Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XXVII

[Zaq]

Welcome back to the Iron Chef Optimization Challenge E6 Appetizer Edition! This time you're going to have to show me what you really believe in.

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

*Note: You must provide your own cake.

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

• Cooking Time: Builds must be submitted via PM to the Chair by 4:59 PM GMT - 9 on Monday, Dec 07, 2020 (1:59 AM GMT on Tuesday, Dec 08). The reveal shall be on the first evening the Chair has free following the cooking deadline, which is hoped to be that evening or the immediately subsequent one—I'll do my best, anyway. Judging is then encouraged to go as quickly as possible; if multiple judges volunteer, we'll set about a two-week window, but if we only get one judge, we'll try to wrap up as soon as possible after that judge presents scores. (I will admit that the deadline time may not be an exact science, but don't hide from me and we'll probably be cool.)
• Kitchen: Let's break this one down a bit.
  
  
  Spoiler: Let's talk about sources

  Show

  
  

  • ALLOWED: Almost all D&D 3.5 material published by WotC: Core, Completes, monster books, Races Of books, alternate power source books (Expanded Psionics Handbook, Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle, Tome of Magic, etc.), Spell Compendium, Book of Exalted Deeds, Book of Vile Darkness, Eberron material, Forgotten Realms material, and other WotC-published 3.5 material. (This list is NOT exhaustive and there are many other legal books that I did not mention by name!)
  • ALLOWED: Material from the 3.5 archives of the Wizards of the Coast website (including, but not limited to, the Mind's Eye articles). If you use it, link it.
  • ALLOWED: Official errata from WotC. If you're relying on this in a material fashion, it's a good idea to link it and to discuss it.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Unofficial errata, including "class fixes" (regardless of the source, including from the original author if not published in a WotC book) or fan-created content.
  • ALLOWED: Unupdated WotC-published 3.0 material (e.g., Sword and Fist, Masters of the Wild, etc.) except for 3.0 psionics. No 3.0 psionics allowed. If you are using 3.0 material, use the general-purpose skill updates (Wilderness Lore becomes Survival, Innuendo becomes Bluff, etc.) and the general-purpose rules updates (spells with a casting time of "1 action" become "1 standard action," etc.) when appropriate.
  • NOT ALLOWED: 3.0 material for which a direct 3.5 update exists. Use the updated material instead.
  • ALLOWED: Dragon Compendium and its errata.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Content from Dragon Magazine and/or Dungeon Magazine unless said content appears in an otherwise allowed source.
  • ALLOWED: Oriental Adventures, including the 3.5 update to Oriental Adventures from Dragon Magazine #318. This is a specific exception to the "no Dragon" rule!
  • NOT ALLOWED: Pathfinder content, regardless of whether it is "D&D 3.5 OGL" or not. If it didn't come from WotC, we don't want it.
  • ALLOWED: From Unearthed Arcana: racial paragon classes, alternate class features/variant classes, spelltouched feats, and variant races. (Traits and flaws are technically legal, but traits warrant a -0.5 point penalty in Elegance, and flaws warrant a -1 penalty in Elegance.)
  • NOT ALLOWED: Other Unearthed Arcana content, including (but not limited to) bloodlines, LA buyoff, fractional BAB/saves, alternate casting systems, alternate skill systems, item familiars, prestigious character classes, generic classes, gestalt, etc. When you're wondering if UA content is allowed, err on the side of caution and don't mess around with it.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Leadership, regardless of source. Game elements functionally equivalent to Leadership (including, but not limited to, Dragon Cohort, Undead Leadership, and Thrallherd) are similarly banned. (Familiars, Improved Familiar, animal companions, Wild Cohort, psicrystals, elemental envoys, and similar game elements are allowed, and they are not considered to be "Leadership." If the difference isn't obvious, feel free to contact the Chair with specific questions.)
  • NOT ALLOWED: Third-party content, homebrew, or other non-WotC content.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Epic feats from the Epic Level Handbook. Just because you're "epic" in E6 after 6th level doesn't mean that you're that kind of epic.
  • NOT ALLOWED: Any race or template with a level adjustment other than +0. (Or any other source of LA other than a race or template, if any such things exist.) However, as a specific exception for round 26, see below.
  • NOT ALLOWED: For our judges: penalizing solely based on legal sources used, regardless of whether those sources are plentiful, sparse, common, obscure, or something in between. If the material is legal, then it doesn't matter how many or how few books it came out of.
  • ALLOWED: Also for our judges: penalizing for using a source (other than material in Core; don't be vindictive about genuinely obvious stuff) that isn't listed in the build writeup. The chef may choose to present the sources in-line with the text, in a consolidated source list, or somewhere else, but if the source is listed (and is otherwise legal), it counts. If the source is not listed, you may choose to penalize for that.

  
  If you have questions about anything in this section (or hell, in this ruleset), feel free to ask the Chair.
  
• Character Creation: 32 point buy is assumed. For the purposes of this contest, Level Adjustment greater than +0 is banned. (This may be revised at a later point, but I don't feel that the E6 LA rules are conducive to fun in the context of this contest.) No more than two entries per chef per contest, please; if you submit two builds and somehow are so overcome with inspiration for a third that you can't help yourself, PM me and tell me which two you care about the most.
• Highlighted because of past issues: It is not enough for your build to end with a level adjustment of +0. You must be +0 from start to finish. No using ANY build elements with a level adjustment above +0, even if they then get mitigated or reduced somehow. However, note that a special exception is in place for round 26...
• Speculation: Please do not post any form of speculation before the reveal. Just don't do it, guys. It's not cool. This means NOT posting any of the following or anything substantially similar: what you think is going to be common, significant elements of your planned build or of other potential builds, or anything else that could directly influence someone else's build choices for good or for ill. (It's acceptable to ask for rules clarifications as appropriate, but try to avoid tipping your hand too much.) Speculation is bad because it can discourage people from posting builds and can also "taint the judging pool" when it comes to Originality, so please just try to be aware of how other people might react to your speculation.
• E6: Here's how E6 works for the purposes of this contest. Build your character normally for the first six levels. After you reach level 6, you stop gaining levels and start gaining bonus feats every time you would gain 5,000 XP. Since we aren't actually tracking XP, you'll basically list your first ten epic bonus feats in the order that you take them, and we think of them as being kind of like levels. We will not use the LA-equals-reduced-point-buy rules, instead preferring to just ban races with LA, at least for now. We will not use the "capstone feats"; all feats that you take must be normal legal 3.5 feats, not homebrew E6 ones. You may not use the Epic feats from the Epic Level Handbook, though if for some reason there are non-Epic feats from the ELH that you qualify for, you may take those. (I don't think there are any, but I'm sure someone will prove me wrong.) It is up to the discretion of each judge whether this is a "hard E6" (magic above 3rd level spells is simply beyond mortal reach, items that have a listed CL above 6th are just plain not available, etc.) or a "soft E6" (if you can somehow get the magic on your character, it's yours, regardless of level), though I honestly don't expect it to come up. Don't go crazy with making assumptions about items and we probably won't have to find out.
• Presentation: Please use the table found below in the spoiler. List your epic bonus feats (in clear order) after the table. If you find a clever way of formatting that that isn't annoying and that doesn't break anything, have fun; if it's portable, I may steal it for the next round. When sending your build or any disputes to the Chair, clearly include your build's name in the subject of the PM, and please present your build exactly as you want the Chair to copy and paste it into the thread.
  If you're using a picture, cite the source and follow any relevant citation rules. Because we have had issues with this in the past, when listing your skills, please make it very clear how many ranks you have at each level. There are multiple ways to do this and we do not wish to cramp anyone's individual style by dictating exactly how this must look, but make sure that somewhere in your entry there's an explanation of how many actual skill ranks you have. It's still fine to list total skill bonuses, if that's your style, but don't only list bonuses; make sure that there is a clear listing somewhere of your ranks alone.
  Spoiler

  Show

  Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
  1st	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
  2nd	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
  3rd	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
  4th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
  5th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities
  6th	New Class Level	+x	+x	+x	+x	Skills	Feats	New Class Abilities

  Code for the table:

  Spoiler

  Show

  [TABLE="class: head alt1 alt2"]
  [TR]
  [TH][B]Level[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Class[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Base Attack Bonus[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Fort Save[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Ref Save[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Will Save[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Skills[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Feats[/B][/TH]
  [TH][B]Class Features[/B][/TH]
  [/TR]
  [TR]
  [TD]1st[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Level[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]Skills[/TD]
  [TD]Feats[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Abilities[/TD]
  [/TR]
  [TR]
  [TD]2nd[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Level[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]Skills[/TD]
  [TD]Feats[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Abilities[/TD]
  [/TR]
  [TR]
  [TD]3rd[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Level[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]Skills[/TD]
  [TD]Feats[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Abilities[/TD]
  [/TR]
  [TR]
  [TD]4th[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Level[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]Skills[/TD]
  [TD]Feats[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Abilities[/TD]
  [/TR]
  [TR]
  [TD]5th[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Level[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]Skills[/TD]
  [TD]Feats[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Abilities[/TD]
  [/TR]
  [TR]
  [TD]6th[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Level[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]+x[/TD]
  [TD]Skills[/TD]
  [TD]Feats[/TD]
  [TD]New Class Abilities[/TD]
  [/TR]
  [/TABLE]
• Contest houserules: Nearly the same as the main contest's rules here: all creatures are proficient with natural weapons they have or may acquire, bonus feats that are explicitly granted without meeting prereqs are usable even without those prereqs, and feats that affect which skills are class skills for you and/or how you spend your skill points (Able Learner, Martial Study, Truename Training, Apprentice, etc.) apply immediately at the level at which you take them (even though you normally spend skill points before taking a feat). When taking Open Minded as an epic feat, any skill that has ever been a class skill for you (including through your class, your race, your feats, or similar game elements, though please don't muck around with retroactively making something stop being a class skill for some stupid reason) is a class skill when determining how the 5 granted skill points may be spent. All usual rules about HD-related skill caps apply. When taking Open Minded as a non-epic feat, treat it as normal; the class skills of the class you took at the level you gained Open Minded (plus race, feats, etc.) are your class skills for those skill points, similar to if Open Minded's skill points came straight from your class.
• Judging guidelines: The minimum score in a category is 1, and the maximum is 5 (except in high-Originality rounds, wherein the maximum in Originality is 10). Judges are expected to be fair, consistent, and open-minded, and they are expected to make a good-faith effort to engage with any reasonable disputes that arise, especially when RAW is in question. That said, contestants are asked to not dispute more than necessary; let's do everything in good faith and really only dispute when a judge is being inconsistent, being unfair, or is otherwise grossly misinterpreting a build.
  Judges may not penalize Originality solely because a build is a tribute or homage to an existing creative work (in or out of D&D canon; note that this is not the same thing as penalizing Originality for using well-known optimization tactics), nor may judges penalize based solely on sources used (whether those sources are plentiful, sparse, common, obscure, or something in between, you should judge the build elements and how they work together rather than what book or what books they came out of, as long as those books are legal for this contest and are cited in the entry).
  As with the main contest, we will follow the "One Mistake, One Penalty" guideline, and it is very important that the judges adhere to it. I'm going to directly copy and paste this from the main thread, and hopefully the original author won't mind too much:
  
  Spoiler

  Show

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

  Allowed:
  

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

  
  
  Not allowed:
  

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

  
  Prereqs

  Allowed:
  

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

  
  
  Not Allowed:
  

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

  
  Other general things that are no longer allowed:
  

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

  
  
  Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.
• Dispute guidelines (NEW, PLEASE PAY ATTENTION): Disputing is long, annoying, and emotional. It's also sometimes necessary, but it's often not actually something that makes everyone have more fun. Let's go into a little more detail here.
  
  Spoiler

  Show

  • Do NOT dispute to make an argument that goes fundamentally beyond what's in your write-up. It is the responsibility of the chef to make sure that the write-up is complete and contains their best arguments for what the build does and why it's awesome. If you didn't explain your tactics well or didn't spell out something that a judge misses, just do better next time. Don't drag it out after the fact.
  • Do NOT dispute just to be clever or witty or cheeky. Please. We're all adults here and so I assume you know what that means. Don't treat the build as a setup and your oh-so-clever dispute as the punchline. It's not as funny as it is in your head. Trust me. I've been down that road.
  • Do NOT dispute just to say "oh yeah, my bad, I missed that" or some equivalent. If you're not directly challenging the judge, save the commentary until after the reveal. I 100% get that the urge to respond to commentary is very strong, but type it out and sit on it for a while if you've gotta.
  • Do NOT dispute just to try to wheedle more points out of the judge. Note that this is different from saying that the judge is being truly unfair or is being truly wrong by black-and-white RAW. A dispute is NOT the place to try to scrape together a few last quarter-points. If you didn't put it in your write-up, that's on you. This also means that a dispute is really not the place to have long back-and-forth tit-for-tat arguments. That's a surefire way to get people grumpy. It's a contest on a D&D board, guys, not the results of a federal election.
  • Do NOT dispute to tear down another build. That's just plain not cool. If you entered the contest, it's not on you to judge the other builds.
  • DO dispute if the judge is being blatantly biased by giving you a substantially different ruling on a build element compared to another chef who used the same build element in nearly the same way. (Note that position in a build may affect if you're using that element in "nearly the same way" or not.) Please reserve this for the truly blatant examples. I mean it. Remember, it's the contestant's responsibility to make their best argument in the original write-up.
  • DO dispute if the judge is actively going against the contest rules. Note that there are relatively few ways in which a judge can go against contest rules (we intentionally give very wide discretion to our judges), but examples include truly breaking One Mistake One Penalty, penalizing just because of number of sources of (legal) material, and so on.
  • DO dispute if the judge is clearly ignoring unambiguous RAW. Note that this is for unambiguous RAW; if the RAW is shady and you're making an argument that isn't completely clear and that it wouldn't be strange for a GM to frown on, the judge has every right to frown on it as well. (You generally know when you're indulging in shady RAW. Be mature about this.) But if the judge is saying you didn't hit a prereq that you clearly did hit (and included in your write-up!), saying you can't do something that the plain text of the ability says you can do, or anything like that, by all means, call 'em out.
  • Do NOT dispute if the judge doesn't agree with your interpretation of ambiguous RAW. Yes, this is a retread of the previous bullet point; this is that important. If you're relying on ambiguous RAW, it's on you to lay out clearly why it should work the way you want it to work. Again, be mature and act in good faith: you really know when you're pushing things like this. If they don't like it, they don't like it. Move on.

  
  
  Disputing is a privilege, not a right. In the Chair's sole discretion, disputes that do not meet these guidelines and/or that do not seem to be offered in good faith may be suppressed. The Chair reserves the right to choose to post all, some, or none of a dispute if appropriate.
  
  
• Other bits and bobs: If there's something major and relevant I haven't mentioned, assume that the way I handle it will probably be the same as the main contest unless stated otherwise or unless doing so would be an obviously absurd result. If you've got questions, I'll give you answers.

This round's secret ingredient:
The ARDENT, from Complete Psionic!
Allez Optimizer!

Special note about the Mind's Eye options:

• Please DO NOT USE the Substitute Powers ACF. There's simply no GM adjudication equivalent that I feel is elegant enough to avoid confusion over this, and I don't feel like getting bogged down in discussions/arguments about whether a given power is or is not "in theme" for a mantle.
• Using the Elemental Mantles option is fine, though if you choose to use any of them, do not also use the Elements mantle, since the split-up elemental mantles replace the Elements mantle. It's your choice which of them you want to use, if you want to use them at all.
• Obviously, you can't take Dominant Ideal since you can't get 10th level anyway, so let's forget all about that.

The Builds:

Coming soon!

Spoiler: Contest History

Show

Round 4: Knight
Round 5: Ninja
Round 6: Racial Paragon Classes
Round 7: Hexblade
Round 8: Shugenja
Round 9: Swashbuckler
Round 10: Crusader
Round 11: Soulknife
Round 12: Factotum
Round 13: Prestige Classes
Round 14: Mountebank
Round 15: Sorcerer
Round 16: Dragon Shaman
Round 17: Lurk
Round 18: Paladin
Round 19: Scout
Round 20: Incarnate
Round 21: Shadowcaster
Round 22: Dragonmarks
Round 23: Fighter
Round 24: Pets
Round 25: Warlock
Round 26: Monsters

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

Show

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

[Zaq]

Here's a few gentle recommendations that are intended to improve scores and make things easier for the judges. As always, THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS POST ARE NOT RULES. Judges and contestants are free to honor them or ignore them; my intent here is only to help, and NONE of what I'm saying here is required. (That said, did you see the new dispute guidelines? Those ARE rules, so please go read them. And I'm even going to be better about enforcing them this time.)

Recommendations:

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

This isn't a high-orig round, but I feel like your originality or lack thereof is still going to be pretty important. Two different ardents might be nearly the same in play, or they might have basically zero overlap in terms of what they can do! Getting into the weirder possibilities is probably a good idea, but of course, there's many paths to victory.

Do keep a close eye on your count for primary mantles versus secondary mantles! "An ardent cannot choose a power from a secondary mantle if doing so would give her more powers known from that secondary mantle than she knows from either of her primary mantles." Meaning of course that you can equal the number of powers in a secondary mantle and in the lower of your primary mantles, but you can't exceed it. So don't take an unnecessary Elegance penalty that way!

Do be mindful of staying power! 35 PP (without stats/etc., from base class alone, at level 6) isn't trivial, but it's also not "full augment every round every fight." How cool are you when you're moderating your PP output and not just when you're blowing it all?

Naturally, it's up to the judge(s) how much, if at all, fluff fits into the picture, but I personally find that it's sometimes really fun and compelling to fit the character's personality and backstory around the mantles. Maybe that will work for you!

Have fun with this one, team! Can't wait to see it!

[daremetoidareyo]

Double points for using more than two levels?

[PanosIs]

I have a couple of ideas, but psionics aren't really my forte.

Pandemic means free time to cook though.

It is sort of sad that 2 levels is really the breakpoint as daremetoidareyou mentioned - although I guess it's not too bad for four :P

[Zaq]

Double points for using more than two levels?

I mean, if you wanna stand before a judge with your three powers known and your 6 base PP and claim that the fact that one of those powers happens to be third level makes you super ardenty, I suppose I won’t be the one to stop you, my friend.

[Quentinas]

Question We have to use the power updated to the complete psionic right? (for example astral construct)

[Zaq]

Yes, that's correct.

[Zaq]

Quick bump! Hope everyone who gets a long weekend about now is enjoying it, and I hope that folks who don't get a long weekend (for whatever reason) are having a fine normal day!

[Quentinas]

I'm working on two builds for now, ispiration has struck

[Zaq]

We're getting down to the last (traditional) weekend! I don't have many entries yet. How's everyone doing?

[MinimanMidget]

I've got nothing for this one, but I don't have the experience with psionics to judge it, either.

[H_H_F_F]

Double points for using more than two levels?

Damn, I thought I was clever.

(Well, TBH, I thought Zaq was a RAI-ignoring-RAW-abusing bastard with the Tapestry Whale in the Psion Uncarnate Iron Chef, and I thought I might join in just to repay the favour.)

[Quentinas]

I have to write the fluff and the tactics for one

[Zaq]

Damn, I thought I was clever.

(Well, TBH, I thought Zaq was a RAI-ignoring-RAW-abusing bastard with the Tapestry Whale in the Psion Uncarnate Iron Chef, and I thought I might join in just to repay the favour.)

Hey man, I'm not the one who you've gotta impress! I'll post your entry as long as you've got at least one level. It's the judge(s) that you've gotta keep happy with your number of levels in the SI...

[Zaq]

Level with me, team. I don't have enough builds to post. For real, who's still working, and how long would you need to finish? A day? A week? I'll give you what you need!

[daremetoidareyo]

Level with me, team. I don't have enough builds to post. For real, who's still working, and how long would you need to finish? A day? A week? I'll give you what you need!

Gimme 24 hours and I'll get one to ya

[H_H_F_F]

I don't have any experience with E6, but I can give it a shot if you're really short on entries... It would take me a while though, all I have is an idea.

[daremetoidareyo]

submitted yo.

When is the new reveal?

[Zaq]

Ideally I'd like enough chefs to fill up a podium. Anyone else still working? H_H_F_F, how long would you need? We can give you time!

[H_H_F_F]

Ideally I'd like enough chefs to fill up a podium. Anyone else still working? H_H_F_F, how long would you need? We can give you time!

I honestly tried, man. But I'm new to psionics, I'm new to E6... My entry just kind of fell apart. I tried to revise it a couple of times, but I'm just unhappy with it. I'm really sorry to disappoint.

[Zaq]

Hey, you can't force art! If the muse isn't singing then she isn't singing.

I have three builds by two chefs. What do you want, team? Should I post them? Hold out for at least one more? Call it an exhibition round and lunge for a more popular ingredient sans judgment?

[daremetoidareyo]

Hey, you can't force art! If the muse isn't singing then she isn't singing.

I have three builds by two chefs. What do you want, team? Should I post them? Hold out for at least one more? Call it an exhibition round and lunge for a more popular ingredient sans judgment?

I'm cool with it being an exhibition round.

[MinimanMidget]

Hey, you can't force art! If the muse isn't singing then she isn't singing.

Sorry. I've read through all the mantles a bunch of times, and looked at every source I can think of for psionic feats, and I just can't come up with anything. I had one idea, but there's just no support for it.

If the chefs are interested, I'm happy to try judging, but my opinion will be even more unqualified than usual.

[daremetoidareyo]

Sorry. I've read through all the mantles a bunch of times, and looked at every source I can think of for psionic feats, and I just can't come up with anything. I had one idea, but there's just no support for it.

If the chefs are interested, I'm happy to try judging, but my opinion will be even more unqualified than usual.

You could just do roses and thorns for the builds rather than the intense judgments typically expected. After all, all the entries medal.

[Quentinas]

Hey, you can't force art! If the muse isn't singing then she isn't singing.

I have three builds by two chefs. What do you want, team? Should I post them? Hold out for at least one more? Call it an exhibition round and lunge for a more popular ingredient sans judgment?

For me is fine with this round being an exhibition round

[Zaq]

Exhibition round it is, then! Here come the three builds. I'll just post them with the chef's names since we're not really doing anything fancy. Everyone, please ooh and aah over them and provide the commentary our chefs deserve, even without judgments!


Builds incoming!

[Zaq]

First, from Quentinas, Zen the Ardent! Or "Arzent," if I may.

Zen
Lesser Zenythri LN Ardent 4 /Fighter 1/Elocater 1

An interview with the traveling monk ardent

Spoiler: The start of the interview

Show

"Here I am , the only one interviewer Noname, and today I will make interwievs with the contestants of the XXVII round of the Iron chef E6 Appetizer Edition! I'm on the site of the contest but for now i don't see many contestants, i will continue to search one near the gate of the participants.*Then one bald man goes very quickly toward the gate* Hey you stop!."
Mysterious participant. "Yes?"
Noname: "That is the gate of the participant, and the contest is about the Ardent class, not the monk!"
Mysterious participant: "But... I am an ardent"
Noname: "No way you're too fast to be an ardent , surely you have at least a level of monk, you are even bald!"
Mysterious participant:"I'm an ardent. My name is Zen, these are the starting values for me , and this is my application sheet, so you can see"

Spoiler: The starting values (stats)

Show

Stat name	Base value	Base cost	Value after race
Strength	14	6	16
Dexterity	12	4	14
Constitution	12	4	12
Intelligence	16	6	16
Wisdom	15	8	17
Charisma	8	0	6

4th level point to wisdom
Noname comment :"These value seems the value of a monk, even if the intelligence is so high , for me this Zen is still a monk"

Spoiler: Application sheet (build)

Show

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ardent 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Skill points 20 :Concentration 4 Knowledge local 2, knowledge plane 2, knowledge arcana 2, knowledge dungeon 2, knowledge nature 2, knowledge religion 2, sense motive 2	Dodge	Assume psionic mantle (2)
2nd	Ardent 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Skill points 5: Concentration 5 Knowledge local 2, knowledge plane 3, knowledge arcana 5, knowledge dungeon 2, knowledge nature 2, knowledge religion 2, sense motive 2
3rd	Ardent 3	+2	+1	+1	+3	Skill points 5: Concentration 6 Knowledge local 2, knowledge plane 3, knowledge arcana 5, knowledge dungeon 2, knowledge nature 2, knowledge religion 2, sense motive 3, Skill trick learned (collector of stories)	Mobility
4th	Ardent 4	+3	+1	+1	+4	Skill points 5: Concentration 7 Knowledge local 3, knowledge plane 3, knowledge arcana 5, knowledge dungeon 3, knowledge nature 3, knowledge religion 3, sense motive 3
5th	Drow Fighter 1	+4	+3	+1	+4	Skill points 5: Concentration 8 Knowledge local 3, knowledge plane 3, knowledge arcana 5, knowledge dungeon 3, knowledge nature 4, knowledge religion 3.5, sense motive 3	Spring attack	Bonus feat, drow fighter alternative
6th	Elocator 1	+4	+3	+3	+6	Skill points 9: Concentration 9 Knowledge local 3, knowledge plane 4, knowledge arcana 5, knowledge dungeon 4, knowledge nature 4, knowledge religion 4, sense motive 6	Exotic weapon proficiency (spiked chain), Sidestep charge (bonus)	Scorn the Earth, Sidestep charge

cross class for this level

Spoiler: Epic feats

Show

1° Speed of thoughts
2° Psycristal affinity (Sympathetic)
3° Psycristal containment
4° Psionic meditation
5° Steady concentration
6° Psionic weapon
7° Power attack
8° Knowledge devotion
9° Expanded knowledge (power weapon)
10° Inquisitor

Spoiler: Power points, mantles and powers

Show

The power point value is with the power points bonus between ( and ) there are the base power points

Manifester Level	Power points	Mantles assumed	Powers learned
Level 1	3 (2)	Physical power ,Freedom	Adrenaline boost, Dimension hop
Level 2	9 (6)	Knowledge	Call to mind
Level 3	15 (11)	-	Animal affinity
Level 4	25 (17)	-	Hustle
Level 5	35 (25)	-	Touchsight
Epic 9	35 (25)	-	Power weapon

Noname comment:"It seems an ardent,but why he is so fast? I will make some questions"

Spoiler: After Noname read the application sheet "Tactics"

Show

Noname:"So it seems that you truly are an ardent, even if you seems a monk. I'm a journalist , and I will interview you!"
Zen in a low voice:"Damn...and I that hoped she would leave"
Noname:"Have you said something?"
Zen:"No...what is the first question?"
Noname :"Can you talk about the first levels of your application sheet, I see something unusual as many ranks in the knowledge skills, and your race is unusual in this contest so please tell us".

Spoiler: First levels (1-2)

Show

Zen:"My race is the lesser zenythri , so a Zenythri that isn't an outsider but a humanoid (planetouched) . I think my race is good for the ardents as we have various modifier to good stats (+2 strenght , +2 dexterity,+2 wisdom) while we aren't so goods with words( -2 charisma), but that isn't important for an Ardent like me.We have a spell like ability that is quite useful even now, True strike, that at the start was one sure way to hit the enemies, as even in my first levels I fought in melee. To be not hit I took as my first feat is dodge, a boring feats that can be useful against one enemy , but was needed for my future. My primary mantles are the Physical power one and the Freedom one. While the first can empower me using my focus, the second if i'm focused boost my speed"
Noname:"Ah so for that you are quicker than the normal"
Zen:"Not only for that , but even at the start I had other ways to move, one of my powers dimension hop. His casting time is a swift action so it was quite useful, like the other power I had at the start, Adrenaline boost even that a swift action. Then I gained my last mantle, the knowledge one , with his power that at the time was not so useful , and call mind that was quite good in combination to my skills."
Noname: "I still do not comphrend why you have so many knowledge"
Zen:"For now I will say knowledge is power"

Noname:"Wait you said your last mantle? But didn't the ardent gain a 4th mantle at level 5?"
Zen: Inhales slowly, not so happy to talk so much, "Yes, generally they gain another mantle...but not me , can I continue now?"
Noname : "Oh yes sorry "

Spoiler: Still an Ardent uh? (level 3 -4)

Show

Zen:" The next two levels I gained were two levels of the ardent, and with these I gained a boost to my wisdom, more power points, two new powers but the most important thing I gained was a trick"
Noname:"A trick? You mean a Skill trick right? The ones from Complete Scoundrel? But isn't that manual for characters with many skill points, like for example monk?"
Zen:"...Yes, but I gained a skill trick called collector of stories, that can give me a bonus to Knowledges so at these level I could do any knowledge check untrained, thanks to Knowledge mantle , or I could boost one of my knowledge to know a creature,of +10 as maximum, without countings ranks or my intelligence value , with a combination of Collector of Stories and the Knowledge mantle power. I could do a knowledge after the battle with an higher bonus with call to mind , as using that power during battle was not good"
Noname:"So...you have various knowledge and thing related to these, you have the knowledge mantle at the end , but the powers you gained what does?
Zen: “They are useful, at the time the one I used more was Animal Affinity , that in combination with the Physical Power mantle could boost my strength of a good amount, but even the other is good, is named hustle and for a melee like me was a good power , letting me do a move action at the cost of my swift action”

Noname:”I’m quite sure that this is an error but on your application sheet is wrote that you took a level of fighter , that is false right? You don’t use any heavy armor, you can’t be a fighter”
Zen: “And again you are wrong , that level of fighter was a necessary evil but let me explain”

Spoiler: A level of fighter...and a prestige class??? (level 5 6 and epic 1)

Show

Zen:”As I said the only way for a psionic character like me to enter in the elocater in E6 was to have at least an average bab with the base class, and using one level of another class to gain a bonus feat. In my case the only option was to take a level of the fighter, and as I had to take a level of fighter I learned it from the Drow of the Underdark, so I could receive the same bonus at initiative of the time mantle, and I could add dexterity in some case, as I will use medium armor not heavy armor. The skills of the fighter sucked , they were truly terrible.”
Noname:”I still think that you are strange , the ardent can use heavy armor , why don’t you use them????”
Zen:” Easy...for the speed”
Noname: “Eh?”
Zen:”An heavy armor if not in particular material or with particular enchantment will reduce my movement, but I need it so I prefer a mithral medium armor , so I don’t lose speed”
Noname:”Okay...but you will have less AC”
Zen:”That is not important if the enemy can’t hit me in melee”
Noname:”EHHHHH?”
Zen:”The feats I gained before fighter let me took spring attack, and being a psionic character let me enter in the Elocater if I have spring attack and enough concentration and with some powers. Among the psionic character able to use 3rd level power at manifester level 5 only the Ardent and the Wilder could do it. But I’m better than a Wilder”
Noname:”Can you explain why?”
Zen: “First I will explain why the Elocater is good. First it has many skill points” *Before Noname could talk * “More than a Monk. It doesn’t have any knowledge except psionic but it has sense motive, that is good with my wisdom. Then it give a bonus feat, that is not bad to block charging enemies, it boost the manifester level at first level, that is the only level I took. Then there is the main ability for which I took the Elocater Scorn the earth. It permit us to float without a limit of height “
Noname: “But if you float higher than 1 foot your speed will be highly reduced to 10 foot for round!”
Zen: “Not if I have the Freedom mantle , and Speed of thoughts my first epic feat. These two increase my speed of 10 foot each one if I’m focused, and while I float higher than 1 foot my speed is reduced to 10 but these two increase the speed to 30 foot, so the same the other creatures have while on the terrain.”
Noname:”Okay you float then?”
Zen:”Is easy, if I can use the unoccupied square in the sky then I can use dimension hop to move in sky as a swift action , and if my speed is good I can use spring attack to attack and then moving in the sky, and for this combo I learned how use the spiked chain as if I attack the enemy from 10 foot from him, then I move above of 2 square above (20 foot) and then the 10 foot to be above him, menacing his square and with him that can’t attack me. “
Noname “Oh good , but seems...so much physical for a psionical character”
Zen: ”Well dimension hop is quite useful especially if I finish my movement, hustle the same but for a lower cost, adrenaline boost is still useful ,as animal affinity, and my last power Touchsight permit me to see the invisible so I will not have problem”

Noname:”Then after that, what have you done?

Spoiler: I took a companion (Epic 2 to 5)

Show

” The feats after the first epic feat were Psycristal affinity, psycristal containment and psionic meditation. The psycristal helped me to sense motive of the others people , but I will not talk so much about him, as not each judge let the psycristal take the scene (took feats) , these feats were taken to have more than a psionic focus at a time , so that I could use my mantles power (for example physical power or knowledge power at the start of combat) while maintaining a focus for the freedom mantle and for speed of thoughts. Then to never fail the check on concentration I took Steady concentration that let me pass each time the concentration check , without using my powers and in any situation so surely I will have my two psionic focus so one can will be used when I want. As I gain a psionic focus as a a move action I can use hustle to regain a psionic focus, so as a swift action , with me that can still do the spring attack.”
Noname:”Quite complicated, you must focus in your battle for the strategies”
Zen:”As I said I use my focus”

Noname: “it seems cools as tactics, but you don’t have an high BAB , and if you levitate too high you have the problem on the attacks right , so you will do not enough damage?”
Zen: Yes but if I move again on the terrain I should not have any problem, and for the damage the feats I will take will help at doing damage.

Spoiler: Damaging feats (Epic feats 6 to 9)

Show

“I think power attack is not to be explained , as I use a two handed weapon so is only a benefit for me. More interesting is knowledge devotion, because thanks to using the combination of knowledge mantle power and collector of stories and my intelligence and my ranks , any knowledge I put some ranks at least will roll 17 , so it will be a good bonus. Then expanded knowledge is useful to surpass Damage reduction , as these can be annoying, and force damage is useful to surpass.Psionic weapon is a good way to use one of my focus as the power of physical power mantle give only +2 so +1 on damage”

Noname:”Oh finally you have finished right? You can be honored to have encountered the Famous Noname today Mr.Monk who seems an Ardent, now I will search for another contestant.
Zen:”Oh finally...and I know that you are not famous my last feat boost my already high sense motive” *Then goes away”
Noname:”But...”

Spoiler: Numbers on Zen

Show

Hit points 6+4*3.5(ardent levels and elocater)+ 5.5(fighter level)+6 constitution=37.5 but constitution can be boosted to 18 (animal affinity+physical power) so other 18 hit points
Bonus to hit 4+3 (strenght)+2 knowledge devotion+1 (on higher “ground”) but strenght can be boosted to 24 (animal affinity+ adrenaline boost + physical power mantle) and I have true strike 1/day The penalty for power attack will be around 2 or 3 probably
Knowledge skills for knowledge devotion
Knowledge local: 3 ranks+ 3 intelligence +5 collector of stories+ 5 knowledge mantle power = 16 as base
Knowledge plane dungeon nature religion=4 ranks+ 3 intelligence+5 collector of stories +5 knowledge mantle power= 17 as base
Knowledge arcana : 5 ranks+ 3 intelligence+5 collector of stories +5 knowledge mantle power= 18 as base
Sense motive : 6 ranks +4 wisdom+ 3 psycristal+ 10 inquisitor = 23 against a bluff check
Scorn the earth and movement
Speed on 1 foot or lower as altitude: 30 feet+ 10 (freedom mantle) +10 (speed of thoughts) as long as I’m focused
Speed on higher altitude =10 +10(freedom mantle) +10(speed of thoughts)
Maximum distance on a round without running and attacking
On 1 foot or lower as altitude= 50 foot base+ 50 foot base (hustle)
On higher altitude 30 foot base +30 foot in any direction as long as it is unoccupied (dimension hop at maximum manifestation)
About the race the zenythri first is presented in monster manual II as planetouched race , in the update of the monster manual is clear how the stat are and then as the zenythri remained a planetouched race I applied the lesser planetouched from player guide to faerun

Spoiler: "Credits"(sources)

Show

Zenythri: Monster manual II+update
Lesser planetouched:Player's guide to faerun
Ardent: Complete psionic
Fighter:Player handbook
Elocater:Expanded psionic handbooks
Drow fighter ACF: Drow of the Underdark
Dodge:Player handbook
Mobility: Player handbook
Spring attack: Player handbook
Exotic weapon proficiency: Player handbook
Speed of thoughts: Expanded psionic handbook
Psycristal affinity: Expanded psionic handbook
Psycristal containment: Expanded psionic handbook
Psionic meditation: Expanded psionic handbook
Steady concentration: Races of stone
Knowledge devotion:Complete champion
Combat reflexes: Player handbook
Open minded: Complete adventurer
Sidestep: Miniatures handbook
Inquisitor:Expanded psionic handbook
Mantles: Complete psionic
Adrenaline boost:Complete psionic
Dimension hop:Complete psionic
Power weapon:Complete Psionic
Other powers:Expanded psionic handbook
Noname comment:"Why I'm not in the credits???"

[Zaq]

Next up, also from the ever-prolific Quentinas (which is an awesome thing!), we have That Strange Monkey! As though there are monkeys that aren't strange. You ever see a monkey? I mean, dude.

That Strange Monkey Anthropomorphic monkey NE Ardent 6

Spoiler: Background

Show

From where born the anthropomorphic animals? There are various theory but if one see that strange monkey that travel where he want one could do a theory about their origin. At first sight that strange monkey seems a normal monkey (anthropomorphic obviously) but when one talk with him one could see the difference. He has some strange powers, they call it psionic, that are the same of an Illithid (or at least a part of them) , he has a hint of madness in how he talk and how he fight, even if there are member of his class they say that is strange because they are not able to intimidate so well, and no common Ardent (so they call themselves) was able to obtain the same powers of that strange Monkey. Luckily for the team that have to kill that strange monkey it doesn’t have the same power of an Illithid so I think that we will win in this subjugation and we will return victorious
*Last page of a unlucky soldier who tried to eliminate a Strange Monkey , some say that he returned but dominated (like with a vampire) and having changed idea on various argument, obviously not saying anything about that Strange Monkey. Other people say that he didn’t encountered the Monkey, other that the Monkey changed his mind, who will know except that strange Monkey?”

Spoiler: Stats

Show

Stat	Point Buy	Final
Strength	10 (2 point)	6 (-4 racial)
Dexterity	10 (2 point)	12 (+2 racial)
Constitution	14 (6 point)	14 (no change )
Intelligence	14 (6 point)	14 (no change)
Wisdom	14 (6 point)	18 (+ 4 racial)
Charisma	16 (10 point)	14 (-2 racial)

4th level point to charisma

Spoiler: build

Show

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ardent 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Concentration 4, Intimidate 4, Diplomacy 4, Sense motive 2[td] [td]Illithid heritage	Assume psionic mantle (corruption and madness , death)	Primal fear, stygian discernment
2nd	Ardent 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Concentration 5, Initmidate 5, Diplomacy 5, Sense motive 2.5		Assume psionic mantle (communication)	Daze psionic
3rd	Ardent 3	+2	+1	+1	+3	Concentration 6, Initmidate 6, Diplomacy 6, Sense motive 3	Illithid compulsion		Stygian ray
4th	Ardent 4	+3	+1	+1	+4	Concentration 7, Initmidate 7, Diplomacy 7, Sense motive 3.5			Suggestion psionic
5th	Ardent 5	+3	+1	+1	+4	Concentration 8, Initmidate 8, Diplomacy 8, Sense motive 4		Assume psionic mantle (deception)	Mental turmoil
6th	Ardent 6	+4	+2	+2	+5	Concentration 6, Initmidate 9, Diplomacy 9, Sense motive 4, Skill trick learned Never outnumbered	Frightful presence		Death urge

Spoiler: Epic feats

Show

1°Stygian archon
2° Stygian power
3° Zen archery
4° Psionic meditation
5° Steady concentration
6° Expanded knowledge (ectoplasmic cocoon)
7° Illithid legacy
8° Illithid legacy greater
9° Earth sense
10° Earth power

Spoiler: Level by level combat tactics

Show

While I was reading the Complete Psionic to see the related feats to the Ardent I arrived at the Illithid Compulsion feats, and from that feat the build started . That feat increase my manifester for compulsion powers of 1 so the combination of that feat with the power learning of the Ardent (that say that I can learn only a power I can manifest at each new level) permitted to learn at level 6 a level 4 compulsion power. But which mantles had a level 4 compulsion power? The first was the communication mantle with correspond but it wasn’t enough to be my only level 4 power, the second was the consumption mantle but power leech required to fight against psionic character so it was not ideal then the last (as the other powers were not of compulsion but only mind affecting) death urge from the Death mantle, that was not bad so I had one of the four mantle.
Illithid compulsion required illithid heritage, and that feat gave me intimidate as class skill so how optimize that? There was the frightful presence that was interesting to combine, as I only needed to attack to debuff the enemies, and from the complete psionic there was again a feat that was interesting Stygian power. That metapsionic feat could do another step toward panicked but required stygian powers . I had the death mantle so it was not a problem, stygian discernment and stygian ray could be the way to do that. But it was not the only power that could shake the enemy , there was even primal fear, from the corruption and madness, that was as swift action !Neat no? So if combined these feat could made a enemy panicked in one round (stygian power, frightful presence and primal fear), or as I use compusion power daze to block an enemy (high HD enemy are rarer in E6 at the end so it can be useful and is easy to augment )
Two mantle were chosen, the corruption and madness was even good thematically with the illithid heritage , but my bonus to intimidate was not high, Here the communication mantle enter, with suggestion psionic , a power that could affect an enemy on the diplomatic side or on the intimidatory side, third mantle assigned. As last mantle deception was chosen as the mantle power was good, even if we don’t have bluff as class skills , but it was still on the social side , and here end the mantles and the powers,now the other feats.
To make a good use of Stygian ray I needed a good bab and a good modifier and even if the anthropomorphic monkey had dexterity and the small size to boost I still needed a better modifier and zen archery was the solution as wisdom will be higher than dexterity.
I even needed to regain the focus quickly so the classic psionic meditation and steady concentration were assigned, concentration was a class skill for the ardent at the end
The trick gave me a single level 4 power, but how I could acquire more power? One answer was expanded knowledge , as it give me a power of one level less of my highest power, so with the illithid compulsion trick it was a level 3 power , and the power I selected was one more effective against monster with high will save or immunity to some power. The other way was to use other illithid feats, one illithid legacy (that didn’t give so many interesting power but charm person is not bad , and read thoughts in social situation can be used) but the most interesting feat was Illithid legacy greater. I could qualify as some of my power are at ML 7 so it was ideal as Dominate person psionic was very good (and quite difficult to imitate) , and dispel psionics (if used under psionic magic trasparency) was another one that could be useful.
As I use many power I had to reduce the cost of these power, so earth power was the solution, and not metapower for stygian power as that reduced only one of my power (that was among the most offensive one yes , as negative level give penalty to enemy and damage at the same time) but was still one against many other. As I can’t level up again I don’t have the problem of having more power of the primary mantles, as in E6 one can’t go over the level six.
SO at the end we have various possibilities, from dominate person to enlist one NPC as an ally for a long enough time (ideal for example against fighter or something similar) to let one enemy (maybe with high damage) hit himself and doing a critical hit with death urge (with the bonus that is a full round action so is quite good to gain time) to put an enemy under panicked state (or debuffing him) with the combination of primal fear, stygian ray and frightful presence, to block one enemy to attack him later with ectoplasmic cocoon or to escape, to use suggestion psionic for some request (this even outside combat) to block an enemy spellcaster with mental turmoil. To use frightful presence at the maximum we need to be in 30 feet of the enemy so we will use the best armor we have even if we will be slowed (but we are faster than other small creatures so is still good) The deception mantle is another way to defend ourselves if we don’t plan to use the focus for stygian power or something similar.

Spoiler: Final stats

Show

The strange monkey
NE Small Monstrous humanoid ardent 6
Initiative :+1
Hp 35 (6+3.5*5+12)
Saves Fortitude +4 ,Reflex +3 , Will +9 +2 to each save against spells, powers, spell-like abilities, and psi-like abilities (illithid heritage)
Immune to confusion and madness if psionically focused (corruption and madness mantle)
Power points 47
[b]Powers] Powers known at Manifester level 6
3 rd Ectoplasmic cocoon, mental turmoil ,dispel psionics
2 nd Stygian ray, read thoughts,
1 st Primal fear, stygian discernment, charm psionic
Powers known at Manifester level 7
4 th Death urge, Dominate psionics
2 nd Suggestion psionic
1 st Daze psionic
Powers for mantle and for feat
Corruption and Madness (primary) Primal fear, Mental turmoil Daze psionic
Death (primary) Stygian discernment, Stygian ray, Death urge
Communication (secondary) Suggestion psionic
Illithid legacy feats (other) Charm psionic*, Dispel psionics**, Dominate person psionic, Read thoughts
Expanded knowledge (other) Ectoplasmic cocoon
*Technically this power is in the communication mantle but I learned from a feat
**Technically this power is from the magic mantle that I don’t have but I learned it from a feat
Skills Concentration +10 (can always take 10), Diplomacy 13 (+2 competence comunication mantle) Intimidate 11 , Sense motive +9 .These bonus are without any power to support them but for example charm person can be used

Spoiler: Sources

Show

From savage species: Anthropomorphic monkey
From Complete Warrior :Zen archery
From races of stone: Steady concentration, earth sense, earth power.
From Expanded psionics handbook, psionic meditation, suggestion psionic, daze psionic, death urge, ectoplasmic cocoon
From Complete psionic: Ardent, Mantles,Stygian archon, stygian power, metapower, illithid legacy, illithid legacy greater, illithid compulsion, illithid heritage, stygian discernment, stygian ray, primal fear, Mental turmoil,
From Draconomicon : Frightful presence

[Zaq]

Last but not least, from everyone's favorite game-warper daremetoidareyo, we have Phil Harmonic!

Phil Harmonic
The Multi-Instrumentalist

Silverbrow Human Ardent 6

Str 14
Dex 16
Con 14
Int 8
Wis 16
Cha 8

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Abilities	PP
1st	Ardent	0	0	0	2	Concentration 4	dragon tail (Races of the Dragon p. 98), Shape Soulmeld (MoI p.40): Dragon Tail (Dragon Magic p.84)	Physical Power and Freedom Mantles	2
2nd	Ardent	1	0	0	3	Concentration 5	weapon focus (tigerskull clubs)	Conflict Mantle	6
3rd	Ardent	2	1	1	3	Concentration 6	Two Weapon Fighting Multi-weapon Fighting		11
4th	Ardent	3	1	1	4	Concentration 7			17
5th	Ardent	3	1	1	4	Concentration 8	Improved sunder	Destruction Mantle	25
6th	Ardent	4	2	2	5	Concentration 9	Prehensile tail (Savage Species p. 38)		35

Feat	Epic Feats
1	Craft Dorje (XPH p.44)
2	Expanded knowledge (XPH p.46) Tail of the dragon (Secrets of Sarlona p.132)
3	Expanded knowledge: Reach
4	Earth Sense (Races of Stone p. 138)
5	Earth Power (Races of Stone p. 138)
6	Improved Natural Attack (MMV p.204)
7	Heavy Armor Optimization (Races of Stone p. 141)
8	Deflective Armor (Races of Stone p. 137)
9	Martial Study (ToB p.31) Burning Blade p.52
10	Martial Study (ToB p.31) Burning Brand p.52

Powers
1. vigor (XPH p.140), dimension hop (ComPsi p.83)
2. adrenaline boost (ComPsi p.78)
3. hustle (XPH p.111)
4. psionic lion's charge (XPH p.125)
5. graft weapon (XPH p.110)
6. dispel psionics (XPH p.94)
E2. Tail of the Dragon
E3. Reach

Phil Harmonic is built around one standout power available to an E6 Ardent: Graft Weapon.

Typically available only to psywarriors, Graft Weapon merges your hand into a one handed weapon that you hold. But psychic warriors don’t get third level powers in E6 without some serious shenanigans, so that leaves the ardent as the sole manifester capable of using graft weapon as a building block.

Here, Read the text of this power: Graft Weapon. It lasts 24 hours and your weapon counts as a natural weapon, replacing your hand.

You’re proficient in natural weapons automatically, so if you manifest this on an exotic weapon, you get proficiency, and it counts as a light weapon.

This is why we are a dragonblooded race. There are two feats that grant you a tail: dragon tail and shape soulmeld (dragontail) and there is a power that grants you a tail for 1 hr/manifester level called tail of the dragon. Pair all of them with the prehensile tail feat, and you got yourself up to 5 “hands” to graft weapons to.

Considering the martial focus of the physical power mantle, we’ll lean real hard into the heavy armor proficiencies and choose the rest of our mantles to advance our judo chops. Vigor, adrenaline surge, hustle, and psionic lion’s charge all set you up as a front line fighter. Expanded power offers us the third tail, as well as a means of accessing a power from the mind’s eye called reach, which is a fantastic range extender. Psionic Dispel Magic is just there because it solves problems.

Earth power helps conserve power points. And the ability to craft dorjes brings down the pain of manifesting the graft weapon power a bunch of times in a day.

The martial study feats offer you the ability to add 1d6 fire damage to all attacks in a round, as well as burning brand

I spent a lot of time thinking of what the best weapons for these are, and there are some choices. Here are my highlights, because you don't need proficiency, you can choose them all, and the only real commitment you need to make is that there weapon focus feat that you get.

1: Tigerskull clubs (frostburn) x5: 25% per full attack of rolling to confirm for 4d8.
2: Sai, Panther claw (A&EG), triple dagger (A&EG), gnome swordcatcher, flindbar: +17 to disarm and if you threaten a crit on the flindbar, you get a free disarm
3: Flindbar x 5: +10 disarm and the same as above
4: Everything mentioned above and boot blades from FRCS.
5: Heavy picks + stone breaker feat from SoS.
6: Chondathan steelswords: +10 to sunder weapons
7: Ritiiks x5: Deal damage on the way in, get stuck into your opponent, and then rip your arms out of them to deal damage again.


But what we’re gonna choose is the instrument bayonet. And we’re gonna attach that to some instruments, like the lute bow (cityscape), and the steel flute (secrets of sarlona). Throw a few more bayonets on some other fun instruments, and just blend those whole instruments into your arms or tails and make a one man jamboree. The cool thing about attaching a bayonet to your lutebow is that it becomes a ranged natural weapon. Which is pretty cool.

Shame about those ranks in perform tho.

Adaptation: A tarmak (dragonlance campaign setting p.232) is an LA 0 human that gets a bonus feat and a bonus skill point as well as +2 str, +2 Con, -2 int, and -2 Cha that can be dragonborned at level 5, trading the useless improved sunder feat from your destruction mantle for dragontail after doing the rite. You wind up with a more favorable stat array, but you have to be good alignment and rejigger a bunch of feats around. (Str 16, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 6, Wis 16, Cha 6)

[Zaq]

What's everyone's cooking time look like coming up? I know that I'm usually busy traveling around the last week of the year, and most folks who have holidays they celebrate around this time tend to get pretty busy with them. That said, I also know that for myself personally, I'm not traveling this year (ain't no amount of money that would convince me to get on a flying plague-tube and become a potential viral vector to my loved ones. Not no way, not no how.) and I want to believe that most of us are making similarly responsible decisions in the wake of the deadly pandemic!

Should I have the new deadline be between Christmas and New Year's, after New Year's, before Christmas? Whatcha think? I want some good participation!

I do have an ingredient in mind. Feeling like we should do a nice accessible SRD ingredient. But I'm always open to suggestions!