Iron Chef Optimization Challenge in the Playground CII

[Hiro Quester]

Another weirdness of how the class is written:

Enchanted Blade II includes "Disruption" as one of the abilities you can enchant your blade with. However, disruption clearly says it can only be applied to bludgeoning weapons, while your Blade Dancer weapon must be a blade.

Should we assume that Blade Dancer is awesome enough to grant an exception to that limitation, and you can make a Disruption blade, for use when fighting (low will save) undead?

[The Viscount]

The Enchanted Blade entry doesn't say what kind of action it takes to enchant a blade.

It will make a difference which actions one might take at the beginning of a combat; there might well be other things one might want to do instead, depending on the action cost of enchanting your blade.

Should it be a standard action , like activating a magic item. Or part of the action of drawing a weapon (can be part of your move action). Or a swift action.

Darrin's got this one, there's no otherwise specified, so it defaults to a standard action.

On that same note, are we treating Enchanted Blade 1, 2 and 3 as part of the same ability or as separate abilities?

Darrin's got it again, Enchanted Blade II and III expand on Enchanted Blade I. You don't get multiple pools.

Another weirdness of how the class is written:

Enchanted Blade II includes "Disruption" as one of the abilities you can enchant your blade with. However, disruption clearly says it can only be applied to bludgeoning weapons, while your Blade Dancer weapon must be a blade.

Should we assume that Blade Dancer is awesome enough to grant an exception to that limitation, and you can make a Disruption blade, for use when fighting (low will save) undead?

The restriction is my fault, and it wouldn't be fair to make it hurt you extra. Consider Blade Dancer to be awesome enough to apply disruption to blades even though you usually can't.

[Empyreal Dragon]

How would it interact with weapon-spells, IE, black blade of disaster, eldritch glaive, etc.?

[The Viscount]

Enchanted Blade functions like enchanting a weapon to give it magical properties. You cannot enchant spells (e.g. you cannot make a +1 eldritch glaive), so you cannot use Enchanted Blade on spells.

[Hiro Quester]

Enchanted Blade functions like enchanting a weapon to give it magical properties. You cannot enchant spells (e.g. you cannot make a +1 eldritch glaive), so you cannot use Enchanted Blade on spells.

I had an early idea that involved the added flexible reach of thunderlance (see my sig), before I realized that this spell Won’t qualify.

[Empyreal Dragon]

I can't seem to quite hit prereqs with my build. Is it cool if I volunteer to judge instead of compete for this round?

[daremetoidareyo]

I can't seem to quite hit prereqs with my build. Is it cool if I volunteer to judge instead of compete for this round?

I think everyone is emphatically grateful for it.

[Empyreal Dragon]

Well, then this round for sure has a guaranteed judge.

[The Viscount]

That's incredibly cool of you, thank you.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Bah. My week just disappeared on me. Not gonna be able to compete after all.

I really like this class too.

[Zaq]

Build is in.

I absolutely cannot wait to see what everyone else did.

[ChudoJogurt]

As a first-time entrant, would anyone (who's not judging or competing) be willing to check my build and see if everything is kosher?
I'm 99% sure I done everything right, but I want to be sure I did not overstep any lines into the cheese territory or missed out obvious optimisation opportunities.

Also, is it necessary to specify all skills in the build, or is it sufficient to only note those that are key to the build (either as prepreqs or as part of their power/utility)?
Should Spells per day include specialisation and int bonus?

[DeTess]

Also, is it necessary to specify all skills in the build, or is it sufficient to only note those that are key to the build (either as prepreqs or as part of their power/utility)?
Should Spells per day include specialisation and int bonus?

It is generally considered a good idea to show all the skills in the build (including for every level). You could get away with not showing all of them if you specifically mention that (so the judge knows you've got spare skill points at every level), but showing the other skills that aren't necessarily key to your build will never harm your score, only ever help it. It also helps characterize your build. Sure, you might only depend on, for example, move silent, hide, spot and jump, but that perform (tambourine) and profession (basketweaver) also help with selling the character of your build.

For spells per day, I'd definitely mention bonus spells so the judge has a good idea about what you're capable of. I'd format it with base spells and bonus spells distinct (for example: 1st level spells: 3+2), but do whatever you think looks best here. As long as it's clear to the judge how you've set it up, it's all fine.

[ChudoJogurt]

Ok, I think I'm actually done.
Anyone willing to review it before I send it out?

[daremetoidareyo]

As a first-time entrant, would anyone (who's not judging or competing) be willing to check my build and see if everything is kosher?
I'm 99% sure I done everything right, but I want to be sure I did not overstep any lines into the cheese territory or missed out obvious optimisation opportunities.

Also, is it necessary to specify all skills in the build, or is it sufficient to only note those that are key to the build (either as prepreqs or as part of their power/utility)?
Should Spells per day include specialisation and int bonus?

I've been penalized every time I didn't account for all skill points.

[Darrin]

Also, is it necessary to specify all skills in the build, or is it sufficient to only note those that are key to the build (either as prepreqs or as part of their power/utility)?

I have seen entries leave out skill points, and sometimes stop listing them in the middle of the build table (after you qualify for the Secret Ingredient, sometimes it feels like it doesn't matter what you're putting skill ranks in). There might be some circumstances where leaving out the skills could still get you into medal contention, but those circumstances are rare. You could try looking at previous ICs, check the winning entries, and do an informal survey of how they list their skills.

As a judge, I tend to look at skill ranks in the Power section when I consider what the build can do outside of combat. So I may adjust the power score up or down if the build is super-focused on a single combat gimmick, or if it can contribute to different party roles outside of combat. If I see someone leave out the skill ranks or abandon them halfway through a build, I might complain about it, but my inclination would be to avoid penalizing a build if I can figure out what you're doing with the skills, or can extrapolate what they should look like. On the other hand, if I can't figure out what you're doing with the skills, then I'm not likely to reward you for it. At best, you could say "It won't hurt you when I judge, but your score might be higher if you put in the extra effort."

Other judges are going to be different, and I would expect many of them to assess a penalty somewhere for ignoring skill ranks.

Should Spells per day include specialisation and int bonus?

I usually add the bonus spells from high ability score directly in the table without breaking them out ("4, 3, 1, 0" instead of "3+1, 2+1, 1, 0"). Specialization needs to be mentioned somewhere, I'd generally mention it in the build table. Domain spells would likely still be listed as "3+1, 2+1", etc., because that's how they appear in the books. Breaking out specialization spells... not sure if I'd separate them out, unless it was really important to show which spells you're using when. I'd probably throw an asterisk or (S) notation in there somewhere to indicate which spells are from specialization.

[Empyreal Dragon]

Since I'm judging i dont know if I should comment on how I rate things.

[The Viscount]

Judges can post their criteria before the reveal; that's acceptable.

I know when I judge, seeing the skills all fleshed out helps me judge better, because I can evaluate how well they do at things. As said, it can only help you to fill out your skills.

[Empyreal Dragon]

So, generally when I judge, though I've never officially gotten the chance,

My personal ratings are based on a few things.

Originality is pretty simple, if its something I havent really seen before, even an inventive use of an old tactic, I'll give points. If it's a bog standard op tactic it gets penalized unless you find some new twist.

Power is pretty self explanatory and I gauge it by how it would do in a high OP game.


Elegance... I would definitely penalize blank or missing skills, feats etc. I want to see an entire build that could conceivably see use as a PC or be transplanted directly as an NPC. I like it full fleshed out. Backstory and character idea contribute heavily here. A good example of a build I'd rate highly is FAST from the swiftblade challenge.

Use of secret ingredient is a hard one for me. The more use you have out of every feature the higher I rate this, the more levels the higher etc. If your build only takes one level it would tank your score in this. Taking all 10 levels would beef it up, but not if you only feature one or two abilities in the build.


Hope that helps everyone.

[Venger]

Build submitted. Looking forward to seeing the competition.

[Hiro Quester]

My build is submitted. This was a very fun class to build around (even if many of my ideas would have been more powerful without it; requiring a casting class, without progressing casting!). There are so many fun things to do when the point is to showcase this class's possibilities.

Can't wait to see what y'all have cooked up.

I had another build I wanted to try, but could not make time this week to build it out. It looks fun as kernel of a build idea, though. I'll share it for kicks, after the dishes are revealed.

[The Viscount]

Hush falls over optimization stadium. The reveal approaches!

Please hold of on posting until the all clear.

[The Viscount]

Nothing goes with OA like more OA does.

Heavenly Blade is a Lawful Good Human with a starting stat array of 14 14 14 12 14 12, and by level 20 your stats without magic items should be 18 14 15 12 14 12

Spoiler: Class Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Shaman 1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Concentration +4, Diplomacy +4, Heal +4, Knowledge(Religion) +4, Jump +2, Profession(Soldier) +4, Tumble +2	Able Learner(B), Martial Weapon Proficiency: Longsword(B), Power Attack, Weapon Focus: Longsword(B)	Unarmed Strike, Animal Companion, Shaman Domains(War, Metal)
2nd	Shaman 2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Concentration +5, Diplomacy +5, Heal +5, Knowledge(Religion) +5, Jump +2, Profession(Soldier) +5, Tumble +2		Spirit Sight
3rd	Shaman 3	+2	+3	+1	+3	Concentration +5, Diplomacy +5, Heal +5, Knowledge(Religion) +6, Jump +6, Profession(Soldier) +5, Tumble +3	Martial Study(Wolf Fang Strike)	Turn Undead
4th	Shaman 4	+3	+4	+1	+4	Concentration +7, Diplomacy +5, Heal +7, Knowledge(Religion) +7, Jump +7, Profession(Soldier) +5, Tumble +3	Dodge(B)	Bonus Feat: Dodge
5th	Shaman 4, Ordained Champion 1	+4	+6	+1	+6	Concentration +7, Diplomacy +5, Heal +7, Knowledge(Religion) +7, Jump +7, Profession(Soldier) +5, Tumble +7		Bonus Domain(Celestia), Continued Advancement, Modified Spontaneous Casting(Ex)
6th	Shaman 4, Ordained Champion 2	+5	+7	+1	+7	Concentration +7, Diplomacy +5, Heal +7, Knowledge(Religion) +7, Jump +9, Profession(Soldier) +5, Tumble +9	Mobility	Diehard. Smite(Su)
7th	Shaman 4, Ordained Champion 3	+6	+7	+2	+7	Concentration +7, Diplomacy +5, Heal +9, Knowledge(Religion) +7, Jump +10, Profession(Soldier) +5, Tumble +10		Channel Spell, Divine Bulwark
8th	Shaman 4, Ordained Champion 4	+7	+8	+2	+8	Concentration +8, Diplomacy +5, Heal +10, Knowledge(Religion) +7, Jump +11, Profession(Soldier) +5, Tumble +11		Fist of the Gods, Rapid Spontaneous Casting
9th	Shaman 4, Ordained Champion 5	+8	+8	+2	+8	Concentration +9, Diplomacy +6, Jump +12, Tumble +12	Spring Attack	Holy Warrior, War Caster
10th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5	+8	+8	+2	+8	Concentration +10, Diplomacy +7, Jump +13, Tumble +13		Spirit's Favor
11th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 1	+9	+8	+4	+8	Diplomacy +8, Jump +14, Profession(Soldier) +6, Tumble +14		Acrobatics(+10), Leap of the Clouds, Fast Movement
12th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 2	+10	+8	+5	+8	Diplomacy +9, Jump +15, Profession(Soldier) +7, Tumble +15	Leap Attack	Enchanted Blade I
13th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 3	+11	+9	+5	+9	Diplomacy +10, Jump +15, Profession(Soldier) +8, Tumble +16		--
14th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 4	+12	+9	+6	+9	Diplomacy +11, Jump +17, Profession(Soldier) +9, Tumble +17		Ride the Wind, Fast Movement
15th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 5	+13	+9	+6	+9	Diplomacy +12, Jump +18, Profession(Soldier) +10, Tumble +18	Shi'Quos School	Acrobatics(+20), Acrobatic Attack
16th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 6	+14	+10	+7	+10	Escape Artist +2, Jump +19, Tumble +19		Enchanted Blade II
17th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 7	+15	+10	+7	+10	Escape Artist +4, Jump +20, Tumble +20		Fast Movement
18th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 8	+16	+10	+8	+10	Escape Artist +6, Jump +21, Tumble +21	Fell Drain	--
19th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 9	+17	+11	+8	+11	Escape Artist +8, Jump +22, Tumble +22		--
20th	Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 10	+18	+11	+9	+11	Escape Artist +10, Jump +23, Tumble +23		Acrobatics(+30), Enchanted Blade III, Fast Movement

Spoiler: Spell Table

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Spells per Day/Spells Known
Spells per Day

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

Spoiler: Build Snapshots

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Level 5
LG Human Shaman 4, Ordained Champion 1
STR(15) DEX(14) CON(14) INT(12) WIS(14) CHA(12)
At this level your playstyle is going to be pretty much the same as a normal cleric. You have a big sword and can punch good, but sadly you won't get 3rd-level spells until next level due to Ordained Champion's spell progression. At this stage, your bread and butter spells will probably be Bull's Strength and Luminous Armor, with the occasional Cure spell and Lesser Restoration to patch yourself up after combat.

Level 10
LG Human Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5
STR(16) DEX(14) CON(14) INT(12) WIS(14) CHA(12)
Sadly, this is as strong as your spellcasting is ever going to get with this build, so it's better to focus on using spells that supplement your fighting skills rather than going for battlefield control or blasting, not that your spell list is going to be very good at those latter two anyways. Try to avoid spells with saving throws as a general rule, but spells that ask for attack rolls such as the Inflict line should be kept in mind for when you want to use Channel Spell to add them to your melee damage. The spells you'll cast most often at this stage will be Greater Luminous Armor and various other combat buffs.


Level 15
LG Human Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 5
STR(17) DEX(14) CON(14) INT(12) WIS(14) CHA(12)
Level 11 onwards will show a marked difference in your playstyle. While before now you were likely to buff yourself and wade into the thick of things, you are now beginning to transform steadily into a skirmishing geurilla fighter. The 3rd level sanctified spell Celestial Aspect grants you flaming wings and a rather impressive fly speed which may or may not be enhanced by your Fast Movement ability. Either way, you'll be taking advantage of your Spring Attack and Leap Attack feats quite a bit since both will help activate your Acrobatic Attack class feature. In mass combat you're likely going to be only a bit above average depending on how fast you can go from mook to mook each turn, but in a proper duel or a battle against a singular boss enemy you become an absolutely obnoxious foe to battle against as you flit around the battlefield and practically bounce off of the walls in order to activate your abilities.

Level 20
LG Human Shaman 5, Ordained Champion 5, Blade Dancer 10
STR(18) DEX(14) CON(15) INT(12) WIS(14) CHA(12)
Oh boy, the big 2-0! This is the moment you've been waiting for folks! Your strategy remains the same as at level 15, you're just probably better at it now. With the metamagic feat Fell Drain, you can channel those Inflicts you've been using for 10 whole levels now and start literally cutting entire levels off of your enemies! Sadly your spells per day haven't increased with your levels however, so use this trick when it will count the most.

[The Viscount]

He's got the zoomies.

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Spoiler: Flavor text

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The biggest of hearts, can be found within the smallest of bodies. The divine spark can be found even in the weakest of creatures. Every single living being has this ferocious part of it, the charging beast within it that will go through a hundred horrors and a hundred more, knowing there would be light in the end of the tunnel.


These are the teachings of the church of the celestial tigers, and few are the stories that embody these values more clearly than that of Felious, the divine claw.

Felious was born on the streets of a large unnamed city. He was no one, but his ferociousness, his bravery and wilingness to stand up against evil, earned him a place in the tiger's hearts. He sent his disciples to look for the child, and teach him their ways.

Felious was a quick learner, and what he studied from the tiger was quickly combined with his own method of battle, creating a frighteningly effective combat style that allowed him to utilize what he learned from years on a street in order to battle evil.

Many trials he passed, and many hardships he endured. He became a sworn student of the tiger, and eventually surpaased his teavhers and became a legend. The fables of his deeds are still sang by the bards of the kingdom, the stories about how his small body and weak frame didnt atop him from toppling the largest monsters there were to the ground.

This, is how he did it

Spoiler: Character build

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Chassis

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Race: tibbit
Class: Fighter 4/Barbarian 9/Pious templar 1/Blade dancer 6
Ability scores (Base)
Str 14 Dex 16 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 8
After racial modifcation
Str 12 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 8
Final modification
Str 13 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 12

HD: 5d10 + 9d12 + 6d8
Weapon - Rapier/Spiked helmet

Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Fighter (hit and run)	+1	+2	+0	+0	Swim 4, Intimidate 4, Jump 4	Weapon finesse, weapon focus	Hit and run, bonus feat
2nd	Fighter	+2	+3	+0	+0	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 2, Intimidate 5, Jump 5, climb 1	Dodge	Bonus feat
3rd	Fighter	+3	+3	+1	+1	knowledge (religion) 3, Swim 1, Intimidate 6, Jump 6, climb 1	Mobility	-
4th	Fighter	+4	+4	+2	+2	Swim 1, knowledge (religion) 3, Intimidate 7, Jump 7, climb 1	spring attack	Bonus feat
5th	Fangshield roof dweller barbarian - skilled city dweller	+5	+6	+2	+2	Swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4, Intimidate 7, Jump 7, climb 1, tumble 4	Roof walker	Rage 1/day, Fast charge +10
6th	Barbarian	+6/1	+7	+2	+2	Swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4, Intimidate 7, Jump 9, climb 4, tumble 7	underfoot combat	Uncanny dodge
7th	Barbarian	+7/2	+7	+3	+3	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 7, Jump 10, climb 8, tumble 8,		Fast charge +20
8th	Barbarian	+8/3	+8	+3	+3	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 9, Jump 11, climb 8, tumble 9		Rage 2/day
9th	Barbarian	+9/4	+8	+3	+3	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 9, Jump 12, climb 10, tumble 10, sense motive 2	Snow tiger berserker	Improved uncanny dodge
10th	Barbarian	+10/5	+9	+4	+4	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 9, Jump 13, climb 11, tumble 11		Fast charge +30
11th	Fangshield barbarian	+11/6/1	+9	+4	+4	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 9, Jump 14, climb 13, tumble 12		Raging vigor
12th	Barbarian	+12/7/2	+10	+4	+4	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 9, Jump 15, climb 15, tumble 13	true beliver	Rage 3/day
13th	Warblade	+13/8/3	+11	+5	+5	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 11, Jump 16, climb 16, tumble 14		Battle clarity, weapon aptitude, maneuvers
14th	pious templar	+14/9/4	+13	+5	+7	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 11, Jump 17, climb 17, tumble 15, sense motive 2		mettle, spellcasting
15th	Blade dancer	+15/10/5	+13	+7	+7	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 12, Jump 18, climb 18, tumble 16, sense motive 2	Roof jumper	Acrobatics (+10), leap of the clouds, fast movement
16th	Blade dancef	+16/11/6/1	+13	+8	+7	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 13, Jump 19, climb 19, tumble 17, sense motive 2		Enchanted blade I
17th	Blade dancer	+17/12/7/2	+14	+8	+8	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 14, Jump 20, climb 20, tumble 18, sense motive 2		New Class Abilities
18th	Blade dancer	+18/13/8/3	+14	+9	+8	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 15, Jump 21, climb 21, tumble 19, sense motive 2	Confound the big folk	Ride the wind, fast movement
19th	Blade dancer	+19/14/9/4	+14	+9	+8	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 16, Jump 22, climb 22, tumble 20, sense motive 2		Acrobatics (+20), acrobatic attack
20th	Blade dancer	+20/15/10/5	+15	+10	+9	swim 1, knowledge (religion) 4 4 Intimidate 17, Jump 23, climb 23, tumble 21, sense motive 2		Enchanted blade II

Spellcasting

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Since you get the ability to cast only 1/day, lesser restoration would almost always be good as a quick condition remeday - but any paladin spell that you think will work for you 1/day will work

Maneuvers and stances

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Stance

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leading the charge. This will give you a respectable damage bonus on charge, always on. If you go the critical hit route, consider switching to blood in the water.

Maneuvers

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Wolf fang strike – prerequisite, mostly. Might let you do neat stuff with your claws if you don't have the ability to jump-charge someone.

Sudden leap – here we go. Now, as a swift action, you can initiate a charge against someone. If you alternate your turns between using this maneuver and then renewing it, you can get one extra full attack each turn. That is a huge boost for the character, and it's practically at will, since you don't have many other uses for your swift actions.

Mountain hammer – has no prereqs, with initator level equal to 7 you should get your hands on this strike of ultimate utility. More than a way to pierce damage reduction or take down tough monsters, this is a super versatile tool. With enough persistence, Felious could claw his way through a wall of Iron.

Build reasoning

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Fighter levels – fill out prereq quickly, let you become decent at your job before you start to specialize, and get spring attack while it's still good.
Barbarian levels – tons of delicious features that will make you more specialized and more powerful, shore up your defenses, boost your charges, and qualify you for a casting prc while still staying on the full BaB part of the build.
Warblade dip – Since the only thing you get from the final level is another 10 ft speed boost for charges (and soon enough the character will only charge with falls anyway, so why bother), you instead get access to the great sudden leap maneuver, for extra charges. In addition, some utility with mountain hammer, and shoring up your weakest save is always a good thing to have.
Piois templar - you became a defender of the celestial tiger's temple in the city - you also get one of the best defensive abilities in the game, and casting to qualify for things.
Blade dancer – the Ingredient. Also, bonuses to tumble and jump help you dropping on people more easily, as does the air walk ability. Enchanted blade is mostly there if you want to pierce a specific immunity or something like that – or getting the right burst ability if you went to the critical hit route.

Level breakdown

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Level 1-4 - Springy

In the beginning, our boy Felious is not really connected to his inner cat - acting instead like a regular halfling warrior, who reluctantly resorts to his cat form for scouting and stealth.
Feat wise, he uses his spring attack in order to run towards people and then back away, slashing them with his spiked helmet while in cat form, or another finesseable weapon while in humanoid form. His knight of the stars feat represents the small amount of connection hw has to the celestial tiger, his ancestor spirit - a connection that will grow in time.

Level 5-13 - Chargy

Felious finally found a teacher - a member from the snow tiger berserker lodge that agreed to show him hos secrets, make him a part of the lodge, and connect him to his past. Combining the teaching of the snow tigers with his own experience of urban fighting, creating a mixture of fighting styles. At this point, he becomes a swift charger, who stays almost entierly in cat form - using a spiked helmet, he runs into enemies and stabs them with the pouncing might of a tiger. In addition, he started getting echos of the divine favor of the tiger, and his able to use his ferocious nature in order to heal himself after he is harmed

Level 14 - Casty

Felious have reached the peak of his connection with the tiger spirit. He possess a smidgen of its holy power, enabling him to sniff out evil out of its hiding, and use the divine essence of the spirit tiger to heal his wounds and support his allies

Level 15- 20 - Droppy

From this point forward, Felious became a fully functional warrior - he has mastered the art of getting the fall on his enemies - literally! He can jump up and land on the enemies, climb on the high ground and drop from there. The blessings of the tiger make him able to perform insane acrobatic feats with ease, fall dozens of feet without a scratch, and destroy enemies he lands on from above, empowering his legendary helmet with the force of hie deity.

Culmination point - level 18

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I picked this place as a culmination point for felious because here he gains his last meaningful abilities. Both the next enchanted blade and acrobatic attack are nice but not nessecary, and the skill bonuses are great but too "silent" for a culmination point.

At this level, Felious gets access to his last feat - Confound the big folk. Now, when he enters a creature's space by dropping on it from above he doesn't merely stay there - he wreaks havoc. When he drops on an enemy he full attacks him against flat footed, deals double damage due to the helmet, trips the enemy, and gained increased crit confirmation chance. In addition, he gains the "Capstone" Ability, that will let him perform his leaping smashes on every battlefield - combined with his absurd speed, he can use the air walk SLA in order to just stride right above the enemy and then drop on him

Final tactic:

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Felious, as a combat build, is based on dropping on people. The way it works when combining confound the big folk, roof jumper, the way tiny creature's charge, and snow tiger berserker, is like so.
You "get the drop" on somone – Standing above them and falling, making a high jump, and dropping, climbing and dropping yourself down, or even air walking. According to the roof jumper feat, you can now initate a charge against the enemy, assuming you fell the minimum distance necessary. When you are tiny, you need to enter a screature's space in order to attack them. In most cases these creatures will be medium or larger, thus letting you activate the full benefits of the confound the big folk feat – flat footing them to get your dex to damage, tripping them, and getting a bonus to confirm your crits against them. In addition, since your weapon (either a spiked helmet or a mouthpick rapier/elven light blade) is a light weapon, you can now full attack the creature you jumped above. If you managed to get the flop feat, using it while standing above someone will let you AoE daze many creatures around you while you make the attack – if they are from the right creature type.

Extra

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Stuff dependant on GM

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take ferocity instead of rage, if he will allow you to use it in order to get righteous wrath. That will help you utilize your rage more, since it's bonuses are tailored to yours.

Munchkin modifications -

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Switch the fangshield capstone for street fighter barbarian
Take a mouthpick (katori resin) Elven light blade, with the keen enchantment, Now your attakcs threaten with a critical on 13 or higher, and you have another use for the 6th level enahcnted blade ability – get yourself a burst ability that can be tailored to the enemy's weakness.

If you can manage to get that amount of feats somehow -
the three following feats from the "Fabulous cats" article - Flop, Improved flop, Interspecies grace.
This will give you another dropping tactic on people - climb on something, drop as a standard, initiate a charge while AoE dazing everyone

[The Viscount]

"Guys guys guys! I got big news!"

Cold start:
Mac: "Hey Dennis, watcha doing?" Peers over Dennis's laptop


Dennis: "You know how I've become bored all the time since the quarantine? Well, I've found this online contest that I like building entries for"

Mac: "That's wierd...wait does that say cobra strike monk?"

Dennis: "I know right, it's the only way to get into this prestige class called blade dancer."

Mac: what's a prestige class?

Dennis: "don't interrupt. It doesn't matter.

Read this"

Monks Unarmed Strike
At 1st level, a monk gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a bonus feat. A monk’s attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a monk may even make unarmed strikes with her hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a monk striking unarmed. A monk may thus apply her full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all her unarmed strikes. A monk’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

"And this"

Essentially, a ghost touch weapon counts as either corporeal or incorporeal at any given time, whichever is more beneficial to the wielder

Do you see what I see?

Mac: "No…(doesn't care) but what's a blade dancer? Cuz that sounds cool

Dennis: it's a guy who dances with a blade and goes fast or whatever, it doesn't matter. Look at this ability. Any part of his whole body is a weapon. Any part. And it can be incorporeal at a whim. That's what blade dancer gets for him. And his name is Blade, so he can enchant himself. He's an assassin that can walk through walls, but that's not all."

Mac (figuring it out): you're designing a guy that you make up...who fights...in a competition? ...Dennis, Charlie and i do that all the time, we don't need a spreadsheet."

Dennis(impatient and miffed):I'm going to save the realm with this and win this stupid little competition these nerds got going here.

Mac: I mean, I'm in.



Charlie to Frank: I was thinking like, with 40 tiny snakes helping you balance, if you really push em, ya know, like really push em, they could like help you balance on clouds as a teamwork benefit. And if they bite you, ya just heal, ya know.

Frank: When snakes bite you, you die, Charlie.

Dee enters bar
Dee: "hey guys. I'm so bored."
Sees Mac and Dennis.
"What are they doin'?"

Charlie: This thing Dennis got us fiddling with. It's nothing. Check it out.

Holds phone up to her. She reads, looks puzzled.

Dennis yelling at Mac: "look, an incorporeal person's man-mana is a weapon if you are a monk blade dancer named Blade because every part of the monk is a weapon. Just because you're too [email protected]+÷ to use it like it was intended doesn't mean that I am.

Turns to Dee: hey dee.

Mac (clenched teeth): I just think we should stick to fighting

Dee: "well, that sounds assault-y, Dennis"

Dennis: "Dee, this is about sheer numbers, men can dispense with way more reproduction in a shorter timeframe, especially using ghost touch methodology where things can phase to right where they need to be to save the realm"

Dee confused and indignant, "a girl could save the realm you know, in a better way than whatever you bozos cooked up.

Dennis (baffled): I'll have like 20,000 kids while you're on what? Pffft. baby number 2?"

Dee: "it's make-believe, Dennis. Anything you can think comes true. Here"

pulls put phone, starts typing.

While that's going on Mac sees an opportunity

Mac: I think we should stick to the basics, we fight them with our monk skills,

Dennis turns back to Mac, Charlie and Frank approach

Dennis: so blade dancers can move really fast, what do you think we can do with that?

Frank runs off

Dee: "oh ah ah (excited by response from the phone). It's a game where you can polymorph. I'll polymorph into a draconic plant and make way more babies just by walking on a spring day, than you ever could with your creeper monk tactics.

Dennis: "whatever, Dee."

Frank returns wearing a cheetah suit, seemingly put on way too fast.

Dennis: We're not doing the cheetah suit Frank.

Mac: That was like a hundred character build stubs ago

Dennis: We have all, yourself included, been involved in many other concepts and builds since then. Like, where have you been? You're losing it, old man."

Frank: I like the cheetah suit

Charlie: we can put snakes in the cheetah suit.

Dee: I got it, im a female half dragon warforged monk landforged walker, named princess flower, and im gonna repopulate this ravaged and wartorn land.

Dennis: "Dee you stupid B, warforged can't be girls. And what, youre gonna turn incorporeal and let a bunch of pollen inside you? You're just gonna be the only robot with allergies.

Frank to Dee: can you do that in a cheetah suit?

Charlie: with snakes?

Dee: of course I can.

Frank and charlie: we're with Dee

End Act 1.

…

Dee (enters bar with laptop): “Read it and weep, Dennis! You’re out.”

Q: What's a blade?
A: Manufactured melee or thrown weapons that deal piercing or slashing damage. Bludgeoning damage, even combination, is not a blade (no morningstars). Natural weapons and unarmed strikes are not blades. Enchanting a double weapon or 2 blades requires 2 uses.

Dennis: Im pretty sure that being named Blade gets around that.

Dee: You can Waste your time trying to argue that, I’ll be too busy winning with Princess Flower. They banned your dumb idea.

Dennis: Let me see what you’ve got.

Dee: So you can cheat? Pfft. No.

…
Dennis to mac (in the office): We can’t let Dee win.

Mac: I was thinking the same thing.

Dennis: You’re gonna have to join Charlie and Frank and Dee and mess them up so bad that they don’t outshine my star elf Blade dancer.

Mac: Can’t we just make ours the best?

Dennis: We are. By making everyone else the worst.

Out in the bar, Charlie is explaining:
You attach the riding bracers to your totem pole and that allows you to stand on these ski shoes filled with like 50 tiny snakes. Then you push them with rulebook free actions to be skill assistants as a teamwork benefit, because snakes love that, and they’ll help you balance on clouds. And You're like a tree robot, right? So that right there is like the snakes are basically at home. That way the clouds don’t scare them. You can keep them calm with a masterwork snake flute, and join an animal domain affiliation so they can meet other snakes and be happy and we’ll feed them monster mice and stuff. And they’ll love it because we were friends with the frog fane, which is a cool title and helps us out and we help him out.

Frank: Where’s the cheetah suit in this plan charlie?

Charlie: You just wear it I guess.

Mac (walking out with a book): Im with you guys now.

Dee: Dennis sent you to sabotage us, didn’t he?

Mac (opens and displays book): Yes, but I have an idea for how we can win: Pazuzu

Dee: What’s that?

Mac: He’s this cool bird dude who helps out good guys.” Hands book to Frank

Frank: What a loser. Just gives good stuff away. what’s the catch?

Mac: No catch

Frank: There’s always a catch, Mac.

Dee: I found this egg guide, and it says we can split into extra bodies at level 10 by turning into a burrow root. Pfft. We’re gonna beat Dennis’s reproduction plan! That and we’re covered in sunflowers, and If Dennis is right, we can even make babies with ghost pollen if we enchant ourselves.

Mac: You said that wouldn’t work.

Dee: I told Dennis that wouldn’t work. Seems legit to me.

Frank: What’s the number to that lawyer guy? I got a question.

Mac (dismissive): Go check the office, Frank.
(addressing Dee) Let’s talk combat. What can we do in combat?

Dee: Just make things up, it’s make -believe, Mac.

Mac: It’s gotta use the Blade Dancer to win, Dee. How about we use this speed?

Dee: Is that why Frank keeps talking about that gross cheetah suit?

Mac: I don’t know. Who cares? Charlie says you can walk on air?

Dee: here check out the sheet.

Mac: why are you a dragon? It's eating up levels

Dee: it says here that dragons can breed with any living thing.

Mac: what does that have to do with blade dancing and being a hardened criminal assassin? You're just wasting levels, Dee.

Charlie: dude, I thought she was making firebreathing chili peppers or something. Then I thought that would be a good defense for our totem pole if our 50 snakes are eating dragon chili's and breathing fire at people.

Mac: ok. That makes sense.i guess.

Frank, holding a bar napkin with notes on it:

"I figured out this Pazuzu scam."

........

Princess Flower AKA Blade
Female Dragonborn Half-Dragon Warforged

STR 16, con 16, dex 13, int 15, wis 12, cha 15
Add +1 int at 4th level and use the skill points for ride (tied together trained tiny bikers),
Add +1 Dex at 8th level
Add +1 cha at 12th level
Add more cha thereafter

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Skilled City Dweller Totemist	+0	+2	+2	+0	Balance 2(cc), k. nature 4, survival 4, k. Jump 4, Tumble 4, handle animal 4	Midnight Dodge	wild empathy, illiteracy
2nd	Skilled City Dweller Duskblade	+1	+4	+2	+2	k. geography 2, Jump 5, tumble 5		arcane attunement, armored mage (light), spells:0: disrupt undead, touch of fatigue; 1: obscuring mist, color spray
3rd	Battle Dancer	+2	+4	+4	+2	balance 6, jump 6, Tumble 6	Skill focus (K. Nature), improved unarmed strike	AC bonus, unarmed strike (1d6)
4th	Skilled City Dweller Hit and Run Fighter	+3	+6	+4	+2	Jump 7, Tumble 7, Handle animal 6	Mobility	Hit and run tactics, bonus feat
5th	Totemist	+4	+7	+5	+2	Survival 8, jump 8, Tumble 8	Frog God's Fane: Skill focus(balance)	Totem Chakra
6th	Landforged Walker	+4	+9	+5	+2	handle animal 8, Jump 9, Tumble 9	Spring Attack	Body of nature (plains)
7th	Landforged Walker	+5	+10	+5	+2	handle animal 10, Jump 10, tumble 10	Otyough Hole: Iron Will	Body of nature (resistance 5, natural armor +1), green mind
8th	Landforged Walker	+6	+10	+6	+3	Balance 7, jump 11, Tumble 11		Body of nature (healing herbs), speak with plants
9th	Landforged walker	+7	+11	+6	+3	handle animal 12, Jump 12, Tumble 12	Hardened Criminal: (Handle Animal)	Body of nature (resistance 10, natural armor +2)
10th	Landforged Walker	+7	+11	+6	+3	Handle animal 13, balance 9, Survival 9		Body of nature (immune to polymorph, fortification 50%), plant shape, voice of nature
11th	Blade Dancer	+8	+11	+8	+3	Handle Animal 14, balance 11		acrobatics, leap of the clouds, fast movement
12th	Blade dancer	+9	+11	+9	+3	Handle Animal 15, balance 13	Azure Wild Shape	Enchanted Blade 1
13th	Blade Dancer	+10	+12	+9	+4	Handle Animal 16, balance 15
14th	Blade Dancer	+11	+12	+10	+4	Handle Animal 17, balance 17		ride the wind, fast movement
15th	Blade Dancer	+12	+12	+10	+4	Handle animal 18, balance 18, Tumble 13	Roofwalker	acrobatics +20, acrobatic attack
16th	Blade Dancer	+13	+13	+11	+5	Handle animal 19, balance 19, Tumble 13		enchanted Blade 2
17th	Blade Dancer	+14	+13	+11	+5	Handle animal 20, balance 20, tumble 14		Fast movement
18th	Blade Dancer	+15	+13	+12	+5	Handle animal 21, balance 21, Tumble 15	Roof Jumper
19th	Blade Dancer	+16	+14	+12	+6	Handle animal 22, balance 22, Tumble 16
20th	Blade Dancer	+17	+14	+13	+6	Handle animal 23, balance 23, Tumble 17		acrobatics +30, enchanted blade 3, fast movement

!Note!:
Dee Here, Charlie, Mac, Frank and I split the entry description between us, with each of us focusing on what we did with the dancing blade or whatever it's called because we couldn't agree on anything. So that you, our beloved judges, don't penalize us for the other's actions, each description is followed by a rebuttal of the other entrant, if they choose to. I hope you'll agree, that I win.

Dee's Entry write up: This is Princess Flower. She is a dragonborn half-dragon warforged. She is going to make so many babies. Just watch it beat Dennis's dancing blade at making babies.

Half dragon can be applied to any corporeal living creature, which is what warforged are. Don't condescend to the power of female dragon wombs! Unfortunately, warforged can't be girls. But dragonborn anything gets to choose! I choose girl.

Princess flower does a bunch of stuff dealing with combat and snake pontoons or something and becomes a landforged walker. She grows giant, many seeded sunflowers all over her body. They are pretty. When pollen blows onto her, she makes 100s of little seeds, and because she is part dragon, she can reproduce with any living thing, so the pollen type doesn't even matter.

On top of that, which I know, none of you in this boys club could predict, she can become a big ole plant herself. At level twelve, she can become a burrowroot and gains the special action of splitting.

Princess flower creates a new clone of herself every time she takes half her hp in damage.

She and her sunflower burrowroot babies populate the planet and she rules them all in a princess collective made of her split selves. Obviously, level 12 is the highpoint here.

Obviously, this is the best dancing blade build. I love you, judges. Bye bye.

Rebuttals:
Mac: princess flower also goes by the name Blade. That way she can use enchant blade class features like Dennis wanted.

This part of the build is dumb because dragonborn gets rid of all the cool dragon powers of being a half dragon, and you have to eat the level adjustment. It decreases your combat effectiveness by three levels.

Frank: Don't forget that she wears a skin-tight hot cheetah suit. She's fast and loose.

Charlie's write up:


Dennis here: Charlie asked me to help, and Mac, Frank, and Charlie outvoted Dee, so I totally can. I've gotten pretty good at decoding his semi-literacy.

Charlie says that you attach riding bracers to a totem pole that you carry around, and if you ride 50 snakes that you tie together, you can walk on balance beams on clouds.

You can do this with the handle animal skill to teach them the skill assist teamwork benefit, and I looked into this, and some details notwithstanding, it appears that you can only have one teamwork benefit per four levels, but you can totally be the team leader on any number of the same type of team.

So I think he's saying that you ride on snake shoes on clouds due to epic Balance rules to get DC 120 balance checks. Let me ask.

He says for me to tell you the following:
"Free action totem pole,
Train the snakes with skill assist balance
push them for free to help you balance on clouds
And jump down onto your enemies
You only need riding bracers totem poles"

I don't know why he's saying it like that, he's an imbecile.

The thing is, the fool didn't look up balance rules, he can only go half speed while balancing, totally ruining the second most important feature of Blade Dancer, the fast speed.

The rest of the note is presumably about getting cheesey feats from Frog God's fane and U-hole in order to reach storms to better handle snakes. Nope, that doesn't make sense. Maybe he's saying that he has the hardened criminal feat from storm reach? And Papa Zuzu helped get it, or all of them or something along those lines.

And obviously, he's placating Frank. Smart move.

Rebuttals:
Dee: I don't know how I can be outvoted on my own entry! And whatever Dennis said is probably distorted, and how the heck did Charlie figure all of that out while illiterate?

Mac: Everything Dee said is wrong and Charlie's plan is one fireball away from failure, and no Charlie doesn't get a wish from pazuzu. I found it, we use the wishes my way.

Frank's write up:
So we're fast, right? We should impress people with that, meet enough people, learn about Pazuzu, and summon him for wishes.

Charlie gets first wish and that's final.

Then I get my wish:

I phrase the wish I demand of pazuzu like this:

"I wish that in any future or current contests based on extrapolations of our universe being modelled by an arbitrary ruleset or rulesets, that my depiction in that or those forum or forae be the one to emerge unequivocally victorious."

Pazuzu would totally grant that. Low stakes. No harm to him. And in return, all I have to do is tell people about pazuzu.

So judge, this is for you:

Do you want to prove Pazuzu exists or not? Answer wisely, because almost everyone here knows someone who needs a wish granted. It's hard out there. You aren't going to take that away, are ya? Are YA?!

I mean, I know I need a wish.

You probably need a wish. It's the perfect honeypot. Make my wish come true and I'll give you my last pazuzu wish. Anything you want, Pazuzu will provide.

And because of that, im not going to post any sources, because I just beat the game and don't need to.

Rebuttals:
Dee: are you asking if you can make a wish in your backstory to cheat at future rounds of iron chef? I mean if this beats Dennis too, that's fine by me. Thanks, dad.

Mac: I don't get a wish? I'm taking Charlie's wish. I wish for whatever Charlie wanted to work to work without a problem and for Dee's plan to backfire in an unanticipated way and for Frank's plan to work too, and to have all that LA bought off so we can focus on combat skills. That's all one wish.

Mac's write up:
So, we qualify for the Blade dancer from duskblade spell casting. Midnight dodge replaces crappy dodge and it helps Charlie's totem pole. We get skill focus (knowledge nature) to get into landforged walker, the magic locations, which don't NEED wishes, give us prerequisites for hardened criminal, which is badasp. And that allows take-10s on free action handle animal checks, which we use to train tons of venomous snakes to allow us to balance on clouds like kung fu fighters.
Then we turn into a plant which can split into landforged walker clones and we get robot allergies. When your intelligence increases, you get extra skill points, Dee won't update the table, but just put those points in the ride skill.

So everything is qualified for.

Let's talk combat.

We run up to them from above because we can walk on clouds, and we can add snakes to tie to our shoes until we can split molecules with our step. Blade, the name we go by, and everyone knows us by, uses the viper step strike to disable her opponents with her bare fists, which are enchantable, because they're Blade's, and therefor the enchant blade ability works. And battle dancers can enchant their unarmed strikes as manufactured weapons, and her dad was a manufactured weapon, a warforged, so she's a manufactured Blade.

We use plant combat forms from the eggyknack guide to druids, and choose the best ones with the highest scores and abilities and we use them to spring attack off of a Roof jumper feat usage from above. If we take too much damage from jumping from too high, we use the opportunity to male a clone fighter to help us beat up the bad guys.

Rebuttals:
Dee: Sure, whatever, did we win yet?

----

Epilogue:
Mac: "see Dennis, I told you this class doesn't suck"

Dennis: "Yeah, because you and Frank used the most horrendous cheats in the game, Mac."

[The Viscount]

I can accept fast zombies, but fast goblins are right out.

Spoiler: Stub

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NE Varag

Varag 3/Binder 4/Duskblade 1/Hit-and-Run Fighter 1/Swordsage 1/Blade Dancer 8

Str 12
Dex 22 (all increases here)
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 13
Cha 7

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st (ECL 3)	Varag	+0	+0	+2	+0	Jump +4, Move Silently +4, Tumble +4	Run (B), Spring Attack (B), Skill Knowledge (Tumble)	+3 NA, scent, +8 racial bonus on Move Silently checks and a +4 racial bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent.
2nd (ECL 4)	Varag	+1	+0	+3	+0	Jump +5, Move Silently +5, Tumble +5
3rd (ECL 5)	Varag	+2	+1	+3	+1	Jump +6, Move Silently +6, Tumble +6	Dodge (traded out for Raptor School at level 9)
4th (ECL 6)	Binder	+2	+3	+3	+3	Intimidate +1, Jump +6.5, Move Silently +6, Tumble +7		Soul Binding
5th (ECL 7)	Binder	+3	+4	+3	+4	Intimidate +2, Jump +7, Move Silently +6, Tumble +8		Pact Augmentation, Suppress Sign
6th (ECL 8)	Binder	+4	+4	+4	+4	Intimidate +3, Jump +7.5, Move Silently +6, Tumble +9	Mobility
7th (ECL 9)	Binder	+5	+5	+4	+5	Intimidate +4, Jump +8, Move Silently +6, Tumble +10	Improved Binding (B), (Weapon Finesse (B), Whirlwind Attack (B))
8th (ECL 10)	Duskblade	+6	+7	+4	+7	Intimidate +4, Jump +10, Move Silently +6, Tumble +11		Arcane Attunement, Armored Mage
9th (ECL 11)	Hit-and-Run Fighter	+7	+9	+4	+7	Intimidate +4, Jump +12, Move Silently +6, Tumble +12	Shi'Quos School (B), Desert Wind Dodge, Raptor School (replaces Dodge)	Hit-and-Run Tactics
10th (ECL 12)	Swordsage	+7	+9	+6	+9	Hide +5, Intimidate +4, Jump +13, Move Silently +6, Tumble +13		Quick to Act, Discipline Focus (Shadow Hand)
11th (ECL 13)	Blade Dancer	+8	+9	+8	+9	Hide +5.5, Intimidate +4, Jump +14, Move Silently +6, Tumble +14		Acrobatics (+10), Fast Movement
12th (ECL 14)	Blade Dancer	+9	+9	+9	+9	Hide +6, Intimidate +4, Jump +15, Move Silently +6, Tumble +15	Shadow Blade	Enchanted Blade 1
13th (ECL 15)	Blade Dancer	+10	+10	+9	+10	Hide +6.5, Intimidate +4, Jump +16, Move Silently +6, Tumble +16
14th (ECL 16)	Blade Dancer	+11	+10	+10	+10	Hide +7, Intimidate +4, Jump +17, Move Silently +6, Tumble +17		Ride the Wind, Fast Movement
15th (ECL 17)	Blade Dancer	+12	+10	+10	+10	Hide +7.5, Intimidate +4, Jump +18, Move Silently +6, Tumble +18	Bounding Assault	Acrobatics (+20), Acrobatic Attack
16th (ECL 18)	Blade Dancer	+13	+11	+11	+11	Hide +8, Intimidate +4, Jump +19, Move Silently +8.5, Tumble +19		Enchanted Blade 2
17th (ECL 19)	Blade Dancer	+14	+11	+11	+11	Hide +9, Intimidate +4, Jump +20, Move Silently +6, Tumble +20		Fast Movement
18th (ECL 20)	Blade Dancer	+15	+11	+12	+11	Balance+1, Hide +9, Intimidate +4, Jump +21, Move Silently +6, Tumble +21	Gloom Razor

Spoiler: Spells/Maneuvers

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Spells per Day

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

Cantrips: Acid Splash, Ray of Frost and Touch of Fatigue
1st Level: Swift Expeditious Retreat and Obscuring Mist

Stance: Child of Shadow

Maneuvers: Shadow Jaunt, Cloak of Deception, Sudden Leap, Burning Brand, Burning Blade, Wind Stride

Spoiler: Snapshots

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“He’s still going? I knew varags ate a lot, but dang, I’ve seen ogres with smaller appetites. Shouldn’t we stop him?”

The older guard shook his head. “The deal we made with him was that in exchange for taking out the bandits he’d be allowed to eat his fill. It’s a good deal, considering. The lord was willing to pay thousands of gold for the task.”

The first guard looked at the growing pile of dishes, servants rushing to fill the table as the varag all but inhaled everything they brought. “At this rate, he’s going to eat well through that. I’d say we got ripped off.”

“Well, we probably couldn’t stop him if we tried. You weren’t there to see it, but the bandits couldn’t even put up a fight. I’m not even sure what happened. We were walking down the path when the bandits took the bait and stepped out from the trees. They didn’t even have time to speak before they were all dead. There was just a blur and then they dropped, bloody, to the ground. By the time I even realized something happened he was already 60 feet away, headed back here to collect his reward. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to get between him and his food.”

Spoiler: ECL 5

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This is Vagnar’s weakest point, as he still only has his 3 racial hit dice. At this point he still uses his tribe’s standard hit-and-run tactics: utilizing his speed to run in and score a hit before retreating to safety. Simple, but effective.

Spoiler: ECL 10

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Vagnar’s strategy, while still following the basic structure, has evolved over the past few levels. The biggest change comes from binding Paimon, the Dancer (ToM, 43). In addition to an untyped Dexterity bonus and a couple of feats, Vagnar can now perform the Dance of Death, allowing him to, as a Standard Action, move up to his speed and make a single attack against every creature he passes. During the 5 round cooldown he returns to his standard hit-and-run style. As it only takes a Standard Action, Dance of Death can also be used during the Surprise Round. Now, however, he has access to the Obscuring Mist spell, giving himself a place to return to at the end of his turn.

Spoiler: ECL 15

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Here is where the build really picks up. Hit-and-Run Tactics allows Vagnar to add his Dexterity modifier to damage when he hits a Flat-Footed opponent, along with a +2 bonus to initiative which, added to his already high Dexterity the +2 bonus from his Pact Augmentation and an additional +1 from Swordsage, brings him to a +14 initiative, ensuring that he’ll act before the majority of the enemies he encounters.

Vagnar also gains access to a Stance and 6 Maneuvers. Child of Shadow grants him concealment against all attacks every time he moves further than 10 feet, something he’ll be doing every turn. Additionally, as long as he remains in his stance (and he has no reason to ever leave it) Shadow Blade allows him to add his Dexterity Bonus to all damage rolls made with a Shadow Hand weapon. This damage stacks with the damage from Hit-and-Run Tactics, meaning that during the surprise round he can be doing 18 extra damage to each enemy he hits, from his Dexterity Modifier alone.

Wind Stride, Shadow Jaunt, and Sudden Leap all supplement Vagnar’s already great mobility, decreasing the number of situations in which he can find himself trapped. Cloak of Deception allows him to turn invisible until the end of his turn as a swift action, allowing him to run from combat more effectively, or to Flat-Foot an opponent for more damage (RC, 92). Burning Brand increases Vagnar’s reach for a round, allowing him to avoid attacks of opportunity, and Burning Blade further increases his damage.

The real fun, though, comes from his feats. In addition to another Flat-Footing option, Raptor School allows you to deal 4 additional damage to an enemy if you fall on them from at least 10 feet up. On most characters this would be difficult, given that this would require at least a 40 with a 20 foot running start. Blade Dancer is a jump class, though. Not only does it give a flat +10 to jump at level 1, but it doubles your speed. And for every 10 feet about 30 your movement speed is, you get an additional +4 to jump. With Vagnar’s 120 foot movement speed and 15 ranks in jump, he’s sitting at a nice +58 jump modifier. And since Blade Dancer also allows him to take 10 on jump checks, he doesn't even need to bother rolling to blow that DC out of the water. And since jumping is part of his movement, he can do this on every attack he makes, including during his Dance of Death. But +4 damage alone isn’t that exciting. Whenever Vagnar hits an opponent from a higher elevation as part of a Charge or Spring Attack the opponent is forced to make a Reflex Save DC 27 or fall prone. In a couple levels this will be even further increased by Blade Dancer’s Acrobatic Strike, which adds an additional +2 to hit and damage when he makes a pathetically low DC 5 jump check.

Spoiler: ECL 20

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Gloom Razor. The feat that truly makes Vagnar a terrifying opponent. If a foe misses him with an attack due to concealment (either from Child of Shadow or Obscuring Mist) he can spend a swift action to make a hide check that, if successful, effectively makes him invisible to that opponent. Furthermore, if he deals damage to a creature, that creature is treated as Flat-Footed against the first attack Vagnar makes during the next round, ensuring a much more consistent damage output.

Bounding Assault doubles Vagnars combat efficiency, allowing him to either make a second attack against the target of his Spring Attack, or make an attack against another enemy he can move to. Because you designate the targets before making the attacks, you can choose two targets to attack, but only attack one, allowing you to pass an additional enemy without having to worry about reducing your movement with a tumble check to avoid Attacks of Opportunity.

Because of his 2 LA Vagnar can’t finish out the whole 10 levels of Blade Dancer. While sad, it’s bearable, as one of the levels is dead, and the capstone abilities don’t give him much more than boosting his abilities to even higher levels of overkill. Enchanted Blade 3 could be nice, but unless it’s read as a completely separate ability from Enchanted Blade 1, thereby giving it unlimited uses, it’s a once per day ability that lasts only 10 minutes and has very little practical use. A 900 foot run speed would be great, but Vagnar can make do with a mere 800.

Spoiler: Combat

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Round 1
Initiative is rolled and Vagnar, with his now +15 Initiative Modifier goes first. He uses Dance of Death, moving up to 160 feet and making jump checks against all of them. Using his short sword he attacks with a +30 to hit (17 BAB+10 Dexterity+2 Acrobatic Attack+1 for high ground) and dealing 1d6+27 damage (1 Strength+10 Dexterity+10 Dexterity+4 Raptor School+2 Acrobatic Attack. He then positions himself roughly 80 feet away or behind cover if any is available.

Hopefully any ranged enemies target one of the tankier members of the party, but if not they still have to deal with the 20% miss chance from Child of Shadow, as well as hitting Vagnar’s 24 unarmored AC (10+10 Dexterity+3 Natural Armor+1 Desert Wind Dodge).

Round 2-5
Vagnar’s main priority is the ranged opponents, as they’re the ones likely to attack him. He runs in and uses Spring Attack, again making the jump check for additional to hit and damage. If he hit them during the surprise round he attacks their Flat-Footed AC again, getting his dexterity to damage an additional time. This time, however, he triggers Shi’Quos School, causing his target to make a Reflex Save DC 29 (10+9 half level+10 Dexterity Modifier) or fall prone. A prone target can’t make ranged attacks, which means they either have to stand up, provoking an attack of opportunity and preventing a Full Attack, or do something else with their turn. He then uses Bounding Assault to either attack an additional enemy, or hit the same one again.

Alternatively, Vagnar can use a Spell, or Spell-Like Ability, such as Obscuring Mist to avoid ranged attacks and Targeted Spells; use his Ride the Wind ability if there are a lot of flying enemies, or enough difficult terrain that he can’t easily jump over it all; or buff his weapon with Enchanted Blade to get a needed ability such as Ghost Touch.

Round 6
By this point combat is probably over, or at least close to being over, but if there are still 3 or more enemies Vagnar can choose to activate Dance of Death again. Otherwise he’ll continue as rounds 2-5.

If at any point Vagnar feels the combat is headed south, he has plenty of options to escape. He can use Shadow Jaunt or Sudden Leap to move to a safer location before running, or he can activate Cloak of Deception to turn invisible and run to cover.

Spoiler: Sources

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Varag–MM4, 168
Binder–ToM, 9
Swordsage–ToB, 15
Duskblade–PH2, 19
Hit-and-Run Fighter–DrU, 58
Skill Knowledge–UA, 81
Raptor School–CW, 111
Improved Binding–ToM, 74
Shi'Quos School–DrU, 56
Desert Wind Dodge–ToB, 29
Shadow Blade–ToB, 32
Gloom Razor–ToB, 35
Bounding Assault–PH2, 75

[The Viscount]

You've seen the orc shotput, now get ready for the orc long jump.

Orc society is patriarchal: Females are prized possessions at best and chattel at worst.

What's an orc to do when she grows up in orc-controlled sector of the Taer region and is told by all the orcs there that she's basically property? When she feels completely out of sync with the alignment of the orcish hordes and is sick to death of the conquering and pillaging? When she's had it up to here with the sheer inequality forced upon her kind?

Simple. She gets a little help from the Platinum Dragon and goes about crushing the patriarchy. Literally. From above.

Hey, have you seen those jerks? They deserve it.

---

Minerva

Lawful good
Dragonborn of Bahamut, wings aspect (Races of the Dragon 8) orc (Monster Manual 203)
Region of origin: Taer
Humanoid (orc, dragonblood)
Stat adjustments from race: STR +4, DEX -2, CON +2, INT -2, WIS -2, CHA -2

Stat	Starting	PB cost	Racial	Net
STR	14	6	+4	18
DEX	14	6	-2	12
CON	10	2	+2	12
INT	14	6	-2	12
WIS	14	6	-2	12
CHA	14	6	-2	12

Level-up bonuses: All STR

Spoiler: Tables

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Spoiler: Main build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1	Monk 1 (Cobra Strike ACF, Unearthed Arcana 52)	0	+2	+2	+2	jump 4, tumble 4, climb 4, balance 4, craft (winemaking) 4	Dragon Wings (Races of the Dragon 100)	Monk unarmed strike (Improved Unarmed Strike B), DodgeB, flurry of blows, AC bonus, unarmed damage 1d6
2	Monk 2 (Invisible Fist ACF, Exemplars of Evil 21)	1	+3	+3	+3	jump 5, tumble 5, climb 5, balance 5, craft (winemaking) 5		MobilityB, invisible fist
3	Monk 3 (Standing Jump ACF, Dungeonscape 10)	2	+3	+3	+3	jump 6, tumble 6, climb 6, Wall Jumper (Complete Scoundrel 90)	Battle Jump (Unapproachable East 42)	Still mind, standing jump (long)
4	Monk 4 (Wall Walker ACF, Dungeonscape 11)	3	+4	+4	+4	jump 7, tumble 7, climb 7, balance 7 (+2)		Ki strike (magic), AC bonus +1, wall-walker 20 ft, unarmed damage 1d8
5	Monk 5	3	+4	+4	+4	jump 8, tumble 8, climb 8, Leaping Climber (Complete Scoundrel 87)		Purity of body
6	Monk 6	4	+5	+5	+5	jump 9, tumble 9, climb 9, balance 9 (+2)	Ordered Chaos (Fiendish Codex I 86)	Spring AttackB, wall-walker 30 ft, standing jump (high)
7	Monk 7	5	+5	+5	+5	jump 10, tumble 10, climb 10, balance 10, craft (winemaking) 6		Wholeness of body
8	Barbarian 1 (ACFs: Whirling Frenzy, Unearthed Arcana 66; Spiritual Lion Totem, Complete Champion 46; Skilled City-Dweller [Ride to Tumble], Cityscape Web Enhancement)	6	+7	+5	+5	jump 11, tumble 11, climb 11, Extreme Leap (Complete Scoundrel 86)		Whirling frenzy 1/day, pounce, illiteracy
9	Barbarian 2 (Wolf totem ACF, Unearthed Arcana 49)	7	+8	+5	+5	jump 12, tumble 12, climb 12, Up the Hill (Complete Scoundrel 90)	Mantis Leap (Sword and Fist 7)	Improved TripB
10	Cleric 1 (Cloistered Cleric ACF, Unearthed Arcana 50)	7	+10	+5	+7	jump 13 (cc), tumble 13 (cc), craft (winemaking) 7, Walk the Walls (Complete Scoundrel 90)		Lore, spells (0th: 3/day, 1st: 1+1/day), Knowledge domain, Celerity domain (Spell Compendium 271), Travel DevotionB (Complete Champion 62)
11	Blade Dancer 1 (Oriental Adventures 37)	8	+10	+7	+7	jump 14, tumble 14, balance 11		Acrobatics +10, leap of the clouds, fast movement
12	Blade Dancer 2	9	+10	+8	+7	jump 15, tumble 15, climb 13	Headlong Rush (Races of Faerun 164)	Enchanted blade I
13	Blade Dancer 3	10	+11	+8	+8	jump 16, tumble 16, balance 12		lol dead level
14	Blade Dancer 4	11	+11	+9	+8	jump 17, tumble 17, climb 14		Ride the wind, fast movement
15	Blade Dancer 5	12	+11	+9	+8	jump 18, tumble 18, balance 13	Mighty Leaping (Savage Species 37)	Acrobatics +20, acrobatic attack
16	Blade Dancer 6	13	+12	+10	+9	jump 19, tumble 19, climb 15		Enchanted blade II
17	Blade Dancer 7	14	+12	+10	+9	jump 20, tumble 20, balance 14		Fast movement
18	Blade Dancer 8	15	+12	+11	+9	jump 21, tumble 21, climb 16	Dash (Complete Warrior 97)	lol dead level
19	Blade Dancer 9	16	+13	+11	+10	jump 22, tumble 22, balance 15		lol dead level
20	Blade Dancer 10	17	+13	+12	+10	jump 23, tumble 23, climb 17		Acrobatics +30, enchanted blade III, fast movement

Spoiler: Jump bonuses by level

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Level	Speed (ft.)	Speed bonus to Jump	Ranks	Racial	Synergy	Acrobatics	Strength	Mighty Leaping feat	Minimum roll	Total
1	30	0	+4	+20	+0	0	4	0	1	29
2	30	0	+5	+20	+2	0	4	0	1	32
3	30	0	+6	+20	+2	0	4	0	1	33
4	30	0	+7	+20	+2	0	4	0	1	34
5	30	0	+8	+20	+2	0	4	0	1	35
6	30	0	+9	+20	+2	0	4	0	1	36
7	30	0	+10	+20	+2	0	4	0	1	37
8	30	0	+11	+20	+2	0	5	0	1	39
9	30	0	+12	+20	+2	0	5	0	1	40
10	40	4	+13	+20	+2	0	5	0	1	45
11	80	20	+14	+20	+2	10	5	0	10	81
12	80	20	+15	+20	+2	10	5	0	10	82
13	80	20	+16	+20	+2	10	5	0	10	83
14	95	24	+17	+20	+2	10	5	0	10	88
15	95	24	+18	+20	+2	20	5	10	10	109
16	95	24	+19	+20	+2	20	6	10	10	111
17	105	28	+20	+20	+2	20	6	10	10	116
18	110	32	+21	+20	+2	20	6	10	10	121
19	110	32	+22	+20	+2	20	6	10	10	122
20	135	40	+23	+20	+2	30	6	10	10	141

Explanation: This is the result we can expect per level without relying on ANY dice. "Minimum roll" is 1 before achieving the ability to take 10 no matter what, so from levels 1-10 we will always get at LEAST the desired result but may (95% chance) get more. From 11+, the result is guaranteed if we take 10, which we can do regardless of circumstances. I suppose you could theoretically choose to roll, but why would you at that point unless you already have a cushion of at least 9 points?

Remember that from level 3 on, we don't need a running start to make a long jump, and from level 6 on, we don't need a running start to make a high jump either.

As a helpful reminder, you cover the horizontal distance of your Jump result (in feet) and your feet reach a height of (Jump result / 4) off the ground for a high jump.

Also potentially relevant:

Action: None. A Jump check is included in your movement, so it is part of a move action.

Spoiler: Part one: Ya!

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"They tried to hold me down to earth. We'll just have to see how well that works out for them."
-Minerva

Okay. We start off crazy jumpy. Let's look at some helpful rules text.

Wings (Ex): A dragonborn who selects the wings aspect hatches sporting fully formed wings. Dragonborn can use these wings to aid their jumps (granting a +10 racial bonus on Jump checks) and to glide. Those with 6 HD or more can use their wings to fly.

DRAGON WINGS
Your draconic ancestry manifests as a pair of wings that aid your jumps and allow you to glide.
Prerequisites: Dragonblood subtype, 1st level only.
Benefit: You have wings that aid your jumps, granting a +10 racial bonus on Jump checks. In addition, you can use your wings to glide, negating damage from a fall from any height and allowing 20 feet of forward travel for every 5 feet of descent. You glide at a speed of 30 feet with average maneuverability. Even if your maneuverability improves, you can’t hover while gliding. You can’t glide while carrying a medium or heavy load. If you become unconscious or helpless while in midair, your wings naturally unfurl, and powerful ligaments stiffen them. You descend in a tight corkscrew and take only 1d6 points of falling damage, no matter what the actual distance of the fall.

Note about 1st level feat: per RotD 10, it is possible, upon taking the Rite of Rebirth, to swap out any feat for a feat that requires the dragonblood subtype and that can only be taken at 1st level. Therefore, regardless of whether Minerva scrapes together the money for the Rite before or after 1st level, the table presented is functionally correct; just take Toughness or whatever other level 1 feat to swap out for Dragon Wings if necessary.

Bonus types: With the exception of dodge bonuses, most circumstance bonuses, and racial bonuses, only the better bonus works.

So, per the Player's Handbook (seriously, look it up if you don't believe me, I didn't make this up), racial bonuses stack. We're rocking a +20 to Jump before even looking at ranks or STR or anything. Sweet. You can get into fun trouble with that even at level 1. Dodge is a prereq for later, as is Mobility, but Mobility honestly isn't the worst feat out there until our Tumble is high enough to be unbeatable. Skills and skill tricks are basically all about motion and getting where we want to be.

Several things come online at level 3. First, standing jump makes long jumps easier for now and is soon going to be crucial for high jumps. Second and really importantly, Battle Jump. Oh my, Battle Jump. Let's just crack this bad boy open.

Battle Jump
Benefit: You can execute a charge simply by dropping from a height of at least 5 feet above your opponent. For example, a ledge 10 feet above the floor of a cavern would suffice for jumping on a Medium-sized creature, while a ledge 15 feet high is required for jumping on a Large creature. You can't jump from more than 30 feet above your opponent, nor can you effectively battle jump while under the influence of a fly or levitate spell or effect, as you have to hurl yourself down on your foe.
If you hit, you can choose either to do double damage with a melee weapon or natural attack or to attempt a trip attack. You are treated as one size category larger than normal if you try to trip your opponent with the battle jump. After you attack, you take falling damage as normal for the distance you jumped. You are entitled to a Jump check (DC 15) to take less damage, as if you had fallen 10 feet less than you actually did. If you fail this Jump check, you fall prone 5 feet from your opponent.

Can we take a moment and appreciate that this feat prevents you from performing a battle jump "while under the influence"? Don't get a citation for BJUI, boss.

Okay, so, first off, let's increment the Damage Doubling Counter^TM by one! Damage Doubling Counter^TM: 1 (200% normal)

Being able to charge, which is normally a full-round action, with only a move action (or any form of movement that results in jumping down on someone) is… wild. We're wild. Let's have some fun. Doesn't say that you have to START 5 feet above their heads, of course. Just that your motion has to involve going down 5 feet onto their heads.

At this level of play, we do have to get a little bit creative to successfully charge like this. We can't reliably high jump to 10 feet in the air QUITE yet, though we can on a good roll. That's coming. Still, between Climb, wall-walker (to heck with slow fall!), Wall Jumper, Leaping Climber, and an honestly really nice bonus to Jump checks overall, this isn't impossible. It's delightful when it works. Engineer when you can.

Spoiler: Part two: Wa!

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"You know, sweetie, we HAVE stairs. You don't HAVE to come upstairs in a single bound."
"Those stairs are for you, darling. We all have different needs."
-Lady Samia and Minerva discussing domestic design layout

Spring Attack is a prereq, but it's actually not bad for kiting when necessary. What's really interesting at 6th level is not needing a running start to make a high jump. This will be relevant. Also at 6th level, Ordered Chaos comes online. Minerva feels the typical chaos of her orc brethren in her soul, but her devotion to justice, discipline, and the Platinum Dragon keep it under control. This lets her qualify for things.

Monk 7 comes online. Why take 7 levels of monk? How strange. There must be a reason coming. (This is called foreshadowing.)

Hey, look! Barbarian! This is why we wanted Ordered Chaos. We're lawful, to stay as a monk (and qualify for blade dancer), and also chaotic (i.e., non-lawful), to count as a barbarian. Kickass. Whirling frenzy is super nice 1/day even if we can't rely on it all the time. You know what we can rely on all the time? Pounce. Full attack on a charge. A charge? When do we charge? Oh, right, every time we jump on someone. Fabulous.

Another level of barb… Improved Trip without prereqs isn't something we necessarily use all the time, but since we CAN make free trip attacks on a battle jump, we may as well have the option now and again. But look what else we get.

Mantis Leap
Prerequisites: Monk level 7th+, 5 ranks in Jump
Benefit: Designate an opponent who is within the maximum distance you can reach with a successful Jump check. Make a normal Jump check; if your check is successful, you can make a normal charge attack against the opponent you designated as part of the same action. If your charge attack is successful, you inflict normal damage, plus your Strength modifier multiplied by 2.

This feat uses the word "normal" three separate times. That sounds like me when I do Iron Chef all weekend and then someone asks me about my weekend on Monday.

So we've got TWO ways that a Jump check (normal normal normal) results in a charge. As part of the same action, even. So that's two charges on a move action. And one of those charges does double damage, and they both result in a full attack. Oh, and you can get two move actions per round. By, you know, just taking a double move. Notice that there's no limit on how many times per round we can use Mantis Leap, either.

This also happens to be the level where we can guarantee, if we roll a 1, that we can achieve a high jump of 10' from a standing start. Which is enough to achieve a drop of 5' onto the head of a Medium or smaller opponent. So, you know, we can do that twice per round, and each of those is a charge. Sorry, two charges. A charge dealing double damage and also a charge doing normal normal normal damage (plus double STR) on our three-swing (BAB +7 and flurry) attack routine. So that's like what, twelve swings per round? Dang. Nice. Even if you have to move around a little bit (and then maybe you won't get the full twelve), that's still a LOT of damage. And you can spread it around just by jumping on other enemies' heads! Long jump and high jump at the same time! If you're fighting something in a position that prevents you from just doing this jump routine multiple times, consider using Spring Attack and just using this jump-charge as part of the movement.

There's more fun to be had still! We need to get into the secret ingredient! And for that we need spells. So let's take a quick jaunt into cloistered cleric (worshiping the ideal of Progress, represented by the Travel and Celerity domains). Celerity increases base speed, so that'll get us up onto the next level of the table for blade dancer. Travel Devotion allows more movement, and more movement allows more jumping, and more jumping allows more charges. We've got three minutes a day (spend all those turn undead uses) with Travel Devotion up, and that's sick as heck. Even without Travel Devotion, being at a 40' move speed means 80' on a double move, and that means that each move action can jump on a Medium critter's head TWICE (10' up, 10' down, 10' up, 10' down). So that's MORE charges and MORE full attacks. (If you don't like cloistered cleric for flavor-related reasons, then you can take normal cleric and just lose some skill points with no major loss of effectiveness. But since you can't use armor anyway and you won't be in long enough for the BAB to matter, you might as well grab the skill points.)

And yet, the best is still to come. How can this possibly be? Stay tuned.

Spoiler: Part three: Wha-HOOO!

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"Minerva, I've received the scouting report about the enemy forces. It looks like the front lines will be composed of—"
"Grapes. As far as I'm concerned, love, they're all grapes."
-Lady Samia and Minerva discussing strategy/

Blade dancer! We finally made it! And man have things gotten crazy for Minerva. We go from counting on a Jump result of 45 to a Jump result of 81! Reminder: we haven't needed a running start since level 6. So that's a standing leap of 20 feet straight up! That's… well over enough to Battle Jump down on a Large enemy's head. TAnd with speed of 80 (160' on a double move, 240' with Travel Devotion), we can do this MANY times a round.

Furthermore, we can do additional damage when we jump from a little higher! I summon once more the text of Races of the Dragon!

A dragonborn with flight can make a dive attack. A dive attack works like a charge, but the dragonborn must move a minimum of 30 feet and descend at least 10 feet. A dragonborn can make a dive attack only when wielding a piercing weapon. If the dive attack hits, it deals double damage.

A piercing weapon? This sounds like a job for the siangham! Yeah, I know, it's totally cheesy and overpowered at 1d6/x2 and no special abilities at all other than being a monk weapon, but hey, that's why they made it an exotic weapon. Can't let just anyone have access to the good stuff like that--making such weapons commonly available just wouldn't be good game design. Anyway, if we use a siangham and meet the criteria for a dive, we get to increment the Damage Doubling Counter^TM again! Damage Doubling Counter^TM: 2 (300% normal)

So now we have to do some math about when it makes sense to dive and when it makes sense to not spend those feet of movement (thereby doing more normal normal normal jumps and thereby more attacks). Please note that absolutely nothing about the dive attack says you have to move 30' horizontally. Fifteen up and fifteen down? That's thirty. And of course, if you happen to need to move horizontally ANYWAY to reach the next patriarchal orc bad guy to squish, you might as well. We'll put the math later just for readability.

Acrobatics isn't only about Jump, either! We were pretty good at Tumbling before, but now we can ABSOLUTELY Tumble at full speed without even blinking and with no chance of a bad roll. Also gives us another way of reducing damage after a fall, just in case we didn't have enough of that already!

The movement speed is critical not only because it turbocharges our Jump result but also because it lets us Jump more times, resulting in more full attacks.

Level 12 is a fun level because Headlong Rush lets us haul out the Damage Doubling Counter^TM again! Damage Doubling Counter^TM: 3 (400% normal)

Prerequisite: Orc or half-orc, base attack bonus +4 or higher
Benefit: Instead of a normal charge attack, you can perform a headlong rush. A headlong rush is a charge that proves attacks of opportunity from every foe who can reach its path, including the opponent you attack. A headlong rush otherwise functions like a charge attack except that a successful attack deals double damage.

Now, Headlong Rush has a downside: it provokes. Here's why that isn't so much of a problem. First, you can only provoke from a given enemy once per round per action, so most enemies will only get to take one swing at you for this (and hey, you've got Dodge and Mobility to help with that). Second, you can't AoO what you can't see, and Minerva can often go invisible with invisible fist to ensure just that. Third, risk/reward is a thing--you're going to hit them WAY harder and WAY more often than they hit you back. If there's an opponent whose AoOs are extra-dangerous to you, then don't use Headlong Rush! But if you use it, welp, that's another 100% damage on all your many, many, many attacks.

Enchanted blade is best if you need a ghost touch weapon, but even if you're just adding a d6 with flaming/frost/whatever, that still benefits Minerva more than many other blade dancers. Considering just how many dang swings she gets per round, those d6s add up and they add up fast! (At this point, a full attack is three swings: one base, one iterative, one flurry. Each move action against a Medium foe results in about five full attacks--fifteen swings--if you're doing non-dive and four boosted full attacks--twelve swings--if you dive. That's per move action, so double it for a basic double-move turn.

Next breakpoint comes at 14th-15th. Ride the wind references air walk, which says that moving upward is similar to walking up a hill. If necessary, Up the Hill (Complete Scoundrel pg. 90) should be relevant there! But mostly air walk is useful out of combat. It can also be cast on a friend if you like!

More importantly, we get another swing in each of our many full attacks, and we get even more fast movement, so we jump higher and attack more times.

Prerequisite: STR 21, Dodge, Mobility, Jump 9 ranks or a racial bonus on Jump checks
Benefit: You gain a +10 competence bonus on Jump checks. If you intentionally jump down from a height, a successful Jump check (DC 15) lets you take damage as if you had fallen 20 feet less than you actually did.

Love that the prereqs mean you've got at least +5 from STR alone, at least +1 from a racial bonus, and then you've got +10 from the feat itself, totaling a minimum of +16 before roll/ranks/speed/others, and yet they specify a DC 15. Yeah, there's def gonna be enough penalties in play to make that roll relevant. Sure, WotC.

Another dose of Acrobatics comes online at the same time as Mighty Leaping (STR is above 21 from level-ups by now), so there's +20 from the two of those over our previous total. That's enough to get our feet more than 25 ft off the ground from a standing start, so that's enough to fall down 10 ft on the head of a Huge opponent. You love to see it.

Acrobatic attack means that we've got a +2 on attack rolls and damage rolls for everything we do, because we're ALWAYS jumping at our opponent. Always.

Enchanted blade II lets Minerva add a "burst" enhancement (i.e., does extra on a crit) to her siangham! When you consider how many swings we're making per round (at the level it comes online, four per charge, about 12 charges per round on a Medium opponent, so roughly 48 attack rolls per round), there's actually going to be a LOT of critical threats rolled. When's the last time you saw a crit-fisher with a siangham? That's what I thought!

Dash increases base speed (it's not a bonus!) by 5'. Since this puts base speed (ignoring blade dancer's bonus) at 45' (30' orc, 10' Celerity domain, 5' Dash), we used the value on Darrin's table that's halfway between 40' base and 50' base for the 7th-9th level range, and since blade dancer straight up trebles your speed at the final breakpoint, we did that too.

In the end, a guaranteed Jump result of 141 is enough to get Minerva's feet 35' off the ground from a standing start, allowing her to Battle Jump (though not Dive) down on a Colossal creature's head, guaranteed. Boing!

Against a Medium or smaller opponent (say, any individual orc), it's more like 18 full attacks totaling 90 attack rolls. Each round. Before counting the damage multipliers. No consumable resources expended.

Spoiler: LET'S GET MATHEMATICAL

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So let's lay out a few assumptions here! I think all of them are 100% defensible and, to be honest, they're all about as conservative as you get.

• Because Mantis Jump requires a "normal charge", we assume that you must travel 10ft in a straight line (down) before being adjacent to the enemy on all jumps.
• This means jump height must always be creature size + 10 ft.
• Dive also requires dropping 10ft, so that's always taken care of.
• Dive also requires traveling 30 ft before impact (which means traveling upward 20 ft before the 10ft drop). Thus, Dive will always activate for creatures of size Large and larger.
• For Medium and smaller, it's a choice, and the best choice depends on your speed.

Let X equal the expected damage of a full attack. (This is a heck of a lot of swings, but that doesn't change when making the decisions we're talking about here, so we can reduce it to X since this is just a strict comparison.)

For a normal double-movement turn of jumping on a single Medium or smaller enemy:

Level 12-13: Dive is better.
No dive: 10 full attacks, total damage 25*X
Dive: 8 full attacks, total damage 28*X

Level 14-16: No Dive is better.
No dive: 12 full attacks, total damage 30*X
Dive: 8 full attacks, total damage 28*X

Level 17-19: Tie.
No dive: 14 full attacks, total damage 35*X
Dive: 10 full attacks, total damage 35*X

Level 20: No Dive is better.
No dive: 18 full attacks, total damage 45*X
Dive: 12 full attacks, total damage 42*X

(Note that the math changes again if using Travel devotion to have a triple-move instead of double; then Dive is always the best option, except at level 17 where no Dive wins 50*X to 49*X.)

Reminder: The above is only for Medium and smaller enemies. If you're fighting things Large or larger or if you already have to move 30' in the course of getting to the next target, dive away!

Spoiler: Usin' Dat Buffalo

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Prereqs: Dodge and Mobility help make Headlong Rush less of a bad idea, and they're prereqs for Mighty Leaping, which is awesome. The skills (Jump and Tumble) are critical to how we do things. The need to cast spells gets us into cleric, which makes us even more able to bounce on people (through Travel Devotion and the Celerity domain).

Acrobatics: Basically our whole game, along with fast movement. Minerva is all about maximizing head-jumps per round, and absolutely nothing makes that easier than these game elements. She's constantly Tumbling at full speed while doing so. Balance is useful for resisting being tripped (Complete Adventurer, pg. 97: If you have 10 or more ranks in Balance, you can make a Balance check in place of a Strength or Dexterity check to avoid being tripped by an opponent. You take a -10 penalty on your Balance check. If you succeed on this check, you are not tripped."), which is great if someone decides to get cute on the AoO from Headlong Rush and trip you to interrupt your movement; this isn't reliable from ranks alone but is VERY reliable with Acrobatics on our side.

Fast movement: The other half of "basically our whole game." Fast movement increases both how well we jump and how many times per round we can jump. It's huge.

Enchanted blade: At tier I, we can take advantage of making lots of swings. At tier II, we take advantage of the fact that we're basically crit-fishing with all of our myriad attack rolls. At tier III, we can either get burst enhancements twice per day, get even MORE swings with a speed weapon, or get some out-of-combat utility with passage.

Ride the wind: While we're not relying on this, arguably it can be used to not have to return to ground level after jumping and falling. For example, you could perhaps turn on ride the wind, jump up and Battle Jump on a Large creature, "land" five feet above the ground, and repeat, spending less movement than usual and thereby jumping more. Nothing says you can't jump while air walking, after all! Battle Jump calls out fly and levitate but nothing about air walk, by the way. I checked. (Don't buy this argument? Cool. Ignore it. It doesn't change the build at all.) We can also go up faster than usual with Up the Hill.

Acrobatic attack: We do this on literally every attack we plan to make. Ever. +2 is a small amount of damage at the level it comes online, but we not only apply it many times over, we also get to make it bigger with the Damage Doubling Counter^TM.

Spoiler: Commentary

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Desirable items:

• Minerva doesn't have any all-day enhancement bonuses to speed, so anything that makes her faster makes her deadlier.
• Typical numerical buffs ([i]bracers of armor[i], stat-boosting gear, magical bonuses on the siangham, cloak of resistance, etc.) are just as useful here as anywhere else.
• Nightsticks (Libris Mortis pg. 78) mean more turn undead uses which mean more Travel Devotion uses.
• As is typical for anyone making attacks as their primary deal, enhanced vision modes (things that grant see invisibility, for instance) help.
• As mentioned, Minerva makes a ton of attack rolls and will score some critical threats quite often by the time she's doin' her thang. Items that trigger on crits are therefore pretty funny.

Nonmagically, Minerva wants a 10 gp pair of sundark goggles (Races of the Dragon pg. 123) to negate the typical orcish light sensitivity and a 3 gp siangham to make dive attacks with.

There's absolutely no reason not to be a water orc (Unearthed Arcana pg. 18) if you want an extra +2 CON and the ability to swim. I chose to go with the normal orc for thematic reasons. After all, Minerva got her start by being angry about her inequality, so having a net stat penalty felt right. Also, she's mad at her old horde, and let's not have any arguments about whether they'd be in the water or not. It's harder to jump when in the water. Still, by all means, if you want free CON, take it. Nothing changes about choices or strategy.

If taking flaws, you could get Leap of the Heavens (PHB2 pg. 80) instead of using the standing jump ACF, thereby gaining monk fast movement.

I suppose it might be possible to trade out the Knowledge domain, which we don't use, for Knowledge Devotion (since that guarantees a +1), but eh, let's just not have that argument.

Just so we're clear, between Dragon Wings, the wings aspect of dragonborn, the Tumble skill, the Battle Jump feat, and the Mighty Leaping feat, we can reduce falling damage basically to zero pretty much guaranteed. Just if that wasn't clear.

Note that all of Minerva's class-granted bonus feats from monk and from barbarian explicitly ignore prereqs.

Craft (winemaking) is for flavor and is not mission-critical.

Improved Trip isn't used every day but still is kinda cool on occasion. The build does not assume that you need to knock enemies prone, but if you do, maybe ask if you don't have to go as high in order to jump on their heads?

We don't rely on actual flight to get high up, but you know, we can still fly (at 6 HD and up). Just in case that's relevant.

"Unable to reach an opponent" is not exactly the build's most likely problem, but we are proficient in all martial weapons (thanks, barbarian!) and can easily have a backup ranged attack of some kind, just in case.

Spoiler: Nova resources (not commonly used)

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The build as presented doesn't really rely on per-day abilities. Still, Minerva has a few. We can mention them here just for funsies; they're useful when they work but are not relied upon at all in the basic calculations we presented.

Spells: Three (with 12 WIS) 1st-level spells per day, one of which has to be expeditious retreat. An extra 30' move speed is pretty darn funny for making this build flow. Otherwise, eh, CLW I guess can be a few extra HP per day, or maybe magic weapon just in case, or sign (Spell Compendium pg. 189) for a nice init bonus, or omen of peril (SpC pg. 149) for minor utility, or healthful rest (SpC pg. 111) just because you only need it 1/day? Whatever.

Whirling frenzy: Bonus to hit, bonus to AC, bonus to damage, and an extra attack every full attack? This makes your numbers a lot bigger for about one encounter per day.

Travel Devotion: This is the big one, and it's actually usable more than once per day. Since Minerva has four uses of turn undead per day (3 base + 1 CHA) and nothing better to spend them on, she'll spend them all on Travel Devotion to get two extra uses (plus one base, total three) of Travel Devotion per day. When TD is active, you can effectively expect Minerva's damage to increase by a minimum of about 50% simply because she can nearly directly convert movement into damage. That's three full minutes (separate) per day when you get this. That's noticeable. And we didn't even include it in the basic numbers--aren't we frugal?

[The Viscount]

This is a limited time offer. Buy now!

The Merchant of Death

Spoiler: backstory

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“Welcome! Please, feel free to look around, let me know if you have any questions.



No, sir, we don’t have anything like that, only blades.



Well, blades are what we have.



If we have it, it’s a blade.



I suppose it is circular in a way, very insightful. We’ve got circular blades over there if that’s what catches your fancy.



Oh, that’s what you want?



No, it’s no problem.



Well, I’m afraid that’s a very highly sought-after enhancement. It’s hard to find in these parts, so I’m sure you understand I have to charge you a premium.



Terribly sorry to hear that, sir. If your guild offers it for cheaper, then might I ask why you aren’t getting it there instead?



That’s what I thought. Take it and have a good time.



Oh, that? It’s just a maker’s mark in my mother’s tongue.



It means ‘no refunds.’



Next!”

Spoiler: ability scores

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str 14

dex 14 increases here

con 14

int 10

wis 10

cha 16

Spoiler: stub

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LE human crusader 2/duskblade 1/fighter 1/crusader 7/blade dancer 8/crusader 8/blade dancer 10

Spoiler: table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Crusader 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	balance 4, diplo 4, intimidate 4, jump 4, tumble 4	weapon finesse, power attack, expeditious dodge	furious counterstrike, steely resolve 5
2nd	Crusader 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	balance 1 (5), diplo 1 (5), intimidate 1 (5), jump 1 (5) k (religion) 1		indomitable soul
3rd	Duskblade 1	+3	+5	+0	+2	sm 3	mobility	arcane attunement, armored mage (light)
4th	Fighter 1	+4	+7	+0	+2	tumble 3 (7)	spring attack (fighter bonus feat)	bonus feat
5th	Crusader 3	+5	+7	+1	+3	diplo 3 (8), jump 2 (7)		zealous surge
6th	Crusader 4	+6/+1	+8	+1	+3	diplo 1 (9), intimidate 2 (7), jump 2 (9)	evasive reflexes	steely resolve 10
7th	Crusader 5	+7/+2	+8	+1	+3	diplo 1 (10), jump 1 (10), tumble 3 (10)
8th	Crusader 6	+8/+3	+9	+1	+4	diplo 1 (11), jump 1 (11), tumble 1 (11)		smite 1/day
9th	Crusader 7	+9/+4	+9	+1	+4	diplo 1 (12), jump 1 (12), tumble 1 (12), extreme leap	combat reflexes
10th	Blade Dancer 1	+10/+5	+9	+3	+4	disguise 1, jump 1 (13), tumble 1 (13)		Acrobatics (+10), leap of the clouds, fast movement
11th	Blade Dancer 2	+11/+6/+1	+9	+4	+4	disguise 1 (2), jump 1 (14), tumble 1 (14)		Enchanted blade I
12th	Blade Dancer 3	+12/+7/+2	+10	+4	+5	disguise 1 (3), jump 1 (15), tumble 1 (15)	bounding assault
13th	Blade Dancer 4	+13/+8/+3	+11	+5	+5	disguise 1 (3), jump 1 (16), tumble 1 (16)		Ride the wind, fast movement
14th	Blade Dancer 5	+14/+9/+4	+11	+5	+5	disguise 1 (4), jump 1 (17), tumble 1 (17)		Acrobatics (+20), acrobatic attack
15th	Blade Dancer 6	+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	disguise 1 (5), jump 1 (18), tumble 1 (18)	extra granted maneuver	Enchanted blade II
16th	Blade Dancer 7	+16/+11/+6/+1	+12	+6	+6	disguise 1 (6), jump 1 (19), tumble 1 (19)		Fast movement
17th	Blade Dancer 8	+17/+12/+7/+2	+12	+7	+6	disguise 1 (7), jump 1 (20), tumble 1 (20)
18th	Crusader 8	+18/+13/+8/+3	+13	+7	+6	jump 1 (21), k religion (1) 2, tumble 1 (21)	rapid blitz	steely resolve 15
19th	Blade Dancer 9	+19/+14/+9/+4	+14	+7	+7	disguise 1 (8), jump 1 (22), tumble 1 (22)
20th	Blade Dancer 10	+20/+15/+10/+5	+14	+8	+7	disguise 1 (9), jump 1 (23), tumble 1 (23)		Acrobatics (+30), enchanted blade III, fast movement

Spoiler: maneuver list

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1: Douse the Flames, Stone Bones, Crusader’s Strike, Leading the Attack, Vanguard Strike; Iron Guard’s Glare

2: martial spirit

5: mountain hammer

6 vanguard strike, thicket of blades

7: white raven tactics

8: douse the flames covering strike

9 divine surge

18: shield counter, press the advantage

Spoiler: playtips

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Spoiler: 5

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You operate as a standard dex-focused crusader. Focus your attentions on using your maneuvers to your best advantage. Fighter helps you pay taxes to lay the foundation for blade dancer. Duskblade provides access to its considerable list through wands and provides the obligatory casting for blade dancer.



Skilled city-dweller transforms ride into tumble to pay blade dancer’s taxes.



Indomitable soul shores up your will save with your cha.

Spoiler: 10

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You’re getting your feet wet in the secret ingredient. Combat reflexes are now online and give you extra aoos from your dex bonus. Evasive reflexes allows you to use these to take 5 foot steps when enemies provoke if you want to, offering you more options in combat.



Crusader gives you the ability to delay damage into your steely resolve pool and use it as boosts to attack and damage through furious counterstrike . You have your smite up to help deal extra damage to enemies

Spoiler: 15

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Bounding assault allows you to make 2 attacks while spring attacking. You can now enchant your blade to supplement your combat abilities.



You’ve got enough skills to top up jump and tumble. Your skill list has little else of import to you, but blade dancer provides the somewhat counterintuitive disguise.



Well, crusader provides a reason to invest in charisma, and your enchanted blade ability allows you to put completely real magical properties onto weapons.



You don’t need them to be masterwork or +1 first, and can pass the savings on to your customers. They don’t need to know that the enchantments will disappear eventually, but that’s why the class beefs up your speed and jumping ability along with providing you with the ability to disguise yourself, and why there’s an E in your alignment section.

Spoiler: 20

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You’ve finished blade dancer and now have access to rapid blitz. Crusader’s maneuvers continue to pay off with shield counter online. As an immediate, you can shield bash an enemy you threaten. If it hits, their next attack automatically misses. This pairs well with evasive reflexes which lets you move any time enemies provoke aoos.

Spoiler: sources

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oriental adventures: blade dancer

tome of battle: crusader, evasive reflexes, extra granted maneuver

phb 2: duskblade, bounding assault, rapid blitz

core: fighter, weapon finesse, power attack, mobility, spring attack, combat reflexes

races of the wild: expeditious dodge

complete scoundrel: skill tricks

skilled city-dweller: cityscape web enhancement

[The Viscount]

Don't you know? Everyone runs from Shere Khan.
(I want you to know that I could have made a tiger king joke, and I chose not to.)

Hu Tiaowu, The Jungle Guardian
虎跳舞(“Hu” Tiger, “Tiaowu” Acrobatic Dancing)

Spoiler: The Hunters

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With Naturewatch active, you patrol your domain, as you do most days, confirming that the ecosystem is in balance, as it ought to be. The animals are upset. Casting Speak with Animals, birds and monkeys tell you that Hunters have been spotted in the forest.

Hunting for food is part of Nature’s way. You tolerate this, in moderation. Everything has to eat. But these sound like they’re hunting big game just for sport, for trophies, which goes against the Law of Nature.

You shift into a Child of Shadow stance, ending each turn concealed and hiding. Using Woodland Stride, you pass at full speed (145ft/round) unimpeded by the undergrowth that impedes others. Trackless Step means you can’t be tracked. On the way you cast a few 10 min/level buffs to supplement the hours/level buffs you always cast before your patrol, and the 24-hour buffs you cast as extended 48-hour spells yesterday.

They are near the river. With 145 ft swim speed you could swim and charge leaping from underwater. People never expect that, when the river is 100 feet away. And water streaming from your fur as you leap looks terrifying, it seems. But not today.

Thirteen of them. Humans. Of course. They’re always trying to dominate, rather than be part of, the ecosystem. You are ashamed to have once been a full-time human.

Hunting a tiger they heard patrols this area. Unfortunately for them, in a role-reversal whose irony has long faded through repetition, that tiger isn’t an ordinary tiger. And it’s hunting them right now.

You cast some min/level buffs and enchant your greataxe with Bane (human). You'll cast your rounds/level buff, Bite of the Weretiger, when you are about to attack.

Perhaps you should warn them to make better choices. You cast Heat Metal on the armor of the Cleric (Hextor–that makes sense) and 3 nearby “hunters” in full plate. The next round they begin cries of pain as their armor heats. Some of them remove scalding armbands and rings, drop shields, and are trying to remove their armor to escape the searing pain. Cleric passes the Will save.

They don’t seem discouraged, but more determined. Hextor teaches domination, not backing down from a fight. Okay. The carrion animals will get to eat here today.

You cast Faerie Fire on the cleric (no save), followed by a Fog Cloud (no save). Now you can see him, but nobody in the fog can see anything but him. You move again and maintain concealment.

You cast Bite of the Weretiger for+12 Str, +4Dex. +6Con, +5NA, Multiattack, and Blindfight (good in fog). You roar a loud warning again, then drawing your greataxe you move into a better position, tensed, claws out for better grip, lined up perfectly for a charge glowing figure in the center of the fog. If they don’t flee now, then they deserve what happens next.

Overkill is best on the first attack; it terrifies the survivors. A full power attack charge then, giving all of your 15 BAB to damage. You will drop your AC using Shock Trooper, earning every bit of your attack bonus back, so most attacks will hit. This will be a Leap attack charge to increase Power Attack damage further. Acrobatic attack adds +2, Your AC will be low, but nobody will get a chance to hit you.

A swift action activates the Dancing Mongoose boost for two extra attacks in a full attack, a 4th greataxe strike and an unarmed strike. As you charge, you leap acrobatically, tumbling past the hunters to pounce on the chanting cleric from above.

Your pouncing full attack is +32/+32/+27/+22 greataxe attacks for 5d6+52 each, plus an unarmed elbow strike at +30 for 2d6+37 damage, then secondary attacks with two claws at +28 for 1d6+23 each.

A lucky roll, even your +22 attack hits! Not even this cleric can shake off 24d6+328 damage; his shredded, still glowing head and appendages flying through the fog at his blood-spattered bodyguards, as you roar ferociously. You Spring Attack to finish your move action, leaping and tumbling over their heads into the jungle.

If he had not died, you could have chosen to try a grapple check (+31 with Improved Grab) then rake with back claws at +28 for 1d6+23 each. But you have a chance of being caught in the grapple. That can get messy. You have a swift action Freedom of Movement (thanks to Heart of water) to activate and flow away if needed. But the maneuver used your swift action. Better tp Spring Attack away

One is in shock. “By Hextor! That tiger had a greataxe in his mouth!” But others resolve to continue, and to fight. Even without their cleric. Fools.

Better hit all 12 of them, then. You shift to Pearl of Black Doubt stance to increase Dodge AC by 2 for each attack that misses you, in case tumbling away from AOOs gets hard with +2DC for each tumble check. This stance is ideal for a Desert Tempest maneuver. As a full round action you run at your full speed (145 ft) past each one. You make a single melee greataxe attack, fully power attacking (+32 to hit for 5d6 +31 damage), against everyone you can pass in a move action (which is everyone). A couple of the low-level foot soldiers die when you critically hit for triple damage.

Thankfully the survivors flee, some still dropping scalding armor as they go. You roar for effect, to keep them running.

Telling the local monkeys they are welcome to the meat, you ask them to gather the pieces of armor and shiny rings into a pile for you, once they cool down. You will examine it later, after you follow those fleeing “hunters” to make sure they leave your domain.

Spoiler: Build details, Race, and alignment

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Druidic Avenger9/Monk2/Swordsage1/Blade Dancer 7/Swordsage+1

Character Inspiration: Tai Lung’s Escape Scene https://youtu.be/UsZNj9srzR8

Lawful Neutral: as a Jungle Guardian, you enforce the Law of the Jungle and the Laws of Nature. You are not unnecessarily cruel, but can be brutally pragmatic.
Starting race: Human. After 6^thlevel you are a Leopard often. After 8^th, a Tiger most of the time.

Hit Points:
Dice:12d6+4d8+3d8+1d6= average77, Max 134. +45 from +Con (increase at 16^th).
Average 112 Max 181.
+18 temp HP from spells.
Blade dancer 7:
Incredible speed to power your hit and run attacks, insane jump and high tumble, acrobatic attacks. Airwalk SLA. And flexibility with temporarily enchanting your greataxe with Bane against today’s enemy, or ghost touch for incorporeal, disruption for undead enemies.

The amazing speed and acrobatics and flexibility are significantly enhanced by everything else in the build.

Druidic Avenger 9:
Druidic Avenger gives up a Druid’s Animal companion and spontaneous SNA for a Barbarian’s Rage and Fast Movement. Druid 5^thlevel spells, wildshape, woodland stride, trackless step. Tiger wildshape, for pounce, scent, Improved Grab, massive Strength and Con, and natural weapons for up to four secondary claw attacks each round you pounce.

Druidic Avenger’s +10 base speed fits the SI. Plus an animal companion could never keep up with you at your higher speeds after Blade Dancer.

The ability to rage for more strength and con is great, and fits well with Tiger’s animalistic ferocity, Overwhelming Attack Monk style, and the Tiger Claw discipline’s style. Druids Lesser Restoration removes fatigue after raging. But enraged you can’t concentrate, tumble, or cast spells. So rage is a last-resort when rounds/level buffs expire.

Spoiler: Regular Druid and the Easy-Cheesy Druid switch option

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You could start as a regular druid with an Animal Companion and spontaneous SNA, and then switch to Druidic Avenger at level 9; for example, to avenge the tragic death of your Animal Companion. I’m choosing to do this the hard way, and have to prepare SNA spells and be without a companion. It seems more elegant to go the way you intend to continue.

Monk2:
Overwhelming Attack style (Power attack and Improved Bull Rush as bonus feats). IUAS, +Wis to AC in wildshape.

Spoiler: The Easy-Cheesy Way and the Hard Way

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You could start with Monk, and get the first level +3 ranks to many useful skills that are cross class for a druid. You could change your stats and be weak and clumsy until wildshape, and be able to pump Wis, int or con higher. You could take Dodge and Mobility as Monk bonus feats without needing prerequisite 13 Dex; but no Master would train a clumsy oaf in Cobra Strike style.

This PC has 13 Dex, earning dodge, mobility and Spring attack the hard way. And you wait until you have the 23 Str of a Tiger to train as an Overwhelming Attack Monk.

Swordsage1: Martial Weapon proficiencies and Weapon Focus with Tiger Claw’s greataxe, claws and unarmed strikes. You wait to take Swordsage 2 at 20^thlevel to get your IL up enough to add a 6^thlevel maneuver that takes advantage of Blade Dancer’s speed, and a stance to complement it.

Spoiler: Why only 7 levels of Blade Dancer?

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The last three levels are overkill on this build. Your base speed is already 135 at BD7. BD10 taking this to 150ft is gilding the lily. Plus your Tumble checks are +47 and your jump checks +125, even before buffing. Adding another +10 takes these to unnecessarily ridiculous heights. Literally, considering that you have the ability to jump 50 ft high already when buffed.

Unless you are trying to break the Jump skill record as a TO build using Cheetah's Speed feat, you have better uses for these last levels on this build, and still keep the awesome spirit of the class at heart.

Spoiler: Build Details and progression chart

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Stub: Druidic Avenger 9/Monk 2/Swordsage 1/Blade Dancer 7/Swordsage +1

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Druidic Avenger 1	+0	+2	+0	+2	Concentration4 Hide (cc) 2 Jump (cc) 2 Knowledge: Nature 4 Spellcraft 4 Spot 1 Survival 1 Tumble (cc) 2 Martial Lore(cc) 1	Dodge H: Mobility	Nature sense, wild empathy, Fast Movement, Rage, Druid Spellcasting (0, 1 level)
2nd	Druidic Avenger 2	+1	+3	+0	+3	Concentration 5 Hide (cc) 2.5 Jump (cc) 2.5 Knowledge: Nature 5 Spellcraft 5 Spot 1 Survival 2 Tumble (cc) 2.5 Martial Lore (cc) 1		Woodland stride (move full speed through jungle)
3rd	Druidic Avenger 3	+2	+3	+1	+3	Balance (cc) .5 Concentration 6 Hide (cc) 3 Jump (cc) 3 Knowledge: Nature 6 Spellcraft 6 Spot 1 Survival 2 Tumble (cc) 3 Martial Lore (cc) 1	Extend Spell	Trackless step (can’t be tracked through Jungle) Druid Spellcasting (2 level)
4th	Druidic Avenger 4	+3	+4	+1	+4	Balance (cc) 1 Concentration 7 Hide (cc) 3.5 Jump (cc) 3.5 Knowledge: Nature 7 Spellcraft 7 Spot 1 Survival 2 Tumble (cc) 3.5 Martial Lore (cc) 1		Resist nature’s lure
5th	Druidic Avenger 5	+3	+4	+1	+4	Balance (cc) 1 Concentration 8 Hide (cc) 4 Jump (cc) 4 Knowledge: Nature 8 Spellcraft 8 Spot 2 Survival 3 Tumble (cc) 4 Martial Lore (cc) 1		Wild shape (1/day) (Leopard, with pounce) Druid Spellcasting (3 level)
6th	Druidic Avenger 6	+4	+5	+2	+5	Balance (cc) 1.5 Concentration 9 Hide (cc) 4.5 Jump (cc) 4.5 Knowledge: Nature 9 Spellcraft 9 Spot 2 Survival 3 Tumble (cc)4.5 Martial Lore (cc) 1	Natural Spell	Wild shape (2/day)
7th	Druidic Avenger 7	+5	+5	+2	+5	Balance (cc) 2 Concentration 10 Hide (cc) 5 Jump (cc) 5 Knowledge: Nature 10 Spellcraft 10 Spot 2 Survival 3 Tumble (cc) 5 Martial Lore (cc) 1		Wild shape (3/day), Druid Spellcasting (4 level)
8th	Druidic Avenger 8	+6/+1	+6	+2	+6	Balance (cc) 2 Concentration 11 Hide (cc) 5.5 Jump (cc) 5.5 Knowledge: Nature 11 Listen 1 Spellcraft 11 Spot 2 Survival 3 Tumble (cc) 5.5 Martial Lore (cc) 1		Wild shape (Large) (Tiger, with pounce and improved grab). You can be in Tiger wildshape 24/7 now. You are.
9th	Druidic Avenger 9	+7/+2	+6	+3	+6	Balance (cc) 2 Concentration 12 Hide (cc) 6 Jump (cc) 6 Knowledge: Nature 12 Listen 1 Spellcraft 12 Spot 2 Survival 3 Tumble (cc) 6 Martial Lore (cc) 1		Venom Immunity, Druid Spellcasting (5 level)
10th	Monk 1	+7/+2	+8	+6	+8	Balance 3 Concentration 13 Hide 7 Jump 8 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 2 Survival 3 Tumble 8 Martial Lore (cc) 1	9: Spring Attack B: Unarmed Strike B: Power Attack	Flurry of Blows
11th	Monk 2	+8/+3	+9	+7	+9	Balance 4 Concentration 14 Hide 7 Jump 10 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 2 Survival 3 Tumble 10 Martial Lore (cc) 1	B: Improved Bull Rush	Evasion
12th	Swordsage 1	+8/+3	+9	+9	+11	Balance 5 Concentration 15 Hide 8 Jump 12 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently 1 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 12 Martial Lore 2	Desert Wind Dodge (and learn Shock Trooperin place of Dodge) B: Weapon focus(Unarmed Strike, ClawKukri, Kama, Handaxe, Greataxe)	Quick to Act (+1 initiative), Discipline Focus (Tiger Claw) Weapon focus with all Tiger Claw Weapons, Martial Maneuvers (IL6, 3rdlevel), 6 Maneuvers, 1 stance (3rdlevel) Essential Equipment: Greataxe with Mouthpick +1 enhancement
13th	Blade Dancer 1 (prereq met: Jump 12 Tumble 12 BAB7 Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack)	+9/4	+9	+11	+11	Balance 5 Concentration (cc) 16 Hide (cc) 8 Jump 14 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently 1 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 13 Martial Lore (cc) 2		Acrobatics (+10), Fast Movement 1 (base speed x2= 100 ft)
14th	Blade Dancer 2	+10/5	+9	+12	+11	Balance 5 Concentration (cc) 17 Hide (cc) 8 Jump 16 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently 1 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 14 Martial Lore (cc) 2		Enchanted Blade 1
15th	Blade Dancer 3	+11/6/1	+10	+12	+12	Balance 5 Concentration (cc) 18 Hide (cc) 8 Jump 18 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently 1 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 16 Martial Lore (cc) 2	Leap Attack (power attack for 3x normal damage with greataxe)
16th	Blade Dancer 4	+12/7/2	+10	+13	+12	Balance 5 Concentration (cc) 19 Hide (cc) 8 Jump 19 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently 1 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 18 Martial Lore (cc) 2		Ride the Wind (airwalk SLA 1/day) Fast Movement 2 (2 1/3 times speed =115 ft)
17th	Blade Dancer 5	+13/8/4	+10	+13	+12	Balance 5 Concentration (cc) 20 Hide (cc) 8 Jump 20 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently (cc) 1 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 20 Martial Lore (cc) 2		Acrobatics (+20), Acrobatic Attack (+2 attack and damage, when jumping)
18th	Blade Dancer 6	+14/9/5	+11	+14	+13	Balance 5 Concentration (cc) 21 Hide (cc) 8 Jump 21 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently (cc) 1.5 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 21 Martial Lore (cc) 2	Martial study (TC5 Dancing Mongoose Boost)	Enchanted Blade II
19th	Blade Dancer 7	+15/10/5	+11	+14	+13	Balance 5 Concentration (cc) 22 Hide (cc) 8 Jump 22 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently (cc) 2 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 3 Survival 3 Tumble 22 Martial Lore (cc) 2		Fast Movement 3: (8/3 times base =135 ft)
20th	Swordsage 2	+16/11/6/1	+11	+15	+14	Balance 5 Concentration 23 Hide 11 Jump 23 Knowledge: Nature 10 Listen 1 Move Silently 3 Perform (mime) 1 Spellcraft 10 Spot 4 Survival 3 Tumble 23 Martial Lore 3		+1 Stance, (Leaping Dragon), 6thlevel maneuver (DW6: Desert Tempest

Spoiler: Spells per Day and Spells prepared

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Spells per Day:

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1stDruidic Avenger 1	3	1	—	—	—	—	—
2nd Druidic Avenger 2	4	2	—	—	—	—	—
3rd Druidic Avenger 3	4	2	1	—	—	—	—
4thDruidic Avenger 4	5	3	2	—	—	—	—
5th Druidic Avenger 5	5	3	2	1	—	—	—
6th Druidic Avenger 6	5	3	3	2	—	—	—
7th Druidic Avenger 7	6	4	3	2	1	—	—
8th Druidic Avenger 8	6	4	3	3	2	—	—
9th Druidic Avenger 9	6	4	4	3	2	1	—

Spells usually prepared (including extra spells/day granted by high wisdom). Spells are principally personal buffs and BFC.

Note: Spells labelled “Occasional” are used when you have specific out of combat plans, or specific foes expected. Italicized spells are prepared extended, some are 24-hour spells extended to 2 days, to save spell slots on other days; they replace the * spells prepared on other days.

Snapshots of spells prepared often at 4 (before wildshape), 8 (with wildshape), and levels 12+ (casting progression stops at 9, but 12 you increase wisdom for bonus spells and extra DC)

Spell Level	0 lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Level 4 (18 Wis, no wildshape)	5/day · Detect Magic · Create Water · Guidance · Naturewatch · Resistance Occasional: •Mending	4/day · Entangle · Magic Stone · Speak with Animals · Summon Nature’s Ally I Occasional: · Goodberry · Cure Light Wounds · Longstrider · Wood Wose	3/day · Bite of the Wererat (+6dex, +2Con, +3NA) · Summon Nature’s Ally (Hippogriff) · Soften Earth and Stone Occasional · Barkskin · Lesser Restoration · Fire Trap · Heat Metal · Warp Wood	—	—	—
Level 8 (19 wis)	5/day · Detect Magic(x2) · Create Water · Guidance · Naturewatch Occasional: •Mending	5/day · Jump · Camouflage · Entangle · Faerie Fire · Speak with Animals Occasional: · Cure Light Wounds · Longstrider · Thunderhead · Wood Wose	4/day · Barkskin · Bite of the Wererat · Soften Earth and Stone · Kelpstrand Occasional: · Lesser Restoration · Owl’s wisdom · Resist Energy · Tern’s Persistence	4/day · Bite of the Werewolf · Heart of Water · Sleet Storm · Summon Natures Ally III (Lion or Dire Wolf) * Occasional: · Primal Hunter (ext. to 48 hrs) · Circle Dance · Crumble · Cure Moderate Wounds · Plant Growth · Protection from energy · Summon Natures Ally III · Wind Wall	3/day · Bite of the Wereboar · Heart of Earth · Greater Resistance Occasional: · Primal Instinct (Ext to 48 hours) · Command Plants · Cure Serious Wounds · Dispel Magic · Scrying	—
Level 12+ (20 Wis)	6/day · Detect Magic(x2) · Create Water(x2) · Guidance · Naturewatch Occasional: •Mending	5/day · Jump · Camouflage · Entangle · Faerie Fire · Speak with Animals Occasional · Cloudburst · Cure Light Wounds · Longstrider · Thunderhead Wood Wose	5/day · Barkskin · Bite of the Wererat · Fog cloud · Kelpstrand or Heat Metal · Lesser Restoration Occasional · Resist Energy · Soften Earth and Stone · Tern’s Persistence	4/day · Bite of the Werewolf · Heart of Water · Sleet Storm · Forestfold* Occasional: · Primal Hunter (ext to 48 hrs) · Circle Dance · Crumble · Cure Moderate Wounds · Plant Growth · Protection from energy · Summon Natures Ally III (Lion or Dire Wolf) · Wind Wall	3/day · Bite of the Wereboar · Heart of Earth · Boreal Wind* Occasional: · Primal Instinct (ext to 48 hrs) · Cure Serious Wounds · Dispel Magic · Scrying	2/Day · Bite of the Weretiger (x2) Occasional · Greater Resistance (ext to 48 hrs) · Commune with Nature · Hallow · Tree Stride · Wall of Thorns

Spoiler: Stances and Maneuvers known

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(+ means still readied at level 20)

At 12^thlevel (IL7, 3^rdlevel):
· DW1: Distracting Ember (1 round tiny fire elemental for utility, not usually readied)
· +TC1: Sudden leap (swift action jump the distance of your jump check)
· TC1: Wolf Fang strike (Basically Snap Kick; extra UAS attack, but -2 to all attacks, no iteratives)
· +DW2: Flashing Sun (extra attack with main weapon as part of full attack, but all attacks -2 to hit)
· DM1: Moment of Perfect Mind (replace Concentration check for Will Save.)
· +TC3 Flesh Ripper: Single attack. If hit, fort save 13+your Str modifieror target’s AC and attacks reduced by -4 for one round. (If that “one round” lasts from the end of your turn to the end of your next turn, take this. Otherwise take SD3 Bonecrusher for +4d6 Damage and +10 to confirm crits until fully healed).

At level 18 (Martial Study, IL 9, 5^thlevel)
+TC5: Dancing Mongoose Boost (extra attack with up to two weapons in a full round attack: greataxe and either UAS or Claw)

At level 20 (IL11, 6^thlevel):
Stance: DM 3: Pearl of Black Doubt*
+DW6: Desert Tempest (Melee strike against everyone you can move past in a round.)

*You initially consider Leaping Dragon stance, for always jumping like you have a running start. But you have Sudden Leap and you charge and jump a lot. And Pearl of Black Doubt is great when attracting a lot of AOOs in a round, as you can. By the time your tumble checks start failing from the cumulative +2 DC, you have a sky-high dodge AC.

Spoiler: Ability Scores and skill checks

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	Points	Point Buy	Racial	Wildshape Tiger (level 8-15)/Tiger level 16+	Level	Total at 20 Human (/ Wildshape)	Mod
STR	0	8	0	23/27	0	8/23	-1/+6
DEX	5	13	0	15	0	13/15	+1/+2
CON	8	15	0	17	1*	16/17	+3
INT	6	14	0	14		14	+2
WIS	13	17	0	17	4	21	+5
CHA	0	8	0	8	0	8	-1

*Level 16 bump to Con, all others to Wis.

Ability Scores in Various forms:

	Human 20	Tiger 20	Raging Tiger	Tiger with “Bite of the Weretiger”	Raging Tiger, with “Bite of the Weretiger”
STR	8 (-2)	23 (+7)	27 (+9)	35 (+13)	39 (+14)
DEX	13 (+1)	15 (+2)	15 (+2)	18 (+4)	18 (+4)
CON	16 (+3)	17 (+3)	21 (+5)	23 (+6)	27 (+8)
INT	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)	14 (+2)
WIS	21 (+5)	21 (+5)	21 (+5)	21 (+5)	21 (+5)
CHA	8 (-2)	8 (-2)	8 (-2)	8 (-2)	8 (-2)

Level 20 important skill checks

While in tiger wildshape, with routine buff spells (see below)
· Jump: +133 (23 ranks, +14STR, +20Competence, +30 Enhancement (jump spell), 44 Speed synergy, 2 Tumble synergy). You can always take 10 for 143. 141 if not raging.
o Horizontal jump 145 ft
o Vertical Jump 35 ft high
o Charge (double-speed) from 280 feet
· Tumble +49 (+4 Dex, +23 ranks, +20 BD, +2 Jump synergy
· Speed: 145 ft (40 ft Tiger, +10 DA Fast movement, =50x8/3 Blade Dancer Fast Movement =135, +10 Longstrider=145)
· Swim speed of 145 (Heart of Water). A long jump acrobatic charge out of the river over 100 feet from your enemy would be a great surprise attack. (Stormwrack: gives a -10 penalty on high jumps out of water, but no penalty on the length you can cover.)
· Grapple Check +31 (33 raging) with Improved Grab
· Stealth: Forestfold: hours/level +10 competence bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks. Tigers have a racial bonus to hide and move silently, Hide +25 (+29 in Forest). Move Silently +21. You are rarely close enough to hear.
· Senses: Spot +12, Listen +6. You have limited skill points, and other uses for them in classes that have these in-class. You have enough to hunt with.
· One Rank in Perform (mime) +0 to try to communicate without being able to speak.

Overview, Backstory, character narrative and snapshots:

Spoiler: Backstory and motivation

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Born to the Hu family at the Tiger Claw temple. Your father, Hu Yousan, a fierce boastful warlord, and Tiger Claw Greataxe master, with a permanent Enlarge Person, prizes strength above all. You are tough and dexterous, but you are very weak and cripplingly shy. You don’t live up to his expectations. He seems ashamed of your weakness.

When asked to fetch water, you are too shy to say the full bucket is too heavy for you to lift, so you return with a half-full bucket and just take the beating for your apparent disobedience.

Older students treat you like a weakling and tease you when you fail even the easiest tests of strength. You are too shy and socially awkward to know how to handle their bullying. You just take it, resentfully.

You wish you could be big and strong, and teach those bullies a lesson.

You want to train in Dad’s style, but need to be both strong and dexterous, you don’t seem fated to be able to be able to impress him.

Your mother (a druid) is the only person you can actually talk to. She noticed that you spend your free time away from people, in the forest outside the temple, with the plants and animals. She advises: “become a Druid so you can learn to become a fierce strong tiger. You know, your father fell in love with me when I was in Tiger form.”

“Come back as a strong and fierce tiger druid. Then they will teach you Tiger Claw maneuvers. Show them what a Druid Tiger can do with Tiger Claw training.

She even suggests also going old school and giving up the complications of an animal companion, for a Druidic Avenger’s speed and ferocity. “Especially if you want to learn the Tiger Claw discipline, being able to rage while in wildshape, and move faster than a typical tiger, will be a huge advantage to a martial artist. If that is truly what you want to become.”

Spoiler: Levels 1-5

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Spoiler: Narrative

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Mom introduces you to her friend, Ren Sishan, druid Guardian of a jungle a few valleys East. You and his Tiger like each other. Your loner temperament suits being a Guardian. He agrees to train you to take over when he retires in a few years.

You leave home with his Tiger and him, to train. Your father seems disappointed in your choice, but can’t disparage his wife without saying so, so says little but “Good luck”.

Ren Sishan teaches you about the Laws of Nature. “Good” is for those who can’t handle the brutality of Nature. Being evil is abusive of the balance of the circle of life (all predators are eventually eaten). Nature is neither Good nor Evil, it is coldly neutral. And obeying and enforcing the Laws of Nature is the great truth of life.

You swear an oath to uphold the Laws of Nature. You will ensure that people limit their freedoms in your jungle, in order to live sustainably, using only what they need, leaving enough for others, balancing their needs against the health of the whole ecosystem.

He explains his deal with the local villages in the valleys below: they harvest and hunt sustainably in the jungle, and do not clear any more of the wild land for farming. In exchange, every year he casts Plant Growth on the fields and gardens around each village so they don’t need more land for food production.

Level 5 Tactics:
You take care of the forest, and learn about the ecosystem, hunting, and learning about the Jungle creatures and plants. You use your sling and Magic Stone to harass those who disrespect the area. Or summon a few wolves or hippogriff to attack them. Various BFC spells to harass and stop them (Entangle, Soften Earth and Stone) or to hold them in place for your sling attacks or a hippogriff’s diving attacks.

You invest in the skills you will need later: hide, jump and tumble, even though they are cross-class.

At level 5 you can wildshape, and patrol as a Leopard for an hour. But you can’t cast spells in that form.

Spoiler: Levels 6-10

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Spoiler: Narrative

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As you progress in your Druidry, you are now able to cast in wildshape. At level 8 you use Tiger form. This is the form you will remain in as much as possible.

You enforce the Law of Nature. You warn hunters who over-hunt, or hunt for sport instead of for food, and help Sishan clear out aberrations and undead when they appear

Your mentor’s friend, Xuè Wǔ, a Monk13/Blade Dancer 5 visits the grove. After serving tea, Sishan implores the dance master to perform the traditional Dance of Falling Leaves. He moves so unbelievably fast and graceful, kamas flashing with devastating power. You are transfixed!

While you can move and jump gracefully and swiftly as a great cat, this human can run rings around you, and jump and tumble far above you. This is what you want to be able to do. But in your own way.

Xuè Wǔ tries to teach you the Dance of the Falling Leaves, but you need formal training. Your Jump spell helps, but the tumbling is beyond you. And you can’t spring attack; a serious limitation.

Xuè promises to train you as a Blade Dancer when you are ready. Monk has Jump and Tumble as in-class skills, and would also grant you bonus feats that you will need to become a true Martial artist. Master Xuè gives you a letter of introduction to take to the Temple of Falling Leaves Monastery.

At 9^thlevel, your druid mentor, Sishan again discusses you taking over as Guardian. You ask him to wait a few years until you can complete your training to become a blade dancer.

Over the next two years, you ask, as he visit each village to cast Plant Growth, please inform them that when the time comes, their new Guardian will appear as a tiger, with flowers around its neck, bearing goodberries.

You leave the jungle to train.

Near the Temple of Falling Leaves, you hide, come out of wildshape to put the letter on the ground, then wildshape again, picking it up. The monks are shocked to see a Tiger approach the gate with a scroll in its mouth. As the head monk approaches you, you bow deeply in your quadruped way, and drop the letter at his feet.

Monastic life suits you well. Meditation, practice, hunt, rest, repeat. Unlike the brash warrior training school at home, you enjoy that the monks are quiet and kind, and few talk. This is good.

Level 10 Tactics:
Druidic Avenger/Monk1. Hit and Run attacks, mostly, with spells for buffing and BFC to separate groups of attackers, so you can deal with them one at a time.

You are starting to invest more heavily in Tumble and Jump. Most of your skills the next three levels go here; you also keep concentration maxed and start topping up balance towards 5 ranks.

Your attack routine in Wildshape: a pouncing charge using iterative Unarmed Strikes with headbutt and elbows, with natural weapons as secondary attacks: bite, two claws, and (if a claw hits and you win a grapple) you pull your opponent into your space for a rake attack with two back claws. Your Bite of the Weretiger buff, cast right before attacking, grants massive strength for attacks, damage and grapple checks, as well as multiattack, making secondary attacks only -2.

You also have enough movement (50 ft) to be able to Spring Attack away from many attackers, to get room to cast a buff spell if you need it. Or you can Rage if there isn’t time (but that limits your ability to tumble away from AOOs as you Spring Attack).

Spoiler: Levels 11-15

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Spoiler: Narrative

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At Monk 2, since it’s in class, you put one skill rank in Perform (mime) so you can try to explain things while in Tiger form, without talking.

After a year of intense training, always in Tiger form, you have gained two levels as a monk, and are now ready to return to visit your family temple. After the graduation test, you and the other graduates are presented with a simple Monk’s Belt. Your Master ties it around your neck like a collar. You will always wear it, proudly.

At level 12 you return to the Tiger Claw school. Outside the walls, you join the small group of other prospective students, all wanting to begin training as first level swordsages or warblades. But among these young humanoids you stand out as a magnificent Large Tiger.

You know that a prospective student has to show determination and skill to be accepted into the school. Many wait for months or years to be accepted. You need to be impressive. So you cast your normal array of buff spells, as well as a last spell you hope will create an impression.

You expertly perform the Dance of the Falling Leaves, with your own blend of animalistic ferocity, strength, and grace. On the strongest strikes you roar. Your jumps soar almost, thanks to your +30 Jump spell. You use the Air Walk you cast earlier to perform the last part while climbing higher and higher in the air, until you are performing above the wall of the temple. You end the dance with a roaring leap down onto the temple wall. You bow, and then air walk and jump gracefully down. Then you sit, peacefully meditating. Purring just a little.

You are accepted immediately. Though you never speak, and you never are out of Tiger shape. It’s clear you are here to train, hard. And are accepted for that.

While you find it natural to be a tiger learning Tiger Claw styles, you are surprised that the conventional wisdom of the Swordsage guides is that a druid would not want to train in this style. To you it seems a perfect way to become the ferocious martial tiger you want to become.

You try to have little to do with your father. You don’t want him to recognize you yet.

You don’t approach your mother at first, either. Though when she sees you training, you notice her cast a spell, which your spellcraft can identify as True Seeing. She smiles at you, and watches with a proud look in her eyes, but says nothing.

After training six months in the Tiger Claw style you have earned Weapon Focus in unarmed strikes and claw strikes. To graduate you must learn a blade weapon too, which you also need for Blade Dancer. You always hoped to learn to hold a blade in your mouth. A monk weapon like siangham? Its piercing would work for charging. But then your powerful 2d6 bite attack would be compromised, for a 1d6 siangham. Not ideal.

Your father’s favored weapon, the greataxe is the only option. Its 3d6 damage would be an upgrade to your bite attack.

The sight of a Large Tiger trying to manipulate a greataxe in its teeth, however, causes much amusement around the temple. You struggle to even hold it while trying to adapt an approximation of the maneuvers you are learning. After weeks of humiliating effort you are ready to give up on even holding this weapon effectively.

During this frustration, you see your mother whispering conspiratorially with the temple smith. “Keep practicing, dear” she whispers to you as she passes.

Weeks later, the smith presents you with an unusually crafted, masterwork Greataxe. He places it next to you. The blade is spiked on the end of the head, making a cross it can rest on, handle in the air. The handle is inlaid with a tiger striped pattern in the wood. You bow deeply in gratitude at the presentation of this weapon.

You try to pick it up in your mouth and the handle instantly writhes and transforms perfectly to your bite shape! The smith explains that this is a mouthpick weapon, a +1 enchantment originally created for a particularly martial beholder, a fierce aberration who called himself “the Lord of Madness”, to wield a two-handed falchion in its mouth. This enhancement has become popular with druids, the smith explains, since it enables them use a favorite weapon while in wildshape (LoM 145).

The smith also fashions a simple holster of leather that fits around your waist and holds the head of the axe snug to your side, while another quick-release loop fits onto the Monk’s belt you wear around your neck. After a little fine-tuning, and practice, you become able to draw the axe as you move, by reaching around and biting the head of the axe.

Your father, the head greataxe master seems to enjoy training you personally in the use of the greataxe maneuvers. Always in Tiger form, you have never said a word to him. He is also a man of strength, but he talks enough for both of you.

You train for months learning use its weight and heft to pivot around as you leap and pounce, adjusting your bite to cut downwards or sideways. You learn to make iterative attacks with your greataxe, interspersing them with claws and rake attacks. You even learn maneuvers that enable you to add an unarmed strike headbutt after an axe strike, or destroy an opponent’s armor and ability to attack. With practice you learn to roar without dropping your greataxe.

As you come close to graduation as a 1st level Swordsage, you have weapon focus in all your main weapons: unarmed strikes, claws, and greataxe.

Before the graduation ceremony, you come out of wildshape and hand your axe to your father, to present to you at the ceremony. “Thanks, Dad” are the only words you can say, though.

He isn’t as surprised as you expect. He explains that once, in Hunter’s Sense stance he could smell that you were his son. He let you keep your secret, though. The talk you and he have, is awkward and difficult (you have not spoken to a person in almost two years), but reaffirms your familial bond. He is proud of the tiger you have become, as you always wanted.

You tell him of your role as Guardian, to which you will now return. But also promise to come back to train again, when you have developed your initiator level further.

You also now greet and hug your mother in human form, and thank her for her advice, and the greataxe. You explain that you will be serving as Guardian now Sishan will retire. She promises to visit you there.

You return to the Jungle and Sishan, and begin your Guardian duties.

You create your own Druid’s grove, on the hill overlooking the jungle and the villages in the distant valleys. It has shady trees, a sheltered nest, flat training area, and a stream nearby. It’s Hallowed, with a Speak with Animals effect. It’s also surrounded with impenetrable Plant Growth, but you can jump in and out.

You visit each village to cast Plant Growth, wildflowers around your neck (placed by your Wood Wose), and a small bag of goodberries around your neck. You hook the bag off with a claw, and pass it to the village healer or elder.

They learn that Hu Tiaowu, the dancing tiger, is their Guardian. They can come to you for help, and help you protect the forest by limiting their use. And you will keep the land fertile and productive.

You also cast a Hallow spell over a glade near each village, and explain to the local pets and working animals that there is a Speak with Animals effect there, If they take their people there, the people will be able to understand them.

You begin to train as a Blade Dancer. Xuè Wǔ comes by every month or two to update your training.

You visit the Tiger Claw temple at level 15 to take Martial Study, and train to learn the Dancing Mongoose Maneuver.

You can probably break records for Jumping higher and further than any Tiger Claw has ever jumped, and Jump is their Main Skill. Your Dad is very proud.

Level 15 Tactics:
Druidic Avenger 9/Monk2/Swordsage1/Blade Dancer3

You Hit and run, and are developing more stealth abilities, using Forestfold to augment them. You keep Concentration maxed, though it’s cross class, along with Jump and Tumble, putting your 5th rank each level into Balance to take it to 5 ranks, then Hide or Move Silently.

Starting Blade dancer at level 13, though, your abilities leap ahead. Literally. Doubling your speed and adding Acrobatic abilities is a huge boost to your attacks and range.

Your massive speed fuels powerful Swordsage maneuvers, that add versatility to your attacks (extra attacks, damaging the enemy’s AC). Sudden Leap enables you to move your jump check as a swift action. Moment of Perfect Mind counter lets you use a concentration check instead of a will save.

Plus you can now enchant your blade with an energy damage (the kind your enemy is weak to, if possible), or ghost touch for incorporeal enemies.

Spoiler: Your fast movement is now effectively a controlled time stop

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It gives you time to prepare. In one move action, or even a swift action Sudden Leap, you can be up to 100 feet away, concealed (thanks to your Child of Shadow stance) and hiding.

This is very handy when you are surprised, or need a couple of rounds to buff, enchant your blade appropriately, cast BFC spells, or even refresh a maneuver.

They will take rounds to reach you, but you’re close enough to charge at double speed from up to 200 ft when you are ready to attack.

You have concealment, evasion and Moment of Perfect Mind to handle targeted or AOE spells they might throw at you long range. You can be out of range of arrows.

They can never outrun you or catch you. And they can never run away, either, unless you let them.

Spoiler: Levels 16-20

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Spoiler: Narrative

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Things are devastatingly good as soon as you begin Blade Dancer (13^thlevel). They just keep getting better. At 16 (BD4) you get another speed boost to 105 ft, plus 10 from Longstrider.

Leap attack feat comes online at the same time you get Acrobatic Attacks. Your pouncing Power attack leaping charges are now superpowered.

The competence bonus of +20 at level 17; your jumps soar, and your tumbles are amazing.

At18^thlevel you can also fine-tune your weapon with Bane (enemy of the encounter) adding +2 enhancement and +2d6 damage.

Another speed boost at 19^thlevel (BD7) to 135, which you buff to 145ft

For level 20, you return home briefly, to train as Swordsage 2. Though your father is a lite disappointed that you want to take a Desert Wind maneuver and Diamond Mind stance, they can teach you.

You demonstrate it by lining up 28 students, and challenging them to try to hit you. As you run past and leave the square they threaten, you hit them first t your full attack bonus (you choose not to Power attack, though you could. Initially you easily beating the CD 25 tumble check to move full speed and avoid AOOS (taking 10 you have +59 to the skill check). Each successive tumble check rises by +2. They start beating your tumble after about 17 opponents. But the Black Pearl of Doubt stance you are in increases your dodge AC by +2 for each miss. So your AC has increased by 28 or so, and increase further as your dodge increasingly skillfully the last 11 opponents’ attacks.

You bow to your fellow students, and return to work towards becoming an Epic Guardian of the Jungle.

Level 20 Tactics:
See the initial narrative: The Hunters.

Spoiler: Useful magic items

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Essential: A Masterwork Greataxe, with the +1 Mouthpick enchantment (LoM)

Useful but not essential: Monk’s Belt.

Other useful items (in order of usefulness). None are necessary, but some would be nice additions if you played this build:
· Ring of Counterspells (4000 gp) with (greater) Dispel Magic. Protect against dispelling.
· Periapt of Wisdom
· Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis (ToM 156; 22,000 gp): you apply the Dark creature template, a bunch of stealth abilities, for 10 min/day in 1 min increments. That’s another +10 speed, +8 hide, +6 move silently, superior low-light vision, darkvision, hide in plain sight, and resist cold 10 (compare the “Dark Lion” T0M 159)
· Boots of Speed might be overkill. But 10 rounds of Haste per day, as a swift action, with an extra attack, +30 to speed (+20 over longstrider’s boost) and bonuses to attack =, dodge AC and Reflex saves. A sensible DM would say this does not come in Tiger sizes.
· Rod of Lesser Extend Spell
· Bead of Karma (from a strand of Prayer Beads) (longer duration buffs, and more proof against dispelling).
· Pearls of Power for recalling low-level spells instead of extending them.
· Pearl of Power 5 (25,000) at higher levels, for recalling Bite of the Weretiger.
· Wand (in a wand chamber on the Greataxe) of Lesser Restoration (to remove fatigue after Raging)
· A pearl of Speech might be nice. But you don’t want to talk to people anyway.
· +1 Warning enhancement to your Greataxe (+5 insight to initiative)

Spoiler: Sources

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All Spells PH, SpC, and DrM (Primal… line)
UA for Druidic Avenger and Overwhelming Attack Monk
OA: Blade Dancer
Bo9S for Swordsage, Maneuvers, Stances, and Feat.
CA: Leap Attack
CW: Shock Trooper
SW: rules on jumping out of water

[The Viscount]

"Hey man, don't even try to start with me, cause I'll jump aaaaaaaaaall over your face."

Hiryu Yopparai



Race: Shaaryan Human
Build Stub: Monk 2/Ranger 6/Drunken Master 2/Blade Dancer 10
Multiclass Penalty: No.
Languages: Common
Alignment: LN
Ability Scores:

Ability	Score	(Points)	Increases
Strength	15	(8)	16th
Dexterity	14	(6)
Constitution	14	(6)
Intelligence	10	(2)
Wisdom	16	(10)	4th/8th/12th/20th
Charisma	8	(0)

Spoiler: Build Progression

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Cobra Strike Monk 1	+0	+2	+2	+2	Balance: 4, EscArt 3, KnowArc: 1, Jump: 4, Spot: 4, Tumble: 4	Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Great Fortitude, Lion Tribe Warrior	AC Bonus, Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike
2nd	Cobra Strike Monk 2	+1	+3	+3	+3	Balance: 5(+1), EscArt: 5(+2), Jump: 5(+1), KnowArc: 1, Spot: 4, Tumble: 5(+1)	Mobility	Evasion
3rd	Ranger 1	+2	+5	+5	+3	Balance: 5, EscArt: 5, Jump: 6(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 3(+3), Spot: 6(+2), Tumble: 6(+1)	Track, Roofwalker	Favored Enemy: Arcanists, Spiritual Connection ACF, Skilled City Dweller ACF (Tumble)
4th	Ranger 2	+3	+6	+6	+3	Balance: 5, EscArt: 5, Jump: 7(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 7(+4), Spot: 7(+1), Tumble: 7(+1)
5th	Ranger 3	+4	+6	+6	+4	Balance: 5, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 2(+2), Jump: 8(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 8(+1), Spot: 8(+1), Survival 1(+1), Tumble: 8(+1)	Heat Endurance	Wasteland Ranger ACF
6th	Ranger 4	+5	+7	+7	+4	Balance: 5, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 4(+2), Jump: 9(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 9(+1), Spellcraft: 1(+1), Spot: 9(+1), Survival: 1, Tumble: 9(+1)	Spring Attack	Distracting Attack ACF
7th	Ranger 5	+6	+7	+7	+4	Balance: 5, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 7(+3), Jump: 10(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 10(+1), Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 10(+1), Survival: 1, Tumble: 10(+1)		Rival Organization: Temperance Society, Wild Shape 1/day
8th	Ranger 6	+7	+8	+8	+5	Balance: 5, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 10(+3), Jump: 11(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 11(+1), Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11(+1), Survival: 1, Tumble: 11(+1)		Wild Shape 2/day
9th	Drunken Master 1	+7	+10	+10	+5	Balance: 7(+2), EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 10, Jump: 11, KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 12(+2cc), Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 12(+1)	Roof-Jumper	Drink Like a Demon, Improvised Weapons
10th	Drunken Master 2	+8	+11	+11	+5	Balance: 7, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 10, Jump: 13(+2), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 13(+2cc), Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 13(+1)		Stagger
11th	Blade Dancer 1	+9	+11	+13	+5	Balance: 7, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 10, Jump: 13, KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 14(+2cc), Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 14(+1)		Acrobatics (+10), Leap of the Clouds, Fast Movement
12th	Blade Dancer 2	+10	+11	+14	+5	Balance: 7, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 10, Jump: 14(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15(+2cc), Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 14	Dragon Wild Shape	Enchanted Blade I
13th	Blade Dancer 3	+11	+12	+14	+6	Balance: 7, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 10, Jump: 15(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 16(+2)
14th	Blade Dancer 4	+12	+12	+15	+6	Balance: 7, EscArt: 5, HndAnim: 10, Jump: 17(+2), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 17(+1)		Ride the Wind, Fast Movement
15th	Blade Dancer 5	+13	+12	+15	+6	Balance: 7, EscArt: 6(+1), HndAnim: 10, Jump: 18(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 18(+1)	Cheetah's Speed	Acrobatics (+20), Acrobatic Attack
16th	Blade Dancer 6	+14	+13	+16	+7	Balance: 7, EscArt: 7(+1), HndAnim: 10, Jump: 19(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 19(+1)		Enchanted Blade II
17th	Blade Dancer 7	+15	+13	+16	+7	Balance: 7, EscArt: 8(+1), HndAnim: 10, Jump: 20(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 20(+1)		Fast Movement
18th	Blade Dancer 8	+16	+13	+17	+7	Balance: 7, EscArt: 9(+1), HndAnim: 10, Jump: 21(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 21(+1)	Extra Wild Shape
19th	Blade Dancer 9	+17	+14	+17	+8	Balance: 7, EscArt: 10(+1), HndAnim: 10, Jump: 22(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 22(+1)
20th	Blade Dancer 10	+18	+14	+18	+8	Balance: 7, EscArt: 11(+1), HndAnim: 10, Jump: 23(+1), KnowArc: 1, KnowNat: 15, Spellcraft: 1, Spot: 11, Survival: 1, Tumble: 23(+1)		Acrobatics (+30), Enchanted Blade III, Fast Movement

Spoiler: Ranger Spells

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Ranger Spells

Level	1st	Typically Prepared
6th	1	instant of power
7th	1	instant of power
8th	2	blades of fire, instant of power

Spoiler: Background

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Akkan Warumono entered the tavern with a dozen of his thugs in tow, all seven feet of him in a seething rage. Conversation stopped. Patrons froze. Even the bartender with a wooden leg and glass eye, wiping out a greasy glass, held his breath. Akkan, sword already drawn, lifted the blade up to his face and ran a yellow fingernail along the edge, testing it's sharpness. In a low, dangerous whisper, Akkan asked, "Who put my horse two-hundred feet into the air?"

A snort of laughter erupted at the far end of the bar, where a bleary-eyed drunk dressed in monk robes raised his nearly empty cup. "Ha! That would be me!"

Akkan smiled. "And you would be...?"

The drunk stumbled toward Akkan. "I am called... pack mule... beast of burden... carrier of things... drunkard... monk... but sometimes... I am called Hiryu."

Akkan guffawed. "Such a name! Can you fly straight, dragon?"

Hiryu blinked at Akkan. "No... not so straight. There is... some considerable weaving involved."

In a low, dangerous whisper, Akkan asked, "Are you prepared to die, drunken dragon?"

Hiryu puzzled over this. "I suppose... today is as good as any day... but perhaps... could we take this outside?"

Akkan laughed. "I have no objection. Pick out your own grave, drunken dragon!"

Hiryu stumbled outside, followed by Akkan and his thugs, who spread out in a ring around the drunken monk. Akkan stepped in closer, sword ready. Hiryu held up a hand, asking for a moment, and then hunched over. His body shrunk, and his skin shimmered and smoothed into dull silver. Wings sprouted from his back, and with a sudden blast of dust, Hiryu leapt into the air, streaking into the sky.

Akkan laughed harder. "The drunken dragon is a coward! I have scared him away! Fly away, little dragon! Akkan is patient... Akkan will hunt you down!" Some of Akkan's thugs laughed with him. But not all of them. A few followed the flashing grey blur up into the sky... and noticed that it had stopped climbing. In fact, it might be...

An impossibly loud teeth-rattling and window-shattering *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM* exploded as the small grey blur finished his dive, flattening Akkan into the ground and blasting his thugs off of their feet. The dragon shook his head, trying to find his bearings, and then stumbled toward the tavern door.

One of the thugs crawled towards Akkan's body, now half-buried in the ground. "IS... IS HE DEAD?" he shouted, unable to hear his own voice.

"No..." mumbled the dragon. "Not dead. But with that much non-lethal damage... he's gonna be unconscious for about three weeks. Hey, did any of you see where I put my cup?"

Spoiler: Levels 1-5

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Ah yes... enjoy the thankless, unheralded glory of the low-level monk! We have middling AC, middling attack bonus, and don't do enough damage to warrant much attention from enemies. But we have good saves! And we're not weighed down by weapons or armor, so we can really lean in to our designated party role: the Pack Mule. We take Lion Tribe Warrior because we like to take advantage of our movement abilities and still full attack, allowing us to charge + Flurry of Blows from level 1. Rokugan has the Lion Clan, Shaar has the Lion Tribe... close enough? Is the Shaar part of Rokugan? <Checks map> Huh... there's a "Cool Ninja Stuff" continent to the East but it's called "Kara-Tur" for some reason. Hold on, the Secret Ingredient description says, "Blade Dancers are not found in Rokugan." So... Shaar != Rokugan. We're good! (So why do we have a Rokugani name? Uh... parents were spice traders from the East.)

After two levels of being the Party Pack Mule, we've picked up Dodge and Mobility, which are obviously the two most important defensive feats to protect the party's cast-off equipment. Screw this, monk sucks, we're going into Ranger! Full BAB! Weapons that don't suck! And we've got a whole new menu of ACFs to choose from! The Spiritual Connection ACF replaces Wild Empathy, so we can just ask plants/animals directly, "Hey, how do you feel? Wanna hang out?" We take Skilled City Dweller ACF because horses threaten your Party Role and Tumbling is super-awesome. Arcane Hunter ACF because Wizards make us look bad, screw those guys, we're taking them down. We take Roofwalker for two reasons: "Graceful Drop" replaces Slow Fall, and it's an important prereq for later. We skip the Combat Style stuff to get Fast Movement as a Barbarian (it actually stacks with other stuff), and we've got an angle that we'll get into later. We're not wearing armor and Endurance is boring, so we swap it for Heat Endurance, which gives us a +2 bonus on saves against fire effects. According to Shining South p. 155, the Shaar gets quite hot, and it's near the Raurin Desert.

In combat, we use either a quarterstaff (slightly better damage when gripped two-handed) or a butterfly sword (for those times when bludgeoning isn't satisfying enough, and you just need to stab someone). Outside of combat we can spot things, maybe handle some animals, and... {sigh}... carry things.

Spoiler: Levels 6-10

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Three interesting things happen at level 6. First, we get Spring Attack, so we can move + attack + move. Second, we take the Distracting Attack ACF, so even if we're not quite pulling our weight in combat, we can at least help the rest of the party hit things. Third, we get Ranger spells! Well, okay, just one spell. But Ranger wands! All the entangle! And cure light wounds! Instant of power is also loads of fun. Or blades of fire for flaming fists! Next level, we get a second attack, so we can now take advantage of Lion Tribe Warrior to charge in for two attacks with a butterfly sword (three with Flurry), or we can do the Spring Attack thing to hit an enemy, make them flanked, and then move away to a safer spot.

At Ranger 5, we get Wild Shape. We have three favorite forms: Protoceratops (Sandstorm) for meatwall duties, Fleshraker (MM3) for tearing things apart, and Dire Hawk (MM2) for everything else: scouting, travel, and... {sigh}... carrying things (equipment melds into body). We also take the Rival Organization ACF to pick up Rival Organization: Temperance Society. This isn't technically legal at 5th level, but it fits the flavor too well to pass it up. Our monk/ranger likes to get drunk, for reasons that will become obvious in a couple levels, so he's oppositionally defiant to societies promoting abstinence from inebriation. Ranger 6 adds another Wild Shape use, which unfortunately doesn't offer us any better animal forms, but we can be a Dire Hawk for 12 hours now.

At levels 9 and 10, a couple things come together. First, we get drunk (Fleshraker gets much more interesting with +2/+4/+6 added to Strength and Constitution), but more importantly, we get Roof-Jumper. By using "Death From Above" in Dire Hawk form, we can now dive-bomb an opponent. This counts as a charge, and we can use Lion Tribe Warrior to get a full attack with a light weapon, such as an unarmed strike. A Dire Hawk's fly speed is 80', but we can move double that (160') as a charge. Even better, if we're already above our opponent, we can double our movement again (320') by flying down. So using Roof-Jumper, we can get up to +31d6 bonus damage (108.5 average) on every attack that hits. When we take the second level of Drunken Master, we get Stagger, which means we no longer need to move in a straight line when we're charging. We can now spiral down on a target, avoid trees, or fly horizontally before/during/after our dive-bomb. If we're stuck on the ground, we can "piledrive" our target by flying straight up 60' and diving back down 60' for +5d6 bonus damage (17.5 average). Stagger allows us to do this "piledriver" every round, moving away and charging back at the previous target or moving on to a new target whenever we like.

Spoiler: Levels 11-15

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Welcome to Blade Dancer! First floor, Acrobatics (+10), Leap of the Clunks, and Fast Movement! Acrobatics allows us to jump up to 15' without a running start, avoid AoOs, reduce falls by 20', and stand up from prone as a free action. Fast movement doubles our fly speed, so we can now dive-bomb from 640' (63d6 extra damage, 220.5 avg) or piledrive (fly up then down) up to 120' (11d6 extra damage, 38.5 avg). Second floor, we get Enchanted Blade I. We already have fire damage on our weapons from blades of fire, but now we can add electricity or cold damage. More amusingly, we can also enchant various improvised weapons, such as a broken bottle. Something much more interesting happens at 12th level, though: Dragon Wild Shape. We are restricted to small and medium dragons up to 6HD, but we get all their (Ex) and (Su) abilities. A menu, if you will:

Amethyst Dragon, Wyrmling (MM2): Small, Planar Travel (Su) at will to the inner planes, Fly 100', Burrow 20'.
Brown Dragon, Wyrmling (Monsters of Faerun): Medium, Tremorsense 500' (Ex), Burrow 60'.
Fang Dragon, Very Young (Draconomicon): Small, Ability Drain (Su) for Con damage, Increased Damage (Ex), Trip (Ex), Fly 120'.
Mercury Dragon, Very Young (Dragons of Faerun): Small, Protected Sight (Ex), Fly 200'.
Mist Dragon, Very Young (Dragons of Faerun): Small, Mist Form (Su), Fly 100', Swim 60'.
Rust Dragon, Wyrmling (Draconomicon): Small, Rusting Bite (Ex), Fly 100', Burrow 45'.
Steel Dragon, Wyrmling (Dragons of Faerun): Small, Alternate Form (Su) any humanoid medium size or smaller 5/day, Fly 150'.
Stone Drake (Races of Stone): Medium, Acid Bite (Ex), Ambush (Ex), Perfect Climbing (Ex).

The stand-out form is the Mercury Dragon due to the 200' fly speed. With Fast Movement, this becomes 400'. In Mercury Dragon Form, we can now dive-bomb from 1,600' (159d6 extra damage, 556.5 avg), or piledrive up to 320' (31d6 extra damage, 108.5 avg).

As we gain more levels of Blade Dancer, we pick up Ride the Wind for airwalk 1/day, and Moar Fast Movement! Air walk is useful because we only have 12 hours of Wild Shape per day, and we may need some sort of aerial movement during our non-dragon hours. Also, it's a touch effect, so we can use it on other people or their mounts. (I find it amusing that we can use this on someone else's horse or livestock, just to screw with them. Apparently pigs can fly!) Based on the Fast Movement table, a 200' fly speed at 4th-6th level would increase proportionally to 465'. This increases our dive-bomb range to 1,860' (185 extra damage, 647.5 avg) and piledriving to 370' (36d6 extra damage, 126 avg).

At ECL 15, we get one more interesting trick. It only works 1/day, but makes for a fairly impressive "Kill Shot". We take Cheetah's Speed as a feat, which allows us to Sprint like a cheetah: a charge attack up to 10x our speed. With 4,650' movement to work with, we can double this to 9,300' by flying down. This means we have a "kill radius" of 1.7 miles, top speed of Mach 1.37, and we do 929d6 extra damage (3,251.5 avg) on a hit. We can piledrive up to 3,720' (371d6 extra damage, 1,298.5 avg). If we throw in a Jump check at the end of our dive (flying creatures can still use Jump, Tumble, etc.), we can add Acrobatic Attack for an additional +2 attack/damage bonus.

Spoiler: Levels 16-20

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As we finish out Blade Dancer, we're not really adding all that much as far as new abilities. Acrobatics gets better, although there aren't really any Jump/Tumble checks that we really need to "roll" for at this point. Enchanted Blade II and III allows us to add some additional energy damage to our attacks (a broken bottle can now get extra fire, electricity, and cold damage). The ability to add Bane "a la carte" is very nice!

Fast Movement gets better at ECL 17. In Mercury Dragon form, fly speed is now 535', so we can dive-bomb up to 1,070' (106d6 extra damage, 371 avg) or piledrive up to 420' (41d6 extra damage, 143.5 avg). Our "Kill Shot" has a radius of 2 miles, top speed of Mach 1.58, and 1,069d6 extra damage (3,741.5 avg). If we piledrive instead, we go up to 2,140' (213d6 extra damage, 745.5 avg). At ECL 18, we pick up Extra Wild Shape for an additional 2 uses of Wild Shape bringing us up to 4/day. This allows us to stay in Wild Shape for 24 hours, or to perform our "Kill Shot" 3/day (once per hour).

At ECL 20, we get our "Capstone" abilities: Acrobatics (+30), Enchanted Blade III, and our final Fast Movmement improvement. Tumble check is around DC 65 to 70-ish, which isn't quite up to Epic levels (ignore all falling damage at DC 100), but could probably get there with some combination of spells/magic items. Enchanted Blade III adds some additional properties, but we already have various forms of flight and Planar Travel via Amethyst Dragon. Adding Dancing to an improvised weapon a la "Sorcerer's Apprentice" could be amusing, if not particularly effective at this level. That flaming/shocking/frost broken bottle could still be interesting!

Let's look at what our final Fast Movement improvement gives us: Fly 600' means we can divebomb up to 2,400' (239d6 extra damage, 836.5 avg) and piledrive up to 480' (47d6 extra damage, 164.5 avg). Our "Kill Shot" (which we can do 3/day now) has a radius of 2.27 miles, top speed of Mach 1.77, and 1,199x6 extra damage (4196.5 avg). The piledriver version goes up to 2,400' (239d6 extra damage, 836.5 avg).

Spoiler: Variations

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If your DM gets persnickety about taking Rival Organization at 5th, well, you can obviously replace that with a traditional Favored Enemy, like Undead.

If Flaws are available, you can add some additional speed via Air Heritage (+30', Planar Handbook) or Animal Devotion (+20', Complete Champion). If you'd like to add a soulmeld, Dread Carapace is the stand-out for +60'/+10' per essentia (once per minute). Thunderstep Boots adds some extra spicy awesomesauce to your charges: extra sonic damage and save vs. stun. In an earlier version of this build, I was using Sphinx Claws for Pounce with natural weapons, but took it out when I realized this wouldn't work with Enchanted Blade. If your DM doesn't like you using Lion Tribe Warrior for Pounce/Flurry of Blows, consider using Sphinx Claws instead. If you don't have enough feat slots for that, you can use a wand of lion's charge (Ranger 2, Spell Compendium) in a wand chamber (+100 GP, Dungeonscape).

Suggested magic items include the typical Treehugger stuff: Wilding Clasp, Druid Vestments (+1/day use of Wild Shape), etc. Ranger wands will likely be very useful. If you can get your hands on it, the Wild Shape Amulet (40,000 GP, Magic of Faerun) increases the effective level of your Wild Shape by +4, which unlocks the medium-sized Young Mercury Dragon with an even faster 250' fly speed, as well as other dragon forms with various (Ex) and (Su) abilities.

Spoiler: Sources

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Cityscape: Roofwalker, Roof-Jumper
Cityscape Web Enhancement: Skilled City Dweller ACF, Rival Organization ACF
Complete Champion: Spiritual Connection ACF
Complete Divine: Cheetah's Speed, Extra Wild Shape
Complet Mage: Arcane Hunter ACF
Complete Warrior: Drunken Master
Draconomicon: Dragon Wild Shape
Dragons of Faerun: Mercury Dragon
Forge of War: instant of power
Player's Handbook II: Distracting Attack ACF
Sandstorm: Wasteland Ranger ACF
Shining South: Shaaryan Human, Lion Tribe Warrior
Spell Compendium: blades of fire
Unearthed Arcana: Cobra Strike Monk, Wild Shape Ranger