Villainous Competition, Or Optimize my BBEG!

[Gwachitallemall]

Just an hour and 15 minutes left, got 4 new entries (I think.. will have to make sure.) I've noticed one thing I'll have to specify in the competition notes, though, for the next competition.

[LooseCannoneer]

I'll judge. There's no way I'm going to finish my build in time.

[Sam K]

As a first time contestant, I REALLY felt that the forum code took too much effort. It was really frustrating when you're not super familiar with things like tables or nestled spoiler blocks (although the table we got did help a bunch, thanks!), and I felt I spent so much time worrying about formalia that I neglected some aspects of my build.

I'm sure that if someone more familiar would be willing to put together a template that includes the standard stuff you should have in a contest build, it would make it easier for us noobs to join in. As it was, formalia (and stressing about it) drained some of the fun out of the contest for me. Still happy I entered, though! Looking forward to see what everyone comes up with!

[Gwachitallemall]

Alright. I'm here. My daughter kind of fell asleep on me, so I'll be posting all the entries now. Please withhold any further postings until I say I have all of them, thanks.

[Gwachitallemall]

Dragons? Or just a lizard? Warrior, eitherway!

Muk-Muk & Mya

Spoiler: Muk-Muk’s Biography

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Born with the grand favor of Tiamat as a Dragonwrought Kobold, Muk-Muk was destined from the beginning to do great things for the Muckmarsh Kobold tribe. But life isn’t always fair, especially if you’re 3 feet tall, look like a lizard, and live next door to a family of Black Dragons.

The Black Dragon family decided in their annual tribute to take the young Muk-Muk from his clan, straight out of his sorcerer studies, and use him for the next 80 years to teach their wyrmlings the basics of defensive sorcerery, in an attempt to gain a wing up on the pesky Bronze flight that lived 2 swamps over.

Well, it turns out that the Bronze flight was 2 wings up over the Black flight, and summarily crushed the Blacks in defense of their nest, leaving Muk-Muk alone and free of his captors for the first time in decades. Taking the lone wyrmling with him (along with a few choice items) from that putrid cave, Muk-Muk ventured forth for glory and riches, declaring himself to the Black Hand, Bane.

Falling in with a band of local brigands, Muk-Muk and Myastanaklon (nicknamed Stink) took to sword and spell with an almost carefree abandon, quickly proving that it’s not the size that matters, but the way you swing it. Gaining the notice of the Black Network, Muk-Muk and Stink were invited in by the Zhentarims for formal training. At the end of their training, Muk-Muk was able to proudly proclaim himself an official Zhentarim Skymage, combining the power of spell, lance and flight (the latter with the help of Stink), and striking fear across the greater Moonsea region.

Finishing off his career as a Dragonrider based out of the Zentarim Keep, and commanding an army consisting of Muckmarsh Kobold Trapsmiths (creating havoc on any field they battle on), a tribe of Poison Dusk Lizardfolk Scouts and Rangers (stealthy and swift, armed with shortbows, scimitars and kukris), and Zhentil Keep’s new Auzkovyn Clan Drow allies, comprised mostly of Fighters and Rogues, armed with deadly keen longswords and stealthy poisoned hand crossbows.

Spoiler: Build Stub

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Sorcerer 2/Paladin of Tyranny 4/Abjurant Champion 4/Zhentarim Skymage 5/Dragonrider 5

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Ability	Base	Racial Modifiers	Level Bonuses	Age Modifiers	Final Score (without Items)
Strength	14	-4	-	-	10
Dexterity	10	+2	-	-	12
Constitution	12	-2	-	-	10
Intelligence	12	-	-	+3	15
Wisdom	8	-	-	+3	11
Charisma	18	-	+5	+3	26

Spoiler: Build Chart

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Sorcerer	0	0	0	2	Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Spellcraft 4	Dragonwrought	Summon Familiar
2nd	Sorcerer	1	0	0	3	Concentration 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Spellcraft 5
3rd	Paladin of Tyranny	2	2	0	3	Diplomacy 1, Handle Animal 1, Knowledge (Geography) 1, Ride 1	Mounted Combat	Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Smite Good 1/day
4th	Paladin of Tyranny	3	3	0	3	Diplomacy 2, Handle Animal 2, Knowledge (Geography) 2, Ride 2		Divine Grace, Deadly Touch
5th	Paladin of Tyranny	4	3	1	4	Diplomacy 3, Handle Animal 3, Knowledge (Geography) 3, Ride 3		Aura of Despair, Divine Health
6th	Paladin of Tyranny	5	4	1	4	Diplomacy 4, Handle Animal 4, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Ride 4	Combat Casting	Rebuke Undead
7th	Abjurant Champion	6	4	1	6	Concentration 6, Handle Animal 5, Ride 5, Spellcraft 6		Abjurant Armor, Extended Abjuration
8th	Abjurant Champion	7	4	1	7	Concentration 7, Handle Animal 6, Ride 6, Spellcraft 7		Swift Abjuration
9th	Abjurant Champion	8	5	2	7	Concentration 8, Handle Animal 7, Ride 7, Spellcraft 8	Iron Will
10th	Abjurant Champion	9	5	2	8	Concentration 9, Handle Animal 8, Ride 8, Spellcraft 9		Arcane Boost
11th	Zhentarim Skymage	9	7	2	8	Concentration 10, Handle Animal 9, Ride 9, Spellcraft 10		Bonus Scrolls, Flying Mount
12th	Zhentarim Skymage	10	8	2	8	Concentration 11, Handle Animal 10, Ride 10, Spellcraft 11	Ride-by Attack, Tremendous Charge	Bonus Scrolls, Flying Feat, Craft Wand
13th	Zhentarim Skymage	10	8	3	9	Concentration 12, Handle Animal 11, Ride 11, Spellcraft 12	Spell Focus (Abjuration)	Bonus Scrolls, Spell Focus, Share Spells
14th	Zhentarim Skymage	11	9	3	9	Concentration 13, Handle Animal 12, Ride 12, Spellcraft 13	Skill Focus (Ride), Spirited Charge	Bonus Scrolls, Skill Focus, Flying Feat
15th	Zhentarim Skymage	12	9	3	9	Concentration 14, Handle Animal 13, Ride 13, Spellcraft 14	Trample	Bonus Scrolls, Enlarge Spell
16th	Dragonrider	13	11	3	11	Concentration 15, Diplomacy 6, Handle Animal 14, Ride 14		Dragonriding, Immune to Frightful Presence
17th	Dragonrider	14	12	3	12	Concentration 16, Diplomacy 7, Handle Animal 15, Ride 15		Mounted Spellcasting
18th	Dragonrider	15	12	4	12	Concentration 17, Diplomacy 8, Handle Animal 16, Ride 16	Cavalry Charger, Weapon Focus (Lance)	Bonus Feat
19th	Dragonrider	16	12	4	12	Concentration 18, Diplomacy 9, Handle Animal 17, Ride 17		Flyby Attack
20th	Dragonrider	17	13	4	13	Concentration 19, Diplomacy 10, Handle Animal 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Geography) 4, Ride 18, Spellcraft 14		Spur Mount

Spoiler: Spells

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Spells per Day

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
1st	5	3	-	-	-	-
2nd	6	4	-	-	-	-
3rd	6	4	-	-	-	-
4th	6	4	-	-	-	-
5th	6	4	-	-	-	-
6th	6	4	-	-	-	-
7th	6	5	-	-	-	-
8th	6	6	3	-	-	-
9th	6	6	4	-	-	-
10th	6	6	5	3	-	-
11th	6	6	6	4	-	-
12th	6	6	6	5	3	-
13th	6	6	6	6	4	-
14th	6	6	6	6	5	3
15th	6	6	6	6	6	4

Spoiler: Spells Known

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Level - (Number) - Spells
0- (9) - Acid Splash, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Detect Magic, Read Magic, Ray of Frost, Message, Touch of Fatigue, Disrupt Undead
1- (5) - Nerveskitter, Shield, Shocking Grasp, Ghostly Tail, Instant Diversion
2- (4) - Detect Thoughts, Invisibility, Wings of Cover, Protection from Arrows
3- (3) - Fireball, Suggestion, Summon Monster III
4- (2) - Ruin Delver's Fortune, Wings of Flurry
5- (1) - Acid Rain

Spoiler: Level Breakdown

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Muk-Muk starts off as a Dragonwrought Kobold Sorcerer, but before he can progress far in his class, he is abducted and forced to teach the same handful of spells repeatedly for the next 80 years (allowing him to reach Old age, before continuing on). After he leaves the swamp with a newly hatched wyrmling (now aged 93, dragon age 0), he takes on the mantle of Paladin of Tyranny, dedicated to Bane. (Levels 1-5)
Through force of might, and minimal spellcasting, he then proceeds to become and Abjurant Champion, and fortifies his defenses every morning with a Shield spell, while fighting his enemies primarily with a lance from horseback (not a special horse, just one that was stolen from someone who didn’t need it anymore, namely because they were dead). Either way, after subjugating small villages and terrorizing unfortunate merchants for almost 30 years (Muk-Muk age 119 and Stink age 26) became involved with the Zhentarims, who saw something special in this small Kobold, who somehow managed to rule his tiny domain with an iron fist, and thus began his training and career as a Skymage. (Levels 6-10)
5 years later, and Muk-Muk has traded in his horse as a mount for his only true friend, Myastanaklon (who now prefers to be called Mya), and flies at the head of his caravans, clearing out any aggressors that seek to disrupt the Black Hand’s operations in the North. His battle tactics consist mostly of charging in atop his dragon, relying on Mya’s superior strength to lend greater weight to his attacks. He also has quite a few scrolls that he can read to enact useful spells, and has started to craft his own wands, which he can use even while heavily armored.(Levels 11-15)
It is around this time that Muk-Muk finally accepts his true calling as a Dragonrider, and dedicates himself to ruling both the skies and swamps of his former home. He unites all of the Muckmarsh Kobolds under his banner, and even brings in a tribe of small Lizardfolk to act as scouts and pathfinders for his legion. Zhentil Keep has also loaned him the use of a regiment of Drow male soldiers, exiled from their homeland, to use as spies, assassins and elite commandos. (Levels 16-20)

Spoiler: Battle Tactics

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When they take the field of battle in full scale war, Muk-Muk and Myastanaklon circle over their troops, bolstering them with their presence. The Kobold’s prepare the battlefield the night prior by digging pitfall traps across the field, creating fatal funnels and smaller avenues of approach for their enemies. The Poison Dusk Lizardfolk, acting as Scouts and Rangers, prefer to wait near these lanes in ambush, then strike swiftly with their curved blades and sharp arrows, before fading away back into the shadows. At this point, the Auzkovyn Drow strike hard and fast, in a combination of armored strike forces and cavalry charges from atop their signature riding lizards. When in dire need, a small cadre of Banite Clerics holds the very rear, providing healing through their wands to those able enough to carry themselves back to them. Muk-Muk and Mya utilize their combined might in combat, diving down at key locations of the battlefield, spitting acid on large concentrations of enemies in passing, and charging down lieutenants and commanders with his lance. While waiting for Mya’s breath to refresh itself, Muk-Muk assaults the field with wands that he keeps in a holster on his belt. If dismounted while in flight, Muk-Muk’s Dragonrider Armor enacts a feather fall spell automatically, allowing him to reach the ground safely. While on the ground, Muk-Muk will attack from range, if possible, with his wands. When forced into melee, Muk-Muk will resort to stabbing at his foes with his lance, keeping them at reach. If forced even closer than that, Muk-Muk will rely on his enchanted spiked gauntlets until reinforcements can arrive. Hopefully in the form of one really upset Black Dragon.

Spoiler: Gear

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In addition to the combat gear listed above, Muk-Muk also wears a Minor Cloak of Displacement, Riding Boots, Belt of Magnificence, Amulet of Natural Armor, Ring of Protection, Strongarm Bracers and a Ring of Mental Fortitude. He carries a Lance sized for a Medium character (wield-able through use of Strongarm Bracers), enchanted with +1 Charging and Valorous. This lance increases his damage done on a charge by 2d6, and increases the charging multiplier by an additional factor (x5, after Spirited Charge and Riding Boots). Each of his Spiked Gauntlets are also enchanted, one with +1 and Eager, the other with +1 and Warning.
He has also read through a Tome of Leadership and Influence (+5).

Spoiler: Sources

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Monster Manual 1 – Kobold, Black Dragon
Races of the Dragon – Dragonwrought Kobold, some spells
Player’s Handbook – Sorcerer, Paladin, gear, spells
Unearthed Arcana – Paladin of Tyranny Variant
Complete Mage – Abjurant Champion
Forgotten Realms: Lords of Darkness – Zhentarim Skymage
Draconomicon – Dragonrider, more Black Dragon stuff, Dragonrider Armor
Dragonlance Campaign Setting – Tremendous Charge Feat
Magic Item Compendium – Various magic items
Miniatures Handbook – Belt of Magnificence
Forgotten Realms: Unapproachable East – Valorous Enchant
Dungeon Master’s Guide – Various magic items
Complete Warrior – Cavalry Charger feat
Heroes of Battle - Acid Rain spell

[Gwachitallemall]

Is this one so vain?

Lord Commander Conrad Vayne
"An army is only as strong as their leader. If they are allied to that leader only through money or threats, then removing that leader will disperse them. However, an army united by loyalty will stay united, even beyond its leader's demise."

Neutral Evil Silverbrow Human Bard 4/Warblade 16
Starting stats (32 PB): Str 14, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 12
(All level bumps into Dexterity)

Spoiler: Possible Campaign Hook:

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Conrad Vayne grew up the only son of the General that served a tyrannical regime. His life of martial tutelage was cut short when the king was overthrown by a group of freedom fighters from a neighboring kingdom. His father was killed, and the entire royal family was put on trial, and executed, but he managed to escape. He spent years fostering a powerful hatred for the adventuring party that displaced him from his home and murdered the one's he loved. Believing the liberators of the kingdom to be unlawful invaders, and believing himself to be the only remaining rightful heir to the throne, he has resolved to gather an army that will allow him to take the kingdom back, by whatever means are necessary, and exact a terrible bloody vengeance on the ones who took everything from him.

This character is designed to be the pinnacle of a field marshal: someone who would not hesitate to direct his troops from the front lines, but still content to let the underlings absorb the brunt of his enemies attacks. He has won countless battles by attacking in highly coordinated groups and using superior tactical planning to gain the advantage. It is mostly a flavor choice, but taking Perform (oratory) allows him to inspire by making well-delivered speeches and constantly calling out slight changes to battle formations, rather than having to sing.

Mechanically, he mainly a support character. The primary focus of the build is buffing the party through Dragonfire Inspiration, adding d6's of fire damage to every attack they make, combined with more buffing maneuvers from the White Raven school, and then give his troops as much extra attacking power he can to take advantage of those buffs. As a last resort, he can utilize the Two-Weapon Fighting chain to take advantage of his own buffs and scoop up handfuls of d6's every round he gets to attack.

One of the things I like the most about this build is that there are no dead levels. Every single level you get something new, be it a new stance, a bonus feat, a skill trick, or a new maneuver. Based on that I would have to say the point this build really "shines" is at max level when you have all your tricks, but it is capable of being effective at almost every level of play. The second thing I like about it is the synergy between the many different abilities, as I will go over below. And finally, I enjoy it for it's flexible power. Putting him in charge of a squad of NPC warrior's turns them all into a credible threat, but placing him in a group with a summoner focused wizard or druid turns him into an absolute nightmare. While he is capable of dishing out impressive amounts of damage on his own at higher levels, and has a number of defensive tools to ward off the PC's attacks, at the end of the day he is really only as strong as his allies, which I think is the hallmark of a good commander.

Level 5:
You can actually introduce him as early as level 3, as the crux of the character is there by that point. But by this point you also have Song of the Heart, which effectively doubles the damage output of Dragonfire Inspiration. You can begin each battle by inspiring as a swift action, and then charging in for an attack, giving your entire party the benefits of both the fire damage and Leading the Charge. Alternately, you can Inspire as a swift, move to set up a flank with an ally, and then spend your standard action Intimidating every enemy around you, possibly setting up to stack fear effects with a friendly caster. This is the level where he is most vulnerable, so he much rely on his allies to shield him from as much damage as possible. The 5 Ranks in Balance prevents any pesky Sneak Attacks due to Grease or Marbles, Sudden Leap allows you to move as a swift action, and Wolf Fang Strike allows for pseudo-pounce, in that you can move and still strike with both weapons as a standard action. A Healing Belt can also be used for emergencies. Anklet of Translocation is also useful for grapple escapes at this level. I highly suggest he familiarize himself with a pair of kukri's, to prepare for Blade Meditation later on.

Level 10:
Things really start to pick up at this point. He gains the Tactics of the Wolf stance which exponentially increases in power with every minion he affects with it (His initiator level at 10 is 8, which is an extra 4 points of damage to every attack he and his allies make on targets he can flank ). He also has the crown jewel of defensive maneuvers in Iron Heart Surge, and White Raven Tactics, which is limited in power only by what his strongest ally can accomplish in a single round. At this point his tactics are likely to inspire as a swift and charge in with his allies, then on his next round switch to Tactics of the Wolf and concentrate on making as many full attacks as he can, continuing to take advantage of Sudden Leap for swift action movement. He will also gain a nice increase in accuracy due to picking up weapon finesse, and also has the option of supporting with bard spells with Melodic Casting (assuming a Charisma increasing item). Thanks to Iron Heart Surge, and Improved Uncanny Dodge, he can afford to stray away from his protection a little more than he could before.
Important Note: It is imperative that he be equipped with Gloves of the Balanced Hands, to grant him the Improved Two-Weapon Fighting feat, in order for him to qualify for Greater Two-Weapon Fighting at level 12. If you don't want to do this you can simply give him ITWF at level 12 instead. Other recommended equipment by this point is a Badge of Valor and any +1 armor with the Fearsome enchantment on it from Drow of the Underdark, which allows him to Intimidate with Never Outnumbered as a move action.

Level 15:
This level gets you the Clarion Commander. This otherwise unremarkable feat is notable for one simple function: Perpetual Flank. By making a DC 20 Diplomacy check, and then striking that enemy at least once in the next round, he and all his allies can treat it as flanked for 1 minute. This opens that enemy up for the bonus damage from Tactics of the Wolf, which at this point is an extra 6 damage on every attack, as well as any ally of yours that might have sneak attack. Now the fun part is that you can easily interpret the language of this feat as allowing you to treat an enemy as flanked, even if they could not normally be flanked for some reason. I personally feel that interpretation very much justifies this feat. Hearing the Air is the next stance he has picked up, since invisibility is much more common by this point, and it will help prevent ambushes. The other highlight of this level is the Avalanche of Blades maneuver, which allows you to swing at an enemy with a -4 iterative until you miss. He can potentially rack up a lot free damage with his inspiration and Tactics of the Wolf. If he doesn't already have a Vest of Legends by this point he should get one immediately. A Belt of Battle is also highly recommended.

Level 20:
He is now at the pinnacle of his ability. The War Master's Charge maneuver is obscene; stacking with every other buff he has, only gets more powerful with every ally he affects with it, and can easily rack up thousands of points of damage in a single round if used on allies that have pounce. He has a number of options for a swift action move at this point, giving him ample opportunities to utilize Time Stands Still to pile the damage onto an enemy of his choice. Stance of Alacrity is somewhat underwhelming at this level, but it's a superior choice to any other option he has. He can now open an encounter in Leading the Attack by inspiring as a swift action for 7d6 of fire damage on every attack, and then use War Master's Charge. He himself will hit for weapon damage + 68 + 7d6, and each ally he has will hit for 43 + 7d6. And this is all quantitative with every additional person on his side. Then he can switch to Tactics of the Wolf, Intimdate as a move and either cast a Bard spell, or use Diplomacy as a standard to set up for Clarion Commander, and follow-up with Swarming Assault, giving all of his allies a free shot against the now-flanked enemy. He can then full-attack anything else near him, and use White Raven Tactics to give his allies extra turns, or swift move to set up for Time Stands Still. He also presents a tremendous threat to his enemies action economy with his ability to stun without save with War Master's Charge and White Raven Hammer. And he can repeat these processes for as long as the battle lasts, thanks to the Warblade's superior recover mechanic. The Admiral's Bicorn from Stormwrack makes a fine piece of equipment at this point. Note that, according to the PHB, a single use of his Inspire Courage ability affects everyone that can hear the sound of his voice. Now note that the Bicorn amplifies your voice to a 100' radius. Now count how many soldiers you can fit in that single radius. Now imagine your army, including, infantry, cavalry, artillery, and archers, mowing down the field by slinging 7d6 of fire damage onto every attack they all make.
If that's not enough to conquer the world, I don't know what is.

Spoiler: Full build progression

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Bard 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Balance 4, Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 1, Intimidate 4, Jump 4, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 4	Dragonfire Inspiration, Two-Weapon Fighting	Bardic Music, Bardic Knack (replace Bardic Knowledge), Healing Hymn (replace fascinate), Mimicking Song (replace countersong), Inspire Courage +1
2nd	Bard 2	+1	+0	+3	+3	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 5, Diplomacy 2, Intimidate 5, Jump 5, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 5	-	-
3rd	Warblade 1	+2	+2	+3	+3	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 6, Diplomacy 3, Intimidate 6, Jump 6, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 6	Song of the White Raven	Battle Clarity (reflex saves), Weapon Aptitude, Maneuvers gained: Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Wolf Fang Strike, Stances gained: Leading the Charge
4th	Bard 3	+3	+3	+3	+3	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 7, Diplomacy 6, Intimidate 7, Jump 7, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 7	-	Song of the Heart (replace inspire competence)
5th	Bard 4	+4	+3	+4	+4	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 8, Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 8, Jump 8, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered	-	-
6th	Warblade 2	+5	+4	+4	+4	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 9, Diplomacy 7, Intimidate 9, Jump 9, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	Weapon Finesse	Uncanny Dodge, Maneuver gained: Wall of Blades
7th	Warblade 3	+6	+4	+5	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 10, Diplomacy 9, Intimidate 10, Jump 10, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Battle Ardor (critical confirmation), Maneuver gained: White Raven Tactics
8th	Warblade 4	+7	+5	+5	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 11, Diplomacy 11, Intimidate 11, Jump 11, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 8, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Swap: Wolf Fang Strike -> Iron Heard Surge, Stance gained: Tactics of the Wolf
9th	Warblade 5	+8	+5	+5	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 12, Diplomacy 12, Intimidate 12, Jump 12, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 9, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	Melodic Casting	Maneuver gained: Mind over Body, Bonus Feat: Improved Initiative
10th	Warblade 6	+9	+6	+6	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 13, Diplomacy 13, Intimidate 13, Jump 13, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 10, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Improved Uncanny Dodge, Maneuver Swap: Wall of Blades -> Death from Above
11th	Warblade 7	+10	+6	+6	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 14, Diplomacy 14, Intimidate 14, Jump 14, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 11, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Battle Cunning (damage), Maneuver gained: Pouncing Charge
12th	Warblade 8	+11	+7	+6	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 15, Diplomacy 15, Intimidate 15, Jump 15, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 12, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	Greater Two-Weapon Fighting	Maneuver Swap: Death From Above -> Bounding Assault
13th	Warblade 9	+12	+7	+7	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 16, Diplomacy 16, Intimidate 16, Jump 16, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 13, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Bonus Feat: White Raven Defense, Maneuver gained: Order Forged From Chaos
14th	Warblade 10	+13	+8	+7	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 17, Diplomacy 17, Intimidate 17, Jump 17, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 14, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Stance gained: Hearing the Air
15th	Warblade 11	+14	+8	+7	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 18, Diplomacy 18, Intimidate 18, Jump 18, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 15, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	Clarion Commander	Battle Skill (opposed checks), Maneuver gained: Avalanche of Blades
16th	Warblade 12	+15	+9	+8	+8	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 19, Diplomacy 19, Intimidate 19, Jump 19, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 16, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Maneuver swap: Bounding Assault -> Swarming Assault
17th	Warblade 13	+16	+9	+8	+8	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 20, Diplomacy 20, Intimidate 20, Jump 20, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 17, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Bonus feat: Blade Meditation (Tiger Claw), Maneuver gained: White Raven Hammer
18th	Warblade 14	+17	+10	+8	+8	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 21, Diplomacy 21, Intimidate 21, Jump 21, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 18, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	Martial Study: Quicksilver Motion	-
19th	Warblade 15	+18	+10	+9	+9	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 22, Diplomacy 22, Intimidate 22, Jump 22, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 19, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Battle Mastery (attacks of opportunity), Maneuver gained: War Master's Charge
20th	Warblade 16	+19	+11	+9	+9	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 23, Diplomacy 23, Intimidate 23, Jump 23, Perform (oratory) 3, Tumble 20, Skill Trick: Never Outnumbered, Nimble Stand	-	Maneuver swap: Avalanche of Blades -> Time Stands Still, Stance gained: Stance of Alacrity

[Gwachitallemall]

Water for everyone!

Name: Anaitis
Species: Merfolk (Mermaid)
Also known as: Tempest, That Mad Siren

Spoiler: image

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Spoiler: Stats

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Post-Racial adjustments, level 1
Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 17 (+3) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha: 12 (+1)

Level	Class	Hit points	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Spells (not including bonus spells, if any)	Ability bonus
1st	Level Adjustment (Merfolk)	+2 (Con)	+2 (Dex)	+2 (Wis)	-	-	+8 racial bonus on Swim checks to perform special action or avoid a hazard; can take 10 on it always; can use run action	-	Low-light vision	-	Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 17 (+3) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:12 (+1)
2nd	Ranger 1	1d8+3	+1	+5	+5	+2	Climb +2, Handle Animal +3, Knowledge(Nature) +2, Listen +2, Move Silently +2, Ride +3, Spot +2, Swim +3, Use Rope +2, Concentration +2, Craft(weaponsmithing) +2, Hide +2, Heal +1	Rapid Reload (Light Crossbow)	Favored enemy(Humanoid:Human) Track Wild Empathy	no new spells	-
3rd	Ranger 1/Bard 1	1d8+1d6+6	+1	+5	+7	+4	Diplomacy +2, Escape Artist +1, Move Silently +1, Perform(Sing) +3, Perform(Oratory) +1	-	Bardic Music Bardic Knowledge Countersong Fascinate Inspire Courage +1	2 0th level Bard spells per day; 4 known	-
4th	Ranger 2/Bard 1	2d8+1d6+9	+2	+6	+8	+4	Handle Animal +2, Ride +2, Use Rope +1, Craft(weaponsmithing) +1, Listen +1, Spot +1	Weapon Finesse	Combat Style: Archery	2 0th level Bard spells per day; 4 known	-
5th	Ranger 2/Bard 2	2d8+2d6+12	+3	+6	+10	+5	Perform(Oratory) +3, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of Hand +1, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +2	-	-	3 0th level Bard spells per day; 5 known 1 1st level Bard spell per day; 2 known	+1 Dex Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:12 (+1)
6th	Ranger 3/Bard 2	3d8+2d6+15	+4	+6	+10	+6	Knowledge(Nature) +2, Move Silently +2, Ride +2, Handle Animal +1, Use Rope +1	-	Endurance	3 0th level Bard spells per day; 5 known 1 1st level Bard spell per day; 2 known	-
7th	Ranger 3/Bard 3	3d8+3d6+18	+5	+7	+10	+6	Knowledge(Planes) +3, Perform(Oratory) +2, Perform(Sing) +1, Sense Motive +1, Sleight of Hand +1	Quick Draw	Inspire Competence	3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 2 1st level Bard spell per day; 3 known
8th	Ranger 4/Bard 3	4d8+3d6+21	+6/+1	+8	+11	+6	Climb +2, Handle Animal +1, Ride +2, Swim +1, Move Silently +2	-	Animal Companion: Squid	1 1st level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 2 1st level Bard spell per day; 3 known	-
9th	Ranger 4/Bard 4	4d8+4d6+24	+7/+2	+8	+12	+7	Perform(Sing) +2, Perform(Oratory) +2, Diplomacy +2, Move Silently +1, Escape Artist +1	-	-	1 1st level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 2 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known	+1 Cha Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:13 (+1)
10th	Ranger 5/Bard 4	5d8+4d6+27	+8/+3	+8	+12	+7	Climb +1, Handle Animal +2, Ride +2, Knowledge(Nature) +2, Use Rope +1	Point Blank Shot	Favored Enemy: Humanoid (aquatic)	1 1st level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 2 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known	+1 feat
11th	Ranger 5/Bard 5	5d8+5d6+30	+8/+3	+8	+12	+7	Perform(Oratory) +2, Perform(Sing) +1, Bluff +2, Diplomacy +2, Knowledge(Planes) +1	-	-	1 1st level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 1 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	-
12th	Ranger 6/Bard 5	6d8+5d6+33	+9/+4	+9	+13	+8	Climb +2, Move Silently +3, Ride +2, Spot +1	-	Improved Combat Style (archery)	2 1st level Ranger spells 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 1 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	-
13th	Ranger 6/Bard 6	6d8+6d6+36	+10/+5	+10	+14	+9	Perform(Sing) +1, Perform(Oratory) +1, Craft(weaponsmithing) +2, Swim +2, Diplomacy +2	Blind-Fight	Suggestion	2 1st level Ranger spells 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	+1 Cha Str: 12 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:14 (+2)
14th	Ranger 7/Bard 6	7d8+6d6+39	+11/+6/+1	+10	+14	+9	Knowledge(Nature) +1, Listen +1, Ride +2, Handle Animal +2, Use Rope +1, Concentration +1	-	Woodland Stride	2 1st level Ranger spells 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	-
15th	Ranger 7/Bard 7	7d8+7d6+42	+12/+7/+2	+10	+14	+9	Perform(Oratory) +1, Perform(Sing) +1, Bluff +2, Sleight of Hand +1, Knowledge(Planes) +2, Hide +1	-	-	2 1st level Ranger spells 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known	-
16th	Ranger 8/Bard 7	8d8+7d6+45	+13/+8/+3	+11	+15	+9	Ride +3, Handle Animal +3, Craft(weaponsmithing) +1, Swim +1	Combat Expertise	Swift Tracker	2 1st level Ranger spells 1 2nd level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known	-
17th	Ranger 8/Bard 8	8d8+8d6+48	+14/+9/+4	+11	+16	+10	Perform(Sing) +1, Perform(Oratory) +2, Sense Motive +2, Swim +1, Climb +1, Knowledge(Planes) +1	-	Inspire Courage +2	2 1st level Ranger spells 1 2nd level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known 1 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	+1 Str Str: 13 (+1) Con: 16 (+3) Dex: 18 (+4) Int: 14 (+2) Wis: 14 (+2) Cha:14 (+2)
18th	Ranger 9/Bard 8	9d8+8d6+51	+15/+10/+5	+11	+16	+11	Handle Animal +2, Ride +2, Use Rope +2, Climb +1, Swim +1	-	Evasion	2 1st level Ranger spells 1 2nd level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known 1 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	-
19th	Ranger 9/Bard 9	9d8+9d6+54	+15/+10/+5	+12	+16	+11	Perform(Oratory) +2, Perform(Sing) +1, Diplomacy +1, Bluff +3, Knowledge(Planes) +1	Combat Reflexes	Inspire Greatness	2 1st level Ranger spells 1 2nd level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known 2 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	-
20th	Ranger 10/Bard 9	10d8+9d6+57	+16/+11/+6/+1	+13	+17	+11	Handle Animal +3, Ride +2, Use Rope +2, Craft(weaponsmithing) +1	-	Favored Enemy: Outsider(Lawful)	2 1st level Ranger spells 2 2nd level Ranger spell 3 0th level Bard spells per day; 6 known 3 1st level Bard spell per day; 4 known 3 2nd level Bard spell per day; 4 known 2 3rd level Bard spell per day; 3 known	-

weapons:
Light Crossbow
Rapier
Trident

Spells:
Ranger 1st level favorite spells: Entangle, Speak with Animals, Summon Nature's Ally I, Magic Fang
Ranger 2nd level favorite spells:Barkskin, Cure Light Wounds, Protection from Energy, Speak with Plants, Snare
Bard spells known are in order learned.
Bard 0th level spells known: Daze, Lullaby, Flare, Ghost Sound, Message, Resistance
Bard 1st level spells known: Animate Rope, Cause Fear, Sleep, Silent Image
Bard 2nd level spells known: Enthrall, Blindness/Deafness, Cure Moderate Wounds, Heroism
Bard 3rd level spells known: Blink, Crushing Despair, Confusion

Spoiler: Level 5

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"That's the seventh ship this week...Hey, you. Adventurers. Get off your lazy butts and do something useful for this town for a change. We could really use your help. As you might notice, things are a little pricy around town. Merchant ships have been attacked over the past couple months by a rogue band of fish-folk. Food is getting scarce, and so are boats for that matter. We'll pay you handsomely if you can escort one of our ships across the Strait and back; it's only a three day round trip, and our city will be in your debt.

"Be careful, though. The band is led by an uncivilized siren who calls herself Tempest. They usually attack in stormy weather and at night. Before they get noticed, they drag as many of the crew to the depths as they can. Then, this Tempest and some of her men distract and attack from the sea while the remainder tear at the bottom of the boats.

"Please be careful. The future of our city depends on you.

Spoiler: Level 10

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"Hey! Have you heard of that crazed siren? I heard her followers took down an entire flotilla. Not a merchant ship could get by unless escorted by warships, but then they started taking down army personnel with those crossbows of theirs. Those fish-men even have sharks doing what they want! When the ships start sinking, the sharks tear all who aren't dragged down. The king of Eblium sent out an armada to attack the fish-men, but that mad siren reduced them all to rubble with the army she has following her. Rumors say she's even conquering and uniting entire undersea kingdoms.

"Survivors are being taken care of over in the temple, if you want to go talk to them. Not that you'll get much out of them. They're so traumatized that they only repeat the same phrases over and over. In fact, I'll tell you what I managed to get out of them: that she'll only stop once the 'blood of the landlocked purifies the waters'. Isn't that weird? How can blood clean the sea?

Spoiler: Sweet spot: level 13

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"What are you doing in the tavern at a time like this? Can't you see we need all the help we can get? The port is under attack! That siren, what's her name! They're attacking. Not just merfolk, but fishmen and Locathahs and all sorts of sea monsters! Hear that lightning? Are you blind? Look out the window! See those massive waves? That army brought a storm with them, and don't ask me how! You're the magic-user, here, not me! That siren's advance guard are those merfolk out there riding the crocodiles! Hurry, get up! No, you can't finish your drink! Make sure to cast a water breathing spell, or her squid will drown you!

Spoiler: Level 15

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"I suppose we're lucky that Tempest's army hasn't left the shores and they're mostly waterbound. Without the full force of her army able to go on land and attack, our citadels and cities can defend themselves well enough. I wish we could say that about our seaside cities, though. They've all been washed away. I've heard she's been looking into ways to advance on land, too. Hey, adventurer. Can I ask another favor of you? There's actually something in Eblium's capital castle that needs to be retrieved. Yes, I know that city is half-sunk and occupied. It's really important. Behind the throne room is a passageway that leads downwards to the dearly departed wizard's room. There's some important books and papers - waterproofed, fortunately - that we could use to fight back. It details some rituals we could maybe use to stop their destruction. Also in that castle are some rare artifacts that we need for the ritual. It would be terrible if any of these were found by her army - or any of the sea creatures, since they are now all under her army's command.

"Just remember: if you see a storm approaching, destroy the papers and run with the objects, as her army never leaves the storm. It's better for the knowledge to be lost than for it to land in her hands.

Spoiler: Level 20

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"Hey, adventurer. Thanks for all the help so far. One last favor. I doubt it's possible, but so long as you try, I can die happy. As you can tell, the sea level has been rising steadily. That mad siren has found a way to advance on land. Her army opens up a portal to the elemental plane of water for every temple and church they arrive in, and now they sieged and flooded even Chardon Citadel. They advance on land thanks to those who joined them, their animals, and their magic. The sea advances just as fast, too, and they won't stop until they cleanse the land with water.

"Honestly? I doubt anybody can stop them. If the gods wanted to, they would have already done it. I think, of anyone, you have the biggest chance. In three days, the army will arrive in Pelor's Great Temple and finish the ritual to flood the world. You have to stop them before then. Please.

[Gwachitallemall]

Conning the rich and stealing from the poor. A nobleman's profession.

Robert Passeris a.k.a. "Sealord" a.k.a. "Jagat's Voice"
NE Human Bard 12 / Blackguard 8

Spoiler: Backstory/Tactics

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Levels 1-5: Robert starts as a charismatic conman bard face. Most of the time, he gets away with it, but once he angers a powerful mob boss. The boss sends a summoned demonic hitman after him for "plausible deniability", but Fascinate, his high Diplomacy and a good roll let Robert talk it into leaving without a fight. When later asked how he stopped the demon, Robert claims to be "the High Priest of the Primal Sea God Jagat". Although Primal Gods don't have clerics (that's what makes them Primal), he is able to start a small cult with his claim. He finds this much safer and more profitable.

Spoiler: Level 5

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Robert is mostly a pseudo-diplomancer bard at level 5. Diplomacy is at +18 (8 ranks + 6 synergy + 4 base Cha). Bluff is at +12 (8 ranks + 4 base Cha). He also has the "peaceful contact with evil outsider" requirement finished. He's not great in melee combat yet, with a BAB of +3.

Levels 6-10: Robert continues to grow his cult, significantly helped by Glibness at level 7. His growing group of heretics draws the attention of the religious authorities, who exile him. In exile, he vows revenge on Laria, gaining personal fighting ability and uniting pirate bands under the banner of Jagat. He takes the noms de guerre "Sealord" and "Jagat's Mouth" to mark his new power.

Spoiler: Level 10

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Robert starts getting powerful around level 10. Dark blessing and smite good are keyed off Charisma, which makes him mostly SAD. He's got some nice healing and buff spells. Also, Glibness. Diplomacy is up to +23 without items (13 ranks + 6 synergy + 4 base Cha).

Levels 11-20: Robert moves on from raids and piracy to conquest and conversion. He makes new "clerics" of Jagat out of his charismatic Rogue or Bard followers with evil-limited "unholy symbols" of continuous Glibness he crafts himself. That removes any contradictions in the teachings; people are "just remembering it wrong". His social skills and Charisma also make sure he's never alone.

Spoiler: Level 15: Sweet Spot

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At Level 15, Robert has most of what he'll ever use. He has 4th level Bard Spells, most of Blackguard's combat power, most Bard buffs and skills, poison use and Craft (poison). He's got enough diplomacy (+28 without items) to make hostiles indifferent in one round on a 7. Although he is capable in solo combat, he prefers to infiltrate (with Disguise +15) and convert people to his cause with Diplomacy and Bluff. This way, he never lacks allies. He fights better as a leader who can buff his allies than a single combatant.

Spoiler: Level 20

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Since Level 15, he hasn't added any new abilities, but just perfected the ones he already had.

Spoiler: Stats

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Reason	Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
32 pt buy	14	8	13	11	13	17
4th level	14	8	13	11	13	18
8th level	14	8	13	12	13	18
12th level	14	8	13	12	14	18
16th level	14	8	13	12	14	19
20th level	14	8	13	12	14	20

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills: Added (Total)	Feats	Class Features
1st	Bard 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Bluff 4 (4), Diplomacy 4 (4), Gather Information 4 (4), Hide 4 (4), Knowledge (local) 4 (4), Knowledge (nobility) 4 (4), Perform (oratory) 4 (4)	Power Attack, Improved Sunder	Bardic Music, Bardic Knowledge, Countersong, Fascinate, Inspire Courage +1
2nd	Bard 2	+1	+0	+3	+3	Bluff 1 (5), Diplomacy 1 (5), Gather Information 1 (5), Hide 1 (5), Knowledge (local) 1 (5), Knowledge (nobility) 1 (5), Perform (oratory) 1 (5)
3rd	Bard 3	+2	+1	+3	+3	Bluff 1 (6), Craft (poison) 2 (2), Diplomacy 1 (6), Knowledge (religion) 2 (2), Perform (oratory) 1 (6)	Craft Wondrous Item	Inspire Competence
4th	Bard 4	+3	+1	+4	+4	Bluff 1 (7), Concentration 2 (2), Craft (poison) 2 (4), Diplomacy 1 (7), Perform (oratory) 1 (7)
5th	Bard 5	+3	+1	+4	+4	Bluff 1 (8), Disguise 4 (4), Diplomacy 1 (8), Perform (oratory) 1 (8)
6th	Bard 6	+4	+2	+5	+5	Bluff 1 (9), Disguise 4 (8), Diplomacy 1 (9), Perform (oratory) 1 (9)	Cleave	Suggestion
7th	Bard 7	+5	+2	+5	+5	Bluff 1 (10), Concentration 3 (5), Disguise 1 (9), Diplomacy 1 (10), Perform (oratory) 1 (10)
8th	Bard 8	+6	+2	+6	+6	Bluff 1 (11), Concentration 3 (8), Disguise 2 (11), Diplomacy 1 (11), Perform (oratory) 1 (11)		Inspire Courage +2
9th	Blackguard 1	+7	+4	+6	+6	Diplomacy 1 (12), Intimidate 3 (3)	Blindfight	Aura of Evil, Detect Good, Poison Use
10th	Blackguard 2	+8	+5	+6	+6	Diplomacy 1 (13), Intimidate 3 (6)		Dark Blessing, Smite Good 1/day
11th	Blackguard 3	+9	+5	+7	+7	Diplomacy 1 (14), Intimidate 3 (9)		Command Undead, Aura of Despair
12th	Bard 9	+9	+6	+7	+7	Bluff 4 (15), Diplomacy 1 (15), Perform (oratory) 3 (14)	Extend Spell	Inspire Greatness
13th	Bard 10	+10	+6	+8	+8	Bluff 1 (16), Diplomacy 1 (16), Disguise 4 (15), Perform (oratory) 2 (16)
14th	Blackguard 4	+11	+7	+8	+8	Craft (poison) 1 (5), Diplomacy 1 (17), Intimidate 2 (11)		Sneak Attack (1d6)
15th	Blackguard 5	+12	+7	+8	+8	Craft (poison) 1 (6), Diplomacy 1 (18), Intimidate 2 (13)	Weapon Focus (greatsword)	Fiendish Servant, Smite Good 2/day
16th	Bard 11	+13	+7	+8	+8	Bluff 3 (19), Diplomacy 1 (19), Perform (oratory) 3 (19), Disguise 1 (16)
17th	Bard 12	+14	+8	+9	+9	Bluff 1 (20), Craft (poison) 1 (7), Diplomacy 1 (20), Perform (oratory) 1 (20), Disguise 4 (20)
18th	Blackguard 6	+15	+9	+10	+10	Bluff 1 (21), Craft (poison) 1 (8), Diplomacy 1 (21)	Weapon Specialization (Greatsword)
19th	Blackguard 7	+16	+9	+10	+10	Bluff 1 (22), Craft (poison) 1 (9), Diplomacy 1 (22)		Sneak Attack (2d6)
20th	Blackguard 8	+17	+10	+10	+10	Bluff 1 (23), Craft (poison) 1 (10), Diplomacy 1 (23)

Spoiler: Spells

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Blackguard Spells per Day+Bonus Spells per Day/Bard Spells per Day+Bonus Spells per Day/Bard Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	- / 2 / 4	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
2nd	- / 3 / 5	- / 0+1 / 2	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
3rd	- / 3 / 6	- / 1+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
4th	- / 3 / 6	- / 2+1 / 3	- / 0+1 / 2	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
5th	- / 3 / 6	- / 3+1 / 4	- / 1+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
6th	- / 3 / 6	- / 3+1 / 4	- / 2+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
7th	- / 3 / 6	- / 3+1 / 4	- / 2+1 / 4	- / 0+1 / 2	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
8th	- / 3 / 6	- / 3+1 / 4	- / 3+1 / 4	- / 1+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
9th	- / 3 / 6	0+1 / 3+1 / 4	- / 3+1 / 4	- / 1+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
10th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	- / 3+1 / 4	- / 1+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
11th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	0 / 3+1 / 4	- / 1+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
12th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	0+1 / 3+1 / 4	- / 2+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
13th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	0+1 / 3+1 / 4	- / 2+1 / 4	- / 0+1 / 2	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
14th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	- / 2+1 / 4	- / 0+1 / 2	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
15th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	0 / 2+1 / 4	- / 0+1 / 2	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
16th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	0 / 2+1 / 4	- / 1+1 / 3	- /- / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
17th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	0 / 2+1 / 4	- / 2+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
18th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1 / 2+1 / 4	- / 2+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
19th	- / 3/6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1 / 2+1 / 4	0 / 2+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -
20th	- / 3 / 6	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1+1 / 3+1 / 4	1 / 2+1 / 4	1 / 2+1 / 3	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -	- / - / -

Bard Spells Known:
0th level: Ghost Sound, Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Mage Hand, Mending
1st level: Comprehend Languages, Cure Light Wounds, Expeditious Retreat, Disguise Self
2nd level: Tongues, Glitterdust, Cure Moderate Wounds, Suggestion
3rd level: Glibness, Dispel Magic, Good Hope, Major Image
4th level: Break Enchantment, Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility

Spoiler: Useful/Recommended Items

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Masterwork tools for: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate
Cloak of Charisma +x: as high as possible; helps casting (Bard), social skills (Bluff, Diplomacy), all saves (Dark Blessing), To hit & damage (Smite Good, Power Attack)
Belt of Strength +4,+6: helps To Hit and Damage
Necklace of Adaptation: water breathing, no gases.
Robe of the Archmagi (evil): armor, SR, Save bonus
Greatsword +1 Ghost Touch Unholy Humanbane, etc... as affordable after Blackguard gives proficiency
Orb of Storms: Mostly fluff, but helps with the sea cleric emulation.

[Gwachitallemall]

Is his bark worse than his bite? Nope, that's an army of midgets.

Ragna Antonia


"Can't touch this."

LE Arctic Halfling Urban Ranger 3 / Monk 6 / Urban Ranger +3 / Duelist 3 / Urban Ranger +5

Spoiler: The Story

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Spoiler: The Slave: levels 1-5

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Ragna Antonia was born a slave in the human capital. She spent her childhood exploring the city in between delivering messages for her owners and hunting vermin to supplement her family's diet. Wherever she went, delivering invitations, responses, and simple notes, people remarked on her natural grace (17 Dex), insight (16 Wis), and charm (14 Cha). It was almost idyllic, until the Florist Guild decided that her gifts meant she could be profitably trained as a hostess. They made an offer her owners couldn't refuse, and she was sealed inside the Guild walls to learn marketable skills. She didn't accept the confinement happily (+5 ranks Escape Artist, Flurry of Blows), but eventually she started to learn by sheer osmosis (+3 ranks Perform (dance) ). Through experience, she also got better at dodging their blows (Evasion, Combat Reflexes).

Spoiler: The Servant: levels 6-10

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As the years rolled by, Ragna, or "Rose" as the Florists renamed her, grew to accept the organized and disciplined life in the Guild. Although she occasionally tried to break free (+1 Escape Artist each level), she was more serene, calm, and comfortable with her life (Still Mind). She even began to interact more with the other trainees, for the first time (+2 ranks Diplomacy). This change in behavior must have been what the Florists were looking for, since soon after she was sold as a servant to a particularly lucrative buyer, the King himself! Life in the Royal Household was starkly different from the Guild compound. Whereas from the Guild one could escape and potentially find a buyer to stand up to the Guildmaster, escape from the Palace could have no such success. Out of routine, Rose continued the exercises taught by the Florists while attempting to make friends in all directions (+3 or 4 ranks Diplomacy each level). The King responded well to her overtures, but their relationship was inherently unbalanced; any favor she had could vanish at his whim. She saw an example of this firsthand after an orc raid hit one of the outlying villages. In the span of an afternoon from hearing the news, the King's orcish bodyguards were banished from the palace, city, and even kingdom, despite their protests that the raiders were from a different tribe. But when he offered her the position of commander of a new halfling Royal Guard, she couldn't resist. Rose, now Ragna again, ran through the streets in jubilation, restablishing contacts from her messenger days (+3 ranks of Gather Information). She was finally free.

Spoiler: The Guard: levels 11-15

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Establishing a guard of halflings wasn't as easy as Ragna had imagined in those heady days of newfound freedom. She found herself (+5 ranks Sense Motive) with two kinds of new recruits; broken-spirited current slaves and rebellious new arrivals from halfling lands (Favored Enemy: humanoid (halfling) +2). The only completely competent recruit she found, Ana, had been a great hunter and leader before capture; and now she meant to regain her status at Ragna's expense (Mobility, +4 ranks Hide, +4 ranks Move Silently). What Ragna still had over her was time to establish connections, so she practiced paranoia and reaction time (Improved Initiative, Canny Defense, Improved Reaction) to ensure when Ana finally led a coup, she was able to respond. After Ragna won their duel, there was no longer any dissent among the new guard. It was hers and hers alone.

Spoiler: The Master: levels 16-20

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With the Royal Guard now powerful and firmly behind her, Ragna decided it was time to test the limits of her power. The King soon died of "illness", and she knew it was time to assert herself. The Crown Prince disliked her arrogance, and tried to replace her as Guard Commander before his coronation. A few well-placed arrows (Point-Blank Shot, Improved Precise Shot), and his weak-minded brother took the throne, confined to the Palace for "protection against assassination".

Spoiler: Army Composition/Tactics

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Ragna's army is mostly composed of LN Halfling Rogue and LE Halfling Rogue 5 / Assassin X types. There are a few Barbarians and Rangers, but those are limited because of Strength concerns (her 2nd-in-command, Ana is a TN Jungle Halfling Barbarian 12 / Fighter 2 with Str 16). After level 10, she can draw upon the human Kingdom's specialists as needed. In a fight, Ragna uses her high AC (mid 50's against AoO from moving, upper 30's Touch AC at lvl 20 with items) and speed to move around the battlefield, disarming enemies and setting up flanks. She doesn't need much of a weapon since attack roll is really all that matters to her, although items are important to properly boost AC. She can choose fights wisely with her skills (Gather Information, Sense Motive), and only does so when a threat to her or her army emerges or a valuable opportunity arises. She does have a few low level spells per day, but they're not critical to her strategies.

Spoiler: Stats

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Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha	Reasons
8	15	11	13	16	14	32 point buy
6	17	11	13	16	14	Racial Adjustments
6	17	11	14	16	14	Level 4
6	18	11	14	16	14	Level 8
6	18	12	14	16	14	Level 12
6	19	12	14	16	14	Level 16
6	20	12	14	16	14	Level 20

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills	Feats	Special Abilities
1	Urban Ranger 1	+1	+3	+3	+1	Knowledge (local) 4, Sense Motive 4, Use Rope 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (geography) 4	Weapon Finesse	Favored Enemy: Humanoid (human) +2, Urban Tracking, Wild Empathy (1/2 level)
2	Urban Ranger 2	+2	+4	+4	+1	Knowledge (local) +1 (5), Sense Motive +1 (5), Use Rope +1 (5), Hide +1 (5), Move Silently +1 (5), Gather Information +1 (5), Knowledge (geography) +1 (5)		Rapidshot
3	Urban Ranger 3	+3	+4	+4	+2	Heal +3 (3), Sense Motive +1 (6), Hide +1 (6), Move Silently +1 (6), Gather Information +1 (6)	Blindfight	Endurance
4	Monk 1	+3	+6	+6	+4	Escape Artist +5 (5), Tumble +1 (1)		Flurry of Blows, Unarmed Strike (1d4), Stunning Fist
5	Monk 2	+4	+7	+7	+5	Escape Artist +1 (6), Tumble +2 (3), Perform (dance) +3 (3)		Evasion, Combat Reflexes
6	Monk 3	+5	+7	+7	+5	Escape Artist +1 (7), Tumble +3 (6), Diplomacy +2 (2)	Deflect Arrows	Still Mind, Speed (+10 ft)
7	Monk 4	+6	+8	+8	+6	Escape Artist +1 (8), Tumble +2 (8), Diplomacy +3 (5)		Ki Strike (magic), Unarmed Strike (1d6), Slow fall (20 ft)
8	Monk 5	+6	+8	+8	+6	Escape Artist +1 (9), Tumble +2 (10), Diplomacy +3 (8)		Purity of Body
9	Monk 6	+7	+9	+9	+7	Escape Artist +1 (10), Tumble +1 (11), Diplomacy +4 (12)	Dodge	Improved Disarm, Slow fall (30 ft), Speed (+20 ft)
10	Urban Ranger 4	+8	+10	+10	+7	Tumble +1 (12), Sense Motive +1 (7), Hide +1 (7), Move Silently +1 (7), Gather Information +3 (9)		Animal Companion: Eagle
11	Urban Ranger 5	+9	+10	+10	+7	Tumble +1 (13), Sense Motive +5 (12), Gather Information +1 (10)		Favored Enemy: Humanoid (halfling) +2, Humanoid (human) +4
12	Urban Ranger 6	+10	+11	+11	+8	Hide +4 (11), Move Silently +4 (11)	Mobility	Manyshot
13	Duelist 1	+11	+11	+13	+8	Escape Artist +1 (11), Bluff +5 (5)		Canny Defence
14	Duelist 2	+12	+11	+14	+8	Escape Artist + 4 (15), Tumble +2 (15)		Improved Reaction
15	Duelist 3	+13	+12	+14	+9	Escape Artist +3 (18), Tumble +3 (18)	Improved Initiative	Enhanced Mobility
16	Urban Ranger 7	+14	+12	+14	+9	Sense Motive +6 (18), Move Silently +2 (13)
17	Urban Ranger 8	+15	+13	+15	+9	Escape Artist +2 (20), Sense Motive +1 (19), Hide +3 (14)		Swift Tracker
18	Urban Ranger 9	+16	+13	+15	+10	Move Silently +4 (17), Hide +4 (18)	Point Blank Shot	Evasion
19	Urban Ranger 10	+17	+14	+16	+10	Sense Motive +3 (22), Move Silently +5 (22)		Favored Enemy: Humanoid (elf) +2, Humanoid (human) +6
20	Urban Ranger 11	+18	+14	+16	+10	Escape Artist +3 (23), Sense Motive +1 (23), Move Silently +1 (23)		Improved Precise Shot

Spoiler: Spells

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Ranger Spells per Day+Bonus

Level	0 lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	-	0+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11	-	0+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12	-	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13	-	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14	-	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15	-	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
16	-	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
17	-	1+1	0+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
18	-	1+1	0+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
19	-	1+1	1+1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
20	-	1+1	1+1	0+1	-	-	-	-	-	-

Spoiler: Useful Items and their effects

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+x Longbow: Ranged Attack
+x Humanbane Sai: Disarming Melee Attack
Bracers of Armor +x: +x AC, +x Flatfooted AC
Ring of Deflection +x: +x AC, +x Touch AC, +x Flatfooted AC
Gloves of Dexterity +2x: +x AC, +x Touch AC, +x attack rolls
Periapt of Wisdom +2x: +x AC, +x Touch AC, +x Flatfooted AC, more/better spells
Some item with resistance +x: +x to saves
Headband of Intellect +2: Gets full benefit from Duelist (+1 AC)
Brooch of Shielding: Early protection from magic missiles, since nothing else will hit her easily.
Minor Cloak of Displacement: 20% miss chance, always on
Ring of Regeneration: Healing/Regeneration, should she need it.
Vest of Escape: Escape artist +6
Monk's Belt: +1 AC, +1 size of unarmed strike, +1 stunning fist/day
Scarab of Protection: Protection from death effects, energy drain, negative energy, spell resistance 20.

Spoiler: Sources

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PHB: Monk, Ranger, Duelist, Items
Unearthed Arcana: Urban Variant (Ranger), Arctic Variant Halfling

[Gwachitallemall]

Orphans, the true scourge of D&D.

Orphanicus Undeadicus
The little undead lord of the undead baby orphan horde
Small augumented unded Bard 4/Warblade 16


Concept and design

Spoiler: Concept and design philosophy

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Fluff:

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If you know anything about D&D, you know that orphans occupy aspecial position in society, being amplifiers of alignment. Any horror visited upon the commoners is more horrible if it afflicts orphans. Any minor good deed will turn you into a paragon of virtue if it is done for the benefit of orphans. It seems like the murderhobos of the world can stay good just by doing nice things for the countless orphans they themselves create!

I wanted to put a twist on this by making my BBEG (technically a LittleBEG) an orphan. An orphan, undead warlord. Who leads other undead orphans in battle!


I'm trying to combine this with one of the most common stereotypes of modern horror: the creepy undead kid. Orphanicus can emulate many ofthe tricks of scary undead children by using stealth, invisibilityand disguises to appear where you least expect him! As a necropolitan (and a master of disguise) he can also appear almost human – even battle hardened adventurers may hesitate to strike a killing blow when their opponent looks up at them and says “Please sir, I'm just a little kid...” As a bard, Orphanicus uses song to work his magic. Obviously, this is the creepy nursery rhymes of spooky horror movie kids. "One, two, Freddy's comming for you..."


It should be said right now that Orphanicus is not intended to be an unstoppable juggernaut of death. In my mind, a good BBEG causes some serious damage to the party and then escapes or dies in a memorable fashion! A TPK doesn't leave the characters many chances to rememberthe villain, while an ALMOST fatal encounter can leave them thirsty for revenge.

Crunch:

Spoiler

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Orphanicus is a basic bard blade, built to be efficient for a small melee fighter and a commander. He could easily be made more deadly in combat by being turned into an ubercharger, or just optimizing his fighting style. He makes some use of bardic knack/jack of alltrades/knowledge devotion, which really isn't an optimal feat investment, but it does work well with his ability to infiltrate (see modus operandi, below). Also, I feel it works well for what is essentially a curious little kid (curious about all the possible ways he can make things die, that is). Esentially, I wanted him to have a distinct fighting style, and be a memorable enemy that could be ran in several ways depending on his minions and gear, but still give a clever party a fair chance to beat him.

Because of his UMD skill, he can easily be outfitted with any scroll or wand that will allow him to make a better challenge for a party. Or, if the party is on the weak side, he can rely on his natural fighting abilities.

Also, this is my first entry ever, and I'm doing it with hours to the deadline. No time for field testing! I picked maneuvers and stances that go with the concept of leading a horde, and a couple to make up for some of his weaknesses (like fort save), but they are far from optimized. If you want to use him as a solo antagonist (creepy child killer rather than creepy child warlord) it can easily be done by changing his maneuvers.

Orphanicus is best suited as a BBEG for a mid-op party. A low optimized party may have trouble dealing with hordes of buffed minions, led by a cleverly ran ToB fighter. A high-OP party is hard to challenge with a melee character, even if his mobility may help a bit. This is NOT Tippy proof (but then again, neither are the laws of physics).

Apperance and Background:

Spoiler

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Orphanicus appears to be a thin, pale boy aged around 11. He is dressed in some, oversized armor (usually leather or discarded chain) and carries some rusty daggers. He seems twitchy and nervous, unable to focus on any one thing for more than a moment. If undisturbed, he sings quietly to himself. The words are... quite distirbing.

Orphanicus family was killed by orcs (creative, isn't it). Who were also followers of Nerull. And Vecna. Oh, and undead. Possibly ninjas too, or so he will tell you. They took him prisoner because his singing amused them, and somewhere along the line, they killed him/had him bitten by a vampire/turned into a ghoul/made him eat his parents corpses. If you are unlucky enough to speak to him more than once, the story likely changes. What can be gleaned from it is that he was likely taken capture by someone powerful enough to turn him into a Necropolitan. Likely someone unplesant, as most spellcasters would balk at turning such a young child, even a gifted bard, into an undead. It is not known if the band he currently travels with has any connections to the band that killed his parents, if in fact, they were ever killed. He may have killed them himself for all you know.

Minions:

Spoiler

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Orphanicus minions are made up mostly of children (all orphans, but he will kill parents to make candidates "eligible" for recruitment. Many are undead, but those with useful skills (class levels) are sometimes kept alive. Because of his personal power and leadership skills, Orphanicus can keep quite a few of them in line. At lower levels, his minions will mostly be children and low level rogues. At higher levels, he may be accompanied by advanced undead children; while small, those who remain in his company for any time tend to become fairly powerful.

Orphanicus also tend to have some adults around to act as patsies and decoys. Mostly they are weak minded and easily manipulated, but sometimes a powerful, free willed adult will tag along with Orphanicus band for a while out of perverse curiosity.

Because he has limited spellcasting powers himself, Orphanicus relies mostly on scrolls for creating more powerful undead. Much of his time can be spent securing resources to keep his band up to strength.

Modus Operandi:

Spoiler

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Orphanicus is driven by a combination of childlike curiosity and a bucket full of crazy bloody murder, with extra sprinkles. His mind is well and truly shattered. He feels betrayed by the adult world and trusts noone over age 12, although he will make short time alliances with adults if he has to. He may create undead children in order to have some form of playmates. Or he may just enjoy forcing adults to fight this mockery of innocense. Bonkers, I tell you. Totally bonkers!

Orphanicus prefers to let an adult minion act as leader for the band. If he expects trouble, or is just bored, he will disguise himself as a harmless target such as a captured child. If the adventurers focus on the decoy leader, Orphanicus will lead a charge of undead children, using white raven charges and dragonfire inspiration to great effect. If forced into an extended fight, he uses his two weapon fighting and static bonuses to cause damage to the most vulnerable target. However, Orphanicus has no great loyalty to his band and will withdraw if things look to go against him. He prefers to fight at locations where his small size gives him many escape options. Against a prepared party, he tries to use hit and run tactics, buffing minions to let them cause damage, but then quickly withdrawing before he risks injury himself. His ideal lair is a goblin or kobold warren, with tunnels suited for small-sized fighters and no room to fly out of reach. He may be able to do some Tuckers Kobolds tricks in a lair like that.

If he lacks a band of followers (perhaps because of the PCs) he will use his disguise and bluff skills to infiltrate a family or a guild. He can appear as a cabin boy on a ship, as a servant in a guild hall, or some other position unlikely to attract attention. Because he can copy almost every skill in the game, he's quite capable of of faking it as an apprentice of some kind if need be, and his knowledge skills let him know a tiny bit about most subjects. He's just so very USEFUL, and all he wants is a place to stay... One of his favorite tricks is to kill a child in a family, replace it, and see how long it takes before he gets found out. Because of his fighting abilities, a family of commoners are unlikely to live long after he is revealed.

Build

Spoiler: Race and Stats

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Race: Necropolitan (young silverbrow human (Dragon magic 6) base creature)
Young template from pathfinder SRD (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/mon...ate-young-cr-1)

Stats

Str: 16 (-4 young) 12 (Str added every 4 levels)
Dex: 16 (+4 size) 20
Con: 8 (-4 young, set to 0 by necropolitan) 0
Int: 16 16
Wis: 10 10
Cha: 16 16

Flaws: Shaky, Inattentive (UA 91)

Spoiler: 1-20 build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Bard	+0	+0	+2	+2	Balance 4, Bluff 4, Concentration 4, Diplomacy 4, Disguise 4, Knowledge (local) 4, Move silently 4, Perform (sing) 4, UMD 4	Extra music (1st), Dragonfire inspiration (h), Able learner (flaw), Two weapon fighting (flaw)	Bardic music, bardic knack (PBH2 35), countersong, fascinate, inspire courage +1
2nd	Bard	+1	+0	+3	+3	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 5, Diplomancy 5, Disguise 5, Knowledge (local) 5, Move silently 5, Perform (sing) 5, UMD 5	n/a	New Class Abilities
3rd	Bard	+2	+1	+3	+3	Balance 5, Bluff 6, Concentration 6, Diplomancy 6, Disguise 6, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 2, Move silently 6, Perform (sing) 6, UMD 6	Song of the heart	Inspire competence
4th	Bard	+3	+1	+4	+4	Balance 5, Bluff 7, Concentration 7, Diplomancy 7, Disguise 7, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 4, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 7, UMD 7	n/a	n/a
5th	Warblade	+4	+3	+4	+4	Balance 5, Bluff 8, Concentration 8, Diplomancy 8, Disguise 8, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 5, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 8, UMD 8	n/a	Battle Clarity (reflex saves), weapon aptitude
6th	Warblade	+5	+4	+4	+4	Balance 5, Bluff 9, Concentration 9, Diplomancy 9, Disguise 9, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 6, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 9, UMD 9	Song of the white raven	Uncanny dodge
7th	Warblade	+6	+4	+5	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 10, Concentration 10, Diplomancy 10, Disguise 10, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 7, Move silently 7, Perform (sing) 10, UMD 10	n/a	Battle ardor (crit confirm)
8th	Warblade	+7	+5	+5	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 11, Concentration 11, Diplomancy 11, Disguise 11, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 7, Move silently 8, Perform (sing) 11, UMD 11	n/a	n/a
9th	Warblade	+8	+5	+5	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 12, Concentration 12, Diplomancy 12, Disguise 12, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 8, Move silently 8, Perform (sing) 12, UMD 12	Martial study (shadow jaunt)	Bonus feat (Improved initiative)
10th	Warblade	+9	+6	+6	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 13, Concentration 13, Diplomancy 13, Disguise 13, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 9, Move silently 8, Perform (sing) 13, UMD 13	n/a	Improved uncanny dodge
11th	Warblade	+10	+6	+6	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 14, Concentration 14, Diplomancy 14, Disguise 14, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 9, Move silently 9, Perform (sing) 14, UMD 14	n/a	Battle cunning (damage)
12th	Warblade	+11	+7	+6	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 15, Concentration 15, Diplomancy 15, Disguise 15, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 10, Move silently 9, Perform (sing) 15, UMD 15	Shadow blade	n/a
13th	Warblade	+12	+7	+7	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 16, Concentration 16, Diplomancy 16, Disguise 16, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 10, Move silently 10, Perform (sing) 16, UMD 16	n/a	Bonus feat (combat reflexes)
14th	Warblade	+13	+8	+7	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 17, Concentration 17, Diplomancy 17, Disguise 17, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 11, Move silently 10, Perform (sing) 17, UMD 17	n/a	n/a
15th	Warblade	+14	+8	+7	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 18, Concentration 18, Diplomancy 18, Disguise 18, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 11, Move silently 11, Perform (sing) 18, UMD 18	Knowledge devotion	Battle skill (opposed checks)
16th	Warblade	+15	+9	+8	+8	Balance 5, Bluff 19, Concentration 19, Diplomancy 19, Disguise 19, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 11, Move silently 12, Perform (sing) 19, UMD 19	n/a	n/a
17th	Warblade	+16	+9	+8	+8	Balance 5, Bluff 20, Concentration 20, Diplomancy 20, Disguise 20, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 12, Move silently 12, Perform (sing) 20, UMD 20	n/a	Bonus feat (blind fight)
18th	Warblade	+17	+10	+8	+8	Balance 5, Bluff 21, Concentration 21, Diplomancy 21, Disguise 21, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 12, Move silently 13, Perform (sing) 21, UMD 21	Jack of all trades	n/a
19th	New Class Level	+18	+10	+9	+9	Balance 5, Bluff 22, Concentration 22, Diplomancy 22, Disguise 22, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 13, Move silently 13, Perform (sing) 22, UMD 22	n/a	Battle mastery (attacks of opportunity)
20th	New Class Level	+19	+11	+9	+9	Balance 5, Bluff 23, Concentration 23, Diplomancy 23, Disguise 23, Knowledge (local) 5, Hide 14, Move silently 13, Perform (sing) 23, UMD 23	n/a	n/a

Spoiler: High points

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Lvl 5:

Spoiler

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At this point, orphanicus isn't a very powerful melee fighter. He will generally remain in his disguise as a minor enemy or a prisoner. The party may end up rescuing him, not realizing his true nature! If forced to fight, he will mostly act act as a buffer/debuffer, rather than go on the front lines.

Lvl 10:

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Lvl 10 Orphanicus has enough martial skills that he can join in with his minions. He will use white raven skills to position his minions where they can do the most damage with dragonfire inspiration, and if he has a powerful ally he will use white raven tactics to let that ally appear even more dangerous, drawing attention away from himself. He will save his shadow jaunt for emergencies, using it to escape.

Lvl 12:

Spoiler

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With shadow blade, DFI and dancing mongoose, Orphanicus is putting out ok damage himself, as well as buffing his minions. Also, at this point he should have some fairly powerful minions to command. His tactics will have to change more at these levels because he may have to customize his magic items more to face a particular enemy. Knowing that he is vulnerable to magic (who isn't...), he will try to get his minions to gang up on squishy targets.

Lvl 15-20:

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Not that much changes for Orphanicus at these levels. His style will become more centered around the minions he has than his personal actions. His white raven maneuvers can still make a big difference in a fight, especially if he can lead an all-out attack on the party. However, because of the dominance of magic at these levels, he will most likely find himself playing a supporting role again.

Bard spells:

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0 lvl: Ghost sound, mage hand, prestidigitation
1st lvl: Grease, silent image
2nd lvl: Alter self, invisibility

Maneuvers:

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1st: Leading the charge, moment of the perfect mind, hunters sense
2nd: Wall of blades, Mountain hammer, rabid wolf strike
3rd: Tactics of the wolf, white raven tactics, mind over body, wolverine stance
4th: White raven strike
5th: Dancing mongoose
6th: Order forged from chaos
7th: Swarming assault, clarion call
8th: White raven hammer, raging mongoose
9th: War masters charge

[Gwachitallemall]

Our last contestant was a little.. verbose.

Naal Longshadow
LE Human Sleeping Tiger Monk 2/Martial Focused Conjurer 1/Hit-and-Run Fighter 2/Warblade 8/Crinti Shadow Marauder 5/Crusader 2

Born of Madness

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Ability Scores

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32 Point Buy: 14 Str, 16 Dex, 15 Con, 14 Int, 8 Wis, 10 Cha

All stat increases go to Dex.

Level Progression

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Sleeping Tiger Monk 1	+0	+2	+2	+2	Concentration 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 2, Handle Animal 2	Kung Fu Genius, Darkstalker, Improved Unarmed StrikeB, Weapon FinesseB, Willing DeformityV	Flurry of Blows, AC Bonus
2nd	Hit-and-Run Fighter 1	+1	+4	+2	+2	Concentration 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 5, Handle Animal 4	Mounted CombatB	Hit-and-Run Tactics
3rd	Warblade 1	+2	+6	+2	+2	Concentration 5, Hide 4, Move Silently 6, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 6, Handle Animal 4	Stealthy	Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitutde
4th	Monk 2	+3	+7	+3	+3	Concentration 6, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 7, Handle Animal 4	Combat ReflexesB	Evasion
5th	Martial Focused Conjurer 1	+3	+7	+3	+5	Concentration 6, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Ride 8, Handle Animal 4	Martial Study (Shadow Jaunt)B, Deformity (Tall) V	Abrupt Jaunt, Ban Necromancy, Evocation, and Abjuration
6th	Crinti Shadow Marauder 1	+3	+7	+5	+5	Concentration 6, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 2, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5	Evasive Reflexes	Shadow Ride
7th	Crinti Shadow Marauder 2	+4	+7	+6	+5	Concentration 6, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 1.5	-	Sudden Strike 1d6
8th	Crinti Shadow Marauder 3	+5	+8	+6	+6	Concentration 6, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 1.5	Ride-by AttackB	-
9th	Crinti Shadow Marauder 4	+6	+8	+7	+6	Concentration 6, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 3	Sun School	Sudden Strike 2d6
10th	Crinti Shadow Marauder 5	+6	+8	+7	+6	Concentration 7, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 4.5	Chosen of EvilV	Shadow Pounce
11th	Warblade 2	+7	+9	+7	+6	Concentration 11, Hide 14, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 5.5	-	Uncanny Dodge
12th	Warblade 3	+8	+9	+8	+7	Concentration 15, Hide 15, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 6.5 13	Truename Training[td] [td]Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)
13th	Warblade 4	+9	+10	+8	+7	Concentration 16, Hide 16, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 2 Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 16	-	-
14th	Fighter 2	+10	+11	+8	+7	Concentration 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 1, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 17	Martial Study (Shadow Stride)	-
15th	Warblade 5	+11	+11	+8	+7	Concentration 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 13, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 18	Ironheart AuraB, Stormguard Warrior, Evil BrandV	-
16th	Warblade 6	+12	+12	+9	+8	Concentration 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 15, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 19	-	Improved Uncanny Dodge
17th	Warblade 7	+13	+12	+9	+8	Concentration 20, Hide 20, Move Silently 17, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 20	-	Battle Cunning (Damage)
18th	Warblade 8	+14	+13	+9	+8	Concentration 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 19, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 21	Robilar’s Gambit*	Steely Resolve 5, Furious Counterstrike
19th	Crusader 1	+15	+15	+9	+8	Concentration 22, Hide 22, Move Silently 21, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 22	-	Steely Resolve 5, Furious Counterstrike
20th	Crusader 2	+16	+16	+9	+8	Concentration 23, Hide 23, Move Silently 23, Knowledge (Religion) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) 10, Knowledge (History) 5, Knowledge (Local) 5, Ride 10, Handle Animal 5, Truespeak 23	Master’s WillV	-

B denotes a bonus feat from a class.
V denotes a bonus vile feat from being dedicated to the Leviathan.
*Skill Focus (Truespeak) is also an option here, what with how horribly the checks scale, but I think Robilar’s Gambit is the better choice. If you don’t want to equip Naal with metamagic rods for whatever reason, Sudden Widen is a decent choice as well.

Maneuvers

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Effective Character Level	Maneuvers Known	Stances Known	Maneuvers Readied
3	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade	Punishing Stance	3
5	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt	Punishing Stance	3
11	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics	Punishing Stance	3
12	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Covering Strike	Punishing Stance	3
13	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Douse the Flames, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf	4
14	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf	4
15	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf	4
16	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf	4
17	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos,	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf	4
18	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos, Clarion Call	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf	4/5 (2)
19	Warblade: Moment of the Perfect Mind, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos, Clarion Call Crusader: Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Tactical Strike, Lion’s Roar	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf, Iron Guard’s Glare	4/5 (2)
20	Warblade: Moment of the Perfect Mind, Shadow Jaunt, White Raven Tactics, Iron Heart Surge, Shadow Stride, Flanking Maneuver, Moment of Alacrity, Order Forged From Chaos, Clarion Call Crusader: Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Tactical Strike, Lion’s Roar	Punishing Stance, Tactics of the Wolf, Iron Guard’s Glare, Press the Advantage	4/5 (2)

Spells

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Naal gets 2 cantrips of any non-banned school, 3 Conjuration cantrips, 0 1st level spells of any school, and 3 1st level Conjuration spells before bonus spells for a high Int score.

Casting a Shadow

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The First Encounter (ECL 5-6)

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Four figures trudged through a dusty old library of some civilization whose name perhaps one of them could remember on a good day, in search of some musty ancient document the significance of which beyond the fact that some old museum curator would pay a large sum gold for it they could only guess at.

“I don’t like this,” the frontmost of them grumbled, eyes peering into the gloom and hand at his sword hilt. “It feels like there’s someone else here. I could’ve sworn I heard something just now.”

“Quit your bellyaching,” was the reply from the robed figure behind him, “You just don’t like being around books. Come on. If I’m reading these runes right, it looks like the section we’re looking for should be in this room.

“Alright, alright. Let’s get this over with.” The door was pushed ajar and the party walked into the shadowy chamber within, the warrior still trying to penetrate the dark shadows behind the moldy bookshelves, though he saw nothing within them until suddenly he caught a flicker of movement to his right. Turning towards it, he saw a figure in a dark cloak trying to hide in a corner behind a bookcase. Drawing his sword and shouting to his allies, he stepped toward the figure only to feel a blow to the back of his head. Wheeling round he saw another shadowy figure, at least a head taller than he, despite his stealth and more stepping out from the shadows around them to attack. The tall one who had delivered the blow, seemingly with his foot, stepped back toward the cover of a bookshelf, spinning some bizarre manner of weapon as if to dissuade advance in one hand, though clearly inexpertly, and clutching a tome in the other. Unperturbed by the weapon, and suspecting that his paycheck would suffer if the interloper were allowed to leave with the book, rushed forward preparing himself to duck a wild swing, but instead seeing his adversary sidestep behind the shelf and out of his blade’s reach. At a word from the back of the room, and a mass of seaweed ensnared the strange man’s lank form, but just as quickly the plants fell limply around thin air as their captive vanished, reappearing slightly out of the warrior’s reach and sneaking another kick under his guard, then darting away to a corner of the room, from whence he vanished again when the warrior tried to corner him with another charge. “We’ve got to find him! He took one of the books!” shouted the swordsman, but he soon realized that there were other enemies who had not fled and who would prevent pursuit.

At this level, our BBEG in training is really only designed for one thing, entering Crinti Shadow Marauder, but as a consequence, he also ends up alright at not dying and running away (especially if you run him at 6th level instead of 5th when he’ll have Evasive Reflexes to work with and Shadow Ride as an extra means of teleportation for himself and any ally he can ride as a mount). If you want to introduce him early, it should probably be a situation like the one above where he just tries to get a hit or two in at most against flatfooted PCs via stealth and perhaps Sapphire Nightmare Blade or Grease, before escaping.

Naal does his hitting with unarmed strikes, but once you have Evasive Reflexes, you should give him a reach weapon to expand his threatened area. Since he doesn’t need to be proficient, I recommend a kusuri-gama or spinning sword so he has a hand free to hold things. They also have the advantage of making him stick out to your PCs more than a polearm or a spiked chain would.

The Black Rider (ECL 10)

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The one raider in the library who they had managed to capture alive hadn’t told them much. He kept babbling some nonsense about the chaos that birthed the world, and about the shadow of that chaos (whatever that meant). But they had found currency from Dambrath on several of the corpses, and many of them were Drow or Half-Drow, so the group set out for Dambrath, suspecting that whoever the mystery man was, he could only be up to no good with the forbidden lore of dead civilizations.

Fortunately, regardless of one’s skill at stealth, it’s difficult to keep a low profile as an unnaturally tall human in a position of prestige among a country ruled by Half-Drow, especially when that position is earned through an unusual fighting style. Despite the initial reticence of the Crinti, they eventually discovered the man to be Naal Longshadow, now a member of the elite Shadow Riders of Dambrath, and also holding strong ties to the Paragnostic Assembly, for whom he would often work as a treasure hunter or hired muscle. He was on one such treasure hunt at that time, and supposedly rode only with his own men. Without the risk of facing magical backup or the potential concern of harming innocents, it seemed the perfect opportunity to stop whatever nefarious plan Longshadow was up to.

So it was that they attempted to ambush Naal Longshadow upon the road, though they could hardly be said to have been successful, at least at gaining the element of surprise and at killing Longshadow, though they did manage to bring down a number of his men.

Some scout or informant had tipped their quarry off and Longshadow had gotten to make the first move. He had not ridden a horse, but rather swung his long legs into the stirrups of a strange saddle that had been fitted to the slumped shoulders of a hulking subordinate, before the pair of them vanished and stepped out from the shadow of one of the party casters with a torrent of blows, knocking him back a pace before the steed disappeared once more, materializing before the warrior to deliver a kick to the gut and impede the path to his commander. The fight that ensued was brutal and disorientating, and in the end they were unable to prevent another escape by the shadow rider, their plan to prevent his extra-dimensional escape having failed as the wizard could not land his Dimensional Anchor upon the elusive target.

In the end, Longshadow vanished from the confrontation, clutching a gruesome, but non-fatal wound at his side and saying how they would be branded as outlaws, brigands whose lust for treasure impeded the spread of knowledge. “But no matter,” he said with a wicked grimace, “the shadow is looming over all. Even in the brightest sunlight, there is no escape.”

Shadow Pouncing is go. Crinti Shadow Marauder is the less sexy of the Shadow Pounce PrCs, which one settles for due to its easier prereqs. And yes, that is to a certain extent what’s going on here. The more relaxed requirements for Shadow Marauder make things easier on both Naal himself and on his subordinates, who will eventually be members of the PrC as well (and who should belong to the same one, rather than forcing you to abandon established fluff or write in a team up between Shadowlords and the Crinti). However, Shadow Riding does also have a slight advantage for a leader type, who can use Shadow Ride to teleport an ally (so long as they’re a suitable size for a medium rider and wear an exotic saddle). An ally’s teleportation ability won’t trigger Shadow Pounce without a relatively liberal reading of what it means to “use” the ability in question, but the language mini-Shadow Pounce from Sun School is much less restrictive, and as your lackeys will presumably be a lower level than you, that’s not a huge concern just yet. Sun School also comes in handy for its mini-bull rush effect, allowing you to push the PCs around a bit (assuming you can hit with the first two attacks in a Flurry, Naal’s BAB is still a bit low) and help set up Evasive Reflexes a bit more or just generally do a small bit of BFC. Pack some Benign Transposition and Stand spells in the slots from your wizard dip for a bit more variety and potential party support.

Tash Monk/PsyWars (say Monk 2/Psychic Warrior 4-5 or Monk 1/PsyWar 7 for one that can Dimension Slide out from under Naal, leaving him free to do his Evasive Reflexes thing without needing to first dismount or Abrupt Jaunt off himself (for instance when unable to take actions immediately after a Shadow Ride, which references Dimension Door)) with Expansion and Sun School are my choice of minions for this level, as diptastic Shadow Marauder entry bases won’t really be online yet.

Lord of War and Shadow (ECL 15)

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“I do like the Paragnostic Apostles, don’t get me wrong, but too many of them are concerned with mere trivia, where I am more concerned with grander truths. And here is one such truth. All existence is born of chaos and destruction. The foundations of our civilizations are rested upon the merest shadows of the chaos beasts out of whose essence reality is stitched. The true order is in our ability to ride through the shadows of madness. You think that laws are the purview of kings or gods? Ha! The dictates of the Crinti are just a path that the shadows of the Leviathan have fallen upon for a few short moments. Long enough for my riders to pass through, but we shall continue on to greater roads beyond. True order and true understanding can only be found in chaos, and this world now hastens toward Truth and Oblivion. You cannot bar the way. It is too late.”

This is where everything really comes together. Naal is rocking two Shadow Pounces per round, or three if he’s willing to burn an immediate action on Abrupt Jaunt, but the real kicker is that he’s getting better at bringing the rest of team Shadow Pounce along. After Shadow Stride Shadow Pouncing himself into position with his move action, he’ll use his standard action, he’ll often cast Scramble True Position out of his Wizard slots making the Truespeak check via pretty standard means (you can’t pump your Int as much as you normally could, but Chosen of Evil can help out in a pinch). Affiliation with the Paragnostic Assembly is a little shaky, but the nice thing about him being a BBEG is that the DM has a little more freedom to get him access to the bonuses to affiliation that would be harder for a player to count on (length of membership, risking life and limb to uncover knowledge by constantly getting into fights with the PCs over ancient forbidden lore about an Elder Evil, that sort of thing). He should be able to make the check to teleport himself for a Shadow Pounce, and as his minions all have lower CR than he does, a 10ft radius area of them will get teleported 10 ft in a random direction. Since they’ll all have 10ft reach from either large size or Deformity (Tall), they’ll get off a Sun School attack (though probably not a Shadow Pounce, as explained earlier) so long as they started out next to an enemy. Naal’s swift action will generally go to refreshing maneuvers (easily done with all the full attacks you’re making) though he does have other options and can vary things up if he finds himself without Shadow Stride or a swift action to recover it by initiating Order Forged From Chaos (which, sadly, doesn’t allow for move action teleportation, but is still decent). You also have Stormguard Warrior and Tactics of the Wolf to pump up your damage (especially as taking 5 ft steps with Evasive Reflexes probably counts as forgoing AoOs for the purposes of Channel the Storm). Moreover, the Combat Rhythm touch attacks work for the purposes of hitting on the first two attacks of a flurry and triggering Sun School’s Inexorable Progress of Dawn.

You’re now open to a wider variety of Shadow Marauder minions, but do try to get a level or two of Monk and Sun School on everyone for the biggest oomph out of the Scramble True Position castings.

Old Sins Cast Long Shadows (ECL 20)

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“They stalked through the undersea cave, knowing that above them the storms of ruin were tearing the world apart. It was up to them to stop the waking of the beast, and if they failed, the world would end. Yet, as they looked into the shadows of the dank cavern, they weren’t sure whether they more feared to see the serpentine monstrosity, or the humanoid ones that they knew must be there as well.”

Sadly, Order Forged From Chaos doesn’t allow for move action teleportation. I had really thought this build was sunk when I realized that (see those references to it in the fluff, yeah, realizing it didn’t work panicked me for a second), but then I noticed that Clarion Call has no such stipulation (though the swift action activation is a little inconvenient). That means that all Naal has to do is kill someone (if the PCs have minions, then one of them might make for an easy kill, but you could also simply have “sacrifices” designated as opponents tied up throughout the boss fight area so as to always be conveniently within reach and kill them with a later iterative in your full attack if necessary), and all of his own minions will get to teleport up to someone on the PCs’ side and full attack. Other options for your swift action, assuming you haven’t burned it with an Abrupt Jaunt and don’t need to refresh maneuvers, include Defensive Rebuke to help charge up the Evasive Reflexes/Stormguard Warrior combo, Covering Strike to be generally inconvenient to the PCs’ resident AoO user. Also relevant here are Robilar’s Gambit to make every attack against Naal provoke an Evasive Reflexes 5ft step, and Press the Advantage to make two 5ft steps at each such opportunity.

The army should consist of any Shadow Pounce builds capable of a move action teleport, whether that means Shadow Stride, Dimension Slide, the Blink Shirt Totem Bind, or any other similar means of pulling it off.

Suggested Gear

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The biggest item that kicks Naal into high gear is a Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis. As a BBEG, the limit on time per day doesn’t affect him as much as it would a PC, and Evasive Reflexes and Fast Mount free action movements get a whole lot nastier when you can use them to hide in plain sight.

Metamagic Rods are cool and you only need the lesser versions. As mentioned earlier, using a one handed reach weapon (which you don’t need proficiency for) allows you to keep a hand free. Repeat Scramble True Position is hilarious, and Widen is handy as well.

Make sure you have things to deal with the likes of Dimensional Anchor and Anticipate Teleportation. Some sort of spell immunity keyed to those spells or minion who can deal with them or something, and spread it around to as many of your minions as you can. This is a BBEG fight. Don’t let it get trivialized by a single spell if you can help it.

+10 Item of Truespeak, Paragnostic Assembly dues, you know the drill.

Stat boosts to Dex, Str, Con, and Int are all welcome.

Other gear beyond that should be pretty standard. Belt of Battle, masterwork tools for important skills (including exotic saddles for any minions you might want to ride), Necklace of Natural Attacks, maybe a few Wizard wands, etc.

The Chaos of Creation

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Complete Mage: Focused Specialist
Dragon Compendium: Kung Fu Genius
Drow of the Underdark: Hit-and-Run Fighter ACF
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
PHB II: Abrupt Jaunt ACF, Stand, Robilar’s Gambit
Shining South: Crinti Shadow Marauder
Spell Compendium: Benign Transposition
Tome of Battle: Warblade, Crusader, Evasive Reflexes, Ironheart Aura, Martial Study, Stormguard Warrior, Maneuvers
Tome of Magic: Scramble True Position, Truename Training, Truespeak, Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis
Everything else should be in the SRD.

[Gwachitallemall]

I miscounted. This is the last one. Rage has consumed me.

Olarys Jurgensdottir, human female Barbarian 7/Spirit Shaman 5/Disciple of Thrym 8

"But if I had to perish twice, I should say that ice is also good, and should suffice."--A human bard of Icewind Dale

Olarys was born Olarys Temeny, the daughter of a human silversmith and a human merchant. Her parents linked a loving marriage to a profitable business partnership, with her father crafting fine silver items and her mother selling them. When Olarys was three, her parents joined a group of other craftsmen and merchants journeying to a rising city-state in the far north, hoping to find even more lucrative business opportunities there. Unfortunately, it was not to be. One of the fierce blizzards that periodically scours the Frostfell arose, and between the cold and the snow blindness that caused many to lose their way, the entire caravan was wiped out.

Except for Olarys.

A tribe of frost giants came upon the ruined caravan, and were astonished to find that one of the humans--a child, no less!--had survived. Their tribe's Spiritspeaker, a spirit shaman named Jurgen, declared that the child had been blessed by Thrym, lord of winter. He raised Olarys among the tribe, and while at first some of the giants laughed at the little girl struggling with a greataxe as big as she was, the harsh environment in time honed her into a powerful warrior.

At first, Olarys focused purely on her martial strength, channeling the fury of that long-ago blizzard to fell her foes. She ran as fast as the wind, and her skin hardened as if covered by a crust of ice. But she did listen to her adoptive father's teachings of the ways of Thrym, and about how she had been blessed by the king of all frost giants. As a young woman, she underwent a meditation ritual to meet her spirit guide, a polar bear, and began to commune with the spirits of the Frostfell as Jurgen did. Already a great warrior, she became a leader as well, warding the tribe against malign spirits, guiding them across the harsh terrain, and strengthening them in battle.

When Jurgen died, he passed on his title as Spiritspeaker to his daughter, and Thrym accepted her as his true disciple. Frost giants from other tribes began to arrive, seeking to test--and if she was found worthy, to follow--this human girl whom their lord had marked as one of his own. She bested each challenger, and now leads a great alliance of tribes across the Frostfell, seeking to expand its borders until the whole world shivers in the grip of the legendary Fimbulwinter, when her lord will reign supreme.

Str: 27 (increased at 12th, 16th, 20th; Belt of Giant Strength +6)
Dex: 10
Con: 14 (increased at 4th)
Int: 8
Wis: 16 (increased at 8th, Tome of Understanding +2)
Cha: 10

HP: 227

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Barbarian	+1	+3	+0	+1	Intimidate +4, Survival +5, Climb +8, Jump +8	Cold Endurance, Frozen Berserker (both from Frostburn)	Fast Movement, Illiteracy, Rage 1/day
2nd	Barbarian	+2	+4	+0	+1	Intimidate +5, Survival +6, Climb +9, Jump +9	Feats	Uncanny Dodge
3rd	Barbarian	+3	+4	+1	+2	Intimidate +6, Survival +7, Climb +9, Jump +9	Extend Rage (Comp Warrior)	Trap Sense +1
4th	Barbarian	+4	+6	+1	+2	Intimidate +7, Survival +8, Climb +9, Jump +9	Feats	Rage 2/day
5th	Barbarian	+5	+6	+1	+2	Intimidate +8, Survival +9, Climb +10, Jump +10	Feats	Improved Uncanny Dodge
6th	Barbarian	+6/+1	+7	+2	+3	Intimidate +9, Survival +10, Climb +11, Jump +11	Weapon Focus: Greataxe	Trap Sense +2
7th	Barbarian	+7/+2	+7	+2	+3	Intimidate +10, Survival +11, Climb +12, Jump +12	Feats	DR 1/-
8th	Spirit Shaman	+7/+2	+9	+2	+6	Intimidate +10, Survival +13, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2	Feats	Spirit Guide, Wild Empathy, Spells
9th	Spirit Shaman	+8/+2	+10	+2	+7	Intimidate +10, Survival +13, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2, Concentration +6	Greater Resiliency (Comp Warrior)	Chastise Spirits, Spells
10th	Spirit Shaman	+9/+2	+10	+3	+7	Intimidate +10, Survival +13, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2, Concentration +10	Feats	Detect Spirits, Spells
11th	Spirit Shaman	+10/+2	+11	+3	+8	Intimidate +10, Survival +14, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +2, Concentration +10, Knowledge Geography +2	Feats	Blessing of the Spirits, Spells
12th	Spirit Shaman	+10/+2	+11	+3	+8	Intimidate +10, Survival +14, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +10, Knowledge Geography +4	Instantaneous Rage	Follow the Guide, Spells
13th	Disciple of Thrym (Frostburn)	+11/+2	+11	+3	+10	Intimidate +10, Survival +15, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +11, Knowledge Geography +4	Feats	Detect Fire, Protection of Winter, Spells
14th	Disciple of Thrym	+12/+2	+11	+3	+11	Intimidate +10, Survival +16, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +12, Knowledge Geography +4	Feats	Fire Resist 5, Spells
15th	Disciple of Thrym	+13/+2	+12	+4	+11	Intimidate +10, Survival +17, Climb +12, Jump +12, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +13, Knowledge Geography +4	Piercing Cold (Frostburn)	Powerful Grip, Spells
16th	Disciple of Thrym	+14/+2	+12	+4	+12	Intimidate +10, Survival +18, Climb +13, Jump +13, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +14, Knowledge Geography +4	Feats	Frost Greataxe, Spells
17th	Disciple of Thrym	+15/+2	+12	+4	+12	Intimidate +10, Survival +19, Climb +14, Jump +14, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +14, Knowledge Geography +4	Feats	Agonizing Strike 1/day, Spells
18th	Disciple of Thrym	+16/+2	+13	+5	+13	Intimidate +10, Survival +20, Climb +14, Jump +14, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +15, Knowledge Geography +4	Endurance	Fire Resist 10, Spells
19th	Disciple of Thrym	+17/+2	+13	+5	+13	Intimidate +10, Survival +21, Climb +14, Jump +14, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +16, Knowledge Geography +4	Feats	Dispel Fire, Spells
20th	Disciple of Thrym	+18/+2	+13	+5	+15	Intimidate +10, Survival +23, Climb +17, Jump +17, Knowledge Nature +4, Concentration +17, Knowledge Geography +4	Feats	Icy Greataxe

Typical Spirit Shaman Spells Retrieved
0: Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Magic, Read Magic
1: Cure Light Wounds, Ice Skate (Frostburn), Snowsight (Frostburn)
2: Numbing Sphere (Frostburn)
3: Winter's Embrace (Frostburn)

Typical Disciple of Thrym Memorizations
1: Divine Favor, Lesser Frostburn (Frostburn), Protection from Good x2, Lesser Shivering Touch (Frostburn)
2: Blood Snow (Frostburn), Bull's Strength, Chill Weapon, Zone of Glacial Cold (Frostburn)
3: Meld Into Ice (Frostburn), Shivering Touch (Frostburn), Lesser Aura of Cold (Frostburn), Sleet Storm
4: Frostburn (...Guess which book it's from?), Summon Giants (Frostburn)

[Gwachitallemall]

Alright. now that -is- everyone. 8 entries. Pretty good for a first try.

[AirApparent]

These are so cool!


My build was going to be Harmonious Knight Paladin of Slaughter 4/Warchanter 10/Warrior Skald 6. Planned to make great use of inspire recklessness and Inspire legion, Had fascinate and Otherworldly Countenance(Beauty) to give him time to diplomance enemies to his side using perform(oratory) so he can diplomacy at the same time.

The story was going to be he was in the Harmonious Knight's vaults (as a regular paladin of level 1-4), where he finds and puts on a Helmet of Opposite Alignment not realizing the danger. It went a bit unnoticed for a time since Harmonious knights can't detect evil, until a conflict broke out and he realized he could smite paladins. Not realizing his turn to evil and chaos, he believes the paladins to be the truly evil and upon escaping builds an army to crush them, including a few barbarian tribes and a werewolf pack.

I just realized that I had no idea what to do with story after those two initial things.

[Troacctid]

Interesting that one of the builds is core-only and another is SRD-only. Also, two instances of Bard 4/Warblade 16--I guess that was kind of the low-hanging fruit.

[LooseCannoneer]

I was going with Factotum 10 / Order of the Bow initiate going for arrow volley shenanigans, since those depend on INT only for the leader.

[WeaselGuy]

I see a few issues with a couple of the builds, but don't want to comment, since I have an entry as well. Suffice it to say that 1 seems to be fluff related, another is crunch, and a 3rd is lack of detail. But we shall see how the judges look on it, I'm sure they will be far more attentive than I, and probably have a better grasp of the rules. I've never judged before, I just like building

[Gwachitallemall]

Can't wait to see what the judges think of these builds. They all seem pretty interesting.

[Sam K]

I had a thought (possibly something for future contests): since the original idea for this was about a bunch of experts "pimping" the BBEG, perhaps the judges could add an element of that to the scoring process? Might make the judges work harder though, so probably not something we should add mid-scoring.

Also, I too look forward to seeing the scores! But considering that we let the evil overlord of evil overlords be a judge, he will probably wait for the last minute. It WOULD be the evil thing to do!

[Red Fel]

I can assure you, I'm not delaying simply to be Evil. Being tardy isn't Evil, it's just rude. Punctuality is a virtue anyone can respect.

Rather, since this is my first time judging one of these competitions, I'm holding off until I see how some of the other judges handle it. I tend to be hypercritical, and I don't want to discourage anyone from future competitions by exploding into a frothing fury at a competitor's woeful inadequacies. By the same token, I don't want to gush too hard over the fiendish magnificence before me. So I'm holding off until I can measure my responses against those of the other judges.

But if it makes you feel any better, know that I've already considered the submissions, and reached a few decisions of my own. I'm merely letting them... Brew, a bit. Percolate, if you will. Seethe, if you prefer.

[Vhaidara]

I'm in the same boat as Red Fel.

Wait, do we have any experienced judges?

[Gwachitallemall]

Usually, judges tend to post their own views, and not let any other judge's views influence them. They're supposed to be as impartial as possible (As evidenced by me taking the submissions and then posting them without forum names attached.)

[WeaselGuy]

I'd really like to see unfettered reviews of the builds, but I'm also biased and want to see how well I did lol

[Red Fel]

Usually, judges tend to post their own views, and not let any other judge's views influence them. They're supposed to be as impartial as possible (As evidenced by me taking the submissions and then posting them without forum names attached.)

Oh, don't worry. I had no intention of letting the other judges influence my views, or my scoring decisions. Rather, I was going to temper my tone (i.e. in my comments) to be more suitable, based on what I observed.

Although, if nobody starts soon, I may end up having to take the leap first after all.

[AvatarVecna]

Oh, don't worry. I had no intention of letting the other judges influence my views, or my scoring decisions. Rather, I was going to temper my tone (i.e. in my comments) to be more suitable, based on what I observed.

Although, if nobody starts soon, I may end up having to take the leap first after all.

I'm hoping to have my judgement and comments up within the next couple of days.

[LooseCannoneer]

I'm in the same boat as Red Fel.

Wait, do we have any experienced judges?

I'm not experienced.

[Sam K]

I can assure you, I'm not delaying simply to be Evil. Being tardy isn't Evil, it's just rude. Punctuality is a virtue anyone can respect.

Rather, since this is my first time judging one of these competitions, I'm holding off until I see how some of the other judges handle it. I tend to be hypercritical, and I don't want to discourage anyone from future competitions by exploding into a frothing fury at a competitor's woeful inadequacies. By the same token, I don't want to gush too hard over the fiendish magnificence before me. So I'm holding off until I can measure my responses against those of the other judges.

But if it makes you feel any better, know that I've already considered the submissions, and reached a few decisions of my own. I'm merely letting them... Brew, a bit. Percolate, if you will. Seethe, if you prefer.

Well, as a contestant, all I can say is please remember them theme of the contest :) We're here to make memorable villains of the "warlord" type. I wont mind a bit of criticism if I screwed up that and made a character that's not memorable, wicked or a warlord type. But I think you can go a bit easier on the nitpicking of build details, as long as it does it's job (while still measuring the power, obviously). Atleast the way I interpreted the contest, it wasn't about making the best build for a warlord (if so I'm toast) but rather finding a build that makes the best BBEG warlord in a game. But I will, ofcourse, defer to the supreme Gwachitallemall in these matters.

As for gushing, I do think I speak for everyone when I say "Gush away!" We could all do with a good gushing every now and then. Even though I'm not sure what that means.

[Gwachitallemall]

We are looking for the best BBEG Warlord, not the best Warlord period.

I don't think we have any experienced judges, or judges that have judged more than 1 or 2 competitions at most.

[WhamBamSam]

Oh, don't worry. I had no intention of letting the other judges influence my views, or my scoring decisions. Rather, I was going to temper my tone (i.e. in my comments) to be more suitable, based on what I observed.

Although, if nobody starts soon, I may end up having to take the leap first after all.

If you want to get a feel for the tone of judging posts, you might look at some judgings in old Iron Chef threads, as the judging style should be pretty similar.

Don't worry too much about tone. I think we all know that you're a generally friendly person and part of the benefit of anonymity is that we know that judgings aren't personal attacks. I've had Iron Chef builds do really well and get comments that really made me feel pleased with myself, and I've had some that were justifiably smacked down. Such is the nature of things.

[dysprosium]

I've been following this thread contest and certain things have peaked my interest. A villain competition is a novel idea and I was interested in seeing what was going to be made. (I do not have an entry in this by the way.)

I've always wanted Red Fel to give some kind of analysis or judging in one of the optimization contests before. From the posts of his that I have read, it appears that he has both system knowledge and understands what makes a good character. It makes him qualified to judge in my opinion.

If people are wanting to have an "experienced" judge, I believe that I can try to find time to give these a judging. I've judged rounds of Iron Chef, Zinc Saucier, Scrap Iron Chef, and Junkyard Wars before and have received positive reviews. I would have offered before but there seemed to be a good amount of volunteers early on in thread. I also was unsure of my available of time.