The One Man Band: A Deranged illumian Fochlucan Lyrist Build

[Barna13]

This build started with a realization: If an Illumian had the Neanhoon sign, they could heighten a detect magic to 3rd level and thereby qualify for Sublime Chord. Collaberation with other madmen led to the following build:

druid 1/bard 3/marshal 2/warblade 2/ur priest 2/sublime chord 1/foch 8/sublime chord 2.

Level 1: You start as an evil druid with grand ambitions.
Levels 2-8 you trick the party into thinking this is a weird bardblade support build.
Level 9-10, you confuse the party as to why you're suddenly casting low-level cleric spells.
Level 11: Really confuse the party as to how you're suddenly casting mid-level sorc/wizrd spells
Levels 12-20: Slowly reveal that this was actually an optimized dual-caster all along!

Other variants:
The original:
cleric 3/church inquisitor 2/divine oracle 2/divine disciple 2/bard 1/sublime chord 1/Mystic Theurge 9. Just cleric build with freakish amounts of multiclassing before BOOM dual-caster.

The Parable on why builds shouldn't just be evaulated at level 20(this is utterly worthless for 8 levels but has 9th level cleric/wizard spells at level 20:
druid 1/bard 1/totemist 2/incarnate 2/soulborn 2/ur-priest2/sublime chord 1/Fochlucan Lyrist 9

[ShurikVch]

Excuse me, but it looks like there are some mistakes in those builds:


druid 1/bard 3/marshal 2/warblade 2/ur priest 2/sublime chord 1/foch 8/sublime chord 2.
1) Ur-Priest:

Special: The character must have no ability to cast divine spells. If such spellcasting ability was previously possessed (as with an ex-cleric), that ability is forever forsaken.
This build have a level in Druid (divine caster!). If you want make it into ex-Druid (somehow) - then why you need it at all? :smallconfused: I mean - ex-Druids lose all their class features except proficiencies. Do you aware you can qualify with literally any other class (without losing class features)?
2) Sublime Chord:

Spells: Able to cast 3rd-level arcane spells.
For this build, pre-SC, your maximal level of arcane spells is 1st


cleric 3/church inquisitor 2/divine oracle 2/divine disciple 2/bard 1/sublime chord 1/Mystic Theurge 9. Just cleric build with freakish amounts of multiclassing before BOOM dual-caster.
1) Sublime Chord: for this build, pre-SC, your maximal level of arcane spells is 0th
2) Mystic Theurge:

Spells: Able to cast 2nd-level divine spells and 2nd-level arcane spells.
Same as above - your level of arcane spells is below the 2nd


druid 1/bard 1/totemist 2/incarnate 2/soulborn 2/ur-priest2/sublime chord 1/Fochlucan Lyrist 9
1) Ur-Priest: the same problem as in the build #1
2) Sublime Chord: the same problem as in the both previous builds - your level of arcane spells is below the 3rd

[Barna13]

Excuse me, but it looks like there are some mistakes in those builds:



1) Ur-Priest:

Become an ex-druid, it's a very simple process! Just teach someone how to say "hello" in druidic and presto bingo you're no longer a druid. Or you could just forsake it. Becoming an ex-druid is hardly the most convoluted part of this build(see below). As for why? Ur-priest has a much faster spell progression, and gives access to the superior cleric spell list.

2) Sublime Chord:

Neanhoon lets you heighten powers without needing a higher level spell slot. You can heighten detect magic, which gives you the ability to cast 3rd level arcane spells.

[ShurikVch]

1) Ur-Priest:

Become an ex-druid, it's a very simple process! Just teach someone how to say "hello" in druidic and presto bingo you're no longer a druid. Or you could just forsake it. Becoming an ex-druid is hardly the most convoluted part of this build(see below). As for why? Ur-priest has a much faster spell progression, and gives access to the superior cleric spell list.
I know it's possible (heck, I mentioned it myself!) - my point was: why to throw away one perfectly good level, if you could take instead Psychic Warrior, Scout, Binder, or whatever other class you like?..


2) Sublime Chord:

Neanhoon lets you heighten powers without needing a higher level spell slot. You can heighten detect magic, which gives you the ability to cast 3rd level arcane spells.
That's highly questionable method: metamagical "level adjustment" of Heighten Spell is +0 - it just really makes the spell in question into the spell of higher level...

[FauxKnee]

That's highly questionable method: metamagical "level adjustment" of Heighten Spell is +0 - it just really makes the spell in question into the spell of higher level...

I disagree with this being "highly questionable." Using Heighten Spell (Sanctum Spell, Earth Spell, et. al.) for early-entry tricks is standard char-op fare--it explicitly changes the spell's level and thereby meets the required criteria. Any given DM is free to say "no" through their rule zero powers, but in my opinion it's perfectly compliant with RAW.

[ShurikVch]

I disagree with this being "highly questionable." Using Heighten Spell (Sanctum Spell, Earth Spell, et. al.) for early-entry tricks is standard char-op fare--it explicitly changes the spell's level and thereby meets the required criteria. Any given DM is free to say "no" through their rule zero powers, but in my opinion it's perfectly compliant with RAW.
Standard, you say?..

Show me contests where it was actually used!

I mean: while Heighten Spell by itself is OK and perfectly fine (no objections there), the rest is a mess...

Sanctum Spell is especially bad for earlier qualifications, since it threatens to bring up all the old arguments about "Do you still have the PrC if you don't qualify anymore?" While some "self-disqualifying" PrC are, obviously, OK - but, say, if arcanist disjoined an artifact and failed the Will save, they're lost their spellcasting. Now, do they still have access to their Sevenfold Veil? Archmage's SLA?..
Heck, if "to qualify at the moment of the first class level is enough" was always true - than character could just throw a sum of gp to local transmuter, get turned into Rakshasa (or whatever other spellcasting monster), qualify for the PrC, and be done with it - despite the fact they wouldn't qualify when returned to their original form...

Earth Spell, while not as bad by itself, is still in danger of invoking the dreaded "minimal caster level" arguments...

[Rleonardh]

Isn't it the same as early level entries to mystic theurge. Questionable but legal by raw, even many gms I know would laugh at it?

[pabelfly]

Standard, you say?..

Show me contests where it was actually used

That's not really an argument though. Contests typically give points for originality and elegance, and using early entry cheese and stuff like Illumian isn't going to help with either of these categories.