INT and CHA skills! Truly a sacrifice.
And we don't even have to worry about the standard action battle fury, since it's the SI own feature that prevents us from using it, so ha!
Steadfast determination removes the BIG weakness our low will save is. Too bad we make concentration checks while in hybrid form/raging, or we could have taken the manouver Moment of perfect mind. Our reflex save is terrible but most reflex effect are direct damage, which is not much to worry about given our healthy health pool. And always on fast healing certainly isn't somethign to ignore.

Tactics: apply weapon to enemy, now with extra muscles!

14-20
"and that was the humble beginning of Zugzug, greatest chieftain in the history of the stepps"!
Amusing theatre of the mind scene : there we are doing the "chieftain challenge" for the honor of becoming an eye of Gruumshlike hell I will forget to pay lip service to this. The other chieftains are dismissive of us because "young zugzug never used an orc double axe in his life, he will totally fail!" fast forward to face-slapping after "only one hour of training". A cheer for weapon aptitude!
Also, sinergy: we can totally still trip if we so fancy, we got that handy dandy natural attack from

Blazing berserker takes care of our fire vulnerability, which is somewhat relevant given fire is the most common energy damage, by makign it be cold vulnerability instead! but at least we got native 10 point of cold resistance!
None of the eye of gruumsh features really need an explanation, as they are "numbers going up". and we got a little bit of battlefield control with blinding spittle, a smol is more than none!

tactics: apply weapon to enemy, now with extra-extra muscles!

Beast shape "can't speak" and pearl of speech "can speak": some might argue that beast shape override pearl of speech, to which I will say "nuh uh". But if you must have an alternative, buy an helm of telepathy and call it a day.

Using barbarian rage while in hybrid form: this is somewhat firmly in "ask your GM" territory, but this will go two way: RAW, you can clearly rage while in hybrid form, no controversy here. But the wording seems to indicate the intent would be to prevent using battle fury and by extension other ragelike effects while in beast shape. But if we are twisting away from what is written, I will ask the GM "would you allow battle fury to be a free action like rage is"? and "would you allow me to use my class features together?"

"beast shape is like alternate form and doesn't qualify for warshaper":
I would say Berserk does qualify for Warshaper, counting beast shape as a "similar class feature" to wildshape for the last means of entry. Feel free to cite this in your build.

"Swing blindly and reckless rage and multiple different kind of rages": I'm of the opinion that you gain swing blindly and reckless rage bonuses only once, in other word they don't "double dip" if you rage+battle fury together.
But, if your GM says they do, in fact, double dip because they apply "to the rage effect" and not "on yourself", then more levels of the SI for more uses of battle fury over staying in hybrid form now are actually appealing, since rage+battle fury would be 6 STR and 2 CON higher than rage+hybrid form. I would swing a split of Berserk 8 / eye of gruumsh 2 in this case, and possibly exchanging blazing berserker for Instantaneous rage from complete warrior, thus eliminating that horrible standard action activation of battle fury. Hell, I might even drop warshaper for more sources of bonus feats, to qualify for frienzed berserker, for THREE different stacking rage triple dipping on Swing blindly+reckless rage!

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:05 PM

But oh oh those summer knights (well a well a well a)

The initial spark was fairly simple: "UGHHH battle fury is a standard action WHY DESIGNER WHY! ... what if... what if I give it's benefits to someone other than me?"

And thus this mounted fury build was born, I had a lot of fun making it happen!

Neutral good Jermlaine Barbarian 1 / Berserk 4 / Druid 1 / Figther 2 / Psychic Warrior 4 / Swashbuckler 1 /Windrider 7
AbilitiesInitialRace / TemplateAbility Score IncreasesFerocity + battle fury + rageEnhancementInherentTotalSTR14-81824DEX1464428CON14-214430INT14-212WIS15656436CHA8-646
HP 12 + 1d12 + 13d10 + 5d8 + 20 (132) +(20/60) from enhancement bonuses to CON, +(20/40) from Inherent bonuses to CON +(60-140) from battlefury/rage, so this is actually 192-372
AC 10+ 2 size + (0/5/9)DEX+(8/13)WIS +8 luminous armor +(0/5) natural +(0/5) deflection = 28/52, touch 20/39, flatfooted 28/43
Saves Fort 23/32 Reflex 9/13 Will 18/23 , +(0/5) resistance
the (X/Y) without/with common magic items

The pokening: Ancestral relic feycrated Aurorum +1 Valorous, Berserker, Furious, Collision, Fierce, Penetrating tiny lance
Without the rages, on a mounted dive attack charge power lunge, no power attack : 17 BAB +2 size +5 DEX +1 enhancement + 2 charge : +27 for (1d3+6*2(mount STR bonus)+5(collision)+1(enhancement))*5(lance valorous spirited dive) = 85-95 damage; we provoke an AoO, and if they miss us we can robilar's gambit attack them again for the same modifiers, mount has the means to position herself for another dive in the same round
With rages (3/day) and enhancement bonuses: 17BAB +2 size +9 DEX +3 enhancement +2 charge : +33 for (1d3+15*2(mount STR bonus)+5(collision)+3(enhancement))*5 = 195-205; Berserk battle fury is about 20% of total damage and about 36% of the increased damage
LevelClassBase Attack BonusFort SaveReflex SaveWill SaveSkillsFeatsClass Features1stBarbarian 1+1+2+0+020: {+4 CC} Diplomacy: 2; {+4} Handle Animal: 4; {+2} Jump: 2; {+2 CC} Know(Nature): 1; {+4} Ride: 4; {+4} Survival: 4; Wild cohortFerocity, Illiteracy, Spiritual totem(Eagle)2ndSwashbuckler 1+2+4+0+05: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 4; Jump: 2; Know(Nature): 1; Ride: 4; Survival: 4; {+5} Tumble: 5; Weapon Finesse3rdPsychic Warrior 1+2+6+0+03: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 4; Jump: 2; Know(Nature): 1; {+2} Ride: 6; {+1} Search: 1; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Mounted fury, Mounted combatbonusBonus feat4thPsychic Warrior 2+3+7+0+03: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 4; Jump: 2; Know(Nature): 1; {+1} Ride: 7; {+2} Search: 3; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Tremendous chargebonusBonus feat5thPsychic Warrior 3+4+7+1+13: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 4; Jump: 2; Know(Nature): 1; {+1} Ride: 8; {+2} Search: 5; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; 6thPsychic Warrior 4+5+8+1+13: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 4; Jump: 2; Know(Nature): 1; {+1} Ride: 9; {+2} Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Ancestral relic7thBerserk 1+5+10+1+13: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 4; {+3} Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 1; Ride: 9; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Battle fury 1/day, +10 ft. movement8thDruid 1+5+12+1+35: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 4; Jump: 5; {+5} Know(Nature): 6; Ride: 9; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Druidic Avenger, Huntsman, Root walker, Rage1/day. Fast movement, AC bonus, Unarmored speed bonus, Favored enemy(Fey), Track, Vermin empathy9thFighter 1+6/+1+14+1+33: Diplomacy: 2; {+2} Handle Animal: 6; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 10; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Extra rage, Ride-by attackbonusBonus feat10thFighter 2+7/+2+15+1+33: Diplomacy: 2; {+2} Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 11; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Spirited chargebonusBonus feat11thWindrider 1+8/+3+17+1+53: Diplomacy: 2; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+3} Ride: 14; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Appraise mount, Chosen mount, Empathic link, Mount profiency 4HD12thWindrider 2+9/+4+18+1+63: {+2} Diplomacy: 4; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 15; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Instantaneous rageMount assistance, Mount feat13thWindrider 3+10/+5+18+2+63: {+2} Diplomacy: 6; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 16; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Combat reflexesbonusBonus feat, Mount healing14thWindrider 4+11/+6/+1+19+2+73: {+2} Diplomacy: 8; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 17; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Mount proficiency 8HD15thWindrider 5+12/+7/+2+19+2+73: {+2} Diplomacy: 10; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 18; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Robilar's gambitMount feat, Mount friendship16thWindrider 6+13/+8/+3+20+3+83: {+2} Diplomacy: 12; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 19; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Mount proficiency 12HD17thWindrider 7+14/+9/+4+20+3+83: {+2} Diplomacy: 14; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 20; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Power attackbonusBonus feat, Mount link18thWindrider 8+15/+10/+5+21+3+93: {+2} Diplomacy: 16; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 21; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Power lungeMount proficiency 16HD19thWindrider 9+16/+11/+6/+1+21+4+93: {+2} Diplomacy: 18; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 22; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Mount feat, Mount luck20thWindrider 10+17/+12/+7/+2+22+4+103: {+2} Diplomacy: 20; Handle Animal: 8; Jump: 5; Know(Nature): 6; {+1} Ride: 23; Search: 7; Survival: 4; Tumble: 5; Mount proficiency all
Jermlaine: Monster Manual II, given LA+0 in the update booklet, other than the ability array, it's a tiny size fey with 40ft speed, has Wild Empathy (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/druid.htm#wildEmpathy) and an at will Speak with animals (rats and dire rats only). Favored class rogue
Barbarian: Core base class, D12 hit die, 4 skill points, full BAB, high/low/low saves Ferocity: (https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031718/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a) barbarian alternate class feature, replaces rage with immediate action +4STR/+4DEX/-2 to ranged attack rolls for 4+CON rounds, sickened at the end
Spiritual totem(eagle): barbarian ACF from Complete Champion, replaces fast movement with untyped +4 to search and spot checks
Illiteracy: Would not know how to read and write unless we had a level in something else
Swashbuckler: base class form Complete Warrior. D10 hit die, 4 skill points, full BAB, high/low/low saves. Weapon finesse: With a light weapon, we may use DEX in place of STR for attack rolls
Psychic warrior: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psychicWarrior.htm) Core psionic class, D8 hit die, 2 skill points, medium BAB, high/low/low saves
Bonus feats: fighter or psionic, at 1st, 2nd and every 3 levels thereafter
Manifesting: WIS based, powers known: Inspire mount: standard action, 1pp. 1min/level, mount has +20ft speed, +10 competence bonus on one check of mounted combat.
Elfsight: standard action, 1pp. 1hour/level. lowlight vision, +2 to search and spot check, can search for secret door by mere proximity
Synestethe: standard action, 1pp. 10min/level, +4 circumstance to search and spot check and immunity to gaze attacks, or +4 circumstance to listen check. Alternatively immunity to deafened or blindness condition
Reach: (https://web.archive.org/web/20070327034258/https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827e) swift action, 3pp. round/level, increase threatened area by 5ft

Berserk: the SI, prereq BAB 5, nonlawful, and some easy profiencies. d12 hit die, 2 skill points, medium BAB, high/low/low saves. battle fury: count as rage, standard action 13/day 3+CON duration, +6STR/+6CON/+3morale to will saves, -2AC, must focus one enemy at a time, must be attacking something, requires will save (15+elapsed duration) to avoid attacking allies/bystanders
Movement bonus: +10ft while in human or hybrid form
Damage reduction (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#damageReduction)
beast shape: alternate form usable 1/day, last until dismissed, two alternate forms granted. Can't enter battle fury while in hybrid/animal form
hybrid form : stay humanoid shaped, same skill use limitation of rage, plus can't speak. +2STR/+2CON.
animal form (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#alternateForm): from list of totemic animals, we pick eagle (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/eagle.htm) because flight is a thing

Druid: Core base class, D8 hit die, 4 skill points, medium BAB, high/low/high saves Druidic Avenger: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#druidVariantDruidicAve nger) ACF trades animal companion and spontaneous casting for Rage and fast movement, plus other ribbons
Huntsman: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#druid) ACF trades wild shape and some profiencies for monk AC bonus, Unarmored speed bonus and Ranger Favored enemy, Track bonus feat
Root walker: ACF from dungeonscape, trades the druid wild empathy for an equivalent ability that works with vermins
Spellcasting: prepared, WIS-based
Fighter: Core base class, D10 hit die, 2 skill points, full BAB, high/low/low saves. Bonus feat from list at first and every even level

Windrider Prestige class from masters of the wild. Prereq BAB 5, Handle animal 8 / Know(nature) 6 / Ride 8, mounted combat, has a mount. D10 hit die, 2 skill points, full BAB, high/low/high saves Appraise mount: Can compare mounts and determine which one is better
Chosen mount: Bond with a mount, granting it bonus HD, natural armor and STR
Empathic link: same as the paladin (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/paladin.htm#mountEmpathicLink) class feature
Mount proficiency: +2 to ride check and eliminates the penalties for riding mounts not suited for riding if they have at most the listed HD
Mount assistance: standard action give bonus to the mount, one of : +10ft speed for 1 round, +4AC, +4 to hit for 1 attack, +4 to one ability check
Mount feat: after training the mount gains one bonus feat from list
Bonus feat: from list, must meet prereq
Mount healing: +4 competence bonus to heal check for healing the mount
Mount friendship: +4 untyped bonus to Diplomacy versus creatures of the same species as the mount
Mount link: can establish empathic link with mounts other than the chosen one
Mount luck: can as a free action give a luck bonus to save to the mount, equal to our charisma bonus
Spellcasting: prepared, WIS-based, specific list
Wild cohort (https://web.archive.org/web/20040427165513/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a): Animal companion but with slower scaling, and handled as a move action
Mounted combat: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#mountedCombat) prereq ride 1 rank, make a ride check to negate an attack agaisnt your mount
Mounted fury: (https://web.archive.org/web/20040427151237/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031125a) prereq mounted combat, ride 5 rank, rage class ability. Your mount gains the same benefit and penalties of your rage while you are mounted
Tremendous charge: Dragonlance campaign setting, prereq mounted combat, ride 1 rank. You can use your mount STR bonus instead of your own in the damage roll when using a lance. The weapon must pass a fort save DC8 or be shivered into pieces
Ancestral relic: Book of exalted deeds. Prereq good alignment and character level 3rd. Gives option to "evolve" a masterwork item we own by imbuing wealth on it, capped to half WBL
Extra rage: Complete warrior, prereq rage or frenzy ability. two more uses of rage/frenzy abilities
Ride-by attack: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#rideByAttack) prereq ride 1 rank, mounted combat. When charging while mounting, can continue moving in a straight line after making the attack. You and the mount don't provoke Attacks of opportunity from your target
Spirited Charge: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#spiritedCharge) prered ride 1 rank, mounted combat, ride-by attack. When charging while mounted, increase the damage multiplier by 1
Instantaneous rage: Complete warrior, prereq rage or frenzy ability. You can activate your rage as a free action in response to another action, even when it's not your turn
Combat reflexes: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#combatReflexes) gain extra AoO in a round equal to your DEX bonus, can AoO even while flatfooted
Robilar's Gambit: Player's Handbook II, prereq combat reflexes, BAB 12. Adopt stance hostiles have +4 on attack and damge rolls, but they provoke an AoO when they attack you
Power attack: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#powerAttack) prereq STR 13. When attacking with a weapon that isn't light, can take a malus to the attack roll in exchange for a bonus to the damage roll
Power lunge: Sword and fist, prereq BAB 3, power attack. You may add twice the STR modifier to damage on successful attacks during a charge, but the attack provoke an AoO from your target

Spell table
3 druid orisons omitted, a +2 periapt of wisdom is assumed at level 6, upgraded to +4 by level 14 and to +6 by level 16, "eventually" at/by level 20 there shall also be tome of understanding, and of course all ASI are to WIS
LevelClassWisdomPower point reserve1st2nd3rd4th3Psychic Warrior 1212----4Psy. War. 2227----5Psy. War. 32212----6Psy. War. 42419----8Druid 125193D---11Windrider 125193D+2W---12Windrider 226213D+3W---13Windrider 326213D+3W2W--14Windrider 428234D+4W3W--15Windrider 528234D+4W3W2W-16Windrider 631254D+4W4W3W-17Windrider 731254D+5W4W3W2W18Windrider 831254D+5W4W3W3W19Windrider 931254D+5W5W3W3W20Windrider 1032274D+5W5W5W3W18Eventual inherent WIS bonus36315D+6W5W5W4W
Storywise, we inherit Tooth from our noble house, it's the family heirloom! This is the ancestral relic math stuff

At first it seems to be just a masterwork lance, properly sized for our tiny self, of course, so it's a (tiny) lance , 1d4/x3

Ancestral relic allows us to slowly "awaken" it's power, limited only by gold and offtime, let's get started

at 6th level, budget of 6500gp
310gp cost of masterwork lance
4000gp goes into brushing the laquer off and discovering it's pink and indigo underneath. In other words, it's made of Aurorum from book of exalted deeds. an item made of aurorum can be made whole after it has been broken simply by bringing the pieces together as a full round action, simple as that! This is future-proofing the weapon against breaking form that DC8 fortitude save of tremendous charge, because those fumbles will eventually happen
1500gp goes into getting the blessing of the summer princess. in other words, applying the template feycrafted from Dungeon master's guide II. this reduces the weight by 10%, the hit die by one size category, and the "weidability" also by one size category, making it a light weapon when wielded while mounted

Storywise, this flows so well to be just after tremendous charge! imagine "the horror" on our face when you broke the precious masterwork feycrafted lance, family heirloom and all!
So, you abscond to the temple of plotonia and pray really really hard, for 40 days or so and bam! the pieces of the lance do flashy anime things, and it's whole again!

at 7th level, budget of 9500gp
previous value 5810gp, masterwork feycrafted aurorum lance
we simple pray until it awakens to have +1 enhancement bonus for 2000gp

at 9th level, budget of 18000gp
previous value 7810gp
we simply pray until it awakens to have the Valorous weapon enhancement, from unapproachable east. it's a +1 that increases the damage multiplier on a charge by 1, it is now doing triple damage

at 10th level, budget of 24500gp
previous value 13810
we can put forth another +1, and again from unapproachable east, we add the Berserker property : while we are in a rage, the enhancement of the weapon is 2 higher!

at 14th level, budget of 75000gp
previous value 23810
we waited to be able to add a +2 property, and here we are! Furious from Oriental adventures. "when raging, increase the rage bonus to +6STR/+6CON/+3will, or to +8STR/+8CON/+4will if they are already equivalent to +6/+6/+3"
This is important wording, because unlike reckless rage from complete warrior, the wording isn't "your STR increases by 2 when you rage", the wording is "the bonus granted by rage is increased to", and so this stacks twice, druid rage becomes +6/+6/+3 and battle fury becomes +8/+8/+4!

at 16th level, budget of 130000gp
Previous value 55810
Another +2, this time the simple Collision from magic item compendium. It's a flat +5 to damage, and therefore multiplied by all the things!

at 17th level, budget of 170000gp
Previous value 103810
Another +2, this time Fierce, from arms and equipment. What this does is allowing us to assign some of our DEX bonus to damage, reducing our AC

at 18th level, budget of 220000
Previous value 167810
We finish our imbuing by adding the +1 property Impaling, from magic item compendium. 3/day we can swift action activate it to do our next attack as a touch attack, juicy!

and so here we are, with 205810gp inbued in Tooth, a feycrated aurorum +1 valorous, berserker, furious, collision, fierce, penetrating tiny lance!
This started out as (some manner of entry) X / berserk 8 / Champion of GwynharwyfBook of Exalted deeds Y , because I was looking at Righteous wrathBook of Exalted deeds and thinking "this is perfect for a mounted fury build with berserk, because it removes the problem of attacking allies".

But, more than 2 levels of Champion of Gwynharwyf was kind of notsynergic with berserk, because of the nonstacking DR, so I workshopped around abjurant championComplete mage+ragemageComplete Warrior into silverwood arcanist (https://web.archive.org/web/20161101074044/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031209a), but it had the problem of taking "a lot" of levels to set up having share spells with the cohort, and that was taking away form berserk.

So, I went back to simple, to "I'm buffing my mount, let's maximize that" , with the end result that you see.

Tremendous charge was a spur of the moment decision. It's usually sucky because it "encourages" dumbping STR, but then you have problem actually hitting things, but I like how I turned that around (and the imagery is cool! which is most important!)

For a good long while, solid stub and even most of the writeup done, I was with "Adventurer (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogue)" instead of psychic warrior, class order (same first 6 levels) berserk 4/druid1/fighter 1/windrider7/fighter 2 and what I was headscratching about was, other than feat order, the exact split between berserk and windrider. I started out with berserk 8 / windrider 3 for most of the build, but ... the opportunity cost of that one extra use of battle fury and 2 more DR was just too high, and so made a berserk 4 / windrider 7. and much waffling about later I went for broke and berserk 1/windrider 10 here since it's battle fury we care about here and beast shape is a nice ability but not the build focus. This was different when all the berserk level were frontloaded, because going form windirder 4 to windrider 7 is very significant but from windrider 7 to windrider 10 is "only" 2 more mount HD,but having moved the druid and fighter levels to earlier in the build, the berserk vs windrider comparison is so much more direct, I'll accept the poor uotSI, but I'm happy like this because I squeezed out all that I could from battle fury.

latest revision was changing "feat rogue" for psychic warrior, because I had overlooked that with our tiny size and 0ft reach we can't actually attack enemies while mounted!!, so i had to get a source of extra reach *somehow* and in the end psychic warrior was the one that fitted the most
Nail is our trusty bond, an eagle (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/eagle.htm)!
As a reminder, from our 6th level and every 3 levels thereafter, wild cohort gains 2HD, 2 natural armor and 1STR/DEX, at our 3rd level it's only 1HD and 1 NA, plus evasion
at our 11th level and every 3 levels thereafter, windrider gives 2HD, NA and some STR, at windrider level 2 5 and 9, they gain a bonus feat from a limited list

Here is an handy table
Our levelNail HDFeatSkill ranksNatural armor bonusSTRDEXCONINT11Alertness, Weapon Finesse4: {+4} Spot: 4; -101512232Evasion1: {+1 CC} Balance: 0.5; Spot: 4; 1101512264ASI +1 INT, Martial Study(Wind stride)2: Balance: 0.5; Spot: 4; {+2} Tumble: 2; 3111612396Air heritage2: Balance: 0.5; Spot: 4; {+2} Tumble: 4; 51217123118ASI +1 DEX2: {+1 CC} Balance: 1; Spot: 4; {+1} Tumble: 5; 914181231210Flyby attack, Wingoverbonus2: {+2 CC} Balance: 2; Spot: 4; Tumble: 5; 1115191231412ASI +1 STR, Adroit flyby attack2: {+2 CC} Balance: 3; Spot: 4; Tumble: 5; 1316191231514Devotion, Improved flightbonus2: {+2 CC} Balance: 4; Spot: 4; Tumble: 5; 1517201231716ASI +1 STR, Open minded7: {+2 CC} Balance: 5; {+3} Spot: 7; Tumble: 5; {+2} Twisted charge; 1720201231818Improved evasion, Power attack2: Balance: 5; {+2} Spot: 9; Tumble: 5; 1921211231918Power lungebonus0: Balance: 5; Spot: 9; Tumble: 5; 1921211232020ASI +1 STR2: Balance: 5; {+2} Spot: 11; Tumble: 5; 212221123Ferocity----2625123Battle fury----3425203Rage----4025263

Alertness: +2 to spot and listen check
Martial study: From tome of battle, makes tumble be a class skill, and gives a manouver usable 1/encounter Desert wind: swift action +10ft enhancement bonus to land speed
Air heritage: Planar handbook, +30ft to flight speed
Flyby attack: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#flybyAttack) prereq fly speed, can take a standard action in the middle of the move action, then finish moving
Wingover: (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#wingover) prereq fly speed, can free action do a turn of up to 180°, but only if you don't gain altitude in this round
Adroit flyby attack: Draconomicon, prereq flyby attack, wingover, fly speed 90. when making an attack while flying, can move both before and after the attack, movement doesn't provoke.
Improved flight: Complete adventurer, prereq ability to fly. Manouverability increases by one step
Open minded: Complete adventurer, 5 skill points to spend on stuff
Twisted charge: Complete scoundrel, skill trick. prereq balance 5, tumble 5. can make one turn up to 90° during a charge

At around 15th level, we buy her a pectoral of maneouverability, from draconomicon, bringing her maneouverability up one step (to perfect!) for the low price of 12000gp

1-5 Aspirant squire
I am so hyped! today is the day of bonding! I hope mr whiskyfissdire rat picks me! (one scene later) A noble eagle bonded with me! This was unexpected, and mean Davespriggan made fun of me, saying that my frail self won't ever become a summer knight, like most everybody who finds a flying bond does. I don't care, FLYING IS SO COOL!" (some scenes later) Nail is so cool, with her borrowed sight I can see so many details I used to miss, I even spotted where mother hid the cookies yesterday! I've decided to apply to be a summer knight after all, and they didn't belittle me at all! They even told me I wasn't the first tinyfolk in their roster, and that there is special training specific to my situation, to better borrow the strength of Nail, so cool!

-- This is set-up time and mechanically we suffer for it, as we will do "terrible" damage, but at least we got the utility of always on flight right out the bat, and quite the good spot and search checks? Like, +15 or so?
Getting a feycrafted weapon this early to make use tremendous charge is kinda expensive, especially if you have the unluck of fumbling the fortitude save, so you might be better of using a normal rapier, at least you don't have a STR malus when you ferocity that 1/day! Plus Nail benefits from it too! Which is sadly a no-can-do until we can reliably use the reach power, so just hang about doing ride check for mounted combat, and let the actual bruisers do the bruising of these low levels

6-10 training montage galore
You won't believe it!!! turns out others of my lineage were summer knight in the past! After graduation, father quietly took me to a side and told me his grandpappy used to be a summer knight! He showed me his old stuff, and gifted me a family heirloom, Tooth! I can feel this is a very special lance, and father said it's specially crafted by some famous (and unusual) nixie feysmith. It will allow me to make use of my nimbleness, just like I'm used to with rapiers! (some scens later) AHHHHH, I got the scare of a lifetime, I was doing charing practice with Tooth and Nail, finally being able to make use of the training I got, and I broke Tooth! I was scrambling in a panic, picking the pieces together, when a miracle happen! They shimmered and the steal of a breath later Tooth was whole again! I think I lost 300 years of life right there (some scenes later) I decided to take the advanced training, for knights of particularly intense emotions

-- numbers going up, now we CAN use a lance, and so we will! just remember to use the reach power before you battle fury! We even got a bit of spellcasting utility with 3 1st level druid slots ( let's keep it simple : 1x entangle, 1x obscuring mist, 1x magic fang). Tooth can't do back-to-back dive charges yet, so I suggest this simple tactic, assumign there is the vertical space : turn 1, swift action reach power (duration 4 rounds), free action druid rage, standard action battle fury. Tooth moves up to position for a dive attack. Next round, immediate action ferocity, then Tooth dive (charge) attack : her attack is around +12 for (1d4+7)*2 (16/22), Our attack is around +19 for (1d3+10)*5, so 55/65 damage, and we can do it a second time before reach expires.

11-20 life of a summer knight
(imagine words about knightly behavior here)
(tacticwise, this is mostly numbers going up time)

-- have some bullet points between level 12-16 we are limited to alternating dive charges with normal flyby/rideby attacks, due to movement limitations, so in the four round duration of reach we do two normal attacks (at our native 20-24 after-rage STR) and two dive attack at Nail STR and with the x5 multiplier
Windrider spellcasting has a very limited list, but it's not terrible as access. worth mentioning it's prepared, so we can prepare sanctified spells from book of exalted deeeds, too. Greater luminous armor is prominent there
17th level is a watershed moment : with the combination of adroit flyby attack, improved flight, pectoral of maneouvrability and twisted charge we can now do the dive charge combo every round, instead of every other round
With robilar's gambit, if the opponents dares trying to strike us with the attack of opportunity due to moving out of a square they threaten ( us, not our mount!), we get to do all that damage again!

Sample spells prepared list:
15th level
Druid 1x entangle, 1x obscuring mist, 2x lesser vigorSpell compendium
Windrider 2x calm animals, 2x speak with animals
1x mage armor, 1x magic fang,1x luminous armor
2x heal mount
17th level
same druid
Windrider 4x speak with animals, 1x calm animals
2x mage armor, 2x magic fang
3x heal mount
1x greater luminous armor, 1x freedom of movement
20th level, no tome of understanding
same druid
Windrider 4x speak with animals, 1x calm animals
3x mage armor, 2x nature's favorspell compendium
4x heal mount, 1x hammer of righteousness
1x greater magic fang, 1x greater luminous armor, 1x freedom of movement
with tome of understanding
Druid 1x entangle, 1x obscuring mist, 3x lesser vigor
Windrider 5x speak with animals, 1x calm animals
3x mage armor, 2x nature's favor
4x heal mount, 1x hammer of righteousness
1x greater magic fang, 1x greater luminous armor, 2x freedom of movement

Ferocity qualifying for mounted fury: some might say ferocity doesn't count as rage, this is solvable by shuffling some feats around, but It's a bit tight to do, I suggest Simply swapping the barbarian and the druid level, plus putting one fighter level before berserk, due to the BAB prerequisites

Mount and CR: there is an "optional", in the sense that it's written with uncertain terms such as "usually", that says a mount can't be of a CR greater than your ECL-3, or -4 if it's a flying mount. this amusingly means that no creature at all can ever be ridden before a character is 4th level, we are ignoring this "rule" as it's probably so obscure most people don't even know it exists, but I'm mentioning it here regardless, because if it's enforced we can't ride Tooth before 5th level

Wild cohort learning martial study: hey, we're giving him one ASI to INT for a reason! she's 100% a sophont now, she can damn well learn to rock!

Commanding the wild cohort: using mounts is complicated, nominally it's a move action telling the cohort to use one of the tricks he learned, but commanding a war trained mount in combat is a free action ride check. Boy am I glad Tooth took a +1 INT with his first ASI, now coordinating our action is the free action "talk" :) and I can wash my hands of that confusing mess!

Extra rage: some might say it only applies to one of our three different kind of rages, I don't see why it would and I'm assumign it gives 2 uses of all three rage-like effects

Instantaneous rage: there is a bit of peculiarity here, since it makes rage-like effects be a free action that oyu can take even when it's not your turn. If this was revisioned, it would probably be called an immediate, but it isn't, and so this happily free us up to use the swift action reach power together with the immediate action ferocity, now free action, and battle fury as a free action, too, of course :)

Feycrafted: by RAW it can only be applied to one handed or light weapons, and so a lance, which is two-handed, can't be feycrafted. The way I justify it is : a tiny lance is a one handed weapon for small creatures, and light for medium creatures, therefore it was crafted by some (fey) that were of a size bigger than Jermlaines!

Aurorum: by RAW, it can be full-round repaired only from being sundered, and not a generic splintered/broken, so this may not work for recovering from fumbled tremendous charge fortitude saves

Adroit flyby attack: we use the interpretation that a charge is a (special) attack for the purpose of using it, purpose here is that adroit flyby works with dive(charge) attack, while normal flyby specifically doesn't since that one is "take standard action while moving". The problem of interpretation here is how literal is the "when flying and making an attack action", I choose to believe it is not intended to be the literal "standard action making an attack", as that is already covered by flyby attack, and adroit flyby attack woulnd't offer any new benefit over the prerequisite feat. If it was just "not provoking", it could have beenw orded much simplier : "You do not provoke attack of opportunity from enemies you attack during your flyby attack".
The specific of the combo is : perfect maneouverability so that upward movement doens't cost double ( so it doesn't prevent charging), adroit flyby attack so we can continue moving after the attack too, and twisted charge skill trick to "turn" 90° just after the attack in such a way that we regain altitude. before twisted charge wingover kind of allows this too, but only "flattening our angle" such that we don't plummet to the ground, and end up flying parallel instead.

Battle fury, sharing it, and the "attacking allies" problem: It is a meaningful thing, since we are sharing it with our mount, and will save DC 15+elapsed duration isn't trivial. By the time we first obtain it the minimum will save modifier we'll have will be 10 (1 base +6 WIS +3 morale from battle fury), but tooth is much more likely to fail it, luckily there is a fairly "easy" solution : just dismount, that will immediately end the rage for the mount, and now that we aren't mounted anymore we will be holding the lance 2handed, so no weapon finesse = we will be TERRIBLE at actually hitting our friends

Berserker weapon property: it was reprinted in magic item compendium to be +1d8 damage while raging and using a 2handed weapon, I find the effect different enough to consider them separate abilities. If this is vetoed, skip it since we need to use tooth 1handed for weapon finesse, just get on adding the +2 properties approximately one level earlier, and take another +1 enhancement or some other +1 property later

Fierce weapon property: it is unclear if you also remove the DEX bonus from your attack bonus, it only mentions the AC bonus

Open minded: I don't actually know if it's legal to spend those extra skill points on getting a skill trick, but I do not see a reason why it wouldn't be

Furious weapon property: I feel the wording is solid in allowing it to double dip on (druid)rage and battle fury, but if it doesn't you might as well just get a normal +2 enhancement instead

Power lunge on the wild cohort: master of the wild put this feat in a sidebar, and might be vetoed, in that case there's no reason to take power attack either, a possibility here is delaying improved flight to the last bonus feat, and take combat reflexes+robilar's gambit instead, but perfect maneouverability is needed to do the twisted charge combo, and delaying it to 19th character level is quite late

Power attack: we qualify only while raging, but we won't be using it anyway since our weapon is light for weapon finesse reasons

power lunge: while it has power attack as prerequisite, we don't actually need to power attack to use it, so we can happily use it! More of a question is : do we use our own, or the mount STR bonus due to tremendous charge? the interaction seems fairly clear to me: we use the moutn STR bonus, and double that one

power lunge and damage multipliers: since it doubles only the STR bonus, it seems clear to me that it is then multiplied by dive/lance/spirited/valorous

Why you no at least berserk 3: while I would like the tight theme of "all the eagles", I don't want to write the romance of it

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:07 PM

Lookit me ma, I'm king of the ocean!

https://uncyclopedia.com/w/images/4/45/Whalewings.PNG

Str 14, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14
Grey Elf Racial Adjustments: Str 12, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14
Level 4: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14
Level 8: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14
Level 12: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 14
Level 16: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 15
Level 20: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 16

Level

Class

Base Attack Bonus

Fort Save

Reflex Save

Will Save

Skills

Feats

Class Features

1st

Druidic Avenger 1

0

2

0

2

Intimidate 4, Concentration 4, Heal 4, Handle Animal 4, Spot 4, Survival 4

Alertness

Fast Movement; Rage; Nature Sense; Wild Empathy (-4 on all checks)

2nd

Druidic Avenger 2

1

3

0

3

Intimidate 5, Concentration 5, Heal 5, Handle Animal 5, Spot 5, Survival 5

Woodland Stride

3rd

Druidic Avenger 3

2

3

1

3

Intimidate 6, Concentration 6, Heal 6, Handle Animal 6, Spot 6, Survival 6

Endurance

Trackless Step

4th

Druidic Avenger 4

3

4

1

4

Intimidate 7, Concentration 7, Heal 7, Handle Animal 7, Spot 7, Survival 7

Resist Nature's Lure

5th

Druidic Avenger 5

3

4

1

4

Intimidate 8, Concentration 8, Heal 8, Handle Animal 8, Spot 8, Survival 8

Wild Shape 1/day

6th

Druidic Avenger 6

4

5

2

5

Intimidate 9, Concentration 9, Heal 9, Handle Animal 9, Spot 9, Survival 9

Extra Wild Shape

Wild Shape 2/day; Rage 2/day

7th

Druidic Avenger 7

5

5

2

5

Intimidate 10, Concentration 10, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 10

Wild Shape 3/day

8th

Master of Many Forms 1

5

7

4

5

Diplomacy 4, Intimidate 10, Concentration 111, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 11

Shifter's Speech, Improved Wild Shape (Humanoid)

9th

Master of Many Forms 2

6

8

5

5

Diplomacy 8, Intimidate 10, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 12

Eagle's Wings

Improved Wild Shape (Giant; Large)

10th

Master of Many Forms 3

7

8

5

6

Diplomacy 13, Intimidate 10, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 13

Fast Wild Shape, Improved Wild Shape (Monstrous Humanoid)

11th

Berserk 1

7

10

5

6

Diplomacy 13, Intimidate 14, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 13

Battle Fury 1/day, +10 ft. movement

12th

Berserk 2

8

11

5

6

Diplomacy 14 (2 cross-class), Intimidate 15, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 14

Cheetah's Speed

Damage Reduction 1/-

13th

Berserk 3

9

11

6

7

Diplomacy 15 (4 cross-class), Intimidate 16, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 15

Beast Shape 1/day (Totem: Whale (Cachalot)

14th

Berserk 4

9

12

6

7

Diplomacy 16 (6 cross-class), Intimidate 17, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 16

Battle Fury 2/day, Damage Reduction 2/-

15th

Berserk 5

10

12

6

7

Diplomacy 17 (8 cross-class), Intimidate 18, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 17

Flyby Attack

16th

Berserk 6

11

13

7

8

Diplomacy 18 (10 cross-class), Intimidate 19, Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 18

Beast Shape 2/day, Damage Reduction 3/-

17th

Warshaper 1

11

15

7

8

Diplomacy 19 (12 cross-class), Intimidate 20 (2 cross-class), Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 18

Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons

18th

Warshaper 2

12

16

8

9

Diplomacy 20 (14 cross-class), Intimidate 21 (4 cross-class), Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 18

Multiattack

Morphic Body

19th

Warshaper 3

13

16

8

9

Diplomacy 21 (16 cross-class), Intimidate 22 (6 cross-class), Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 18

Morphic Reach

20th

Warshaper 4

14

17

8

9

Diplomacy 22(18 cross-class), Intimidate 23 (8 cross-class), Concentration 12, Heal 10, Handle Animal 10, Spot 10, Survival 18

Morphic Healing

Arniat’s languages are Common, Elven, Sylvan, Draconic, and Druidic
Alignment NG

Spells per Day

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

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

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

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

4th
5
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

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

6th
5
4
4
3
-
-
-
-
-
-

7th
6
5
4
3
1
-
-
-
-
-

By this point in Arniat’s career, he is a typical druid, defending his coastal home with all the vigor of any other. He favors aquatic, coastal, and forest shapes, as those are the two environments he is most familiar with, and among his favorite uses of Wild Shape is into the form of an Eagle, so he can patrol the frontier surrounding his village with maximum efficiency. Arniat prepares for a greater calling, one that only a few druids in his region pursue, because it forgoes spellcasting for greater potency with Wild Shape. In combat, Arniat tends to land, cast spells to buff himself and others, and engages in melee combat in a powerful Wild Shape form, such as a wolf, black bear, or leopard.

Arniat has learned greater forms recently, and now focuses more on aquatic forms than aerial. Sadly, it’s not enough, and the town of Roma was destroyed by pirates approaching by sea. If he’s going to rely on the strength of bestial forms to defend his coastal town, Arniat realizes he needs more power and brute force. Also he’s really, REALLY angry. In combat, he relies on large wild shape forms, usually using Eagle’s Wings to enhance aquatic mammalian forms so he can maintain one shape throughout most of the day but modify it as needed in combat.

It’s been a while, but Arniat learned a style of battle from some wandering barbarians, and progressed down the path of the Berserk, the raging warrior that embraces a totem animal. In his whale form, he can be far greater in size than if he relied on his druidic teachings, while still being able to use a measure of power learned through that training. While in combat he favors aquatic terrain, if he needs to, he applies Eagle’s Wings to grant a fly speed to his gargantuan form. For situations where the constant forward motion of flight is taxing, he relies on Cheetah’s Speed to move quickly on land while still being a terrifying force on the battlefield. He only rarely relies on spells in combat.

At this stage of growth, Arniat searched out masters of form-changing, and progressed as a Warshaper. Now his whale form is even more formidable in a fight, and he is significantly harder to kill. He stays in whale form nearly constantly now, and moves about the water with horns and tentacles in addition to his clawed fins and enhanced teeth. There’s probably rumors or myths about Arniat in ports near and far to the sea he defends, but as he rarely leaves his totem form, he doesn’t hear it. With his extended lifespan and powerful form, Arniat can expect to continue to keep the peace for half a millennia, anything to keep from happening to other towns what happened to his own. With Shifter's Speech from Master of Many Forms, Arniat can speak in his known languages while in his whale form, so he can still use Diplomacy and Intimidate to its full effect, though Intimidate probably works better due to size bonuses. The recently obtained Multiattack also helps him hit the higher ACs, hitting regularly with a +24 (+26 during Rage).

This build accommodates the Whale form without sacrificing usefulness. Ordinarily, gargantuan forms would be locked off to the Druid. They're locked behind level 10 of Master of Many Forms. But with Berserk, you can get a Gargantuan Animal relatively early. To clarify a thing that I might be dinged for, the Warshaper table is unusual in that it gives +1 to Reflex and Will at level 2.

Otherwise, I just wanted to say that it's really funny to me that the Cheetah's Speed feat just changes base land speed to 50 feet instead of adding a set amount of speed to base land speed. Since it can be used in multiple forms, the feat can be used to give the Whale form a 50 foot land speed. Cheetah's Speed and Eagle's Wings really worked to inspire the build, without those two feats, I would have nothing. It's really funny to imagine a whale rampaging in an unusual terrain for it. Also, shoutouts to Fantasia 2000.

Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Complete Adventurer, Complete Divine, Complete Warrior, Deities & Demigods, Unearthed Arcana

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:08 PM

Finally, a chef with taste.

Barry the BEARserk

https://c.tenor.com/tro2Pu-31PEAAAAC/john-krasinski-what-kind-of-bear-is-best.gif

The berserk makes for a very interesting SI, because it asks us the exact opposite question to the one we usually deal with here. Usually the question here is "hmm, how can I make this useful? Isn't this just a 3 level prestige class pretending to be a full 10 level one? How can I justify taking all 10 levels?"

But with Berserk… Obviously, the questions become "Is there any way for this not to be useful? Isn't this just a full-20 build pretending to be a 10 level prc? How can I justify taking literally anything but this? Why would I want anything other than more uses/day of becoming a bear?"

And, well, we don't, do we now? No, we don't, and anyone who says otherwise is being foolish. The only way to actually improve on the bear totem feature is adding more bears. The only way to improve on the berserk class is adding more berserk levels, even when those aren't there.

This is Barry the BEARserk. I'll be waiting for my gold medal in my quarters.

Barry was always fascinated with bears. He was part bear, after all – a descendant of bear-people, proud and good and strong. He spent his entire time thinking about bears, feeling about bears, intuiting about bears, worshipping the very concept of the bear – anything, but learning about actual bears. He was a wolf-guy, basically, but with bears.

And like any wolf-except-bears-not-wolves-guy, he was completely assured that he can live with bears and become one of the pack with no effort at all, simply by the virtue of his bear spirit and kinship. No, he did not know they were solitary animals.

So it makes sense that his first emotion the first time he saw a polar bear on his way to adventure in the Frostfell was utter joy, and his first thought "This is where I belong."

It also makes first that his second emotion was pain as the bear mauled his face, and his second thought (right before drifting into a comma) was "WOW I need to actually know what I'm doing if I'm going to approach wild animals."

What did not make sense was the fact that even after being mauled and waking up cursed with lycanthropy, Barry's love for bears did not cease. Instead, it matured. He understood that a relationship with bearkind was not something he innately deserved and had a right to, but something that required actual work. It required thought, dedication, open mindedness, and a deeply held respect for bear rights, and their emotional and bodily autonomy.

Sure, that understanding came with some anger. Anger at himself for being so foolish, anger at the world for their legal treatment of bears as non-persons. But he knew that while the current form his anger was taking was toxic, he would eventually figure out how to channel it in a healthier way.

Barry learned to empathize with bears. He learned to move like a bear, think like a bear. He was becoming an actual bear-guy, not the misunderstood guy with a bear poster on his wall. Eventually, he even learned how to become a bear himself (metaphors kind of dying at this point, unfortunately.)

While trying to connect with his bearhood, Barry found a relic from Sarlona. A flint axe, with pictures of animals on it – most pronounced of which were the bears. Barry learned all he could about that axe, and awakend its spirit. It was alive! But it was not a bear. Not yet.

Barry kept pursuing his kinship with Bears and his research of his axe. Along the way, he finally got secure enough in himself to cure himself of his curse, and eventually awakened the bear spirit of his axe, which he treated as a respected guide and neighbor. He also learned to channel his anger more purposefully, to become a bear.

That's the story of Barry. A guy descended from bears, who liked bears, became a bear, became a bear again, and then became a bear again, all with the help of his kind bear friend.

And yes, I managed to go through all of that without a single bear pun. This is a very serious build, after all.

Barry the BEARserk, male TN longtooth shifter Barbarian 1/ Werepolarbear/ Berserk 8/ Legacy Champion 10/ Bear Warrior 1.

Str 16, Dex 8 (10), Con 18, Int 8 (6), Wis 14, Cha 8 (6). Level advancements as shown in build table.

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Barbarian 1 (Bear Spirit Totem) 1 2 0 0 Survival 4, Hide 2 Power Attack Rage, Illiteracy, Improved Grab
2nd Lycanthropy LA 1 1 2 0 0 - - Scent, Alternate form, +2 Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/silver.
3rd Lycanthropy LA 2 1 2 0 0 - - -
4th Polar Bear 1 1 4 2 0 Knowledge (History) 0.5 - -
5th Polar Bear 2 2 5 3 0 Knowledge (History) 1 Longtooth Elite -
6th Polar Bear 3 3 5 3 1 Knowledge (History) 1.5 - Int +1
7th Polar Bear 4 4 6 4 1 Knowledge (History) 2 - -
8th Polar Bear 5 4 6 4 1 Knowledge (History) 2.5 Shifter Instincts -
9th Polar Bear 6 5 7 5 2 Knowledge (History) 3 - -
10th Polar Bear 7 6 7 5 2 Knowledge (History) 3.5 - Int +1
11th Polar Bear 8 7 8 6 2 Knowledge (History) 4 Great Bite -
12th Berserk (bear totem) 1 7 10 6 2 Knowledge (History) 4.5 - Battle Fury 1/day, Fast Movement, WIld empathy
13th Berserk 2 8 11 6 2 Knowledge (History) 5 - Damage Reduction 1/-
14th Berserk 3 9 11 7 3 Knowledge (History) 5.5 Instantenous Rage Beast Shape (bear) 1/day, Con +1
15th Berserk 4 10 12 7 3 Knowledge (History) 6 Least Legacy: Ur (Deer Spirit) Battle Fury 2/day, Damage Reduction 2/-
16th Bear Warrior 1 11 14 7 3 Knowledge (History) 7, Survival 5 - Bear Form
17th Legacy Champion 1 (Ur) 11 14 7 5 Knowledge (History) 10 Extra Rage Reduced ritual cost (lesser), bond of lore (Ur)
18th Legacy Champion 2 12 14 7 6 Knowledge (History) 13 - Replace legacy ability (Keen sight to enlarge person), Con +1
19th Legacy Champion 3 13 15 8 6 Knowledge (History) 16 - Extra legacy ability use (enlarge person), Beast shape 2/day, Damage reduction 3/-
20th Legacy Champion 4 14 15 8 7 Knowledge (History) 17, Use Magic Device 2 Shifter Savagery, Lesser Legacy: Ur (Wolf Spirit) [Bonus], Channel Legacy [Bonus] -
[B]-10 (10th) Lycanthropy Cured! -6 -6 -6 -2 -4 K. History (13) Lose Longtooth Elite, Shifter Instincts, Great Bite Lycanthrope template features lost, Int -2
11th Berserk 5 8 9 2 5 Knowledge (History) 13.5 - Battle Fury 3/day, Damage Reduction 4/-
12th Berserk 6 9 10 3 6 Knowledge (History) 14 Shifter Multiattack Beast Shape 3/day, Con +1
13th Legacy Champion 5 9 10 3 6 Knowledge (History) 16 - Replace Legacy Ability (Stealthy Approach to mouthpick weapon)
14th Legacy Champion 6 10 11 4 7 Knowledge (History) 17, Use Magic Device 3 - Extra legacy ability use (Swift Stride)
15th Legacy Champion 7 11 11 4 7 Knowledge (History) 18, Use Magic Device 4 Ragewild Fighting Reduced ritual cost (Greater)
16th Legacy Champion 8 12 11 4 8 Knowledge (History) 19, Use Magic Device 5 Master Legacy [Bonus] Battle Fury 4/Day, Beast Shape 4/day, Con +1
17th Berserk 7 13 11 4 8 Knowledge (History) 19.5 Greater Legacy: Ur (Bear Spirit) [Bonus] -
18th Berserk 8 14 12 4 8 Knowledge (History) 20 Shifter Ferocity -
19th Legacy Champion 9 14 13 5 8 Knowledge (History) 22 - Extra Legacy Ability use (Savage Transformation), Beast Shape 5/day
20th Legacy Champion 10 15 13 5 9 Knowledge (History) 23, Use Magic Device 6 - Replace Legacy ability (Natural Lore to Greater Invisibility), Battle Fury 5/day, Con +1

Shifter bear-spirit barb with power attack is a nice starting point. I don't get to talk about early levels much more than that, because Barry immediately gets bitten and lycanthroped. Longtooth elite and great bite both don't care whether or not you're shifting, so you just get a lot of extra oomph for your hybrid-form bite attack. That really helps Barry get his bea- no, not saying it. It helps him suck less, and it works for all his forms which grant a bite.

As a barbarian, Barry is proficient with martial weapons, light armor, medium armor and shields. Just what the doctor ordered. As a polar bear, he has the BaB to go into Berserk. So he does, because it's obviously a great career path. Instantenous rage takes care of the standard action activation time of battle fury. During his fourth level of berserk, Barry learns enough about his axe, Ur, to figure out the Swift hooves of the dear ritual.

You know, the next obvious point would be legacy champion, but barry has a problem. He can turn into a polar bear through his lycanthropy, and he can turn into a brown bear through his berserk levels, but that leaves him with only 2/3 kinds of bear. That's unacceptable. So he takes a bear warrior level, so he can turn into a black bear with his rage or his battle fury. Much better now. He still needs more uses per day of everything, of course. Becoming a bear is as important as being a bear, you know.

So, legacy champion, advancing the class feature of berserk while delving into the secrets of the bear-axe. Extra rage gives him two more uses of rage and of battle fury, which are nice to have to fuel more bear transformations, along with his partial bear transformations from shifting and from his hybrid form.

He gets enlarge person as an SLA twice per day, which can make him huge when he's in a big form. That's nice. He also gets more uses per day of his beast shape and battle fury, which are of course essential and extremely valid class features. Level 4 of legacy champion brings Shifter savagery to the table: he can be in his hybrid form or bear form, use his normal rage and shift to activate it. Add enlarge person to the mix and you're doing colossal size damage like that. That’s pretty neat. You can shift 3 times per day at this point, having taken 3 shifter feats. Good stuff.

But is it good enough for ECL 20? No. We're only at effective-berserk-level 7. Those are rooky numbers. Time to cure lycanthropy – bringing us down to level 10, exactly high enough to self-qualify for all of our classes, feats, etc. We lose most of what we got from our bear HD, but we can still shift thrice per day. Why? Shifting cares about how many shifter feats you take, not how many you have. We took 4 of those, that doesn't change. This could be used for this sort (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?553767-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-E6-Appetizer-Edition-(Round-VII)&p=22959008&viewfull=1#post22959008) of shenaniganry, but we wouldn't do that. This is a serious build, after all. Very serious build.

Anyway, back to Berserk for berserk 5 and 6 (Effective Berserk Level 9) and then back to legacy champion exactly in time to replace stealthy approach with a +1 special weapon quality. We choose mouthpick from Lords of Madness, so we can still use Ur alongside our claws while in our bear forms.

We leave Legacy champion for a couple more berserk levels, bringing us to EBL 14, and finally EBL 16 when we're back to finish Legacy champion. During the first of these two levels, we awaken the bear spirit in Ur. It has an ego score over 20, so according to the intelligent item rules it thinks of itself as better than Barry. That's okay; Barry thinks so too, and faithfully returns to finish legacy champion. It's timed so that we can allocate extra legacy ability to savage transformation, thanks to master legacy allowing us to access it one level early.

The important point is this: Barry has 16 levels of berserk. He has a 16th level wild empathy to empathize with bears. He can permanently turn into a bear 5 times per day. He can use Battle Fury to turn into a different bear another 7 times per day. He also has rage uses, but he mostly uses those when he's already a brown bear, and conjoins them with bear-shifting (4 times per day, one to use with battle fury induced bearness) to truly add some bearsomeness to his bearity.

I'll be honest for a second: I'm very pleased with how mechanically cohesive this build ended up. Obviously, it started as a pure joke of "Berserk is useless, let's spend all our levels on it." I had to start as something, 17 is a dead berserk level, so I had one extra free level in the build. Bear warrior is easy to enter, and made sense – if I'm acting like I need more uses per day of becoming an animal, why not get more for free?

From that point, the joke turned into taking all the bear options. That's how I got to Ur and to shifter, and to polar bear in particular as my lycanthropy pick.

But… it works. It just does. Shifter feats are easy to love on a build with natural weapons, and they play well with the lost feat phenomenon caused by curing lycanthropy. One of them is also just better and easier to access die hard, and that plays very well with savage transformation – a truly excellent ability, gimped by the fact that you can drop to 0 and therefore lose consciousness. Shifter ferocity fixes that, just like Ur fixes battle fury's issues. Well, fixes is a strong word, but it very much addresses them: a +5 bonus on will saves from implacable will, and a strong intelligent TN item that will resist you and attempt to stop you if you try to kill your friends. That's plenty on the defensive side.

Colossal damage, unkillability, mouthpick as a class feature, improved grab for the black bear form that lacks it, the ability to invest in one strategy that will synergize both with fury and beast shape, even though they can't work together, the option to daze enemies utilizing the unusually high Str score offered by being a raging shifting brown bear – I just sort of stumbled into all of these when looking for stuff that had to do with bears. I ended up with a build that feels much more coherent and streamlined than it has any right to be, and I'm pleased.

Complete Champion: Bear Spirit Totem ACF.
Complete Warrior: Bear Warrior class, Instantaneous Rage and Extra Rage feats.
Eberron Campaign Setting: Great Bite feat.
Races of Eberron: Shifter race, shifter/racial feats (except Great Bite)
Weapons of Legacy: Legacy champion class, Legacy feats, Ur (legacy weapon).
SRD: everything else.

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:09 PM

You can tell a lot from someone by the company they keep.

I'm not sure whether the extreme backstory shenanigans I employ here are actually allowed (I couldn't find anything disallowing it, but... yeah). If not, consider this a joke build to be posted for the amusement of the readers. Anyway, on to the build!

Marigold Sunglade
NG Halfling Commoner 10/Berserk 10

Everyone agrees that Marigold Sunglade is a wonderful person. She has the sweetness of a cheesecake with extra helpings of cream cheese, whipped cream, and strawberries, dipped in caramel and fudge, and mixed in with a whole bunch of ice cream. Just standing near her makes you feel like life is now completely, 100% perfect, and all the things you thought were problems were actually just there to give contrast to how amazing, incredible, and utterly, magnificently perfect Marigold Sunglade is. As a baby, she was so irresistibly cute that Yondalla, Goddess of Halflings sensed her birth immediately, and, upon beholding the child, the 100% cutest child ever to be born, swore to herself that this baby, this pure, innocent baby, must be given nothing but the best.
So, as Marigold grew up, bringing happiness to everyone in her village, she was periodically invited to Yondalla’s domain, receiving permanent magical bonuses to ensure that whatever path she chose, she would have whatever she needed. Freed from the limitations of needing to pursue a trade, she tried many things, serving as a ray of sunshine to the many tradespeople fortunate enough to share their craft with her. But nothing could detract from her true passion: underwater basket weaving. Beneath the waves, focusing on her task, she felt a sense of peace unlike any other. Those privileged enough to watch her as she performed her craft experienced life-changing inspirations, forever swearing off violent conflict for the rest of their days.
One day, Yondalla asked her to choose a weapon, knowing that, sadly, there were people who would see Marigold’s perfect innocence as a weakness or a threat. Marigold struggled to conceive of how such people could exist, but, in the end, decided that such people needed a good, hard smack, and chose a warhammer. She also wanted a shield, since she would rather defend than attack. Yondalla, touched by her innocent goodness, granted both.
Finally, at age 17, Marigold was ready to see the world. With a (prodigious) spring in her (even more prodigious) step, she left her village behind. She was off to have an adventure!

First, Yondalla uses Alter Reality(Wish) to add +5 inherent bonuses to all of Marigold’s ability scores. From there, she provides Marigold with Wieldskill (using Alter Reality to make it permanent), for all skills, giving her +5(competence) bonuses to them and letting her treat them as being trained. She then uses Alter Reality for Wishes to summon items boosted by the Skill Enhancement infusion (using the service prices, an item worth 25,000 gp could be boosted by a CL 2490 Skill Enhancement) for Use Magic Device and Use Psionic Device, and makes those boosts permanent too.
All the listed buffs are obtained by Marigold using scrolls or power stones via UMD or UPD, followed by Yondalla making the effects permanent with Alter Reality. The scrolls and stones are obtained by Yondalla using Alter Reality to imitate the Wish spell. Technically, this use of Wish can generate arbitrarily expensive magic items (since Wish is only limited on that front by XP costs, and Alter Reality ignores XP costs) but for this exercise, I’m limiting things to item creation/improvements of no more than 25,000 gp/Wish (the limit on mundane item costs). Note that the Alter Reality Wishes for all scrolls specify that the scrolls be under the effect of Reserves of Strength.
With the 25,000 gp limit, that allows for scrolls with the following CLs: 9th: 111, 8th: 125, 7th: 142, 6th: 166, 5th: 200, 4th: 250, 3rd: 333, 2nd: 500, 1st: 1000. It also allows for items boosting UMD and UPD to +125(competence). With the same cost limit, the max manifester level on 1st-level power stones is 2000.
Maximizing a UPD check for the 1st level power stones requires a few steps. Marigold starts with a +1267 minimum check value (15(CHA), 4(Greater Heroism), 1247 (Skill Enhancement infusion item), 1 roll), so she can raise it from there using Divine Insight and Improvisation scrolls with CL 500 and 1000, respectively. Marigold can then apply the final Divine Insight and charges from the last Improvisation toward her next UPD check, and Yondalla can then make the effects of whatever 1st level power stone she just activated permanent. For scrolls, her buffs and item-provided bonuses will suffice.
For powers stones above 1st level, the ML is lower, so less scrolls are needed to get the needed skill bonuses before activating the actual buff scroll. For many of the buffs, the high CL does not actually add more power, it just makes the buff impossible to dispel without Epic Spellcasting.
The only other buff needing more elaboration is Footsteps of the Divine. With a CL of 333, it has a 333 round duration when adding Yondalla’s bonus, and half that when adding the bonuses of Fharlanghn, Pelor, and Garl. Yondalla can rest a round adding Extend via Alter Reality, leaving 665 or 332 rounds in the duration. Lastly, Marigold can discharge the spell, and Yondalla can immediately make it permanent, leaving her (after repeating the process four times) with a land speed of 3480 ft, a fly speed of 3400 ft, a climb speed of 6680 ft, and a burrow speed of 3340 ft.
One last thing to note is that many of the buffs (including Footsteps of the Divine) would impose physical alterations on Marigold, which would interfere with her innocent halfling appearance. Fortunately, a scroll of Polymorph any Object will conveniently return her to her normal form – and I’ve only selected buffs that don’t explicitly require the physical changes to work (so no Giant Squid polymorph with Girallon’s Blessing and Fuse Arms).

Initial values are base + inherent bonuses. Values in parentheses are post-buff values. The listed values are for level 3 (when Marigold gets shield proficiency). All later ability points are put into Charisma.
STR: 11 (693), DEX: 15 (695), CON: 23 (43), INT: 13 (19), WIS: 13 (113), CHA: 23 (41)
HP: 57, Fort: +30, Ref: +460, Will: +67, AC: 428, touch 331, flat-footed 427, Initiative: +357
Attack: Warhammer +606 melee (6d6+597 19-20/x3) and Holy Star (1d4+71)
Full Attack: 2 Warhammer +606 melee (6d6+597 19-20/x3) and Holy Star (1d4+71)
Land Speed 3480 ft, Fly(perfect) 3400 ft, Climb 6680 ft, Burrow 3340 ft
Spot 67, Listen 59
Damage reduction: 668/-, Spell Resistance 960, Regeneration 11 + 4(subdual only), True Seeing(120 ft), Blindsight(60 ft), Darkvision(2000 ft), Blindsense(1000 ft)
Feats (from buff spells): Blind-Fight, Power Attack, Spring Attack, Mobility
Immune to: Sleep, paralysis, fear, metal (magical & nonmagical) attacks, fire, cold, acid, electricity, sonic, poison, nonlethal damage, pain attacks, daze, fatigue, exhaustion, nauseated, sickened, staggered, stunned, death effects, energy drain, negative energy, mind-affecting, targeted divination, ability damage/drain
Active Divinations: Read magic, Detect Scrying
Skill/Ability Check Bonuses: +4 to CON checks, +4(enhancement) to STR, DEX & CON ability & skill checks, +4(morale) to all skill checks, +8(competence) to Swim special actions, +30 bluff, +5(competence) and training for all skills, +4(insight) to all Knowledge skills, +8 Spot(racial), +8 to hide/jump/listen/spot/survival, +10(competence) to balance/climb/jump/tumble
Other Active Effects: Non fire/acid damage is subdual, Underwater breathing, Foresight, Melee as touch, BAB=HD, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Uncanny Dodge, No need to eat/drink, no traces, speak with animals/plants/stones, note animal/plant condition, control temperature & winds, -50% Spot distance penalties, Scent, no move penalty on (balance/climb/move silently), 1 extra attack in full attack, swim normal speed, no difficult terrain penalties, move through natural earth & stone, double overland(not tactical) speed, movement doesn’t provoke AOOs, full attack on charge, CL 200 Dim door as move, regenerates limbs slowly, freedom of movement, pass through enemies(as if allies), breathe freely as long as air present, don’t die from HP damage, conscious to -9 HP, reverse powers targeting only you

Spells:
Accelerated Movement, Aura of Vitality, Blessing of the Righteous, Bite of the Werebear, Control Temperature, Control Winds, Death Ward, Delay Death, Detect Scrying, Divine Agility, Divine Power, Draconic Might, Dragonsight(2000ft darkvision, 1000ft blindsense), Earth Hammer, Energy Immunity(x5) Essence of the Raptor, Expeditious Retreat, Eyes of the Avoral, Favorable Sacrifice(SR 960), Favor of the Martyr, Footsteps of the Divine(x4), Foresight, Fox’s Cunning, Freedom of Breath, Glibness, Greater Blindsight, Greater Heroism, Greater Mage Armor, Greater Magic Weapon(+83 to weapon), Greater Mighty Wallop, Greater Vigor, Greater Wings of Air, Hand of Divinity, Haste, Heroes’ Feast, Holy Transformation, Inner Beauty, Interfaith Blessing, Ironguard, Irresistible Force, Lightfoot, Lion’s Charge, Luntzaen’s Frequent Jaunt, Magic Vestment(+83 to clothing), Mental Strength, Mind Blank, Monstrous Regeneration, Nature’s Favor(+166 to AB & damage), Holy Star, Naturewatch, Nerveskitter, Nixie’s Grace, Owl’s Insight(+100 WIS), Pass Without Trace, Polymorph Any Object Primal Hunter, Primal Instinct, Primal Senses, Primal Speed, Read Magic, Regenerate Critical Wounds, Remedy Moderate Wounds, Righteous Fury, Second Wind, Sheltered Vitality, Shield of Warding(+101 AC & reflex), Siren’s Grace, Skill Enhancement, Snowsong, Speak with Animals, Speak with Plants, Spider Climb, Spiritual Advisor, Stone Tell, Superior Resistance, Surefoot, Surefooted Stride, Sustain, Swim True Seeing, Unicorn Heart, Greater Visage of the Deity, Weapon of Impact, Wieldskill(xMany), Wind at Back, Wings of Swift Flying, Wraithstrike, Xorn Movement
Powers:
Adrenaline Boost(668 STR, DEX), Biofeedback(668 DR/-), Dangersense, Reddopsi

Level

Class

BAB

Fort

Ref

Will

Skills

Feats

Class Features

1

Commoner

0 (1)

0 (29)

0 (459)

0 (66)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 4(+4), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 4(+4), Craft(pools) 1 (+1)
Profession (Halfling Statue) 1(+1), Profession (Cheerleader) 1(+1), Profession (Snow Angel) 1 (+1)

Martial Weapon Proficiency (Warhammer)

Simple Weapon Proficiency (quarterstaff)

2

Commoner

1 (2)

0 (29)

0 (459)

0 (66)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 5(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 5(+1), Profession(Mime) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

3

Commoner

1 (3)

1 (30)

1 (460)

1 (67)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 6(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 6(+1), Profession(Abstract Artist) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

Shield Proficiency

4

Commoner

2 (4)

1 (30)

1 (460)

1 (67)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 7(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 7(+1), Profession(Pig Racer) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

5

Commoner

2 (5)

1 (30)

1 (460)

1 (67)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 8(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 8(+1), Profession(Owlbear Breeder) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

6

Commoner

3 (6)

2 (31)

2 (461)

2 (68)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 9(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 9(+1), Profession(Thumb Warrior) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

Armor Proficiency (light)

7

Commoner

3 (7)

2 (31)

2 (461)

2 (68)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 10(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 10(+1), Profession(Rope Frayer) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

8

Commoner

4 (8)

2 (31)

2 (461)

2 (68)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 11(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 11(+1), Profession(Eating Contestant) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

9

Commoner

4 (9)

3 (32)

3 (462)

3 (69)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 12(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 12(+1), Profession(Background Actor) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

Armor Proficiency (medium)

10

Commoner

5 (10)

3 (32)

3 (462)

3 (69)

Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving) 13(+1), Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver) 13(+1), Profession(Mordenkainen Cosplayer) 1(+1), Other skills unchanged

11

Berserk

5 (11)

5 (34)

3 (462)

3 (69)

Profession(Bartender) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Battle Fury 1/day, +10 ft movement

12

Berserk

6 (12)

6 (35)

3 (315)

3 (69)

Profession(Rock Smoother) 1(+1 CC), Profession(Topiary Remover) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Skill Focus (Craft (Underwater Basket Weaving))

Damage reduction 1/-

13

Berserk

7 (13)

6 (35)

4 (463)

4 (70)

Profession(Turd Polisher) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Beast Shape 1/day (whale)

14

Berserk

8 (14)

7 (36)

4 (463)

4 (70)

Profession(Sack Racer) 1(+1 CC), Profession(Wakeup Caller) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Battle Fury 2/day, Damage reduction 2/-

15

Berserk

8 (15)

7 (36)

4 (463)

4 (70)

Profession(Sackcloth Model) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Skill Focus (Profession (Underwater Basket Weaver))

16

Berserk

9 (16)

8 (37)

5 (464)

5 (71)

Profession(Goblin Lawyer) 1(+1 CC), Profession(Yodeler) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Beast Shape 2/day, Damage reduction 3/-

17

Berserk

10 (17)

8 (37)

5 (464)

5 (71)

Profession(Newt Trader) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

18

Berserk

11 (18)

9 (38)

5 (464)

5 (71)

Profession(Tree Planter) 1(+1 CC), Profession(Unboxer) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Toughness

Battle Fury 3/day, Damage reduction 4/-

19

Berserk

11 (19)

9 (38)

5 (464)

5 (71)

Profession(Cat Herder) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

Beast Shape 3/day

20

Berserk

12 (20)

10 (39)

6 (465)

6 (72)

Profession(Storyteller) 1(+1 CC), Profession(Rat Catcher) 1(+1 CC), Other skills unchanged

The world was so big, and Marigold could see so much of it! With +67 to spot and halved distance penalties, that really was quite literal! Marigold naturally began by racing to travel as far as she could. Covering an average of about 23 miles per minute (alternating about 50 rounds running and 10 rounds walking), she was able to do a couple laps of the continent in the first few days. Then it was a matter of meeting people. There was one time when she saw some guards being mean to people, so she told them to stop, and when they didn’t listen, she picked them up and took them to their superior officer, who also wouldn’t listen, so she picked up him and the other people he called in too, and took them to the local baron to report their misbehavior. And the baron listened! Marigold loved it when things worked out like that!
She had many such experiences over her early adventuring career, but the most important was an encounter with a depressed old warrior in a tavern. His armor was in disrepair, and the animal totems he carried had clearly seen better days. Naturally, Marigold immediately tried to cheer him up.
He regaled her with the story about how he’d joined a special order of warriors who drew upon the raw fury of wild beasts to fight like no man could. It had sounded inspiring, and the sensation of letting the animalistic power flow through him had been like nothing he’d experienced before. But in the end, he had felt himself falling behind other fighting men, who had instead focused on developing special abilities instead of raw power. And now, the order he’d joined was fading away, and he feared that soon, knowledge of the Berserks would disappear altogether.
A teary-eyed Marigold comforted him as best she could, and asked him more about how such warriors trained. Over the next few days, he shared everything he knew, and Marigold swore that she would master the art of the Berserk, and make sure that word of their order would never be forgotten!

Life continued to be wonderful for Marigold Sunglade. As she grew, Yondalla supported her, providing Skill Enhancement items with permanent +150 bonuses to useful skills (contribution to WBL is approximately 3000 gp/item, not counting Alter Reality). Gone were the days when people wouldn’t take her seriously until she bench-pressed a house (it was an unfortunate earlier discovery that most houses don’t react well to being bench-pressed). Now she could convince nations of bitter enemies to set aside their differences and just be happy together. In the event that underlying factors prevented peaceful coexistence, Marigold could always find an alternate solution. One time, she helped a tribe of raiding orcs relocate to an abundant uninhabited area thousands of miles southwest, flying them, their belongings, and their cave (she ripped it out of the mountain) over in one trip. They now live new lives as happy farmers, with the help of the experts Marigold convinced to assist. There are few problems that can’t be solved with +175 to Diplomacy checks, and for those, a +346 Strength modifier generally suffices.
But an important moment approached. With her understanding of how to wear light and medium armor, Marigold could now begin the training regimen she learned from that old warrior! Soon, she would begin her mission to secure the legacy of the Berserks!

Building the legend of the Berserks proved more challenging than anticipated. At first, Marigold just approached any strong warriors she could find and challenged them to duels, but that just built up her own reputation. She rectified that by turning into her whale-hybrid form before the duel began, but people couldn’t notice any improvement from her earlier performances. It didn’t help that she could only do one such fight every day.
There was one time where an undead scourge was besieging a kingdom, and she was able to singlehandedly destroy much of the invading army in her beast shape form. That helped some, though she did feel bad about not being able to talk down the lich. However, whenever people asked her how she gained such power, she struggled to find an answer that advanced her goal.
At least she continued to learn interesting things on her travels. Although her more martial focus limited advancement in her beloved underwater basket weaving, she still sought out unique jobs that caught her interest. Her sunny demeanor left her lucky teachers with many fond memories.

It was a long journey, but she finally figured it out! Securing the legacy of the Berserks wasn’t a matter of demonstrating their raw fighting prowess, it was about conveying what made them special in a way that people would never forget! It was about telling a story! And so, with one cross class rank in Profession(Storyteller) (and a +1247 permanent Skill Enhancement item from Yondalla), Marigold began to tell stories of the Berserks.
People flocked from over the continent to hear them. Reclusive mages abandoned their towers to join the packed audiences, complaining about the crowds, but growing silent as Marigold stepped up to the stage, her radiant demeanor bringing many to tears. Bards repeated her tales across the world, but none could match the original teller. Her goal was finished: people would remember the Berserks… forever.
She also spent some time practicing with a rat catcher who caught her interest. After all, the real treasure was the friends she made along the way!

Deities & Demigods: Yondalla
Spell Compendium: Accelerated Movement, Bite of the Werebear, Delay Death, Dragonsight, Energy Immunity Essence of the Raptor, Favor of the Martyr, Greater Blindsight, Hand of Divinity, Holy Transformation, Ironguard, Lightfoot, Nature's Favor, Nerveskitter, Nixie's Grace, Owl's Insight, Righteous Fury, Second Wind, Sheltered Vitality, Shield of Warding, Siren's Grace, Superior Resistance, Surefoot, Surefooted Stride, Wind at Back, Wraithstrike, Xorn Movement
Magic of Faerun: Aura of Vitality, Lutzaen's Frequent Jaunt, Monstrous Regeneration, Holy Star, Remedy Moderate Wounds, Weapon of Impact
Player's Guide to Faerun: Wieldskill
Player's Handbook II: Blessing of the Righteous
Expanded Psionics Handbook: Biofeedback, Danger Sense, Reddopsi
Book of Exalted Deeds: Eyes of the Avoral, Sustain
Complete Arcane: Greater Mage Armor, Swim
Complete Champion: Footsteps of the Divine, Interfaith Blessing, Spiritual Advisor
Complete Divine: Divine Agility Naturewatch, Greater Visage of the Deity
Complete Psionic: Adrenaline Boost
Complete Mage: Unicorn Heart
Draconomicon: Draconic Might, Greater Wings of Air
Dragon Magic: Primal Hunter, Primal Instinct, Primal Senses, Primal Speed
Eberron Campaign Setting: Skill Enhancement
Fiendish Codex I: Inner Beauty
Frostburn: Control Temperature, Snowsong
Ghostwalk: Irresistable Force
Masters of the Wild: Regenerate Critical Wounds
Miniatures Handbook: Favorable Sacrifice
Oriental Adventures: Mental Strength
Races of Stone: Earth Hammer
Races of the Dragon: Greater Mighty Wallop, Wings of Swift Flying
Sandstorm: Freedom of Breath
Savage Species: Lion's Charge

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:10 PM

Bear cavalry, meme as old as time.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMN9pQ7XIAQoNti.jpg:small

Woman dressed in a fur coat drenched in frozen blood entered the Bears' campsite. She moved to the center, down on her knees and standed still. She had an unusual face and entirely empty gaze. Bear's people, now it was mostly women and children, almost all men went to hunt, were afraid of her and didn't come even when the child’s cry started coming from under her coat. Her empty eyes and blooded fur were too scary.
- Don't stand 'ere like fools! - suddenly there was a voice from behind people’s backs, it was Ingeborg Eldgrimdottir a chieftain's wife, - Back up! - she went through the crowd approached woman and slightly open up woman's coat. There were two toddlers huddled to woman's chest under clothing.
- Give 'em to me, darling, I'll take care of 'em, - Ingeborg said and a spark of feelings flashed in the woman's eyes.
- Lucia, - she spoke in a colorless voice and handed to Ingeborg the right girl, - Léa, - was said with handing over the left girl. After that her eyes went out again and she fell back.

Lucia and Léa were unusual children, everyone could see that. Strange facial characteristics, one less finger and toe on every hand and feet, but Ingeborg raised them like her own. She was no longer capable of giving birth herself after hard childbirth years before, but had a lot of remaining maternal love. Her own children were already grown, but didn't hurry to birth grandchildren for her. The chief’s foster status protected girls from bullying by their peers and their growing may even be called happy, but life in the Icewind Dale never is easy no matter who's daughter you are and Lucia and Léa had a full spoonful of hardship, too.
They became huntress and shieldmaidens young. Somebody call Reghedmen and their tribes barbarians and they are mostly right, but you shouldn't look down on them. Reghedmen's martial arts aren't just "eat mushrooms and charge enemies with a cry". There are skilled warriors between men of the tundra and they are ready to teach any worthy apprentice. Doesn't matter boy, girl... or two girls at once. But they rarely thought anyone was worthy. Lucia and Léa were lucky: Bjorn Giantscull Ingeborg's husband and their adoptive father was one of such skilled swordsmen and it wasn't surprising he took them as a pupil. His art was very rare between Reghedmen, he was a horseman. Bearman actually. He was one of few true bear path disciples and spirits gave him bear companion. On bearback in a real dark wood plate and with a big bone shield he always terrified the enemy. Girls envied him very much, they wanted their own bear, too, but it was a long path. Father tried to teach them, but this path wasn't fully their. They went another way to the Bear. They found how to become bear themselves. This took place after Ingeborg's and Bjorn's death, when Lucia and Léa left the tribe and went to travel on Icewind Dale.
They met an odd shaman in the middle of tundra. He barely looked at them and said: "Thou is my apprentice now!" Lucia and Léa were surprised: rarely did anyone realize that they were one. Especially at first sight. This shaman, Lucia and Léa called him just a Teacher, he didn't say his name, he taught girls imbue themselves with spirits. Spirits of animals and spirits of fury, spirits of hunt and spirits of swift winds. He gave Lucia and Léa the basis and one day disappeared, vanished into the tundra.
Girls were very inspired, they realized how to become bear riders, like their father. They practiced very much and almost succeeded when the Night came. The Night! That’s what they always called this night afterwards. Wild Hunt stepped on their trail and at this moment they got all right away. Shaping into bear, instantaneous battle fury, all was as best as it could. By the look of things girls were able to interest the Master of the Hunt when over and over again fought back his hounds and an unprecedented event occurred. He offered Lucia and Léa to join the Hunt. Not that they had much choice, but this offer anyway was a very rare occasion. Of course they agreed and never regretted this decision. Wild Hunt membership not only gave them an opportunity to survive, but also allowed them to get unique skills and became bearrider that their father would be proud of.

CN Dvati Ranger 4/Crusader 2/Berserk 8/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5
Abilities Initial 4th 8th 12th 16th Total
STR 14 14
DEX 12 12
CON 16 1 1 18
INT 14 14
WIS 14 1 1 16
CHA 8 8
Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
2nd Ranger-1 1 2 2 0 32: {+4} Handle Animal: 4; {+4} Heal: 4; {+4} Hide: 4; {+4} Knowledge (nature): 4; {+4} Move Silently: 4; {+4} Ride: 4; {+4} Spot: 4; {+4} Survival: 4; Improved Initiative1, TrackB Favored environment (cold deserts), track, wild empathy
3rd Ranger-2 2 3 3 0 8: {+1} Handle Animal: 5; Heal: 4; Hide: 4; {+5} Jump: 5; Knowledge (nature): 4; {+1} Move Silently: 5; {+1} Ride: 5; Spot: 4; Survival: 4; Power Attack3, Two Weapon FightingB Combat style (TWF)
4th Ranger-3 3 3 3 1 8: {+1} Handle Animal: 6; {+2} Heal: 6; {+1} Hide: 5; Jump: 5; {+1} Knowledge (nature): 5; {+1} Move Silently: 6; {+1} Ride: 6; Spot: 4; {+1} Survival: 5; EnduranceB Endurance
5th Ranger-4 4 4 4 1 8: {+1} Handle Animal: 7; Heal: 6; Hide: 5; Jump: 5; Knowledge (nature): 5; {+1} Move Silently: 7; {+1} Ride: 7; {+1} Spot: 5; {+2} Survival: 7; {+2} Healing Hands; Distracting attack
6th Crusader-1 5 6 4 1 6: Handle Animal: 7; Heal: 6; Hide: 5; {+1} Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 8; {+1} Ride: 8; Spot: 5; Survival: 7; {+2} Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Exotic Shield Proficiency (Rider's shield)B Furious counterstrike, steely resolve 5
7th Berserk-1 5 8 4 1 4: Handle Animal: 7; Heal: 6; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; {+2} Listen: 2; Move Silently: 8; Ride: 8; {+1} Spot: 6; {+1} Survival: 8; Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Mounted Combat6 Battle fury 1/day, +10 ft. movement, wild empathy
8th Berserk-2 6 9 4 1 4: Handle Animal: 7; Heal: 6; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; {+2} Listen: 4; Move Silently: 8; Ride: 8; {+1} Spot: 7; {+1} Survival: 9; Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Damage reduction 1/-
9th Berserk-3 7 9 5 2 4: Handle Animal: 7; Heal: 6; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; {+2} Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; Ride: 8; {+1} Spot: 8; {+1} Survival: 10; Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Beast shape 1/day
10th Crusader-2 8 10 5 2 6: {+5} Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 7; Heal: 6; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+1} Ride: 9; Spot: 8; Survival: 10; Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Instantaneous Rage9 Indomitable soul
11th Unseelie Dark Hunter-1 8 12 7 2 6: Balance: 5; {+1} Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 6; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+4} Ride: 13; Spot: 8; {+1} Survival: 11; Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Spells, low-light vision, wild empathy
12th Unseelie Dark Hunter-2 9 13 8 2 6: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; {+4} Heal: 10; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+1} Ride: 14; Spot: 8; {+1} Survival: 12; Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Fast mount +10 ft., fast movement +10 ft.
13th Unseelie Dark Hunter-3 10 13 8 3 6: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; {+4} Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+1} Ride: 15; Spot: 8; {+1} Survival: 13; Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Mounted Fury12 Darkvision
14th Unseelie Dark Hunter-4 11 14 9 3 6: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+1} Ride: 16; {+2} Spot: 10; {+1} Survival: 14; {+2} Listen to This, Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Uncanny dodge
15th Unseelie Dark Hunter-5 11 14 9 3 6: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+1} Ride: 17; {+2} Spot: 12; {+1} Survival: 15; {+2} Point it Out, Listen to This, Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Fast mount +20 ft., fast movement +20 ft.
16th Berserk-4 12 15 9 3 4: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+2 CC} Ride: 18; {+1} Spot: 13; {+1} Survival: 16; Point it Out, Listen to This, Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Improved Shield Bash15 Battle fury 2/day, damage reduction 2/-
17th Berserk-5 12 15 9 3 4: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+2 CC} Ride: 19; {+1} Spot: 14; {+1} Survival: 17; Point it Out, Listen to This, Dismount Attack, Healing Hands;
18th Berserk-6 13 16 10 4 4: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+2 CC} Ride: 20; {+1} Spot: 15; {+1} Survival: 18; Point it Out, Listen to This, Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Beast shape 2/day, damage reduction 3/-
19th Berserk-7 14 16 10 4 4: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+2 CC} Ride: 21; {+1} Spot: 16; {+1} Survival: 19; Point it Out, Listen to This, Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Improved Toughness18
20th Berserk-8 15 17 10 4 4: Balance: 5; Handle Animal: 8; Heal: 14; Hide: 5; Jump: 6; Knowledge (nature): 5; Listen: 6; Move Silently: 8; {+2 CC} Ride: 22; {+1} Spot: 17; {+1} Survival: 20; Point it Out, Listen to This, Dismount Attack, Healing Hands; Battle fury 3/day, damage reduction 4/-
Level Class 1st* 2nd* 3rd*
11th Unseelie Dark Hunter-1 0+1 (Expeditious Retreat, Detect Animals or Plants)
12th Unseelie Dark Hunter-2 1+1 (Message)
13th Unseelie Dark Hunter-3 2+1 0+1 (Bull's Strength, Bear’s Endurance)
14th Unseelie Dark Hunter-4 3+1 (Create Water) 1+1 (Cat's Grace)
15th Unseelie Dark Hunter-5 3+1 2+1 0+1 (Haste, Keen Edge)
* - including spell from high Wisdom.
All spells from PHB.

Ranger give me one first-level spell. There are a lot of possibilities. For example Snowshoe (SC), Remove Scent (http://web.archive.org/web/20161101074806/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20021025a), Living Prints (SC), Camouflage (SC), Longstrider (PHB) are great options.

Level Class Initiator Level Maneuvers Known Maneuvers Readied Stances Known
6th Crusader-1 3 Crusader’s Strike, Shield Block, Leading the Attack, Douse the Flames, Stone Bones 5 (2) Iron Guard's Glare
10th Crusader-2 5 5 (2) Tactics of the Wolf

Dvati undoubtedly is a great idea, but wording causes troubles. You just can't play dvati without DM's rulings. How do martial stances work with dvati initiator? How about maneuvers? Does it cost actions for both twins like spells or only for one? Great Mystery it is! Dvati just is new playground without any support or even FAQ. I had to come up with my own interpretations and understandings.
Next level will be the first SI level, but now Lucia and Léa are Ranger 4/Crusader 1. They have some tricks, for example Distracting Attack trick. Being Dvati Lucia and Léa have single initiative and can place their actions in any desired order. Plus it's obvious - they are allies to each other. So they can hit the enemy in shifts (Lucia strikes first, Léa second, Lucia third, Léa next and so on) and all attacks after the very first will be considered flanking attack. +3 AB for dvati.
Favored environment (cold deserts) selected for fluff reasons and can be easily changed for another or for default Favored Enemy.
Rider's shield proficiency was taken instead of Tower shield proficiency. It would come in handy later.
There is potential issue with Iron Guard's Glare.

This penalty does not apply to attack made against you.
How does it work with dvati twins? Is my second twin "me" for this stance? If isn't, well, we have free -4 on attacks against us. If it doesn't work... I'll take Bolstering Voice instead.
First three SI levels and second Crusader level. Lucia and Léa got almost all what SI can give them. Only the numbers will change in the future. With Beast Shape they became literal bearrider: one of them turns into bear, another saddles bear-twin.
With Mounted Combat rider-twin can protect bear-twin and with Rider's shield and Shield Block counter both twins can protect one another (Shield Block works with shield's AC, not shield itself and bear-twin has same shield's AC as rider-twin due Rider's shield).
With Tactics of the Wolf stance twins have damage bonus to flanked enemies. It's good because with the Distracting Attack trick they can flank anybody attacked. Now it's just +2 damage, but at 20 ECL will become +5.
Instantaneous Rage helps to deal with standard action activation of Battle fury.
It isn't clear are dvati twins able to stay in two different stances. If answer is "Yes" it's good - rider-twin will stay in the Iron Guard's Glare, bear-twin in the Tactics of the Wolf. If "No..." Well, I even didn’t feel like it.
Five levels of Unseelie Dark Hunter are poor gold for Lucia and Léa. Low-light vision, spells and Uncanny dodge are just good, but Fast mount and fast movement together... Well, they are dvati, they are simultaneously the rider and the mount. It means unnamed +40 ft to speed while riding.
Mounted Fury, on its part, helps overcome limitations on the combination of Beast Shape and Battle fury.
If it's possible Lucia and Léa use their spell before or in the very beginning of a battle in this sequence: Bear’s Endurance (for bear-twin, or rider-twin, or both depending upon the situation), Bull's Strength (for bear-twin), Cat's Grace (for rider-twin), Haste (for bear-twin). If there are time just for one spell Haste is the choice. If they were somehow able to cast more than one 3rd-level spell Keen Edge (on the Saber) should be cast first.
Another 5 levels of SI. More Furies/day, more DR, one extra Beast Shape in case Lucia and Léa want to switch one another in their riding positions.
Improved Shield Bash lets rider-twin use the shield not only as a shield, but as a weapon, too, without prejudice to protection.
Improved Toughness for 20th ECL dvati is 38 extra hp. it's worth a feat.

What weapon do I want to use? I want Saber from Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. At first I thought it's a longsword variant and can complement the SI requirement, but it isn't. It are separate weapons despite the fact that its differences are nearly vanishing. Anyway it gives me +1 AB while riding.

About gear in general. I want best possible medium barding for bear-twin, best possible light armor for rider-twin, any useful ranger's and hunter's spells (Hunter's eye can be good addition to twins' combat capabilities) in wands and/or scrolls and any items improving ride skill.

Listen to This skill trick has no shape restriction to use it, so with it even bear-twin can speak.
Usefulness other skill tricks is obvious in itself though isn't gamebreaking.

Lucia and Léa have 17 of 19 levels in classes with Wild Empathy ability and has +2 synergies bonus from Handle Animal so they can effectively use it even with 8 Charisma.

Type Name Book Page
Race Dvati Dragon Compendium 14
Class Ranger PHB 46
Class Crusader ToB 8
Prestige Class Berserk Deities & Demigods 201
Prestige Class Unseelie Dark Hunter Fey Feature The Dark Hunters (http://web.archive.org/web/20161101074022/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fey/20030315a)
Class ACF Distracting Attack PHBII 55
Class ACF Favored Environment UA 65
Variant rule Exotic Shield Proficiency RoS 139
Feat Improved Initiative PHB 96
Feat Track PHB 101
Feat Exotic Shield Proficiency RoS 139
Feat Power Attack PHB 98
Feat Two Weapon Fighting PHB 102
Feat Endurance PHB 93
Feat Mounted Combat PHB 98
Feat Instantaneous Rage CW 102
Feat Mounted Fury Random Encounters Wild Life (http://web.archive.org/web/20201112005822/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031125a)
Feat Improved Shield Bash PHB 96
Feat Improved Toughness MMV 205
Skill Tricks All CS Varies
Maneuvers and Stances All ToB Varies
Weapon Saber FRCS 98
Shield Rider's shield RoS 158

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:11 PM

Pronounced just how it looks, naturally.

Whyld
the Terror of the Battlefield
from the Clan of the Were-Harpies

Story Time:

Before telling you the story about Whyld, you need to hear the story of her clan first.

The Clan of the Were-Harpies is a barbaric tribe that practices dark voodoo (death magic). They are a pure warclan who knows nothing else than war and are known for their cruelty. They travel from one battlefield to another. Their children are playing with the corpses on the battlefield while looting em. Children start their combat training at a very young age. Their entire culture is build around the ideal to "Live by the sword and die by the sword".
This further is shown in their social structures. You are considered an adult after a year on the battlefield. Those who haven't died in the first year (lvl 1) may start their studies in the dark arcane arts to become attuned to death magic. They learn to Summon Undead foes and command these brainless slaves into battle...
The more advanced warriors can finally make a bound with an (evil) spirit. This spirit enables the warrior to make a bound with their spirit animal the harpy-eagle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy_eagle). And if the warrior proves himself worthy enough, he/she will be blessed with the ability to take on the forms of their spirit animal and a hybrid form to enhance their combat skills. These few earn the title to be called Were-Harpies. There are even rumors that they let themselves be possessed by their evil spirits to enhance their combat power and to be more intimidating.
If you should ever see one, RUN!
Otherwise you'll be paralyzed by fear and die a cruel and painful death.
The clan is known to be constantly in battles. And if there is no battle, they will start one themselves. Rumors say that their evil spirits sometimes even possess the leaders of other nations to start new wars. And once the war starts, the clan will be there to join any side that welcomes em (mostly the inferior army out of necessarily, since no one really wants to fight along them).

And into this mad clan, a cute girl by the name Whyld was born in. As the time comes, she too must preserve a year on the battlefield to become an adult in her clan...

Race: Human
Alignment: C-E
STR: 16 (Points from Level-Up go in here)
DEX: 14 *
CON: 14 *
INT: 8
WIS: 8
CHA: 16 *
* = you may invest into additional magic items if you want, but not really necessary.

Note on Skills:
This build has very low skillpoints and doesn't really need anything here. I did put most points into Hide & Ride. Hide will be helpful for scouting in animal form (or when the familiar is scouting). Ride is mostly there for a nice magic item combo for the familiar (optional). The points set are not fix. If you go for the item combo, it is recommended to max Ride at the cost of Hide ranks.

LVL
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills

Feats

- = flaw
+ = feat from flaw
# = Human Bonus F.
## = Fighter Bonus F.
Class Features

1st
Barbarian
Spiritual Totem:
Lion Totem
(C. Champion)
+1
+2
+0
+0
Handle Animal: 4
Intimidate: 4
Ride: 4
Survival: 4
- Weak Will
(https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm)+ Extra Rage (C: Warrior)
# Power Attack
Cleave
illiteracy

Rage 1/day

Pounce

2nd
Dread Necromancer
(Heroes of Horror)
+1
+2
+0
+2
Hide: 2 (+2)

Literacy

Charnel Touch

Rebuke Undead

3rd
Dread Necromancer
+2
+2
+0
+3
Hide: 4 (+2)
Travel Devotion
(C. Champion)
Lich Body
DR 2/bludgeoning and magic

4th
Dread Necromancer
+2
+3
+1
+3
Hide: 6 (+2)

Negative Energy Burst 1/day

5th
Dread Necromancer
+3
+3
+1
+4
Hide: 8 (+2)

Advanced Learning

Mental Bastion +2

6th
Dread Necromancer
+3
+3
+1
+4
Hide: 9
Ride: 4.5
Improved Bull Rush
Fear Aura

7th
Dread Necromancer
+4
+4
+2
+5
Hide: 10
Ride: 5

Scabrous Touch 1/day

8th
Dread Necromancer
+4
+4
+2
+5
Hide: 11
Ride: 5.5

Lich Body:
DR 4/bludgeoning and magic

Summon Familiar:
Ghostly Visage

9th
Warblade
(Tome of Battle)
+5
+6
+2
+5
Hide: 12 (+2)
Ride: 6.5 (+2)
Great Cleave
Battle Clarity (Reflex saves)

Weapon Aptitude

Stance:
Leading the Charge

Maneuvers:
Battle Leader's Charge
Iron Heart Surge
Wall of Blades

10th
Berserk
+5
+8
+2
+5
Hide: 12.5
Ride: 7

Battle Fury 1/day

+10 ft. movement

11th
Berserk
+6
+9
+2
+5
Hide: 13
Ride: 7.5

DR 1/-

12th
Berserk
+7
+9
+3
+6
Hide: 13.5
Ride: 8
Shock Trooper
(C. Warrior)
Beast Shape 1/day

13th
Warshaper
+7
+11
+3
+6
Hide: 14
Ride: 8.5

Morphic Immunities

Morphic Weapons

14th
Warshaper
+8
+12
+4
+6
Hide: 14.5
Ride: 9

Morphic Body

15th
Warshaper
+9
+12
+4
+6
Hide: 15
Ride: 9.5
Brutal Throw
(C. Adventurer)
Morphic Reach

16th
Warshaper
+10
+13
+4
+6
Hide: 15.5
Ride: 10

Morphic Healing

17th
Warshaper
+10
+13
+4
+6
Hide: 16
Ride: 10.5

Multimorph

18th
Berserk
+11
+14
+4
+6
Hide: 16.5
Ride: 11
Power Throw
(C. Adventurer)
Battle Fury 2/day

Damage Reduction 2/-

19th
Berserk
+11
+14
+4
+6
Hide: 17
Ride: 11.5

20th
Berserk
+12
+15
+5
+7
Hide: 17.5
Ride: 12

Beast Shape 2/day

Damage Reduction 3/-

Spells:
The build doesn't really have much focus on the spellcasting ability. Thus I will sole mention some interesting spells and their use for this build.

Spells per Day/Spells Known

Level
1st
2nd
3rd

1st
-
-
-

2nd
3
-
-

3rd
4
-
-

4th
5
-
-

5th
6
3
-

6th
6
4
-

7th
6
5
3

8-20th
6
6
4

Chill Touch (1st) - can be used with our ranged Natural Weapon (see Warshaper further below). The rules for "holding a charge" also apply to natural weapons (doesn't differentiate between melee or ranged here). Sadly, the use is still limited in this build since we need to be in "normal form" to cast and "in changed form" to use Morphic Weapons. But it can still be useful in some niche situations.
Detect Magic/Undead (1st) - situational useful
Undetectable Alignment (1st) - not everybody needs to know that we are evil^^
Command Undead (2nd) - if you find some undead you can abuse em as guards for resting or as cannon fodder
Death Knell (2nd) - If one battle ended and the next is around the corner, this is a handy spell
Summon Undead III (3rd) - Summon Ghouls to infect the people in lil settlement with Ghoul Fever. Come back a few days later and command em via Rebuke Undead. Now we have permanent Ghouls. Or just kill em for XP^^
Speak with the Dead (3nd) - Kill First & ask questions later! If questions should remain after you killed your victims, this spell will be there. There shall be never a reason to feel regret that you have killed someone. :smallbiggrin:

Advanced Learning:
Shroud of Undead (2nd) - Disguise as undead. Get healed by negative energy and harmed by positive. Abuse with Charnel Touch to fully heal up out of combat.

We start as a weak willed Barbarian. The flaw and the extra feat (Extra Rage) are not really mandatory but greatly enhance the flavor^^. Imho the SI favors low Will (has bad WIS saves) while relying on Will saves (to not attack your allies). I thought it would be funny to take this to the extreme and to look for other ways to deal with the low Will saves of the build. Finally, the SI also doesn't feature full BAB, so I also didn't focus to much on that to keep that flavor too.
With PA & Cleave, we have a pretty strong start.
After the initiation year on the battlefield, Whyld is now worthy enough to learn reading and writing, becoming an initiate of the clans dark occult magic.
Rebuke Undead is mainly to fuel Travel Devotion, which gives us exceptional movement on the battlefield. Use in between attacks to switch positions within your full attack (atm sole for the extra attacks from Cleave due to low BAB) or at the start of the turn to get into charge/pounce position. In downtimes we can try to make some regular use of Rebuke Undead to get some undead minions if we find some (or can produce em via magic items). Undead minions are good cannon fodder for safer combat, but not really a requirement for the build (and thus optional).
Lich Body provides us with some DR. The DR is not as good as the one Berserk later provides but it is still nice for the early levels and gives us a taste of what will come.
Negative Energy Burst is a situational ability to heal up your possible undead minions or as minor help against swarm type creatures.
Mental Bastion gives Whyld a bonus to saves against many harmful conditions.
The most relevant spells are handled in the spells section. But I still want to point out Shroud of Death which we get via Advanced Learning. In combination with Charnel Touch we can always heal fully up if we have enough time. This enables us to start almost all fights with full HP.

Whyld finishes her occult training by obtaining her "spirit" (Ghostly Visage familiar) and can now focus to become a true Were-Harpy.

This lil fellow looks pretty weak at first glance but can be abused for a broad range of cheese in this build. I'll give a short overview of the abilities and how they are gonna be (ab)used.
Note that the ability DCs scale: DC: 10 + 1/2HD (from master) + CHA

Meld: Allows the Ghostly Visage (GV) to meld into a (host) creature. If the target is not willing, it gets a Will save. Whyld is always willing to join forces with her GV.

Visage: Manifests a face anywhere on the host's body.

Gaze of Terror: Anyone within 30 feet that meets its eyes makes a Will save or becomes "paralyzed" by "fear" (thus anything that helps against either one works as defense). Can be placed over the hosts face without causing any problems for the hosts vision. This is great tool to keep most harm away from Whyld while she keeps annihilating her victims.

Mind Shielding: Gives basically undead immunity to mind-affecting magic to the host creature.

Undead Traits: Your typical undead traits. Use Charnel Touch to heal your familiar always to max out of combat.

Symbiont Traits: Note that the Ghostly Visage "Melds" into their targets and doesn't attach normally. It gets attached via the Visage ability. Thus it needs to manifest the Visage first before leaving. This also means that the Ghostly Visage doesn't need to wait the regular 24h to reattach to the same host.
The ability to wrestle for control allows Whyld to enslave a foe to her commands. This can be a very powerful problem solving tool. We will make more abuse of this ability later on for the SI. Note that this ability is not classified as mind-affecting (which makes it harder to counter).

Incorporeal Subtype: This makes this familiar a perfect scout. And since a GV has a high base INT and can speak common (and one more language of your choice) it can easily communicate anything it sees and hears back.

Great Cleave is great for this high STR (and thus high overall attack bonus) and lowish BAB (+12 max) build to get extra attacks.

Taking Warblade at lvl 9 gives us access to some neat stuff.
Leading the Charge is a nice stance that gives all allies (including us) a dmg bonus for charge/pounce (up to +10 at lvl 20). Combos well with allies or possible undead minions.
Battle Leader's Charge is a maneuver that adds onto this by giving us a straight +10 dmg while charging/pouncing. Use this ideally at the start of the fight to hit the most enemies possible (via Gr. Cleave + Pounce).
With this much front-loaded burst dmg, Wall of Blades should help to minimize the dmg we take in the short fights. WoB will soon increase in value once we have access to Shock Trooper, to dump our AC in favor of hitting more reliable with Power Attack.
Iron Heart Surge is a nobrainer for anything that annoys you for more than 1 round. And thx due to our Ghostly Visage's "Mind Shielding", the situations where we would be normally denied to use it are taken care off now. Nothing will stop Whyld's bloodlust.

Finally we can enter the SI and become a Berserk. This unlocks the horrific (for your allies^^) Battle Fury ability. Note that the Moral bonus to Will saves gets denied by the Mind Shielding ability (to further showcase a very weak willed SI entry!^^). To deal with the side effects of the ability, we'll command out Ghostly Visage to temporary take control (wrestle for control, see Symbiont Traits) and fail the save intentionally. The Ghostly Visage will even attempt this without command, because it has to fear otherwise for its own life (which causes a "personality conflict" as defined in the symbiont traits).
Our GV will manifest its Visage over Whyld's face and use its Gaze of Terror ability on all available enemies.
Since the GV can communicate telepathically with its host, it can speak for the master while controlling his body. this gives Whyld a terrific voice (maybe pick something like Infernal as second language for the GV to further enhance this fluff aspect).

With access to Shock Trooper our reliable dmg potential increases immensely. As said, Wall of Blades compensates our low AC to some degree, if we manage to finish off the fight fast enough.

With getting access to Beast Shape, we get a powerful ability for this build. It allows to change either into our spirit animal (eagle (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/eagle.htm)) for scouting (or reaching places with fly) or into a Hybrid Form for some stat boosts. While in these forms Whyld loses the ability to speak. Thus the Ghostly Visage will once again help here out to communicate the thoughts of Whyld. Due to the infinite duration, this allows her to stay all day long in the Hybrid form if she wants without much downsides. As final note, I think that the barbarian's Rage ability ain't restricted while in Beast Shape; but you opinion on this may vary.

With Beast Shape on board we will temporary leave the SI in favor for Warshaper.

Morphic Weapons will be mostly used in this build showcase to get a ranged attack option via the "Spikes" attack of a Manticore. Note that Morphic Weapon can give you any "Natural Weapon", which means anything in the "Attack" line which is not obviously a manufacture weapon. It doesn't care if that "Natural Weapon" is a "Natural Ability" or "EX" or "SU". It doesn't have any limitations in that regard. Thus the "Spikes" are a legal target. With a 180 ft reach (no penalty but also no range increment) we have an impressive ranged attack option.

Brutal Throw helps to hit better with our Spikes. While the Spikes aren't called out as thrown weapon the ability text indicates that they are thrown. First they get (1/2) STR dmg which is a slight indicator that they might be thrown weapons. Second, the text "With a snap of its tail, ..." translates to a throwing weapon for me. Note that "Throwing Weapon" is not a distinct category but overlaps with other categories (melee weapon, ranged weapon and even natural weapons in some specific chases like this one).

Morphic Immunities are always nice to have for a combat focused SI.
Morphic Body is a nice stat boost (+4 STR +4 CON) that fits the build perfectly. Now we have the same stat boosts with Beast Shape's Hybrid Form (total +6) as with Battle Fury, but almost all day long. Thus we sole need to rely on Battle Fury as backup if we somehow need (or are forced) to leave the shapes (and have no charges left). Note that we can stack our Barbarian Rage with the Beast Shapes, for a total bonus of +10 to STR and CON.
Morphic Reach is just great for a melee build with Gr. Cleave. Just a great combo.^^

Morphic Healing gives the build access to passive healing almost all day long (due to Beast Shape duration). This minimizes the reasons to turn back into normal form to heal up (Shroud of Death + Charnel Touch combo). That will only be needed in niche situations, if the next fight is right around the corner (in a few rounds) to quickly heal up (if you have lost to much HP).

Multimorph enables Beast Shape to freely switch between the animal (eagle) form and the hybrid form. This makes the build more flexible than a more straight approach to the SI (maxing the lvls), while not really overshadowing the SI theme itself. The build manages to get more "Berserk" feeling with less lvls invested. This imho justifies (at least for me) to go this deep into Warshaper instead of taking more lvls in the SI. Your opinion (especially those of the judges) may vary here.

Power Throw is the final feat in this build and enhances the ranged dmg potential by a lot. Due to the high overall attack bonus thanks to our high STR, we can spent some of our BAB for more damage.

Finally we go back to the SI for the remaining levels to get an additional use for Battle Fury and Beast Shape, further ensuring that we can be buffed all day, even if an enemy should somehow force us out of Beast Shape.

None of these are needed for the build to work. But some niche or custom items can produce very strong results. Further some may not be obvious, thus I wanted to point em out.
Note that the following sentence:

No equipment or clothing transforms with the berserk. applies to normal mundane items. Most (for this build relevant) magic items adjust according to the users size (see DMG). No equipments melds into the new form. They either stay on the body slot (if target form has that body slot) or drop down to your feet. Some items like armor may still be more body type dependent (e.g. place for wings and stuff. The eagle form won't be able to wear regular magic armor. but see below).

Manual of Gainful Exercises +5 & Belt of Giant Strength +6
Mentioned for completeness's sake.

Weapon +X + valorous
Pick any weapon you like. Standard ubercharger weapon. Just mentioning it for completeness's sake.

Necklace of Natural Attacks (Spikes) +X + Splitting + Exit Wounds
If you can get these, other ranged builds might wanna cry. Splitting doubles the projectile amount up to 12 per volley and Exit Wounds lets you attack further targets behind your primary target (note the 180ft range again). This gives us effectively an AoE attack with our Spikes.

Custom (Ghost Touch) Battle Bridle
For Whyld to wear on her face. This gives the Ghostly Visage the Mounted Combat feat which is a great defense for Whyld (especially with Shock Trooper), since the GV can now make Ride rolls to avoid the first hitting attack in a round against her. If you wanna go for this option it is recommended to max Ride and dump Hide in favor of this combo. (Note that the familiar first needs to teach Whyld to be a warmount via "handle animal" for an Intelligent mount (there are rules for this). Good that we have some base points in handle animal and the GV can take 20 or retry).

Custom (Ghost Touch) Hathran Mask of True Seeing + Riding Boots
This is another optional deluxe item for the Ghostly Visage familiar to wear over its face. It further gives the GV the Ride-By-Attack feat. This greatly enhances the already high mobility (Travel Devotion) of Whyld even further.

Bracers of Armor +X + xxx
Since we would have problems with normal magical armor in Beast Shapes animal form, it's better advices to invest into these if you want an Armor Bonus to AC or some special abilities. "Greater Blurring" (+2) would be nice to have as Shock Trooper but not mandatory. The eagle form should be able to wear the bracers on the legs.

Ring of Invisibility
Again not mandatory and nothing special. But nice to have for scouting in the eagle form.

Rage/Battle Fury durations:
Imho both abilities seem to track any further changes to CON to adjust the ability duration. Both have the rule that the duration is measured by your "newly improved CON score". Thus activating both simultaneously both their durations should match each other (since both have a duration of 3+CON)

Combat Versatility:
This build is flexible and strong both in melee and ranged combat. And both combat styles scale very well with the immense high STR score the build can achieve. And on the later levels, we can even attack flying from a safe position (Beast Shape into an Eagle and use Spikes; note that Morphic Bodies +4 STR also applies to the Eagle form) if we want. And with our exceptional movement (Travel Devotion; possibly charging/poincing; possible Ride-by-Attack from gear..) we can outmaneuver many opponents if we don't wanna face em head on.

Shape Flexibility:
With Multishape and the help of our familiar, we can basically stay all day in Beast Shape. The Ghostly Visage reads our thoughts telepathically and communicates em to our allies orally. The spells the build has access to become very situational over time and are mostly for downtimes. Thus no need for the normal human form most of the time. Even with the very limited uses (2/day), we can cheese it out to be very flexible and eliminated most reasons to ever leave Beast Shape.

max possible STR Scores in Beast Shape form including gear w/o Rage:

Hybrid Form: STR 16 base + 5 lvlUp + 5 Manual + 6 item + 4 Morphic Body +2 Hybrid form = 38 (+14 modifier)
Hybrid Form + Rage: 38 + 4 = 42 (+16 modifier)
For a 2h weapon this mean a dmg bonus of +21 (+24 with Rage) and with the Spikes we get a bonus of +7 (+8 with Rage).

Eagle Form: STR 10 base +6item + 4 Morphic Body = 20 (+5 modifier)
Thus in Eagle form we would still get +2 dmg to our Spikes. Not much, but still notable and the same value as a real manticore gets with the Spikes.

Ghostly Visage possession:
While the main aim of the Meld ability is to use it on Whyld herself (as mentioned), it can be used to manipulate basically any NPC/monster. While this is not within the SI fluff, it is still a strong side effect of using Dread Necromancer as base class to enter. Imho there is a point to be made that the power does not come from an PRC (which obviously would overshadow the SI intentionally imho). The EGO score of the visage scales with the additional special abilities it gets from being a familiar (+1 each). It's not a strong scaling (imho not enough for high lvl encounters with good Will saves) but still notable.

The Terror of the Battlefield has been unleashed

Whyld is a very terrific combatant. Starting with simple straight forward brute force tactics and improving those with dark magic. The familiar compensates for most of the downsides of the build (with Mind Shielding and the ability to take/wrestle for control) and provides nice battlefield control.
I hope that you enjoyed this abomination of an entry as much as I did while cooking it.
It smells like ... well let's better not talk about how it smells^^

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:12 PM

This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!

Lupula and Ursula

CG Dvati (LA +1) Barbarian 11 / Berserk 8

A constant war in our soul. Wolf and bear fighting. Raging and ravaging. Mauling our bodies from within. Trying to conquer our soul. We resist.

We remember a time when we where able to focus on other things. We remember recalling places, names, dates. All of this is gone though. All we see now is a bloody haze and our willpower holding the urge to kill back. We see the wolf at the bears throat and the bears paw striking at the wolf. Frozen in a state of permanent endless rage. This rage grows in us. It fuels our strength but we don't give in to mindless violence. We are our souls master.

Once we thought we would save ourselves by choosing a side. So we chose the wolf as our totem. But it changed naught. Neither beast was calmed. So we tried to balance it out again and chose bear as our physical form. Yet again, nothing changed.

Our will pitted against the rage of the beasts. We won't bulge. We won't give in. We are wolf and bear, we are Lupula and Ursula, we are one. When we sleep, so do bear and wolf. We hope to awake one day without them.

Before the tables I feel the need to clarify some things right away.

First things first: dvati (Dragon Compendium) are notorious for lengthy discussions about what actions they share and what they can do individually. For this build the only relevant part of the discussion is that dvati don't have to do the exact same action their counterpart takes. One of my initial thoughts was that dvati circumvent the problem regarding beast shape and battle fury because usually you cannot use battle fury in beast shape and vice versa but done twin could beast shape while the other uses battle fury. If your DM rules dvati to NOT circumvent that rule because of two bodies one soul or whatever argument is brought forth than I have to say: scrap the whole build. I don't think it is worth playing under that circumstance. Because the whole concept is mad enough already.
Second big thing: Berserker strength alternate class feature wording. I'll quote the relevant parts:
Whenever your current hit point total is below 5 × your barbarian level, your berserker strength automatically activates. I'll provide a table later down the post which contains the expected HP of each dvati and the berserker strength threshold for each level. I'll use the word threshold for "barbarian level x 5". Also note that this sentence does not mention what happens when your HP increase above this threshold.
There is no limit to the number of times per day your berserker strength can activate. [...] You cannot voluntarily end your berserker strength, although you automatically drop out of it while unconscious, helpless, or (most likely) when you receive healing to bring your current hit points above the threshold. Please notice again that HP increase beyond the threshold WITHOUT healing does not end the berserker strength. Which leads me to: any Con increase that raises the current HP above the threshold does NOT end the berserker strength. So neither Battle fury nor Beast shape end berserker strength.
Thirdly: If you did already look at the table or took an educated guess Lupula and Ursula are almost always in berserker strength unless they are unconscious or helpless. So it is important to look at this ruling concerning rage and berserker strength:
While raging, a barbarian cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except for Balance, Escape Artist, Intimidate, and Ride), the Concentration skill, or any abilities that require patience or concentration, nor can he cast spells or activate magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. He can use any feat he has except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats. This is quite the serious condition. I.e. not being able to use Knowledge skills means that Ursula and Lupula don't know a single thing about the world they are in because even the most basic information is a DC 10 knowledge check. They can try to roll sense motive untrained and get a hunch about certain people. When I started this mad journey, I wasn't quite aware how seriously mad this whole concept is but hey, it is a phenomenal roleplaying experience. They are pretty close to the role Jet Li played in the movie "Unleashed" (not a recommendation; IIRC it is rather bad).
Finally: Dvati with 8 Con. I can hear you thinking: You did see the optimization tag, didn't you? I won't sugarcoat it. This build needs careful positioning and planning in battles. Until ECL 7(free action Battle Fury) and ECL 9 (bear form) each twin is a glass cannon. I am fully aware of that but I think that this build is playable and will do fine at most tables even at low levels.

Attributes

Base
HD level increase
Final

Strength
18
+4 (4th, 8th, 12th, 16th)
22

Dexterity
14
-
14

Constitution
8
-
8

Intelligence
12
-
12

Wisdom
14
-
14

Charisma
8
-
8

Table

Level
Class
BAB
Fort
Ref
Will
Skills
Feats
Class Features

1st
Barbarian (Wolf Totem)
+1
+2
+0
+0
Jump 4, Climb 4, Swim 4, Survival 4, Listen 4
Improved Unarmed Strike
Berserker Strength, Illiteracy

2nd
Barbarian (Wolf Totem)
+2
+3
+0
+0
Jump 5, Climb 5, Swim 5, Survival 5, Listen 5
-
Improved Trip (B)

3rd
Barbarian (Wolf Totem)
+3
+3
+1
+1
Jump 6, Climb 6, Swim 6, Survival 6, Listen 6
Improved Grapple
-

4th
Barbarian (Wolf Totem)
+4
+4
+1
+1
Jump 7, Climb 7, Swim 7, Survival 7, Listen 7
-
-

5th
Barbarian (Wolf Totem)
+5
+4
+1
+1
Jump 8, Climb 8, Swim 8, Survival 8, Listen 8
-
Track (B)

6th
Berserk
+5
+6
+1
+1
Jump 9, Climb 9, Swim 9, Survival 8, Listen 8
Instantaneous Rage
Battle fury 1/day, +10 ft. movement

7th
Berserk
+6
+7
+1
+1
Jump 10, Climb 10, Swim 10, Survival 8, Listen 8
-
Damage reduction 1/-

8th
Berserk
+7
+7
+2
+2
Jump 11, Climb 11, Swim 11, Survival 8, Listen 8
-
Beast shape 1/day (brown bear)

9th
Barbarian
+8
+8
+3
+3
Jump 12, Climb 12, Swim 12, Survival 9, Listen 9
Knockdown
-

10th
Berserk
+9
+9
+3
+3
Jump 13, Climb 13, Swim 13, Survival 9, Listen 9
-
Battle fury 2/day, damage reduction 2/-

11th
Berserk
+9
+9
+3
+3
Jump 14, Climb 14, Swim 14, Survival 9, Listen 9
-
-

12th
Barbarian (Streetfighter)
+9
+9
+3
+3
Jump 15, Climb 15, Swim 15, Survival 9, Listen 9
Snap Kick
Crit threat range +1 vs. flat footed or when charging

13th
Berserk
+10
+10
+4
+4
Jump 16, Climb 16, Swim 16, Survival 9, Listen 9
-
Beast Shape 2/day, damage reduction 3/-

14th
Barbarian
+11
+11
+4
+4
Jump 17, Climb 17, Swim 17, Survival 10, Listen 10
-
-

15th
Berserk
+11
+11
+4
+4
Jump 18, Climb 18, Swim 18, Survival 10, Listen 10
Blazing Berserker

16th
Berserk
+12
+12
+4
+4
Jump 19, Climb 19, Swim 19, Survival 10, Listen 10
-
Battle fury 3/day, damage reduction 4/-

17th
Barbarian
+12
+12
+5
+5
Jump 20, Climb 20, Swim 20, Survival 11, Listen 11
-
-

18th
Barbarian (Streetfighter)
+13
+13
+5
+5
Jump 21, Climb 21, Swim 21, Survival 11, Listen 11
Frozen Berserker
one turn when charging (90 degrees)

19th
Barbarian
+14
+13
+5
+5
Jump 22, Climb 22, Swim 22, Survival 11, Listen 11
-
-

20th
LA

At every level assuming an average roll of 6.5 HP (d12) the way Barbarian and Berserk levels alternate in the table guarantee all day berserker strength. If your rolls mess this up try switching around the level up process to amend the situation. Ideally you just tell your DM agrees that you can take the average result every time.

HD
Average roll - Con modifier
Con
HP per twin
Berserker strength threshold

Bar
1
10
-2
5
5

Bar
2
14,5
-2
7,25
10

Bar
3
19
-2
9,5
15

Bar
4
23,5
-2
11,75
20

Bar
5
28
-2
14
25

Bers
6
32,5
-2
16,25
25

Bers
7
37
-2
18,5
25

Bers
8
41,5
-2
20,75
25

Bar
9
46
-2
23
30

Bers
10
50,5
-2
25,25
30

Bers
11
55
-2
27,5
30

Bar
12
59,5
-2
29,75
35

Bers
13
64
-2
32
35

Bar
14
68,5
-2
34,25
40

Bers
15
73
-2
36,5
40

Bers
16
77,5
-2
38,75
40

Bar
17
82
-2
41
45

Bar
18
86,5
-2
43,25
50

Bar
19
91
-2
45,5
55

ECL 2-6:
What does constant berserker strength actually do?
You gain a +4 bonus to your Strength score, a +2 bonus on saves, damage reduction 2/-, and a -2 penalty to your AC. The damage reduction granted by berserker strength stacks with any similar kind of damage reduction. I think it is rather important to note that the strength bonus and the bonus on saves are both untyped and therefor stack with everything.
Improved unarmed strike is not only the necessary prerequisite for Improved grapple but also a necessary weapon to "carry" when Ursula and Lupula later on spend their time in bear form and are forced to change back and will simply seize to carry weapons (and armor and shields). I spent all skill ranks on climb, swim and jump to improve mobility and listen and survival as sadly barbarians have no access to spot (for reasons only the designers know). Level 2 and 3 add Improved trip and Improved grapple to our arsenal and because we are always angry we are quite apt at both. Please note that to my knowledge there is no rule that prevents anyone from tripping a grappled opponent. Level 4 and 5 are almost dead levels except for track.

ECL 7-11:
Battle fury and Instantaneous rage enable a strategy I would call emergency HP increase. +6 Con add 3 times hit dice hit points to one of the twins in a pickle (least 18 HP and increases with every level by 3). The downside of battle fury (attacking your friends) can be mitigated by grappling. When grappling opponents, it is hard to hit your friends and it takes quite a while to kill someone while grappling. Bonus movement is incredibly useful for a grappling / tripping build and glass cannons also like the higher mobility. Berserker strength DR stacks with any kind of similar DR which is a perfect fit for berserk and its damage reduction which lacks such a clause (Note: Barbarian DR also lacks that clause which I did trade it away). Beast shape is of course the absolute crown jewel of berserk. All day Str 27, Dex 13, Con 19, Large Size, 5 natural armor and improved grab. One twin will always spend her day in bear form (it would make sense to be Ursula at first, given her name). Knockdown at ECL 10 is also a fantastic little gem of a feat. Dealing 10 damage should be almost guaranteed if we assume some decent gear. ECL 11 adds one more DR now being DR 4/- and one more battle fury per day. A rather welcome second panic button.

ECL 12-15:
ECL 12 is complete dead level. ECL 13 adds snap kick which is fantastic for a build that will almost always initiate a fight a single attack. As mentioned above since Barbarian DR does not stack with berserk DR, which is why I chose Streetfighter as an ACF to make use of flanking situations. ECL 14 finally turn the other twin a bear and both now rely more on beast shape than battle fury to survive. ECL 15 is a dead level. ECL 16 I chose Blazing Berserker. Because Battle Fury counts as rage according to our chairman this feat is now all day active thanks to berserker strength
Any effect that would normally apply only during your rage applies whenever your berserker strength is active.

ECL 16-20:
It was more important to me to pick up the 11th level of Barbarian which improves berserker strength than finishing berserk.
The bonus to your Strength score improves to +6, your bonus on saves improves to +3, and you gain damage reduction 3/- (or your existing damage reduction of the same kind improves by 3).
Berserk's tenth level is a joke and the ninth while tempting still does not add anything new.

A strength of the build at all levels is that it can pretty much use any gear and still function very well without gear. I'd go for any twohanded weapon, the best light armor available (because I prefer 10 ft. movement over better AC) and a composite bow and arrows for the first levels and would then focus on adding body slot items that keep working while in beast shape.

Sources:
Dvati: Dragon compendium
Berserker Strength Barbarian: PHB II
Streetfighter Barbarian: Cityscape
Wolf totem Barbarian: Unearthed Arcana
Instantaneous Rage: Complete Warrior
Knockdown: Deities and Demigods
Snap Kick: Tome of Battle
Blazing Berserker: Sandstorm
Frozen Berserker: Frostburn

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:14 PM

Such a great feeling to see the skywhale and complete the photo album in Beyond Good and Evil.

The Jonah Brothers
https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/824/1017/132/artwork-fantasy-art-whale-clouds-mountains-hd-wallpaper-preview.jpg

The clergy of Avoreen tell of the brothers Jonah as a cautionary tale to young halflings at the Ceremony of Rememberance. Nin and Ty were paladins of the Defender, brave and noble, but too reckless, too indulgent in their righteous wrath, and they travelled beyond the edges of the map where dragons and other monsters dwell and where light itself cannot reach. The marchers who traveled with them say that the brothers fell into the sea and when they sought to pull them out, found only a great fish. The two must surely have been swallowed by the leviathan, they say, and met their end.

But the more subversive storytellers tell a different tale. As fires dwindle on summer nights, whispers can be heard that the brothers lived on inside the sea beast, and still, in their own way, serve the will of the Wary Sword and protect the people from the things that dwell beyond the far horizon.

These builds are intended to be judged independently, but are submitted together due to their significant overlap.

Nin Jonah
CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Paladin of Freedom 12/Berserk 3/Fighter 2/Knight of the Raven 3
Ability Scores
32 Point Buy with Racial Mods: 13 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 12 Wis, 14 Cha
Increase Cha at 4th and 8th levels. Increase Wis at 12th and 20th levels. Increase Dex at 16th level. The Draconic Rite of Passage is undergone at 15th level, giving +2 Con and -2 Dex, and thus Nin’s Dex is 15 in his halfling form when he takes Two-Weapon Fighting at 16th level.

Build Table
Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Paladin 1 1 2 0 0 8: {+4} Concentration: 4; {+4} Diplomacy: 4; Travel Devotion, Power Attack Paladin of Freedom, Detect Good, Aura of Good, Smite Evil 1/day
2nd Paladin 2 2 3 0 0 2: {+1} Concentration: 5; {+1} Diplomacy: 5; - Divine Grace
3rd Paladin 3 3 3 1 1 4: Concentration: 5; Diplomacy: 5; {+4} Spot: 4; Knight Training (Berserk) Wary Swordknight (Tougher Than Small), Divine Health
4th Paladin 4 4 4 1 1 2: {+1} Concentration: 6; {+1} Diplomacy: 6; Spot: 4; - Turn Undead
5th Paladin 5 5 4 1 1 2: {+1} Concentration: 7; {+1} Diplomacy: 7; Spot: 4; - Smite Evil 2/day, Underdark Knight (Low-Light Vision, +10 ft to Base Speed)
6th Berserk 1 5 6 1 1 2: Concentration: 7; Diplomacy: 7; {+2} Swim: 2; Spot: 4; Improved Bull Rush Battle Fury 1/day, +10 ft Movement
7th Berserk 2 6 7 1 1 2: Concentration: 7; Diplomacy: 7; {+2} Swim: 4; Spot: 4; - DR 1/-
8th Berserk 3 7 7 2 2 2: Concentration: 7; Diplomacy: 7; {+1} Swim: 5; {+1} Spot: 5; - Beast Shape 1/day
9th Paladin 6 8 8 3 3 4: Concentration: 7; Diplomacy: 7; Swim: 5; {+4} Spot: 9; Knockback Wary Swordknight (Haste 1/day)
10th Paladin 7 9 8 3 3 2: {+1} Concentration: 8; {+1} Diplomacy: 8; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; - Underdark Knight (Spike Stones 1/day)
11th Paladin 8 10 9 3 3 2: {+1} Concentration: 9; {+1} Diplomacy: 9; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; - -
12th Paladin 9 11 9 4 4 2: {+1} Concentration: 10; {+1} Diplomacy: 10; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; Shock Trooper Remove Disease 1/week
13th Paladin 10 12 10 4 4 2: {+1} Concentration: 11; {+1} Diplomacy: 11; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; - Smite Evil 3/day
14th Paladin 11 13 10 4 4 2: {+1} Concentration: 12; {+1} Diplomacy: 12; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; - -
15th Paladin 12 14 11 5 5 2: {+1} Concentration: 13; {+1} Diplomacy: 13; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; Aberrant Dragonmark, Shape Soulmeld (Dragon Tail) Underdark Knight (Earth Glide), Remove Disease 2/week
16th Fighter 1 15 13 5 5 2: Concentration: 13; Diplomacy: 13; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; {+2} Quick Swimmer; Two-Weapon FightingB -
17th Fighter 2 16 14 5 5 2: Concentration: 13; Diplomacy: 13; Swim: 5; Spot: 9; {+2} Spot the Weak Point, Quick Swimmer; - Dungeon Crasher
18th Knight of the Raven 1 17 16 5 7 2: Concentration: 13; Diplomacy: 13; Swim: 5; {+2} Spot: 11; Spot the Weak Point, Quick Swimmer; Prehensile Tail, Multiweapon Fighting Raven Harrier (Harry), Speak With Ravens
19th Knight of the Raven 2 18 17 5 8 2: Concentration: 13; Diplomacy: 13; Swim: 5; {+2} Spot: 13; Spot the Weak Point, Quick Swimmer; - Smite Undead 1/day
20th Knight of the Raven 3 19 17 6 8 2: Concentration: 13; Diplomacy: 13; Swim: 5; {+2} Spot: 15; Spot the Weak Point, Quick Swimmer; - Turn Undead, Sun Domain, Raven Harrier (Baffle)

Spells/Day
Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
4th 0 - - -
5th 0 - - -
9th 1 - - -
10th 1 - - -
11th 1 0 - -
12th 1 0 - -
13th 1 1 - -
14th 1 1 0 -
15th 1 1 1 -
19th 1 1 1 -
20th 2 1 1 0

5 levels of Paladin of Freedom sets Nin up to enter the SI. Since he’ll be taking more Paladin later. The Wary Swordknight sub-level at 3rd grants Tougher than Small, a Powerful Build-like ability which explicitly stacks with other size increases (such as turning into a gargantuan whale), and as a nice little bonus increases skill points and grants Spot and Listen. Since whales have Blindsight, he’ll only really need one of these to use against Darkstalker, so Spot it is. Turn Undead grants fuel for Travel Devotion. Nin also takes the Underdark Knight substitution level, trading out his special mount, which will be difficult to ride as a whale, for some mobility and dungeon-related bonuses including one to come later which will be very important.
As Beast Shape doesn’t have a duration limit and doesn’t play nicely with Battle Fury, so the best use of Berserk is to take only 3 levels and just be a whale for all the time spent adventuring, though there will be a few levels where the Battle Fury can potentially shore up Nin’s mediocre Str when he’s still doing his adventuring in his regular halfling body. Gargantuan size in whale form opens up Knockback for a free bull rush on every hit, and with Tougher than Small. The Wary Swordknight sub-level grants a 1/day Haste at 6th, and Underdark Knight a 1/day Spike Stones at 7th.
5 more levels of Paladin gets Nin to the real payoff for Underdark Knight, Earth Glide. Nin can now move through earth and stone as easily as a fish, or a great fish, swims through water. He will need the dragonblood subtype and Fighter as a favored class in his last few levels, so he becomes a Dragonborn. A character with an unspecified bonus feat can lose any feat, so Nin loses Knight Training. Dragonmarks are explicitly called out as being shuffled by the Rite of Rebirth, so he takes Aberrant Dragonmark (the one that a Strongheart Halfing qualifies for) and immediately undergoes the Rite to trade it in for Shape Soulmeld (Dragon Tail). This gives him an additional tail attack, which he can use in his whale form, and sets him up for the final stretch. He also has Shock Trooper online, which is always good and helps with bull rushing and Knockback. Heart Aspect for the breath weapon as a backup attack is the best choice, as senses is redundant with the whale form’s blindsight and wings isn’t good on a form shifting build.
Two levels of Dungeon Crasher Fighter grants a nice payoff for bull rushing as if colossal on every hit. Fighter also grants a bonus feat, which is spent on Two-Weapon Fighting. This might, on its face seem a strange choice, as Nin doesn’t even meet the Dex 15 prerequisite in whale form which he spends almost all his time in, but there is a purpose here. At 18th level, he takes Prehensile Tail. This allows him to treat his Dragon Tail soulmeld as a 3rd hand in his halfling form, meaning he trades in Two-Weapon Fighting for Multiweapon Fighting, which only has a Dex requirement of 13 and which he therefore qualifies for in whale form. This means he also retains Prehensile Tail and can therefore use both of his tails as hands, and he can two-hand a weapon with them, putting his prodigious Str and high BAB to work pounding enemies into walls or the ground which he can swim through as a swift action with Travel Devotion, with an extra 10 ft once per encounter from Quick Swimmer. Spot the Weak Point can also offer an opportunity to load up a big Power Attack, and the ability to breach from solid objects and then go back under can mitigate the cost of the requisite buff round. Since Nin can no longer return to Paladin, Knight of the Raven finishes things out, allowing him to progress his casting and hit 4ths.

Ty Jonah
CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Ranger 2/Paladin of Freedom 4/Berserk 3/Fighter 6/Barbarian 2/Death Delver 3

Ability Scores
32 Point-Buy with Racial Mods and Dragonborn: 13 Str, 12 Dex, 14 Con, 10 Int, 12 Wis, 16 Cha
Ty undergoes the Rite of Rebirth between attaining 1st and 3rd level. All stat increases go to Cha.

Build Table
Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Ranger 1 1 2 2 0 24: {+4} Concentration: 4; {+4} Gather Information: 4; {+4} Heal: 4; {+2 CC} Knowledge (Arcana): 1; {+2} Sense Motive: 2; {+4} Swim: 4; {+4} Listen: 4; TrackB, Animal Devotion, Combat Reflexes Arcane Hunter (Favored Enemy: Arcanists), Voice of the City, Skilled City-Dweller (Handle Animal for Gather Information, Survival for Sense Motive)
2nd Ranger 2 2 3 3 0 6: {+1} Concentration: 5; Gather Information: 4; {+1} Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Sense Motive: 2; {+1} Swim: 5; {+1} Listen: 5; {+2} Healing Hands; Two-Weapon FightingB Combat Style
3rd Paladin 1 3 5 3 0 2: {+1} Concentration: 6; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; {+1} Knowledge (Religion): 1; Sense Motive: 2; Swim: 5; Listen: 5; Healing Hands; Shape Soulmeld (Dragon Tail) Paladin of Freedom, Aura of Good, Detect Evil, Smite Evil 1/day, Skilled City-Dweller (Ride for Tumble)
4th Paladin 2 4 6 3 0 2: {+1} Concentration: 7; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; {+1} Knowledge (Religion): 2; Sense Motive: 2; Swim: 5; Listen: 5; Healing Hands; - Divine Grace
5th Paladin 3 5 6 4 1 4: Concentration: 7; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; {+1} Knowledge (Religion): 3; Sense Motive: 2; Swim: 5; {+3} Listen: 8; Healing Hands; - Wary Swordknight (Tougher than Small), Divine Health
6th Paladin 4 6 7 4 1 2: {+1} Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; {+1} Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 2; Swim: 5; Listen: 8; Healing Hands; Prehensile Tail, Power AttackB Holy Warrior, Turn Undead
7th Berserk 1 6 9 4 1 2: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 2; Swim: 5; {+2} Listen: 10; Healing Hands; - Battle Fury 1/day, +10 ft Movement
8th Berserk 2 7 10 4 1 2: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 2; Swim: 5; Listen: 10; {+2} Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; - DR 1/-
9th Berserk 3 8 10 5 2 2: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 2; Swim: 5; {+2} Listen: 12; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; Improved Bull Rush Beast Shape (Cachalot Whale) 1/day
10th Barbarian 1 9 12 5 2 4: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 4; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; {+3} Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; {+1} Listen: 13; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; - Spirit Lion Totem, Illiteracy, Whirling Frenzy 1/day, Skilled City-Dweller (Survival for Sense Motive)
11th Fighter 1 10 14 5 2 2: Concentration: 8; {+2} Gather Information: 6; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; Listen: 13; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; Shock TrooperB Skilled City-Dweller (Handle Animal for Gather Information)
12th Fighter 2 11 15 5 2 2: Concentration: 8; {+2} Gather Information: 8; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; Listen: 13; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; Knockback Dungeon Crasher
13th Fighter 3 12 15 6 3 2: Concentration: 8; {+2} Gather Information: 10; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; Listen: 13; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; - Physical Prowess (Applied Force)
14th Fighter 4 13 16 6 3 2: Concentration: 8; {+2} Gather Information: 12; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; Listen: 13; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; Weapon Focus (Halberd)B -
15th Barbarian 2 14 17 6 3 4: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 12; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; {+4} Listen: 17; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; Improved TripB, Knock-Down Wolf Totem
16th Figher 5 15 17 6 3 2: Concentration: 8; {+2} Gather Information: 14; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; Listen: 17; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; - Physical Prowess (Applied Force)
17th Fighter 6 16 18 7 4 2: Concentration: 8; {+2} Gather Information: 16; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; Listen: 17; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; - Dungeon Crasher
18th Death Delver 1 16 20 7 6 2: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 16; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; {+2} Listen: 19; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; Spinning Halberd Deathsense, Rebuke Undead
19th Death Delver 2 17 21 7 7 2: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 16; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; {+2} Listen: 21; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; - Deadened Soul, Spontaneous Casting
20th Death Delver 3 18 21 8 7 2: Concentration: 8; Gather Information: 16; Heal: 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 1; Knowledge (Religion): 4; Sense Motive: 5; Swim: 5; {+2} Listen: 23; Quick Swimmer, Healing Hands; - Death Ward 1/day

Spells/Day
Level 1st 2nd
18th 0 -
19th 1 -
20th 1 0
Does not include bonus spells for a high Wis score.

Ty undergoes the Rite of Rebirth much earlier than his brother. Ranger furnishes him with a bonus Track feat to give up, allowing him to keep his Strongheart bonus feat, and he has Two-Weapon Fighting (without the annoying Dex prerequisite) and can take Shape Soulmeld (Dragon Tail) much earlier, along with a breath weapon that helps at low levels as a ranged option. He similarly takes the Wary Swordknight sub-level. Ty opts for Listen as his Darkstalker check sensory skill, as he’ll be taking Barbarian levels which offer it but not spot. Animal Devotion is handy for mobility, and can offer a Str boost should such concerns be obviated by the environment or items. Healing Hands is also very noteworthy at low levels, when people are more likely to fall into negatives and health potions are expensive.
One last Paladin level for Turn Undead means that Ty will have at least 3 uses/day of Animal Devotion. This comes in handy when he’s in whale form all the time, as he can fly in close to a day’s worth of encounters or pump with Ape’s Fury if the flight isn’t necessary. He also nabs Power Attack as a bonus feat from Holy Warrior and Prehensile Tail is already online, meaning he can be two-handed Power Attacking in whale form as early as level 9. Berserk 3 again constitutes all the value that the SI has to offer, and from there he ducks out for a classic Pouncebarian dip.
Dungeon Crasher, Shock Trooper, and Knockback come online by level 12, meaning that on a charge Ty can Power Attack very aggressively and every hit will bull rush with a colossal size modifier and potentially more damage from slamming the enemy into something that will serve as a wall. Wolf Totem Barbarian offers a tax free Improved Trip, opening up Knock-down for an additional size-boosted rider effect on each attack and extra attacks when those trips are successful. The Dead Levels article also gives Fighter levels past 2 a little extra juice with a modest bonus to Str checks to break things, such as those to break through spatial constraints when transforming from a halfling into a whale.
Dungeon Crasher gets its boost from Fighter 6 and Death Delver closes the build out, granting a Rebuke Undead pool in parallel with the Turn pool from Paladin for additional Animal Devotion fuel. Since Ty already has Two-Weapon Fighting, he nabs Spinning Halberd, which grants him an additional attack per round. Said attack is at -5 and deals less damage, similar to an off-hand attack, but it’ll still get the two-handed Power Attack bonus and triggers Knockback and Knock-down just fine.

Cityscape Web Enhancement (https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031718/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a): Skilled City-Dweller, Voice of the City
Champions of Valor: Wary Swordknight
Complete Champion: Animal Devotion, Holy Warrior, Spirit Lion Totem, Travel Devotion, Underdark Knight
Complete Scoundrel: Skill Tricks
Complete Warrior: Shock Trooper, Spinning Halberd
Dead Levels (https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030012/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a): Applied Force
Deities and Demigods: Berserk
Dungeonscape: Dungeon Crasher Fighter
Dragon Magic: Dragon Tail Soulmeld
Eberron Campaign Setting: Aberrant Dragonmark
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Knight of the Raven
Heroes of Horror: Death Delver
Magic of Incarnum: Shape Soulmeld
Races of Stone: Knockback
Races of the Dragon: Dragonborn of Bahamut
Serpent Kingdoms: Prehensile Tail

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:16 PM

"We're all whales." Prescient words.

"Johnson, report! What's the latest on the enemy's position?"

"We've lost track of them, sir."

"By the gods, you're all useless! Thurkear, what have you found out about their capabilities?"

"Well sir, there's some reports in, but they conflict with each other and most of them seem rather fanciful. I don't think it would be helpful for me to share them until we've had a chance to verify them some more."

"We don't have time for that. Out with it."

"Yes sir. We're getting reports of a large fire-breathing monster that goes invisible, but also that they simply eat people? But it's consistent that they're enormous."

"Right, invisible. Well, the good news is that we've got a permanent invisibility purge up on the courtyard, here. Nothing invisible will get in. Burnstock, how many have we lost?"

"Uh, so far we've lost six of them, sir, but I feel like we're not discussing the elephant in the room."

"What, you think we're ignoring something obvious?"

"Well, no, I mean the large smooth gray thing hovering just above us… that's an elephant, isn't it? With the tail fluke and the blowhole?"

"Burnstock, you may be the most useless of them all. I don't care what it gives you a +2 on—whatever weirdass drugs you've found need to stop."

"Yes sir. But the elephant, sir? The one that just snickered?"

"I'll put this slowly so your little brain might have a chance of grasping it. Yes, elephants are large, and they are also gray and smooth. They don't have flukes or blowholes, though. You, my idiot friend, are thinking of whales. You know, the things that live in the ocean. Where we are not. There are no whales in this room, hovering or otherwise."

"Uh, of course, sir. Thank you. You're right, sir."

"I know I am. Now where the hells has Johnson gone? Johnson! JOHNSON! Report at once!"

[muffled screaming]

Kalamak
CG dragonwrought kobold, dragonborn (heart)
Age: Venerable

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Reflex Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Ranger 1 1 2 2 0 40: {+4} Hide: 4; {+4} Move Silently: 4; {+4} Spot: 4; {+4} Listen: 4; {+4} Swim: 4; {+4} Concentration: 4; {+2 CC} Knowledge (Religion): 1; {+4} Knowledge (Nature): 4; {+4 CC} Knowledge (Arcana): 2; {+2} Craft (Weaving): 2; {+4} Tumble: 4; Track (traded at ECL 6), Dragonwrought Track bonus feat, wild empathy, favored enemy (aberrations), skilled city dweller (Ride becomes Tumble)
2nd Fangshields Ranger 2 2 3 3 0 10: {+1} Hide: 5; {+1} Move Silently: 5; {+1} Spot: 5; {+1} Listen: 5; {+1} Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; {+3} Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; {+1} Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+1} Tumble: 5; Multiattack Multiattack bonus feat
3rd Battle Dancer 1 3 3 5 0 8: {+1} Hide: 6; {+1} Move Silently: 6; {+2 CC} Spot: 6; {+1} Listen: 6; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+1} Tumble: 6; {+2} Collector of Stories; Improved Unarmed Strike, Skill Focus: Diplomacy Unarmed strike, AC bonus
4th Fighter 1 4 5 5 0 6: {+2 CC} Hide: 7; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 7; Spot: 6; Listen: 6; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+1} Tumble: 7; {+1} Intimidate: 1; Collector of Stories; Improved Grapple Bonus feat, skilled city dweller (Ride becomes Tumble)
5th Fighter 2 5 6 5 0 6: {+2 CC} Hide: 8; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 8; Spot: 6; Listen: 6; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+1} Tumble: 8; {+1} Intimidate: 2; Collector of Stories; Dungeon crasher
6th Berserk 1 5 8 5 0 6: {+2 CC} Hide: 9; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 9; {+1} Spot: 7; {+1} Listen: 7; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; Tumble: 8; Intimidate: 2; Collector of Stories; Dragon Wings (from dragonborn; replace Track); Improved Dragon Wings Battle fury, +10 ft movement
7th Berserk 2 6 9 5 0 6: {+2 CC} Hide: 10; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 10; {+1} Spot: 8; {+1} Listen: 8; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; Tumble: 8; Intimidate: 2; Collector of Stories; DR 1/—
8th Berserk 3 7 9 6 1 6: {+2 CC} Hide: 11; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 11; {+1} Spot: 9; {+1} Listen: 9; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; Tumble: 8; Intimidate: 2; Collector of Stories; Beast shape (cachalot whale)
9th Marshal 1 7 11 6 3 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 12; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 12; Spot: 9; Listen: 9; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; Tumble: 8; Intimidate: 2; {+4} Knowledge (Local): 4; Collector of Stories; Snatch, Improved Snatch Bonus feat, minor aura (motivate DEX), skilled city dweller (Ride becomes Tumble)
10th Scaled Horror 1 7 13 6 3 8: {+1} Hide: 13; {+1} Move Silently: 13; {+2} Spot: 11; {+4} Listen: 13; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; Tumble: 8; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; Collector of Stories; Improved grab, keen scent, spells
11th Totemist 1 7 15 8 3 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 14; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 14; Spot: 11; Listen: 13; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+4} Tumble: 12; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; Collector of Stories; Wild empathy, illiteracy, meldshaping, skilled city dweller (Ride becomes Tumble)
12th Totemist 2 8 16 9 3 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 15; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 15; Spot: 11; Listen: 13; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+3} Tumble: 15; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; {+1} Knowledge (The Planes): 1; Collector of Stories; Snatch and Swallow Totem chakra bind (+1 capacity)
13th Umbral Disciple 1 8 16 11 5 10: {+1} Hide: 16; {+1} Move Silently: 16; {+4} Spot: 15; {+3} Listen: 16; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 2; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+1} Tumble: 16; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; Knowledge (The Planes): 1; Collector of Stories;
14th Umbral Disciple 2 9 16 12 6 10: {+1} Hide: 17; {+1} Move Silently: 17; {+2} Spot: 17; {+1} Listen: 17; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; {+4} Knowledge (Arcana): 6; Craft (Weaving): 2; {+1} Tumble: 17; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; Knowledge (The Planes): 1; Collector of Stories;
15th Umbral Disciple 3 10 17 12 6 10: {+1} Hide: 18; {+1} Move Silently: 18; {+1} Spot: 18; {+1} Listen: 18; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; {+4} Knowledge (Arcana): 10; {+1} Craft (Weaving): 3; {+1} Tumble: 18; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; Knowledge (The Planes): 1; Collector of Stories; Improved Flight
16th Totemist 3 11 17 12 7 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 19; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 19; {+1} Spot: 19; {+1} Listen: 19; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 10; Craft (Weaving): 3; {+1} Tumble: 19; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; {+1} Knowledge (The Planes): 2; Collector of Stories; Totem's protection
17th Totemist 4 12 18 13 7 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 20; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 20; {+1} Spot: 20; {+1} Listen: 20; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 10; Craft (Weaving): 3; {+1} Tumble: 20; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; {+1} Knowledge (The Planes): 3; Collector of Stories;
18th Totemist 5 12 18 13 7 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 21; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 21; {+1} Spot: 21; {+1} Listen: 21; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 10; Craft (Weaving): 3; {+1} Tumble: 21; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; {+1} Knowledge (The Planes): 4; Collector of Stories; Knowledge Devotion Crown/feet/hands binds
19th Totemist 6 13 19 14 8 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 22; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 22; {+1} Spot: 22; {+1} Listen: 22; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 10; Craft (Weaving): 3; {+1} Tumble: 22; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; {+1} Knowledge (The Planes): 5; Collector of Stories; Totem chakra bind (+1 meldshaper level)
20th Totemist 7 14 19 14 8 8: {+2 CC} Hide: 23; {+2 CC} Move Silently: 23; {+1} Spot: 23; {+1} Listen: 23; Swim: 5; Concentration: 4; Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 3; Knowledge (Religion): 1; Knowledge (Nature): 5; Knowledge (Arcana): 10; Craft (Weaving): 3; {+1} Tumble: 23; Intimidate: 2; Knowledge (Local): 4; {+1} Knowledge (The Planes): 6; Collector of Stories;

Stat Base (points) Racial Age Total @ level 1 4th 8th 12th 16th 20th
STR 14 (6) -4 0 10 35 (whale)
DEX 12 (4) +2 0 14 13 (whale)
CON 14 (6) -2 0 12 24 (whale)
INT 15 (8) 0 +3 18
WIS 8 (0) 0 +3 11
CHA 15 (8) 0 +3 18 +1 (19) +1 (20) +1 (21) +1 (22) +1 (23)

I'm a whale. You're a whale. We're all whales. That's, like, the entire purpose of this godsforsaken class, right? I'm not going to be cute about it. We want to get in, embrace our whale nature, and get out. As I see it, I'm honoring the secret ingredient by maximizing the cool stuff I can do with being a whale more than I would be by throwing good levels after bad taking more berserk. Because being a whale is awesome! Being a furious little guy who spends a standard action turning on the angry and then faffs around attacking friends and/or causing property damage after combat is not awesome! It's kind of boring and weak! So let's go be whales, together.

Anyway. May as well not pretend, you know? So, Kalamak. Dragonwrought kobold. Why a dragonwrought kobold? Because we need the dragon type, actually. Why do we need the dragon type? Because it's a prereq for Snatch and Swallow, which is one of the easiest ways (relatively speaking) to gain a swallow whole effect. Type doesn't change when you go into whale form, so then we'd be big enough and dragon enough to qualify. Even though we're not choosing dragonwrought for the stats, it seems criminal to not take advantage of the bonuses offered by venerable, so let's do that.

Snatch and Swallow also requires Improved Snatch and Snatch, which both require being Huge+, so Kalamak can't start taking them until the whale comes online. Therefore, it's in our best interest to become a whale as fast as possible, and that means getting into berserk ASAP. Full BAB classes ahoy!

Ranger gives skills and gives a throwaway feat, which will be important later. The Fangshields ranger sub level gives Multiattack, since Kalamak isn't humanoid. (See the web enhancement at https://web.archive.org/web/20161031222456/http:/archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a for kobold natural weapons.) The bite attack matters more than the tail attack, but hey, it's something for nothing, really. Battle dancer provides Improved Unarmed Strike and CHA to AC while unarmored. No need to be unarmored right away, but the day is coming, since it's annoying to try to put armor on a whale. Fighter gives Improved Grapple, since we'll be grappling a lot, and it also gives the medium armor proficiency required to get into berserk. All makes sense so far, I hope. SF Diplomacy is "pre-paying" a feat that marshal will refund later, since, as stated, the Snatch chain requires Huge and therefore can't be taken pre-berserk. Dungeon crasher is basically just taken for the sheer humor of it; once we become whale-sized, the occasional AoO will be worth it for such a ridiculously high bull rush mod.

Just about every kobold should take the Rite of Draconic Passage in RotD (pg. 43), since it just costs a single HP and a trivial amount of gold. Mage armor 1/day (CL = character level) is going to come in real handy once we hit whale form.

At level 6, Kalamak undergoes the Rite of Rebirth and becomes a dragonborn. Now, this does a few cool things for the build. First, it gives a breath weapon. This is useful because Snatch and Swallow assumes that you have a breath weapon for part of the damage the swallowed creature takes, so this ensures that there's not a rules conflict there. (Plus, breath weapons are just useful!) Second, consider this text from RotD pg. 10:

Special: Ordinarily, only a 1st-level character can select certain feats requiring the dragonblood subtype (see Chapter 6). However, upon becoming a dragonborn, you can elect to replace one (and only one) of your existing feats with one of these feats. A character cannot have more than one of these feats. The feat to be replaced cannot be a prerequisite for any prestige class, ability, or other feat.

One of those feats is Dragon Wings, which is very useful to us. This is why we needed a throwaway feat from our early levels. Track isn't doing us any good, so yeet it away and get Dragon Wings in its place. Works for me!

As a sidebar, pg. 4 of RotD says "Dragons automatically qualify for any classes, prestige classes,
racial substitution levels, feats, powers, or spells that require the dragonblood subtype." It's a well-known optimization hack to take this extremely loose language and say that a dragon can just take anything that requires the dragonblood subtype, ignoring any other prerequisites (after all, it does say "automatically qualify"). I'm choosing to follow what I believe to be RAI, namely, "dragons count as having the dragonblood subtype for prereqs," and accordingly I'm taking Dragon Wings and Improved Dragon Wings together. However, if you feel differently and you believe that it's acceptable to just take Improved Dragon Wings without going through Dragon Wings first, then please, go ahead and do that! You can still only swap Track for a different first-level-only feat like Dragon Tail, but hey, free is free. I'm not doing that because I think it's inelegant, but please be aware that the option is right there if you want it.

Now, one of the important things to remember in all of this is that, aside from the explicit swaps we just discussed, your feats stick with you no matter what form you're in. Kalamak's dragon type comes from the Dragonwrought feat; that feat doesn't go away from the Rite of Rebirth, so even after becoming a dragonborn, he retains the dragon type. (You still qualify as being your prior race for prereqs, so becoming a dragonborn also doesn't get rid of the fact that you count as a kobold.) Furthermore, you retain your feats while in a different shape, and the benefit of the Improved Dragon Wings feat is a fly speed, so that's going to be important in whale form. Makes it much easier to get around out of the water, after all.

Berserk! Two levels of not-a-whole-lot followed by WHALE. Love those whale stats. Gargantuan, here we come! With CHA to AC and mage armor from the draconic rite of passage SLA, our AC isn't actually bad (and of course there's that big pile of natural armor that cachalot whale gives). Since beast form has no duration, we can plan to be a whale forever. I mean, wouldn't you also want to just be a whale? That really seems pretty sweet.

9th level is marshal, which does two things for us. First, Motivate Dexterity is good times, allowing CHA to be added to a whole tapestry of checks: initiative rolls, Hide checks, Move Silently, and so on. Second, it gives a "refund" of Skill Focus: Diplomacy; in other words, SF: Diplo is a marshal bonus feat, but if you already have it then you get to pick any other feat for which you meet the prereqs. This allows both Snatch and Improved Snatch to come online at once, saving a lot of time. Snatch is a lot of fun when you're Gargantuan, by the way! Your grapple mod is absolutely bonkers between the size bonus and the STR bonus. Don't forget BAB and Improved Grapple, too! Go ahead and chomp away at someone and start doing automatic bite damage. And they also can't save vs. your breath weapon, if you feel like doing that!

10th level is scaled horror, which Kalamak qualifies for by virtue of kobold having the reptilian subtype (dragonborn explicitly leaves your subtypes alone). Scaled horror's improved grab ability is separate from Snatch and therefore you can totally use both at once. SH's ability says "each successive grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals damage given for the attack that established the hold," which is great. Means you get to chew on them when they fail to escape, when you establish a pin, and so on. Snatch says you squeeze automatically for bite damage every round. These are separate and therefore they both apply! SH spells are basically wasted because we don't have thumbs and it's not worthwhile to take Surrogate Spellcasting, but oh well, so it goes.

Totemist comes next! The girallon arms are a massive bonus to grapple checks, just in case your numbers weren't absurd enough by virtue of being a whale. And at 12th level, we get what we came here for: Snatch and Swallow! Or perhaps we should call it Snatch and S-whale-ow. Now Kalamak can swallow enemies whole after biting them! How cool is that? Flying whale comes and just GOBBLES YOU UP. I love that. Great image, you know? Because of imp grab's wording, the secondary grapple check to force them down your gullet also does bite damage, which is fun.

Now, there's a bit of a problem with the text. It says that there's an amount on the table for how much damage the target has to do in order to cut their way free… but that isn't true. There's no such value on the table. I looked. Twice. If you find it, lemme know, but I don't think it exists. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find a strict rule anywhere (or even guidelines based on size) describing how much damage it takes to cut out of existing monsters with swallow whole; probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-35 HP, but that's gotta be a GM ruling. (I mean we could make the stupid RAW argument that with no value, they cannot actually succeed on cutting their way free and they must grapple free, but that's kind of stupid and I wouldn't take it seriously.) Either way, do recall that it only works with a light weapon and it has to be piercing or slashing, so if they didn't come in with a dagger or something, they ain't using their broadsword to get out. And the DR from berserk applies too and makes your tummy harder to escape! Look, I'm using the secret ingredient! Woo!

The table for Snatch and Swallow says that you do bludgeoning damage every round and you also do energy damage every round, with the energy type determined by your breath weapon. The text seems to assume that you only have one breath weapon, or rather, a breath weapon that deals only one type of damage. If that isn't true, as we see with Kalamak, I assume that the energy damage still only applies once? Since a dragonborn gets to choose what energy type their breath weapon is every time it's used, I assume that Kalamak gets to choose the energy type done by his gut every round too. And don't forget that every grapple check deals bite damage (from imp grab) and also you do bite damage for free every round (from Snatch)!

Umbral Disciple? What's that doing here? Well, this is perhaps where we get a little bit silly, but I couldn't resist the mental image. Three levels of umbral disciple gives a couple points of desperately needed essentia and also gives embrace of shadow, which allows for miss chance and also lets you hide in plain sight.

Hide. In plain sight.

You're a flying dragon-whale and you're going to hide in plain sight.

This is hilarious. I couldn't resist that opportunity. Now sure, yes, there's a size penalty to this sort of thing, but it also comes online at a really high level. You've got a whole lot of brute-forced cross-class ranks, you've got motivate dexterity, and you've also got the kruthik claws giving a really big bonus as well. You even have a +2 from your copper dragon heritage (Dragonwrought applies a +2 bonus to a skill associated with your heritage; copper's associated skill is Hide). Also, surprisingly for a Gargantuan beastie, the cachalot whale has a positive DEX mod! Only +1, sure, but at least it's not a penalty like most things its size have. Point is, you might not succeed against a druid with max ranks and max WIS, but you'd probably succeed against the average Joe who hasn't trained in Spot. Yes, despite the fact that you're a freaking Gargantuan whale. Who just ate someone whole.

Wanna get even sillier? Let's get sillier. There's not really anything in the rules that says that embrace of shadow doesn't apply against creatures in your belly. So they'd have a miss chance trying to hit your stomach to cut their way out, which is great. But even sillier, there's no reason you can't hide from them. Like, sure, they're touching you, but you can explicitly hide even while being observed. Observation isn't only visual! Any scientist can tell you that observation basically means sensing and gathering information about something, not necessarily literally seeing it. But hey, the miss chance applies either way because nothing says it doesn't!

Improved Flight is a simple feat with a simple job: improve flight maneuverability. Not a lot to say there. It's just a good thing to have.

Totemist finishes us off, mostly offering more essentia but also occasionally offering additional melds. Knowledge Devotion is an insight bonus to "damage rolls" without specifying what kind of damage rolls, so it's one of the few things that can be used to increase the bludgeoning/energy damage dealt by Snatch and Swallow. Just seemed like a cute little way to wrap up.

Flying hidden dragon-whale is gonna eat you up.

Level Soulmelds Essentia Binds Chakras
11th 2 1 0
12th 3 2 1 Totem
13th 3 3 1
14th 3 3 1
15th 3 4 1
16th 3 4 1
17th 4 5 1
18th 4 5 1 Crown/feet/hands
19th 4 6 2
20th 5 7 2

Primary meld is the girallon arms. Binding it isn't really important unless you want the increased essentia cap for binding it to your totem chakra, but truly, the binds don't matter. It's just a big meaty bonus to grapple checks, one of the best you can get once you're already super big.

Secondary meld is the kruthik claws. Big bonus to Hide/MS to make our "hidden whale" joke funnier. No need to bind this one either, really.

Your remaining melds are flexible! A general good one to bind to the totem chakra is the heart of fire, since that adds extra dice of damage to your bite attack (and also your automatic grapple damage). Remember that Snatch and Imp Grab have you apply bite attack damage over and over! Another good one is to take the wormtail belt for some extra AC or the dread carapace for increased bite damage. Also, amusingly, ranger and totemist and berserk all give wild empathy, so Kalamak actually has a pretty good wild empathy check; if you expect that that's going to be useful, you can shape the unicorn horn, the beast tamer circlet, or both (they're different bonus types!) and get a remarkably high total bonus to your wild empathy score!

As a reminder, MoI pg. 169 says "if in doubt, err on the side of granting the creature access to all chakras." If you look at a whale skeleton, it's pretty clear that they have shoulders, feet, hands, and so on. There should be no problems there!

Category Game Element Source Page
Race Kobold Races of the Dragon 39
Race Dragonborn Races of the Dragon 8
Race Cachalot Whale Monster Manual 283
Class Ranger PHB 46
Class Battle Dancer Dragon Compendium 28
Class Fighter PHB 37
Class Berserk Deities and Demigods 201
Class Marshal Miniatures Handbook 12
Class Scaled Horror Savage Species 83
Class Totemist Magic of Incarnum 29
Class Umbral Disciple Magic of Incarnum 158
Feat Track PHB 101
Feat Improved Unarmed Strike PHB 96
Feat Improved Grapple PHB 95
Feat Skill Focus PHB 100
Feat Multiattack Monster Manual 304
Feat Snatch Monster Manual 304
Feat Dragonwrought Races of the Dragon 100
Feat Dragon Wings Races of the Dragon 100
Feat Improved Dragon Wings Races of the Dragon 100
Feat Improved Snatch Draconomicon 71
Feat Snatch and Swallow Draconomicon 73
Feat Improved Flight Races of the Wild 151
Feat Knowledge Devotion Complete Champion 60
ACF Fangshields Ranger Champions of Valor 41
ACF Dungeon Crasher Fighter Dungeonscape 10
ACF Skilled City Dweller Cityscape web expansion https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031718/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a
Soulmelds Various Magic of Incarnum Starts on 54
Formatting Table mattie_p

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:16 PM

Did you sing it to the tune of Bud the Chud? I know I did.

HANK "the Tank"

Human
Bear totem barbarian
Afflicted lycanthrope (black bear)
Berserk
Bear warrior
Primeval
Abolisher
Bear lord

Neutral good

Abilities
Initial
Race / Template
4th
8th
12th
16th

STR
14

DEX
12

CON
14

INT
10

WIS
16
2
1
1
1
1

CHA
12

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

1st
Bear totem (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#bearTotemClassFeatures ) (Unearthed Arcana 48) barbarian (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/barbarian.htm) 1
1
2
0
0
20: {+4} Survival: 4; {+4} Handle Animal: 4; {+4} Intimidate: 4; {+4 CC} K: Nature: 2; {+4 CC} K: Dungeoneering: 2;
Toughness (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#toughness) (B), Self-Sufficient (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#selfSufficient) (H), Power Attack (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#powerAttack)
Rage, illiteracy

2nd
Bear totem barbarian 2
2
3
0
0
5: {+1} Survival: 5; {+1} Handle Animal: 5; {+1} Intimidate: 5; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 2.5; {+1 CC} K: Dungeoneering: 2.5;
Improved Grapple (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#improvedGrapple) (B)

3rd
Bear totem barbarian 3
3
3
1
1
5: {+1} Survival: 6; {+1} Handle Animal: 6; {+1} Intimidate: 6; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 3; {+1 CC} K: Dungeoneering: 3;
Endurance (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#endurance), Great Fortitude (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#greatFortitude) (B)

4th
Bear (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/bearBlack.htm) HD 1
3
5
3
1
3: Survival: 6; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 6; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 3.5; {+2} Control Shape: 2; K: Dungeoneering: 3;
Iron Will (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#ironWill) (B)
teeth, claws, fur, alternate form (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm)

5th
Bear HD 2
4
6
4
1
3: Survival: 6; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 6; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 4; {+2} Control Shape: 4; K: Dungeoneering: 3;

6th
Bear HD 3
5
6
4
2
3: Survival: 6; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 6; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 4.5; {+2} Control Shape: 6; K: Dungeoneering: 3;
Extra Rage (Complete Warrior 98)

7th
Bearserk (Deities and Demigods 201) 1
5
8
4
2
3: Survival: 6; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 6; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 5; {+2} Control Shape: 8; K: Dungeoneering: 3;

Battle fury, wild empathy, fast movement

8th
Bearserk 2
6
9
4
2
3: Survival: 6; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 6; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 5.5; {+2} Control Shape: 10; K: Dungeoneering: 3;

DR 1/—

9th
Bearserk 3
7
9
5
3
3: Survival: 6; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 6; {+1 CC} K: Nature: 6; {+2} Control Shape: 12; K: Dungeoneering: 3;
Track (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#track)
Bear totem beast shape

10th
Bear warrior (Complete Warrior 16) 1
8
11
5
3
5: {+1} Survival: 7; Handle Animal: 6; {+1} Intimidate: 7; K: Nature: 6; {+1} Control Shape: 13; {+2 CC} K: Dungeoneering: 4;

Black bear form

11th
Bear Primeval (Frostburn 65) 1
9
13
5
3
3: Survival: 7; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 7; {+3} K: Nature: 9; Control Shape: 13; K: Dungeoneering: 4;

Primeval form (polar bear) 1/day, animal empathy

12th
Abearlisher (Lords of Madness 183)1
9
13
5
5
5: {+3} Survival: 10; Handle Animal: 6; Intimidate: 7; K: Nature: 9; {+2} Control Shape: 15; K: Dungeoneering: 4;
Extra Wild Shape (Complete Divine 81)

13th
Bear warrior 2
10
14
5
5
5: {+3} Survival: 13; Handle Animal: 6; {+1} Intimidate: 8; K: Nature: 9; {+1} Control Shape: 16; K: Dungeoneering: 4;

14th
Bear warrior 3
11
14
6
6
5: {+1} Survival: 14; Handle Animal: 6; {+3} Intimidate: 11; K: Nature: 9; {+1} Control Shape: 17; K: Dungeoneering: 4;

Scent

15th
Bear warrior 4
12
15
6
6
5: {+1} Survival: 15; Handle Animal: 6; {+3} Intimidate: 14; K: Nature: 9; {+1} Control Shape: 18; K: Dungeoneering: 4;
Extra Rage (Complete Warrior 98)

16th
Bear warrior 5
13
15
6
6
5: {+1} Survival: 16; Handle Animal: 6; {+1} Intimidate: 15; K: Nature: 9; {+2} Jump: 2; {+1} Control Shape: 19; K: Dungeoneering: 4;

Bear Form (brown)

17th
Bear lord (Complete Adventurer 23) 1
14
17
8
0
5: {+1} Survival: 17; Handle Animal: 6; {+1} Intimidate: 16; K: Nature: 9; {+2} Jump: 4; {+1} Control Shape: 20; K: Dungeoneering: 4;

Bear bond, detect bears, wild empathy

18th
Bear lord 2
15
18
9
0
5: {+1} Survival: 18; Handle Animal: 6; {+1} Intimidate: 17; K: Nature: 9; {+2} Jump: 6; {+1} Control Shape: 21; K: Dungeoneering: 4;
Extra Wild Shape (Complete Divine 81)
First bear totem

19th
LA
--
--
--
--
--
--
--

20th
LA
--
--
--
--
--
--
--

Prereqs:

Bear warrior

BAB 7: 9 HD
Power Attack: 1 HD
Rage: 1 HD

Berserk

BAB 5: 6 HD
Nonlawful: start
Medium armor: 1 HD
Shields: 1 HD
Martial weapons: 1 HD

Primeval

BAB 8: 10 HD
Nonlawful: start
Handle Animal 5: 2 HD
K Nature 5: 7 HD
Survival 5: 2 HD
Endurance: 3 HD
Self-Sufficient: 1 HD
Toughness: 1 HD

Abolisher

Nonchaotic: start
K Dungeoneering 4: 10 HD
K Nature 9: 11 HD
Track: 9 HD
Wild Empathy: 7 HD, thanks berserk

Bear Lord

NG, LN, TN, CN, or NE: start
BAB 5: 6 HD
Handle Animal 4: 1 HD
K Nature 2: 1 HD
Intimidate 4: 1 HD
Endurance: 3 HD

Hank is a barbarian. Not just any barbarian. A bear totem barbarian. Hank loves bears. Who doesn't love bears? They're big and hairy and strong and great at hugs. Hank really wants to be a member of the bear community.

One evening, Hank had a really fun night with a handsome black bear who happened to break Hank's skin with a love bite in the throes of passion. Hank didn't mind too much, but the bear then turned into a more humanoid kind of bear and apologized, saying that he should have told Hank ahead of time but that he simply forgot. Hank got tested and it turns out that he caught lycanthropy from this encounter. Remember, no matter how attractive they are, always ask about communicable templates and/or diseases before fooling around with a new partner! But at least since Hank knew what was happening to him (his partner may have been irresponsible beforehand, but he was helpful afterward), he was able to start practicing controlling it.

Having three new bear HD let Hank start walking the path of the bearserk, and soon enough he was able to simply become a brown bear all day every day, as he should have been from the beginning. He already lived in the woods, after all.

Hank remembered what one of his old friends had told him years ago: "inside of you there are four bears." And admittedly, at the time, that was simply a description of the night's activities! But Hank realized at this point that there was more to it than just a description of how he chose to have fun. It was also a description of who he was, or perhaps who he would become. While in his brown bear form, Hank let his lycanthropy loose and used his hybrid black bear form, becoming a hybrid between brown bear and black bear. The best of each, really.

Hank studied hard to become a bear warrior. He found that with his passions up, he could add more bear to himself and apply another black bear form while already in hybrid brown bear/black bear form. Three bears deep. That's very cozy to have all in one space, but Hank can handle it!

He then realized that he could seek out another color of bear by giving in to his older, more primeval urges, thereby applying a primeval polar bear form while in the black bear form of his brown bear/black bear hybrid self.

Hank then decided to keep doing all of that and he got better and better at it. His black bear form in the middle became another brown bear, so he was a polar bear form of a brown bear form of a brown bear/black bear hybrid. Having turned his old buddy's "four bears" comment from an observation into a prophecy, he lived happily ever after as a member of the bear community. The end.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Bear_Brotherhood_flag.svg/512px-Bear_Brotherhood_flag.svg.png

*slaps top of build* This bad boy can fit so much bear inside him! How much bear? Well, as stated, four bears! And they all stack, if you do it right! After all, as everyone experienced in bear handling knows, when bears pile onto each other, they like to be in a certain order. Although certain bears can take multiple roles, some bears are better suited to be on the bottom and some belong on top.

In Hank's case, brown bear form from berserk is on the bottom. The other three bears (black bear hybrid form from lycanthropy, black bear and then brown bear form from bear warrior, polar bear primeval form from primeval) go on top, because they all provide popping big modifiers to physical stats instead of replacing physical stats entirely. After all, you can get bigger and stronger by loving your body and working with it than by trying to replace it wholesale! At least after you set up the proper bear bottom foundation.

Abearlisher is for access to wild shape, which can be used to get more uses of primeval form (and then again through Extra Wild Shape).

FORM
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA

Brown bear (berserk)
27
13
19
10
18
12

Hybrid form (black bear lycanthrope)
+8 (35)
+2 (15)
+4 (23)
10
18
12

Black bear (bear warrior)
+8 (43)
+2 (17)
+4 (27)
10
18
12

Polar bear (primeval)
+16 (59)
+2 (19)
+8 (35)
10
18
12

POST-BEAR WARRIOR 5
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA

Brown bear (berserk)
27
13
19
10
18
12

Hybrid form (black bear lycanthrope)
+8 (35)
+2 (15)
+4 (23)
10
18
12

Brown bear (bear warrior, replaces black bear from bear warrior)
+16 (51)
+2 (17)
+8 (31)
10
18
12

Polar bear (primeval)
+16 (67)
+2 (19)
+8 (39)
10
18
12

Note that this table includes the bonus to WIS granted by lycanthropy but it does not include level-up bonuses to WIS.

67 STR! That's a +28 mod! And after all, WotC knows that STR is unconditionally the most valuable and powerful stat, so that's really a lot and the power of this build speaks for itself. And with 39 CON (a +14 mod), Hank's rages last a looooong time. Consult a doctor if your rage lasts longer than four hours, but Hank isn't quite at that point yet. And so much HP! Hank is a big solid piece of furry, cuddly meat. He can just keep going and going!

Smell is very important to bears, so Hank combines Track and the Scent ability (gained several times over his career, but earliest when he contracts lycanthropy) and a high Survival score to find what he wants.

If LA bi-off is available, take more bear lord and you can gain Wild Aspect to add bear claws on your quadruple bear, which I think is about 4.5 bears?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/647393639886094337/988976435186241596/unknown.png

A note about black bear lycanthropy:

The standard werebear in the SRD is the brown bear. Hank's form of lycanthropy is instead based on the black bear. As an afflicted lycanthrope, he has +2 LA, and black bears have 3 HD.

See this (https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/huge-bear-wanders-onto-school-27003941) article for an example of a black bear being associated with chaos, but since the SRD brown bear lycanthrope is associated with law, it makes sense to merge the two and keep the alignment as NG. Bears are cute and they're perceived as good, so this is totally in keeping with the SRD's (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm) text about choosing lycanthrope alignment:

Alignment
Any. Noble creatures such as bears, eagles, and lions tend to produce good-aligned lycanthropes. Sinister creatures such as rats, snakes, and wolves tend to produce evil-aligned lycanthropes. This is a reflection of how these animals are perceived, not any innate quality of the animal itself, so the alignment of the animal form can be arbitrarily assigned.

The LA from afflicted lycanthropy are gained when the condition is contracted (after Hank's 3rd class level) but are put at the end of the table for readability.

Control Shape is always a class skill for afflicted lycanthropes who are aware of their condition, like Hank.

A note about polar bear primeval form:

Any prehistoric animal can be a primeval form if it's the right size and the right number of HD. So are polar bears prehistoric?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/647393639886094337/995091833032020008/unknown.png

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/647393639886094337/988977420738629742/unknown.png

Polar bears are older than human history and therefore they are prehistoric.

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:18 PM

Bronze in color, gold in our hearts.

"Mad Build Productions" proudly presents...
..this summer at your local D&D table..
.. with "TAZ" in the mainrole as..
"The WhaleNado!"
-
There is no escape!

Once upon a time, the was a lil Bronze Jungle Kobold. His tribe was atop of a mountain where you had a beautiful view upon the plains and a human city at a coast. TAZ liked to sit on a tree and to dream to travel to far lands. One day an army emerged and began a war against the city. TAZ was impressed by the size of the armies. Even from this height on the mountain he could see how the 2 armies clashed. But suddenly he notices something in the sky flying down on the battlefield. While the creatures body did disappear into the clashing masses on the battlefield, he could still see the spot by the now flashing lights (magic) that started to frequently pop up. A few minutes later, the battle seem to have ended, but the bright light was still there.
His curiosity couldn't be stopped anymore. He did forget home and family and did run straight to the remaining of the battlefield, looking for the bright light. To his luck he could find the source of the light. It was a "Solar" (required for entering Contemplative) summoned by a cleric (of Kelanen). He approaches the obviously surprised cleric and starts to ask all kind of questions, not even letting him the opportunity to answer. After his first initial hype, TAZ finally calms down to have a normal conversation and tries to convince the cleric that he wanna join em. The cleric is a bit unsure what to do with this Kobold child. Well, there is no (divine) rule against it and since looking for his parents would be very time consuming (since TAZ doesn't wanna go back home and doesn't cooperate on this specific topic), he decides to give him a chance at least.
TAZ is very happy that he can finally start his journey to travel the word. He becomes a good apprentice fast and the teacher notice how well the other kids perceive him. This leads to the idea that he could be a good fit to let teach the children once he had learned all the basics himself. TAZ enjoyed it to teach the children and became very good at it. In fact, he was so well praised for this that is eventually became a kind of burden. He got stuck to the job for most of his life. He doesn't regret the wonderful years raising the children, but somehow he feels that with his 123 years the time has come for him to travel and battle himself, to prove himself as a worthy follower of Kelanen. As such he joins the "Blue Whale Heavy Infantry of the Kelanen Army". The "Blue Whales" are renown for their orthodox brute force tactic that produces some of the most fearsome warriors on the battlefield. Let's say some are "special" and need to be taken "special" care of, even as ally. Otherwise you might find an unwanted shortcut to the next graveyard.

Name: TAZ
Alignment: neutral
Religion: Kelanen (https://greyhawk.fandom.com/wiki/Kelanen)
Age: 123
Age Category: Great Wyrm (12th)
Race: (Dragonwrought) Jungle Kobold (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/environmentalRacialVariants.htm#jungleKobolds) (Kobold web enhancement (https://web.archive.org/web/20190804213826/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a))
Dragonwrought Heritage: Bronze Dragon (+2 Survival)
Type: Dragon

Darkvision (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#darkvision) out to 60 feet and low-light vision (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#lowLightVision).
Immunity to magic sleep (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/sleep.htm) effects and paralysis (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#paralysis) effects.
Proficient (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatModifiers.htm#weaponArmorAndShieldProficienc y) with its natural weapons (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#naturalWeapons) only unless humanoid in form (or capable of assuming humanoid form), in which case proficient with all simple weapons (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/weapons.htm#simpleMartialandExoticWeapons) and any weapons mentioned in its entry.
Proficient (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatModifiers.htm#weaponArmorAndShieldProficienc y) with no armor.
Dragons eat, sleep, and breathe.

STR: 13* (17 base -4 race) +1 @lvl 4 = 14*
DEX: 18** (16 base +2 race) +1 @lvl 8; 12; 16; 20 = 22**
CON: 10* (10 base)
INT: 10 (9 base -2 race +3 age)
WIS: 16 (13 base +3 age)
CHA: 12 (9 base +3 race)
* = Recommended stats for +6 item boosts and +4 Wish
** = also recommended as "item combo". Mentioned in the lvl 15-20 section.

Cleric 7 / Berserk 9 / Contemplative 4

Skills:
We need 13p. in Knowledge (religion) to enter Contemplative. I also put some spare point into Survival to reflect the Travel Devotion and the slight "freak of nature theme" of this build.
Concentration is always handy as caster and thus gets all the remaining points.

Level
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills
Feats
Class Features

1st
Cleric
+0
+2
+0
+2
Concentration: 4

Knowledge (Religion): 4
Dragonwrought
(Races of the Dragon)
Domain: War
Martial Weapon Proficiency
& Weapon Focus
(Longsword)

Travel Devotion
(Complete Champion)

Turn Undead

2nd
Cleric
+1
+3
+1
+3
Concentration: 5

Knowledge (Religion): 5

3rd
Cleric
+2
+3
+1
+3
Concentration: 6

Knowledge (Religion): 6
Power Attack

4th
Cleric
+3
+4
+1
+4
Concentration: 7

Knowledge (Religion): 7

5th
Cleric
+3
+4
+2
+4
Concentration: 8

Knowledge (Religion): 8

6th
Cleric
+4
+5
+2
+5
Concentration: 9

Knowledge (Religion): 9
Imp. Dragon Wings
(Races of the Dragon)

7th
Cleric (7th)
+5
+5
+2
+5
Concentration: 10

Knowledge (Religion): 10

8th
Berserk
+5
+7
+2
+5
Knowledge (Religion): 11 (+2)

Battle Fury 1/day

+10 ft. Movement

9th
Berserk
+6
+8
+2
+5
Knowledge (Religion): 12 (+2)
Imp. Flight
(Complete Adventurer)
Damage Reduction 1/-

10th
Berserk
+7
+8
+3
+6
Knowledge (Religion): 13 (+2)

Beast Shape 1/day

11th
Berserk
+8
+9
+3
+6
Survival: 2

Battle Fury 2/day

Damage Reduction 2/-

12th
Berserk
+8
+9
+3
+6
Survival: 4
Wingstorm
(Draconomicon)

13th
Berserk
+9
+10
+4
+7
Survival: 6

Beast Shape 2/day

Damage Reduction 3/-

14th
Berserk
+10
+10
+4
+7
Survival: 8

15th
Berserk
+11
+11
+4
+7
Survival: 10
Combat Reflexes
Battle Fury 3/day

Damage Reduction 4/-

16th
Berserk (9th)
+11
+11
+4
+7
Survival: 12

Beast Shape 3/day

17th
Contemplative
(Complete Divine)
+11
+11
+4
+9
Concentration: 12

Travel Domain

Divine Health

18th
Contemplative
+12
+11
+4
+10
Concentration: 14
Imp. Combat Reflexes
(Epic Level Handbook)
Slippery Mind

Strength of the True Form

19th
Contemplative
+12
+12
+5
+10
Concentration: 16

Divine Wholeness

20th
Contemplative
+13
+12
+5
+11
Concentration: 18

Spells per Day/Spells Known

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

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

2nd
4
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

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

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

5th
5
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-

6th
5
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-

7th-16th
6
4+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-

17th
6
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-

18th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-

19th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-

20th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-

We start out as melee focused cleric. The war domain gives TAZ proficiency and Weapon Focus for Longswords. The Travel Domain gets traded into Travel Devotion. With Turn Undead we can fuel Travel Devotion multiple times per day and be mobile in most situations. Power Attack is not sole for 2h weapons. Sword and Board fighters like it too. With our Cleric spells we have a good base for the first levels.

As "Dragon" we automatically qualify for Improved Dragon Wings.
Dragonblood subtype
...
Dragons automatically qualify for any classes, prestige classes, racial substitution levels, feats, powers, or spells that require the dragonblood subtype.
This saves us a feat, but we still need to wait to 12th lvl for its entire benefit. Since we can fly now and use a piercing weapon, we can make a dive attack for double damage.
After countless battles, TAZ sometimes gets overcome by a Battle Fury and loses sight for find or foe. Something rare but not unheard of on the battlefield. His fellow comrades see it as the divine balance of Kelanen, who only knows temporary alliances (with other gods). To quote Kelanen's holy words, "your only real friend in life is your sword". As such, as long as TAZ tries to control himself (trying Will saves) and doesn't give himself intentionally to the bloodlust (making no Will saves at all), everything is fine. While TAZ has a strong will, sometimes his allies still need to watch out for him. Note that due to our low base CON the duration is only 6 round long and thus we have a maximum Will save DC of 21.
Improved Flight increases our maneuverability to "good" which unlocks "Hover" (needed later). Berserk's extra movement speed becomes very handy here with the option to fly.
The DR is always nice to have on a melee focused build.
Beast Shape gives access to a Hybrid Form and also allows TAZ to fully change into a Whale (Cachalot) (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/whale.htm). To abuse the Whale-form on land we use the "Air Breathing" spell to breathe (cleric 3; 2h/clvl duration) and use the Imp. Dragon Wings for movement. With this colossal form our lil Kobold has some BIG battle-presence. The whale form offers blindsense up to 120ft (+ low-light vision) and a high STR score which is really impressive. You can't hide from this big fellow, he will find and get you.

With more levels in the SI we get more charges for our Battle Fury and Beast Shape abilities. Our DR caps at 4/-, not game breaking but still very nice to have for a frontline character. The real game breakers here are the feats.

Wingstorm on a effectively colossal sized "dragon" (type) character is just pure gold. As great wyrm we can create a Tornado (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/weather.htm)with radius and height of 12 times (age category) 10ft, thus 120ft radius and height (Full-Round-Action). Almost anything (not big enough) will be sucked in (Fort save DC 30) for 1d10 rounds and take 6d6 dmg per round. Finally they are expelled and take falling damage: 12d6 minimum if the Tornado starts at the ground, or up to a maximum of 20d6 when flying on higher altitude. Remember, TAZ can move and fly with the Tornado via Travel Devotion & Imp. Dragon Wings^^.
Ranged "Attacks" of any kind are impossible. Casting spells requires multiple rolls:
Taking Continuous Damage = DC 10 + half of continuous dmg taken + spell lvl
Extraordinarily Violent Motion = DC 20 + spell lvl
Casting Defensively (since they are now in our melee range): DC 15 + spell lvl
Normally you need to be stationary due to the Full-Round-Action cost. Thanks god that we have Travel Devotion to move as a swift action. Now we can move and still keep up the Tornado.
Suck in all your enemies: "THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"
And since our victims now enter and move in TAZ's threat range, we can make AoO against them. Combat Reflexes gives us more AoO (in Whale form sadly only +1 Dex base, without buffs/gear..).

With access to Wingstorm all day long, TAZ gets promoted to count as heavy artillery on the battefield (aka WhaleNado). Be aware of potential collateral damage that allies and environment may take. Thus never call for TAZ to lightly. You might not like the outcome. But be assured that he will end the battlefield very quick once he appears.

We take our final level (9th) in Berserk to get our last Beast Shape charge. This should ensure maximum flexibility while having access to all form thx due to the infinite durations.
With the remaining levels we enter Contemplative (TAZ becomes contemplative in his late years^^). This gives us access to the Travel Domain back (that we traded away at lvl 1). The special ability to automatically have Freedom of Movement for X rounds per day is nice to have for this build. It saves TAZ an action that he would otherwise need to cast FoM himself (which would also possibly mean ending Beast Shape or waiting for Battle Fury to end..) and the enemy has basically wasted an action. Very nice for this build, really.
Divine Health makes us immune to diseases. Situational but great when it comes up and further adds to TAZ's immunities from being a dragon.
With Slippery Mind we can reroll failed saves agaist magical effects that would otherwise control or compel her (something which Brute Force characters are normally struggling with). With Cleric and Contemplative as other classes we get very good Will saves compared to other Bererk builds. This should guaranty success in most situations.
Divine Wholeness is some minor healing, but can be used for the last missing HP after the "regular heals" due to its point by point mechanic.
As "dragon" of age, TAZ has access to epic feats:

These feats are available to characters of 21st level or higher. Dragons of at least old age also can choose these feats even if they have no class levels.
Most feats are still inaccessible due to needing epic ranks in skills (23+), but we can qualify for the Prerequisites of Improved Combat Reflexes. Which gives TAZ unlimited AoO per round (not capped by DEX anymore). This works for his normal form and hybrid form out of the box. The Whale form has a very low DEX score with 13. If we want to use this as Whale on a regular base too (not mandatory but imho very cool and fun to visualize), we need to get +8 DEX via Wish and magic items/spells. If you go for that, TAZ can now suck in everything as Tornado and AoO everything each round for moving around him. If they should attempt to cast spells, he can further punish em. Imho despite the lil item dependency a really great combo. As said, the build still works without it and Imp. Combat Reflexes is still useful for the regular forms. But under normal circumstances you should have no problem to get these imho very basic gear options by now.
If we don't get access to the items, we can get "Strength of the True Form" as immediate action SLA to use one of our original stats in changed form for a single round (1/day) and thus unlock Imp. Combat Reflexes for that round.

The WhaleNado has finally been unleashed. Brace and prepare yourself when this divine vortex sucks you in. Can you handle it?
While the writeup mainly focuses on the main combo of this build, I still wanted to note that this build still works as normal front liner, relying on Spells, Sword & Board (& Battle Fury). I just didn't want to focus to much onto the obvious cleric stuff (Divine Power, scyring, blaaa....). Imho these things are to be expected and it doesn't help to point these out every time in every build. Thus I shifted the focus on the not so obvious stuff.
I also wanted to point out that the "collateral damage" theme was intentional due to SI's Battle Fury fluff. Imho it fits the SI concept very well and I'm curious to see if other chefs have tried to embrace this aspect too^^

"Thanks for tuning in and we hope that you won't miss us next week when it time again for "Mad Build Productions."

This episode was kindly presented by

DIRT DEVIL
"Nothing escapes the power of the Dirt Devil"

&

MAGIC MARK'S MAGIC MARKET
"Your local magic stuff dealer."
"We have shops in every (!) town."
...

TAZ stands for:
(No. Not the Tasmanian Devil^^)
Total
Annihilation
Zerker

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:20 PM

For added immersion in the story, remember that "boatswain" is pronounced "bosun".

https://imgs.search.brave.com/rEqPW_XIvOK9yDBHurNHLfwP_1GFvb7Iw7vYmr8xa2Y/rs:fit:1024:576:1/g:ce/aHR0cDovL2ZjMDYu/ZGV2aWFudGFydC5u/ZXQvZnM3MS9pLzIw/MTEvMTQyL2YvOS9y/b2JvdF93aGFsZV9i/eV92b2x0YTEyMjgt/ZDNneXUyZS5qcGc

Brass Key William: the Fathomless Deep

Aartosa looked over the barnacle encrusted clank before him. Most of the plating that made up its skin had been lost to the sea. What remained had grown over with coral or been pried off, the edges still jagged. It looked almost self-inflicted in places. He knew from his time in the war, warforged could still feel pain. The idea made him uneasy, as did the thing’s perfectly even stance on the floating dock the two stood on, even as the gentle lapping of the sea beat against it. The gyroscopes inside it kept it at perfect equilibrium without it needing to adjust its footing, even as Aartosa had to periodically bend his knee to move in time with the water.

He looked over the forms in his hand, checking them over to confirm the information within as much as it was an excuse to avoid looking at the space where the warforged’s face should be. Whatever had lain there once was now occupied by a series of concentric, metal rings, spinning in some unfathomable pattern. They were silent as the gears inside a Cannith pocket watch, but had much sharper teeth.

“Is there an issue, captain?” it said from some unknowable place. There was nothing he could see before him like a mouth.

“Not exactly. Everything you’ve got down here looks fine, there’s just a few things missing,” Aartosa said.

“There’s nothing I forgot ashore,” it said. Indeed, it had brought no luggage alongside, though he supposed since it wore nothing now, it wouldn’t need a change of clothes, and it wasn’t as though it needed food, water, or bottles of air. New passengers embarking on one way trips sans luggage was normally a red flag, but that was for humans. Judging by the things growing on the warforged, it was no stranger to the depths. Perhaps it planned on walking back to shore once it found what it needed out there.

“Well, I meant just here,” Aartosa handed the papers over. “You’ve indicated your surname is Brass Key. Could you tell me your given name? Just for the manifest.”

It stood silent a moment. The barest hint of the original metalwork on the warforged’s chest caught the light. Somewhere beneath the patina, Aartosa could see what may have once been a brass key. “Not got one.”

“I understand, I’ve just, well, I’ve got to put something,” Aartosa said.

“Fine. What’s a hotblood name? You’re all called ‘William,’ or something, aren’t you? Go on and put that.”

Aartosa did and stepped aside so Brass Key could board the ship.

“Welcome aboard, then. I’ll send someone below to fetch you when we arrive at the coordinates you’ve given us.” He followed the warforged up and dragged the gangplank up after them.

“When should that be, captain?”

“Assuming no magical storms or anything between here and there, about two days. I don’t figure you want to be roused for meals.”

“You don’t figure right.”

Aartosa waved at a crewman to hoist anchor.

“Suit yourself. You need anything, ask.”

***

“This can’t be it,” the boatswain said.

“I checked the coordinates. We’re here.” Aartosa said.

“It’s just a patch of open ocean. Even the wrights can’t divine anything down there.”

“Maybe our guest knows something we don’t. Send someone to fetch it, would you?”

Almost no time later, Brass Key stood by his side.

“Good man,” it said.

“Listen, are you sure you don’t need a ride back?” Aartosa asked.

“That won’t be necessary.” Brass Key put its hand on the railing and leapt overboard, sinking into the sea almost as soon as its feet had broken the surface.

“Should we wait and see if it needs help?” the boatswain asked.

The waves around them grew troubled, though the skies remained unchanged. Aartosa gripped the railing and found his feet.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Something under us,” the boatswain asked. There was a great sound, like cannon fire muffled beneath the crushing deep.

“There’s… there’s a cavern or something here, isn’t there? Deep deep down?” Aartosa asked.

“Yeah, but it’s been there forever. Can’t imagine what anyone would bother looking for down there.”

The waves before the ship broke, and a great, metal tail crested the water. The fluke of a whale caught the light for a moment, the edges of its tail outlined like the head of a key in tarnished brass. It dove beneath the waves again and shortly after, another deep booming rocked the ship.

“Boatswain?”

“Yes, captain?”

“Hoist anchor.”

“Right away, sir.”

NE warforged psychic warrior 6/elocator 2/berserker 3/elocator 10/psychic warrior 7

str 8
dex 13 +2 gaunt
con 14 +2 racial
int 13
wis 18 -2 racial level up increases here
cha 8 -2 racial

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

1st
psychic warrior 1
+0
+2
+0
+0
autohypnosis 4, concentration 4, tumble 4
psiforged body
dodge (bonus), willing deformity (vile)

2nd
psychic warrior 2
+1
+3
+0
+0
autohypnosis 1 (5), concentration 1 (5), tumble 1 (5)

mobility (bonus)

3rd
psychic warrior 3
+2
+3
+1
+1
autohypnosis 1 (6), concentration 1 (6), tumble 1 (6)
combat reflexes

4th
psychic warrior 4
+3
+4
+1
+1
autohypnosis 1 (7), concentration 1 (7), tumble 1 (7)

5th
psychic warrior 5
+3
+4
+1
+1
autohypnosis 1 (8), concentration 1 (8), tumble 1 (8)

combat expertise (bonus), deformity (gaunt) (vile)

6th
psychic warrior 6
+4
+5
+2
+2
autohypnosis 1 (9), concentration 1 (9), tumble 1 (9)
spring attack

7th
elocator 1
+4
+5
+4
+4
upd 7

scorn earth, sidestep charge

8th
elocator 2
+5
+5
+5
+5
balance 3, upd 4 (11)

opportunistic strike +2

9th
berserk 1
+5
+7
+5
+5
spot 3
karmic strike
battle fury 1/day, +10 ft movement

10th
berserk 2
+6/+1
+8
+5
+5
spot 3 (6)
deformity (eyes) (vile)
dr 1/-

11th
berserk 3
+7/+2
+8
+6
+6
spot 3 (9)

beast shape 1/day (cachalot)

12th
elocator 3
+8/+3
+9
+6
+6
upd 7 (14)
crush
dimension step

13th
elocator 4
+9/+4
+9
+7
+7
spot 5 (14), upd 2 (16)

flanker

14th
elocator 5
+9/+4
+9
+7
+7
listen 3, spot 3 (17), upd 1 (17)

opportunistic strike +4

15th
elocator 6
+10/+5
+10
+8
+8
listen 5 (8), spot 1 (18), upd 1 (18)
clever opportunist, vile natural attack (vile)
transporter

16th
elocator 7
+11/+6/+1
+10
+8
+8
listen 5 (13), spot 1 (19), upd 1 (19)

capricious step

17th
elocator 8
+12/+7/+2
+10
+9
+9
listen 5 (18), spot 1 (20), upd 1 (20)

opportunistic strike +6

18th
elocator 9
+12/+7/+2
+11
+9
+9
listen 3 (21), spot 1 (21), tumble 2 (11), upd 1 (21)
robilar’s gambit
dimension spring attack

19th
elocator 10
+13/+8/+3
+11
+10
+10
listen 1 (22), spot 1 (22), tumble 4 (15), upd 1 (22)

accelerated action

20th
psychic warrior 7
+14/+9/+4
+11
+10
+10
tumble 3 (18)
abominable form (vile)

1s
claws of the beast
expansion
vigor

2s
damp power
hustle
power claws

3s
claws of the vampire
hostile empathic transfer
dimension slide

4s
psionic dimdoor
energy adaptation
psionic freedom of movement

5
oak body
adapt body

You function as a fairly standard psychic warrior here. Kill enemies with your melee prowess and take advantage of your aoos. Your feats are largely setting things up for later on. Your mobility will be greatly augmented later on. Devote yourself to an elder evil (specifically the leviathan) for vile feats, most notably deformity (gaunt) to beef up your dex for additional aoos. Skilled city dweller allows you to switch psychic warrior’s ride for the much more important tumble, so invest in that while you can.

Elocator augments your mobility greatly by offering up various tactical teleportation options to bolster your array of psionic powers. Also of note is your signature scorn earth ability. You can forevermore levitate a foot off of any flat surface as though using psionic levitate. When you’re in cachalot beast shape later, this allows you to freely travel on land without penalty. Sidestep charge provides an additional source of aoos to chuck into combat reflexes to attack enemies and supplement karmic strike to let you get off regular attacks against enemies. Gaunt boosts your dex, providing extra aoos besides.

You have unlocked beast shape to turn into a cachalot, a form you can remain in indefinitely. Thus ends any reason to remain in berserk. Back to elocator. Flanker allows you to be treated as though you occupy any square you’re adjacent to to flank with allies. This is even more useful when you are gargantuan, like a cachalot. It’s even better when you manifest augmented expansion, growing to colossal+1. Your strength hits a prodigious 39, and someone in the zillion squares you threaten is almost assuredly doing something that provokes aoos from you, so act accordingly. Blindsight alongside deformity (eyes) should let you pinpoint any enemies who try to sneak around, and crush (especially in tandem with scorn earth) lets you smush enemies huge or smaller for an enormous amount of damage.

Enemies who fail the save are pinned, severely curtailing their available actions, and dealing automatic crush damage each round until they are completely flattened. Clever opportunist lets you switch places with an enemy upon hitting them with an aoo. Given all the squares you threaten and how often aoos are provoked near you due to the available sources of them, you have an enormous amount of bfc especially when using these abilities in tandem with your teleportation abilities.

Robilar’s gambit provides another source of aoos. Claws of the beast, claws of the vampire, and hostile empathic transfer should keep you topped up handily, especially given all the damage they’re dealing from your prodigious size. You finish up elocator and head back into psychic warrior to progress your powers known some more. Accelerated action is up to provide some more action economy shenanigans allowing you to out-act your enemies handily in addition to teleport and even plane shift as needed.

srd: psychic warrior, elocator, dodge, mobility, combat reflexes, combat expertise, spring attack,
complete warrior: karmic strike
savage species: crush
phb2: robilar’s gambit
drow of the underdark: clever opportunist
elder evils: willing deformity, deformity (gaunt), deformity (eyes), vile natural attack, abominable form, elder evil devotion
magic of eberron: psiforged body
races of eberron: warforged
skilled city dweller: cityscape web enhancement (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:22 PM

Now there is a prime old meme.

Rodeo Badger!
https://i.imgur.com/JtkwzfP.jpeg
Elven Artisanal Painter, Kakita Tsaritran's rendition of what its like to see Rodeo Badger in Action.

Chaotic Evil

Dark Badger Hengeyokai

Ranger 2/fighter2/ totemist 2/totem rager 4/berserk 1 /Exemplar 5 /Wind rider 1/ Druid 1 /Warshaper 1

Humanoid Form

Abilities

Initial
Race / Template
Level 4
Level 8
Level 12
Level 16
Level 20

Str

8
8
8
8
8
8
8

Dex
8
8
8
8
8
8
8

Con
10
10, 12 (in hybrid form)
10
10
10
10
10

Int
16
16
17
18
18
18
18

Wis
16
14
14
14
15
16
16

Cha
16
16
16
16
16
16
17 (LA buyoff)

Badger Form

Abilities

Initial
Race / Template

Level 4
Level 8

Level 12

Level 16
Level 20

Str

8
8
8
8
8
8
8

Dex
17
17
17
17
17
17
17

Con
15
15
15
15
15
15
15

Int
16
16
17
18
18
18
18

Wis
16
14
14
14
15
16
16

Cha
16
16
16
16
16
16
17 (LA buyoff)

Dark Template:
Type: Extraplanar subtype when not on plane of shadow
Speed: As base creature, +10 feet to all modes of movement.
Special Qualities: A dark creature retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following.
— Darkvision 60 ft.
— Hide in Plain Sight (Ex): Use the Hide skill even while being observed (except in natural daylight, the area of a daylight spell, or a similar effect).
— Resistance to cold 10.
— Superior low-light vision.
Skills: Same as the base creature, plus Hide +8 and Move Silently +6.
LA: +1

BADGER
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), burrow 10 ft.
Armor Class: 15 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +1 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 12
Attacks: 2 claws (1d2) and bite (1d3)
Special Attacks: Rage (Ex): A badger that takes damage in combat flies into a berserk rage on its next turn, clawing and biting madly until either it or its opponent is dead. It gains +4 to Strength, +4 to Constitution, and -2 to Armor Class. The creature cannot end its rage voluntarily.
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
FEATS: Agile, Track(B), Weapon Finesse(B)
Skills: A badger has a +4 racial bonus on Escape Artist checks.

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

1st
Favored Environment: Plains, Voice of the city, Trap Expert, shape-shifter Ranger
1
2
2
0
Ride (+4) 4; Handle Animal (+4) 4; Diplomacy (+4 CC) 2; Survival (+4) 4; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+4) 4; Knowledge (nature) (+4) 4; Hide (+4) 4; Use Rope (+4) 4; Spot (+4) 4;
Skill Focus:ride, Track (badger), weapon finesse (badger), Agile (badger)
Fast movement (as barbarian), Voice of the City, Favored Environment (plains), Trapfinding

2nd
Fighter
2
4
2
0
Ride (+1) 5; Handle Animal (+1) 5; Diplomacy 2; Intimidate (+3) 3; Survival 4; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) 4; Knowledge (nature) 4; Hide 4; Use Rope 4; Spot 4;
Mounted Combat
Bonus Feat

3rd
Totemist
2
6
4
0
Ride (+1) 6; Handle Animal (+1) 6; Diplomacy (+2 CC) 3; Intimidate 3; Survival (+1) 5; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+2) 6; Knowledge (nature) 4; Hide 4; Use Rope 4; Spot 4;
Mounted Fury
Wild empathy, illiteracy, 2 soulmelds, 1 essentia

4th
Totemist
3
7
5
0
Ride (+1) 7; Handle Animal 6; Diplomacy 3; Intimidate 3; Survival (+2) 7; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 7; Knowledge (nature) (+3) 7; Hide 4; Use Rope 4; Spot 4;

Totem chakra bind (+1 capacity), 3 soulmelds, 2 essencia, 1 bind

5th
Fighter
4
8
5
0
Ride (+1) 8; Handle Animal (+2) 8; Diplomacy 3; Intimidate (+2) 5; Survival 7; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) 7; Knowledge (nature) 7; Hide 4; Use Rope 4; Spot 4;
Goad
bonus feat

6th
Ranger
5
9
6
0
Ride (+1) 9; Handle Animal (+1) 9; Diplomacy (+2 CC) 4; Intimidate 5; Survival (+2) 9; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 8; Knowledge (nature) 7; Hide (+2) 6; Use Rope 4; Spot 4;
cobalt rage

7th
berserk
5
11
6
0
Ride 9; Handle Animal 9; Diplomacy (+2 CC) 5; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 10; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) 8; Knowledge (nature) 7; Hide 6; Use Rope 4; Spot (+2) 6;

Battle fury 1/day, +10 ft. movement

8th
Totem Rager
5
13
8
0
Ride (+2) 11; Handle Animal (+2) 11; Diplomacy 5; Intimidate 5; Survival 10; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+2) 10; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 8; Hide 6; Use Rope 4; Spot 6; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 1;

totem rage, wild empathy

9th
Totem Rager
6
14
9
0
Ride (+1) 12; Handle Animal (+1) 12; Diplomacy (+2 CC) 6; Intimidate 5; Survival 10; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) 10; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 9; Hide 6; Use Rope 4; Spot (+2) 8; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 2;
instantaneous rage
Extra rage

10th
Totem Rager
7
14
9
1
Ride (+1) 13; Handle Animal (+1) 13; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival 10; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+2) 12; Knowledge (nature) 9; Hide (+2 CC) 7; Use Rope 4; Spot (+1) 9; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 3;

Damage reduction 1/— , 4 soulmelds, 3 essentia

11th
Exemplar
7
14
9
3
Ride (+1) 14; Handle Animal (+1) 14; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 11; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 13; Knowledge (nature) (+2) 11; Hide (+5) 12; Use Rope 4; Spot 9; appraise (+1) 1; Profession (rodeo star) 3;

Skill artistry (ride), skill mastery (profession (being a war trained mount), ride, hide, spot, survival)

12th
Exemplar
8
14
9
4
Ride (+1) 15; Handle Animal (+1) 15; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival 11; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 14; Knowledge (nature) 11; Hide (+3) 15; Use Rope (+3) 7; Spot (+2) 11; appraise (+1) 2; Profession (rodeo star) 3;
ability focus: battle fury, extend rage (otyough hole)
Lend talent (one-half penalty), Skill mastery (search)

13th
Exemplar
9
15
10
4
Ride (+1) 16; Handle Animal (+1) 16; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 12; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 15; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 12; Hide (+1) 16; Use Rope (+1) 8; Spot 11; appraise (+2) 4; Forgery (+2) 2; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 4;
Animal Affinity
Bonus feat, skill mastery (disable device)

14th
Exemplar
10
15
10
5
Ride (+1) 17; Handle Animal (+1) 17; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 13; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 16; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 13; Hide (+1) 17; Use Rope (+1) 9; Spot 11; appraise (+2) 6; Forgery (+2) 4; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 5;

Skill artistry (profession: being a war trained mount), sustaining presence, Skill mastery (use magic device)

15th
Exemplar
10
15
10
5
Ride (+1) 18; Handle Animal (+1) 18; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 14; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 17; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 14; Hide (+1) 18; Use Rope (+1) 10; Spot 11; appraise (+2) 8; Forgery (+2) 6; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 6;
extended rage
Persuasive performance, skill mastery (bluff)

16th
Wind Rider
11
17
10
7
Ride (+1) 19; Handle Animal (+1) 19; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 15; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 18; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 15; Hide 18; Use Rope 10; Spot 11; appraise 8; Forgery 6; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 7;

Appraise mount, chosen mount, empathic link, mount proficiency 4 HD (spells)

17th
Totem Rager
12
18
11
7
Ride (+1) 20; Handle Animal (+1) 20; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 16; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 19; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 16; Hide 18; Use Rope 10; Spot 11; appraise 8; Forgery 6; Profession (rodeo star) (+3) 10;

Chakra binds (crown, feet, hands)

18th
Deadly hunter druidic avenger
12
20
11
9
Ride (+1) 21; Handle Animal (+1) 21; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+1) 17; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) (+1) 20; Knowledge (nature) (+1) 17; Hide (+2 CC) 19; Use Rope 10; Spot 11; appraise 8; Forgery 6; Profession (rodeo star) (+1) 11;
extra rage
Fast movement (as barbarian), Rage, Track, favored enemy (aberrations), fast movement (as monk), druid spells, nature sense, voice of the city

19th
warshaper
12
22
11
9
Ride (+2 CC) 22; Handle Animal 21; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival (+2) 19; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) 20; Knowledge (nature) 17; Hide 19; Use Rope 10; Spot 11; appraise (+2 CC) 9; Forgery 6; Profession (rodeo star) 11;

Morphic immunities, morphic weapons

20th
Dark template LA

Ride 22; Handle Animal 21; Diplomacy 6; Intimidate 5; Survival 19; Profession (Being a War-Trained Mount) 20; Knowledge (nature) 17; Hide 19; Use Rope 10; Spot 11; appraise 9; Forgery 6; Profession (rodeo star) 11;

Sources

Race and Class Level references
Source
Page

shape shifter ranger ACF
Unearthed Arcana
58

Voice of the City ACF
Cityscape web: (https://web.archive.org/web/20190411214328/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)

Favored Environment
Unearthed Arcana
65

deadly hunter
Unearthed Arcana
58

Druidic Avenger
Unearthed Arcana
51

Totemist
Magic of Incarnum
29

Totem Rager
Magic of Incarnum
153

Exemplar
Complete Adventurer
44

Wind Rider
Masters of the wild
77

Warshaper
Complete warrior
89

Dark template
tome of Magic
161

Badger Hengeyokai
Oriental Adventures
11

Badger stats
SRD (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/badger.htm)

trap expert
Dungeonscape
12

Feats
Source
page

Mounted Fury
Wild life - Web (https://web.archive.org/web/20201112005822/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031125a)

Goad
Complete Adventurer
109

Cobalt Rage
Magic of incarnum
37

Instantaneous rage
complete warrior
102

Ability Focus
Monster Manual V
204

Extend rage
complete warrior
97

Extra Rage
complete warrior
98

Otyough Hole
Complete Scoundrel
151

Spells and soulmelds
Source
Page
Chakra

Ride of the Valenar
Races of Eberron
189

Rapid Burrowing
Spell Compendium
166

Threefold mask of the Chimera
Magic of Incarnum
89
crown

Sphynx Claws
Magic of Incarnum
88
hands

Riding Bracers
Magic of Incarnum
84
arms

Blink shirt
Magic of Incarnum
60
heart

"Hi Yall, this is Merv and Lorenzo, Your favorite Aasimar and Tiefling Professional sport Commentating duo coming to you live from the Gladiatorial pits of Thay for a special Event! To those checking in from your scrying pools, make sure that you allow the oak tree teleportation is allowed in your keep settings"

"Thanks Merv, I gotta say, we have something to behold today. In addition to the gladiatorial contests today, we have something downright blasphemous. A Battle Royale with special guest star, Rodeo Badger!"

"That's C'rect Lorenzo, This is a real treat. Rodeo Badger burst onto the scene as a garden variety mercenary, but he really caught the eye of everyone who saw him in action."

"I heard he came from the shadowfell."

"Whereever he came from, he makes rodeo look good!"

.....

"Well, here we are folks, the main event."

"That's right Merv, this is an assembled unit free for all. One divine caster and one arcane caster per team, grognard rules, no psionics and leadership is banned."

"It's just easier for the fans that way, Lorenzo. During this match, the wild card is the fact that Rodeo Badger is the it factor. In addition to the battle to the death for these teams of 8, at any point, Rodeo Badger could burst forth and really steal the show."

"And steal the show he does. I saw him once at the battle of gridiron keep stay atop a mineral warrior troll blooded ogre for well over 3 minutes. Real avant guarde approach to conflict resolution, I gotta say."

"My angelic nature applauds his efforts to elevate battle to a mutually agreed upon impromptu performance art based sporting event."

"And as proof that Rodeo badger has something for everyone, my hellish nature gets a good tickling at how damn destructive all of his Rodeo skills wind up being. Friends become allies, Allies become friends, and a whole abyssfull lot of fun is had by survivors."

Where do we even begin!?
Rodeo Badger is badger Hengeyokai who spends nearly all of his time in badger form.
Rodeo Badger uses the ride skill to climb up on “mounts” be they willing or not.
Rodeo Badger is yoking the existence of humanoid shaped mounts in A&EG and the fact that the ride skill allows you to ride anything at all only a -5 penalty: "If you attempt to ride a creature that is ill suited as a mount, you take a -5 penalty on your Ride checks."
Rodeo Badger doesn't need an exotic saddle because: "If you are riding bareback, you take a -5 penalty on Ride checks."
Rodeo Badger has the mounted fury feat and two interminable rage abilities that do not end until something gets hurt real bad.
Rodeo Badger probably saves up his winnings to purchase an amulet of natural attacks that has the Brash enchantment (Magic Item Compendium) which extends rage by 3 rounds and grants immunity to fear. Also, the furious weapon enhancement is a great addition for when the rodeo purse can afford a+2 weapon enchantment. adds+2 to rage and ragelike effects' strength/con/will bonii)
Rodeo Badger with LA Buy off should probably take a second level of warshaper or a level of dragonrider.
Rodeo Badger can jump on nearly any moving thing, slap it on the rear, and get the beast bucking for a few minutes with hilariously deadly results.
Rodeo Badger cares about one thing, Ridin'
Rodeo Badger doesn't care if he has to ride a mage into a crowd of demons in an ACF.
Rodeo Badger chases that high with all his gumption. Collateral costs be damned.
Rodeo Badger is Chaotic Evil.

We start with Ranger for the skill points, we move to fighter for the mounted combat feat. From there, we pick up two levels of totemist for riding bracers and the totem chakra bind. And then another level of Fighter for the goad feat.
Ranger also offers some neat other stuff. When you are climbing on the backs of enemies and riding them, well…you need to be able to give them commands to ride, even if they speak other languages. Voice of the city allows you to just give simple directions, which are exactly what the names of the handle animal skill grants you: simple one word commands that can be understood by anyone. No rolls necessary. Favored Environment is a class feature ACF that grants you a +2 bonus on skills in a particular favored environment. Rodeo Badger chooses plains.

This Badger has a base movement speed of 30 and a burrow speed of 10, but fast movement (as barbarian) obtained by the shapeshifting ranger ACF grants an EX 10 bonus to all movement speeds, bringing that to a speed of 40 and a burrow speed of 20. The badger form has bonus feats that include track, so we trade away the ranger’s track for trapfinding, which then invest zero skill points into, but there are probably some soulmelds that improve the search skill if we know that the badger is going into a trap haven. I mean, he cant disable them, but he can find them. Later, when exemplar kicks in, he can take 10 to disarm traps of DC 14 and lower.

By level 5, the Rodeo Badger has a ride modifier of
8 (ranks)
+3 (dex)
+3 (skill focus)
+2 (handle animal synergy)
+6 insight (riding bracers with 1 essencia)
==============================
+22

When a badger gets hurt, it flies into a rage, which is shared with his war-trained mount via mounted fury.

The dark template offers hide in plain sight as well as a nice +8 hide modifier. There is an ability under the ride skill that allows you to use your mount as cover.
So you can use the hide skill, even when you’re observed.

“Yo that horse is nuts!!!”

The primary use of totemist is the following: riding bracers. Sphynx claws help with hide checks, and the blink shirt is a fun little addition to the increased burrow speed. You can just pop out of the ground. We are still building towards the really important parts of the build, so at these early levels, we are laying groundwork.

We continue to build the rodeo badger to come online after this point. And yes, the SI is very important towards this goal. The SI grants battle fury, a ragelike ability so potent that it grants +6 str and con while also obligating the battle furious person to attack everything it sees. In order to not attack something that you see, you need to make a will save that grows in DC each round that you stay in the battle fury. Which seems like an “adverse condition” when it is you as a part of a party of like-minded individuals trying to pursue a goal through collaborative adventuring efforts whose getting all blindly attackful.

Do you know who else uses collaborative adventuring efforts?

Opponents.

Over these 5 levels we will further establish the rodeo career of our star.

Totem rager stacks wild empathy with berserk, it offers an extra use of battle fury, it grants free essentia when you rage which you can then pack into your soulmelds. Cobalt rage is a terrible feat and not worth investing any essencia into. It helps your will save, which is something that we want to tank.

Totem rager also gets DR 1/- which may stack with berserk. No need to look that up though, because gash dang it, we’re done taking berserk levels.

Berserk adds 10 feet of movement to your human and hybrid forms, but…you’re not a human. So I presume that they mean your base form before entering berserk. And the exclusion is to the beast shape berserk ability that has a roster of animal forms that you can hybridize with. With that in mind, i argue that rodeo badger now has a land speed of 50 and a burrow speed of 30.

We are a pretty great tracker. Between scent and track and lots of survival ranks, we should be able to do anything that the survival skill allows.

At level 10, our ride skill is potent.
13 (ranks)
+3 (dex)
+3 (skill focus)
+2 (handle animal synergy)
+8 insight (riding bracers with 2 essencia)
==============================
+29

Instantaneous rage allows us to just turn our rage on as a free action. With blink shirt and burrowing, you should be able to get into the action. [/spoiler

[spoiler=”This ain’t no greenhorn, this is some top notch rodeo skill! Giddim!” Levels 11-15 snapshot]
Our central optimization gimmick comes online at level 15.

Exemplar is the perfect class for a creature that wants to demonstrate high caliber skills.

At first level you choose a skill artistry, where you choose a skill that gets a +4 competence bonus. We obviously choose ride. At exemplar 4, we choose profession (being a war trained mount). Why?

Because Mounted Fury requires a war trained mount in order for them to gain the benefit of the rodeo badger’s rage via the mounted fury feat. Training a war trained mount takes weeks of animal handling. But Exemplar 2 has an ability called lend talent. We can lend any skill represented as a competence bonus that we have skill artistry with to allies within 30 feet with a simple full round action. If we lend the profession of being a war trained mount to those around us, we can activate our rages on them if they get mounted.

Also, at first level, exemplar grants skill mastery to 5 of rodeo badger’s skills. Allowing them to take 10 even under adverse conditions, like being in a state of rage-like fury. This then allows the battle fury to be modified by the ride and hide skills while raging. Arguably, they already could use those skills while raging, but here is some nice RAW assurance.

The third level of exemplar grants a bonus feat, for which we choose animal affinity, netting another +2 to ride checks.

At level 15 our ride check modifier is
18 (ranks)
+3 (dex)
+3 (skill focus)
+2 (handle animal synergy)
+10 insight (riding bracers with 3 essencia)
+4 competence (skill artistry)
+2 animal affinity
==============================
+42

52 if you’re taking 10.

Using epic ride skills allows you to simply stand on a mount with a DC 40 check, modified by -5 for bareback and -5 for unsuitable mount penalties. The ride skill also has the quick mount option, allowing you to mount seemingly anything so long as you have a move action.

As far as feats go, we take extend rage, which stacks, twice. Once through visiting the otyough hole (Complete Scoundrel) and riding on an otyough (rules for which can be found in the Arms and Equipment Guide), and the other by surviving for 15 levels. These add 10 rounds to the duration of a rage beyond when it would “normally end.” Mounted fury normally ends when rodeo badger dismounts from the mount. But thanks to those extends, they have to foam at the mouth for another 10 rounds after rodeo badger hops off. And the likelihood that they attack their friends and other allies is increased because we took ability focus (battle fury) to increase the will save DC to not attack them by 2. That my friends, is hilarious for reasons i can't fully explain.

And most importantly, after a full minute (huh…10 rounds), onlooking NPCS within 30 ft who don’t feel threatened by my rodeo performance are treated as if I made a diplomacy check with my ride check result. The average take 10 + modifiers on ride checks is enough to turn someone from hostile to friendly.

And if you do it twice….getting someone from friendly to fanatic via epic diplomacy is just another DC 50 ride check away. But you can only do this once to a single person every 24 hours. But if these NPCs are already friendly, they get mad hype.

Our rodeo badger has hit critical mass.

Now, you may be thinking that we need to parse mounted fury some more. I agree. In order for a mount to remain enraged, Rodeo Badger don’t need to be mounted on them specifically, they just need to remain mounted on something.

So the battle technique works like this:

Sneak up. Make a full round action to lend talents. Perhaps while burrowed. Rodeo badger only needs to be conscious and within range. No sight or talking is necessary. Then you 5 ft step out of the ground and do a quick mount skill check and nail it. No roll necessary unless there’s circumstance penalties. This preserves your move action. Which you can goad someone into attacking you. If they damage you, it activates badger rage.

Badger rage continues until the person who did the damage is dead or the badger rager is dead. Because badger rage activates totem rage, you both get free essencia to place. Because your unwilling and unsuitable mount that you’re riding bareback and possibly standing on receives the effects of your rage, they have to attack the same dude who hurt rodeo badger after the goading. It is only a DC 20 check and a move action to control a mount in battle, with a -10 penalty for unsuitable mount and no saddle, so you can direct your raging mount’s movement. Plus, while a mount is raging, it cant cast spells or use item creation feats. Hop on those clerics yo.

Now you’re riding a bucking bronco who is hellbent on damaging the guy who used sticks and stones to hurt you in reaction to your words that hurt them. If you hop off here, that mount will rage at the opponent until it or its enemy is dead or 10 rounds of extended rage go by. If you quick mount another opponent from there, you can use a free action to activate battle fury, giving them +6 to str and con and a DC 17 + number of rounds spent in a fury to not attack the nearest thing they see. From here, the rodeo badger can use mounted combat to prevent damage to their mount, and if they have the totem bind attached to riding bracers, they gain evasion. Now, the rodeo badger can quick dismount and burrow to safety and let the enemies fight amongst themselves. Or they can use a blink shirt totem + threefold mask (crown) to blink onto a new mount and quick mount them and activate another rage.

Further, It is only a DC 20 (-10 penalty) to use your mount for cover, which allows a hide check as a non action. So your mount can’t see you. And this step is important if you activate battle fury. Because battle fury is mediated by sight. A DC 60 Ride check allows you to attack while hiding here. But you’ll probably need dexterity boosting or ride check boosting gear to hit that reliably by taking 10.

Level 15 is the high point of the build.

Our gimmick is online. Now to beef it up.

Wind rider comes packaged with a lot of first level abilities that we will ignore. There is one ability that stands out for our rodeo hero: appraise mount.

Appraise Mount (Ex): At 1st level, a windrider can compare two mounts of the same kind and tell at a glance which one is superior (stronger, faster, more intelligent, better stamina, and so on). If desired, the windrider can also conduct a point-by-point comparison of two mounts. By spending 1 round examining both, she can determine which has the higher score in any single ability of her choice. After a second round of study, a windrider familiar with that kind of creature can also determine whether each mount's score in that ability is average, above average, or below average for the species. After a third round of study, the windrider can tell how extreme that ability score is—that is, whether the modifier it generates is more than 4 points higher or lower than the average tor that species. The appraise mount ability never produces a numerical rating; DMs must describe the windrider's findings.

If rodeo badger skulks around in the lend talent phase of choosing a prospective unwilling mount, they can choose the stronger of two potential options! A great way to find low Wisdom beefcakes!

Totem rager 4 grants the crown chakra bind. That means that threefold mask of the chimera is now capable of giving you extra move actions! Goad more people, control your mount, do all sorts of neat things.

Deadly hunter Druidic avenger adds 10 more feet to our land speed and burrow speed. Wisdom to AC is granted. Also, we now have a traditional rage to throw into the mix. This comes online at the same time as the extra rage feat, so that gives us 4 battle furies, 4 rages, and unlimited badger rages per day.

Lastly, we top this all off with a level of warshaper, making all of our natural attacks go up a size and granting us the ability to just add egregious numbers of natural attacks per round, especially when paired with sphinx claws bound to the hand chakra, allowing a full attack using natural attacks on a charge.

At level 19 our ride check modifier is
22 (ranks)
+3 (dex)
+3 (skill focus)
+2 (handle animal synergy)
+12 insight (riding bracers with 4 essencia)
+4 competence (skill artistry)
+2 animal affinity
==============================
+48 (+50 with riding bracers in the totem chakra)

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ef/27/a8/ef27a842a9905b31cc3cf587cd63b8e0.gif

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:24 PM

(The Chairman's non-entry; don't judge this one).

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/129/696/Rip_and_tear.png
John Stalvern
N Human Hit and Run SA Zhentarim Soldier Fighter 5/Berserk 10/Unarmed Swordsage 5

I’ll level with you, this build started with two central thoughts. The first was “We probably won’t have anyone use raven, and I’m sure there’s something we can do with it.” The second was the ancient meme image at the top of the build. So, I created the build with the end goal in mind of being able to use confound the big folk and disembowling strike. Is it good? Probably not. Does it fulfill the joke premise? I hope so. Let’s begin.

Stats
Str 14
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 16 (increases)
Cha 12

Build

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

1st
Hit and Run SA Fighter
+1
+2
+0
+0
Intimidate 4, Tumble 4
Dreadful Wrath, Able Learner
+2 Initiative, Dex to Damage vs Flatfooted, +1d6 Sneak Attack, Skilled City Dweller (Ride > Tumble)

2nd
SA Fighter 2
+2
+3
+0
+0
Intimidate 5, Tumble 5

:(

3rd
SA Zhentarim Soldier Fighter 3
+3
+3
+1
+1
Intimidate 6, Tumble 6
Shape Soulmeld (Impulse Boots), (B)Skill Focus (Intimidate)
Sneak Attack +2d6, Skill Focus (Intimidate), Applied Force +1

4th
SA Fighter 4
+4
+4
+1
+1
Intimidate 7, Tumble 7

:(

5th
SA Zhentarim Soldier Fighter 5
+5
+4
+1
+1
Intimidate 8, Tumble 8

Sneak Attack +2d6, Extended Intimidation, Applied Force +2

6th
Berserk 1
+5
+6
+1
+1
Intimidate 9, Tumble 9
Open Least Chakra (Feet)
Battle Fury 1/day, +10 ft Movement Speed

7th
Berserk 2
+6/+1
+7
+1
+1
Intimidate 10, Tumble 10

Damage Reduction 1/-

8th
Berserk 3
+7/+2
+7
+2
+2
Intimidate 11, Tumble 11

Beast Shape (Raven) 1/day

9th
Berserk 4
+8/+3
+8
+2
+2
Intimidate 12, Tumble 12
Underfoot Combat
Battle Fury 2/day, Damage Reduction 2/-

10th
Berserk 5
+8/+3
+8
+2
+2
Intimidate 13, Tumble 13

>:(

11th
Berserk 6
+9/+4
+9
+3
+3
Intimidate 14, Tumble 14

Beast Shape 2/day, Damage Reduction 3/-

12th
Berserk 7
+10/+5
+9
+3
+3
Intimidate 15, Tumble 15
Confound the Big Folk
>:(

13th
Berserk 8
+11/+6/+1
+10
+3
+3
Intimidate 16, Tumble 16

Battle fury 3/day, Damage Reduction 4/-

14th
Berserk 9
+11/+6/+1
+10
+4
+4
Intimidate 17, Tumble 17

Beast Shape 3/day

15th
Berserk 10
+12/+7/+2
+11
+4
+4
Intimidate 18, Tumble 18
Improved Flight
>:(

16th
Swordsage 1
+12/+7/+2
+11
+6
+6
Intimidate 19, Jump 5
(B)Weapon Focus (Tiger Claw), (B) Improved Unarmed Strike
Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus)

17th
Swordsage 2
+13/+8/+3
+11
+7
+7
Intimidate 20, Jump 10

AC Bonus

18th
Swordsage 3
+14/+9/+4
+12
+7
+7
Intimidate 21, Jump 15
Disembowling Strike

19th
Swordsage 4
+15/+10/+5
+12
+8
+8
Intimidate 22, Jump 20

Discipline Focus (Insightful Strike) (Tiger Claw)

20th
Swordsage 5
+15/+10/+5
+12
+8
+8
Intimidate 23, Jump 23, Tumble 20

Quick to Act +2

Maneuvers:
1st: Sudden Leap,
2nd: Rabid Wolf Strike, Cloak of Deception, Burning Brand, Clever Positioning
3rd: Soaring Raptor Strike
5th: Pouncing Charge, Shadow Stride, Dancing Mongoose
6th: Wolf Climbs the Mountain, Rabid Bear Strike
Stances: Assassin’s Stance, Leaping Dragon Stance, Giant Killing Style
Level 5
Because I build this backwards, I looked at options for getting enough sneak attack in time while still being able to take 10 levels of the SI. Never let it be said that I wasn’t willing to suffer as much as the chefs. To that end, we start with sneak attack fighter. There’s not a perfect class I could find to replicate being a marine on Mars, but fighter fills in for many trained military people. Since we’re taking this many levels of fighter, I’m nabbing Zhentarim soldier’s bonuses because they’re free, and the dead levels bonuses because they’re also free. I chose Neutral as an alignment because I don’t think being any sort of good lines up with being a member of the Zhentarim, and I don’t necessarily think that Doomguy is evil. If you want to, the build supports any steps between N and CE. Hit and Run Fighter trades heavy armor and tower shields for a boost to initiative and dex to damage against flatfooted enemies, so is a natural addition. Fighter may be like plain white bread, but if you cover it with enough butter and sprinkles it becomes kind of palatable, right?
Able Learner means you can keep investing in Tumble during the SI. Dreadful Wrath lets you intimidate enemies when you attack, so is great fun. The Impulse Boots giving Uncanny Dodge is me trying to replicate Doomguy’s ability to strafe around projectiles.
Level 10
Now we enter the SI. That movement rate maps well, since Doomguy books it. Battle Fury gives a good boost to stats, but the thing we’re focusing on is Beast Shape.
Underfoot Combat means you can fly into enemies’ squares with no AoOs, which helps cover for raven’s 0 ft reach. Binding the Impulse Boots gives evasion as another way to represent the same concept.
Level 15
The SI’s DR is kind of like the armor pickup if you squint, right? Confound the Big Folk lets you get enemies flatfooted after you enter their squares, making them prime targets for sneak attack. Because you’re a tiny raven, you can use all these maneuvers against Medium creatures, so they’ll be popping off all the time. Improved flight gets you up to good maneuverability, which importantly means that you can hover in one square, so you can stay in a good position once you get there.
Level 20
Now that we’re through the SI, let’s have some fun with swordsage. Assassin’s Stance provides the last 2d6 sneak attack needed to take Disembowling Strike. Swordsage also very helpfully provides weapon focus, and picking tiger claw means unarmed strike and more importantly, claws, are weapons you have weapon focus with. In terms of maneuvers, once again, because you’re tiny, you’re going to be popping off those bonuses from Giant Killing Style, Soaring Raptor Strike, and Wolf Climbs the Mountain. Burning Brand’s reach extension is very helpful, since you can use it to attack adjacent squares. Sudden Leap and Shadow Stride provide tactical movement, and things like Rabid Bear Strike and Dancing Mongoose to provide some extra punch. Now that all the ducks are in a row, we can execute the central conceit. Begin in Assassin’s stance, possibly boosting with Pouncing Charge or Cloak of Deception. Enter the enemy’s square, not provoking AoOs. If the enemy isn’t already flatfooted this round, next round they will be because of Confound the Big Folk. Attack with claws, sacrificing 4d6 sneak attack to RIP AND TEAR THEIR HUGE GUTS.
Sources
Hit and Run Tactics: Drow of the Underdark
Zhentarim Soldier: Champions of Valor
Swordsage, Maneuvers: Tome of Battle
Shape Soulmeld, Open Least Chakra, Impulse Boots: Magic of Incarnum
Dreadful Wrath: Player’s Guide to Faerun
Able Learner: Races of Destiny
Underfoot Combat, Confound the Big Folk: Races of the Wild
Applied Force: Dead Levels Article (https://web.archive.org/web/20161031211837/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cwc/20061013a)
Skilled City Dweller: Cityscape Web Enhancement (https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031718/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a)
Improved Flight: Races of the Wild
Disembowling Strike: Complete Scoundrel
Fighter, Sneak Attack variant, Weapon Focus, Skill Focus: srd

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 03:24 PM

That's our lot! Judges, have at it!

Zaq

2022-07-09, 03:43 PM

These are incredible.

I love that absolutely no one is actually trying to play this one straight. We've all gone full gonzo. Even shining blade had some people trying to play it "normally"!

Venger

2022-07-09, 04:02 PM

H_H_F_F

2022-07-09, 04:03 PM

Holy ****

So worth the wait. You guys are awesome

Seriously. I ****ing love this place. So happy I found these competitions. So happy I stopped lurking and started playing along. I like all of you a lot and I'm very happy to be here.

loky1109

2022-07-09, 04:21 PM

Table!

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Berserk Totem Chef Total Place
The Anvil (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514393&postcount=98) CG Necropolitan Dragonborn Azurin Duskblade 5/Berserk 3/Champion of Gwynharwyf 2/Flux Adept 10 Cachalot
Baloo (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514394&postcount=99) TN Werebadger Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Battle Dancer 1/Fist of the Forest 3/Berserk 4/Warshaper 5/Bear Warrior 1 Bear
Zugzug (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514397&postcount=100) CE Frostblood Orc Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Berserk 3/Eye of Gruumsh 7/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Warshaper 5 Eagle
Sir Mousy (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514398&postcount=101) NG Jermlaine Spiritual Eagle Totem Barbarian 1/Swashbuckler 1/Psychic Warrior 4/Berserk 1/Root Walker Huntsman Druidic Avenger 1/Figther 2/Windrider 10 None
Arniat Pineheart (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514401&postcount=102) ?? Grey Elf Druidic Avenger 7/Master of Many Forms 3/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Cachalot
Barry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514404&postcount=103) TN Shifter Spiritual Bear Totem Barbarian 1/Berserk 8/Legacy Champion 10/Bear Warrior 1 Bear
Marigold Sunglade (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514405&postcount=104) NG Halfling Commoner 10/Berserk 10 Cachalot
Lucia and Lea (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514407&postcount=105) CN Dvati Favored Environment Ranger 4/Crusader 2/Berserk 8/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5 Bear
Whyld (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514408&postcount=106) CE Human Spiritual Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Dread Necromancer 7/Warblade 1/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Eagle
Lupula and Ursula (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514409&postcount=107) CG Dvati Wolf Totem Streetfighter Barbarian 11/Berserk 8 Bear
Nin Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Wary Swordknight Underdark Knight Paladin of Freedom 12/Berserk 3/Fighter 2/Knight of the Raven 3 Cachalot
Ty Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Arcane Hunter Voice of the City Ranger 2/Wary Swordknight Holy Warrior Paladin of Freedom 4/Berserk 3/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6/Spiritual Lion Totem Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Death Delver 3 Cachalot
Kalamak (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514413&postcount=109) CG Dragonborn Dragonwrought Kobold Fangshields Ranger 2/Battle Dancer 1/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 2/Berserk 3/Marshal 1/Scaled Horror 1/Totemist 7/Umbral Disciple 3 Cachalot
Hank (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514415&postcount=110) NG Wereblack Bear Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Berserk 3/Bear warrior 5/Primeval 1/Abolisher 1/Bear Lord 2 Bear
Taz (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514417&postcount=111) TN Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Cleric 7/Berserk 9/Contemplative 4 Cachalot
Brass Key William (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514422&postcount=112) NE Warforged Psychic Warrior 7/Elocator 10/Berserker 3 Cachalot
Rodeo Badger (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514424&postcount=113) CE Dark Badger Hengeyokai Favored Environment Voice of the City Trap Expert Shape Shifter Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Totemist 2/Totem Rager 4/Berserk 1/Exemplar 5/Wind Rider 1/Deadly Hunter Druidic Avenger 1/Warshaper 1 None
Chairman's non-entry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514426&postcount=114) TBD TBD TBD

The Viscount

2022-07-09, 04:22 PM

These are incredible.

I love that absolutely no one is actually trying to play this one straight. We've all gone full gonzo. Even shining blade had some people trying to play it "normally"!

Reminds me of the Order of the Bow Initiate round where every single entry managed to work in some sort of gag about "what is truth." You love to see it.

Holy ****

So worth the wait. You guys are awesome

Seriously. I ****ing love this place. So happy I found these competitions. So happy I stopped lurking and started playing along. I like all of you a lot and I'm very happy to be here.

I'm so glad you chose to join us. This is what Iron Chef is really about. The community of doing crazy bits.

daremetoidareyo

2022-07-09, 05:15 PM

Table!

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Chef Total Place
The Anvil (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514393&postcount=98) CG Necropolitan Dragonborn Azurin Duskblade 5/Berserk 3/Champion of Gwynharwyf 2/Flux Adept 10
Baloo (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514394&postcount=99) TN Werebadger Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Battle Dancer 1/Fist of the Forest 3/Berserk 4/Warshaper 5/Bear Warrior 1

Zugzug (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514397&postcount=100) CE Frostblood Orc Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Berserk 3/Eye of Gruumsh 7/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Warshaper 5
Sir Mousy (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514398&postcount=101) NG Jermlaine Spiritual Eagle Totem Barbarian 1/Swashbuckler 1/Psychic Warrior 4/Berserk 4/Root Walker Huntsman Druidic Avenger 1/Figther 2/Windrider 7
Arniat Pineheart (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514401&postcount=102) ?? Grey Elf Druidic Avenger 7/Master of Many Forms 3/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4
Barry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514404&postcount=103) TN Shifter Spiritual Bear Totem Barbarian 1/Berserk 8/Legacy Champion 10/Bear Warrior 1
Marigold Sunglade (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514405&postcount=104) NG Halfling Commoner 10/Berserk 10
Lucia and Lea (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514407&postcount=105) CN Dvati Favored Environment Ranger 4/Crusader 2/Berserk 8/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5
Whyld (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514408&postcount=106) CE Human Spiritual Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Dread Necromancer 7/Warblade 1/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4
Lupula and Ursula (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514409&postcount=107) CG Dvati Wolf Totem Streetfighter Barbarian 11/Berserk 8
Nin Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Wary Swordknight Underdark Knight Paladin of Freedom 12/Berserk 3/Fighter 2/Knight of the Raven 3
Ty Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Arcane Hunter Voice of the City Ranger 2/Wary Swordknight Holy Warrior Paladin of Freedom 4/Berserk 3/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6/Spiritual Lion Totem Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Death Delver 3
Kalamak (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514413&postcount=109) CG Dragonborn Dragonwrought Kobold Fangshields Ranger 2/Battle Dancer 1/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 2/Berserk 3/Marshal 1/Scaled Horror 1/Totemist 7/Umbral Disciple 3
Hank (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514415&postcount=110) NG Wereblack Bear Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Berserk 3/Bear warrior 5/Primeval 1/Abolisher 1/Bear Lord 2
Taz (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514417&postcount=111) TN Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Cleric 7/Berserk 9/Contemplative 4
Brass Key William (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514422&postcount=112) NE Warforged Psychic Warrior 7/Elocator 10/Berserker 3
Rodeo Badger (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514424&postcount=113) CE Dark Badger Hengeyokai Favored Environment Voice of the City Trap Expert Shape Shifter Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Totemist 2/Totem Rager 4/Berserk 1/Exemplar 5/Wind Rider 1/Deadly Hunter Druidic Avenger 1/Warshaper 1
Chairman's non-entry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514426&postcount=114) TBD TBD

Any chance that you can throw the Beast shape on the table?

loky1109

2022-07-09, 05:21 PM

Any chance that you can throw the Beast shape on the table?

I can do it.
UPD: It's done.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-09, 05:40 PM

Whoof! They're all in the spreadsheet, and I'm going to sleep. Literally CANNOT pick an HM.

Good night!

loky1109

2022-07-09, 06:01 PM

I had idea to utilize fury via fangshield barbarian 7 or/and Channeled Rage feat, but this was last day idea and I had no time to make it.
Also I thought about whale shape + falling damage but it's only idea, too.

Gruftzwerg

2022-07-09, 09:25 PM

Wow 17 18 builds.. and all so different.
Well, Warshaper (entries) seems to be the most used "other ingredient", but I guess that was to be expected.

But these build concepts.. I'm speechless..^^
Need to make some some time free for a deeper investigation.

Do we have any judges so far? I'm kinda uncomfortable to expect this amount of work from the judges. I appreciate the time everybody invests into these challenges, but the judges need to be pointed out here imho.

May the juice be with you!

The Viscount

2022-07-10, 07:26 PM

Finally finished writing up my non-entry. Definitely had fun with it.

Venger

2022-07-10, 07:39 PM

Who doesn't love a good doomguy? Pity this ingredient is reliant on having a con for rage, or you could've made him a zombie.

Paragon

2022-07-11, 02:28 AM

My HM goes to Romeo Badger, no questions asked. I literally laughed out loud reading it

loky1109

2022-07-11, 03:23 AM

HM to Rodeo Badger!

loky1109

2022-07-11, 03:28 AM

Updated table with chairman's non-entry.

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Berserk Totem Chef Total Place
The Anvil (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514393&postcount=98) CG Necropolitan Dragonborn Azurin Duskblade 5/Berserk 3/Champion of Gwynharwyf 2/Flux Adept 10 Cachalot
Baloo (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514394&postcount=99) TN Werebadger Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Battle Dancer 1/Fist of the Forest 3/Berserk 4/Warshaper 5/Bear Warrior 1 Bear
Zugzug (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514397&postcount=100) CE Frostblood Orc Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Berserk 3/Eye of Gruumsh 7/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Warshaper 5 Eagle
Sir Mousy (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514398&postcount=101) NG Jermlaine Spiritual Eagle Totem Barbarian 1/Swashbuckler 1/Psychic Warrior 4/Berserk 1/Root Walker Huntsman Druidic Avenger 1/Figther 2/Windrider 10 None
Arniat Pineheart (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514401&postcount=102) ?? Grey Elf Druidic Avenger 7/Master of Many Forms 3/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Cachalot
Barry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514404&postcount=103) TN Shifter Spiritual Bear Totem Barbarian 1/Berserk 8/Legacy Champion 10/Bear Warrior 1 Bear
Marigold Sunglade (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514405&postcount=104) NG Halfling Commoner 10/Berserk 10 Cachalot
Lucia and Lea (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514407&postcount=105) CN Dvati Favored Environment Ranger 4/Crusader 2/Berserk 8/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5 Bear
Whyld (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514408&postcount=106) CE Human Spiritual Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Dread Necromancer 7/Warblade 1/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Eagle
Lupula and Ursula (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514409&postcount=107) CG Dvati Wolf Totem Streetfighter Barbarian 11/Berserk 8 Bear
Nin Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Wary Swordknight Underdark Knight Paladin of Freedom 12/Berserk 3/Fighter 2/Knight of the Raven 3 Cachalot
Ty Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Arcane Hunter Voice of the City Ranger 2/Wary Swordknight Holy Warrior Paladin of Freedom 4/Berserk 3/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6/Spiritual Lion Totem Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Death Delver 3 Cachalot
Kalamak (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514413&postcount=109) CG Dragonborn Dragonwrought Kobold Fangshields Ranger 2/Battle Dancer 1/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 2/Berserk 3/Marshal 1/Scaled Horror 1/Totemist 7/Umbral Disciple 3 Cachalot
Hank (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514415&postcount=110) NG Wereblack Bear Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Berserk 3/Bear warrior 5/Primeval 1/Abolisher 1/Bear Lord 2 Bear
Taz (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514417&postcount=111) TN Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Cleric 7/Berserk 9/Contemplative 4 Cachalot
Brass Key William (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514422&postcount=112) NE Warforged Psychic Warrior 7/Elocator 10/Berserker 3 Cachalot
Rodeo Badger (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514424&postcount=113) CE Dark Badger Hengeyokai Favored Environment Voice of the City Trap Expert Shape Shifter Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Totemist 2/Totem Rager 4/Berserk 1/Exemplar 5/Wind Rider 1/Deadly Hunter Druidic Avenger 1/Warshaper 1 None
John Stalvern (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514426&postcount=114) TN Human Hit and Run Zhentarim Soldier Dirty Fighter 5/Berserk 10/Unarmed Swordsage 5 Raven N/A

H_H_F_F

2022-07-11, 04:13 AM

My HM goes to Romeo Badger, no questions asked. I literally laughed out loud reading it

New Shakespeare adaptation just dropped.

Paragon

2022-07-11, 04:20 AM

New Shakespeare adaptation just dropped.

I could edit my post, but it has too nice of a ring to it

H_H_F_F

2022-07-11, 04:32 AM

After consideration, my vote for HM is going to Marigold.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-07-11, 06:38 AM

Who doesn't love a good doomguy? Pity this ingredient is reliant on having a con for rage, or you could've made him a zombie.

That first Necropolitan regenerating berserk whale: Am I a joke to you?

Wildstag

2022-07-11, 12:48 PM

Such funny builds to read through. Still kinda chuckling to myself that the bear cavalry build doesn't have the "Cavalry of Bears" class feature, but given that's a separate PrC's 10th-level capstone, it makes sense.

Also, there are a lot more dragonborn than I expected!

Darrin

2022-07-11, 02:27 PM

I had two ideas that I completely failed to build out into a submission.

The first was based entirely on this old Atari video game:

https://archive.org/serve/Berzerk_1982_Atari_NTSC/berzerk_1982_atari_ntsc_screenshot.png

Lumi 2/Soul Knife 2/Ranged Barbarian 2/Soul Bow 1/Cleric 1/Berzerk 10

Lumi for the floating head, Soul Bow for the Mind Arrows (which are not technically "ranged weapons" per se), and Berzerk... for the name, mostly. I figured out how to make Battle Fury work with mind arrows (Frantic Rage), but I couldn't find anything interesting to do with Beast Shape. There's just nothing in the Atari game that has anything to do with changing the humanoid into something else. (Although killing everything from above via Raven or Eagle form with mind arrows while in a rage sounded kinda-sorta awesome.)

My second idea was basically Totemist 2/Warblade 4/Berzerk 4/Ronin 2/Something 8 (probably Totem Rager or more Warblade), Beast Shape into a Boar for Ferocity (Ex), max out Rageclaws, let your opponents beat you down into the negatives, and then leverage everything I could into "continues to fight without penalty" (Power Attack, Stone Power, Combat Expertise, Banzai Charge, etc.). Basically the Waverider/Throw Exotic Weapon loophole, but in the form of a really angry pig. I am somewhat saddened that no one else took advantage of the Ferocity (Ex) thing, but on the other hand... Wow. A lot of fantastic builds here, including two Dvatis (that sounds redundant, but... isn't.).

H_H_F_F

2022-07-11, 02:43 PM

My second idea was basically Totemist 2/Warblade 4/Berzerk 4/Ronin 2/Something 8 (probably Totem Rager or more Warblade), Beast Shape into a Boar for Ferocity (Ex), max out Rageclaws, let your opponents beat you down into the negatives, and then leverage everything I could into "continues to fight without penalty" (Power Attack, Stone Power, Combat Expertise, Banzai Charge, etc.). Basically the Waverider/Throw Exotic Weapon loophole, but in the form of a really angry pig. I am somewhat saddened that no one else took advantage of the Ferocity (Ex) thing, but on the other hand... Wow. A lot of fantastic builds here, including two Dvatis (that sounds redundant, but... isn't.).

But that would be cheesy!

ciopo

2022-07-11, 03:42 PM

What's the waverider/throw exotic weapon loophole?

Venger

2022-07-11, 05:53 PM

What's the waverider/throw exotic weapon loophole?

An 8th level waverider "takes no penalties when making ranged attacks with a crossbow, harpoon, javelin, trident, or shortspear while mounted." So you stack on as many abilities that let you get a bonus in exchange for a penalty and then ignore the penalty. The Viscount made use of this back in waverider (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=21775399&postcount=86).

Darrin

2022-07-11, 06:50 PM

What's the waverider/throw exotic weapon loophole?

Savage Species p. 96: "Superior Mounted Archery (Ex): At 8th level, a waverider takes no penalties when making ranged attacks with a crossbow, harpoon, javelin, trident, or shortspear while mounted."

Complete Warrior p. 30: "Throw Exotic Weapon: The character can throw an exotic weapon with no penalty on the attack roll, even if it isn’t designed to be thrown (such as an orc double axe or a spiked chain)."

Also, Tormtor School in Drow of the Underdark p. 57: "You take no penalty when making a melee attack with a javelin."

(bold = emphasis added)

I was going to try and finish off with Avalanche of Blades (Tome of Battle p. 62), which is a somewhat-infinite damage loop (just don't roll a 1).

Venger

2022-07-12, 12:49 AM

Is it possible to combine with that stance that always lets you roll an 11?

Gruftzwerg

2022-07-12, 05:27 AM

Do we have any judges so far? Because I think no..^^

Korahir

2022-07-12, 07:28 AM

Do we have any judges so far? Because I think no..^^
We all just got so excited about our silly concepts :D I sincerely hope someone steps up though.

Wildstag

2022-07-12, 12:15 PM

I guess that's the mark of a fun SI, that everyone feels the need to participate.

loky1109

2022-07-15, 03:32 PM

I'm casting "Summon Judge"!

H_H_F_F

2022-07-15, 05:57 PM

I'm casting "Summon Judge"!

We might be in a dead magic zone, I'm afraid...

loky1109

2022-07-15, 06:05 PM

We might be in a dead magic zone, I'm afraid...

We need the Cheater of Mystra!

Paragon

2022-07-15, 06:32 PM

I'm casting "Summon Judge"!

Let's use Circle Magic to boost your CL

H_H_F_F

2022-07-20, 07:07 AM

Updated the spreadsheet with your entry, chair - as disappointed as I am with your choice of not going soulborn 10/ Berserk 10.

Do we have anyone in the shadows making judging noises?

LecternOfJasper

2022-07-20, 10:43 AM

Beni-Kujaku

2022-07-20, 11:49 AM

We need the Cheater of Mystra!

I'm more of an Olidammara guy myself‚ but I can try judging these. It may take some time‚ though. These aren't "standard" entries by any stretch

H_H_F_F

2022-07-20, 03:59 PM

I can't judge (I'm not savvy enough to understand half of the rules exploits used in these competitions, and especially not 18 times in a row), but these are truly delightful.

I give everyone at a 10/10, with the big dead whale getting 11 and the halfling adding +376 or whatever :smallbiggrin:

Hey, thanks for the quick judgement, Lectern! Chair, are we ready for the reveal?

(Seriously though, welcome aboard! I totally get not wanting to start off with judging this round, but I hope to see you reading and hopefully participating in future rounds. I can tell you that I was probably far less savvy than you are when I started out here. Hope you enjoyed our builds!)

I'm more of an Olidammara guy myself‚ but I can try judging these. It may take some time‚ though. These aren't "standard" entries by any stretch

Thank you very much, Beni! Take your time.

The Viscount

2022-07-20, 06:56 PM

Updated the spreadsheet with your entry, chair - as disappointed as I am with your choice of not going soulborn 10/ Berserk 10.

Do we have anyone in the shadows making judging noises?

I'm getting a bad enough reputation as the Soulborn guy already; if I keep it up they'll make me write the handbook.

The Viscount

2022-07-29, 07:55 PM

Some options for the next round. They should (I hope) be a little better than this round.

Shoehorned in
You and me both
Everybody and their grandmother

Venger

2022-07-29, 07:56 PM

Deeply threatening options. I'm in for grandmother.

loky1109

2022-07-30, 02:16 AM

I like Shoehorned in.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-30, 03:10 AM

Everybody.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-07-30, 05:16 AM

I just don't want grandmother to be Champion of Legacy, so I'm going for Shoehorned In.

Edit: Nevermind, was already done on round 76. Let's go for grandmothers.

WhamBamSam

2022-07-30, 08:09 AM

I can't even begin to guess what any of those are. I'll vote for You and me Both.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-07-30, 05:10 PM

And here is the long awaited judgement! Thank you to all contestants for these great entries, and I'll wait for your disputes!

I really like the whole build. There’s just almost nothing expected here. Champion of Gwynharwyf (yes, first try right orthograph) is used once in a blue moon, and I didn’t even know the existence of Flux Adept (maybe for good reasons). Using Spider Climb to walk is great, using badly-worded abilities to put a Con score on an Undead is very unique… Nothing to hate, and much to love.
There’s a bit of cheese in there, and I don’t agree with some of it (see Power), but the gyst of it is simple, focused and elegant. Your classes interact with each other and use the best of each of them. The justification is also right, and I like the flavour of whale songs to cast spells. Still, the main cheese except the capstone (having your new Con affect an Undead HP) relies on «Viscount said that it’s like Alternate Form but didn’t specify exactly that this rule of Alternate Form doesn’t apply », which is a bit inelegant in my book. Also, you have one flaw. Dura lex, sed lex. -1 point.
I’m not convinced by your ability to thrive in the 13-19th levels. You have a lot of HP, but that’s all. Your spells are low-level, you can’t wield weapons (except Mouthpick, which requires some DM fiat and will absolutely not be available in most campaigns), you can’t fit in most buildings (I mean, you could, with enough Escape Artist, but your whale would then occupy the whole volume of the room (possibly breaking or making everything fall when she moves). And generally the party wants to be able to follow other members. And you can’t manipulate items. I would have liked Prehensile Tail somewhere. Or a way to make unarmed strikes. As it is, the tank fallacy does apply for most of your career. And the capstone… I don’t think Shield Other works like that. If it bypasses damage reduction, I don’t see why it wouldn’t bypass Regeneration. The opponent doesn’t deal damage to you, you just take the damage the other person should have taken. Still, I understand that there might be other interpretations out there, and you’re a very solid melee character at low level, and having an Undead with very high HP is very good, so I won’t penalize too much for the capstone (but still a bit).
Basically, you’re only using one ability of the SI, and only 3 levels. That said, the SI is special in that you can’t really use its various abilities together, and only 3 levels give you most of the utility from the class. The SI is integral to the build, and the build complements the SI well.
The concept is great, and the build is basically just a bundle of cheese for that undead whale to slide on. Honestly, I love builds like that, and you seemingly make it work, but it would probably lack a bit in actual play for all the problems that being a whale entails.

This is all very standard classes, but used pretty intelligently. Spellfire wielder is the real kicker here, and the whole thing you’ve got going with Mad Foam Rager is interesting and unique. Lycanthropes are well-known but not too used, but using some sort of badger orm to get rage is painfully standard, as are Warshaper and Bear Warrior. The rest is not super common, but nothing stood out.
That’s a lot of classes. Still, you know what you want : moar constitution, hitting people, and not being killed by spells. There are honestly some interesting interactions and everything has a use. It’s just weird that some of it doesn’t really work in your go-to badger form. Also, the Control Shape thing is fun, but not only is it not really interesting for you (if I understand well, you’re only very rarely in your animal form anyway, except when you want to grapple people, and it requires a standard action, and so obviously against the intent of the skill that I can’t help but remove 0.25 points for it.
Your main strategy is to rage by a free action, then absorb spells and shoot them back at the opponent. You also like to stack up numbers the higher possible, especially in Strength for a mild grappling focus. Then why are you a werebadger ? You lose basically three points of BAB for… What ? Starting fights small and not being able to wear armor or manipulate items in your everyday life ? Gain yet another way to rage that you can’t activate voluntarily ? I’m honestly not sure why you’re a badger. It’s not absolutely awful in defense, but I think you could have found something better for raging (especially since you already have Extra Rage), and you don’t even have burrow speed since you’re mainly in Black Bear form. In the end, you’re just a beatstick with higher than usual defense, but your action economy is a bit weird. Changing into « Beast Mode » requires a standard action, which is bad since you can’t use Battle Fury to absorb spells afterwards, and you can’t do it after using Bear Warrior, and it makes all your equipment fall to the floor, and you lose your burrow… I’m not sure you will ever be a brown bear, and a medium grappler is rarely a good idea. Also, your damage output doesn’t seem really that good. You don’t have Multiattack so all attacks except your very first unarmed strike take at least -5, and since they’re all light weapons, they get below-average benefits from Power Attack. DR will be a big problem, and you can’t really do anything else than hitting people with your claws and bite and elbows.
The SI allows you to gain one more rage per day. That’s not that good. You improve on it with Spellfire and Extra Rage and Mad Foam Rager, but the SI isn’t really essential to your build.
I understand what you’re trying to do, but the situations in which i twill work may be a bit rare. And you’re diving head first into the SI’s contradiction between its various abilities.

Well, you said it, not me. That’s basically just a pouncebarian. Yes, it can spit on people and fly, that’s good, but mainly it just hits people with a pointy stick. Eye of Gruumsh is a bit unexpected, but you do nothing revolutionary with it. Isn’t that the only eagle in the comp ? Ah, no, there’s another one.
Really nothing much to say here. It’s a simple, well-made build, but nothing incredible.
I… Don’t think eagles can wield double axes (I mean, if dragons can’t, I don’t see why they could). Or armor. Or land with a double axe in their claws. It means either you don’t use your eagle form, or you only attack with your claws. That’s bad. Also, Eye of Gruumsh is from CWar, so you need to continuously meet the prerequisites, and to keep Weapon Focus (double axe), which is… suboptimal. Apart from that, you have big numbers and pounce, so I guess it’s not all bad, but you can’t do much outside of bashing faces. Trip is interesting, though, but it would be much better if you could threaten more than the squares immediately around you. You also have only +7 at level 15 on your spit attack. Let’s say you probably won’t use it.
Using the SI is actively detrimental to you. So… Just another rage it is. And only if you can spare the action.
There’s a reason pouncebarians are so standard, they don’t mesh that well with fancy new techniques like changing into an eagle.

Charger is not a new build, and a lot of your build has already been seen time and time again. Notably, Ancestral Relic is overdone and overused, and wild cohort and Robilar’s Gambit are well known. Still, I liked how you went to search a few obscure things like Windrider, Tremendous Charge or the fact that the Jermlaine was LA+0 in that one booklet. A Tiny charger on a flying mount is also far from unoriginal.
That’s a lot of dips. So much that you have XP penalty from level 5 onwards. It’s a lot. A few cross-class skills. Three kinds of casting, but none of them are really well-utilised in the build, except reach. Apart from that, I like your build. The picture of a small eagle with a tiny rider charging you with a 40 Str lance attack is nice, and very well mechanically supported. A few questionable readings (I don’t buy that you control yourself enough to choose how to attack your friends) but nothing awful. Your Wild Cohort may be unable to take an ASI in intelligence, considering the whole « animals can’t have more than 2 Int » thing. A lance is not a one-handed weapon, doesn’t matter what size the creator is. This is not 3.0. It is used « in one hand », but keeps the fact that it’s a two-handed weapon one size smaller, hence the -2 penalty.
You can do one thing, and you do it well. Your ability to charge, attack with your lance, then go away and even turn 90°, all that while flying, may be devastating at highish levels. However, there’s not much more you can do. You have combat spells that you can’t use in combat, your mount has a bonus to its land speed even though it’s supposed to almost always be flying, and you’re face first in the bane of all mounted builds : your build doesn’t have good Will saves. A simple suggestion (fly as high as possible, then drop), may be deadly. Your action economy is pretty good (getting your rages and your reach in one round is good). And if the lance happens to break, you’re still boned for the fight, especially since it will fall off the eagle. I understand why you’re Tiny, and you would have as much trouble getting reliable flight but going through hooves to get reach that wouldn’t be necessary with just being Medium isn’t ideal. Also, you’re a bit low on usage fpr your rages.
I can understand taking only 3 or 4 levels, but one is just not enough. You don’t even try to use Beast Shape, and I’m really not a fan of how Fury is basically just another Rage to fit in your build. It doesn’t allow your build to exist, it’s not special, just one more straw on the camel’s back. It even arguably hurts you if you fail the Will save.
This would be a great NPC in a campaign. Just a bit too bland for my taste besides the first glance.

It may be one of the least original combinations of classes I’ve seen. Druid because of course. Druidic Avenger for the third rage-stacking so far, Warshaper is infamous, although we don’t see magical entries that often, and Master of Many Forms is such a standard-issue class that I know the first levels abilities by heart.
I feel like there’s really not much to this build. Or at least, that you don’t say what you want to do. As I see it, you say you’re a whale who can occasionally sprout wings and tentacles. I’m not sure if you think Warshaper allows you to make multiple attacks or just one ? Why did you want 3 levels of MoMF ? What spells do you use as a whale ? Do you want to be mostly melee or distance ? How do you qualify for Multiattack ? There’s really no notable combo. I like the picture, though. And there’s not much that is inelegant per se, since there’s not much at all.
You’re big, but not really that strong. You have five ways of transforming (Wild Shape feats, Wild Shape, Polymorph, MoMF and Berserk), and you basically use only two. You only have 5 wild shapes per day, which means you’re not gonna be able to maintain the ability to walk for whole days, and you don’t have enough Beast Shape to keep going back to human form to walk. I feel like that build just doesn’t work. Still, you have spells (although you’re way behind other druids), and a flying whale with a tentacle is nothing to sneeze at.
The SI is essential to the build, and you improve it with your feat selection, but you use only one of the two main abilities, and you don’t use the speed buff either. There’s really nothing revolutionary that I can see here.
A bit too expected to my taste.

This is a ridiculous question. Black Bear is the only one who got LA+0 in the LA-reassignment thread. Also Berserk already comes from bear.
I mean, I can’t exactly say that it’s unoriginal as a general theme for a build. But then again, I can’t say it’s really original either. Legacy Champion is well known, but rarely used, and the rest is extremely standard
Ugh, cured lycanthropy. I’m sorry, but using that to cheat prerequisites and basically get free feats (even if some disappear afterwards) is really not the kind of things I like. Lots of cross-class, and not much else interesting to see here. Still, I appreciate the theme and how you stuck to it. The « number of Shifter feats you took » thing made me chuckle.
Yyyyyyeah. You dedicate basically your whole build to gain more abilities to turn into a bear, without having a need to change back into a human in the first place. You don’t have 16 BAB, can’t use your weapon of Legacy in combat since you’re a bear, and basically have nothing you do really well, in or outside combat.
This is perfection. The quintessential Berserk in all its berserking glory. Of course the SI is essential to your build, since it IS your build. Of course your build improves on the SI’s abilities, since it makes more of it. Absolutely impressive !

(It probably isn’t worth that much considering the lack of combos, but there are bonus points for good story and absolute dedication to the SI)
You knew what you went into. Probably the simmplest build of the comp, but comic reliefs are as needed as badasses in this great D&D world.

I… Must say I haven’t ever seen or imagined a character like that. Deus ex Machina didn’t put you out of the machine but instead let it roar for you. She really is a wonderful person…
…But not an optimized character. This competition is based on the fact that a character must rely as little as possible on DM fiat (hence the item dependency penalties). Marigold isn’t even a PC at this point, she’s a thinly-veiled DMPC that exists because of DM fiat. In actual games, gods don’t just give blessings to characters with no drawbacks. This doesn’t work. Also, your skills are illegal, you only get half a rank when putting one cross-class skill point in a skill. You didn’t think I would let you get away with that +1 bonus to Topiary Removing, did you ?
Without your blessings, you’re the combinaison of the worst base class in the game and a mediocre PrC, with basically nothing to support it. 1/5, and no, even your magnificent underwater baskets won’t save you.
10 levels of the SI doesn’t do you any good if you have nothing to use it’s stats
She’s nice, but she’s nothing without her blessing, and would be nothing if every other participant was given the same bonus.

Yay Dvati ! This race is really not used often, and the fact that there are two of them in this comp doesn’t change that fact. Your feats (except your shield feats) are pretty standard, especially in this comp, but your classes ? Ranger is basically never used (and Distracting Attack is a great and seldom used acf), and I didn’t even know about the Unseelie Hunter. And having one twin ride the other in battle ? Hilarious.
This is a very streamlined build, with just the right amount of cheese for it to be interesting. I feel like the « each twin in a stance » should work, but that Iron Guard’s Glare wouldn’t, since both twins are « you ». I’m doubting that you are allowed to treat your twin as a mount, or at least as a trained mount (you can train an intelligent mount, but you still have to find a suitable trainer, and I don’t think there is a trainer specialized in training Dvatis), but let’s go with that. It still has problems, though (see Power). You wrote your 3rd level feat at 2nd.
Having a really fast mount like that is very interesting, and I like how you have a raging bear. You did a good job reaching decent amount of HP for your twins, and two people together can do a lot of damage. I would have liked if you found more ways to use your opponent being perma-flat-footed than Tactics of the Wolf, but overall your use of maneuvers is great. Still, you don’t reach the level of strength that other melee characters (and other contestants) reach, and the absence of pounce on a natural attack build is a problem. Having furious Dvatis on top of each other has problems too.
Notably, Battle Fury means rider-twin would probably just attack bear-twin until she dies unless you succeed on Will saves each battle. There might be ways to avoid that, but you didn’t write any, and +4 in Will save is really bad.

Good combination of the SI’s abilities, definitely integral to the build itself (although you may have done something similar but way worse with Wild Cohort), and as always Instant Rage and Mounted Fury help the class back.
A good all-around and pretty original build. I particularly liked how you used stances and maneuvers. Thank you for it.

Dread Necro is really rare as a class, and combining it with Berserk took me by surprise. The use of Ghostly Visage is excellent, and something I would never have thought of. Sadly, the rest of the build is very standard, with well-known feats (Shock Trooper, Brutal Throw, Travel Devotion) and classes (Lion Barbarian, Warblade, Warshaper)
« …allowing a natural attack that deals the appropriate amount of damage according to the size of the new form (see Table 5—1 on page 296 of the Monster Manual). » The table mentions exactly seven kinds of natural weapons. Slam, tentacle, bit, claw, sting, gore and tail. Even if you could create any kind of natural weapon, which is already very much implied to not be the case, it would not deal damage since it’s not on the table that defines the damage. Please read the whole ability before searching for abuse. -1 Elegance. Still, I know about the argument and will be judging Power as if the manticore spikes were allowed. Small ding for the warblade dip.
Very well-presented table. You took a flaw. You get -1. I don’t make the rules here, but I enforce them.
You go fast, you hit hard, even at range, you can’t hit your allies, and your AC is not absolutely abysmal. You also have a bit of magic that allows you to get some minions. Great all around. Also you have immunity to mind-affecting. Because of course you do. The ghostly visage as a familiar is especially great since familiars are counting as having the same number of HD as their master, and hence can’t be controlled by the first cleric you fight (but might mislead them into thinking they can). There’s not much more to ask for except world-altering capabilities. Still, needing a standard action to go into Fury may not be always available to you.
I am a big fan of how circumvented the main problems of both main abilities of the SI. Multimorph is excellent and basically amounts to infinite uses for Beast Shape, and Ghostly Visage for Battle Fury is a great way of thinking outside the box. I’m left a bit unsatisfied by how the Eagle form isn’t really integral to your fighting style and the fact that you still have to both go back to human form and use a standard action to get into Fury, but still really good use of the SI
I’m amazed at the combos you used and how you used very standard classes to improve the SI. Really what more Iron Chef builds should be. Just… Please don’t use Morphic Weapons that way again.

Were Romulus and Remus Dvati twins raised by these two ?
Yay Dvati ! This race is really not used often, and the fact that this is the second time I say that in this comp doesn’t change that fact. Wolf Totem isn’t either and permanent Berserker’s Strength is also not quite seen everywhere. The components of the build are original. The way you use them, however, is pretty standard.
Very simple build, with no dip. That said, there’s no interesting combo to speak of, and it doesn’t really make me want to keep reading further than the table.
Constitution bonus or malus apply to both twins, and is not divided. So you’re even frailer than you thought. You might even be able to get 10 Con if you take one or two more barbarian levels and still get permanent rage. You can’t use Battle Fury while transformed, so you have to use a standard action going back to human form before you can use a free action to increase your HP. Basically, your emergency button doesn’t work. You know, you’re gonna need some healing at some point. And each time you have to get healed, you’ll need to go back to human form, otherwise Berserker’s Strength disappears. It will be hard to have a twin « permanently in bear form ». And in general, your whole build is a melee character. Having 10 HP per twin at level 4, or 36 at level 20 (remember, the con malus applies to both) is not just hard to play, it’s a death sentence, especially since you have an AC penalty when raging. Yes, you are immune to both fire and ice, but you have basically nothing else to piggy back on your permanent rage. I admit Knockdown is a great ability, but it won’t salvage you.
You have 8 levels of the SI, that’s more than most, and having two bears instead of one, or one bear and one incoherent raging fury, is better than nothing. But really, I don’t feel like you used Berserk for much of anything.
The build was pretty bland, and it seemed like you put permanent Berserker’s Strength in there while not knowing what to do with it.

Nothing absolutely revolutionary, but a lot of nice things that I didn’t expect to see. Dual Prehensile Tail ? Paladin up to level 12 !? Knight of the Raven !? What’s happening here ? Of course, there is still Shock Trooper, Travel Devotion and Dragonborn of Bahamut which are pretty standard.
Everything comes together quite nicely. There are good interactions (between Paladin and Berserk, between Knockback, your ability to count as Colossal and Dungeon Crasher, Dragonborn of Bahamut removing Knight Training after you have no more use for it …) Plus, no dip, not even a cross class skill point spent, and the whole thing seems legal with no problem.
At a glance, you’re monstrously powerful. A whale that can go through walls, that pushes you around with no way to resist its Colossal size and deals massive damage each time it does. Still, I’m not convinced this will go without problem. Dungeoncrasher works best in dungeons, or at least somewhere where there are walls. And a lot of these places can’t accomodate a 20x20ft Gargantuan animal, and since the Paladin ACF states that you have to finish your movement outside a wall, you might have some problems positioning, or even might have to go back to your humanoid form once in a while. Also, how the hell are you moving around from levels 8 to 15. You’re supposed to be a whale, and Travel Devotion can only carry you so far. You will have to rely heavily on magic items for it to work as you wish.
The whole build is based on the idea of being Gargantuan and counting as even bigger while having ridiculously high strength. You only use one feature of the SI, but damn are you using it well.
A really, really good build. Some things might not work out quite as intended, but nothing a bit of magic can’t fix.

Nothing absolutely revolutionary, but a lot of nice things that I didn’t expect to see. Dual Prehensile Tail ? Fighter up to level 6 !? What’s happening here ? Of course, there is still Shock Trooper, Lion Barbarian and Dragonborn of Bahamut which are pretty standard.
Everything comes together quite nicely. There are good interactions (between basically all the combat maneuvers and Tougher than Small) Plus, even though there are a bit too many classes to my taste, not even a cross class skill point spent, and the whole thing seems legal with no problem. The dual totem barbarian may raise a few eyebrows, though.
At a glance, you’re monstrously powerful. A whale that can push you around basically infinitely with Trip-BullRush-Trip-BullRush-Trip-BullRush routine if you’re already near a wall (sad that the errata removed the ability to chain Improved Trip with Knockdown) with almost no way to resist its Colossal size and deals massive damage each time it does. Still, I’m not convinced this will go without problem. Dungeoncrasher works best in dungeons, or at least somewhere where there are walls. And a lot of these places can’t accomodate a 20x20ft Gargantuan animal, and since you have no way to efficiently squeeze in tight places, you might have some problems positioning, or even might have to go back to your humanoid form once in a while. Also, how the hell are you moving around from levels 9 to 20. You’re supposed to be a whale, and Animal Devotion can only carry you so far. You will have to rely heavily on magic items for it to work as you wish.
The whole build is based on the idea of being Gargantuan and counting as even bigger while having ridiculously high strength. You only use one feature of the SI, but damn are you using it well.
A really good build. Some things might not work out quite as intended, but nothing a bit of magic can’t fix.

I really hope this little guy is not gonna become king, because I don’t want to deal with shenaniganery from Kingdom of Kalama* ever again. And let’s be honest. This is a dragonwrought kobold. Shenaniganery there will be.
Venerable DWK is the oldest trick in the book. As is Marshal feat-swapping, and Dungeoncrasher, and skilled-city dweller, and… Umbral Disciple ? What the heck ? Is that a freaking whale with dragon wings ? With some Ranger levels ? With some miss chances and some HIDE optimization !? And spectral claws ? Oh, right, that’s just the Wrath of Bittersea (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25124366&postcount=63) (it’s a joke, the build is pretty original in concept, but uses a lot of overused things)
You’re a dragon. Becoming a dragonborn, while not absolutely prohibited by RAW (since the requirement of being a Humanoid is cited three or four times, but never in the actual requirements), will raise a lot of eyebrows.

Humanoid (dragonblood): Dragonborn are humanoids with the dragonblood subtype and any other subtypes they had before undergoing the Rite of Rebirth. For all effects related to race, a dragonborn is considered a dragon and a member of her original race.
The build is a heap of every cheese you can think of on the premice of « dragon-type whale », which, while not necessarily bad, feels a bit forced. A kobold that is a dragon and has the Dragonblood subtype on top of it feels really overkill, especially for basically just two feats, and spending more than half your skills as cross-class isn’t ideal either. I like your soulmelds. Kruthik Claws is flavorful and Girallon Arms is useful, although it might not work for fine manipulation considering « Incarnum forms two additional, powerful arms that spring out from your ribs. These spirit arms mirror the movements of your real arms. » and you have no real arms. That said, the final goal is clear, and you do what it takes to accomplish it.[/QUOTE]

I mean, you’re a flying cachalot that eats people with absolutely ludicrous bonuses. What more do you want ? Well, I’d like you to be able to manipulate items, maybe to have a better flight speed, and not to have to choose between eating someone and pushing them against a wall. And… Yeah, your unboosted Hide bonus at level 20 is +24. Any lv 1 Warrior guard with +4 in Spot has no chance of spotting you. That won’t help you in high level encounters, but that’s hilarious. You don’t really mitigate the difficulty to enter buildings as a whale, which might prove problematic.
The whole build is based on the idea of being Gargantuan for combat maneuvers while having ridiculously high strength. You only use one feature of the SI, but damn are you using it well. Oh, yeah, and your belly has DR 1/-. Spectacular.
I won’t lie, I was very worried this would be another bland build using TO readings of everything like the « Dragons can qualify for any dragonblood feat », and there was definitely some of that, but I was overall pleasantly surprised of the creativity of the build and the final result. Congrats.

After all these years…
Bear I, Bear II, Bear III, Bear IV
Finally, I have them all.
That’s the build I was looking for ! There has been a lot of bear-stacking in this comp, but I think yours takes the cake (and probably eats it too, especially if it’s a salmon cake). Your build is basically only prerequisites and « Extra *** », which makes it hardly original, but the concept itself makes it good.
Absolutely nothing to say on the cleanness of the build. It’s actually kind of hard to keep all these bears and bonuses without some of them overlapping, but you did it. Nice. Then again, nothing is especially bizarre or interesting, so not a perfect score, and you don’t really use any of your prerequisites. Also you have a lot of cross-class skills. But the most problematic part of it is that all your stat boosts are granted because you enter a specific form. Entering another form may just remove all these bonuses. I’m not sure about it myself (and would most probably allow it), but that just means that not every DM will grant it, so I’ll remove 0.25 for it.
You’re strong, but that’s all. I guess you were expecting that, but a big slow bruiser will not do much in a level 20 environment. Granted you can grapple anything smaller than you, but you’re only Large, and you have only three natural attacks, including one secondary bite. Also, whenever you go below 75% health (granted that’s still more than a 100 damage taken at level 20, but this is more significant at lower level anyway, like 10ish), you have to Control Shape or change into a full black bear. It’s not a significant downside, but hammers the fact that you won’t be able to wear armor or use weapons. You have no movement option, basically no defense against mind-affecting effects (6 to your Will save at ECL 20 is very bad)
Don’t get me wrong, I’d have loved to give you 5 here just for the sheer completeness that the SI gives you, but you just aren’t using Berserk very well. It’s just another bear to add to the list, and your build could work almost the same with a Wild Shape Ranger instead (with maybe -8 Str), while having other actual class features. The build doesn’t need Berserk, and it means that I can’t give you the score that heap of bears would deserve.
This is THE one build that should represent this comp. The representation of what happens when you try to cram as much minmaxing as possible in a build while diving everdeeper into bears. Sadly it’s not really optimized

Venerable DWK is the oldest trick in the book. As is Travel Devotion. As is using Dragon type to qualify for any dragonblood feat. I admit the whalenado is quite cool.
Putting the « required to enter Contemplative » in the story instead of the build explanations took me out of my suspension of disbelief. Your build relies on extremely questionable interpretations of what is a dragon that will not be accepted by most tables. You say that you’re colossal without saying anything about how you get from Gargantuan to Colossal as a whale. You use the most stinky reading there is by saying that you’re allowed to take both dragonblood feats without qualifying and Epic feats in a nonepic environment, and you’re not even making anything good of it, only a few more attacks (opponents don’t « move » per se during the 1d10 rounds during which they are in the tornado, and nothing says they provoke opportunity attacks, plus you can’t make opportunity attacks during your turn so most of your effort will probably be wasted since the movement of opponents happens during your turn, or else the main effect of Windstorm simply would not work). Also, you simply don’t qualify for Windstorm at all. Hove ris a feat, not just the ability to hover, and works differently (requires a move action but can extinguish flames), and you don’t have it.
Since you don’t qualify for Windstorm, the whole build is moot. You’re just a flying whale with 4th level spells in an ECL 15 environment. If you qualified for it, you would still devote more than 1d10 rounds of full-actions to watching people come close to you, dealing them a maximum of 4d4 damage per round, then dealing 6d6 damage to them as they’re blown away. Or even watch them go away from you since you didn’t write how you increase your size. Spectacular. You have cleric spells, but I don’t know if you want to buff yourself, or attack from a distance, or use them as utility. You see, I like to know what people do with their character.
Sure, it increases your size.
Stop it. Please read the rules in good faith.

Oh, a warforged ! It’s always nice to see a raging construct. Psychic Warrior is also quite rare (especially past the first couple of levels), and I didn’t know about elocater until now. Your tactics are also great, especially the crush thing you’ve got going. A lot of your feats are a bit expected though, like Robilar’s Gambit, which feels a bit over-the-top.
You took vile feats with Elder Evils. That’s the same as taking flaws to get « free » bonus feats. Just a little better for the lesser list. Half penalty. -2 Elegance. Apart from that, a very focused and interesting build. You clearly know what you want, and you do what it takes for it to become reality. Nice. I just have one question : why are you a warforged ? You don’t take a single warforged feat, you don’t even mention being a warforged in your build explanation. Don’t get me wrong, a warforged whale is awesome, but I feel like there’s no reason for it to be here
Great mobility, great battlefield control, lots of AoO (to the point that I don’t think even Combat Reflexes will be enough for you to use your AoO), very good AoE damage dealing with Empathic Transfer (20ft of a Colossal+ creature is a LOT of squares). If only you had hands that would be great. Sadly you don’t. Also your mobility has quite a low number of uses, since you mostly rely on Dimension Step Accelerated Action (if I’m not mistaken).
Having such a big bite is great for opportunities, and being immense is a cornerstone of your build. Still, I don’t feel like you completely removed the problems of the class.
Okay, but why are you a cyborg though !? (https://youtu.be/dKFunwOzEos?t=586)

What ? This is hilarious ! Probably one of the most unique builds I’ve seen. Also, you’re an Exemplar badger Hengeyokai. Even without the gimmick, that would be one of the most improbable combination. Also, you have freaking Ability Focus (Battle Fury), which is the funniest thing.
Yes, there are a lot of dips. Yes, you have questionably free feats with the Otyugh Hole. Yes you jump through hooves to make it work. But the final result is oddly balanced, you understand why everything is there, and you see the madness slowly building.
And here’s the problem : none of that works. Obviously giving a circumstance bonus to a creature on Profession (Being a War-trained Mount) doesn’t train them for war, nor does it make them a suitable mount.
« Mounts with Intelligence scores of 5 or higher are more like NPCs than they are like traditional mounts. As a result, characters must use Diplomacy checks to negotiate what the mount will and will not do (see page 128, DMG). Once the character and mount reach an agreement, they still must train together. »
So you can’t give them your rage, or even ride them in the first place, and your build reduces to nothing more than a heap of abilities that won’t help you in combat or elsewhere. With the notable ability to use your ride skill as a diplomacy attempt.
Not sure how to rate that. If it worked, it would have been higher. You would have been the only one to truly use Battle Fury to its full potential (maybe with the Dread Necromancer above and their Visage). As it is, you can transfer your Battle Fury to a regular mount, which is not completely awful, but definitely not worth more than 1.5. I’ll average the two and give 2.5.
Very cool, doesn’t work. Definitely my Honorable Mention though.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-30, 05:31 PM

Thank you so much for judging this round, Beni!

The Viscount

2022-07-30, 05:42 PM

Wonderful! We are in your debt.

Chefs, in the interests of keeping things moving, you have 48 hours for disputes.

Venger

2022-07-30, 05:46 PM

Thanks for judging. No disputes from me.

daremetoidareyo

2022-07-30, 06:13 PM

Thank you so very much for judging this heckuva round.

No disputes here

The Viscount

2022-07-30, 06:57 PM

We've got two disputes for you here.

Hi Beni-Kujaku, thank you very much for judging! I'm glad you liked my build, and am thankful for the great score. However, I just had to dispute one point - and since I was already talking to you, I had a second point too. So, two points for your consideration:
You've said this:
the capstone… I don’t think Shield Other works like that. If it bypasses damage reduction, I don’t see why it wouldn’t bypass Regeneration. The opponent doesn’t deal damage to you, you just take the damage the other person should have taken. Still, I understand that there might be other interpretations out there...
I get where your intuition is coming from here, truly - but I think you're straight-up wrong on that, and that the rules are clear and solid enough to prove it.

The SRD entry on Damage Reduction (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#damageReduction) says the following:
A creature with this special quality ignores damage from most weapons and natural attacks... The creature takes normal damage from energy attacks (even nonmagical ones), spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities.
This makes two things crystal clear: DR reduces damage from weapons and natural attacks. Also. in case it wasn't clear, it doesn't reduce damage from other attack forms.

What makes DR not work for shield other is both statement one and statement two. Two is easier to get: Shield Other is a spell, and DR doesn't reduce damage from spells. One is a bit less intuitive, but still clear when you think about it: DR tells you what it does. If something isn't included in that, it doesn't help. Falling damage, energy damage, non-lethal damage from environmental factors, whatever. DR doesn't only rely on exclusive language to tell you what's excluded, it also uses very precise inclusive language to tell you what it applies to.

Compare and contrast to the SRD entry on Regeneration (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#regeneration), later in the same page. which says the following:
Damage dealt to the creature is treated as nonlethal damage, and the creature automatically cures itself of nonlethal damage at a fixed rate per round, as given in the creature’s entry. Certain attack forms, typically fire and acid, deal damage to the creature normally; that sort of damage doesn’t convert to nonlethal damage and so doesn’t go away... Regeneration does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation. Attack forms that don’t deal hit point damage ignore regeneration.

Here, too, we have inclusionary language (defining what the ability does) and exclusionary language (clarifying what it doesn't do). Again, the exclusionary language portion is easy; obviously, it doesn't exclude Shield Other / Glory of the Martyr.

The inclusionary portion, however, is radically different than that of DR, because unlike DR, regeneration doesn't care about the source of the damage. It's not damage from attacks with weapons and natural attacks, it's just... damage, except certain types. Untyped damage is usually the best damage, because it's so hard to resist - except for regeneration.

The comparison is just inaccurate. DR and regeneration are too different. Regeneration has much more in common with natural healing and fast healing. Just check out the full text on fast healing, from the same page of the SRD:
A creature with fast healing has the extraordinary ability to regain hit points at an exceptional rate. Except for what is noted here, fast healing is like natural healing.

At the beginning of each of the creature’s turns, it heals a certain number of hit points (defined in its description).

Unlike regeneration, fast healing does not allow a creature to regrow or reattach lost body parts. Unless otherwise stated, it does not allow lost body parts to be reattached.

A creature that has taken both nonlethal and lethal damage heals the nonlethal damage first.

Fast healing does not restore hit points lost from starvation, thirst, or suffocation.

Fast healing does not increase the number of hit points regained when a creature polymorphs.
Note the similarities: a creature with fast healing heals damage faster, except for damage excluded by the ability, some of which is the exact same as with regeneration. You wouldn't tell someone shield other "bypasses" fast healing or natural healing. Damage is taken, and then heals in a certain pace, according to certain rules. This is the same with regeneration: unless noted otherwise, damage is taken as non-lethal and heals in a certain pace. Exceptions are taken as lethal damage, and healed at a different pace.

I know it might not feel like it, but you're actually the one making a very strong positive claim here. Regeneration gives a general rule, which you say a certain list of spells (shield other, glory of the martyr, I assume my divine sacrifice and blade of blood too) is an exception to. But that claim has no basis in the language of regeneration, and no basis in the language of the spells. It is based solely on the intuition that regeneration is "like DR". But regeneration is not like DR, and DR simply doesn't apply here (inclusionary language) and even if it did, it would make an exception because of this being a spell (exclusionary language.) Regeneration does apply. It makes it nonlethal damage, just like it would do to acid damage (bypasses DR), Falling damage (bypasses DR), cityscape's "city damage" (bypasses DR), or any other from a very long list.

That's my case! I hope you can empathize with me making a dispute here! I don't mean to be a bother, but I feel that I've found something cool here, and that you're not letting it fly based on a misunderstanding of the rules being less clear than they actually are.

---

Anyway, since I'm already here, I'll just make a note on UoSI. As you've said, the SI doesn't allow to use both of its abilities simultaneously. That's why I actually felt I was being quite good by absolutely needing both of them: animal form is obviously essential for anvil, but without berserk's rage, the build would fall apart - Anvil would need another source of rage to qualify for CoG, and she can't afford a barb dip.

If she loses a berserk level, she loses animal form. If she loses a duskblade level, she doesn't qualify for Flux Adept. If she loses a Flux Adept level, she loses regen. If she loses a CoG level, she loses Glory of the Martyr.

I guess I could go for a race with native rage (only badger hengeyokai, I think?) but that'd mean taking another flaw, having a harder time with dragonborn, and would hurt Wis, my casting stat. So, if the only way for the build to even function without an SI ability is to swap for a race that'd be worse for me while taking a second flaw, I'd say the build deserves credit here, no?

Unlike my previous point, I completely get that this is a matter of opinion, so no hard feelings at all if you disagree.

Anyway. Thanks again for judging! Greatly appreciated.

First, let me thank you for taking the burden to judge this round.

Without much talk lets dive into the lil dispute I have:

« …allowing a natural attack that deals the appropriate amount of damage according to the size of the new form (see Table 5—1 on page 296 of the Monster Manual). » The table mentions exactly seven kinds of natural weapons. Slam, tentacle, bit, claw, sting, gore and tail. Even if you could create any kind of natural weapon, which is already very much implied to not be the case, it would not deal damage since it’s not on the table that defines the damage. Please read the whole ability before searching for abuse. -1 Elegance.

By RAW I don't see the problem you are picturing here (if you still want to deduct point for "elegance" due to cheese, that is up to you). Let me try to explain it more detailed..

Morphic Weapon allows for any kind of Natural Weapon. It mentions claws and fangs, but in a way that show that these are just 2 possible examples (and thus not exclusive). The table 5-1 in the MM sole shows all general types of natural weapons a newly created monster could have. This doesn't stop specific creatures ("Specific Trumps General"!) to have special specific natural weapons not listed on that list.
And as said, the "Attack:" line is defined to show either manufactured weapons or natural weapons (see Reading a Monster Entry (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/intro.htm)). As such, the spikes are Natural Weapons that are legal for Morphic Weapons.

As said, if you want to deducts points due to elegance because of cheese I can understand. But if you are arguing about rules, RAW is imho on my side here.

Still, needing a standard action to go into Fury may not be always available to you.
Yeah, that is a bit sad of the SI with the standard action cost. But the build sole needs it as backup if Beast Shape shouldn't be available anymore (charges used despite having Multimorph; should be rare imho), since it gets the same bonuses in the Beast Shape forms (+2 Beast Shape; +4 Morphic Body = +6). I just wanted to point this out since you talked about it. (I don't think that this will affect the score).

I’m left a bit unsatisfied by how the Eagle form isn’t really integral to your fighting style and the fact that you still have to both go back to human form and use a standard action to get into Fury, but still really good use of the SI

Well, the eagle's main purpose is scouting (I mean, ain't that a good thing? To a have a form where combat is not the main purpose should give points I hoped..^^).
But with "Spikes" (sry to bring this up again^^) it gets a nice ranged attack option (you can use the regular size table for weapons and chose a any weapon with the same dmg for your size as reference). Fly in safe range (up to 180ft) to attack with your Spikes and terrorize your enemies before they reach you. This outranges even some other ranged weapons types.

I’m amazed at the combos you used and how you used very standard classes to improve the SI. Really what more Iron Chef builds should be. Just… Please don’t use Morphic Weapons that way again.

Thx for the flowers.
And sorry, but always when I'm in this forum, I feel attracted by the Dark Side of Cheese.
Even if this causes a great disturbance in the Force.
I mean, I'm just a weak willed chef, cooking weak willed builds here..^^

daremetoidareyo

2022-07-30, 09:57 PM

My vote is for grandma

Beni-Kujaku

2022-07-31, 03:52 AM

Shield Other cannot "bypass" Regeneration the same way it cannot "bypass" Fast Healing
That was not my point. You don't bypass the fact that you heal the damage, but the fact that that damage becomes nonlethal in the first place. My point was that "The amount of damage not taken by the warded creature is taken by you.". Not "dealt to you". It doesn't bypass DR because it is untyped, or because it is spell damage. It bypasses DR because it just doesn't go into damage calculation. You just take the damage. That's why the wording for Regeneration on monster statblocks is "that creature takes lethal damage from fire and acid". The creature takes damage (and at that point there is no type on the damage, only "lethal" or "nonlethal") when it is dealt fire and acid damage.
"The most common way that your character gets hurt is to take lethal damage and lose hit points,[...] As your
character takes damage, you subtract that damage from your hit points, leaving you with your current hit points."

And an example in the "breaking an object" paragraph: "His third blow, however, deals 12 points of damage (which means the chest takes 7), and the chest breaks open".
The intent is quite clear here, and most spells that use the "takes N damage" in the PHB use that wording for untyped damage that should not be resisted. That said (curse WotC's inconsistent editing), there are a few spells that do, like Earthquake (8d6 bludgeoning) and Fire Storm (CLd6 Fire). And there are enough of those to make me question what they mean. I hate having to rely on a minority of spells to infer a general rule, but in this case, I prefer to err on the side of the contestant. Power +0.5

I also used Battle Fury to qualify for Champion of Gwynarwhyf
That's right. Didn't take that into account. UoSI +0.25

Morphic weapons doesn't say you can't so you can create anything
I have seen people argue that you could create an Umbral Blot's sphere of annihiliation with this ability. Or that you could create an infinite number of natural attacks. And to that, I say "Bullsh*t.". The effect is written, you get "a natural attack that deals damage like it is written in the table". It's literally in the same sentence, not like "For exotic natural weapons, use that table to determine damage". The RAI is excessively clear, and the RAW must be twisted to get another meaning. No change.

Being able to use Eagle for scouting and not only in combat should give points. Also I can shoot spikes as an eagle.
I agree, I already included that. My point was that since you aren't using eagle too much in battle (since your main strategy in battle seems to be getting possessed by your familiar and going into fury), you have to go back to human form, as the two aren't compatible, and your nice Multimorph thing you've got going is stopped. No Change. The spikes were already included in Power.

H_H_F_F

2022-07-31, 05:50 AM

Do we have any other judges lurking?

loky1109

2022-07-31, 05:52 AM

Table incoming! And updated.

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Berserk Totem Chef Beni-Kujaku Total Place
The Anvil (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514393&postcount=98) CG Necropolitan Dragonborn Azurin Duskblade 5/Berserk 3/Champion of Gwynharwyf 2/Flux Adept 10 Cachalot 15.75 15.75 1st
Baloo (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514394&postcount=99) TN Werebadger Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Battle Dancer 1/Fist of the Forest 3/Berserk 4/Warshaper 5/Bear Warrior 1 Bear 10.25 10.25 8th
Zugzug (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514397&postcount=100) CE Frostblood Orc Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Berserk 3/Eye of Gruumsh 7/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Warshaper 5 Eagle 9.00 9.00 11th
Sir Mousy (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514398&postcount=101) NG Jermlaine Spiritual Eagle Totem Barbarian 1/Swashbuckler 1/Psychic Warrior 4/Berserk 1/Root Walker Huntsman Druidic Avenger 1/Figther 2/Windrider 10 None 9.75 9.75 10th
Arniat Pineheart (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514401&postcount=102) ?? Grey Elf Druidic Avenger 7/Master of Many Forms 3/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Cachalot 8.25 8.25 13th
Barry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514404&postcount=103) TN Shifter Spiritual Bear Totem Barbarian 1/Berserk 8/Legacy Champion 10/Bear Warrior 1 Bear 10.00 10.00 9th
Marigold Sunglade (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514405&postcount=104) NG Halfling Commoner 10/Berserk 10 Cachalot 7.50 7.50 14th
Lucia and Lea (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514407&postcount=105) CN Dvati Favored Environment Ranger 4/Crusader 2/Berserk 8/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5 Bear 14.00 14.00 3rd
Whyld (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514408&postcount=106) CE Human Spiritual Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Dread Necromancer 7/Warblade 1/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Eagle 13.25 13.25 5th
Lupula and Ursula (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514409&postcount=107) CG Dvati Wolf Totem Streetfighter Barbarian 11/Berserk 8 Bear 8.50 8.50 12th
Nin Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Wary Swordknight Underdark Knight Paladin of Freedom 12/Berserk 3/Fighter 2/Knight of the Raven 3 Cachalot 15.50 15.50 2nd
Ty Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Arcane Hunter Voice of the City Ranger 2/Wary Swordknight Holy Warrior Paladin of Freedom 4/Berserk 3/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6/Spiritual Lion Totem Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Death Delver 3 Cachalot 13.75 13.75 4th
Kalamak (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514413&postcount=109) CG Dragonborn Dragonwrought Kobold Fangshields Ranger 2/Battle Dancer 1/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 2/Berserk 3/Marshal 1/Scaled Horror 1/Totemist 7/Umbral Disciple 3 Cachalot 12.75 12.75 6th
Hank (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514415&postcount=110) NG Wereblack Bear Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Berserk 3/Bear warrior 5/Primeval 1/Abolisher 1/Bear Lord 2 Bear 10.00 10.00 9th
Taz (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514417&postcount=111) TN Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Cleric 7/Berserk 9/Contemplative 4 Cachalot 6.50 6.50 15th
Brass Key William (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514422&postcount=112) NE Warforged Psychic Warrior 7/Elocator 10/Berserker 3 Cachalot 12.75 12.75 6th
Rodeo Badger (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514424&postcount=113) CE Dark Badger Hengeyokai Favored Environment Voice of the City Trap Expert Shape Shifter Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Totemist 2/Totem Rager 4/Berserk 1/Exemplar 5/Wind Rider 1/Deadly Hunter Druidic Avenger 1/Warshaper 1 None 11.50 11.50 7th
John Stalvern (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514426&postcount=114) TN Human Hit and Run Zhentarim Soldier Dirty Fighter 5/Berserk 10/Unarmed Swordsage 5 Raven - - N/A

Beni, thank you! You are our savior!

The Viscount

2022-07-31, 08:04 AM

Thank you for the quick response!
I have two more for you.

I have to admit that this was a last minute entry and as such some errors slipped in. But we'll get to that. Thanks for judging this messy build ;)
I slightly changed the order of the arguments compared to your original post. The intention here was mainly that some disputes rely on other disputes to be resolved first.

Your build relies on extremely questionable interpretations of what is a dragon that will not be accepted by most tables.

The rule for Epic feats sole demand you to be a "dragon" of a certain age category.
Dragon is defined as a "type" in 3.5. DWK qualify for both. They are of dragon type and have the same age categories. I can see that you may still not see it as "elegant" for a table tho. But by RAW it gets a green lit imho.

And regarding the "automatic qualification for anything that requires dragonblood"
Imho this is not stinky reading at all. This is the intended power difference between a real "dragon" (type) and a dragonblood (subtype).

1. You have to question why the requirements differentiate between "dragon" (type) and "dragonblood" (subtype).
Because the intention for dragonblood is to qualify as dragon for "dragon stuff". So, why differentiate at all. If real "dragons" wouldn't have any benefit from this, they could have just sticked to "dragon" as requirement. Using "dragonblood" occasionally instead of sole "dragon" only makes sense if this has a special meaning for (real) dragons. Otherwise this would make no sense at all.

2. dragonblood is inferior to being a real dragon (for dragon stuff)
You have to keep in mind that the designers had (general) "dragons" in mind when writing the rule and not specific cases like the DWK, which (intended or not) also qualifies for this rule (because of the dragon type it has).
The Dragonblood Subtype is defined on p4 of Races of the Dragon. Imho the language used is clear as day and night how each one behaves when it comes to qualifying for stuff:

..qualifies the creature to take feats that have the subtype as a prerequisite.
&

Dragons automatically qualify for any classes, prestige classes, racial substitution levels, feats, powers, or spells that require the dragonblood subtype.
It's clear that dragons automatically qualify for stuff while dragonbloods sole qualify to take em.
Why else should would they make the hassle to differentiate between dragons and dragonblood as requiement and further differentiating between "normal qualifying" and "automatic qualifying" if it wasn't meant that real dragons should have it easier to unlock "dragonblood stuff".
From a fluff point of view, "dragonblood stuff" is what dragonbloods can unlock if they follow a certain path of their ancestors to "unlock dragon powers", while the dragon is already a dragon and doesn't need to unlock anything here.
From a balancing point of view, this is again imho intended for (general) dragons. The generic "dragon" normally has RHD and gains lvls and thus feats, skill, and whatnot on a much slower space than a "dragonblood humanoid" with 0 RHD.
Everything leads to the equation that "dragonblood" as requirement is inferior to "dragon" as requirement, because real "dragons automatically qualify for dragonblood stuff".
Applying all of this to a DWK is very cheesy and I have no problems to admit that. The build wouldn't fly at most tables I play either just because of power lvl. But RAW should have no problems with this build. If you want to deducts points just because of cheese for the "elegance" I can understand that. But pls don't assume that I would use a stinky reading of the rules here (It's cheesy and maybe just eh cheese stinks here ;). Imho this is the intended (RAI) and written (RAW) "effect" of this rule.
"I bet my Kobold's pants on it!" - Note: Kobolds tend to run around naked (except for armor maybe).

_____________________

Since you don’t qualify for Windstorm, the whole build is moot.
I would like to contest this assumption:

Prerequisites: Str 13, dragon, fly speed 20, Hover, Power Attack, size Large or larger.
The prerequisites sole list "Hover" without any specifying tag behind it. Just because it is in front of Power Attack doesn't mean you have to qualify for "Hover" with the feat.
Note that some online sources have listed this incorrect. If you open up p75 of Draconomicon, you will see that there is "(feat)" tag behind "Hover" as in my quote.
Thus the build qualifies for:
STR 13 (naturally and in Beast Shape form)
dragon (naturally and in Beast Shape form)
fly speed 20 (Imp. Dragon Wings)
Power Attack (picked as feat)
size Large or larger (in Beast Shape form)
As with the former case, a very cheesy qualification, I'll admit that, but completely legal by RAW.

_____________________

You say that you’re colossal without saying anything about how you get from Gargantuan to Colossal as a whale.
Here you got me (almost) ice cold. I admit that this was an oversight and take full responsibility.
The idea of the WhaleNado popped up in my head about 5min. before my regular bedtime.. and I somehow tend to twist the last 2 size categories sometimes (don't ask me why). How it really happened I'm unsure, I went to bed and the next day I didn't care about the size anymore. The 24h left to the deadline didn't help here either. I had already learned from "errors in last minute entries" in other builds and normally try to avoid these nowadays. But WhaleNado you know... I had to do it somehow..^^
And I'm still willing to make this build work (even if with some lil downsides), so bear with me.
First, the "dragon" type disallows Enlarge Person. So that would be out of the window. But the other spell solution is Righteous Might, which our lil Kobold has access to (comes a bit late, but yeah..). The other option is to get a Ring of Growth (savage species: 18k gold). Sure item dependency is frown upon in this contest, but the build can still work without it. The ring just shorten the "windup-time"^^. With the ring we don't need to cast RM and then Beast Shape to Wingstorm. We sole need to shape into or already be in Whale form and activate Wingstorm if we get the ring. Thus a nice synergy with a normally easy obtainable early to midgame game item.

_____________________

...only a few more attacks (opponents don’t « move » per se during the 1d10 rounds during which they are in the tornado, and nothing says they provoke opportunity attacks, plus you can’t make opportunity attacks during your turn so most of your effort will probably be wasted since the movement of opponents happens during your turn, or else the main effect of Windstorm simply would not work).
The qualification for the Epic feat has already been handled. And as long as the Epic handbook is not on the blacklist of this contest, I argue that it is at least legal (maybe not elegant, that is a subjective decision that everyone has to make for himself) to use stuff from it, as long as I legally qualify for it. That is just my humble opinion on this topic.

Regarding AoO, I have to say that nothing in the rule imply that these can only occur outside of your turn. Just because that is the "normal case" for most generic situations doesn't make a rule out of it. To show you the rules:

Attacks Of Opportunity

Sometimes a combatant in a melee lets her guard down. In this case, combatants near her can take advantage of her lapse in defense to attack her for free. These free attacks are called attacks of opportunity.

Threatened Squares

You threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack, even when it is not your action. Generally, that means everything in all squares adjacent to your space (including diagonally). An enemy that takes certain actions while in a threatened square provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If you’re unarmed, you don’t normally threaten any squares and thus can’t make attacks of opportunity.

Reach Weapons

Most creatures of Medium or smaller size have a reach of only 5 feet. This means that they can make melee attacks only against creatures up to 5 feet (1 square) away. However, Small and Medium creatures wielding reach weapons threaten more squares than a typical creature. In addition, most creatures larger than Medium have a natural reach of 10 feet or more.

Note: Small and Medium creatures wielding reach weapons threaten all squares 10 feet (2 squares) away, even diagonally. (This is an exception to the rule that 2 squares of diagonal distance is measured as 15 feet.)

Provoking an Attack of Opportunity

Two kinds of actions can provoke attacks of opportunity: moving out of a threatened square and performing an action within a threatened square.

Moving

Moving out of a threatened square usually provokes an attack of opportunity from the threatening opponent. There are two common methods of avoiding such an attack—the 5-foot step and the withdraw action.

Performing a Distracting Act

Some actions, when performed in a threatened square, provoke attacks of opportunity as you divert your attention from the battle. Actions in Combat notes many of the actions that provoke attacks of opportunity.

Remember that even actions that normally provoke attacks of opportunity may have exceptions to this rule.

Making an Attack of Opportunity

An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack, and you can only make one per round. You don’t have to make an attack of opportunity if you don’t want to.

An experienced character gets additional regular melee attacks (by using the full attack (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/actionsInCombat.htm#fullAttack) action), but at a lower attack bonus. You make your attack of opportunity, however, at your normal attack bonus—even if you’ve already attacked in the round.
An attack of opportunity "interrupts" the normal flow of actions in the round. If an attack of opportunity is provoked, immediately resolve the attack of opportunity, then continue with the next character’s turn (or complete the current turn, if the attack of opportunity was provoked in the midst of a character’s turn).

....

Nowhere do the rules make the statement that the AoO can only happen outside of your turn. It says that you can "normally" do 1 AoO per round.
It sole refers to "turns" when explaining when the AoO occurs and what happens after that.

So, the Kobold can take AoO in his own turn if such an opportunity should occur:
Wingstorm, causes the affected foe to "move". Note that the AoO rules also sole requires movement and not movement actions. As such any movement qualifies here. Exceptions exist and those cases are always called out to trump the general AoO rules. Wingstorm doesn't feature any exception for the movement caused by it. As such the movement falls under the regular AoO rules.

Finally (if we have the size increase and everything gets pulled in and not pushed out immediately..^^) lets have a look at the Tornado weather effect in 3.5:

Tornado (CR 10)
All flames are extinguished. All ranged attacks are impossible (even with siege weapons), as are Listen (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/listen.htm) checks. Instead of being blown away (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/conditionSummary.htm#blownAway) (see Table: Wind Effects (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/weather.htm#tableWindEffects)), characters in close proximity to a tornado who fail their Fortitude saves (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatStatistics.htm#fortitude) are sucked toward the tornado. Those who come in contact with the actual funnel cloud are picked up and whirled around for 1d10 rounds, taking 6d6 points of damage per round, before being violently expelled (falling damage may apply). While a tornado’s rotational speed can be as great as 300 mph, the funnel itself moves forward at an average of 30 mph (roughly 250 feet per round). A tornado uproots trees, destroys buildings, and causes other similar forms of major destruction.

Those (non Gargantuan or Colossal) foes who fail their fortitude (DC 30) save will get first sucked in and move towards the Kobold/Whale. Once they come in contact with the actual funnel cloud (adjacent space of the dragon/whale) they are picked up (into the air) and whirled around (the Kobold's/Whale's space) for x rounds.

The Kobold can take these AoO either in his turn or in the turn of anyone else. The sole limitation a Combat Reflex character has is his DEX score and 1 AoO per situation that causes the AoO. Situations are reset every round. Take running multiple round as comprehension. It causes a single AoO while being the entire round running (even if it sole has a full-round-action cost and 1 round).

Conclusion:
Imho the Kobold/Whale gets 1 AoO per enemy per round, which he can take at any point, starting from his own turn. Without the Ring of Growth the activation needs some time as said (cast Righteous Might and shaping into a Whale as preparation), but for such a devastating ability imho it is bearable. And as said, Ring of Growth is an inexpensive and imho common magic item that should be available in most campaigns as option to "buff" this build (buff != rely).

You have cleric spells, but I don’t know if you want to buff yourself, or attack from a distance, or use them as utility. You see, I like to know what people do with their character.
Yeah, I didn't get to much into that since the build does nothing special with that. Just the regular out of the box stuff that any cleric gish would use. Divine Power (as mentioned in the end) as buff, some scrying (also mentioned at the end) when the situation calls for it, healing and stuff. Dunno if this would have helped the presentation of the build. If we talk about total newbie reader, I would agree. But with the amount of optimization going on in these contests, I feel that referring to commonly expected stuff should be enough:

While the writeup mainly focuses on the main combo of this build, I still wanted to note that this build still works as normal front liner, relying on Spells, Sword & Board (& Battle Fury). I just didn't want to focus to much onto the obvious cleric stuff (Divine Power, scyring, blaaa....). Imho these things are to be expected and it doesn't help to point these out every time in every build. Thus I shifted the focus on the not so obvious stuff.

PS: I'm sorry for causing you so much headache. But as you can see, sole a small part was really my own directly caused fault ("size"). And it is always a struggle for me to keep the rule explanations on a barelable level. I don't want to deepdive into the rules for the regular build presentation since that would turn the reading for the "casual reader" into a nightmare I assume (just look at the length of this post..). As such, I try to keep a balance and use the "dispute" to solve remaining questions. Since I don't know how the judges think about the rules its always a guessing game. Sorry if the original explanation was maybe to short..
I hope that I could convince you here to review this lil Kobold/big Whale for a second time (the mentioned points of interest).
I'll end with a big thanks for the massive amount of time you invested into the judging and for the time you invest into the disputes..^^ Sorry for the headache and I hope that you give the WhaleNade another chance.
Have a <3 for WhaleNados !
Save the WhaleNados !
Give a chance to WhaleNados ! ^^

Putting the « required to enter Contemplative » in the story instead of the build explanations took me out of my suspension of disbelief.

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.

Sorry but the quality of meeting the requirements is not to be judged. Sole the absence can be penalized. I'm unsure if it was penalized or not, but I wanted to point this out.

Thanks Beni-Kujaku!

Notably, Battle Fury means rider-twin would probably just attack bear-twin until she dies unless you succeed on Will saves each battle. There might be ways to avoid that, but you didn’t write any, and +4 in Will save is really bad.
I thought about it and I have two objections here.
First. My total Will save is +10 (+3 from Wis, +3 from Battle fury).
Second. If you said:

that Iron Guard’s Glare wouldn’t [work], since both twins are « you ».
you should use the same logic here (or you should say IGG works).

In Battle Fury's description written:

In order to avoid attacking a friend or innocent bystander
I'd say my dvati twin isn't "friend" or "innocent bystander" for me. She is I. And there are no mentions about berserker attacking himself, while he still can see himself.
_____________________________

Good combination of the SI’s abilities, definitely integral to the build itself (although you may have done something similar but way worse with Wild Cohort), and as always Instant Rage and Mounted Fury help the class back.
It maybe your judging pattern, but I see you said nothing about complementing Shield Proficiency requirement and about Wild Empathy.
_____________________________

I would have liked if you found more ways to use your opponent being perma-flat-footed than Tactics of the Wolf
As I. I mentioned Hunter's eye wand/scroll, but I understand how situational it is.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-07-31, 10:18 AM

DWK are Dragons and have age categories, so they qualify for Epic Feats

The whole chapter mentions "dragons" exclusively to talk about true dragons. "All dragons develop innate magical abilities as they age", "All dragons are immune to the effects of their own breath weapons". Your interpretation would mean that any Half-Dragon creature of at least Old age (which is a regular age category not reserved for true dragons) could take Epic feats. This is ridiculous and no DM (at least none I know) would allow it. Races of the Dragon (you know, the book introducing Dragonwrought Kobolds) has a "Half-Dragon" chapter mentioning "The information here expands that list to include all true dragons published in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS products to date. It supersedes any other previously published information on this topic (such as from Draconomicon)." with a list of all half-dragons from all true dragon kinds. And lo and behold, there's no "half-Dragonwrought Kobold". Pretty unequivocally, DWK is no true dragon, and almost as unequivocally, only true dragons qualify for Epic feats starting at old age.

You have to question why the requirements differentiate between "dragon" (type) and "dragonblood" (subtype). Because the intention for dragonblood is to qualify as dragon for "dragon stuff".
... Absolutely not. Dragonblood is "affected like a dragon", but does not "qualify" like a dragon. Prerequisites are no effects. It's like two tiers of dragonness. Dragonblood are affected by things affecting dragons and qualify for things requiring dragonblood. Dragons are the same, but they also qualify for things requiring the Dragon type. That's all.

[Dragonblood] qualifies the creature to take feats that have the subtype as a prerequisite.
&
Dragons automatically qualify for any classes, prestige classes, racial substitution levels, feats, powers, or spells that require the dragonblood subtype.

I mean, you showed it yourself. That's basically the same wording for the two. If dragons bypassed the other requirements by saying "dragons qualify for feats that require dragonblood", then dragonblood would also bypass the other requirements by saying "dragonblood qualifies for feats that have the subtype as prerequisite". Automatically has no meaning in english in a sentence that is already affirmative except emphasizing a point (except when talking about machines, emphasizing that they do it "on their own", but that's besides the point).

Also I'm pretty sure the official art for kobolds in 3e, 4e and 5e all wear pants, or at least loincloth. Torn ones, but still pants.

There isn't (feat) after Hover so I can qualify for Wingstorm with anything that allows me to hover
What the hell are you talking about, Jessie? If something requires the ability for something, it says "the ability for something. In 3.0 there was a feat called Sunder. The Improved Sunder feat had it as a prerequisite. Do you think they wrote "Sunder (feat)" so that people would not mistake it with the ability to sunder anything? No, because it's obvious. In the prerequisites for Wingstorm, Hover has a caps "H", it can't be anything except a feat or a class feature. And you have none of these two things.

I forgot that I'm Gargantuan and not Colossal
That's what I hate most with your build. It could have been great! All the cheesy things are just not required for it to work, but you put all these things that are sure to anger the judge while forgetting to simply qualify for the base of your build. A simple "I cast Righteous Might at the beginning of the combat" with Surrogate Spellcasting and Hover somewhere and you would have been good. But no. And I can't reward using well-known cheese that would break the game if they were allowed and that I'm firmly convinced doesn't work.

You can make AoO during your turn
I agree, that was my mistake. I was thinking of Bull Rush, but Bull Rush has a specific clause to prevent AoO. Still don't think that you qualify, so no change.

Have a <3 for WhaleNados !
Save the WhaleNados !
Give a chance to WhaleNados ! ^^
Sorry, I won't. Still like the build, but there are capital sins in there.

And yeah, the form wasn't penalized, I just wanted to mention it.

My twin is me, I wouldn't attack me
This is fair, and the opposite means Iron Guard's works so you gain +0.25 Power anyway.

You didn't take into account shield shenanigans and Wild Empathy
I did take into account shields, and originally wanted to speak longer about how your two characters interact with each other instead of the final "your maneuvers are great". Wild Empathy, I didn't initially take into account, as it's such a weak feature, but I guess it's still important and that it counts as improving the SI. +0.25 UoSI

Zaq

2022-07-31, 01:46 PM

Thank you for judging, Beni-Kujaku!

My vote for next round is You And Me Both.

My vote for HM is Rodeo Badger.

The Viscount

2022-08-01, 07:33 PM

One more dispute for you. (I have received word that there is one more in the pipes, I'll be posting that when it arrives).

Thanks for judging Beni, I have only minor disputes.

Still, I’m not convinced this will go without problem. Dungeoncrasher works best in dungeons, or at least somewhere where there are walls.Both builds received this criticism, and I feel like it underrates the ability to use something like the ground as a wall. Any sense of facing is a little messy, but - especially in the case of an earth gliding Nin who will essentially be breaching the ground like a whale would normally breach water and isn't even limited by charge restrictions as he's moving and full attacking with Travel Devotion - should be able to orient themselves in such a way that the direction of the ground can either be categorized as 'back' or with Shock Trooper's Directed Bull Rush, 'left' or 'right' relative to the whale and hence a valid wall-like surface to bull rush an enemy into.

Also, how the hell are you moving around from levels 9 to 20. You’re supposed to be a whale, and Animal Devotion can only carry you so far. You will have to rely heavily on magic items for it to work as you wish.Both builds received this criticism as well. I might flippantly argue that any mundane character without access to magical flight from mid-levels forward might as well be a beached whale, but this is a concern that I thought about as well.

Ty has a stronger case than Nin for being able to manage without magic items (though he would still certainly appreciate them, especially as not having to use Animal Devotion for flight means that he can use it to buff with Ape's Fury instead), as he has tails which function as hands even at his earliest levels in whale form, and so should be able to either drag himself around or propel some manner of mundane vehicle (I'm envisioning a giant skateboard, though in game it would inevitably be referred to as a whale-chair) to move himself around however unwieldly outside of combat, and in combat 3 uses/day of Animal Devotion before items should be enough to get the job done.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-08-02, 12:43 AM

I can choose the ground as the wall
I don't buy the ability to Bull Rush left and right into the ground‚ but I can see Travel Devotion and flight working here. I would have liked you mentioning it in the build. +0.5 Power

I could use an item to fly, or a whalechair that I could activate with my tails
Either it's item dependency, or you will slow your party down (I don't think you could argue that a wheel chair could be used to travel for long as fast and with as much maneuverability as anybody else). And in any case, I can not judge things that were not written in the build. I would have liked that you at least mention that problem, if you thought about it, but it doesn't seem you did, especially since you mention Earth Glide as a way to move around and Eagle's Fly as a good source of flight.

loky1109

2022-08-02, 01:07 AM

Ty and Nin, +0.5

Beni, it's +0,5 for both?

Beni-Kujaku

2022-08-02, 02:43 AM

Ty and Nin, +0.5

Beni, it's +0,5 for both.

Yes it is. Both have a way to get airborne (as weird as it is in Nin's case) and can theoretically use bull rush to push enemies into the ground. Since the penalty was the same for both, the point increase is too.

loky1109

2022-08-02, 06:11 AM

Updated table.

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Berserk Totem Chef Beni-Kujaku Total Place
The Anvil (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514393&postcount=98) CG Necropolitan Dragonborn Azurin Duskblade 5/Berserk 3/Champion of Gwynharwyf 2/Flux Adept 10 Cachalot 15.75 15.75 2nd
Baloo (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514394&postcount=99) TN Werebadger Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Battle Dancer 1/Fist of the Forest 3/Berserk 4/Warshaper 5/Bear Warrior 1 Bear 10.25 10.25 8th
Zugzug (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514397&postcount=100) CE Frostblood Orc Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Berserk 3/Eye of Gruumsh 7/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Warshaper 5 Eagle 9.00 9.00 11th
Sir Mousy (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514398&postcount=101) NG Jermlaine Spiritual Eagle Totem Barbarian 1/Swashbuckler 1/Psychic Warrior 4/Berserk 1/Root Walker Huntsman Druidic Avenger 1/Figther 2/Windrider 10 None 9.75 9.75 10th
Arniat Pineheart (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514401&postcount=102) ?? Grey Elf Druidic Avenger 7/Master of Many Forms 3/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Cachalot 8.25 8.25 13th
Barry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514404&postcount=103) TN Shifter Spiritual Bear Totem Barbarian 1/Berserk 8/Legacy Champion 10/Bear Warrior 1 Bear 10.00 10.00 9th
Marigold Sunglade (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514405&postcount=104) NG Halfling Commoner 10/Berserk 10 Cachalot 7.50 7.50 14th
Lucia and Lea (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514407&postcount=105) CN Dvati Favored Environment Ranger 4/Crusader 2/Berserk 8/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5 Bear 14.00 14.00 4th
Whyld (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514408&postcount=106) CE Human Spiritual Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Dread Necromancer 7/Warblade 1/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Eagle 13.25 13.25 5th
Lupula and Ursula (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514409&postcount=107) CG Dvati Wolf Totem Streetfighter Barbarian 11/Berserk 8 Bear 8.50 8.50 12th
Nin Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Wary Swordknight Underdark Knight Paladin of Freedom 12/Berserk 3/Fighter 2/Knight of the Raven 3 Cachalot 16.00 16.00 1st
Ty Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Arcane Hunter Voice of the City Ranger 2/Wary Swordknight Holy Warrior Paladin of Freedom 4/Berserk 3/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6/Spiritual Lion Totem Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Death Delver 3 Cachalot 14.25 14.25 3rd
Kalamak (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514413&postcount=109) CG Dragonborn Dragonwrought Kobold Fangshields Ranger 2/Battle Dancer 1/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 2/Berserk 3/Marshal 1/Scaled Horror 1/Totemist 7/Umbral Disciple 3 Cachalot 12.75 12.75 6th
Hank (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514415&postcount=110) NG Wereblack Bear Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Berserk 3/Bear warrior 5/Primeval 1/Abolisher 1/Bear Lord 2 Bear 10.00 10.00 9th
Taz (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514417&postcount=111) TN Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Cleric 7/Berserk 9/Contemplative 4 Cachalot 6.50 6.50 15th
Brass Key William (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514422&postcount=112) NE Warforged Psychic Warrior 7/Elocator 10/Berserker 3 Cachalot 12.75 12.75 6th
Rodeo Badger (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514424&postcount=113) CE Dark Badger Hengeyokai Favored Environment Voice of the City Trap Expert Shape Shifter Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Totemist 2/Totem Rager 4/Berserk 1/Exemplar 5/Wind Rider 1/Deadly Hunter Druidic Avenger 1/Warshaper 1 None 11.50 11.50 7th
John Stalvern (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514426&postcount=114) TN Human Hit and Run Zhentarim Soldier Dirty Fighter 5/Berserk 10/Unarmed Swordsage 5 Raven - - N/A

H_H_F_F

2022-08-03, 03:22 AM

No one else is judging, right? We should be expecting the reveal soon?

The Viscount

2022-08-05, 02:36 PM

One last dispute, and then we can move on.

In Elegance and Power, you say...

"Why did you want 3 levels of MoMF"

"You only have 5 wild shapes per day"

The answer to both statements is simply: I have 8 wild shape uses per day, since Improved Wild Shape states "A master of many forms also gains one additional daily use of her wild shape ability per class level gained". With 3 uses from Druid 7, Extra Wild Shape, and 3 levels in Master of Many Forms, Arniat possesses 8 uses of Wild Shape per day. Given the standard adventuring day of 8-12 hours, I can cover the lower end as a whale and still have all the rest of my class features (berserk, spell-casting, etc.) for the remaining adventuring hours of the day.

Additionally, in Power, it is stated...

You have five ways of transforming (Wild Shape feats, Wild Shape, Polymorph, MoMF and Berserk), and you basically use only two. You only have 5 wild shapes per day, which means you’re not gonna be able to maintain the ability to walk for whole days, and you don’t have enough Beast Shape to keep going back to human form to walk.

To correct this statement, I do not have access to Polymorph, since it is not on the Druid list. MoMF is just Wild Shape with additional options, so really I have three ways: Wild Shape feats, Wild Shape, and Berserk. So really I'm using two of my three ways. Further, Wild Shape from MoMF only provides Humanoid, Giant, and Monstrous Humanoid options. Of those, for a melee build, the Firbolg is the only comparable option for Strength. The Cachalot has greater size by two steps, and thus has a better natural weapon damage die when utilizing Morphic Weapons.

Lastly, in Elegance:

"How do you qualify for Multiattack ?"

The answer to that question is

PHB p87: "Your character must have the indicated ability score, class feature, feat, skill, base attack bonus, or other quality designated in order to select or use that feat... A character can't use a feat if he or she has lost a prerequisite."

PHB2 p 210: Table A-3; Druid; Feral Beast, level 9: Improved Natural Attack (any)

The PHB2 suggests a druid take "Improved Natural Attack (any)" for the Feral Beast package (a template), and the druid in question is an elf that would only have a natural attack in Wild Shape form. This would indicate that Multiattack would also be an approved feat for Druids, since it is also only useful to the druid in specific forms. When the character is in a Morphic-Weapon-modified form, they can benefit from the feat Multiattack, but when in base form, they lose the prerequisite and can't utilize the feat. Even just giving the whale a claw on each fin would qualify (in the same vein as a leopard with "bite and 2 claws").

As an aside, for Morphic Weapon related discussion, seeing as you chose to write "a flying whale with a tentacle is nothing to sneeze at", I can predict you are in the camp that it gives only a single natural weapon at any given time. It is truly a bummer the range of judging that PrC receives in this series; you basically have to gamble on which kind of judge you get.

Beni-Kujaku

2022-08-05, 05:30 PM

Why are there two quote boxes inside each other in the dipute? Nevermind.

I must have been a bit tired when I judged this one, sorry.

First, unsolicited, but +0.25 Elegance because even though your classes are very boring, using Wild Shape to power feats to improve another shape isn't completely obvious.

I took MoMF which gives me more Wild Shape to fuel the feats
Indeed you did. Still weird to have invested so much in Wild Shape just to stay in Cachalot Shape forever, and 8 Wild Shape do not allow you anymore than 5 to fly or walk all day, but +0.5 Elegance, +0.25 Power.

I qualify for Multiattack
I really, really don't buy that Warshaper allows you to create more than one natural attack, but you probably already know my stance on that. Still, the Cachalot's Bite, plus the tail, plus one claw is enough for Multiattack (I initially misread it and mistook Multiattack for Rapidstrike). +0.25 Elegance

Polymorph isn't on the druid spell list
Indeed. It's been a while since I played a druid and I probably got confused by Shapechange being on the druid spell list. Still, no change, since it doesn't change the fact that I don't really know what you are doing with your druid spells, or animal companion, nor the fact that your Wild Shape is so vast but you are seemingly only using Cachalot whale, not even counting the fact that you can't maintain cachalot form if you want to go too far from the coast.

Warshaper is badly written, it's impossible to know for sure which interpretation is real, and some judges think it's one, while others think it's the other one.
Couldn't agree more. It would be great to have a clear ruling, sadly we will probably never get one. The problem is that in this kind of competition, I cannot judge the permissive approach as valid without breaking the whole Power system. Either I'm considering that you can create any number of natural weapons, and whatever you do, only creating a few tentacles is a complete waste of its power, and I should rate any build using Warshaper as we do T1 casters, since it gives you basically world-altering power. Or I consider that you can only create one natural weapon of the table and all the permissive reading shenanigans are illegal. There's really no in-between here, and the contestant gets shafted in both cases. And then again, you don't have to take chances. First, you're never forced to use Warshaper, and using the class is basically always trading a few points in Originality for a few points in Power. And even if you use it, not using multiple natural weapons will not make a "permissive-reading" judge remove some points from you, but the opposite will, especially if you rely on that for prerequisites. If your build doesn't rely on heavy cheese, then it's almost always better to not use the high-power (infinite-power?) reading of the class.

The Viscount

2022-08-05, 06:00 PM

And with that, it's time for our reveal!

Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Berserk Totem Chef Beni-Kujaku Total Place
The Anvil (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514393&postcount=98) CG Necropolitan Dragonborn Azurin Duskblade 5/Berserk 3/Champion of Gwynharwyf 2/Flux Adept 10 Cachalot H_H_F_F 15.75 15.75 2nd
Baloo (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514394&postcount=99) TN Werebadger Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Battle Dancer 1/Fist of the Forest 3/Berserk 4/Warshaper 5/Bear Warrior 1 Bear Paragon 10.25 10.25 8th
Zugzug (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514397&postcount=100) CE Frostblood Orc Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Berserk 3/Eye of Gruumsh 7/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Warshaper 5 Eagle ciopo 9.00 9.00 12th
Sir Mousy (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514398&postcount=101) NG Jermlaine Spiritual Eagle Totem Barbarian 1/Swashbuckler 1/Psychic Warrior 4/Berserk 1/Root Walker Huntsman Druidic Avenger 1/Figther 2/Windrider 10 None ciopo 9.75 9.75 10th
Arniat Pineheart (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514401&postcount=102) ?? Grey Elf Druidic Avenger 7/Master of Many Forms 3/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Cachalot Wildstag 9.5 9.5 11th
Barry (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514404&postcount=103) TN Shifter Spiritual Bear Totem Barbarian 1/Berserk 8/Legacy Champion 10/Bear Warrior 1 Bear H_H_F_F 10.00 10.00 9th
Marigold Sunglade (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514405&postcount=104) NG Halfling Commoner 10/Berserk 10 Cachalot Tohron 7.50 7.50 14th
Lucia and Lea (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514407&postcount=105) CN Dvati Favored Environment Ranger 4/Crusader 2/Berserk 8/Unseelie Dark Hunter 5 Bear loky1109 14.00 14.00 4th
Whyld (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514408&postcount=106) CE Human Spiritual Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Dread Necromancer 7/Warblade 1/Berserk 6/Warshaper 4 Eagle Gruftzwerg 13.25 13.25 5th
Lupula and Ursula (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514409&postcount=107) CG Dvati Wolf Totem Streetfighter Barbarian 11/Berserk 8 Bear Korahir 8.50 8.50 13th
Nin Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Wary Swordknight Underdark Knight Paladin of Freedom 12/Berserk 3/Fighter 2/Knight of the Raven 3 Cachalot WhamBamSam 16.00 16.00 1st
Ty Jonah (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514412&postcount=108) CG Dragonborn Strongheart Halfling Arcane Hunter Voice of the City Ranger 2/Wary Swordknight Holy Warrior Paladin of Freedom 4/Berserk 3/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 6/Spiritual Lion Totem Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/Death Delver 3 Cachalot WhamBamSam 14.25 14.25 3rd
Kalamak (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514413&postcount=109) CG Dragonborn Dragonwrought Kobold Fangshields Ranger 2/Battle Dancer 1/Dungeoncrasher Fighter 2/Berserk 3/Marshal 1/Scaled Horror 1/Totemist 7/Umbral Disciple 3 Cachalot Zaq 12.75 12.75 6th
Hank (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514415&postcount=110) NG Wereblack Bear Human Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Berserk 3/Bear warrior 5/Primeval 1/Abolisher 1/Bear Lord 2 Bear Zaq 10.00 10.00 9th
Taz (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514417&postcount=111) TN Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Cleric 7/Berserk 9/Contemplative 4 Cachalot Gruftzwerg 6.50 6.50 15th
Brass Key William (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514422&postcount=112) NE Warforged Psychic Warrior 7/Elocator 10/Berserker 3 Cachalot Venger 12.75 12.75 6th
Rodeo Badger (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514424&postcount=113) CE Dark Badger Hengeyokai Favored Environment Voice of the City Trap Expert Shape Shifter Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Totemist 2/Totem Rager 4/Berserk 1/Exemplar 5/Wind Rider 1/Deadly Hunter Druidic Avenger 1/Warshaper 1 None daremetoidareyou 11.50 11.50 7th
John Stalvern (https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=25514426&postcount=114) TN Human Hit and Run Zhentarim Soldier Dirty Fighter 5/Berserk 10/Unarmed Swordsage 5 Raven The Viscount - - N/A

Congratulations to everyone on an excellent round. Next round up shortly.

H_H_F_F

2022-08-05, 06:15 PM

I really, really thought that this was going to be my worst round yet. Instead, I got silver! I'm very happy with that. I'm not sure whether or not it was well deserved (Beni's main legal issue with my build was actually one of the only rules tricks I felt I had a solid case for) but I'm happy, nonetheless. I got my hopes up for a moment back there, but I'm still happy with silver. One day...

I owe very much to both Zaq and Daremetoidareyo for this build. Zaq's Tapestry Whale (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?614461-Iron-Chef-Optimization-Challenge-in-the-Playground-CIII&p=24597225&viewfull=1#post24597225), which I judged in my first round as a judge, could've won this round, I think. It's one of my favorite builds ever, and it included some of the base components and directions for thought for Anvil. Dare's Escape Artist Handbook (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?555939-Tying-Down-Escapology-An-Escape-Artist-Reference-Guide) was what enabled me to use the squeezing tactic. I was hoping to do that when I realized that Flux Adept gave me a bonus on it, but nearly gave up when I saw the DC. Dare's guide made it possible.

I also genuinely owe both Zaq and Dare a lot for any good build I've ever made here, but that's an entirely different conversation.

As for Barry… He also did better than I expected, lol. While I thought I had a good shot for high originality with Anvil, I was expecting to get trashed in all 4 categories with him. So, getting UoSI was nice. I will say that unlike your comments, Beni, he actually can use his legacy weapon while being a bear, as I've pointed out – replace legacy ability made Ur a mouthpick weapon. I also think with his claw damage and his 2/day invulnerability, he's pretty okay by the end. However, a 1 in power still seems fair, given that his first time around being ECL 20 sucks so hard it makes one doubt if he has any chance getting there at all. I think 10 might still be my lowest score ever, though I need to check. If so, I was right about at least one of these builds being that, and I'm happy with Barry.

Like everyone, I was really impressed with Rodeo Badger. I thought it was Zaq doing a Dare build, but it turns out it was just Dare doing a Dare build. It's where I thought Sir Mousy was going, so I was glad someone else went for it. I was also impressed with Hank the Tank's sheer stats, though he'd get massacred for taking polar bear as his primeval form if I was the judge. That argument is hilarious, because it literally works for every animal in the MM or any other book. I also absolutely loved Kalamak. It was fun, and creative, and an actual legitimately interesting use of dragonwrought kobold, which I didn't think was possible. Very well done, Zaq. I also liked all of the interesting ways people found to get around whalehood, and lean further into Beardom.

But to be honest, I loved every build this round. Congrats, to my fellow medalist, WhamBamSam, and congrats to everyone! Thanks again to Beni for taking this heap of burning trash upon his shoulders, and thanks as always to our intrepid chairman, The Viscount! Sorry for being such a pain in the ass this round.

Zaq

2022-08-06, 02:15 PM

Great job all around! Every single build was awesome.

H_H_F_F, as soon as I saw Anvil I knew I was looking at something that would end up on the podium. It went far enough. Great example of something that would have flopped if it had flinched, but it instead just swung for the fences because there's just no way to play this class "normally." How's that story go, of the director responding to an actress calling a scene over-the-top by saying "oh honey, no one ever paid to see under-the-top"? Yeah, that.

Really weird to see two echoes of the flux adept round: not only did we have an actual flux adept, we also had another set of dvati arguing for 24/7 berserker strength, which also appeared in the flux adept round (daremetoidareyo's Thing 1 and Thing 2, if memory serves).

Beni-Kujaku, I appreciate the effort that you put into judging, even if I didn't score well! I prepared a non-dispute response, if you'd like to read it.

Hey Beni-Kujaku, thanks for judging! I don't feel like any of this came up to the level of a full dispute (and it wouldn't have gotten Kalamak a medal anyway), but I thought I'd explain myself after the fact here.

Your opinion about originality is, of course, valid; originality is probably the most subjective category, and the subjectivity is the point! That said, I feel like perhaps you were a little too focused on the basic building blocks and not in how I put them together. Does this feel like a normal DWK? (I did note in the text that the purpose of the Dragonwrought feat was not the stats and that the venerable age was mostly just because if you're already going DWK then you may as well, but it's not build-critical in any way.) Does it feel like a usual dungeoncrasher? I see where you're coming from, but I personally feel like I took the components and turned them into something new that you don't see every day. Either way, that's not the big thing.

I do feel like you were a bit hard on me in Elegance. Dragonborn was necessary to allow the main combo (swallow whole) to come online in a timely manner. Without dragonborn, I would have needed to take Dragon Wings at 3rd (as is explicitly allowed by DWK) and Imp Dragon Wings at 6th, which would have meant that I would not have had a free feat for SF: Diplomacy. That would have meant that I couldn't get the bonus feat from marshal, so I would have had Snatch at 9th (the earliest possible when relying on berserk/whale form for the Huge+ prereq), Improved Snatch at 12th, and Snatch And Swallow at 15th, and honestly, that just feels bad. 12th is still a little late, but at least the build isn't mostly over at that point; waiting until 15th just feels like way, way too much buildup. (I could have gotten it at 11th by throwing in two levels of savant after the marshal shuffle, but that felt gratuitous for just a single level early; three levels early, though, is still a trade I'll take.) Also, Snatch and Swallow is written in a way that assumes that you have a breath weapon, and a significant portion of its damage potential comes from the energy damage (matching your breath weapon); if I didn't have a breath weapon, then I would have been liable to lose points for not really working with S&S to the fullest. Since dragonborn allowed me to get the core combo online three whole levels earlier and snag a breath weapon at the same time (to make S&S more effective and closer to its expectations as written), that seems far more elegant to me than the alternative. (Also, marshal wasn't chosen solely for the bonus feat; it also gives +CHA to Hide, Tumble, and initiative, and since our physical stats are fixed by whale form while our mental stats are free to be boosted by early investment and by HD stat increases, that's an efficient way to improve on our core tricks. That made it significantly more attractive than a two-level savant dip, which was the alternative option for an arbitrary bonus feat.)

Tastes differ, of course, but I feel like calling this "a heap of every cheese you can think of on the premise of <<dragon-type whale>>" is a little bit harsh? I didn't use any sovereign archetypes, any "dragon auto-qualifies for stuff with dragonblood as a prereq," or even any early entry tricks. My thought process was basically "okay, whale. What do I do with a whale that's not just going full Tapestry Whale again? Hmm, bite attack; is there a way to get swallow whole as a PC? Looks like you either need 8th level spells for bite of the king, high-level polymorph stuff, or else Snatch and Swallow, which requires being a dragon. Oh, I can be a dragon with DWK, and since the dragon type comes from the feat and you keep the feat in whale form, that qualifies me!" and then just built around the concept of using swallow whole in the most efficient manner I could (getting into and out of berserk as fast as possible, then lining everything up for S&S to come online ASAP). I feel like I mostly wasn't relying on being a dragon outside of the qualification for S&S in the first place; everything else was possible just as a generic dragonborn. (In fact, arguably a dragonborn could even qualify for S&S, but honestly I didn't feel like having that argument, and I'd already written up basically the whole thing as DWK at that point anyway.)

Dungeoncrasher, admittedly, was a throwaway. I needed one more level of full BAB class pre-SI, I couldn't find any good fighter bonus feats that worked with my grappling strategy, and a single level of any other full BAB class just wouldn't have offered me anything useful unless I took a single level of warblade or crusader, which felt hackneyed when it didn't really affect my primary strategy. So I thought I'd take it and slam people around when there was a reason to not try to eat them.

Naturally, cutting room floor stuff won't affect the build score (nor should it), but if you find it interesting, my original post-whale life consisted of trying to get a whole bunch of different sources of DR/—, to make my tummy as hard to cut out of as possible. I was going to take a 4th level of berserk, a few more levels of scaled horror, possibly some anointed knight, and so on; I was under the mistaken belief that DR/— from disparate sources stacked with itself. This is false! It stacks with itself in specific cases like Roll With It, but not in general. So it goes.

Overall, I feel like perhaps you may have gone in with some preconceived notions about what builds that use DWK are usually like, and this may have dragged down the scores you awarded for Originality and Elegance despite this not being a typical DWK build. That said, can't expect to win them all, and as I mentioned, there's several reasons why I'm choosing to share this with you now and not in the actual dispute phase. Thanks for the time and effort you put into judging, and I'll see you in the next round!

It was interesting to realize that, on a meta level, I'd already kind of staked out a bunch of the best territory in this ingredient with the Tapestry Whale. I definitely found myself intentionally having to *not* do what I did last time while still wanting to embrace whale-ness. If nothing else, I'd already used every whale pun I could think of, so I at least knew I should probably go easy on the explicit puns.

Hank, of course, was just a ****post. Big ol' pile of gay innuendo made with love. I hope I made at least one person laugh; if I did, mission accomplished. And of course, I will take any opportunity to reference BEAR LORE. (Cave bears live in caves! Dire bears attack with their natural weapons!)

Dare, love the Rodeo Badger. That's just the right brand of insane. Great example of weaponizing something really stupid.

I love that this class kind of normalized not taking 10 levels in the SI, because really, how can you even justify that? This really kind of solidifies the direction I've been slowly drifting to over the years: yes, in a vacuum you should probably expect better UoSI with more levels than with fewer levels, but taking more levels doesn't automatically mean that you're using the SI more. This is extremely obvious in a case like this one where the SI just kind of stops doing anything really early on, but even in a more traditional case, if your entire build hinges on an early SI-granted ability and brings it to the next level even without taking 10 levels in the class, I don't think that's automatically a bad thing. There's space to explore there. It's usually a tradeoff, as it should be! But I don't think it's necessarily something that should be dismissed out of hand without considering it, at least in many cases. (Though dare remains the king of this with his repeated single-level SI dips. Love ya, you audacious bastard.)

On to the next round, team! See you there!