Iron Chef Optimization Challenge: E6 Appetizer Edition (Round XVII)

[Zaq]

Welcome back to the Iron Chef Optimization Challenge E6 Appetizer Edition! We took a bit of a straw poll last round between fully mundane and not fully mundane, and there seems to be a preference for not fully mundane. Just what have you indirectly asked for? Stay tuned!

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

*Note: You must provide your own cake.

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

• Cooking Time: Builds must be submitted via PM to the Chair by 4:59 PM GMT - 9 on Monday, June 03, 2019 (1:59 AM GMT on Tuesday, June 04). The reveal shall be on the first evening the Chair has free following the cooking deadline, which is hoped to be that evening or the immediately subsequent one—I'll do my best, anyway. Judging is then encouraged to go as quickly as possible; if multiple judges volunteer, we'll set about a two-week window, but if we only get one judge, we'll try to wrap up as soon as possible after that judge presents scores. (I will admit that the deadline time may not be an exact science, but don't hide from me and we'll probably be cool.)
• Kitchen: Let's break this one down a bit.
  
  
  Spoiler: Let's talk about sources

  Show

  
  

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

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

  Show

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

  Code for the table:

  Spoiler

  Show

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

  Show

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

  Allowed:
  

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

  
  
  Not allowed:
  

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

  
  Prereqs

  Allowed:
  

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

  
  
  Not Allowed:
  

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

  
  Other general things that are no longer allowed:
  

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

  
  
  Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.
• Other bits and bobs: If there's something major and relevant I haven't mentioned, assume that the way I handle it will probably be the same as the main contest unless stated otherwise or unless doing so would be an obviously absurd result. If you've got questions, I'll give you answers.

This round's secret ingredient:
the LURK, from Complete Psionic!
Allez Optimizer!

The Builds:

Name	Alignment/Race	Class Stub
Altht Bolthide	TN Whisper Gnome	Thug Fighter 2 / Lurk 4
Psirus	NE Human	Lurk 5 / Chameleon 1
Steel Raerfen	LN Amphibious Wavecrest Gnome	Soulknife 1 / True Thief Lurk 5
Stew P. Factor	LE Muckdweller	Lurk 6
Xin	NE Human	Factotum 1 / True Thief Lurk 4 / Assassin 1
Zurgi	?? Asherati	Lurk 4 / Fighter 2

Spoiler: Contest History

Show

Round 4: Knight
Round 5: Ninja
Round 6: Racial Paragon Classes
Round 7: Hexblade
Round 8: Shugenja
Round 9: Swashbuckler
Round 10: Crusader
Round 11: Soulknife
Round 12: Factotum
Round 13: Prestige Classes
Round 14: Mountebank
Round 15: Sorcerer
Round 16: Dragon Shaman

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

Show

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

[Zaq]

Here's a few gentle recommendations that are intended to improve scores and make things easier for the judges. As always, THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS POST ARE NOT RULES. Judges and contestants are free to honor them or ignore them; my intent here is only to help, and NONE of what I'm saying here is required.

Recommendations:

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

Ah, the lurk. A sneaky skillful character without skill points. I'm genuinely interested in seeing what you folks do with the skills this time around. This is, if I'm not mistaken, our first true manifester (during my tenure, at least). I sincerely recommend being extremely clear about how many PP you have at each level. Again, that ain't a "you'll get banned if you break it" rule or anything, but still, I trust that you can anticipate that judges who can clearly see what you're capable of are likely to be happier than judges who can't see that, right? Anyway, be careful with your action economy and with your staying power, and show me what hides in the shadows of your psyche!



Side note: as I stated last time (literally: this is copypasta), that opening post is getting really bulky, and I feel like it's impossible for folks to find the necessary information in it. Anyone got any easy suggestions for making it simpler to parse? I don't want to cut out anything that I don't have to, since it's actually pretty important information and it's so top-heavy because I keep needing to add stuff to it, but it's not an elegant presentation in the slightest.

[DeTess]

I've got a really silly idea.
edit: nevermind, that doesn't work :(

Side note: as I stated last time (literally: this is copypasta), that opening post is getting really bulky, and I feel like it's impossible for folks to find the necessary information in it. Anyone got any easy suggestions for making it simpler to parse? I don't want to cut out anything that I don't have to, since it's actually pretty important information and it's so top-heavy because I keep needing to add stuff to it, but it's not an elegant presentation in the slightest.

For the rules presentation, maybe split the main set of bullet-points up into 'organizational info' (cooking time, the speculation rules, the table and other presentation rules, etc.), 'building rules' (sources, point buy, e6, competition house rules) and 'judging guidelines'. I'd also consider reformatting and splitting up the bit on sources, as it also contains some other rules stuff (such as penalties for flaws, and judges not being allowed to penalize for using lots of sources.

[Luccan]

I'm willing to judge this round. I've got some ideas for a concept, but I don't think I know the Lurk well enough to cook.

[MinimanMidget]

Does posting disqualify you from entering the Lurk contest?

[Zaq]

Does posting disqualify you from entering the Lurk contest?

... you know, traditionally, it’s considered polite to send in a build before angling for HM by rendering the Chair speechless with laughter.

[MinimanMidget]

... you know, traditionally, it’s considered polite to send in a build before angling for HM by rendering the Chair speechless with laughter.

I really wanted to make the joke in a build, but I couldn't come up with a way to do it that wouldn't identify it as submitted by someone who hadn't posted.

[WhamBamSam]

I have a thought.

[Zaq]

Quick weekend bump!

[Zaq]

You folks are quiet. Are you all just method acting for this super stealthy class?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

This comp, appropriately enough, flew under my radar. I'll see if inspiration strikes me before the deadline.

[Luccan]

You folks are quiet. Are you all just method acting for this super stealthy class?

I hope we get entries. I'm actually really eager to judge for the first time.

[MinimanMidget]

I have most (...some, anyway) of a build, but it's just not coming together. Hopefully I'll have something worth submitting by the deadline.

[Quentinas]

I have a nearly finished build . By Monday i think i will send it if i don't have problems

[jdizzlean]

as i've done quite a few psionic builds for various comps lately, i'm a tad burned out on it as for coming up w/ new ideas.

I will also judge this round instead of building.

[Zaq]

I have insufficient entries. I’m also gonna be busy at our usual 72 hour extension mark, so I’m pushing the deadline out to Monday. Don’t let me down—I’m counting on you!

[DeTess]

Alright, I'll see if I can't sneak something in after all.

[Zaq]

Happy Saturday! Keep those builds coming!

[Zaq]

I'd like to post the builds tonight, but I'd also really like at least one more entry. Anyone still actively working?

[WhamBamSam]

I've been dithering and distracted, but it shouldn't take me long to crank out.

[Zaq]

Pencils down!

[Zaq]

I'm really glad this is online. I would not want to be responsible for pronouncing this one out loud.

Altht Bolthide
Whisper gnome fighter(thug variant) 2 /lurk 4

Spoiler: Story

Show

It was his first mission alone, only with his equipment and his psicrystal, in a camp of goblins , hobgoblins and maybe other creatures, his objective? Retrieve a letter containing some information. His chief had tried to reassure him about how simple was that work , but he was not so sure about that. His psicrystal was paying attention like him, and they moved near a tent behind some barrels. That was the tent with the letter , his information said that , but now the entrance was on the other side , how he could enter? Then he had an idea, and he took one bolt of his crossbow he was going to tear a piece of tent, so he could enter. His psionic power helping him at hiding , like a chameleon and his psicystal telepathically talked with him "Quiet they will kill us if they spot us "It was exaggerated probably but now he had no time to thinking about that , a goblin was going near his hiding spot. " We have to move these barrels to the chief there will be a feast for the killing of that messenger" he said at the hobgoblin with him ,in common. Their presence could be a problem and behind the barrel he quickly charged the bolt in the crossbow , he had to kill them fast before they could raise the alarm . He attacked the orc , sniping him from the barrel staying immobile after the strike, now there was the goblin to kill. The goblin was trying to move a barrel "Hey help me, they are heavy" said to the hobgoblin seeing him dead "What.. A"he was going to shout the alarm but his voice gone at that moment, and some seconds after that a bolt pierce througthhis body."That was near , but the silence is the best thing" his psicrystal was still telepathically speaking with him. He opened the tent and there was no one . That was the tent of the chief , and the letter was on the table. Altht took that letter , and then he was out from that tent with the corpse of the goblin and of the orc as the only proof of his presence at that camp. The mission was successful at the end, and the risk he had wasn't so big luckily for him.

Spoiler: Build

Show

Stats
Strenght 10(considered the -2 for race)
Dexterity 18(considered the +2 for the race and the +1 for 4th level)
Constitution 14(considered the +2 for the race
Intelligence 16
Wisdom 10
Charisma 10(considered the -2 for race)
Alignment NN

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Power points	Skill point for level
1st	Fighter (thug variant)1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Concentration2 cc Gather information 4 Sleight of hand 4 Escape Artist 2 cc Hide 2 cc Move silently 2 cc Knowledge local4 [/LIST]	Point blank shot		-	28 ((4+int)*4)
2nd	fighter (thug variant)2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Concentration2 cc Gather information 5 Sleight of hand 5 Escape Artist 2 cc Hide 2 cc Move silently 2 cc Knowledge local5 Bluff 4	precise shot (b)	bonus feat	-	7
3rd	Lurk 1	+2	+3	+2	+2	Concentration4 Gather information5cc Sleight of hand 5 Escape Artist 3 Hide 4 Move silently 4 Knowledge local5cc Bluff 4	Lurk augment , ranged	Lurk augments	2(1 from class 1 bonus for int 16-17)	7
4th	Lurk 2	+3	+3	+3	+3	Concentration6 Gather information 5cc Sleight of hand 5 Escape Artist 5 Hide 5 Move silently 6 Knowledge local5cc Bluff 4		Psionically focused sneak attack	5(2 from class 3 bonus for int 16-17)	7
5th	Lurk 3	+4	+4	+3	+3	Concentration8 Gather information 5cc Sleight of hand 5 Escape Artist 7 Hide 7 Move silently 7 Knowledge local5cc Bluff 4			7 (3 from class 4 bonus for int 16-17)	7
6th	lurk 4	+5	+4	+4	+4	Concentration9 Gather information 5cc Sleight of hand 5 Escape Artist 9 Hide 9 Move silently 9 Knowledge local5cc Bluff 4	rapid reload		11(5 from class 6 bonus for int 16-17)	7

cc=cross classed for that level

Spoiler: Powers Known

Show

Lurk level	Power learned
1°	Chameleon
2°	Sensory Gloom
3°	Compression
4°	Levitate ,Psionics

Spoiler: Epic Feats

Show

1°Darkstalker
2°Weapon focus (light crossbow)
3°Dead eye
4°Crossbow sniper
5°Able Sniper
6°Craven
7°psicrystal affinity(coward)
8° improved psicrystal(sneaky)
9°psionic talent
10°stealthy

Spoiler: Build breakdown

Show

Spoiler: Level 1 and 2

Show

At these level Altht can't do so much in combat, he will use some thrown weapons because his racial bonus with them. He can tank because his high AC (he will use the best armor he can use , considering his high dex a perfect chain skirt should be okay ) with a buckler. Out of combat he can gather information and infiltrate, or bluff someone, but the best ability will be hide At htese level his silence ability can be used to move silently even if he has a not so high modifier(it will be around 6) at the later level it can be used to move silently with all the team (if there is someone who can't move silently so well)

Spoiler: Level 3-6

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Now he has the sneak attack and the lurk augments, so he will do more damage than before, thanks to lurk augment ranged he can still use his crossbow , and with the ability boost of the 4th level now he can hide and move silently better. He will not use his psionic focus for his power or for something else, at the morning he will psionic focus (even if he has a not so high concentration check he can try again until he do more than 19)
Out of combat now he can infiltrate very well his hide check is high and his dexterity helps him. To boost himself he can use chameleon to hide better , or use his race spell like abilities to distract an enemy. Now he should be able to snipe if he has items that boost hide or if he use chameleon. His attack should be high enough, and his power points reserve is used for the powers, or more probably to boost an augment sometimes. Rapid recharge helps his action economy because now he will recharge at each turn using a free action giving him enough time to move if necessary. He can use compression to have another boost to hide if needed , or to only boost his dexterity (so he can boost his damage and his attack roll)

Spoiler: Epic

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The first epic feat help him at hiding from creature with other means to view than the normal vision, while the next four feats boost his damage. He will add 3/2 times his dexterity as damage (1/2 as damage while 1 as precision damage) and craven add his level to the sneak attacks . Alth will sneak attack every time, if he can hide now if not he will use sensory gloom ,to hampen the vision of the enemy and to try to hide. The psicrystal boost his stats(and they can telepathically speak with improved psicrystal), while psionic talent help his low power points reserve (now if he doesn't use power his additional sneak attack will be boosted by 2 power point except for one). Stealthy will give him another boost, so he will be able to hide even better. Against non flying enemies levitate psionic can be used to evade every melee attack

Spoiler: Number on this build

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Hide check=9(ranks)+4 (small size)+4(dexterity)+2(stealthy)+3(psicrystal)+4 (racial)=26 If sniping 30(thanks to able sniper) 40 if chameleon active
Move silently =9(ranks)+4(racial)+4(dexterity)+2 (stealthy)+3(psicrystal)=22
Hp 10+1d10+4d6+12=41(average)
AC=10+1(small size)+4(chain skirt)+1(buckler)+4 (dexterity)=20
Damage 1d6 (light crossbow )+1d6(psionically focused sneak attack)+6(craven)+4(dexterity from dead eye)+2(dexterity from crossbow sniper)+1d6(additional sneak attack)+1 (point blank shot)=22
Attack roll (if enemy is flat-footed)
5(bab)+1(point blank shot)+1(weapon focus)+4(dexterity)+2(able sniper)=13

Spoiler: Source

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From
Player's Handbook
Figther class, Weapon Focus, Stealthy, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload
Complete Psionic
Lurk class, lurk augment ranged ,sensory gloom
Champions of Ruins
Craven
Races of the Wild
Able Sniper
Player's Handbook II
Crossbow Sniper
Dragon Compendium
Dead Eye
Lords of Madness
Darkstalker
Expanded Psionics Handbook
Psicrystal affinity, improved psicrystal, psionic talent, far hand, levitate psionic, chameleon
Races of Stone
Whisper Gnome
Unearthed Arcana
Thug Variant

[Zaq]

If his weapon of choice were inspired by Super Mario Bros. 2, would that make him a Parsnip Psniper?

Psirus the Psycarnum Psniper
NE Human Lurk 5/Chameleon 1

Psoul Training

Spoiler

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Ability Scores
12 Str, 16 Dex, 12 Con, 15 Int, 14 Wis, 8 Cha
Increase Int at 4th level

Build Table

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Lurk 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Disguise 4, Bluff 4, Spellcraft 2, Sense Motive 2, Concentration 4, Hide 4, Move Silently 4	Able Learner, Darkstalker	Lurk Augment
2nd	Lurk 2	+1	+0	+3	+3	[b]Disguise 5, Bluff 5, Spellcraft 2, Sense Motive 2, Concentration 5, Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Tumble 1	-	Psionic Sneak Attack +1d6
3rd	Lurk 3	+2	+1	+3	+3	Disguise 6, Bluff 6, Spellcraft 2, Sense Motive 3, Concentration 6, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Tumble 1	Ranged Lurk Augment	-
4th	Lurk 4	+3	+1	+4	+4	Disguise 7, Bluff 7, Spellcraft 3, Sense Motive 3, Concentration 7, Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Tumble 2	-	-
5th	Lurk 5	+3	+1	+4	+4	Disguise 8, Bluff 8, Spellcraft 4, Sense Motive 4, Concentration 8, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Tumble 2	-	-
6th	Chameleon 1	+3	+1	+4	+4	Disguise 8, Bluff 8, Spellcraft 4, Sense Motive 5, Concentration 9, Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Tumble 7	Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Kaorti Resin Longbow)	Aptitude Focus 1/day (+2)

Epic Feats
1. Craven
2. Shape Soulmeld (Sighting Gloves)
3. Open Least Chakra (Hands)
4. Azure Talent
5. Psicrystal Affinity (Coward)
6. Psicrystal Containment
7. Psycarnum Infusion
8. Improved Essentia Capacity
9. Psionic Meditation
10. Extra Lurk Augment

Manifesting

Level	PP	New Powers Known
1	1	Chameleon
2	2	Compression
3	3	Deaden Blow
4	5	Cloud Mind
5	7	Detect Hostile Intent

*Does not include bonus PP for a high Int score.

Chameleon Spellcasting

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd
6	4	2	0

*Does not include bonus spells for a high ability score (Wis in the case of divine spells, Int for arcane).

Knock You Pstupid

Spoiler

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Psirus touched the tip of his arrow and a translucent substance oozed out from his finger, coating the head. “Taking this one alive, eh?” asked a voice in his head as a priest walked out from the temple gates, and a red dot that only Psirus could see appeared just beside the holy symbol hanging from the man’s neck.
“Target locked,” the voice chirped again, emanating from a strange crystal inside his cloak. “Initiating soul infusion.”
Got that soul, Psirus thought with a smirk as he felt extra power flowing into his mind. He focused it and the red dot shifted to a bright blue.
“Cognititve inhibitor engaged,” said the voice, and Psirus silently gave a small nod in affirmation.
The wood of Psirus’ bow bent back as he drew its string. The otherworldly resin with which it was treated gave it an unnatural feel of catching upon his fingers, but he released it smoothly with practiced ease and held steady as the weapon snapped back with a strange additional viciousness. The arrow flew true, striking the mark on the priest’s chest with an impact that snapped his head back, though the arrow did not penetrate so much as his vestments. The priest slumped to the ground and Psirus quickly stepped forward to where he had fallen.
“Target neutralized,” the crystal offered. The priest was breathing, and indeed had no serious physical injuries at all, but it would be difficult to argue with the assessment. His eyes had rolled back in his head and his mouth was slack and drooling.
Psirus opened a bag at his belt revealing an interior larger than its exterior would suggest, the crystal scuttling out from his cloak on strange, spindly legs to open a bottle of air sitting within, but just as the archer moved to lift the limp body, he felt a sudden ping in the back of his mind.
Whirling around, he saw a guard rushing around the corner with sword drawn. “Enemy Detected!” The crystal’s voice sounded concerned for the first time. Psirus’ eyes flashed bright blue, and though the guard continued rushing forward, he ran right past his adversary to look down at the priest’s comatose form.
Taking a breath to recompose himself, Psirus turned toward the distracted guard, a red dot appearing on his neck.

Spoiler

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Chameleon divine casting gives Psirus access to every divine spell list, particularly that of the Ranger, and particularly Hunter’s Mercy, which will allow him to automatically crit with a bow. With the Mental Assault Lurk Augment and the ability to use it with bow attacks with Ranged Lurk Augment, Psirus can deliver flat Int or Wis damage which is multiplied on these crits. Fully augmented and with the x4 multiplication from his Kaorti Resin Longbow, he deals 16, which is enough to knock most creatures comatose in one shot. Binding the Sighting Gloves to his hand chakra with feats essentially gives him Precise Shot to help land the big shot, should he have to pull it off in the midst of combat, though he’ll often be able to rely on his excellent stealth, bolstered by his Lurk powers, to get a clean kill.

All that remains, then, is to ensure that he actually has enough PP to function and to that end, we’re going to sample some Psycarnum cheese as we continue on into his Epic feats. Using Psycarnum Infusion to treat Azure Talent as fully invested without actually investing essentia (both actual points will go to the Sighting Gloves) to circumvent its 1/day limitation is known cheese at this point, but on the other hand, it isn’t my fault that they didn’t give Lurks enough PP to last through an adventuring day without it. In order to maintain psionic focus for Lurk augments when we have to expend it for Psycarnum Infusion, we pick up Psicrystal Containment for a second psionic focus and Psionic Meditation to regain focus as a move action should both be expended in the same combat.

Psneaking Up

Spoiler

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Complete Psionic: Deaden Blow, Extra Lurk Augment, Lurk, Ranged Lurk Augment
Champions of Ruin: Craven
Kaorti Ubercyst Web Article: Kaorti Resin
Lords of Madness: Darkstalker
Magic of Incarnum: Azure Talent, Azurin, Improved Essentia Capacity, Open Least Chakra, Psycarnum Infusion, Shape Soulmeld, Sighting Gloves
Races of Destiny: Able Learner, Chameleon
Everything else should be in the SRD.

[Zaq]

Anyone else hear cellos?

NEED TO RECALC STATS BASED ON AMPHIBIOUS TEMPLATE.

Spoiler: Steel Raerfen.

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In a cabin in the dunes, there lived a gnome.

A lot of gnomes lived in Thesk. Some of them live along the Sea of Fallen Stars. And a few of those have "congress with the sea" they love so much.

Steel Raerfen is an orphan gnome, descended from such "congress." He manifested the signs early: excellent swimmer, ability to breath in water, a touch of "otherness" in his innate abilities. And when Steel hit puberty, his overt psionic abilities appeared. As an orphan and Other, Steel could easily have been an outcast and criminal; he'd certainly developed criminal tendencies. But gnomish communal sentiment and the charity of the Gaerdal Ironhand's priests assured he did not. They welcomed Steel's inborn talent for combat; the orphan gnome welcomed an acknowledged place in the community. He took well to combat training and further developed his psionic potential for sneakery and cunning.

Steel now serves as a scout and troubleshooter for Gaerdal Ironhand's church in Thesk. With the diverse community, constant sea and caravan trade, and criminal activity, there's plenty to keep Steel occupied.

Steel standads 3' 1" and weighs 40#. He has a deep tan from his time at sea, with light brown hair and sea-green eyes. He's of average appearance and subdued for a gnone, but carries a very ungnomish demeanor. Gardeal Ironhand's followers are not known for their levity, and Steel secretly fears his tainted anscestry may harbor something unwholesome.

Spoiler: Class Progression (NOTE: No ability score modifiers are included.)

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Power Points	Powers Known
1st	Lurk 1	+0	+0	+4	+4	(Skill ranks, 28/1st level lurk) Autohypnosis/1, Bluff/1, Climb/1, Concentration/4, Disguise/3, Escape Artist/2, Hide/3, Listen/2, Move Silently/2, Profession (sailor)/1, Search (cc)/1, Spot/2, Swim/1, Tumble/3	Magic in the Blood (1st)	Lurk augment: True Thief ACF	1	1st - offensive prescience
2nd	Soulknife 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	(Skill ranks, 7/1st level soulknife) Autohypnosis/2, Bluff/1, Climb/1, Concentration/5, Disguise/3, Escape Artist/2, Hide/3, Listen/4, Move Silently/3, Profession (sailor)/1, Search (cc)/1, Spot/3, Swim/1, Tumble/4	Weapon Focus (mind blade, B), Hidden Talent (biofeedback, B)	Mind blade, bonus feats, Hidden Talent ACF	3	1st - offensive prescience; biofeedback
3rd	Lurk 2	+1	+0	+5	+5	(Skill ranks, 7/1st level lurk) Autohypnosis/2, Bluff/2, Climb/1, Concentration/6, Disguise/3, Escape Artist/2, Hide/3, Listen/5, Move Silently/4, Profession (sailor)/1, Search (cc)/1, Spot/4, Swim/1, Tumble/4 Skill Trick: Listen to This	Mind Drain	Psionic sneak attack +1d6(3rd)	4	1st - biofeedback; offensive prescience, skate
4th	Lurk 3	+2	+1	+5	+5	(Skill ranks, 7/1st level lurk) Autohypnosis/2, Bluff/3, Climb/1, Concentration/7, Disguise/3, Escape Artist/3, Hide/3, Listen/5, Move Silently/5, Profession (sailor)/1, Search (cc)/1, Spot/6, Swim/1, Tumble/5 Skill Trick: Listen to This	-	-	5	1st - biofeedback; offensive prescience, skate, distract
5th	Lurk 4	+3	+1	+6	+6	(Skill ranks, 7/1st level lurk) Autohypnosis/2, Bluff/4, Climb/1, Concentration/8, Disguise/3, Escape Artist/3, Hide/3, Listen/6, Move Silently/6, Profession (sailor)/1, Search (cc)/1, Spot/7, Swim/1, Tumble/7	-	-	7	1st - biofeedback; offensive prescience, skate, distract 2nd - detect hostile intent
6th	Lurk 5	+3	+3	+6	+6	(Skill ranks, 7/1st level lurk) Autohypnosis/2, Bluff/7, Climb/1, Concentration/9, Disguise/3, Escape Artist/3, Hide/3, Listen/7, Move Silently/6, Profession (sailor)/1, Search (cc)/1, Spot/7, Swim/1, Tumble/7 Skil Trick: Point it Out	Great Fortitude (6th) (included in Fort save)	-	9	1st - biofeedback; offensive prescience, skate, distract 2nd - detect hostile intent, animal affinity

Spoiler: Character Stats

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Male Wavecrest Gnome Soulknife 1/Lurk 5
LN Small humanoid (gnome, aquatic, psionic)
S-10 (-2 at 1st level)
D-12 (-2 at 1st level)
C-14 (+2 at 1st level, +1 at 4th level)
I-16
W-14
Ch-11

HP: 38 (6 + 14 (3.5*4 (lurk)) +6 (soulknife) +12 (Con))
AC: 16, flat-footed 15, touch 13 (+1 size, +1 Dex, + 4 armor (chain shirt))
Init: +1 (+1 Dex)
Damage: 1d4 (soulblade), +5d6 sneak attack (+1d6 psionic sneak attack, +4d6 sneak attack (lurk augment +1d6 and +3d6 for 6 power points spent))

BAB: +4 (3 (lurk) +1 (small))
+4 soulknife (+1 Weapon Focus)
Fort: +5 (1 (base) + 2 (Con) +2 (Great Fortitude))
Reflex: +7 (6 (base) + 1 (Dex))
Will: +8 (6 (base) + 2 (Wis))

Skills: (Skill points, ability bonuses, feat bonuses, and racial bonuses)
Autohypnosis/4, Bluff/7, Climb/1, Concentration/11, Disguise/3, Escape Artist/4, Hide/8, Listen/11, Move Silently/7, Profession (sailor)/4, Search (cc)/4, Spot/9, Swim/1/9, Tumble/8

Skill Tricks: Listen to This, Point it Out.

Spoiler: Feats

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Magic In The Blood (1st) - Player's Guide to Faerûn
Weapon Focus (mind blade, B) - Player's Handbook
Hidden Talent (Cha 11) (B) - XPH
Mind Drain (3rd) (power point reserve, sneak attack +2d6) - Complete Scoundrel
Great Fortitude (6th) - Player's Handbook.
Epic
Extra Lurk Augment - Complete Psionic
Speed of Thought - Expanded Psionic Handbook
Expeditious Dodge - RotW
Martial Study (Shadow Blade Technique) - Tome of Battle
Deafening Strike - Complete Scoundrel
Deceptive Illumination - Drow of the Underdark
Martial Stance (Island of Blades) - Tome of Battle
Ghost Attack - Expanded Psionic Handbook
Up the Walls - Expanded Psionic Handbook
Fascinating Illumination - Drow of the Underdark

Languages: Common, Gnome. Draconic, Elven, Giant.

Special Qualities: lurk and soulknife class abilities, lurk augment (12/day), breath in air or water, swim speed 1/2 land speed, martial strike, martial stance.

Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day - speak with animals (sea birds only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 6/day - dancing lights, know direction, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + wavecrest gnome's Cha modifier + spell level; hypnotic pattern or silent image, instead of dancing lights, Caster level 6, save DC 10 + wavecrest gnome's Cha modifier + spell level.

Psionics:
Manifester Level 5
Save DC 13 + power level
Power points 12 (7 +3 (Int bonus) +2 (Hidden Talent)
Powers:
1st - biofeedback; offensive prescience, skate, distract
2nd - detect hostile intent, animal affinity

Spoiler: Tactics

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Psionic focus is your lifeblood. Focus early; if you expend your focus, focus again as soon as possible. Your powers are mostly long duration; use them when that timing is to your benefit.

First Level: You are a thief with some psionic backup. Use your focus and skills to maximize your sneak attack potential. Use your psionic power and spell-like abilities to cover your approach or to help you escape.

Second Level: You now have an undetectable weapon that you can use at any time and additional psionic power to bolster your defense. You are still a one-shot wonder, so do not try to stand and fight.

Third Level: More power points allows more sneak attack dice and other lurk augmentation improvements. Your skate power improves your mobility for attack and retreat. Skill increases and your Listen to This skill trick increase your scout utility. Mind Drain gives you a psionic-specific counter against other manifesters.

Fourth Level: Same as level three, with distract as a short range bonus to improve sneak attacks, scouting, and escape.

Fifth Level: Same as level four, with detect hostile intent improving your scouting and allowing you to serve as a guardian.

Sixth Level: Great Fortitude provides some relief for your durability. Increased power points and animal afinity allow you tailor your ability scores and actions to the situation. The Point It Out skill trick lets you share your scouting finds with your party members.

Epic Levels: Your epic feats increase your movement benefits, counter specific enemies, and take advantage of your psionic focus. Extra Lurk Augment allows more flexibility in using your strongest class feature. Speed of Thought benefits from psionic focus and combines with Expeditious Dodge to increase your AC and battlefield mobility, as does Up the Walls alter. Martial Study and Stance boost your damage output without impacting psionic focus. Deafening Strike gives you a counter for arcane and divine spellcasters. Ghost Attack deals with incoporeal enemies. Deceptive and Fascinating Illumination allow you to use your spell-like abilities as battlefield control or to assist your scouting attempts.

Spoiler: Wavecrest Gnome Racial Traits

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+2 Constitution, -2 Strength: Like dwarves, gnomes are tough, but they are small and therefore not as strong as larger humanoids.
Small: As a Small creature, a gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than humans use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
Gnome base land speed is 20 feet.
Low-Light Vision: A gnome can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. He retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
Weapon Familiarity: Gnomes may treat gnome hooked hammers as martial weapons rather than exotic weapons.
+2 racial bonus on saving throws against illusions: Gnomes are innately familiar with illusions of all kinds.
Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against illusion spells cast by gnomes. Their innate familiarity with these effects make their illusions more difficult to see through. This adjustment stacks with those from similar effects, such as the Spell Focus feat.
+1 racial bonus on attack rolls against locathah and sahuagin. Wavecrest gnomes have had to fight off raiding parties of these creatures for generations, and have developed skills against such creatures. This bonus replaces the gnomes' normal racial attack bonus against kobolds and goblinoids.
+4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants): This bonus represents special training that gnomes undergo, during which they learn tricks that previous generations developed in their battles with giants. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it's caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.
+2 racial bonus on Listen checks: Gnomes have keen ears.
+2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks: A gnome's sensitive nose allows him to monitor alchemical processes by smell.
Automatic Languages: Common and Gnome. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Goblin, and Orc. Gnomes deal more with elves and dwarves than elves and dwarves deal with one another, and they learn the languages of their enemies (kobolds, giants, goblins, and orcs) as well. In addition, a gnome can speak with a burrowing mammal (a badger, fox, rabbit, or the like, see below). This ability is innate to gnomes. See the speak with animals spell description.
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day - speak with animals (sea birds only, duration 1 minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day - dancing lights, know direction, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + wavecrest gnome's Cha modifier + spell level. These replace the normal spell-like abilities of gnomes.

Spoiler: Amphibious Template

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“Amphibious” is an inherited template that can be added to any humanoid or monstrous humanoid (referred to hereafter as the base creature).
An amphibious creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and abilities except as noted here.
Size and Type: The creature gains the aquatic subtype, but its creature type and other subtypes are unchanged. Size is unchanged.
Speed: An amphibious creature gains a swim speed equal to half the normal land speed of the base creature (not including any adjustments for feats, class features, or other effects).
Special Qualities: An amphibious creature retains all the special qualities of the base creature and also gains the following special quality.
Amphibious: An amphibious creature can breathe air and water equally well.
Abilities: Adjust from the base creature as follows: Dex –2. Amphibious creatures are less agile and flexible than their surface kin.
Skills: An amphibious creature has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can move through water at its swim speed without making Swim checks. The creature can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. The creature can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.
Environment: Any (usually aquatic).
Level Adjustment: +0

Spoiler: Alternate Class Features and Martial Abilities

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HIDDEN TALENT ACF
Your psionic talent is strong enough to manifest a single power.
Level: 1st.
Replaces: Wild Talent class ability.
Benefit: You gain the Hidden Talent feat instead of the Wild Talent feat at 1st level. You gain 2 psionic power points, can now learn any psionic feat for which you meet the prerequisites, can expend your psionic focus, and can gain a single 1st-level power from any list.
Special: Normally the Hidden Talent feat can be taken only once at 1st level, but a soulknife with this class ability can take this feat multiple times, each time gaining an additional 2 psionic power points and another 1st-level power.

TRUE THIEF ACF
You are more thief than warrior and, as such, have a different set of lurk augments available to you.
Replaces: Use the table below to replace the standard lurk augments list.
Benefits: Use the following table of lurk augments:
Minimum
Level Ability
1st Additional sneak attack*
1st Psionic trapfinding
3rd Stunning attack*
3rd Psionic uncanny dodge
5th Ignore concealment*
5th Psionic trapsense +1
* As per the normal lurk augments.
Additional Sneak Attack: The lurk's next attack deals an extra 1d6 points of damage from a sneak attack. For every 2 power points spent, this damage increases by 1d6 points. The attack must be one to which sneak attack damage applies. Minimum level 1st.
Psionic Trapfinding: As long as you have your psionic focus, you gain the rogue ability of trapfinding. Minimum level 1st.
Stunning Attack: A creature hit by the lurk's attack must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + lurk's Int modifier) or be stunned for 1 round in addition to taking the damage from the attack. For every 2 power points spent, the DC increases by 1. Minimum level 3rd.
Psionic Uncanny Dodge: As long as you have your psionic focus, you gain the rogue ability of uncanny dodge. Minimum level 3rd.
Ignore Concealment: The lurk's next attack ignores the miss chance provided by concealment or total concealment. The lurk must still attack the correct square when attacking an invisible creature. Minimum level 5th.
Psionic Trapsense: As long as you have your psionic focus, you gain the rogue ability of trapsense with the bonus listed. Minimum level 5th.

SHADOW BLADE TECHNIQUE
Shadow Hand (Strike)
Level: Swordsage 1
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Melee attack
Target: One creature
This maneuver allows you to create a mystical double of your weapon. As you attack, your foe must decide which weapon to defend against. In most cases, the illusory weapon distracts your foe and allows your true attack to hit. In some cases, both attacks strike home. In this case, the shadow blade discharges its magic and imbues your attack with cold energy.
As part of this maneuver, you make a single melee attack against an opponent. Unlike on a normal attack, you roll 2d20 and select which of the two die results to use. If you use the higher die result, resolve your attack as normal. (Your mystic double misses, but your true attack might hit.) If you use the lower die result, or if both die results are the same, your attack deals an extra 1d6 points of cold damage as both the mystic double’s attack and your true weapon strike home.

ISLAND OF BLADES
Shadow Hand (Stance)
Level: Swordsage 1
Initiation Action: 1 swift action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
Your turn your enemies’ strengths against them, improving your combat ability as well as that of an ally. When you and a comrade move to attack an opponent, you time your attacks and position yourself to frustrate your opponent’s defenses.
If both you and an ally are adjacent to the same creature, the two of you gain the benefit for flanking that opponent. You can gain this benefit against multiple opponents at the same time, as can your allies. If both you and an ally are adjacent to the same two creatures, the two of you gain the benefit of flanking against both creatures.

[Zaq]

This isn't 4e, but all I can think of is "barfcheese build!"

Stew P. Factor

LE Muckdweller (Serpent Kingdoms page 71) Lurk 6
Monstrous Humanoid

Spoiler: Muckdweller

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"Muckdwellers flee unless cornered or certain of an easy kill. Packs of the creatures lurk below the waterline, waiting in ambush for potential prey. Before closing with a foe, muckdwellers employ their spit attacks to blind their opponents.

Squirt (Ex): A muckdweller can squirt a jet of water into the eyes of a target up to 25 feet away. Anyone hit by this attack must make a DC 13 Reflex save or be blinded for 1 round. The save DC is Dexterity-based.

Skills: A muckdweller has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. A muckdweller uses its Dexterity bonus instead of its Strength bonus for Swim checks.

Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft.
Tiny Size
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), swim 20 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (+2 size, +3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 15
Full Attack: Bite +5 melee (1d3–3)
Weapon finesse (b)
Abilities: Str 4, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8:
Ability modifiers: -6 str, +6 Dex, -2 wis, -2 cha

Ability Scores:
Str 4
Dex 20
Con 14
Int 18
Wis 10
Cha 6

AC: 10+5(dex)+3 (natural armor) +2 (size)= 20

Level	Class	B.A.B.	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Power Points
1st	Lurk	+0	+0	+2	+2	32: speak language (common) 1, concentrate 4, Use psionic device 4, Sleight of hand 4, craft (carpentry) 3, escape artist 4, spot 4, swim 4, psicraft 2, knowledge (psionics) 2	Deadly Spittle (Serpent Kingdoms p. 145)	Lurk Augment (additional sneak attack, unfocusing strike), 1st level lurk power	1
2nd	Lurk	+1	+0	+3	+3	8: concentrate 5, Use psionic device 5, sleight of hand 5, escape artist 5, spot 5, swim 5, psicraft 3, move silently 1		Psionic Sneak attack +1d6, 1st level lurk power	2
3rd	Lurk	+2	+1	+3	+3	8: concentrate 6, UPD 6, Sleight of hand 6, escape artist 6, spot 6, swim 6, psicraft 4, move silently 2	Lurk Augment, Ranged (Complete Psionic p. 55)	Lurk Augment (Solid strike, Stunning attack), 1st level lurk power	3
4th	Lurk	+3	+1	+4	+4	8: concentrate 7, UPD 7, Sleight of hand 7 escape artist 7, spot 7, swim 7, psicraft 5, move silently 3		2nd level lurk power	5
5th	Lurk	+3	+1	+4	+4	8: concentrate 8, UPD 8, Sleight of hand 8, escape artist 8, spot 8, swim 8, psicraft 6, move silently 4		Lurk Augment (Mental Assault, Ignore Concealment), 2nd level lurk power	7
6th	Lurk	+4	+2	+5	+5	8: concentrate 9, UPD 9, Sleight of hand 9 escape artist 9, spot 9, move silently 6	Arterial Strike (Complete Warrior p. 96)	Initiative Boost, 2nd level lurk power	11

Spoiler: Feats and Powers

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Feats
Deadly Spittle Prerequisite: Spit Venom, spit attack or spittle attack
Benefit: You can spray your spit in a 15-foot cone-shaped burst
Lurk Augment, Ranged Prerequisite: Lurk augment class feature,
Benefit: You can apply the following lurk augments to your ranged attack: Additional sneak attack, solid strike, ignore concealment, mental assault, deceptive strike, sneak attack undead, ghost touch, aligned attack, sneak attack constructs, planar attack, or synaptic disconnect. Special Lurk augments applied to ranged attacks only affect a target within 30 feet.
Arterial Strike Prerequisite: BAB +4, Sneak attack ability:
Benefit: If you hit with a sneak attack, you may choose to forgo +1d6 of extra sneak attack damage to deliver a wound that won't stop bleeding. Each wound caused in this manner saps an extra 1 point of damage per round from the victim, until the victim receives the benefit of a DC 15 Heal check or any cure spell or other magical healing. Wounds from multiple arterial strikes result in cumulative bleeding loss (two successful arterial strikes cause an extra 2 points of damage per round until healed). You may deliver only one bleeding wound per successful sneak attack.

Powers
1st level: Dimensional Pocket (Complete Psionic page 83)

Spoiler: dimensional pocket

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Psychoportation
Level: Lurk 1
Display: Visual
Time: Standard action
Target: One unattended object, weighing up to 1 lb./level
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)
Save: None
PR: None
Cost: 1
Your touch transfers an unattended object to an extradimensional pocket hidden in the palm of your hand. The dimensional pocket is invisible and weightless, regardless of its contents. When the power ends or is dismissed, the object returns to your hand (or next to your hand if you cannot hold it). You can manifest this power again before its duration elapses, in which case the stored object remains stored and the duration resets to 1 hour/level.
Augment You can augment this power in one or both of the following ways. For every additional power point you spend, you can store an additional pound per level (but still only one object). If you spend 2 additional power points, you gain the ability to dismiss this power as a swift action.

Prescience, Offensive
2nd level: Compression
3rd level: Prescience, Offensive
4th level: Psionic Knock
5th level: Psionic Tongues
6th level: Energy Adaptation, Specified

Epic Feats

Epic Feat #	Feat	Source	page	Text
1st	Maiming Strike	Exemplars of Evil	25	Prerequisite: Sneak attack +2d6, Evil: Benefit: Whenever you make a successful sneak attack on a target creature, you can reduce your extra damage and deal Charisma damage instead. For every 2 dice of extra damage that you sacrifice, your attack deals 1 point of Charisma damage.
2nd	Lurk Augment, Extra	Complete Psionic	55	[Psionic] You can use your lurk augment more often than normal. Prerequisite Lurk augment class feature, Benefit You can use your lurk augment class feature three more times each day.
3rd	Point Blank Shot	Player's Handbook	98	You get a +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at ranges of up to 30 feet.
4th	Psionic Shot	Expanded Psionics Handbook	50	[Psionic] Prerequisite Point Blank Shot, Benefit: To use this feat, you must expend your psionic focus. Your ranged attack deals +2d6 points of damage. You must decide whether or not to use this feat prior to making an attack. If your attack misses, you still expend your psionic focus.
5th	Ability Focus (Squirt)	Monster Manual V	204	[General] Prerequisite Special attack, Benefit: Add +2 to the DC for all saving throws against the special attack on which the creature focuses.
6th	Psicrystal Affinity	Expanded Psionics Handbook	49	[Psionic] Prerequisite: Manifester level 1st, Benefit: This feat allows you to gain a psicrystal. See Psicrystals, page 21, for details on how psicrystals work.
7th	Martial study (Cloak of Deception)	Tome of Battle	31 & 76	Shadow Hand (Boost) Level: 2 Initiation Action: 1 swift action Range: Personal Target: You Duration: End of turn The shadows around you seem to surge forward and engulf you. For a brief moment, they render you invisible. When you initiate this maneuver, you turn invisible, as the greater invisibility spell (PH 245). You remain invisible until the end of your current turn. This maneuver is a supernatural ability.
8th	Psicrystal Containment	Expanded Psionics Handbook	49	[Psionic] Prerequisite: manifester level 3rd, Psicrystal Affinity, Benefit: You can spend a full-round action attempting to psionically focus your psicrystal. At any time when you need to expend your psionic focus, you can expend your psicrystal's psionic focus instead, as long as the crystal is within 5 feet of you. Psionically focusing your psicrystal works just like focusing yourself. The psicrystal cannot focus itself--only the owner can spend the time to focus the crystal.
9th	Extend Supernatural Ability (Cloak of Deception)	Tome of Magic	73	[General] Prerequisite: 4 HD, supernatural ability, Benefit: 1/day, you can extend a supernatural ability that has a duration. When you use an extended supernatural ability, it lasts twice as long as normal. A supernatural ability that has a duration of concentration, that happens instantaneously, or that permanently affects a target is not affected by this feat. You must declare the use of this feat before you use the ability. Extending a supernatural ability does not require a separate action.
10th	Psychic Renewal	Tome of Battle	32	[Psionic] Benefit As a swift action, you can recover any expended maneuver by expending your psionic focus and spending power points equal to the maneuver's level.

Overview
Stew is built to use the lurk's mental assault and psionic sneak attack.

Sneak attack
By level 6, Stew has up to +4d6 sneak attack and 23 Power points. Combining this with the squirt ability means that you deal no damage (save for blindness) +4d6 sneak attack damage. I couldn't find any rule that you couldn't sneak attack with an attack that doesn't actually do damage, here's the Rules of the game breakdown. So that's what we're going to do. And there is a precedent where negative level attacks, which deal no damage and ability damaging spells can be sneak attacks (HERE) "Spells that inflict energy drains or ability damage deal extra negative energy damage in a sneak attack, not extra negative levels or ability damage. For example, a 10th-level rogue who makes a successful sneak attack with an enervation spell deals 1d4 negative levels plus an extra 5d6 points of negative energy damage."

Typically, stew will only need +3d6 sneak attack (4 power points), where he trades out 1d6 for the arterial strike feat, and another +2d6 for maiming strike. This means that he squirts for DC 20 (10 +½ HD + Dex mod +2 ability focus) ref save vs blindness, 1 charisma damage, plus 1 charisma drain per round until they get a DC 15 heal check. What?! They just bleed charisma from being sprayed in the face with water? Stew must spray so intensely that it gelatinizes his opponent's eyeballs.

Because Stew's squirt attack does no native damage, the text of arterial strike, where you bleed 1 damage per turn, can only apply to the charisma damage dealt by maiming strike. Wha?? Damage as defined in the PHB glossary includes ability damage as a type of damage.

Combine all of that with psionic shot for an additional+2d6 charisma damage. Use Offensive Prescience power before for another up to 3 points of damage added to the psionic shot roll. Thats a minimum of 6 charisma damage on round 1, followed by subsequent loss of charisma every round, while blinded, which makes it easy to hit you again with another sneak attack. Buy pizza on the night you try this, because you need an extra vehicle for all that cheese.

Mental Assault
By spending 2 pp as a swift action, you can deal 2 int or wis damage with your attack.
Ranged lurk augment allows you to use this with a ranged attack. That's pretty sweet.

Combine this with Stew's squirt attack and you can stupefy and blind your target simultaneously. This wrecks animals who only have an int score of 2. But we aren't done yet...

Deadly spittle from serpent kingdoms turns a spit attack into a 15 foot cone, and Stew's squirt attack is referred to as a spit attack on the description for muckdweller. You can spray a blinding and stupefying mist in a 15 ft cone. That's bonkers.

Use 6 power points and you deal 4 points of mental attribute damage...to every opponent in a 15 foot cone.

The optimization challenge this presents us with is boosting this further, as a number of feats, powers, and abilities add damage to "damage rolls" and the ability damage from mental assault isn't rolled, it is static. Compound that with the fact that damage roll is not a game defined term, so a DM is totally justified, by the book on being like, "Sorry Bro, you aint rolling dice so it isn't a damage roll, so the bonus doesn't apply"

To avoid that, there are only two ways that I found to increase this ability damage: Point blank shot and psionic shot. Point blank shot might work, but the rules compendium says that it does not increase damage for ability damage for weaponlike spells. The Muckdweller's squirt ability isn't a weaponlike spell, but the intent of the prohibition is clear, ability damage is powerful and feat taxes must be worthless. So there is another opportunity for the DM to block you.

Psionic shot just adds 2d6 to damage to a ranged attack, not damage rolls. So by blowing your mental focus and 6 pp you can deal 4+2d6 damage to int or wisdom to everything in a 15 foot cone with your deadly mental assault spittle of blindness. Now, there is a chance that your DM will be all like,"sorry that's an area attack now, not a ranged attack" At which point, my only 2 pieces of advice are to 1.) point out what a good sport you were about the whole definition of a damage roll thing and to bribe them at the same time. Or, 2.) you could argue that your spit attack is a ranged attack that happens to be a cone shaped burst, like one of those sand pipes from the sand giant entry in MM3 or the x'endric drow sandpipe things. Argue this while pointing to the flavor text of deadly spittle where it says that you are using your spit attack against multiple opponents, which is inherently a ranged attack behavior, while also bribing them. Do it, You're the Lurk.

Then, if that works, use offensive prescience to add up to another 3 points of bonus insight damage to your psionic shot damage roll. Gotcha! That's a minimum of 9 intelligence or wisdom damage, plus a DC 20 reflex save against blindness for the next round, to everything in a 15 foot cone.

So...let's talk about this
Obviously, As a muckdweller, as a muckdweller specializing in squirting people, you are going to have to have a source of water. My actual suggestion is for a stronger character to carry you in a bucket full of water. Maybe spend some money to make a facet of the bucket out of glass so you can see. You only weigh, at max, like 8 pounds. Take cover in your bucket, reload, and murderlize the countryside. One squirt at a time. If your entire crew is weaklings, not willing to drag their hellbender of doom around, rig up a riding dog.

At first level, you have a DC 15 blinding squirt trick, and that’s about it. You can hide up to 1 pound of something in a dimensional pocket. You’re just there to debuff, maybe steal something. Use that carpentry skill to build yourself a bucket.

At level 2: You have a sneak attack, which you may be able to add onto your squirt...on the next level when you get the feat. So again, you are there to blind people and steal stuff. Compression is there to make you teeny tiny and sneak into hard to reach places. Now I don’t want to give you anything too cheesey, but if you had a diminutive caber (Master’s of the Wild p.26), you could throw it at people from hiding, dealing massive damage if they’re trapped or unaware or something.

At level 3: You can now sneak attack with your blinding squirt (DC 16 ref save vs blindness), you can spray it in a cone, you can start arguments over insisting that diminutive cabers cause 2d6 damage, you can pocket 3 pounds of goods in another dimension, shrink to diminutive, and add 2 insight damage to your damage rolls.

At level 4: you can open doors! Thanks psionic knock!

At level 5: You get mental assault, and you can destroy your nemeses mercilessly. Also, you can talk to folks about things. Thanks psionic tongues.

Level 6: You get arterial strike. Probably makes more sense to put maiming strike here and arterial strike next as the first epic feat, but i don’t want to edit the tables that I already filled out. You have energy adaptation for your defense power.

Epic Feat 1: Maiming strike!
Epic Feat 2: Extra Lurk augments, now you can use augments 13 times a day
Epic Feat 3: Point blank shot. The Jury is out if point blank shot can add +1 damage to ability damage with your Ex squirt ability paired with maiming strike or mental assault.
Epic Feat 4: Psionic Shot, now you can add +2d6 damage to your ability damage
Epic Feat 5: Abilty Focus (squirt): Now the Reflex save DC vs. blindness is 20
Epic Feat 6: Psicrystal affinity: You get a little psicrystal! If you use compression on yourself, you can ride it, assuming that you build or buy an adequate saddle.
Epic Feat 7: Martial Study: Greater Invisibility for your turn, get in position to spray them all.
Epic Feat 8: Psicrystal containment: Two Psionic Shots in the same battle!
Epic Feat 9: Improved Invisibility for two rounds! Cloak of deception is a supernatural ability, despite being a maneuver.
Epic Feat 10: Psychic Renewal: get multiple uses of that improved invisibility in a combat.

[Zaq]

Now that's using your noggin!

Xin the versatile lurk
Human factotum 1/lurk (variant true thief)4 /assassin 1 NE

Spoiler: Story

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He was alone in darkness his companions not so far from him but he was carefully searching in that room , moving silently and hiding to avoid contact with the orc which was a sentry, searching before if there was some alarm that creature could use . His psicrystal was helping him , giving him that sensation that he had to concentrate on only a work at time, and he was doing exactly that. There was no alarm , so he readied his longsword taking out a dose of a poison ,not crafted by him, "It should block tha and then analyzed that enemy for something near twenty four seconds, when the orc was near to him. His sword hit the orc but the poison didn't work "Pff a bad poison it seem" and dodged an attack from the orc which was trying to escape toward the door maybe on the other side there was other orcs. "No" He charged him using his power to enhance the damage of his sword, striking near the heart of the orc. using his intelligence to enhance the precision and the orc died on hit." So is finished for now, i have to call the other mercenaries , we will discuss what will we do "Probably he will unlock that door but maybe the others want to break it

Xin is a mercenary doing his work without remorse and piety , doing for money , adventuring with others mercenaries , even if he can work alone on assassination works, or on some important thiefs.

Spoiler: Build

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stats
for 14
cos 14
des 13(+1 at 4th level)
int 16
sag 13
car 8

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Power Points	Skill points for level
1st	Factotum1	+0	+0	+2	+0	4 craft (poisonmaking) 4 hide 4 disguise 4 move silently 4 concentration 4 search 4 open lock 4 disable device 4 sleight of hand 4 escape artist	Font of Inspiration , (B) Able Learner	Inspiration, cunning insight, cunning knowledge, trapfinding	-	40 (6+int )*4+4 (human)
2nd	Lurk(true thief) 1	+0	+0	+4	+2	5 craft (poisonmaking) 5 hide 4 disguise 5 move silently 5 concentration 5 search 5 open lock 5 disable device 4 sleight of hand 5 escape artist		Augment	2 (1 from class 1 bonus int)	8( 4 +int+1 human)
3rd	Lurk(true thief) 2	+1	+0	+5	+3	6 craft (poisonmaking) 6 hide 4 disguise 6 move silently 6 concentration 6 search 6 open lock 6 disable device 4 sleight of hand 6 escape artist	Affinity to psicrystal(single minded)	psionic sneak attack +1d6	5(2 from class 3 bonus int)	8 (4 + int +1 human)
4th	Lurk (true thief)3	+2	+1	+5	+3	7 craft (poisonmaking) 7 hide 4 disguise 7 move silently 7 concentration 7 search 7 open lock 7 disable device 4 sleight of hand 7 escape artist			7(3 from class 4 bonus int)	8 (4+int +1 human)
5th	lurk(true thief) 4	+3	+1	+6	+4	8 craft (poisonmaking) 8 hide 4 disguise 8 move silently 8 concentration 8 search 8 open lock 8 disable device 4 sleight of hand 8 escape artist			11 (5 from class 6 bonus int)	8 (4+int +1 human)
6th	Assassin 1	+3	+1	+8	+4	9 craft (poisonmaking) 9 hide] 4 disguise 9 move silently 9 concentration 9 search 9 open lock 9 disable device 4 sleight of hand 9 escape artist	Psionic Weapon	Sneak attack +1d6, death attack, poison use	11(no change from previous level)	8(4 +int +1 human)

(B) =bonus feat
human bonus to ability = +2 search , +2 disable device

Spoiler: Epic Feats

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1° psicrystal containment
2° psionic meditation
3° shape soulmeld (vitality belt)
4° darkstalker
5° martial study (sapphire nightmare blade)
6° font of inspiration
7° font of inspiration
8° shape soulmeld (kruthik claws)
9° shape soulmeld (theft gloves)
10° Bonus essentia

Total inspiration point=8(2 class +1 1st font of inspiration +2 2nd font of inspiration +3 3rd font of inspiration)

Spoiler: Power , spell knowed

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Lurk level	Power learned
1st	Chameleon
2nd	Grease, Psionic
3rd	Compression
4th	Animal Affinity

Assassin Level	Spells learned	Spells for day
1st	Catsfeet, Critical strike	1 (0 from class 1 for int)

Spoiler: Build Breakdown

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He will use normally a longsword and the best shield considering the penalty to the check of dexterity . At each level he can craft some poisons, putting them on his weapon , and these poison will do much as debuff damaging ability like dexterity, strenght and constitution(this is rarer)

Spoiler: Level 1

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This level is so important in this build because of Able learner, which combined to the Class Skills of factotum give us all class skills for each class even in the ranks without the cross class skill cost
Out of combat he has so many abilities that he could do something surely , except in the social situation , but he is not a face, his low charisma confirm that
In combat he will not do so much because his low bab buth with cunning insight he has a good chance to hit the enemies

Spoiler: Level 2 to 5

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He is not a normal lurk, because we are utilising a different lurk which finds the trap easier, and the factotum level help us so much to use search and disable device using his augment that function if he is pisonically focused so all the day for now even if that is strange more a class feature than an augment.Out of combat he will move silently hiding to infiltrate in the enemy camp , or using disable device and search to find the traps and disable them , and if the party encounter a closed chest he can try to open it with open lock. At level 3 the psicrystal come and even if the concentration ability is not so important now , it will be useful in the future. His presence give us the opportunity to make other check of abilities like search , even if the cunning knowledge from factotum probably is not applicable to him
In combat he will try to flank (and if permitted the psicrystal can help us ) using the sneak attack from augmet and from class (he arrives at 4d6 of sneak attack 1 from class and 3 from the augment using 4 power points) If he cannot sneak attack he will support the team with grease psionic and stunning attack , boosting himself with chameleon and compression if he need to hide , and animal affinity

Spoiler: level 6 and epic

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The level 6 is another important level , and not for the sneak attack , or the death attack but for the use of poisons which help us putting them on the weapons without risk (and we have fortitude low so is good) The spell he learned with the assassin have only vocal component, so he can use his armore, ignoring spell failure value (only spell with somatic component are affected by spell failure)Critical strike is basically another additional sneak attack without possibilities to enhance it
Psionic weapon helps him at making damage even if the enemy is immune to critical damage but in generally will help him because psionic weapon damage is higher than psionic sneak attack
The first three feats permit to use psionic weapon and psionic sneak attack at each turn ,using a move action. He will try to gain the psionic focus each turn and with a concentration boost item or a simple item which give +2 to constitution he is able to accomplish that (if really needed he can use the inspiration point)
Darksltaker hepl us agajins creature who use other sistems to view than the normal vision , like tremor sense or other abilities.
The 5th epic feat help at doing more ime the sneak attack, and this is one of the motivation that we use the shape soulmeld (vitality bealt) than narrow mind , so we can boost the concentration check required (even if is only one time for day it can be useful as for using poisons). The next feats boost his durability in the fight , with 8 power points, and 3 soulmeld and2 essentia point , powers ti block the enemy and the poison use permit us to use poisons like ssartiss (from serpent kingdom ) or eyeblast (from book of vile darkness) he can craft the poisons he need if he has problem to find them.
The shape soulmeld feats improve our abilities so this character will have good abilities thanks to them, in combat he will use the essentia point on kruthik and on vitality belt, while out of combat on kruthik and on theft gloves (kruthik occupy shoulder slot as soulmeld)

Spoiler: Number on this build

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hp=6+5d6 (class level)+12(constitution) +3 (vitality belt)=38 (average )
Hide check = 9 (rank)+2 (dexterity)+6 (kruthik claws)+10 (chameleon)=27
Move silently=9 (rank) +2 (dexterity) + 6 (kruthik claws) =17
diasble device= 9 (rank)+3 (intelligence)+4 (theft gloves)+2 (human)=18
search =9 (rank)+3 (intelligence)+2 (human) =14(he will take 20 if he can)
maximum damage=1d8(longsword)+2 (strenght)+1d6 (psionic sneak attack)+1d6(sneak attack assassin)+1d6 (augment additional sneak attack)+2d6(psionic weapon)+3 (intelligence)+1d6(sapphire nightmare blade)=49 (minimum 12 average 30)

Spoiler: Sources

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From
Dungeonescape:factotum class
Complete Psionics:lurk class
Mind eye article : lurk true thief variant
Class Chronicles: Font of Inspiration
Dungeon Master Guide:Assassin prestige class
Tome of Battle: Martial Study, sapphire nigthmare blade
Magic of Incarnum :Shape soulmeld, Bonus essentia
Expanded Psionic Handbook:Grease Psionic, Animal affinity, affinity to psicrystal, psicrystal containment , psionic meditation, psionic weapon
Spell compendium :catsfeet , critical strike
Lord of madness:Darkstalker
Player's Handbook:human race

[Zaq]

If he'da sunk ranks into Craft (Stars), I'da given him Honorable Mention on the spot.*

Zurgi, the Sand Lurker
Asherati Lurk 4/Fighter 2

Spoiler: Introduction

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This build is heavily inspired by an experience from my childhood. In one of the Protoss missions of the Starcraft Brood War campaign, I was moments from the finish line without an enemy in sight, when Zeratul was instantly murdered by two Lurkers. You might say it left an impression on me. In any case, I decided to try and build a Lurker Lurk. Sorry that the writeup is a little lacking - it's 2.30am the night before the deadline.

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Ability	Score	Modifiers	Final Score
Strength	15	+1 (Level 4 Bonus)	16 (+3)
Dexterity	14	-	14 (+2)
Constitution	14	-	14 (+2)
Intelligence	14	-	14 (+2)
Wisdom	14	-	14 (+2)
Charisma	8	-	8 (-1)

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Lurk 1	+0	+0	+2	+2	Concentration +4, Hide +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Spot +4, Tumble + 4	Psionic Weapon, Heat Endurance (Asherati)	Lurk augment
2nd	Fighter 1	+1	+2	+2	+2	Concentration +4, Hide +5, Listen +4, Move Silently +5, Spot +4, Tumble + 4	Dodge (Fighter)	-
3rd	Fighter 2	+2	+3	+2	+2	Concentration +4, Hide +6, Listen +4, Move Silently +6, Spot +4, Tumble + 4	Psicrystal Affinity (Resolved), Mobility (Fighter)	-
4th	Lurk 2	+3	+3	+3	+3	Concentration +5, Hide +7, Listen +5, Move Silently +7, Spot +5, Tumble + 5	-	Psionic sneak attack +1d6
5th	Lurk 3	+4	+4	+3	+3	Concentration +6, Hide +8, Listen +6, Move Silently +8, Spot +6, Tumble + 6	-	-
6th	Lurk 4	+5	+4	+4	+4	Concentration +8, Hide +9, Listen +7, Move Silently +9, Spot +7, Tumble + 6	Greater Psionic Weapon	-

E6 Feats:

1. Spring Attack
2. Psicrystal Containment
3. Psionic Meditation
4. Steady Concentration
5. Scorpion's Resolve
6. Scorpion's Sense
7. Deep Impact
8. Expanded Knowledge (Astral Construct)
9. Darkstalker
10. Improved Psicrystal (Hero)

Spoiler: Level by Level Breakdown

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Spoiler: Level 1

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Zurgi is a pretty standard Lurk to begin with. He has fairly typical sneaky skills, one power point to spend on Chameleon (or Unfocusing strike, if he can ever find a reason), and he can hit people with Psionic Weapon when he gets a chance. Of course, he can Sandswim, which gives him an edge in the desert, but with no way to tell what's going on above the ground, it's not as useful as it could be.

Spoiler: Level 2

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Zurgi desperately needs both feats and BAB to reach his core combo of Sandswim + Spring Attack + Greater Psionic Weapon, so he has little choice but to take some Fighter levels. Taking Fighter levels sucks, obviously, so it's better to get it out of the way early. Plus the extra attack bonus is quite nice for a character who absolutely relies on, yanno, hitting stuff. Fighter has no useful skills to offer us, so we spring for cross-class ranks in the sneaky skills we really care about.

Spoiler: Level 3

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Another Fighter level, sadly, but we still get to have some fun - it's time to pick up our psicrystal! He's a very sneaky little guy, especially if the DM accepts that psicrystals get feats and allows him to pick up Darkstalker. With him sneaking across the sand, and keeping in touch with Zurgi via their telepathic link, it's far more practical for Zurgi to Sandswim, and pop up to hit people in the face.

Spoiler: Level 4

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We finally made it back to Lurk! For now, the only thing we get out of it is Psionic sneak attack, which is impractical since Zurgi spends his psionic focus on Psionic Weapon. But we do pick up another power to burn our (very slightly less) limited PP on, which may as well be Dimensional Pocket - it's unique to Lurks, and actually pretty awesome. It'll help make up for the fact that Zurgi has no points in Sleight of Hand, too, when applicable.

Spoiler: Level 5

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Our next Lurk level is just like our last one, except we don't even get Psionic sneak attack this time. For our new power, we'll take Empty Mind - it's a reasonable panic button against a wide range of effects.

Spoiler: Level 6

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We finally made it to Greater Psionic Weapon! Although Zurgi can still only use it every second round, and that's only if he spends a turn doing nothing and gets a little lucky on his Concentration check (probably hiding under the sand if he can manage it), it's still a decent damage boost. We also gain access to 2nd-level powers, of which none are especially useful to us, but Psionic Knock will help make up for all the points in Open Lock we don't have, albeit at the cost of more than half our PP reserve.

Spoiler: Spring Attack

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At last, Zurgi can start his turn under the sand, pop up next to an enemy, smack them with Greater Psionic Weapon, and dive back down into the sand in a single turn. It was a long time getting here, but it's not a bad trick. It's surprisingly difficult to deal with underground opponents, especially at low levels. And although it only works properly in the desert, you can still do the same thing in other environments to prevent melee full attacks. Of course, that won't help against ranged attacks, spellcasters, or anyone with Pounce, but what can you do.

Spoiler: Psicrystal Containment

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This is actually even more useful for us than most psionic characters. Not only do we get to use Greater Psionic Weapon twice in a row, the first time we use it we even get to apply psionic sneak attack.

Spoiler: Psionic Meditation

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This is pretty nice, too. A single turn spent underground lets Zurgi regain both psionic foci, so he can consistently function at full capacity for two turns out of three.

Spoiler: Steady Concentration

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With this, we can consistently hit the DC 20 required to regain psionic foci.

Spoiler: Scorpion's Resolve

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Scoprion's Resolve is purely a pre-req feat, but as pre-req feats go, it's a pretty good one. A solid bonus to saving throws against a whole category of effects, with none of the usual weird restrictions. In practice, it means his total Will saving throw bonus is +10 most of the time.

Spoiler: Scorpion's Sense

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We've been missing this one since the very beginning - there were just too many feats we needed to get to it. It's a limited form of Tremorsense, and it's only 20 feet, but even that makes a big difference when you're swimming around underground.

Spoiler: Deep Impact

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Zurgi is primarily an ambusher, popping up out of the ground (when that's an option) and hitting things as hard as he can. Sometimes, for that to work, you're going to really need an attack to land. In those situations, expending one focus on GPW and the other on Deep Impact is not a bad deal, especially since you only need one turn to get both foci back.

Spoiler: Expanded Knowledge (Astral Construct)

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Well, this one's good for everyone. Having a flanker will enable sneak attack when you wouldn't otherwise, and an aboveground astral construct might just keep an opponent busy for one round while you get your foci back.

Spoiler: Darkstalker

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Tremorsense is a nightmare for Zurgi, and Mindsight is pretty scary too. With one feat, we get to ignore both.

Spoiler: Improved Psicrystal (Hero)

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An odd choice, I know. But the ability for the psicrystal to communicate with other people is pretty great, especially for keeping in touch with a party while swimming underground. The bonus to our Fort save is nice too, and the extra Int and natural armour for the psicrystal is just a cherry on top.

Spoiler: Sources

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• Asherati, Scorpion's Resolve, Scorpion's Sense: Sandstorm
• Steady Concentration: Races of Stone
• Darkstalker: Lords of Madness
• Lurk: Complete Psionic (obviously)
• Everything else: SRD content

*Probably just joking there. Probably.

[Zaq]

And that's that! Six lurks that evilly shadow the men of heart, if you know what I mean! (Disclaimer: I'm not sure I know what I mean.)

Quick table:

Name	Alignment/Race	Class Stub
Altht Bolthide	TN Whisper Gnome	Thug Fighter 2 / Lurk 4
Psirus	NE Human	Lurk 5 / Chameleon 1
Steel Raerfen	LN Amphibious Wavecrest Gnome	Soulknife 1 / True Thief Lurk 5
Stew P. Factor	LE Muckdweller	Lurk 6
Xin	NE Human	Factotum 1 / True Thief Lurk 4 / Assassin 1
Zurgi	?? Asherati	Lurk 4 / Fighter 2

Judges, they're all yours!

[thorr-kan]

Shiny! That's a better turn out than I expected. Much more multiclassing than we usually see, and even some prestige classes!

[daremetoidareyo]

I had a stun based build that was kung fu genius monk 2/ lurk 4 that I couldn't finish. It had like a DC 24 double stun attack, using ability focus, ascetic rogue, dire stun, and sapphire fist. One punch, two Fort saves. Extra stunning attack from complete warrior would give extra stunning attacks to both stunning fist and lurks stunning attack. I just couldn't jigger it together in time