Junkyard Wars in the Playground V: Dread Witch + Reaping Mauler - Fighter

[Kazudo]

So, update, I'm currently unable to post the reveal until later due to health concerns. Apparently drinking the night before doing yardwork in 95 degree heat isn't absolutely fantastic for one's heart, much less a heart with established BP problems.

Stay tuned, Junkyard Warriors.

[Deadline]

Yikes, I hope you'll be ok Kazudo!

[dysprosium]

Take it easy Kazudo. Hope you feel better. We're not going anywhere.

[OMG PONIES]

Take it easy Kazudo. Hope you feel better. We're not going anywhere.

Well, I mean, I'm still going to go places. But I'm totally going to come back.

[dysprosium]

Well, I mean, I'm still going to go places. But I'm totally going to come back.

Not me! I'm at work for at least a couple of hours more. Ba dum ching!

[Sian]

Does going to the bathroom count as going somewhere?

[OMG PONIES]

Does going to the bathroom count as going somewhere?

Nah, you can "go" just about anywhere. But this is why you've got to keep your options open.

[Sian]

Feeling any better Kaz?

[Kazudo]

UPDATE

The reveal is happening tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

[dysprosium]

No problem. Real life is a cruel mistress.

Glad you're feeling better though.

[Sian]

Decided to stall so it got into reverse sync with Iron Chef?

[Kazudo]

Yeah. Er...no. Completely unintentional, really. I'm in an employment transition and I'm a bit busy at the moment. I will be posting the reveal now, PLEASE DON'T POST UNTIL I'm DONE WITH IT.

[Kazudo]

"Today you're twenty-five, I made you something fine
It's in the palm of my new hand"

The Lady in Red
The streets of Bresk are made safe thanks to you, Lady in Red!

original art by Taras Loboda

An Evening Meeting

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”She wasn’t always known as the Lady in Red. They say she had a name. They say she had family and her father was a philosopher. But that’s mostly lost to history now,” the old dwarf sat back taking a long draw from his pipe.

“Right. Right. Right. We all know the stories, Bertok,” a human male interrupted. “Supposedly orphaned at a young age here in Bresk, she grew up on the streets fighting and wrestling. Supposedly her great grandfather was a vampire or some such nonsense and when he revealed himself to her she swore to root out his evil influence forever.”

“They are good stories, Inspector,” Bertok replied puffing rings of smoke towards the impatient looking human. “I love telling them over and over again.”

“All except the ones where you are involved keeping her from facing proper justice!” the Inspector quipped. “You are a known associate of hers. I want to know where she is and why she does this ‘street justice.’”

“No, Inspector,” the dwarf smiled. “You want to know how she does your job better than you do!”

The Inspector, frustrated that the dwarf was exactly right, slapped the pipe out of Bertok’s hand. Then he leaned into the dwarf’s face, “Tell me what I want to know! Now!”

“Do you really think you can scare me into telling you anything?” Betrok laughed. “The Lady in Red has told me once about the only thing that has ever scared her in her life, and believe me when I tell you this. It is not you or anything you can do.”

“You don’t know what I can do,” the Inspector sneered.

“You’re right and neither does she.” The dwarf was calm, unaffected by the idle threats the Inspector gave. “But she does know what you can’t do—protect the innocents on these streets! You know, Inspector, the refugees from both the War of the Burning Sky and the War of Elven Aggression. What are you and your men doing for them?”

“She makes it harder for us to do our jobs! There are procedures, rules, laws from the King to follow!”

“Your procedures do nothing for the innocent, Inspector!” a woman’s voice rang out from out of nowhere. “The innocents go missing or are dying in the streets while you and your men line your pockets with gold. Speak not to me of your rules!”

“Where are you Lady in Red?” the Inspector looked around. The dwarf’s office was just filled with books and papers. She could not be far. But then he could not move at all! What had she done?

She appeared from her invisibility spell, the lovely Lady in Red. “Inspector, you yourself are guilty of harming innocents of this city and as such will pay the ultimate price.”

The Inspector tried to speak but his body betrayed him. Damn you, Lady in Red! he thought to himself. Fear was starting to take over his very being.

“There there Inspector,” the Lady in Red replied. “I might well be damned myself but you will arrive there first!”

You read my mind? Get out of my head! The Inspector's thoughts raged.

“No, Inspector, I won’t. It tells me things I needed to know about your own illegal activities.” She approached the Inspector slowly. Her arms wrapped around the Inspector’s neck. He could feel her breath as she whispered into his ear, “And now that I know exactly how benefitted from exploiting innocents, I feel rightly justified by ending your own life.”

Basics

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CG human female Battle Dancer 5/Reaping Mauler 5/Vigilante 5/Dread Witch 5
32 point buy
Str 12, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16
All ability increases go to Strength

Build

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Level	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Battle Dancer 1	+1	+0	+2	+0	Escape Artist 4, Gather Information 4, Knowledge (local) 2, K (arcana) 2, Search 2, Sense Motive 4, Tumble 4	Apprentice (philosopher), City Slicker, Improved Unarmed Strike (B)	Cha to AC
2nd	Battle Dancer 2	+2	+0	+3	+0	Escape Artist +1, Gather Information +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (local) +1, Sense Motive +1, Tumble +1		dance of reckless bravery
3rd	Battle Dancer 3	+3	+1	+3	+1	Escape Artist +1, Gather Information +1, Search +1, Sense Motive +1, Tumble +1	Clever Wrestling
4th	Battle Dancer 4	+4	+1	+4	+1	Escape Artist +1, Gather Information +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Knowledge (local) +1, Sense Motive +1, Tumble +1		bonus speed +10 ft
5th	Battle Dancer 5	+5	+1	+4	+1	Escape Artist +1, Gather Information +1, Search +1, Sense Motive +1, Tumble +1		dance of the vexing snake
6th	Reaping Mauler 1	+6	+3	+6	+1	Intimidate 2, Escape Artist +1, Tumble +1	Improved Grapple (B), Mobility (B), Superior Unarmed Strike
7th	Reaping Mauler 2	+7	+4	+7	+1	Gather Information +1, Escape Artist +1, Intimidate +1, Tumble +1		adept wrestling +1
8th	Reaping Mauler 3	+8	+4	+7	+2	Escape Artist +1, Intimidate +1, Sense Motive +1, Tumble +1		counter grapple, sleeper lock
9th	Reaping Mauler 4	+9	+4	+7	+2	Escape Artist +1, Intimidate +1, Sense Motive +1, Tumble +1	Alertness	adept wrestling +2
10th	Vigilante 1	+9	+4	+9	+4	Bluff 1, Escape Artist +1, Hide 1, Intimidate +1, Listen 1, Move Silently 1, Spot 1, Tumble +1		detect evil, streetwise +2
11th	Vigilante 2	+10	+4	+10	+5	Bluff +1, Escape Artist +1, Hide +1, Intimidate +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1		smite the guilty 1/day
12th	Vigilante 3	+11	+5	+10	+5	Bluff +1, Escape Artist +1, Hide +1, Intimidate +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1	Scorpion’s Grasp	quick search
13th	Vigilante 4	+12	+5	+11	+6	Bluff +1, Escape Artist +1, Hide +1, Intimidate +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1		speak with dead
14th	Dread Witch 1	+12	+5	+11	+8	Bluff +1, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Spellcaft 1	Unnatural Will (B)	master of terror
15th	Dread Witch 2	+13	+5	+11	+9	Bluff +1, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Spellcaft +1	Necromantic Bloodline	absorb fear
16th	Dread Witch 3	+14	+6	+12	+9	Bluff +1, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Spellcaft +1		fearful empowerment 1/days
17th	Dread Witch 4	+15	+6	+12	+10	Bluff +1, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Spellcaft +1		delay fear, greater master of terror
18th	Dread Witch 5	+15	+6	+12	+10	Bluff +1, Intimidate +1, Knowledge (arcana) +1, Spellcaft +1	Power in the Blood	fearful empowerment 2/day, horrific aura, reflective fear
19th	Vigilante 5	+15	+6	+12	+10	Bluff +1, Escape Artist +1, Hide +1, Intimidate +1, Listen +1, Move Silently +1, Spot +1, Tumble +1		quick hide
20th	Reaping Mauler 5	+16	+6	+12	+10	Escape Artist +1, Intimidate +1, Sense Motive +1, Tumble +1		devastating grapple

Skill Ranks at Level 20: Bluff 10, Escape Artist 18, Gather Information 9, Hide 5, Intimidate 16, Knowledge (arcana) 10, Knowledge (local) 5, Listen 5, Move Silently 5, Search 4, Sense Motive 11, Spellcraft 5, Spot 5, Tumble 18

Spells per day

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Level	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
10th	0*	-	-	-
11th	1	-	-	-
12th	2	0*	-	-
13th	3	1	-	-
14th	3	1	-	-
15th	3	2	0*	-
16th	3	3	1	-
17th	3	3	2	0*
18th	3	3	3	1
19th	3	3	3	2
20th	3	3	3	2

* The Lady in Red has the required Charisma score for bonus spells.

Spells Known
1: cause fear, disguise self, master’s touch, silent image
2: blindness/deafness, detect thoughts, mirror image, scare
3: displacement, fear, haste, slow
4: greater invisibility, listening coin, shadow conjuration

Junkyard Showcase

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Reaping Mauler: We have all five levels in the build. Battle Dancer gives the Lady in Red a great basis for this prestige class. Improved Unarmed Strike is gained as a bonus feat. Clever Wrestling is easily gained through standard means. Building upon these prerequisites are the feats Superior Unarmed Strike and Scorpion’s Grasp. The best part about Superior Unarmed Strike is that there is a damage progression that levels up with the character. With a permissive DM, one can argue the unarmed progression of the Battle Dancer can be used instead of Monk, but such a thing is not necessary as the progression of the feat is similar to the Battle Dancer’s own progression. Scorpion’s Grasp makes the Lady in Red’s attack style even more worthwhile as grapples are automatically started when an unarmed strike hits, especially since Improved Grapple is gained as a bonus feat from this building component. The class’ capstone of instant death for a maintainable pin seemed most appropriate for a Level 20 capstone, thus the delay of the fifth level of the prestige class.
Dread Witch: Again we have all five levels (with no breaks this time) in the build. Seeing the requirements for Dread Witch, the spell casting requirement caught my eye: ability to cast cause fear and scare. Sure these are relatively easy spells to gain for any Tier 1 or 2 spellcaster, but then I noticed the Vigilante prestige class has both of these spells on its limited spell list. The idea of the Vigilante learning to empower its own fear inducing abilities through Dread Witch seemed too awesome to pass up. Necromantic Bloodline adds spells known to our limited list including ghoul touch and vampiric touch. Grappling just got made a little easier and more profitable, especially if the Lady in Red can paralyze her opponent! She can even feed off of her victim via the vampiric touch. The Power in the Blood feat lets the Lady in Red cast these spells one extra time per day.
Putting it all together: Battle Dancer abilities are based on Charisma which flows well into Vigilante, the other non-specified part of the build. The limited spellcasting is based off of Charisma. Considering that the Junkyard has fear and grappling together, Vigilante seemed the logical place to go. Grappling and spell casting are usually mutually exclusive styles of combat. I’ve seen psionics paired better with grappling. Dread Witch also only advances arcane spellcasting which puts a damper on psionics. Vigilante has lots of skill requirements that unfortunately are not class skills for Battle Dancer or Reaping Mauler. Enter the first level only feats Apprentice (philosopher) and City Slicker. Gather Information, Knowledge (local), and Sense Motive are all class skills now which make qualifying for Vigilante much easier given this build’s premium on skill points. We end with BAB +16, and the fourth iteration of attacks.

Design Notes

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The Lady in Red is quite easy to equip. She wears no armor and uses no weapons. Strength and Charisma boosting items are most important. Bracers of armor keep her Armor Class competitive. Early on in her career she plays similar to a Monk but has more social skills. She can be the party face thanks to ranks in Bluff, Gather Information, and Knowledge (local). She can tell when she is being lied to thanks to Sense Motive. The Lady in Red can also get what she needs from Intimidation. She has the speed to take advantage of her Battle Dancer abilities based on Tumble. Escape Artist helps with her should a grapple go the wrong way. By the time she takes Reaping Mauler she adds another form of combat to her repertoire. When she moves into Vigilante she can now augment herself and/or buff her allies during combat as well as make mooks run away. Dread Witch enhances these capabilities by continuing her Vigilante casting and by making her fear capabilities stronger. By the end of her career she can hold on to you and scare you to death!

Sources

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Complete Adventurer: Vigilante prestige class
Complete Warrior: Reaping Mauler prestige class
Dragon Compendium: Battle Dancer base class and Necromantic Bloodline and Power in the Blood feats
Dungeon Master’s Guide II: Apprentice feat
Heroes of Horror: Dread Witch prestige class and Unnatural Will feat
Races of Destiny: City Slicker feat
Sandstorm: Scorpion’s Grasp feat
Tome of Battle: Superior Unarmed Strike feat

[Kazudo]

Meh, I was quoting the band "WHY?" but I ran out of verses I actually wanted to post.

EL CHUPACABRA

Spoiler: Image

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Background

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Note: Read background in Tom Hardy's Bane voice for best effect.
"Now is not the time for fear, that comes later. Now is the time I will break you!" - EL CHUPACABRA

"EL CHUPACABRA does not need your adoration, your applause, or your approval! All EL CHUPACABRA requires are your delicious tears of pain, the musical snapping of your spine, and the beauty of your darkest fears. EL CHUPACABRA will take on all opponents, because EL CHUPACABRA knows no limits! Once, EL CHUPACABRA fell prey to fear due to foul magics, but he soon conquered it and held it close like a beautiful woman! Where lesser men would run screaming away from the horrors of the night, EL CHUPACABRA runs towards those same horrors to embrace them, and them crush them with his might! EL CHUPACABRA has studied under the famous War Mind and Luchador, Maestro Gris! At least three large foes have fallen to nothing more than EL CHUPACABRA's bare hands, and many times that number of women have fallen to his virility! EL CHUPACABRA is not impressed that you can swing a sword and kill a little kobold! EL CHUPACABRA fights with his heart, mind, body, soul, and machismo! This is the sobering reality of your situation! You do not face a mere man nor a simple beast. You face an avatar of the terror which lurks in the darkest corners of your pathetic, mewling body. YOU FACE EL CHUPACABRA!"

Build Table

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EL CHUPACABRA
LN Half-Giant(+1 LA) Martial Wizard (Conjurer) 4/Dread Witch 5/War Mind 5/Reaping Mauler 5
Banned Schools: Enchantment, Evocation

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Conjurer 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Escape Artist (2), Intimidate (1), Knowledge(Arcana) 2, Knowledge(Psionics) 4, Tumble (2)	Improved Unarmed Strike(B), Shape Soulmeld(Girallon Arms)	Abrupt Jaunt, Fighter Bonus Feat, Spellcasting
2nd	Conjurer 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Intimidate (2), Knowledge(Arcana) 3, Knowledge(Psionics) 5
3rd	Conjurer 3	+1	+1	+1	+3	Escape Artist (3), Tumble (3)	Clever Wrestling
4th	Conjurer 4	+2	+1	+1	+4	Knowledge(History) 2, Knowledge(Psionics) 7
5th	Dread Witch 1	+2	+1	+1	+6	Escape Artist (4), Knowledge(Psionics) (8)		Master of Terror, Unnatural Will
6th	Dread Witch 2	+3	+1	+1	+7	Intimidate 4, Tumble (4)	Bonus Essentia	Absorb Fear
7th	Dread Witch 3	+3	+2	+2	+7	Spellcraft 4		Fearful Empowerment 1/day
8th	Dread Witch 4	+4	+2	+2	+8	Escape Artist (5), Tumble (5)		Delay Fear, Greater Master of Terror
9th	Dread Witch 5	+4	+2	+2	+8	Concentration 1, Intimidate 5, Knowledge(Arcana) 5	Practiced Spellcaster	Fearful Empowerment 2/day, Horrific Aura, Reflective Fear
10th	War Mind 1	+5	+4	+4	+8	Autohypnosis 1, Intimidate 8		Chain of Personal Superiority +2
11th	Reaping Mauler 1	+6	+6	+6	+8	Intimidate 9, Tumble 8	Improved Grapple(B), Mobility(B)	Improved Grapple, Mobility
12th	Reaping Mauler 2	+7	+7	+7	+8	Intimidate 10, Tumble 11	Psycrystal Affinity	Adept Wrestling +1
13th	Reaping Mauler 3	+8	+7	+7	+9	Intimidate 11, Tumble 14		Counter Grapple, Sleeper Lock
14th	Reaping Mauler 4	+9	+8	+8	+9	Intimidate 12, Tumble 17		Adept Wrestling +2
15th	Reaping Mauler 5	+10	+8	+8	+9	Intimidate 15, Tumble 18	Psycarnum Crystal	Devastating Grapple
16th	War Mind 2	+11	+9	+9	+9	Intimidate 17, Never Outnumbered		Chain of Defensive Posture +2
17th	War Mind 3	+12	+9	+9	+10	Intimidate 19, Tumble 19		Enduring Body (DR 1/-)
18th	War Mind 4	+13	+10	+10	+10	Intimidate 21, Tumble 20	Imperious Command
19th	War Mind 5	+14	+10	+10	+10	Concentration 2, Intimidate 22, Tumble 21		Sweeping Strike

Ability Scores

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Starting Ability Scores (including racial adjustments):
Str - 16
Dex - 10
Con - 14
Int - 14
Wis - 14
Cha - 14

Final Ability Scores:
Str - 18 (4th, 8th)
Dex - 10
Con - 14
Int - 14
Wis - 14
Cha - 16 (12th, 16th)

Spells known, spells/day, powers known, power points/day

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Spells/day

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

Sample of spells known:
As a wizard, EL CHUPACABRA is not limited in spells known. That said, here are the spells relevant to his various tricks.
1st
Babau Slime, Cause Fear, Mage Armor, Shield

2nd
Balor Nimbus, Fearsome Grapple, Mirror Image, Scare

3rd
Fly, Haste

4th
Evard's Black Tentacles, Fear

Power points/day

Level	Power points/day
1st	2
2nd	2
3rd	2
4th	2
5th	2
6th	2
7th	2
8th	2
9th	2
10th	4
11th	4
12th	4
13th	4
14th	4
15th	4
16th	7
17th	9
18th	16
19th	22

Powers known:
In addition to his Stomp 1/day psi-like ability, EL CHUPACABRA has the following powers known:
1st
Grip of Iron, Synesthete

2nd
Hustle

Level Breakpoints

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Level 5

Early in his career, EL CHUPACABRA can play much like a standard Abrupt Jaunt conjurer. However, he prefers to get in close to his opponents and either choke the life out of them in a grapple, or punch them into submission. His spells assist in this process (Mirror Image, Mage Armor, and Shield all help him avoid injury while Babau Slime and Balor's Nimbus let him fry an enemy in a grapple), making him a far better grappler than any other. At level 4, with Fearsome Grapple active, he's got up to a +15 to his grapple check (+2 BAB, +3 Str, +2 Girallon Arms Soulmeld, +4 Powerful Build, +4 Fearsome grapple), which only goes up when he faces large or larger opponents. His fear causing abilities are mostly only found in spells, with some weak intimidation ability.

His Dex score is a straight 10, because he plans to spend most of his time in a grapple, where he would be denied his Dex bonus to AC anyway. And if he winds up in a grapple where the odds are not in his favor, he can use Abrupt Jaunt to break free.

Level 10

EL CHUPACABRA is now quite comfortable choking out those who dare oppose him while staring down their friends. He has finished off Dread Witch, and it's fear causing abilities are good, but won't truly be capitalized on until later. However, the increase in caster level and his Practiced spellcaster feat give him enough of boost to get an additional +4 from Fearsome Grapple (for a total of +8), which keeps him well equipped in most grapples.

Level 15 - "Lugar Dulce"

Now EL CHUPACABRA has nearly mastered the art of both the grapple and the menacing stare. His intimidate score is excellent, helped handily by Dread Witch, and he's gotten everything but the capstone for Reaping Mauler. Thanks to the Grip of Iron power he picked up from War Mind, his grapple mod is an astronomical +41 (+9 BAB, +4 Str, +6 Girallon Arms Soulmeld, +4 Powerful Build, +4 Improved Grapple, +8 Fearsome Grapple, +4 Grip of Iron, +2 Adept Wrestling), before adding in the bonus from Clever Wrestling.

Level 19

At last we see EL CHUPACABRA at his peak. He can strike terror into the hearts of his foes thanks to a sky-high intimidate, Dread Witch, Never Outnumbered, and Imperious Command. In addition, he can grapple with titans and win with his impressive +50 grapple mod (+54 when grappling actual Titans). So when he says he will break his opponent, he can deliver on his promise to break both their body, and their spirit. He also picks up on last, neat trick in the form of some unique battlefield control. Thanks to Sweeping Strike from War Mind, he can initiate a grapple against two adjacent foes at the same time, thereby trapping both with him in a grapple they are unlikely to escape.

Sources

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Player's Handbook (Wizard, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple, Cause Fear, Scare)
Complete Warrior (clever Wrestling, Reaping Mauler)
Expanded Psionics Handbook (Half-giant, War Mind, Psycrystal Affinity, Synesthete, Grip of Iron, Hustle)
Magic of Incarnum (Shape Soulmeld, Bonus Essentia, Psycarnum Crystal, Girallon Arms soulmeld)
Spell Compendium (Balor Nimbus, Fearsome Grapple)
Player's Handbook 2 (Abrupt Jaunt Conjurer ACF)
Complete Arcane (Practiced Spellcaster)
Unearthed Arcana (Martial Wizard Variant)
Heroes of Horror (Dread Witch)
Drow of the Underdark (Imperious Command)

[Kazudo]

God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.

William Shakespeare

Ga-Ryn 'Feareater' the Lawful Evil Goliath Totemist 2 / Swordsage 2 / Barbarian 1 / Cleric 1 / Ordained Champion 3 / Soul Eater 1 / Dread Witch 5 / Reaping Mauler 5

Spoiler: Background

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Ga-Ryn growled while climbing down the mountain chain where his, now former, tribe lived, exiled for eternity for what the thought was excessive death of their warriors in combat against the giants. The idiots apparently didn't think that without sacrificing a quarter of the Goliath warriors the giants wouldn't have fallen to the dastardly sneak attack on their flank, and they would have overrun the encampment.

While unfortunate, it's a question of getting the most out of it, and in this case Ga-Ryn was certain it was sacrificing the weakest of the warriors which he had picked out for doing so, and as thanks he's exiled?! Well, there's always someone, somewhere that needs a commander or a giant wrangler. It's the tribes own fault that they won't have him taking the tough choices about how best to defend them.

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Ability	Baseline	Racial Modifier	Total
Strength	12	+4	16
Dexterity	14	-2	12
Constitution	12	+2	14
Intelligence	10		10
Wisdom	14		14
Charisma	14		14

Ability raises are probably best used on Strength.

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Barbarian 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Escape Artist 1(cc), Intimidate 4, Jump 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 1(cc), Knowledge (Religion) 2(cc)	Improved Unarmed Strike	Improved Grab (Spiritual Bear Totem), Rage 1/day
2nd	Cleric of Red Knight 1	+1	+4	+0	+2	Knowledge (Religion) 4	Weapon Focus (Longsword)B	Rebuke Undead, War Domain (Divine Magician)
3rd	Totemist 1	+1	+6	+2	+2	Knowledge (Religion) 6(cc)	Alertness	Wild Empathy
4th	Totemist 2	+2	+7	+3	+2	Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (Religion) 7(cc)		Totem Chakra Bind +1, Level Adjustment Buyoff
5th	Swordsage 1	+2	+7	+5	+4	Jump 5, Tumble 5		Quick To Act, Discipline Focus (Tiger Claw)
6th	Ordained Champion 1	+3	+9	+5	+6	Escape Artist 2(cc)	Extend SpellB, Multiattack	Bonus Domain (Planning), Modified Spontaneous casting
7th	Ordained Champion 2	+4	+10	+5	+7	Escape Artist 3(cc)	DiehardB	Smite
8th	Ordained Champion 3	+5	+10	+6	+7	Escape Artist 4(cc)		Channel Spell, Divine Bulwark
9th	Swordsage 2	+6	+10	+7	+8	Escape Artist 5(cc), Jump 9	Presistent Spell	AC Bonus
10th	Soul Eater 1	+7	+12	+9	+10	Jump 13		Energy Drain 1
11th	Dread Witch 1	+7	+12	+9	+12	Intimidate 6	Unnatural WillB	Master of Terror
12th	Dread Witch 2	+8	+12	+9	+13	Intimidate 8	Divine Metamagic (Presistent Spell)	Absorb Fear
13th	Dread Witch 3	+8	+13	+10	+13	Intimidate 10		Fear Empowerment 1/day
14th	Dread Witch 4	+9	+13	+10	+14	Intimidate 12		Delay Fear, Greater Master of Terror
15th	Dread Witch 5	+9	+13	+10	+14	Intimidate 14	Clever Wrestling	Fearful Empowerment 2/day, Horrific Aura, Reflective Fear
16th	Reaping Mauler 1	+10	+15	+12	+14	Jump 15	Improved GrappleB, MobilityB
17th	Reaping Mauler 2	+11	+16	+13	+14	Jump 17		Adept Wrestling +1
18th	Reaping Mauler 3	+12	+16	+13	+15	Jump 19	Practiced Spellcaster (Cleric)	Counter Grapple, Sleeper Lock
19th	Reaping Mauler 4	+13	+17	+14	+15	Jump 21		Adept Wrestling +2
20th	Reaping Mauler 5	+14	+17	+14	+15	Jump 23		Devestating Lock

Spoiler: Maneuvers, Meldshaping and Spellcasting

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Maneuvers:

CharLevel	Initiator Level	Maneuvers Known	Maneuvers Readied	Stances Known	Maneuvers Learned
5th	3	6	4	1	Cloak of Deception, Counter Charge, Distracting Ember, Mountain Hammer, Shadow Jaunt, Sudden Leap; Stonefoot Stance
9th	5.5	7	4	2	Zephyr Dance; Crushing Weight of the Mountain

Meldshaping:

Level	Soulmelds	Essentia	Chakra
3	2	1	0
4	3	2	1

Default Soulmelds is Girallon Arms (Shaped to Arms, all Essentia), Rageclaws (Bound to Totem), Wormtail Belt (Shaped to Waist).

Spellcasting:

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

Extra Spells from Divine Magician ACF is Ray of Enfeeblement (1st), Scare (2nd), Ray of Exhaustion (3rd) and Enervation (4th)

Spoiler: Highlights

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Level 5:
Ga-Ryn starts out a bit unfocused in terms of which base classes he takes, but it doesn't matter to much since he can allready deal a fair amount of damage by having natural attacks which feeds into improved grab and the massive boost from Girallion Arms, and powerful build (for all intends and purposes i'm Large instead of medium whenever it makes me better at something), making a decent grabbler allready from quite early on. first level of cleric (and only, but as i'm expanding on it, it can't really be called dipping) also hands me some reasonable abilities to lean on.

Level 10:
Now we start rolling. Much lower penalties for attacking with secondary natural weapons, the ability to channel debuffing spells (Ray of Enfeeblement for easier grapple checks is an obvious contender), and draining levels from enemies, while dealing even more damage via Crushing Weight of the Mountain stance, which due to Improved Grab can be done simultaneously with regular attacking. one of the stronger spells to for self-buffing my grappling skills is without doubt Balor Nimbus from Spell Compendium, which deals a delicious 6d6 fire damage for each turn i grabble, extermely cost efficient 2nd level spell given my grappleing games.

Level 15:
Dread Witch entered and completed. My high saves makes it quite likely that i'm able to absorb and reflect any fear attempts that targets me (and when, once a blue moon i fail the check i can delay the fear for 2 minutes, giving me plenty of time to kill my opponent). With an +2Cha item i'm having enough rebukes to empower my Persistent Divine Power. Later on if items pan out, a +6Cha item paired with an Nightstick makes for a Persistent Balor Nimbus. Meanwhile, my Channeled spell can now become either Enevation or Ray of Exaustion depending on what i have available (Divine Power is cast through my Domain slot), leaving giving even stronger debuffing abilities against my opponents. No matter which of them it is in any single case, they're going to be Fearful Empowered for even further debuffing.

Level 20:
And Reaping Mauler entered and completed. My Grapple checks keep raising, with Adept Wrestling (for what little its worth) and Improved Grapple, while pinning the opponent (slightly less damage for me since i can't attack with my claws any more, but much more restricted for my opponent) i'm able to give them some extra checks every now and again with Sleeper and Devestating Locks.

My Grapple check would (with Divine Power on) be = +20(BAB) +8(str on 27) +4(Powerful Build) +2(Adept Wrestling) +8(Girallon Arms) +4(Improved Grapple) = 46, before any items is added either boosting my essentia pool and capacity in my Girallon Arms, or tomes of Strength or other items (if any exist) giving other bonuses to Grapple checks (or strength checks really).

Spoiler: Sources

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Book of Vile Darkness - Soul Eater
Complete Arcane - Persistent Spell
Complete Champion - Ordained Champion (note Adaptation, which comments on use in non-greyhawk games), Spirit Totem (Barbarian ACF)
Complete Divine - Divine Metamagic, Practiced Spellcaster
Complete Mage - Divine Magician (Cleric ACF)
Complete Warrior - Reaping Mauler, Clever Wrestling
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting - Red Knight, Planning Domain
Heroes of Horror - Dread Witch
Magic of Incarnum - Totemist
Monster Manual - Multiattack
Races of Stone - Goliath
Tome of Battle - Swordsage

[Kazudo]

[10 characters/less. Really, next time I'll have better stuff planned out. I kinda spontaneously just decided to do this reveal today.]

Spoiler: Image and Fluff

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Nyan
"I am the justice that meows in the night."

It was a cold, dark night. It couldn't be helped, really; most of the local druids had been ushered out of town over some plague in the forest. He didn't really mind, though. Less druids meant fewer people to watch him, and every criminal could appreciate that.

With the old hag's bag slung over his shoulder, he felt invincible. It was the adrenaline, he knew, but it still felt good. Making a clean getaway always felt so rewarding - doubly so if his target had been wealthy. Given the weight of the lady's purse, it certainly felt like it.

Usually, a running man stopped for nobody. Witnesses were never good news, after all, and they were usually cause for more work on the job. Still, there were some things worth stopping for. On that particular night, he came across a baying cat under the shade of a window garden. Small, clean and caped in an odd black cloak, he felt that it at least warranted some attention. When did cats start wearing clothes, anyway?

Alas, his decision was a poor one.

"Here, kitty kitty," he chimed, "c'mere while I catch my breath. Who's a cute little cat?" Panting and heaving, he cape to a stop beside the poor thing. It was awfully clean and well-fed for a street cat. Perhaps it had an owner?

The cat did not approach, nor did it purr in appreciation for his company. Instead it sat there, mewling and waving its right paw around in the air. He opened his mouth to ask what it was doing, but found his voice to be stretched and croaky. He could feel a pressure on his neck, to say nothing of the tugging at his hands and knees. He felt around his body, checking if there was something there, but found nothing. It was as if the air itself were strangling him and pinning him down..


...


"We found him lying in a nearby alleyway, not ten minutes after the bag was stolen. Atop his unconscious body laid an orange-and-brown calico cat, twitching its nose and staring out at us through its eyemask. Once the cuffs were on and the lady's purge was retrieved, it simply vanished - we're not sure where. Probably down a gutter or something."
- Jerik, member of the Westward Vale town guard.

Spoiler: Specifics

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Nyan, the Justice of the Night
Race: Tibbit
Classes: Sorcerer 6/Dread Witch 5/Master of the Unseen Hand 4/Reaping Mauler 5
ACFs and Variants: "Spell Shield" Sorcerer ACF. Replaces the familiar with a spell-powered damage sponge.
Alignment: Lawful Good

Ability Scores: 32 Point Buy
Base: 8/14/14/14/14/15
Racial: +2 Dexterity, -2 Strength
Levels: +5 Charisma
Total: 6/16/14/14/14/20
Total (In Cat Form): 3/18/14/14/14/20

Hit Points:

Spoiler: Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Sorcerer 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	4 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 2 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 2 (Cross-Class) Tumble	Surrogate Spellcasting	Spell Shield
2nd	Sorcerer 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	5 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 2.5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 2.5 (Cross-Class) Tumble
3rd	Sorcerer 3	+1	+1	+1	+3	6 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 3 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 3 (Cross-Class) Tumble	Weapon Finesse
4th	Sorcerer 4	+2	+1	+1	+4	7 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 3.5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 3.5 (Cross-Class) Tumble
5th	Sorcerer 5	+2	+1	+1	+4	8 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 4 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 4 (Cross-Class) Tumble
6th	Sorcerer 6	+3	+2	+2	+5	9 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 4 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 4 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana)	Improved Unarmed Strike
7th	Dread Witch 1	+3	+2	+2	+7	10 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 4.5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana)		Master of Terror, Unnatural Will
8th	Dread Witch 2	+4	+2	+2	+8	11 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 2 Intimidate		Absorb Fear
9th	Dread Witch 3	+4	+3	+3	+8	12 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 5 Intimidate	Clever Wrestling	Fearful Empowerment 1/Day
10th	Dread Witch 4	+5	+3	+3	+9	13 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 8 Intimidate		Delay Fear, Greater Master of Terror
11th	Dread Witch 5	+5	+3	+3	+9	14 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 11 Intimidate		Fearful Empowerment 2/Day, Horrific Aura, Reflective Fear
12th	Master of the Unseen Hand 1	+6/+1	+3	+3	+11	15 Concentration, 4 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 14 Intimidate	Steady Concentration	Improved Caster Level, Versatile Telekinesis
13th	Master of the Unseen Hand 2	+7/+2	+3	+3	+12	16 Concentration, 5 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 16 Intimidate		Telekinetic Wielder, Sustained Concentration
14th	Master of the Unseen Hand 3	+8/+3	+4	+4	+12	17 Concentration, 7 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 17 Intimidate		Full Attack Telekinesis
15th	Master of the Unseen Hand 4	+9/+4	+4	+4	+13	18 Concentration, 9 Spellcraft, 5 (Cross-Class) Escape Artist, 5 (Cross-Class) Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 18 Intimidate	Versatile Spellcaster	Improved Violent Thrust, Telekinetic Flight
16th	Reaping Mauler 1	+10/+5	+6	+6	+13	18 Concentration, 9 Spellcraft, 8 Escape Artist, 5 Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 19 Intimidate		Improved Grapple, Mobility
17th	Reaping Mauler 2	+11/+6/+1	+7	+7	+13	18 Concentration, 9 Spellcraft, 11 Escape Artist, 5 Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 20 Intimidate		Adept Wrestling +1
18th	Reaping Mauler 3	+12/+7/+2	+7	+7	+14	18 Concentration, 9 Spellcraft, 14 Escape Artist, 5 Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 21 Intimidate	Practiced Spellcaster (Sorcerer)	Counter Grapple, Sleeper Lock
19th	Reaping Mauler 4	+13/+8/+3	+8	+8	+14	18 Concentration, 9 Spellcraft, 17 Escape Artist, 5 Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 22 Intimidate		Adept Wrestling +2
20th	Reaping Mauler 5	+14/+9/+4	+8	+8	+14	18 Concentration, 9 Spellcraft, 20 Escape Artist, 5 Tumble, 3 Knowledge (Arcana), 23 Intimidate		Devastating Grapple

Spoiler: Spellcasting Progression

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Spells per Day Table

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

Spells Known Table

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

Spells Known
Level 0: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Message, Open/Close, Arcane Mark, Prestidigitation
Level 1: Cause Fear, Shield, Mage Armour, Protection from Evil, Silent Image
Level 2: Scare, Blur, Locate Object, Phantasmal Assailants
Level 3: Dispel Magic, Haste, Phantasmal Strangler
Level 4: Scrying, Phantasmal Killer
Level 5: Telekinesis

Spoiler: Level Breakdown

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Level 5: Sorcerer 5

Spoiler: Justice Does Not Rest

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Nyan begins her life as a Tibbit Sorcerer. Tibbits are fun because they can turn into innocent-looking housecats at will. Sorcerers are fun because of a) magic and b) explosions. Nyan, however, focuses on the former aspect of magic. Her spells serve as buffs and utility, from protective spells like Mage Armour to the ability to seek out lost purses via Locate Object. She also has a few [Fear] effects, from Cause Fear to Phantasmal Assailants, which can be used against her more weak-willed enemies. Phantasmal Assailants is of particular interest because of its substantial ability damage (assuming two failed saves).

As an aside, Nyan takes the Spell Shield Sorcerer ACF. This gives her the ability to turn spells into short-lived hit points, giving her some extra survivability based on her most populous resource. It might not be amazing, but it's better than some silly familiar.

To briefly talk about feats, Weapon Finesse is typical for characters with Nyan's focus on Dexterity. Surrogate Spellcasting, on the other hand, is a necessary feat for Tibbits who wish to cast spells in their cat form. Naturally, Nyan likes to cast spells as much as anyone else.

Level 10: Sorcerer 6/Dread Witch 4

Spoiler: Justice Does Not Forgive

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After one final level of Sorcerer, Nyan detours into Dread Witch. This class is the first secret ingredient for this competition, and its various abilities provide a significant boost to her various [Fear] spells. (Greater) Master of Terror and Fearful Empowerment are a potent combination in their own right, capable of boosting the power of almost any spell. Unnatural Will is a neat fear-centric bonus feat which makes use of Nyan's high Charisma, and meshes naturally with Absorb Fear. Were it not for the mind-affecting immunities of many monsters and critters, Dread Witch could be considered a self-synergistic and viable prestige class. It's just a shame that so many of its abilities require other people to do things to you, rather than granting any form of direct agency.

While we do lose a level of caster progression, we still gain caster levels and extra spells. Dispel Magic and Haste are the go-to spells for any spellcaster, and doubly so when they'll be relying on attack rolls. For [Fear] spells: Phantasmal Stranger is our first foray into grappling enemies, and Phantasmal Killer offers us a(n admittedly rather shaky) save-or-die spell. Scrying is an old favourite, and Nyan loves it for the ability to track down troublemakers and hooligans.

As far as feats go, we've picked up the two prerequisites for the Reaping Mauler prestige class. They'll be of more use later, if at all.

Now, a word on the special entry requirement for the Dread Witch prestige class.

Special: Must have suffered at least one fear effect against which she failed her save.

Such an entry requirement is reliant on DM fiat to even provide you with any fear effects to save against (assuming her Phantasmal X spells don't backfire or that she doesn't, say, cast Scare on herself). On the upside, Nyan's high Will save is not capable of providing immunity to such effects and there's always the chance of rolling a natural 1. Assuming the correct alignment of the stars/rules, this requirement is mechanically possible to achieve. I thus leave you with a snippet of backstory for our caped crusader.

My first experience of fear? Why, it feels like yesterday - such an event is hard to forget, you understand. It was in a shipyard, back when I was starting out on my career as a vigilante. My fledgling self had tracked down some folks there, 'cause they'd kidnapped a child and were demanding a ransom. I should've known better than to charge in head-first. I'd ignored all of the signs that they had a spellcaster with them. Truthfully, I'm lucky that it was a mere enchanter rather than some collateral damage-centric evoker. Those guys are a real pain.

Level 15: Sorcerer 6/Dread Witch 5/Master of the Unseen Hand 4

Spoiler: Justice Does Not Forget

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Nyan picks up her final level of Dread Witch, then begins her slow transformation into a telekinetic grappler. We gain Horrific Aura, which is usually a pitiful, HD-restricted ability which grants us a small bonus against mooks. On a more useful note, however, it be used as a touch attack made of Fear ConcentrateTM which can be used to panic enemies and weaken their guard. Reflective Fear is another ability which relies on the actions of our enemies in order to benefit us, and might actually be a concern if, say, a Phantasmal Killer is redirected back at us (thanks to a successful will save from the target). Does the Phantasmal Killer get stuck in an endless loop (Nyan = caster, successful save redirects the spell back at its caster) until Nyan rolls a natural 1?

After finishing on Dread Witch, we make use of our 11th level spell (Telekinesis) to focus on our grappling side. While subpar, Master of the Unseen Hand works well as a combination of the spellcasting and grappling sides that our secret ingredients are demanding. The Combat Maneuver feature of the Telekinesis spell is of the greatest interest here, as it will allow Nyan to grapple enemies from a feline disguise, from behind cover and from a distance. The Sustained Force and Violent Thrust uses of Telekinesis have their own uses too, but they won't receive as great a focus as the telekinetic grappling side. As an added bonus, we get at-will flight and a better action econonmy when using and concentrating on Telekinesis.

As far as feats go, we work to shore up our waning spellcastng potential through the use of Steady Concentration and Versatile Spellcaster. Steady Concentration grants Nyan the ability to take 10 on all Concentration checks, significantly improving her ability to cast and maintain spells under duress. This is of the greatest importance when concentrating on Telekinesis. Versatile Spellcaster can be used by spontaneous spellcasters to grant extra high-level spells per day (a given, given Nyan's inhibited spellcasting).

A note on spells per day: Nyan's spellcasting progression only grants her three castings of Telekinesis per day, but that's more than enough. There's also plus one from having a high Charisma score, plus up to three additional castings via Versatile Spellcaster. As a rule of thumb, most parties can expect four equal-CR encounters per day and can expect combats to last for some 8 rounds. Furthermore, Nyan has a high caster level with Telekinesis (with each caster level granting her one additional round) and a solid Concentration check (the ability to always take 10 removes most threats to her concentration). Under typical conditions, Nyan's telekinetic abilities should be more than sufficient.

Level 20: Sorcerer 6/Dread Witch 5/Master of the Unseen Hand 4/Reaping Mauler 5

Spoiler: Justice Does Not Surrender

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Seeking to perfect her grappling further, Nyan works to integrate martial skill into her efforts. Reaping Mauler signifies our final separation from Nyan's spellcasting roots, even if we do supplant the features of the prestige class with those of a spellcasting one (Master of the Unseen Hand). Reaping Mauler grants us a number of passive grappling bonuses, from flat grappling modifiers to duration-dependent grappling abilities. Both Sleeper Lock and Devastating Grapple benefit from Nyan's Telekinesis-based grappling style and her middling Wisdom score, keeping herself out of harm's way while still being ostensibly in it.

For our 18th level feat, we pick up Practiced spellcaster. Some extra caster levels never hurt anyone!

Another word on special requirements, this time for the Reaping Mauler prestige class.

Special: The candidate must have defeated at least three opponents one size category larger than himself with his bare hands.

This requirement is a mess rules-wise. Must my opponents be exactly one size category larger, or can they be two or three sizes larger? Must the opponents be of equal-CR, and thus a challenge? What constitutes defeating these three opponents "with his bare hands?" Regardless of these points, a tibbit is natively small-sized; three human crooks aren't the rarest of enemies. I believe the best way to demonstrate this is with more prose.

You wanna know why I like telekinesis? Well, it's simple; I was bullied a lot in my childhood. Kids are mean folk, y'see, and the toughest one always gets to go on top. That's just something you learn when you grow up on the street. It toughened me up, though. Taught me a lot of things, like how to involve myself in a street brawl without getting too many nicks and cuts myself. Those skills were a real help after I started the whole 'savior of the wronged' thing I do now. Why, this one time I took out three guys at once, with only my fists!

Spoiler: Resources

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Player's Handbook: Sorcerer, Improved Unarmed Strike, Improved Grapple
Dragon Compendium: Tibbit
Heroes of Horror: Dread Witch, Unnatural Will
Complete Warrior: Master of the Unseen Hand, Reaping Mauler, Clever Wrestling
Savage Species: Surrogate Spellcasting
Races of Stone: Steady Concentration
Races of the Dragon: Versatile Spellcaster
Complete Arcane: Practiced Spellcaster
Dungeonscape: Spell Shield Sorcerer ACF

Spells
Complete Mage: Phantasmal Strangler
Spell Compendium: Phantasmal Assailants
Player's Handbook: All other spells

[Kazudo]

And that's our four entrants. If I missed you, PM me and I'll use this post as its entry.

[Kazudo]

How about some judging criteria, huh?

The maximum score in each category is 5; minimum score is 1.

Originality: Baseline: 1 point. Entrants will be awarded up to 1.5 points for race: 0.5 points for using a race that is not particularly suited to the secret ingredients (gains no bonus to strength or casting stat), 1 point for using a race that has a penalty to strength or their casting stat, 1.5 points for using a race that has a penalty to both. Entrants will be awarded up to 2 points for class: 1 point for using a class that is not an obvious entry to either secret ingredient, 2 points for something totally off-the-wall. Ad-hoc bonuses of up to 1 point for any other particularly surprising build elements.


Power: In this competition, there is a spellcasting ingredient and a non-spellcasting ingredient. Entrants could conceivably build a grappler with a side of casting, a caster with a side of grappling, or a mix of the two. Because of that, I will judge each build depending on where it falls in that mix. There will be no power penalty for a build that does not focus on spellcasting. (Note that a complete focus on one side, to the exclusion of the other, may have a negative effect on the Use of Secret Components score). The scores will have a baseline score of 3 (3 representing an average character). Up to 1 point will be awarded or subtracted for how well the character fills the role. Up to 1 point will be awarded or subtracted for versatility (measuring how well the character can perform in something other than the primary role)


Use of Secret Components: Baseline: 1. For each ability combination that explicitly makes use of both components, 0.5-1 points will be awarded. Ad hoc bonuses (up to 1) awarded for particularly clever combinations. Additional feats and abilities taken to improve the secret ingredients will be awarded 0.25-0.5 points (depending on how significant an investment the ability represents); maximum 1. Incidental benefits (i.e. getting better strength or casting stat generally, which has the additional effect of improving your Grapple or spell DC) do not count; only abilities which specifically improve the Secret Ingredients count for the bonus points. For each level of either secret component not used, there will be a -0.5 point penalty.


Build Stability: Baseline score is 3. Failure to qualify for (or use) either of the special ingredients will result in a 1. Other rule violations (failure to qualify for a feat, not meeting an alignment requirement, exceeding the maximum allowed XP, etc) receive a 0.5-1 point penalty per violation, depending on severity. Use of Templates will result in a penalty equal to the level adjustment divided by 2. There will be an ad hoc penalty of up to 1 point for any build that makes me think, “There is no way in Baator that I’d ever allow that at my table.” Entrants will receive a 0.5-2 point bonus for backstory or description that meshes particularly well with the mechanics. (Being a poor writer won’t negate the bonus, but there has to be something there to get it). Using only one base class will get a 3 point bonus; using two base classes will get a 1.5 point bonus. 3 or more base classes will gain no bonus or penalty.

[Kazudo]

I hope my judges and contestants haven't forgotten about me in my absence. I do apologize sincerely for it. There's a huge laundry list of crap that's been going down and it all decided to hit at once. This isn't even pouring when it rains, this is deciding that rain isn't bad enough and throwing a tsunami in on it.

Originality

Spoiler

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Start from a baseline score of 3.

Up to 0.5 point of bonus or penalty based on whether the classes/race/ect you used were things I expected. Known cheese or standard handbook fare will see a deduction here.

Up to 0.5 points of bonus or penalty based on whether anyone else thought to use the same build components. You'll be worse off if you and another entrant used the component for the exact same thing (say, if you both jumped out at Paladin 5 for the special mount).

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty to a build doing something interesting or something we've all seen it before respectively. You can fill a common niche without incurring my wrath, but I'd like to see a new spin on it. Cool factor in your crunch may see a bonus here.

Up to a 0.25 point bonus if I find your fluff to be particularly excellent.

Power

Spoiler

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Start from a baseline score of 3.

General Tier level: I want to reward builds that manage to be powerful and versatile without giving T1s a free ride. Taking a Monk and optimizing it into competence deserves more praise than simply not screwing up a Wizard or Druid too badly. So the build's tier ranking will only be worth 0.5 either way. A T5 build will recieve -0.5 points. A build on the T4/T5 boundary will recieve -0.25 points. A T4 build will receive 0 points. A build on the T4/T3 boundary will receive +0.25 points. A T3 or higher build will receive 0.5 points.

Up to 1.5 points of bonus or penalty for how well you do the things that you do. For example, if you're a front line fighter, how good are you at hurting things? If you're a caster, do you lose a lot of caster levels?

Elegance

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Start from a baseline score of 3.

Each failure to qualify for a class or feat results in a 0.5 point deduction. Qualifying for all such things gets you a bonus of 0.5.

Up to 1 point of penalty for questionable rules interpretations and for any cheese stinky enough to make it onto my personal ban list (note that I'm pretty cheese tolerant, in general). Avoidance of such things gets you a bonus of 0.5.

Up to 1 point of bonus or penalty based on the overall flow of the build. A clean, flowing progression will score more points, whereas something that feels awkward may be penalized. As with cheese, I'm not going to try to be especially punitive toward dipping, unless you're really asking for it. If you incur multiclass penalties, change alignment mid-build for crunch reasons, or the like, you can expect to be dinged here.

Up to 0.5 points of bonus or penalty if the build just screams classy or is especially distasteful in a way not quantified by the above.

Use of Secret Ingredient

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Start From a Baseline Score of 1.

0.1 point for each level taken in each of the SI classes.

Up to 1 point for good use of Reaping Mauler class abilities.

Up to 1 point for good use of Dread Witch class abilities.

Up to 1 point for synergy between the abilities of the two classes.

[Kazudo]

And that's the end of the primary reveal for this episode. I believe what I'm going to begin doing is do public brainstorming for the next episode, then that way I don't have to worry about anything bulletproof. Honestly speaking if it becomes a given that the chairperson can be a flake at times, there isn't a huge benefit for people who happen to already know the ingredient. This ain't ICOCitP. Not NEARLY as important or watched, so it doesn't have to be QUITE as strictly ruled.

[dysprosium]

From what I can see the Lady in Red and Nyan can protect the streets of the same city together. And I would pay to see a wrestling match between El Chupacabra and Ga-Ryn.

It's funny when there is synergy between entrants like that.

It will be interesting to see how they all stack together.

[Amphetryon]

Interesting. The only concept I came up with was some variation of Dread Necromancer 7/Dread Witch 5/Leviathan Hunter 3/Reaping Mauler 5, perhaps a little more of X or a little less of Y to try to get it to fit.

[Kazudo]

Interesting. The only concept I came up with was some variation of Dread Necromancer 7/Dread Witch 5/Leviathan Hunter 3/Reaping Mauler 5, perhaps a little more of X or a little less of Y to try to get it to fit.

Yeah, I liked the way Leviathan Hunter read. I was gonna use it in ICOCitP: Darkrunner if I could have worked out the race.

[WhamBamSam]

My idea would have been something of a cheese fondue next to the actual entries.

The basic stub would have been Venerable Passion's Flame Dragonwrought Desert Kobold Battle Dancer 1/ Spirit Bear Totem Barbarian 1/Disciple of the Eye 2/Battle Sorcerer 4/Reaping Mauler 3/Incanatrix 4/Dread Witch 5. The basic idea was as follows.

1) Persist Fell Frighten Balor Nimbus, Blood Wind, Divine Power (access to Cleric Spell list through Passion's Flame), and Draconic Polymorph (even though you lost the benefit of the Clever Wrestling Feat when you become large, you don't lose the feat itself and therefore still qualify for Reaping Mauler), and a few others like Fearsome Grapple and Fell Frighten Babau Slime if possible, through Incanatrix. Fearful Empower your first spell that you intend to Persist to increase CL. I hadn't worked out the spellcraft boosting, but it may have included burning high level spell slots on Surge of Fortune to take 20 on the checks.
2) Anything that hasn't been successfully Persisted should be a pre-fight buff if possible. When within 100ft of an enemy, use a swift action to cast Extended Guided Shot (Metamagic Specialist to not increase casting time) then start raging. Attack them with no range penalties with your unarmed strike and all the natural weapons of whatever form he's in, and yoink them into his square with improved grab. They suffer a fear effect from Disciple of the Eye if they have fewer HD than me and were hit by the unarmed strike, then take another one from the Fell Frighten effect on Balor Nimbus.
3) Pin their terrified body down for a round (ideally using just one natural attack if you can afford the penalty to do so while using your remaining round of Guided Shot and Persisted Blood Wind to pull in other enemies) to Sleeper Lock them. Once everyone has gone limp, CDG them or somesuch (I hadn't really figured out if I had room to fit a good "make enemy my slave" spell, as I'd decided to judge anyway).

So yeah. Cheesy. Anyhow, I should be getting started on my judging either tonight or tomorrow.

[Telonius]

Kazudo, someone must have cast Bestow Curse on this contest ... because I'm going to have to bow out of judging. (Long story short, instead of getting a 2-year lease renewal, the landlord canceled the lease yesterday and I have 30 days to find a new place for me, wife, kid, mother in law, dog, and cat). I'm really sorry I won't be able to get to this, but feel free for someone else to use the judging criteria.

[WhamBamSam]

I've been caught up in things, but I should be getting to my judging tonight.

[Deadline]

I've been caught up in things, but I should be getting to my judging tonight.

I can't wait! 4th place, here I come! Woohoo!

[Kazudo]

Ah hah! In that case, we'll be taking applicants for new judge. Or, if we don't have any interest in that, Whambamsam gets to decide the FATE OF THE COMPETITION.

You know. No pressure.

[Sian]

How's the judging going?

[WhamBamSam]

How's the judging going?

Slowly plugging away. I should have been done by now, but things keep popping up. Fingers crossed for this evening.