Iron Chef Optimization Challenge: E6 Appetizer Edition (Round XVI)

[Zaq]

Welcome back to the Iron Chef Optimization Challenge E6 Appetizer Edition! I hope everyone had their fill of good classes last round, because we're back into the stuff that's a little bit undertuned. I'm sure you can handle it!

The form of this challenge is to take a particular D&D 3.5 base class (our "secret ingredient," or SI) and turn it into a functional E6 build, which must feature the SI as heavily as possible. (The only hard rule about this is that you must take at least one level in the SI, though judges are encouraged to look favorably on builds that take as many levels as possible in said SI.) Your final build submission should consist of your 6 regular levels and your first 10 epic bonus feats, though providing a snapshot at earlier points through the progression is heartily encouraged. Entries are to be PM'd to the Chair (that would be me!), and they will be posted anonymously; our volunteer judges will then grade each build on a 1-5 point scale in four categories: Originality, Power, Elegance, and Use of the Secret Ingredient. The builds with the highest three scores will be awarded medals, with the Honorable Mention award going to the non-medaling build that the Chair likes best and/or that receives the most votes for HM in this thread. (HM may not always be awarded, particularly if the number of builds is very small.) And then we all have cake!*

*Note: You must provide your own cake.

This is basically like the regular Iron Chef, and let's be brutally honest with ourselves here: this isn't a gargantuan community, and we basically all know what we're talking about at this point. Make the builds, send 'em in, post some scores, and have fun. If you've got questions, lemme know. Still, let's lay out a few rules!

• Cooking Time: Builds must be submitted via PM to the Chair by 4:59 PM GMT - 9 on Thursday, Apr 25, 2019 (1:59 AM GMT on Friday, Apr 26). The reveal shall be on the first evening the Chair has free following the cooking deadline, which is hoped to be that evening or the immediately subsequent one—I'll do my best, anyway. Judging is then encouraged to go as quickly as possible; if multiple judges volunteer, we'll set about a two-week window, but if we only get one judge, we'll try to wrap up as soon as possible after that judge presents scores. (I will admit that the deadline time may not be an exact science, but don't hide from me and we'll probably be cool.)
• Kitchen: Let's break this one down a bit.
  
  
  Spoiler: Let's talk about sources

  Show

  
  

  • ALLOWED: Almost all D&D 3.5 material published by WotC: Core, Completes, monster books, Races Of books, alternate power source books (Expanded Psionics Handbook, Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, etc.), Spell Compendium, Book of Exalted Deeds, Book of Vile Darkness, Eberron material, Forgotten Realms material, and other WotC-published 3.5 material. (This list is NOT exhaustive and there are many other legal books that I did not mention by name!)
  • ALLOWED: Material from the 3.5 archives of the Wizards of the Coast website (including, but not limited to, the Mind's Eye articles). If you use it, link it.
  • ALLOWED: Official errata from WotC. If you're relying on this in a material fashion, it's a good idea to link it and to discuss it.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Unofficial errata, including "class fixes" (regardless of the source, including from the original author if not published in a WotC book) or fan-created content.
  • ALLOWED: Unupdated WotC-published 3.0 material (e.g., Sword and Fist, Masters of the Wild, etc.) except for 3.0 psionics. No 3.0 psionics allowed. If you are using 3.0 material, use the general-purpose skill updates (Wilderness Lore becomes Survival, Innuendo becomes Bluff, etc.) and the general-purpose rules updates (spells with a casting time of "1 action" become "1 standard action," etc.) when appropriate.
  • NOT ALLOWED: 3.0 material for which a direct 3.5 update exists. Use the updated material instead.
  • ALLOWED: Dragon Compendium and its errata.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Content from Dragon Magazine and/or Dungeon Magazine unless said content appears in an otherwise allowed source.
  • ALLOWED: Oriental Adventures, including the 3.5 update to Oriental Adventures from Dragon Magazine #318. This is a specific exception to the "no Dragon" rule!
  • NOT ALLOWED: Pathfinder content, regardless of whether it is "D&D 3.5 OGL" or not. If it didn't come from WotC, we don't want it.
  • ALLOWED: From Unearthed Arcana: racial paragon classes, alternate class features/variant classes, spelltouched feats, and variant races. (Traits and flaws are technically legal, but traits warrant a -0.5 point penalty in Elegance, and flaws warrant a -1 penalty in Elegance.)
  • NOT ALLOWED: Other Unearthed Arcana content, including (but not limited to) bloodlines, LA buyoff, fractional BAB/saves, alternate casting systems, alternate skill systems, item familiars, prestigious character classes, generic classes, gestalt, etc. When you're wondering if UA content is allowed, err on the side of caution and don't mess around with it.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Leadership, regardless of source. Game elements functionally equivalent to Leadership (including, but not limited to, Dragon Cohort, Undead Leadership, and Thrallherd) are similarly banned. (Familiars, Improved Familiar, animal companions, Wild Cohort, psicrystals, elemental envoys, and similar game elements are allowed, and they are not considered to be "Leadership." If the difference isn't obvious, feel free to contact the Chair with specific questions.)
  • NOT ALLOWED: Third-party content, homebrew, or other non-WotC content.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Epic feats from the Epic Level Handbook. Just because you're "epic" in E6 after 6th level doesn't mean that you're that kind of epic.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Any race or template with a level adjustment other than +0. (Or any other source of LA other than a race or template, if any such things exist.)
  • NOT ALLOWED: For our judges: penalizing solely based on legal sources used, regardless of whether those sources are plentiful, sparse, common, obscure, or something in between. If the material is legal, then it doesn't matter how many or how few books it came out of.
  • ALLOWED: Also for our judges: penalizing for using a source (other than material in Core; don't be vindictive about genuinely obvious stuff) that isn't listed in the build writeup. The chef may choose to present the sources in-line with the text, in a consolidated source list, or somewhere else, but if the source is listed (and is otherwise legal), it counts. If the source is not listed, you may choose to penalize for that.

  
  If you have questions about anything in this section (or hell, in this ruleset), feel free to ask the Chair.
  
• Character Creation: 32 point buy is assumed. For the purposes of this contest, Level Adjustment greater than +0 is banned. (This may be revised at a later point, but I don't feel that the E6 LA rules are conducive to fun in the context of this contest.) No more than two entries per chef per contest, please; if you submit two builds and somehow are so overcome with inspiration for a third that you can't help yourself, PM me and tell me which two you care about the most.
• Speculation: Please do not post any form of speculation before the reveal. Just don't do it, guys. It's not cool. This means NOT posting any of the following or anything substantially similar: what you think is going to be common, significant elements of your planned build or of other potential builds, or anything else that could directly influence someone else's build choices for good or for ill. (It's acceptable to ask for rules clarifications as appropriate, but try to avoid tipping your hand too much.) Speculation is bad because it can discourage people from posting builds and can also "taint the judging pool" when it comes to Originality, so please just try to be aware of how other people might react to your speculation.
• E6: Here's how E6 works for the purposes of this contest. Build your character normally for the first six levels. After you reach level 6, you stop gaining levels and start gaining bonus feats every time you would gain 5,000 XP. Since we aren't actually tracking XP, you'll basically list your first ten epic bonus feats in the order that you take them, and we think of them as being kind of like levels. We will not use the LA-equals-reduced-point-buy rules, instead preferring to just ban races with LA, at least for now. We will not use the "capstone feats"; all feats that you take must be normal legal 3.5 feats, not homebrew E6 ones. You may not use the Epic feats from the Epic Level Handbook, though if for some reason there are non-Epic feats from the ELH that you qualify for, you may take those. (I don't think there are any, but I'm sure someone will prove me wrong.) It is up to the discretion of each judge whether this is a "hard E6" (magic above 3rd level spells is simply beyond mortal reach, items that have a listed CL above 6th are just plain not available, etc.) or a "soft E6" (if you can somehow get the magic on your character, it's yours, regardless of level), though I honestly don't expect it to come up. Don't go crazy with making assumptions about items and we probably won't have to find out.
• Presentation: Please use the table found below in the spoiler. List your epic bonus feats (in clear order) after the table. If you find a clever way of formatting that that isn't annoying and that doesn't break anything, have fun; if it's portable, I may steal it for the next round. When sending your build or any disputes to the Chair, clearly include your build's name in the subject of the PM, and please present your build exactly as you want the Chair to copy and paste it into the thread.
  If you're using a picture, cite the source and follow any relevant citation rules. Because we have had issues with this in the past, when listing your skills, please make it very clear how many ranks you have at each level. There are multiple ways to do this and we do not wish to cramp anyone's individual style by dictating exactly how this must look, but make sure that somewhere in your entry there's an explanation of how many actual skill ranks you have. It's still fine to list total skill bonuses, if that's your style, but don't only list bonuses; make sure that there is a clear listing somewhere of your ranks alone.
  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

  Code for the table:

  Spoiler

  Show

  [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][/table]
• Contest houserules: Nearly the same as the main contest's rules here: all creatures are proficient with natural weapons they have or may acquire, bonus feats that are explicitly granted without meeting prereqs are usable even without those prereqs, and feats that affect which skills are class skills for you and/or how you spend your skill points (Able Learner, Martial Study, Truename Training, Apprentice, etc.) apply immediately at the level at which you take them (even though you normally spend skill points before taking a feat).
• Judging guidelines: The minimum score in a category is 1, and the maximum is 5. Judges are expected to be fair, consistent, and open-minded, and they are expected to make a good-faith effort to engage with any reasonable disputes that arise, especially when RAW is in question. That said, contestants are asked to not dispute more than necessary; let's do everything in good faith and really only dispute when a judge is being inconsistent, being unfair, or is otherwise grossly misinterpreting a build.
  Judges may not penalize Originality solely because a build is a tribute or homage to an existing creative work (in or out of D&D canon; note that this is not the same thing as penalizing Originality for using well-known optimization tactics), nor may judges penalize based solely on sources used (whether those sources are plentiful, sparse, common, obscure, or something in between, you should judge the build elements and how they work together rather than what book or what books they came out of, as long as those books are legal for this contest and are cited in the entry).
  As with the main contest, we will follow the "One Mistake, One Penalty" guideline, and it is very important that the judges adhere to it. I'm going to directly copy and paste this from the main thread, and hopefully the original author won't mind too much:
  
  Spoiler

  Show

  Judges are only allowed to penalise once for a given mistake. If someone messes up their skills and doesn't qualify for a PrC, ding them as hard as you like. Once. In one category. You don't then get to declare that because they didn't qualify for that PrC, they don't get those levels, and thus don't qualify for anything else. If Ranger is a common ingredient, ding them for Originality. Once. Don't also take off points for Two-Weapon-Fighting being a common ingredient.
  
  Non-exhaustive list of examples:
  
  Skills

  Allowed:
  

  • Giving a penalty for miscalculating the number of skill points gained
  • Giving a penalty for not having enough ranks to meet a prerequisite
  • Increasing the harshness of a skill miscalculation penalty if it affects critical skills including prereqs

  
  
  Not allowed:
  

  • Giving separate penalties for miscalculating skill points and for non-qualification where the non-qualification is solely caused by the miscalculation

  
  Prereqs

  Allowed:
  

  • Giving a penalty for not meeting prereqs
  • Scaling the penalty depending on how important the item that the build failed to qualify for is
  • Giving minimum score in UotSI for not qualifying for the SI
  • Not giving credit for (note: not the same as penalising for) tactics using feats or classes other than the SI that were not qualified for (but see below)

  
  
  Not Allowed:
  

  • "Cascading" failures to qualify - declaring that because a build doesn't qualify for a feat, for example, it also doesn't qualify for anything using that feat as a prereq
  • Treating a build as having fewer levels than it does because of FtQ for classes

  
  Other general things that are no longer allowed:
  

  • Penalising because someone has chosen to build a tribute to an existing creative work
  • Deciding that a backstory has not met a fluff prerequisite well enough, or because its method of meeting it is "unrealistic". You may penalise if a fluff prereq is not addressed at all, but not for how well it is addressed.

  
  
  Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.
• Other bits and bobs: If there's something major and relevant I haven't mentioned, assume that the way I handle it will probably be the same as the main contest unless stated otherwise or unless doing so would be an obviously absurd result. If you've got questions, I'll give you answers.

This round's secret ingredient:
the DRAGON SHAMAN, from Player's Handbook II!
Allez Optimizer!

The Builds:

Name	Alignment/Race	Stub	Dragon Color
Rhomian Firegullet	NE Duskling	Dragonfire Adept 1 / Cloistered Cleric 1 / Dragon Shaman 4	Red
Black Wing	NE Sparrow Hengeyokai	Dragon Shaman 6	Black
Osborn Goodbarrel ("Festerbreath")	NG Glimmerskin Halfling	Sorcerer 1 / Dragonfire Adept 1 / Dragon Shaman 4	Gold
Dagg'on Clawsome	NG Dragonborn Duskling	Marshal 1 / Incarnate 1 / Dragon Shaman 4	Copper
The Blue-Tongued Warbler	LN Kenku	Rogue 1 / Dragon Shaman 5	Blue
Marya Bluescale	LE Desert Half-Orc	Dragon Shaman 6	Blue

Spoiler: Contest History

Show

Round 4: Knight
Round 5: Ninja
Round 6: Racial Paragon Classes
Round 7: Hexblade
Round 8: Shugenja
Round 9: Swashbuckler
Round 10: Crusader
Round 11: Soulknife
Round 12: Factotum
Round 13: Prestige Classes
Round 14: Mountebank
Round 15: Sorcerer

Spoiler: Way Old Stuff (2012 and earlier; Amechra's run as Chair)

Show

Round 1: Divine Mind
Round 2: Monk
Round 3: Marshal

[Zaq]

Here's a few gentle recommendations that are intended to improve scores and make things easier for the judges. As always, THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS POST ARE NOT RULES. Judges and contestants are free to honor them or ignore them; my intent here is only to help, and NONE of what I'm saying here is required.

Recommendations:

• Double-check ALL of your prereqs. Every. Single. One. Feats, PrCs, whatever. You might even go so far as to spell out when you meet each one, but again, that's not a requirement. But one of the single biggest causes of point loss is failure to meet prereqs.
• Tell the judges what's cool about your build! You spent hours or days on this (y'know, probably) and know it inside and out, but the judges are getting a whole bunch of these dishes all at once and don't know the build history of each one. You're significantly more likely to score well if you spell out exactly what makes you awesome than if you try to just let it stand on its own.
• Make it easy to read! Skill tables are awful, though they're an incredibly necessary evil. Full Monster Manual-style statblocks are occasionally useful but are also insanely dense if not formatted well. Judges are very likely to miss something if you aren't careful with how you present your info. Remember that judging takes a lot of time, energy, and focus, so don't rely on the judge being willing/able to decode something in order to see what makes you interesting!
• Be memorable. Remember that we're all using the same ingredient here. What makes you different?

I totally lovehate the dragon shaman. It's a really confusing class that feels like it comes so close to having a purpose, but no one seems to know what that purpose is. It wasn't so much designed by committee—more like designed by anonymous suggestion box. I find it downright comical how awkwardly designed it is. But now it's up to you to show us all what the real purpose of the dragon shaman truly is!

And hey, at least in E6 they haven't run out of new class features before you run out of levels.

Side note: that opening post is getting really bulky, and I feel like it's impossible for folks to find the necessary information in it. Anyone got any easy suggestions for making it simpler to parse? I don't want to cut out anything that I don't have to, since it's actually pretty important information and it's so top-heavy because I keep needing to add stuff to it, but it's not an elegant presentation in the slightest.

[Luccan]

I'm interested. Question, does the breath weapon function in an Alternate Form? Looking at the class and [thing I'm looking at] doesn't specify, so I assume it does, but I want to be sure.

[MisterKaws]

I'm interested. Question, does the breath weapon function in an Alternate Form? Looking at the class and [thing I'm looking at] doesn't specify, so I assume it does, but I want to be sure.

Class features usually persist through Polymorph spells, though the changed shape may make they unusable.

For example, I doubt you'd be able to use a breath weapon as an Ooze. No mouth and all that.

[WhamBamSam]

I'd like to compete, feel like I ought to judge instead, and may not actually have time for either. We'll see.

[DeTess]

I'd like to compete, feel like I ought to judge instead, and may not actually have time for either. We'll see.

I you feel like competing, compete. I haven't gotten a particularly bright spark of inspiration yet. I know of some things this class can do that others can't, but none of that feels particularly original to me.

[Zaq]

I’m genuinely curious to see if we get more chromatics or more metallics.

I don’t think it’s speculation for people to simply guess which side is going to be more populous. Let’s stop short of saying why or of predicting specific flavors, of course...

[Luccan]

I’m genuinely curious to see if we get more chromatics or more metallics.

I don’t think it’s speculation for people to simply guess which side is going to be more populous. Let’s stop short of saying why or of predicting specific flavors, of course...

More chromatics, but the most common single type will be a metallic

[remetagross]

I'm feeling dicey. I'll bet on a perfect tie!

[jdizzlean]

I'm in the unusual position of having to many feat slots and nothing to fill them with lol

[Falontani]

Five days left and I've just noticed this competition

[Zaq]

Five days left and I've just noticed this competition

I have no entries yet. Would an extension help? Quoting Falontani, but directing the question at the group...

[Falontani]

I have no entries yet. Would an extension help? Quoting Falontani, but directing the question at the group...

I'll see what I can think up, and if I do I'll let you know. I've done an entire e6 write up in an hour before, so I may not need one even if I do join.

[jdizzlean]

i did a rework, and should be done today

041519 - submitted

[Zaq]

I don't have enough builds and I don't have enough time/energy. You've all got another week. Get out there and make me proud.

[The Kool]

I... missed this. Well I've got a lot going on, but if I find my mind drifting this way with a few hours to spare, I'll cook again.

[thorr-kan]

I don't have enough builds and I don't have enough time/energy. You've all got another week. Get out there and make me proud.

Hang in there, Zaq. We appreciate your efforts.

[Zaq]

Happy Friday, everyone! As a reminder, the deadline is next week, but you’ve got a weekend to build if you’re still interested!

[Luccan]

Thanks for the extension, I should be able to have something in by the new submission date.

[Zaq]

Approximately 72 hours remain!

[Zaq]

Deadline’s this evening! I’d really like one or two more entries, though. Who’s still working?

[Luccan]

Deadline’s this evening! I’d really like one or two more entries, though. Who’s still working?

Trying to get mine done by this evening. Hopefully shoukd have it in on time.

[Macabaret]

I managed to whip up a little something. It should be in your inbox, Zaq.

[Luccan]

Ok, think I got it done just in time! Can't wait to see everyone's builds!

[Falontani]

Good luck to all! Do we have a judge that has volunteered yet?

[jdizzlean]

i sent mine in right?

if i was dumb, please hold till Sunday morning when i go into work so i can submit!

[Zaq]

Red! length

Rhomian Firegullet the Neutral Evil Duskling Dragonfire Adept 1/Cloistered Cleric 1/Dragon Shaman 4

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Stat	Base	Final
Strength	14	14
Dexterity	8	8
Constitution	19	20
Intelligence	12	12
Wisdom	11	11
Charisma	12	12

Spoiler: stub

Show

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Dragonfire Adept	+0	+2	+0	+2	Search +4, Disable Device +2, Intimidate +4, Spellcraft +4, Knowledge Arcana +4	Dragon Tail, Dragontouched(B)	Breath Weapon 1d6
2nd	Cloistered Cleric	+0	+4	+0	+4	Search +5, Disable Device +5, Intimidate +5, Spellcraft +4, Knowledge Arcana +5	Knowledge Devotion(B)	Kobold Domain, Scalykind Domain
3rd	Dragon Shaman	+0	+6	+0	+6	Search +6, Disable Device +5.5, Intimidate +6, Spellcraft +4, Knowledge Arcana +5	Shape Soulmeld: Claws of the Wyrm	Draconic Aura +1, Red Totem Dragon
4th	Dragon Shaman	+1	+7	+0	+7	Search +7, Disable Device +6, Intimidate +7, Spellcraft +4, Knowledge Arcana +5	Skill Focus: Appraise(B)
5th	Dragon Shaman	+2	+7	+1	+7	Appraise +8, Search +13, Disable Device +6.5, Intimidate +8, Spellcraft +4, Knowledge Arcana +5		Draconic Adaption: Treasure Seeker
6th	Dragon Shaman	+3	+8	+1	+8	Appraise +8, Search +14, Disable Device +7, Intimidate +9, Spellcraft +4, Knowledge Arcana +5	Practiced Spellcaster: Dragonfire Adept	Breath Weapon 2d6 (15 ft cone), Breath Weapon 3d6 (15 ft cone or 30 ft line), Draconic Resolve
7th	Epic						Frightful Presence
8th	Epic						Willing Deformity
9th	Epic						Deformity: Teeth
10th	Epic						Multiattack
11th	Epic						Quicken Breath
12th	Epic						Clinging Breath
13th	Epic						Lingering Breath
14th	Epic						Shape Breath
15th	Epic						Ability Focus: Breath Weapon
16th	Epic						Open Least Chakra: Hands

Spoiler: Rhomian Firegullet

Show

Size/Type: Medium Fey (Dragonblood, Incarnum, Extraplanar)
Hit Dice: 4d10 plus 1d8 plus 1d6+30 (67 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed:30* ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 14 (10 -1 dex, +5 Breastplate), touch 9, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/+5
Attack: Claw +5 (1d6+4)
Full Attack: 2 Claws +5 (1d8+4), 1 Bite +3 (1d4+2), 1 Tail Slap +3 (1d6+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Invocation, Breath Weapons, Spells, Frightful Presence
Special Qualities: Draconic Resolve, Draconic Aura
Saves: Fort +13, Ref +0, Will +8
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 8, Con 20, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 12
Skills: Appraise +9, Search +15, Disable Device +8, Intimidate +14, Spellcraft +11, Knowledge Arcana +12, Knowledge (all others) +7
Feats: Dragontouched, Dragon Tail, Knowledge Devotion, Shape Soulmeld: Claws of the Wyrm, Skill Focus: Appraise, Practiced Spellcaster: Dragonfire Adept, Frightful Presence, Willing Deformity, Deformity: Teeth, Multiattack, Quicken Breath, Clinging Breath, Lingering Breath, Shape Breath, Ability Focus: Breath, Open Least Chakra: Hands

Breath Weapon (Su): As a Dragonfire Adept, Rhomian Firegullet may initiate a breath attack which does 3d6 points of fire damage. This breath weapon deals 3d6 points of fire damage (Ref Save DC 19 for half). This breath weapon manifests in any of 3 ways: 15’ cone, 30’ line, or 15’ radius spread (+1 round cooldown). Rhomian Firegullet may choose to apply Lingering Breath to cause the breath weapon to linger for an amount of time (+2 round cooldown per round). Any creature within the burning cloud takes half or 3d6 damage (ref for half again). Rhomian Firegullet may choose to apply Clinging Breath to cause the breath weapon to deal diminishing damage in rounds following the initial breath (+1 round cooldown per round of diminishing damage).

Breath Weapon (Su): As a Dragon Shaman, Rhomian Firegullet may initiate a breath attack which does 2d6 points of fire damage. This breath weapon deals 3d6 points of fire damage (Ref Save DC 19 for half). This breath weapon manifests in any of 3 ways: 15’ cone, 30’ line, or 15’ radius spread (+1 round cooldown). Rhomian Firegullet may choose to apply Lingering Breath to cause the breath weapon to linger for an amount of time (+2 round cooldown per round). Any creature within the burning cloud takes half or 2d6 damage (ref for half again). Rhomian Firegullet may choose to apply Clinging Breath to cause the breath weapon to deal diminishing damage in rounds following the initial breath (+1 round cooldown per round of diminishing damage).

Frightful Presence (Ex): Whenever Rhomian Firegullet attacks or charges, all opponents within a radius of 30 feet who have fewer levels or Hit Dice than 6 become shaken for 1d6+1 rounds. The effect is negated by a Will save (DC 14 will save). A successful save indicates that the opponent is immune to your frightful presence for 24 hours. This ability can't affect creatures with an Intelligence of 3 or lower, nor does it have any effect on dragons.

Draconic Auras (Su):
(Currently Active)Power: All allies (including Rhomian Firegullet) gain a unique bonus of +1 to all damage rolls.
Vigor: All allies (including Rhomian Firegullet) gain fast healing 1 if they are under 50% hp.
Presence: All allies (including Rhomian Firegullet) gain a +1 unique bonus to diplomacy, intimidate, and bluff.
Energy Shield: All allies (including Rhomian Firegullet) struck by a nonreach melee strike deals 2 points of fire damage back to its source.

Typical Spells Prepared: Detect Magic, Detect Magic, Slash Tongue, Bloodwind, Create Trap

Incarnum: 1 essentia is invested into Claws of the Wyrm, often swapped to movement speed if maneuverability is needed

Spoiler: Strategy

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Rhomian Firegullet is your standard kick in the door natural attack build that you would expect, with a slight twist. He comes with battlefield control. In the form of burning clouds of fire. Rhomian Firegullet is immune to his Dragonfire Adept breath weapon (which deals 3d6 fire damage). So a common strategy of his is:
Round 1: (move action) close to within 15’, (standard action) throw out a Dragon Shaman breath weapon, and then (free action) fire off a 15’ radius cloud of fire that does 3d6 points of fire damage immediately, then lasts for 3 rounds thereafter dealing half the initial damage. Anyone hit by the initial blast takes half the damage they took on Rhomian Firegullet’s next turn. (Swift) Adjust essentia to Claws of the Wyrm. *Dragonfire Adept weapon on cooldown, 13 rounds remaining
Round 2: if anyone is within melee range (with a 5 ft step) full attack, otherwise (Swift) cast Blood Wind, advertising the fact that your using it, then (Full round) full attack someone within 20 ft. Make them think you can continue to do this. They won’t want to let you live so they will close (even if they have to enter the cloud) (Free action) Dragon Shaman breath weapon anyone within 15’. *Dragonfire Adept weapon on cooldown 12 rounds remaining, Dragon Shaman weapon on cooldown 4 rounds remaining.
Round 3: if anyone is within melee range full attack, otherwise intimidate and fight defensively.
Round 4: if anyone is within melee range full attack, otherwise intimidate and fight defensively.
Round 5: Our cloud has ended, head to any still living creatures if we’re still healthy, and work on just regular attacks. *Dragonfire Adept weapon on cooldown 9 rounds remaining, Dragon Shaman weapon on cooldown 1 round remaining.
Round 6: This is the round you decide whether you continue fighting or if you flee. If the fight has gone poorly then grab who you can, and begin to retreat. You want a small corridor for retreat, an alley or some other aspect. Maneuver party past the mouth of the alley. *Dragonfire Adept weapon on cooldown 8 rounds remaining, Dragon Shaman weapon ready.

Round 7 (if retreating only): Hit your breath weapon, aim it so that there isn’t a way to enter the corridor. If the mouth of corridor is only 5’ or less then make this a line, otherwise cone the entrance. Pour as many rounds as is feasible into your lingering breath and if the entrance is flammable your clinging breath. Blast it with a free action breath weapon (cooldown could be anywhere from 2 minutes all the way up to an hour+, if you really want). Run.

Spoiler: Story

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Rhomian Firegullet is trying to become a dragon. He attempts in every way to emulate a red dragon. Greed and power is his motto. He is proud to a fault, but knows that only ancient reds are famous, so he must grow to become famous, meaning retreat is sometimes necessary.

Spoiler: sources

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Holy crap I splurged on sources!

All breath weapon stuff + Frightful Presence: draconimonicon
Race + shape soulmeld: Magic of Incarnum
Knowledge devotion + practiced spellcaster : complete divine? Complete champion?
Cloistered Cleric : UA
Deformity stuff: HoH
Multiattack + Ability Focus: MM
Dragon Tail : RotD
Dragonfire adept + claws of the wyrm: Dragon Magic

[Zaq]

Orange! (Black is the new orange, you see.)

Black Wing

Spoiler

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The harbor had been quiet that night, but Captain Heidos of the ship The Red Death had not let his crew rest in their watch. Heidos seemed certain something would happen that night. His crewmen were less concerned, eager to either be at sea or on shore leave once their cargo had been dropped off. A dwarf, notably rotund, leaned against the railing of the vessel, casually gazing around and chatting with his shipmates.

"You lads heard stories of the Black Wing?"

They had not and the dwarf grinned eagerly as he told the story

"They say in these Eastern lands there's a dragon, soul as black as its scales. And it's got this... creature, a servant no bigger than a mouse. But it's a shapeshifter, ya see. And it serves its master's interests in keepin' people from its home and bringing riches. It takes jobs from folk to dispose of their enemies. And sometimes it sets its own eye on a particular treasure, say, a ship smuggling magic weapons"

That got their attention, of course. Something flitted across the dwarf's vision, too small to be important, and he eagerly continued

"Now, not only can the shapeshifter grow to the size of a man, but it learned its tricks from the dragon itself. Its breath chokes the life from you, melts flesh from bone. It can darken the sky and if you should be unlucky enough to see its fullsized form, a winged monstrosity that heals every injury and fights like a demon, you'd best pray it has its sight on someone else and run the other way. It's said the creature leaves no one it sees alive."

As the fat dwarf spoke, the moon seemed to pass behind the clouds, suitably darkening the atmosphere.

"I've seen the beast, first time I was here with Captain Heidos. A run like this one, the Captain had me and some of the other lads transporting the goods to the estate of some nobleman. The Black Wing was finishing up its work when we came upon it. On every god there is, I was lucky I made it back to the ship. Captain had me flogged for abandoning the loot, but I was just glad to make it out of this harbor alive. Asked about it the next time we were here. Turns out the noble had made a deal with that dragon master some time ago and failed to live up to his demands. I guess we were lucky we weren't its targets."

The crew seemed to ponder his story for a moment, as the grin spread across the dwarf's face. Another saw him and punched his arm

"You all should have seen the looks you gave each other! The Black Wing's just an Eastern myth!"

The sky had gotten even darker than before and was becoming difficult for even a dwarf to see. And then, nothing could be seen. A crewman let out a cry that was suddenly choked out. The sound of sizzling accompanied a chemical smell as the crew drew arms and tried to rush out of the darkness. The dwarven storyteller pulled himself over the side of the ship to escape the choking air. A creature, birdlike but about the size and shape of a man, flew up and landed on the mast, turning its head until it spotted him under the now clear night sky. In one hand, it held what seemed to be a mace or heavy club. It leaped from its perch and dove after the fleeing dwarf, its beak opening to unleash an acidic mist.

-
The Red Death was full of beaten and half melted corpses when it was found in the morning. Something had torn through the board in the lower decks and seemed to have found what it was looking for, judging from the emptied containers and chests. A dingy was missing from The Red Death's compliment. It was found week later, floating down the river from deep within Dragon's Forest.

NE Sparrow Hengeyokai, Black Dragon Shaman 6

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Dragon Shaman	+0	+2	+0	+2	Hide 4, Listen 1, Move Silently 4, Spot 1, Swim 4	Hidden Talent (Distract)	Totem Dragon (Black), Draconic Aura +1 (Vigor, Power, Senses)
2nd	Dragon Shaman	+1	+3	+0	+3	Hide 5, Listen 2, Move Silently 5, Spot 1, Swim 4	Bonus Feat: Skill Focus (Move Silently)	Skill Focus
3rd	Dragon Shaman	+2	+3	+1	+3	Hide 6, Listen 2 , Move Silently 6, Spot 2, Swim 4	Power Attack	Draconic Adaptation (Water Breathing), New Aura (Swiftness)
4th	Dragon Shaman	+3	+4	+1	+4	Hide 7, Listen 3, Move Silently 7, Spot 2, Swim 4		Breath Weapon (Acid; 30 ft line; 2d6), Draconic Resolve
5th	Dragon Shaman	+3	+4	+1	+4	Hide 8, Listen 3, Move Silently 8, Spot 3, Swim 4		Shamanic Invocation (Darkness), Draconic Aura +2
6th	Dragon Shaman	+4	+5	+2	+5	Hide 9, Listen 4, Move Silently 9, Spot 3, Swim 4	Dragontouched	Breath Weapon (3d6), Touch of Vitality (24 points)

Epic Bonus Feats
Shape Breath
Maximize Breath
Clinging Breath
Psionic Weapon
Psionic Talent
Lingering Breath
Darkstalker
Draconic Senses
Dragonfire Assault
Draconic Heritage (Black)

Spoiler: Stats/On Hengeyokai and other abilities

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Hengeyokai are humanoid shapechangers with three forms. These forms affect their physical stats. Additionally, in Animal and Hybrid form, Black Wing has low-light vision, can speak with animals of his kind, and has fly speeds (50ft for Animal, 20 ft for Hybrid, both average). In Animal form his land speed is 1ft and in Hybrid form it is 20ft. He can't wear more than medium armor in Hybrid form and all held or carried equipment melds into his Animal form, causing magic items to cease functioning as long as he is in that form. In Animal form his size is Fine and his AC is 24. They can change form a number of times each day equal to their Character Level +1

Stats	Human Form	Hybrid Form	Sparrow Form
Strength	14	14	1
Dexterity	10	12	23
Constitution	16 (17)	16 (17)	10
Wisdom	8	8	8
Intelligence	14	14	14
Charisma	14	14	14

Sparrow Hengeyokai have -2 to Wisdom in all forms, a +2 to Dex in Hybrid form, and set physical stats in their animal form. +1 to Con at 4th level

The Darkness invocation functions exactly like Darkness when used. It is treated as cast by a Dragonfire Adept four levels lower than the Dragon Shaman's class levels.

Distract gives a single target a -4 on Listen, Spot, Search, and Sense Motive checks.

Auras:
Power gives a bonus = to the aura bonus on melee damage rolls

Vigor: Gives fast healing for each point of aura bonus, but only on creatures at or below half HP

Senses: gives a bonus on Listen, Spot, and Initiative checks = to the aura bonus

Swiftness: gives a bonus to Climb, Jump, and Swim (presumably equal to the aura bonus). Also increases
Swim, Climb, and Fly speeds by 5x the aura bonus, but does not give a Swim or Fly speed if you don't already have one

Touch of Vitality gives a pool of points each day that heals HP (if we got to higher levels it could do more, but in this case it doesn't do too much)

Water Breathing is an Ex ability, which is always active, and allows breathing underwater, as well as the use of spells and other abilities freely underwater.

Breath Weapon works like a dragon's breath weapon except the save is a Reflex save with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 your dragon shaman level + your Con modifier.

How to use Black Wing:

Level 1-3: As Black Wing steps out from his master's cave for the first time in many years, he is largely a magic thug. His best tactics are to sneak past enemies or sneak up on them after using Distract and unleash a Power Attack from hiding with the heaviest weapon he can find. He can run and hide effectively thanks to having wings and a changing form. Ideally he keeps to his Hybrid or Animal forms while working. The human form is only used when he needs to be completely incognito. 3rd level gets him Power Attack, Water Breathing, and a slightly faster flight speed (as well as a climb speed, for what that's worth). He is now capable of approaching from any terrain, which is probably his best feature at this point: Even if a foe expects him, they don't know how he'll approach. In Sparrow form, he is exceptionally hard to hit or even see, making this his ideal approach tactic, but he can use other means if necessary.

In a group, Black Wing can support a rogue in scouting or warriors by providing a little extra damage, better initiative, or keeping them at least at half.

Levels 4-5: Gaining a breath weapon and a few immunities, Black Wing can now rain acid on his foes from the air. He becomes a far better skirmisher at this point: His high AC as a sparrow coupled with his fast movement and ranged breath weapon means he has little to fear in being followed. At level 5 his auras improve and rather than learn a new one, he takes the Darkness invocation as an ACF. This helps him hide, gives a little BFC (important especially when on his own), and makes it even easier to escape pursuers after a skirmish.

Level 6: Now with more damage from his breath weapon and a direct healing ability, Black Wing has a better chance in surviving on his own. The Dragontouched feat is gained as he is finally accepted as his master's most loyal and capable servant. Tactics are largely the same, he can just fight longer now.

Epic Feats: These work best all together, I think. With his draconic feats, Black Wing now has darkvision and low-light vision in all forms, as well as getting to change his bonus damage from Power attack to acid and some resistance to acid itself. Breath feats + Darkness let him set up some decent BFC now, especially if he can trap enemies in tight spaces. Darkstalker and being able to use Distract more often make it harder to find him on night assaults, which would be his preferred time to strike what with having Darkvision and low-light vision all the time now. Between fights he would psionically focus, which in tandem with Power Attack, gives him a lot more damage, as a sort of one use Sneak Attack (albeit a weaker one).

So, Black Wing goes from magic thug to decent skirmisher to ambush predator over his career.

Thanks to everyone judging this round! This was really fun to put together.

Spoiler: Sources

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PHB
Power Attack, Skills, Skill Focus

Player's Handbook II
Dragon Shaman, Power, Vigor, Senses Auras

Oriental Adventures (and 3.5 update)
Hengeyokai

Dragon Magic
Shamanic Invocation ACF, Darkness Invocation
Swiftness Aura
Dragontouched
Draconic Senses
Dragonfire Assault
Draconic Heritage (Black)

Lords of Madness
Darkstalker Feat

Expanded Psionics Handbook
Hidden Talent (Distract)
Psionic Weapon
Psionic Talent

Draconomicon
Shape Breath
Clinging Breath
Lingering Breath
Maximize Breath

[Zaq]

Yellow! length

Spoiler: BACKGROUND

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Osborn Goodbarrel, called Festerbreath.

Mountain Glen is an awesome place to grow up as a halfling child. The communities are tight-knit and friendly. There's plenty of land providing for agricultural and hunting needs. The surrounding forests, rivers, lakes, fields, and valleys provide any entertainment a child could wish.

And there are dragons.

A family of gold dragons has mingled with the halfling clans in Mountain Glen for generations. The dragons provide guidance to the halfling and protection from threats beyond the halflings' capabilities. In return, the halflings provide the dragons companionship, entertainment, and a window into the mortal world. The two races are family, in all the positive connotations that term.

Osborn Goodbarrel is member of one of those families. He's tall, broad, and handsome for a halfling, standing 3' and weighing 35#. Osborn's black hair is often pulled back in a ponytail while his brown eyes seem to sparkle in sunlight. His tanned skin speaks of a life outdoors, but its hue hints at a more spectacular ancestry than might be guessed.

In his veins runs the blood of dragons, and for his crime, Osborn Goodbarrel has been christened Festerbreath. Given his breath can literally set things on fire, Festerbreath takes this in good cheer.

Festerbreath manifested his sorcerous abilities as a teenager. But he didn't want to pursue magical studies; he wanted to be a healer. A local village militia saw his powers and skills as the perfect squad medic. In this environment, Festerbreath turned from magical studies to invoking the power of this draconic blood. He developed a draconic breath weapon, draconic social wiles, and draconic aura. He also became a confidant and chaplain to his fellow soldiers.

Festerbreath mustered out after two years. Being a shaman seemed a solid career choice following his chaplain duties, so he continued on that path. Festerbreath now serves a spiritual leader for his community in addition to intermittent adventuring.

Spoiler: CLASS PROGRESSION

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Spells per Day	Spells Known	Invocations Known	Draconic Auras Known
1st	Dragonblood Sorcerer 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	(Skill ranks, 12/1st level sorcerer) Heal/4, Knowledge (arcana)/4, Use Magic Device/4	Draconic Heritage (Gold), Precocious Apprentice (1st)	Arcane insight +2, Draconic Heritage (bonus feat for familiar)	Level 0 - 5 1 - 3 2 - 1	Detect Magic, Ghost Light, Prestidigitation, Resistance Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor Gust of Wind	-	-
2nd	Dragonfire Adept 1	+0	+2	+0	+4	(Skill ranks, 5/1st level dragonfire adept) Concentration/1, Heal/5, Knowledge (arcana)/4, Knowledge (religion)/1, Knowledge (the planes)/1, Use Magic Device/5	Dragontouched	DFA Breath weapon 1d6, Dragontouched (bonus feat), least invocations	Level 0 - 5 1 - 3 2 - 1	Detect Magic, Ghost Light, Prestidigitation, Resistance Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor Gust of Wind	Beguiling Influence	-
3rd	Dragon Shaman 1	+0	+4	+0	+6	(Skill ranks, 3/1st level dragon shaman) Concentration/1, Heal/5, Knowledge (arcana)/4, Knowledge (nature)/1, Knowledge (religion)/1, Knowledge (the planes)/1, Use Magic Device/5	Gold Dragon Lineage (3rd)	Draconic aura +1, totem dragon (gold)	Level 0 - 5 1 - 3 2 - 1	Detect Magic, Ghost Light, Prestidigitation, Resistance Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor Gust of Wind	Beguiling Influence	Resistance, Toughness, Vigor
4th	Dragon Shaman 2	+1	+5	+0	+7	(Skill ranks, 3/2nd level dragon shaman) Concentration/1, Craft (carpentry)/1, Heal/5, Knowledge (arcana)/5, Knowledge (nature)/2, Knowledge (religion)/1, Knowledge (the planes)/1, Use Magic Device/5	Skill Focus (Heal)	Skill Focus (bonus feat)	Level 0 - 5 1 - 3 2 - 1	Detect Magic, Ghost Light, Prestidigitation, Resistance Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor Gust of Wind	Beguiling Influence	Resistance, Toughness, Vigor
5th	Dragon Shaman 3	+2	+5	+1	+7	(Skill ranks, 3/3rd level dragon shaman) Concentration/1, Craft (carpentry)/1, Heal/5, Knowledge (arcana)/6, Knowledge (nature)/2, Knowledge (religion)/1, Knowledge (the planes)/1, Use Magic Device/5	-	Draconic adaptation (Water Breathing)	Level 0 - 5 1 - 3 2 - 1	Detect Magic, Ghost Light, Prestidigitation, Resistance Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor Gust of Wind	Beguiling Influence	Resistance, Senses, Toughness, Vigor
6th	Dragon Shaman 4	+3	+6	+1	+8	(Skill ranks, 3/4th level dragon shaman) Concentration/1, Craft (carpentry)/1, Heal/6, Knowledge (arcana)/7, Knowledge (nature)/3, Knowledge (religion)/1, Knowledge (the planes)/1, Use Magic Device/5	Shape Breath (6th)	DSH Breath weapon (2d6), draconic resolve	Level 0 - 5 1 - 3 2 - 1	Detect Magic, Ghost Light, Prestidigitation, Resistance Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor Gust of Wind	Beguiling Influence	Resistance, Senses, Toughness, Vigor

Spoiler: CHARACTER STATS

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Male Glimmerskin Halfling Dragonblood Sorcerer 1/Dragonfire Adept 1/Dragon Shaman (gold) 4
NG Small humanoid (hafling, dragonblooded)
S-10 (-2 at 1st level)
D-14 (+2 at 1st level)
C-16 (+1 at 4th level)
I-12
W-12
Ch-15

HP: 50 (4 + 4.5 (DFA) (5.5 * 4 (DSH) + 18 (Con) + 1 (Dragontouched feat))
AC: 17, flat-footed 15, touch 13 (+1 size, +2 Dex, + 4 armor (mage armor))
Init: +2 (+2 Dex)
Damage: 1d4/1d4 (claw/claw)

BAB: +4 (0 + 0 + 3 (DSH) +1 (small))
Fort: +10 (6 (base) + 3 (Con) + 1 (luck))
Reflex: +4 (1 (base) + 2 (Dex) +1 (luck))
Will: +10 (8 (base) + 1 (Wis) + 1 (luck))

Skills: (Skill points, ability bonuses, feat bonuses, and racial bonuses)
Bluff/8, Climb/2, Concentration/4, Craft (carpentry)/2, Diplomacy/8, Heal/10, Hide/6, Intimidate/8, Jump/2, Knowledge (arcana)/15, Knowledge (nature)/9, Knowledge (religion)/7, Knowledge (the planes)/7, Listen/9, Search/7, Spot/7, Use Magic Device/7

Skill Tricks: Collector of Stories, Healing Hands.

Languages: Common, Halfling, Draconic.

Special Qualities: Dragonblooded, touch of luck, arcane insight +2, DFA breath weapon (1d6 fire, 15-foot cone or 30-foot line, at will), least invocation (Beguiling Influence), Healing Hands skill trick, draconic aura +1 (resistance, senses, toughness, vigor), totem dragon (gold), Collector of Stories skill trick, draconic adaptation (water breathing), DSH breath weapon (2d6 fire, 15-foot cone, at will with 1d4 round recharge), draconic resolve (immunity to paralysis, sleep, and dragons' frightful presence), draconic save bonus (+6 to magic sleep, paralysis, +5 to fire), lucky aura, lowlight vision, darkvision 60-feet, blindsense 20-feet, Shape Soulmeld (Airstep Sandals), Hurricane Breath.

Spoiler: TACTICS

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Festerbreath is a support and battlefield control character. I decided to go all in on the dragon part of dragon shaman.

First Level: Festerbreath is a pure support character. He's a backup medic (heal skill), personal and general defense (resistance, mage armor, touch of luck), a backup utility caster (read magic, ghost light, prestidigitation), one-shot battlefield control (gust of wind), and minor skill monkey (arcane knowledge, UMD).

Second Level: Festerbreath is now a support, battlefield control, and a face character. DFA breath weapon gives minor damage, but can be shaped as necessary. Beguiling Influence covers the majority of social interactions. Dragontouched gives a slight edge to sense, so he can backup a scout. And all the first-level trick are still available.

Third Level: Festerbreath was a versatile character, but the first level of dragon shaman doubles that versatility. Dragonic aura allows rotating ranged support to augment saves, senses, or healing, complementing the DFA breath weapon. Gold Dragon Lineage allows more and ranged luck for other characters, expanding beyond touch of luck. Healing Hands enhances the medic role. Knowledge continues to expand.

Fourth Level: Festerbreath versatility slows here. The heal skill gets enhanced, and he finallys gets an attack bonus. But all his previous tricks remain competative. He provides close in support for other melee characters, striking opportunistically and buffing any faltering characters.

Fifth Level: Festerbreath gains a little more versatility here. A new aura becomes available. BAB increases again. Collector of Stories pays off on the Knowledge investments. He gains a new function as a secondary sage for the group. Draconic adaptation keeps him functioning underwater.

Sixth Level: Festerbreath achieves his final form! DSH breath weapon comes online. It does more damage than DFA breath weapon, but has more limited area of effect and a recharge time. But Shape Breath give it more versatility. A final BAB increase means he isn't hopeless in melee. And all his prior tricks still scale well.

Epic Levels: Epic feats are used to enhance Festerbreath's draconic powers.

Ability Focus, [Breath], and [Metabreath] feats make his breath weapons more potent and versatile. They are harder to save against, enemies become entangled and take more damage, and multiple breath weapons can be used.

Dragonic feats increase his knowledge and sense skills, making Festerbreath a sage and scout on his own as well as giving him a natural melee attack.

Shape Soulmeld increases maneuverability. Hurricane Breath increases battlefield control. Dialate Aura allows more allies to be affected if necessary.

Spoiler: CHARACTER DETAILS

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Spoiler: Glimmerskin Halfing Racial Traits

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+2 Dexterity, -2 Strength: Halflings are quick, agile, and good with ranged weapons, but they are small and therefore not as strong as other humanoids.
Dragonblood Subtype: Glimmerskin halflings are of the dragonblood subtype.
Small: As a Small creature, a halfling gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
Touch of Luck: Once per day, a glimmerskin halfling can grant himself or any ally within 30 feet a +2 luck bonus on a single saving throw. Using this ability is an immediate action and must be announced before the roll is made.
Class Skills: Heal is a class skill for glimmerskin halflings.
Halfling base land speed is 20 feet.
+2 racial bonus on Climb, Jump, and Listen checks: Halflings are agile, surefooted, and athletic.
+1 racial bonus on all saving throws: Halflings are surprisingly capable of avoiding mishaps.
+2 morale bonus on saving throws against fear. This bonus stacks with the halfling's +1 bonus on saving throws in general.
+1 racial bonus on attack rolls with thrown weapons and slings: Throwing and slinging stones is a universal sport among halflings, and they develop especially good aim.
Automatic Languages: Common and Halfling. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, and Orc. Smart halflings learn the languages of their friends and enemies.

Spoiler: Class Features

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Dragonblood Sorcerer Substitution Level
Arcane Insight (Ex): A 1st-level dragonblood sorcerer's racial talent with magic grants him keen insights into arcane mysteries. Each time he selects a dragonblood sorcerer substitution level, he gains a cumulative +2 insight bonus on Knowledge (arcana) checks.
Draconic Heritage: A 1st-level dragonblood sorcerer gains Draconic Heritage as a bonus feat. This substitution feature replaces the standard sorcerer's familiar class feature.

Dragonfire Adept
Invocations: A dragonfire adept has a repertoire of attacks, defenses, and other abilities known as draconic invocations, which allow her to focus the draconic energy that suffuses her soul. A dragonfire adept can use any invocation she knows at will.
A dragonfire adept's invocations are spell-like abilities; using an invocation is therefore a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity. To avoid provoking such attacks, a dragonfire adept can use an invocation defensively by making a successful Concentration check. An invocation can be disrupted, just as a spell can be ruined during casting. If a dragonfire adept is hit by an attack while invoking, she is entitled to a Concentration check to successfully use the invocation, just as a spellcaster would be. Her invocations are subject to spell resistance unless an invocation's description specifically states otherwise. A dragonfire adept's caster level with her invocations is equal to her class level. She can dismiss any invocation as a standard action, just as a wizard can dismiss a spell.
If an invocation allows a saving throw, its DC is 10 + the equivalent spell level + the dragonfire adept's Cha modifier. Since spell-like abilities are not spells, a dragonfire adept cannot benefit from the Spell Focus feat or from draconic feats that let her convert or spend an arcane spell slot to produce some other effect. She can, however, benefit from the Ability Focus feat, as well as from feats that emulate metamagic effects for spell-like abilities.
The four grades of draconic invocations, in order of their relative power, are least, lesser, greater, and dark. A 1st-level dragonfire adept begins with knowledge of one least invocation, gaining access to more invocations and higher grades as she attains levels. At any level when a dragonfire adept learns a new invocation, she can also replace an invocation she already knows with another invocation of the same or lower grade. See Draconic Invocations, below, for a list of available invocations.
Unlike other spell-like abilities, draconic invocations are subject to arcane spell failure chance as described under Weapon and Armor Proficiency, above.
Finally, just like warlocks, dragonfire adepts can qualify for some prestige classes usually intended for spellcasters. For details, see the Dragonfire Adepts and Prestige Classes sidebar.
Breath Weapon (Su): At 1st level, you gain a breath weapon that you can use at will as a standard action. Each time you use your breath weapon, you can choose whether it takes the form of a 15-foot cone or a 30-foot line. This breath weapon deals 1d6 points of fire damage; a successful Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 your class level + your Con modifier) halves the damage. As you gain levels, your breath weapon's damage increases, as shown on Table: The Dragonfire Adept.
You are immune to the effect of your own breath weapon (but not to other breath weapons that produce similar effects, even those of other dragonfire adepts).
At 10th level, your cone-shaped breath weapon's range doubles to 30 feet, and your line-shaped breath weapon's range doubles to 60 feet.
Dragontouched: At 1st level, you gain Dragontouched as a bonus feat.

Dragon Shaman
Bonus Languages: A dragon shaman's bonus language options include Draconic.
Draconic Aura (Su): You can channel the mighty powers of dragonkind to project an aura that grants you and nearby allies a special benefit.
Projecting an aura is a swift action, and you can only project one draconic aura at a time. An aura remains in effect until you use a free action to dismiss it or you activate another aura in its place. You can have a draconic aura active continually; thus, an aura can be in effect at the start of an encounter even before you take your first turn.
Unless otherwise noted, your draconic aura affects all allies within 30 feet (including yourself) with line of effect to you. Your aura is dismissed if you become unconscious or are slain, but otherwise it remains in effect even if you are incapable of acting.
The bonus granted by your aura begins at +1 and increases to +2 at 5th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th level, and +5 at 20th level. As a 1st-level dragon shaman, you know how to project three auras chosen from the list below. At every oddnumbered level after that, you learn one additional draconic aura of your choice, until all seven auras are known at 9th level. Each time you activate a draconic aura, you can choose from any of the auras that you know.
Resistance: Resistance to your totem dragon's energy type equal to 5 × your aura bonus.
Senses: Bonus on Listen and Spot checks, as well as on initiative checks, equal to your aura bonus.
Toughness: DR 1/magic for each point of your aura bonus (up to 5/magic at 20th level).
Vigor: Fast healing 1 for each point of your aura bonus, but only affects characters at or below one-half their full normal hit points.
Totem Dragon: You must choose a totem dragon from among the true dragons appearing in the Monster Manual (gold).
You must choose a dragon whose alignment is within one step of yours, as described in the following table. You gain additional class skills and a particular sort of breath weapon based on the dragon you select as your totem.
Skill Focus: At 2nd level, you gain Skill Focus as a bonus feat. You must apply the feat to one of the three class skills granted by your chosen totem dragon. For example, a blue dragon shaman can select Skill Focus (Bluff), Skill Focus (Hide), or Skill Focus (Spellcraft).
Draconic Adaptation (Ex or Sp): At 3rd level, you take on an aspect of your totem dragon. Some adaptations are extraordinary abilities that are always active; others are spelllike abilities that you can activate at will. Spell-like abilities have a caster level equal to your class level and a save DC equal to 10 + spell level + Cha modifier.
Gold - Water Breathing (Ex): You can breathe underwater indefinitely and can freely use spells and other abilities underwater (always active).
Breath Weapon (Su): At 4th level, you gain a breath weapon corresponding to your totem dragon. Regardless of the area one affects or the type of energy damage it deals, all breath weapons deal 2d6 points of damage, plus an extra 1d6 points of damage for every two additional class levels (3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 8th level, and so forth). A successful Reflex save halves the damage dealt; the save DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 your dragon shaman level + your Con modifier. Just like a true dragon, once you breathe you must wait 1d4 rounds before you can use your breath weapon again.
Draconic Resolve (Ex): At 4th level, you gain immunity to paralysis and sleep effects. You also become immune to the frightful presence of dragons.

Spoiler: Feats

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Draconic Heritage (DM) [Draconic] - 1st, ACF for familiar
You have a greater connection with your draconic bloodline than others of your kind.
Prerequisite: Sorcerer level 1.
Benefit: You gain the dragonblood subtype. Choose one kind of dragon from the list in the table below. This is your draconic heritage, which cannot later be changed unless you undergo the Rite of Draconic Affinity (see page 59 of Races of the Dragon). Half-dragons must choose the same dragon kind as their dragon parent. When you declare your draconic heritage, you gain a bonus on saving throws against magic sleep and paralysis effects, as well as on saves against spells and abilities with a descriptor that matches the corresponding energy type. This bonus equals the number of draconic feats you have. In addition, you gain the corresponding skill as a sorcerer class skill.
Dragon Energy Skill
Gold Fire Heal

Precocious Apprentice (Gust of Wind) (CA) [General] - 1st
Your master has shown you the basics of a spell beyond the normal limits of your experience and training.
Prerequisite: Spellcasting ability (Int or Cha) 15, arcane caster level 1st.
Benefit: Choose one 2nd-level spell from a school of magic you have access to. You gain an extra 2nd-level spell slot that must be used initially to cast only the chosen spell. Until your level is high enough to allow you to cast 2nd-level spells, you must succeed on a DC 8 caster level check to successfully cast this spell; if you fail, the spell is miscast to no effect. Your caster level with the chosen spell is your normal caster level, even if this level is insufficient to cast the spell under normal circumstances.
When you become able to cast 2nd-level spells, you lose the benefit described above but retain the extra 2nd-level spell slot, which you can use to prepare or spontaneously cast a spell of 2nd level or lower as you normally would.
Finally, you gain a +2 bonus on all Spellcraft checks.
Special: You can take this feat only as a 1st level character.

Dragontouched (DM) [General] 2nd, dragonfire adept bonus feat
You have a trace of draconic power, a result of dragons in your ancestry or a spiritual connection between you and the forces of dragonkind.
Prerequisite: CHA 11
Benefit: You gain the dragonblood subtype. You gain 1 hit point, a +1 bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks, and a +1 bonus on saving throws against paralysis and sleep effects. In addition, you can select draconic feats as if you were a sorcerer of your character level.

Gold Dragon Lineage (DM) [Draconic] - 3rd
You can harness the legacy of your gold dragon ancestry to protect your allies.
Prerequisite: Draconic Heritage (Dragon Magic) (gold) , sorcerer level 3rd.
Benefit: As a swift action, you can spend an arcane spell slot to create a lucky aura that protects your allies. All allies within 30 feet (including you) gain a luck bonus equal to the spell slots level that they can apply on any one saving throw as an immediate action. This bonus must be used within a number of rounds equal to your Charisma bonus (minimum 1 round), or it is lost. An affected ally need not remain within 30 feet of you to use this bonus. No character can have more than one luck bonus from this feat at a time. If the feat is used a second time while the first use is still active, the new duration replaces the previous one unless the character chooses to retain the previous duration (for instance, if it were from a higher-level spell slot).

Skill Focus (Heal) (PH) [General] - 4th, dragon shaman bonus feat
Choose a skill.
Benefit: You get a +3 bonus on all checks involving that skill.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new skill.

Shape Breath (Draco)[Metabreath] - 6th
You can make the area of your breath weapon a cone or a line, as you see fit.
Prerequisites: Con 13, breath weapon, size Small or larger.
Benefit: If you have a line-shaped breath weapon, you can opt to shape it into a cone. Likewise, if you have a cone-shaped breath weapon, you can shape it into a line. When you use this feat, add +1 to the number of rounds you must wait before using your breath weapon again.
Normal: Without this feat, the shape of your breath weapon is fixed.

Epic Feats:
Ability Focus (DFA breath) (MM1) [General]
Choose one of the creature’s special attacks.
Prerequisite: Special attack.
Benefit: Add +2 to the DC for all saving throws against the special attack on which the creature focuses.
Special: A creature can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time the creature takes the feat it applies to a different special attack.

Ability Focus (DSH breath) (MM1) [General]
Choose one of the creature’s special attacks.
Prerequisite: Special attack.
Benefit: Add +2 to the DC for all saving throws against the special attack on which the creature focuses.
Special: A creature can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time the creature takes the feat it applies to a different special attack.

Draconic Knowledge (DM) [Draconic]
Your draconic blood lets you access ancient draconic knowledge.
Prerequisite: Draconic Heritage, sorcerer level 1st.
Benefit: You gain a bonus on Knowledge checks equal to the number of draconic feats you have. All Knowledge skills are class skills for all your classes.

Draconic Claw (RofD) [Draconic]
You develop natural weapons like those of your draconic ancestors.
Prerequisite: Draconic Heritage, sorcerer level 1st.
Benefit: You gain a claw attack. You can make a natural attack with two claws, dealing damage based on your size as if you were truly a dragon (Small 1d4, Medium 1d6, Large 1d8). In any round when you cast a spell with a casting time of 1 standard action, you can make a single claw attack at your full attack bonus as a swift action (see page 122) against an opponent you threaten.

Draconic Senses (DM) [Draconic]
Your draconic blood grants you great sensory powers.
Prerequisite: Cha 11, dragonblood subtype.
Benefit: You gain low-light vision and a bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks equal to the number of draconic feats you have. If you have three or more draconic feats, you also gain darkvision out to 60 feet. If you have four or more draconic feats, you also gain blindsense out to 20 feet.

Shape Soulmeld (Airstep Sandals) (MoI) [Genera]
You gain the ability to shape a single soulmeld.
Prerequisite: Con 13.
Benefit: When this feat is selected, choose a soulmeld from any class's soulmeld list. You can shape that soulmeld using the normal meldshaping rules (see page 49, Magic of Incarnum). Once chosen, the soulmeld granted by this feat can never be changed. Your meldshaper level for this soulmeld is equal to one-half your character level.
If you have essentia, you can invest essentia in the soulmeld as normal. See Table 2-1: Essentia Capacity on page 19, Magic of Incarnum to determine the soulmeld's essentia capacity.
If you have the ability to bind a soulmeld to a chakra, you can bind this soulmeld to any chakra available to you (as long as the soulmeld can be bound to that chakra).
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take the feat, choose a new soulmeld.

Hurricane Breath (CM) [Reserve]
The power of elemental air you hold in your mind allows you to exhale the wind.
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 2nd-level spells.
Benefit: As long as you have an air spell of 2nd level or higher available to cast, you can attempt to knock a single creature within 30 feet back with a blast of wind.
This requires a standard action and functions much like a bull rush; roll 1d20 + the level of the highest-level air spell you have available to cast opposed by your opponent’s Strength check.
If you succeed, you push the creature back 5 feet. As a secondary benefit, you gain a +1 competence bonus to your caster level when casting air spells.

Dialate Aura (FC2) [General]
You can extend the range of your aura.
Prerequisite: Aura ability.
Benefit: Once per encounter, you can double the range of your aura. The expanded aura lasts for a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1 round).

Entangling Exhalation (RofD) [Breath]
You can use your breath weapon to create an entangling mesh of energy.
Prerequisites: Dragonblood subtype, breath weapon.
Benefit: When you use your breath weapon, you can choose to enmesh all creatures in its area instead of producing its normal effect. Your breath weapon deals only half its normal damage; however, any creature that takes damage from your breath weapon becomes entangled and takes an extra 1d6 points of damage, of the same energy type as normally dealt by your breath weapon, each round at the start of your turn. This effect lasts for 1d4 rounds.
If your breath weapon doesn’t deal energy damage, creatures damaged by the initial breath are still entangled but don’t take additional damage on later rounds.

Split Breath (Draco) [Metabreath]
You can split your breath weapon into a pair of weaker effects.
Prerequisites: Con 13, breath weapon, Shape Breath, size Small or larger.
Benefit: Your breath weapon retains its size and shape, but splits into two areas that you aim separately. Each portion deals half the damage the breath weapon normally deals or lasts half as long as the effect normally lasts.
For example, an old silver dragon that uses this feat on its cold breath weapon produces two 50-foot cones of cold that deal 8d8 points of cold damage each. If the same dragon used this feat on its paralyzing gas breath weapon, it would produce two cones of gas, each of which could paralyze a creature for 1d3+4 rounds. You can aim the split breath effects so that their areas overlap.
Creatures caught in the area of overlap are struck by both weapons and are affected twice, subject to all the normal rules for stacking magical effects.
When you use this feat, add +1 to the number of rounds you must wait before using your breath weapon again.

Spoiler: Supernatural Abilities

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Beguiling Influence
Least; 2nd
You can invoke this ability to beguile and bewitch your foes. You gain a +6 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks for 24 hours.

Airstep Sandals
Descriptors: None
Chakra: Feet
Saving Throw: None
You shape incarnum into a pair of sky-blue sandals. They surround your feet without quite touching them, fitting over any boots or shoes you wear. When you use the flight ability of the sandals, you leave a faint trail of blue vapor behind you, which disperses after a few seconds.
Many creatures have the gift of flight, and with this soulmeld, you channel soul energy derived from such creatures to borrow that gift. The rilkan incarnate Davi the Trickster was rarely seen without this soulmeld shaped, and she claimed that she could communicate with the djinn whose soul energy she borrowed to form it.
While worn, the airstep sandals allow you to fly up to 10 feet (good maneuverability) as a move action once per round. You must end the flight solidly supported or you fall.

Breath Weapon (DFA)
Usable at will; standard action; 15-foot cone or 30-foot line; 1d6 points of fire damage; DC 15 Reflex save (10 + 0.5 DFA + 3 + 2 (Ability Focus)); you are immune to the effect of your own breath weapon (but not to other breath weapons that produce similar effects, even those of other dragonfire adepts).
As a breath weapon without a recharge time, it can be modified with [Breath] feats. But it can't be modified [Metabreath] by feats.

Breath Weapon (DSH)
Usable at will, with a 1d4 round recharge; standard action; 15-foot cone; 2d6 points of fire damage; DC 17 Reflex save (10 + 2 DSH + 3 + 2 (Ability Focus)).
As a breath weapon with a recharge time, it can be modified with [Metabreath] feats, which affect the recharge time. But it can't be modified by [Breath] feats.

[Zaq]

Green! (Well, until you polish off the patina, at least.)

Dagg’on Clawsome

NG Dragonborn Duskling Marshal 1/Incarnate 1/Dragon Shaman 4

Spoiler: Stub Stuff

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Dragonborn template – RoTD 8: +2 CON, -2 DEX, gain dragonblood subtype, +2 dodge to ac vs dragons, immunity to frightful presence, Wings aspect - +10 to Jump, can glide (negate falling damage from any height, move 20’ forward for every 5’ falling at speed 30/avg. At 6hd, can fly at 30/avg for CON rounds consecutively for up to 10 mins day, but can combine w/ glide to extend. While flying, can make a dive (charge attack at +2 to hit), if wielding a piercing weapon, deal double damage. Gain Draconic as a bonus language.

Duskling – MoI 10: +2 CON, -2 INT Medium, speed 30, gain 1 essentia, Fey (extraplanar) making them immune to effects that target humanoids, like charm person. Lowlight (lost to dragonborn)

32 Point Buy:
STR 14, DEX 12, CON 13, INT 12, WIS 8, CHA 17
Racial/D’born
STR 14, DEX 10, CON 17, INT 10, WIS 8, CHA 17
Level 4 into CHA

1d6+1d8+4d10+18

Spoiler: Background

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I am brain dead from RL, and for once have no creative energy left for fluff.
/sorries.

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Marshall	+0	+2	+0	+2	Intimidate +4, Listen +4, Sense Motive +4, Speak Language 1 (draconic), Spot 4	Nymph's Kiss (B)Skill Focus Diplomacy	Minor Aura - Motivate Charisma, Dragonborn
2nd	Incarnate	+0	+4	+0	+4	Knowledge Arcana 3	(B)Alertness	2 soulmelds, 1 essentia, Detect Opposition
3rd	Dragon Shaman	+0	+6	+0	+6	Intimidate 6, Hide 1	Flyby Attack	Draconic Aura +1, Totem Dragon - Copper, 3 Auras
4th	Dragon Shaman 2	+1	+7	+0	+7	Hide 2, Intimidate 7	(B)Skill Focus Hide	-
5th	Dragon Shaman 3	+2	+7	+1	+7	Hide 3, Intimidate 8	-	Draconic Adaptation - Spider Climb/will, 4 Auras
6th	Dragon Shaman 4	+3	+8	+1	+8	Hide 4, Never Outnumbered	Open Least Chakra - Hands (Lucky Dice)	Breath Weapon 2d6 Line of Acid, Draconic Resolve

Epic Feats:
1-Exotic Weapon Proficiency –Harpoon
2-Imperious Command
3-Powerful Charge
4-Shape Soulmeld – Brass Mane
5-Shape Soulmeld – Dissolving Spittle
6-Bonus Essentia
7-Shape Soulmeld – Fearsome Mask
8-Shape Soulmeld – Vitality Belt
9-Lightning Reflexes
10-Daunting Presence (DC 23)

Spoiler: Class Bits

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Draconic Auras:
(Healing) Vigor – Fast Healing 1 to all at less than half health
(Face) Presence +1 to Bluff/Diplo/Intim
(Scouting) Senses +1 Spot/Listen and Initiative
(Combat) Energy- anyone striking you or allies takes 2 points acid damage

Incarnate Soulmelds:
(1 essentia) (Bound to Hands @6th) Lucky Dice - +1 luck bonus to attack and damage OR saves OR skills and abitlity checks. If roll 7 on 2d6, bonus applies to all until next round. When bound to hands, all allies in 30ft gain same bonus. Each essentia invested adds 1 round to the duration (2 rounds total, meaning you’re always going to have 2 separate bonus’s at +1). Swift action activation, usable every round.
(1 essentia) Soulspark Familiar – Least, +1 to attack and damage. MoI 87, 197
Brass Mane -+4 to intimidate
(1 essentia) Dissolving Spittle – 2d6/round ranged touch acid attack
(1 essentia) Fearsome Mask - +4 more to Intimidate
Vitality Belt - +4 to CON checks, but not FORT


-Harpoon: Frostburn 76, Ranged, 1d10 piercing, and REF DC 10+damage dealt or be impaled, can only move half speed, and can’t charge or run. If impaled DC 15 concentration check or fail any spell attempted. Creature can pull harpoon from itself as a full round action requiring 2 hands, and causing the initial damage again. A DC 15 Heal check negates this damage. As a ranged weapon, you can either throw this, or as this build will do, use it as a spear.

--- Optional, but highly beneficial equipment suggestion ---

Inspiration, shield enhancement +1 (CL 5), Forge of War Web Article, doubles beneficial aura range: all auras ranges are doubled, and 1/day cast Prayer as a free action (40ft radius burst, centered on you, for 5 rounds, all allies gain +1 luck bonus to attacks, weapon damage, saves, skills, and all enemies get -1 to all of those)


Frightful Crest Graft – RotD 128: when you attack or charge, all nondragon creatures w/in 30 feet of you who have less HD are panicked for 1 round, if equal or more HD shaken for 1 round, WILL to negate 10+half HD+CHA (DC 23), this is a mind affecting fear effect.




Skill Tricks:
Never Outnumbered – Csco 87– REQ INTIM 8: when using intimidate to demoralize, all opponents w/in 10 ft are affected

Spoiler: The Build Explained

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Level 1: We take Marshall first for more skill points, ditch the Skill Focus to Dragonborn, and take Nymph’s Kiss for even more ++CHA CHA goodies. CHA+CHA+Nymph for +8 to CHA things. The only Skills that use CHA that can’t be used untrained are UMD and Gather Info.
Level 2: Incarnate gives you another essentia, 2 soulmelds, and Detect Evil/will. The familiar is just a little extra ranged damage every round, and like all others, gives you Alertness as well.
Level 3-6: All Dragon Shaman. Get the Inspiration shield enchancement ASAP as it will double the range of all your auras, Marshall’s is now 120ft, and all others are 60ft. Going with the Copper dragon here will give a Line of acid breath weapon (DC 15 REF), and Spider Climb/will. Skill Focus Hide, and immunity to sleep/paralysis effects as well. Spider Climb in particular is used to scale the heights, to which you can then jump off from and glide or dive attack your enemies from, using the Wings aspect of Dragonborn to even greater effect. At 4th, our CHA CHA is +10.

Epic Feats:
1-Exotic Weapon Proficiency –Harpoon
2-Imperious Command
3-Powerful Charge
4-Shape Soulmeld – Brass Mane
5-Shape Soulmeld – Dissolving Spittle
6-Bonus Essentia
7-Shape Soulmeld – Fearsome Mask
8-Shape Soulmeld – Vitality Belt
9-Lightning Reflexes
10-Daunting Presence (DC 23)


You CAN use a harpoon earlier in the build, albeit at a -4 penalty to hit. There are plenty of other Piercing weapons usable that do decent damage, especially when that damage is doubled due to a dive attack. A trident is a 1h martial weapon doing 1d8. If not using your shield, a Lance/Spear is a 2h’r doing 1d8, a simple short spear does 1d6. You have options, although you want the harpoon most of the time. Strength isn’t high enough for a 2h weapon to make a difference, and since the harpoon isn’t specifically listed as a 2h’r, it’s not. Best hit on a Harpoon dive attack (not counting a critical) is then 1d10x2 (20) + STRx2 (2) + Lucky Dice (1) + Masterwork (1), + Powerful Charge (8) at the very least, meaning a DC 42 REF save or be impaled, and dealing another 32 damage when it’s removed.

Imperious Command takes your Intimidate Check, applied w/ Never Outnumbered for a 10ft AOE cowering effect. Cowered opponents take no actions and suffer -2 to AC, and also lose DEX to AC. The following round they’re Shaken for -2 to attacks/saves/skills/ability checks. Intimidate check is 8 ranks + 10 CHA CHA +d20. Of course there’s Lucky Dice for another +1, Presence for +1. Demoralize to cower, fly, dive attack (especially painful as they can’t make a REF save against the damage) and impale your foe w/ flyby attack. Of course if you rule that you can’t cower and attack in the same round, there’s still -2 on the save the following round, and of course cowering helps your allies out.

Powerful Charge adds 1d8 damage to your charge (dive) attack. MOAR DAMAGE!!! /rawr
(Fun thought, is this damage then doubled when used w/ the dragonborn’s wings aspect as well? That’d be 2d10+2d8+misc bonus’s…)

Brass Mane grants +4 to intimidate (+24 total). Dissoliving Spittle starts w/ 1d6 acid as a touch attack, then gets an essentia added in at 6th for 2d6 every round. Fearsome Mask gets the other floating essentia for another +4 to Intimidate (+28 total), and Vitality Belt grants +4 to CON checks (but not FORT saves) to increase the DC of our breath weapons (DC 19 REF).

It’s questionable whether grafts are available in an e6 world. To take the graft feats requires 10 ranks in a skill. Obviously if you can get a graft, the fearsome presence of a dragon can be emulated w/ the one above. Since its probably not something you can do, the build takes Daunting Presence at 10th for nearly the same effect. The big difference is that it’s a standard action to activate vs an automatic 30ft radius on an attack/charge, but the duration is MUCH longer.

If grafts are a thing that are possible, drop DP at 10th and take almost anything else, even Weapon Focus or Improved Initiative.

Be a support player, but also be able to jump into the mix and smack stuff around. You have 4 draconic aura’s, 1 marshall’s aura, a Lucky Dice Aura. Plus prayer as an AoE burst for 5 rounds 1/day. You can melt faces with an astronomical Intimidate check, and contribute heavily in melee combat with diving charges. You have a 2d6 acid breath weapon, a 2d6 ranged touch acid attack, as well as a Familiar doing 1d4+2 every round as a ranged attack. At lvl 6 and into the epics, you can pull the essential invested in your familiar and add it to anything else, if into Spittle that becomes 3d6. Cowering your enemies grants all your allies a better chance to hit them as well for 2 rounds.

The Tier System ranks Dragon Shaman as Tier 5, but I think in the context of e6 and this build, that you are solidly in the Tier 3 realm.

Spoiler: Sources, etc

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Book of Exalted Deeds: Nymph’s Kiss p44
Complete Scoundrel: Never Outnumbered p87
Drow of the Underdark: Imperious Command p50
Frostburn: Harpoon p76
Magic of Incarnum: Brass Mane p62, Dissolving Spittle p64, Fearsome Mask p66, Incarnate p20, Lucky Dice p77, Soulspark Familiar p86, Open Least Chakra p39, Vitality Belt p92
Miniatures Handbook: Marshall p11, Powerful Charge p27
Player’s Handbook: Feats p90-91
Player’s Handbook II: Dragon Shaman p11
http://www.archive.wizards.com/defau...070618a&page=4 Inspiration
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/prayer.htm

Not included, but possible for this build:
Commander Auras – Heroes of Battle 77 (Free based on teamplay and DM fiat)
Healing Commander – rank 3, any good: any spell/effect used to heal an ally also grants you a free action rally check to improve morale.

Taking a 5th level in Dragon Shaman would allow for the ACF in Dragon Magic – Shamanic Invocation. This drops 1 aura and instead gives you any invocation. Beguiling Influence would be the goto for +6 to intimidate. I chose not to take this which would necessitate not taking Marshall first off for a few reasons. Marshall gives you that bonus feat you don’t need to sacrifice to Dragonborn, and the Motivate Charisma bonus applies to all your allies unlike the Invocation. You would net a further +2 to Intimidate w/ the invocation, but it’s not needed in this build. The other option would be Endure Exposure, to give all in your party acid immunity. In the end, not having Nymph’s Kiss, is more of a detriment than having an invocation is a bonus.

About the only metabreath feat worth it would be Clinging Breath. It does half the damage of the initial breath in the following round, but also allows another save. It adds another round to the reload time of your breath weapon. There’s not a huge difference between 1d4 and 1d4+1 rounds, but it’s just not worth it in the long run. A feat for half of 2d6 damage isn’t worth it on a 2-5 round delay.