Villainous Competition X: Henchman are Villains too

[Korahir]

Welcome to Round 10 of the Villainous Competition!

Previous Competitions
Round One: Leader of Armies
Round Two: Nature's Revenger
Round Three: Double Agent
Round Four: Grave Keeper
Round Five: Crime Lord
Round Six: Ultimate Predator
Round Seven: Wicked Witch
Round Eight: Master of the Tundra
Round Nine: The Power of Villainous Thinking


We're a little different than most of the optimization threads. We run on CR instead of ECL.

Contestants: You will need to present a write-up of your build with at least one of the following points: 5 CR, 10 CR 15 CR, 20 CR, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build, as well as presenting a fully-fleshed out 20 CR build in the table below. Feel free to present as many of these as you like, and please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability at all of the levels you didn't show. The rules are as follows:

Secret Laboratory: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see Elegance below. Web-exclusive 3.0 or 3.5 materials by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Item Familiars and Taint are also banned from the competition. We don’t want to make this too easy, do we?

Some monstrous characters can technically qualify for Epic feats as soon as their ECL is over 20. While regular Epic feats will be allowed, Epic Spellcasting and all other Epic feats that affect spells, psionic powers, or item creation are not permitted. Including these would give an unfair advantage over standard characters. For Incarnum characters, Epic Open Chakra feats are allowed; other Epic Incarnum feats are not. The Essentia Capacity increases for Epic capacity as described on p. 212. For all characters, please note that Racial Hitdice do not count towards Epic Progression; use the regular progression even if the BAB ends up higher than 20.

Contestants will have until 23:59 GMT Friday March 4th to create their builds and PM them to the Supreme Chancellor (short time replacement Korahir). Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 23:59 GMT Friday March 25th to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

Judging: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Build Elegance, Competence and Power, Memorable Villainy.

Keep these questions in mind when judging each category:
Originality - Is it unexpected?
Build Elegance - Is it mechanically pretty?
Competence and Power - Can it do what the concept asks of it? Is this a powerfully-built character?
Memorable Villainy - Is this a villain with style? Will it be the minion that outshines the BBEG?

Build Elegance: Builds that are fully monstrous are usually allowed at no penalty, but see limitations for this round specifically.

All class levels are to be added on as associated class levels.

Amount of sources can be penalized, but obscurity of sources should not be penalized. Count the three Core books as one source. Unearthed Arcana can be penalized for elegance if the specific feature seems unnecessary or makes the playing field unfair (In this case, you can give a 0 if it makes the field unfair.)
Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. As the Iron Chef competition states, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.


Presentation: Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries!

Using the table below, the easiest way to use it is to go to the top left of the private message, and click the little a/A icon. It allows you to see what you're writing.
Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their entry.

Spoiler

Show

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
2nd	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
3rd	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
4th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
5th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
6th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
7th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
8th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
9th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
10th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
11th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
12th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
13th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
14th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
15th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
16th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
17th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
18th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
19th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
20th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities

Code immediately below (spoiler).

Spoiler

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[table="class: head alt1 alt2"]
[tr]
[th][B]Level[/B][/th]
[th][B]Class[/B][/th]
[th][B]Base Attack Bonus[/B][/th]
[th][B]Fort Save[/B][/th]
[th][B]Ref Save[/B][/th]
[th][B]Will Save[/B][/th]
[th][B]Skills[/B][/th]
[th][B]Feats[/B][/th]
[th][B]Class Features[/B][/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]1st[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2nd[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]3rd[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]4th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]5th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]6th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]7th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]8th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]9th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]10th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]11th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]12th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]13th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]14th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]15th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]16th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]17th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]18th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]19th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]20th[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

You can use the below table for Spells.

Spoiler

Show

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

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

Code Immediately Below,

Spoiler

Show

[B]Spells per Day/Spells Known[/B]
[B]Spells per Day/Spells Known[/B]
[table="class:head alt1 alt2"]
[tr]
[th][B]Level[/B][/th]
[th][B]0lvl[/B][/th]
[th][B]1st[/B][/th]
[th][B]2nd[/B][/th]
[th][B]3rd[/B][/th]
[th][B]4th[/B][/th]
[th][B]5th[/B][/th]
[th][B]6th[/B][/th]
[th][B]7th[/B][/th]
[th][B]8th[/B][/th]
[th][B]9th[/B][/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]1st[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2nd[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]3rd[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]4th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]5th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]6th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]7th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]8th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]9th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]10th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]11th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]12th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]13th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]14th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]15th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]16th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]17th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]18th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]19th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]20th[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[td]-[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

Speculation: Please don’t post or speculate on possible builds until the reveal, in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

Get ready to share those Evil thoughts. This edition’s villain is:

The Henchman

For the anniversary edition i picked up Dire_Stirge's suggestion for those villains, who usually don't shine: the guys in the backranks, the errant boys. In Dire_Stirge's words: antagonists who for whatever reason aren't quite the most powerful kids on the block.

Limitations:

• The character may not have more than 10 caster, manifesting or meldshaper levels. The character may have more initiator levels and there are no restrictions on truespeak characters.
• The character may only cast (or initiate) spells, powers and maneuvers of 5th level or lower. Meldshaper may only bind Soulmelds to chakras enabled in the first ten levels of the class.
• The character may not use any method to cast (or initiate) higher level spells, powers or maneuvers other than Use Magic Device or Use Psionic Device. This limitation includes possible summons, familiars, animal companions and so on.
• Base creature limitations: inherited templates maximum +2 CR, base creature max 2 CR and 4 RHD.
• The character must serve an evil Overlord, organisation or any other evil power, but must not be in any commanding position within this organisation.
• As always, must have an Evil alignment.

We will award 1st through 3rd places, and a possible Honorable Mention.


For this special henchman only: use standard array (11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10) !

Tips for submitting your entry, provided by Weaselguy:

- Use capitalization and punctuation, correctly.
- Make good use of Spoilers, for cleanliness.
- Don't forget your sources. If it's something that can be found in the contents section, then book title seems to be fine. Obscure stuff, may want to include page number too.
- DeviantArt has about 9 billion pictures that you can reference, I can almost guarantee you can find one there to fit your character.
- Make good use of tables. In addition to the Build table and the Spells table, I like doing on e for my Ability Scores, just to keep it neat.
- Do a build stub at the top of your Build Table, something like Wizard 2/Fighter 3/Abjurant Champion 5/Eldritch Knight 10

So, start your evil plotting!

To standardize Entries, please use this format when sending it in:

PM: Korahir
Subject: Villainous Competition 10, Name of your Entry

For Revisions and disputes, do the same thing. It makes it easier for me finding the entries in my mail box.

More questions? PM me with Villainous Competition 10 Questions in the header.

I hope i picked limitations you can work with. Feel free to point out blatant mistakes or possible abuses within those limitations and most important: Let's keep it nice: this is all just in good fun.

[Troacctid]

When you say "Normal array," do you mean the standard array, or the nonelite array?

[ben-zayb]

Does the minimum level adjustment include templates (ie combined LA total must be 2 or less), or does it work off CR increase?

[Troacctid]

Yeah, we haven't actually been using LA in these competitions, so I'm not sure that restriction makes sense.

[Korahir]

I meant the nonelite array and i will rewrite the LA increase to CR. Are you fine with the rest?

[Muggins]

In regards to the +2 CR, what exactly does this mean in regards to races? The passage states "may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2," but creatures (AFAIK) don't have any CR adjustments built in.

[WhamBamSam]

In regards to the +2 CR, what exactly does this mean in regards to races? The passage states "may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2," but creatures (AFAIK) don't have any CR adjustments built in.

I assume the creature+template CR can't exceed 2 before class levels, or more accurately (what with weirdness of having 1/2 or 1/3 CR or whatever before class levels), that 18 of your CR have to come from class levels.

I have some thoughts on this. We'll see if I can find time to put something together.

[JyP]

This will be fun

a few questions there :

use nonelite array (11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10) !
The nonelite array is: 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 ?

•The character cannot have more than 4 Racial Hit Dice and may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2.
I think you mean inherited templates maximum +2 CR, base creature max 2CR and 4 RHD. (to not have powerful base creatures)

We can add acquired templates as part of the build ? Becoming lycanthrope, vampire, using savage species rituals to become another monster....

•The character may not use any method to cast (or initiate) higher level spells, powers or maneuvers other than Use Magic Device or Use Psionic Device. This limitation includes possible summons, familiars, animal companions and so on.
Gaining those through class feature , spell-likes or extraordinary abilities is also a no-go then ?

[AtlasSniperman]

I've never done one of these before. Do we include both stats and character arch or just stats?

[sengmeng]

What's the goal for building a 20th level henchman? Is he supposed to be weak, so that you don't feel bad throwing ten of him at the party at once, or is he supposed to be unique dumb muscle for the big boss? I don't really get the theme here.

[Korahir]

This will be fun

a few questions there :

use nonelite array (11, 11, 11, 10, 10, 10) !
The nonelite array is: 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 ?

Sorry seems like I've used the wrong term for over a decade now. I meant the stats posted which would translate to the standard array.

•The character cannot have more than 4 Racial Hit Dice and may not have a CR adjustement via race or template(s) of more than +2.
I think you mean inherited templates maximum +2 CR, base creature max 2CR and 4 RHD. (to not have powerful base creatures)

Exactly, thanks for translating my gibberish.

We can add acquired templates as part of the build ? Becoming lycanthrope, vampire, using savage species rituals to become another monster....

Yes, I'll leave this to the judges whether they think it fits the henchman or not.

•The character may not use any method to cast (or initiate) higher level spells, powers or maneuvers other than Use Magic Device or Use Psionic Device. This limitation includes possible summons, familiars, animal companions and so on.
Gaining those through class feature , spell-likes or extraordinary abilities is also a no-go then ?

That is exactly my intention. At first I thought to ban polymorph, but I think this rule circumvents a lot of polymorph shenanigans.

What's the goal for building a 20th level henchman? Is he supposed to be weak, so that you don't feel bad throwing ten of him at the party at once, or is he supposed to be unique dumb muscle for the big boss? I don't really get the theme here.

I don't think dumb muscle is the only option. I don't want to spoil the ideas of the contestants but I think there are way more options than that.

[WeaselGuy]

So, I have an idea, but I'm not 100% on if what I build as a "Henchman" would be accurate for this competition. "Cannot hold a leadership position within the organization", would that mean basically a grunt? Or would a specialist within the ranks merit a build? Not necessarily a lieutenant or captain, but somebody that's just a cut above the general rank and file is what I have in mind.

[Korahir]

So, I have an idea, but I'm not 100% on if what I build as a "Henchman" would be accurate for this competition. "Cannot hold a leadership position within the organization", would that mean basically a grunt? Or would a specialist within the ranks merit a build? Not necessarily a lieutenant or captain, but somebody that's just a cut above the general rank and file is what I have in mind.

I'd say go with it and leave to the judges to see if they like it. I chose this restriction to exclude right hand man and second in command kind of characters.

[daremetoidareyo]

I'd say go with it and leave to the judges to see if they like it. I chose this restriction to exclude right hand man and second in command kind of characters.

Ok. Follow up question, are we to assume that all of the henchmen have roughly the same stats as the one being submitted? Like, are we crafting the rank and file soldier whereas the lieutenants and BBEG are the truly differentiated.

[AvatarVecna]

When you say "Henchman", do you mean something that could be a high-level mook, or do we have enough freedom to make what TV Tropes refers to as "The Dragon"? To give an example, if we were making a Henchman for the Star Wars universe, would we be limited to "Stormtrooper Of The Year", "The Emperor's Bodyguard", or "Darth Vader"?

[WeaselGuy]

When you say "Henchman", do you mean something that could be a high-level mook, or do we have enough freedom to make what TV Tropes refers to as "The Dragon"? To give an example, if we were making a Henchman for the Star Wars universe, would we be limited to "Stormtrooper Of The Year", "The Emperor's Bodyguard", or "Darth Vader"?

The way I'm reading this thread, it seems like we should be building something more in line with "Stormtrooper of the Year".

[Inevitability]

Am I correct if I assume there's no limit on the CR increase from acquired templates?

[Korahir]

What i was aiming for picking up the star wars theme:

stormtrooper of the year or emperor's bodyguard or specialist (boba fett)

but not: darth vader (or tv tropes the dragon) as basically the second in command.


I don't want to limit you on the mooks and bruisers, specialists are also fine. If you take a typical dungeon: everyone in the dungeon is fine as long as he is not the BBEG and not "the dragon" (tv tropes) or second in command.

I feel like my english is hitting its limits to express my thoughts. Hope you can follow.


@Dire_Stirge
You are correct. I just wanted to exclude strong base races.

[AtlasSniperman]

What i was aiming for picking up the star wars theme:

stormtrooper of the year or emperor's bodyguard or specialist (boba fett)

but not: darth vader (or tv tropes the dragon) as basically the second in command.


I don't want to limit you on the mooks and bruisers, specialists are also fine. If you take a typical dungeon: everyone in the dungeon is fine as long as he is not the BBEG and not "the dragon" (tv tropes) or second in command.

I feel like my english is hitting its limits to express my thoughts. Hope you can follow.


@Dire_Stirge
You are correct. I just wanted to exclude strong base races.

Extrapolation and repetition to explain what I think you mean by this:
Evil organizations tend to have three tiers
Leader
Henchmen
Minions

This is about Minions that have had a chance to develop; i.e. they ran away from the PC's the first couple times and have gained levels. Sadly in most cases when a minion does this they become a Henchman and gain some measure of leadership inside an evil organization. The right hand man can be reached by this survivability notion.

So what you're asking for is a minion who levels up to 20. But... wouldn't any minion who gets to the level to compete with henchmen either become a henchman or leave and start his own evil organization?

[AvatarVecna]

So not the rank and file, but not really even the lowest of the high leadership, hmm? Lieutenants and Sergeants, then...I've got a couple ideas.

[Venger]

This will be an interesting round. very thorough restrictions. down to cook.

[ben-zayb]

By "less than 10 Caster/Manifesting/Initiator level", are you referring to class levels, or the CL/ML/IL variable itself? Because some class have less CL/ML/IL than their level, and some have more.

[Korahir]

The variable itself.

Also assume that any methods to circumvent the 5th level spells, power etc. restrictions doesn't work. If entries manage to pull of tricks like that, i encourage judges to penalize them for it.

[Inevitability]

Standard array really hurts for what I'm planning. Can we still get the elite array at a +1 CR cost?

[Korahir]

Standard array really hurts for what I'm planning. Can we still get the elite array at a +1 CR cost?

I know it's a thorough restriction and I am a little torn, but I won't allow that workaround. Let's see this one through wit the standard array.

[Inevitability]

I know it's a thorough restriction and I am a little torn, but I won't allow that workaround. Let's see this one through wit the standard array.

How about the nonelite array?

[Korahir]

How about the nonelite array?

Same ruling, won't allow it this time.

[Inevitability]

Same ruling, won't allow it this time.

Darn it. Back to the drawing board it is...

[Thurbane]

Question about base CR HD/CR - if you advance a creature by HD, and the base monster starts within the 4HD and CR 2 - is it OK to have ir advance by HD?

[ben-zayb]

Question about base CR HD/CR - if you advance a creature by HD, and the base monster starts within the 4HD and CR 2 - is it OK to have ir advance by HD?

To further expound, I'd also point out that CR increase upon HD advancement isn't always a 1:1 ratio. Depending on type, it could be a 4:1, 3;1, 2:1, or 1:1 ratio.