Gruftzwerg
2023-10-19, 10:13 AM
:smallfurious:Welcome to Gruftzwerg's Halloween Special:smallfurious:
This is my newest high Theoretical Optimization showcase and let me tell you..., after the complains that my last PO build was to simple and lacking, I did go all out here. So I really mean HIGH TO here. This build will scare the sh*t outta you and his enemies.
So a lil DISCLAIMER here for those who stepped in here by accident: This build is not intended to play!
Once the build hits lvl 10, it starts to escalate very quickly. Thus, don't burden your DM and fellow players with this build. With that being said...
D,D,D&D productions proudly presents...
Melbane
-
Bane's Chosen "Pawn of a Spawn"
a (Cleric) Shaman of Bane build
Background-story:
Melbane was born as a shaman's daughter into a lil barbaric tribe which recently converted to worship Bane. They used to worship Demogorgon (Demon), but some missionaries of Bane managed to convince the tribe that he is much more worth to be worshiped.
All this influences the way Melbane is raised. On one hand she learned some basics about religion to become a priestess of Bane (Knowledge Religion), on the other hand she still learned much more about her own tribe's culture. Perform: Dancing; Knowledge Arcane (aka shamanism); Tumble). Due to all this, she will never be a typical cleric of Bane. Her shaman culture vibes are to present.
But what's important is her dedication to Bane. And Melbane is totally FANATIC when it comes to this topic (Bane). All that while she knows so little about him (Knowledge Religion: 1 ...). Let's all hope that this doesn't lead into unexpected situations in the future...^^
(The build's fluff plays a bit with the relationship between deities, devils and demons (it's a D,D&D build^^). While most of the time these 3 are in conflict, sometimes there are collaborations and even pacts.
According to some Forgotten Realm wiki there are Dark Pacts between Bane and Asmodeus. While it ain't further explained, I used it here as base. I pretend that this build is kinda part of one of these pacts where Bane & Asmodeus (both L-E) try to steal powers from the demons to be used for their evil plans. But the Demons are not blind. While deities and devil think that everything goes according to their plan, they open up more opportunities for Demons to bring chaos to the word. So it's really unclear who is profiting here the most. I hope you enjoy the lil fluff added here and there.)
(Oh wait, I also have a dragon ingredient (silverbrow human). This means, it's a D,D,D & D build^^)
Main Goals:
A) We want to make Fear effects as strong and reliable as possible, and want to profit from em as much as possible.
B) The build intends to have the strongest possible Animal Companion with it's own (strongest possible) cohort.
While the main build is already broken enough I just wanted to showcase the possibilities with Leadership here. I'm not gonna fully build the cohort (to keep the showcase short). But you will get an idea of it's strong base abilities that you can further build upon. Further the cohort can use many of the tactics the Animal Companion uses. So, you should be able to get an idea of how strong a possible cohort with this character build can become. We can effectively get a 20th lvl cohort before hitting lvl 20 with the main build. If that ain't broken I dunno xD
C) Adding anything meaningful to the Beast of Bane template. Since it gives a special accelerated Advancement progression, normal Uber Animal Companion stuff for progression becomes irrelevant. Thus the most obvious upgrade would be to persist strong cleric spells here (since the Touch of Hate feat already requires cleric casting). We will try to capitalize on this for further cheese.
D) Try to have as much mechanical and fluff synergy and interactions between the main character and the animal companion as possible.
E) Become as hard to kill as possible for this build
F) Mixing divine (bane), demonic, devilish and draconic powers into a single build to achieve all of the above mentioned goals.
Cleric 10 / Human Paragon 3 / Death's Chosen 1 / Spelldancer 1 / Dread Witch 5
Race: Silverbrow Human
Alignment: L-E
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 12
INT: 12
WIS: 16 (main stat: +5 lvlUp +5 Wish +6 item = 32)
CHA: 14 (secondary stat: +5 Wish +6 item + 2 Human Paragon = 27)
* Entering Spelldancer:
We need to get Mobility either as Armor enchantment (Bracers of Armor +1 + Mobility) or to take it as flaw. I suggest the item solution, since it ain't so front-loaded with feats and you don't need to take a flaw. The bracers also allow for additional special armor abilities, which makes it the more interesting choice here imho.
** Entering Dread Witch:
Here we need to temporary exchange our domain via Substitute Domain (2nd lvl spell) to the Hatred domain. Because that contains the spell Scare which is a spell requirement along the Fear spell.
The Fear spell is picked up via Divine Magician at lvl 8.
LVL
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills
Feats
Class Features
1st
Human Paragon 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Concentration: 4
K. (arcane): 3
K. (religion): 1
Perform: 4
Spellcraft: 4
Tumble: 4
Combat Casting
Dodge
Adaptive Learning:
Perform
2nd
Cleric 1
No Turning:
Shaman
(dragon #353)
Divine Magician
(Complete Mage)
Dragonscale Husk
(Dragon Magic)
+0
+2
+0
+4
Concentration: 5
Perform: 5
Spellcraft: 5
Animal Companion:
(pick any)
Dragonscale Husk:
+6 armor bonus
Domains:
Envy
3rd
Cleric 2
+1
+3
+0
+5
Concentration: 6
Perform: 6
Spellcraft: 6
Violate Spell
(BoVD)
4th
Cleric 3
+2
+3
+1
+5
Concentration: 7
Perform: 7
Spellcraft: 7
Dragonscale Husk:
+7 armor bonus
5th
Cleric 4
+3
+4
+1
+6
Concentration: 8
Perform: 8
Spellcraft: 8
6th
Cleric 5
+3
+4
+1
+6
Concentration: 9
Perform: 9
Spellcraft: 9
Initiate of Bane
(PGtF)
Dragonscale Husk:
(5 acid/cold/electricity/fire resistance)
7th
Cleric 6
+4
+5
+2
+7
Concentration: 10
Perform: 10
Spellcraft: 10
Dragonscale Husk:
+8 armor bonus
8th
Cleric 7
+5
+5
+2
+7
Concentration: 11
Perform: 11
Spellcraft: 11
9th
Cleric 8
+6
+6
+2
+8
Concentration: 12
Perform: 12
Spellcraft: 12
Extend Spell
Animal Companion:
(Fleshraker)
10th
Human Paragon 2
+7
+6
+2
+9
Concentration: 13
Perform: 13
Spellcraft: 13
Spot: 2 (+2)
Touch of Hate
(PGtF)
Bonus Feat
11th
Death's Chosen 1
+8
+8
+2
+9
Perform:* 14 (+2)
Spot: 3
Endurance
Shield of the Master
Vigor of the Chosen
(Endurance bonus feat)
12th
Spelldancer* 1
+8
+8
+4
+11
Concentration: 15 (+2)
Perform: 15
Spellcraft: 15 (+2)
Persistent Spell
Spelldance
13th
Dread Witch** 1
+8
+8
+4
+13
Concentration: 16
Perform: 16
Spellcraft: 16
Master of Terror
Unnatural Will
14th
Dread Witch 2
+9
+8
+4
+14
Concentration: 17
Perform: 17
Spellcraft: 17
Absorb Fear
15th
Dread Witch 3
+9
+9
+5
+14
Concentration: 18
Perform: 18
Spellcraft: 18
Reach Spell
(Complete Divine)
Fearful Empowerment 1/day
16th
Dread Witch 4
+10
+9
+5
+15
Concentration: 19
Perform: 19
Spellcraft: 19
Delay Fear
Greater Master of Terror
17th
Dread Witch 5
+10
+9
+5
+15
Concentration: 20
Perform: 20
Spellcraft: 20
Fearful Empowerment 2/day
Horrific Aura
Reflective Fear
18th
Human Paragon 3
+11
+10
+6
+15
Concentration: 21
Perform: 21
Spellcraft: 21
Spot: 5 (+2)
Heightened Spell
Ability Score Bonus:
CHA +2
19th
Cleric 9
+11
+10
+7
+15
Concentration: 22
Perform: 22
Spellcraft: 22
Dragonscale Husk: +9 armor bonus
20th
Cleric 10
+12
+11
+7
+16
Concentration: 23
Perform: 23
Spellcraft: 23
Dragonscale Husk:
(10 acid/cold/electricity/fire resistance)
Spells per Day/Spells Known
Level
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
1st
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2nd
3
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3rd
4
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4th
4
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5th
5
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6th
5
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
7th
5
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
8th
6
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
9th
6
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
10th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
11th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
12th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
13th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
15th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
16th
6
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
17th
6
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
18th
6
5+1
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
19th
6
5+1
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
20th
6
5+1
5+1
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
Spells:
I'll be listing some notable spells for the build along with the Envy domain spells; the spells selected with Divine Magician; and the spells from Initiate of Bane. But befor we get to the actual spells, I want to talk about an Animal Companion's (or Familiar's) "Share Spell" ability a bit:
Share Spells (Ex): At the druid's option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts upon herself also affect her animal companion. The animal companion must be within 5 feet of her at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the animal companion if the companion moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the animal again, even if it returns to the druid before the duration expires. Additionally, the druid may cast a spell with a target of "You" on her animal companion (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A druid and her animal companion can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the companion's type (animal).
Note the differences between the two options to share spells. Only the (additional) second option actually requires the "target of YOU" and that this ain't part of the first (main) option.
For the main option the sole limitation is a "spell she casts upon herself", an undefined term in 3.5.
Spells that are "centered on YOU" are effective cast upon yourself. This is because the first option doesn't rely on "you" as "target".
While we can't cast these spells directly upon the AC (since they lack the target "you" most of the time), as long as it stays within 5ft it can profit from the spell. This allows spells like Aura of Terror to be shared as shown below.
(E)nvy Domain
(D)ivine Magician
(I)nitiate of Bane Feat
* = Persistable (@lvl 12)
** = Persistable with Reach Spell (@lvl 15)
# = Sharable with Animal Companion (limited to 5ft distance)
## = can be cast and shared directly onto the AC (has target: "you"); note that I haven't included touch spells (they can already be cast directly onto your AC like on any other creature) and that I sole marked those that sole work by sharing.
1st:
Disguise Self (E) *## - a really nice tool for this build. stops enemies from recognizing you from afar until it's too late^^
True Casting (D) - addresses any possible Spell Resistance issues
Sanctuary **# - can be persisted (and later hightened) to keep us save from most enemy attacks and (targeted) spells.
2nd:
Ray of Enfeeblement (E) - ranged touch attack that deals STR dmg; not bad but not great either
Detect Thoughts (D) *#- can be persisted and just to good to pass for regular social interactions. Also a nice option to detect foes. Nothing escapes Bane's Judgement!
Shield Other - mainly used in a combo to let our Animal Companion cast it onto Melbane.
Desecrate - mainly to give created undead up to +2HP / HD; use before "Ghost Companion" and "Undead after Dead"
Substitute Domain - Used to enter Dread With by changing our domain to the Hatred domain which contains "Scare"
3rd:
Touch of Idiocy (E) - great domain spell against spellcasters
Ghostly Companion (D) - mandatory for some build combos (see below in the Animal Companion spoiler).
Mystic Lash (I) * - electrical whip with up to 4d6 electricity dmg that stuns on a failed Fort. save; Ranged (!) touch attacks up to 15ft; on successful attack, can be dropped to further attack on its own.
Girallon's Blessing **# - get an additional pair of hands with claws. Also allows our Fleshraker to cast spells with a somatic component. Also very broken with Perfect (Mutiweapon) TWF.
Forced Manifestation - forces/allows our ghost animal companion to fully manifest and become temporary corporeal. Can be abused for full melee combat if we lack a Necklace of Natural Weapons + Ghost Touch (and if we want to use the fleshraker form instead of devil forms for combat).
Venomfire - use it with Violate Spell on our Fleshraker. (Remind you that "Yoshi" keeps his poison ability while trasformed into devils)
Adoration of the Frightful *# - aura turns anyone with a fear effect into friendly! Auto-win on a failed save. Only breaks if you attack the target itself, not when you attack its allies!
Rain of Terror *# - (DM #348) no Save no SR; 100ft range centered on you; -1/4 clvl penalty to fear saves (-5 max).
4th:
Vampiric Touch (E) - nice tool to deal dmg and heal up at the same time
Fear (D) - requirement for entering Dread Witch.
Sheltered Vitality**# - used to spelldance more often (infinite spelldance if persisted); persistable @lvl 15; gets exchanged @lvl 18 with Veil of Death
Consumptive Field *# - used mainly to make dispell attempts against our persisted spells harder; use free spellslots from Abosrb Fear to cast enough Summon Monster I or II each morning to start your day with a full buffed CF.
Dampen Magic **# - can be later persisted (with Reach Spell) and can produce an AMF (with 1/5 the remaining duration) if needed.
Divine Power *## - only needed in ghost form (or for Melbane herself) for Yoshi, since the other types (beast & outsider) provide already full BAB.
Tongues **# - mainly to allow our fleshraker to speak and to cast spells with a verbal component. (note that Infernal Transf. gives the ability to speak Infernal and thus doesn't rely on this spell to cast spells)
Lesser Infernal Transformation *## - transform the AC into a Bearded Devil all day long; required for Mark of Nessus (more info in the Animal Companion section)
Imbue with Spell Ability - give Yoshi: Sanctum (1st); Cure LW (1st) and Shield Other *
Shield Other is the real gem here. Since Yoshi will have plenty of HD (and each one is a d12 + 2 from desecrate) he can easily absorb half of the damage that Melbane would take.
Sanctum (the spell) is intended as gap filler, if Melbane should attack and not immediately recast Sanctum spell (e.g. with her free spellslot from Absorb Fear).
CLW is meant as emergency heal. And if you wanna be cheesy, argue that spell's from IwSA also create a "spell list" (undefined in 3.5 compared to "spells known") and that his enables Yoshi to use CLW wands..^^
5th:
Curshing Despair (E) - debuff spell; not really worth the action to cast it imho..
Watchware (D) - best used on the toe from "Hide Life" (9th); (combo is at the end of the snapshots)
Battletide (I) ## - great combat starter; besides from some minor modifiers, this gives either a free extra attack or a free quickened spell each turn up to 5th lvl (clvl dependent). (see snapshot)
Spell Resistance **# - gives 12+ clvl Spell Resistance all day long (when persisted).
True Seeing **# - we can persist it and thus become immune to illusions 24/7.
Revivify - restore life to a creature that died within the last round; stable at -1 HP; Used to abuse Ghost Companion*
Ghost Companion turns Yoshi into a Ghost for days/caster level (extend for double duration!). At the end of the spell's duration it really dies. To pevent this we will rely on Revivify, since it is the cheapest and easiest solution here. Just (kill) sacrifice Yoshi to Bane and Revivify him immediately. Finally note that the Ghost has a Rejuvenation ability to return back to life after 2d4 days. The required level check (1d20 + ghost’s HD) against DC 16 will become an automatic succeess once he is fead enough (Feed ability). But the time it takes for him to come back could interfere with the remaining duration. Thus it is best adviced to prematurely end the spell with 8 days duration left to be on the safe side. Otherwise we risk to lose our Yoshi forever. While we can get a new and fresh Yoshi within 24h of prayer, it would be a fresh one as said. Thus if you don't wanna lose all the accumulated Advancement of Yoshi, recast the combo always when the duration is nearing "8 days left".
Finally note that Ghost Companion has an inbuild trap. This is because if any spell gets dispelled, it counts as if the spells duration has ended. ("A dispelled spell ends as if its duration had expired."). Thus Yoshi would die if it gets dispelled. To prevent this, make sure to cast GC when full buffed by (Gr.) Consumptive Field, since that increases our clvl and thus makes it harder for dispelling.
6th:
Magic Jar (E) - a rare spell in the hands of a cleric; if you want we can abuse it to possess an enemy or one of the Fleshrakers from the Beast of Bane army, maybe even a crypt spawn with class lvls
Aura of Terror (D) *# - either gives or improves (+2DC and frightful instead of shaken) Frightful Presence; share it with Yoshi
Stone Walk (I) - link 2 stones (undefined size!) to each other to be used for teleporting on command word; a stone can be linked multiple times (with other stones). Each use/charge can transport 1 + 1/3 clvl medium sized creatures; limited charges (1/4 clvl) but still very spellslot efficient!
Eye's of the Oracle *## - allows to ready a free action each turn until expanded; has so many abuse options.
7th:
Limited Wish (E) - I hope I don't need to explain why it's great for a Cleric to have access to this spell
Kiss of Draconic Defiance (D) *# - can be persisted and prevents enemies from casting spells (40ft) unless they manage a Fortitude save! most casters have low Fortitude saves and combined with "Sanctum" this will make it very hard for most enemies to fight back.
Undeath after Death (I) - if the target creature dies, it comes back as a Crypt Spawn; can and will be used to create an undead beast army (see Yoshi's Leadership feats)
Infernal Transformation *## - transform the AC into a Bone Devil. Use this option (for Mark of Nessus) if you want to mount your AC.
Veil of Undeath *## - gives many undead traits without actually being one (and thus we are't affected by turn effects). Nice to become immune to some of the cohorts abilities (mainly fear).
(Gr.) Consumptive Field *# - always nice when persisted; again we use Absorb Fear fulled Summon Monster to get full buffed in the morning.
8th:
Simulacrum (E) - as if the build wasn't broken enough; if you feel like you need more cheese, here you go...
Mind Blank # (D) - for obvious reasons; immunity to mind-affecting and divination effects
9th:
Wish (E) - access to Wish & Miracle in a single build, what else could you wish for?^^
Hide Life ## (D) - hide your life into one of your toes (and cut it off) and become unkillable by normal means as long as your toe is safe. (more on this at the end of the snapshots)
Animal Companion: "Yoshi"
Our lil Yoshi (fleshraker) does evolve over time multiple times. Since our Animal Companion (AC) will later obtain a special advancement ability (Feed), I won't showcase the "normal" progression for AC but more the specific stuff that is going on in this build.
Warbeast Template (Handle Animal skill)
This gives some minor buffs. Most notably all 3 armor proficiency feats. Nice to have. Guidance of the Avatar should help with the Handle Animal checks needed for the template (and to train the AC some tricks).
Beast of Bane Template (Touch of Hate feat)
(Template can be found in: "Shadowdale - The Souring of the Land")
This is the first gamebreaker in the build. It gives our AC a Frightful Presence ability which has some nice synergy with the main build (more on this further below). But the most important part here is the "Feed" ability. For each 3 humanoids it kills and eats it gains a bonus HD. This will escalate the HD progression of our AC very fast. It should soon have more HD then Melbane herself.
Note that the first 3 Ability Score increases should be invested into INT to get INT:5, which is the minimum requirement for "Imbue with Spell Ability" to cast spells. After that I would suggest to invest all further increases into CHA to further increase several ability DC's. But you can also invest into STR if you wanna use Yoshi more as Ubercharger.
Finally we will invest the first 9 skillpoints into Knowledge (plains) while any points after that will be invested into Survival.
Ghost Template (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ghost.htm) (Ghost Companion spell)
This is the second gamebreaker in the build. Besides from all the base goodies in this template it also allows to pick up to 3 (1d3 roll? dunno..) Special Attacks. Since I'm unsure if we have to roll the amount or can freely chose the amount I will list 3 suggestions listed by priority:
(Note that all 3 are SU and thus bypass SR and don't provoke any AoO!)
(1) Frightful Moan
At will standard action that panics anyone in 30ft on a failed will save (DC = 10 base + 1/2 HD + CHA). Unless the creature is fear immune this will easily win most fights in a single action (due to the high HD scaling and thus high DC in this build).
(2) Malevolence
Basically at will Magic Jar without the jar. (DC = 15 + CHA)
The "at will" part is what makes this a really broken ability.
(3) Corrupting Gaze
Gaze ability that affects passively everyone in 30ft at the beginning of their turn or when actively used (standard action) by our AC. 2d10 dmg + 1d4 CHA dmg on a failed Fortitude save (DC = 10 base + 1/2 HD + CHA).
An ongoing ability that can be enabled/disabled at will.
Enemis can subvert their eyes (50% chance to ingore the effect but Yoshi has effectively concealment) or even close their eyes (100% chance to ignore the effect but he blinds himseld and thus Yoshi has effectively Full Concealment) when they try fight Yoshi.
Becoming a Devil ((Lesser) Infernal Transformation)
Note that (L.) Infernal Transformation ain't a polymorph-subschool spell and thus only cares for its own rule text!
While it changes our type and subtype it otherwise leaves our Ghost template untouched. Thus we become a Bearded/Bone Devil Ghost that is corporeal (since we did lose the incorporeal subtype). * see spoiler below
We become an Outsider and have the subtypes (baatezu, evil, lawful) to qualify for the following two feats. Note that "devil" is barely defined in core (but in BoVD).The most known are baatezu. Gaining the "baatezu" subtype should technically qualify Yoshi as a devil. The baatezu subtype gives the following traits:
Baatezu Traits: Unless otherwise noted, a baatezu can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has a language. In addition, it can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell. A baatezu is immune to fire and poison, and it has acid resistance 20 and cold resistance 20.
We use this trick (ideally persisted L. Infernal Transformation) to qualify for Mark of Nessus as soon as possible. Soon after that we'll pick up Hellsworn to always have the extraplanar subtype and to call the Nine Hells our homeplane. *see spoiler
1. Brand of the Nine Hells: Asmodeus
3/day Command SLA; just a feat tax, move on...
Note that Yoshi now has sworn fealty to Asmodeus (in his lifetime...)
2. Mark of Nessus
This is another gamebreaker. Anyone who tries to target Yoshi with an attack or spell or an ability needs to pass a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + CHA). It's like an improved Sanctuary spell, just that it is always on (even if Yoshi attacks) and that the DC scales with 1/2 HD. Sole downside is, if the enemy should manage to pass the save, he becomes immune for the next 24h. Due to the high DC this will be rarely the case. At higher (Yoshi) levels this will stop anything without immunity to mind-affecting abilities. (Note: while the ability lacks the "mind-affecting" tag, imho the mind-affecting mechanics are present and thus this falls under the immunites that e.g. Mind Blank would grant).
(Also note that this makes Yoshi also kinda immune to targeted dispell attemps, which is important because of Ghost Companion. Area Dispells on the other hand only dispell a single spell per creature and starts its attempts with the highest lvls spell and if it fails goes down the line. Remind you that we try to cast Ghost Comp. fully buffed by (Gr.) Consumptive Field and probable will persist a dozen and more spells. Thus it is very unlikely that an AoE dispell will hit the vurnable spot here.)
3. Evil Brand
feat tax
4. Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)
another feat tax
5. Hellsworn
Gives Yoshi the extraplanar subtype and lets him fully migrate to the Nine Hells as homeplane. This enables him some extra cheese together with (L.) Infernal Transformation *see spoiler
First let me tell you why it is important to keep Yoshi "alive" and why we don't just get a new one (with 24h prayer). Because we want to perserve its Advancement from its Feed abiltiy. A new Beast of Bane would start with normal HD (and thus feats) again and we try to avoid that at all costs!
I feel like that the type pyramid rule gets often overlooked from my experience (in games and in the forum as well). And imho it is kinda messy at first glance. But let me first remind you that the rule only applies to Templates and not to other kind of effects that change your type (e.g. spells and abilities).
This is important here because (Lesser) Fiendish Transformation does not get rid of the Ghost template. It only overwrites the types and subtypes which makes the build lose the incorporeal subtype. While the template may count as an ongoing effect I dunno if that also applies to its type change. But even if it would, the type Pyramid forbids it to make any changes since it is a template and we are temporary an outsider now.
By adding Hellsworn into the mix Yoshi becomes a full fledged demon that can only be killed on his homeplane the Nine Hells. This is because we are now an extraplanar Outsider and our body and soul build a unit. And due to Hellsworn (and general outsider type rules) our soul (and thus body) gets dragged to the Nine Hells when we get slain outside of the Nine Hells. Remind you that the Hellsworn feat is an ongoing effect that constantly reapplies its effect as long as we qualify for the Prerequisites (feats + being evil) and thus still works after Infernal Transformation is applied.
Finally also note that Yoshi also can't even be killed on the Nine Hells. This is because his Rejuvenation ability from his Ghost template is still there to prevent it. He will still return after 2d4 days even when "slain/destroyed" in the Nine Hells.
If Yoshi should somehow end up on the Nine Hells, Melbane can easily pick him up. Just prepare a pair of small stones with Stone Walk beforehand and give one to each. When Yoshi now gets slain, Melbane can easily Plane Shift and use then the (greater) teleportation from the stones to get to him. Then she can use Plane Shift again to get em back to the material plane.
Other Feats of Interest:
I'll add some more interesting feat suggestions, further numbered by importance. Your opinion may vary here. So if you want to focus on melee combat, you are free to alter the feat progression here.
6. Willing Deformity
+3 bonus on Intimidate. a feat tax, move on..
7. Abominable Form
Another passive ability that lets enemies become shaken if they view Yoshi. This stacks with Frightful Presence, effectively "frightening" everyone who see him. (DC = 15 +2 for each Deformity feat) The Dc is a bit low compared to the other DCs in the build tho. But still nice to have.
8. Lifesense
Living creatures become effectively a light source in the eyes of Yoshi! No living creature will be able to hide (and will have a hard time figuring out why they can't..^^). "I see living humanoids..." (pun intended)
9. Mindsight
Intelligent undead and and sometimes even contructs are a thing in 3.5. Thus better be prepared to always notice em.
10. Ordered Chaos
Lets Yoshi also count as Chaotic for any effect or requirement. Needed for the next two feats.
11. Thrall to Demon
1/day while doing evil gain a +1 luck bonus on any one attack roll, saving throw, ability check, skill check, or level check. Feat tax.
12. Abyss-Bound Soul: Demogorgon
The next gamebreaker. With pledging Yoshi's immortal soul to Demogorgon, he obtains the ability to summon a Tanar'ri 1/day (max HD = 1/2 HD of Yoshi) for 1h duration that follows his commands. Sooner or later Yoshi will be able to summon any Tanar'ri once he is feat up enough (bonus HD from Feed). Theoretically even unique Tanar'ri could be summoned this way.
Yoshi now has pledged his immortal soul to Demogorgon when he dies. But will he ever die...? *muahahahahah*
13. Deformity (Tall)
Gives +5t reach while in medium sized forms (e.g. Fleshraker or Bearded Devil form). Also boosts Abominable Form's DC indirectly with +2.
14. Deformity (Tongue)
Gives Scent which adds to the Track feat of the Fleshraker base. This is the reason to put all remaining skillpoints (1 / bonus HD) (after raising K. planes up to 9) into Survival. Over time nothing will escape Yoshi's tacking skills. Also another indirect +2 DC bonus for Abominable Form.
Melee Feats of Interest:
15. Power Attack
16. Imp. Bullrush
17. Shocktrooper - staple ubercharger feat(s)
18. Improved Unarmed Strike: allows Yoshi to combine unarmed Iterative Attacks along with its Natural Attacks
19. - 22. Improved -/Greater -/Perfect -/ TWF: gain as many offhand attacks as main attacks
23. Prehensile Tail: treats the Felshraker/Bone Devil tail as 3rd hand, thus another offhand for trippling our attacks gained from our mainhand.
Fluff Feat of Interest:
24. Life Bound: small buff to saves. sole mentioned because of the fitting fluff here. Yoshi benefits from the life force of its living master Melbane.
Any remaning Feats:
25+. Epic Charisma: all relevant abilities scare with CHA. Unless you wanna go the full Ubercharger route, this is the most recommended choice here.
It's all about Leadership!:
**. Leadership + Epic Leadership - I suggest to wait with this until the main build hits LVL 16 to pick these (remember that the Animal Companion doesn't level linear with the main build. thus I can't tell where in the above order you would squeeze em in), because we want to wait until we unlock 7th lvl spells (Undeath after Death).
With Undeath after Death we can add the Crypt Spawn template to our (Beast of Bane) Fleshraker army (remind you to create em with Desecrate as a shrine of Bane to give em +2HP/HD). This allows em to advance by class which makes an excellent base for a fitting cohort (and maybe some higher lvl followers). Note that due to the Feed ability it can bypass the normal limitation for a cohort's advancement:
The character can attract a cohort of up to this level. Regardless of a character’s Leadership score, he can only recruit a cohort who is two or more levels lower than himself. The cohort should be equipped with gear appropriate for its level. A character can try to attract a cohort of a particular race, class, and alignment. The cohort’s alignment may not be opposed to the leader’s alignment on either the law-vs-chaos or good-vs-evil axis, and the leader takes a Leadership penalty if he recruits a cohort of an alignment different from his own.
Cohorts earn XP as follows:
The cohort does not count as a party member when determining the party’s XP.
Divide the cohort’s level by the level of the PC with whom he or she is associated (the character with the Leadership feat (https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Feats) who attracted the cohort).
Multiply this result by the total XP awarded to the PC and add that number of experience points to the cohort’s total.
If a cohort gains enough XP to bring it to a level one lower than the associated PC’s character level, the cohort does not gain the new level—its new XP total is 1 less than the amount needed attain the next level.
The first rule limits only the level the cohort may have a the moment of attaction and recruiting.
The last rule only applies when gaining "XP "and while being "a level one lower". With the Feed ability we can bypass this softcap and by RAW later ignore the restriction, since the cohort will never be "a level one lower" compared to the master again.
The sole real RAW issue here is what happens if the feat holder ain't getting XP itself since it is an Animal Companion belonging to a character (that maybe is in a party). The rules are silent regarding that possibility and a DM would need to judge if the cohort is able to gain further XP or not in this case... (not every problem can be solved within a showcase..^^).
But aside from that nothing stops us from giving Yoshi his own Fleshraker - Beast of Bane - Crypt Spawn cohort with class levels.
The cohort can be build similar to Yoshi (expect for the spell specific combos maybe). Imho the strongest class options here are either cleric or sorc/wiz casting classes. I think Sorc/Wiz casting would be the best matchup since the most powerful upgrade in 3.5 is access to more spells...^^
These are enough suggested feats for 81 bonus levels..I hope that this should be enough for the time being.. ^^
Gear & Items
Mostly common stuff and not really mandatory, except the Bracers of Armor + Mobility for entering Spelldancer.
If you wanna go the Ubercharger route for Yoshi, make sure to gather all posible charge multipliers:
- Necklacke of Natural Attacks + Valorous + Ghost Touch (for claws and unarmed strikes = x2 price)
- option to fly while corporeal to make dive attacks
- Sandals of the Tiger's Leap
This results in a x3 multiplier for both unarmed strikes and any other piercing/slashing weapon (e.g. claws).
Ability Score increases from items are to be expected. Mainly WIS and CHA for Melbane. If you wanna build an Uberchager Yoshi then buy him a STR item too.
And when it comes to "inherit" Ability Score increases, we will rely on Wish scrolls which we can use thanks to the Envy domain. And with a full boosted Consumptive Field, Melbane should be easily able to pass the caster level check even on earlier levels. With this combo she can save a lot of money by sharing the Wish scrolls with Yoshi.
Also remind you that Yoshi has all 3 armor proficiencies, thus buy him some nice armor if you want.
Snapshots:
LVL: 1 <-> 5
We start out as a simple tribe warrior (Human Paragon) on her way to become a Shaman of Bane. As soon as she offically becomes a Shaman, Bane gifts her a (Dragon)scale Husk as sign of her chosen destiny.
A bunch of feat taxes and a lost caster level. Otherwise we are more or less a cleric. Except for the lack of Turn/Rebuke Undead. Instead we gain an Animal Companion (cleric lvls count as 1/2 druid lvls). For the time is doesn't matter which one. (e.g. wolf if you want a combat animal or a horse if you want a mount. I would recommended a wolf for the time being). The AC brings enough power so that the spell progression lost due to Human Paragon ain't hurting us to much.
LVL 6 <-> 10
Initiate of Bane gives us access to Mystic Lash. This weaponlike spell stuns on a failed Will save and will easily carry us trough most low lvl fights.
Later we get access to Battletide which gives either a free extra attack or a free quickening on a spell up to 5th lvl (scales with clvl). This increases our action economy in combat greatly. Especially if our Animal Companion remains near to us and we share the spell. This allows it to quicken it's spells from "Imbue with Spell Ability"
Our Dragonscale Husk further improves and now even provides us with 5 resistance to fire, cold, acid and lightning.
We also exchange (lvl9: effective Druid lvl 4) our AC into a Fleshraker (named Yoshi). And soon after that (lvl10) we turn it into a Beast of Bane (template). Our combat power has a sudden increase. Yoshi can now advance faster than Melbane by eating the corpses of its humanoid victims (Feed ability).
But before we get our (final) Yoshi, we pray for as many fleshrakers (24h prayer for each) as we have downtime after hitting lvl 10. Turn every one of em into a Beast of Bane. Since the Touch of Hate ability provides us with full command over it, we can release it as AC and pray for the next AC. With this we can build an army of Fleshraker - Beasts of Bane under our command. It's unclear imho if they count towards party size and xp or not. Imho they shouldn't since they are under mental control and can't get xp and lvl by class in the first place (otherwise any mind controlled foe would count towards party xp). If the DM should decide against it, you could still use em to defend stuff while you are away, or even sent em on simple side missions (keep the INT 3 limitation in mind). We will have more use for em later on.
LVL 11 <-> 15
Who's the boss?
Soon Melbane starts to realize and acknnowledge the supremacy of Yoshi and Yoshi in return accepts her as henchmen. (Death's Chosen). Yoshi is pleased that Melbane noticed his superiority and thus grants her immunity to any of his abilities. Melbane becomes more and more obsessed with Yoshi. So much that she barely needs to sleep (2h) and eat (Vigor of the Chosen). Note that divine casters don't need 8h rest like some arcane casters do. Divine casters just pray at a specific daytime. Thus we can fully abuse this stay up for 22h each day. Melbane and Yosi won't let their enemies rest and will be almost constantly on the hunt (to kill more infidels).
Spelldancer and Reach Spell allows for a wide variety of spells that can be persisted as cleric.
Finally we enter Dead Witch to gain a bunch of fear improving and related stuff.
Most notably here is Absorb Fear. Any time a fear effect tries to affect Melbane, she gains either a small and short buff or (what is more important) a free spellslot to cast immediately a spell (within 1 round/CHA-modifier). The free spellslot's level is determined by the fear effect's possible strength (if we would have failed the save!): shaken = cantrip; frightened = 1st lvl; paniced = 2nd lvl.
Combined with Yoshi's "Frightful Moan" ability this means infinite spellslots for spells up to 2nd lvl, when Yoshi uses the ability. Without that we can still get free 1st lvl spells for possibly being frightened by Yoshi's Firghtful Presence (boosted by an Aura of Terror). This allows for all sort of abuse in and outside of combat. And the best part it, the spell doesn't need to be prepared. Thus full access to 1st and 2nd lvl spells all day long.
Fearful Empowerment (1/day) is another nice ability for this build that allows to add a fear effect to a spell. Imho best used on a persisted Mystic Lash. This results in 2 Will saves to avoid being stunned and/or becoming shaken.
LVL 16 <-> 20
We finally finish our mastery over fear.
Greater Master of Terror allows our fear spells and abilities to bypass any kind of fear immunity by RAW (unless the target is 4+ lvls higher than Melbane). RAI I think mindless beings should be excluded and only work on later gained immunities as in the paladin example. But RAW sadly doesn't point this trait explicitly out and doesn't exclude mindless stuff.
Remind you that we improve the Frightful Presence of Yoshi (which has a high DC scaling) via a shared Aura of Terror, which results in the aura being able to penetrate fear immunity too now and improves the fear effect up to frightened.
Delay Fear works as the name implies, delaying a fear effect up to CHA modifier in round. If somehow our fear protection from spells should be stripped off (AMF?), we can still delay any fear affects long enough to win most fights.
Horrific Aura's üassive effect only works against creatures with <6HD and thus is irrelevant at this lvl. But the aura can be used actively (CHA-modifier/day) as a touch attack that can panic and bypass fear immunity. (no limitation mentioned regarding the type of fear immunity)
By RAW Reflective Fear only reflects those fear effects that we successfully save against. Since we'll use immunities against fear (e.g. Death's Chosen; Veil of Undead;...) this wouldn't work. RAI may differ here.
Heightened Spell allows to raise the spell lvl and thus DC of all the spells we wanna persist. This makes even low lvl spells like Sanctum very powerful again. Combine with a heightened Kiss of Draconic Defiance and we will shut down most attempts to fight us back. Sole drawback here is, if Melbane wants to keep the Persisted Sanctum spell, she needs to avoid attacking herself (or she would need to recast a normal Sanctum with a free spellslot from Absorb Fear).
Our Dragonscale Husk's resistance increases up to 10 which is still nice to have against natural hazards.
(At lvl 16) Bane is very pleased with our work so far. As such he bestows a last final gift upon us to shows all his glory.
Yoshi picks up Epic Leadership as his next feat(s). Remember the Army of Fleshrakers we had created a long while ago? Gather em all at a shrine of Bane. Cast Desecrate (2nd) on the shrine and cast Undeath after Death (7th) on each of em (may need a few days depending on how many Fleshrakers you have; we don't need to rush it). Now sacrifice all their life force to Bane so that they all return as Fleshraker - Beast of Bane - Crypt-Spawns under your control (touch of hate). Since Crypt Spawn is applied last it changes their Advancement to "by Class"! There you have Yoshi's followers and his cohort.^^
And if you want, possess one of em with Magic Jar. Become the Prime Alpha Beast of Bane xD
Finally (20th lvl) Melbane is able to avoid death herself. She casts Hide Life and squeeze all her life force into her little toe and cuts its off. As long as the toe remains unharmed she can't be killed by normal means (Hp dmg). Remind you that the spell is sharable! To hide the toe(s), she needs to make some preparations:
1. Buy a scroll of Genesis (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/genesis.htm) (9th)
2. Cast Wish: "Moment of Prescience" (+17 insight) and Loresong (+12 competence; Dragon #335) to get +29 to UMD
3. with max CHA (27= +8) we automatically pass the 37 UMD DC for the scroll: +8 +29 + 1d20 = min. 38
4. cast Forbiddance to prevent any attempts to get in via teleportation/plane shift/...
5. cast Watchware on the toe(s) (permanent duration!) and on a prepared stone for Stone Walk.
6. use Yoshi (as incorporeal ghost) to burrow the toe(s) into the stone and then the stone into the ground.
7. leave some "Fleshraker - Beast of Bane - Cypt Spawns" as eternal guards on the demiplane
8. use Miracle/Wish to cast Private Sanctum and Permanency. Nobody shall ever know that this demiplane exists! ^^
9. use Stone Walk teleportation stones to get out together with Yoshi.
No one should be able to enter our private demiplane or even know that it exists. And if somehow anyone should be even touching either the "stone" or the "toe", we know who and where and can Plane Shift + Stone Walk to the prepared stone.
So let me remind you of the question:
Who's the Boss?
Is it Melbane, because she technically owns all the fleshrakers? Or is it Yoshi, who is very powerful himself and raises an even more powerful spawn cohort himself? Or maybe is it Yoshi's cohort who can also advance by class? What do you think?^^
I hope you all enjoyed this silly build and I am curious about all your feedback. =)
This is my newest high Theoretical Optimization showcase and let me tell you..., after the complains that my last PO build was to simple and lacking, I did go all out here. So I really mean HIGH TO here. This build will scare the sh*t outta you and his enemies.
So a lil DISCLAIMER here for those who stepped in here by accident: This build is not intended to play!
Once the build hits lvl 10, it starts to escalate very quickly. Thus, don't burden your DM and fellow players with this build. With that being said...
D,D,D&D productions proudly presents...
Melbane
-
Bane's Chosen "Pawn of a Spawn"
a (Cleric) Shaman of Bane build
Background-story:
Melbane was born as a shaman's daughter into a lil barbaric tribe which recently converted to worship Bane. They used to worship Demogorgon (Demon), but some missionaries of Bane managed to convince the tribe that he is much more worth to be worshiped.
All this influences the way Melbane is raised. On one hand she learned some basics about religion to become a priestess of Bane (Knowledge Religion), on the other hand she still learned much more about her own tribe's culture. Perform: Dancing; Knowledge Arcane (aka shamanism); Tumble). Due to all this, she will never be a typical cleric of Bane. Her shaman culture vibes are to present.
But what's important is her dedication to Bane. And Melbane is totally FANATIC when it comes to this topic (Bane). All that while she knows so little about him (Knowledge Religion: 1 ...). Let's all hope that this doesn't lead into unexpected situations in the future...^^
(The build's fluff plays a bit with the relationship between deities, devils and demons (it's a D,D&D build^^). While most of the time these 3 are in conflict, sometimes there are collaborations and even pacts.
According to some Forgotten Realm wiki there are Dark Pacts between Bane and Asmodeus. While it ain't further explained, I used it here as base. I pretend that this build is kinda part of one of these pacts where Bane & Asmodeus (both L-E) try to steal powers from the demons to be used for their evil plans. But the Demons are not blind. While deities and devil think that everything goes according to their plan, they open up more opportunities for Demons to bring chaos to the word. So it's really unclear who is profiting here the most. I hope you enjoy the lil fluff added here and there.)
(Oh wait, I also have a dragon ingredient (silverbrow human). This means, it's a D,D,D & D build^^)
Main Goals:
A) We want to make Fear effects as strong and reliable as possible, and want to profit from em as much as possible.
B) The build intends to have the strongest possible Animal Companion with it's own (strongest possible) cohort.
While the main build is already broken enough I just wanted to showcase the possibilities with Leadership here. I'm not gonna fully build the cohort (to keep the showcase short). But you will get an idea of it's strong base abilities that you can further build upon. Further the cohort can use many of the tactics the Animal Companion uses. So, you should be able to get an idea of how strong a possible cohort with this character build can become. We can effectively get a 20th lvl cohort before hitting lvl 20 with the main build. If that ain't broken I dunno xD
C) Adding anything meaningful to the Beast of Bane template. Since it gives a special accelerated Advancement progression, normal Uber Animal Companion stuff for progression becomes irrelevant. Thus the most obvious upgrade would be to persist strong cleric spells here (since the Touch of Hate feat already requires cleric casting). We will try to capitalize on this for further cheese.
D) Try to have as much mechanical and fluff synergy and interactions between the main character and the animal companion as possible.
E) Become as hard to kill as possible for this build
F) Mixing divine (bane), demonic, devilish and draconic powers into a single build to achieve all of the above mentioned goals.
Cleric 10 / Human Paragon 3 / Death's Chosen 1 / Spelldancer 1 / Dread Witch 5
Race: Silverbrow Human
Alignment: L-E
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 12
INT: 12
WIS: 16 (main stat: +5 lvlUp +5 Wish +6 item = 32)
CHA: 14 (secondary stat: +5 Wish +6 item + 2 Human Paragon = 27)
* Entering Spelldancer:
We need to get Mobility either as Armor enchantment (Bracers of Armor +1 + Mobility) or to take it as flaw. I suggest the item solution, since it ain't so front-loaded with feats and you don't need to take a flaw. The bracers also allow for additional special armor abilities, which makes it the more interesting choice here imho.
** Entering Dread Witch:
Here we need to temporary exchange our domain via Substitute Domain (2nd lvl spell) to the Hatred domain. Because that contains the spell Scare which is a spell requirement along the Fear spell.
The Fear spell is picked up via Divine Magician at lvl 8.
LVL
Class
BAB
For
Ref
Wil
Skills
Feats
Class Features
1st
Human Paragon 1
+0
+0
+0
+2
Concentration: 4
K. (arcane): 3
K. (religion): 1
Perform: 4
Spellcraft: 4
Tumble: 4
Combat Casting
Dodge
Adaptive Learning:
Perform
2nd
Cleric 1
No Turning:
Shaman
(dragon #353)
Divine Magician
(Complete Mage)
Dragonscale Husk
(Dragon Magic)
+0
+2
+0
+4
Concentration: 5
Perform: 5
Spellcraft: 5
Animal Companion:
(pick any)
Dragonscale Husk:
+6 armor bonus
Domains:
Envy
3rd
Cleric 2
+1
+3
+0
+5
Concentration: 6
Perform: 6
Spellcraft: 6
Violate Spell
(BoVD)
4th
Cleric 3
+2
+3
+1
+5
Concentration: 7
Perform: 7
Spellcraft: 7
Dragonscale Husk:
+7 armor bonus
5th
Cleric 4
+3
+4
+1
+6
Concentration: 8
Perform: 8
Spellcraft: 8
6th
Cleric 5
+3
+4
+1
+6
Concentration: 9
Perform: 9
Spellcraft: 9
Initiate of Bane
(PGtF)
Dragonscale Husk:
(5 acid/cold/electricity/fire resistance)
7th
Cleric 6
+4
+5
+2
+7
Concentration: 10
Perform: 10
Spellcraft: 10
Dragonscale Husk:
+8 armor bonus
8th
Cleric 7
+5
+5
+2
+7
Concentration: 11
Perform: 11
Spellcraft: 11
9th
Cleric 8
+6
+6
+2
+8
Concentration: 12
Perform: 12
Spellcraft: 12
Extend Spell
Animal Companion:
(Fleshraker)
10th
Human Paragon 2
+7
+6
+2
+9
Concentration: 13
Perform: 13
Spellcraft: 13
Spot: 2 (+2)
Touch of Hate
(PGtF)
Bonus Feat
11th
Death's Chosen 1
+8
+8
+2
+9
Perform:* 14 (+2)
Spot: 3
Endurance
Shield of the Master
Vigor of the Chosen
(Endurance bonus feat)
12th
Spelldancer* 1
+8
+8
+4
+11
Concentration: 15 (+2)
Perform: 15
Spellcraft: 15 (+2)
Persistent Spell
Spelldance
13th
Dread Witch** 1
+8
+8
+4
+13
Concentration: 16
Perform: 16
Spellcraft: 16
Master of Terror
Unnatural Will
14th
Dread Witch 2
+9
+8
+4
+14
Concentration: 17
Perform: 17
Spellcraft: 17
Absorb Fear
15th
Dread Witch 3
+9
+9
+5
+14
Concentration: 18
Perform: 18
Spellcraft: 18
Reach Spell
(Complete Divine)
Fearful Empowerment 1/day
16th
Dread Witch 4
+10
+9
+5
+15
Concentration: 19
Perform: 19
Spellcraft: 19
Delay Fear
Greater Master of Terror
17th
Dread Witch 5
+10
+9
+5
+15
Concentration: 20
Perform: 20
Spellcraft: 20
Fearful Empowerment 2/day
Horrific Aura
Reflective Fear
18th
Human Paragon 3
+11
+10
+6
+15
Concentration: 21
Perform: 21
Spellcraft: 21
Spot: 5 (+2)
Heightened Spell
Ability Score Bonus:
CHA +2
19th
Cleric 9
+11
+10
+7
+15
Concentration: 22
Perform: 22
Spellcraft: 22
Dragonscale Husk: +9 armor bonus
20th
Cleric 10
+12
+11
+7
+16
Concentration: 23
Perform: 23
Spellcraft: 23
Dragonscale Husk:
(10 acid/cold/electricity/fire resistance)
Spells per Day/Spells Known
Level
0lvl
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
1st
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2nd
3
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3rd
4
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4th
4
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5th
5
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6th
5
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
7th
5
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
-
8th
6
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
-
9th
6
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
-
10th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
-
11th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
12th
6
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
-
13th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
-
15th
6
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
-
16th
6
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
-
17th
6
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
-
18th
6
5+1
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
-
19th
6
5+1
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
3+1
2+1
-
20th
6
5+1
5+1
5+1
5+1
4+1
4+1
3+1
2+1
1+1
Spells:
I'll be listing some notable spells for the build along with the Envy domain spells; the spells selected with Divine Magician; and the spells from Initiate of Bane. But befor we get to the actual spells, I want to talk about an Animal Companion's (or Familiar's) "Share Spell" ability a bit:
Share Spells (Ex): At the druid's option, she may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) she casts upon herself also affect her animal companion. The animal companion must be within 5 feet of her at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the animal companion if the companion moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the animal again, even if it returns to the druid before the duration expires. Additionally, the druid may cast a spell with a target of "You" on her animal companion (as a touch range spell) instead of on herself. A druid and her animal companion can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the companion's type (animal).
Note the differences between the two options to share spells. Only the (additional) second option actually requires the "target of YOU" and that this ain't part of the first (main) option.
For the main option the sole limitation is a "spell she casts upon herself", an undefined term in 3.5.
Spells that are "centered on YOU" are effective cast upon yourself. This is because the first option doesn't rely on "you" as "target".
While we can't cast these spells directly upon the AC (since they lack the target "you" most of the time), as long as it stays within 5ft it can profit from the spell. This allows spells like Aura of Terror to be shared as shown below.
(E)nvy Domain
(D)ivine Magician
(I)nitiate of Bane Feat
* = Persistable (@lvl 12)
** = Persistable with Reach Spell (@lvl 15)
# = Sharable with Animal Companion (limited to 5ft distance)
## = can be cast and shared directly onto the AC (has target: "you"); note that I haven't included touch spells (they can already be cast directly onto your AC like on any other creature) and that I sole marked those that sole work by sharing.
1st:
Disguise Self (E) *## - a really nice tool for this build. stops enemies from recognizing you from afar until it's too late^^
True Casting (D) - addresses any possible Spell Resistance issues
Sanctuary **# - can be persisted (and later hightened) to keep us save from most enemy attacks and (targeted) spells.
2nd:
Ray of Enfeeblement (E) - ranged touch attack that deals STR dmg; not bad but not great either
Detect Thoughts (D) *#- can be persisted and just to good to pass for regular social interactions. Also a nice option to detect foes. Nothing escapes Bane's Judgement!
Shield Other - mainly used in a combo to let our Animal Companion cast it onto Melbane.
Desecrate - mainly to give created undead up to +2HP / HD; use before "Ghost Companion" and "Undead after Dead"
Substitute Domain - Used to enter Dread With by changing our domain to the Hatred domain which contains "Scare"
3rd:
Touch of Idiocy (E) - great domain spell against spellcasters
Ghostly Companion (D) - mandatory for some build combos (see below in the Animal Companion spoiler).
Mystic Lash (I) * - electrical whip with up to 4d6 electricity dmg that stuns on a failed Fort. save; Ranged (!) touch attacks up to 15ft; on successful attack, can be dropped to further attack on its own.
Girallon's Blessing **# - get an additional pair of hands with claws. Also allows our Fleshraker to cast spells with a somatic component. Also very broken with Perfect (Mutiweapon) TWF.
Forced Manifestation - forces/allows our ghost animal companion to fully manifest and become temporary corporeal. Can be abused for full melee combat if we lack a Necklace of Natural Weapons + Ghost Touch (and if we want to use the fleshraker form instead of devil forms for combat).
Venomfire - use it with Violate Spell on our Fleshraker. (Remind you that "Yoshi" keeps his poison ability while trasformed into devils)
Adoration of the Frightful *# - aura turns anyone with a fear effect into friendly! Auto-win on a failed save. Only breaks if you attack the target itself, not when you attack its allies!
Rain of Terror *# - (DM #348) no Save no SR; 100ft range centered on you; -1/4 clvl penalty to fear saves (-5 max).
4th:
Vampiric Touch (E) - nice tool to deal dmg and heal up at the same time
Fear (D) - requirement for entering Dread Witch.
Sheltered Vitality**# - used to spelldance more often (infinite spelldance if persisted); persistable @lvl 15; gets exchanged @lvl 18 with Veil of Death
Consumptive Field *# - used mainly to make dispell attempts against our persisted spells harder; use free spellslots from Abosrb Fear to cast enough Summon Monster I or II each morning to start your day with a full buffed CF.
Dampen Magic **# - can be later persisted (with Reach Spell) and can produce an AMF (with 1/5 the remaining duration) if needed.
Divine Power *## - only needed in ghost form (or for Melbane herself) for Yoshi, since the other types (beast & outsider) provide already full BAB.
Tongues **# - mainly to allow our fleshraker to speak and to cast spells with a verbal component. (note that Infernal Transf. gives the ability to speak Infernal and thus doesn't rely on this spell to cast spells)
Lesser Infernal Transformation *## - transform the AC into a Bearded Devil all day long; required for Mark of Nessus (more info in the Animal Companion section)
Imbue with Spell Ability - give Yoshi: Sanctum (1st); Cure LW (1st) and Shield Other *
Shield Other is the real gem here. Since Yoshi will have plenty of HD (and each one is a d12 + 2 from desecrate) he can easily absorb half of the damage that Melbane would take.
Sanctum (the spell) is intended as gap filler, if Melbane should attack and not immediately recast Sanctum spell (e.g. with her free spellslot from Absorb Fear).
CLW is meant as emergency heal. And if you wanna be cheesy, argue that spell's from IwSA also create a "spell list" (undefined in 3.5 compared to "spells known") and that his enables Yoshi to use CLW wands..^^
5th:
Curshing Despair (E) - debuff spell; not really worth the action to cast it imho..
Watchware (D) - best used on the toe from "Hide Life" (9th); (combo is at the end of the snapshots)
Battletide (I) ## - great combat starter; besides from some minor modifiers, this gives either a free extra attack or a free quickened spell each turn up to 5th lvl (clvl dependent). (see snapshot)
Spell Resistance **# - gives 12+ clvl Spell Resistance all day long (when persisted).
True Seeing **# - we can persist it and thus become immune to illusions 24/7.
Revivify - restore life to a creature that died within the last round; stable at -1 HP; Used to abuse Ghost Companion*
Ghost Companion turns Yoshi into a Ghost for days/caster level (extend for double duration!). At the end of the spell's duration it really dies. To pevent this we will rely on Revivify, since it is the cheapest and easiest solution here. Just (kill) sacrifice Yoshi to Bane and Revivify him immediately. Finally note that the Ghost has a Rejuvenation ability to return back to life after 2d4 days. The required level check (1d20 + ghost’s HD) against DC 16 will become an automatic succeess once he is fead enough (Feed ability). But the time it takes for him to come back could interfere with the remaining duration. Thus it is best adviced to prematurely end the spell with 8 days duration left to be on the safe side. Otherwise we risk to lose our Yoshi forever. While we can get a new and fresh Yoshi within 24h of prayer, it would be a fresh one as said. Thus if you don't wanna lose all the accumulated Advancement of Yoshi, recast the combo always when the duration is nearing "8 days left".
Finally note that Ghost Companion has an inbuild trap. This is because if any spell gets dispelled, it counts as if the spells duration has ended. ("A dispelled spell ends as if its duration had expired."). Thus Yoshi would die if it gets dispelled. To prevent this, make sure to cast GC when full buffed by (Gr.) Consumptive Field, since that increases our clvl and thus makes it harder for dispelling.
6th:
Magic Jar (E) - a rare spell in the hands of a cleric; if you want we can abuse it to possess an enemy or one of the Fleshrakers from the Beast of Bane army, maybe even a crypt spawn with class lvls
Aura of Terror (D) *# - either gives or improves (+2DC and frightful instead of shaken) Frightful Presence; share it with Yoshi
Stone Walk (I) - link 2 stones (undefined size!) to each other to be used for teleporting on command word; a stone can be linked multiple times (with other stones). Each use/charge can transport 1 + 1/3 clvl medium sized creatures; limited charges (1/4 clvl) but still very spellslot efficient!
Eye's of the Oracle *## - allows to ready a free action each turn until expanded; has so many abuse options.
7th:
Limited Wish (E) - I hope I don't need to explain why it's great for a Cleric to have access to this spell
Kiss of Draconic Defiance (D) *# - can be persisted and prevents enemies from casting spells (40ft) unless they manage a Fortitude save! most casters have low Fortitude saves and combined with "Sanctum" this will make it very hard for most enemies to fight back.
Undeath after Death (I) - if the target creature dies, it comes back as a Crypt Spawn; can and will be used to create an undead beast army (see Yoshi's Leadership feats)
Infernal Transformation *## - transform the AC into a Bone Devil. Use this option (for Mark of Nessus) if you want to mount your AC.
Veil of Undeath *## - gives many undead traits without actually being one (and thus we are't affected by turn effects). Nice to become immune to some of the cohorts abilities (mainly fear).
(Gr.) Consumptive Field *# - always nice when persisted; again we use Absorb Fear fulled Summon Monster to get full buffed in the morning.
8th:
Simulacrum (E) - as if the build wasn't broken enough; if you feel like you need more cheese, here you go...
Mind Blank # (D) - for obvious reasons; immunity to mind-affecting and divination effects
9th:
Wish (E) - access to Wish & Miracle in a single build, what else could you wish for?^^
Hide Life ## (D) - hide your life into one of your toes (and cut it off) and become unkillable by normal means as long as your toe is safe. (more on this at the end of the snapshots)
Animal Companion: "Yoshi"
Our lil Yoshi (fleshraker) does evolve over time multiple times. Since our Animal Companion (AC) will later obtain a special advancement ability (Feed), I won't showcase the "normal" progression for AC but more the specific stuff that is going on in this build.
Warbeast Template (Handle Animal skill)
This gives some minor buffs. Most notably all 3 armor proficiency feats. Nice to have. Guidance of the Avatar should help with the Handle Animal checks needed for the template (and to train the AC some tricks).
Beast of Bane Template (Touch of Hate feat)
(Template can be found in: "Shadowdale - The Souring of the Land")
This is the first gamebreaker in the build. It gives our AC a Frightful Presence ability which has some nice synergy with the main build (more on this further below). But the most important part here is the "Feed" ability. For each 3 humanoids it kills and eats it gains a bonus HD. This will escalate the HD progression of our AC very fast. It should soon have more HD then Melbane herself.
Note that the first 3 Ability Score increases should be invested into INT to get INT:5, which is the minimum requirement for "Imbue with Spell Ability" to cast spells. After that I would suggest to invest all further increases into CHA to further increase several ability DC's. But you can also invest into STR if you wanna use Yoshi more as Ubercharger.
Finally we will invest the first 9 skillpoints into Knowledge (plains) while any points after that will be invested into Survival.
Ghost Template (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/ghost.htm) (Ghost Companion spell)
This is the second gamebreaker in the build. Besides from all the base goodies in this template it also allows to pick up to 3 (1d3 roll? dunno..) Special Attacks. Since I'm unsure if we have to roll the amount or can freely chose the amount I will list 3 suggestions listed by priority:
(Note that all 3 are SU and thus bypass SR and don't provoke any AoO!)
(1) Frightful Moan
At will standard action that panics anyone in 30ft on a failed will save (DC = 10 base + 1/2 HD + CHA). Unless the creature is fear immune this will easily win most fights in a single action (due to the high HD scaling and thus high DC in this build).
(2) Malevolence
Basically at will Magic Jar without the jar. (DC = 15 + CHA)
The "at will" part is what makes this a really broken ability.
(3) Corrupting Gaze
Gaze ability that affects passively everyone in 30ft at the beginning of their turn or when actively used (standard action) by our AC. 2d10 dmg + 1d4 CHA dmg on a failed Fortitude save (DC = 10 base + 1/2 HD + CHA).
An ongoing ability that can be enabled/disabled at will.
Enemis can subvert their eyes (50% chance to ingore the effect but Yoshi has effectively concealment) or even close their eyes (100% chance to ignore the effect but he blinds himseld and thus Yoshi has effectively Full Concealment) when they try fight Yoshi.
Becoming a Devil ((Lesser) Infernal Transformation)
Note that (L.) Infernal Transformation ain't a polymorph-subschool spell and thus only cares for its own rule text!
While it changes our type and subtype it otherwise leaves our Ghost template untouched. Thus we become a Bearded/Bone Devil Ghost that is corporeal (since we did lose the incorporeal subtype). * see spoiler below
We become an Outsider and have the subtypes (baatezu, evil, lawful) to qualify for the following two feats. Note that "devil" is barely defined in core (but in BoVD).The most known are baatezu. Gaining the "baatezu" subtype should technically qualify Yoshi as a devil. The baatezu subtype gives the following traits:
Baatezu Traits: Unless otherwise noted, a baatezu can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has a language. In addition, it can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell. A baatezu is immune to fire and poison, and it has acid resistance 20 and cold resistance 20.
We use this trick (ideally persisted L. Infernal Transformation) to qualify for Mark of Nessus as soon as possible. Soon after that we'll pick up Hellsworn to always have the extraplanar subtype and to call the Nine Hells our homeplane. *see spoiler
1. Brand of the Nine Hells: Asmodeus
3/day Command SLA; just a feat tax, move on...
Note that Yoshi now has sworn fealty to Asmodeus (in his lifetime...)
2. Mark of Nessus
This is another gamebreaker. Anyone who tries to target Yoshi with an attack or spell or an ability needs to pass a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 HD + CHA). It's like an improved Sanctuary spell, just that it is always on (even if Yoshi attacks) and that the DC scales with 1/2 HD. Sole downside is, if the enemy should manage to pass the save, he becomes immune for the next 24h. Due to the high DC this will be rarely the case. At higher (Yoshi) levels this will stop anything without immunity to mind-affecting abilities. (Note: while the ability lacks the "mind-affecting" tag, imho the mind-affecting mechanics are present and thus this falls under the immunites that e.g. Mind Blank would grant).
(Also note that this makes Yoshi also kinda immune to targeted dispell attemps, which is important because of Ghost Companion. Area Dispells on the other hand only dispell a single spell per creature and starts its attempts with the highest lvls spell and if it fails goes down the line. Remind you that we try to cast Ghost Comp. fully buffed by (Gr.) Consumptive Field and probable will persist a dozen and more spells. Thus it is very unlikely that an AoE dispell will hit the vurnable spot here.)
3. Evil Brand
feat tax
4. Weapon Focus (unarmed strike)
another feat tax
5. Hellsworn
Gives Yoshi the extraplanar subtype and lets him fully migrate to the Nine Hells as homeplane. This enables him some extra cheese together with (L.) Infernal Transformation *see spoiler
First let me tell you why it is important to keep Yoshi "alive" and why we don't just get a new one (with 24h prayer). Because we want to perserve its Advancement from its Feed abiltiy. A new Beast of Bane would start with normal HD (and thus feats) again and we try to avoid that at all costs!
I feel like that the type pyramid rule gets often overlooked from my experience (in games and in the forum as well). And imho it is kinda messy at first glance. But let me first remind you that the rule only applies to Templates and not to other kind of effects that change your type (e.g. spells and abilities).
This is important here because (Lesser) Fiendish Transformation does not get rid of the Ghost template. It only overwrites the types and subtypes which makes the build lose the incorporeal subtype. While the template may count as an ongoing effect I dunno if that also applies to its type change. But even if it would, the type Pyramid forbids it to make any changes since it is a template and we are temporary an outsider now.
By adding Hellsworn into the mix Yoshi becomes a full fledged demon that can only be killed on his homeplane the Nine Hells. This is because we are now an extraplanar Outsider and our body and soul build a unit. And due to Hellsworn (and general outsider type rules) our soul (and thus body) gets dragged to the Nine Hells when we get slain outside of the Nine Hells. Remind you that the Hellsworn feat is an ongoing effect that constantly reapplies its effect as long as we qualify for the Prerequisites (feats + being evil) and thus still works after Infernal Transformation is applied.
Finally also note that Yoshi also can't even be killed on the Nine Hells. This is because his Rejuvenation ability from his Ghost template is still there to prevent it. He will still return after 2d4 days even when "slain/destroyed" in the Nine Hells.
If Yoshi should somehow end up on the Nine Hells, Melbane can easily pick him up. Just prepare a pair of small stones with Stone Walk beforehand and give one to each. When Yoshi now gets slain, Melbane can easily Plane Shift and use then the (greater) teleportation from the stones to get to him. Then she can use Plane Shift again to get em back to the material plane.
Other Feats of Interest:
I'll add some more interesting feat suggestions, further numbered by importance. Your opinion may vary here. So if you want to focus on melee combat, you are free to alter the feat progression here.
6. Willing Deformity
+3 bonus on Intimidate. a feat tax, move on..
7. Abominable Form
Another passive ability that lets enemies become shaken if they view Yoshi. This stacks with Frightful Presence, effectively "frightening" everyone who see him. (DC = 15 +2 for each Deformity feat) The Dc is a bit low compared to the other DCs in the build tho. But still nice to have.
8. Lifesense
Living creatures become effectively a light source in the eyes of Yoshi! No living creature will be able to hide (and will have a hard time figuring out why they can't..^^). "I see living humanoids..." (pun intended)
9. Mindsight
Intelligent undead and and sometimes even contructs are a thing in 3.5. Thus better be prepared to always notice em.
10. Ordered Chaos
Lets Yoshi also count as Chaotic for any effect or requirement. Needed for the next two feats.
11. Thrall to Demon
1/day while doing evil gain a +1 luck bonus on any one attack roll, saving throw, ability check, skill check, or level check. Feat tax.
12. Abyss-Bound Soul: Demogorgon
The next gamebreaker. With pledging Yoshi's immortal soul to Demogorgon, he obtains the ability to summon a Tanar'ri 1/day (max HD = 1/2 HD of Yoshi) for 1h duration that follows his commands. Sooner or later Yoshi will be able to summon any Tanar'ri once he is feat up enough (bonus HD from Feed). Theoretically even unique Tanar'ri could be summoned this way.
Yoshi now has pledged his immortal soul to Demogorgon when he dies. But will he ever die...? *muahahahahah*
13. Deformity (Tall)
Gives +5t reach while in medium sized forms (e.g. Fleshraker or Bearded Devil form). Also boosts Abominable Form's DC indirectly with +2.
14. Deformity (Tongue)
Gives Scent which adds to the Track feat of the Fleshraker base. This is the reason to put all remaining skillpoints (1 / bonus HD) (after raising K. planes up to 9) into Survival. Over time nothing will escape Yoshi's tacking skills. Also another indirect +2 DC bonus for Abominable Form.
Melee Feats of Interest:
15. Power Attack
16. Imp. Bullrush
17. Shocktrooper - staple ubercharger feat(s)
18. Improved Unarmed Strike: allows Yoshi to combine unarmed Iterative Attacks along with its Natural Attacks
19. - 22. Improved -/Greater -/Perfect -/ TWF: gain as many offhand attacks as main attacks
23. Prehensile Tail: treats the Felshraker/Bone Devil tail as 3rd hand, thus another offhand for trippling our attacks gained from our mainhand.
Fluff Feat of Interest:
24. Life Bound: small buff to saves. sole mentioned because of the fitting fluff here. Yoshi benefits from the life force of its living master Melbane.
Any remaning Feats:
25+. Epic Charisma: all relevant abilities scare with CHA. Unless you wanna go the full Ubercharger route, this is the most recommended choice here.
It's all about Leadership!:
**. Leadership + Epic Leadership - I suggest to wait with this until the main build hits LVL 16 to pick these (remember that the Animal Companion doesn't level linear with the main build. thus I can't tell where in the above order you would squeeze em in), because we want to wait until we unlock 7th lvl spells (Undeath after Death).
With Undeath after Death we can add the Crypt Spawn template to our (Beast of Bane) Fleshraker army (remind you to create em with Desecrate as a shrine of Bane to give em +2HP/HD). This allows em to advance by class which makes an excellent base for a fitting cohort (and maybe some higher lvl followers). Note that due to the Feed ability it can bypass the normal limitation for a cohort's advancement:
The character can attract a cohort of up to this level. Regardless of a character’s Leadership score, he can only recruit a cohort who is two or more levels lower than himself. The cohort should be equipped with gear appropriate for its level. A character can try to attract a cohort of a particular race, class, and alignment. The cohort’s alignment may not be opposed to the leader’s alignment on either the law-vs-chaos or good-vs-evil axis, and the leader takes a Leadership penalty if he recruits a cohort of an alignment different from his own.
Cohorts earn XP as follows:
The cohort does not count as a party member when determining the party’s XP.
Divide the cohort’s level by the level of the PC with whom he or she is associated (the character with the Leadership feat (https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Feats) who attracted the cohort).
Multiply this result by the total XP awarded to the PC and add that number of experience points to the cohort’s total.
If a cohort gains enough XP to bring it to a level one lower than the associated PC’s character level, the cohort does not gain the new level—its new XP total is 1 less than the amount needed attain the next level.
The first rule limits only the level the cohort may have a the moment of attaction and recruiting.
The last rule only applies when gaining "XP "and while being "a level one lower". With the Feed ability we can bypass this softcap and by RAW later ignore the restriction, since the cohort will never be "a level one lower" compared to the master again.
The sole real RAW issue here is what happens if the feat holder ain't getting XP itself since it is an Animal Companion belonging to a character (that maybe is in a party). The rules are silent regarding that possibility and a DM would need to judge if the cohort is able to gain further XP or not in this case... (not every problem can be solved within a showcase..^^).
But aside from that nothing stops us from giving Yoshi his own Fleshraker - Beast of Bane - Crypt Spawn cohort with class levels.
The cohort can be build similar to Yoshi (expect for the spell specific combos maybe). Imho the strongest class options here are either cleric or sorc/wiz casting classes. I think Sorc/Wiz casting would be the best matchup since the most powerful upgrade in 3.5 is access to more spells...^^
These are enough suggested feats for 81 bonus levels..I hope that this should be enough for the time being.. ^^
Gear & Items
Mostly common stuff and not really mandatory, except the Bracers of Armor + Mobility for entering Spelldancer.
If you wanna go the Ubercharger route for Yoshi, make sure to gather all posible charge multipliers:
- Necklacke of Natural Attacks + Valorous + Ghost Touch (for claws and unarmed strikes = x2 price)
- option to fly while corporeal to make dive attacks
- Sandals of the Tiger's Leap
This results in a x3 multiplier for both unarmed strikes and any other piercing/slashing weapon (e.g. claws).
Ability Score increases from items are to be expected. Mainly WIS and CHA for Melbane. If you wanna build an Uberchager Yoshi then buy him a STR item too.
And when it comes to "inherit" Ability Score increases, we will rely on Wish scrolls which we can use thanks to the Envy domain. And with a full boosted Consumptive Field, Melbane should be easily able to pass the caster level check even on earlier levels. With this combo she can save a lot of money by sharing the Wish scrolls with Yoshi.
Also remind you that Yoshi has all 3 armor proficiencies, thus buy him some nice armor if you want.
Snapshots:
LVL: 1 <-> 5
We start out as a simple tribe warrior (Human Paragon) on her way to become a Shaman of Bane. As soon as she offically becomes a Shaman, Bane gifts her a (Dragon)scale Husk as sign of her chosen destiny.
A bunch of feat taxes and a lost caster level. Otherwise we are more or less a cleric. Except for the lack of Turn/Rebuke Undead. Instead we gain an Animal Companion (cleric lvls count as 1/2 druid lvls). For the time is doesn't matter which one. (e.g. wolf if you want a combat animal or a horse if you want a mount. I would recommended a wolf for the time being). The AC brings enough power so that the spell progression lost due to Human Paragon ain't hurting us to much.
LVL 6 <-> 10
Initiate of Bane gives us access to Mystic Lash. This weaponlike spell stuns on a failed Will save and will easily carry us trough most low lvl fights.
Later we get access to Battletide which gives either a free extra attack or a free quickening on a spell up to 5th lvl (scales with clvl). This increases our action economy in combat greatly. Especially if our Animal Companion remains near to us and we share the spell. This allows it to quicken it's spells from "Imbue with Spell Ability"
Our Dragonscale Husk further improves and now even provides us with 5 resistance to fire, cold, acid and lightning.
We also exchange (lvl9: effective Druid lvl 4) our AC into a Fleshraker (named Yoshi). And soon after that (lvl10) we turn it into a Beast of Bane (template). Our combat power has a sudden increase. Yoshi can now advance faster than Melbane by eating the corpses of its humanoid victims (Feed ability).
But before we get our (final) Yoshi, we pray for as many fleshrakers (24h prayer for each) as we have downtime after hitting lvl 10. Turn every one of em into a Beast of Bane. Since the Touch of Hate ability provides us with full command over it, we can release it as AC and pray for the next AC. With this we can build an army of Fleshraker - Beasts of Bane under our command. It's unclear imho if they count towards party size and xp or not. Imho they shouldn't since they are under mental control and can't get xp and lvl by class in the first place (otherwise any mind controlled foe would count towards party xp). If the DM should decide against it, you could still use em to defend stuff while you are away, or even sent em on simple side missions (keep the INT 3 limitation in mind). We will have more use for em later on.
LVL 11 <-> 15
Who's the boss?
Soon Melbane starts to realize and acknnowledge the supremacy of Yoshi and Yoshi in return accepts her as henchmen. (Death's Chosen). Yoshi is pleased that Melbane noticed his superiority and thus grants her immunity to any of his abilities. Melbane becomes more and more obsessed with Yoshi. So much that she barely needs to sleep (2h) and eat (Vigor of the Chosen). Note that divine casters don't need 8h rest like some arcane casters do. Divine casters just pray at a specific daytime. Thus we can fully abuse this stay up for 22h each day. Melbane and Yosi won't let their enemies rest and will be almost constantly on the hunt (to kill more infidels).
Spelldancer and Reach Spell allows for a wide variety of spells that can be persisted as cleric.
Finally we enter Dead Witch to gain a bunch of fear improving and related stuff.
Most notably here is Absorb Fear. Any time a fear effect tries to affect Melbane, she gains either a small and short buff or (what is more important) a free spellslot to cast immediately a spell (within 1 round/CHA-modifier). The free spellslot's level is determined by the fear effect's possible strength (if we would have failed the save!): shaken = cantrip; frightened = 1st lvl; paniced = 2nd lvl.
Combined with Yoshi's "Frightful Moan" ability this means infinite spellslots for spells up to 2nd lvl, when Yoshi uses the ability. Without that we can still get free 1st lvl spells for possibly being frightened by Yoshi's Firghtful Presence (boosted by an Aura of Terror). This allows for all sort of abuse in and outside of combat. And the best part it, the spell doesn't need to be prepared. Thus full access to 1st and 2nd lvl spells all day long.
Fearful Empowerment (1/day) is another nice ability for this build that allows to add a fear effect to a spell. Imho best used on a persisted Mystic Lash. This results in 2 Will saves to avoid being stunned and/or becoming shaken.
LVL 16 <-> 20
We finally finish our mastery over fear.
Greater Master of Terror allows our fear spells and abilities to bypass any kind of fear immunity by RAW (unless the target is 4+ lvls higher than Melbane). RAI I think mindless beings should be excluded and only work on later gained immunities as in the paladin example. But RAW sadly doesn't point this trait explicitly out and doesn't exclude mindless stuff.
Remind you that we improve the Frightful Presence of Yoshi (which has a high DC scaling) via a shared Aura of Terror, which results in the aura being able to penetrate fear immunity too now and improves the fear effect up to frightened.
Delay Fear works as the name implies, delaying a fear effect up to CHA modifier in round. If somehow our fear protection from spells should be stripped off (AMF?), we can still delay any fear affects long enough to win most fights.
Horrific Aura's üassive effect only works against creatures with <6HD and thus is irrelevant at this lvl. But the aura can be used actively (CHA-modifier/day) as a touch attack that can panic and bypass fear immunity. (no limitation mentioned regarding the type of fear immunity)
By RAW Reflective Fear only reflects those fear effects that we successfully save against. Since we'll use immunities against fear (e.g. Death's Chosen; Veil of Undead;...) this wouldn't work. RAI may differ here.
Heightened Spell allows to raise the spell lvl and thus DC of all the spells we wanna persist. This makes even low lvl spells like Sanctum very powerful again. Combine with a heightened Kiss of Draconic Defiance and we will shut down most attempts to fight us back. Sole drawback here is, if Melbane wants to keep the Persisted Sanctum spell, she needs to avoid attacking herself (or she would need to recast a normal Sanctum with a free spellslot from Absorb Fear).
Our Dragonscale Husk's resistance increases up to 10 which is still nice to have against natural hazards.
(At lvl 16) Bane is very pleased with our work so far. As such he bestows a last final gift upon us to shows all his glory.
Yoshi picks up Epic Leadership as his next feat(s). Remember the Army of Fleshrakers we had created a long while ago? Gather em all at a shrine of Bane. Cast Desecrate (2nd) on the shrine and cast Undeath after Death (7th) on each of em (may need a few days depending on how many Fleshrakers you have; we don't need to rush it). Now sacrifice all their life force to Bane so that they all return as Fleshraker - Beast of Bane - Crypt-Spawns under your control (touch of hate). Since Crypt Spawn is applied last it changes their Advancement to "by Class"! There you have Yoshi's followers and his cohort.^^
And if you want, possess one of em with Magic Jar. Become the Prime Alpha Beast of Bane xD
Finally (20th lvl) Melbane is able to avoid death herself. She casts Hide Life and squeeze all her life force into her little toe and cuts its off. As long as the toe remains unharmed she can't be killed by normal means (Hp dmg). Remind you that the spell is sharable! To hide the toe(s), she needs to make some preparations:
1. Buy a scroll of Genesis (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/spells/genesis.htm) (9th)
2. Cast Wish: "Moment of Prescience" (+17 insight) and Loresong (+12 competence; Dragon #335) to get +29 to UMD
3. with max CHA (27= +8) we automatically pass the 37 UMD DC for the scroll: +8 +29 + 1d20 = min. 38
4. cast Forbiddance to prevent any attempts to get in via teleportation/plane shift/...
5. cast Watchware on the toe(s) (permanent duration!) and on a prepared stone for Stone Walk.
6. use Yoshi (as incorporeal ghost) to burrow the toe(s) into the stone and then the stone into the ground.
7. leave some "Fleshraker - Beast of Bane - Cypt Spawns" as eternal guards on the demiplane
8. use Miracle/Wish to cast Private Sanctum and Permanency. Nobody shall ever know that this demiplane exists! ^^
9. use Stone Walk teleportation stones to get out together with Yoshi.
No one should be able to enter our private demiplane or even know that it exists. And if somehow anyone should be even touching either the "stone" or the "toe", we know who and where and can Plane Shift + Stone Walk to the prepared stone.
So let me remind you of the question:
Who's the Boss?
Is it Melbane, because she technically owns all the fleshrakers? Or is it Yoshi, who is very powerful himself and raises an even more powerful spawn cohort himself? Or maybe is it Yoshi's cohort who can also advance by class? What do you think?^^
I hope you all enjoyed this silly build and I am curious about all your feedback. =)