As Kelemvor teaches, everything must eventually die. I know that, there are 1,500 of me that will eventually die.

Quote Originally Posted by Ten Thousand Souls
Ten Thousand Souls To Save But One

LG Bat Swarm Monk 2 / Cleric of Kelemvor 1 / Paladin 2 / Fighter 1 / Fist of Raziel 10 / Devoted Defender 1



Bat swarms have four or more legs and no hands, this conforms to the competition rules

Spoiler: Ability Scores
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Base: 8 STR/16 DEX/14 CON/8 INT/18 WIS/8 CHA
Bat modifiers: 2 STR/20 DEX/14 CON/3 INT/22 WIS/4 CHA

Note the monsters as races rules for rounding up low stats. There's no entry for 2 int races but the text makes it clear no PC should end up with lower than 3 intelligence.

ASIs: wisdom at 4, 8, 12, 16, cha at level 20
VoP: First increase in wis, then dex, then con, then cha
(cha increases are mostly to improve your resistance to ungol dust)

Level 20 stats: 2 STR/26 DEX/18 CON/3 INT/34 WIS/7 CHA


Spoiler: Backstory
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Hordes of undead surged through the gap in the outer wall, spreading out through the courtyard. In the sky, legions of bats fluttered wildly, swooping down to harry and distract the defenders. From the central keep, a few acolytes bravely sent rays of holy energy down into the mass, but the necrotic tide absorbed their assault without pause.

Brother Johannes, second most senior priest of the Kelemvorian monastery, took cover behind a fallen statue. The undead hadn't reached this part of the courtyard yet, preferring to focus on the central keep's heavy wooden doors. Behind those, Johannes knew, there were no further fallback points: merely dozens of acolytes, the townsfolk who'd sought shelter in the fortified tower, and the inner tombs, whose thousands of dead would only be more fuel for this unholy army.

A dark shape detached from the mass of bats, swooping down towards the acolytes' window. With eerie grace, it threw up its hands, and a wave of dark energy poured into the building, cutting short the nascent screams of those inside. Seemingly satisfied, the floating humanoid looked around before fixing his dark gaze on the desperately praying Johannes.

"Oh great Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead, I know all men must die, and that this is my time, and would not ask to change that. But as you teach us, death can only be bearable because it can be honorable. Is there honor in this death? Can I go to my rest, knowing my body walks at the whim of a maddened monster?"

The vampire had finished its descent, landing some thirty feet away from Johannes, and now patiently waited for its undead servants to catch up. It smirked, clearly unimpressed with the level of resistance it had thus far experienced.

"I ask for only this, Kelemvor. That here, at my appointed time of death, I die in a way that serves you. I grant you my body, as I granted my soul long ago. In this final moment, I sacrifice the sole thing that I retain: my right to a grave, a memory, and a name, and pray for you to make use of my death."

The vampire curtly nodded, and three zombified ogres marched past it, advancing on Johannes. Before they'd taken more than a few steps, the priest leapt out from his cover, shining with an inner light, dashing madly forward. One of the ogres tried to grab him, but its clumsy hands seized only dirt. The second, however, was successful, its rotten fist closing around the now-shining priest. The vampire barked an order, and the ogre collapsed, covering Johannes with its full bulk.

Seconds later, it exploded soundlessly. Rays of light pierced its bulk: two directed at the other zombies, one at the vampire, and one at the clouds far above. Putrid flesh boiled away, filling the air with a pale smoke. The prone ogre silently disintegrated, revealing nothing but a human-shaped indentation on the ground beneath. The other two ogres toppled, the bulk of their torsos boiled away by the holy rays.

And yet, the vampire lived, successful in its attempt to shield itself from the blast. Already its wounds were closing; within a minute it would have healed completely. This had been close, but it was wise to the trick now. Even if another priest could pull off the same stunt, she'd kno-

A swarm of bats descended from the heavens, gray light radiating from their teeth and claws, which rent through the flawless pale flesh like a scythe through wheat The vampire screamed and swatted at the omnipresent beasts, somehow failing to hit any of them. A few of her attendant undead tried to help, their clumsy blows similarly striking only air. The vampire, desperately, turned to fog (what humiliation!) but even that seemed not to stop the bats' assault. Seconds after the initial assault, her gaseous shape was torn to pieces; what little remained was dimly aware her coffin was too far away to reach in time.

Even so, the bats chased her for as long as she lingered.

----------------------

After three days and three nights, Kelemvor's remaining priests emerged from the tower. The undead, now leaderless, had wandered about aimlessly, their interest in a plain wooden door gone. Some had left, chasing the bat swarms: those would have to be dealt with later. A few had been dispatched from the walls and windows. The last few, a squad of warriors had mopped up without too much trouble. The gaps in the wall were being filled in (Make Whole was a truly versatile spell), a tally of the dead had been made, and a few volunteers were already offering to track down the roaming undead.

The new high priest, former third-in-command (Father Bartholomeus had been slain by the vampire in the early stage of the assault, and Brother Johannes was presumed to have fled), walked out into the courtyard, surveying the damage. Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, a dark shape detached itself from the shadows, and she spun around to spot a horde of bats, malevolently... flitting about?

The bats didn't seem aggressive or scared, but they weren't flying away either. They were simply swooping around, mere feet from the ground, infrequent screeches punctuating their acrobatics. High Priest Esmeralda knew little about the natural world, but... that wasn't normal behavior, was it?

"Get Brother Lucian." she commanded to a nearby acolyte. "He used to serve as a ranger before retiring to the monastery; if anyone knows what's going on, it's him. I'm fairly sure he mentioned a spell that allows one to speak with beasts."

The older man, long beard even past the point of greyness and now simply plain white, slowly approached, leaning heavily on two acolytes. Still, upon seeing the bats a twinkle of curiosity appeared in his eye, and when he cast his magic the words came fluently and easily.

The high priest carefully watched the old ranger, noting his expression go from interest, to befuddlement, to nervousness.

"What does it want? Food? Shelter? Some kind of magical assistance, healing?"

Lucian turned slowly, a single drop of sweat trickling down his wrinkled brow, and spoke the one sentence Esmeralda had least been expecting.

"It... it says it wants to convert."


Spoiler: Build Table
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Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Swarm of Bats 1 +0 +2 +2 +0 Speak Language (Common) 2, Spot 2 Sacred Vow Swarm traits, Distraction, Wounding, Blindsense, Immunity to weapon damage, Low-light vision, AC Bonus +4
2nd Swarm of Bats 2 +1 +3 +3 +0 Spot 3 - -
3rd Swarm of Bats 3 +2 +3 +3 +1 Spot 4 Vow of Poverty Endure Elements, AC Bonus +5
4th Overwhelming Attack Monk 1 +2 +5 +5 +3 Diplomacy 1 Nymph's KissEB, Power AttackMB Flurry of Blows, Improved Unarmed Strike, AC bonus, Exalted Strike
5th Overwhelming Attack Monk 2 +3 +6 +6 +4 Diplomacy 3 Improved Bull RushB Evasion, Sustenance
6th Spontaneous Domain Casting Cloistered Lightbringer Cleric of Kelemvor 1 +3 +8 +6 +6 Knowledge (Religion) 3 Surrogate Spellcasting, Travel DevotionB, Servant of the HeavensEB Domains (Repose (Spontaneous), Travel, Knowledge), Positive Healing (lose Repose DGP), Turn Undead, Deflection +1, AC Bonus +6
7th Eternal Order Paladin 1 +4 +10 +6 +6 Diplomacy 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4 - Aura of good, Detect Evil, Corpsestrike 1/day, Undead Knowledge, Resistance +1, +2 Wisdom
8th Eternal Order Paladin 2 +5 +11 +6 +6 Diplomacy 5, Knowledge (Religion) 5 Gift of DiscernmentEB Divine Grace, Lay on Hands, Natural Armor +1, Mind Shielding
9th Fighter 1 +6 +13 +6 +6 Search 1 Serenity, Weapon FocusFB AC bonus +7
10th Fist of Raziel 1 +7 +15 +6 +6 Sense Motive 2 Touch of Golden IceEB Magic Circle, Smite Evil 1/day (Good), Exalted Strike +2 (good), DR 5/magic,
11th Fist of Raziel 2 +8 +16 +6 +6 Sense Motive 4 - +2 Wisdom/Dexterity
12th Fist of Raziel 3 +9 +16 +7 +7 Search 1 Divine Spell Power, Vow of AbstinenceEB Smite 2/day (Confirming), AC bonus +8, Deflection +2, Greater Sustenance
13th Fist of Raziel 4 +10 +17 +7 +7 Search 2 Sanctify Martial StrikeFoRB Resistance +2, Energy Resistance 5
14th Fist of Raziel 5 +11 +17 +7 +7 Search 3 Vow of ChasityEB Smite Evil 3/day (Holy), Exalted Strike +3, Freedom of Movement
15th Fist of Raziel 6 +12 +18 +8 +8 Search 4 Alertness Sunder Evil Item, AC bonus +9, +2 Wisdom/Dexterity/Constitution, DR 5/evil
16th Devoted Defender 1 +13 +20 +10 +8 Spot 6 Vow of ObedienceEB Harm's Way, AC bonus, Natural Armor +2
17th Fist of Raziel 7 +14 +20 +10 +8 Knowledge (Religion) 7 - Smite Evil 4/day (Fiendsmite), Exalted strike +4, Resistance +3, Regeneration
18th Fist of Raziel 8 +15 +21 +10 +8 Knowledge (Religion) 9 Extra Turning, Defender of the HomelandEB AC bonus +10, Deflection +3, True Seeing
19th Fist of Raziel 9 +16 +21 +11 +9 Knowledge (Religion) 11 - Smite Evil 5/day (Chain), +2 Wisdom/Dexterity/Constitution/Charisma, DR 10/Evil
20th Fist of Raziel 10 +17 +22 +11 +9 Knowledge (Religion) 13 Nimbus of LightEB Holy Martial Strike, Exalted Strike +5, Energy Resistance 15


Spoiler: Spells
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Spells per Day/Spells Known
Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
6th 3 3+1 - - - - - - - -
11th 4 4+1 - - - - - - - -
12th 4 5+1 3+1 - - - - - - -
13th 5 6+1 4+1 - - - - - - -
14th 5 6+1 4+1 3+1 - - - - - -
15th 5 6+1 5+1 4+1 - - - - - -
17th 6 7+1 6+1 4+1 3+1 - - - - -
18th 6 7+1 6+1 6+1 4+1 - - - - -
19th 6 7+1 7+1 6+1 5+1 3+1 - - - -
20th 6 7+1 7+1 6+1 6+1 4+1 - - - -

Typical level 20 spells prepared:
Cantrips: Create Water x2, Cure Minor Wounds x2, Detect Poison x2
1: Protection from Evil x2, Obscuring Mist x2, Resurgence x2, Summon Monster I
2: Estanna's Stew x3, Lesser Restoration x2, Silence, Zone of Truth
3: Alter Fortune x2, Delay Death, Lesser Telepathic Bond x2, Shivering Touch,
4: Dimensional Anchor, Lesser Planar Ally, Restoration, Revenance, Sending, Wall of Water
5: Break Enchantment, Plane Shift x2, Revivify
Domain slots: Detect Secret Doors, Detect Thoughts, Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Divination, True Seeing

Can spontaneously cast Repose spells (Deathwatch, Gentle Repose, Speak with Dead, Death Ward, Slay Living) but not cure spells.


Spoiler: Level 20 stats
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AC: 49 (+4 size, +8 dex, +12 wis, +10 exalted armor, +2 NA, +3 deflection), touch AC 37
Saves: +41 fortitude, +34 reflex, +36 will
A lot of no-save killers (sonic orb spam, avasculate, power word, glitterdust, fell drain magic missile, maximized empowered shivering touch) don't screw you over as badly as they would most PCs, if at all. Freedom of Movement beats things like grease or web, even if they're somehow in an AMF. Things like a pimped-out Ice Storm or Cloudkill + Forcecage can still be issues, but cleric spells provide a degree of protection against those.

Swarm damage: 4d6+22 (17 PA, 5 enhancement) in area, autohit, can smite 5/day
Average damage for 3 attacks: 108

DR 10/evil
Resistance 15 to acid/cold/electric/fire
Always-on Freedom of Movement
Always-on True Seeing
19 turning attempts/day
Doesn't need to eat, breathe, or sleep


Spoiler: Swarms
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Swarms are weird. The rules tell us the bare minimum we need to know to run encounters against them, but PCs with the swarm subtype are just completely unaccounted for. Listed here are my best attempts to make sense of the rules and figure out how they interact with 'regular' build options.

The unambiguous
As a swarm of Diminutive creatures, Ten is immune to weapon damage (except the bonus energy damage from flaming etc weapons), trips, grapples, bull rushes, and the VERY broad 'spells or effects that target a specific number of creatures'. Ten cannot make AoOs, threaten, or help people flank. Ten also takes 50% more damage from damaging effects that cover an area.

Attacks
The rules say 'In order to attack, it moves into an opponent’s space, which provokes an attack of opportunity. It can occupy the same space as a creature of any size, since it crawls all over its prey. A swarm can move through squares occupied by enemies and vice versa without impediment, although the swarm provokes an attack of opportunity if it does so' and 'Creatures with the swarm subtype don’t make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Swarm attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover.'

I've interpreted the 'no standard melee attacks' in the widest sense, as disallowing the use of any melee attack, including touch attacks for spells (though touching a willing target should still be fine). Swarm damage, being an automatically hitting 'non-standard' melee attack, is still fine obviously.

But when does a swarm attack? Every time they end 'their move'. If you double move, that's two attacks. If you get a swift action move, that's a third. Sure, each of these will provoke AoOs, but that's still a lot of hits. Note that PC options like Summon Swarm restrict the swarm's movement, presumably for this very reason.

Power Attack
Power attack says 'On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls.' It doesn't require actually making the attack roll: power attack on a coup-de-grace is valid, and so is power attack on a swarm attack.

Buffs
Obviously, most buffs won't affect yourself, not even if you are the one casting them (buffs that say they target 'you' probably don't work either), but how to safely cast buffs on allies if you can't move into their space and have 0 ft. reach? The simplest solution is to move adjacently (preferably into the space of whoever they are fighting), ready an action to put the buff down as soon as possible, and have them 5-ft-step into your space on their initiative. Then, as your turn comes around again, simply move so that your ally isn't in your space after your move. Out of combat, this is even easier, as the ally can just double move in and out of your space to receive the buff.


Spoiler: Snapshots
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ECL 5
At these levels, merely being a swarm will often win a lot of fights by itself, so we focus on obtaining feats that'll be useful later. Monk lets you get Power Attack without meeting the prerequisite and grants Evasion at level 2, in addition to setting up our wisdom-SADness. Your AC is an impressive 30 (25 touch), so even monsters smart enough to swipe you with torches or fling lanterns will often fail to inflict damage. Vow of Poverty is an obvious choice given our utter inability to use equipment, and the extra skill points from Nymph's Kiss make up for our abysmal intelligence. Double move each round, try and catch multiple enemies in a 10x10 square, and Power Attack for max. Note that healing is a bit tricky at those levels, as most healing spells target a single creature, but this issue gets softened from level 6 on.

ECL 10
This is where the build has really come together. With Serenity, Lay on Hands and Divine Grace now use your stellar wisdom... and so does the turning from your cleric dip, because nowhere does it say Serenity affects only paladin class features. Kelemvor is chosen as our deity for being one of the few LN/LG/NG options with Travel (which gives us a third move and thus a third attack). We can use our 10 turning attempts to get extra Travel Devotions or activate Positive Healing, which heals us 10 HP per turning attempt, enough to cover what incidental damage we sustain).

Furthermore, our cleric level qualifies us for Fist of Raziel and gives us two additional domains. I picked repose as our other option and stuck spontaneous domain casting to it, because when you want to cast Death Ward you'll usually need it for everyone in the party.

Picking Kelemvor also lets us be an Eternal Order paladin, which can overcome the DR of undead instead of smiting evil. Given how our swarm attacks have no damage type and thus can't even overcome common DR like slashing or bludgeoning, this is very welcome.

ECL 15
Fist of Raziel has been advancing both our BAB (for power attack) and cleric casting (for buffs). Divine Spell Power gives us yet another outlet for our rapidly growing number of turns and high turning check, and thanks to our massive Wisdom there's basically no risk of losing caster levels.

Consider preparing Alter Fortune around these levels, as the only thing you're really afraid of is rolling a nat 1 on a key Reflex save. Other notable spells include Delay Death for buffing allies, Zone of Truth for social encounters, and the usually useless Estanna's Stew, which is notably one of the few target-less healing effects in the game.

ECL 20
We finish the build with +17 BAB (which we can all turn into PA damage), 19 daily turning attempts, and 10th-level cleric casting. We get five daily smites with all sorts of neat effects added on, energy resistance, True Seeing, all sorts of good stuff.

Two feat taxes have also allowed us to enter Devoted Defender, which lets us use our massive defensive traits for the benefit of the party. As a bonus, you occupy a 10x10 space, so when you 'swap positions' with an ally you can arguably reposition yourself so that an enemy is now in your space: at which point you get another swarm attack against them. This is a bit of a shaky interpretation, so I don't strictly rely on it, but it's cool if it works.

As a final note: while we've mostly been focusing on damage, note that you have up to 5 spontaneous Slay Livings a day with a save DC of like 27. If you ever find yourself in an enemy's space with a standard left, consider spending it on a save-or-die instead of another move action. You also get the neat Revenance + Revivify combo, which makes in-combat resurrecting practical without forcing you to beg your fighting allies for a diamond (cast Revenance, let resurrected character fight, wrap up combat, stand by to cast Revivify when the duration runs out).


Spoiler: Sources
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Overwhelming Attack monk - UA
Spontaneous Domain Casting - PHB II
Positive Healing - Expedition to Castle Ravenloft
Eternal Order paladin - CoV
Fist of Raziel - BoED
Devoted Defender - SaF

Surrogate Spellcasting - SS
Serenity - DComp
Divine Spell Power - CD
Travel Devotion - CC

Defender of the Homeland - CoV
Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, all other exalted feats - BoED