But do they burn with the fires of a thousand evils?
Originally Posted by The Spirit of All Pointy Things
The Spirit of All Pointy Things
LN Jermlaine Wilderness Rogue 10/Serene Guardian 10
I’m the spirit of all pointy things.
I’m all that pricks and all that stings.
I’m all that’s spiked and all that’s thorned.
I’m all that’s spined and all that’s horned.
I’m all that’s sharp and all that’s peaked.
I’m all that’s fanged and all that’s beaked.
I’m all that stabs and pierces through.
And tonight I'll come for you.
-Song of the Needle-Spitter
Spoiler: Ability Scores and LanguagesStarting ability scores:
STR: 8
DEX: 18
CON: 12
INT: 16
WIS: 10
CHA: 8
Post-racial adjustments:
STR: 1
DEX: 24
CON: 10
INT: 14
WIS: 16
CHA: 6
All ability score increases go into dexterity.
The Spirit speaks Jermlaine, Common, and Goblin.
Spoiler: StoryThe fey are more numerous than any mortal can ever imagine. From singular flowers and pebbles to the very seasons: all concepts are represented by them.
The Spirit of All Pointy Things used to be a plain, weak spirit, whose power was derived from a handful of hedgehogs, porcupines, and thorny plants. It lacked the power to assume physical form as anything more than a wretched, small humanoid. As a result, it rarely influenced the physical world: at most it'd fling a few poisoned needles at a predator that was eating too many of its proteges.
Yet one day, all changed. The Spirit discovered that slowly, its powers were increasing. Intrigued, it assumed physical form once more, and traveled its forest. All the while, it grew more powerful. Had it once barely been able to hurt other creatures, now its darts would leave them wracked with pain if not killed outright.
At last, the Spirit found the source of its power boom. A tribe of humans had moved into its forest. The Spirit, who had never seen humans before, was intrigued: how could these fangless, clawless, spikeless beings empower him? They weren't part of his domain!
Soon: it discovered the answer: the humans were a part of his domain after al. They used small needles to sew cloth and suture wounds, cooked food on sharpened sticks, and hunted animals with spears and arrows.
The Spirit, its power greater than ever before, came to favor the humans. It'd weaken great beasts and lead them to the human hunters, and command vermin to stay away from their food piles. The humans, pleased with their good luck, settled down near the forest.
For centuries, the Spirit watched the humans, and with them itself, grow more powerful. Its primal, chaotic mindset slowly eroded away, and in its place came a sense of duty and order: just like the humans it observed.
One group of humans in particular interested it. Calling themselves the Luminous Order, they lived by principles of discipline and serenity. The Spirit watched them from the shadows, slowly adding to its own techniques with the Order's teachings.
All this happened long ago, but the Spirit still lingers. It is said that when a threat to the humans arises, it rises from its forested home. Unseen and unheard by those it protects, the Spirit will track down its quarry... and kill it.
Spoiler: Build Table
Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features 1st Wilderness Rogue 1 +0 +0 +2 +0 Craft (Poisonmaking) +4, Escape Artist +4, Hide +4, Intimidate +4, Knowledge (nature) +4, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Spot +4, Survival +4, Use Magic Device +4 Point-Blank Shot Poison Use, Sneak Attack +1d6 2nd Wilderness Rogue 2 +1 +0 +3 +0 Craft (Poisonmaking) +5, Escape Artist +5, Hide +5, Knowledge (nature) +5, Listen +5, Move Silently +5, Search +1, Spot +5, Survival +5, Use Magic Device +5 - Evasion 3rd Wilderness Rogue 3 +2 +1 +3 +1 Craft (Poisonmaking) +6, Escape Artist +6, Hide +6, Knowledge (nature) +6, Listen +6, Move Silently +6, Search +2, Spot +6, Survival +6, Use Magic Device +6 Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Fukimi-Bara) Death's Ruin, Sneak Attack +2d6 4th Wilderness Rogue 4 +3 +1 +4 +1 Craft (Poisonmaking) +7, Escape Artist +7, Hide +7, Knowledge (nature) +7, Listen +7, Move Silently +7, Search +3, Spot +7, Survival +7, Use Magic Device +7 - Disruptive Attack 5th Wilderness Rogue 5 +3 +1 +4 +1 Craft (Poisonmaking) +8, Escape Artist +8, Hide +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Listen +8, Move Silently +8, Search +4, Spot +8, Survival +8, Use Magic Device +8 - Sneak Attack +3d6 6th Wilderness Rogue 6 +4 +2 +5 +2 Craft (Poisonmaking) +9, Escape Artist +9, Hide +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Listen +9, Move Silently +9, Search +5, Spot +9, Survival +9, Use Magic Device +9 Darkstalker - 7th Wilderness Rogue 7 +5 +2 +5 +2 Craft (Poisonmaking) +10, Escape Artist +10, Hide +10, Knowledge (nature) +10, Listen +10, Move Silently +10, Search +6, Spot +10, Survival +10, Use Magic Device +10 - Sneak Attack +4d6 8th Wilderness Rogue 8 +6/+1 +2 +6 +2 Craft (Poisonmaking) +11, Escape Artist +11, Hide +11, Knowledge (nature) +11, Listen +11, Move Silently +11, Search +7, Spot +11, Survival +11, Use Magic Device +11 - Uncanny Dodge 9th Wilderness Rogue 9 +6/+1 +3 +6 +3 Craft (Poisonmaking) +12, Escape Artist +12, Hide +12, Knowledge (nature) +12, Listen +12, Move Silently +12, Search +8, Spot +12, Survival +12, Use Magic Device +12 Sickening Strike Sneak Attack +5d6 10th Wilderness Rogue 10 +7/+2 +3 +7 +3 Craft (Poisonmaking) +13, Escape Artist +13, Hide +13, Knowledge (nature) +13, Listen +13, Move Silently +13, Search +9, Spot +13, Survival +13, Use Magic Device +13 - Skill Mastery (Concentration, Escape Artist, Hide, Move Silently, Use Magic Device) 11th Serene Guardian 1 +8/+3 +5 +9 +3 Concentration +2, Hide +14, Move Silently +14 - Resonance, Painful Release 12th Serene Guardian 2 +9/+4 +6 +10 +3 Concentration +4, Hide +15, Move Silently +15 Arterial Strike Damaging Release 13th Serene Guardian 3 +10/+5 +6 +10 +4 Concentration +6, Hide +16, Move Silently +16 Woodland ArcherB Bonus Feat (Woodland Archer) 14th Serene Guardian 4 +11/+6/+1 +7 +11 +4 Concentration +8, Hide +17, Move Silently +17 - Staggering Release 15th Serene Guardian 5 +12/+7/+2 +7 +11 +4 Concentration +10, Hide +18, Move Silently +18 Terrifying Strike Greater Resonance 16th Serene Guardian 6 +13/+8/+3 +8 +12 +5 Concentration +12, Hide +19, Move Silently +19 - Traumatic Release 17th Serene Guardian 7 +14/+9/+4 +8 +12 +5 Concentration +14, Hide +20, Move Silently +20 - Immunity to Fear 18th Serene Guardian 8 +15/+10/+5 +9 +13 +5 Concentration +16, Hide +21, Move Silently +21 Savvy Rogue (Skill Mastery) Confounding Release 19th Serene Guardian 9 +16/+11/+6/+1 +9 +13 +6 Concentration +18, Hide +22, Move Silently +22 - Unclouded Mind 20th Serene Guardian 10 +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +14 +6 Concentration +20, Hide +23, Move Silently +23 - Soul Release
Spoiler: The Serene Guardian IssueSerene Guardian is a class that functions best when you hit people several times per turn for a lot of turns. The problem is that those things don't go well together.
By hitting people several times per turn, you should be killing them long before you ever get to use interesting SG abilities. In addition, you'll probably be full attacking, which limits your versatility to 'I hit it' and makes it hard to avoid opponent fire. Even if fifteen of your full attacks aren't enough to kill a foe, fifteen of its full attacks should be killing you.
The alternative, drawing out fights so you can use SG abilities, runs into the issue that it's very hard to avoid being hit while striking foes several times a round. Either you aren't building up Resonance or you're being killed.
However, there is a simple solution to this: stealth. By sneaking, enemy attacks can be avoided completely, which should allow you to slowly create Resonance.
But wait: how does one attack multiple times a round while sneaking? After all: stealth typically requires actions. The answer comes in the form of an obscure OA weapon: the Fukimi-Bari (mouth darts). Their description explicitly says:
Combine this with sniping:
Basically, one can sneak around, spit three mouth darts, and immediately try to hide again. This allows for the buildup of Resonance while also keeping the user safe.
Spoiler: Build WriteupsSpoiler: Level 5At this level, you're a regular jermlaine rogue... which means your Hide is through the roof. Expect monsters to be flat-out unable to spot you unless you let them. 9d6 points of sneak attack damage per round means you'll be keeping up with normal rogues even if you haven't got Craven.
A tower shield can be used as a source of mobile cover: you don't need your hands, do you? If your DM thinks it's silly, paint it in camouflage colors and ask again.
The build has one weakness at this level, though: non-undead immune to sneak attacks and poison. A regular homunculus will be able to survive the Spirit's attacks for several rounds. In such a situation, I recommend completely avoiding the encounter if possible, or using Disruptive Strike to boost allies' attacks if not.
Spoiler: Level 10At 10th-level, the reason we entered rogue becomes clear: skill mastery (though the 5d6 sneak attack doesn't hurt the build either). Now, your Hide and Move Silently checks are immune to the cruelty of the dice, reducing the chances of being detected.
Two other valuable abilities gained in the past 5 levels are Darkstalker (for obvious reasons) and Sickening Strike (because no-save debuffs are always good). Remember, the -2 penalty the latter imposes on skill checks also applies to Listen and Spot!
Spoiler: Level 15Now things are getting interesting. By hiding and sniping with mouth darts, the Spirit can stack resonance points. It doesn't matter if the initial wounds get healed: once enough resonance has accumulated a single swift action will kill the enemy outright. If foes try to flee, use Staggering Release to immobilize them for a while, then snipe them from just outside their melee range.
With accumulating resonance more important than dealing damage, I recommend making every sneak attack Arterial, Sickening and Terrifying, which will impose huge penalties on about everything and create extra resonance on your next turn without you having to do anything. Only when faced with an opponent that's got DR should you make 'plain' attacks.
Woodland Archer, gained through SG's bonus feat, is also worth mentioning. It lets you move forty feet after each snipe attempt, which lets you stay mobile and makes AoE's less effective.
Spoiler: Level 20The capstone to this build effectively reduces the number of rounds you need to snipe from a few dozen to about fifteen. Also, killing foes by pulling out their souls is much more stylish compared to pricking them a bunch and waiting for them to die of structural collapse.
The other abilities are so-so. Unclouded Mind is great against what AoE-will save abilities your opponents employ, immunity to fear is decent, and Confounding Release allows you to fight foes through their allies.
The build's final feat is Savvy Rogue, which replaces Skill Mastery's 'take 10' with 'take 12'. It's not much, but it sure helps.
Spoiler: For the judgesHow does this build fulfill the contest's requirements? I took the liberty of listing some arguments here:
Originality: Jermlaine. Wilderness rogue. Did you really see those coming for a monk-oriented component? The combat style of hiding and dart-spitting isn't too common either: in fact I've never seen anyone use fukimi-bara.
Power: The build is very good at its speciality (killing stuff with darts) and decent in a number of other situations. It's a good scout, can craft poison or use magical devices, and in a party it'll function as a debuffer. It'll also make those low-level rat quests much easier by being able to talk to the rodents.
Elegance: No dips, no feats, no interrupted class progressions. One could argue having a jermlaine be two steps from his usual alignment is inelegant, but it's no stranger than a TN dwarf, CN gnome, or LG halfling.
Use of Secret Ingredient:The SI's skills are used heavily. Concentration improves the Spirit's moderate Will save, while Hide and Move Silently are essential in getting the build to work.
(Greater) Resonance, Damaging Release, Traumatic Release and Soul Release are all used heavily. Painful Release, Confounding Release and Staggering Release also have their uses.
Unclouded Mind, as has been mentioned before, improves the build's weakest save, the bonus feat adds to its sneaking ability, and Immunity to Fear is useful on any character not already immune.
Spoiler: EquipmentOne would expect the Spirit, as a martial character, to require lots of gear. In practice, this doesn't hold true.
A source of flight is obviously necessary, as is a way to easily detect enemies, but the Spirit doesn't require expensive weapon abilities or protective items. After all: it can kill most things with a pouch of needles already, and protective items are useless if no one ever targets you.
An unconventional but potent item choice would be Shackles of Silence from the BoED. It requires some size-fiddling, but in the end you'd be inaudible by all mortal means. And remember: you don't need your hands to be free to attack.
Finally, it'd be nice for this build to have a permanent Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis, if only for the huge stealth bonuses it grants.
Spoiler: SourcesJermlaine - MMII
Wilderness Rogue - UA
Arterial Strike - CW
Darkstalker - LoM
Savvy Rogue - CS
Sickening Strike - DotU
Terrifying Strike - DotU
Woodland Archer - RotW
Fukimi-Bara - OA
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground LXXXI
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SpoilerShow Originally Posted by Kalirren
The only person in the past two pages who has known what (s)he has been talking about is Heliomance. Originally Posted by golentan
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