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Friend Ethan


Spoiler: Stub
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CG Human Ranger 2/Cloistered Cleric 4/Ruathar 1/Mag Tricks 3/Divine Disciple 5/Bat Tricks 3/Ruathar +2
7d8+10d6+3d10
Worship Shevarash (FR-elven god), as Human

Point Buy:
STR/DEX/CON/INT 10, WIS 18, CHA 15
4-16 in WIS, 20 in CHA


Spoiler: Background:
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The village of Glen Lorien had stood in the shadow of the Grey Wood for nearly as long as memory could recall. From Father to Son, and Father to Son before them, each Family had served the House of Dryearurdrenn for millennia. The House had stood stalwart against the forces of the Maeurden since that filth first dared to cross into the lands of the light, under the cover of the darkness to which they clung so desperately.

My Father, and his Father, and His Father, back to the beginning of our Line had served the Champions of the Light as scouts and wardens of the Wood, often sounding the Horn when the Raiders sign made manifest. We ranged the width and breadth of the realm, scouring the land in our duty to help repel the evil ones from the light. It was on one such occasion that fortune most foul befell us.

Before we could react, we were swarmed underfoot and trampled into the earth by an overwhelming force. They didn’t even stop to finish us off, so ravenous was their thirst for Elvish blood that most dire of nights. They needent had bothered anyways, all in our party save myself were murdered outright for the raiding party had coated the cloven hoofs of their mount’s steel shod feet in their horrendous poisons. Were it not for Father falling upon me in that last desperate moment, I would have joined him in the afterlife that day.

The next day I awoke to the carnage all around me. I patched myself up as best I could, then gathered my companions and Father together and sent their souls to the heavens. Another scouting party, this one from the Capitol itself, saw the smoke from the funeral pyre and rescued me late that afternoon. Their voices joined with mine as we sang the Song to honor the Fallen one final time.

My wounds were tended to by the Healers, and I was given into the clergy’s care as a ward until I was to become fully of Age. I embraced the philosophy of the Great Shevarash, and sought nothing but the obliteration of the entirety of the race of Drow for what they had done. The battle without raged on, while I was kept to my studies within. In time, I was allowed to rejoin the scouting parties, and on one such occasion was able to repay my debt by rescuing the Crown Prince from a similar fate, by defeating to the last those who held him besieged in the Wood.

Upon return to the City, I was led to the front of the procession, and allowed to lead the way into the Fortress. As I stepped through the gate, the sky was filled with explosions of golden light, and Horns trumpeted from every parapet the city over. I approached the Great Seal, and the light fell from the heavens, coalescing around me in a whirlwind of leaves. Just as suddenly, all was silent and still, and the King stood before me. He bowed low, and spoke in my ear, and a ripple passed through my body. He made me a gift of Elven Chain.

From that day forward, I was both Man, and Elf-Friend. Embracing both my ancestry and my new life among the elves, I began to weave the martial and the magical together. My fury and hatred of the Dark One’s often led me underground. I pursued them relentlessly, until each fell beneath by bow. Often I would uncover one of their tunnels, and hide up in a corner waiting for them to come out. From the shadows I struck, raining death down upon them from the eaves of their own making.

My fanaticism elevated me to the status of Disciple in the Church of Shevarash. An even rarer thing for a Human to be, than what I already was. When not engaged in my semi-official duties, I acted as a conduit from His Holiness to the congregation. In time, my experiences and stature grew, and I was granted Ascension. I became more elvish in appearance as my eyes took on a tilt and changed their hue.

I continue to bring the fight to the darkness to this day. In time, the battle will be won. It matters not if it is won by the sword, the spell, or by another means. The Drow are honorless creatures, and so honorable means of facing them have no place in this world. I employ guile and trickery whenever possible to achieve victory.


Spoiler: Build
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Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Ranger 1 2 2 0 Climb 4, Conc 4, Diplo 2, Jump 4, Know-Dungeon 4, Sleight 2, Spellcraft 2, Spot 4, Tumble 2 Able Learner, (B)Zen Archery Favored Enemy - Drow, Spiritual Connection ACF, Track
2nd Ranger 2 2 3 3 0 Climb 5, Conc 5, Jump 5, Know Dungeon 5, Know Rel 1, Spot 5, Survival 1 (B)Rapid Shot Combat Style - Ranged
3rd Cloistered Cleric 2 5 3 2 Conc 6, Spellcraft 3, Know Rel 4, Collector of Stories Ancestral Relic (Elvencraft Longbow) (B) Knowledge Devotion (B) Point Blank Shot (B) Weapon Focus Longbow Turn Undead, Spells, Lore, War Domain, Elf Domain
4th CCleric 2 3 6 3 3 Conc 7, Spellcraft 4, Know Rel 7, Wall Jumper - -
5th CCleric 3 3 6 4 4 Conc 8, Climb 6, Know Rel 8, Sleight 4, Spot 6, Tumble 3 - -
6th CCleric 4 4 7 4 5 Conc 9, Climb 7, Spellcraft 8, Spot 7 Extend Spell -
7th Ruathar 4 7 6 7 Conc 10, Sleight 5, Spellcraft 9, Conceal Spellcasting - Word of Friendship, Gift of Elves, +1 SC (Cleric)
8th Magical Trickster 4 7 6 9 Climb 8, Conc 11, Diplo 3, Spellcraft 10, Tumble 4 (B) Corner Perch - Spontaneous Trickster
9th Magical Trickster 2 5 7 6 10 Climb 9, Conc 12, Diplo 4, Spellcraft 11, Tumble 5 Persist Spell, (B) Divine Metamagic +1 SC (Cleric)
10th Magical Trickster 3 5 8 7 10 Climb 10, Conc 13, Diplo 5, Spellcraft 12, Tumble 6 (B)Swift Concentration - Metamagic Trick, Tricky Magic, +1 SC (Cleric)
11th Divine Disciple 5 10 7 12 Climb 11, Sleight 6, Spot 8 - (B)Retribution Domain, Divine Emissary, +1 SC (Cleric)
12th Divine Disciple 2 6 11 8 13 Climb 12, Spot 10 Holy Warrior Sacred Defense +1, +1 SC (Cleric)
13th Divine Disciple 3 7 11 9 13 Conc 14, Sleight 7, Tumble 7 - Imbue with Spell Ability, +1 SC (Cleric)
14th Divine Disciple 4 8 12 9 14 Sleight 8, False Theurgy - Sacred Defense +2, +1 SC (Cleric)
15th Divine Disciple 5 8 12 9 14 Spot 11 Practiced Spellcaster (Cleric) Transcendance, +1 SC (Cleric), Outsider Traits
16th Battle Trickster 9 14 9 14 Conc 15, Spot 12, Sleight 11 (B)Spot the Weak Point - -
17th Battle Trickster 2 10 15 9 14 Sleight 12, Survival 5 (B)Tunnel Fighting -
18th Battle Trickster 3 11 15 10 15 Conc 16, Spot 13, Survival 8 (B) Walk the Walls Sacred Radiance Tricky Fighting
19th Ruathar 2 12 15 11 16 Conc 17, Spot 15, Survival 10 - Elfwise, +1 SC (Cleric)
20th Ruathar 3 13 16 11 16 Conc 18, Spot 17, Survival 12 - Arvandor's Grace, +1 SC (Cleric)


Spoiler: ACF/Skill Tricks/Relic
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Spiritual Connection ACF: Replace Wild Empathy with Speak with animals/Speak with Plants SLA, any combination up to 3/day, CL=Char level
Favored Enemy: Drow

Shevarash: Faiths and Pantheons 131:
Elven deity of revenge, loss, hatred of Drow. CN, Porfolio (Crusades, Hatred of Drow, Loss, Vengeance), Domains: (Chaos, Elf, Retribution, War). Favored Weapon: Longbow, Cleric Alignments: CE/CG/CN

Skill Tricks – Comp Sco 82: ***Collector of Stories (Know 5) +5 to any knowledge check, ***Conceal Spellcasting (Conc 1/Sleight 5/Spellcraft 1) make sleight of hand vs spot check, if successful, no AoO and can’t counter spell, ***Corner Perch (climb 8) brace against two walls, or in a corner until end of next turn on successful climb check leaving your hands free, ***False Theurgy (Bluff/Sleight 8, Spellcraft 8) change verbal/somatic components of spell to another of same level, essentially immune to counterspelling, ***Spot the Weak Point (spot 12) standard action spot vs AC, if successful next attack is treated as touch attack, ***Swift Concentration (Conc 12) maintain concentration as a swift action ***Walk the Walls (climb 12, Tumble 5) trade 4 squares movement for 1 vertical w/o needing a climb check ***Wall Jumper (climb/jump 5) after successful climb check, can leap from wall as if from running start

Ancestral Relic: Elvencraft Longbow: RoTW 167, functions as normal longbow, but can be used as a quarterstaff in melee combat w/ no penalties. Can freely interchange melee/ranged attacks during same round.

Ancestral Relic enhancements: Precise +1 (as precise shot), Lucky +1 (reroll missed attacks), Splitting +3 (double all attacks) http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm
Depending on who’s argument you listen to, Lucky either affects every attack on a ranged weapon, or only 1/day. If you subscribe to the 1/day theory, I’d scrap it as an enhancement and take Hunting in it’s place instead of adding it in later.
-Hunting +1, MIC 37: increase favored enemy damage by 4
-Vampiric +2, MIC 45: deal an extra 1d6 to living, and heal that amount
-Force +2, automatically overcome DR, no miss chance vs incorporeal MIC 35:

Also, an untyped bonus, but can be factored into the overall item GP value:
Finder – Underdark 69: 4,800gp, +4 Search, Spot, Survival made underground

Spoiler: Relic table
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Enhancement Bonus Bonus Cost ECL WBL Enhancement Used
1 2,000 GP 4th 6,000 Precise
2 8,000 7th 23,500 Lucky
3 18,000 9th 46,000 +x
4 32,000 11th 82k +x
5 50,000 13th 140,000 Splitting
6 72,000 14th 185,000 +x
7 98,000 15th 240,000 +x
8 128,000 16th 315,000 +x
9 162,000 17th 410,000 +x
10 200,000 18th 530,000 +x


Spoiler: Spells
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Spells per Day/Spells Known
Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
3rd 3 1+1 - - - - - - - -
4th 4 2+1 - - - - - - - -
5th 4 2+1 1+1 - - - - - - -
6th 5 3+1 2+1 - - - - - - -
7th 5 3+1 2+1 1+1 - - - - - -
9th 5 3+1 3+1 2+1 - - - - - -
10th 6 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 - - - - -
11th 6 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 - - - - -
12th 6 4+1 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 - - - -
13th 6 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 - - - -
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 - - -
19th 6 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 2+1 1+1 - -
20th 6 5+1 5+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 3+1 2+1 - -




Bonus Spells:
1 to 7: 1-1, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1
8 to 15: 1-2, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1
16 to 20: 1-2, 2-2, 3-1, 4-1, 5-1, 6-1

Fun Spells to persistify, among others

Luminous Armor – Sanctified 2nd lvl spell: 1hr/lvl, a shimmering aura of light surrounds touched creature, granting +5 AC, no max dex restriction, no armor check penalty, and no arcane spell failure chance. Also sheds light equivalent to a daylight spell, and counters darkness spells of 2nd level or lower. The armor’s brightness causes opponents to take -4 penalty to attack you in melee, and stacks w/ the penalty suffered by light sensitivity (such as drow have). Take 1d2 STR damage when casting

Divine Favor - 4th: 1rd/lvl +6 STR, BAB = Char Level, 1 temporary HP/CL
Celestial Aspect – Sanctified 3rd: Wings of the astral deva – gain flying 100ft, eyes of the firre – 2d6 fire 1/round, no attack roll required, can change freely 1/round. Take 1d3 STR when cast
Haste

Cloistered Cleric – Knowledge Domain into Devotion

Elf Domain (SpC) – GP: gain (B) Point Blank Shot
1- True Strike: +20 on next attack roll
2- Cat’s Grace: 1d4+1 DEX for hours/lvl
3- Snare: create magic booby trap
4- Tree Stride: tree teleport
5- Commune with Nature: learn about terrain for 1mile/lvl
6- Find the Path: show direct route to a location
7- Liveoak: oak becomes a Treant Guardian
8- Sunburst: Blind all within 10ft at long range, deal 6d6
9- Antipathy: Object/location affected repels certain creatures

War Domain (PHB) – GP: Martial Weap Proficiency w/ favored weapon, and Weapon Focus
1- Magic Weapon: weapon gains +1 bonus
2- Spiritual Weapon: Magic weapon attacks on own
3- Magic Vestment: Armor/Shield gains +1/ 4 levels
4- Divine Power: BAB=character lvl, +6 STR, and 1 hp/lvl
5- Flame Strike: divine fire 1d6/lvl
6- Blade Barrier: Wall of blades deals 1d6/lvl
7- Power Word Blind: Blind creature w/ 200 hp or less
8- Power Word Stun: Stuns creature w/ 150 hp or less
9- Power Word Kill: kill creature w/ 100 hp or less

Retribution Domain (PGtF)
GP: 1/day when harmed in combat, on next attack, if you hit, you deal maximum damage
1- Shield of Faith: +2 or higher deflection bonus
2- Bear’s Endurance: Subject gains +4 CON for 1min/lvl
3- Speak with the Dead: Corpse answers 2 questions/lvl
4- Fire Shield: Attacking creatures take fire damage, protection from heat or cold
5- Mark of Justice: Designated action triggers curse on subject
6- Banishment: 2HD/lvl extraplanar creatures
7- Spell Turning: Reflect back 1d4+6 spell levels at caster
8- Discren Location: Reveal exact location of subject
9- Storm of Vengeance: rain acid, lighting, hail


Spoiler: Level Breakdown
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Sweet Spots: 13, 15, 18.
5- Standard Archer Cleric at this point. Spiritual Connection helps in the tracking of our quarry by having the plants/animals assist. Lore combined w/ Collector of Stories for that combat bonus. Ancestral Relic is on hand and activated. Little bit lower BAB, but weapon focus, the masterwork bonus, and rapid shot give you another attack, and with Zen Archery thrown in, you should be hitting every attack anyways.

10- DMM is online, but not fully abusable until later on. Added 3 skill tricks in this block as well as completed Magical Trickster and all its fun. Can burn 1st level spells to re-use skill tricks, 1/day can extend a spell freely and on any round a skill trick is used spell save DC is increased by 1.

15- Its all Divine Disciple in this block, as well as picking up False Theurgy. Holy Warrior is straight bonus damage per attack based off of the highest war spell available. War Spell, not War Domain. Imbue with spell ability allows the sharing of spells to the party to use as needed, freeing up actions. Transcendence among other things adds Protection From Evil as an at will SLA, important when your favored enemy is inherently evil.

20- Finish off the Build w/ Battle Trickster and Ruathar. Only 13 BAB, however Divine Power gives full BAB progression, and has been doing so for quite awhile. Great saves. End at Cleric Casting 14th (7ths) at CL 18. Sacred Radiance is quite OP, a single turn attempt equals a 60ft radius bright light which affects evil (drow) AND grants a bonus to your allies at the same time. Two more skill tricks in this block as well, and any round you use a skill trick adds +1 to the next attack roll.


Spoiler: Sources:
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Book of Exalted Deeds: Ancestral Relic
Champions of Ruin: Splitting Enhancement
Complete Champion: Spiritual Connection ACF
Complete Scoundrel: Battle Trickster, Magical Trickster, Skill Tricks
Complete Warrior: Zen Archery
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting: Divine Disciple
Magic Item Compendium: weapon enhancements
Player’s Guide to Faerun: Retribution Domain
PHB: Cleric, Domains, Feats, Ranger
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Races of Stone: Tunnel Fighting
Races of the Wild: Elvencraft Bow, Ruathar
Spell Compendium: Domains

On Ancestral Relic:
As a Quarterstaff it can be enchanted as a staff, a weapon, a wondrous item, and a double weapon; It is both a 2 handed weapon and a 1 handed weapon.

Quote Originally Posted by Biffoniacus_Furiou
You can sacrifice anything to add its market value to your ancestral relic, which is then added to the relic's stored gp value. You can then apply that value toward assigning magical properties to the relic, but those properties' total value cannot exceed the value by your level on the table. Nothing says you cannot store value for future use in excess of the maximum magical value.

For example, your party kills a bunch of orcs, and you have 20 studded leather and 20 falchions. The gear is in poor condition and may not even be worth hauling back to town to sell, as you would only get a fraction of its value. However, you can sacrifice all of that into your ancestral relic for its full market value, or 2,000 gp. You must meditate for two days to do so, but you can spend eight hours one day to do half, and eight hours another day to do the rest.

As another example, the party is going through a ruin and finds an ornate marble fountain in one of the overgrown gardens. It's in good condition and certainly worth quite a bit, but it's a permanent fixture and much too heavy to move. In comes your character with his Ancestral Relic feat, and you kneel by it for eight hours a day for several days until the entire thing is sacrificed and the full value is added to your relic! The same goes for all the fixtures in a given dungeon: doors, decorations, carvings, murals, you name it, its value gets added to your gear despite such items not typically being taken into consideration for party loot.

If the party would sell junk loot for half its value, you can buy it from the party pool for that price, and still get a portion back when cash is split. You can sacrifice that junk loot into your relic to add its full market value. For example, 1,000 gp of junk loot would sell in town for 500 gp normally, or 125 gp per character in a party of four. You pay the rest of the party 375 gp for the pile (500 gp, and then you get back 125 gp), and sacrifice the full 1,000 gp into your relic, so you're upgrading it for 3/8 cost.

Each time you upgrade your relic you can completely change what its properties are. You can get a rod, make it a Lesser Rod of Extend, later switch it to a Lesser Rod of Empower, then a Lesser Rod of Maximize, and later upgrade it to a Lesser Rod of Quicken. You don't have to keep any of its previous properties when you upgrade it. You can get a masterwork/masterwork Quarterstaff, make it a custom Runestaff with any spells you want on it. At any time you can switch what spells it provides, and as long as the value stays the same a gp difference of zero makes it take zero days of meditation to switch it. Later on add charges of spells per a Staff. (which we can do at all day long for Divine Power uses) Eventually make each end +1 Defending and put Greater Magic Weapon +5 on each for +10 AC.

It's basically a fully customizable item, plus a garbage disposal for junk loot or unlootable decor that the party wouldn't have hauled back to sell. You always get to pick what magical item it is and can switch what it is (apart from its shape) whenever you want. It's especially good for a character who's extremely dependent on 'the right item' such as a bow with the right properties for an archer, or a runestaff for a sorcerer, etc., especially when your DM won't reliably give PCs access to buying magic items or placing an order to get them crafted.
The best part about our Ancestral Relic, the Elvencraft Longbow, is that you can dual enchant it as either a bow, or a quarterstaff and the enchants don’t exist unless you’re using it for those purposes. And a quarterstaff is simply a staff until you try to use it in combat, so you can abuse the hell out of it by having it either function as a staff (optimal for divine power that you can simply recreate when it runs out of charges) or have +5 enhancement bonus’s to each end, AND on top of that enhance it as a bow, AND on top of that enhance it as a Wondrous Item. All of these things work simply by the wording of the feat, all you have to do is track how much value you are putting into it and stay under the cap.
Per the Arms and Equipment Guide, adding a feat to an item should cost 10k + 5-10k per prereq. However, Nightsticks cost only 7500gp. Adding successive Extra Turnings to the Relic should then cost either 7500gp each, or twice that per stack. Further, you can add this to each end of the quarterstaff, and freely switch between melee/ranged to activate them. Either way, this is arguably much cheaper than adding a flat CHA bonus per the wondrous item creation rules for extra turn attempts. Or you could always use Reliquary Holy Symbol for 2 turn attempts each at a fraction of the cost (500-1000).