Irogn Chef Optimisatiogn Challegnge ign the Playgrougnd LXVII

[The Viscount]

Entry is in, and at a reasonable time, no less. I'm eager to see what we thought of this round.

[Afgncaap5]

Ahh... as much fun as it'd be to stay up for the next three hours to see if I could hammer it out in time, methinks I'm going to just scrap what I've got and save it as a fun build for a future game.

And now that the pressure's off, I can sit back, relax, and see if anyone else does what I was planning on doing.

[Chronos]

Psst, Heliomance, your PM inbox is full. I'll submit mine as soon as you can receive it.

And ugh, I did not mean to stay up this late finishing it.

[Temotei]

Oh, poop. I forgot to do this. Oh well.

I'm looking forward to seeing the entries, though.

[Macabaret]

Heliomance has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space.

Which is to say that I tried to enter on time.

[Heliomance]

Oh, dammit. Inbox cleared. I'll hold off on the reveal for a few hours to give people time to re-submit.

[Macabaret]

Oh, dammit. Inbox cleared. I'll hold off on the reveal for a few hours to give people time to re-submit.

Thank you.
Entry sent.

[Chronos]

Likewise. And I was only about three class levels and four feats short of what I wanted to do.

[KrimsonNekros]

Life got in the way for me. If no one else posted something similar (which I would be highly surprised by) i'll share my stubs.

[The Viscount]

I hope that full inbox wasn't from too many entries. I'm all for the spirit of competition, but only when I can still win.

[Akal Saris]

ugh, I did not mean to stay up this late finishing it.

I've never had a IC entry where I didn't feel that way when I was done with a submission :P

Congrats to everyone who submitted the build in time - let's hope for some interesting builds!

[Heliomance]

I hope that full inbox wasn't from too many entries. I'm all for the spirit of competition, but only when I can still win.

Oh, it was.

Entries will now follow Apologies, I'm doing this rapidly between waking up and going to work I'm afraid my pithy one-liners probably won't be up to snuff.

[Heliomance]

First entry

Depplo Nilare "Shadowflicker"

Martial Rogue 4/ Swashbuckler3 /Blade Bravo 3/ Gnome Giant Slayer10

Backstory

Spoiler

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Shadowflicker is a gnome who would rather step over someone’s body than be talked down to. He has spent some of his wealth training in the art of hunting and slaying giants of every type. While it may be common to find other gnomes with grudges against larger folk, few hate quite as much as Shadowflicker, who watched his father and entire village killed by human giants and came close to death himself at the hands of their leader, a gruesome bald human with a scar and burned head. Shadowflicker is a valiant defender of all little people and hopes someday to avenge his father’s murder by slaying the human giant that killed him.

Racial

Spoiler

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Whisper Gnome (RoS p94)
small
speed 30ft
Low-Light Vision
Darkvision 60ft
Str -2 Dex +2 Con +2 Cha –2
+1 size ac * attack rolls
+4 size hide checks
+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids
+2 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks
+4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks
+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type
Spell-Like Abilities: 5/day—silence
treat gnome hooked hammers as martial weapons
Languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Gnome, Giant

Alignment: Chaotic Good

32 point buy
str 16 dex 12 con 08 int 15 wis 10 cha 15

Racial
str 14 dex 14 con 10 int 15 wis 10 cha 13

Improvments
04 str 14 dex 14 con 10 int 16 wis 10 cha 13
08 str 14 dex 14 con 10 int 16 wis 10 cha 14
12 str 14 dex 15 con 10 int 16 wis 10 cha 14
16 str 14 dex 16 con 10 int 16 wis 10 cha 14
20 str 14 dex 16 con 11 int 16 wis 10 cha 14

Shadowflicker

Spoiler

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Martial Rogue	0	0	2	0	Balance 4, Bluff 4, Disable Device 4, Escape Artist 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Open Lock 4, Search 4, Sense Motive 4, Tumble 4, Use Rope 4	Combat Expertise, Nymph’s Kiss (BoED p44)	Bonus Feat, Trapfinding
2nd	Martial Rogue	1	0	3	0	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Disable Device 5, Escape Artist 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Open Lock 5, Search 5, Sense Motive 5, Tumble 5, Use Rope 5	Dodge	Bonus Feat, Evasion
3rd	Martial Rogue	2	2	3	1	Balance 6, Bluff 6, Escape Artist 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Open Lock 6, Sense Motive 6, Tumble 6, Use Rope 6 [ST: Slipping Past]	Weapon Focus (Rapier)	Trap sense +1
4th	Martial Rogue	3	1	4	1	Balance 7, Bluff 7, Disable Device 6, Escape Artist 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Open Lock 7, Search 6, Sense Motive 7, Tumble 7, Use Rope 7	Mobility	Bonus Feat, Uncanny dodge
5th	Swashbuckler	4	3	4	1	Balance 8, Bluff 8, Escape Artist 8, Hide 8cc, Move Silently 8cc, Sense Motive 8, Tumble 8, Use Rope 8	Weapon Finesse (Rapier)	Weapon Finesse
6th	Swashbuckler	5	4	4	1	Bluff 9, Escape Artist 9, Hide 9cc, Move Silently 9cc, Tumble 9, Use Rope 9 [ST: Escape Attack]	Extra Silence (RoS p139)	Grace +1
7th	Swashbuckler	6	4	5	2	Bluff 10, Escape Artist 10, Hide 10cc, Move Silently 10cc, Tumble 10, Use Rope 10 [ST: Timely Misdirection]	-	Insightful strike
8th	Blade Bravo	7	4	7	2	Balance 9, Escape Artist 11, Hide 11cc, Move Silently 11cc, Tumble 11, Use Rope 11 [ST: Easy Escape]	Goad (RoS p140)	Flourish, Goad
9th	Blade Bravo	8	4	8	2	Balance 10, Escape Artist 12, Hide 12cc, Move Silently 12cc, Sense Motive 10, Tumble 12, Use Rope 12	Underfoot Combat (RotW p152)	Mobile fighting
10th	Blade Bravo	9	5	8	3	Escape Artist 13, Hide 13cc, Move Silently 13cc, Open Lock 8cc, Tumble 13, Use Rope 13 [ST: Quick Escape]	Spring Attack	Bonus feat
11th	Gnome Giant Slayer	10	7	8	3	Disable Device 7cc, Escape Artist 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Tumble 14, Use Rope 14	-	Favored enemy (giant) +2
12th	Gnome Giant Slayer	11	8	8	3	Disable Device 8cc, Escape Artist 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Tumble 15, Use Rope 15	Confound the Big Folk (RotW p153)	Crafty fighter
13th	Gnome Giant Slayer	12	8	9	4	Disable Device 9cc, Escape Artist 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Tumble 16, Use Rope 16	-	Slippery
14th	Gnome Giant Slayer	13	9	9	4	Disable Device 10cc, Escape Artist 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Tumble 17, Use Rope 17	-	Favored enemy (giant) +4
15th	Gnome Giant Slayer	14	9	9	4	Escape Artist 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Search 7cc, Tumble 18, Use Rope 18	Natural Trickster (RoS p143)	Close shot
16th	Gnome Giant Slayer	15	10	+10	5	Escape Artist 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Search 8cc, Tumble 19, Use Rope 19	-	Fast movement
17th	Gnome Giant Slayer	16	10	10	5	Escape Artist 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Search 9cc, Tumble 20, Use Rope 20	-	Favored enemy (giant) +6
18th	Gnome Giant Slayer	17	11	+10	5	Escape Artist 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Search 10cc, Tumble 21, Use Rope 21	Swarm Fighting (CWar p105)	Improved mobility
19th	New Class Level	18	11	11	6	Escape Artist 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Open Lock 9cc, Tumble 22, Use Rope 22	-	Annoying strike
20th	Gnome Giant Slayer	19	12	11	6	Escape Artist 23, Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Open Lock 10cc, Tumble 23, Use Rope 23	-	Favored enemy (giant) +8, defensive roll

Character Information

Spoiler

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Martial Rogue: Gain: Bonus feats (as fighter). Lose: Sneak attack. (UA p58)
Swashbuckler (CWar p11)
Blade Bravo (RoS p99)
Gnome Giant Slayer (CWar p36)

HD/HP:(D6x4,D8x3,D10x13= 109 avg.)
Base AC: 14 (10 +1 size +3 Dex) Touch 13 Flat-footed 11
BAB +19
Saves
Fort +12 Ref +11 Will +6
gains a +1 competence bonus on Reflex saves
+3 Int bonus + 2 Str bonus to damage rolls
+8 weapon damage rolls against giants

Skill Tricks
[ST: Slipping Past] : As a swift action, you can ignore the additional movement cost and penalty on attack rolls and to AC when squeezing through a narrow space

[ST: Escape Attack] : When you escape a grapple, you can make a single melee attack with a light weapon as a swift action against the opponent that was grappling you

[ST: Timely Misdirection] : succeed on a Bluff check to feint in combat, your opponent can’t make any attacks of opportunity against you until the start of its next turn

[ST: Easy Escape] :If your opponent is larger than Medium, you gain a circumstance bonus on your Escape Artist check (+4 to +16)

[ST: Quick Escape] : make an Escape Artist check to escape from a grapple or pin as a swift action; make any Escape Artist check that would normally require a full-round action as a move action

Write Up

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The character makes full use of all the SI Abilities:

Favored Enemy (Giant) (Ex): A gnome giant-slayer gains a +8 bonus on Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against giants

Crafty Fighter (Ex): gains a +4 dodge bonus to his AC against giants, or a +2 dodge bonus against any other (nongiant) creature at least two size categories larger

Slippery (Ex): If grappled by a creature at least two size categories larger than himself, he can add his gnome giant-slayer level as a bonus to Escape Artist checks
a gnome giant-slayer can move through an area occupied by a creature two size categories larger

Close Shot (Ex): a gnome giantslayer does not provoke attacks of opportunity from giants for using a ranged weapon while threatened by them

Fast Movement (Ex): a gnome giant-slayer’s base land speed increases by 10 feet

Improved Mobility (Ex): a gnome giant-slayer gains a +4 dodge bonus to his Armor Class when moving out of or within a giant’s threatened area (stacks with Mobility)

Annoying Strike (Ex): Whenever a gnome giant-slayer damages a giant in melee, that giant is shaken for 1 round.

Defensive Roll (Ex): 1/day when he would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points by damage in combat (from a weapon or other blow struck by a giant, he can attempt to roll with the damage. To use this ability, he makes a Reflex saving throw (DC = damage dealt; the gnome giant-slayer adds his class level as a bonus on this saving throw)

How does "Shadowflicker" make use of the SI as well as augment its abilities.
While the character gets a full 4 attacks per round if he wants them, he is certainly going to make full use of the skills he has to make the best attack possible while not getting grappled or stomped on. His skill tricks aid in his ability to get into spots where giants just can not fit, avoid the grapple and AoO of giants if needed.

can add his class level to his Bluff checks when feinting in combat.
Goad Will saving throw (DC 24)
if he moves at least 5 feet, he gains a +1 dodge bonus to AC until his next turn

Gnome giant-slayers have proficiency with all simple and martial weapons, with light and medium armor, and with shields
with porper equipment, decent magic light armor, magic longbow & magic rapier "Shadowflicker" can hold his own without party aid in combat, with trap sense he can attempt to open locks and disable devices, out of combat he has decent skills though he is no diplomat, a few different laguages to deal with various races.

[Heliomance]

Soooooper genius

Aprillius Foolius

NE Unseelie Fey Desert Gnome Cobra Strike Monk 2 / Gnome Giant-Slayer 10 / Avenger 8

Spoiler: Basics

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Race: Unseelie Fey (Dragon Compendium, pages 222-223) Desert Gnome

Classes: Cobra Strike Monk 2 / Gnome Giant-Slayer (Complete Warrior, page 36) 10 / Avenger 8

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Languages: Common, Gnome, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant

Ability	32 Point Buy	Desert Gnome	Unseelie Fey	Increments	Final
Strength	14	-2	-2		10
Dexterity	14		+2		16
Constitution	8	+2	-2		8
Intelligence	18			+5 (all)	23
Wisdom	8				8
Charisma	12		+2		14

Spoiler: Story

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Aprillius Foolius was born in the Great Dale but grew up in the desert, always hungry. He sought out Giant running birds for sustenance, only to be cruelly denied time and time again.

Aprillius Foolius got help from the fine goods and services firm ACME. They delivered solutions to his many needs, as follows:

"Pixie Fix": Swap 1 Racial HD for First Class Level

The ability to swap a character's sole racial hit die for their first class level is a characteristic of the Humanoid type, and not generally available to other creature types. Inheriting the Unseelie Fey template alters Aprillius Foolius's Humanoid type to Fey, and would normally require the character to keep at least one racial hit die. It's generally more advantageous for character development to derive levels from classes rather than racial hit dice, though, and certainly the case here. Pixies are a non-Humanoid race with a similar hit die exchange rule, and this character build leverages that. From Monster Manual on page 236:

Pixies As Characters
A pixie character exchanges its 1 HD of fey for its first class level

Aprillius Foolius hires an ACME spellcaster to cast Polymorph on him, turning him temporarily into a Pixie. The limited transformation of this spell changes the character's type, subtype, and racial characteristics. It does not modify the nature of his existing hit dice, but since Aprillius Foolius's hit die is already Fey, this racial substitution just before taking his first class level is enough to qualify for the HD exchange. The "Pixie fix" allows Aprillius Foolius to derive all levels from classes, with no racial hit dice.

The Unseelie Fey template provides the following benefits:

• Summer Caress (Su): Nice, but useless against birds!
• ACME batlike wings for 2x base speed flight (average maneuverability)
• DR 15/cold iron (at 12+ HD)
• Iron Vulnerability: touching causes 1 point/round; attacks with iron/steel add +1d6 damage
• Darkvision 60'
• STR -2, DEX +2, CON -2, CHA +2
• +4 racial bonus on Intimidate checks
• Alignment: Always Evil
• Level Adjustment: +0

Gnome Giant-Slayer Early Entry Shenanigasm

• Aprillius Foolius takes Cobra Strike Monk for 2 levels to gain Dodge and Mobility; acquires 3+ ranks each in Escape Artist & Tumble and 1 cross-class rank in Use Magic Device.
• When Aprillius Foolius gains 1 XP under the necessary amount to attain 3rd level, he first hires an ACME rules lawyer.
• He hires two ACME Bards to sing Inspire Greatness for +2 HD each (6 HD total).
• The ACME rules lawyer explains that Inspire Greatness isn't a spell, so the spell stacking limits don't apply; also, the general stacking limits apply to checks and rolls, but not HD computations or class entry requirements.

  stack: Combine for a cumulative effect. In most cases, modifiers to a given check or roll stack if they come from different sources and have different descriptors (or no descriptors at all), but do not stack if they have the same descriptors or come from the same source (such as the same spell cast twice in succession).

• He hires an ACME Cleric to cast Guidance of the Avatar.
• He uses the GotA +20 bonus with Use Magic Device to activate an ACME wand of Divine Power, gaining BAB +6 for 7 rounds.
• He hires an ACME Wizard to cast Heroics (Spell Compendium, page 113) and gains Spring Attack for half an hour.
• Aprillius Foolius kills a Rat to level up before Divine Power wears off, and enters Gnome Giant-Slayer.
• He adds Spring Attack as his regular 3rd level feat.

• When Aprillius Foolius gains 1 XP under the necessary amount to attain 4th level, he first hires an ACME rules lawyer.
• He hires an ACME Bard to sing Inspire Greatness for +2 HD (5 HD total).
• He hires an ACME Cleric to cast Guidance of the Avatar.
• He uses the GotA +20 bonus with Use Magic Device to activate an ACME wand of Divine Power, gaining BAB +5 for 7 rounds.
• The ACME rules lawyer gets his Gnome Giant-Slayer lost benefits restored (Complete Warrior, page 16) as he now satisfies all entry requirements.
• Aprillius Foolius kills a Cat to level up before Divine Power wears off, and enters the second Gnome Giant-Slayer level.

• When Aprillius Foolius gains 1 XP under the necessary amount to attain 5th level, he first hires an ACME rules lawyer.
• He hires an ACME Bard to sing Inspire Greatness for +2 HD (6 HD total).
• He hires an ACME Cleric to cast Guidance of the Avatar.
• He uses the GotA +20 bonus with Use Magic Device to activate an ACME wand of Divine Power, gaining BAB +6 for 7 rounds.
• The ACME rules lawyer gets his Gnome Giant-Slayer lost benefits restored as he satisfies all entry requirements again.
• Aprillius Foolius kills a Dog to level up before Divine Power wears off, and enters the third Gnome Giant-Slayer level.

• When Aprillius Foolius gains 1 XP under the necessary amount to attain 6th level, he first hires an ACME rules lawyer.
• He hires an ACME Cleric to cast Guidance of the Avatar.
• He uses the GotA +20 bonus with Use Magic Device to activate an ACME wand of Divine Power, gaining BAB +5 for 7 rounds.
• The ACME rules lawyer gets his Gnome Giant-Slayer lost benefits restored as he satisfies all entry requirements again.
• Aprillius Foolius kills a Badger to level up before Divine Power wears off, and enters the fourth Gnome Giant-Slayer level.

Having both attained BAB +5 and gotten Spring Attack as a permanent feat, Aprillius Foolius pays the ACME rules lawyer and gets on with his Evil plans for killing Giant running birds.

Early Feat Acquirement

While nearing the end of his Gnome Giant-Slayer training, and still having failed to catch and eat a delectable Giant running bird, Aprillius Foolius was already planning his next dastardly tricks. He needed to be sneakier. And so, though he had yet to actually acquire Sneak Attack, he put his giant brain to work and (with some help from ACME) figured a way to acquire a Sneak Attack feat a bit early.

• Aprillius Foolius gains 1 XP under the necessary amount to attain 12th level.
• He hires an ACME Cleric to cast Guidance of the Avatar.
• He uses the GotA +20 bonus with Use Magic Device to activate an ACME wand of Extended Hunter's Eye (Player's Handbook II, pages 114-115) , gaining Sneak Attack for 2 rounds.
• Aprillius Foolius kills a Dire Badger to level up before Hunter's Eye wears off, and adds Staggering Strike (Complete Adventurer, page 112) as his 12th level feat.

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Cobra Strike Monk 1	+0	+2	+2	+2	Balance +4, Disguise (cc) +1, Escape Artist +4, Hide +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Spot +4, Tumble +4, Use Magic Device (cc) +1	Improved Unarmed Strike, Dodge, Magic in the Blood (Player's Guide to Faerûn 40)	Bonus feat (Dodge), Decisive Strike (Player's Handbook II 51), unarmed strike
2nd	Cobra Strike Monk 2	+1	+3	+3	+3	Balance +1(=5), Disguise (cc) +1½(=2½), Escape Artist +1(=5), Hide +1(=5), Jump +1, Listen +1(=5), Move Silently +1(=5), Spot +1(=5), Tumble +1(=5)	Mobility	Bonus feat (Mobility), Invisible Fist (Exemplars of Evil 21)
3rd	Gnome Giant-Slayer 1 (Complete Warrior 36)	+2	+5	+3	+3	Disguise (cc) +½(=3), Escape Artist +1(=6), Hide +1(=6), Jump +1(=2), Move Silently +1(=6), Tumble +1(=6)	Spring Attack	Favored enemy (giant) +2
4th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 2	+3	+6	+3	+3	Disguise (cc) +½(=3½), Escape Artist +1(=7), Hide +1(=7), Jump +1(=3), Move Silently +1(=7), Tumble +1(=7)		Crafty fighter
5th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 3	+4	+6	+4	+4	Disguise (cc) +½(=4), Escape Artist +1(=8), Hide +1(=8), Jump +1(=4), Move Silently +1(=8), Tumble +1(=8)		Slippery
6th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 4	+5	+7	+4	+4	Escape Artist +1(=9), Hide +1(=9), Jump +2(=6), Move Silently +1(=9), Tumble +1(=9)	Improved Flight (Races of the Wild 151)	Favored enemy (giant) +4
7th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 5	+6	+7	+4	+4	Escape Artist +1(=10), Hide +1(=10), Jump +2(=8), Move Silently +1(=10), Tumble +1(=10)		Close shot
8th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 6	+7	+8	+5	+5	Escape Artist +1(=11), Hide +1(=11), Jump +3(=11), Move Silently +1(=11), Tumble +1(=11)		Fast movement
9th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 7	+8	+8	+5	+5	Escape Artist +1(=12), Hide +1(=12), Jump +1(=12), Move Silently +1(=12), Tumble +1(=12), Use Rope +2	Snap Kick (Tome of Battle 32)	Favored enemy (giant) +6
10th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 8	+9	+9	+5	+5	Escape Artist +1(=13), Hide +1(=13), Jump +1(=13), Move Silently +1(=13), Tumble +1(=13), Use Rope +2(=4)		Improved mobility
11th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 9	+10	+9	+6	+6	Escape Artist +1(=14), Hide +1(=14), Jump +1(=14), Move Silently +1(=14), Tumble +1(=14), Use Rope +2(=6)		Annoying strike
12th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 10	+11	+10	+6	+6	Escape Artist +1(=15), Hide +1(=15), Jump +1(=15), Move Silently +1(=15), Tumble +1(=15), Use Rope +2(=8)	Staggering Strike (Complete Adventurer 112)	Favored enemy (giant) +8, defensive roll
13th	Avenger 1	+11	+10	+8	+6	Hide +1(=16), Jump +1(=16), Listen +2(=7), Move Silently +1(=16), Spot +2(=7), Tumble +1(=16), Use Rope +1(=9)		Sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use, spells
14th	Avenger 2	+12	+10	+9	+6	Hide +1(=17), Jump +1(=17), Listen +2(=9), Move Silently +1(=17), Spot +2(=9), Tumble +1(=17), Use Rope +1(=10)		+1 save against poison, uncanny dodge
15th	Avenger 3	+13	+11	+9	+7	Hide +1(=18), Jump +1(=18), Listen +2(=11), Move Silently +1(=18), Spot +2(=11), Tumble +1(=18), Use Rope +1(=11)	Craven (Champions of Ruin 17)	Sneak attack +2d6
16th	Avenger 4	+14	+11	+10	+7	Hide +1(=19), Jump +1(=19), Listen +2(=13), Move Silently +1(=19), Spot +2(=13), Tumble +1(=19), Use Rope +2(=14)		+2 save against poison
17th	Avenger 5	+14	+11	+10	+7	Hide +1(=20), Jump +1(=20), Listen +2(=15), Move Silently +1(=20), Spot +2(=15), Tumble +1(=20), Use Rope +2(=16)		Improved uncanny dodge, sneak attack +3d6
18th	Avenger 6	+15	+12	+11	+8	Hide +1(=21), Jump +1(=21), Listen +2(=17), Move Silently +1(=21), Spot +2(=17), Tumble +1(=21), Use Rope +2(=18)	Favored in Guild (Dungeon Master's Guilde II 227) for Jaezred Chaulssin	+3 save against poison
19th	Avenger 7	+16	+12	+11	+8	Hide +1(=22), Jump +1(=22), Listen +3(=20), Move Silently +1(=22), Spot +3(=20), Tumble +1(=22)		Sneak attack +4d6
20th	Avenger 8	+17	+12	+12	+8	Hide +1(=23), Jump +1(=23), Listen +2(=22), Move Silently +1(=23), Spot +2(=22), Tumble +1(=23), Use Rope +2(=20)		+4 save against poison, hide in plain sight

Spoiler: Gear

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See the ACME catalog.

Spoiler: Snapshots

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We only need one snapshot here. Level 20 is the sweet spot. Up until now Aprillius Foolius has benefited greatly from Defensive Roll, mostly in connection with vehicle impacts. But he's finally gotten Hide in Plain Sight. He's ever so sneaky now. His Death Attack DC is raised +4 by Favored in Guild applied to Jaezred Chaulssin. (It hasn't worked yet, but it's bound to now.) His Gnome Giant-Slayer favored enemy boosts more than make up for his scrawny build. He's also got +4d6+20 sneak attack, before any ACME augments. If he gets in even a single hit on a Giant running bird it's going to be both staggered (Staggering Strike) and shaken (GG-S Annoying Strike). There's just no way he can fail to catch, cook, and enjoy a succulent Giant running bird. Aprillius Foolius is going to be one stuffed, happy Super Genius!

Spoiler: Spells per Day/Spells Known

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Spells per Day / Spells Known

Level	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
13th	2 / 2	—	—	—
14th	3 / 3	—	—	—
15th	4 / 3	1 / 2	—	—
16th	5 / 4	3 / 3	—	—
17th	5 / 4	4 / 3	1 / 2	—
18th	5 / 4	5 / 4	2 / 3	—
19th	5 / 4	5 / 4	3 / 3	1 / 2
20th	5 / 4	5 / 4	4 / 4	2 / 3

Spoiler: Spells Known

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Level 1 Avenger Spells Known

• Disguise Self
• Feather Fall
• Obscuring Mist
• True Strike

Level 2 Avenger Spells Known

• Alter Self
• Fox's Cunning
• Invisibility
• Spider Climb

Level 3 Avenger Spells Known

• Deep Slumber
• Magic Circle Against Good
• Misdirection
• Nondetection

Level 4 Avenger Spells Known

• Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
• Greater Invisibility
• Locate Creature

[Heliomance]

I'm blue babadee babadye

Luna Indigo

Ferral Forest Gnome: NG: Ranger 6/ Gnome Giant-Slayer 10/ Beastmaster 2

Character Background

Spoiler

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Luna Indigo, so named for she was born at the very moment of the very rare occasion of a blue moon that caused a complete solar eclipse.
Luna like most girls went to school and learned that which was taught. As she came of age she was permitted to take part in the tests of the local ranger academy to see if she would be worthy to obtain training as a fang ranger. Luna Indigo has won the competition! was the last thing her final opponent heard as her blows struck true knocking him to the ground in an unconscious heap. Luna began the rigors of training putting all she had into learning the art and quickly surpassed the expectations of her instructors. It was not long before a great master decided to give her specialized training and a graceful art to go with her combat prowess.
with her trust wolf she quickly found the loacl brute giants to be unskilled and quickly drove them out of the area.

Character Atributes

Spoiler

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Atributes
Racial
Str +2 Dex -2 Con +4 Int -4 Wis +2 Cha 0

32 point buy
Str 13 Dex 15 Con 08 Int 17 Wis 08 Cha 14

Atributes
Str 15 Dex 13 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 10 Cha 14

@ Level 20
Str 16 Dex 14 Con 13 Int 14 Wis 10 Cha 16

Level 4 +1 Int
Level 8 +1 Dex
Level 12 +1 Str
Level 12 +1 Con
Level 16 +1 Cha
Level 20 +1 Cha

Build

Spoiler

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Effective Character Levels

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ferral Level Adjustment	0	0	0	0	-	Dodge	Improved grab, Pounce, Rake, Rend, Darkvision 120ft, Fast Healing 5
2nd	Ranger	1	2	2	0	Escape Artist 5, Handle Animal 4, Knowledge (nature) 4, Ride 4, Survival 4, Tumble 4	Track,	Gnome favored enemy (Giant), Track, wild empathy
3rd	Ranger	2	3	3	0	Escape Artist 6, Handle Animal 6, Knowledge (nature) 5, Ride 5, Survival 5, Tumble 5	Two Weapon Fighting, Mobility	Two Weapon Fighting Style, +2 on Move Silently checks
4th	Ranger	3	3	3	1	Escape Artist 7, Handle Animal 7, Knowledge (nature) 7, Ride 7, Survival 6, Tumble 6	Endurance,	Endurance
5th	Ranger	4	4	4	1	Escape Artist 8, Handle Animal 8, Knowledge (nature) 8, Ride 8, Survival 8, Tumble 8	Spring Attack	Animal companion
6th	Ranger	5	4	4	1	Escape Artist 9, Handle Animal 9, Intimidate 1cc, Knowledge (nature) 9, Ride 9, Survival 9, Tumble 9	Natural Bond	Gnome favored enemy (Giant)
7th	Ranger	6	5	2	2	Escape Artist 10, Handle Animal 10, Intimidate 2cc, Knowledge (nature) 10, Ride 10, Survival 10, Tumble 10	Improved Two Weapon Fighting	Improved Two Weapon Fighting style
8th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	7	7	5	2	Escape Artist 11, Intimidate 4, Tumble 11	Power Attack	Favored enemy (giant) +2
9th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	8	8	5	2	Escape Artist 12, Intimidate 6, Tumble 12	Improved Favored Enemy (giant)	Crafty fighter
10th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	9	8	6	3	Escape Artist 13, Intimidate 8, Tumble 13	-	Slippery
11th	Demon Bloodline	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	10	9	6	3	Escape Artist 14, Intimidate 10, Tumble 14	Nemesis (giant)	Favored enemy (giant) +4, Strength +1
13th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	11	9	6	3	Escape Artist 15, Intimidate 12, Tumble 15	-	Close shot
14th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	12	10	7	4	Handle Animal 11cc, Intimidate 14, Tumble 16	-	Fast movement
15th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	13	10	7	4	Handle Animal 12cc, Intimidate 16, Tumble 17	Favored Power Attack	Favored enemy (giant) +6
16th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	14	11	7	4	Handle Animal 13cc, Intimidate 18, Tumble 18	-	Improved mobility, Resistance to electricity 5 (Ex)
17th	Gnome Giant-Slayerl	15	11	8	5	Handle Animal 15cc, Intimidate 19, Tumble 19	-	Annoying strike
18th	Gnome Giant-Slayer	16	12	8	5	Knowledge (nature) 12cc, Intimidate 20, Tumble 20	Mounted Combat	Favored enemy (giant) +8, defensive roll
19th	Beastmaster	17	14	10	5	Knowledge (nature) 14cc, Intimidate 21, Tumble 21	-	Animal companion, wild empathy
20th	Beastmaster	18	18	15	5	Knowledge (nature) 15, Intimidate 23, Ride 11, Tumble 23	Alertness	Alertness, Demon affinity +2

Additional Stuff

Spoiler

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Animal Companion
Level HD NA S/D Tricks Special
1st–2nd +0 +0 +0 1 Link, share spells
3rd–5th +2 +2 +1 2 Evasion
6th–8th +4 +4 +2 3 Devotion
9th–11th +6 +6 +3 4 Multiattack
12th–14th +8 +8 +4 5
15th–17th +10 +10 +5 6 Improved evasion
18th–20th +12 +12 +6 7

Bloodline levels get added to every other class level for determining level-dependent class features
Effective Druid Level: Ranger 3 + Fangs 2 + NB 3 + BM 5 + BL 8 = 21 (20)
Animal Companion - 7th Level or Higher (Level –6) Dire wolf

DIRE WOLF
Large Animal
Hit Dice: 6d8+18 (45 hp) <18d8+54>
Initiative: +2<+5>
Speed: 50 ft.
Armor Class: 14 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +3 natural), touch 11, flat-footed 12 <AC: 19 (-1 size, +5 dex, +15 natural) touch 14 flat-footed 24>
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+15 <+13/+27>
Attack: Bite +11 <+23> melee (1d8+10)
Full Attack: Bite +11 <+23> melee (1d8+10)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip
Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent
Saves: Fort +8 <+11>, Ref +7 <+10>, Will +6 <+6>
Abilities: Str 25<31>, Dex 15<21>, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 10
Skills: Hide +0<+7>, <Jump +3>, Listen +7, Move Silently +4<+7>, Spot +7, Survival +2<+7>* <2 + -4 = 1; 1 x 18 = 18 skill points>
+2 racial bonus on Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot checks.
*It also has a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent
Trip (Ex): A dire wolf that hits with a bite attack can attempt to trip its opponent (+11 check modifier) as a free action without making a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity
Feats: Alertness, Run, TrackB, Weapon Focus (bite) <9 Power Attack 12 Improved Bull RUSH, 15 POWERFUL CHARGE, 18 AWESOME BLOW>

Tricks:
Advanced Fighting (DC 20): assist attack, attack, down, hold, stay, subdue
Assist Attack (DC 20):
Attack (DC 20)
Down (DC 15)
Hold (DC 20)
Stay (DC 15)
Subdue (DC 20)
Come (DC 15)
Defend (DC 20)
Guard (DC 20)
Heel (DC 15)
Hunt (DC 15)
Stalk (DC 20)

Breakdown

Spoiler

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Ranger levels for the feats, skills and animal companion, help get the Luna going early game
Gnome Giant-Slayer falls withing the sweet spot of the build where most of her abilities take effect
Beastmaster levels to finish the animal companion levels to max making her dire wolf an able ally in combat
With the level adjustment for ferral and losing a level to the blood line the build still manages a full four attacks a round
while optimized for two weapon fighting and setting her wolf up for flanking, she can also make use of the mounted combat and get some decent charge action

Optional Gear:
Serpent Armor: wearer gains Combat Reflexes feat
Eager Weapon enchantment on: weapons of choice
S.A.K.

Mount:
Exotic Military Saddle
Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis

Sources

Spoiler

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SRD
Forest Gnome (MM p132)
Feral Creature (Savage Species p116)
Demon Bloodline Minor (UA p10)
Champion of the wild (CC p50)
Gnome Ranger Racial Substitution Level 1st (RoS p149)
Gnome Giant-Slayer (Cwar p36)
Beastmaster (CAdv p26)

[Heliomance]

That is one ugly gnome.

Tubesock the Gigantifier



Race: Phaerimm Hatchling
Build Stub: Ranger 1/Cloistered Cleric 1/Stoneblessed 3/Ordained Champion 3/Gnome Giant Slayer 10
Ability Scores: Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 18
Ability Increases: Cha 19 (6th), Cha 20 (10th), Cha 21 (14th), Cha 22 (18th)
Languages: Common, Gnome, Giant
Alignment: NE
Multiclass Penalty: No.

Spoiler: Backstory

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As the procession of svirfneblin warriors entered the Great Hall, King Pavelpym rose to his feat, his grave and chiseled face suddenly stretching taught with worry and agitation. The rest of the assembled ministers and courtiers, caught off guard by the King rising unexpectedly, awkwardly followed suit, but adherence to courtly decorum was not an immediate concern to the King. Rather than wait for the procession to reach the dais, the King hurried down the steps and met them half-way into the hall.

The warriors paused, most of them unsure how to respond to this breach of etiquette, but Captain Vriebershim quickly called his warriors to parade attention and motioned his personal guard to bring up the spoils. The ranks of warriors parted as four svirfneblin dragged a large bloody burlap sack foward. As they struggled to untie the top of the bag, King Pavelpym confronted Captain Vriebershim.

"My son!" demanded the King. "Why is he not among you?"

Vriebershim cleared his throat, and said, "Glorious is this day! Your Most Exalted Highness, I bring you most triumphant--"

The King cut him off. "My scouts have informed me of your bloody victory, but they also told me my son fell in battle. Where is he?"

Vriebershim tried again. "The Crown Prince delivered upon our enemies a vengeful reckoning so wrathsome--"

"Stuff it, Vriebershim!" commanded the King. "Grippleplum! My son? Does he live?"

A squat svirfneblin enrobed with the sacred vestments of Hextor stepped through the ranks of warriors and quickly knelt before the King. "The Crown Prince was grievously wounded, Your Eminence, but the blood of Hextor flows strongly through his veins. He lives, and I believe he will recover."

The four svirfneblin wrestling with the bloody sack finally had it open, and Vriebershim, hoping to regain the favorable opinion of the King, presented the contents: a large bloody head, dark grey skin the color of weathered tombstones, yellow teeth sharpened like ivory chisels, and a single black-feathered arrow sprouting from a ruined eye-socket.

The King looked puzzled. "That is a stone giant, not a cave troll."

Vriebershim cleared his throat again. "Your Most Exalted Highness, as you are no doubt aware, we knew the cave troll raids were being directed by some unknown agent. As we now have proof, the stone giants are behind this."

"How many dead?" asked the King.

Vriebershim cleared his throat twice. "Ahem. Our most valiant and devoted forces--"

The King cut him off again. "Corporal Bilperbin! How many dead?"

Corporal Bilperbin stepped out from the ranks and snapped a sharp salute. "Seventeen, Your Highness."

The King motioned toward the bloody head. "And this... thing, I am told. This is what struck down my son? This stone giant... who landed the killing blow?"

Corporal Bilperbin kept his chin high, but his eyes flickered toward his feet. "Well, Your Highness... it was really a group effort."

The King turned back to Vriebershim. "And your mission? The High Wizard Vilthzigor, he was slain? And all of the experiments he spoke of, the weapons he promised would be of use against the cave trolls?"

Vriebershim coughed, and said, "Vilthzigor was slain, your highness. The cave trolls had already overrun his tower by the time we got there. We salvaged what we could, but most of it had already been destroyed."

Corporal Bilperbin looked up and addressed the King. "Actually, there was one experiment that survived, Your Highness... and if it hadn't stunned that stone giant with a little bit of rainbow sparkle, the Crown Prince would have died along with the rest of us."

Vriebershim broke in with a sniff, "Your Highness, you must remember that Vilthzigor was always regarded as something of an eccentric--"

"Enough!" snapped the King. "This experiment... bring it to me."

The ranks of soldiers parted again, and Tubesock was brought forward. Unfamiliar with his surroundings, Tubesock's leaflike fringes around his mouth vibrated in agitation, but then calmed as he was presented to the King. This new svirfneblin, the one that the other warriors regarded with so much fear and admiration, this one they called King. Tubesock could feel that this King was not afriad of him, not like the others.

"By the scarlet blood of Hextor," the King said. "What is this?"

"Well," Corproral Bilperbin answered, "The mates have been calling him Tubesock. We think he's mostly phaerimm, although we're not sure exactly what else Vilthzigor might have mixed in, his notes didn't exactly make much sense even before he went off the deep end... but one thing we do know for sure, is he really, really hates giants."

Spoiler: Build Progression

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ranger 1	+1	+3	+5	+1	Appraise 2, Concentration 4, Craft:Stoneworking 4, Escape Artist 2, Know:Dungeon 4, Know:Nature 4, Know:Religion 2, Tumble 4	Human Heritage, Track	Favored Enemy (Giant), Spiritual Connection ACF, Skilled City-Dweller ACF (Tumble), Detect Magic, Immunity to Polymorph/Petrification, SR 11
2nd	Cloistered Cleric 1	+1	+5	+5	+3	Craft:Stoneworking 5, Know:Nature 5, Know:Religion 5	Weapon Focus: Flail, Knowledge Devotion (Nature)	War Domain, Destruction Domain
3rd	Level Adjustment 1	+1	+5	+5	+3
4th	Level Adjustment 2	+1	+5	+5	+3
5th	Stoneblessed 1	+1	+7	+5	+3	Know:Nature 6, Know:Religion 6	Dodge	Stonebond: Gnome
6th	Stoneblessed 2	+2	+8	+5	+3	Know:Nature 7, Know:Religion 7		Racial Battle Technique: +1 attack vs kobolds/goblins
7th	Stoneblessed 3	+3	+8	+6	+4	Escape Artist 3, Know:Nature 8		Stoneborn: speak with animals 1/day
8th	Ordained Champion 1	+4	+10	+6	+6	Speak Language: Giant 1, Tumble 5	Mobility, Spring Attack, EWP: Whip Dagger	Bonus Domain (Evil), Combat Feats (Destruction, Evil), Cont. Advancement, Mod. Spont. Casting, Skilled City Dweller ACF (Tumble)
9th	Ordained Champion 2	+5	+11	+6	+7	Know:Nature 9, Tumble 7	Diehard	Smite
10th	Ordained Champion 3	+6	+11	+7	+7	Know:Arcane 1, Know:Nature 10, Know:Planes 1		Channel Spell, Divine Bulwark
11th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 1	+7	+13	+7	+7	Tumble 10	Underfoot Combat	Favored Enemy (giant) +4
12th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 2	+8	+14	+7	+7	Know:Nature 13		Crafty Fighter
13th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 3	+9	+14	+8	+8	Know:Nature 14, Tumble 12		Slippery
14th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 4	+10	+15	+8	+8	Know:Nature 15, Tumble 14	Confound the Big Folk	Favored Enemy (giant) +6
15th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 5	+11	+15	+8	+8	Know:Nature 16, Tumble 16		Close Shot
16th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 6	+12	+16	+9	+9	Hide 1, Know:Nature 17, Tumble 17		Fast Movement
17th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 7	+13	+16	+9	+9	Hide 2, Know:Nature 18, Tumble 18	Minor Shapeshift	Favored Enemy (giant) +8
18th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 8	+14	+17	+9	+9	Hide 3, Know:Nature 19, Tumble 19		Improved Mobility
19th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 9	+15	+17	+10	+10	Hide 4, Know:Nature 20, Tumble 20		Annoying Strike
20th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 10	+16	+18	+10	+10	Hide 5, Know:Nature 21, Tumble 21	Arcane Strike	Favored Enemy (giant) +10, Defensive Roll

Spoiler: Spells

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Sorcerer Spells per Day/Known (by HD)

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

Sorcerer Spells Known
0lvl: acid splash, arcane mark, dancing lights, electric jolt (SC), ghost sound, launch bolt (SC), mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost
1st: color spray, enlarge person, lesser spider form (DotU), magic missile, ray of enfeeblement
2nd: alter self, cloud of knives (PHBII), glitterdust, ice darts (Frostburn), wings of cover (RotD)
3rd: dispel magic, haste, heart of water (CMag), spider form (DotU), least dragonshape (Dragon Magic)
4th: enervation, Evard's hentai collection, heart of stone (CMag), polymorph
5th: arcane fusion (CMag), greater spider form (DotU), magic jar, shadow evocation
6th: acid fog, disintegrate, globe of invulnerability
7th: arcane spellsurge (Dragon Magic), greater shadow conjuration, limited wish
8th: greater arcane fusion (CMag), greater shadow evocation
9th: shapechange

Cleric Spells per Day

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

Typical Cleric Spells Prepared
0lvl: create water, guidance, read magic, resistance
1st: blade of blood (PHBII), ice slick (Frostburn), spider hand (BoVD), magic weapon{D}
2nd: bull's strength, spiritual weapon{D}

Spoiler: Level 5

Show

Let's get some ruleswankery out of the way. Yes, human-descended phaerimm is a stretch if not outright illegal. But I can't find anything in the source material that says phaerimm weren't descended from humanoids. And even if that suid won't fly, there's the klunky but well-worn "A Wizard Did It" trope. But the pretext is largely pnambic. I needed HD-based arcane casting to get the Channel Spell combo to work, and phaerimm was the most efficacious way to get there. Along the way, I discovered that this involved perhaps too much fromagerie for even my standards, which was shocking in itself: I had standards?!?! As horrifying as that realization was, the dilemma remained... should I put this gimmick on the shelf and maybe save it for a more appropriate contest, or submit the build and take my lumps? After some reflection, I says Churchill space ponies I'm making gravy without the lumps. Judges: Yes, I expect to lose some points over the phaerimm/Human Heritage thing. Audentes Fortuna Iuvat.

The Ranger is there to establish Tubesock's giant-hating bona fide's, followed by a level of Cloistered Cleric to get him into Ordained Champion after establishing himself as a gnome. Since a group of good gnomes worshipping Heironymous seemed like too much of a stretch, might as well make them Hextor-worshipping svirfneblin, because what goes better with evil than full-on crazy?

Spoiler: Level 10

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Ordained Champion gives Tubesock another domain from Hextor's portfolio, and then lets him trade two of those domain powers for fighter bonus feats. This gets him Spring Attack and EWP: Whip Dagger. But that's not what we're here for. Channel Spell allows Tubesock to use a move action to load any of his spells into his whip dagger, and then circumvent some of the spell parameters by replacing them with the target of a melee attack. Channel Spell doesn't specify divine, so he can channel his arcane spells as well, and with 8 character levels he now has access to 4th level Sorcerer spells... including polymorph. What happens when you run out of giants to slay? Well, you MAKE MORE GIANTS. Or rather, more half-giants, as they are the least-scary specimens of the giant type. If half-giant isn't enough of a downgrade, he can also turn his opponents into a toad or octopus. In addition to abusing the Target: line, Tubesock can also channel Range: Personal spells into opponents, such as lesser spider form, alter self, least dragonshape, or not-so-lesser spider form. On the divine side of things, spider hand is probably the most amusing.

Spoiler: Level 15 "Sweet Spot"

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I picked this level as the Sweet Spot because this is where Tubesock gets "Close Shot". While he can already make opponents miserable by polymorphing them into half-giants and then wailing on them from up to 15' away, Close Shot makes his life a little easier as he no longer provokes AoOs against giants when using his whip dagger. Oho, you say, but whips are melee weapons that provoke, how does Close Shot apply? To which I submit to you, PHB page 121: "Using a whip provokes an attack of opportunity, just as if you had used a ranged weapon." (emphasis added). At ECL 11, Underfoot Combat allows Tubesock to enter any square occupied by an opponent medium-sized or larger without provoking and get a +4 AC bonus, which stacks with both the +4 from Mobility and +2/+4 from Crafty Fighter (Ex). At ECL 14, Confound the Big Folk gives Tubesock two new combat options, "Knee Striker" (rendering foes flat-footed and giving a +4 bonus to confirm crits) and "Unsteady Footing" (Dex-based trip attack without size bonuses). While inside a giant creature's square, he can make three whip dagger attacks with a +6 damage bonus. Once Knee Striker kicks in next round, he can cast spells (flat-footed opponents don't threaten AoOs) such as magic missile or ice darts to pepper his foes with Favored Enemy/Knowledge Devotion damage.

Spoiler: Level 20

Show

Tubesock finally finishes off Gnome Giant-Slayer. Let's see what he can do with everything:

Favored Enemy (Giant): +10 damage vs. giants, and if he runs out of giants, he can create more.

Crafty Fighter: As a tiny creature, +2 AC against anything that's at least medium-sized or larger comes in quite handy. When he turns creatures into half-giants, the +4 AC vs giants helps offset the +2 Str increase: the newly-morphed half-giant will hit harder, but miss more often against Tubesock.

Slippery: This is used mostly to get out of grapples, as Underfoot Combat already allows moving through larger opponents' spaces.

Close Shot: Allows Tubesock to use his whip dagger against giants without worrying about provoking AoOs.

Fast Movement: This doesn't improve his 30' flight speed, but does improve his ground speed to 20', which puts him on par with most gnomes if he's inclined to stick to the pavement.

Improved Mobility: Another +4 AC bonus, which stacks with Mobility, Underfoot Combat, and Crafty Fighter. This is useful when using his whip dagger or spells against non-giant opponents (which can provoke AoOs) or on the first round when he enters a giant's square and "Knee Striker" hasn't kicked in yet.

Annoying Strike: Automatic shaken effect, no save! As if Tubesock weren't annoying enough already!

Defensive Roll: It's hard to predict how useful this will be, but just a chance to turn a fatal blow into half damage is better than no chance at all. Since Tubesock can create his own giants, it's likely that one of them is going to eventually get a lucky crit, and this could take some of the sting out of that.

Against giants (and formerly-non-giant giants) Tubesock is an unholy terror: 4 iterative attacks with his whip dagger, +10 damage on all his attacks from Favored Enemy, +4 damage (average roll) from Knowledge Devotion, +8 AC when in their square, and +16 AC on AoOs when in their square.

On top of all that, Tubesock casts as an 18th-level Sorcerer, and he's added Minor Shapeshift for some situational buffs and Arcane Strike to convert his non-polymorph spell slots into attack/damage buffs.

Spoiler: Sources

Show

Arms & Equipment Guide: Whip Dagger
Cityscape Web Enhancement: Skilled City-Dweller ACF
Complete Champion: Ordained Champion, Knowledge Devotion, Spiritual Connection ACF
Complete Mage: Minor Shapeshift
Complete Warrior: Arcane Strike
Expanded Psionic Handbook: Half-giant
Lost Empires of Faerun/Player's Guide to Faerun: Phaerimm hatchling
Races of Stone: Stoneblessed
Races of the Wild: Underfoot Combat, Confound the Big Folk
Unearthed Arcana: Cloistered Cleric

Spells
Book of Vile Darkness: spider hand
Complete Mage: arcane fusion, greater arcane fusion, heart of water, heart of stone
Dragon Magic: arcane spellsurge, least dragonshape,
Drow of the Underdark: lesser spider form, spider form
Frostburn: ice slick, ice darts
PHBII: blade of blood, cloud of knives
Races of the Dragon: wings of cover
Spell Compendium: electric jolt, launch bolt

[Heliomance]

Lizardy lizard.

Pebble Underfoot, The Kung Fu Lizard

Background

Spoiler

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Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah
Oh-hoh-hoh-hoah

[Chorus:]
Everybody was Giant Fighting
Those throws were fast as lightning
In fact, it was a little bit frightening
But they fought with expert timing

There were funky Giant men from funky Gianttown
They were tossing them up
They were tossing them down
It's an ancient Gnomish art
And everybody knew their part
From a feinting, to a slip
And a throwin' from the hip
Everybody was Giant fighting
Those throws were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit fright'ning
But they fought with expert timing

Pebble has had a hard life. His tribe was mostly devastated by a nomadic tribe of Darfellans, and had it not been for a scout from a nearby community of gnomes, his life would also have been short. Life with the gnomes has been all Pebble has ever known, and he is fiercely protective of his adoptive family and kin. When it came time for him to earn his keep, his small size didn't do a thing to dampen his excitement for the martial ways of "his people". And so he embarked upon the path of the Giantslayer with the reasoning that since everyone he would fight would be a giant to him, he should have an innate advantage from the start. Imagine his instructors surprise when his named turned out to be more than a humorous adjective, and something that he managed to turn into an oddly effective fighting tactic.

Build

Spoiler

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Pebble Underfoot, The Kung Fu Lizard
NG Muckdweller Unarmed Swordsage 7/Stoneblessed 3/Gnome Giant Slayer 10

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Unarmed Swordsage 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Appraise (2), Balance 4, Concentration 4, Craft(Stoneworking) 4, Escape Artist (2), Knowledge(Nature) 4, Move Silently 4, Tumble 4	Dodge, Weapon FinessB	Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus - Setting Sun)
2nd	Unarmed Swordsage 2	+1	+0	+3	+3	Balance 5, Concentration 5, Craft(Stoneworking) 5, Escape Artist (2.5), Hide 1, Knowledge(Nature) 5, Move Silently 5, Tumble 5		AC Bonus
3rd	Stoneblessed(Gnome) 1	+1	+2	+3	+3	Escape Artist (3), Hide 4	Mobility	Stonebond (+2 bonus on Listen and Craft(Alchemy) checks
4th	Stoneblessed(Gnome) 2	+2	+3	+3	+3	Escape Artist (3.5), Hide 5, Speak Language (Giant)		Racial Battle Technique (+4 Dodge bonus to AC vs. Giants, +1 bonus on attack rolls vs. Kobolds and Goblinoids)
5th	Stoneblessed(Gnome) 3	+3	+3	+4	+4	Escape Artist (4), Hide 6, Tumble (6)		Stoneborn (+2 Con, Speak With Animals 1/day as a 1st level Druid)
6th	Unarmed Swordsage 3	+4	+4	+4	+4	Concentration 7, Escape Artist (4.5), Knowledge(Nature) 6, Move Silently 6, Tumble 9	Spring Attack
7th	Unarmed Swordsage 4	+5	+4	+5	+5	Concentration 10, Escape Artist (5), Hide, Knowledge(Nature) 7, Move Silently 8, Tumble 10		Discipline Focus (Insightful Strike - Setting Sun)
8th	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+6	+6	+5	+5	Escape Artist 7, Move Silently 9, Tumble 11		Favored Enemy (Giant) +2
9th	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+7	+7	+5	+5	Escape Artist 9, Move Silently 10, Tumble 12	Underfoot Combat	Crafty Fighter
10th	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+8	+7	+6	+6	Escape Artist 11, Move Silently 11, Tumble 13		Slippery
11th	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+9	+8	+6	+6	Escape Artist 13, Move Silently 12, Tumble 14		Favored Enemy (Giant) +4
12th	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+10	+8	+6	+6	Escape Artist 15, Move Silently 13, Tumble 15	Combat Expertise	Close Shot
13th	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+11	+9	+7	+7	Escape Artist 16, Hide 7, Move Silently 14, Tumble 16		Fast Movement
14th	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+12	+9	+7	+7	Escape Artist 17, Hide 8, Move Silently 15, Tumble 17		Favored Enemy (Giant) +6
15th	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+13	+10	+7	+7	Escape Artist 18, Hide 9, Move Silently 16, Tumble 18	Improved Trip	Improved Mobility
16th	Gnome Giant Slayer 9	+14	+10	+8	+8	Escape Artist 19, Hide 10, Move Silently 17, Tumble 19		Annoying Strike
17th	Gnome Giant Slayer 10	+15	+11	+8	+8	Escape Artist 20, Hide 11, Move Silently 18, Tumble 20		Favored Enemy (Giant) +8, Defensive Roll
18th	Unarmed Swordsage 5	+15	+11	+8	+8	Escape Artist (21), Hide 12, Knowledge(Nature) 8, Move Silently 19, Tumble 21, Quick Escape Skill Trick	Pebble Underfoot	Quick to Act +2
19th	Unarmed Swordsage 6	+16	+12	+9	+9	Escape Artist (22), Hide 13, Knowledge(Nature) 9, Move Silently 20, Tumble 22, Easy Escape Skill Trick
20th	Unarmed Swordsage 7	+17	+12	+9	+9	Escape Artist (23), Hide 14, Knowledge(Nature) 10, Move Silently 21, Tumble 23, Escape Attack Skill Trick		Sense Magic

Racial Benefits:
Tiny Monstrous Humanoid - +2 Size Bonus to AC, +2 Size Bonus to Attack Rolls, +8 Size Bonus on Hide checks.
Speed - 20ft., Swim 20ft.
-6 Str, +6 Dex, -2 Wis, -2 Cha
+3 Natural Armor
Bite Attack (1d3)
Squirt (Ex): Up to 25 feet away, Reflex save or be blinded for 1 round. (DC 10 + Dex mod)
Weapon Finesse as a Bonus Feat
+8 Racial Bonus on Swim Checks, uses Dex instead of Strength for Swim checks, can always take 10 on a swim check, can run while swimming in a straight line.
Languages: Draconic
Bonus Languages from Intelligence: Gnome, Terran

Ability Scores

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Starting Ability Scores (including racial adjustments):
Str - 6
Dex - 22
Con - 14
Int - 14
Wis - 12
Cha - 6

Final Ability Scores:
Str - 6
Dex - 27 (4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th)
Con - 16
Int - 14
Wis - 12
Cha - 6

Maneuvers/Stances Known

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Maneuvers/Stances Known:

Level	Initiator Level	Maneuvers Known:	Stances Known:	Maneuvers & Stances
1	1	6	1	Wolf Fang Strike, Moment of Perfect Mind, Counter Charge, Mighty Throw (retrained to Soaring Throw at 18th level), Shadow Blade Technique (retrained to Shadow Jaunt at 7th level), Stone Bones, Island of Blades Stance
2	2	7	2	Charging Minotaur, Hunter's Sense Stance
3	2	7	2
4	3	7	2
5	3	7	2
6	4	8	2	Mountain Hammer
7	5	9	2	Devastating Throw, (Retrain Shadow Blade Technique to Shadow Jaunt)
8	6	9	2
9	6	9	2
10	7	9	2
11	7	9	2
12	8	9	2
13	8	9	2
14	9	9	2
15	9	9	2
16	10	9	2
17	10	9	2
18	11	10	3	Ballista Throw, (Retrain Mighty Throw to Soaring Throw), Assassin's Stance
19	12	11	3	Scorpion Parry
20	13	12	3	Ancient Mountain Hammer

Breakpoints

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Level 5

At 5th level, Pebble is now effectively a Gnome (albeit a tiny one) due to his time in the Stoneblessed prestige class. He is pretty sneaky (with a great Hide modifier due to his size), has some mobility skills, and makes a great ally in combat with his Island of Blades stance. That stance lets him be a flanking buddy, because it only requires that he be adjacent to a foe, not threatening them. Mobility helps him get into his opponent's space with minimal difficulty. He's also got an array of useful maneuvers that give him a little defense (Moment of Perfect Mind, Stone Bones), battlefield control (Mighty Throw, Counter Charge), and utility (Hunter's Sense).

Level 10

3 levels into the SI, and Pebble is much more of a pain to deal with, particularly for Giants. Favored Enemy is a minor boost at this point for damage, but Crafty Fighter and Slippery are wonderful for him. Now he is not only difficult to hit or get ahold of for Giants, but anything Medium size or larger also has a rough time with him. Mountain Hammer Strike gives him a bit of surprise damage as we bobs and weaves through the legs of the big guys, and Devastating Throw adds to his battlefield control. Underfoot Combat gives him a big boost as well - he no longer suffers attacks of opportunity when entering the space of any creature Medium size or larger, and he gets a nice defensive bonus while he's in another creature's space (AC 29 before armor for Medium+ non-giants, AC 35 before armor vs. giants). Any foe who chooses to ignore him will expose themselves to flanking on all sides, a decent chunk of unavoidable damage, and likely wind up on the ground. He continues to be sneaky, and adds the Shadow Jaunt maneuver for a little extra mobility.

Level 15

This level isn't very exciting, but it is important. Favored Enemy boosts his maneuver damage by a good amount, and Improved Mobility helps keep his AC annoyingly high when closing on his target at top speed. Improved Trip is the important bit here, as it helps to ensure that his throws are competitive. He keeps his stealth capabilities high, and is all but impossible to keep hold of in a grapple.

Level 20, "Sweet Spot"

At the top of his game, Pebble is a real pain for Giants to face. His maneuvers are deadly, with Ancient Mountain Hammer providing a solid heavy damage hit, and Ballista Throw, Soaring Throw, and Devastating Throw providing battlefield control. Scorpion Parry can redirect a strike against Pebble into another foe, and when we're talking about Giants, that isn't a small chunk of damage. Defensive Roll really amps up Pebble's survival, and he's got a trio of skill tricks that really punish a foe that manages to grab him in a grapple. The final element that tops this off is the Pebble Underfoot feat, which makes his throwing capability nearly unmatched.

Sources

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Player's Handbook (Combat Expertise, Dodge, Improved Trip, Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse)
Tome of Battle (Swordsage)
Races of Stone (Stoneblessed)
Races of the Wild (Underfoot Combat)
Complete Scoundrel (Skill Tricks)
Complete Warrior (Gnome Giant Slayer)
Dragon Compendium (Pebble Underfoot)
Unapproachable East (Muckdweller race)

[Heliomance]

Tallest gnome I ever saw.

Jorus "Tallfellow" Goldear
1 eneko/6 factotum/3 stoneblessed/10 gnome giant slayer
STR 14-2 DEX 15-2 CON 14+2 INT 14+4(+2) WIS 10 CHA 12-2+4(+2)
Charisma is done at 4 and 8 HD, intelligence after

Spoiler: Build table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Eneko 1	+0	+0	+0	+0	-	-	Poweful Build, 1/day Endure elements, 1/day Pass Without Trace
2nd	Factotum 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	4 Bluff, 4 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature), 4 Listen, 4 Move Silently, 4 Spot, 4 Tumble, 4 UMD, Speak(Giant), 4 Sense Motive, 1 Spellcraft	Darkstalker	Inspiration, cunning insight, cunning knowledge, trapfinding
3rd	Factotum 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	5 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature), 5 Listen, 5 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 5 UMD, Speak(Giant), 5 Sense Motive, 3 Spellcraft, 2 craft(alchemy)	-	Arcane Dilettante 1/spell
4th	Factotum 3	+2	+1	+3	+1	6 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature), 5 Listen, 6 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 5 UMD, Speak(Giant), 5 Sense Motive, 3 Spellcraft, 6 craft(alchemy), 4 Hide	Dodge	Brains over Brawn, Cunning Defense
5th	Factotum 4	+3	+1	+4	+1	6 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature), 5 Listen, 6 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 5 UMD, Speak(Giant), 5 Sense Motive, 3 Spellcraft, 6 craft(alchemy), 4 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 3 escape artist	-	Arcane Dilettante 2 spells, cunning strike
6th	Factotum 5	+3	+1	+4	+1	8 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature), 5 Listen, 8 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 8 UMD, Speak(Giant), 5 Sense Motive, 3 Spellcraft, 8 craft(alchemy), 4 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 3 escape artist, 1 intimidate	-	Opportunistic Piety
7th	Factotum 6	+4	+2	+5	+2	9 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 7 Listen, 9 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 9 craft(alchemy), 8 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 3 escape artist, 3 intimidate	Mobility	-
8th	Stoneblessed 1	+4	+4	+5	+4	10 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 10 Listen, 9 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 10 craft(alchemy), 9 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 3 escape artist, 3 intimidate	-	Stonebond 1(gnome)
9th	Stoneblessed 2	+5	+5	+5	+5	11 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 11 Listen, 9 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 11 craft(alchemy), 11 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 3 escape artist, 3 intimidate, 1 jump	-	Racial battle technique
10th	Stoneblessed 3	+6	+5	+6	+5	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 9 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 12 craft(alchemy), 12 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 3 escape artist, 3 intimidate, 3 jump	Spring attack	+2 CON, speak with animals
11th	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+7	+7	+6	+5	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 10 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 13 craft(alchemy), 13 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 3 escape artist, 5 intimidate, 3 jump	-	Favoured enemy (giant) 2
12th	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+8	+8	+6	+5	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 10 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 14 craft(alchemy), 13 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 5 escape artist, 8 intimidate, 3 jump	-	Crafty Fighter
13th	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+9	+8	+7	+6	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 10 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 15 craft(alchemy), 13 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 6 escape artist, 12 intimidate, 3 jump	imperious command	Slippery
14th	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+10	+9	+7	+6	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 10 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 16 craft(alchemy), 13 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 10 escape artist, 13 intimidate, 3 jump	-	Favoured enemy (giant) 4
15th	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+11	+9	+7	+6	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 12 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 16 craft(alchemy), 13 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 13 escape artist, 14 intimidate, 3 jump	-	Close Shot
16th	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+12	+10	+8	+7	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 13 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 16 craft(alchemy), 13 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 15 escape artist, 15 intimidate, 3 jump, Easy Escape	Trickery Devotion	Fast movement
17th	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+13	+10	+8	+7	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 14 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 5 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 16 craft(alchemy), 15 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 16 escape artist, 16 intimidate, 3 jump, Easy Escape, Never Outnumbered	-	Favoured enemy(giant) 6
18th	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+14	+11	+8	+7	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 15 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 6 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 16 craft(alchemy), 15 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 17 escape artist, 17 intimidate, 3 jump, Easy Escape, Never Outnumbered, open lock 1	-	Improved Mobility
19th	Gnome Giant Slayer 9	+15	+11	+9	+8	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 16 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 8 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 16 craft(alchemy), 16 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 18 escape artist, 18 intimidate, 3 jump, Easy Escape, Never Outnumbered, open lock 1	Bounding Assault	Annoying Strike
20th	Gnome Giant Slayer 10	+16	+12	+9	+8	12 Bluff, 5 Balance, 4 Disguise, 2 Know(Nature),2 Know(Arcana), 12 Listen, 17 Move Silently, 5 Spot, 8 Tumble, 9 UMD, Speak(Giant), 8 Sense Motive, 5 Spellcraft, 18 craft(alchemy), 17 Hide, 2 appraise, 5 craft(stoneworking), 19 escape artist, 19 intimidate, 3 jump, Easy Escape, Never Outnumbered, open lock 1	-	Defensive Roll, Favoured enemy(giant) 8

Dear judges - sorry for this eyesore

Spoiler: Overview

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Spoiler: Flight

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Running. That was the only thought on a young giant’s mind as he stole away from his former home. Times were hard and his tribe was desperate and had decided to cull the herd, so to speak. His natural curiosity and keen intellect was frowned upon by the brutes who only respected strength of arms. Even his magical gifts meant nothing to them.

Lungs burning, he stopped to lean on a tree. The longer he stayed the more the pain rose in his wounded side. The giant sighed. Either his tribe members would track him down from the blood trail or some horrible jungle beast would make a snack of him.

1 eneko/4 factotum
Jorus starts off as a primordial eneko factotum. With our high INT we make an excellent factotum to start off, and our other abilities aren't bad either. We get invisibility as an at-will spell-like because if you're gonna sneak around as an 8 foot tall giant, you’re gonna want some help. At this level Jorus is a pretty standard Factotum using a guisarme to trip from range, since we get a +4 size bonus and +INT to it. Though we never take Improved Trip in this build, we can still trip effectively. Otherwise we have strong stealth and social skills. Dodge and Darkstalker are taken at levels 1 and 3.

Spoiler: Adoption

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That same night, three gnomes were out on the nightly patrol. The night was quiet in the jungle, easy to pick out a giant’s blundering footsteps.
“One more pass over and we go back. Gibble was eaten by a spider last week. We can’t have a repeat of that.” whispered Gumble Goldear, the leader of the mission.
The other two nodded in agreement.

“Boss. Blood over here.” The second gnome, an alchemist named Stubbs, took a sniff. “Giant. Should we follow?”

“One less giant to worry about! I’ll race you for the kill!” shouted Gillen, a hotheaded fighter. He took off in a sudden burst of speed.


Gumble sighed. Always so reckless... It was a surprise Gillen wasn’t paste on some ogres club. He moved to catch up with the others, and found a young giant being kicked into the dirt by Gillen.

Before Gillen could deal the final blow, Gumble moved just in time to catch his arm.
“That is a child! Giant or not, do you want to stoop to their level?” He pushed his comrade away.
“Come child, tell me why you are so far from home. I will not hurt you.”

The child told Gumble how his kin tried to kill him, and of his run through the jungle.

“If you are truly alone, then come with us, we will keep you safe.”

6-10
1 half giant/6 factotum/3 stoneblessed/
We take 3 levels on Stoneblessed to embrace our Gnome side, gaining more CON, +4 dodge against giants, and Speak With Animals. After that we go back into Factotum for 2 more levels. We get mobility and spring attack at 6 and 9.
Our combat strategy now is running through an opponents threatened area, hitting/tripping them with Spring Attack, and then running away so that we can’t be full attacked. Something runs up to you? Hit them with an AoO. Rinse and repeat.
With Mobility and the +4 ac bonus against giants, this adds +8 AC since dodge bonuses from different sources stack. This becomes even more effective later on in the build when we get Improved Mobility and Crafty Fighter for a total of +16 AC. I would have loved to pick up karmic strike for this, but the feats would come online to late to be truly effective nor do we have the DEX to make it work.

Spoiler: To kill a giant

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Years passed and a giant named Jorus sat in the living room of his too-small house with his adoptive father. The boy was about to graduate from school, top of his class. After his introduction to the gnome community, Jorus grew quickly among his peers, learning anything he could. There was only one snag. In the gnome city of Treetop, all graduates were required to make a choice: Join the military or choose a profession. Jorus had been mulling over his choice for months, but had finally decided.
“Father. I want to join the Giant Slayers” he said suddenly.

Gumble wasn’t surprised at the boy wanting to see the outside world. He knew that a single profession would never be able to satisfy the boy. What truly surprised him was the desire to slay ones kind. Jorus had always been kind, never intending harm for anyone. Gumble put his paper down. “You really want to kill giants?”
“Yes.” replied Jorus.
You want to stab at their knees until they collapse and then slice away at the weak points?”
“Yes!” shouted Jorus.
Gumble lept up from his chair to stare his son in the eye. “Do you want to enter every fight knowing that if a giant gets a hold of you he’ll squeeze the jelly from your eyes and eat your head?”
“Of course!” roared Jorus.
Gumble sat back down. “Well, it looks like we’ve got ourselves a Giant Slayer.”

11-15
1 half giant/6 factotum/3 stoneblessed/5 Gnome Giant Slayer
Gnow we egnter the secret ignrediegnt and leargn how to really slay giagnts. Favoured enemy keeps our social skills relevant since it adds bonuses to lots of useful skills, keeping up the infiltration game. We get even more AC against giants, getting close to the point where its very difficult for anything to hit us. Close Shot is useful for alchemical splash weapons, since we have the skills to make and use them. Slippery helps us on the grappling front since our STR isn’t great, even though we count as large. Combining it with 12 ranks in Escape Artist, and +10 from GGS, +4(or more) from easy escape and then cunning surge we can get away pretty easily from most giants. We get Imperious Command to scare pretty much anything out of its boots. Since Powerful Build counts towards opposed checks, we can use it for Intimidate. That means we don’t take a -4 to intimidating large creatures.

Spoiler: Mighty are Fallen

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Jorus stood, overlooking the ogre encampment. His mission was to take out an ogre mage who had long been a threat to Treetop. In the past years, the giants had been less of a threat due to dwindling numbers and supplies, but they had been making a resurgence in the past months.

There were few guards posted. Even less were paying attention. Though he had the natural gift of invisibility, the giant assassin made sure to stay quiet. Jorus slipped into the largest tent, which hosted a dragon skull above its door. The tent was empty save for what passed for a table. He waited for a time, until a skittish ogre runt came into the tent with a roasted goat and set it down, only inches away from Jorus. Perfect. After the ogre left, Jorus prepared a concoction of paralyzing toxins and Trollbane to ensure the mage would stay down when killed.

Surely enough, the mage bumbled into his tent and immediately grabbed for the goat. He sniffed it, and looked hesitant for a second before putting most of it into his mouth. He fell almost immediately, trying to yell but only managing a “Grock poison me aga-”. Jorus uncloaked. He sized up the giant. There was a knife on his belt. A knife that was very familiar to Jorus. The same knife that almost took his life so many years ago. Sliding it out of the sheath, Jorus whispered two words in giant: “Hello Father”.

16-20
1 half giant/6 factotum/3 stoneblessed/10 Gnome Giant Slayer
We finish off Gnome Giant Slayer. Fast movement gets a little more flexibility with Spring Attack, and Improved Mobility jacks our AC up further. We can get a lot of use out of Annoying Strike. Imperious Command already makes most things cry, but it makes foes shaken in the next round. Hit them in melee again to make giants cry and scream and run away. It isn’t clear, but iterative attacks may allow you to escalate fear effects in the same round. Defensive roll isn’t the greatest capstone, but since we fight largely giants, it has its uses, especially when boosted with Cunning Surge. For our last 2 feats we get Trickery Devotion and Bounding assault. Trickery Devotion is a very fun feat, useful for scouting and distractions. Normally I would have picked Titan Fighting to push our AC up to crazier levels, but we need the extra attack from Bounding Assault.

Spoiler: UoSI

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The prerequisites are pretty bad, but we can still use them to their fullest effect.

Every ability has a place here. Lets take a look.

Favoured enemy- +8 damage and common skills? Nice. Keeps our skill checks up to date because GGS doesn’t have spot, listen, or sense motive as class skills for some reason.

Crafty Fighter- More AC is never a bad thing. Since we count as medium, we can move through any foe that is Huge or larger. We’re not small, but we can still use this effectively.

Slippery- Though we get 16 BaB and powerful build, we’re still susceptible to grapples from big nasties. Its only against Huge or larger foes, but we can augment it with Easy Escape.

Close Shot- We take a lot of ranks in craft(alchemy). This lets us use some of the items in close quarters without being punished for it. Eggshell Grenades in particular are devastating as they are a ranged touch attack with a no save blindness effect.

Fast movement - we’re an agile fighter based on hit-and-run tactics. Being faster gives us a lot more flexibility. This actually gets our speed even to the average giants So that we can actually run away from them if needed.

Improved Mobility- Keep stacking that AC. Using the hit-and-run tactics, most giants will have great difficulty hitting us.

Annoying Strike- Making giants shaken for a simple melee attack? Very nice. Even better, it has synergy with intimidate and Imperious Command.

Defensive Roll- We fight a lot of giants. A few bad dice rolls may get us in the danger zone. Though reflex is a bad save for giant slayers, we can cover that with Cunning Surge.

The big question- Why do we take the secret ingredient? Why take this over Factotum?
Well like I said before, it synergizes with everything. While we would get more inspiration points and uses for them out of factotum, the main appeal is augmenting our particular combat style. Full BaB, more AC, and extra bonuses against giants are all good things. The fact that most abilities also extend to creatures larger than us is gravy.

Spoiler: Sources

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Primoridial Giant- SoX
Gnome Giant Slayer- CA
Eneko- SoS
Factotum- Dungeonscape
Font of Inspiration-
Trickery Devotion- CC
Darkstalker- LoM

[Heliomance]

Oh hey, an actual gnome!

Skeeter
Mad Gnome Swordsage 3/Psychic Warrior 6/Elocater 1/Gnome Giant Slayer 10


Credit: Gustave Doré

Spoiler: The Story

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"Will there be any skeeters in heaven?"

The little gnomish boy looks expectantly to his grandfather as he slaps an insect off his arm in annoyance. The two are sitting in a crudely crafted boat that rocks back and forth with the young boy's movement, sending ripples across the otherwise still lake. As the two talk, they hold fishing poles and wait for a bite.

His grandfather, more beard than gnome at this point in his life, chuckles and asks a deceptively simple question: "Why not?"

The grandson scoffs and says, "Because they're annoying! They're always flitting around, bothering everyone. The world would be a better place if they weren't in it." Grandfather laughs before explaining, "Sure, mosquitoes carry disease and nobody likes to get bitten. But they were in these parts long before us...and I'd bet they'll be here long after we're gone. But we need mosquitoes. Their young feed on algae, and fish feed on their young. Fish like the bass you like to eat so much..."

"Okay, fine," the boy concedes, "but why do they have to bite me if they like fish?" His grandfather quickly retorts, "Because you have fish smell coming out of your veins from eating it so much!" The two laugh and the grandfather tussles the younger one's hair before continuing: "older mosquitoes drink blood to eat. To you and me, it is a matter of annoyance. To them, it is a matter of survival." Survival. The word itself seems to be enough to quiet the boy and his grandfather. The young gnome doesn't know how to respond, while his grandfather is sent into a quiet reverie, gazing off into the distance as if recalling something at once nostalgic and harrowing.

The two are stone still until the boat settles and the last of the ripples has worked its way to the edges of the lake. The younger gnome finally takes a chance on speaking. "A matter of survival like...like the war?" he asks hesitantly.

His grandfather's eyes don't move from whatever holds them off in the middle distance, but his voice breaks as he tells the tale: "This lake used to be ours. I would fish here with my grandfather when I was about your age. Then the giants came. They claimed ownership of the lake and surrounding lands, driving us out as far as the scorched farmland of the humans. There was nothing left for us, so we pleaded to stay on the shores--just a small enough encampment to fish and feed our families...but the giants refused. They lashed out in anger, destroying our towns and killing some of us. It was clear that it would not stop unless we left, but if we left we would surely starve. They began to stamp us out like bugs."

"So what did you do?" the little gnome asks, hearing his grandfather speak openly of the great Giant War for the first time.

"We became mosquitoes," the grandfather says. "We buzzed around the giants when they worked and when they slept, biting them occasionally. We spread disease and death among them. We never gave up. And in the end, we drank their blood. For them, it was a matter of annoyance but for us..." His voice falters, but both gnomes know how the sentence ends.

The grandfather turns back to his grandson. While his mouth smiles, his eyes are still distant and there are tears in their corners. "Yes, there will be mosquitoes in heaven, by Garl," the grandfather assures his grandson, "and they will be buzzing around annoying us even then. But we will not slap them away any longer, because we know what it is like to be the smaller one. What it is like to be threatened. What it is like to have your family nearly wiped out. What it is like to have intruders in your home. What it is like to eat fish. What it is like to survive." As he finishes his story, a mosquito quietly bites the older gnome and buzzes off across the lake and into the sky.

Spoiler: The Build

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Stats

Stat	Points Spent	Base	Race	Levels	Age	Other	Total	Mod
STR	0	8	-2	0	0	0	6	-2
DEX	13	17	2	5	0	0	24	7
CON	4	12	0	0	0	0	12	1
INT	5	13	0	0	0	0	13	1
WIS	10	16	0	0	0	0	16	3
CHA	0	8	0	0	0	0	8	-1

Levels

Level	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1	Swordsage 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Bluff 2 (cc), Concentration 4, Escape Artist 2 (cc), Jump 4, Listen 4, Sense Motive 4, Tumble 4	Expeditious Dodge, Weapon Focus (Shadow Blade) [B]	Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus), Speak Giant (from +1 INT mod)
2	Psychic Warrior 1	+0	+2	+2	+2	Bluff 2 (cc), Concentration 5, Escape Artist 2.5 (cc), Jump 4, Listen 4, Sense Motive 4.5 (cc), Tumble 4	Mobility [B]	Bonus Feat
3	Psychic Warrior 2	+1	+3	+2	+2	Bluff 2 (cc), Concentration 6, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Jump 4, Listen 4, Sense Motive 5 (cc), Tumble 4	Shadow Hand, Weapon Finesse [B]	Bonus Feat
4	Psychic Warrior 3	+2	+3	+3	+3	Bluff 2 (cc), Concentration 7, Escape Artist 3.5 (cc), Jump 4, Listen 4, Sense Motive 5.5 (cc), Tumble 4
5	Psychic Warrior 4	+3	+4	+3	+3	Bluff 2 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 4 (cc), Jump 4, Listen 4, Sense Motive 6 (cc), Tumble 4
6	Psychic Warrior 5	+3	+4	+3	+3	Bluff 3.5 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 4 (cc), Jump 4, Listen 4, Sense Motive 6, Tumble 4	Stygian Archon, Stygian Power [B]	Bonus Feat
7	Psychic Warrior 6	+4	+5	+4	+4	Bluff 4 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 4 (cc), Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 6, Tumble 5
8	Swordsage 2	+5	+5	+5	+5	Bluff 5.5 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 5.5 (cc), Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 7, Tumble 5		AC bonus
9	Swordsage 3	+6/+1	+6	+5	+5	Bluff 6 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 6 (cc), Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 12, Tumble 5	Spring Attack
10	Elocater 1	+6/+1	+6	+7	+7	Bluff 6.5 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 11, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 13, Tumble 5	Sidestep Charge [B]	Scorn Earth, Sidestep Charge
11	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+7/+2	+8	+7	+7	Bluff 7 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 11, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 13, Tumble 5, Escape Attack		Favored enemy (giant) +2
12	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+8/+3	+9	+7	+7	Bluff 7 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 11, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 13.5 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack	Shi'Quos School	Crafty fighter
13	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+9/+4	+9	+8	+8	Bluff 7.5 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 12, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 14 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack		Slippery
14	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+10/+5	+10	+8	+8	Bluff 8 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 13, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 14.5 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack		Favored enemy (giant) +4
15	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+11/+6/+1	+10	+8	+8	Bluff 8 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 15, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 15 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack	Instant Clarity	Close Shot
16	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+12/+7/+2	+11	+9	+9	Bluff 8 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 16, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 15 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape		Fast movement
17	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+13/+8/+3	+11	+9	+9	Bluff 8 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 18, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 15.5 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape		Favored enemy (giant) +6
18	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+14/+9/+4	+12	+9	+9	Bluff 8 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 20, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 16 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape	Wolfpack	Improved mobility
19	Gnome Giant Slayer 9	+15/+10/+5	+12	+10	+10	Bluff 8 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 22, Jump 5, Listen 4, Sense Motive 16.5 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape		Annoying strike
20	Gnome Giant Slayer 10	+16/+11/+6/+1	+13	+10	+10	Bluff 8 (cc), Concentration 8, Escape Artist 23, Jump 6, Listen 4, Sense Motive 17 (cc), Tumble 5, Easy Escape, Escape Attack, Quick Escape		Favored enemy (giant) +8, defensive roll

Maneuvers

Level	Maneuvers Known	Readied	Stances	Sample Maneuvers	Sample Stances
1	6	4	1	Burning Blade, Sudden Leap, Mighty Throw, Stone Bones, Sapphire Nightmare Blade	Island of Blades
2	6	4	1
3	6	4	1
4	6	4	1
5	6	4	1
6	6	4	1
7	6	4	1
8	7	4	2	Feigned Opening	Giant Killing Style
9	8	5	2	Baffling Defense
10	8	5	2
11	8	5	2
12	8	5	2
13	8	5	2
14	8	5	2
15	8	5	2
16	8	5	2
17	8	5	2
18	8	5	2
19	8	5	2
20	8	5	2

Psionics

Level	Powers Known	PP	Max Power Level	Sample Powers
1	0	0
2	1	1	1st	Compression
3	2	4	1st	Call Item
4	3	7	1st	Stygian Discernment
5	4	11	2nd	Stygian Weapon
6	5	14	2nd	Strength of my Enemy
7	6	20	2nd	Hustle
8	6	20	2nd
9	6	20	2nd
10	7	25	3rd	Telekinetic Boomerang
11	7	25	3rd
12	7	25	3rd
13	7	25	3rd
14	7	25	3rd
15	7	25	3rd
16	7	25	3rd
17	7	25	3rd
18	7	25	3rd
19	7	25	3rd
20	7	25	3rd

Spoiler: Design Notes

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Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the build, a note of explanation: I sought to make a NEW Killer Gnome, so I intentionally avoided most of the tricks that sprang readily to mind. Instead, I tried to bring something slightly different to the table by avoiding staples like Elusive Target, Underfoot Combat, and Confound the Big Folk. That being said, let's take a look.

Tactics by Level

• 1-5: Offensively, free Weapon Finesse & Weapon Focus boost your accuracy while Shadow Hand, Burning Blade, and Sapphire Nightmare Blade boost damage and Mighty Throw provides some battlefield control. Stygian Weapon deals negative levels (albeit temporarily). Defensively, Expeditious Dodge with a double move & Mobility can keep you alive. On the utility side of things, Sudden Leap provides instant movement and Stygian Discernment gives the ability to detect undead. Compression is an awesome power as it boosts your DEX and to hit (accuracy and damge), your AC (defense), and lets you fit into smaller spaces (utility)...but the real winner is Call Item, as you can summon up pretty much anything. Hello, poison! You can also augment it to summon & sell nonmagical items of up to 1,000 gp!
• 6-10: On offense, Stygian Power lets us start demoralizing without worrying about our size penalty to Intimidate. Feigned Opening lets us turn missed AoOs against us into actual attacks, bolstered by Giant Killing Style. As the icing on the cake, Strength of my Enemy makes the bigger guys weaker with each passing hit, and Telekinetic Boomerang makes you a formidable ranged opponent with your daggers without investing a ton of feats into ranged combat. Defensively, Swordsage's AC bonus comes online along with sidestep charge & Baffling Defense to replace your AC with a Sense Motive check. In utility, Hustle provides extra move actions while scorn earth provides at-will levitation! Your manifester level is now high enough that you can augment compression to take you down to Fine size, allowing you to treat your fellow Small creatures as "two sizes larger."
• 11-15: Offensively, Shi'Quos school lets you knock prone foes at lower elevation. Due to Scorn Earth, EVERYONE ON EARTH is now at a lower elevation so you can activate this on every spring attack to knock foes prone unless they succeed on a DEX-based reflex save that scales with level. You can utilize Stygian Power more often as Instant Clarity allows you to regain psionic focus as a swift action. Since you're now in the Secret Ingredient, more info on those class features can be found below.
• 16-20: Congrats, you're able to achieve the all-important fourth iterative attack! Wolfpack is online for teaming up and not being such a lone w--you know. Again, for more information please see UoSI below.

UoSI:

• Requirements: The Mad Gnome (from Dragonlance) was chosen for two reasons: first, it has a DEX bonus without a WIS penalty. Second, it allows us to have an odd spread of swordsage & psychic warrior levels without worrying about multiclass penalties. Four iterative attacks are upheld using the BAB requirement, Escape Artist is maximized (and synergized with skill tricks), while Tumble is taken to a natural breakpoint at 5 ranks for skill synergies. Instead of using Dodge, we use Expeditious Dodge (which partners nicely with the class' fast movement and the Quick trait). Not only that, but Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack serve as prerequisites for other items throughout the build, from Elocater to Shi'Quos School to Wolfpack. As above, Shi'Quos School + Scorn Earth allow us to knock prone anyone we Spring Attack without worrying about pesky trip checks. It's just a Reflex save that scales with level based on our DEX, which giants notoriously bad at. Speak Language is snagged at character creation via INT bonus so there is no need to spend additional skill ranks on it.
• Favored enemy (giants): Skill ranks are invested in Bluff to power Wolfpack's Distract Foe option, which is bolstered by the +8 bonus. This option allows you to turn one attack from you into many AoOs from your allies that also flank the giant. Luckily you've got Island of Blades, so all you and your allies have to worry about is being adjacent to the giant for flanking! Also, the boost to Sense Motive checks vs. giants translates to a flat +8 AC bonus whenever you use Baffling Defense! Lastly, Giant-Killing stance is, wouldn't you know, useful against our favored enemy: giants.
• Crafty fighter: Another +4 AC vs giants is good, but +2 vs anyone 2 size categories or more larger is great! Using an augmented compression you can shrink to Fine size, so anyone Small or larger counts as "two size categories larger." Plus, based on the wording of this you can still wear light armor...which means you can still reap the benefits of the armor as well as your swordsage AC bonus while using crafty fighter!
• Slippery: As above, augmented compression lets this work on Small or larger creatures, whether you're moving through their spaces or escaping from their grapples. Not only do you have max ranks in Escape Artist, but the Easy Escape & Quick Escape skill tricks should make using it a bit easier. Even better, Escape Attack lets you turn a swift action into an attack in the same round in which you escape a grapple! You can also use Quick Escape if you'd rather escape as a swift action and then full attack, but each is only 1/encounter.
• Close shot: Between this and our Telekinetic Boomerang power, you can turn your dagger into a returning dagger and dole out a full ranged attack within 20 ft without having to worry about AoOs, Quick Draw, etc. If you can get back some feats through the things mentioned in our Adaptation & Gear sections, the Two-Weapon Fighting feats might be worth a look to increase the number of attacks you can get from this.
• Fast movement: In conjunction with the "Quick" trait from Unearthed Arcana, this boosts your speed up to 40 ft and allows you to reap the benefits of Expeditious Dodge--twice as nice as regular Dodge!
• Improved mobility: Why does not getting hit with AoOs actually MATTER? With the Feigned Opening Maneuver, when your opponent misses you with an AoO, YOU get to take an AoO against your opponent. So all those bonuses to AC vs AoOs are basically ensuring that YOU get to hit your opponent rather than the other way around. Even if they DO manage to land their AoO, they're still getting hurt with this maneuver, since then they provoke an AoO from any of your allies who threaten them. Ask your DM whether that should read "any one of your allies" or "all of your allies" like Wolfpack.
• Annoying strike: This is really the best part of the class vs. giants. Any time you deal even 1 point of damage to a giant in melee, they're shaken for 1 round. No save, just shaken. Shaken itself isn't the best condition, but when we can escalate it to frightened good things happen. However, we're not going to try boosting Intimidate or using Imperious Command, since we're at a disadvantage to intimidate on account of being so darned small. Instead, we're going to frighten these giants with our mind powers! Stygian Power Stygian Weapon (say that five times fast) allows us to escalate that 1 round of being shaken to 1 full minute of being frightened along with 1d4 temporary negative levels if the giant in question fails a Will save. Even on a passed save, they're shaken for a round and still take the negative levels. With Instant Clarity, you can initiate a martial strike the next round and use your swift action to regain psionic focus. As long as you've got power points to spend and giants to damage in melee combat, you can use this move every other round!
• Defensive roll: It's interesting to have this rogue-like class feature on a class that has bad Reflex saves. Luckily, the presence of classes with good Reflex saves like Swordsage and Elocater help us buff that up a bit! Also, we get a bonus on the save equal to our Gnome Giant Slayer class level, so that's a +10 bonus. All told, that's a +29 bonus to our Reflex save before items when fully compressed vs a DC of damage dealt. We auto-succeed if the "killing" blow does 1-29 damage, and we've got a shot at success on anything that deals 30-49 damage.

Gear:

• Mobility armor: If you want to gain back a feat, talk to your DM about putting this on some light armor. You can still use all of your class features, plus you gain back a feat slot! Psicrystal Affinity or Two-Weapon Fighting, maybe?
• Claw Gloves: These are treated as punching daggers, so you can still get your damage boost from Shadow Hand. Even better, these allow you to make an extra attack on every Shi'Quos Spring Attack! You don't need to invest in a feat like Bounding Assault, and you get twice as many chances to knock your opponents prone!

Adaptation

• LA Buyoff: If this rule is in play, I'd recommend Phrenic. This template from the XPH gives great psi-like abilities, along with some stat bonuses & power resistance.
• Flaws: Pick up Shadow Hand earlier in the game, free up a psychic warrior bonus feat, or gain something like Two-Weapon Fighting.
• Fractional BAB/saves: If this rule is in place, BAB becomes +17 and saves become +11/+9/+9.
• Multiclass penalties: Even if your DM uses this rule, you've got nothing to fear and no need to change a thing...which is important because the swordsage levels are timed to arrive in time to snag a 3rd-level stance.

Sources Used

• Complete Psionic (Stygian Archon, Stygian Power, powers)
• Complete Warrior (Gnome Giant Slayer)
• Dragonlance Campaign Setting (Mad Gnome)
• Drow of the Underdark (Shi'Quos School)
• Expanded Psionics Handbook (Elocater, Psychic Warrior, Sidestep Charge, powers)
• Magic Item Compendium (gear)
• PHB (Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse)
• Races of the Wild (Expeditious Dodge, Wolfpack)
• Tome of Battle (Swordsage, Instant Clarity, Shadow Hand, maneuvers & stances)
• Unearthed Arcana (traits)
• Web archive: http://archive.wizards.com/default.a.../psm/20040827e (Call Item)

[Heliomance]

...oh Glod why

MC Hooked Hammer
CG Gnome Cloistered Cleric 3/Thug Fighter 2/Divine Prankster 5/Gnome Giant Slayer 10
"U Can't Touch This!"

Spoiler: The Story

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Haters gonna hate.

Spoiler: The Build

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Stats

Stat	Points Spent	Base	Race	Levels	Age	Other	Total	Mod
STR	0	8	-2	0	0	0	6	-2
DEX	10	16	0	0	0	0	16	3
CON	4	12	2	0	0	0	14	2
INT	5	13	0	0	0	0	13	1
WIS	10	16	0	0	0	0	16	3
CHA	3	11	0	5	0	0	16	3

Levels

Level	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1	Cloistered Cleric 1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Bluff 4, Diplomacy 3, Escape Artist 2 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 4, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 4, Sleight of Hand 2 (cc), Speak Language 1 (Giant), Tumble 2 (cc)	Apprentice: Entertainer, Knowledge Devotion (nature) [B]	Lore, Turn Undead, Trickery Domain, Gnome Domain
2	Cloistered Cleric 2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Bluff 5, Diplomacy 3, Escape Artist 2.5 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 5, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 5, Sleight of Hand 2.5 (cc), Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 2.5 (cc)
3	Thug Fighter 1	+2	+5	+0	+3	Bluff 6, Diplomacy 3, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 5, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 6, Sleight of Hand 4.5, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 2.5 (cc)	Dodge
4	Thug Fighter 2	+3	+6	+0	+3	Bluff 7, Diplomacy 4, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 5, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 7, Sleight of Hand 6.5, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 2.5 (cc)	Mobility [B]	Bonus feat
5	Cloistered Cleric 3	+3	+6	+1	+3	Bluff 8, Diplomacy 5, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 5, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 8, Sleight of Hand 8 (cc), Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 3 (cc)
6	Divine Prankster 1	+3	+6	+3	+5	Bluff 8, Diplomacy 7, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 7, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 9, Sleight of Hand 9, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 3.5 (cc)	Combat Expertise	Comedic performance 1/day, Inspire courage
7	Divine Prankster 2	+4	+6	+4	+6	Bluff 8, Diplomacy 9, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 9, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 10, Sleight of Hand 10, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 4 (cc)		Comedic performance 2/day
8	Divine Prankster 3	+4	+7	+4	+6	Bluff 8, Diplomacy 11, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 11, Know: Planes 1, Perform: comedy 11, Sleight of Hand 11, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 4.5 (cc)		Comedic performance 3/day, Disguise spell (somatic)
9	Divine Prankster 4	+5	+7	+5	+7	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 12, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 12, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 12, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 5 (cc)	Spring Attack	Comedic performance 4/day
10	Divine Prankster 5	+5	+7	+5	+7	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 13, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 13, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 13, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 6 (cc), Mosquito's Bite		Comedic performance 5/day, Enrage enemies
11	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+6/+1	+9	+5	+7	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 14, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 13, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 14, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 7, Mosquito's Bite		Favored enemy (giant) +2
12	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+7/+2	+10	+5	+7	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 15, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 13, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 15, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 8, Mosquito's Bite	Trickery Devotion	Crafty fighter
13	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+8/+3	+10	+6	+8	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 16, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 13, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 16, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 9, Mosquito's Bite		Slippery
14	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+9/+4	+11	+6	+8	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 17, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 13, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 17, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 10, Mosquito's Bite		Favored enemy (giant) +4
15	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+10/+5	+11	+6	+8	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 18, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 14, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 18, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 10, Mosquito's Bite	Underfoot Combat	Close shot
16	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+11/+6/+1	+12	+7	+9	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 19, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 15, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 19, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 10, Mosquito's Bite		Fast movement
17	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+12/+7/+2	+12	+7	+9	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 20, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 16, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 20, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 10, Mosquito's Bite		Favored enemy (giant) +6
18	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+13/+8/+3	+13	+7	+9	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 21, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 17, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 21, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 10, Mosquito's Bite	Confound the Big Folk	Improved mobility
19	Gnome Giant Slayer 9	+14/+9/+4	+13	+8	+10	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 22, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 18, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 22, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 10, Mosquito's Bite		Annoying strike
20	Gnome Giant Slayer 10	+15/+10/+5	+14	+8	+10	Bluff 8, Decipher Script 1, Diplomacy 23, Escape Artist 3 (cc), Know: Arcana 1, Know: Nature 19, Know: Planes 1, Know: Religion 1, Perform: comedy 23, Sleight of Hand 12, Speak Language 1 (Giant), Spellcraft 1, Tumble 10, Mosquito's Bite		Favored enemy (giant) +8, defensive roll

Spellcasting

Level	0 level	1st level	2nd level	3rd level	4th level	5th level	6th level	7th level	8th level	9th level	Sample Spells
1	3	1+1									Read Magic, Detect Magic, Light, Sanctuary, Silent Image
2	4	2+1									Cure Minor Wounds. Lesser Vigor
3	4	2+1
4	4	2+1
5	4	2+1	1+1								Divine Insight, Invisibility
6	5	3+1	2+1								Mending, Shield Other
7	5	3+1	2+1	1+1							Minor Image, Dispel Magic
8	5	3+1	3+1	2+1							Lore of the Gods
9	6	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1						Divine Power, Minor Creation
10	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1						Magic Circle Against Evil, Recitation
11	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
12	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
13	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
14	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
15	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
16	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
17	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
18	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
19	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
20	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1

Spoiler: Design Notes

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Tactics by Level

• 1-5: Offensively, Knowledge Devotion starts powering to-hit and damage vs. giants. Against others, it provides a small boost, but they're your niche. Turn Undead also helps against that type Sanctuary and Invisibility prevent you from being attacked while Lesser Vigor can help to heal up any wounded party members Divine Insight makes you more of a skillmonkey, while Read & Detect Magic allow you to fuss with scrolls and other magic items. Silent Image is only bound by your imagination. Also, Lore is a great class feature, as it allows you to make a bunch of utilitarian knowledge checks without needing to invest ranks in all the Knowledge skills. Lastly, Bluff and Diplomacy allow you to play the party face, while Sleight of Hand gives you a...source of income. Yeah, that's it.
• 6-10: Spring Attack lets you get in and get out, while Comedic Performance and Divine Power allow you to boost your to-hit and damage more. Enrage Enemies is a fun ability, as it allows you to start drawing aggro, and Minor Creation lets you start making poison Mosquito's Bite is a fun skill trick, as it causes enemies to think you missed them. This can prevent them from paying attention to you…until you want them to. While you have an enemy enraged, popping up a Sanctuary spell means they can only attack you AND they have to make a Will save to do so. Recitation can help to boost your allies' attacks as well as their defenses, so use it liberally. Shield Other can also be applied to any allies that still find themselves getting attacked if enemies don't get the point and target you. Lore of the Gods boosts your Knowledge skills, while mending and minor image lend more utility power…not to mention Minor Creation (again)!
• 11-20: We're in the Secret Ingredient! See UoSI, below.

UoSI

• Favored enemy (giants): Hammer's kind of a liar, and the +8 to Bluff helps when dropping a whopper on giants. Also, the bonus damage stacks with that from Knowledge Devotion and Inspire Courage! But if only there was a way to make all your foes giants...well you know what they say, "When all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail." Hammer picks up Trickery Domain to have Polymorph Any Object on his class spell list, thereby letting him use scrolls of it to turn ANY foe into a giant and reap the benefits of his class features against them. This is particularly hilarious on sneaky rogues and spellcasters. It may not be a cheap tactic, but it allows us to reliably use our class features. It also completes the Secret Ingredient and maintains versatility, which my initial idea of Gnome Ranger 5/Gnome Giant Slayer 2/Divine Crusader 3/Contemplative 6/Gnome Giant Slayer +4 did not.
• Crafty fighter: Using the above trick, we guarantee ourselves a +4 bonus to AC vs. a PaO'd foe. Couple this with Enrage Enemies and we guarantee not only that our foes are going to try attacking us, but that it's going to be that much harder for them!
• Slippery: Moving through the space of larger creatures is what this character is all about! We move into their spaces with Underfoot Combat for soft cover bonuses, then we just start using our Combat Expertise with Confound the Big Folk's Underfoot Defense option--even a -1 penalty to attacks gives us a 50% chance that enemy attacks vs us will hit the idiot we're sharing a space with instead! Usually, this would cause enemies to ignore us, but with Enrage Enemies we can make sure they don't have a choice but to come after us and attack us each other. Get wrecked, giants everyone.
• Close shot: Honestly, I ignored this class feature as we won't be making too many ranged attacks.
• Fast movement: When we're kiting foes with our Enrage Enemies ability, it helps to have enough speed to move out of their threatened area routinely. This enables us to keep giants on a leash.
• Improved Mobility: As above, we want our foes to attack us and miss. This helps to ensure that they'll miss even more, and we're going to keep our Underfoot Defense going via Combat Expertise to ensure that even an attack that would penetrate our sky-high AC has a 50% chance to hit the idiot we're sharing a space with.
• Annoying strike: Imposing the shaken condition with no save is fun, but imposing the frightened condition with no save is better. Trickery Devotion pairs with Annoying Strike to make TWO gnomes running around damaging and frightening giants everyone in melee. Due to the straightforward wording of the ability, when these two gnomes both deal 1+ point of damage in melee, the fear conditions stack and the giant runs away for one round...but if you're playing your cards right you've already Enraged this enemy, so all they can do next round is come back for more. Keep in mind, this no-save fear yo-yo can work EVERY ROUND against ANY FOE not immune to polymorphing thanks to Trickery Domain's access to scrolls of PaO. Trickery Devotion can be used 3/day if we burn turn attempts on it, so we can use this routine throughout most fights.
• Defensive roll: Hopefully, this won't come into play too often for you, but it WILL come into play for your Trickery Devotion double given their lower HP total. This ability basically becomes "Keep Double Alive" 1/day. Given the power we can pull out of having an active double, that's a VERY good thing.

Sources Used

• CC (Knowledge Devotion, Trickery Devotion)
• CW (Gnome Giant Slayer)
• DMGII (Apprentice)
• PHB (cleric, fighter, Dodge, Mobility, Combat Expertise, Spring Attack)
• RoS (divine prankster)
• RotW (Underfoot Combat, Confound the Big Folk)
• SC (spells)
• UA (class variants)

[Heliomance]

I'm not saying it was giants, but... it was giants!

GnoMor Giants!

(originally Gnaerow Morianthy Gyras, AKA "Shadow")

LE Stonehunter Gnome^DM8 Gnome Ranger^RoS149 1 / Fighter 4 / Gnome Giant-Slayer^CW36 10 / Heir of Siberys^ECS80 3 / Shadowdancer 2

Strength: 14 -> 12 (-2 race) -> 13 (boost @ 16)
Dexterity: 14 -> 18 (boosts @ 4/8/12/20)
Constitution: 14 -> 16 (+2 race)
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 14
Charisma: 10

Birthplace: House Sivis, Korranberg, Zilargo^ECS212
Languages: Common, Gnome, Draconic, Giant

Spoiler: GnoMor's Story

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GnoMor Giants! is a mean, surly racist. Has been ever since his sister was killed by an Ocean Giant as the siblings strolled along the Korranberg shore. (The Giant was practicing her rock throwing on the beach, and claimed to have made an innocent, though tragic, error. GnoMor knew better.) His goal thereafter has been simply to kill all Giants, in an orderly, proficient, military manner.

GnoMor learned to hunt with Copper Dragons, but that was an expedient means to an end for him. Hunting is generally about the challenge and putting meat on the table. For Copper Dragons it's also about showing off and making jokes. For GnoMor hunting is a skillset which gets him close enough to ambush Giants and avoid "fair" fights. As GnoMor sees it, Giants are intrinsically too big and dangerous to leave wandering around. Maybe some of them could be sent back to Xen’drik where they belong and allowed to live (in controlled and guarded enclaves, of course), but letting such dangerous creatures lumber about unsupervised in Khorvaire is just asking for trouble. Better to kill them all and eliminate the risk. GnoMor's grim, focused demeanor was at odds with Copper Dragons' playfulness, and he was encouraged to continue his training elsewhere.

After his brief foray into hunting GnoMor undertook serious soldiering: a strict regimen tailored toward getting into this militia he'd heard about, of Gnomes who lived to slay Giants. A little pain wasn't going to deter him from fighting his chosen foes, so he also had his body stretched and limbered until he could match reach with your average Hill or Frost Giant.

When he was accepted as a Gnome Giant-Slayer (one of the youngest), GnoMor was happier than he'd been at any time since his sister's brutal slaughter. He'd start by learning to detect Giants better, and hit them harder. He'd improve his ability to avoid Giants' blows, and slip away from their clumsy grasp. GnoMor had learned to hunt with a bow; now he would learn how to shoot without letting his guard down even when close enough to feel a Giant's foetid breath on his face.

As he trained and fought with other Gnome Giant-Slayers, GnoMor found himself at odds with the mostly older bunch. Many of them, he thought, were suckers. They'd run at their Giant foes and try to pound them head-on. That might work for the odd Gnome-Bonded Stoneblessed Goliath, but GnoMor sought out dirtier tricks. He developed his reflexes to keep up with the larger number of possible enemies his greater reach could encompass: now 20' with a glaive; soon to be 30' with a spiked chain (after some more rack torture stretching). But all too soon, GnoMor could see that he would exhaust what he could learn in the GG-S militia and they would part ways.

When he had been a happy child growing up in House Sivis, Gnaerow Morianthy learned that the Gnomes of his House carry the Mark of Scribing. Having failed to develop even a least dragonmark, GnoMor knew there was an even more powerful dragonmark possible in his future: a Siberys Mark. As he came to the end of his GG-S enlistment GnoMor could see that manifestation coming. He knew exactly what to do with it.

The Improved Siberys Mark of Scribing grants the Spell-Like Ability Symbol of Death twice each day. This SLA can have all the usual triggering conditions (sight, touch, and so on), but it can also have special triggering limitations. For GnoMor the limitation is always the same: that the creature is identified as a Giant. At the end of every day, if he hasn't exhausted both Symbol of Death uses, GnoMor marks things. His home. All his clothing and gear. His wagon. His horse's barding. Many, many tiles so he can encircle his camp with a ring of protection. Each Symbol stays dormant until triggered. While accumulating Symbols nightly, GnoMor also learned to take advantage of another Eberron birthright: the ability to squeeze more activity into a short period of time. That, he hoped, might help him out of the occasional Giant-size pickle.

Symbol of Death only works on creatures with 150 HP or under, and many Giants have more than that. GnoMor sought further ways to stay safe and stay alive while systematically reducing his Giant enemies to 150 HP, at which time his many Symbols would automatically finish them off. (Even tremendously good saves fail 5% of the time, and having to make dozens of saves due to the overwhelming Symbol coverage will take down most any weakened Giant.) The key to staying safe, he thought, is to stay unseen. GnoMor learned to Hide in Plain Sight. He always had low-light vision, but he sharpened his eyes to see in complete darkness as well. There's no such thing as too many dirty tricks when you're trying to slay Giants.

GnoMor Giants! It's not just a name — it's a way of life!

Spoiler: Sources Key

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CW = Complete Warrior
DC = Dragon Compendium
DM = Dragon Magic
ECS = Eberron Campaign Setting
FF = Fiend Folio
LoM = Lords of Madness
RoS = Races of Stone
RotW = Races of the Wild
SS = Savage Species

Spoiler: Build Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Gnome RangerRoS149 1 w/ Skilled City-Dweller	+1	+2	+2	+0	Escape Artist cc +2, Hide +4, Knowledge (nature) +1, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Perform (dance) cc +1½, Spot +4, Survival +4, Tumble +4	TrackB, Aberration Blood (flexible limbs)LoM178	Gnome favored enemy (giant), Track, Voice of the City
2nd	Fighter 1 w/ Skilled City-Dweller	+2	+4	+2	+0	Escape Artist cc +½, Jump +1, Perform (dance) cc +½, Tumble +1	DodgeB	Bonus feat
3rd	Fighter 2	+3	+5	+2	+0	Escape Artist cc +½, Jump +1, Perform (dance) cc +½, Tumble +1	MobilityB, Extended ReachSS34	Bonus feat
4th	Fighter 3	+4	+5	+3	+1	Jump +2, Perform (dance) cc +½, Tumble +1
5th	Fighter 4	+5	+6	+3	+1	Jump +1, Perform (dance) cc +1, Tumble +1	Spring AttackB	Bonus feat
6th	Gnome Giant-SlayerCW36 1	+6	+8	+3	+1	Hide +2, Perform (dance) cc +½, Tumble +1	Combat Reflexes	Favored enemy (giant) +2
7th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 2	+7	+9	+3	+1	Hide +2, Perform (dance) cc +½, Tumble +1		Crafty fighter
8th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 3	+8	+9	+4	+2	Hide +2, Move Silently +1, Tumble +1		Slippery
9th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 4	+9	+10	+4	+2	Hide +2, Move Silently +1, Tumble +1	Exotic Weapon Proficiency (spiked chain)	Favored enemy (giant) +4
10th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 5	+10	+10	+4	+2	Hide +1, Move Silently +2, Tumble +1		Close Shot
11th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 6	+11	+11	+5	+3	Hide +1, Move Silently +2, Tumble +1		Fast movement
12th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 7	+12	+11	+5	+3	Hide +1, Move Silently +2, Tumble +1	Inhuman ReachLoM180	Favored enemy (giant) +6
13th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 8	+13	+12	+5	+3	Hide +1, Move Silently +2, Tumble +1		Improved mobility
14th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 9	+14	+12	+6	+4	Hide +1, Move Silently +2, Tumble +1		Annoying strike
15th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 10	+15	+13	+6	+4	Hide +1, Move Silently +2, Tumble +1	Heroic SpiritECS55	Favored enemy (giant) +8, defensive roll
16th	Heir of SiberysECS80 1	+15	+15	+8	+6	Spot +4	Action SurgeB ECS50	Additional action points, bonus feat
17th	Heir of Siberys 2	+16	+16	+9	+7	Spot +4	Power AttackB	Siberys mark, Bonus Feat
18th	Shadowdancer 1	+16	+16	+11	+7	Hide +3, Move Silently +3, Tumble +2	Favored Power AttackDC97	Hide in plain sight
19th	Heir of Siberys 3	+17	+16	+11	+7	Hide +1, Move Silently +1, Tumble +2	Improved Favored EnemyB CW101	Improved Siberys mark, Bonus Feat
20th	Shadowdancer 2	+18	+16	+12	+7	Hide +1, Listen +5, Move Silently +1, Tumble +1		Evasion, darkvision, uncanny dodge

Skilled City-Dweller makes Tumble a class skill instead of Ride.
Skill rank totals: Escape Artist +3, Hide +23^*, Jump +5, Knowledge (nature) +1, Listen +9^§†, Move Silently +23^*, Perform (dance) +5, Spot +12^†, Survival +4^§†, Tumble +23.
^§ +2 racial bonus
^* +3 bonus vs. Giants
^† +11 bonus vs. Giants
Also +8 bonus to Bluff & Sense Motive vs. Giants

Spoiler: Write-Ups

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At 10th level GnoMor Giants! is midway through Gnome Giant-Slayer, and loving it. He's got a +8 dodge bonus vs. Giants on top of the regular +1 Dodge feat bonus, and a +7 damage bonus vs. Giants. (Relative superiority of defense vs. offense is a theme throughout the build.) GnoMor's stretched and limbered himself to 10' natural reach, and recently graduated from a glaive to a spiked chain to threaten everything within 20'. Combat Reflexes feat (since level 6) and increased Dexterity (since level 8) let him take advantage of the greater number of AoOs that extra reach will provide.

Nearly done with Gnome Giant-Slayer @ 15th, and Giant damage bonus up to +11. Four levels back he gained Fast Movement, which for him is +50%; that's pretty keen. Bonuses to skills vs. Giants, especially Listen and Spot, help make up for scant skill points. Whenever he damages a Giant they're automatically shaken for a round (Annoying Strike). GnoMor's (literally) cranked his reach up to 15' (30' using a spiked chain) since level 12. Thanks to his FE bonuses and Track feat GnoMor can follow Giant tracks on nearly any type of ground, so hunting them down and ambushing them is easy.

The level 18 sweet spot is where he adds Hide in Plain Sight to maximum Hide ranks and a +3 bonus vs. Giants from his Gnome Ranger substitution level. If Giants can't Spot him they can be taken down in an orderly, proficient, military manner. He has 4 iterative attacks and is making excellent use of Power Attack. When Giants approach suddenly GnoMor can use Close Shot for a full arrow attack, then Hide with a 5' step; that's better than dropping the bow, taking a move action to draw his spiked chain, and getting only one attack. Last level GnoMor gained his biggest Giant-slaying dirty trick: a Siberys Mark of Scribing (Symbol of Death) as a 1/day SLA, meaning instead of 10,000 gp each instance GnoMor gets them for free! He scribes every Symbol specific to Giants, and just keeps accumulating them. Now all he has to do is knock any Giant within 60' down to 150 HP; his many Symbols will finish them off immediately. That takes the pressure off offensive needs, so GnoMor's Action Surge (extra move or standard action in a round) can be mainly used for defense. GnoMor will let himself be seen through most attacks so those Giants can be exposed to the Symbols on his armor, but he's also dropping Symbol of Death tiles as free actions. He Hides while attacking on the last swing of a full attack, and has a decent chance of succeeding (despite -20 penalty) even vs. Storm Giants.

@ 20th GnoMor has added extra Giant damage and more significant defensive improvements. Giants will see him only when he wants them to. Most area attacks he'll ignore thanks to Evasion and good (+16 total modifier) Reflex saves. His Spot and Listen skills are only middling in ranks, but vs. Giants those skill modifiers both get above 20. GnoMor's finally got enough Tumble skill to go through enemies at full 30' speed, avoiding AoOs even if they've got Storm Giant-like (Spot +25) sight. Since the last level he's been scribing two Symbol of Death Siberys Marks every day, so any down time GnoMor has turns into better 150 HP auto-kill capabilities. He'll take those Giants down to 150 HP safely, savoring their relative impotence against him. Giants can't touch this Gnome!

Spoiler: Equipment Needed

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(Minimums only, not full load-out @ 20.)

GnoMor uses a composite longbow for ranged attacks. Until level 9 he uses a glaive for melee (and takes 5' steps back as necessary to use this reach weapon); after that an adamantine spiked chain accommodates both near and reach attacks.

GnoMor needs light armor so he can still Tumble. Mithral breastplate is a good solution, as it won't reduce his speed or interfere with Evasion.

GnoMor will have a way to fly. Friendly party spellcasting might suffice, or he can get a magic item, or a graft. (His alignment is compatible with Feathered Wings^FF210, making that graft an excellent choice.)

Spoiler: Commentary

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Originality
I thought some of this was pretty novel, but entry into the Secret Ingredient in a timely manner (for maximum flavor of the SI in the meal) didn't allow many options. Using Underfoot Combat, Confound the Big Folk^RotW153, Giantbane^CW111, and similar feats seemed obvious, so I found a different approach. We'll see what the competition came up with.

Power
With GG-S's favored enemy bonus GnoMor Giants! has the +8 FE baseline of every Gnome Giant-Slayer. He adds to that with a Ranger substitution level and Improved Favored Enemy^CW101 for +14 Giant bonus damage total. A two-handed weapon and Favored Power Attack^DC97 give him a x3 Power Attack multiplier. He has 4 iterative attacks @ 17. That's all straightforward.

While he's got reasonable offensive capability vs. Giants, GnoMor is focused more on defensive power than offense. Because he's got good perception (+24 Listen, +25 Spot total @ 20) he'll rarely be surprised by Giants. Because he can Tumble at full speed, Move Silently, and Hide in Plain Sight he'll rarely get targeted, let alone hit. His Siberys Mark of Scribing (Symbol of Death) auto-kills Giants at 150 HP or under, so it's reasonable for him to take them down more safely, avoiding full melee attacks, compared to others who have to overcome every single Giant hit point while they're being attacked in turn. It's S.O.P. for him to use the GG-S Spring Attack entry requirement to hit a Giant once, use most of his move action to get behind an obstacle to foil a charge, and then try to Hide; AoOs will make up for the missed iterative attacks, and with all attacks at full AB he can Power Attack for more.

GnoMor's big surprise to those he fights is his outstanding reach: 30' with his spiked chain. He threatens a lot of territory, and will get lots of AoOs due to that reach; and a bit more because, unseen, Giants won't know quite where his threatened area is located. (Symbol of Death auto-killing is more powerful, but too final to be called a surprise. )

GnoMor's got more control over his actions than most, with Action Surge^ECS50 giving him an extra move or standard action. He has up to 10 uses of this feat @ 20, so when he needs extra power it's his for the taking: just another dirty trick to thwart Giants.

Elegance
Ranger is the favored class of Stonehunter Gnomes^DM8, which GnoMor starts with (specifically, a Gnome Ranger^RoS149 substitution level). I thought it better to season the meal with the SI early than to delay through more Ranger levels merely to avoid "dipping" penalties. All PrCs are either taken to completion (GG-S, Heir of Siberys^ECS80) or as much as will fit in a 20-level build (Shadowdancer).

Use of Secret Ingredient
Gnome Giant-Slayer is just part of GnoMor's comprehensive approach to slaying Giants. GG-S FE bonuses stack with Gnome Ranger FE and Improved Favored Enemy. GnoMor uses almost every bit of the Secret Ingredient's capabilities, starting early. Most GG-S abilities are always-on defenses (very helpful in a defensive build) or automatic when damaging Giants. He'd prefer not to need the various dodge boosts to AC, but is happy to have them as needed. Ditto for Slippery and its aid to Escape Artist checks to escape a Giant's grapple. Slippery's movement capability is so useful I decided to skip Underfoot Combat, my usual go-to feat for Gnome melee fighters. One ability GnoMor never wants to need is Defensive Roll — but it's a last-ditch ability perfectly in line with his focus on defense. The offensive abilities (FE damage bonus, Annoying Strike) only function when a Giant is hit, so GnoMor focuses on attacks at full AB: 1 with Spring Attack and up to 5 more as AoOs.

The build is synergistic with the aim of the SI (actively seeking out Giants to slay) rather than just mechanically so. Being able to track Giants, good perception to detect and avoid being surprised by Giants, excellent survivability when facing Giants, threatening an area large enough to include multiple Giants, and auto-killing Giants at 150 HP are all in keeping with Gnome Giant-Slayer principles.

There are mechanical synergies as well. The feat requirements for Shadowdancer are the feat requirements for Gnome Giant-Slayer plus Combat Reflexes (already in place to use GnoMor's great reach to advantage). The increases to DEX for more AoOs also boost GnoMor's best skills, and there's an extra bonus to Hide & Move Silently from Gnome Ranger 1; when he gets Hide in Plain Sight he can immediately put it to use. The skill requirements for Heir of Siberys are met by the skills GnoMor uses to avoid damage from Giants (Hide, Move Silently, Tumble), and which are maximized as GG-S class skills. Those cover most Shadowdancer skills requirements too.

[Heliomance]

Can accurately be described as BAMF.

Hiragnsha, Gnome Swashbuckler (CW 11) 3/Ranger 3/Gnome Giant Slayer (CW 36) 10/Jaunter (EDP 172) 4
Raw stats: STR 14 DEX 15 CON 12 INT 12 WIS 14 CHA 12
Racially-adjusted stats: STR 12 DEX 15 CON 14 INT 12 WIS 14 CHA 12
Boost DEX at 4th, 8th, and 16th level. Boost CON at 12th and 20th.
Languages spoken: Common, Gnomish, Giant

Spoiler: Sandwich Board

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Hiragnsha was not looking forward to this discussion. He knew his mother, Jilagnshi, would object to his becoming an adventurer. She would gnash her teeth - she had before - and her gnarled hands would grip tighter on the knurled knob of her ornamental walking stick. Yet, he needed to do this. The orcs and hobgoblins were invading the city in record numbers, driven by some sort of activity in the mountains. He needed to help clear the city of the aggressors, and then seek out the root of their immigration. He suspected giants.

* * *

Hiragnsha was not happy that his suspicions were right. After he and his companions dealt with the hobgoblins, he’d tracked their path back to an ogre’s lair, and in dealing with the ogre, he found that the ogre had been ‘convinced’ to relocate by an aggressive ettin. Following THAT trail led them on a merry chase through the Ethereal plane, then into the plane of Shadow before they could finally confront and beat it. . . or them. All that chasing convinced him that merely being good at fighting the giants wasn’t all he needed. To really confront adversaries effectively, he needed a way to manipulate the distance to and from them.

Numbers in the chart do not reflect ability score modifiers.

Spoiler: Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Swashbuckler 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Escape Artist 2, Hide 2.0, Knowledge (the Planes) 2.0, Move Silently 2.0, Survival 2.0, Tumble 2	Weapon Finesse (B), Midnight Dodge (MoI 39)	Weapon Finesse (bonus feat)
2nd	Gnome Substitution Level Ranger (RoS 149) 1	+2	+4	+2	+0	Escape Artist 3.0, Knowledge (the Planes) 2.5, Survival 4, Tumble 3.0	Track (B)	Track (bonus feat), Favored Enemy (Giants) +3, Wild Empathy
3rd	Swashbuckler 2	+3	+5	+2	+0	Escape Artist 4, Knowledge (the Planes) 3.0, Move Silently 3.0, Tumble 4	Mobility	Grace +1
4th	Ranger 2	+4	+6	+3	+0	Escape Artist 5.0, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Tumble 5.0	Two Weapon Fighting (B)	Combat Style (Two Weapon Fighting bonus feat)
5th	Swashbuckler 3	+5	+6	+4	+1	Knowledge (the Planes) 4.0, Survival 5, Tumble 6	-	Insightful Strike +1
6th	Ranger 3	+6	+6	+4	+2	Escape Artist 6.0, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Survival 6, Tumble 7.0	Endurance (B), Spring Attack	Endurance bonus feat
7th	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+7	+8	+4	+2	Knowledge (the Planes) 5.0, Tumble 8	-	Favored Enemy (Giant) +2
8th	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+8	+9	+4	+2	Hide 6, Tumble 10	-	Crafty Fighter
9th	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+9	+9	+5	+3	Move Silently 6, Tumble 12	Cerulean Will (MoI 35)	Slippery
10th	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+10	+10	+5	+3	Knowledge (the Planes) 6.0, Tumble 13	-	Favored Enemy (Giants) +4
11th	Jaunter 1	+10	+10	+7	+3	Hide 7, Knowledge (the Planes) 7, Move Silently 7, Survival 7, Tumble 14	-	Travel Power, Benign Transposition
12th	Jaunter 2	+11	+10	+8	+3	Hide 8, Knowledge (the Planes) 8, Move Silently 8, Survival 8, Tumble 15	Azure Enmity (MoI 34)	Baleful Transposition, Fast Movement +10’
13th	Jaunter 3	+12	+11	+8	+4	Hide 9, Knowledge (the Planes) 9, Move Silently 9, Survival 9, Tumble 16	-	Dimension Door, Teleport
14th	Jaunter 4	+13	+11	+9	+4	Hide 10, Knowledge (the Planes) 10, Move Silently 10, Survival 10, Tumble 17	-	Freedom of Movement, Plane Shift
15th	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+14	+11	+9	+4	Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Tumble 18	Shape Soulmeld: Bluesteel Bracers (MoI 40 & 62)	Close Shot
16th	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+15	+12	+10	+5	Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Tumble 19	-	Fast Movement +10’
17th	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+16	+12	+10	+5	Escape Artist 7, Move Silently 13, Tumble 20	-	Favored Enemy (Giants) +6
18th	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+17	+13	+10	+5	Escape Artist 8, Hide 13, Tumble 21	Open Lesser Chakra: Arms (MoI 40)	Improved Mobility
19th	Gnome Giant Slayer 9	+18	+13	+11	+6	Survival 11.0, Tumble 22	-	Annoying Strike
20th	Gnome Giant Slayer 10	+19	+14	+11	+6	Survival 12.0, Tumble 23	-	Defensive Roll

Spoiler: Appetizer (1st level)

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At 1st level, Hiragnsha starts his adventuring career as a Swashbuckler, lightly armored in studded leather, carrying a rapier, a light hammer, and a shortbow. His natural intelligence lets him learn the language of one of his people’s historic enemies, Giants. Free Weapon Finesse lets him take advantage of his DEX early, and further incentivizes improving DEX - already vital for his defenses and attacks with that shortbow - later. Midnight Dodge is a straight upgrade over the vanilla PB Dodge, which he needs for his intended progression, and gives him a starting pool of essentia which he can build on for later. He knows confrontations with the giants are in his future, but is probably too squishy at 1st level to prioritize even the weakest of them as an enemy, and the extra couple of HP he gets by starting as a swashbuckler are marginally more important to him at the start than the extra couple of skill points he’d get by starting as a ranger, since he’s not intending to be particularly skill-focused. Those skill points he has are spent on skills related to sneaking and exploration, including exploring other planes. His minor innate magical abilities are quite relevant, at this early stage in the game, in helping him be an asset in combat or noncombat encounters.

Spoiler: Soup (5th level)

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At 5th level, Hiragnsha is starting to show both the will and the skill to be a determined, dangerous foe to the giants. With the Gnome Ranger substitution level, taken at 2nd level, he gains a minor but useful flat upgrade in his attack and damage modifier against Giants, his favored enemy. With Swashbuckler 2, he gains another small but significant static bonus, this time to his reflex save, which he’ll statistically have to make more than any other, and which is key to GGS’ capstone ability. He also snags Mobility as a feat tax that does, actually, make him more able in a mobile tank role. Fourth level gets him his combat style, where his multiple little flat bonuses to attack and damage mean he’s relatively ahead of the curve when taking on Giants, which are now starting to be reasonably plausible enemies; this is particularly true when you consider his defensive and mobility-based advantages against these foes and assume reasonable, level-appropriate gear. At fifth level, Insightful Strike adds another little flat bonus which isn’t limited by enemy type, making him a more diverse offensive threat. With more places to put his skill points than he has skill points to spend, Hiragnsha prioritizes Tumble but continues to progress all the skills he picked out at 1st level, as he can.

Spoiler: Salad (10th level)

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At 10th level, Hiragnsha has been in Gnome Giant Slayer for as long as possible without gaining any of the prerequisite feats as bonus feats. He did pick up yet another bonus feat, of course, since his 3rd level of Ranger got him Endurance, in addition to letting him grab Spring Attack. This lets him into Gnome Giant Slayer at 7th level; as a bonus, he’s qualified for Jaunter at this point, as well, so all of his remaining skill and feat choices are entirely discretionary. That first level of GGS adds +2 to all of his relevant favored enemy bonuses, which, if you’re counting, means he adds +6 to attack and damage per attack against Giants, before buffs, flanking, or other situational modifiers, while not exactly being a liability against other foes, in melee or at range. 8th level, his 2nd in GGS, essentially doubles his native AC bonus against Giants, while also improving his AC against other big folk. Next, Hiragnsha gains Slippery at character level 9, GGS 3, improving his ability to deal with larger grapplers considerably, and highlighting the reasons he’s invested in Escape Artist, at the same time he picks up Cerulean Will (and note this is the level where his reflex and will go up by one). With this choice, he shores up his weakest save, while the modular nature of the essentia pool means that he can invest more, or less, in his Will save or his Dodge bonus, depending on what sort of adversaries he expects to deal with. In this way, he highlights his versatility and adaptability. 10th level adds another +2 against Giants. All those little flat static bonuses mean that if he chooses to emphasize the hit-and-run nature of Spring Attack and GGS, he’s still doing relevant damage. If only his mobility were on par with his damage potential. . . .

Spoiler: Main Course (15th level)

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At 15th level, Hiragnsha is approaching the sweet spot of his build progression. Because he’s primarily focused on melee, rather than ranged, combat, GGS 5’s Close Shot ability is not particularly tempting to him. For this reason, he looks for options that have more immediate appeal, given his general approach to combat and choices for feats and skills to date. This, in turn, makes Jaunter a natural, appealing diversion in his GGS progression, since its requirements mesh almost seamlessly with those of GGS, and the fluff requirement is almost trivially easy to achieve by 11th level in a typical campaign and party. After all, Plane Shift is only a 5th level Cleric spell, and that’s just in Core. So, starting Jaunter at 11th level makes it easier to progress the suite of skills Hiragnsha invests in, which he does, and begins to exponentially improve his ability as a mobile tank. Jaunter 1 lets him swap places with willing allies in combat, allowing him to put the most damaging ally closest to the threat, or the most damaged ally furthest from the threat. It also gives him an increase to his AC that’s certainly a nice secondary ability, given how most of his abilities get shut off in heavy armor, and has Reflex as its best save, which, again, will help down the road with GGS’s capstone ability. At 12th level, the Baleful Transposition travel power lets him move enemies as well as allies - but, notably, not Giants - which increases his combat utility in general, rather than further narrowing his focus. He also gains (his first) Fast Movement, which improves the mobility of everyone in the group, thanks to how it interacts with his other abilities. For his 12th level feat, he snags Azure Enmity, giving him an essentia pool of 3 that he can use to add +3 to his AC against an opponent, or his Will save, or his to-hit and damage against an opponent (or mix and match between them); any party member with Divination or similar recon potential is extremely valuable here in helping guide his choices of how to distribute that essentia. In this way, he becomes more dangerous against Giants, and a more credible threat against other opponents, who will have a harder time hurting or influencing him as he harasses them from the front lines. At 13th level, he gets Dimension Door and Teleport as additional options for his travel power, easing the onus on long-range transportation off of the primary casters in the party. The capstone of the 4-level Jaunter PrC nets Hiragnsha Plane Shift, letting the Cleric off the hook for THAT responsibility as well. Yes, had he stayed straight GGS, he could be looking forward to Annoying Strike next level; this is more useful, in more circumstances, over a longer period of time. And now, when Hiragnsha heads back into GGS at 15th level, Close Shot becomes more useful, since he can use the various battlefield mobility options Jaunter and his skill suite opened up to potshot enemies who thought he was over THERE, when he’s now over HERE. He also continues his interest in the incarnum abilities, picking up Shape Soulmeld: Bluesteel Bracers with his feat here, boosting both his initiative and his damage potential - and allowing him to increase his damage potential against foes including, but not limited to, Giants.

Spoiler: DESSERT (20th level)

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At 20th level, Hiragnsha has finished both Jaunter and Gnome Giant Slayer, while taking advantage of GGS’s ability to build off Ranger’s favored enemy and the necessarily mobile combat style emphasized through Spring Attack’s hit-and-run tactics. If the situation instead warrants a full attack routine, he’s generally doing enough damage to make himself seem a legitimate threat. At 16th level, another 10’ of movement is a welcome addition, either by itself or in conjunction with his Jaunter abilities. Yet another bonus to his damage against Giants at 17th makes all that movement especially helpful, since intelligent Giants would probably see him and run. . . except he’s good at stealth, so seeing him coming is in no way guaranteed. Next, at 18th, Hiragnsha takes Open Lesser Chakra (Arms) in order to share his +2 initiative bonus with all of his allies, and further improve his grapple modifier - already pretty good on the defensive end thanks to GGS - so that he can generally choose to initiate a grapple in the sure and happy knowledge that, even if he doesn’t pin the enemy, the enemy’s unlikely to pin him, either. Improved Mobility combines with his other mobility-based abilities to make it such that the only grapples he’s involved in are generally those he initiates. This ability to help his allies, combined with his combat prowess, makes 18th the ‘sweet spot.’ 19th level gives Hiragnsha the aforementioned Annoying Strike, which is darned near an encounter-ender against Giants, locking them down if he gets the drop on them for the entire combat if he just keeps hitting (at a significant to-hit mod, for significant damage). Only its limited number of viable targets and the more broader range of situations where Jaunter’s travel powers are relevant made it worth pushing this ability this late in the build. Finally, at 20th, he picks up the capstone ability of GGS, Defensive Roll, otherwise known as 1/day Evasion vs. melee combat against Giants. Here, again, only its relatively narrow band of usable circumstances, versus the band of usable circumstances for Jaunter’s capstone, made it necessary or worthwhile to wait to get this capstone. Note that, before magic bonuses, Hiragnsha’s bonus to Defensive Roll is over 20 here, so he has reasonable odds of actually reducing the damage of that otherwise deadly blow in a non-TO environment. He’s maxed out Tumble, and kept all his other invested skills at reasonable levels of competency. He’s a truly annoying and deadly adversary against Giants, a capable combatant at melee or range against any other foes, and an asset to his party, with the ability to help get to - and significantly shape the flow of - combat. He can use his tertiary, feat-derived, abilities in order to choose to boost offense, or defense, as necessary. The damage he does helps ensure that enemies will help keep enemies trying - and likely failing - to hit him back.

Spoiler: Sides (Options)

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It’s no accident that all of Hiragnsha’s attributes start with a positive modifier; his playstyle and concept are MAD, relying on STR to help damage, DEX for defense and offense, CON for HP and Fort, INT for skills and damage, WIS for skills and saves, and even CHA as an ancillary method of dealing with foes. If he can get items to boost all of them, he wants those items. Speaking of items, Mobility is available via an armor enhancement these days. Give him access to that enhancement, and the feat retraining rules, and he’ll gleefully retrain Mobility for Soulsight. Give him access to flaws, preferably Shaky and Vulnerable, and he’ll add Sapphire Sprint and EWP: Spiked Chain, swapping his Rapier + Light Hammer fighting style for Spiked Chain + Razor Armor, thereby further increasing his sphere of influence in combat. He’ll also take any AC or damage increasing items he can get his Gnomish hands on.

Spoiler: Menu (Sources)

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SRD
Races of Stone - Gnome Ranger Substitution level
Complete Warrior - GGS
Expedition to the Demonweb Pits - Jaunter
Magic of Incarnum - Feats

[Heliomance]

Gilderoy Lockhart springs to mind.

E. Pickenz, Giant Hunter Extraordinaire
CN Stonehunter Gnome
STR 12-2 DEX 14(+5) CON 12+2 INT 16 WIS 14 CHA 10
2 ranger/2 rogue/8 archivist/ 8 gnome giant slayer

Spoiler: Build table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ranger 1	+1	+2	+2	+0	Concentration 4, Knowledge Nature 4, Craft(arrowmaking) 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Listen 4, Spot 4, Survival 4, Climb 4	Track, Dodge	Wild Empathy, FE (giant) 3, wild empathy
2nd	Ranger 2	+2	+3	+3	+0	Concentration 5, Knowledge Nature 5, Craft(arrowmaking) 4, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Listen 5, Spot 5, Survival 5, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2	Rapid Shot	Combat Style(archery)
3rd	Rogue 1	+2	+3	+5	+0	Concentration 5, Knowledge Nature 6, Craft(arrowmaking) 4, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Listen 6, Spot 6, Survival 6, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 3, escape artist 2	Mobility, Point Blank Shot	Trapfinding
4th	Rogue 2	+3	+3	+6	+0	Concentration 5, Knowledge Nature 7, Craft(arrowmaking) 4, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5	-	Evasion
5th	Archivist 1	+3	+5	+6	+2	Concentration 6, Knowledge Nature 8, Craft(arrowmaking) 4, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 1, Knowledge Dungeon 1, Knowledge Religion 1, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 1	Scribe Scroll	Dark Knowledge (tactics) 3/day
6th	Archivist 2	+4	+6	+6	+3	Concentration 7, Knowledge Nature 9, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 1, Knowledge Dungeon 1, Knowledge Religion 1, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 4, Decipher Script 1	Archivist of Nature	Lore Mastery(Nature)
7th	Archivist 3	+4	+6	+7	+3	Concentration 8, Knowledge Nature 10, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 2, Knowledge Dungeon 2, Knowledge Religion 2, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 6, Decipher Script 1	-	Dark Knowledge 4/day
8th	Archivist 4	+5	+7	+7	+4	Concentration 9, Knowledge Nature 11, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 4, Knowledge Dungeon 3, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 7, Decipher Script 1	-	Still Mind
9th	Archivist 5	+5	+7	+7	+4	Concentration 10, Knowledge Nature 12, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 5, Knowledge Dungeon 3, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 8, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 1, Collector of Stories	Knowledge Devotion	Dark Knowledge(Puissance)
10th	Archivist 6	+6	+8	+8	+5	Concentration 11, Knowledge Nature 13, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 5, Knowledge Dungeon 3, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 9, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories	-	Dark Knowledge 5/day
11th	Archivist 7	+6	+8	+8	+5	Concentration 12, Knowledge Nature 14, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 7, Knowledge Dungeon 5, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 10, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories	-	Lore mastery(arcana)
12th	Archivist 8	+7	+9	+8	+6	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 15, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 5, escape artist 5, Knowledge arcana 8, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories,	Spring Attack	Dark Knowledge(foe)
13th	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+8	+11	+8	+6	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 16, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 6, escape artist 6, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories	-	FE (giant) +2
14th	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+9	+12	+8	+6	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 17, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 8, escape artist 8, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories	-	Crafty Fighter
15th	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+10	+12	+9	+7	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 18, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Listen 7, Spot 8, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 8, escape artist 8, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories,	Woodland Archer	Slippery
16th	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+11	+13	+9	+7	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 19, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Listen 7, Spot 8, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 8, escape artist 8, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories, Point it Out	-	FE (giant) +4
17th	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+12	+13	+9	+7	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 20, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Listen 7, Spot 8, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 8, escape artist 8, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories, Point it Out, Easy escape	-	Close Shot
18th	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+13	+14	+10	+8	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 20, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Listen 7, Spot 8, Survival 7, Climb 4, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 8, escape artist 10, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories, Point it Out, Easy escape	Manyshot	Fast movement
19th	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+14	+14	+10	+8	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 21, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Listen 7, Spot 8, Survival 7, Climb 5, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 8, escape artist 11, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories, Point it Out, Easy escape	-	FE (giant) +6
20th	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+15	+15	+10	+8	Concentration 13, Knowledge Nature 23, Craft(arrowmaking) 5, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Listen 7, Spot 8, Survival 7, Climb 5, Knowledge(Geography) 2, tumble 8, escape artist 12, Knowledge arcana 10, Knowledge Dungeon 6, Knowledge Religion 3, Knowledge Local 1, Spellcraft 11, Decipher Script 1, Knowledge Planes 5, Collector of Stories, Point it Out, Easy escape	-	Improved Mobility

Spells per Day/Spells Known

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

[/table]

Spoiler: Why I do it (backstory)

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An excerpt from the critically acclaimed author, Enitor Pickenz:

“Lets get this out of the way. Most types of giants are the stinkiest, nastiest, DUMBEST creatures to ever walk the Material Plane. They make orcs look like geniuses! So you ask, dear reader, why does someone as illustrious and intelligent as I am hunt them? Well a single rampaging troll can threaten your entire village, devour your spouse, your children and your entire larder. I like to think I make the world a safer place every time I put one down.

It is sport for me though, I will not deny the thrill I get from tracking a giant through the woods, that exhilaration I get when I find an ogre chowing down on a goat he stole, the adrenaline I get from lining up the perfect shot and sending it whistling through his big thick skull. When I was a lad my favourite hobby was hunting with my father. In the early days it was deer, moose, and occasionally a mountain lion. Every time I went out, I made it my mission to hunt something new. He always said it was the dragonblood in our veins that made us such great hunters. One day when I was the tender age of 20, we stumbled across bear tracks leading through the woods. I hadn’t slain a bear yet and wanted to take the opportunity. We tracked it to a small clearing, and came upon the most peculiar sight. An ogre so big he was eating the bear like a leg of mutton! Dear old dad stepped on a branch and alerted the brute to our presence. I tell you, its arms were twenty feet long! It grabbed my father, who was frozen in fear. Oh, but not me! Just as the ogre was about to stuff my dad into his disgusting maw I drew two arrows in my bow and stuck them right through his eyes! Dead! Right there, first try, under intense pressure!

Hunting was never the same after that. I had slain one of gnomekinds greatest foes single handedly, and I was but a boy! I wanted to learn everything about giants, so that I could be the best giant slayer the world had ever seen. I even learned to speak Giant, to taunt them in their own words before sticking an arrow between its eyes.

These days I’m not quite retired, but I hunt less. My town hasn’t even heard whisperings of a giant in years. I think I may have killed them all. I move constantly now, trying to find new types of giants to take down. Sun giants are on my list, but I’ve only heard of them in very old tomes.”

That’s all we have for now! Pick up Enitor Pickenz’s book, ‘The Art of Slaying Giants’ to find out more about the adventures of the worlds greatest giant slayer!

Spoiler: Why I'm the best at what I do (Overview)

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2 ranger/2 rogue/1 archivist
The first few levels are dip-heavy, grabbing the Gnome Ranger substitution level and favoured enemy(giants) to stack with GGS when we get it later on. Archery is the theme of the build, and we also get Rapid Shot from Ranger. After that we take 2 levels in Wilderness rogue, trading sneak attack away for Mobility. Last but not least we jump into Archivist for Dark Knowledge and spells. While it starts off weak, the idea is to transfer the Ranger spell list onto the Archivist side through the use of Scribe Scroll. The Ranger spell list gives us some fantastic choices like Hunter’s Mercy or Mark of the Hunter. Auto-critting giants? Yep.

6-10
2 ranger/2 rogue/6 archivist
We keep with Archivist for better Dark Knowledge and spellcasting. Not much else to say. The focus is on illusion spells to distract giants and keep them away from us. The Trickery, Gnome, and Illusion domains all offer us good spells that do just what we need. We take Archivist of Nature so that we can use Dark Knowledge on giants. Snazzy. After that we get Knowledge Devotion to get knowledge(nature) as a permanent class skill after we take Gnome Giant Slayer. The damage and to-hit bonus is gravy.

11-15
2 ranger/2 rogue/8 archivist/ 3 gnome giant slayer
4th level spells, meaning we now get everything from the ranger spell list. On top of that we get Dark Knowledge(foe) for even more bonus damage against giants. Afterwards the SI is added to the dish, giving more FE, AC, and Full BaB. We take Spring Attack to qualify, and also grab Woodland Archer for sniping shenanigans. This gives us major to hit bonuses if we happen to miss, and we get to ignore concealment if we miss a foe. For even more gravy we get to keep moving while sniping to keep the brutes guessing. This is the sweet spot of the build.

16-20
2 ranger/2 rogue/8 archivist/ 8 gnome giant slayer
The final levels that we take in GGS give us a lot more flexibility. Close Shot lets us stay viable in close range, and Fast Movement gives us more room to work with for Woodland Archer. For our last but not least feat, we get Manyshot. It gives us a not two, not three, but four extra attacks if used with Divine Power. Otherwise it gives 3. Delicious.

Spoiler: How I do it(UoSI)

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You don’t take all levels? Why?
Simple. This isn’t a melee build. As such, Annoying Strike and Defensive Roll have nothing to offer us. Taking these two abilities defeats the purpose of the character, which is [I]staying away from danger[i\].

Pre-reqs- Trash-nasty all around. We can get the skills easily but Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack are generally terrible. We get Speak(giant) from a high intelligence score.

Anyways, let’s take a look at what Giant Slayer gives us.
Favoured enemy- Track giants, lie to them, hear and see them. All things useful to us. With Knowledge Devotion + Dark Knowledge + FE that comes out to 4d6+14 damage per hit. If you multiply that on a critical hit from Hunter’s Mercy, its 78 damage average before our other iterative attacks. Basically, we can drop most giants in a single round.

Crafty Fighter- A giant somehow finds us and gets up in our grill for melee? Run away! An AC bonus never hurts, especially when it applies to almost everything in the Monster Manual.

Slippery-
Decent BaB, but low STR. You can bet we’re better off taking Escape Artist. Running through their squares is useful, say if you’re blocked in a cave with with something big and scary.

Close shot-
Though our mantra is “stay away from big things that will eat you”, sometimes that can’t always happen. Close shot covers this and lets us fight in melee without punishment.

Fast movement-
Gnomes are slow. This gives us more flexibility when using Woodland Archer.

Improved mobility-
Paired with mobility and Crafty Fighter, thats a whole 12 AC. We’re a squishy little gnome, not being hit while running away is a boon.

Spoiler: Questions for the author (FAQ)

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You don’t take Precise Shot?
As the character is built to be self-sufficient, we shouldn’t have allies that we risk shooting. In an actual party environment, yes, Precise Shot would be taken.

You don’t take sneak attack either?
The dream is to not be within 30 feet so we don’t get charged by a giant with a lucky spot check. The only reason point blank shot is taken is to qualify for Woodland Archer.

Why not fighter?
We wouldn’t get tumble,hide, move silently and escape artist as class skills. Essentially we trade a point of BaB and Precise shot for skills.

No Darkstalker?
Again, staying at max range is the dream. Most things that have special senses only have it out to 30-60 feet, which is way under our 110.

What do you take?
The Spring Attack line strangles us for feats. The few that we do have are vital to the build, but Practiced Spellcaster was considered. Fortunately, Divine Power scales with character level and most ranger spells have a definite effect and short duration.

My original build was a wizard/shadowcraft mage crossbow sniper that used heroics to gain extra feats, but I feel that the archivist/ranger combo did it better, especially with a tripled number of attacks.

Gnomes have a beautiful feat named Trivial Knowledge (RoS) that lets them roll 2 d20s for knowledge checks. That would’ve been awesome, but Woodland Archer helps our cause much more.

Hey! Getting the Ranger spell list costs exp!
This was something I was worried about, since Iron Chef only assumes exactly the amount of experience needed to reach level 20. So I asked the chair. This was her response.

Quick question- Say an entry were to be an Archivist and take levels in Ranger, transferring the Ranger spell list onto the Archivist's side through scrolls. Since IC doesn't take WBL into account and assumes exactly enough experience to get to 20 , how should this be handled?
A) go ahead with it and note it in the build, possibly taking an elegance penalty
or
B) don't bother because it's cheesy

Probably A), I'd say. It's as good a way as any to get Archivist spells.

Thanks for the reply. How should I handle the experience cost required to make scrolls then?

Oops, sorry for the late reply. Justhandwave it.

Spoiler: Bibliography (Sources)

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Stonehunter gnome- Dragon Magic
Archivist(of nature)- Heroes of Horror
Knowledge Devotion- Complete Champion
Woodland Archer- Races of the wild
Feat/Wilderness Rogue- Unearthed Arcana

[Heliomance]

Most of these guys focus on fighting from below; this one fights from inside.

Jagt
CN Gnome Factotum 4 / Egoist 1 / Martial Rogue 2 / Marshal 1 / Fighter 1 / Gnome Giant Slayer 10 / Exemplar 1

Stats (32 point buy):
STR: 16 – 2 [+2] (10 pts)
DEX: 14 [+2] (6 pts)
CON: 10 + 2 [+1] (2 pts)
INT: 16 [+3] (10 pts)
WIS: 8 [–1] (0 pts)
CHA: 12 [+1] (4 pts)

Level-up points go to INT at level 4 and level 8, and into CHA at every level thereafter. (This increases skill points earned starting at level 8.)

Languages: Common, Gnome, Giant, Orc, Draconic

Build:

Spoiler

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Factotum 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	Iaijutsu Focus +4 (4), Disguise +4 (4), Diplomacy +4 (4), Bluff +4 (4), Tumble +4 (4), Escape Artist +4 (4), Balance +4 (4), Sense Motive +4 (4), Concentration +4 (4)	Skill Focus: Diplomacy	Inspiration (2 points), Cunning Insight, Cunning Knowledge, Trapfinding
2nd	Egoist Psion 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Disguise +1 cc (5), Bluff +1 cc (5), Concentration +1 (5)	No new feats	Change Shape
3rd	Factotum 2	+1	+0	+3	+2	Iaijutsu Focus +2 (6), Bluff +1 (6), Disguise +1 (6), Diplomacy +2 (6), Tumble +2 (6), Balance +1 (5)	Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Gnome Quickrazor	Inspiration (3 points), Arcane Dilettante (1 spell)
4th	Factotum 3	+2	+1	+3	+3	Iaijutsu Focus +1 (7), Bluff +1 (7), Disguise +1 (7), Tumble +1 (7), Diplomacy +1 (7), Sense Motive +1 (5), Escape Artist +1 (5), Second Impression (skill trick)	No new feats	Brains Over Brawn, Cunning Defense
5th	Factotum 4	+3	+1	+4	+3	Iaijutsu Focus +1 (8), Bluff +1 (8), Disguise +1 (8), Tumble +1 (8), Diplomacy +1 (8) Escape Artist +2 (7), Social Recovery (skill trick)	No new feats	Arcane Dilettante (2 spells), Cunning Strike
6th	Martial Rogue 1	+3	+1	+6	+3	Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (9), Bluff +1 (9), Disguise +1 (9), Diplomacy +1 (9), Escape Artist +2 (9), Tumble +1 (9), Sense Motive +3 (8)	Dodge, Mobility (Bonus)	Mimic, Bonus Feat
7th	Marshal 1	+3	+3	+6	+5	Bluff +1 (10), Diplomacy +1 (10), Disguise +1 cc (10), Tumble +1 cc (10), Speak Language (Giant*)	Underfoot Combat (Bonus)	Skill Focus: Diplomacy (traded for Underfoot Combat), Minor Aura (Motivate Charisma)
8th	Martial Rogue 2	+4	+3	+7	+5	Bluff +1 (11), Diplomacy +1 (11), Disguise +1 (11), Iaijutsu Focus +2 cc (11), Escape Artist +2 (11), Sense Motive +1 (9), Assume Quirk (skill trick)	Spring Attack (Bonus)	Evasion, Bonus Feat
9th	Fighter 1	+5	+5	+7	+5	Bluff + 1 cc (12), Disguise +1 cc (12), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (12)	Point Blank Shot (Bonus), Confound the Big Folk	Bonus Feat
10th	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+6	+7	+7	+5	Bluff +1 cc (13), Disguise +1 cc (13), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (13)	No new feats	Favored Enemy (Giant) +2
11th	Exemplar 1	+6	+7	+7	+7	Bluff +1 (14), Disguise +1 (14), Iaijutsu Focus +1 (14), Escape Artist +3 (14), Diplomacy +3 (14), Sense Motive +3 (12)	No new feats	Skill Artistry (Disguise), Skill Mastery (Disguise, Bluff, Iaijutsu Focus, Diplomacy, Escape Artist)
12th	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+7	+8	+7	+7	Bluff +1 cc (15), Disguise +1 cc (15), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (15)	Psionic Shot	Crafty Fighter
13th	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+8	+8	+8	+8	Bluff +1 cc (16), Disguise +1 cc (16), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (16)	No new feats	Slippery
14th	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+9	+9	+8	+8	Bluff + 1 cc (17), Disguise +1 cc (17), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (17)	No new feats	Favored Enemy (Giant) +4
15th	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+10	+9	+8	+8	Bluff +1 cc (18), Disguise +1 cc (18), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (18)	Fell Shot	Close Shot
16th	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+11	+10	+9	+9	Bluff +1 cc (19), Disguise +1 cc (19), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (19)	No new feats	Fast Movement
17th	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+12	+10	+9	+9	Bluff +1 cc (20), Disguise +1 cc (20), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (20)	No new feats	Favored Enemy (Giant) +6
18th	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+13	+11	+9	+9	Bluff +1 cc (21), Disguise +1 cc (21), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (21)	Return Shot	Improved Mobility
19th	Gnome Giant Slayer 9	+14	+11	+10	+10	Bluff + 1 cc (22), Disguise +1 cc (22), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (22)	No new feats	Annoying Strike
20th	Gnome Giant Slayer 10	+15	+12	+10	+10	Bluff +1 cc (23), Disguise +1 cc (23), Iaijutsu Focus +1 cc (23)	No new feats	Favored Enemy (Giant) +8

*If having a starting language of Giant is good enough to meet Gnome Giant Slayer's prerequisite of “Speak Language: Giant,” replace this with Speak Language: Dwarven.

Psion powers known: Conceal Thoughts, Vigor, Catfall
PP per day: 2 (+ bonus PP from INT)

Tactics and Strategy:

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Jagt, like many gnomes, holds a special hatred in her heart for giants and giantkin. Unlike many gnomes, however, she believes that the best way to take down a tribe of giants is from within.

Jagt is very good at disguising herself. Her Change Shape ability gives her a very nice +10 bonus on Disguise checks, usable at will. (Technically, by the strictest RAW, it gives a total bonus of +20: +10 typeless bonus from the Disguise Self effect, and a +10 circumstance bonus from the text of Change Shape, but most GMs limit this to just +10 total.) Add in full ranks, a synergy bonus from Bluff, and the occasional bonus from Cunning Knowledge (once per day, but you shouldn't need it more than once per day anyway; you make a good disguise, and then you keep it up, possibly even for days at a time), and she can do a very convincing job of disguising herself as a giant. Now, you may be thinking that she's going to look a little short for a giant, but that's okay: you only take a –2 penalty for disguising yourself as a different race. It is true that you can't alter your apparent height by more than 10% by using Disguise, but that doesn't matter—she's not pretending to be a 12 foot tall gnome, after all, but rather pretending to be a 4 foot tall giant. This is D&D, after all—it's totally plausible for a giant to have been born a mutant, or to have been cursed by a Wizard, or to have some other effect making them look Small. Jagt has enough Bluff to pull off whatever cover story she needs. Her skill tricks help her in that regard, though her skills are high enough that she shouldn't need them very often, especially once she picks up Skill Mastery from Exemplar.

Anyway, once she finds a tribe of giants living somewhere, Jagt disguises herself as the appropriate kind of giant and tries to join them. She gains their trust slowly, using Bluff and Diplomacy as needed, and she blends in with the locals over a long period of time. Once they know her and trust her, she works her way closer to a position of power within the giant hierarchy, and she starts spreading disinformation. A hint here, a false rumor there, and Jagt slowly turns the giants against one another. She has a lot of bonuses to Bluff (full ranks, a +10 from Conceal Thoughts, a small but helpful bonus from Cunning Knowledge 1/day, and a scaling bonus from Favored Enemy: Giants), and she doesn't try to spread a ton of rumors all at once—she plays the long game, and she very slowly plants the seeds of mistrust in her “fellow” giants' ears.

One way or another, she tears apart the unity of the giant tribe. If she can accomplish this with her words alone, she does so. Her Bluff and Diplomacy will take her pretty far in that regard, and if she can split the tribe into factions, or get them turned against themselves until they are driven away one by one, nothing makes her happier.

Occasionally, of course, things come to blows—giants are impulsive folk, after all, and they often think with their muscles instead of their brains. Whenever Jagt can keep up an innocent facade, she aims to do so—she has a ton of defensive bonuses that make it very hard for giants to hit her (a bonus from their size differential, a +4 racial bonus, the bonus from Crafty Fighter, and so on), so if she can play at being innocent while dodging away and fast-talking her way out of the problem, that's best for her. (Her Fast Movement and Improved Mobility abilities make it easy for her to get out of range of a full attack, as well.) At times, though, she needs to defend herself with force. Underfoot Combat allows her to enter a giant's space without taking an attack of opportunity, and Confound the Big Folk makes them flat-footed when she does so. Since they're flat-footed, they're vulnerable to her Iaijutsu Focus skill (made possible by her gnomish quickrazors). Between Iaijutsu Focus and Favored Enemy: Giant, she can actually bring a fair bit of pain to a giant who crosses swords with her. She isn't likely to take them down in a single round, but with all of her defensive bonuses in play, she can almost certainly outlast them. If she has trouble hitting, she can use her inspiration points to add her INT to her attack rolls, though overall, it isn't too hard to hit consistently flat-footed AC when you have as much of a size differential as Jagt enjoys. If a giant decides to use the time-honored tactic of throwing a rock at her, she can send it right back with Return Shot, usually accompanied with a Bluff to the extent of “you know that giants can catch rocks you throw at them! What did you expect, throwing a rock at a fellow giant?” (Return Shot works on projectiles up to one size category larger than you are, and MM1 pg. 119 specifies that Large giants throw Small rocks and Huge giants throw Medium rocks, so that's absolutely within the limit.)

As I said, Jagt plays the long game. Once she has torn apart a tribe of giants from the inside, she hunts down the scattered members one by one if the circumstances are right for it; if not, she simply moves on to the next tribe of giants, assumes a new identity, and starts the process anew.

Odds and Ends:

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Mimic, which Jagt gets from her Rogue levels, is unlikely to stack with Change Shape, but it's not totally useless to have around, and it's more useful to her than Trapfinding. Her level of Marshal allows her to double up on her Charisma bonus, and more importantly, it's instrumental in getting Confound the Big Folk online as soon as possible. Exemplar makes Jagt even better at disguising herself (it is her most important skill, after all), and it allows her to take 10 on her favorite skills even when circumstances conspire against her.

Wish List and Accessories:

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Since Jagt relies very heavily on CHA-based skills, anything that makes those skills better is going to be very valuable for her. This can be as simple as a Cloak of Charisma (which is literally doubly valuable in her case, since her Motivate Charisma aura doubles the effectiveness her CHA has on her skills), or it might be something like a Circlet of Persuasion or an Admiral's Bicorne. Although she doesn't like having to rely on her quickrazors to get her out of trouble, it's not a bad idea for her to make sure that they're as magical as she can safely afford. Basic defensive items, like magical armor and a Cloak of Resistance, are as useful to Jagt as they are to everyone else. On a mundane front, a simple disguise kit is worth a +2 to her most important skill, and every +2 counts.

If flaws are allowed, Skill Focus: Disguise is certainly useful, and Psionic Meditation can make Return Shot more reliable, but Jagt functions pretty well as she is.

Sources:

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Gnome Giant Slayer: Complete Warrior
Gnome Quickrazors: Races of Stone
Iaijutsu Focus: Oriental Adventures
Mimic: Exemplars of Evil
Factotum: Dungeonscape
Psion, Psionic Shot, Fell Shot, Return Shot: Expanded Psionics Handbook
Shapechanging Egoist: Mind's Eye
Martial Rogue: Unearthed Arcana
Marshal: Miniatures Handbook

[Heliomance]

Fair bit of poetry this round.

Jack Sprat

N Whisper Gnome Warblade 5/Avenging Executioner 4/Gnome Giant-Slayer 6/Warblade 6/Gnome Giant-Slayer 10
Stats

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Str 14 (16) (all other increases here)
Dex 14 (12)
Con 14 (12)
Int 15 (first increase here)
Wis 10
Cha 10 (12)

Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Warblade 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Concentration 4, Escape Artist 2(4), Hide 2(4), Intimidate 4, Move Silently 2(4), Tumble 4	Midnight Dodge	Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude
2nd	Warblade 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Concentration 5, Escape Artist 2.5 (1), Hide 2.5 (1), Intimidate 5, Move Silently 2.5(1), Tumble 5		Uncanny Dodge
3rd	Warblade 3	+3	+3	+1	+1	Concentration 6, Escape Artist 3 (1), Hide 3 (1), Intimidate 6, Move Silently 3 (1), Tumble 6	Mobility	Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)
4th	Warblade 4	+4	+4	+1	+1	Concentration 7, Hide 3.5 (1), Intimidate 7, Jump 2, Move Silently 3.5 (1), Tumble 7
5th	Warblade 5	+5	+4	+1	+1	Concentration 8, Hide 4 (1), Intimidate 8, Jump 4, Move Silently 4 (1), Tumble 8	(B) Improved Initiative	Bonus Feat
6th	Avenging Executioner 1	+5	+4	+3	+3	Balance 5, Concentration 9, Intimidate 9, Jump 5, Tumble 9	Martial Study (Action Before Thought)	Bloody Blade, Sudden Strike +1d6
7th	Avenging Executioner 2	+6/+1	+4	+4	+4	Concentration 10, Hide 7, Intimidate 10, Move Silently 7, Tumble 10		Rapid Intimidation
8th	Avenging Executioner 3	+7/+2	+5	+4	+4	Concentration 11, Hide 10, Intimidate 11, Move Silently 10, Tumble 11		Sudden Strike +2d6
9th	Avenging Executioner 4	+8/+3	+5	+5	+5	Concentration 12, Hide 12, Intimidate 12, Jump 7, Move Silently 12, Tumble 12	Spring Attack	Dread Blade
10th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 1	+9/+4	+7	+5	+5	Concentration 13, Hide 13, Intimidate 13, Move Silently 13, Tumble 13		Favored Enemy (Giant) +2
11th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 2	+10/+5	+8	+5	+5	Concentration 14, Hide 14, Intimidate 14, Move Silently 14, Tumble 14		Crafty Fighter
12th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 3	+11/+6/+1	+8	+6	+6	Concentration 15, Hide 15, Intimidate 15, Move Silently 15, Tumble 15	Craven	Slippery
13th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 4	+12/+7/+2	+9	+6	+6	Concentration 16, Hide 16, Intimidate 16, Jump 8, Move Silently 16		Favored Enemy (Giant) +4
14th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 5	+13/+8/+3	+9	+6	+6	Concentration 17, Hide 17, Intimidate 17, Jump 9, Move Silently 17		Close Shot
15th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 6	+14/+9/+4	+10	+7	+7	Concentration 18, Hide 18, Intimidate 18, Jump 10, Move Silently 18	Underfoot Combat	Fast Movement
16th	Warblade 6	+15/+10/+5	+11	+8	+8	Concentration 19, Intimidate 19, Jump 15		Improved Uncanny Dodge
17th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 7	+16/+11/+6/+1	+11	+8	+8	Concentration 20, Hide 19, Intimidate 20, Move Silently 20		Favored Enemy (Giant) +6
18th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 8	+17/+12/+7/+2	+12	+8	+8	Concentration 21, Hide 21, Intimidate 21, Move Silently 21	Confound the Big Folk	Improved Mobility
19th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 9	+18/+13/+8/+3	+12	+9	+9	Concentration 22, Hide 22, Intimidate 22, Jump 14, Move Silently 22		Annoying Strike
20th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 10	+19/+14/+9/+4	+13	+9	+9	Concentration 23, Hide 23, Intimidate 23, Jump 15, Move Silently 23		Favored Enemy (Giant) +8, Defensive Roll

Maneuvers

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Warblade 1: Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Sapphire Nightmare Blade. Punishing Stance (stance), 3 readied
Warblade 2: Moment of Perfect Mind
Warblade 3: Wall of Blades
Warblade 4: Wolf Fang Strike->Rabid Wolf Strike (retrain), Hunter’s Sense (stance), 4 readied
Warblade 5: Iron Heart Surge
Warblade 6 on: Rabid Wolf Strike-> Wolf Climbs the Mountain (retrain), Action Before Thought (from Martial Study)

Backstory

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Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean.
And so between them both, you see, they licked the platter clean.

Jack Sprat, who soon begat a son and daughter fine.
Learned fast to defend home and hearth, with family on the line.

Jack Sprat, no diplomat, trained to defend his town.
He learned to fight with sword and shield, and earned no small renown.

Jack Sprat had war down pat, he fought both large and small.
But even he was not prepared when giants came for all.

Jack Sprat, the acrobat dodged, slashed, leapt, bobbed and weaved.
He tried his best but soon before him saw his townsmen cleaved.

Jack Sprat went nearly splat but fled, his body whole.
He swore a bloody, vengeful pact; the same not true his soul.

Jack Sprat fought like hellcat, he hunted down the large.
For other targets money needed; them, he said “No charge.”

Jack Sprat, who loved combat, killed giants just for thrill.
And to this day you'll hear him say say he’ll never have his fill.

Level 5

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Warblade is an excellent way to start a build. Skill points, lots of health, full BA, and something to do with points in Int. Whisper Gnome is the best of gnomes: 30 ft speed, good skill bonuses, and SLAs you will easily find ways to use every day, especially silence and ghost sound.

Feats right now are going toward the SI. I chose Midnight Dodge because normal Dodge is a bit dull. Remember all your dodge bonuses stack, this will come up later. Warblade’s bonus feat from the list is Improved Initiative, which is always appreciated, and increases the chance you can get sudden strike damage in the first round (remember characters are flatfooted until they act); strike first, strike last.

As for maneuvers, Sudden Leap is tactical teleportation, especially since you have good mod on tumble. Sapphire Nightmare Blade is most important for rendering flatfooted, meaning sudden strike damage. Wall of Blades negates attacks by attacking them, great with your full BA and it applies to everything that makes a roll, even rays. Iron Heart Surge is the classic status-ender, adding a lot of endurance to the character. Moment of Perfect Mind props up your Will saves by replacing them with Concentration.
Punishing Stance is only a sometimes stance, but more damage is more damage, and it can make all the difference at early levels, when it’s like having slightly better Shock Trooper. Hunter’s Sense, your other stance, is never bad, as scent is good for anti-sneak (and invisibility) measures.

Level 10

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Now things begin to get interesting. Avenging Executioner is a way to really add some bite to fighting giants. Bloody Blade targets Will Saves, which are poor in giants and always a good target. Sudden strike, sneak attack’s cousin, simply applies whenever the target does not have their Dex to AC. It becomes really useful when Dread Blade lets you treat shaken creatures as flatfooted for sudden strike, which means it will happen a lot, and once you land a hit you can keep the cycle going. If your groove gets thrown off you can use Rapid Intimidation to get back on track and make a strike in the same round, which if they fail the save means they get kicked up to frightened and can start fleeing. See if Bloody Blade can stack up with itself. If it can, the multiple round duration means you can jack up enemies to panicked, at which point you've essentially won.

A little clause that’s easy to miss says you can apply your Favored Enemy bonus to Intimidate checks, which is great since the SI gives you FE (giants). This means you can negate the irritating penalty for intimidating enemies larger than you, which is supremely fitting for a Gnome Giant Slayer, who should be able to strike fear into their quarry.

I hear you asking, “Why didn't you finish Avenging Executioner?” The answer is that the last level doesn't give a lot. Bloody murder won’t come up that much, and another level of Warblade gives another point of BA and the ability to trade in for a maneuver of higher level, which wins over one more die of sudden strike. Plus it means you can enter the SI sooner.

Martial Study serves two purposes, the first is to gain another maneuver, Action Before Thought, which replaces a Ref save with Concentration. The second is to make Concentration a class skill for the rest of the build, allowing you to keep Diamond Mind maneuvers with a high rate of success.

First level of Gnome Giant Slayer gives Favored Enemy (giant), of which the most interesting aspects are the damage bonus and indirectly the bonus to Intimidate. But hey, bonus to Spot and Listen is always useful, it helps cover your skills which are mostly tied up. In case you were wondering, speaking Giant was coming from the Int bonus, Giant is among the bonus languages for gnome.

Skills are going in a number of places, Intimidate to keep it useful, Tumble for moving around, sneak skills for sneaking (if the enemy cannot detect you he is flatfooted), and Concentration to keep Diamond Mind maneuvers useful.

Level 15

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More levels of the SI under the belt, so now some tricks start working. Crafty Fighter stacks for moar AC, and notably applies to non-giants as well. Uncanny Dodge means that you can’t lose your Dex to AC, which means you also can’t lose this bonus, or any of your dodge bonuses for that matter. Slippery helps escape grapples, which is very good, because you don’t want to be there. You’re better off using your grapple mod, since decent strength and high BA make for a good mod, even better with the bonus from the SI. Moving through your enemies opens up a lot of space on the battlefield (remember giants take up lots of space) and your tumble mod is good, so feel free to tumble through their spaces (or not once Underfoot Combat kicks in). Fast movement means higher bonus to sudden leap, so better “teleport.”

Close Shot deserves a brief discussion of its own. It negates AoOs for using ranged weapons, which is very useful. This raises a question, which is what happens if you use a whip or whip-dagger. They provoke AoOs just like ranged weapons (due to their previous status as ranged weapons), so might be affected by this. If so, the whip-dagger becomes a viable strategy worth investing a feat in proficiency, as the reach is large and allows for Bloody Blade to trigger all over the place. I have constructed the build under the assumption that it will not, which is fine. You can just use normal ranged weapons like longbows (which the SI gives proficiency with); trick arrows like the ones that cause small explosions might be enough to cause a distraction and thus allow you to hide. You can also just use the bow for normal bow stuff, which becomes more useful later.

At this point your AC vs a giant you’re fighting is potentially as high as armor +1(Small) +4(racial) +1(midnight dodge) +4(Crafty Fighter) +2(Dex) +2(cover) +4(Mobility), a grand total of 18 above your armor, which is very nice. If you’re not trying your hardest, it’s still 11 above your armor, still nice. Note that everything you have only restricts you to medium armor, so that’s a few more points above your average sneak, and there are many ways to negate the small ACP.

Craven is a must-have for anyone with precision damage, and really adds a punch to your sudden strike. Now giants really have a reason to be afraid. As per the rules for sudden strike, you can use it to qualify for any feat that calls for sneak attack. Underfoot Combat is partially for its own benefit and partially for the next feat. It’s similar to Slippery, but a careful reading shows 2 differences, the first being it lets you move into the space of a Large+ enemy, and the second being negating AoOs for movement, so it dovetails nicely with the SI there.

Level 20

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Finished the SI, and an extra warblade level for some fun. We’ll address that first. The main benefit of this level is trading in Rabid Wolf Strike (which serves its purpose of extra damage fine until now) for Wolf Climbs the Mountain. It deals bonus damage, puts you in the enemy’s space, provokes no AoO, and sets you up for Confound the Big Folk. A final note on its use is gaining cover from being in an enemy’s space (note that it The bonus to armor is great, but there’s another important thing. You know what you can do in cover? Hide. As long as you can provide a momentary distraction (like with your ghost sound SLA) you can suddenly hide, and use that to reposition or sudden strike someone.

Back to the SI. Improved Mobility improves your AC bonus above to armor +22, which is very nice, an important update in the face of rising enemy to-hit bonuses. Annoying Strike is just plain hilarious. Any time you damage a giant in melee the giant is shaken, thus susceptible to sudden strike. No save, no nonsense, just shaken. Importantly, this is not a fear effect or a mind affecting affect, unlike Bloody Blade, which means no negating it. This means sudden strike will basically apply to every attack you make against giants, and that 2d6+20 adds up quickly, especially with all your iteratives from near full BA and bonus damage from favored enemy. Defensive roll is an odd duck as far as capstones go, but not without use. Again, because you cannot be denied Dex to AC, you can always use the ability. At this point Action Before Thought really earns its place. Your modifier from Concentration is nice and high so you’re usually better off using that. You likely can’t add your class level to this check, but if you can it will make the class feature go much farther. That being said your normal reflex save can be nearly as high, especially with the bonus from cover. The class feature denies use of evasion, so it might not allow you to apply battle clarity to it, but it’s worth asking. Don’t worry about saving it too much, it’s more situational DR than it is last minute trump card.

In the feats category we bring in Confound the Big Folk, which is all kinds of useful, since it’s a tactical feat; the first two uses are the really useful ones. Knee Striker lets you treat a foe as flatfooted after entering his square (as with Wolf Climbs the Mountain, or just by walking in with no AoO from Underfoot Combat) and so serves as another means of entering the perpetual sudden strike machine. Underfoot Defense is a highly useful attack strategy, fighting defensively is a relatively small investment that you can afford, and with 5 ranks in tumble you nearly make back your investment in yet another dodge bonus. Your reward for fighting defensively is that attacks have a 50% chance of hitting your enemy instead of you. Note this isn’t attacks that miss you, this is just any attack made against you. It is here that bow work becomes more useful, as you can remain in your safe nest under your foe while you attack others. Investing in a reach weapon like a duom is a good idea as well. Obviously this isn’t a plan for all situations, but you have other strategies for those, and this is too hilarious not to pass up when you can.

Sources

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Warblade, Martial Study: Tome of Battle
Avenging Executioner: Complete Scoundrel
Midnight Dodge: Magic of Incarnum
Mobility, Spring Attack: srd
Craven: Champions of Ruin
Underfoot Combat, Confound the Big Folk: Races of the Wild

[Heliomance]

That does not sound like a fun job

The Piss Boy
Stonehunter Gnome
Lawful Neutral
Ranger 1/Hexblade 4/Avenging Executioner 2/Gnome Giant Slayer 10/Avenging Executioner +3

Spoiler: Story

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He swished his mop back and forth across the floor. The room was mostly clean now, deep into the night, after the party had concluded and everyone in the castle was lost to slumber. Well, everyone but he guards. And himself, of course.

The giants had taken power in the region long ago. They held rule with an iron fist, maintaining order with cruel violence. They belittled, they battered, they tortured anyone who refused to submit to their strength. And so they held the kingdom by their code, with those of greater size holding higher stature.

He stopped at a window, leaning against his mop as he looked out into the darkness of the night, gazing back into the depths of time. He could remember clearly that night, his first night of servitude, when he was made to hold the bucket at a ball. The Piss Boy, they'd called him. Ogres, hill giants, and trolls alike had called him forth and he'd been expected to hold that bucket aloft for the post-mead unleashings. With his size, he'd stand underneath kilts or skirts, shifting left and right as drunkards showed their lack of aim. And, after the party had ended, he'd would dutifully get his mop and clean up any splashings and spills.

And so he had done for years.

He focused his gaze, bringing his mind back to the present. Out there, somewhere, in the darkness, a resistance was forming. Or so he'd heard. The little folk were massing -- his fellow gnomes, halflings, even some dwarves. The Knee-High Resistance, gathering in secret meetings, preparing to overthrow their humungous despots.

With a sigh, he looked back over the grand hall. The floor was still slick with soap-water and reflected the soft glow of the candles of the chandeliers above. He leaned down, fingers slipping into his mop bucket, feeling the firm handle of the knife he'd swiped from the kitchens. The table knife of a giant was as a dagger to him, and its presence reassured him, reminded him of his plan, told his heart stories of daring glory to be had beyond the walls. He would leave this place, violently if need be, and venture forth into the land beyond the castle walls.

He would find the Knee-High Resistance, join, and lead them all back here. And in these halls, he would find his revenge for a life looked down on!

Spoiler: Stats

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Str 14 -2 12
Con 14 +2 16
Dex 14 -- 14
Int 14 -- 14
Wis 10 -- 10
Cha 14 -- 14

Increases: 4th (Cha); 8th (Cha); 12th (Cha); 16th (Cha); 20th (Cha)

Spoiler: Build Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Gnome Ranger 1	+1	+2	+2	+0	4 Climb 4 Hide 4 Knowledge: Nature 4 Listen 4 Move Silently 4 Tumble (via Skilled City-Dweller) 4 Spot 4 Survival	1st: Dodge; B: Track	Favored Enemy (Giant) +3; Wild Empathy
2nd	Hexblade 1	+2	+2	+2	+2	4 Climb 4 Hide 4 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 4 Listen 4 Move Silently 4 Tumble 4 Spot 4 Survival	--	Hexblade's Curse 1/day
3rd	Hexblade 2	+3	+2	+2	+3	2 Bluff 4 Climb 4 Hide 6 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 4 Listen 4 Move Silently 4 Tumble 4 Spot 4 Survival	3rd: Mobility	Arcane Resistance
4th	Hexblade 3	+4	+3	+3	+3	5 Bluff 4 Climb 4 Hide 7 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 4 Listen 4 Move Silently 4 Tumble 4 Spot 4 Survival	--	Mettle
5th	Hexblade 4	+5	+3	+3	+4	5 Bluff 4 Climb 4 Hide 8 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 4 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 4 Spot 5 Survival	--	Dark Companion
6th	Avenging Executioner 1	+5	+3	+5	+6	5 Bluff 4 Climb 5 Escape Artist 4 Hide 9 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 4 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 4 Spot 6 Survival	6th: Spring Attack	Bloody Blade; Sudden Strike +1d6
7th	Avenging Executioner 2	+6/1	+3	+6	+7	5 Bluff 5 Climb 5 Escape Artist 4 Hide 10 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 7 Survival 2 Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Rapid Intimidation
8th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 1	+7/2	+5	+6	+7	5 Bluff 5 Climb 6 Escape Artist 4 Hide 11 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 8 Survival Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Favored Enemy (Giant) +5
9th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 2	+8/3	+6	+6	+7	5 Bluff 5 Climb 7 Escape Artist 4 Hide 12 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 9 Survival Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	9th: Imperious Command	Crafty Fighter
10th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 3	+9/4	+6	+7	+8	5 Bluff 5 Climb 8 Escape Artist 4 Hide 13 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 9 Survival 2 Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Slippery
11th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 4	+10/5	+7	+7	+8	5 Bluff 5 Climb 9 Escape Artist 4 Hide 14 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 9 Survival 2 Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Favored Enemy (Giant) +7
12th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 5	+11/6/1	+7	+7	+8	5 Bluff 5 Climb 10 Escape Artist 4 Hide 15 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 10 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	12th: Frightful Presence	Close Shot
13th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 6	+12/7/2	+8	+8	+9	5 Bluff 5 Climb 11 Escape Artist 4 Hide 16 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 11 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Fast Movement
14th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 7	+13/8/3	+8	+8	+9	5 Bluff 5 Climb 12 Escape Artist 4 Hide 17 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 12 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Favored Enemy (Giant) +9
15th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 8	+14/9/4	+9	+8	+9	5 Bluff 5 Climb 13 Escape Artist 4 Hide 18 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 13 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	15th: Arterial Strike	Improved Mobility
16th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 9	+15/10/5	+9	+9	+10	5 Bluff 5 Climb 14 Escape Artist 4 Hide 19 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 14 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Annoying Strike
17th	Gnome Giant-Slayer 10	+16/11/6/1	+10	+9	+10	5 Bluff 5 Climb 15 Escape Artist 4 Hide 20 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 15 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Favored Enemy (Giant) +11; Defensive Roll
18th	Avenging Executioner 3	+17/12/7/2	+11	+9	+10	5 Bluff 5 Climb 20 Escape Artist 4 Hide 21 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 5 Tumble 5 Spot 16 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	18th: Bounding Assault	Sudden Strike +2d6
19th	Avenging Executioner 4	+18/13/8/3	+11	+10	+11	5 Bluff 5 Climb 22 Escape Artist 4 Hide 22 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 1 Open Lock 5 Tumble 5 Spot 18 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Dread Blade
20th	Avenging Executioner 5	+18/13/8/3	+11	+10	+11	5 Bluff 5 Climb 23 Escape Artist 4 Hide 23 Intimidate 4 Knowledge: Nature 5 Listen 4 Move Silently 1 Open Lock 5 Tumble 5 Spot 21 Survival Skill Trick: Easy Escape Skill Trick: Escape Attack Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	--	Bloody Murder; Sudden Strike +3d6

Spoiler: 5th

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Full BAB character here with a few little goodies. Arcane Resistance and Mettle are nice to have on any character, really. One Hexblade spell per day doesn't seem like much (because it isn't, really), but having levels in both Hexblade and Ranger opens PB to being able to use wands from both classes (which can be quite beneficial).
Favored Enemy: Giants is a precursor for what lies ahead.

Spoiler: 10th

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FE get a bit of a boost from GGS, and has another utility: Tickletoes can add his FE bonus to intimidate checks to demoralize giants via Avenging Executioner's Rapid Intimidation. This'll help to offset the size penalty to demoralize giants. With Imperious Command and Never Outnumbered, PB can spook a few big guys, which opens up Sudden Strike and Bloody Blade (which'll only freak 'em out more).

Slippery and Escape Attack come at the same level. If grappled, PB can attempt to escape using Slippery, which would set off Escape Attack, which would be a Sudden Strike attack, which would set off Bloody Blade. He could then follow that up with a move action to demoralize.

Spoiler: Sweet 16

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Annoying Strike is really more than just an annoyance! Starting from being grappled, PB can attempt an Escape Artist check (aided by Slipperyand Easy Escape) then attack (via Escape Attack) causing Annoying Strike to make the giant shaken. Frightful Presence and Bloody Blade (if a lower HD enemy) stack their effects onto the fear and effect everyone in radius. Demoralize after that (with Never Outnumbered and Imperious Command) and many giants will be in need of their own mops!

Is it all fool-proof? Will everyone be cowering? No. Frightful Presence won't affect everyone. Some might save against Bloody Blade. Others might beat the Intimidate check. Enter Spring Attack. PB can rush after giants fleeing around the battle field and attack (hopefully setting off more Bloody Blade issues for those that saved against it before), then move on to a position on the battle field to block exits. Add in a bit (or a lot) of Arterial Strike and PB gets the satisfaction of watching his enemies run around in terror literally bleeding to death.

Spoiler: 20th

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More of the same, really. Dread Blade makes the shaken/frightened/panicked condition of PB's enemies more deadly (setting off more and more Arterial Strikes) and Bloody Murder sparks more fear after a coup de grace (from cowering foes).

Spoiler: Resources

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Stonehunter Gnome -- Dragon Magic
Gnome Ranger Racial Substitution -- Races of Stone
Skilled City-Dweller -- Cityscape Web Enhancement
Hexblade -- Complete Warrior
Dark Companion Hexblade (4th level) -- Player's Handbook II
Avenging Executioner -- Complete Scoundrel
Imperious Command feat -- Drow of the Underdark
Frightful Presence feat -- Draconomicon
Arterial Strike feat -- Complete Warrior
Bounding Assault feat -- Player's Handbook II

[Heliomance]

They kin take oor lives, but they kin never take OOR TROOSERS!

Gronk the Runt

Spoiler: backgrouknd

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It's rough beikng raised amokng giaknts, whekn you're smaller aknd weaker thakn everyokne else. It's knot Gronk's fault that his father was humakn. It's knot his fault that his mother was a throwback to the earlier days of the giaknt empire. But that knever stopped akny of the other giaknt childrekn (all of them at least twice his size) from pickikng okn him. That leaves scars, both physical aknd emotioknal. Scars eknough for a persokn to reject his borkn heritage, aknd seek out aknother. Scars eknough to reject that bigger is always better. Aknd know, they will all pay. Oh, yes, they will.

Spoiler: build

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Primordial half-giant factotum 2 / stokneblessed 3 / factotum +1 / psychic warrior 1 / swordsage 2 / knome giaknt slayer 10
Str 6 (0 pts -2 racial)
Dex 14 (10 pts -2 racial)
Con 14 (6 pts)
Int 20 (10 pts +4 racial) plus level-up poiknts
Wis 14 (6 pts)
Cha 12 (0 pts +4 racial)

ECL	Class	Base Attack Boknus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	LA	+0	+0	+0	+0			Low-light vision, +2 saves vs. fire, powerful build, 2 power points, Stomp 1/day, Invisibility at-will, +1 CL on spell-like abilities, Knowledge (Nature) as a class skill, +2 Spellcraft and UMD
2nd	Factotum 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 4, Jump 4, Concentration 4, Escape Artist 4, Tumble 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Search 4, Open Lock 4, Disable Device 4	Dodge	Inspiration (2), Cunning Insight, Cunning Knowledge, Trapfinding
3rd	Factotum 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 5, Concentration 5, Escape Artist 5, Tumble 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Search 5, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 5, Knowledge: Nature 1		Arcane Dilettante (1 spell, 0 level), Inspiration (3)
4th	Stoneblessed 1	+1	+2	+3	+0	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 6, Concentration 5, Escape Artist 5, Tumble 5, Hide 6, Move Silently 5, Search 6, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 6, Knowledge: Nature 2	Weapon Finesse	Stonebond (gnome)
5th	Stoneblessed 2	+2	+3	+3	+0	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 7, Concentration 5, Escape Artist 5, Tumble 5, Hide 7, Move Silently 5, Search 7, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 7, Knowledge: Nature 3		Racial battle technique (+4 AC vs. giants, +1 attack vs. goblins and kobolds)
6th	Stoneblessed 3	+3	+3	+4	+1	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 8, Concentration 5, Escape Artist 5, Tumble 5, Hide 8, Move Silently 5, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 4		Stoneborn: +2 Con, counts as gnome, Speak with Animals 1/day
7th	Unarmed Swordsage 1	+3	+3	+6	+3	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 9, Concentration 9, Escape Artist 5, Tumble 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 6, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 4	Mobility, Improved Unarmed Strike	Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus, 6 maneuvers, 1 stance
8th	Swordsage 2	+4	+3	+7	+4	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 10, Concentration 10, Escape Artist 5, Tumble 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 7		AC bonus, 7 maneuvers, 2 stances
9th	Factotum 3	+5	+4	+7	+5	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 11, Concentration 11, Escape Artist 11, Tumble 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 8		Brains over Brawn, Cunning Defense, 1st-level spell
10th	Psychic Warrior 1	+5	+6	+7	+5	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 12, Concentration 12, Escape Artist 12, Tumble 11, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 12	Spring Attack, Craven	+1 power point, 1 power known
11th	Gnome Giant Slayer 1	+6	+8	+7	+5	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 13, Concentration 12, Escape Artist 13, Tumble 13, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 12		Favored Enemy (Giant) +2
12th	Gnome Giant Slayer 2	+7	+9	+7	+5	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 14, Concentration 14, Escape Artist 14, Tumble 14, Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 13		Crafty Fighter
13th	Gnome Giant Slayer 3	+8	+9	+8	+6	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 15, Concentration 15, Escape Artist 15, Tumble 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 14	Underfoot Combat	Slippery
14th	Gnome Giant Slayer 4	+9	+10	+8	+6	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 16, Concentration 16, Escape Artist 16, Tumble 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 15		Favored Enemy (Giant) +4
15th	Gnome Giant Slayer 5	+10	+10	+8	+6	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 17, Concentration 17, Escape Artist 17, Tumble 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 16		Close Shot
16th	Gnome Giant Slayer 6	+11	+11	+9	+7	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 18, Concentration 18, Escape Artist 18, Tumble 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 17	Confound the Big Folk	Fast Movement
17th	Gnome Giant Slayer 7	+12	+11	+9	+7	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 19, Concentration 19, Escape Artist 19, Tumble 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 19		Favored Enemy (Giant) +6
18th	Gnome Giant Slayer 8	+13	+12	+9	+7	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 20, Concentration 20, Escape Artist 20, Tumble 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 20, Listen 1		Improved Mobility
19th	Gnome Giant Slayer 9	+14	+12	+10	+8	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 21, Concentration 21, Escape Artist 21, Tumble 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 21, Listen 2	Combat Expertise	Annoying Strike
20th	Gnome Giant Slayer 10	+15	+13	+10	+8	Speak Language: Gnome, Speak Language: Terran, Appraise 2, Craft (stone) 5, Jump 22, Concentration 22, Escape Artist 22, Tumble 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Search 8, Open Lock 5, Disable Device 8, Knowledge: Nature 22, Listen 3		Favored Enemy (Giant) +8, Defensive Roll

Power known: Psionic Lion's Charge
Maneuvers known: Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Moment of Perfect Mind, Emerald Razor, Mountain Hammer, Child of Shadow
Soaring Raptor Strike, Assassin's Stance

Spoiler: ikn actiokn

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As sookn as he cakn afford it (910 GP), Gronk will purchase a castikng of Returkn to Knature, which will iknstakntakneously reduce his size to Small, aknd give him a +2 size boknus to Dex, aknd a -2 size peknalty to Strekngth (though his Powerful Build meakns that he will still couknt as Medium whekn advakntageous). This spell cakn arguably stack multiple times; if this is allowed, he will also purchase three more castikngs, reducikng him to Fikne. This will result ikn all of his abilities based okn oppokneknts beikng larger thakn him workikng agaiknst almost all oppokneknts.

The first few levels will be rough— Gronk's LA will especially hurt him early okn, aknd ukntil he gets Weapokn Fiknesse at ECL 4, he's goikng to be useless with aknythikng but raknged weapokns. Okn the other haknd, at-will iknvisibility from the Primordial Giaknt template aknd factotum levels will make him a competeknt skillmoknkey.

Oknce he gaikns swordsage makneuvers at ECL 7 aknd 8, combat optiokns start to opekn up. His knatural power poiknts from Half-Giaknt eknable him to psioknically focus, which he cakn expeknd to take 15 okn cokncekntratiokn checks with diamoknd miknd makneuvers. Assassikn's Staknce gives him Skneak Attack, which is greatly eknhaknced by the Cravekn feat at ECL 10. Braikns over Brawkn makes him competeknt at trippikng aknd quite good at Dex-based skills. He cakn also at this level routiknely move aknd make multiple attacks ikn the same rouknd, betweekn Psioknic Liokn's Charge, Suddekn Leap, aknd Wolf Fakng Strike.

By ECL 16, he's picked up the key feats Uknderfoot Fightikng aknd Coknfouknd the Big Folk. A typical combat at this poiknt will start with him movikng iknto akn oppokneknt's space (from akn ikncreased distaknce, due to his speed), usikng okne attack to trip them usikng Dex aknd Iknt, followed by the rest of his attacks agaiknst their flatfooted AC (thus gaiknikng Skneak Attack). Okn subsequeknt rouknds, he will 5' step iknto aknother okne of his eknemy's squares aknd repeat.

ECL 20 plays ikn much the same way, except that know he cakn also trigger the Uknderfoot Defeknse (makikng eknemies oftekn hit his target iknstead of him) tactic by takikng a mere -1 peknalty to hit via Combat Expertise.

If LA buyoff is allowed, Gronk cakn at this poiknt take okne more level. This would be a secoknd level of Psychic Warrior, takikng Improved Trip as his feat, aknd Skate as his secoknd power knowkn.

Spoiler: sources

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Core (Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse, Combat Expertise)
Expanded Psionics Handbook (Half-Giant, Psychic Warrior)
Secrets of Xen'drik (Primordial Giant template)
Eberron Campaign Setting (Return to Nature)
Complete Warrior (Gnome Giant Slayer)
Dungeonscape (Factotum)
Races of Stone (Stoneblessed)
Races of the Wild (Underfoot Fighting, Confound the Big Folk)
Champions of Ruin (Craven)

[Heliomance]

That's your lot! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get up...

[Sian]

The idea i was looking at, but couldn't get to fit was Swashbuckler 1 / Barbarian 2 / Fighter 2 / Dervish 5 / GGS 10, with Wolf Totem (for Improved Trip), Whirling Frenzy and Darksong Knight (for having Preform as a class skill on Fighter 2).

But i just couldn't get the fluff to fit, specially the Swashbuckler vs Barbarian parts and the fact that the character would have had to hang around Eilistraee worshipping Drows (for Darksong Knight), nor did I get around taking the time to sit down working it through, although i had already asked the Chair if Extra Rage would work on Whirling Frenzy (which it would have had).

[Chronos]

That's, what, fifteen entries? What's the record for an Iron Chef?