Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge II

[Tehnar]

Damn, I'm late. The builds look very interesting thought. I was going to go a more classic Rogue 5/Spymaster 1/Psibond Agent 10/Hellbreaker 4, but I guess time was too tight for me this week. If you wish I can present a more detailed concept for view, as a exhibition outside the contest.

I wish good luck to all participants, and if you need more judges I can step in.

[arguskos]

Damn, I'm late. The builds look very interesting thought. I was going to go a more classic Rogue 5/Spymaster 1/Psibond Agent 10/Hellbreaker 4, but I guess time was too tight for me this week. If you wish I can present a more detailed concept for view, as a exhibition outside the contest.

I wish good luck to all participants, and if you need more judges I can step in.

Dude, you were entering Hellbreaker? Damn! I'd have loved to see that sort of unorthodox use of PsiAg.

[Escheton]

its saturday already?
ow oops too late.
had lurk2/paladin of tyranny3/psibond10/ebon saint 5 myself...

[arguskos]

its saturday already?
ow oops too late.
had lurk2/paladin of tyranny3/psibond10/ebon saint 5 myself...

...wow. That'd have been something to see. What's the source on Ebon Saint though? I don't know that one.

[Tehnar]

Hellbreaker and Psibond Agent have great synergy. Ill do a writeup then.

[Grynning]

Cy, the Half-Elf Agent
Originality: 4
At its core, this is a Cha-based diplomancer/skill monkey, with a few standard tricks (binder/marshal dips, heritage feats, etc.), but the use of Warlock and Mountebank came out of left field for me. I would never have come up with this one on my own, that's for sure.
Power: 3.5
Decent versatility; UMD, high Bluff and Diplomacy means that this character will be able to solve a lot of problems for their party. Also, this character is very playable at all levels, which I like a lot. Not terribly useful when it comes to making the bad things fall down, but will provide a lot of alternatives to physical confrontation, especially in the types of urban and intrigue campaigns you'd expect to see this character run.
Elegance: 4
As far as mechanics go, it's solid and comes together nicely, though I have to deduct a bit for the dip heavy front end of the levels. I liked how the back story was woven together at the beginning (even though I don't personally care too much for the somewhat dark origin story), it kinda petered out at the end and got a bit more generic. There was a lot of emphasis on her entry classes, and not a lot of explanation or story background for the Psibond Agent part of the build.
Use of Secret Ingredient: 3.5
Used all 10 levels of the class, for one, and also built a solid support structure for it for the entry. The only reason this isn't a 4 is that a lot of this character's strength comes purely from skills, abilities gleaned from the early classes and feats.
Overall Score: 15. Average score: 3.75

Lirea, the Dark Dancer
Originality: 4
Wow. What a neat character...an assassin who LIKES a big audience. Cloaked Dancer was the last thing I would expect to see in this competition; doesn't really come to mind when you think of the words "Psi," "bond," or "agent." I was a bit disappointed to see Binder/Marshal again, but the twist was enough to bump this up.
Power: 4
Does exactly what she's meant to do - function as a great social scoundrel and assassin. Good sneak attack, plenty of enemy hosing capability - it's definitely something I'd feel useful playing. I also like that it's a rogue"ish" character who is enough of a specialist to leave room in the party for other rogues.
Elegance: 3.5
My only real beef with the build is the binder levels, they just don't really fit with the character's style IMO. I know that Paimon works nicely flavor-wise, but I just would have liked to have seen something different, can't put my finger on it. The rest of the build is great, and the description of her tactics and the framing device were fun to read. You got a .5 bonus from me for working in a cool hook for the Master of Masks dip, even though the level was really just used as an entry trick.
Use of the Secret Ingredient: 5
This I can't fault you on at all. I LOVE the idea of using Psibond on a crowd the way you described it, you really made that class feature work for this character. You really got the most out of the PrC and made it fun.
Overall Score: 16.5 Average Score: 4.125

Hugo Clopin, King of the Court of Miracles
Originality: 3.5
I wasn't sure if we'd see an arcane caster in here, but I figured Beguiler with a Mindbender dip would be the way to go. The quick dip in Psionic Assassin to qualify for Psibond Agent was a pretty obvious move from there. I did like the use of skill tricks and the splash of Magical Trickster; nice use of some underrated options to spice up the build.
Power: 4.5
With spells, skill tricks, SA and some combat ability, Hugo has plenty of options in any situation. He would definitely be an asset to any tier 3-4 party.
Elegance: 3.5
The backstory and concept was kind of weak, IMO, could have used a bit more of an origin story. Mechanically, there are a lot of disparate abilities being tossed together to make this work. This build is a bit like a cobb salad; lots of ingredients, and tasty, but a bit heavy and kind of moving away from what a "salad" should be. Also, nothing in the build really answers the question of WHY you would not just continue as a caster.
Use of the Secret Ingredient: 4
Utilizes Psibond to its full potential, and gets into the PrC early to make sure it's there for most of the character's career. However, with spells in the mix there's plenty of other ways for this character to pull off the same tricks, so it feels a bit tacked on.
Overall Score: 15.5 Average Score: 3.875

Lárus, The Puppetmaster
Originality: 3
Bard is the archetypal skillmonkey/social class, and a spellthief dip is the same method the example character in the book uses to enter the PrC. Not bad, but not amazing. I would have much rather seen a build that was heavier on spellthief, honestly, it's an underused class.
Power: 3
Bard spells are useful, and like the other builds we've seen so far, Lárus is a great party face. However, he takes longer to come into his own, and is pretty limited in combat. Could have definitely used a bit more optimization to help out the group in more situations - relying on basic bardic music for the first half of your career won't cut it at some tables.
Elegance: 3
The build is fairly vanilla, as are the feat choices. As mentioned above, the character takes a while to become unique, and won't be that interesting to play for a while. The backstory was pretty well done, but I didn't feel that the mechanical abilities of the character synced up to it very well. I liked the idea of using Psibond to help you steal spells, but you didn't follow through with it enough.
Use of the Secret Ingredient: 2.5
Takes 9 levels to get to Psibond Agent, and doesn't finish it. This means that for a lot of this character's life, they're not a Psibond Agent - and c'mon, did we really need that many bard levels?
Overall Score: 11.5 Average Score: 2.875

Alyx Karmen
Originality: 3
I love changelings, and they are a natural fit for this kind of character. Straight Rogue entry to Psibond Agent is a bit boring, but cool use of the other "spy" class in the build.
Power: 2.5
I know this a skillmonkey character, but having no combat ability at all really constrains the types of games and groups where you could use this character. Also, there's a lot more optimization that can be done with a changeling rogue with these PrC's; this is a low tier 4/high tier 5 character at best. The feat choices, especially, were pretty weak, and IIRC the changeling rogue substitution levels are good, why weren't they used?
Elegance: 3.5
Decent backstory, and a simple build that doesn't take any twists and turns. However, the character sheet feels a little incomplete. I understand that you were under a time constraint, but we really could have used some more detail, it would have helped your score here.
Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3
Doesn't finish out the class or really spend a lot of time on creating good support for its abilities. However, the score remains a 3 because in this case, Psibond Agent isn't overshadowed by anything else in the build.
Overall Score: 12 Average Score: 3

Final thoughts: By no means were any of these characters bad, and I applaud the efforts of all the contestants. I feel good that I didn't have to give out any score lower than a 2.5. I won't declare my own pick for a winner; although Lirea got the highest score from me, I can easily see other judges having very different takes on these characters, so it's still anyone's game. Thanks very much for accepting my humble judgments in this contest, and happy gaming to all!

[FishAreWet]

Son of a... I finished my build four days ago but never sent it in. Then had dinner with my sister tonight . For anyone who wants to see it, here it is. Obviously not expecting entry but would appreciate a judge's response.

GHOST PSIBOND
Danny & Rusty

Changeling Rogue 1/ Psion (Shaper) 7/ Black Dog 2/ Psibond 8 / Ghost 2


Ability Score breakdown:

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(8,12,8,17,10,17)
+1 to Cha at level 4
+3 to Int at levels 8, 12 and 16
+2 to Cha from Ghost 2
+6 to Cha and Int from items
+4 to Int from tome

Level 20 stats
(8, 12, –, 30, 10, 26)

Feat Breakdown:

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1st: Able Learner
3rd: Knowledge Devotion
Psion 1: Psicrystal Affinity
6th: Racial Emulation
Psion 5: Personal Contruct
9th: Least Dragonmark (Hospitality)
12th: Ability Focus (Psibond)
15th: MAIMING STRIKE
18th: Dark Stalker

Skill Points=261

Psicrystal Feats:

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1st: Hidden Talent
3rd: Practiced Manifester
6th: Metamorphic Transfer

What it does at level 5:

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Poisons poisons poisons. You use your Psionic abilities to create poison (Minor Creation!) and you use them to assassinate. You have plenty of skills too.

Who it is at level 5:

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Born a Changeling in Eberron, you are an enigma. But the Halflings accept you. But you don't spend much time in Talenta. You travel the world, see the sights. And take any jobs that come your way, especially assassinations and infiltrations.

What it does at level 10:

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Your assassination skills get kicked up a notch. The Black Dog abilities augment your ability to deliver poisons. You now hide in plain sight, and 'Dhurinda’s Trick'ing poisons you Create into place. By now your Knowledge Devotion has picked up and your poisons have an extra kick to them. If combat is about to go down you're ready with a sneak attack. And with those vials containing a couple hundred doses of poison to throw at someone.

Who it is at level 10:

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Your skills have been noticed. You are approached by a Black Dog while you're in Talenta. He makes you an offer to join, under the condition that you accept no outside jobs. While here, you gain a sense of superiority. You realize how strong of an assassin you are, you get cocky. But you're not evil. You have a code you live by.

What it does at level 15:

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Not only are have your assassination skills gotten better, but your Psibond abilities allow you to scout perfectly. And a combination of your powers and Nudge, you can set up situations with ease. Need the get the corrupt mayor to go somewhere dark and alone? You “Create/Control Sound” the question, then Nudge his answer. Need to make sure he takes a drink from the correct glass of wine? My my, that's easy.
By this point you can afford a Skin of Proteus. Not for yourself, that would be dangerous. But for your Psicrystal. You act as a team to propose questions to the target, and Nudge answers. By detecting surface thoughts you are even better able to create a situation where the target doesn't realize what is happening.
The powers Create Sound, Control Sound, Control Light, Matter Agitation, Far Hand, Astral Construct, Minor Creation, Time Hop and Solicit Psicrystal are all great powers to control the environment around you.
And here is the best part. Almost none of this in Mind-Affecting! Nudge nor Psibond mention it, therefore are not. Forced Sensed Link is the only Mind-Affecting thing in the bunch. That's right, you can read the surface thoughts of a Vampire. Or a wizard with Mind Blank.

Who it is at level 15:

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You've managed to integrate your psionic knack into your job. You are top dog at the Black Dogs. No one knows what you truly look like, and few know your name. You are a constatly shifting humanoid who is never alone. Your psicrystal is always by your side, doing what he can to help. If that means he's a horse to ride around, then he's a horse. Or he's a Giant Eagle if you gotta fly. Or a Stone Flyer(Unapproachable East) if you gotta Earth Glide. You get the point.
At level 15 in Eberron, you're the big daddy of assassinations. You are a force to be reckoned with. You take down nations. As the head of the Black Dogs you've taken an oath to protect the weak. But you're still conceited. You're constant assassinations have slowly shifted you from the wide eyed do gooder to a stone cold LE spy bastard. You're protecting the good, but at what cost?

What it does at level 20:

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You're a ghost! Ahhhh! Now you're hard as **** to find. You have bought a Skin of Proteus for yourself, but it's rarely used because you spend most jobs hidden in the walls. You're Psicrystal does all the talking for you, and you follow around, Psibonding all day. You basically follow the same pattern as you did at level 15 to kill anyone ever.

“But what about people immune to poison?”
Good question. You have Telekinesis once every 1d4 rounds at CL 20. And at will at CL 10. You kill these targets with Death Attacks delivered through Violent Thrust*. You have a Portable Hole full of Heavy greatswords(they're coated with poison just in case). You're Death Attack DC is Fort 32. Nothing to write home about, but having to make it 15 times at once is pretty hard. If they're immune to death affects? Paralyze then coup de grace. Immune to Paralyze? Blasting with Telekinesis is surprisingly strong. Fifteen Heavy Greatswords + Knowledge Affiliation comes to a +37 with 15*((4d6 greatsword) + 5(Knowledge Affiliation) + 3d6(Sneak Attack))= ~590 damage. You can also choose to do Charisma damage with your Sneak Attacks. Leaving you at 15*((4d6(greatsword) + 1d6(Sneak Attack) + 5 (Knowledge Devotion) + 1 Charisma(sacrificing 2 sneak attack)) = ~337 damage + 15 Charisma damage. But you save that for when you must make the kill.
Oh, and the Skins of Proteus on you and your Psicrystal can turn you into some pretty formidable combat forms. And even better running away forms.

Who you are at level 20:

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You're a ghost! Ahhhh! What happened? You were at the top of the game and people didn't want you there. You got in too deep in a job and things got hairy. You where killed in the line of duty. But the oath the made was not fulfilled. And you will live on as a ghost until the weak are protected. You partners in the secret society went to great lengths to retrieve your body. They did their best to not look at your true form, and requested the society's wizards to Modify Memory the sight away, because they knew that'd what you would've wanted. They brought your body and all of your equipment, including your Psicrystal to a final resting place. You're body can be found buried under stone in the building of the secret society.
You spend your days doing the best you can to protect the weak. Don't worry, you're not some silly Level 1 Paladin. You're a key player in the game of interplanar chess. You make targets out of Tarrasques and preform hits on families of Balors.

*Death Attack per Black Dog requires “you study a victim for 3 rounds and then make a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage.” Violent Thrust may not be a Melee Attack but it is definitely an attack with a melee weapon.

Sources

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Ghost: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040117a
Please note: “"Ghost" is an acquired template usually gained upon an intelligent creature's death. Such a creature can advance in the ghost template class and develop her powers slowly if desired.”
Psibond: Complete Scoundrel
Black Dog: Dragonmarked
Personal Construct**: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070411a

Thoughts on the class:

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It wasn't as bad as it looked. Once I realized the synergy between Nudge and False Sensory Input, it all started to come together. What you have in this prestige class is the ability to set up situations very well. And people don't realize it's happening. Nudge gives you the ability to control reactions. False Sensory Input gives you the ability to create actions. The synergy between these two abilities is why this prestige class is rather good.
These powers are what lead me to assassinations. Then I had to think, “What is sneaky?” and that's a simple answer. Ghosts! Now, I've setup the situation without being scene, how do I go in for the kill? Enter Black Dog and Psion. Black Dog lets you play with poisons, and Death Attack. Psion gives you insane amounts of poison per day. And Telekinesis from the Ghost seals the deal. Maiming Strike comes in late game and gives the build the extra umph it needs to really get the kill.* But we know that damage isn't how combat is won. And hopefully, this character doesn't see true combat. It's built for the one hit kill.
The addition of the Psicrystal was a last minute choice. It is abusable but it's not used for those purposes for this character. But it does give is an even simpler way to create actions. It allows for “False Sensory Input” type operations, without having a second target Psibonded. And doesn't rely on them not being Immune to Mind Affecting. It also adds some nice flair to the character. Always having the exact creature or item he needs at all times... And once he becomes a Ghost is replaces his body!


*One issue with assassins in DnD is that they look overpowered because they can do insane damage. But they're situational. Looking at my 400 damage + 30 Cha damage + (30d6 +75) Con damage and 15 Fort DC 32 saves or dies, that sounds straight cheesy, right? It's really not. For one, it's only once every d4 rounds. And it takes about 10 minutes to setup the poison creation and apply it to each sword. And I have to catch the target by surprise after watching him for 3 rounds. There is redundancy in the kill. Very few things will survive that much Con damage or Cha damage. But people have immunities. As said above, it's designed around a one hit kill concept. It is for that reason that I feel it should not fall in the valley between CO and TO.

High powered options which I ignored for the sake of Elegance, Flavor, and overshadowing The Psibond Agent.

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-Half Fey bought off would go a long way in improving power. All those SLAs are sexy.
-SPELL TO POWER ERUDITE. Getting Silent Image as a first level power. And other things.

Final thoughts:

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I worried a lot about the significance that Psibond Agent has in this build. I worried that although I take 8 levels, the power is in spite of the class, instead of using it. Then I began to write out my explanation. And I realized something, although Psibond Agent doesn't directly contribute power, it is the glue that holds the build together. Both mechanically and thematically. Nudge is a unique effect that shouldn't be underestimated.
This is a surprisingly strong PrC for anyone in a 'social' style game. Once combat starts, unless you optimized in spite of Psibond, you aren't much use. But Psibonds power is to stop combat. Or at least set it up on his own terms.
But there is a downside to the PrC. DM fiat. Much like Silent Image and it's kin, it's hard to tell what is exactly allowed with the powers. What exactly counts as “obvious danger” and how far can we really push Nudge?

[Grynning]

That's certainly a cool build, Fish, too bad we didn't get to see it in competition. Just a quick "judgment" from me at a glance:
Originality: 4
Psion entry to PsiBond Agent is actually a lot more difficult than it looks, especially since you know you're giving up your delicious manifesting. Also, you get points for using a class I had literally never heard of (Black Dog). Also I like that the character is dead for the last couple levels, even though there was a ghost in the last contest.
Power: 4.5
Decent use of the class abilities all around. Shapers always have some good stuff to bring to the table, and you made sure you didn't lose too much from the PrC. You certainly have plenty of kill capability.
Elegance: 3
I think relying on your psicrystal too much is a bit cheesy, as are some of the other tricks and options used. Also one of those builds that tacks on only the good stuff from several different books.
Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3.5
Works it nicely into the flavor and combat tactics. Gets into it a little late and only takes 8 levels, but that's to work in the Ghost gimmick.
Overall Score: 15, Average Score: 3.75

[arguskos]

Damn Fish, I was curious to see what of the above stuff was yours. Anyways, quick glance at your "entry".

Originality: 4.5. I really didn't expect a Psion entry, since, well, it's actually discouraged by the class! Further, you used Black Dog (which I've never even heard of), and so you score big points here.
Power: 4.5. You have some VERY powerful tricks, you've got Psionics, which are always nice, and you really have some great social abilities. It's a strong character.
Elegance: 3. I... it feels forced. It's hard to explain, but I look at it and say "well, there's a REASON no one enters as a psion." The build isn't lacking for power, but it doesn't make a huge amount of sense as a build. Further, as Grynning points out, relying on your psicrystal so much isn't very pretty to deal with. It makes it seem like you're not really the star, your psicrystal is (even though that's not the case).
Use of the Secret Ingredient: 3. Even though you say that PsiAg is the glue that holds it together, you could have dipped for Nudge. You don't need to take 8 levels to get it, just 2. It feels like you wanted Nudge, saw that you'd probably be graded down if you took only two levels, and added more. That said, you do make a good use of the rest of PsiAg, but it's NOT the star here, and I think that hurts the build.

Final Verdict: 3.75. It's a hella interesting build, and totally left-field, but I feel like it's too emblematic of the negative stereotypes that plague charop: schizophrenic, cherry-picking powerful stuff, use of online-only material that is hard to get past DMs, etc. I'm not saying I agree with these stereotypes, only that your build really does showcase some of them, and thus has too many issues for me to claim it's a really exemplar build for PsiAg.

However, I was really pleased to see it. It's a damn unique and unexpected contribution, and I'm sad it didn't get submitted on time.

[FishAreWet]

Aha, me too. The reason for 8 levels in Psibond is for Double Bond, Lingering Bond, and False Sensory Input. FSI is really strong with no save.

And thank you both for giving your input even though it's non-official. Much appreciated.

[Akal Saris]

I like your build, Fish. My only comment would be that after going in for two levels, you need 2 more levels of Black Dog for empower poison. You only need 1 level of shaper for minor creation anyhow :P

A big thank-you to the 2 judges who have provided such detailed critiques of the builds presented, by the way. Everyone put a lot of effort into making the characters, so it's a big help to have the careful responses.

If anything, I think this challenge was a bit more successful than the previous one: I think we've seen a real variety of interesting approaches to the psibond agent that I never would have thought of simply by glancing at the PrC.

[FishAreWet]

I like your build, Fish. My only comment would be that after going in for two levels, you need 2 more levels of Black Dog for empower poison. You only need 1 level of shaper for minor creation anyhow :P

The extra level in Shaper hits 4th level powers, and that's a large jump in power. And honestly, Empower poison isn't that great because of the action it requires. Shaper combined with Ghost is great because of it's ability to spam poisons. DCs don't really matter at that point.

And yes, if you made the connection, this is what I was asking about in your Handbook.

[Escheton]

...wow. That'd have been something to see. What's the source on Ebon Saint though? I don't know that one.

complete psionics, same as lurk, so I figured it would be a pretty obvious one seeing that class is actually mentioned in the psibond discription
works great together really.
I'll post it over the weekend, as I havent bothered finishing yet with being late and all.

[arguskos]

Aha, me too. The reason for 8 levels in Psibond is for Double Bond, Lingering Bond, and False Sensory Input. FSI is really strong with no save.

And thank you both for giving your input even though it's non-official. Much appreciated.

Eh, I still think that your build loves Nudge more than anything else, and FSI is just icing on the cake.

As for the input, sure! I'm actually hoping I can judge next contest as well, since I had an excellent time on this one.

[FishAreWet]

I'm disappointed that more builds did not focus on Nudge. It's a no-SR no-save non-Mind-Affecting enchantment effect. Yeah, you cannot present ideas with Nudge, but False Sensory Input seems designed to do just that! Or having a buddy help you out.

[rogueboy]

Unrelated to this contest, at least to the results, are there any plans for a ICOC3 any time soon? I enjoy making builds using odd classes/feats/etc

[arguskos]

Unrelated to this contest, at least to the results, are there any plans for a ICOC3 any time soon? I enjoy making builds using odd classes/feats/etc

I'm betting Heliomance will pull one together once this one is over. On that note, we need to hear from the other three judges.

[Akal Saris]

The extra level in Shaper hits 4th level powers, and that's a large jump in power. And honestly, Empower poison isn't that great because of the action it requires. Shaper combined with Ghost is great because of it's ability to spam poisons. DCs don't really matter at that point.

And yes, if you made the connection, this is what I was asking about in your Handbook.

I actually don't remember the question, but I'll take your word for it. Do you mind if I post your build (or a link to it) in the handbook, and credit you for it though?

[Private-Prinny]

I'm scoring higher than where I thought I would. The builds seem to be ranging from good to great. I didn't expect there to be no bad options for this challenge.

[Grynning]

well, we still have 2 judges to go. Hopefully they jump on and get some rankings in soon, I'm as excited about finding out the winner as anyone!

[arguskos]

well, we still have 2 judges to go. Hopefully they jump on and get some rankings in soon, I'm as excited about finding out the winner as anyone!

Three. There are five judges, and only you and I have thrown down.

[arguskos]

Totally a crappy double-post, but has anyone informed Shneekey, Brendan, and Vulaas that we are awaiting their thoughts?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

First off, I would like to thank all of our contestants. You all did an outstanding job with your efforts, and should be applauded. Considering how many people threw their hats into the ring, only having five entries to judge was rather a letdown. So let's give a big hand to everyone who followed through and submitted an entry!

I apologize for the lateness of my post, RL work played a nefarious part in my inability to post before now.

Cy, the Half-Elf Agent

Originality: 4
You use a blend of almost never used classes to devastating effect. Mountebank is perfect for this build, Warlock to further a Skillmonkey build, and Marshal as well. This is an exceedingly original build, which I give mad props for. The only reason why this build is a 4 rather than a 5 is due to Diplomancy Cheese, which everyone knows about.

Power: 3
Diplomancy cheese would normally make this build a Power 4-5, but she has absolutely no way to survive a combat scene once combat has actually started, so it's a 3. I mean, you explicitly min/max UMD, but then have absolutely NOTHING it is used on. I'd have expected a HUGE list of 'bag of tricks' with UMDables used to get out of combat, or at least end it quickly. More 'get out of combat' cards would have significantly affected this score.

Elegance: 3
Elegance took a big hit due to Diplomancy Cheese. One of the things that was clearly stated was the use of commonly known cheese was not good. Use of Natural Talent for Attraction can only be used ONCE per day, and if he does, ALL effects of the Psibond Class go away, because you need PP to be Psionically focused, and you need Psionic Focus to inflict a Psibond. Having said that, the rest of the build synergizes amazingly well. Without Diplomancy Cheese or the SNAFU with Natural Talent, this would have easily been a 5.

Use of Secret Ingredient 3

The biggest problem with Use of Ingredient is that it almost seemed to be tacked on afterwords. Furthermore, while it might have been possible to see some amazing synergy, it was almost completely ignored. The DC for the Psibond is very nasty, but it was just a footnote on the character sheet. In other words, this build works in spite of, rather than because of, the use of the ingredient. If it did get used by this character, it wasn't really mentioned. However, at least you used all 10 levels

OVERALL: 3.25
A solid first entry, but ultimately scored down due to my allergy to Diplomancy cheese, which seems to be the only real trick this pony uses. Which is a shame, considering how many options are available to it. As a word of advice: If you plan on building a skillmonkey, use more than four skills. Hide/Move Silently could have upped the power by giving her a way out of combat.

Lirea, the Dark Dancer

Originality: 5
I love how you set things up to go into Psibond Agent. In fact, this isn't even a real Skillmonkey build, as you said, yet it makes Psibond Agent work fantastically well. This is definitely a unique blend of abilities, which uses none of the 'traditional cheese build' options. I also love the concept of an assassin who doesn't directly kill.

Power: 3.5
Power was rather difficult to judge, since I'm not familiar with what Vestiges do. Clearly defining what it does for this build would have been helpful. I'm also not very familiar with Enchanting Dance, and how that synergizes. However, I'm seeing a few synergies which are very tasty. DC 33 on the Psibond? Yes, please. The ONLY reason why this build isn't a 4-5 is because, like the previous build, I see no way for her to effectively get OUT of combat, should she get into it. This is a character who cannot go toe-to-toe with most CR20 encounters, and yet has no 'see ya later, sucker' cards that I can see. However, using cat's paws to do her dirty work, she is less likely than the previous build to get into combat in the first place.

Elegance 4.5
This is a very elegant design. All the pieces work together in a complete whole, with no odd bits sticking out here or there. Everything gives amazing synergy to her task of making someone else kill her target for her. The only reason it wasn't a 5, is because of Craven. Really, it's rather pointless, if you think about it. If she's up against something she's trying to stick a sword in, +20 damage, assuming she's able to sneak attack, isn't going to be doing much.

Use of Secret Ingredient: 5
Everything is put into place supporting and enveloping the Secret Ingredient. Furthermore, Psibond Agent truly gives this build a major power boost, as well as a deliciously NASTY method of assassination: making his own companions do the deed for her. You enter early, and the build itself is not viable without it.

OVERALL: 4.5 And my personal favorite of the bunch

Hugo Clopin, King of the Court of Miracles

Originality: 4.5
Now here's a different take on the Psibond Agent. He goes the magic route to start off with, then uses both magic and psionics to make people his pawns. I don't normally see how Fey Heretige feats are much use,but this guy uses them effectively. Mindsight... well... everyone knows how broke that is. However, you also do use it in a different manner, so I suppose I should give credit for that.

Power: 4.5
Now here's a build who can survive a fight, as well as ensure he'll never get into one. This guy can defeat Tucker's Kobolds, by himself, by making the kobolds turn on each other. He can sense, and defeat, most dangers before they ever become a danger. And even then, in actual combat, he's got several ways to get OUT of it as well. Confusion 1/day is a good one. His pisonic power is good for giving him a Hide check to scoot out. He's got 'outs', if he knows he's outclassed, and is pretty darn handy in combat.

But furthermore, this guy's power is that any scene with mooks present somewhere is his playground, and it doesn't matter whose mooks they are. Any mook within 100', he can sense, and look around with, and take over to exploit or cause weaknesses in the defenses. I'll grant that any 'Sargent' or higher level critter is going to have immunity to mind-affecting, but can you really cover every single mook in your entire dungeon/castle with immunity? The only guy he is less than effective against would be the traditional Litch and horde of undead. And even then, he can STILL at least evade. You'd have figured that sacrificing higher level spells would have made him less powerful, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. Being able to summon 1d4 unicorns for a lot of healing is also handy in a pinch.

Elegance 4.5
Now this is also a very elegant build, with Mindsight being the only blatant thing that rubs me the wrong way. However, it synergizes amazingly well with Psibond Agent, so I'll let it slide here. The one-level dip in Psionic Assassin, like you said, looks cludgy, but you use every feature of the dip, and incorporate all of it into your overall build. And to get more than one level of Mindbender would have been a huge blow to the power curve.


Use of Secret Ingredient 4.5
Psibond Agent is certainly incorporated into this build. Meshing with Mindsight, this is actually where most of his long-range defeating encounters before they become a danger comes into play. Detect and defeat before they ever realize you exist. As pointed out, you can also Psibond with a summoned minion, to give you superior scouting in areas with no mooks. Your other abilities mesh with, and incorporate, this ability.

OVERALL: 4.5 and by far the best dungeon-runner of the lot

Lárus, The Puppetmaster

Originality: 3
While I can see why the Joker Bard would have been a good source of inspiration, it also makes the build less than original. Mindbender for Mindsight is also... well... yea. Everyone seems to be doing it, and you are not being clever about it's use, just for the same thing every one else uses it.

Power 3
On power, you have a mixed bag, and kind of hard to judge because you're all over the place. You brag about Domination by 15th, but Modify Memory is going to be far more valuable to this character, and you have an exceedingly limited number of spells per day. I think you misunderstood the feat Master Spellthief. While you can steal higher level spells, it says nothing about being able to use them. While you talk about being able to steal them from minions, it is unclear how you obtain such minions for a longer duration. You would have done better to have focused on Inspiration, rather than giving it up

Elegance 2
This build is probably the least elegant of them all. Your lack of knowledge in this arena shows painfully, unfortunately. You use mindbender/mindsight, then do almost nothing with it other than the traditional 'I can never be surprised' thing. You have too many Bard levels. Remember, Mindbender advances Bard spellcasting. The final level of Bard is a complete waste. You also complete ignore a Bardic Song ability called Fascinate, which could have been put to devastating use. You've got several conflicting build-pieces thrown together slap-dash. The result is... mixed.

Use of Secret Ingredient 3

You don't even take all 10 levels of Psibond Agent, it's not depicted exactly how it is used. You talk more about your Dominate, from bardic spells, than from how your Psibond is being used. If you had skimped on your Bard levels, you could have had a practically unlimited use Dominate, with a higher DC difficulty.

OVERALL: 2.75 A solid attempt, but it feels like it was a bit too rushed

Alyx Karmen

Originality 3.5
Rogue into Psibond Agent was to be expected, but I did like the Spymaster splash. Going the route of 'the man without a face' is pretty cool.

Power 3
Power is... fairly weak, actually. Your defenses stink for a level 20 build. However, the problem will be actually successfully finding your character. You've got several overlapping defenses preventing people from finding you, or recognizing you, even through magical means. Larus claimed to be taking a few pages from my Joker Bard, but you actually used the part that made him so dangerous.

Elegance 3
This is a simple build, and it has some synergy to it. On that basis, it is a fairly elegant build. However, it really just seems... bland. This is almost certainly due to your having to rush the build, as I am sure you would have pointed out more of the elegance and built things a little more elegantly if you had the time to do so. However, I like the idea of making the faceless man. The one person whom no one truly knows. And you pull this off superbly well.

Use of Secret Ingredient 3
You didn't go all 10 levels in Psibond Agent, which is strike one. You do incorporate the build into your character's MO, which is good. I love how you use False Memory as yet another line of defense against being recognized. Unlike the previous entry, however, your character does not unduly suffer from the lack of Dominate through the Psibond, as you are more of an information gatherer than a manipulator.

OVERALL: 3.125 I only wish you had more time to flesh out the character better

Final Thoughts:

I was pleasantly surprised with several things in every one of the contestants. People combined rarely-used classes to great effect. Mostly avoided the tired old tricks. There were no truly 'bad' builds, nor any excessively cheesy builds, which made this competition a pleasure to judge

[FishAreWet]

@Akal Saris, please do.

[Heliomance]

I had one build sent to me unfortunately two hours after I announced the end of the contest. I was going to post it this morning, and allow it to be entered and judged, due to the lack of a pre-announced end time, but alas this is the first opportunity I've had to be on the computer for long enough to post. Still, I'll put it up here for comments and edification. Sorry, Hand_of_Vecna.

Str 12
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 14
Wis 14
Cha 17

Rouge 1 Skill Knowlegde (Gather Information) Open Feat
Ardent 1 Improved Initiative Mantles: Communication and Freedom
Bloodline 1 Strength +1 Dodge Open feat
Ardent 2 fire resistence 5 Death Mantle
Ardent 3 +2 Efretti affinity
Bloodline 2 +1 natural armor Open Feat
PsiBond Agent 1 +2 knowledge (planes) social recovery skill trick
Psibond Agent 2 dodge skill trick listen to this
PsiBond Agent 3 Charisma +1 Practiced Manifestor skill trick Point It Out
PsiBond Agent 4 Produce flames 1/day skill trick swift concentration
Psibond Agent 5 +4 Efreeti Affinity
Bloodline 3 Resistence to Fire 10 Open Feat
Psibond Agent 6 +2 concentration
Psibond Agent 7 Scorching Ray 1/day
Psibond Agent 8 Dexterity +1 Open Feat
Psibond Agent 9 Wall of Fire 1/week
PsiBond Agent 10 +6 Efreeti Affinity
Ardent 4 +1 natural armor Open Feat
Ardent 5 +2 intimidate checks Mental Power Mantle

The career of the man who would one day become know as simply as the worm, that is to the few who even know he exists, began simply enough. He was once just a common merchant who had worked his way up from traveling in caravans to running a small store selling goods from his homeland and acting as a go between for local merchant’s and the caravans.

Rouge 1

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Skill Knowledge- Gather Information
Skills Gather Information 4, Knowledge (Local) 4, Sense Motive 4, Diplomacy 4, Concentration 4, Profession (merchant) 4, Profession (Teamster) 4, Bluff 4, Appraise 4

Some time after he’d become established in his new community he was approached by his Sultan’s Telepath/Spymaster about acting as an agent of the crown; nothing too dangerous just collecting the sorts of useful information that would come to him naturally in his position and perhaps occasionally leading a promising conversation in interesting directions. Having always been a loyal and patriotic citizen he jumped at the opportunity and over the next few years found he had a knack for intelligence gathering. In fact he began developing latent psionic abilities and as his powers grew so did his confidence and with it his patriotism became zeal. These three traits power, confidence and zeal continued to grow feeding into one another. A turning point came when a high-ranking agent was captured and he was asked to complete his last mission; an Assassination. He soon found he had a gift for this as well.

Rouge1/Ardent 3/Bloodline 2

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Str 13
Dex 10
Con 12
Int 14
Wis 14
Cha 18

Skills Gather Information 8, Knowledge (Local) 8, Sense Motive 5, Diplomacy 8, Concentration 5, Proffesion (merchant) 7, Profession (Teamster) 4, PsiCraft 2, Bluff 4, Appraise 4

Skill Knowledge Gather Information
Improved Initiative
3 Open Feats
Mantles: Communication, Freedom and Death

Over the years he became quite successful both as a spy and in his business. He went on a trip to his homeland his cover story was that he was visiting family and meet face to face with some business contacts though it was actually to be officially inducted into the Sultan’s royal spies and to receive specialized training. His assignments continued to be more and more dangerous and more vital to his countries security. Soon he was dedicating almost all of his time to spy craft and his business began to fail. He cared very little though as he had become one of the Sultan’s most important spies due in large part to his Psychic Powers which continued to develop along side his skills at infiltration.

His life took another sudden turn when a his country found itself at war with a vastly more powerful nation. It was clear that it would be impossible to survive a prolonged war and he wasn’t surprised when a message was delivered to several top agents asking for a volunteer for a mission of the utmost importance. There were no details but the request was for a man of unflagging loyalty with no close family, it sounded like a suicide mission, and he volunteered.

But it was something else. He met in secret with the sultan and his telepath/assassin they discussed the war, the security of the nation and that their only chance for survival was an assassin with abilities beyond those of any human being. A clear globe was brought in with a wormlike parasite and explained how it had natural abilities combined the talents of an extraordinary man would create a perfect spy and assassin.

Note: By one of a number of legal means he paid the xp cost for the true mind switch and because of that this is a 19 level build.

Rouge 1/Ardent 3/Bloodline 3/PsiBond Agent 5
True Mind Switched into body of a Puppeteer

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Str 2
Dex 15
Con 11
Int 14
Wis 14
Cha 23

Skills Gather Information 14, Knowledge (Local) 8, Sense Motive 9, Diplomacy 14, Concentration 10, Profession (merchant) 7, Profession (Teamster) 4, PsiCraft 5, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Bluff 4, Appraise 4

Feats and Class Abilities
Skill Knowledge Gather Information
Improved Initiative
Practiced Manifester
Dodge
4 Open Feats
Mantles: Communication, Freedom and Death
Fire Resistance 10

Puppeteer Racial Abilities
Enthrall: Treat charmed character Dominated while attached
Blindsight 60ft
HostProtection: Treated as an attended item of host even when targeted

With his new abilities he returned to his work determined to single-handedly save his homeland from destruction. It took months but he worked his way through the hierarchy, controlling one official after another sending vital battle plans home along with interesting magical items while assassinating key officials and leaving his unwilling accomplices to take the blame. In the end he assassinated the ruler by controlling his heir, remaining latched on to the keep him from revealing that a foreign psychic had put the blade in his hand.

The worm fully expected to die in the pyre; the standard execution method there. However he didn’t know about his efreeti heritage which protected him from the pyre. After his host was dead he crawled down into the embers until the crowd had dispersed. Finding a new host was a simple matter and he made his way back to his homeland.

He expected to be hailed as a conquering hero and he was, privately. Then he was told about another grave threat his talents were needed to neutralize. So how long can a man stay sane in the body of a worm.

Rouge1/Ardent 5/Bloodline 3/PsiBond Agent 10
True Mind Switched into body of a Puppiteer

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Str 2
Dex 16
Con 11
Int 14
Wis 14
Cha 24

Skills Gather Information 22, Knowledge (Local) 8, Sense Motive 12, Diplomacy 16, Concentration 22+2, Proffesion (merchant) 7, Profession (Teamster) 4, PsiCraft 10, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Bluff 14, Appraise 4

Feats and Class Abilities
Skill Knowledge Gather Information
Improved Initiative
Practiced Manifester
Dodge
6 Open Feats
Mantles: Communication, Freedom,Death and Mental Power
Fire Resistence 10

Puppiteer Racial Abilities
Entrall: Treat charmed character Dominated while attached
Blindsight 60ft
HostProtection: Treated as an attended item of host even when targeted

Combat Strategy: Although never intended, over the course of a mission combat may be unavoidable. In these circumstances the worm will use Swift Concentration to maintain his psibonds, using his Communication Mantle powers to command his dominated allies while still taking psionic actions. He can dominate two persons via his Psibonds in addition to whatever Enthralled host he is riding at the time, and relies their abilities combined with his own ingenuity and considerable psionic might to survive. In dire circumstances Teleport and other Freedom Mantle powers can allow for an escape, although he is loathe to allow any who have discovered his schemes to survive and inform others...

[Grynning]

Wow...
if that had been in there, it definitely would have been the salmon-flavored ice-cream topped with red chili sauce and caviar of the competition. 5 for originality at least.
I'll do a full judging of it later, have to go at the moment.

[arguskos]

...WOW. Here, I'll go ahead and judge this, even though I guess it's not technically legal.

The Worm
Originality: 5. True Mind Switch, Ardent, Efreeti Bloodline, none of this screams "PsiAg!" to me, and yet, here it is! You gain a crapload of "WOW" points here.
Power: 4. Honestly, I'm just spitballing here. I really don't know how powerful this thing would work out to be. Ardent is a very easy to jack up class, so yeah.
Elegance: 3. Ok, now, as much as I like what you've done here, you lose major points by busting out Bloodlines, which are broken as crap. Not saying they are here, but they're one of the mechanics I NEVER WANT TO SEE EVER (like Epic Spellcasting or Tainted Scholar, and Taint in general actually).
Use of Secret Ingredient: 5. Great. Really just a great use of PsiAg, especially for something so wild and out of left field.

Final Verdict: 4.25. The Worm is unique, probably pretty strong, unique, utterly unexpected, and did I say unique? I probably would ask you for one of my games to change the Bloodlines, but otherwise, this is really an amazing entry.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

The Worm:

Creativity: 4. I'd have never come up with this, anyways...

Power: 5. If there was a higher number allowed, I'd use it. This guy is up there with Batman Wizard. Definately a Tier 1 build.

Elegance: 1. Come on, what did you expect? True Mindswitch into a Puppitier, Bloodlines... no. I would never allow it in any game I ran, I would be royally pissed if someone sat down at my gaming table with this, it has more cheese than Wisconsin.

Use of Secret Ingredient:4. Earlier entrance than most builds presented, goes all 10 levels, and incorporates Psibond Agent in the tactics and strategy.

Overall: 3.5 and a rolled up newspaper to the nose

[Escheton]

a week might seem like much, but could the next ep of iron build have some more buildtime?

[Heliomance]

Possibly.

I'll take a vote - how should the next contest be run? Should signing up happen before announcing the secret ingredient, so that everyone starts their build at the same time? How much cooking time should be allowed? Any other comments?