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2024-03-07, 10:57 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2011
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- Texas
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Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Hello, all, from your new Chair. Welcome back to the Iron Chef Optimization Challenge E6 Appetizer Edition! It's time for round forty eight: let's put our faces on and show off our very finest forms
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 Thursday, March 28, 2024. 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
- 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. You are allowed, but not required, to use this extremely spiffy tool that mattie_p cooked up (thanks, mattie_p!).SpoilerCode for the table: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 Spoiler[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:
SpoilerJudges 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:
SkillsAllowed:
- 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
PrereqsAllowed:
- 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- 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:
SHAPESHIFTING
One of the most versatile types of magic around. If you can change yourself into at least two forms besides your normal one, showcase your versatility: stealth, combat, utility, or something I haven't thought of. Sky's the limit.
For the purposes of this competition, lycanthropy's hybrid and animal forms counts as one. In the interest of a more diverse entry pool, lycanthropes are certainly allowed, but you need access to at least one other method of changing your entire body into something else.
Allez Optimizer!
The Builds:
Coming soon!
Spoiler: Contest History
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
Round 27: Ardent (exhibition round)
Round 28: Rogue
Round 29: Signature Spells
Round 30: Any Prior Ingredient
Round 31: Ranger
Round 32: Tanking
Round 33: Psychic Warrior
Round 34: Flight
Round 35: Binder
Round 36: Skill tricks
Round 37: Barbarian
Round 38: Fire
Round 39: Bard
Round 40: Poison
Round 41: Light and Darkness
Round 42: Let's Move
Round 43: Plants
Round 44: Illusions
Round 45: Unusual Weapons
Round 46: Crafted Henchmen
Round 47: Enchantments
Spoiler: Way Old Stuff (2012 and earlier; Amechra's run as Chair)Last edited by Venger; 2024-03-08 at 03:53 AM.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-03-07, 10:58 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2011
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- Gender
Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
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've all seen these ingredients used at least once before. What makes you different?
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-03-08, 03:32 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2014
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- Arcadia
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
I have a question about a very confusing part of the OP:
For the purposes of this competition, lycanthropy's hybrid and animal forms counts as one. In the interest of a more diverse entry pool, lycanthropes are certainly allowed, but you need access to at least one other method of changing your entire body into something else.Creator of the LA-assignment thread.
Join the new Junkyard Wars round and build with Cloaked Dancer and a companion creature!
Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!
Extended signature!
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2024-03-08, 03:52 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2011
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- Texas
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
No, you're right. Amended accordingly, Apologies for the confusion. The takeaway I meant to convey is you need more than one alt mode but didn't want to tip anyone's hand. Hope that clears things up.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-03-09, 01:23 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Do high level spells exist in this version of E6?
Using an example unrelated to this competition, an early entry Jaunter can use Dimension door, teleport, plane shift
Can those SLAs work in E6?
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2024-03-09, 11:48 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2017
Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
I have some (admittedly pretty bad) ideas, here's hoping I can find the time to Cook!
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2024-03-17, 09:54 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2011
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- Texas
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Good question! From the OP:
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.I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-03-27, 07:48 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
I would like an extension. A few day at least, maybe a week if possible.
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2024-03-31, 11:10 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Feb 2011
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- Texas
- Gender
Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Apologies for the delay, I've had trouble accessing the forums. Is anyone else still cooking? That's fine by me giving an extra couple of days.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-04-05, 09:08 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Should be done later tonight. Thanks for your patience everyone!
edit: Submitted. Please check both messages.Last edited by Rebel7284; 2024-04-06 at 04:50 AM.
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2024-04-06, 01:30 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
some updates submitted as well.
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2024-04-13, 01:17 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Thank you to everyone for your patience. I'm able to post here for the time being so it's time for the reveal! Please refrain from posting until I give the all clear.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-04-13, 01:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Take a look at yourself and make a change.
Originally Posted by Ray RuinLast edited by Venger; 2024-04-13 at 01:25 PM.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-04-13, 01:21 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
"All the best mirrors have some silver inside of them."
Originally Posted by Yettindi H. FettLast edited by Venger; 2024-04-13 at 01:29 PM.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-04-13, 01:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Change must come from within.
Originally Posted by Rune BlackwoodLast edited by Venger; 2024-04-13 at 01:32 PM.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-04-13, 01:24 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
It's never too late to learn new things.
Originally Posted by Miyake, KamakoLast edited by Venger; 2024-04-13 at 01:45 PM.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-04-13, 01:45 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
And that's our round! Judges, do your thing.
I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-04-13, 04:07 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
My main idea I didn't end up working out was based on changeling wizard, whose 5th-level substitution feature lets you change your familiar into any other familiar as a full-round action. I didn't have any particularly interesting direction to take that, though.
Also, I toyed with the idea of entering Master of Flies early via Primary Contact so I could get 1/day Swarm Shape, but flavorful as it might be it was most certainly not particularly strong. Maaaybe I could've used the 'this is equivalent to wild shape' line to get Extra Wild Shape and get more uses that way, but I figured I needn't take the risk when I had better ideas.Creator of the LA-assignment thread.
Join the new Junkyard Wars round and build with Cloaked Dancer and a companion creature!
Interested in judging a build competition on the 3.5 forums but not sure where to begin? Check out the judging handbook!
Extended signature!
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2024-04-15, 11:25 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Table!
# Name Alignment / Race Class Levels Chef Total Place 1 Ray Ruin CE Lesser Fey'ri Cloistered Cleric of Erevan Ilesere 5/Spellwarp Sniper 1 2 Yettindi H. Fett CN→CE Dragonborn→Changeling Stalwart Battle Dragonblood Domain Access Sorcerer 5/Escalation Mage 1 3 Rune Blackwood LN Human→Kalashtar Archivist 3/Church Inquisitor 1/Shaper of Form 2 4 Miyake, Kamako NN Scorpion Clan Human→Dragonborn Arcane Hunter Spiritual Guide Champion of the Wild Wild Shape Ranger 5/Chameleon 1
I'm in to judge.If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro
My competition's medals.
Spoiler: For purposes of clarity1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.
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2024-04-24, 04:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
I remember about judging. Just don't have free time.
If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro
My competition's medals.
Spoiler: For purposes of clarity1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.
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2024-05-03, 04:44 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
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2024-05-04, 06:52 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2020
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- Moscow
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
If you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro
My competition's medals.
Spoiler: For purposes of clarity1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.
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2024-05-21, 06:09 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Sorry for such a long delay. It was a hard week.
Originality - starting from 3.
Power - starting from 0.
Elegance - starting from 5.
UoSI - starting from 0.
Spoiler: Ray RuinSpoiler: OriginalityLesser races are frequent guests in this competition, while specific choice is slightly obscure. Cloistered Cleric also wasn't a surprise at all, but Spellwarp Sniper was! And while your entry trick isn't something completely new it's interesting. Feats are unsurprising or come with Spellwarp Sniper.
I give you 2.5 points.
Spoiler: PowerYou have very good damage potential, especially after 6th level (+1.75).
Your defense could be better. AC isn't great, saves are so so, hp is pretty low (+0.5).
You are a good scout, while it'd be better if you have better Spot and/or Listen. You have some knowledges, bluff, Lore. Your Change Shape gives you a broad variety of movement options and other useful abilities. It isn't good, you couldn't have most of them and your Spellwarp at the same time, but I saw your point (+1.25).
Total: 3.5 points.
Spoiler: EleganceOkay... While I'm usually loyal to a Lesser races variant rule in E6, the Lesser Fey'ri is at least questionable. I know, I myself used Lesser Mur-Zhagul once and this is precisely what gives me the right to say - not every lesser planetouched are equal. Lesser Fey'ri needs DM's approval. At least (-0.25).
While I agree with your temporary qualification for Spellwarp Sniper via Change Shape I see how it could become a problem for some DMs (-0.25).
You didn't qualify for Swift and Silent. As I see Ray Ruin isn't "elf (Cormanthor Drow or the Wealdath)." He is a Cormanthor sun elf at best (-0.5).
Your idea of using the drawback of Sanctum Spell to your advantage is brilliant (+0.25)!
And I like very much how you qualified for Spellwarp Sniper in E6 (+0.25).
Total: 4.5 points.
Spoiler: UoSIYou has your Shapeshifting at will from the very first level and from the very first level it works for you great. You used it to enter Spellwarp Sniper which also is notable. Without SI your entry will fall apart. Great job! 5 points.
Total: 15.5 points
Spoiler: Yettindi H. FettSpoiler: OriginalityChangeling is the most expected race in this round. Dragonborn is also a very expected template. Ex-Dragonborn opposite. I see this maybe second time.
Stalwart Battle Sorcerer also isn't a big surprise. Escalation Mage is slightly new for me. Some of your feats are interesting, but most not so much.
You have 2.25 points here.
Spoiler: PowerYou are a full caster with 3rd level spells, but there is only one actual damaging spell. You also could strike with a hammer or sword, but it isn't a big deal. Another good offensive option is Silver Dragon Lineage, but it also is limited (+0.5).
Defense... You have good hp, not awful saves (and Moment of Perfect Mind), bad AC, maybe not so bad with good armor, but you want to use armor as Disguise tool and actual armor will interfere with this idea (+0.75).
The social scouting is you theme, here you're great, yes! But, that's all. Great disguise, very good Bluff, great Knowledge (Arcana)... Yeah, you have broad capabilities in untrained skills via Jack of All Trades and various bonuses, but this isn't really a game changer, just some occasional help (+0.75).
Total: 2 points.
Spoiler: EleganceI really like what you did with Dragonborn to be uninterruptedly qualified for all you need (+0.25). Alignment shift is the opposite thing, it's always a risky choice in competition (-0.25).
What exact Dragonborn you were? Mind? Heart? Wings? I want to know this even if you lose this - you were Dragonborn for 5 levels, it isn't unimportant (-0.25).
I don't like what happens with your Bluff. You trade it for useless for you Intimidate via Battle Sorcerer ACF (yeah, it is useful in other respects) just to get it from Escalation Mage. It isn't awful, it just looks anti-synergy. You make problems for yourself and then you solve them. Not great (-0.25).
Total: 4.5 points.
Spoiler: UoSIYour entry come online too late. Your racial Shapeshifting return to you only at 6th level, before that you got Alter Self at 4th. But you make all build around Shapeshifting. Put it away and nothing will remain. It's core element. I think there are no any real tricky tricks in your Shapeshifting, but there clearly is synergy between many elements.
I give you 4 points.
Total: 12.75 points
Spoiler: Rune BlackwoodSpoiler: OriginalityKalashtar is a rare choice. Archivist isn't a surprise, Church Inquisitor either. Shaper of Form slightly is, but... I’ve been seeing him a lot lately. Feats.. Full Sudden Meta line up to Sudden Quicken is unusual. Metamorphic Transfer is.
At the end it will be 3 points.
Spoiler: PowerWell, you are Archivist. You have literally the best divine spell list in game. Plus of course Polymorph + Metamorphic Transfer combo opens a great variety of abilities, offensive, defensive and others. But the 1/day limitation is bad. Many Knowledge skills, Guidance of the Avatar...
Sorry, I didn't divide your assessment by criteria, but I give you total 4 points here.
Spoiler: EleganceSpells from rare spell lists... Well, let it be (-0). It isn't your greatest problem. Primary Contact doesn't work the way you think. Yes, it gives you extra skill rank even above normal maximum. Yes, have Craft (Armorsmithing) 5 at 1st level. But, Primary Contact doesn't let you buy other skill ranks above normal maximum. You can't get 6th rank at 2nd level (7th at 3rd and so on). This means you didn't qualify for Shaper of Form at 5th level (-2).
Qualify via temporary (even full days) Great Fortitude via Substitute Domain also isn't for every DM (-0.25).
Do you really need 18 Int from 1st level and 15 Con from 4th? You could buy 17 Int and have a bigger Dex/Cha/Str, why not (-0 don't penalize you, because at least extra skill points are useful)?
Total: 2.75 points.
Spoiler: UoSIOkay, you already got penalty for not qualifying for SoF. One mistake - one penalty, so let's look at your entry as if you have your Polymorph.
First of all - it's late. Yes, you have Alter Self earlier, but it's just little brother and, let's be fair, isn't something mind blowing.
Is Polymorph good for you? Of course yes. Looks like the core of your entry?... Well, your build doesn't fall apart without it. And it's only single form, only 12 minutes per day! Too few. There are some great tricks and synergy with Metamorphic Transfer and it gives you some points, but not the full mark. I give you 3.5 points here.
Total: 13.25 points
Spoiler: Miyake, KamakoSpoiler: OriginalityHuman into Dragonborn... Not a new idea.
As like Human into Chameleon. While Ranger wasn't expected for this round. I thought about Druid, so I am not totally surprised, but slightly I am.
Feats... There are some interesting things (Delay Potion, Brew Potion), but others are boring.
Give you 2 points.
Spoiler: PowerGrell shape with Bloodwind is great, agree with you. And it isn't the only way you could make damage (+1.5).
Defense... Good hp, it's clear. Saves... not the best possible, but not the worst. AC not great (+1).
Utility... You have access to various moving modes, I'm sure there are some interesting Aberration forms apart from Grell, you have some useful skills, Darkstalker, Mindsight, telepathy, and a variety of spells. You're good here (1.25).
Total: 3.75 points.
Spoiler: EleganceI don't like that you take Middle Age (-0.25), but I like very much what you did with it, Dragonborn and Combat Expertise (+0.5).
Do you really need 21 Con? Why do such point buy overexpenditure? While in Rune's case I could see at least skill points surplus, in your case it's only waste (-0.25).
Virtually all Trapsmith (Dungeonscape) level 1 and 2 spells are great!
Total: 4.5 points.
Spoiler: UoSIYou select Wildshape as your Shapeshifting method. It's came only at 5th level and fully fleshed at 6th, but you have good combo with it and could stay Shapeshifted all day long.
I give you 4.5 points.
Total: 14.75 pointsIf you could make anything and everything welcome to the Zinc Saucier XLV: Figaro
My competition's medals.
Spoiler: For purposes of clarity1109 is September, 11 - my birthday.
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2024-05-22, 07:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Thanks for judging. Disputes:
Originally Posted by Ray RuinOriginally Posted by YettindiI've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2024-05-22, 06:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef E6 Appetizer Edition, Round XLVIII
Another dispute:
Originally Posted by Miyake, KamakoI've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.
Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition