PDA

View Full Version : Gestalt Build Chalenge XI: Skill-Monkey Business (VOTING OPEN)



Duke of URL
2008-04-08, 08:20 AM
GESTALT BUILD CHALLENGE XI: SKILL-MONKEY BUSINESS

"Ummm... I'll take care of the trapped chest while you guys fight the dragon, m'ok?"

"Gestalt Build Challenge" General Rules

Unless otherwise specified in the specific challenge, the following rules and guidelines are always in effect:
Gestalt builds; 28-point buy; use any WotC 3.5 product (including Dragon magazine) except where noted (only 3.0 products with an official upgrade to 3.5 are allowed)
Make all builds to ECL 20. However, indicate the minimum ECL the build is playable at (the level at which all LA and/or racial HD, if applicable, are accounted for) and label any level that indicates a "power break" where the build has a significant jump in power level. Provide a detailed description of how the build operates.
Any race with a listed level adjustment is allowed (no racial progressions from Savage Species, please). LA and HD each apply to one side of the gestalt; you may include LA and HD on the same side as each other, or on other sides. No LA buyoff. LA is applied before racial HD, which must be paid off before class levels on that side. Examples: LA X / RHD Y / class Z / ... // class A / ... -OR- LA X / class Y / ... // RHD A / class B / ...
Multiclass at will, but see "voting".
Up to two flaws are allowed, but see "voting".
Templates are allowed, but see "voting".
Voting: Upon the close of entries for each challenge, members of the forum may vote in-thread for the build that best represents the goals set out by the challenge. The voting criteria should consist of: Functionality: How well does the build do in its primary role as specified in the challenge? Weaknesses: Does the build have any glaring weaknesses that can be exploited? Playability: How much of the 1-20 level range can the build be played at and be effective? Creativity: Clever use of races, classes, and/or feats that may not be "typical" choices Cheese: Minimizing the number of cheese points Using flaws (1 point each) Ignoring mutliclassing penalties -- some DMs actually do enforce this in gestalt (1 point each) Single-level dips that would require several pages of justification to RP properly (1 point each) Templates that would require several pages of justification to RP properly (1 point per +1 LA) Attempting to use more than one PrC at any given level (1 point each) Attempting to use "dual progression" PrCs (1,000,000 points each) Over-dependence on items (1 point per indispensable item) Over-dependence on Diplomacy or Use Magic Device skills (1,000,000 points each)

"Skill-Monkey Business" Specific Rules
Entries may be submitted and edited up until noon PST on Tuesday, April 15, 2008.
Challenge Goal: Design the ultimate "skill monkey", that is, a support character who covers as much of the potential skill set as possible, and who handles much of the non-combat, non-magic party support. Support functions are first priority, then survivability, and only then the ability to hold his/her own in combat.
Please try to follow the format of the example (but also a legit entry) in the next post



Upcoming Challenges
In-core-eligible -- builds that don't use "core" races, classes, or feats
more to come... (I have some suggestions... I just need to write them up!)


Previous Challenges
Melee Masters (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3873051)
Great Gishes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71548)
The Urge To Theurge (http://www.giantitp.cof/forums/showthread.php?t=72444)
Army Of One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73021)
Invocation Vocation (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73539)
Double Dippers (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74253)
Home On The Range(d) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74764)
Vulnerable Villains (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75327)
Riders On The Storm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75928)
Magnificent Monsters (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76609)

Duke of URL
2008-04-08, 08:22 AM
Name: Bonzo the Consistent
Build: Human Rogue 16 / Marshal 1 / Cleric 1 / Shadowdancer 1 / Exemplar 1 // Warlock 6 / Monk 6 / Bard 8
Starting Ability Scores: STR 8, DEX 14, CON 8, INT 18, WIS 10, CHA 12
Cheese Points: 0 (4 if you count the 1-level dips, however, they're mostly in character)
Minimum Playable Level: 1
Power Break: Level 16 - By this point, 37 skills (all DEX-based, all STR-based, all Knowledge, UMD, and 14 others of Bonzo's choice) can always use "take 10"

{table]Level | Classes | Feat | Bonus Feat(s) | Class Features
1 | Rogue 1 // Warlock 1 | Nymph's Kiss | Able Learner | Trapfinding, Sneak Attack, Eldritch Blast
2 | Marshal 1 // Bard 1 | | Skill Focus (Diplomacy) | Minor Aura: Motivate Charisma, Bardic Knack, Bardic Music, Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage
3 | Cleric 1 // Bard 2 | Combat Reflexes | | Domain (Improved): Knowledge
4 | Rogue 2 // Monk 1 | | Defensive Metered Foot | Evasion, Unarmed Combat, Metered Style
5 | Rogue 3 // Monk 2 | | Offensive Metered Foot | Trap Sense
6 | Rogue 4 // Warlock 2 | Dodge | | Uncanny Dodge, Detect Magic
7 | Rogue 5 // Monk 3 | | |
8 | Rogue 6 // Warlock 3 | | | Damage Reduction
9 | Rogue 7 // Bard 3 | Mobility | | Inspire Competence
10 | Shadowdancer 1 // Monk 4 | | | Hide In Plain Sight
11 | Exemplar 1 // Warlock 4 | | | Skill Mastery (INT+1 skills) [6], Deceive Item
12 | Rogue 8 // Bard 4 | Skill Focus: Hide | | Improved Uncanny Dodge
13 | Rogue 9 // Monk 5 | | Toughness |
14 | Rogue 10 // Warlock 5 | | | Skill Mastery (INT+3 skills) [8]
15 | Rogue 11 // Bard 5 | Jack Of All Trades | |
16 | Rogue 12 // Monk 6 | | | Monk Style Bonus
17 | Rogue 13 // Warlock 6 | | | Skill Mastery (INT+3 skills) [9]
18 | Rogue 14 // Bard 6 | Savvy Rogue | | Suggestion
19 | Rogue 15 // Bard 7 | | |
20 | Rogue 16 // Bard 8 | | | Skill Mastery (INT+3 skills) [9][/table]

Class Notes

Rogue is the classic skill-monkey class, providing trapfinding, lots of skill points, evasion, and a way to boost damage if ever having to contribute to fighting. The special abilities at levels 10, 13, and 16 allow him to always "take 10" ("take 12" once Savvy Rogue is taken) on a large set of sleected skills.

Marshal gets a free skill focus feat and the Minor Aura. Any can really be selected, but Charisma powers some of the strongest abilities.

Cleric with Improved Domain (in lieu of 2 domains) in Knowledge grants the ability to "take 10" on Knowledge checks

Shadowdancer is included for its HIPS ability. It's much easier to survive if they can't find you.

Exemplar, at least level 1, is the perfect PrC for skill-monkeys.

Warlock gets detect magic at will, the ability to "take 10" in UMD, and access to invocations to boost skills (Beguiling Influence, Leaps and Bounds). Taking to 6th level avoids multiclassing penalty issues, plus access to a lesser invocation, of which many are very useful -- take your pick.

Monk with Metered Style has pretty poor feats, but for Bonzo's benefit, the bonus ability at level 6 is the ability to always "take 10" on any STR or DEX based skill. Drawbacks: the need to invest ranks in Concentration, which is otherwise one of Bonzo's least useful skills, and to take a Skill Focus feat in a DEX- or STR-based skill. Might as well buff up Hide...

Bard with the Bardic Knack variant gives Bonzo a boost in all skills (that don't require training) he elects not to invest ranks into, especially ones he can take 10 or take 12 in.

Strengths

Not only is every skill a class skill, by level 20, Bonzo can take 10 with all of them (even able to take 12 with 32 of them), even most, if not all, of the reasonable variations under Craft, Knowlegde, Perform, and Profession. With Jack Of All Trades, he doesn't even have to have training in any of them to use them. The Bardic Knack variant lets him use half his Bard level if that's higher than his actual ranks, so he's got a minimum check of 14 (or 16) in every skill.

Weaknesses

That's a lot of skills to cover, and while he gets a sick number of skill points (8 class + 1 human + 1 nymph's kiss + 4-6 INT) at almost all levels (2 early levels only give 6 skill points for classes), he' still going to have to either focus on a subset of skills, or lose the ability to excel in any one area. It's either jack of all trades, master of none, or consistently well above average in everything, but not exceptional in anything.

Most of Bonzo's wealth is going to be going to items that boost ability scores (with CON being the least important, due to its relative unimportance to skills), as this will give him more across-the-board improvements in his skills.

Combat

Bonzo is not a combatant by nature, and he would (and should) avoid fighting at all costs. But if pressed...

The good:
Eldritch Blast + sneak attack + hide in plain sight = ranged touch sniping opportunities for 11d6 damage Good saves all around, fortitude lags slightly Can either wear light armor, or boost WIS to gain armor bonus Can attack unarmed if necessary (potentially useful for AoOs) Access to up to 3rd level Bard spells

The bad:
On the lower end for HP (11d6 + 9d8 - 20 CON) AC is never going to be particularly good Relies on some distance, but still being within 30'

Benejeseret
2008-04-08, 10:01 AM
I will build him later but I want to put a hold on the concept right away.

Changeling Rogue with racial substitution levels and Exemplar, possible dip into charlatan on one side, Artificer full progression on the other.

Bene


Race: Changeling Start Stat: str10,dex10,con10,int18,wis10,cha12

Artificer // Changeling rogue (56 skillpoints)
Artificer // rogue (68 skillpoints)
Artificer // Changeling rogue (82 skillpoints)
Artificer // rogue (94 skillpoints)
Artificer // rogue (106 skillpoints)
Artificer // rogue (118 skillpoints)
Artificer // rogue (130 skillpoints)
Artificer // Changeling rogue (145 skillpoints)
Artificer // rogue (158 skillpoints)
Artificer // rogue (171 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (184 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (197 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (210 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (223 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (236 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (250 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (264 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (278 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (292 skillpoints)
Artificer // Exemplar (306 skillpoints)

Skills
Well, there's a lot of them...
Choose any 13 and max them (23 ranks) or spread them out as you choose. I suggest spreading them out as see artificer below as well as take 10

Skill mastery is +4 to 4 of them.

Changeling +2 to social skills

All knowledge checks are +3 (racial)

Take 10
With changeling rogue social intuition, exemplar and rogue skill mastery you can take 10 with a massive 31 skills....

Basically every possible skill has a bunch of ranks...maxing synergies...a tonne of artificer crafted trinkets of +N skill and boosted stats also artificered.
I call it the "why roll" approach.

Artificer
Do not make homunculi, golems or weapons...just make every possible skill trinket maxed out and spend the x2 to make it non-slotted.

Also craft slotted items that boost all your attributes to max skill contributions.

Feats
Anything that adds new uses for skills

I would consider Combat Panache and Disturbing Visage tree

Pack Feint combined with improved feint and group fake out skill trick would all blend very, very nicely here.

Also consider uses of intimidate from various feats and skill tricks to fear stack easily.

Dual wand wielding would also present a great tree with a TWF dip. Even wandstrike for when you get in on a flank.

Skill Tricks
Well, ya...could afford all of them and not blink.

Power Breaks
Well, from lvl 1 onwards it is very, very playable. The first 10 levels should go smoothly with artificer items and infusions (BANE) stacked on a tonne of skills and good sneak attack opportunities.

Wand of grease and a sneak attack friendly wand and you can slip and slide around without a worry while most foes fall/lose dex.

Levels 10-19 see steady skill increases with skill mastery and extra exemplar feats (skill focus!) making it pretty much needless to roll.

Lvl20 offers a unique advantage depending on interpretation. Some DM read the Perfect Self as a full conversion granting conversion to 20d8 hitpoints, and darkvision etc. The 10/magic DR is likely useless by now but I like the flavor.

This can be changed out for a one level dip into High Handcrafter Prc somewhere along the way to cash in on all the skill focus feats you are likely to have. ( I prefer it as above for no cheese dips)

Chronos
2008-04-08, 04:02 PM
I have one all ready for this. I'll post him as soon as I get home.

Eldariel
2008-04-08, 04:34 PM
I'm gonna write up the build later (man it takes long), Dragonwrought Kobold Marshal-Exemplar/Factotum-Rogue-something.

Squash Monster
2008-04-08, 04:35 PM
"Name": Son of Ted

The Idea: Multi-stat synergy, tons of skill points, full casting, and the ability to fake anything makes for a character that can do absolutely anything, especially skill monkey work.

Race: Human (middle aged)

Base Stats:
Middle aged human modifiers are -1, -1, -1, +1, +1 +1
STR: 10
DEX: 10
CON: 12
WIS: 10
INT: 16
CHA: 16
Put all your bonuses into int

{table=header]ECL | Class 1 | Class 2 | BAB | HD | Class Features
1 | Factotum | Marshal | 0 | d8 | Inspiration, cunning insight, cunning knowledge, trapfinding, Skill Focus (Diplomacy), minor aura
2 | Factotum | Archivist | 1 | d8 | Arcane dilettante (1 spell), dark knowledge (tactics) 3/day, Scribe Scroll
3 | Factotum | Archivist | 2 | d8 | Brains over brawn, cunning defense, lore mastery
4 | Factotum | Archivist | 3 | d8 | Arcane dilettante (2 spells), cunning strike, dark knowledge 4/day
5 | Factotum | Archivist | 3 | d8 | Opportunistic piety, still mind
6 | Chameleon | Factotum | 4 | d8 | Aptitude Focus 1/day (+2)
7 | Chameleon | Archivist | 5 | d8 | Bonus feat (floating), dark knowledge (puissance)
8 | Chameleon | Archivist | 6/1 | d8 | Mimic class feature 1/day, dark knowledge 5/day
9 | Chameleon | Archivist | 6/1 | d8 | Ability boon +2, lore mastery
10 | Chameleon | Archivist | 7/2 | d8 | Aptitude focus 2/day (+4), dark knowledge (foe)
11 | Chameleon | Archivist | 8/3 | d8 | Mimic class feature 2/day, dark knowledge 6/day
12 | Chameleon | Archivist | 9/4 | d8 | Ability boon +4, double aptitude, bonus Archivist feat
13 | Chameleon | Archivist | 9/4 | d8 | Rapid refocus, dark knowledge (dread secret)
14 | Chameleon | Archivist | 10/5 | d8 | Mimic class feature 3/day, dark knowledge 7/day
15 | Chameleon | Archivist | 11/6/1 | d8 | Ability boon +6, aptitude focus 3/day (+4), lore mastery
16 | Factotum | Sacred Exorcist| 12/7/2 | d8 | Arcane dilettante (3 spells), exorcism, turn undead
17 | Factotum | Archivist | 12/7/2 | d8 | Cunning surge, dark knowledge (foreknowledge)
18 | Factotum | Archivist | 13/8/3 | d8 | Arcane dilettante (4 spells), dark knowledge 8/day
19 | Factotum | Archivist | 14/9/4 | d8 | Opportunistic piety (+1 use)
20 | Factotum | Archivist | 15/10/5 | d8 | Cunning breach, lore mastery
[/table]

Expected HP:
20d8 + 20 = 110 HP

Casts as:
18th level Archivist (all Divine spells)
11th level Factotum (One 4th level Sor/Wiz spell and three 3rd level Sor/Wiz spells per day)
10th level Chameleon (up to 6th level, any spell)

Feats:
1st: Able Learner
3rd: Knowledge Devotion
6th: Travel Devotion
7th Chameleon: (This feat can be changed every day)
9th: Dimensional Reach
12th: Dimensional Jaunt
12th Archivist: Quicken Spell
15th: Insightful Reflexes
18th: Face Changer

Feat-like choices:
1st Marshal aura: Motivate Dexterity
3rd lore mastery: Religion
9th lore mastery: Arcana
15th lore mastery: Nature
20th lore mastery: Dungeoneering

Skills:
As a factotum, all your skills are class skills. As an able learner, all skills cost as much as class skills. Since max ranks stay the same even if you multiclass out of the class that gave you the class skill, you pretty much have all skills as class skills for your whole career.

Factotum's Brains Over Brawn gives you your Intelligence bonus on all Strength and Dexterity based skills. Motivate Dexterity gives you and everybody near you your Charisma bonus on Dexterity based skills. This is a +6 ability modifier for all your Rogueish skills, and the fact that three attributes are involved means you can buy attribute boosters on the cheap - a set of three +2 boosters gives you a +6 benefit for less than the cost of a +4 one.

As a high-intelligence human with 6 base skill points per level, you will have lots of points to spend. 40 at first level, in fact. You could be trained in every trained-only skill, in fact.

Start your career with lots of ranks in social and sneaky skills, with just a few maxed knowledges. As you progress in levels you'll be able to cast spells that boost these into "plenty" so you can slowly taper those off and start focusing on your knowledge skills.

Strengths:
Perfect skill selection.
Really good skills per level.
Very large multi-attribute bonuses to key skills.
Two ways to collect oddball spells.
All divine spells via Archivist.
Dimensional Reach, Dimensional Jaunt, and Face Changer allow magic-augmented rogueishness at will.
Highly mobile.
Great knowledge checks and knowledge-triggered buffs.

Weaknesses:
No bonus spells from high stat score.
Moderate HP.
Not good at Spot, Listen, and Sense Motive.

Items:
Get intelligence boosters as soon as possible for bonuses to just about everything (skill points, strength and dex skill mods, spell DCs)
Charisma boosters come in second place, as your Charisma bonus applies to all Charisma and Dexterity based skills - IE: all the skillmonkey skills.


How it works:
Sneakyness
Stealth skills are dominated by Dexterity, which you have three stat bonuses for and plenty of skill ranks available for. Later on you can also cast spells like Spider Climb, Silence, and Invisibility to suplement this. Note that the way you're getting your Charisma involved in this is through an aura buff, so you can make your entire party a bit sneakier. Later on, you pick up Dimensional Reach, Dimensional Jaunt, and Face Changer, which all give you at-will roguelike abilities. And yes, you do have trapfinding. And you can get a +6 bonus to Intelligence, Dexterity, or Charisma from Chameleon that helps wth all of this.

Being the Face
You should have a good Charisma score and plenty of skill points to spend on social skills. This makes you a decent face to start, but you get much better a little into the Chameleon levels, as you can pick up certain Bard spells like Glibness to get yourself past social encounters. And you can get a +6 bonus to Charisma from Chameleon.

Knowledge
You get lots of Archivist-related bonuses to Knowledge, and plenty of skill points to spend on Knowledge skills. You'll generally be able to tell your party what they're up against. Additionally, through the Archivist's Dark Knowledge and your Knowledge Devotion feat, you can hand out bonuses like candy. That floating feat from Chameleon can be very nicely applied here to get Skill Focus: Knowledge (Whatever you're going to fight today). And you can get a +6 bonus to intelligence from Chameleon.

Senses
Nope, you kinda tanked Wisdom. You can put skill points into these, but this is really the one area where you don't rock. However, you can cover yourself by casting some Divination spells to figure out what's going on ahead of time. Or you could get a +6 bonus to Wisdom from Chameleon.

Party Buffing
Hey, you're an Archivist. Go ahead and make everyone awesome. Note that you can get an extra standard action twice per day through Cunning Surge, so use that extra round to cast a second buff when needed.

Crafting
Remember that floating Chameleon feat? In your downtime, that feat can be any of the magic item crafting feats. You can make almost any item between Archivist and Chameleon, so go nuts. Feel free to charge your party 60% of market price and pocket the extra 10%.

Healing
You have access to Lesser Vigor and Cure Light Wounds off your class list from Archivist, so you can cast them out of wands quite easily. Collect a small healing tax from your party, craft the wands, and use those to do out of battle healing.

Mobility
You're awesome at dex-based skills, and you have Travel Devotion. You can zip around helping with whatever it is that you need. You took that dip into Sacred Exorcist specifically so you'd have turn undead attempts to spend on using Travel Devotion more often. If you're really desperate to run away from something, you can use your Cunning Surge as well, allowing you to get two moves and a run action in the same turn.

Wrecking
Okay, dirty secret: you're actually a bit of a powerhouse in combat. You very easily could cast Righteous Might, Divine Power, and Greater Vigor and use your Knowledge Devotion in the same turn then proceed to wade through your opponents like a scythe through wheat. Save it for when everyone else is about to die, though. If you know you'll have to in advance, use that +6 Chameleon bonus on Strength.

Playability:
Effectively, you're a rogue at level one that can turn the entire party into mini-rogues. At level three you become an uber rogue. Everything else comes gradually, but it's playable at all levels. Level three is really where it gets good, though, as you get your intelligence bonus to tons of skills.

Talic
2008-04-08, 04:58 PM
Oddly enough, I don't have a major entry for this... I suppose I could get into something with insanely high int with a rank in everything, but nah, this particular area? I've never seen a point in maxing 37 knowledge skills, and a dozen craft skills I'll never use. There's a few, such as bluff, diplomacy, sleight of hand, perform, and the like, that are useful in social settings... But forgery? meh, not all skills are created equal.

Chronos
2008-04-08, 05:08 PM
Don Joe
Build:Dark human LA 1/Psion 1/Warlock 2/Slayer 6/Warlock +10 // Ranger 4/Factotum 1/Spellthief 1/Factotum +4/ Chameleon 2/Exemplar 8
Starting ability scores:Str 8, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 10 (increase Int)
Minimum Playable Level: 2
Cheese points: 1 (ignoring multiclass penalties) or 3, depending on whether the Dark template and the Spellthief dip would require several pages of backstory. Also, the way I use the chameleon bonus feat is either cheese or cleverness, depending on how you look at it.
Power Breaks: 5 (trapfinding), 10 (cerebral blind), 12 (floating feat), 20 (Imbue Item)
{table=head]ECL | Left class | Right class | Skill points | Feats | Special
1| Dark LA 1 | Ranger 1 | 10 | Able Learner, Darkstalker, Track | Dark traits, favored enemy, wild empathy
2| Psion (egoist) 1 | Ranger 2 | 10 | Psicrystal Affinity, Quick Draw | Combat Style (throwing; Dragon 326)
3| Warlock 1 | Ranger 3 | 10 | Endurance, Practiced Manifester | Eldritch blast 1d6, least invocation
4| Warlock 2 | Ranger 4 | 10 | | Detect Magic, 2 invocations, animal companion
5| Slayer 1 | Factotum 1 | 10 | | Slayer favored enemy +2, enemy sense, inspiration, cunning insight, cunning knowledge, trapfinding
6| Slayer 2 | Spellthief 1 | 10 | Master Spellthief | Brain nausea, sneak attack 1d6, steal spell
7| Slayer 3 | Factotum 2 | 10 | | Lucid buffer, arcane dilettante (1 spell)
8| Slayer 4 | Factotum 3 | 11 | | Slayer favored enemy +4, brains over brawn, cunning defense
9| Slayer 5 | Factotum 4 | 11 | Expanded Knowledge (Compression) | Arcane dilettante (2 spells), cunning Strike
10| Slayer 6 | Factotum 5 | 11 | | Cerebral blind, opportunistic piety
11| Warlock 3 | Chameleon 1 | 9 | | Eldritch blast 2d6, DR 1/cold iron, aptitude focus 1/day
12| Warlock 4 | Chameleon 2 | 9 | Obtain Familiar, <bonus> | Deceive item, 3 invoactions, floating bonus feat
13| Warlock 5 | Exemplar 1 | 13 | | Eldritch blast 3d6, skill mastery, skill artistry
14| Warlock 6 | Exemplar 2 | 13 | | lesser invocations, 4 invocations, lend talent
15| Warlock 7 | Exemplar 3 | 13 | Skill focus (move silently), Psymbiot | Eldritch blast 4d6, DR 2/cold iron, bonus feat
16| Warlock 8 | Exemplar 4 | 14 | | Fiendish resilience 1, 5 invocations, skill artistry, sustaining presence
17| Warlock 9 | Exemplar 5 | 14 | | Eldritch blast 5d6, persuasisve performance
18| Warlock 10 | Exemplar 6 | 19 | Expanded Knowledge (Precognition), Open Minded | Energy resistance 5, 6 invocations, bonus feat
19| Warlock 11 | Exemplar 7 | 14 | | Eldritch blast 6d6, DR 3/cold iron, greater invocations, 7 invocations, skill artistry
20| Warlock 12 | Exemplar 8 | 14 | | Imbue item, intellectual agility, lend talent (equal penalty)[/table]

Invocations:
Least
Baleful Utterance
See the Unseen
Spiderwalk
Lesser
Fell Flight
Flee the Scene
Walk Unseen
Greater
Devour Magic

Powers known (60+ PP):
1st
Compression
Precognition
Call to Mind
Control Light
Entangling Ectoplasm
Missive
Synesthete
2nd
Animal Affinity
Chameleon
Control Sound
Energy Adaptation, Specified
3rd
Ectoplasmic Form
Hustle
Telekinetic Force
Energy Wall

Don typically chooses Arcane Focus as a chameleon, and favors the spells Prestidigitation, Improvisation, and Heroism, or other skill-boosting spells. Typical choices for the Chameleon floating bonus feat include Expanded Knowledge or Extra Invocation to pick up situationally-useful invocations and powers, Extra Spell to cheaply add spells to his book, Open Minded, or any item creation feat. He can also taste a sampling of Incarnum, Truenaming, Pact Magic, or the Sublime Way, by using his floating feat on Shape Soulmeld, Minor Utterance of the Evolving Mind, Bind Vestige, or Martial Training. For levels 13 and 14, it's always kept on some Skill Focus, so as to qualify for Exemplar until he picks up Skill Focus (Move Silently) with one of his Exemplar bonus feats. His arcane caster level is 18 for all classes (Warlock, Chameleon, and Factotum's Arcane Dilettante), thanks to Master Spellthief, and his Manifester Level is 10.

Due to Factotum levels and Adaptive Learning, Don can effectively treat all skills as class skills. He can get +31 to any single skill check, with preparation (5 ranks from Open Minded floating feat, +5 from Cunning Knowledge, +9 luck from Improvisation, +2 ability score bonus from Animal Affinity, +2 morale from Heroism, +2 circumstance each from his psicrystal and familiar using Aid Another, +2 from Psymbiot, and +2 Insight from Precognition), or more if he has any real ranks in the skill, if it's based on Int, Dex, Str, or Wis, or if he has a masterwork tool for it. He can max out a total of 11 skills, with 12 points to spare (or more, depending on when and whether he can get a tome for Int), and he has Skill Mastery in twelve skills.

Even in an antimagic field and without expending any resources, his Hide check is 58, and his Move Silently is 59, which combined with Darkstalker, Hide in Plain Sight, and Cerebral Blind, means he's essentially impossible to detect. He can also give his entire party +8 to these skills, if it's ever important for everyone to sneak. I didn't even try to optimize for Diplomacy, but he can still Diplomance with a check of 128 (enough to go straight from Unfriendly to Fanatic), using Persuasive Performance on Hide (don't even try it, unless you want the cheese points).

At level 12, he can make almost any item which requires a spell of level 2 or less, using his Chameleon bonus feat, or help the other spellcasters in the party to make higher-level items. At level 20, he can make almost any item in the game (unless it requires multiple feats), using the bonus feat and the Warlock's Imbue Item ability.

The Psymbiot feat at level 15 assumes that there is another psionic character in the party, as seems likely in Gestalt. If not, he takes Expanded Knowledge (Precognition) earlier, instead, and takes Make your Own Luck at 18 (using the Chameleon bonus feat on a luck feat for that day, after which Make your Own Luck serves as its own prerequisite).

Weakness: DonJoe has only mediocre hit points for a Gestalt character, and a very low (+9) Fort save (he would be well-advised to use Cunning Insight on Fort saves). He depends primarily for his defense on not being targeted, but if he's caught in the area of something aimed at his teammates, he'll go down easily.

He doesn't have much in the way of direct offense, preferring instead to bypass enemies entirely and go straight for the Macguffin. He can, however, seriously hinder many enemies (anything that uses equipment) using Sleight of Hand.

Note: I deliberately did not take Factotum to level 8, since I consider Cunning Surge to be too cheesy.

Kurald Galain
2008-04-08, 05:23 PM
The Omnimonkey

Race: Monkey (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/monkey.htm).
Class: Artificer (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=546612) // Rogue.

Sure, he won't get the elf dilettante feat, but a bunch of skill points will fix that right up. And per the omniscificer trick, he has an infinite bonus to all his skill checks. And half a million cheese points, of course.

avr
2008-04-08, 05:34 PM
Name: The One True Skill Monkey
Build: Halfling Weremonkey Rogue 1 / Animal HD 1 / Rogue +18 // LA +3 / Binder 17 (Wilderness Rogue variant from UA)
Starting Ability Scores: STR 12, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 14, WIS 10, CHA 12 (level ups into INT)
Minimum Playable Level: 4
Cheese points: Zero
Power Breaks: 7 - Expel Vestige, 13 - can bind Balam for rerolls, 14 - Hide in Plain Sight (Ex) as Ranger

Halfling weremonkey (Favoured class Rogue, halfling details in PH, weremonkey at end of post)
{table]Level|Side 1|Side 2|Class Features
1|Rogue 1|LA +1|Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
2|Animal HD 1|LA +2
3|Rogue 2|LA +3|Evasion
4|Rogue 3|Binder 1|Sneak attack +2d6, trap sense +1, soul binding (1 vestige)
5|Rogue 4|Binder 2|Uncanny dodge, suppress sign, pact augmentation (1 ability)
6|Rogue 5|Binder 3|Sneak attack +3d6
7|Rogue 6|Binder 4|Trap sense +2
8|Rogue 7|Binder 5|Sneak attack +4d6, pact augmentation (2 abilities)
9|Rogue 8|Binder 6|Improved uncanny dodge, soul guardian (immune to fear)
10|Rogue 9|Binder 7|Sneak attack +5d6, trap sense +3
11|Rogue 10|Binder 8|Special ability (Camouflage), soul binding(2 vestiges)
12|Rogue 11|Binder 9|Sneak attack +6d6, soul guardian (slippery mind)
13|Rogue 12|Binder 10|Trap sense +4, pact augmentation (3 abilities)
14|Rogue 13|Binder 11|Sneak attack +7d6, special ability (Hide in Plain Sight)
15|Rogue 14|Binder 12|
16|Rogue 15|Binder 13|Sneak attack +8d6, trap sense +5, soul guardian (immune to energy drain)
17|Rogue 16|Binder 14|Special ability (Skill Mastery), soul binding (3 vestiges)
18|Rogue 17|Binder 15|Sneak attack +9d6, pact augmentation (4 abilities)
19|Rogue 18|Binder 16|Trap sense +6
20|Rogue 19|Binder 17|Sneak attack +10d6, special ability (Woodland Stride)[/table]

Feats
Weremonkey bonus feats: Iron Will, Weapon Finesse, Agile
1: Darkstalker
3: Multiattack
6: Investigate
7: (Binder) Expel Vestige
9: Track
12: Daredevil Athlete
14: (Binder) Persuasive
15: Research
18: Savvy Rogue (Skill Mastery)

Skills and Feats
One True' has 19 levels of rogue and a correspondingly high number of skill points - 242 by level 20 which is pretty good, if fewer than some entries here. Between Wilderness Rogue and Binder most skills are class skills.

Darkstalker, Track, Investigate and Research all allow new or extended uses of skills. Darkstalker makes it possible to hide from creatures with blindsight or other unusual means of detecting you, Investigate uses Search to find clues and Research uses Knowledge skills to research a topic or examine records.

Daredevil Athlete gives a +5 bonus to any of several skills 3/day and Savvy Rogue converts Take 10 to Take 12 on skills affected by his Skill Mastery special ability.

Skills and the Binder
First, One True' should usually bind Naberius. Followers of previous challenges will know him mainly from builds using Hellfire warlock and needing some way of getting CON back fast, but Naberius has more uses than that. His Silver Tongue ability lets his summoner take 10 on Diplomacy and Bluff and negates the -10 penalty for a rushed Diplomacy check, other abilities allow One True to use a couple of trained only skills untrained and to use Disguise Self at will.

Many vestiges give competence bonuses to some skill or another ranging from +4 to +16. If One True doesn't have the correct vestige bound to get a bonus to the particular skill but does have a couple of minutes (and a vestige with a useful bonus exists), he can expel a vestige he currently has bound (1/day) and bind the correct vestige.

From character level 13 One True' can bind Balam. The relevant power she grants is Balam's cunning, which lets him reroll one attack, saving throw or skill check every 5 rounds. Outside combat this is almost as good as a reroll at will.

Combat
A bite + 2 secondary natural attacks (or a weapon and a secondary bite attack) in hybrid were form = a lot of sneak attacks on a full attack. Creatures immune to precision damage are a serious problem for him, obviously. Many vestiges give good defensive abilities and between his DR 10/silver in were forms, 3 good saves and these One True' should be hard to kill if not necessarily terribly effective in combat.

Weaknesses
Not as many skill points as some other entries. Lack of offensive ability when he can't use sneak attack; Binders aren't great on the offense and his Binder level lags his character level by 3 anyway.

Weremonkey (natural lycanthrope):

All forms –
• +2 WIS (included in starting ability scores above)
• Low-light vision
• Scent
• +2 natural armour
• Bonus feats (Iron Will, Weapon Finesse, Agile)
• Monkey racial skill bonuses (+8 racial bonus on Balance and Climb checks. They can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened. They use their Dexterity modifier instead of their Strength modifier for Climb checks.)
• Monkey empathy

Hybrid form –
• Small size
• -8 STR, +4 DEX
• DR 10/silver
• Natural attacks (bite 1d4 & 2 claws 1d3 each)
• Curse of lycanthropy

Animal form –
• Tiny size
• -8 STR, +4 DEX
• DR 10/silver
• Natural attack (bite 1d3)
• Curse of lycanthropy
• Base move 30’, climb 30’.

Only size Small humanoids can become weremonkeys. I think weremonkeys should be CN aligned.

One Animal HD (class skills Balance, Climb, Hide, Spot & Listen), LA +3.

Chronos
2008-04-08, 06:44 PM
Sure, he won't get the elf dilettante feat, but a bunch of skill points will fix that right up. And per the omniscificer trick, he has an infinite bonus to all his skill checks. And half a million cheese points, of course.Oh, I'm sorry, did I just Devour Magic your item of Delay Death? My sincere apologies.

And where did this fine red mist come from?

SamTheCleric
2008-04-08, 07:03 PM
Name: Relas of the Forest
Build: Elf Cloistered Cleric 6/Divine Oracle 4/Contemplative 10//Ranger 11/Scout 9
Starting Ability Scores: STR 10 DEX 16 CON 12 INT 14 WIS 15 CHA 8
Cheese Points: 1 - 20th Level has multi-class penalty.
Minimum Playable Level: 1
Power Break: Yet another "non-power break" character from me.

Level | Class 1 | Class 2 | Feat | Special
1 | Cloistered Cleric | Scout | Point Blank Shot*, Precise Shot | Elf* and Trickery Domains, Skirmish (+1d6), Trapfinding
2 | Cloistered Cleric | Ranger | | 1st Favored Enemy, Track, Wild Empathy
3 | Cloistered Cleric | Scout | Trap Sensitivity | Battle Fortitude +1, Uncanny Dodge
4 | Cloistered Cleric | Ranger | | Combat Style (Archery [Rapid Shot])
5 | Cloistered Cleric | Scout | | Fast Movement +10 ft., Skirmish (+1d6, +1 AC), Trackless Step
6 | Cloistered Cleric | Ranger | Skill Focus (Knowledge [Religion]) | Endurance
7 | Divine Oracle | Scout| | Oracle Domain, Scry Bonus, Bonus Feat (Swift Hunter)
8 | Divine Oracle | Ranger | | Prescient Sense, Trap Sense +1, Animal Companion
9 | Divine Oracle | Scout | Improved Skirmish | Divination Enhancement, Evasion, Skirmish (+2d6, +1 AC)
10 | Divine Oracle | Ranger | | Uncanny Dodge, 2nd Favored Enemy
11 | Contemplative | Scout | | Bonus Domain (Magic), Divine Health, Flawless Stride
12 | Contemplative | Ranger | Zen Archery | Slippery Mind, Improved Combat Style (Archery [Multishot])
13 | Contemplative | Scout | | Divine Wholeness, Skirmish (+2d6, +2 AC)
14 | Contemplative | Ranger | | Woodland Stride
15 | Contemplative | Scout | Improved Favored Enemy | Divine Body, Camouflage, Bonus Feat (Skill Focus [Search])
16 | Contemplative | Ranger | | Bonus Domain (Portal), Swift Tracker
17 | Contemplative | Ranger | | Divine Soul, Evasion
18 | Contemplative | Scout | Travel Devotion | Skirmish (+3d6, +2 AC)
19 | Contemplative | Ranger | | Eternal Body, 3rd Favored Enemy
20 | Contemplative | Ranger | | Mystic Union, Combat Style Mastery (Archery [Improved Precise Shot])


Expected HP:
20d8 + 20 = 110 HP

Skills...
((8+2)*4)+(8*(8+2))+(11*(6+2)) = 208 skill points total.

Casts as:
20th Level Cleric
11th Level Ranger

Domains
Elf: Point Blank Shot as a bonus feat. Notable Spells: Commune with Nature, Liveoak.
Trickery: Bluff, Disguise and Hide to class list. Notable Spells: Invisibility, Polymorph Any Object, Time Stop
Magic: Use spell trigger and completion items as a cleric of 1/2 my level. Notable Spells: Antimagic Field, Disjunction
Portal: Detect doors as secret doors. Notable Spells: Teleport, Gate.
Oracle: +2 Caster Level on Divination Spells. Notable Spells: Foresight
Knowledge: +1 Caster Level on Divination Spells. Notable Spells: Legend Lore, Foresight.

Favored Enemies (Including the +3 from Improved Favored Enemy)
Construct +11
Ooze +7
Undead +7
Plant +5
Evil outsider +5

Total Skirmish:

+5d6/+5 AC (+7d6/+7 AC with Improved)

Feats:
1st: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot
2nd: Track
3rd: Trap Sensitivity
4th: Rapid Shot
6th: Skill Focus (Knowledge [Religion]), Endurance
7th: Swift Hunter
9th: Improved Skirmish
12th: Zen Archery, Multishot
15th: Improved Favored Enemy, Skill Focus (Search)
18th: Travel Devotion
20th: Improved Precise Shot

Skills:

All Knowledges, Spot, Listen, Search, Survival, Disable Device, Open Lock... He's got it all! A fair amount of skill points to spread out and he'll be able to fill in as the skill monkey on any crew.

Strengths:
A great skill monkey with good combat abilities.
Spellcasting allows for things like Time Stop, Gate and Foresight.
Outsider (Native), DR 10/Magic, Immune to disease, no ill effects from aging.
SIX domains to choose from.
Can use Spell Trigger items as a 10th level wizard (Wands and scrolls!)

Weaknesses:
Suffers from MAD. Poor turning abilities.

ShneekeyTheLost
2008-04-08, 07:43 PM
You Bastard
Build: Halfling Rogue5/Spymaster2/Nightsong Infiltrator10/Spymaster3//Warlock 4/Sorcerer16
Starting Ability Scores: Str 8, Dex 17, Con 10, Int , Wis 10, Cha
Minimum Playable Level:1st
Power Break 2nd (Evasion), 4th (Take 10 on UMD), 6th (Undetectable alignment), 10th (Trackless Step), 12th (Grant Move Action), 13th (Skill Mastery), 17 (HIPS)

Breakdown: No one really knows what his name is, but for some reason, everyone addresses him as 'You Bastard!', so it's as handy and universal name as he is ever likely to adopt. Let's look at what he can do:

1) Take 10 on UMD checks. That means he's easily capable of doing as much UMD cheeze as you like. The power limitation on this is only limited by your willingness to indulge in cheeze and your pocketbook.

2) Party Face: Spymaster makes for a wonderful Party Face, and Nightsong Infiltrator has all the typical 'party face' skills as class skills as well. He can sell you a deed to a bridge, and you will consider it a wonderful deal for the rest of your life, which is probably be until you actually try charging someone a toll for crossing it.

3) Trapspringer. Nightsong Enforcers are particularly good in this area, getting Skill Mastery in a number of good trapspringer skills. Furthermore, Steady Stance means he can get to hard-to-reach locations and not have to worry about getting sniped.

4) Party Utility. Again, Nightsong Enforcer grants bonuses to the entire party for getting them through tough spots, not to mention granting EVERYONE sneak attack dice, as well as Grant Move Action, which can be HUGE if used properly. Trackless Step for all allies doesn't hurt either.

5) Stealth. HIPS from Nightsong Enforcer, Walk Unseen from Warlock, maxed out Hide and Move Silently... this guy is a ghost when he wants to be. See Invisible won't do any good if you can't make a Spot check to find him in the first place. Trackless Step makes it flat impossible to track him down mundanely. Sorcerer 16 is done for the sole purpose of gaining mind Blank to make it impossible to scry him, or screw with or read his mind.

6) Party Buffer. Seriously, this guy is a lean, mean, buffing machine. He doesn't have many (if any) offensive spells, or even many battlefield control spells. What he does have, in spades, is utility and buffing. Greater Prying Eyes, Overland Flight, Haste... good times.

The Gilded Duke
2008-04-08, 08:59 PM
Übernymph
Half-Fey Alu-Demon Nymph
Marshal 1/ Telepath 7/ Warlock 1/ Wizard 1/Thrallherd 10// Sorcerer 1
Cheese: Ignoring Multi-Class Penalties 1
Cheese: Questionable LA 2
Cheese: Feat intended for NPC 2
Stats:
Str 8, Dex 14, Con 8, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 18


Übernymph is an unusual skill monkey. Instead of trying to be good at every skill there is, she instead tries to be the best at the most powerful of all skills: Diplomacy. Diplomacy can as a full round action turn any intelligent enemy into an ally. Their level does not come into effect in this. Spell resistance does not effect this. They get no will save. Only creatures without a mind are immune to this power.

On animals and magical beasts Übernymph can use her animal empathy to make charisma checks as diplomacy checks against them. On a 1 she tames the tarrasque. Some magical beasts and creatures are too stupid to understand. That is why she used expanded knowledge to pick up Animal Affinity. An intelligence 1 creature can be boosted to five.

She can make any creature helpful regardless of its starting attitude. If she is aided she can make any creature fanatical regardless of starting attitude.
She can make any helpful creature fanatical.

There are some creatures immune to persuasion as they have no mind at all. That is for the rest of the party, all of her believers, her thralls, and every single creature she has ever had two rounds to talk to to deal with.

She usually has psionic contigency up prepared to cast temporal acceleration when someone attempts an aggressive act against her. This gives her a full round to use diplomacy on them.

In addition, Übernymph gets a +22 bonus on all saves and to ac. Trying to target or attack Übernymph with a harmful effects requires making a DC 42 Will save.


Marshal 1 Level

Minor Aura - Motivate Charisma (All allies within 60 feet get the Marshal's Charisma bonus as a bonus to Charisma Checks and Charisma Based Skill Checks)
Skill Focus - Diplomacy (+3)
4+int mod
d8


Warlock 1 Level

Eldritch Blast 1d6, Beguiling Influence (Diplomacy and others +6)


Wizard 1 Level

First level spells or something (doesn't matter)
Mink Familiar (+3 Diplomacy)


Sorcerer 1 Level

First Level spells or something (doesn't matter)
Mink Familiar (+3 Diplomacy)


Telepath 7 levels

(2+int)x7 skill
d4 hd
15 powers known, 4th level powers
Telepath:Diplomacy as class skill
Bonus Feat: Diplomatic PsiCrystal (+3 diplomacy)
Bonus Feat: Inquisitor


Thrallherd 10

+8 caster levels Telepath
2+int x10
d4 hd
Thrallherd (Level 17 Thrall)
Two-Fold Master (Level 18 Thrall)
Psionic Dominate, Greater Dominate, Superior Dominate, Psionic Charm


Half-Fey Alu-Demon Nympth

+6 HD +13 LA
6d6 (Outsider Native) Skill Points 8+int
30 Feet, 20 Swim, Fly 60 Perfect, Fly 30 Average
Low Light vision, Darkvision 60, Immune to Enchantment, Immune to Poison, DR 10/Magic and Cold Iron, Acid Cold, Electricity and Fire Resistance 10, SR 20, Natural Armor +1
Base Saves: Fort +5, Ref+6, Will+9
Str +2, Dex +9, Con +3, Int +8, Wis +8, Cha +18
3 Feats
Blinding Beauty (Su) Humanoids 30 feet, DC 13+Cha fort save or blindness
Stunning Glance (Su) Stun creature within 30 feet, DC 13+Cha fort save or stun 2d4 rounds
Unearthly Grace (Su) Cha mod to saving throws and AC
Wild Empathy with +6 racial bonus
+8 Swim, and can take 10 on swim check
Spell like abilities:
1/day dimensional door, Hypnotism 1/day, Glitterdust 1/day, Detect Law 3/day, Enthrall 1/day, Protection from Law 3/day, Suggestion 1/day, Confusion 1/day, Lesser Geas 1/day, Dominate Person 1/day, Mass Invisibility 1/day, Geas 1/day, Mass Charm 1/day, Otto's Irresistable Dance 1/day, Charm at Will, Charp Person 3/day, Detect Thoughts 3/day, Suggestion 3/day, Polymorph (humanoid only) 3/day, Dimension Door (1/day), Blasphemy 1/day, Unholy Aura 3/day, Unhallow 1/day, Summon Monster 9 (fiend only) 1/day, Destruction 1/day

Casts as a 7th Level Druid


Feats and Powers:

Feats:
Persuasive (+2 Diplomacy)
Brand of the Nine Hells (Asmodeus) +2 Diplomacy Nessus, -2 diplomacy other Layers
Mark of Nessus: DC 20+Cha Mod will save to attack or target with harmful effects.
Expanded Knowledge: Animal Affinity

Powers:
Contingency, Psionic
Temporal Acceleration
Sense Danger
Forced Dream


Gold Spent:

3 + 4 Tome of Leadership and Influence
3 +6 Cloak of Charisma
1 Circlet of Persuasion +3

400,000 left, to buy things like permanent tongues (arcane)


Charisma and Persuasion Check:

18 Charisma
+4 Level
+4 Tome
+6 Cloak
+4 Profane (Fiend of Possession)
+18 Racial
------------------
54 (+22 Mod)

Übersuc 1 (ECL 18)
13 Base
+3 Level
+4 Tome
+6 Cloak
+4 Profane (Fiend of Possession)
+16 Racial
-------------------
46 (+18 Mod)

Übersuc 2 (ECL 17)
13 Base
+3 Level
+4 Tome
+6 Cloak
+16 Racial
-------
+42 (+16 Mod)

Übernymphs Charisma Bonus to Charisma Based Checks and Skill Checks
+22 Base
+22 Marshal Motivate Charisma
+18 Marshal Motivate Charisma
+16 Marshal Motivate Charisma
+3 Circlet of persuasion
-------------------------
+81

Wild Empathy + 87

Übernymphs Skill bonus to Diplomacy
+23 Ranks in Diplomacy
+3 Skill Focus Diplomacy
+2 Persuasive
+6 Beguiling Influence
+3 Wizard Mink Familiar
+3 Sorcerer Mink Familiar
+3 Friendly Psi-Crystal
+2 Synergy
---------------------------
+45

Diplomacy + 126 As full minute action
Diplomacy + 116 as Full Round Action

Aid Another:
Mink Familiar, Mink Familiar, and Psi-Crystal automatically have owners ranks, the two succubi have enough charisma to always make aide other checks.
+2 Mink Familiar
+2 Mink Familiar
+2 Psi-Crystal
+2 Succubi
+2 Succubi

Übernymph can choose all of her believers to be of a single type of race, she chooses half elf. Assuming all of her believers have a charisma of 13, and 4 ranks in diplomacy they all have a +7. They need to hit DC 10 to perform an aide other check. A believer will only fail to make this check 15 percent of the time. Übernymph has 162 believers. Assuming average rolls, that is a 137 successful aid other attempts each round. Each aid other check gives a +2.

+274 from Believers +10 from others=
+284 on diplomacy checks each round
or:
+400 Diplomacy check.



Übersuc ECL 18 Thrall, for ECL 17 remove 1 marshal level and motivate Intelligence

Succubus Fiend of Possesion (5) Marshal (3) Thrall (ECL 18)
9d8 +5d6 Outsider +6 LA
Speed 30 ft , Fly 50 Average
Ac +9 Natural
BAB +10
Two Claws (1d6)
Energy Drain, Spell-Like abilities, Summon demon
DR 10/Cold Iron or good, darkvision 60 feet, immunity to
electricity and poison, resistance to acid 10, cold 10 and
fire 10, SR 18, Telepathy 100ft, Tongues
Fort +12, Ref + 10, Will + 12
Str: +2, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +6, Wis +2, Cha +16
5 feats

Ethereal Form, Hide Presence, possess object
Curse, magic item, control object, animate object, possess creature
Ally or Enemy, possess noncontinuous object, Skill Focus Diplomacy, Motivate Charisma, Motivate Intelligence, Motivate Urgency

Squash Monster
2008-04-08, 09:09 PM
Edited mine in. Anyone have any comments?

rockdeworld
2008-04-08, 09:26 PM
I've never tried this before, but it looks interesting :smallsmile:

The Vampire Bard // Rogue
Human Base Stats:STR 8, DEX 14, CON 8, WIS 8, INT 18, CHA 14
Vampire Stats: STR 14, DEX 18, CON 0, WIS 10, INT 20, CHA 18
L20 Stats: STR 14, DEX 18, CON 0, WIS 10, INT 25, CHA 18
HP: 8d6+12d8 ~= 75
Playable From: Level 1, Level 9
Cheese Points: 0

{table=head]Level|Class|Class|Feats|Special
1|LA|Rogue 1|Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Persuasive, Nimble Fingers|Vampire, Sneak attack +1d6, Trapfinding
2|LA|Rogue 2|-|Evasion
3|LA|Rogue 3|Skill Focus (Disable Device)|Sneak attack +2d6, trap sense +1
4|LA|Rogue 4|-|Uncanny dodge
5|LA|Rogue 5|-|Sneak attack +3d6
6|LA|Rogue 6|Trustworthy|Trap sense +2
7|LA|Rogue 7|-|Sneak attack +4d6
8|LA|Rogue 8|-|Improved uncanny dodge
9|Bard 1|Rogue 9|Skill Focus (Bluff)|Bardic music, bardic knowledge, countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1, Sneak attack +5d6, trap sense +3
10|Bard 2|Rogue 10|-|Skill Mastery (Bluff, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Hide, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Search, 1 more)
11|Bard 3|Rogue 11|-|Inspire competence, Sneak attack +6d6
12|Bard 4|Rogue 12|Alluring|Trap sense +4
13|Bard 5|Rogue 13|-|Sneak attack +7d6, Skill Mastery (the rest)
14|Bard 6|Rogue 14|-|Suggestion
15|Bard 7|Rogue 15|Skill Focus (?)|Sneak attack +8d6, trap sense +5
16|Bard 8|Rogue 16|-|Inspire courage +2, Defensive Roll
17|Bard 9|Rogue 17|-|Inspire greatness, Sneak attack +9d6
18|Bard 10|Rogue 18|Skill Focus (?)|Trap sense +6
19|Bard 11|Rogue 19|-|Sneak attack +10d6, Slippery Mind
20|Bard 12|Rogue 20|-|Song of freedom[/table]


I took "a support character who covers as much of the potential skill set as possible" to mean "everything outside of combat," which this character can do.

Skill points by level:
14,14,14,14,14,14,14,15,15,15,15,15,15,15,15,16,16 ,16,16,16
Enough for 14 skills max ranks and 18 points left over

Examples of some skills:
Bluff 40 = 23 + 4 (CHA) + 8 (Vampire) + 2 (Persuasive) + 3 (Skill Focus) = 70 with Glibness
Diplomacy 31 = 23 + 4 (CHA) + 2 (Trustworthy) + 2 (Alluring)
Disable Device 32 = 23 + 4 (DEX) + 2 (Nimble Fingers) + 3 (Skill Focus)
Search 38 = 23 + 7 (INT) + 8 (Vampire)
And can always take 10 with all of them. Two skill masteries for a total of 18 skills mastered

The Vampire Bard//Rogue gets most skills, so can do anything a rogue needs to do, and on top of that can handle all out-of-combat communication. On top of that, he can battle with the best of them (or support, as the need arises).
Most of the regular rogue skills get boosted by being a vampire.
Power break at level 7 (ECL 15), when the bard gets Glibness and can start "getting away with murder."* (http://www.nuklearpower.com/redmage29.php) The Vampire's +4 CHA bonus and +8 Bluff bonus help here a lot. Add in a circlet of persuasion and a cloak of charisma (for another +6), and it gets insane.
An all-around awesome rogue (14 skills, and take 10 with all of them!) + he gets anything he wants (42 Diplomacy taking 10) + he can survive easily in battle (DR 10/Magic AND Silver, & Fast Healing 5)

Chronos
2008-04-08, 09:34 PM
Edited mine in. Anyone have any comments?Why do you list "no bonus spells from ability score" as a weakness? Archivists and Chameleons (arcane focus) are both Int-based.

And I like Chameleon; I just wish I had room for all ten levels of it in my build.

On a more general note, folks are remembering to count the cheese point for multiclass penalties, right? By my count, all of the entries thus far (except, ironically, the Omnimonkey) should have that cheese point.

SamTheCleric
2008-04-08, 09:37 PM
Oh.. I didn't even notice the multiclass imbalance... at character level 20 I start getting multiclass penalties. I don't know if that counts as cheese point worthy though... :smallcool:

Frosty
2008-04-08, 09:39 PM
I am deeply disappointed that in a thread concerning skillmonkeys, no one has managed to work the Beguiler into one of the builds. :smallfrown:

Squash Monster
2008-04-08, 09:57 PM
Why do you list "no bonus spells from ability score" as a weakness? Archivists and Chameleons (arcane focus) are both Int-based.

And I like Chameleon; I just wish I had room for all ten levels of it in my build.Bonus spells per day for Archivist are based on Wisdom, while everything else they do is based on Intelligence.

And yeah, the Chameleon was a lot of fun to work with. I never really thought that highly of them since I think their primary class ability is rather weak, but the stat bonus and the floating feat are both godly.

avr
2008-04-08, 09:58 PM
On a more general note, folks are remembering to count the cheese point for multiclass penalties, right? By my count, all of the entries thus far (except, ironically, the Omnimonkey) should have that cheese point.

How so? Racial HD and LA don't count, Rogue is a favoured class for halflings and my (admittedly, still incomplete) entry has only one more class.

Chronos
2008-04-08, 10:26 PM
Sorry, didn't notice that your weremonkey was applied to a halfling. Yeah, that's OK, then.


And yeah, the Chameleon was a lot of fun to work with. I never really thought that highly of them since I think their primary class ability is rather weak, but the stat bonus and the floating feat are both godly.What are you considering the primary class ability? It looks to me like they have a heck of a lot of different secondary class abilities.

On the floating bonus feat, I'm still waiting for an answer in the Simple Q&A thread, but it looks like you can put it on Shape Soulmeld to get a soulmeld that persists even after you change the feat, for a total number of melds equal to half your character level. If so, I think that might cross the line over into "broken".

dspeyer
2008-04-09, 12:12 AM
Tomrimer the Heroic
Race: half-celestial human
Beginning stats: STR: 12 DEX: 14 CON: 12 INT: 18 WIS: 16 CHA: 20 (boost int)
Playable from: 5
Power breaks: 7 (oracle domain), 12 (dmm), 14 (greater heroism)
Overall role: human interaction, wilderness survival, scouting, magic
Build:
{table]lvl|class|class|feats|selected special abilities
1|divine bard|la|extend spell, nymph's kiss|bardic knowledge
2|divine bard|la||
3|divine bard|la|skill focus(know religion)|inspire competance
4|divine bard|la||
5|divine bard|ranger|track|1st favored environment
6|divine bard|ranger|persist spell, rapid shot|suggestion
7|human paragon|scout||adaptive learning(intimidate)
8|human paragon|scout|jack of all trades|uncanny dodge
9|human paragon|scout|swift hunter|int +2,, trackless step, 2nd favored environment
10|divine oracle|scout|quick reconnoiter|oracle domain
11|divine oracle|exemplar||skll mastery, skill artistry, prescient sense (evasion)
12|sacred exorcist|exemplar|dmm(persist)|turn undead, lend talent
13|sacred exorcist|exemplar|investigator|detect evil
14|sacred exorcist|exemplar||chosen foe, skill artistry, sustaining presence
15|divine oracle|exemplar|still spell|persuasive performance, divination enhancement
16|divine oracle|exemplar|athletic|
17|divine oracle|exemplar||skill artistry
18|divine oracle|exemplar|empower spell|full lend talent, improved uncanny dodge
19|sacred exorcist|exemplar|agile|
20|sacred exorcist|exemplar||skill artistry, consecrated aura[/table]

Total skills:
Starts with 14/lvl (bard 6 + int 4 + human 1 + nymph 1), and goes up from there. Two more ranks/level once scout kicks in at 7, another when human paragon boosts int at 9, and more with other int-boosts (4 levels or equipment). Also, exemplar give bonuses via skill artistry and skill-oriented bonus feats.

Breadth of skills:

There aren't a lot of cross-class skills for bards. They are:
Disable device: used for traps, just summon a monster to set it off
Forgery: has anyone ever used this? if necessary, become the messenger and cast suggestion on the recipient.
Handle animal: class for ranger, but without an animal companion, it doesn't come up much
Heal: just use magic
Intimidate: pick this one up as adaptive learning
Open Lock: the shatter spell is faster anyway
Ride: ok, don't ride
Search: class for both ranger and scout
Spot: class for both ranger and scout
Survival: class for both ranger and scout
Use Rope: class for both ranger and scout
All the wilderness skills will be a problem at the low levels, but they'll go away once ranger/scout kicks in. A few of these workarounds are dubious, but it's all moot once exemplar kicks in anyway.

General bonuses:

Persisted Greater Heroism: +4 to all skill checks, always. There's a reason it's a power break. The save and attack bonuses are handy too.

Nymph's kiss: +2 to all cha-based checks

Favored Environment: +4 to all rangerish checks while in the primary FE, +2 in the secondary

Abilities: all mental scores are high and the physical are positive.

In total, the lowest pre-ranks modifier is +5, for a str or con based skill (there aren't a lot of those, and athletic helps with the most common). The best is +11 pre-ranks to any cha-based skill.

Helping the Party:

The challenge called for a support character, so this one has inspire competence, lend talent, consecrated aura and a whole bunch of buff spells to make the rest of the party more useful.

Magic:

Casts as a level 19 bard with access to a bunch of healing spells and the oracle domain (all the best divinations). Also has all the half-celestial SLAs

rockdeworld
2008-04-09, 01:44 AM
On a more general note, folks are remembering to count the cheese point for multiclass penalties, right? By my count, all of the entries thus far (except, ironically, the Omnimonkey) should have that cheese point.
What the heck, even mine? He only progresses in his base classes, and starts out as a human :smallannoyed:

avr
2008-04-09, 04:35 AM
What the heck, even mine? He only progresses in his base classes, and starts out as a human :smallannoyed:

Chronos's post dates only 8 minutes after yours. I suspect he hadn't seen your post when he started writing.

Your entry certainly doesn't have any multiclass penalties, though by the rules of this challenge LA only has to be applied to one side of the gestalt - you're paying for the vampire LA twice!

Duke of URL
2008-04-09, 07:16 AM
On a more general note, folks are remembering to count the cheese point for multiclass penalties, right? By my count, all of the entries thus far (except, ironically, the Omnimonkey) should have that cheese point.

Bonzo is just fine on that score -- he's human, so any class is favored, and his level breakdowns are 16/1/1/(1 PrC)/(1 PrC) // 8/6/6, which are perfectly legal to avoid MC penalties.


Half-Fey Alu-Demon Nymph

This may somehow be legal via RAW, but I can't imagine any sane DM allowing the "half-fey" template to be applied to a fey creature. (And considering your final type is Outsider(native), half-fey would have been applied first.)

edroux
2008-04-09, 11:05 AM
Alright, here's my attempt.

Name: Eben the Sly
Build: Elf Beguiler 20/Ranger 10/Eternal Blade 10
Starting Ability Scores: STR 8, DEX 16, CON 12, INT 16, WIS 8, CHA 14
{TABLE]Level|Class 1|Class 2|Feat|Special
1|Beguiler|Ranger|Weapon Focus (longbow)|Armored Mage, Trapfinding, Beguiler spells / 1st favored enemy,Track, wild empathy
2|Beguiler|Ranger||Cloaked Casting (+1 DC), surprise casting / Combat Style (Rapid Shot)
3|Beguiler|Ranger|Point Blank Shot|Advanced learning / Endurance
4|Beguiler|Ranger||/ Animal Companion
5|Beguiler|Ranger||Silent Spell / 2nd favored enemy
6|Beguiler|Ranger|Martial Study (Action Before Thought)|Surprise casting (move action) / Improved Combat Style
7|Beguiler|Ranger||Advanced learning / Woodland stride
8|Beguiler|Ranger||Cloaked Casting (+2 to overcome SR) / Swift Tracker
9|Beguiler|Ranger|Martial Study (Insightful Strike)|/ Evasion
10|Beguiler|Ranger||Still Spell / 3rd favored enemy
11|Beguiler|Eternal Blade||Advanced learning / Blade guide, eternal training 1/day
12|Beguiler|Eternal Blade|Precise Shot| / Guided strike
13|Beguiler|Eternal Blade||/ Armored uncanny dodge, eternal training 2/day
14|Beguiler|Eternal Blade||Cloaked Casting (+2 DC) / Eternal knowledge
15|Beguiler|Eternal Blade|Expertise|Advanced learning / Eternal training 3/day
16|Beguiler|Eternal Blade||/ Defensive insight
17|Beguiler|Eternal Blade||/ Eternal training 4/day
18|Beguiler|Eternal Blade|Improved Feint|/ Tactical insight
19|Beguiler|Eternal Blade||Advanced learning / Eternal training 5/day
20|Beguiler|Eternal Blade||Cloaked Casting (overcomes SR) / Island in time
[/TABLE]

Expected HP:
10d8 + 10d10 + 20 = 115

Casts as:
20th level Beguiler
10th level Ranger

Favored Enemies:
Construct +6
Undead +4
Aberration +2

Feats:
1) Weapon Focus, Track
2) Rapid Shot
3) Point Blank Shot, Endurance
5) Silent Spell
6) Martial Study, Manyshot
9) Martial Study
10) Still Spell
12) Precise Shot
15) Expertise
18) Improved Feint

Skills:
Maxed out Bluff and Concentration. Everything else is wide open. With (6+) points per level and damn near every skill in the game as a class skill, he can fill any gaps the party might have.

Strengths:
Plenty of skill versatility
Full BAB progression for all 20 levels
All all good saves for first 10 levels
Ability to cast in light armor with no spell failure
Can act as a backup healer when equipped with a wand
Animal companion to cover your scouting needs

Weaknesses:
Hit points only in the moderate range
Low Strength/not suited for melee

rockdeworld
2008-04-09, 11:15 AM
Chronos's post dates only 8 minutes after yours. I suspect he hadn't seen your post when he started writing.

Your entry certainly doesn't have any multiclass penalties, though by the rules of this challenge LA only has to be applied to one side of the gestalt - you're paying for the vampire LA twice!
Ah, well that's alright then :smallsmile:

And thanks for telling me about LA!

Chronos
2008-04-09, 11:20 AM
Yeah, rockdeworld's entry is fine as-is, and I just didn't see it before. If he adds class levels opposite the LA, then he would have an imbalance, but he also didn't say what the base race was for his vampire, so it could be human (or gnome or halfling) and still avoid the penalties (since one of his classes would be favored, then).


Bonzo is just fine on that score -- he's human, so any class is favored, and his level breakdowns are 16/1/1/(1 PrC)/(1 PrC) // 8/6/6, which are perfectly legal to avoid MC penalties.
I'm not sure I understand... Rogue is his highest class, so as a human, it's his favored class. That leaves him with Bard 8, Monk 6, Warlock 6, Cleric 1, and Marshal 1. How is that not unbalanced?

Duke of URL
2008-04-09, 12:27 PM
I'm not sure I understand... Rogue is his highest class, so as a human, it's his favored class. That leaves him with Bard 8, Monk 6, Warlock 6, Cleric 1, and Marshal 1. How is that not unbalanced?

Because on the "A" side, Rogue is favored, and on the "B" side, Bard is favored. Each side of the progression calculates MC penalties separately. (One of the reasons why it is often not enforced.)

Now, thinking about it again, I may have to reassign a few levels on the "B" side so that there aren't some levels where the split does cause a MC penalty... no big deal, as the order they're taken in generally doesn't matter.

Chronos
2008-04-09, 01:35 PM
Because on the "A" side, Rogue is favored, and on the "B" side, Bard is favored. Each side of the progression calculates MC penalties separately. (One of the reasons why it is often not enforced.)Hm, by that interpretation, humans have a huge advantage over the other races, since for most races, they'll have the same favored class on both sides (whether they're using it or not). Calculating it that way, my entry almost escapes multiclassing penalties, and would entirely if I just swap the two sides at level 6 (which would have no other effect beyond making the table uglier).

The Gilded Duke
2008-04-09, 02:19 PM
This may somehow be legal via RAW, but I can't imagine any sane DM allowing the "half-fey" template to be applied to a fey creature. (And considering your final type is Outsider(native), half-fey would have been applied first.)

Yeah, Half-Fey actually isn't too important to the creature, I mainly included it because I thought the idea of a half-fey fey was funny. If people think it is too cheesy I can remove it and try and pick up another familiar or two with the levels.

Also, it could be half-fey of a different type of fey.

Squash Monster
2008-04-09, 02:38 PM
If you actually were to incur multiclass penalties, I would say you could only apply your racial preference once. Thus, a human X20//Y10/Z10 would not incur penalties, but a human W10/X10//Y10/Z10 would. Presuming these are base classes. By this interpretation, I'm pretty sure my build would not get multiclass penalties.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. Nobody plays with multiclass penalties in gestalt. And furthermore, the rules of the contest do not mention multiclass penalties; they mention weird multiclassing that would take lots of RP justification for.

However, I personally think of looking at the class fluff and trying to make it work together is silly. It really should be a matter of how well the character concept dictated by the mechanics fits together.

Kesnit
2008-04-09, 04:29 PM
Anyway, it doesn't matter. Nobody plays with multiclass penalties in gestalt. And furthermore, the rules of the contest do not mention multiclass penalties; they mention weird multiclassing that would take lots of RP justification for.

Actually, the rules do mention multiclass penalities:


Ignoring mutliclassing penalties -- some DMs actually do enforce this in gestalt (1 point each)

rockdeworld
2008-04-09, 04:37 PM
Duke of URL: How do you take Shadowdancer at level 8 when you don't take Mobility (a prereq) until the level after?

Duke of URL
2008-04-09, 04:47 PM
Duke of URL: How do you take Shadowdancer at level 8 when you don't take Mobility (a prereq) until the level after?

Because my proofreading is ****, apparently. I have a few revisions to make. :smallredface:

dspeyer
2008-04-09, 11:08 PM
Well, my noble winged reptilians did pretty well, let's try a somewhat less noble one.

Corruption
Race: Lillend
Stats: STR: 18 DEX: 18 CON: 16 INT: 20 WIS: 20 CHA: 20 (boost int)
Playable from: 7
Power break: 10 and every level thereafter
Build: rhd 7 / rogue 10 / exemplar 3 // LA 6 / wizard 3 / Ur-priest 3 / loremaster 7 / paladin of slaughter 1

Backstory:

Corruption (his original name is now forgotten) spent his youth guarding a library of forbidden artworks (both erotic and seditious). The rightful king of the realm had ordered them destroyed, lest they corrupt the youth, but none of his soldiers were able to enforce the order against such a deadly guardian. At long last, the king turned to the church of Heironeous, which sent a team of holy warriors and clerics. They drove out the guardian, wounding him near to death, and burned the entire library. Then they celebrated, singing of how the children were safe from corruption.

It was then that the guardian took his new name, determined to become what they feared. And it was then that he swore eternal enmity to Heironeous, to His church, and to all that He stood for. Seeing in goodness the destruction of all he held dear, he embraced evil.

It took time and study to find the way, but eventually he learned to steal magic from the gods. As his powers grew, he held only one goal: to take the fight to Heironeous himself, and win.


Skill points: outsider hit dice, rogue and exemplar are all 8+int/level, and he has a lot of int.

Skill breadth: rogue//loremaster has everything except survival (which is class for the rhd plus a racial bonus) and ride (which isn't useful to large, serpent-like beings anyway). Exemplar has everything. At the earlier levels, especially the hit dice, this is more of a problem.

Other skill bonuses: excellent abilities across the board, inspire competence, plenty of buffing

Magic:
6th level bard
3rd level wizard
10th level ur-priest (similar to a 17th level cleric)
Racial SLAs
Bardic Music
Lore/greater lore

Weaknesses:

Feats: almost all of the low level feats are mandated by the prestige classes, and most of those aren't very useful. The two metamagics are fine, but iron will, spell focus (evil) and skill focus(knowledge(whatever)) aren't worth much. The real mechanical reason for the wizard dip is scribe scroll as a bonus feat. After level 12, you're free to take what you want.

Large size: while handy in melee and grappling, being large is bad for stealth, which is normally the domain of a skill monkey. Invisibility as a bard spell may help here.

Notes:

Consider using the fighter bonus-feats version of rogue. Sneak attack will be tricky with large size, but with some feats, this is also a decent melee build.

Paladin of Slaughter is only really there because there aren't rules for an 11th level ur-priest. If your DM will let you extend the progression logically, do that instead (the divine grace (hah!) is handy).

Corruption can serve as either a BBEG leading a deicidal party or as a hero in a world where the official "good" is something to rebel against. In either case, there is a strong possibility of redemption, but it won't make a mechanical difference: ur-priests who cease to be evil maintain and can increase their powers.

monty
2008-04-11, 10:47 PM
Name: Brie
Build: Human Rogue 20 // Warlock 18 / Chameleon 2
Starting Ability Scores: STR 8, DEX 8, CON 10, INT 18, WIS 8, CHA 16
Cheese Points: 0 (Chameleon isn't hard to justify; this contest is asking for UMD cheese, and it's not too dependent on it anyway)
Minimum Playable Level: 1
Power Break: Leadership at 6, depending on the cohort; Bonus feat at 7; Imbue Item at 14

{table]Level | Classes | Feat | Bonus Feat(s) | Class Features
1 | Rogue 1 // Warlock 1 | Nymph's Kiss | Able Learner | Trapfinding, Sneak Attack, Eldritch Blast, Beguiling Influence
2 | Rogue 2 // Warlock 2 | | | Evasion, Detect Magic, Baleful Utterance
3 | Rogue 3 // Warlock 3 | Skill Focus (Use Magic Device) | | Trap Sense
4 | Rogue 4 // Warlock 4 | | | Uncanny Dodge, Deceive Item, Spiderwalk
5 | Rogue 5 // Warlock 5 | | |
6 | Rogue 6 // Chameleon 1 | Leadership | | Aptitude Focus
7 | Rogue 7 // Chameleon 2 | | Bonus Feat |
8 | Rogue 8 // Warlock 6 | | | Improved Uncanny Dodge, Charm
9 | Rogue 9 // Warlock 7 | Magical Aptitude | | Damage Reduction
10 | Rogue 10 // Warlock 8 | | | Skill Mastery (8), Fiendish Resilience, Fell Flight
11 | Rogue 11 // Warlock 9 | | |
12 | Rogue 12 // Warlock 10 | Savvy Rogue | | Energy Resistance, Flee the Scene
13 | Rogue 13 // Warlock 11 | | | Skill Mastery (16), Devour Magic
14 | Rogue 14 // Warlock 12 | | | Imbue Item
15 | Rogue 15 // Warlock 13 | Jack of All Trades | | Chilling Tentacles
16 | Rogue 16 // Warlock 14 | | | Skill Mastery (25)
17 | Rogue 17 // Warlock 15 | | | Vitriolic Blast
18 | Rogue 18 // Warlock 16 | Negotiator | | Retributive Invisibility
19 | Rogue 19 // Warlock 17 | | | Skill Mastery (34)
20 | Rogue 20 // Warlock 18 | | | Word of Changing[/table]

Skills
Definitely max UMD, and probably Diplomacy for more cheese. Move Silently is good for when you get invisibility later, and spend the other points on miscellaneous Knowledge, Concentration, Spellcraft, and whatever else you want. You should get no less than a 32 on any maxed skill, which covers most pre-epic skill checks.

Class Notes
Rogue - possibly the ultimate skillmonkey. Huge class skill list, lots of skill points (14-16 after bonuses). Skill mastery allows for taking 10 (12 with Savvy Rogue) on 34 skills. Sneak attack, Evasion, etc. keep it from completely sucking in melee.
Warlock - Now you can have your cheese and eat it too! Deceive Item covers the skill that rogues can't master, and makes all kinds of fun with Imbue Item later. Beguiling Influence and Charm are good non-combat invocations, and Greater Invisibility at will makes good use of sneaky skills as well as sneak attack. Other miscellaneous invocations make it reasonable in combat.
Chameleon - It makes sense that a jack-of-all-trades character might become a chameleon, so the RPing isn't hard for the 2-level dip. Bonus feat + Warlock UMD cheese = *Almost* any non-epic magic item you could possibly want. Ever. When not crafting, it means an extra invocation that you can change every day or just a free feat. All you lose from the two warlock levels is 1 dark invocation, more DR, more Eldritch Blast, and more energy resistance, all of which are useless out of combat anyway (most invocations are combat-focused).


Strengths

The cheese potential is definitely there, but it's still viable without it. Skill Mastery means you can eventually take 10 on nearly every skill, and Savvy Rogue bumps that up to 12 (that means never less than 11 on a skill, even with no skill ranks or magic items). The rogue's skill points give lots of good skills, and Jack of All Trades means you can still use all the others untrained. Warlock gives a couple of good noncombat invocations for making some skills better. The high Int also goes well with the Chameleon's arcane focus, so you have a handful of spells there as well. All three classes give decent combat abilities, so you can defend yourself if you have to. If you like cheese, Imbue Item allows you to create any item with a UMD check (highest check is 34 for a 9th level divine spell, which you can get by 13th level while taking 10) if you have the necessary feat, and the floating bonus feat allows you access to almost all of the item creation feats.

[b]Weaknesses

Skill points cover less than half the skills, so it's probably fits better to max a few skills, which leaves weaknesses if you run into a bad situation. Hard to avoid the cheese unless you're careful. Stats are horrendously unbalanced.

Combat

Although not optimized for fighting, this build can hold its own.

The good:
Vitriolic Blast + Sneak Attack + Invisibility = 18d6 + 6d6 total recurring damage against flat-footed touch AC at level 20 (no save or SR) every turn Fell Flight, Flee the Scene, Spiderwalk give good maneuverability; Chilling Tentacles for battlefield control; Baleful Utterance, Devour Magic, Word of Changing for miscellaneous usefulness Good Will and Reflex saves Can use light armor except for Chameleon spells 2nd level arcane spells from Chameleon, or another aptitude

The bad:
HP on the low side (18d6+2d8=72 average) Mediocre AC Weak Fortitude save

Summary
Occam's Razor - Simple build, possibly very effective.
Support functions:
340 skill points, if I did the math right, with just about every skill in-class Not counting Speak Language, Use Magic Device, and multiple Craft/Knowledge/Perform/Profession skills, there are exactly 34 skills, meaning you can take 10 with all of them at any time (although you may want to sacrifice a couple of the less important ones for more Knowledge) Huge UMD capacity, decent Charisma for Bluff, Diplomacy, etc. Able to create almost any non-epic item Beguiling Influence, Baleful Utterance, Charm
Survivability:
Rogue abilities - Evasion, (Improved) Uncanny Dodge Warlock abilities/invocations - Damage reduction, Fiendish Resilience, Fell Flight, energy resistance, Flee the Scene, Retributive Invisibility
Combat:
18th level invoker, Eldritch Blast 8d6, Devour Magic, Chilling Tentacles, Vitriolic Blast Sneak attack 10d6 Decent BAB Proficiency with a variety of weapons and light armor (with no spell failure chance) Good Reflex and Will saves

Chronos
2008-04-11, 11:39 PM
Bonus feat + Warlock UMD cheese = Any non-epic magic item you could possibly want. Ever.Not quite any item, ever. Some items require more than one feat: Several rods, for instance, need both Craft Rod and Craft Magic Arms and Armor.

And this challenge does not, in fact, ask for UMD cheese. It's still worth a million cheese points, just like all the other contests.

monty
2008-04-11, 11:50 PM
And this challenge does not, in fact, ask for UMD cheese. It's still worth a million cheese points, just like all the other contests.

Which is why I said it's still viable without it. The cheese points were for "dependence" on UMD. I was just saying that it IS, after all, a skillmonkey build, which often includes UMD.

And I changed the magic item line. Happy?

Draz74
2008-04-12, 10:07 AM
I want to enter this contest, but I'm having trouble finding a concept that hasn't already been done. The only concept I've even been mulling over was the "use Outsider RHD for lots of skill points" idea, but now the Lillend entry does that.

Actually, maybe I just got an idea. I love how ranting sometimes solves your problems. :smallwink:

Draz74
2008-04-16, 01:02 AM
Grrrrrr, the browser just ate my entry! :smallfurious: Well, I'll try again ... but the backstory won't be nearly as narrative as before. :smallmad:

Since Duke hasn't gotten around to closing entries, I present: The Skill Monkey With No Precision Damage! ... and no, not a Beguiler either

Backstory
Ffflerwylif the Half-Celestial Nymph had always wanted to be a mother, but her jumbled genetics hadn't allowed that to be possible.

One day, at the family Spring Festival formal party, she got in a long debate with her stuffy Planetar uncle (on her dad's side), Borruckn, about good and evil and racial predispositions. It turned into a bet, where she had to raise an "evil" child good -- something from an appropriately dark background, but also appropriately nondangerous.

She found Goobik, an orphan kobold living amidst the ruins of a city on the Plane of Shadow, and took him in. Though she showered him with love, she also was very controlling and didn't give him the most balanced or well-rounded upbringing.

Goobik was brainwashed by messages of absolute Goodness, overcoming his race's evil traditions, and above all avoiding any semblance of violence ("the root of all evil"). A lesser being might have crumbled and become a useless pacifist vegetable under such a one-track education. Goobik wouldn't have survived as a waif on the dark Plane of Shadow, however, without being something of a prodigy: clever and with a drive of curiosity and a talent for improvising. Unfortunately his upbringing still left him as a coward.

Name: Goobik the Experiment
Build: Shadow Kobold Cloistered Cleric // LA / Factotum / Combat Trapsmith / Exemplar
Starting Ability Scores: STR 4, DEX 15, CON 8, INT 17, WIS 15, CHA 8
Cheese: 4 (flaws, very in-character; 1 level of 2 PrCs; Contemplative dip)
Minimum Playable Level: 2
Power Breaks: Level 5 (Brains over Brawn), Level 11 (Exemplar stuff)

Level 1: Cloistered Cleric // LA +1
Level 2: Cloistered Cleric // LA +2
Level 3: Cloistered Cleric // Factotum 1
Level 4: Cloistered Cleric // Factotum 2
Level 5: Cloistered Cleric // Factotum 3
Level 6: Cloistered Cleric // Combat Trapsmith 1
Level 7: Cloistered Cleric // Combat Trapsmith 2
Level 8: Cloistered Cleric // Combat Trapsmith 3
Level 9: Cloistered Cleric // Combat Trapsmith 4
Level 10: Cloistered Cleric // Combat Trapsmith 5
Level 11: Contemplative // Exemplar 1
Level 12: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 2
Level 13: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 3
Level 14: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 4
Level 15: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 5
Level 16: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 6
Level 17: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 7
Level 18: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 8
Level 19: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 9
Level 20: Cloistered Cleric // Exemplar 10

Feats:
Flaws: Noncombatant, Shaky
1: Nymph's Kiss, Sacred Vow, Vow of Nonviolence
3: Agile Athlete
6: Extraordinary Trapsmith
7: (Skill Focus: Craft (trapmaking))
9: Darkstalker
12: Jack of All Trades
15: Quick Reconnoiter
18: Tactile Trapsmith

Cleric Affiliation
No diety; Cleric of a Cause (Kobold Redemption)
Domains: Knowledge, Kobold (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20060420a), Trickery, (thru Contemplative) Travel

Strengths

Goobik gets at least 10 skill points at every level -- more, once he boosts his INT. And a ton of skills as class skills at any given level.
He gets to add his INT to all STR and DEX skill checks, and can add +3 to any trained skill check 1/day.
He has full Cleric casting, as long as he doesn't use any spells that hurt his opponents. This gives him lots of great spells for getting away, or merely disabling his foes. Also plenty of self-healing, making him much more survivable. His spells are hard to resist, in spite of mediocre Wisdom, thanks to Vow of Nonviolence.
If cornered and forced to fight, he will construct traps to protect himself: traps that ensnare his opponent or spray them with chemicals that will disable them in ways that aren't technically harmful (large amounts of nonlethal damage, or blindness, etc.) He is a master trapsmith, even in the heat of combat.
Goobik can win almost anyone as a friend by pumping his Craft (trapmaking) skill to insane levels and using it as a performance.
Goobik is nearly impossible to find when he wants not to be found: Darkstalker, +4 to Hide from size, +INT to stealth skills, Hide in Plain Sight, and great bonuses from Shadow Creature.
Goobik is quick and mobile, and has Evasion and some other nice perks, thanks to the Shadow Creature Template.


Weaknesses

Don't let him anywhere near melee, obviously.
Don't hire him as any kind of assassin. He's more of a (lone?) explorer.
He can't even carry very much equipment without a Handy Haversack.
Better buy a Ring of Swimming so he doesn't drown easily.

Duke of URL
2008-04-16, 06:58 AM
ENTRIES CLOSED - Please Do Not Add Or Modify Entries After This Time

Chronos
2008-04-16, 06:53 PM
Question... If I were to take Nymph's Kiss for my Chameleon floating feat, would it add one skill point for every level since I got access to the floating feat, or would it add one skill point for every level since I put the feat on Nymph's Kiss? If the former, then Don Joe's bonus to an arbitrary skill goes up to +34 with a hypothetical Con-based skill other than Concentration, or +35 with any skill that actually exists in any of the books.

_Puppetmaster_
2008-04-18, 11:44 AM
can we do a Caster Killer contest?

Chronos
2008-04-18, 02:47 PM
For that matter, can we vote on the monsters? I already posted all the links, so all you have to do is list the voting categories.

Kurald Galain
2008-04-18, 09:52 PM
can we do a Caster Killer contest?

I'm fairly certain most of the entries in the Urge To Theurge contest qualify as caster killers - and also, killer casters :smallbiggrin:

Armads
2008-04-19, 06:30 AM
I'm pretty surprised that there are no incarnates among these builds. Incarnates have ridiculous boosts to skill checks with all their soulmelds.

Chronos
2008-04-19, 11:40 AM
Yeah, but soulmeld bonuses are mostly competence bonuses, which you can get easily from all sorts of other sources. And besides, Chameleon 2 makes you better at Incarnum than actually being an Incarnate.

By the way, Kurald, I've figured out how to out-do the Omnicaster. I can get 9th level arcane and divine spells, 9th level powers, 8th level vestiges, 10 soulmelds, dark invocations, Perfected Map utterances, 5th level martial maneuvers, and mysteries as a level 2 shadowcaster, in a 20th-level gestalt build (with many millions of cheese points, of course). That's less shadow than the Omnicaster, but equals or exceeds him in every other category, including full master of 6 of the 9 magic systems.

avr
2008-04-19, 04:32 PM
For that matter, can we vote on the monsters? I already posted all the links, so all you have to do is list the voting categories.

Maybe I'm blind, but I can't see a post in this thread with a list of links. The other gestalt challenge threads yes, but not this one ...

Draz74
2008-04-19, 04:50 PM
Maybe I'm blind, but I can't see a post in this thread with a list of links. The other gestalt challenge threads yes, but not this one ...

He said monsters. I think he's talking about a previous contest and another thread.

avr
2008-04-19, 05:17 PM
He said monsters. I think he's talking about a previous contest and another thread.

Point. OK, I'll try my hand at a list here, for when it's needed.

Bonzo the Consistent, human rogue // warlock / monk / bard (+ dips) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4164625&postcount=2)
Bene, changeling artificer // rogue / exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4165042&postcount=3)
Son of Ted, human factotum / chameleon //archivist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4165431&postcount=6)
Don Joe, dark human with more classes than letters in his name (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4165519&postcount=8)
The One True Skill Monkey, halfling weremonkey rogue // binder (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4165645&postcount=10)
Relas of the forest, elf cloistered cleric / div. oracle / comtemplative // scout / ranger (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4166130&postcount=12)
You bastard, halfling rogue / spymaster / nightsong infiltrator // warlock / sorcerer (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4166359&postcount=13)
Übernymph, half-fey alu-demon nymph telepath / thrallherd (+ dips) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4166628&postcount=14)
The Vampire, human vampire bard // rogue (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4166777&postcount=16)
Tomrimer the Heroic, half-celestial human with 8 classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4167598&postcount=23)
Eben the Sly, elf beguiler // ranger / eternal blade (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4169117&postcount=27)
Corruption, lillend rogue // wizard / ur-priest / loremaster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4172060&postcount=37)
Brie, human rogue // warlock / chameleon (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4180678&postcount=38)
Goobik the Experiment, shadow kobold cloistered cleric // factotum / cbt trapsmith / exemplar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4199818&postcount=42)

rockdeworld
2008-04-22, 06:58 PM
So how/when do we vote?

Draz74
2008-04-23, 06:10 PM
So how/when do we vote?

We wait for Duke of URL - who has been strangely absent from his own contests for the last week - to announce the categories we are voting for (and the deadline). Then we post our nominations and cast our ballots in this thread.

Duke of URL
2008-04-24, 07:37 AM
Sorry, all, I've been busy with PbP games and Victorious Press business.

Voting categories are:

Master Monkey: The build best meeting the challenge goals

Huh?: The build that meets the challenge goals, but does so using a very unusual combination of race/classes/feats.

Party Animal: You'd love to have this guy in your party, or play even it yourself.

(I'm not doing the Gouda award any more -- it's just encouraging, rather than discouraging, extreme cheese.)

Vote for any or all categories, in-thread, by noon PST on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.

SamTheCleric
2008-04-24, 07:40 AM
Master Monkey: Eben the Sly

Huh?: Ubernymph

Party Animal: The One True Skill Monkey

Squash Monster
2008-04-24, 11:58 AM
Master Monkey: Brie

Huh?: The One True Skill Monkey

Party Animal: You Bastard

rockdeworld
2008-04-24, 02:16 PM
Master Monkey: Don Joe

Huh?: The Omnimonkey

Party Animal: Brie

Chronos
2008-04-24, 05:56 PM
Master Monkey: Son of Ted. Chameleons are fun.

Huh?: The One True Skillmonkey. It just seems like weremonkey ought not to work, but I can't see anything wrong with it.

Party Animal: Corruption. I'm a little leery of opposing not only an "always" alignment, but a subtype, but the backstory is very interesting and believable.

avr
2008-04-27, 11:50 PM
Master Monkey: You Bastard - because sneaking the party around as well solves one of the big problems for any skill monkey, the fact that keeping the rest of the party off screen can backfire spectacularly. He looks pretty competent otherwise as well.

Huh?: Corruption, the first really good background for an ur-priest, and that's one of the more unlikely classes to see in this contest.

Party Animal: Goobik the Experiment. Love the backstory, and a skillmonkey who also casts cleric buffs (but doesn't Clericzilla) is going to be a valued member of any party.

monty
2008-04-28, 09:06 PM
Are we allowed to vote for ourselves?

Chronos
2008-04-28, 09:48 PM
Allowed, but most folks have been voluntarily refraining from doing so.

Duke of URL
2008-05-01, 11:38 AM
I'm going to keep this open until noon PST Friday to see if we can get some kind of consensus here, too.

rockdeworld
2008-05-06, 09:29 PM
Didn't work :smalltongue:

I'll swap my "Winner" and "Party Animal" votes, so Brie wins "Master Monkey," The One True Skill Monkey wins "Huh?" and Don Joe wins "Party Animal" (because I voted for him, so there!) :smallbiggrin:

Draz74
2008-05-06, 10:27 PM
Only I was about to vote, too ... and I vote:

Master Monkey: Bonzo the Consistent

Huh?: I guess I'll add a vote for Corruption.

Party Animal: You Bastard (I, too, am impressed by the way he doesn't have to leave his party behind like most skill monkeys).