Junkyard Wars in the Playground VI: Wonderworker + Profession Skill - Factotum

[Macabaret]

Well, I sent an email to the chairman via the forums with my entry, hopefully that will have to do. My connectivity is going to be spotty at best for the next several hours. Good luck all!

Darn fine idea!
I was about to follow suit, but my PM made it through!

[OMG PONIES]

Just waiting on responses from two more submitters to make sure I've got them all.

[OMG PONIES]

And the responses are in! Please refrain from posting until I've gotten all entries and judge's criteria posted.

[OMG PONIES]

"Hear ye the word of the *hic*."

Brewmaster Barleybeard



Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous beer
For they shall be filled.
Blessed are the drinkers
For they shall taste of glory.
Blessed are the pure in malt and hops
For they shall see good Beer.
Worry not for the troubles of tomorrow
For where your Beer is
There your spirits will be also.

Background

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Barleybeard has always been fascinated with the creation and consumption of alcohol in its many forms. It's only natural that he would find himself in the priesthood of Hanseath when he was old enough. But unlike his fellows who embraced all of Hanseath's ideals together, Barleybeard set one ideal above all. "Beer is proof that Hanseath loves us and wants us to be happy," he'd often say, and while his contemporaries studied swordplay and battle, Barleybeard studied fermentation and distillation. It was soon obvious to all who knew him that Barleybeard was an artist with a rare gift for creating magnificent alcohols. He traveled far and wide and even did some plane-hopping to learn secrets from famous brewers of many races, including the wild and wily eladrin. He learned to concoct magical brews that could heal the sick, regrow lost limbs, and even grant miracles. When he returned to his homeland, he set up a fine drinking establishment that doubles as a temple to Hanseath. He holds sermons there every day, just after happy hour.

Despite Hanseath's taste for war, Brewmaster Barleybeard has sworn to never take a life. For if he did that, how then could they taste of Hanseath's glory? He spends his time in quiet prayer and dedication whilst brewing up his luscious lagers at his bar. When he speaks, any dwarf worth his beard listens, for Barleybeard's Brews are the best tasting, most potent, and most pleasing drinks in the known world.

Build

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Brewmaster Barleybeard
CG Dwarf Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 7/Master Alchemist 10/Wonderworker 3

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Concentration 4, Craft(Alchemy) 4, Knowledge(Arcana) 4, Knowledge(Nature) 4, Knowledge(Religion) 4, Profession(Brewer) 4, Spellcraft 4, Survival 4	Strength Devotion (swapped Strength domain for it), Skill Focus(Craft[Alchemy])	Lore, Turn Undead, Spellcasting, Knowledge Domain, Travel Domain, Strength Domain (swapped for Strength Devotion feat)
2nd	Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Concentration 5, Craft(Alchemy) 5, Knowledge(Arcana) 5, Knowledge(Nature) 5, Knowledge(Religion) 5, Profession(Brewer) 5, Spellcraft 5, Survival 5
3rd	Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 3	+1	+3	+1	+3	Concentration 6, Craft(Alchemy) 6, Knowledge(Arcana) 6, Knowledge(Nature) 6, Knowledge(Religion) 6, Profession(Brewer) 6, Spellcraft 6, Survival 6	Brew Potion
4th	Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 4	+2	+4	+1	+4	Concentration 7, Craft(Alchemy) 7, Knowledge(Arcana) 7, Knowledge(Nature) 7, Knowledge(Religion) 7, Profession(Brewer) 7, Spellcraft 7, Survival 7
5th	Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 5	+2	+4	+1	+4	Concentration 8, Craft(Alchemy) 8, Knowledge(Arcana) 8, Knowledge(Nature) 8, Knowledge(Religion) 8, Profession(Brewer) 8, Spellcraft 8, Survival 8
6th	Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 6	+3	+5	+2	+5	Concentration 9, Craft(Alchemy) 9, Knowledge(Arcana) 9, Knowledge(Nature) 9, Knowledge(Religion) 9, Profession(Brewer) 9, Spellcraft 9, Survival 9	Magical Artisan(Brew Potion)
7th	Cloistered Cleric of Hanseath 7	+3	+5	+2	+5	Concentration 10, Craft(Alchemy) 10, Knowledge(Arcana) 10, Knowledge(Nature) 10, Knowledge(Religion) 10, Profession(Brewer) 10, Spellcraft 10, Survival 10
8th	Master Alchemist 1	+3	+5	+2	+7	Craft(Alchemy) 11, Knowledge(Arcana) 11, Profession(Brewer) 11, Spellcraft 11		Brew 2/day, +1 level of existing spellcasting class
9th	Master Alchemist 2	+4	+5	+2	+8	Craft(Alchemy) 12, Knowledge(Arcana) 12, Profession(Brewer) 12, Spellcraft 12	Consecrate Spell	Brew Potion (4th), +1 level of existing spellcasting class
10th	Master Alchemist 3	+4	+6	+3	+8	Craft(Alchemy) 13, Knowledge(Arcana) 13, Profession(Brewer) 13, Spellcraft 13		Brew Potion (5th), +1 level of existing spellcasting class
11th	Master Alchemist 4	+5	+6	+3	+9	Craft(Alchemy) 14, Knowledge(Arcana) 14, Profession(Brewer) 14, Spellcraft 14		Brew Potion (6th), +1 level of existing spellcasting class
12th	Master Alchemist 5	+5	+6	+3	+9	Craft(Alchemy) 15, Knowledge(Arcana) 15, Profession(Brewer) 15, Spellcraft 15	Knight of Stars	Brew 3/day, +1 level of existing spellcasting class
13th	Master Alchemist 6	+6	+7	+4	+10	Craft(Alchemy) 16, Knowledge(Arcana) 16, Profession(Brewer) 16, Spellcraft 16		Improved Identification, +1 level of existing spellcasting class
14th	Master Alchemist 7	+6	+7	+4	+10	Craft(Alchemy) 17, Knowledge(Arcana) 17, Profession(Brewer) 17, Spellcraft 17		Brew Potion (7th), +1 level of existing spellcasting class
15th	Master Alchemist 8	+7	+7	+4	+11	Craft(Alchemy) 18, Knowledge(Arcana) 18, Profession(Brewer) 18, Spellcraft 18	Intuitive Attack	Brew Potion (8th), +1 level of existing spellcasting class
16th	Master Alchemist 9	+7	+8	+5	+11	Craft(Alchemy) 19, Knowledge(Arcana) 19, Profession(Brewer) 19, Spellcraft 19		Brew 4/day, +1 level of existing spellcasting class
17th	Master Alchemist 10	+8	+8	+5	+12	Craft(Alchemy) 20, Knowledge(Arcana) 20, Profession(Brewer) 20, Spellcraft 20		Brew Potion (9th), +1 level of existing spellcasting class
18th	Wonderworker 1	+8	+8	+5	+14	Craft(Alchemy) 21, Knowledge(Religion) 11, Profession(Brewer) 21, Spellcraft 21	Nonlethal Substitution, Sacred Vow(B)	Bonus Exalted Feat, 1 Bonus 9th level Spell per day, 1 Bonus 8th level Spell per day
19th	Wonderworker 2	+9	+8	+5	+15	Craft(Alchemy) 22, Knowledge(Religion) 12, Profession(Brewer) 22, Spellcraft 22	Vow of Nonviolence(B)	Bonus Exalted Feat, 1 Bonus 9th level Spell per day, 2 Bonus 8th level Spells per day
20th	Wonderworker 3	+9	+9	+6	+15	Craft(Alchemy) 23, Knowledge(Religion) 13, Profession(Brewer) 23, Spellcraft 23	Vow of Peace(B)	Bonus Exalted Feat, 1 Bonus 9th level Spell per day, 1 Bonus 8th level Spell per day

Ability Scores

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Starting Ability Scores (including racial adjustments):
Str - 10
Dex - 12
Con - 16
Int - 14
Wis - 16
Cha - 10

Final Ability Scores:
Str - 10
Dex - 12
Con - 16
Int - 14
Wis - 21 (4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th)
Cha - 10

Spells known, spells/day

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Spells/day
Spells per Day/Spells Known
Spells per Day/Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	3	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	4	2+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	4	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	5	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	5	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	5	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	6	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-	-
8th	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-	-
9th	6	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-
10th	6	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-
11th	6	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-
12th	6	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-
13th	6	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-
14th	6	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-
15th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-
16th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-
17th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1
18th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
19th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	5+1	3+1
20th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	6+1	4+1

Level Highlights

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Level 10

At this level, Brewmaster Barleybeard is a creator of fine alcohol, artisanal beers, and magical microbrews. In addition to his normal potent potables, he can brew up any number of potions (containing up to 5th level spells) as various alcoholic beverages (using the Alternate Item Types rule on pg. 137 of Complete Arcane). Not only that, but thanks to Consecrate Spell, all of his magical mixers are [Good], in addition to being good for you. Step right up and drown your sorrows and regrets in a rare pale ale of Atonement! Or get back into fighting form with a Restoration Rye. Be able to see things no one else can see with a Tincture of True Seeing!

If you are wondering why he took the Strength Devotion feat in place of the Strength domain, it's so he can crack open a keg with his bare hands should the need arise (the feat makes his melee attacks ignore hardness and gives him a slam attack that counts as adamantine for DR purposes all for 1 minute). It also gives him a solid attack he can use in a bar fight.

Level 20

Barleybeard has continued to develop is devotion to the many flavors of alcohol. Thanks to insight provided by the wisdom of Hanseath, Barleybeard is now a reasonable combatant in melee or at range, with Intuitive Attack. He can distill nearly any magic into an alcoholic beverage, and can brew up to four of those wondrous concoctions per day. And he is known far and wide as a wonderworker of Hanseath's divine governance of the power of beer. His devotion to the tranquility of the tavern has led him down the path of nonviolence. That isn't to say he won't knock some heads around in one of the many barfights that happen in his establishments and toss the perpetrators out on their ears, but he has devoted himself fully to the ideal of "peace on Oerth, and good beer for all."

Thoughts on the Components

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This is certainly a strange combination of ingredients. Wonderworker is strange by itself, but the Profession Skill? There are remarkably few uses for that skill to begin with, and far fewer opportunities for optimization. So I decided to go a different direction and build something that, at least to me, fits with the feel and spirit of the competition. When I spotted "brewer" in the list of professions in the PHB, I knew what I had to do.

Barleybeard is a full divine caster who can share almost any of his spells around to his party in the form of potions which he can brew faster and more cheaply thanks to Master Alchemist and Magical Artisan. His spellcasting is keyed off of Wisdom, which also happens to be the linked attribute for the Profession skill, so by increasing his wisdom, he enhances both his spellcasting, and his profession.

Sources

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Player's Handbook(Cleric, Brew Potion, Skill Focus)
Unearthed Arcana(Cloistered Cleric)
Book of Exalted Deeds(Wonderworker, Intuitive Attack, Consecrate Spell, Knight of Stars, Nonlethal Substitution, Sacred Vow, Vow of Nonviolence, Vow of Peace)
Magic of Faerun(Master Alchemist, Magical Artisan)
Complete Arcane(Alternate Item Types - pg. 137)
Complete Champion(Strength Devotion)

[OMG PONIES]

"When I say 'High Chantress,' y'all say 'Belina!' "

High Chantress Belina

Spoiler: Picture

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^{shamelessly borrowed from Grant Wilson at Deviantart}

Spoiler: History

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Even as a youth Belina was viewed as one of the most talented in the clanhold. As a young dwarfling she enjoyed wandering around in the neighboring large grotto singing so the unrefined music in her mind resonated off the Sussur trees and semi-domisticated Zurkhwood Mushrooms that the Clanhold was carefully foresting for lumber to build with. and she was noticed by a passing Gloura that almost got enchanted by the raw beauty of music that a dwarf was able to produce, and the Gloura introduced himself for the young dwarfling inviting her to learn the true beauty of music and trained her in the holy songs of nature before moving on in his eternal journey through the Underdark.

As her Militia time started it was quickly discovered that she had a natural presence whenever it was needed and it was quickly decided that even through she was at best mediocre at weapon drills , she had the makings of being a very strong commander, both on the battlefield and off it, and was quickly promoted to the capital, to the Hall of Chanters, where she was trained for such a career, proving herself a valuable Chanter for her clans Mining Crews that she was first seconded to and later appointed for leadership of, when she wasn't busy marching the unit the Clan was obliged to support the Kingdom with, to where ever they were needed.

Spoiler: Basis

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Female Middle Aged NG Dream Dwarf Divine Bard 3 / Marshal 2 / Dwarven Chanter 10 / Seeker of the Song 2 / Wonderworker 3

Ability	Base	Racial	Age	Total
Strength	9		-1	8
Dexterity	11	-2	-1	8
Constitution	11	+2	-1	12
Intelligence	14		+1	15
Wisdom	14		+1	15
Charisma	17		+1	18

Ability Increases in Constitution at 4th, Intelligence at 8th, Wisdom at 12th, Charisma at 16th and 20th.

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Divine Bard 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Appraise 4, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 4, Perform (Dance) 4, Perform (Percussion) 4, Perform (Sing) 4, Spellcraft 4, Use Magic Device 4	Nymph's Kiss	Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Spellbreaker Song, Healing Hymn, Inspire Awe
2nd	Marshal 1	+0	+2	+2	+4	Profession (Miner) 5, Spot 2	Skill Focus (Diplomacy)B	Minor Aura (Demand Fortitude)
3rd	Marshal 2	+1	+3	+2	+5	Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Spot 4	Great Fortitude	Major Aura (Motivate Urgency)
4th	Divine Bard 2	+2	+3	+3	+6	Concentration 6, Perform (Dance) 5, Preform (Precussion) 7, Perform (Sing) 7
5th	Divine Bard 3	+3	+4	+3	+6	Concentration 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Perform (Dance) 6, Perform (Percussion) 8, Perform (Sing) 8, Profession (Miner) 6		Hymn of Fortification
6th	Dwarven Chanter 1	+3	+6	+3	+8	Appraise 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 9, Perform (Dance) 8, Perform (Sing) 9, Profession (Miner) 9	Melodic Casting	Bardic Music, Timing Chant
7th	Dwarven Chanter 2	+4	+7	+3	+9	Appraise 9, Knowledge (Arcana) 10, Perform (Sing) 10, Profession (Miner) 10, Use Magic Device 7	EnduranceB	Soothing Chant
8th	Dwarven Chanter 3	+5	+7	+4	+9	Appraise 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 11, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 5, Perform (Sing) 11, Profession (Miner) 11, Use Magic Device 11		War Chant
9th	Dwarven Chant 4	+6	+8	+4	+10	Appraise 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 12, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 10, Perform (Sing) 12, Profession (Miner) 12, Use Magic Device 12	Skill Focus (Perform [Sing])	Counter Chant
10th	Dwarven Chant 5	+6	+8	+4	+10	Appraise 13, Diplomacy 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 13, Perform (Sing) 13, Profession (Miner) 13, Use Magic Device 13		Continuous spellcasting
11th	Seeker of the Song 1	+6	+8	+4	+12	Diplomacy 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 14, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Miner) 14, Spot 7		Rapture of the Song (+2AC), Bardic Music, Burning Melody, Burning Melody Refrain
12th	Seeker of the Song 2	+7	+8	+4	+13	Diplomacy 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 15, Perform (Sing) 15, Profession (Miner) 15, Spot 10	Snowflake Wardance	Combine Songs, Song of Unmaking
13th	Dwarven Chanter 6	+8	+9	+5	+14	Appraise 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 16, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 15, Perform (Sing) 16, Profession (Miner) 16, Use Magic Device 16	Die HardB
14th	Dwarven Chanter 7	+9	+9	+5	+14	Appraise 17, Diplomacy 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 17, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 17, Perform (Sing) 17, Profession (Miner) 17, Use Magic Device 17		Trance
15th	Dwarven Chanter 8	+10	+10	+5	+15	Appraise 18, Diplomacy 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 18, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 18, Perform (Sing) 18, Profession (Miner) 18, Use Magic Device 18	Knight of Stars	Healing Chant
16th	Dwarven Chanter 9	+10	+10	+6	+15	Appraise 19, Diplomacy 19, Knowledge (Arcana) 19, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 19, Perform (Sing) 19, Profession (Miner) 19, Use Magic Device 19, Spellcraft 5
17th	Dwarven Chanter 10	+11	+11	+6	+16	Appraise 20, Diplomacy 20, Knowledge (Arcana) 20, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 20, Perform (Sing) 20, Profession (Miner) 20, Use Magice Device 20 Spellcraft 8		Dwarf Lord's Wrath
18th	Wonderworker 1	+11	+11	+6	+18	Diplomacy 21, Knowledge (Arcana) 21, Profession (Miner) 21, Spellcraft 13	Lyric Spell, Words of CreationB
19th	Wonderworker 2	+12	+11	+6	+19	Diplomacy 22, Knowledge (Arcana) 22, Profession (Miner) 22, Spellcraft 18	Gift of FaithB
20th	Wonderworker 3	+12	+12	+7	+19	Diplomacy 23, Knowledge (Arcana) 23, Profession (Miner) 23, Spellcraft 23	Nimbus of LightB

Skill Ranks at Level 20:
Appraise 20, Concentration 8, Diplomacy 23, Knowledge (Arcana) 23, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 23, Perform (Dance) 8, Perform (Percussion) 8, Perform (Sing) 20, Profession (Miner) 23, Spot 10, Spellcraft 23, Use Magic Device 20.

Spoiler: Spells per Day / Spells Known

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Spells per Day

Spells Known

Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 1st 2 - - - - - - 2nd 2 - - - - - - 3rd 2 - - - - - - 4th 3 0 - - - - - 5th 3 1 - - - - - 6th 3 2 0 - - - - 7th 3 3 1 - - - - 8th 3 3 2 - - - - 9th 3 3 2 0 - - - 10th 3 3 3 1 - - - 11th 3 3 3 1 - - - 12th 3 3 3 1 - - - 13th 3 3 3 2 - - - 14th 3 3 3 2 0 - - 15th 3 3 3 3 1 - - 16th 3 3 3 3 2 - - 17th 3 3 3 3 2 0 - 18th 3 3 3 3 3 1 - 19th 3 3 3 3 5 2 - 20th 3 3 3 3 6 3 -

Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 1st 4 - - - - - - 2nd 4 - - - - - - 3rd 4 - - - - - - 4th 5 2 - - - - - 5th 6 3 - - - - - 6th 6 3 2 - - - - 7th 6 4 3 - - - - 8th 6 4 3 - - - - 9th 6 4 4 2 - - - 10th 6 4 4 3 - - - 11th 6 4 4 3 - - - 12th 6 4 4 3 - - - 13th 6 4 4 3 - - - 14th 6 4 4 4 2 - - 15th 6 4 4 4 3 - - 16th 6 4 4 4 3 - - 17th 6 4 4 4 4 2 - 18th 6 4 4 4 4 2 - 19th 6 4 4 4 4 2 - 20th 6 4 4 4 4 2 -

Spells Known (writen in order of taking)
0th level: Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Read Magic, Summon Instrument, Mending, Message
1st level: Grease, Improvisation(SpC), Distort Speech(SpC), Expeditious Retreat
2nd level: Glitterdust, Tongues, Tactical Precision(SpC), Elation (BoED)
3rd level: Haste, Treasure Scent(SpC), Dispel Magic, Magic Circle Against Evil,
4th level: Shadow Conjuration, Dimension Door, Freedom of Movement. Break Enchantment
5th level: Song of Discord, Mass Suggestion

Spoiler: Level Breakdown

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Spoiler: Level 5

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Belina is a Divine Bard / Marshal, which at least at this point is an acceptable combatant not accounting for a less than brilliant physical stats, but her main ability at this point would be to use her Inspire Awe and Hymn of Fortification to frighten opponents and buff allies with, while having decently strong saves (specially Fortitude which is somewhat shared with allies) and speeding her fellow dwarves ever so slightly up so they have speed 25ft instead of 20ft.

Spoiler: Level 10

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Now we start Talking, 5 Levels of Dwarven Chanter with all this brings. For the purposes of the Competition, i'll pay special attention to Timing Chant which gives 2*Class Level to any (specific, chosen at the time of beginning to chant) Check pretaining to tedious work, with the example of Mining Song which would at this point give a +10 untyped Bonus to Profession (Miner) Checks to everyone within hearing (including myself), as long as I can succed in Perform DC 10 + Hours and everyone wanting to join up being able succed in Fort DC 5 + Hours each hour of work, helped by adding Belina's Charisma Modifier to everyone's Fortitude save. Equally this Chant could be moved with any other tedious work such as forced march or Craft Checks (although in the later case my character would only be able to lean on this bonus to make untrained checks).

Also get a number of other protentially interesting chants such as War Chant (effectively Inspire Courage with a Debuffing rider giving all opponents a -1 Morale penalty on Attack and Damage Rolls) and Melodic Casting (which superseeds Countinous Spellcasting gained at level 10) which replaces all most of my Concentration Checks with Perform Checks. and Counter Chant which is a superior Countersong which suppresses magical effects (as if Dispel Magic was used) as long as Belina keeps singing.

A very fluffy Spell that i feel i have to point out would be Treasure Scent (gained at 9th Level) which should help with Profession (Miner) checks by getting a better idea where to mine towards, even if it doesn't say so.

Spoiler: Level 15

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Two levels of Seeker of the Song gives me an ability to Combine 2 songs of any of the many chants and the like which i have now (most popular would probably be a merge of Inspire Awe and War Chant. Otherwise we continue on with Dwarven Chanter, for two reasons, We want access to 5th level spells, which is available at CL 13, which Seeker of the Song doesn't advance, and we want Timing Chant to become even stronger.

For combat purposes we also gain Snowflake Wardance, which would be a quite decent for 8 rounds per Bardic Music, 8 rounds being enough time for many (if not most) combats to be decided

Furthermore we get the quite competent Healing Chant as well doing this period, which for a Bardic Music can heal ourselves up to max from whereever we were, via Fast Healing 1. Not of much use while in Combat, but it certainly cuts down on the needed healing afterwards with whatever Wands of Cure * that Belina is going to walk around with. And the somewhat more situational Trance which could be used for all sorts of interesting things.

Spoiler: Level 20

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Last two levels of Chanter (yey for +20 untyped Bonus to Profession (Miner) or whatever tickles my fancy, to all allies within hearing distance), which gives the Awesome (but somewhat Impractical) Siege engine mode with Dwarf Lord's Wrath, dealing 10d6 Damage per round to one Natural or Constructed structure within 500ft.
And then its off to see the Giraffe with Wonderworker, gaining a a total of 4 4th level and 3 5th level spell slots each day (due to me being Divine Bard, otherwise it would only have been 1 4th and 3 5th), while at the same time gaining Access to a couple of handy feats (although decent Exalted Feats for bards (especially divine bards) aren't exactly something Book of Exlated Deeds are overflowing with), such as Words of Creation (although it should probably be modified to also help my ACF Bardic Songs to be truely brilliant, such as giving +2DC for Inspire Awe, but still it does give +4 Sacred bonus for perform checks at keeping Timing Chant up.

Spoiler: Design Notes

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Dwarven Chanter asks for Perform (Chant) 8, but as Chant, in Players Handbook is listed under subcategories of Sing, i've picked this instead, it doesn't have any mechanical differences but IMHO its neater to take the primary (and well known) category, than specificly taking the subcategory, which is argubly against RAW of PHB which is the Primary Source. If this is an issue there is practicly no difference with copy&paste Sing to Chant.

Another build option that i had for the longest time (until last spellcheck and writing these design notes), was Paladin (of Freedom) instead of Marshal and CG instead of NG.

Age category are a decent minor boost, that over time gives decent bonuses in my important stats at the cost of a ability score in Constitution early on for qualification purposes (but in turn gaining +1 in Int, Wis and Charisma which is all utilized to a certain extent), but it aren't critically importent from a mechanical standpoint before level 8 where it helps pushing Int to 16 for extra Skill points.

Spoiler: Sources

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Book of Exalted Deeds - Word of Creation, Elation, Gift of Faith, Knight of Stars, Nimbus of Light, Nymph's Kiss, Wonderworker
Complete Arcane - Seeker of The Song
Complete Champion - Healing Hymn, Hymn of Fortification
Complete Mage - Melodic Casting, Spellbreaker Song
Dragon Magic - Inspire Awe
Forgotten Realms: Underdark - Fluffy bits
Frostburn - Snowflake Wardance
Miniature Handbook - Marshal
Spell Compendium - Certain Spells
Unearthed Arcana - Divine Bard ACF
Wizards.com - Dwarven Chanter

[OMG PONIES]

If the nut doesn't fall too far from the tree, where does the seed fall?

Horatio Figbottom
NG Halfling Adept 8/Wonderworker 2/Exemplar 10

Spoiler: Image

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Fluff

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Well way down south near Honey Hollow way,
there lived a young lad who got along with the fae. - local folksong.

Horatio Figbottom has always been a sunny and cheerful chap. Born in the warm valley of Honey Hollow, some say he's led a charmed life. He's always had an affinity for the power of nature, and showed quite the aptitude for farming. He even managed to make peace between the fae of the nearby woods and his people, and a particular fey lass caught Horatio's eye. Romance blossomed between the two, but in order to get permission to marry, the local fey lord tasked Horatio with completing some mighty deed. Given his fey sweetheart's affinity for the figs that grew in the area, Horatio knew just what to do.

And so, armed only with his seedpouch, a happy tune, and the clothes on his back, Horatio set off to spread the joy of Honey Hollow's bountiful fig trees to the entire world. He devoted his life to peace and productivity as he traveled far and wide planting trees, teaching the locals how to farm them, settling disputes, and then setting off again eager to complete his work and return to his beautiful fiancee.

There goes that funny little fig-man just a plantin' his trees,
I hear he done fell in with them thar sidhe. - local folksong.

Build Table

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Horatio Figbottom

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Adept 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	(3+Int) Diplomacy (2), Handle Animal 4, Profession(Farmer) 4, Survival 4	Nymph's Kiss	Spellcasting
2nd	Adept 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	(3+Int) Diplomacy (2.5), Handle Animal 5, Profession(Farmer) 5, Survival 5		Summon Familiar
3rd	Adept 3	+1	+1	+1	+3	(3+Int) Diplomacy (3), Handle Animal 6, Profession(Farmer) 6, Survival 6	Favored of the Companions
4th	Adept 4	+2	+1	+1	+4	(3+Int) Diplomacy (3.5), Handle Animal 7, Profession(Farmer) 7, Survival 7
5th	Adept 5	+2	+1	+1	+4	(3+Int) Diplomacy (4), Handle Animal 8, Profession(Farmer) 8, Survival 8
6th	Adept 6	+3	+2	+2	+5	(3+Int) Diplomacy (4.5), Handle Animal 9, Profession(Farmer) 9, Survival 9	Skill Focus(Profession(Farmer))
7th	Adept 7	+3	+2	+2	+5	(3+Int) Diplomacy (5), Handle Animal 10, Profession(Farmer) 10, Survival 10
8th	Adept 8	+4	+2	+2	+6	(3+Int) Handle Animal 11, Heal 1, Profession(Farmer) 11, Survival 11
9th	Wonderworker 1	+4	+2	+2	+8	(3+Int) Diplomacy 6, Handle Animal 12, Profession(Farmer) 12, Survival 12	Gift of Faith, Intuitive AttackB	Bonus Exalted Feat, 1 bonus 3rd level spell, 1 bonus 2nd level spell
10th	Wonderworker 2	+5	+2	+2	+9	(3+Int) Diplomacy 7, Handle Animal 13, Profession(Farmer) 13, Survival 13	Nimbus of LightB	Bonus Exalted Feat, 1 bonus 3rd level spell, 2 bonus 2nd level spells
11th	Exemplar 1	+5	+2	+2	+11	(9+Int) Diplomacy 8, Handle Animal 14, Heal 7, Profession(Farmer) 14, Survival 14		Skill artistry(Profession(Farmer)), skill mastery(Profession(Farmer), Handle Animal)
12th	Exemplar 2	+6	+2	+2	+12	(9+Int) Diplomacy 9, Handle Animal 15, Heal 13, Profession(Farmer) 15, Survival 15	Yondalla's Sense	Lend talent (one-half penalty)
13th	Exemplar 3	+7	+3	+3	+12	(9+Int) Diplomacy 13, Handle Animal 16, Heal 16, Profession(Farmer) 16, Survival 16	Skill Focus(Survival)B	Bonus Feat
14th	Exemplar 4	+8	+3	+3	+13	(9+Int) Concentration 2, Diplomacy 15, Handle Animal 17, Heal 17, Knowledge(Nature) 2, Profession(Farmer) 17, Survival 17		Skill artistry(Handle Animal), sustaining presence
15th	Exemplar 5	+8	+3	+3	+13	(9+Int) Concentration 3, Handle Animal 18, Heal 18, Knowledge(Nature) 5, Profession(Farmer) 18, Spellcraft 2, Survival 18	Dallah Thaun's Luck	Persuasive performance
16th	Exemplar 6	+9	+4	+4	+14	(9+Int) Concentration 5, Handle Animal 19, Heal 19, Knowledge(Nature) 6, Profession(Farmer) 19, Spellcraft 5, Survival 19	Skill Focus(Handle Animal)B	Bonus Feat
17th	Exemplar 7	+10	+4	+4	+14	(9+Int) Handle Animal 20, Heal 20, Knowledge(Nature) 12, Profession(Farmer) 20, Survival 20		Skill artistry(Heal)
18th	Exemplar 8	+11	+4	+4	+15	(9+Int) Handle Animal 21, Heal 21, Knowledge(Nature) 17, Knowledge(Geography) 1, Profession(Farmer) 21, Survival 21	Magic of the Land	Intellectual agility, lend talent (equal penalty)
19th	Exemplar 9	+11	+5	+5	+15	(9+Int) Handle Animal 22, Heal 22, Knowledge(Nature) 18, Knowledge(Geography) 6, Profession(Farmer) 22, Survival 22	Skill Focus(Heal)B	Bonus Feat
20th	Exemplar 10	+12	+5	+5	+16	(9+Int) Handle Animal 23, Heal 23, Knowledge(Nature) 20, Knowledge(Geography) 10, Profession(Farmer) 23, Survival 23		Perfect self, skill artistry(Survival)

Ability Scores
Str - 10 (-2 from race)
Dex - 16 (+2 from race)
Con - 14
Int - 12
Wis - 19 (+5 from levels)
Cha - 14

Spells/day

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Spells/day

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	3	2	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	3	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8th	3	3	2	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
9th	3	3	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
10th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
11th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
12th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
13th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
14th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
15th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
16th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
17th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
18th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
19th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
20th	3	3	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-

Level Highlight

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Level 20

Horatio is a living, breathing, avatar of the land. Where he goes fig orchards spring up. He can take even the poorest, most unskilled laborers and turn them into expert farmers. Through his example, the people of the lands he visits find peace and better living through farming. He has a gentle touch with animals, and a special tie with the land. Horatio's Adept levels give him a tie to nature that isn't so strict as to be druidic, but neither is it so religious as to be clerical. His entry into Wonderworker is both useful (for the few Exalted feats that benefit him), and necessary for him to qualify for Exemplar (Wonderworker grants Diplomacy as a class skill). From that point on, Exemplar simply makes him amazing at what he is already good at: Farming, Animal Tending, Healing, and Survival. The bonus feats it grants further enhance his chosen skills, and at the end, he becomes an outsider, which will let him live long enough to complete the monumental undertaking he has put
before himself. It may take centuries, but Horation Figbottom will cover the world in Fig trees for his sweetheart.

Sources

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Dungeon Master's Guide - Adept class
Player's Handbook - Skill Focus
Complete Adventurer - Exemplar
Book of Exalted Deeds - Wonderworker, Nymph's Kiss, Favored of the Companions, Gift of Faith, Intuitive Attack, Nimbus of Light
Races of the Wild - Dallah Thaun's Luck, Magic of the Land, Yondalla's Sense

[OMG PONIES]

He can be your bodyguard, but the big question is...can you call him Al?

Bael-Ver (The Guardian of Peace)

"We do not fight against those who would bring us war. Ours is to fight against the reasons that they do." Sshalak-da, Silver Scion of Io

Lawful Good
Raptoran Savant 2/Duskblade 3/(Dragonborn: mind)/Fighter 1/Devoted Defender 1/Apostle of Peace 3/Singer of Concordance 6/Apostle of Peace +1/Wonderworker 3

Spoiler: Story

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Bael-Ver lived in a fairly peaceful realm of raptorans. Life was quiet on the sleepy mountainside. But all was not well in the lands beyond. The elves of the forests below and the orcs of the mountains above warred constantly. It wasn't long before the pain and destruction of the war invaded the calm peacefulness of the raptoran villiage.

Raptorans were enslaved by orcs. Others were killed, chalked up as 'collateral damage' by elves. Their entire villiage destroyed. And still the war raged on.

The raptorans, filled with a need for vengence in the wake of their destroyed village, joined the fray. Humans sold their services to both sides of the war. Dwarves entered the battles, sometimes fighting against the orcs for Good, other times fighting with them for the Mountain.

Bael-Ver ran. He hid. He led others to relative safety, wherever he could find it. But try as he might, one by one, those near him fell victim to the violence. And still, the war raged on.

Eventually, the war reached such levels of violence that it disturbed the slumbers of a nearby silver dragon. The great wyrm sought to find a peaceful end to the violence. He looked over the realm, studied the war, looking for a way to begin negotiations.

And so the great dragon found Bael-Ver, the one man in all the realm seeking to build a shelter for all who sought refuge. The drake took the raptoran under his wing, guided him to the ways of Io, rebuilt him into the ways of the peaceful mind of dragonkind.

As peace-eager factions grew, here and there, amid the warring regions, they threatened the profits of those who benefited most from the wars. Assassinations were attempted, many succeeding, upon the leaders of the peace-minded. And with each successful attempt, the darkness of the war grew deeper.

And so... Bael-Ver returns to the realm, a bastion against the storm of war, with the mission of keeping safe those who seek peace, and seeing them each escorted, unharmed, to the negotiation tables, where someday they may build peace.

Spoiler: Stats

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Stat	Starting Score	4th Level	5th Level	7th Level	8th Level	11th Level	12th Level	15th Level	16th Level	19th Level	20th Level
Strength	8	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)	-- (8)
Constitution	16	-- (16)	+2 (18)	-- (18)	-- (18)	+2 (20)	-- (20)	+2 (22)	-- (22)	+2 (24)	-- (24)
Dexterity	8	-- (8)	-2 (6)	-- (6)	-- (6)	-- (6)	-- (6)	-- (6)	-- (6)	-- (6)	-- (6)
Intelligence	14	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	+2 (16)	-- (16)	+2 (18)	-- (18)
Wisdom	16	+1 (17)	-- (17)	+2 (19)	+1 (20)	+2 (22)	+1 (23)	+2 (25)	-- (25)	+2 (27)	+1 (28)
Charisma	14	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	-- (14)	+1 (15)	+2 (17)	-- (17)

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Savant 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Concentration 4(4); Diplomacy 4(4); Disable Device 1(1); Listen 4(4); Profession (Bodyguard) 4(4); Search 4(4); Sense Motive 4(4); Spellcraft 3(3); Spot 4(4)	1st: Sacred Vow	Academic Lore; Skill Assistance (Listen); Trapfinding
2nd	Savant 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Concentration 1(5); Diplomacy 1(5); Disable Device (1); Listen 1(5); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(5); Search 1(5); Sense Motive 1(5); Spellcraft 1(4); Spot 1(5)	B: Alertness	--
3rd	Duskblade 1	+2	+2	+0	+5	Concentration 1(6); Diplomacy (5); Disable Device (1); Listen 2(6); Profession (Bodyguard) (5); Search (5); Sense Motive 1(6); Spellcraft (4); Spot (5)	3rd: Vow of Poverty	Arcane Attunement; Armored Mage (light)
4th	Duskblade 2	+3	+3	+0	+6	Concentration 1(7); Diplomacy (5); Disable Device (1); Listen 2(7); Profession (Bodyguard) (5); Search (5); Sense Motive 1(7); Spellcraft (4); Spot (5)	B: Combat Casting; BEF: Vow of Non-violence	--
5th	Duskblade 3	+4	+3	+1	+6	Concentration 1(8); Diplomacy (5); Disable Device (1); Listen 2(8); Profession (Bodyguard) (5); Search (5); Sense Motive 1(8); Spellcraft (4); Spot (5)	--	Arcane Channeling
6th	(RSL) Fighter 1	+5	+5	+1	+6	Concentration 2(9); Diplomacy 2(6); Disable Device (1); Listen (8); Profession (Bodyguard) (5); Search (5); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot (5)	6th: Draconic Aura (Senses); BEF: Vow of Peace; B: Weapon Focus(Aspergillum, heavy)	Encumbered Flight
7th	Devoted Defender 1	+6/1	+7	+3	+6	Concentration 2(10); Diplomacy (6); Disable Device (1); Listen (8); Profession (Bodyguard) (5); Search (5); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot 2(7)	--	Harm's Way; AC Bonus +1
8th	Apostle of Peace 1	+6/1	+9	+5	+8	Concentration 1(11); Diplomacy (6); Disable Device (1); Listen 3(11); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(6); Search 1(6); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot 1(8)	BEF: Nymph's Kiss	Turn Undead
9th	Apostle of Peace 2	+7/2	+10	+6	+9	Concentration 1(12); Diplomacy (6); Disable Device (1); K: Religion 3(3); Listen 1(12); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(7); Search (6); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot 1(9)	9th: Improved Initiative	Pacifying Touch
10th	Apostle of Peace 3	+7/2	+10	+6	+9	Concentration (12); Diplomacy (6); Disable Device (1); K: Religion 5(8); Listen 1(13); Profession (Bodyguard) (7); Search (6); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot 1(10)	BEF: Vow of Abstinence	--
11th	Singer of Concordance 1	+7/2	+10	+8	+11	Concentration 2(14); Diplomacy (6); Disable Device (1); K: Religion (8); Listen (13); Profession (Bodyguard) 5(12); Search (6); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	--	Aspect of Peace
12th	Singer of Concordance 2	+8/3	+10	+9	+12	Concentration 1(15); Diplomacy 3(9); Disable Device (1); K: Religion (8); Listen (13); Profession (Bodyguard) 3(15); Search (6); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	12th: Keen-Eared Scout; BEF: Vow of Purity	Bonus Domain: (Knowledge)
13th	Singer of Concordance 3	+8/3	+11	+9	+12	Concentration 1(16); Diplomacy 5(14); Disable Device (1); K: Religion (8); Listen (13); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(16); Search (6); Sense Motive (8); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	--	Aspect of Refuge
14th	Singer of Concordance 4	+9/4	+11	+10	+13	Concentration 1(17); Diplomacy 3(17); Disable Device (1); K: Religion (8); Listen (13); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(17); Search (6); Sense Motive 2(10); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	BEF: Defender of the Homeland	--
15th	Singer of Concordance 5	+9/4	+11	+10	+13	Concentration 1(18); Diplomacy 1(18); Disable Device (1); K: Religion (8); Listen (13); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(18); Search (6); Sense Motive 5(15); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	15th: Quick Reconnoiter	Aspect of Exclusion 1/day
16th	Singer of Concordance 6	+10/5	+12	+11	+14	Concentration 1(19); Diplomacy 1(19); Disable Device (1); Heal 1(1); K: Religion (8); Listen (13); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(19); Search (6); Sense Motive 4(19); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	BEF: Favored of the Companions	Aspect of Healing
17th	Apostle of Peace 4	+11/6/1	+13	+12	+15	Concentration 1(20); Diplomacy 1(20); Disable Device (1); Escape Artist 1(1); Heal (1); K: Religion (8); Listen 3(16); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(20); Search (6); Sense Motive 1(20); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	--	Censure Fiends
18th	Wonderworker 1	+11/6/1	+13	+12	+17	Concentration 1(21); Diplomacy 1(21); Disable Device (1); Escape Artist (1); Heal (1); K: Religion (8); Listen 4(18); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(21); Search (6); Sense Motive 1(21); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	18th: Practiced Spellcaster (Apostle of Peace); BEF: Nimbus of Light; BEF: Holy Radiance	--
19th	Wonderworker 2	+12/7/2	+13	+12	+18	Concentration 1(22); Diplomacy 1(22); Disable Device (1); Escape Artist (1); Heal 1(2); K: Religion (8); Listen 4(20); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(22); Search (6); Sense Motive 1(22); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	BEF: Stigmata	--
20th	Wonderworker 3	+12/7/2	+14	+13	+18	Concentration 1(23); Diplomacy 1(23); Disable Device (1); Escape Artist (1); Heal 1(3); K: Religion (8); Listen 4(22); Profession (Bodyguard) 1(23); Search (6); Sense Motive 1(23); Spellcraft (4); Spot (10)	BEF: Lliira's Blessing; BEF: Vow of Chastity	--

Spoiler: Spells

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Spells per Day/Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8th	5; 4	4; 2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9th	5; 5	4; 3	-; 0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10th	5; 5	4; 3	-; 1	-; 0	-	-	-	-	-	-
11th	5; 6	4; 3	-; 2	-; 1	-; 0	-	-	-	-	-
12th	5; 6	4; 3	-; 3	-; 2	-; 1	-; 0	-	-	-	-
13th	5; 6	4; 3	-; 3	-; 3	-; 2	-; 1	-; 0	-	-	-
14th	5; 6	4; 4	-; 3	-; 3	-; 3	-; 2	-; 1	-; 0	-	-
15th	5; 6	4; 4	-; 4	-; 3	-; 3	-; 3	-; 2	-; 1	-; 0	-
16th	5; 6	4; 5	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 3	-; 2	-; 1	-; 0
17th	5; 6	4; 5	-; 5	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 3	-; 2	-; 1
18th	5; 6	4; 5	-; 5	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 3	-; 3	-; 2
19th	5; 6	4; 5	-; 5	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 3	-; 5	-; 3
20th	5; 6	4; 5	-; 5	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 4	-; 3	-; 6	-; 4

Spells Known:
Duskblade level 0: Acid Splash; Disrupt Undead; Ray of Frost; Touch of Fatigue
Duskblade level 1: Expeditious Retreat, Swift; Obscuring Mist; Ray of Enfeeblement; Rouse

Apostle of Peace: listed spells + Knowledge domain spells

Spoiler: 5th Level

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• +2 Perfection bonus to Diplomacy
• +4 Listen
• +4 Spot
• +2 racial Search
• +1 Attack (magic)
• +5 AC
• +2 dodge AC vs dragon
• No eat, drink
• Immunity: Paralysis, magic sleep, frightful presence
• Darkvision 30', low light
• Flight (limited)
• +4 DCs

You're the party ears and eyes. Keep a look-out. And help others keep an ear out, too, by letting allies use your ranks in Listen for their checks. You also make a fine trapfinder at this level (remember to take 20 on your Disable Device checks.)

Spoiler: 10th Level

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• +6 Diplomacy
• +6 Listen, (+2 for allies within 30')
• +6 Spot, (+2 for allies within 30')
• +2 racial Search
• +2 Cha-related checks
• +2 Attack (magic, good)
• +7 AC
• +3 NA
• +3 deflection AC
• +2 exalted
• +1 dodge AC, +2 vs dragon
• DR5/magic
• No eat, drink
• Immunity: Paralysis, magic sleep, detect thoughts, disern lies, discern alignment, frightful presence
  Darkvision 90', low lightx3
• Flight
• +4 DCs
• +6 initiative (+2 for allies within 30')
• 20' calming aura
• Shatter weapons
• +1 saves
• +1 saves vs. spells and SLA
• +4 perfection Fort. vs poison/drugs

Here's where things get fun as a bodyguard. Devoted Defender grants Harm's Way, which lets you choose one "charge" to guard. Whenever (and however) that charge is attacked, you can choose to be the target of the attack instead. Use your Spot and Listen bonuses to recognize danger, your initiative bonuses to react to it, and take attacks meant for your charge on yourself and either avoid it via AC bonuses (from VoP, etc.) or force a weapon to save via Vow of Peace. Failure the make the (con-based) save results in the weapon shattering and doing no damage. Otherwise, take the hit, use DR (when applicable) and use immunities or save bonuses to avoid extra effects (paralysis, poison, etc.)

3rd level Apostle of Peace spells are available here. It's not a bad list to provide healing and utility. As a bodyguard, you're providing your charge with create food and water, cure (insert adjective here) wounds, remove blindness/deafness/curse/disease/nausea/paralysis/fear, etc. And, of course, dispel magic is nothing to sneeze at.

Spoiler: 15th Level

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• +6 Diplomacy
• +7 Listen, (+3 to allies within 30')
• +7 Spot, (+3 to allies within 30')
• One free Spot and Listen per round
• +2 racial Search
• +2 Cha-related checks
• +3 Attack (magic, good)
• +9 AC
• +3 NA
• +4 deflection AC
• +2 exalted AC
• +1 sacred AC (in homeland)
• +1 dodge AC, +2 vs dragon
• DR5/evil
• Resist: Acid 5, Cold 5, Elec 5, Fire 5, Sonic 5
• No eat, drink, breathe
• Immunity: Paralysis, magic sleep, detect thoughts, disern lies, discern alignment, 1st compulsion, fear (in homeland), frightful presence
• Darkvision 120', low lightx4
• Blindsense 30'
• Flight
• +4 DCs
• +9 initiative (+3 to allies within 30')
• 20' calming aura
• 20' aura Will save to attack
• Shatter weapons
• +2 saves
• +1 saves vs. spells and SLA
• +4 perfection Fort. vs poison/drugs/death/disease
• +4 morale saves vs compulsion (and for allies within 10')
• Freedom of Movement

Remember the Harm's Way ability? Well, things have gotten better. You're more aware of what's going on around you, your initiative bonus has gotten better, your AC is on the rise, your DR has gotten more effective, you've gained resistence to energies, your saves are better. (For those who get an attack off through your Aspect of Refuge, that is.)

You're casting 8th level Apostle of Peace spells now. They aren't bad. And you've added the Knowledge domain spells to your list. (And don't forget those sanctified spells!) You're not someone to be taken lightly.

Spoiler: 20th Level

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• +6 Diplomacy, +2 (vs good creatures)
• +2 Sense Motive (vs good creatures)
• +8 Listen, (+4 for allies within 30')
• +8 Spot, (+4 for allies within 30')
• One free Spot and Listen per round
• +2 racial Search
• +2 sacred Escape Artist
• +2 Cha-related checks
• +5 Attack (magic, good)
• +10 AC
• +4 NA
• +5 deflection AC
• +2 exalted AC
• +1 sacred AC (in homeland)
• +1 dodge AC, +2 vs dragon
• DR10/evil
• Resist: Acid 15, Cold 15, Elec 15, Fire 15, Sonic 15
• Regeneration
• No eat, drink, breathe
• Immunity: Paralysis, magic sleep, detect thoughts, disern lies, discern alignment, 1st compulsion, fear (in homeland), frightful presence
• Darkvision 120', low lightx4
• Blindsense 30'
• True Seeing
• Flight
• +4 DCs
• +10 initiative (+4 for allies within 30')
• 20' calming aura
• 20' aura Will save to attack
• 10' +1d8 healing
• 10' Bright light (damages undead), 20' shadowy illum.
• Shatter weapons
• +3 saves
• +1 saves vs. spells and SLA
• +2 saves vs. paralyzed/held/entangled
• +4 perfection Fort. vs poison/drugs/death/disease
• +4 perfection Will vs charm/phantasm
• +4 morale saves vs compulsion (and for allies within 10')
• Freedom of Movement

Just more of the same, really. And betterment at all of it. 9th level spells (and more slots to use them!)
You are certainly set up with the abilities to defend the peace!

Spoiler: Resources

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Races of the Wild -- Raptoran race; Fighter RSL
Book of Exalted Deeds -- Sacred Vow feat; Vow of Poverty feat; Vow of Non-violence feat; Vow of Peace feat; Apostle of Peace class; Nymph's Kiss feat; Vow of Abstinence; Vow of Purity; Favored of the Companions feat; Wonderworker class; Nimbus of Light feat; Holy Radiance feat; Stigmata feat; Vow of Chastity feat
Dragon Compendium -- Savant class
Player's Handbook 2 -- Duskblade class; Keen-Eared Scout feat
Races of the Dragon -- Dragonborn race; Singer of Concordance class
Dragon Magic -- Draconic Aura feat
Sword and Fist -- Devoted Defender class
Champions of Valor -- Defender of the Homeland feat
Dungeonscape -- Quick Reconnoiter feat
Complete Divine -- Practiced Spellcaster feat
Player's Guide to Faerun -- Lliira's Blessing
Core/SRD -- Everything else

[OMG PONIES]

She smiles like a saint, but she curses like a sailor.

CG Feytouched Savage Bard 4/Swashbuckler 1/Dread Pirate 4/Marshal 1/Stormsinger 7/Wonderworker 3


Image by scebiqu.

Spoiler

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Meranda, born Meranda to elven parents, was plagued by wanderlust in her youth and left home as soon as she came of age. After that, she drifted for a while before taking a position as a deckhand on the caravel Morwel’s Mistress, so named for its hadozee captain’s dedication to the Court of Stars. Meranda took an immediate shine to shipboard life, and Captain Dashi Morwelschild took a shine to Meranda, to the point where when the old captain felt she was no longer fit for duty, she passed the captainship onto Meranda (though she stayed on until her death at the tentacles of a Scyllan some years later). In turn, Meranda adopted the captain’s ship-name and reverence of the Eladrin court.

Meranda’s first few voyages as captain of Morwel’s Mistress were rough: She was personable and hard-working, but had never had authority over anyone but herself, and some of the crew resented being commanded by a relative newcomer. To win them over, Meranda doubled down on helping her mates, whether by mundane or magical means, and soon the ship and her crew gained a repuation for speed and capability, thanks in large part to the efforts of the young captain.

On one particular voyage, Morwel’s Mistress was hired to take a party of treasure seekers to a mysterious island, and Meranda went ashore with the adventurers. They found no treasure, but did free a nereid called Diony who had been trapped on the island for decades. Diony never became an official member of Meranda’s crew, but she and Meranda became intimate friends, and she spurred Meranda to discover ways to use music to influence the winds, further improving Morwel’s Mistress’ capabilities and mystique.

Meranda’s exploits (notably, freeing a cargo of coures who were to be sold as pets) eventually earned her the attentions of her Eladrin patrons, who bestowed gifts on her to forever mark her as one of their champions. These boons included knowledge of the powerful Words of Creation, but Meranda’s most prized gift was the service of Cirne, a celestial parrot of brilliant plumage.

Spoiler

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Starting Scores: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 16

Scores After Racial Adjustment: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 18

Level-up increases go to Cha.

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Savage Bard	+0	+2	+0	+2	Concentration 4, Know (Arcana) 4, Know (Geography) 4, Know (Nature) 4, Perform (Sing) 4, Profession (Sailor) 4, Survival 4, Spellcraft 4, Swim 4	Magical Aptitude	Bardic Knack, Bardic Music (Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage)
2nd	Savage Bard	+1	+3	+0	+3	Appraise 2, Concentration 5, Know (Arcana) 5, Know (Religion) 2, Perform (Sing) 5, Profession (Sailor) 5, Use Rope 2
3rd	Savage Bard	+2	+3	+1	+3	Appraise 4, Concentration 6, Know (Arcana) 6, Know (Religion) 3, Perform (Sing) 6, Profession (Sailor) 6, Use Rope 4	Quick Draw	Bardic Music (Inspire Competence)
4th	Savage Bard	+3	+4	+1	+4	Appraise 6, Concentration 7, Know (Arcana) 7, Know (Religion) 4, Perform (Sing) 7, Profession (Sailor) 7, Use Magic Device 2
5th	Swashbuckler	+4	+6	+1	+4	Appraise 8, Concentration 8, Profession (Sailor) 8, Perform (Sing) 8, Swim 5	Weapon Finesse (Bonus)
6th	Dread Pirate	+5	+6	+3	+4	Bluff 1, Diplomacy 1, Know (Arcana) 8, Perform (Sing) 9, Profession (Sailor) 9, Swim 6	Storm Magic, Two-Weapon Fighting (Bonus)	Seamanship
7th	Dread Pirate	+6/+1	+6	+4	+4	Bluff 2, Diplomacy 2, Perform (Sing) 10, Profession (Sailor) 10, Sense Motive 2, Swim 7		Fearsome Reputation (Honorable) +2
8th	Dread Pirate	+7/+2	+7	+4	+5	Bluff 4, Diplomacy 3, Perform (Sing) 11, Profession (Sailor) 11, Sense Motive 3, Swim 8		Rally the Crew +1 (1/day)
9th	Dread Pirate	+8/+3	+7	+5	+5	Bluff 5, Diplomacy 5, Perform (Sing) 12, Profession (Sailor) 12, Sense Motive 4, Swim 9	Knight of the Stars	Acrobatic Charge, Steady Stance
10th	Marshal	+8/+3	+9	+5	+7	Bluff 6, Diplomacy 6, Perform (Sing) 13, Profession (Sailor) 13, Swim 10		Minor Aura (Motivate Will)
11th	Stormsinger	+8/+3	+9	+7	+9	Bluff 8, Diplomacy 8, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Sailor) 14, Sense Motive 5		Stormsong (Gust of Wind)
12th	Stormsinger	+9/+4	+9	+8	+10	Bluff 9, Diplomacy 10, Perform (Sing) 15, Profession (Sailor) 15, Sense Motive 7	Nymph’s Kiss	Stormpower
13th	Stormsinger	+10/+5	+10	+8	+10	Bluff 12, Diplomacy 11, Perform (Sing) 16, Profession (Sailor) 16, Sense Motive 8		Stormsong (Thunderstrike)
14th	Stormsinger	+10/+5	+10	+9	+11	Bluff 13, Diplomacy 13, Perform (Sing) 17, Profession (Sailor) 17, Sense Motive 9, Use Magic Device 3	Words of Creation (Bonus)	Resistance to Electricity 5
15th	Stormsinger	+10/+5	+10	+9	+11	Bluff 14, Diplomacy 14, Perform (Sing) 18, Profession (Sailor) 18, Sense Motive 11, Use Magic Device 4	Melodic Casting	Stormsong (Control Winds)
16th	Stormsinger	+11/+6/+1	+11	+10	+12	Bluff 15, Diplomacy 15, Perform (Sing) 19, Profession (Sailor) 19, Sense Motive 13, Use Magic Device 5		Resistance to Electricity 10
17th	Stormsinger	+11/+6/+1	+11	+10	+12	Bluff 16, Diplomacy 16, Perform (Sing) 20, Profession (Sailor) 20, Sense Motive 15, Use Magic Device 6		Stormsong (Winter's Ballad)
18th	Wonderworker	+11/+6/+1	+11	+10	+14	Bluff 17, Diplomacy 17, Perform (Sing) 21, Profession (Sailor) 21, Use Magic Device 7	Obtain Familiar, Nimbus of Light (Bonus)
19th	Wonderworker	+12/+7/+2	+11	+10	+15	Bluff 18, Diplomacy 18, Perform (Sing) 22, Profession (Sailor) 22, Use Magic Device 8	Celestial Familiar (Bonus)
20th	Wonderworker	+12/+7/+2	+12	+10	+15	Bluff 19, Diplomacy 19, Perform (Sing) 23, Profession (Sailor) 23, Use Magic Device 9	Words of Creation (Bonus)

Languages Known: Common, Elven, Celestial, Aquan

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Spells per Day/Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1st	2/4	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	3/5	0/2	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	3/6	1/3	-	-	-	-	-
4th	3/6	2/3	0/2	-	-	-	-
5th	3/6	2/3	0/2	-	-	-	-
6th	3/6	2/3	0/2	-	-	-	-
7th	3/6	2/3	0/2	-	-	-	-
8th	3/6	2/3	0/2	-	-	-	-
9th	3/6	2/3	0/2	-	-	-	-
10th	3/6	2/3	0/2	-	-	-	-
11th	3/6	3/4	1/3	-	-	-	-
12th	3/6	3/4	2/3	-	-	-	-
13th	3/6	3/4	2/4	0/2	-	-	-
14th	3/6	3/4	3/4	1/3	-	-	-
15th	3/6	3/4	3/4	2/3	-	-	-
16th	3/6	3/4	3/4	2/4	0/2	-	-
17th	3/6	3/4	3/4	3/4	2/3	-	-
18th	3/6	3/4	3/4	3/4	3/3	-	-
19th	3/6	3/4	3/4	4/4	4/3	-	-
20th	3/6	3/4	4/4	4/4	4/3	-	-

Spells Known:
0 - Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Know Direction, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation, Songbird
1st - Charm Person, Combined Talent, Grease, Inspirational Boost
2nd - Alter Self, Entice Gift, Silence, Suggestion
3rd - Alter Fortune, Dispel Magic, Gilbness, Haste
4th - Dimension Door, Shadow Conjuration, Sirine’s Grace

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Level 5: Mate

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The bad thing about Meranda’s melange of prestige classes is that her feats and skills at early levels are pretty much pre-set--and also why she needs to dip Swashbuckler for Weapon Finesse. Swapping out Bardic Knowledge for Bardic Knack helps with that a bit--she doesn’t take enough bard levels to be really powerful, but she knows how to do a little bit of everything. She’s Feytouched, which gives her Charm Person as an SLA 1/day and immunity to mind-affecting effects. At this level, she’s pretty much a normal Bard, with a focus on combat from the extra feat and BAB point gained from Swashbuckler. Also note that the +1 LA from her race has been bought off by this point.

Level 10: Captain

Spoiler

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Meranda takes control of Morwel’s Mistress shortly before attaining 5th level, and spends this whole chunk of levels learning how to be a good captain--training up her social skills and increasing the strength and variety of bonuses she can give her crew through Seamanship, Dread Reputation, Rally the Crew, and Motivate Wisdom. She picks up Two-Weapon Fighting and Acrobatic Charge for a little extra melee oomph, but her strength is hanging back in a command role and helping her allies.

Level 15: Stormsinger

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Stormsinger locks Miranda into the leadership role she’s been building towards, for reasons both good (her various weather-control Stormsongs make her amazing at controlling a ship) and bad (Stormsinger’s slow BAB progression means she’s not as strong a melee combatant). Thunderstrike does give her a little back-row firepower when she needs it, and Nymph’s kiss alleviates some of the skill drought that plagued her in lower levels, in addition to strengthening many of her skills.

Level 20: Saint

Spoiler

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I chose to leave Wonderworker until the end of the build so I would be able to put its bonus spells on more spell levels--being able to cast Shadow Conjuration a couple extra times a day hugely improves Meranda’s versatility. She finally gets Control Weather from Stormsinger, and with her Wonderworker bonus feats, she picks up Words of Creation to improve her Inspire Courage, and gets Cirne the celestial parrot for her familiar.

Meranda counts as an 11th-level caster (Wonderworker arguably stacks too, depending on what “allows you to cast arcane spells” means, but I’ll go with the more conservative interpretation) for familiar purposes, so Cirne is treated as the familiar of an 8th-level caster. He speaks Celestial.

Spoiler

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[B]Profession Skill[B]: First off, I chose Profession (Sailor) to focus on because it’s a Profession skill with strong RAW uses in a nautical campaign. A lot of Profession skills are mostly good for character color or PrC prereqs, but Stormwrack has rules for maneuvering a ship with Profession (Sailor). Second, Meranda is designed to make people around her better sailors, in addition to being a superb sailor herself. She has full ranks in Profession (Sailor), of course, and her Dread Pirate levels give her a +4 insight bonus and her allies a +2 insight bonus. Her Motivate Wisdom Marshal Aura further adds her charisma bonus (+4 to +6, assuming no items) as a circumstance bonus. Inspire Competence can increase those bonuses by +2--she should be able to get her hands on a competence-boost masterwork item fairly easily, but not everyone on the ship will have one, and giving a mass +8 to +10 boost is pretty solid.

Wonderworker: As a Bard (and one who isn’t terribly committed to keeping her spellcasting strong), the bonus spells from Wonderworker help her more, proportionately, than they would someone with more base spells per day. As for her bonus feats, the Diplomacy bonus from Nimbus of light is useful once she starts training up that skill, Words of Creation is great for any bard, and having a celestial parrot familiar isn’t strictly necessary but is very on-flavor for an exalted pirate character.

Spoiler

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Book of Exalted Deeds: Wonderworker, Exalted Arcanist, Knight of the Stars, Words of Creation, Consecrate Spell, Purify Spell, Nymph’s Kiss
Complete Adventurer: Dread Pirate
Complete Mage: Melodious Casting
Complete Warrior: Swashbuckler
Fiend Folio: Feytouched
Frostburn: Storm Magic, Stormsinger
Miniatures Handbook: Marshal
Player's Handbook II: Bardic Knack
Unearthed Arcana:: Savage Bard

[OMG PONIES]

Anyone who thinks Archie is lucky hasn't been keeping up with the comics .

Spoiler: Fluff

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"'God does not play dice with the universe' some famous wizard was saying... 'I mean, some gods must play, given their alignment and all that' would probably be at the end of that sentence if he hadn't been struck by lightning bolt mid-speech.

Luckily for us, Archie Karas isn't god, or even a god. And talking about 'luck', let me tell you all about this Archie fellow. If there's one person that was born with blessing of the whichever god does play dice, this is the one person!

Ladies and gentlemen of this fine establishment I am talking things you won't believe if heard by any other! But Archie's patron might have just shine upon you for the moment because I bring far more than words themselves, I bring you MY word! One can't survive as a storyteller if the stories told aren't true now can they?

Born of a simple family much like you and I, our very own Mr Karas, is the master of bets, smooth talk and "convincing" rich men into giving money to the poor one way or the other. I've seen with these very eyes, in one second he was reading the stars for a the Duke's guard who was accompanying the stuck up leader, the next, he's convinced the man himself to play a hand of Old Maid. His talk was hypnotic to the point that the corrupt Duke didn't even realize that he had already lost the game before they started. From the amount of money he got, he might as well had emptied the man's vault HAHAHA! Needless to say, the town got herself a new tavern and a few churches with the money Archie got from the Duke. Now, I'm not sure if he does this out the kindness of his heart, but what I am sure of, is that he certainly doesn't mind glory it brings him, what with the statue the townsmen built him..." -Daniel Hensom, the storyteller

Spoiler: The Build

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Archie Karas, the Lucky
Level
Class
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Skills
Feats
Class Features

1st
Bard 01
+0
+0
+2
+2
Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, K Arcana 4, Listen 4, Perf Oratory 4, Prof Astrologer 4, Prof Gambler 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Spellcraft 4, UMD 1
Nymph's Kiss, Eschew Materials
Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Mimicking Song +2, Fascinate, Inspire Courage

2nd
Bard 02
+1
+0
+3
+3
Concentration 5, Diplomacy 5, Listen 5, Perf Oratory 5, Prof Astrologer 5, Prof Gambler 5, Sleight of Hand 5, Spellcraft 5, Skill Trick: Conceal Spellcasting
-
-

3rd
Bard 03
+2
+1
+3
+3
Concentration 6, Diplomacy 6, Listen 6, Perf Oratory 6, Prof Astrologer 6, Prof Gambler 6, Sleight of Hand 6, Spellcraft 6, Language: Orc and Gnome
Knight of Stars
Haunting Melody

4th
Bard 04
+3
+1
+4
+4
Concentration 7, Diplomacy 7, K Arcana 6, Listen 7, Perf Oratory 7, Prof Astrologer 7, Prof Gambler 7, Sleight of Hand 7, Spellcraft 7
-
-

5th
Bard 05
+3
+1
+4
+4
Concentration 8, Diplomacy 8, Listen 8, Perf Oratory 8, Prof Astrologer 8, Prof Gambler 8, Sleight of Hand 8, Spellcraft 8, Skill Trick: False Theurgy
-
Mimicking Song +4

6th
Bard 06
+4
+2
+5
+5
Concentration 9, Diplomacy 9, Listen 9, Perf Oratory 9, Prof Astrologer 9, Prof Gambler 9, Sleight of Hand 9, Spellcraft 9, Language: Draconic and Undercommon
Still Spell
Suggestion

7th
Bard 07
+5
+2
+5
+5
Concentration 10, Diplomacy 10, K Arcana 7, Listen 10, Perf Oratory 10, Prof Astrologer 10, Prof Gambler 10, Sleight of Hand 10, Spellcraft 10, Language: Sylvan
-
-

8th
Wonder Worker 01
+5
+2
+5
+7
Concentration 11, Diplomacy 11, K Arcana 9, Listen 11*, Prof Astrologer 11, Prof Gambler 11, Sleight of Hand 11, Spellcraft 11 (* = Cross-class skill)
-
Bonus Exalted Feat: Sacred Vow, 1 Extra Slot (lv 3)

9th
Wonder Worker 02
+6/1
+2
+5
+8
Concentration 12, Diplomacy 12, K Arcana 11, Listen 12*, Prof Astrologer 12, Prof Gambler 12, Sleight of Hand 12, Spellcraft 12
Practised Spellcaster
Bonus Exalted Feat: Gift of Discerniment, 2 Extra Slots (lvs 3 and 2)

10th
Wonder Worker 03
+6/1
+3
+6
+8
Concentration 13, Diplomacy 13, K Arcana 13, Listen 13*, Prof Astrologer 13, Prof Gambler 13, Sleight of Hand 13, Spellcraft 13
-
Bonus Exalted Feat: Gift of Faith, 1 Extra Slot (lv 3)

11th
Sublime Chord 01
+6/1
+3
+6
+10
Concentration 14, Listen 14, Perf Oratory 12, Prof Astrologer 14, Prof Gambler 14, Spellcraft 14, Skill Trick: Swift Concentration
-
Sublime Chord's Bardic Knowledge and Bardic Music

12th
Sublime Chord 02
+7/2
+3
+6
+11
Concentration 15, Diplomacy 14, Listen 15, Perf Oratory 15, Prof Astrologer 15, Prof Gambler 15, Spellcraft 15
Versatile Spellcaster
Song of Arcane Power

13th
Fatespinner 01
+7/2
+3
+6
+13
Concentration 16, Prof Astrologer 16, Prof Gambler 16, Sleight of Hands 11
-
Spin Fate

14th
Fatespinner 02
+8/3
+3
+6
+14
Concentration 17, Prof Astrologer 17, Prof Gambler 17, Sleight of Hands 14
-
Fickle Finger of Fate

15th
Fatespinner 03
+8/3
+4
+7
+14
Concentration 18, Prof Astrologer 18, Prof Gambler 18, Sleight of Hands 16, Skill Trick: Magical Appraisal
Obtain Familiar
Spin Destiny

16th
Fatespinner 04
+9/4
+4
+7
+15
Concentration 19, Prof Astrologer 19, Prof Gambler 19, Sleight of Hands 19, Spellcraft 16
-
Deny Fate, Resist Fate

17th
Sublime Chord 03
+9/4
+5
+8
+15
Concentration 20, Diplomacy 15, Perf Oratory 19, Prof Astrologer 20, Prof Gambler 20, Spellcraft 17
-
-

18th
Sublime Chord 04
+10/5
+5
+8
+16
Concentration 21, Diplomacy 18, Perf Oratory 21, Prof Astrologer 21, Prof Gambler 21, Spellcraft 18
Master Maipulator
-

19th
Sublime Chord 05
+10/5
+5
+8
+16
Concentration 22, Diplomacy 22, Perf Oratory 22, Prof Astrologer 22, Prof Gambler 22, Spellcraft 19
-
-

20th
Sublime Chord 06
+11/6/1
+6
+9
+17
Concentration 23, Diplomacy 23, Perf Oratory 23, Prof Astrologer 23, Prof Gambler 23, Spellcraft 23
-
Song of Timelessness

Spoiler: Spells' Table

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Bard Spells

Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	5	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	6	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	6	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	6	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	6	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	6	4	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
8th	6	4	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
9th	6	4	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
10th	6	4	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-

Spells per Day

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	3	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	3	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	3	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	3	4	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
8th	3	4	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-
9th	3	4	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	-
10th	3	4	4	4	-	-	-	-	-	-

Sublime Chord Spells

Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
11th	-	-	-	-	3	1	-	-	-	-
12th	-	-	-	-	4	2	-	-	-	-
13th	-	-	-	-	4	2	1	-	-	-
14th	-	-	-	-	4	3	2	-	-	-
15th	-	-	-	-	4	3	2	1	-	-
16th	-	-	-	-	4	4	3	2	-	-
17th	-	-	-	-	4	4	3	2	1	-
18th	-	-	-	-	4	4	4	3	2	-
19th	-	-	-	-	4	4	4	3	2	1
20th	-	-	-	-	4	4	4	4	3	2

Spells per Day

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
11th	-	-	-	-	3	1	-	-	-	-
12th	-	-	-	-	3	3	-	-	-	-
13th	-	-	-	-	4	3	2	-	-	-
14th	-	-	-	-	4	4	3	-	-	-
15th	-	-	-	-	4	4	3	2	-	-
16th	-	-	-	-	6	5	5	3	-	-
17th	-	-	-	-	6	6	5	3	2	-
18th	-	-	-	-	6	6	5	4	3	-
19th	-	-	-	-	6	6	6	4	3	2
20th	-	-	-	-	7	6	6	5	4	3

Spoiler: Spells Known per Level

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Learned in order:

Lv 0
Prestigitation
Lullaby
Dancing Lights
Songbird
Stick
Message

Lv 1
Silent Image
Cheat
Grease
Improvisation

Lv 2
Sonorous Hum
Detect Thoughts
Invisibility
Glitterdust

Lv 3
Glibness
Listening Coin

Lv 4
Dominate Person
Legend Lore
Celerity
Dimension Door

Lv 5
Telepathic Bond
Scry Location
Greater Dispel Magic
Teleport

Lv 6
Hindsight
Contingency
Eye of Stone
Irresistable Dance

Lv 7
Project Image
Greater Shadow Conjuration
Phase Door
Power Word Blind

Lv 8
Discern Location
Mind Blank
Superior Ivisibility

Lv 9
Foresight
Time Stop

Spoiler: Author's Notes

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For Archie I decided to explore a side of the Profession Skill I thing not many people will think to use. The Profession (Gambler) isn't exactly what one thinks when the skill is mentioned, but then again the Fatespinner is a rather famous class so I might be wrong.

I tried to keep Archie's spells based of the Divination school as well as other spells based off luck. Also, for a game that involves rolling a bunch of dice, I haven't found a single spell that applies to in-game dice except maybe Foresight... Go figure

Sure he could be stronger with other spells and classes, but I really tried to maintain the "gambler" feel to him. I also probably would've went for a level in Wild Mage somewhere, but I know how these competitions dislike dips, so I went for Fatespinner instead.

As far the levels go, up to 5th level he's your straight Bard. Buff people with Inspire Courage, cast some spells. At 10, he's a Bard, but worse. The 3 levels in Wonderworker really hurt him. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I found a strong contender for worse PrC in the game... At lv 15 his arcane prowess is back on par. He can cast 7th level spells, which means he's already beyond the Bard in terms of power, although the lack of Inspire Courage hurts his teamwork potential. Finally at 20th we have our buddy Archie getting as close to a god as possible, as he can now cast 9th level spells.

For my sweetspot, I choose lv 14. He can cast as a Bard (6th lv spells) but the second level in Fatespinner gives him Fickle Finger of Fate, which regardless of its awesome alliterated name, is pretty much the whole thing that inspired this build. In a meta-game line of thought, I think very few things are as satisfying to gambler than telling someone to roll again, because he said so.

Spoiler: Errata

Show

Archie's base ability scores are 8, 12, 12, 16, 12, 16

He also buys a Cloak of Cha +6 at lv 12, and a Tome of +5 at lv 16.

[OMG PONIES]

That does it for our fine crop of contestants! And if our chefs are curious to know what they're in for, here are the criteria for the three judges that have provided them to me:

The maximum score in each category is 5; minimum score is 1.

Originality: Baseline: 1 point. Entrants will be awarded up to 1 point for race: 0.5 points for using a race that is not particularly suited to the casting required for Wonderworker (gains no bonus to casting or psionic stat), 1 point for using a race that has a penalty to their casting or psionic stat. Entrants will be awarded up to 2 points for which Profession you choose: 1 point for using a Profession that is not an obvious choice, 2 points for something totally off-the-wall. Ad-hoc bonuses of up to 1 point for any other particularly surprising build elements.


Power: In this competition, there are a wide variety of entries into the Wonderworker component. Because the power level of possible entry classes varies widely, each entry will be judged compared to a typical example of the entry class. The scores will have a baseline score of 3 (3 representing an average character). Up to 1 point will be awarded or subtracted for how well the character fills the role. Up to 1 point will be awarded or subtracted for versatility (measuring how well the character can perform in something other than the primary role).


Use of Secret Components: Baseline: 1. For each ability combination that explicitly makes use of both components, 0.5-1 points will be awarded. Ad hoc bonuses (up to 1) awarded for particularly clever combinations. Additional feats and abilities taken to improve the powers given by either secret component will be awarded 0.25-0.5 points (depending on how significant an investment the additional feat or ability represents); maximum 1. There will be a 1 point penalty for each level of Wonderworker not taken, and a 0.5 point penalty for each level the character does not take the maximum possible ranks in at least one Profession.


Build Stability: Baseline score is 3. Failure to qualify for (or use) either of the secret components will result in a 1. (Please note that this includes maintaining an Exalted alignment to continue to qualify for Wonderworker's prerequisite feats). Other rule violations, such as failure to qualify for a feat, not meeting an alignment requirement, exceeding the maximum allowed XP, etc; receive a 0.5-1 point penalty per violation, depending on severity. Use of Templates will result in a penalty equal to the level adjustment divided by 2. There will be an ad hoc penalty of up to 1 point for any build that makes me think, “There is no way in Baator that I’d ever allow that at my table.” Entrants will receive a 0.5-1 point bonus for backstory or description that meshes particularly well with the mechanics. (Being a poor writer won’t negate the bonus, but there has to be something there to get it). Keeping two Profession skills maximized will gain a +0.5 point bonus. Keeping three will gain a +1 point bonus. Keeping four or more will gain a +2 bonus.

I'm going to try judging again. Criteria are mostly the same as last round with a few tweaks.

Originality

Spoiler

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Start from a baseline score of 3.

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty based on whether the classes/race/ect you used were things I expected. Known cheese or standard handbook fare will see a deduction here. Since smaller competitions are more likely to have distinct entries, I've decided to forego comparing 'uniqueness' relative to other entries.

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty to a build doing something interesting or something we've all seen it before respectively. You can fill a common niche without incurring my wrath, but I'd like to see a new spin on it. Cool factor in your crunch may see a bonus here.

Up to a 0.25 point bonus if I find your fluff to be particularly excellent.

Power

Spoiler

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Start from a baseline score of 3.

General Tier level: I want to reward builds that manage to be powerful and versatile without giving T1s a free ride. Taking a Monk and optimizing it into competence deserves more praise than simply not screwing up a Wizard or Druid too badly. So the build's tier ranking will only be worth 0.5 either way. A T5 build will recieve -0.5 points. A build on the T4/T5 boundary will recieve -0.25 points. A T4 build will receive 0 points. A build on the T4/T3 boundary will receive +0.25 points. A T3 or higher build will receive 0.5 points.

Up to 1.5 points of bonus or penalty for how well you do the things that you do. For example, if you're a front line fighter, how good are you at hurting things? If you're a caster, do you lose a lot of caster levels?

Elegance

Spoiler

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Start from a baseline score of 3.

Each failure to qualify for a class or feat results in a 0.5 point deduction. Qualifying for all such things gets you a bonus of 0.5.

Up to 1 point of penalty for questionable rules interpretations and for any cheese stinky enough to make it onto my personal ban list (note that I'm pretty cheese tolerant, in general). Avoidance of such things gets you a bonus of 0.5.

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty based on the overall flow of the build. A clean, flowing progression will score more points, whereas something that feels awkward may be penalized. As with cheese, I'm not going to try to be especially punitive toward dipping, unless you're really asking for it. If you incur multiclass penalties, change alignment mid-build for crunch reasons, or the like, you can expect to be dinged here.

Up to 0.5 points of bonus or penalty if the build just screams classy or is especially distasteful in a way not quantified by the above.

Use of Secret Ingredient

Spoiler

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Start From a Baseline Score of 1.

Up to 1.25 points for good use of the Profession skill.

Up to 1.25 points for good use of Wonderworker's prerequisites and class abilities.

Up to 1.5 points for synergy between the abilities of the two classes.

taking the criteria set in the last competition i have my judging criteria as this

originality - looking for the build to be unique from other builds, the more builds that follow a similar strategy, classes (outside of the components) or "feel" will get deductions. also looking at ways to use the classes in imaginative ways that do not feel copy paste a handbook. of course handbook options will be used, but if it looks like its just straight from it rather than personalised that is a penalty.

power - this is probably the hardest category for me to judge, power will be as such - since the wonderworker progresses spell casting it is assumed that all builds will take some form of it, higher spell levels and access to stronger lists will be considered more powerful and with each "missing" spell level below 9th casing less power. though lists with sped up progression e.g. spells 1-2 levels early and access at say a max level of 6th level spells with the power of 7/8/9th levels will not have a reduction in power or at least less than a wizard who only gets 6th lvl spells.
a second aspect will be combat effectiveness. whether this comes from damage output and the reliability of it or from the power of its buffs/debuffs and save or sucks if that is the focus, if it is a mundane controller (or has aspects of it) like a tripper then the effectiveness of it against things its CR and the amount of control it exerts. this similarly extends to battlefield control casters.
another aspect of power will be versatility, if the build can do one amazing thing better than any one would think possible! whoop-te-do, something comes along it cant do it to and its useless. so a build that can tackle a multitude of tasks effectively does not need to have one cheesy effective method.
and the final aspect is how long can it sustain that power. if it goes supernova 1-3 times a day, meh powerful but the 4th time it dies, if it can keep that power up for extended periods or forever, or at least more than just a couple times a day then it receives a better power score.
after all, these are builds that are meant to see play, not TO's so they must be a playable power level.

use of secret components - as said, if the build utilises the class features, and the skill as a pivotal point of the build then they will receive top marks. if they use the components effectively then they receive good marks. if they use the components, but they don't utilise it in the builds main focus then low marks. if the components are humoured but not utilised at all then little or no marks.
also, if the builds attempt to utilise components that are in essence similar or share features from the forbidden component then that has a significant reduction (for example if they use any class feature, feat or ability that is similar to something a factotum is known for then they get a reduction, but trapfinding is not a unique feature and i would not penalise).

build stability - essentially i will be looking at this as if i was literally DM'ing a campaign this character was about to join, and i run mid-op. so a strong build is absolutely fine. and a little cheese can be acceptable as long as it uses absolutely no questionable rules, and that is not generally playground accepted rulings on rules, but the actual rule. and in this aspect of my judging i will be following RAI rather then RAW. if anyone abuses RAW to there advantage then i will be deducting a small amount.
cheese that is for the sake of cheese is a big reduction,
any very high op builds may find a reduction in this category depending on what they do. as this is all about whether a DM would allow it. not whether its RAW correct. though that is an aspect.
any builds that are hard to understand, do not properly source (I'm not after Harvard referencing), and whether every bit of the build comes from a different book. if 50-60 books are used then that's a penalty.

As a note, what Judge B refers to as "Elegance" was termed "Build Stability" in Junkyard Wards, but a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. With that, posting is now open!

[KrimsonNekros]

man I wish I'd gotten inspired sooner. I was looking at a Rogue 3/ Paladin 4/Shadowbane Stalker 8/ Shadowbane Inquisitor 2/ Wonderworker 3.

[sakuuya]

man I wish I'd gotten inspired sooner. I was looking at a Rogue 3/ Paladin 4/Shadowbane Stalker 8/ Shadowbane Inquisitor 2/ Wonderworker 3.

What would your profession have been? My favorite part of this round is all the different mundane skills people decided to build characters around.

[dextercorvia]

Those are some interesting entries -- I like what I see. I don't envy the judges for having to decide between them.

My build if anyone is interested:

Spoiler: The World's Oldest Professional

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Aerenal Elf Spellthief8/Ruathar3/Sandshaper1/WarWeaver5/Wonderworker3

She was, as indicated, a (sacred) Prostitute (of Lastai), who trades favors and instruction in the erotic arts for spells.

I discovered a neat interaction between Spellthief, War Weaver, and Sand Shaper.

War Weaver's Quiescent Weave allows you to cast a spell as soon as you steal it, but wait to release it up to 24 hours later. Sand Shaper adds lots of low level buff spells to your spells known, so that even if you steal a useless spell, it is easily converted into something for the weave. I was debating whether the War Weaver's ability to hold up to 5th level spells in her weave allowed Wonderworker to grant up to 5th level spell slots. I probably wouldn't have pushed that, as it felt shaky RAWwise.

Ironically, it was the discovery of that possible interaction with War Weaver and Wonderworker that caused me to include that class in the first place. But, then as the build shifted to be more about Spellthief/War Weaver, and less about sacred prostitution and Wonderworker, I lost motivation to continue for the contest. About the only thing left that really was part of the original stub was Nymph's Kiss and Touch of Golden Ice. Edit: And Ruathar's Capstone allowing her to be older than most elves, which is the mechanics behind the tag-line, "World's Oldest Professional".

[KrimsonNekros]

What would your profession have been? My favorite part of this round is all the different mundane skills people decided to build characters around.

Probably an infiltrator of some kind. I'd have been using an alternately fluffed out version of the Shadowbane that works for Torm so that he didn't have to be lawful stupid.

[ranagrande]

Someday I'll actually enter one of these...

I had great plans for a Ranger 4/Barbarian 3/Divine Crusader 1/Sovereign Speaker 5/Verdant Lord 4/Wonderworker 3.

But as usual, I waited too long to actually do it.

[Macabaret]

When I first saw this contest, my immediate thoughts went in a certain direction. I worked at it, kept playing with it, and most if it written up. But I just couldn't get around the idea that I was just tacking Wonderworker on at the end for the sole reason that it was required for the contest. So I ditched the idea and ended up with the one I submitted.

And now I see that there's a build in the contest that is somewhat akin to what I had tried at first. (Not that they're exact duplicates, mind you.)
It'll be interesting to see how the judges compare that build to the one I did submit.

[Troacctid]

Nobody went for Merchant Prince? Oh man, now I wish I had built it instead of spending all weekend playing Rogue Legacy.

For those not familiar with Merchant Prince, it's a 5-level prestige class from a Forgotten Realms book that gives +2 per level to Profession checks made to earn a profit from a business (using the rules for running a business from Dungeon Master's Guide II). It has its own spellcasting progression with spells up to 3rd level, so it qualifies for Wonderworker but it doesn't lose any actual casting by taking it. Basically the perfect class for this competition.

I would say I'm surprised nobody used it, but in fairness, it is rather obscure.

My build probably would have been Rogue 5/Merchant Prince 5/Wonderworker 3/(something) with the ultimate goal of pumping Profession (Merchant) into the stratosphere to power up my business's monthly profit checks (which, incidentally, earn WAY more money than than the standard weekly Profession checks).

[Sian]

Was looking for some time to get some oomph out of Profession (Siege Engineer) running around with a horse carriage with a Balista strapped on for 'adventuring' (would probably need Tunnelfighting / Tunnelriding of some kind) and running siege crews for king and country. But it failed to materialize on me being unable to make the rules fit for the Balista be enchanted enough to get it into a 'a shot a round' without getting into questionable rule territory (was thinking something in the lines of Self-Loading (A&EG p116), and Quick-Loading (MIC p41)) arguing the case that a (heavy) Balista is a Huge sized Heavy Crossbow and able to be enchanted as such.

[Sian]

Nobody went for Merchant Prince? Oh man, now I wish I had built it instead of spending all weekend playing Rogue Legacy.

For those not familiar with Merchant Prince, it's a 5-level prestige class from a Forgotten Realms book that gives +2 per level to Profession checks made to earn a profit from a business (using the rules for running a business from Dungeon Master's Guide II). It has its own spellcasting progression with spells up to 3rd level, so it qualifies for Wonderworker but it doesn't lose any actual casting by taking it. Basically the perfect class for this competition.

I would say I'm surprised nobody used it, but in fairness, it is rather obscure.

My build probably would have been Rogue 5/Merchant Prince 5/Wonderworker 3/(something) with the ultimate goal of pumping Profession (Merchant) into the stratosphere to power up my business's monthly profit checks (which, incidentally, earn WAY more money than than the standard weekly Profession checks).

Commerce Domain from Eberron gives +10 competence bonus to Profession checks to 'earn a living'

[Seerow]

Commerce Domain from Eberron gives +10 competence bonus to Profession checks to 'earn a living'

So combine those and before having any spells, items, etc applied you're looking at a +50ish Profession(Merchant) check? Sounds pretty decent. Won't be hitting any meaningful power benchmarks, but the UoSI and Originality probably would have been top notch.

Actually if you could find a way to justify being able to actually use the profit you're earning from your business as a source of great personal wealth, then you are probably able to hit power benchmarks as well just through abuse if NI wealth.

[Troacctid]

I honestly think running a shop or tavern using the DMG2 rules is the way to go for Profession. It gives you a nice return on your investment--every +1 is worth 50 gp per month. That means that over the lifespan of an average elf who opens a shop as soon as they reach adulthood, that measly +1 luck bonus from Favored of the Companions ends up being worth 265,000 gp--enough to buy an Epic-level magic item. And I bet you thought it was a feat tax!

Wonderworker is probably designed to be taken by prestige classes that have their own casting progressions. Normally it sucks because yeah, you gain spells per day, but you could have just taken another level of your spellcasting class. However, if you've already taken all ten levels of Apostle of Peace or Slayer of Domiel, that's not an option, which is where Wonderworker comes in.

[Seerow]

I honestly think running a business using the DMG2 rules is the way to go for Profession. It gives you a nice return on your investment--every +1 is worth 50 gp per month.

It's been a while since the last time I looked, but I'm pretty sure it gets sillier than that. I vaguely remember being able to invest more into your business every so often to provide a stacking bonus to your profit. Which would make any increased initial amount be worth exponentially more as time goes on. I'd have to go read it again to be sure though.

Edit: Nevermind the cost for an upgrade is minimal enough and limited in usage enough that your upgrade rate should be about the same regardless of your profession check, as long as you are profitable.

[Troacctid]

For those without the book on hand, every three months you can invest 25% of the startup cost into your business to roll 1d4 and add that as a permanent bonus to your profit checks. So it's linear, not exponential, but it's still very significant when you're talking about a long-lived race like an elf.

[Sian]

So combine those and before having any spells, items, etc applied you're looking at a +50ish Profession(Merchant) check? Sounds pretty decent. Won't be hitting any meaningful power benchmarks, but the UoSI and Originality probably would have been top notch.

Well ... except for the fact that Merchant Prince is FR and Commence is (as mentioned) Eberron, so they're kinda mutually exclusive. Reason why i posted it was that Merchant Prince weren't unique in gaining that kind of thing (hell, Dwarven Chanter used in one of the builds ups it by making the skill bonuses untyped for a much wider range of things, for a total bonus of +20 when its tedious work)

[Kazyan]

I had a build complete but never got motivated to do the big freaking fluff sections that these contests need, so it was shelved. Here's a brief description.

Spoiler: l00t n00b

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CG Necropolitan Illumian (Hoonkrau)

Bard 3/Human Paragon 3/Chameleon 10/Wonderworker 3/Marshal (Motivate Wisdom) 1

Ability scores:
STR 8
DEX 8
CON --
INT 16
WIS 18 (level up bonuses 4, 8, 12, and 20 go here)
CHA 14 (level up bonus 16 goes here)

Feats:
1 Jack of All Trades
3 Able Learner
B5 Planar Touchstone (Catalogues of Enlightenment [Commerce])
6 Favored in Guild (Performer)
C8 Any exalted feat, at first, then changed to something useful...Enhanced Power Sigils?
9 Fell Energy
12 Improved Sigil (Krau)
15 Knight of Stars
W17 Nymph's Kiss
18 Obtain Familiar
W18 Celestial Familiar
W19 Words of Creation
M20 Skill Focus (Diplomacy)

Profession never says how long you need to be working to make money, and Jack of All Trades means you can use all professions. So work multiple jobs. Planar Touchstone grants +10 to Profession checks to earn money, so you're looking at +16 on all professions even at level 5 (+10 PT, +4 Wisdom, +2 Hoon sigil). Favored In Guild doubles earnings from Profession. Chameleon's floating Bonus Feat allows circumventing a feat tax for Wonderworker, since Wonderworker gives an exalted feat back when you get in. Fell Energy combines with various skill-enchancing spells from Chameleon, giving a +2 bonus for each. Fell Energy on Share Talents, Divine Insight, Guidance of the Avatar...Profession checks get high real fast. Improved Sigil (Krau) on a Bard spell and a Chameleon spell allows qualification for Wonderworker, granting 9th-level spells, so you're relevant outside of Profession checks with them. Obtain Familiar and Celestial Familiar for a Coure Eladrin; share your skill buffs with her and have her do Profession checks as well, while you also use Aid Another on each other to boost the checks further. Words of Creation for more Bard-ness. Marshal's Motivate Wisdom gives you +Wis to Profession and allows Nymph's Kiss to apply to Profession checks.

A lot of this stuff applies to Wisdom-based skill checks in general, so the l00t n00b can also Fell Energy Alter Self into a Vampire Spawn for a +10 bonus to Spot and Listen (Fell Energy bumps up the racial skill bonuses and the Alertness bonus feat) and notice everything ever.

This was called the l00t n00b because I was going to make the fluff section be about the player thinking Profession was so OP because there was no chance of death, and then making optimized decisions based on the wrong reasons. But, then, couldn't be bothered to write 1000 words of n00b.

[Sian]

there is a couple of issues with that build idea that springs to mind.

Able Learner is 1st level only

Depending on the judge your trick with Chameleon supplying the Exalted feat for Wonderworker, later replacing it with something else, might not work, since you then don't qualify for Wonderworker (feats from Wonderworker don't count for qualifying for Wonderworker, making it a loop).

Chameleon explicitly doesn't qualify with anything gained from Aptitude Focus, (and Ability Boon and Mimic) so using that for getting a better boost out of Wonderworker aren't working (and even if it did how would you get 9th level spells?)

[Kazyan]

Good thing it's not in the contest, then. I don't actually know how to optimize; that's why I keep dying in actual play.

[sideswipe]

Good thing it's not in the contest, then. I don't actually know how to optimize; that's why I keep dying in actual play.

you dont need to optimise. you just need to be clever. i have played horribly weak characters for fun and used cleverness to overcome all obstacles.

[OMG PONIES]

you dont need to optimise. you just need to be clever. i have played horribly weak characters for fun and used cleverness to overcome all obstacles.

But not too clever, lest an angry DM start gunning for you.

[sideswipe]

But not too clever, lest an angry DM start gunning for you.

i usually play for a dm who uses subtlety to the extreme and likes to make most encounters that you "can" encounter unbeatable in a straight fight. only the ones you have to encounter are beatable.

on the side of this there is usually some way to circumvent or beat any challenge. but the hints can be way too subtle. he sometimes holds his hands up and says
"sorry, i made this way too difficult".

so he loves it when we are cleverer then he anticipates. like the time when playing world of darkness werewolf i completed an entire meant-to-be 3 session long adventure in 15 minutes because i had to leave.