Iron Chef Optimization Challenge XI

[Cieyrin]

Starting large size is difficult, especially if its also going to be a gnome.

If you want to eat some LA and some Fey HD, you could always be a Spriggan from the MM3, I believe. Gnomes that grow to Large size at will, essentially. They're a nifty race, to boot.

[Ozymandias9]

The scores are in, and while there are some disputes that I will post later, none of them could alter 1st or 2nd place. So without further ado...

In first, with a score of 69.5...
OMG PONIES' Dulcinea, the Dancer's Daughter

In second, with a score of 67.75...
Rancor1's Jack the Dread Capuchin

The rest of the scores, as they currently stand,

• Draz74's Sizok, Sworn of Clan Dinglegrinn 62
• Kestral404's Ssejkosjth "Seth" Tibur Hedwann Ux Bahamuti 58.25
• Amphetryon's Moudo, the Twisted Gnome 57.75
• true_shinken's Nekoya 57.25
• OMG PONIES' Jakob the Liar 55.75
• The Vorpal Tribble's Wruk Vive the IX 52.75
• Malbordeus' Raakhama’karma The Wanderer 32.5

Congratulations to all the contestants, and thanks to all the judges.

I'll get in contact with Strategos to finalize the trophies. The proofs looked, as usual, amazing.

[true_shinken]

Revealing the builds' creators before dealing with judging disagreements? Makes the whole 'send a PM to the chairman' thing kinda pointless.

[Draz74]

Hmmm, well, I guess I can't complain too much about 3rd place ... especially when the two winners were so indisputably superb. Congrats to Rancor1, a relative newcomer, and repeating champion OMGPonies!

For what it's worth, I also think Wruk was rather tragically thrashed by some of the judges. Were I a judge, I would not have hesitated to throw a score of 5 at Wruk in the Originality and Power categories immediately. (The other two scores might have been pretty low, but still.)

[Amphetryon]

Congrats to the winners!

I'm already fired up for the next one.

[OMG PONIES]

Thank you, thank you. I, too, thought that Wruk was scored way too low in some regards. When I first read the entries, I was convinced he was going to snag the gold. A class I had never used, a template I had never heard of, and a ridiculous trick.

[Ozymandias9]

Notes on Disputes

The next post will contain outstanding scoring disputes. Though none of these will effect who wins or places, I though it would be nice to get them resolved.

But first, some notes. While in many cases over the history of the competition I have found aspects of a judge's scoring methodology that I don't agree with personally, we've traditionally given wide berth to judges in this competition. I'm not going to change that. One of our goals is to encourage judges with varied outlooks on the game.

In deciding which disputes to present, I had to put aside quite a few this round. For brief reference:

Not Even a Dispute

• Math Errors

Valid Disputes

• Rules Error (If I can resolve it definitively one way or another, I will. These will be handled immediately rather than with other disputes)
• You believe that the judge overlooked a specific element of your build
• You believe that the judge misunderstood the purpose, function, or scope of a specific element of your build
• There is an element in the judge's posted criteria (if they have one) that you believe you qualify for but which was not applied
• Another entry was scored differently for the exact same thing. Note the word exact. If there is a difference (even if you don't feel it was substantive), I'm not going to present it. A good example would be if everyone else were scored down 1 point for using Stoneblessed and you were scored down 1.5.

Not a Valid Dispute

• Points Awarded or Deducted for elements not listed in a Judge's posted criteria
• Disagreements over the Judge's scoring methodology or judgment

[Ozymandias9]

Kesnit

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Wruk

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3.5 Use of Compression to take advantage of Size Advantage. (-.5) Use of the organization and building around it. (+1)

Compression is an afterthought. I mentioned in the text itself that I know it's been used in builds with the PrC, but, in the course of the build I have access to it. It aided the build, so I used it, without it being required or a key factor. Psychic Warrior was not taken for that single power, but for the access to psionic feats and skills that enhance the collective build as a whole.

Keld Denar

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Dulcinea (rules error-- had I seen this one sooner, I would have posted it immediately)

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Dulcinea's ring is not a custom ring of reduce person, but a ring of reduction (a specific magic item found on page 120 of Lords of Madness.)

Jakob

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Jakob's main source of power points is bonus PP from his high INT, both of which scale with level. I'm sorry I forgot to mention this.

Jakob (Elegance): A few things...

• Why must someone be a drow to take the ACF in Drow of the Underdark? There is no mention of that in the book.
• While the level progression provided may have MC penalties, the build itself was designed not to. If playing with MC penalties, the progression should be Lurk 2/Swash 2/Stoneblessed 3/Blade Bravo 5/Assassin 1/Factotum 2/Drow Fighter 2/Lurk +1/Swash +1/Factotum +1. Ironically, the reason it was presented without considering multiclassing was in hopes of a higher elegance score.
• Jakob has three main reasons for taking factotum: an extra use of Insightful Feint per day (via Arcane Dilettante), Brains over Brawn for stealth skills, and cunning knowledge for skill boosts. I'm sorry for not explaining further.
• Jakob's two other psionic powers are mentioned (briefly) in the Stealth section: he uses compression, Chameleon, and Adrenaline Boost.

Sizok

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Sizok
Power: 4, a tough nut to crack. Super high AC makes her hard to handle, and Goad makes her tough to ignore, and Dim Hop makes her impossible to lock down. All in all, a great tank. I do see only one rank in UMD, and mention of using Wands of Grave/Golem Strike as a primary combat option, which is kinda…huh?

UMD isn't an automatic success for Sizok, but at high levels, it's pretty close. Extreme Charisma focus and a Circlet of Persuasion mean she ends up with UMD +16, which will activate a wand on a roll of 4 or higher. And if the roll fails, it means she'll be less effective for a round, but not completely worthless -- it was just a swift action, so she can still attack, just without Craven bonuses.

Nekoya

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[The contestant believes the judge misunderstood] the point of eldritch glaive in the build. It's not meant to be a full damage source; it's meant to force multiple saves against blindness, thus making all her attacks sneak attacks.

[Ozymandias9]

Revealing the builds' creators before dealing with judging disagreements? Makes the whole 'send a PM to the chairman' thing kinda pointless.

I did consider that, but there aren't any disputes* that are particularly provocative. And since they won't effect the winners^, I decided that with all the delays already this round, it was important to keep the ball rolling. It was an active decision to make a break from what would otherwise be competition policy. It also helps that several of the disputes came from people other than the creator of the build.

Incidentally, if anyone has suggestions for the next special ingredient, send it to me. I'll have the next round posted tomorrow either way.

*That I'll be posting anyways.
^Well, one might make the 1st place score go up.

[OMG PONIES]

Tomorrow? But I'll be away... [/whine] Regardless, I'm in as a competitor for the next round. I want to see if I can go for the turkey before giving judging a crack.

[Ozymandias9]

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I present- courtesy of the illustrious Strategos - the trophies.

________________________________________________

[Private-Prinny]

After hosting the past 5 competitions, it felt weird not seeing the builds or trophy proofs show up in my inbox.

[WinWin]

conratulations to OMG Ponies and Rancor1.

I think all competitors deserve credit for the high standard of submissions. It was not easy to judge and even now I am second guessing some of my scoring. Dulcinea deserves the win though.

Thanks to the other judges and to our host Ozymandias.

[BobVosh]

Incidentally, if anyone has suggestions for the next special ingredient, send it to me. I'll have the next round posted tomorrow either way.

Probably in 5 days at the most. Depending on who hosts. Doesn't take long between the two.

Oh ya, called it exactly.

congratulations to OMG Ponies and Rancor1.

I think all competitors deserve credit for the high standard of submissions. It was not easy to judge and even now I am second guessing some of my scoring. Dulcinea deserves the win though.

Thanks to the other judges and to our host Ozymandias.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Wruk was a personal favorite of mine, even if the scores didn't show that.
I actually made a NPC based off him already >.>

[Greyfell]

I second the notion to bring on that next challenge! And no posting at 5am my time this go around *wink*

[OMG PONIES]

Yeah, has the next ingredient been announced? I haven't seen a thread for XII.

[Amphetryon]

Yeah, has the next ingredient been announced? I haven't seen a thread for XII.

Methinks it's been delayed by a day. :(

[Ozymandias9]

Sorry, I got off to a sleepy start this morning. The next challenge is up.

[BobVosh]

Link is here.