Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XXVIII

[bean illus]

I'm trying to make something presentable in time. Mostly editing now, and a few feats remaining.

QUESTION What's this mean to Colorado?

Cooking Time: Builds must be submitted via PM to the Chair by 4:59 PM GMT - 9 on Monday, Jan 11, 2021 (1:59 AM GMT on Tuesday, Jan 12).

EDIT: Colorado is GMT -7. Does that work out to 11:59 PM Mountain Time on Monday, Jan 11?

[B]EDIT: OR, ... 6:59 PM Jan 11, Colorado Mountain Time?

[Quentinas]

It's option B but generally one can send until the builds are not revealed

[bean illus]

It's option B but generally one can send until the builds are not revealed

I was interrupted by a real world phone call. I will submit my build sometime this evening (assuming it's not the winner, lol), and hope the judges accept it, if it's 'almost on time'.

[daremetoidareyo]

any word on the reveal?

[bean illus]

Everybody's waiting for me to completely rework my concept.

Not really, I have turned in a build.
I want to completely rework it, lol. It sure could use it.

[Zaq]

Friends, it's been a dang week. Sorry for disappearing. Got some builds coming! Four legal entries and one automatic DQ.

[Zaq]

Blood is a fluid, after all…

Chameleon of Vol
E6 Rogue Thief of Life Chameleon
Human, lawful evil - 10 14 12 14 14 15 (16)

Level	Class	BAB	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Rogue 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	(44) Bluff 4, Concentration* 2, Disguise 4, Heal* 2, Hide 4, Knowledge (arcana)* 2, Knowledge (religion)* 2, Listen 4, Move Silently 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Sense Motive 4, UMD 4	Able Learner, Jack of all trades	Sneak attack +1d6, trapfinding
2nd	Rogue 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	(11) Bluff 5, Disguise 5, Hide 5, Listen 5, Move Silently 5, Search 5, Spellcraft* 2, Spot 5, Sense Motive 5, UMD 5	-	Evasion
3rd	Cloistered Cleric	+1	+2	+3	+2	(9) Concentration 5, Heal 4, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Spellcraft 4	Darkstalker	Rebuke undead, knowledge devotion, law devotion, death devotion, lore
4th	Rogue 3	+2	+3	+3	+3	(11) Bluff 7, Concentration 6, Disguise 7, Hide 6, Knowledge (local) 4, Listen 5, Move Silently 6, Search 5, Spot 5, UMD 5	-	Sneak attack +2d6, Penetrating Strike
5th	Thief of Life	+2	+5	+5	+3	(9) Bluff 8, Concentration 8, Disguise 8, Hide 8, Knowledge (local) 6, Move Silently 8	-	Lifesense (5 ft.)
6th	Chameleon	+2	+5	+5	+3	(7) Concentration 9, Hide 9, Knowledge (local) 8, Move Silently 9, Search 6, Spellcraft 5 Spoiler: Skill Totals Show Bluff 8, Concentration 9, Disguise 8, Heal 4, Hide 9, Knowledge (arcana) 4, Knowledge (local) 8, Knowledge (religion) 2, Listen 5, Move Silently 9, Search 6, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5, UMD 5 Jack of All Trades allows skill rolls with all untrained skills.	Practiced spellcaster (chamelon)	Aptitude focus 1/day (+2)

Epic Feats

1. Weapon Finesse
2. Craven
3. Improved Initiative
4. Practiced Spellcaster (cleric)
5. Craft Wand
6. Touchstone (Luck Domain)
7. Extra Turning
8. Touchstone (Baator) - Deeper Darkvision
9. Extra Spell Slot (chameleon)
10. Craft Wondrous Item

Spoiler: Exposition

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Spoiler: What use a rogue?

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BAB +4 and 3d6 Sneak attack. What is a rogue, and what is a better rogue? Signature abilities like trapfinding, stealth, skill access, and UMD cannot be overlooked throughout the career of an e6 adventuring party rogue. There are some though, that might argue that spells trump skills, and being invisible is better than a maxed Hide skill.

I wanted to keep the class elements that make a rogue, and maintain consistent theme while making class choices. Though only 3 levels are rogue, the 2 prestige classes are specifically designed for rogue, and difficult to otherwise enter in an e6 game. Thief of life is similarly designed for rogue and cleric, and allows thematically sound entry into the cloistered cleric dip, which follows the Vol portfolio.

Spoiler: Build characteristics

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Spoiler: Levels 1-3

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Able Learner points the build immediately towards skillmonkey, and away from combat. The character immediately invest big in their long-term plan, which is the near unmatched versatility of a chameleon. Admiring the freedom, pragmatic honesty, and tangible power of his local brotherhood of Vol, he carefully allocates his time to studying the religion and arcana needed to unleash the power over death.

The first two levels are fairly standard. Max perception and stealth, while keeping the signature rogue ability of trapfinding. I went MAD, which is strong on skills, and uses Jack of All Trades and 'Take 10' to allow a reasonable chance of success at many to most skill checks.
The rest of the skill points are spent on UMD and setting up the prestige classes.

Third level brings a career developing move, with an embrace of the dark arts. Forgoing +1 BAB and 1d6 SA, he gains a suite of rare and deadly combat abilities, and greatly improves his stealth.
Knowledge Devotion synergizes with Jack of All Trades, Law Devotion is a swift +3 sacred bonus, but the jewel is Death Devotion. Dealing out negative levels is not a common ability in e6, and the save is eventually Fort DC 17, or maybe even higher.

Truly, the build permanently gives away one domain

Spoiler: Levels 4-5

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Level 4 returns to rogue, for all the goodies, and concludes preparation for Thief of Life. I almost chose the sneak attack fighter for 5th level. BAB, HP, martial weapons, armor, 1d6 SA, ... what's not to love? Thief of Life cost 10 skill points, why bother?
Lifesense is an extraordinary ability which copies the effects of two 1st level spells. Though limited in range, it functions continously, passively, and instantly. Uncanny Dodge is sacrificed, but invisible attackers are identified, though Dex bonus is still lost.
But deathwatch is the effect that intrigues me. I've read opinion that it's useless, and though i admit it could've been worded more clearly, i don't read it as useless.

Spoiler: Deathwatch. Is it useless?[/Spoiler

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In addition to the handy knowledge of whether a creature is alive, undead, a construct, feigning death, etc, is this ...

You instantly know whether each creature within the area is dead, fragile (alive and wounded, with 3 or fewer hit points left), fighting off death (alive with 4 or more hit points), ...

This describes 3 statuses:

• Dead: Hit points reduced to -10, or Constitution 0, etc.
• Fragile: ... "wounded, with 3 or fewer HP". This reads to me as 'from 3 HP to -9 HP', for a total spread of 13 hp.
• Fighting of death: (alive with 4 or more hit points)

The last status is not explicit. Is "fighting off death" any number above 3? Is 100 HP fighting off death? It's "4 or more", but 100 HP doesn't seem almost dead to a commoner with a dagger. Is being wounded even being considered here? Because it isn't mentioned. Why even bother with the 3rd classification?
It seems intended to give the DM leeway, and avoid meta. Basically, it's some concept that includes both a range of HP, and close to dead.

It seems possible to argue that, if an enemy can be rendered unconscious with the absolute minimum damage from my blow, then that enemy is pretty close to death.
Unable to find any clarification in 3.5, i am working on this premise: [u]Deathwatch lets you instantly know if a creature has HP totalling between 4 and the minimum damage you are currently prepared to make[u]. For example: A Thief of Life can tell that a daggers minimum damage will not drop an opponents HP below 0, even if he succeeds at a 2d6 sneak attack, and adds +2 strength damage (1+2+2=5 damage), but that the same attack with his +2 weapon will (1+2+2+2=7).

I believe that this reading is an obvious, pragmatic reading of deathwatch, and much more sensible than alternative readings of the spell.

By any measure, in an E6 campaign, where many creatures have a max HP of 20-30 HP there will be a steady use for deathwatch.

Spoiler: Level 6 and beyond

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I love Chamelon, and it's just as much fun in e6. A perusal of the Chamelon handbooks shows how much spell access they have, even with only "2nd level spells".

I came for the invisibility, and stayed for the reduce person, ... and darkvision, ... and silence, and guidance of the avatar, and improvisation, ... and ... . There are numerous reasons for a rogue to choose Chameleon.
Of course, one needn't be a rogue to take advantage of craft wand. Chameleon's spell access delivers a multitude of spells at rock bottom cost, allowing for spamming of wands or wondrous items for pennies.

Spell/wand/item access is again expanded with Touchstone. Though Baator and the Luck Domain are obvious favorite choices for a rogue, throughout a lifelong career there are many secrets to learn, and powers to gain. Knowledge (local), guidance of the avatar, and the class ability lore can be combined to find any/all Touchstone portals.
By cycling through domains, any 3rd level domain spell is available to craft wand spamming (theoretically, with enough planning, and lawful evil foresight). Not everyone in e6 has Evard's Black Tentacles on a wand.

Spoiler: Sources:

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Build elements not listed are 3.5 core, or srd.

Able Learner (Races of Destiny, p. 150)
Darkstalker (Lords of Madness, p. 179)
Jack of All Trades (Complete Adventurer, p. 110)
Penetrating Strike ACF (Dungeonscape)
Thief of Life (Faiths of Eberron, p. 84)
Chameleon (Races of Destiny, p. 111)
Craven (Champions of Ruin, p. 17)
Touchstone (Sandstorm, p. 53)
Extra Slot (Complete Arcane, p. 79)

[Zaq]

It's really their own fault for clumping up like that.

Crackshot Ha! Fling!

CG Strongheart Halfling Rogue 4/Binder1/Avenger 1

Abilities:
str 10,
dex 19,
con 14,
int 14,
wis 10,
cha 9,
+1 dex at level 4

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1	halfling rogue (Races of Wild p.159)	0	0	2	0	Balance 4, Disable Device 4, Disguise 2 Hide 4, Knowledge (Planes) 1 (cc), Move Silently 4, Perform (Dance) 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Search 4, Spot 4, Tumble 4,	Point Blank Shot, Grenadier (PHB 2 p. 79)	Ranged sneak attack +2d6, melee sneak attack +0, trapfinding
2	rogue	1	0	3	0	Balance 5, Disable Device 5, Disguise 3, Hide 4, Move Silently 5, Perform (Dance) 5, Sleight of Hand 5, Search 5, Spot 5, Tumble 5,		Evasion
3	halfling rogue	2	1	3	1	Balance 6, Disable Device 6, Hide 6, K. (Planes) 2 (cc), Move Silently 6, Sleight of Hand 6, Search 6, Spot 6, Tumble 6,	Shaped Splash (Races of Eberron p. 111)	Ranged sneak attack +3d6, melee sneak attack +1d6, Thief's luck
4	Binder	2	3	3	3	K. Arcana 1, K. (planes) 5		Soul binding (1 vestige) Typically Leraje
5	Rogue	3	3	4	3	Disable Device 8, Disguise 4, Hide 8, Move Silently 7, Sleight of Hand 8, Spot 8		Uncanny Dodge
6	Avenger	3	3	6	3	Shrouded dance skill trick 2, Craft (Alchemy) 1, Disable Device 9, Hide 9, Search 7	Neraph Throw (Planar Handbook p. 40), Shrouded Dance (Complete Scoundrel p. 89) Skill Trick	Sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use, spells

Epic Level	Epic Feats (Source)
1	Improved Initiative
2	Cunning Evasion (PHB 2 p. 78)
3	Darkstalker (Lords of Madness p. 179)
4	Sacred Strike (Book of Exalted Deeds p. 45)
5	Coordinated Shot (Heroes of Battle p. 96)
6	Demonic Sneak Attack( FC 1 p. 85)
7	Cloak of the Obyrith( FC 1 p. 85)
8	Primordial Scion (FC 1 p. 87)
9	Demonic Skin (FC 1 p. 85)
10	Open Minded (XPH p.48)

Skills at level 6:
1 skill trick 2 (Shrouded dance)
Balance 6,
Craft (Alchemy) 1
Disable Device 9,
Disguise 4,
Hide 9,
Knowledge (arcana) 1,
Knowledge (Planes) 5,
Move Silently 7,
Perform (Dance) 5,
Search 7,
Sleight of Hand 8,
Spot 8,
Tumble 6

Note: If you are allowed to craft alchemy as a non-spellcaster in your game, apply those tumble ranks to craft (Alchemy).

Our Disposable Gear!

Spoiler

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Sparkstone (A&EG)
Costs 3 GP,
Alchemy DC 20,
Direct Damage: 1d6 (Electrical)
Splash Damage: ½ Damage of Direct hit (one target only)
Weight: ¼ pound

You can throw a sparkstone as a splash weapon. When a sparkstone hits a target, it releases a short, violent arc of electricity. A direct hit by a sparkstone deals 1d6 points of electricity damage. If there is another creature within 5 feet of the target, the electricity arcs to that creature, dealing half of the initial damage. The sparkstone only creates one secondary arc, so if more than one creature is within 5 feet of the target, roll randomly to see which creature is affected. If no creatures are within 5 feet of the target, the sparkstone causes no secondary effect.

Costing 3 GP apiece, this is our weapon of choice. It deals 1d6 electrical, but you can add sneak attack damage on top of that, you add +3 to hit with thrown splash weapons and +2 damage from being a halfling and having point blank shot and grenadier as feats. So your main target on a sneak attack takes 1d6+4d6+2 and your splash damage is half of that.

With shaped splash, the splash damage electrical arc of the sparkstone won’t hurt your friends, AND it will allow you to sneak attack that guy you just hit with the splash damage from your first hit, (and if it misses, it still splashes them). This triggers another arc back onto the first guy you hit. In total, that means that target 1 is taking 150% of 5d6+2 damage, and target 2 is taking the same, or if it misses, it takes a second round of splash damage.

All for the price of 3 GP.

At level 6 you can also craft ten of these in a week by taking 10 if you have a masterwork alchemy tool. You spend 10 GP, take 10, adding your 1 craft rank, your int bonus, and your tool bonuses for a total of 15, you then multiply your check result by the craft DC (20), you get 300. That’s enough to make 10 of these potent lil halfling weapons. If you use crafting progress by the day, you can make 1 in a day. (15x20=300cp and 300cp = 3 gp)

Spoiler

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EGGSHELL GRENADE, DUST - ORIENTAL ADVENTURES (3.0)
]Cost: 10 gp
Alchemy DC: 20Damage (direct):
Blinded 1d4 rounds
Damage (splash): Blinded 1 round
Range: 5 ft
Weight: - lb
A favorite tool of ninja, used to create distractions, eggshell grenades are emptied eggshells carefully packed with various alchemical substances. A dust grenade that hits its target directly blinds the target for1d4 rounds. A creature within the “splash” radius of the dust cloud (5 feet) must make a Fortitude save (DC10) or be blinded for 1 round. Naturally, eggshell grenades are very fragile and must be stowed carefully to avoid breakage. If a character carrying these items suffers damage from falling, each eggshell grenade must make a Fortitude save (as if the character were making the saving throw) against a DC of 10 + the amount of damage suffered. Eggshell grenades are too light to be used in a sling or other launcher

These are our debuffs. A direct hit means auto blind, no save, although you should probably haggle for a fort save for the primary target that scales with your level somehow instead of getting this tool totally banned. The removal of dex to AC from the blinded condition will allow you to switch to sparkstones to finish the job if the neraph throw fails to one hit KO.

At level 6, you can take 10 to craft one of these in like 3 days.

Spoiler

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DART, ACID- RACES OF FAERUN (3.0)
Simple Thrown Ammunition (Dart)
Ammunition (Dart)
Cost: 20 gp
Damage (s): 1d3 + SpecialDamage (m): 1d4 + Special
Critical: x2
Range: 20 ft
Weight: 1 lb
Type: P
When these hollow darts hit a target, they break, splashing the victim with acid. This does an additional 1d6 points of acid damage in addition to the normal 1d4 piercing damage from the dart itself. Once used, the dart is useless.

A bit pricier than the sparkstone, but it does have a nominal splash, so maybe grenadier helps with the +1 to hit and damage. Plus it’s acid damage, so when you encounter the reams of electricity immune/resistant enemies that this build is likely to attract, it’s nice to have a back up.

Spoiler

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Blasting Pellets:
Races of stone p. 159
50 GP
DC 25 alchemy
Blasting pellets look like ball bearings or stones and come in bags. One bag of these alchemical items is enough to cover a 5-foot square. During each round when a creature moves through an area covered in blasting pellets (or fights while standing in such an area), it must make a successful DC 15 Reflex saving throw to avoid breaking one. Breaking one pellet sets off a chain reaction among the others, and they all explode loudly, dealing 1d6 points of sonic damage to the creature in the square. Spreading a bag of pellets over a wider area or throwing the bag at a target has no substantial effect.

Drop these bad boys on a square within 5 ft of somewhere to hide. Step into the square to proc a dc 15 reflex save, which triggers cunning evasion, which allows a combination 5 ft step and hide check. That should give you the ability to sneak attack again seeing as how you’re hidden, but the verdict is unclear if being hidden makes your opponent lose dex to you.

Getting Sneak attack to Proc

Neraph Throw: simple. Attack them and they’re flat footed if the see you.

Surprise round: simple. Improved initiative and a dex mod of +5 give you a shot at going first. Also, if you’re hiding when your opponent shows up, sneak attack them even if you don’t win initiative.

Eggshell grenades: Blind them and they become flatfooted.

Hiding: Shroud dance: shroud dance is wierd. You dance in place and make a hide check. Doing so gives you concealment. https://www.enworld.org/threads/does...attack.133783/

Rules Compendium (page 92)
Move between Cover: If you’re already hiding thanks to cover or concealment, and you have at least 5 ranks in Hide, you can make a Hide check (with a penalty) to try to move across an area that doesn’t offer cover or concealment without revealing yourself. For every 5 ranks in Hide you possess, you can move up to 5 feet between one hiding place and another. For every 5 feet of open space you must cross between hiding places, you take a –5 penalty on your Hide check. Movement speed penalizes the check as normal.
Sneak up from Hiding: You can sneak up on someone after emerging from a hiding place. For every 5 feet of open space between you and the target, you take a –5 penalty on your Hide check. If your Hide check succeeds, your target doesn’t notice you until you attack or perform some other attention-grabbing action. Such a target is treated as being flat-footed with respect to you.

Cunning evasion: make a combined hidecheck and 5 ft step by stepping onto a square that you've dropped blasting pellets on! Use that opportunity to get sneak attacks.



Sources of damage
Shaped splash doubles our direct hits during a flask throw.

We double that again by binding Leraje with lerajes ricochet ability

Spoiler

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Special Requirement: To summon Leraje, you must break an arrow crafted by an elf while calling out Leraje's name and title. In addition, Leraje hates Amon for some unknown reason and will not answer your call if you are already bound to him.

Sign: You look sickly and diseased, and your skin becomes sallow and pockmarked.
Influence: While influenced by Leraje, you become quiet and unassuming. Leraje still feels considerable guilt about the actions that led her to become a vestige, so she requires that you not attack any elf or creature of elven blood, including half-elves and members of the various elf subraces, such as drow.

Granted Abilities: You gain supernatural powers related to Leraje's skills in life, as well as the ability to fire arrows that literally wound your target's pride.
Hide Bonus: You gain a +4 competence bonus on Hide checks.
Low-Light Vision: You gain low-light vision.
Precise Shot: You gain the benefit of the Precise Shot feat.

Ricochet: As a standard action, you can make a single ranged attack against two adjacent targets. Make a single attack roll and apply that result to the Armor Class of both targets. Any hit you score deals damage to the target normally. Extra damage from abilities such as sneak attack or sudden strike apply to only one target, which you must designate prior to making the attack roll.
Weapon Proficiency: While bound to Leraje, you are proficient with the composite longbow, composite shortbow, longbow, and shortbow. If you were already proficient with any of these weapons, you instead gain a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls with them.

So if it’s a surprise round, or you’ve activated neraph throw, you can use a standard action to attack with a ranged weapon, like a spark stone. You make one attack roll and compare it to two adjacent targets, but because of shaped splash, you can choose to affect a second target as a direct hit. So you can hit up to four opponents closely clustered, and shaped splash doesn’t share the language about sneak attack working once, so at least 2 of those 4 people hit take sneak attack damage.

Against two adjacent opponents you can just shape a sneak attack splash from one to the other, add an additional attack with normal splash rules for an average of 37 damage to each.

On subsequent rounds you can try an eggshell grenade to blind two targets and possibly splash some others with dc 10 fort saves vs blindness to keep the spark stone or alchemist fire abuse going.

How the different parts work together


[b]Level 1-2:[/b[ Crackshot throws sparkstones and deal extra 2d6 sneak attack damage. You have a +7 to hit (dex + halfling bonus + point blank shot + grenadier) with it against a touch AC, so Crackshot shouldn’t miss often.


Level 3-4: Crackshot gets the ability to shape splashes onto an additional victim with a +9 to hit with the third level of halfling rogue. The thief’s luck ability will work in concert with the cunning evasion ability by giving Crackshot a reflex save reroll 1 per day. With the binder level, binding Lerage grants precise shot feat and the ricochet ability, which allows a second direct hit from Crackshot’s alchemical throws. Binder also grants k. Planes as a class skill which helps with prereqs.

Level 5-6: Crackshot gets uncanny dodge with the 4th level of rogue. Then, at Character level 6, Crackshot becomes an avenger, the hilarious good aligned assassin. This grants death attack, another d6 of sneak attack, and the ability to cast spells. You must be a spellcaster in order to take ranks in craft (alchemy), and thus, crackshot will be able craft their alchemical items, like sparkstones thanks to the really crappy spell list of the avenger. Neraph throw is a tricky little feat that makes opponents flatfooted 1 per enemy.

Epic Feats 1-3:
Improved initiative helps Crackshot get the jump on opponents during the surprise round. Cunning Evasion sets up the free hide checks for further sneak attack abuse. Darkstalker allows crackshot to sneak up on the enemies with cool perception abilities

Epic Feats 4-6:
Roll d8s when you sneak attack an evil enemy thanks to sacred strike. Coordinated shot allows for the beatsticks to beatstick while crackshot uses ricochetted shaped splashes to abuse the enemies. Demonic sneak attack allows crackshot to reroll sneak attack damage dice, which pairs quite nicely with the d8s against evil creatures. The number of sneak attack dice you reroll = your number of abyssal heritor feats, so there’s a reason to take more abyssal heritor feats.

Epic Feats 7-10 Cloak of the obyrith grants damage reduction 1/lawful which increases per abyssal heritor feat. So it starts at DR 2 and goes up to DR 4. Primordial scion ups damage against lawful enemies by 1d6. By the time you get demonic skin, you get +2 to AC, which is nice. Then, add 5 ranks to your craft alchemy thanks to open minded.

[Zaq]

Oh, you and THAT army, got it.

Petts Kenku Wilderness rogue 5/Beastmaster 1

What means being a rogue? Doing sneak attack, use various skill, having many skill points and so on. Sneak attack mean flanking, and having many skill point means being able to learn various teamwork, so being a rogue can mean being a teamwork character.
This is a rogue based on the power of Friendship Teamwork !

Spoiler: Stats

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Stat	Point buy cost	After racial
Strength 10	2	8
Dexterity 15	8	17
Constitution 14	6	14
Intelligence 16	10	16
Wisdom 10	2	10
Charisma 12	4	12

4th level point to dexterity

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Wilderness Rogue 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	LIsten 4, Spot 4, Tumble 4, Escape artist 4, Search 4 Disable device 4 Hide 4 Move silently 4 Bluff 4 Handle animal 4 Survival 4	Skill focus handle animal	Trapfinding, Sneak attack +1d6
2nd	Wilderness Rogue 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	Listen 5, Spot 5, Tumble 5, Escape artist 5, Search 5 Disable device 5 Hide 5 Move silently 5 Bluff 5 Handle animal 5, Survival 5		Evasion
3rd	Wilderness Rogue 3	+2	+1	+3	+1	Listen 6, Spot 6, Tumble 6, Escape artist 6, Search 6 Disable device 6 Hide 6 Move silently 6 Bluff 6 Handle animal 6,Survival 6	Wild cohort	Sneak attack 2d6, Penetrating strike
4th	Wilderness Rogue 4	+3	+1	+4	+1	Listen 7, Spot 7, Tumble 7, Escape artist 7, Search 7 Disable device 7 Hide 7 Move silently 7 Bluff 7 Handle animal 7, Survival 7		Distruptive attack ACF
5th	Wilderness Rogue 5	+3	+1	+4	+1	Listen 8, Spot 8, Tumble 8, Escape artist 8, Search 8 Disable device 7 Hide 8 Move silently 8 Bluff 8 Handle animal 8, Survival 7 Skill trick Point it out		Sneak attack 3d6
6th	Beastmaster 1	+4	+3	+6	+1	Listen 9, Spot 9, Tumble 9 (cross class skill for this level), Escape artist 8, Search 8 Disable device 8 Hide 8 Move silently 8 Bluff 8 Handle animal 9, Survival 7 Skill trick Escape attack	Weapon finesse	Animal companion, wild empathy

Cross class skill for this level

Spoiler: Epic feats

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1 ° Natural bond
2° Animal affinity
3° Shape soulmeld (beast tamer circlet)
4° Martial study (cloak of deception)
5° Martial stance (isle of blades)
6° Dragontouched
7° Shape soulmeld (dragon tail)
8° Multiattack
9° Improved multiattack
10° Craven

Spoiler: Wild Cohort , Meely the fighting riding dog!

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Warbeast Riding dog
Size/Type: Medium Animal
Hit Dice: 6d8+24 (51 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (+4 Dex, +7 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+8
Attack: Bite + 8 melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d8+6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Trip (because is trained for war)
Special Qualities: Low light vision , scent , evasion
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 18 , Con 18, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6
Skills: Jump +9 (1 rank +4 racial), Listen +8 (3 ranks +1 racial +2 feat), Spot +8(3 ranks +1 racial + 2 feat) Swim +4(0 ranks), Survival +2 (0 ranks) Hide +5 (1 rank)
Feats: Alertness, Track(bonus) , Blind fight, Improved natural attack
We have 4 points to put in the skills (4 more hit dice) so 1 rank in hide (as cross class skill) and the other two in listen and spot
At the 4° hit dice it boosted dexterity
Tricks learned in order, Attack, Heel ,Seek , Work, Teamwork, Track , Defend, Fetch (we can teach each one from the 3 rd epic feat)

Spoiler: Animal companion , Spotty the scouting owl!

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Warbeast Owl
Size/Type: Small Animal (the warbeast increased the size)
Hit Dice: 6d8+ 6 (33 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: Land 20 foot, fly 40 foot (average)
Armor Class: 20 (+3 Dex, +6 natural +1 size), touch 14, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+0
Attack: Bite + 7 melee (1d4+1)
Full Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d4+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities: Low light vision , scent, link ,share spells, evasion, devotion
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +4(+4 morale against enchantment spells and effect)
Abilities: Str 13 , Dex 16, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 16, Cha 4
Skills: Listen +21 (8 ranks +2 feat+ 8 racial + wisdom) Move silently +18(1 rank+14 racial + dexterity) Spot +13 (8 ranks +2 feat + wisdom)
Feats: Alertness, Weapon finesse(bonus) , Open minded x 2 (see below)
For skill point see the table
Progression of strength , dexterity ,constitution, wisdom and natural armor
Strength 4 base+ 4 size increase+ 3 war beast +2 because we count as a level 6 druid
Dexterity 17 base -2 size increase +2 because we count as a level 6 druid +1 4° th hit dice
Constitution 10 base +3 warbeast
Wisdom 14 base +2 warbeast
Skills table the 1 hit dice row is the default animal , calculated by removing the various bonuses from the skills
Tricks learned Seek Fetch Come Teamwork attack, down

Hit dice	How many skill points	Skils rank
1 hit dice	4 (1x4)	Listen 2 Spot 2
2 hit dice	1 (minimum)	Listen 2 Spot 3
2 hit dice	1 (minimum)	Listen 2 Spot 3
3 hit dice	6 (1+ open minded)	Listen 5 Spot 4 Skill trick Listen to this
4 hit dice	1 (minimum)	Listen 5 Spot 5
5 hit dice	1 (minimum)	Listen 5 Spot 6
6 hit dice	6 (1 + open minded)	Listen 8 Spot 8 Move silently 1

Spoiler: Tactics

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Spoiler: Level 1-2

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This character is quite strange a t the start first because of the race, a Kenku is not of small of size and doesn’t have an immediate bonus other than the dexterity bonus,but what we are aiming is his ability Great Ally, mainly for the flanking bonus that is boosted to +4 that is quite good for level 1 . As we haven’t an high strenght probably we will fight from ranged or in the rare case when we can flank to do a sneak attack but we have good skills that we can scout , with the possibility to do a bluff check. If we can imitate voice we have even an higher bonus thanks to the racial abilities of a Kenku with a +10 on that bluff check , the feat is only a prerequisite for the future for now and the wilderness rogue help us in being a scout and gaining handle animal as a class skill

Spoiler: Level 3-5

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In these level there are the first anomalies for a rogue, as at level 3 we doesn’t gain weapon finesse (even if that hurt our attack) but wild cohort that give us a Riding dog as companion. We took this feat at this level as we have a bonus trick to teach him and our ranks in handle animal permit us to teach trick at DC 15 without many problem (we have a +2 bonus to teach a trick to our animal companion) and at this level our wild cohort gain a feat, blind fight, but even this is a prerequisite for the future as we will use that feat to work in a team.Our skills go up letting us gain a skill trick, that is point it out, (quite useful if applied to our animal companion or to other characters with a low spot ) . In these levels we have two ACF , the first the classical penetrating attack as is quite useful when we are based on flanking being able to do sneak attack even if the enemy is immune (or similar) , the second is distruptive attack, where we use our sneak attack to help the allies reducing the AC of the enemy, and in the future our attack will be high , thanks to the improved flanking that is quite good as bonus

Spoiler: Level 6 and the first three epic feats

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This prestige class is the reason why we entered in the wilderness rogue, as with a normal rogue we couldn’t do it in an easy way , but why we entered it? The reason is the animal companion , as we use our companion and in these round is quite difficult being dependent on other party members as we can’t say with who we will being so to use at maximum the cooperating tactics of this rogue we need more companions so animal companions. The animal companion we obtain is not a combat one, as he doesn’t do enough damage compared to the riding dog , but the most particular thing is his feat as he took open minded two time, and one could ask why. First we use animal bond to put our druid level to the maximum (as we don’t need a strong animal companion and even if we use one with a -3 at our level we would have problem if calculated after we took it we aren’t high and we need the hit dice and the abilities) and then with the feats we took we train it to being a warbeast is not so difficult, and is even better if we can do it before doing the animal companion adjustment (with handle animal we could have a owl as companion before), same with the riding dog, for which we took the 2 feats to boost handle animal.
With a boosted animal companion we can train our animal to trick with DC 20 (we have a +19 on our animal cohort and a +21 on our animal companion), and there is one in particular that is quite useful, the teamwork trick! (Dungeon master guide II) The teamwork are ideal for a rogue as many require skill points (that we have in abundance), and they add something interesting to the characters
The teamwork benefit we gain are
Cunning ambush In this only the kenku and the riding dog are member while the owl no, and we use our hide to boost the hide of the dog , while the owl is used as a bait to put the enemies in our ambush other than being a scout for the group
Door procedures In this our rogue is the leader and is quite easy that other member of our party will have one rank in listen so we can sense what is in a room , and we can search trap easier
Invisibility sweep This is why our riding dog took blind fight as thanks to him , and to the owl that have a high bonus to listen , we can throw flour to the enemy to put away the invisibility, something that is quite difficult to win as rogue as the concealment remove the chance to do sneak attack, but not if our pet detect the enemy, and yes the dog is the leader for this teamwork benefit
Infiltration We use this as we will work with our animal probably even in the infiltration and the dog is not so good , at least if we need to move faster he doesn’t gain a penalty so big (but the easier way is with other members probably)
Joint grapple escape Being in a grapple could be a problem, so with this trick we have an higher probabilty to escape especially with the dog and great ally that , if we escape we can even do a sneak attack thanks to the trick escape attack we took at this level
Gaze aversion For this feat the leader is the owl, and is one of the reason for which the owl took two time open minded, as while flying it will go beyond the gaze of the enemy , permitting to the rest of the team to fighting without any problem other than averting the gaze, the fly speed is quite useful for this trick
Our owl have gained even a trick that is quite funny , as Listen to this doesn’t say that who took the trick need to speak normally so we will have our owl that can imitate what he hear from the scouting , to us, and then we can use the voice imitation of the kenku to do a better bluff , with intelligence high we have more languages than others at the end

Spoiler: Epic 4-5

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Even if we have a good tumble, a way to flank easier is good, and we don’t need to take adaptable flanker as one of his prerequisite (vexing flanker) is already imitated by great ally so is easier to use martial stance (isle of blades) to flank each time we are adjacent to one ally , but to take it we need a maneuver so we took cloak of deception, as a way to do a sneak attack even if we are alone or if we need to go to help one of our companions Isle of blades is quite useful , as flank become so easy to do that is even better than assassin stance , especially later

Spoiler: Epic 6-10

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Why I said that being able to do sneak attack while adjacent to an ally is better? Because once we are adjacent we doesn’t need to move , so we can do a full attack , but with which weapons? Here the natural weapons of the kenku come , two claws that do 1d3 , not so much but a way to do more sneak attack, but we need multiattack to reduce the penalty. To gain multiattack we need three natural weapons so is quite a problem. Luckily our charisma is high enough (as we need it for handle animal) to permit us to gain dragontouched , a feat that boost our skills (each one is quite good for us and we have ranks in each one) and 1 hit points (better than nothing), that permit us to use a draconic soulmeld , dragon tail ! This give us a natural weapon that do 1d8 (that is good) no reach but is not a problem, and with this weapon we take first multiattack, and then improved multiattack so each of our secondary attack will not have a penalty. Now I don’t know if we can do a short sword attack followed by two claw attack and a tail attack but at least are three attack so the triple of damage, if we can do each claw attack (maybe passing the short sword from one hand to another) even four! But it doesn’t finish here, as the last feat is craven that boost our sneak attack so much , as a maximed dice of sneak attack to be honest our maximum damage Our full attack will have a +12 on everything (not so many penalties thanks to improved multiattack and the +4 from flaning) and the damage will be 1d6-1 (of rapier)+1d3-1 (claw attack) +1d8 -1 (tail attack) +9d6 (sneak attack as we flank an enemy) +18 (craven) =56 If we can pass the rapier from one claw to another we add a 1d3-1 of claw attack , another 6 damage of craven and other 3d6 of sneak attack arriving at 74 of damage near the double of our hit points (as we are around 38 of hit point) .

Spoiler: Sources

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From player handbook
Weapon finesse, rogue, blind fight , animal affinity
From monster manual I
Owl , Riding dog
From monster manual II
Warbeast template
From Monster manual III
Kenku
From magic of incarnum
Shape soulmeld, beast tamer circlet
From Complete adventurer
Beastmaster prestige class , Open minded , natural bond
From Web/
Wild Cohort
From Tome of battle
Martial study, martial stance, isle of blades, cloak of deception shadow blade
From Champions of ruin
Craven
From Dragon Magic
Dragontouched, shape soulmeld (dragon tail)
From Draconomicon
Improved multiattack
From Player handbook II
Distruptive attack ACF, teamwork (cunning ambush), teamwork trick for animals
From Dungeon Master guide II
Teamwork (door procedures, gaze aversion, invisibility sweep, Infiltration, Joint grapple escape) rules for animals and teamwork
From Unearthed Arcana
Wilderness rogue
From Dungeonscape
Penetrating attack

[Zaq]

If he says "hold this," RUN.

Tuck
CN Desert kobold rogue 4/Fighter 1 /Trapsmith 1
No fluff, but is a kobold that can be probably found doing an ambush with his familiar and some prepared traps for the enemies that he will ambush

Spoiler: Build

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Stats
Before racial modifier /After racial modifier and level 4
Strength 12/Strength 8
Dexterity 15/Dexterity 18 (+1 at level 4)
Constitution 14/Constitution 14
Intelligence 16/Intelligence 16
Wisdom 12/Wisdom 10
Charisma 8/Charisma 8

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Skill point for level
1st	Kobold Rogue 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	Craft (trapmaking) 4 Tumble 4 Balance 4 Listen 2 Spot 2 Open lock 4 Hide 4 Move silently 4 Search 4 Disable device 4 Escape artist 4 Spellcraft 2	Darkstalker	Sneak attack +1d6, Rapid retreat, shrewd trapfinding +2	44 ((8+int)*4)
2nd	Rogue 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	Craft (trapmaking) 5 Tumble 5 Balance 5 Listen 3 Spot 3 Open lock 5 Hide 5 Move silently 5 Search 5 Disable device 5 Escape artist 5 Spellcraft 2.5		Evasion	11
3rd	Kobold rogue 3	+2	+1	+3	+1	Craft (trapmaking) 6 Tumble 5 Balance 5 Listen 4 Spot 4 Open lock 6 Hide 6 Move silently 6 Search 6 Disable device 6 Escape artist 6 Spellcraft 3 Skill trick learned clever improviser	Weapon finesse	Improved trap sense +2, shrewd trapfinding +4, sneak attack +2d6	11
4th	Rogue 4	+3	+1	+4	+1	Craft (trapmaking) 7 Tumble 7 Balance 5 Listen 5 Spot 4 Open lock 7 Hide 7 Move silently 7 Search 7 Disable device 7 Escape artist 7 Spellcraft 3.5		Uncanny dodge	11
5th	Drow Dirty fighter 1	+4	+3	+4	+1	Craft (trapmaking) 8 Tumble 7 Balance 5 Listen 5 Spot 4 Open lock 7 Hide 7 Move silently 7 Search 8 Disable device 8 Escape artist 7 Spellcraft 3.5		Sneak attack +3d6, hit and run tactics	5
6th	Trapsmith 1	+4	+3	+6	+1	Craft (trapmaking) 9 Tumble 7 Balance 5 Listen 5 Spot 4 Open lock 9 Hide 7 Move silently 7 Search 9 Disable device 9 Escape artist 8 Spellcraft 4 Skill trick Easy escape	Practiced spellcaster	Booby traps (simple), master disarmer, trap sense +1	9

cc=cross classed for that level in which I put ranks

Spoiler: Epic Feats

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1° Obtain familiar
2° Improved familiar
3° Bounded familiar
4° Multiattack
5° Improved multiattack
6 °Craven
7° Combat reflexes
8° Vexing flanker
9° Adaptable flanker
10° Extraordinary trapsmith

Spoiler: Build breakdown

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Spoiler: Level 1-4

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There is so much about these levels, so let’s start from the race. We are a kobold, we are not a dragonwrougth kobold (rapidstrike could have been interesting but we are not dragons) , we are desert kobold as we will go in melee so is better a -2 to wisdom than a -2 to constitution. The stats of the save are at least 10 so is good, and we are quite good in dexterity (as it will be our attack stat) and intelligence (more skill points). We are kobold , that use the web enhancement, to gain slight build (better hide checks) and 3 natural weapons that will become our main attack. We use a kobold rogue a variant that is quite focused on traps , as we have a better bonus compared to other rogues with shrewd trapfinding that arrive at +4 (so basically is like 4 ranks more than our) , trap sense that for now is the same of a rogue with 6 levels, a ways to retreat more quickly (5 foot more help us distancing people with only 30 foot of speed) but for this variant we doesn’t lose anything so is quite a gain (except one hit point on the average). And finally we are kobold rogue that have many skills but in particular we use our abundance of skill point to put some ranks in spellcraft for the future .Our feats are a classic darkstalker that will help us in ambush and in sneaking and weapon finesse to doesn’t use our negative strength to attack and rather using our dexterity that combined with our size is good.

Spoiler: Level 5

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This level is separated from the others , as is a level of fighter that is not so much useful except for two things, the first is the boost of the Base attack , as we will not arrive at 4 as we plan to take a level of trapsmith so we need a boost to our Base attack, and the second thing is the drow fighter ACF , as when we will win initiative or will attack an enemy that we ambush we will do more damage with each of our natural weapons. Luckily the fighter as craft as class skill and our 16 of intelligence give us enough skill points ,nothing so special if compared to a rogue but the minimum for a trapsmith. We use the dirty fighter from Unearthed arcana to don’t lose even a dice of sneak attack that would be quite bad As our preferred class is rogue we will not have any penalties for multiclassing.

Spoiler: Level 6 and epic 1-3

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The capstone class of this build , we passed from a Kobold that need to craft trap to have a good bonus to his abilities (they are quite useful now) to a kobold that can craft traps quite easily (the main trap we will use are the trip rope trap or the bolt trap if we have a crossbow that is big ,our trapmaking check is quite good) that have a familiars. Each point that we spent in spellcraft during these levels was aimed at practiced spellcaster that permit us to gain a familiar with improved familiar. The familiar will be quite useful even when we fight as is a good ambusher and as some powers that are useful. The familiar I’m talking about is the Jaculi from serpent kingdoms, it has a quite good modifier to hide (thanks to chameleon), a better modifier than us to spot and listen, and the possibilites to start a grapple when he hit an enemy , and while an enemy is grappled dexterity is negated. Even without grappling it can flank with us so is quite good. As neither of us is quite resistant (we have better AC than the familiar) we use the feat bonded familiar to avoid deaths of one of us . Another thing that the trapsmith give us is a little but good selection of spell, with the most useful that are Gaseous form, dispel magic, haste, protection from energy (if we know that we will fight some energy based enemies) and knock that avoid our work with traps and doors. Probably we will have prepared in our two slot only haste and gaseous form the bonus speed is good, but we can use wands if we need more spells they are on our list now. Oh right the abilities other than booby traps help us in searching and disabling traps with our trap sense that is better than a rogue of level 6 (thanks to improved trap sense that become +3)

Spoiler: Epic 4-6

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As I have already said we use the web enhancement for kobolds to have 3 natural weapons and more attacks means more sneak attack, so we take multiattack and improved multiattack to don’t have any penalties to hit , the main damage is sneak attack and dexterity from hit to run tactics, but now we add our levels thanks to craven, we are kobolds is normal that we are quite susceptible to fear effect, who have seen a fearless kobold at the end?

Spoiler: 7-9

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These last feat are the reason why we took the level of dirty figther as without these the adaptable flanker feat could have not been possible as we lacked base attack. But let’s go in order. First is combat reflexes, and while we don’t provoke so many attack of opportunity an enemy that is tripped will generate a sneak attack so when an enemy fall for the trip rope we will go nearer (thanks maybe to haste but is not essential) and we will attack him first with the sneak attack and then we he will stand up. Combat reflexes at the end is more a requisite , as with that we gain vexing flanker (+4 rather than +2 is good! ) and adaptable flanker that is the reason why we started this chain of feat. Now we will not need to move as long as we can treat an enemy with our familiar near to us or at maximum doing a 5 foot to follow an enemy that have moved probably receiving an attack of opportunity from us.

Our last feat is not essential but is thematic with our prestige class, and as we are kobold we even obtain the special of that feat , quite useful when we will craft trap , but for doing ambush our booby traps should be enough

Spoiler: Stat block

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Small humanoid (reptilian)
Hp 4+3d6+1d10 +1d4+12=34.5 (average)
Initiative +6 (+2 from hit to run tactics)
Speed 30 foot, 35 while using withdraw, +30 possible with haste
AC=10+4(chain skirt)+1(size)+4 (dexterity)+1 (natural)=20
Saves Fortitude +5 , Reflex +10 , Will +1
Base attack /grapple 4 /-1 (for this we have a good escape artist and a skill trick)
Attack Claw +9 (1d3-1) (we have +4 bab+ 4 dexterity +1 size and if we flank we have +13)
Full attack 2 Claw +9 (1d3 -1)and bite +9 (1d2 -1 ) -1 (strength)
Attack options Sneak attack 3d6
Special actions Booby traps (simple)
Special qualities Evasion, Darkvision 60 ft, heat endurance, Uncanny dodge ,Master disarmer, shrewd trapfinding +4, improved trap sense +3
Trapsmith spell known
1 st (2/day) Haste, Gaseous form
Skills Survival +2 (+2 racial), Craft (trapmaking) +14 (+2 racial +9 ranks +3 int) Tumble +11 (7 ranks +4 dex) Balance +11 (5 ranks +2 synergy +4 dex) Listen +7 (5 ranks +alertness from the familiar), Spot +6 (4 ranks + alertness from the familiar) Open lock +12 (9 ranks +3 int +1 if against trap) Hide +19 (7 ranks +8 size (slight build and small size)+ 4 dex) Move silently +11 (7 rank +4 dex) Search +14 (9 ranks +2 racial +3 int +5 against trap( shrewd trapfinding and master disarmer) Disable device +12 (9 ranks +3 int +5 against traps (shhrewd trapfinding and master disarmer) Escape artist +12 (8 ranks +4 dex + easy escape trick) Spellcraft + 7 (ranks +3 int)
Full attack damage with sneak attack 1d3- 1 + 1d3 -1 (the two claws)+ 1d2 -1 (the bite) +9d6 (3d6 of sneak attack on each one) + 18 (+6 of sneak attack on each one) + 12 (hit and run tactics on each attack) =62,5
Familiar Jaculi (see page 66 of serpent kingdom , it will be near us so we can flank and avoid death thanks to bonded familiar

Spoiler: Source

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From
Player's Handbook
Rogue class, weapon finesse, combat reflexes
Dungeonscape
Trapsmith
Champions of Ruins
Craven
Drow of the Underdark
Drow fighter
Complete scoundrel
Skill tricks , Improved familiar (last published I think)
Lords of Madness
Darkstalker
Unearthed arcana
Dirty fighter, desert kobold
Player handbook II
Vexing flanker adaptable flanker , Bonded familiar
Races of dragon web enhancement
Kobold stat (natural weapon and slight build)
Monster manual
Multiattack
Draconomicon
Improved multiattack
Serpent kingdom
Jaculi ,Improved familiar (for the option)
Races of dragon
Kobold rogue , extraordinary trapsmith
Complete arcane
Obtain familiar, practiced spellcaster

[Zaq]

Please note: this build is automatically disqualified for taking zero levels in the Secret Ingredient, as laid out in the original rules. It is presented as a display piece only. Thanks for understanding. Great moxie, but Bluff doesn't work on the GM. Or the Chair.

Nygil Longbottom, Esquire
CN Whisper Gnome Beguiler 5/Mindbender 1

Spoiler: crunch

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Whisper Gnome (RoS 94): -2 STR/CHA, +2 DEX/CON, speed 30, lowlight, darkvision
Small (+1 attack, AC, +4 Hide) +1 attacks vs kobolds/goblinoids. +4 dodge to AC vs giants, +4 hide/move silent, +2 listen/spot, SLA’s: 1/day Silence, ghost sound, mage hand, message
Mindbender CArc 54(nongood, bluff/diplo/itim/sense 4, able to cast charm)

5d6+1d4+12

32 point buy:
S 10 D 14 C 12 I 17 W 11 C 12
Racial
S 8 D 16 C 14 I 17 W11 C 10
4th into INT

Spoiler: Fluff

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“Excuse me sir… SIR! You can’t come in here!!”

“Why not? This is the First Rogue’s Academy of Grey Haven isn’t it? I’m here for class, and I’m late after all, so OUT, OF, MY, WAY!@””

“Sir, yes of course this is the Academy, but you see, this is an academy for those who wish to pursue a most honourable career as a Rogue, which *ahem* you are not. So clearly I cannot let you pass!!”

“Check your roster, and you’ll see my name is there, Nygil Longbottom Esq. Now, then ((a slight twiddling of the fingers goes unnoticed)) OUT. OF. MY. WAY!”

“Of course sir, sorry to be a bother sir, right that way sir to class, you shan’t wish to be late on the first day, or Instructor Minister Farsical will be most displeased with you, and you shan’t learn the proper technique required to loosen a master’s rank padlock with the minimal required direct pressure! Off with you, and make haste!”

Spoiler: tables

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Beguiler	+0	+0	+0	+2	Bluff 3, Conc 4, Diplo 3, Disable 2, Hide 2, Intimidate 3, Listen 1, Move 2, Open 2, Search 2, Sense 3, Sleight 4, Spell 1, Spot 2	Apprentice (Soldier)	Trapfinding, Spells
2nd	Beguiler 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Bluff 4, Conc 5, Disable 3, Hide 3, Move 3, Open 3, Sleight 5, Conceal Spellcasting	-	Cloaked Casting, Surprise Casting
3rd	Beguiler 3	+1	+1	+1	+3	Conc 6, Diplo 4, Disable 4, Hide 4, Intim 4, Move 4, Open 4, Sense 4, Spot 3	Insightful Reflexes	Advanced Learning (Power Word Pain)
4th	Beguiler 4	+2	+1	+1	+4	Bluff 6, Conc 7, Disable 5, Hide 5, Move 5, Open 5, Search 4, Sleight 6	-	-
5th	Beguiler 5	+2	+1	+1	+4	Bluff 7, Conc 8, Disable 6, Hide 6, Open 6, Search 6, Sleight 7, Spot 5, UMD 1	(B)Silent Spell	-
6th	Mindbender	+2	+3	+1	+6	Bluff 8, Conc 9, Sense 6, Timely Misdirection	Magic Sensitive	100ft Telepathy, +1 Spellcasting

Skill Tricks:
Conceal Spellcasting: sleight vs spot, if successful, no AoO and cant be counterspelled
Timely Misdirection: successful Bluff check target can’t AoO you this round
Skill Synergies:
From Bluff: +2 Diplo, Intim, Sleight
From Sense: +2 Diplo
Spells:
1: 0-5, 1-3
2: 0-6, 1-4
3: 0-6, 1-5
4: 0-6, 1-6, 2-3
5: 0-6, 1-6, 2-4
6: 0-6, 1-6, 2-5, 3-3
Add 1 extra slot for levels 1-3 due to high INT, 3 extra 2nd level slots as well
total: 0-6, 1-7, 2-9, 3-4

Feats:
1: Apprentice (soldier) +2 Intimidate, +2 FORT, Intimidate/Know Local as class skills
3: Insightful Reflexes: INT to REF instead of DEX
5: (B) Silent Spell – no verbal component, cast as 1 lvl higher
6: Magic Sensitive – Reserve, detect magic/will, 15ft range (Arcane Sight qualifies)

1: Shape Soulmeld, Blink Shirt: 10ft teleport/will as standard action
2: Mindsight: pinpoint any creature w/in telepathy range
3: Retributive Spell: melee attacker immediately hit w/ 2nd or lower spell already cast
4: Darkstalker: Forces creatures w/ alternate sight to make spot check to see you
5: Extra Slot (addtl 2nd lvl spell) can take multiple times
6: Open Minded: Gain 5 skill Points
7: Shape Soulmeld: Necrocarnum Touch: +4 Sleight/Bluff in combat
8: Extra Slot
9: Shape Soulmeld: Theft Gloves: +2 Disable/Open/Sleight
10: Extra Slot

Spoiler: misc

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Fun things to do w/ Retributive Spell: Vertigo, Color Spray, Hypnotism, Obscuring Mist, Charm Person

Total Skill Bonuses including attribute modifiers:
Bluff +12, Conc +11, Diplo +8, Disable +12, Hide +17, Listen +3, Move +12, Open +11, Search +10, Sense +6, Spellcraft +5, Sleight +18, Spot +7, UMD +1 and can add 5 points spread out, or dumped on one/two skills from Openminded at epic 6th depending on campaign needs.

Minus sneak attack, we’ve essentially replicated the Rogue w/o taking any actual levels in rogue. While some of the skill ranks take a bit to come fully online, you can notice magical traps simply by activating your 6th lvl feat, Magic Sensitivity in a 15 ft radius, essentially at will, forever.

Soulmelds and racial modifiers combine to make for some pretty outstanding bonuses to skills, and Open Minded can further help to fill in where needed. If you find that between disable device, open lock, and Knock that you aren’t doing well enough in that area, you can bump those skill ranks higher, or do something silly like dump it entirely into UMD.

Some standard Rogue like faire is included of course, but also thematic. Darkstalker/Mindsight and Mindbender combine with your hide check to make you essentially invisible which aids your bluff checks and concealed spellcasting.

Silent Spell makes for even stealthier casting while sneaking about, and telepathy makes for easier communication with the group, and less checks to make moving back and forth. As a variant, dumping the 3 Extra Spell Feats and instead taking Martial Study 1x, and Martial Stance 2x would gain you Assassin’s Stance, however to utilize it you’d either have to engage in melee, or more likely apply it to ranged combat combined with your massive bluff/hide check combination to make it viable.

Mindsight/Telepathy/Silent Spell makes for casting Power Word Pain w/o any sort of Component, so you can plink down sentries or start whittling down the enemy before your team ever gets close enough to engage.

Spoiler: sources

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Complete Adventurer: Insightful Reflexes, Open Minded
Complete Arcane: Extra Slot, Mindbender
Complete Mage: Magic Sensitive, Retributive Spell
Complete Scoundrel: Conceal Spellcasting, Timely Misdirection
DMGII: Apprentice
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker, Mindsight
Magic of Incarnum: Shape Soulmeld, Blink Shirt, Necrocarnum Touch, Theft Gloves
PHBII: Beguiler
Races of Stone: Whisper Gnome
Races of the Dragon: Power Word Pain

[Zaq]

As always, thanks for being patient with me, team.

You may begin judging!

[MinimanMidget]

I had a rough start to last week, although as it turns out I had plenty of time to get my build submitted. The idea was Ascetic Rogue, but I just couldn't get Stunning Fist and Sneak Attack to actually work together. They're so close to synergizing really well that it hurts, but they just don't quite seem to. I really liked the fluff concept I had, though, so I'm going to sit on that and hope for a round where I can make it work.

Anyway, my lame excuses aside, my abject failure to get a build in leaves me free to judge, so I'll start working on that.

[Zaq]

Happy weekend, everyone! Well, those of us with traditional work schedules, anyway. I hope everyone's doing well.

Anyone judging already?

Also, I will admit that I've used most (not quite all) of the ideas on my list right now. I'm totally open to suggestions for future rounds.

[daremetoidareyo]

E6 ideas:

1: one spell to rule them all, optimize a single spell out the wazoo. You can have other spells too, but you’re judged on what you do with your signature spell.

2: Races: Warforged

3: Races: Shifter

4: Generic classes

[lylsyly]

LOL. Only PHB Classes and may not take more than 1 level in any class????

[Quentinas]

Optimizing a level X (probably i would be fine with 3 or 2 not 1 please) and template(s) to become a level 6?

[daremetoidareyo]

Any judging interest?

[H_H_F_F]

I don't feel that I have the framework to judge E6 properly. If you get no judges within, say, a week, I'd be willing to start reading past competitions' judgements and get to work... But I don't think that'd be ideal.

[MinimanMidget]

Any judging interest?

It's underway, but I've been struggling to find time.

[ATHATH]

Aw, none of the contestants seem to have noticed the thing I had noticed about the Kobold Rogue 1 substitution level- it says that you get a stacking +2 to those skills whenever you take a substitution level, not necessarily a Kobold Rogue substitution level. I had sort of envisioned some sort of Changeling (Racial Emulation feat ftw) build that'd dip around into 6 substitution levels across various classes in order to get a sizeable bonus to those specific, niche skill checks, but I couldn't summon up the effort to actually put it all together.

[Quentinas]

Well if one contain himself at rogue as class (for the use of secret ingredient) is possible to use 5 substitution level with
Kobold rogue 1 (races of dragon)
Golden hand of vergadin 2 (Champions of valor)
Kobold rogue 3 /anything (there are various race with a 3rd level bonus) (many manuals)
Dwarf rogue 5 (races of stone)
Planar rogue 6 (Planar handbook)
We could even use a substitution level for the 4th level but that would be using the lunar rogue from the dragon magazine 340.

But is not that the kobold rogue "cheese" was not used but that the changeling rogue wasn't used , maybe it was too obvious as being one level that give so many skill point and taking 10 on social skills other than boosting some options?

[Zaq]

This contest isn't dead. It's hiding. Like a sneaky, stealthy rogue.

[MinimanMidget]

Judging is about 75% complete, and more importantly, I've been making steady progress on it this week. I really shouldn't make promises, but it should be up by the weekend.

[Quentinas]

This contest isn't dead. It's hiding. Like a sneaky, stealthy rogue.

And we don't have an high enough spot to see it probably... So anyone with mindisght , blindsense, or other special sense to see a very sneaky contest?

[bean illus]

Happy weekend, everyone! Well, those of us with traditional work schedules, anyway. I hope everyone's doing well.

Anyone judging already?

Also, I will admit that I've used most (not quite all) of the ideas on my list right now. I'm totally open to suggestions for future rounds.

E6 ideas:

1: one spell to rule them all, optimize a single spell out the wazoo. You can have other spells too, but you’re judged on what you do with your signature spell.

2: Races: Warforged

3: Races: Shifter

4: Generic classes

What are the qualifications for secret ingredient?

[daremetoidareyo]

What are the qualifications for secret ingredient?

Each of those are a separate special ingredient. For 1 spell to rule them all, the chef chooses a single spell, and then can use any legal build elements to elaborate that spells effects.

For the racial ingredients, the only thing you need to qualify is count as the race suggested. Both Warforged and shifters have developed feat and acf support, so judgment would proceed along lines we typically expect.

But maybe that’s not your question

Usually, the secret ingredient is a base class. Typically non tier 1.

[MinimanMidget]

Sorry about the delay, everybody. I'm not sure if it's better or worse than if I'd just left judging for someone else.

As for ingredient ideas, I'd still love to see Binder, and I do like the idea of race-themed rounds, although I feel like we'd have to ban racial paragon classes.

So, uh...I ended up talking about Open Lock a weird amount. It's not a big deal, and I promise it's barely affected the points. This isn't like my SR rant in the Warlock round, or my crafting rant in every round, or my "waiting for a year and a day between familiar and improved familiar" rant. "So why mention it in this very prominent way?" Well, because I realised I'd talked about it a lot, and I wanted to make it clear that it's really not that big a deal. And yes, I do see the irony here.

Spoiler: Chameleon of Vol

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Spoiler: Originality

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Human, mostly familiar feats, Cloistered Cleric dip. (-1)

Chameleon is neither here nor there for Originality, but Thief of Life definitely counts for something. (+0.5)

Overall: 2.5

Spoiler: Power

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It's pretty difficult to judge this build, both here and in UotSI, because you haven't been very specific about what you're planning to do. You've spent 2 levels and a lot of feats to get some spellcasting, but you've been very vague about what spells you'll be casting and why. And, by the way, those 2nd-level spells you're so proud of? You have one per day. I think you're planning on using Sneak Attack in melee, but you haven't mentioned how you're going to trigger it. I guess you're just assuming that you'll be flanking with a party member? It doesn't really matter, since even if you trigger Sneak Attack you only have 1 attack at +8 or +9 to hit (depending on your Knowledge roll), 1d4 + 2d6 damage. Yes, negative levels aren't common in E6, but one negative level isn't going to impress (or kill) anyone. Lifesense is nice, but 5ft range makes it considerably less useful, regardless of exactly how deathwatch works.

And seriously, if you want me to be impressed by your capabilities, tell me about them. Forcing me to figure them out myself doesn't do either of us any favours. I know it can be tricky with classes like the Chameleon that can change day-to-day, but as a judge, you can only judge what's in the build. You can't just say "I'm a Chameleon" and rake in the points.

Anyway, you're unimpressive in combat. Your (limited) spellcasting will help, of course, but there's only so much you can do with 1st-level spells (and a single 2nd-level). (-0.75)

Defensively, you have slightly below average hp, which is not ideal if you're going into melee. Your AC should be pretty good, at least. Your saving throws are all decent, but none of them are impressive, including Ref, which makes Evasion less useful. Stealth helps, of course, although not all that much when fighting in melee, and spells can help too. (+0)

Outside of combat, things look a lot better. You've got good stealth and scouting skills, solid social skills, you're decent at finding traps, (although it's a shame you can't disable them), and your stat array goes nicely with Jack of All Trades. Spells help out here too, of course. I do think you're going to get some weird looks for not being able to pick locks. (+0.5)

Overall: 2.75

Spoiler: Elegance

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You have 10 skill ranks at level 5 instead of 9. Craven is FR material, and Thief of Life is Eberron. Neither of those would be worth a penalty in themselves, but combined they're worth a minor one. (-0.25)

The Catalogues of Enlightenment is an 8th-level encounter. It arguably doesn't even exist in E6, and even if it does, your odds of beating the entrance exam are extremely low. Not to mention, you have no real way to get there, and bad odds of even knowing about it. All in all, I don't think you can just assume you have access to the higher order power. (-0.25)

Overall: 4.5

Spoiler: Use of the Secret Ingredient

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Only 3 levels of Rogue, but Thief of Life is a Rogue prestige class, so it's closer to 4. You mentioned that Chameleon is also a Rogue prestige class, but "easier to enter from a skillful base" is not the same as "Rogue prestige class". (-0)

As I mentioned in Power, I find this category difficult to judge without more specifics about what you're doing with your capabilities. That said, 8 of your 14 feats are going towards your spellcasting capabilities, rather than your Rogue ones. Overall, it seems like Rogue is mostly just here as a skillmonkey base to get you into Chameleon, exemplified by you not really caring about Sneak Attack. (-1)

Overall: 2

Total: 11.75

Spoiler: Crackshot Ha! Fling!

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Spoiler: Originality

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Strongheart Halfling, bleh. (-0.5)

I sort of expected to see an alchemical weapons entry, but you've got some interesting feats and a Binder dip that isn't all about Naberius. (+0.75)

I'm not sure how to feel about Avenger in the context of Originality. On the one hand, Assassin is in theory the "classic" prestige class for a Rogue, and Avenger is just the alignment-friendly version. On the other hand, in practice people don't actually take either of them particularly often, especially as a 1-level dip. On the whole I think this is worth a bonus, especially as a method to count as a spellcaster for Craft (alchemy). (+0.25)

Overall: 3.5

Spoiler: Power

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As an interesting note, you probably made a good call not taking any social skills - you're almost always going to fail your binding check, and Leraje requires that you be "quiet and unassuming". Not to mention, you "look sickly and diseased, and your skin becomes sallow and pockmarked". You also aren't allowed to fight elves of any kind, although if the party is fighting drow you can probably just suck up the penalties. None of this is significant enough to be worth a penalty, I just feel like people forget that binding does actually have downsides.

In combat, you can very reliably deal a lot of damage, especially against enemies who make the mistake of standing close together. Eggshell grenades are nice, but the DC is quite low. Of course, there are many other alchemical items you could craft that would come in handy, and you have access to 1 spell per day, but I can only judge what you've written. Anyway, most of what you've written is damage, and sufficient quantities of damage really preclude the need for anything else. (+0.75)

Defensively, you have average hp, good AC, and some DR. Your Fort is okay, your Ref is great, which makes Evasion and Thief's Luck more useful, and your Will is low. Stealth helps too, especially since you fight from 30ft away and can afford to use your move action on moving. (+0.5)

Outside of combat, you're stealthy and a decent scout, although not quite as good a scout as I would like. You're good at finding traps and disabling them, but not locks for some reason, and you can pick pockets to make ends meet. Overall I think you're still a valuable party member, but you're going to struggle a bit to be useful in some situations. (-0.25)

Overall: 4

Spoiler: Elegance

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I love that picture. Also, technically, you can take ranks in Craft (alchemy) without being a spellcaster, you just can't craft alchemical items. Either way, I appreciate that you didn't try to work around that weird and extremely stupid rule. It does bug me that you didn't specify your spells known, even if you can only cast 1 per day. (+0)

You have 9 skill ranks at level 2, and 11 at level 3 - looks like you forgot to increment Hide. No penalty. (-0)

Strongheart Halfling is FR, and Shaped Splash is Eberron. You also have a lot of abyssal heritor feats for an Exalted character. Neither of those would be worth a penalty in themselves, but combined they're worth a minor one. (-0.25)

Avenger requires Move Silently 8, and you only have 7. You could have covered this easily, I'm assuming you just forgot about it. (-0.5)

Qualifying for Coordinated Shot via binding Leraje is ever so slightly questionable. No penalty, but I wanted to note it. (-0)

So, your crafting dependency. It's mundane crafting, so it doesn't cost xp, and it's extremely cheap to boot. But it's still crafting, and you're extremely dependent on it to function. (-0.25)

Overall: 4

Spoiler: Use of the Secret Ingredient

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4 levels of Rogue, but as I mentioned in Originality, Assassin (or Avenger) is the "classic" prestige class for a Rogue, so it's closer to 5. (+0.25)

This is a build that focuses on one thing, and one thing only: it Sneak Attacks with alchemical weapons. Even with the Binder dip, this is a Rogue build through and through. (+1)

Overall: 4.25

Total: 15.75

Spoiler: Petts

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Spoiler: Originality

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Ooooh, Kenku! I feel like Kenku is a very underappreciated race. (+0.5)

This is kind of a weird build. You're a natural attacker with incarnum, but you didn't go all in on that. You're doing the pets thing, with incarnum, but no Share Soulmeld in sight. Overall, this is an entry that looks like it belongs in the pets round, but here it is. With that said, the elements on display are all pretty familiar. I'm going to go with no bonus or penalty. (+0)

Overall: 3.5

Spoiler: Power

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Your full attack lineup is very strong, and your dog's attack is a nice cherry on top. It's worth pointing out that when you aren't flanking, or can't Sneak Attack for some reason, or if you can't full attack, it's a lot less impressive, and you don't really have anything else to do in combat. (+0.5)

Defensively, you have average hp and decent AC. Your Fort is okay, your Ref is great, which makes Evasion more useful, and your Will is very low, so it's fortunate that Dragontouched partially cancels out Craven. Stealth helps, although not while full attacking in melee, and your animal buddies are tanky enough to count as an asset in this area rather than a point of vulnerability. (+0.25)

Outside of combat, you're a lean mean scouting team. Between the three of you, the only way anything is getting past is if it can ignore Spot, Listen, and Scent. You're stealthy both individually and as a group, although much less as a group than you are individually. Also, you don't have Darkstalker, which does make stealth that little bit less useful. You've got a decent Bluff score, and you can find and disable traps, although not locks. What is it with everyone not caring about locks? Anyway, you also have a nice Survival score, which can come in handy even without tracking. Your dog can track, even if its Survival score isn't as good as yours. Overall I think you can be confident of being useful in most situations. (+0.5)

Overall: 4.25

Spoiler: Elegance

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Ugh, warbeast. It's inelegant on the dog (this judgement is already taking me way too long, so I'm going to say inelegant and leave it at that), and illegal on the owl. "Warbeast is a template that can be added to any Medium size or larger animal". (-1)

You have to have at least 8 Int to be a team leader, so the owl and the dog can't do it. Additionally, a team can only learn one teamwork benefit for every 4 HD the lowest team member has. Which is to say, 1, so even if we (dodgily) assume that [Kenku + Dog], [Kenku + Owl], and [Kenku + Dog + Owl] are 3 separate teams that can each learn a trick, you still have too many. (-0.5)

As far as I can tell, your dog should have 17 Dex, not 18. Also, your owl's claws would have gone from 1d4 to 1d6 with the size increase. Not worth a penalty; on the contrary, I'm mostly just grateful you gave me detailed statblocks to work with. (-0)

Overall: 3.5

Spoiler: Use of the Secret Ingredient

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5 levels in Rogue. (+0.5)

You've got a lot of non-Rogue stuff, but in the end it's mostly just about flanking, which comes back to Rogue. (+0.25)

Overall: 3.75

Total: 15

Spoiler: Tuck

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Spoiler: Originality

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Desert kobolds are everyone's favourite kobolds, but not so obvious a choice as to merit a penalty. (+0)

Your feats are mostly pretty standard, but Trapsmith is normally only seen for spell list nonsense, and while a familiar isn't anything special, I haven't seen the jaculi before. Crafting traps is an extremely unusual specialty, too. (+0.75)

Overall: 3.75

Spoiler: Power

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Your full attack lineup is pretty good, although if you aren't flanking, or can't Sneak Attack for some reason, or if you can't full attack, it gets a lot less good. Even with a familiar, Adaptable Flankier doesn't guarantee flanking like, say, Island of Blades does. That said, the jaculi is still very nice, especially with its grapple/constrict, although I don't love its odds of grappling anything really dangerous. Then you have your traps, which are difficult to judge, because their usefulness will vary greatly depending on the situation. They're definitely going to be nice to have often enough to be worthwhile. (+0.5)

Defensively, you've got average hp and good AC. Your Fort is okay, your Ref is good, (so Evasion is good), and your Will is bad, especially with Craven. The jaculi is tanky enough to count as an asset here, especially with Bonded Familiar. Stealth always helps, although less so when you're full attacking in melee, and your spells are nice here too. (+0.25)

At last, the Chosen One appears! A Rogue who can open locks! Sorry, just needed to get that out of my system. You're also the undisputed king of traps, whether it's crafting them, finding them, or disabling them. Between your familiar and you, you're pretty good at scouting, and you're pretty stealthy, although your familiar's Move Silently score (or lack thereof) is likely to be a problem. Overall, you're good at what you do, but when it's not applicable you don't really have anything to fall back on. (+0)

Overall: 3.75

Spoiler: Elegance

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Open Lock uses Dex, not Int, which is a good thing for you. Not a big deal, just noting it. (-0)

I have to say, I appreciate you not taking the Thug variant on your Fighter dip. It's explicitly allowed, but it's very weird that it and the Sneak Attack variant trade away the same thing. (+0)

You have 12 skill ranks at levels 2 and 3 instead of 11. (-0.5)

Overall: 4.5

Spoiler: Use of the Secret Ingredient

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4 levels of Rogue, and...well. Sneak Attack Fighter is weird here, because it's ridiculously similar to Rogue. Then, too Trapsmith is primarily a Rogue prestige class. (+0.5)

Disabling traps is obviously a Rogue specialty, but I've never had to judge whether crafting them is. On reflection, I think it is, not least because Artificers have better things to do with their time, but also because I think most people would agree that the basic association is Rogues => traps. This build is all about traps, and to me it's all Rogue. (+1)

Overall: 4.5

Total: 16.5

Spoiler: Nygil Longbottom, Esquire (For comparison purposes only)

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Spoiler: Originality

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The whole "I'm a better Rogue even though I'm not a Rogue" thing isn't worth a bonus in Originality, because a)it's explicitly illegal, and b)someone came up with it in the second round ever of the contest. (+0)

Outside of that, it's mostly pretty standard stuff. Whisper Gnome, Mindbender dip, Mindsight, some soulmelds. (-1)

Some of your feats are a bit more interesting; Apprentice (soldier), Magic Sensitive, and Retributive Spell aren't seen often. (+0.25)

Overall: 2.25

Spoiler: Power

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As a minor note, taking Open Minded but not making the decision about where to put the points is a bad idea. I can't make that decision for you and then judge it. For similar reasons, I can't judge the variant on the build you offered, which is a shame because it probably would have scored better.

In combat, you're not the best at dealing damage (and Power Word Pain is an odd choice to fill that particular gap), but there's plenty of useful spells on your list. And I do love the image of someone looking confused and saying ow over and over again until they mysteriously drop dead. (+0.5)

Defensively, your hp is very slightly below average, your AC is decent, and your saving throws are all okay but not great. Your spells offer great defensive options, and of course there's pretty much no reason for you to ever not be hidden. (+0.5)

The guy who can cast Knock 9 times a day is one of the only ones with an Open Lock score? What is going on with this round? You can find traps and disable them, and while your Spot/Listen scores aren't among the best in the round, Mindsight and Magic Sensitive will go a long way towards making up for that. Your stealth abilities are great, and at-will teleportation is often handy. You're a great face character, with good scores in all of the talking skills and even some Sense Motive. Beyond that, the Beguiler's spell list is nothing short of incredible for out of combat utility. (+1)

Overall: 5

Spoiler: Elegance

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You have 34 skill ranks at level 1 instead of 38 (from Apprentice). Then at level 5 you have 11 skill ranks instead of 10. Your total is still low, not high, so it's fine. (-0)

I gotta say, apart from being illegal (which is covered in UotSI), there's really nothing I can find to object to here.

Overall: 5

Spoiler: Use of the Secret Ingredient

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No levels in Rogue. (-1)

You can do many of the things a Rogue can do, but you do them in completely different ways. Looking at your feats, and to some extent even your skills, this is a Beguiler first, and a Rogue...not at all. They're both stealthy skillmonkeys, and that's pretty much where the similarity ends. You could just as easily have submitted a Factotum build, or a Scout, or really any stealthy skillmonkey class. You even picked one of the ones that doesn't have any form of precision damage. (-1)

Overall: 1

Total: 13.25

[daremetoidareyo]

No disputes here. Thank you for the thorough judging.

[MinimanMidget]

One minor thing I forgot: Tuck should have a note on crafting in the Elegance section. Basically, trapsmith trapmaking is way too cheap to be worth a penalty, especially since Tuck isn't reliant on it. For comparison purposes, Craft(alchemy), while still very cheap, is much more expensive, and of course Crackshot is much more dependent on it.