Every year, starting now, you gain a level IRL. What is your build?

[Troacctid]

You can take any class or combination of classes, 3.5 or PF, up to a maximum of level 20 in the year 2036. After that, you gain a bonus feat every year instead.

Since you are an ordinary person, not a protagonist, assume your ability scores use the nonelite array (13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8).

[Bobbybobby99]

I become a mystic theurge using the Alternate source spell feat to be better at it, alongside a Craft Wondrous Item feat in 2022 to make the appropriate periapts and headbands. Wisdom 13, Intelligence 12, Charisma 11, Constitution 10, Dexterity 9, Strength 8. Pretty decent, I'd say. Essentially-
Spontaneous Hunter Druid 3/Generalist Wizard 1/Mystic theurge 3/Arcane hierophant 10/Mystic theurge +3. I get to have level 19 Druid casting, level 17 Wizard casting, and pretty much be a wrathful nature god made manifest.

Though I'm at least a little elite...

[ComaVision]

I'd just go into some prestige class that's going to make sure I don't die of old age. If I also lose most of my flesh, that's ok.

[Frendle]

Is it ok if I reject your premise that I use the non-elite array? <flexes muscles>

[legomaster00156]

Expert 20. Max out Profession (chef).

[HammeredWharf]

Druid, and I take Natural spell. Impossible to screw up? Check. Makes use of my extreme wits, infinite wisdom and devilish charisma? Check. Reduced aging? Check. Endless ways to run away? Check. Can craft? Check. Not a nerdy wizard? Check. Will never kill my girlfriends flowers again? Check.

The downside is having to worship some hippie deity, but I can live with that.

[torrasque666]

Become a Dragonfire Adept 20. Solve all the problems with judicious use of both Bahamut's Discorporating Breath and Five-Fold Breath of Tiamat.

I'm totally a Lawful Neutral person.

[Gnaeus]

Start with a level of Witch or Daevic. Healing hex or immaculate touch give cures of at least 1d6/ day/person. Approach nearest large, prestigious hospital with an ER. Explain that you can raise their trauma survival rate to 100%, radically reduce patient time in bed for anyone recovering from an injury, and fix anyone who is bleeding out on an operating table in 6 seconds, for the low low cost of 1million/ year. Every hour or so, spend a few minutes touching people. Live in luxury while you level up. After the benefits of healing magic are proven, raise the cost. You could probably get a better offer from a military, but you might have to live somewhere awful.

[Arael666]

I'd just go into some prestige class that's going to make sure I don't die of old age. If I also lose most of my flesh, that's ok.

Just find a way to get yourself acces to PaO, you can just polymorph yourself into a younger body every decade or so.

[ComaVision]

Just find a way to get yourself acces to PaO, you can just polymorph yourself into a younger body every decade or so.

Off the top of my head, Walker in the Wastes sounds like the best option. Assuming I can't guarantee I'll get magic items, I may never be capable of casting PaO.

[MisterKaws]

Erudite, keep constant astral seeds, make a demiplane as soon as possible, and use the psionic sandwitch trick whenever I would be getting close to death by old age.

[Draconium]

Telepath Psion into Thrallherd. Keep my powers a secret to non-followers/thralls, and become an urban legend, a faceless figure in the shadows, an object of fear and awe. True Mind Switch into a younger, healthier body whenever my old one starts failing.

That, or Dragonfire Adept and solve all my problems with my fiery breath.

[Arael666]

Off the top of my head, Walker in the Wastes sounds like the best option. Assuming I can't guarantee I'll get magic items, I may never be capable of casting PaO.

If we were optimizing imortality, sure. But since we're talking about our actual selves, I'd pretty much like to keep all my fleshy appendages healthy and functioning for, you know, reasons.

[ComaVision]

If we were optimizing imortality, sure. But since we're talking about our actual selves, I'd pretty much like to keep all my fleshy appendages healthy and functioning for, you know, reasons.

Gentle Repose every day! Optimizing immortality is definitely my primary goal though.

[Deophaun]

If we were optimizing imortality, sure. But since we're talking about our actual selves, I'd pretty much like to keep all my fleshy appendages healthy and functioning for, you know, reasons.

Meh. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there willing to take the Lich-loved feat.

Gentle Repose every day! Optimizing immortality is definitely my primary goal though.

Doesn't actually work on the undead, unfortunately. Only the actually dead. Corpses in particular.

[AvatarVecna]

Venerable Warforged Artificer 2 with the Wedded to History feat. Maximize UMD and Spellcraft, and create/use a scroll of Teleport Through Time ASAP. Move back...let's say just a few thousand years; the Int damage won't kill you, and time won't either; at this point, you should have plenty of levels to work with, and can build your character to accomplish approximately "everything".

EDIT: If we're stuck with out squishy human bodies, just move back a few decades at a time, and only move back multiple centuries once you've got enough levels that being rendered Intelligence 0 won't kill you for a couple days...and then you can spend several centuries gaining superpowers.

[Blackhawk748]

Sorcerer/Snowshaper/Archmage

Firstly Snowshaper is Sandshaper for snow, and secondly i will have enough spells that i can do pretty much whatever i want. Plus SLA Wish

Spoiler: Snowshapers Spell List, for the Curious

Show

1st—bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, endure
elements, chill touch, speak with animals, conjure ice beast 1

2nd—eagle’s splendor, fox’s cunning, chill metal, owl’s wisdom,
resist energy, conjure ice beast II, icicle.

3rd—control temperature, shivering touch, dispel magic, dominate animal,
arctic haze, snowwalk, conjure ice beast III, blood snow, thin air, wind wall.

4th—ice storm, conjure ice beast IV, wall of coldfire,
column of ice.

5th—gelid blood, boreal wind, flesh to ice, conjure
ice beast V, ice to flesh, ice shape.

6th— heartfreeze, entomb, death hail, conjure ice beast VI

7th—call avalanche, conjure ice beastVII.

8th—conjure ice beast VIII, fimbulwinter.

9th—conjure ice beast IX.

[AuraTwilight]

Straight 20 Psion; don't need anything fancy, I just want to be psychic and immortal. Telepathic, probably.

[Esprit15]

Factotum 20. Take at least one rank in every skill, learn as many languages as possible. Max out Knowledge (Physics) and Knowledge (Engineering), and maybe invest some ranks in other things that seem useful. By venerable I can still manage a 21 INT, which isn't too bad (just go for 20, since we aren't adding any items or such), 276 skill points to splash at that time. Let's guess there to be about 50 skills applicable to our world, between craft, knowledge, and profession being extensive and only learning a few of those. That leaves room for some skills to invest heavily in, a few to get synergies for (like Diplomacy), and then room to be a polyglot. Heck, let's max out Diplomacy, too, maybe get into politics later on after doing engineering and physics. After all, they say there aren't enough scientists in Congress, right? And let's not even get into what someone casting spells could do.

STR 9 -6 =3
DEX 12 -6 =6
CON 10 -6 =4
INT 13 +4 +3 =20
WIS 8 +1 +3 =12
CHA 11 +3 =14

1) Skill Focus (Knowledge: Physics)
H) Skill Focus (Knowledge: Engineering)
3) Negotiator
6) Leadership
9) Skill Focus (Diplomacy)
And the rest is just Font of Inspiration. You know, for that time every day where you both need a +56 to Diplomacy and a +51 to Knowledge checks in STEM. If the world is more violent, add in Knowledge Devotion and Travel Devotion, too.

[erok0809]

Sorcerer 20 is good enough for me IRL, although I wouldn't mind Sorcerer 10/Sand Shaper 10. That's cool too.

[Eldonauran]

Reincarnated Druid (Pathfinder) 5: Auto Reincarnate FTW

Then probably Sorcerer 4 and Mystic Theurge for the rest.

[JBPuffin]

I'm going to work on an exact build; 3.5 cleric with 13 Wis, 12 Int, 11 Cha, 10 Con, 9 Dex, 8 Str, definitely gonna try and improve those totals :P. We'll see where this goes.

Cloistered Cleric w/ (Knowledge for free!), Community and Healing domains - my job is to provide team support, not go out and wreck things in melee.

Skills: Knowledge (History and Religion), Perform (Keyboard and Sing), Diplomacy, Listen, and Spot

Feats:
Human - Apprentice (Entertainer): I love me some music.
1st-level - Improved Initiative: I have a better chance of a chance of talking my way out of a situation or running the **** away.

Fight with Morningstar if I must, but generally keep my distance and cast buffs as much as possible.

I'll work on this more later.

[Cerefel]

I think I'd go warlock or binder because neither is terribly stat dependent.

[Barstro]

Does the same apply for everyone around me? It would drastically change my build if I knew others would be getting levels since I do not trust others who have power.

[Jack_Simth]

Hmm...

13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 -> Cha / Wis / Int / Con / Dex / Str


Spirit Guide Oracle, Occult Mystery, Forsaken curse (possibly go dual-cursed if it's compatible, for the extra revelations - Occult has some good ones). Level up boosts go to Charisma, which will put me at a 17 by 20th. Go for magic item crafting (I can be a great healer to get the cash for materials... or just drop ranks in Craft or Profession, or use Automatic Writing to play the stock market well) to eventually be able to boost stats noticeably. Use the Lore Spirit's Arcane Enlightenment to nab Blood Money; this will let me use Restoration to wash away the negative levels from the Raise Dead of Forsaken if I don't have a supply of diamonds.

Once I hit 20th, if I get killed? I become a Ghost. Possess a suitable strongman, add some buffs, and I can resurrect myself! Or just stay a ghost and pretend to be alive (it can be done, if you're an item crafter).

Or maybe the same basic path, but using the Heavens mystery instead of occult. That gives a Reincarnate on death, which is good for shifting identities... although getting a new legend might be tricky.

If we get to pick race as well, go Kitsune, and definitely go Occult. Cha 19 at 20th, so 9th level spells, and Change Shape so that I'm me again (or someone else, with that one racial feat...) after possessing a suitable mark (likely a hardy animal).

With a bit of work, I should be able to gather enough resources to make all the magic items I could want.

Edit: Definitely occult. Earn enough money to buy the materials needed to craft stuff (+5 Tomes for all, +6 enhancement to all, et cetera), use Invisibility and Permanency from Spirit Guide: Lore: Arcane Enlightenment to make the equipment low-profile, and then when I eventually kick it and go Ghost, Polymorph Any Object a suitable animal into a human form of my choosing, and posses that (Pathfinder Polymorph Any Object doesn't mess with Int unless the original didn't have any, so no ethical concerns about slavery or anything), and I've got a permanent body again. Perhaps several. Possibly make a few simulacra the same way. Probably become a doctor somewhere in the mix, simply because it makes long-term cover much easier for an immortal... especially so, as I can change faces regularly...

So...

Dual-cursed Spirit Guide Oracle (Occult, Dual-cursed (Forsaken (advancing) and Legalistic)).
Revelations:
1: Automatic Writing
5: Fortune
11: Spirit Walk
13: Misfortune
19: Brain Drain

Feats:
1: Scribe Scroll
3: Craft Wondrous Item
5: Craft Magic Arms & Armor
7: Forge Ring
9: Craft Rod
11: ... eh, I've got 11 years to figure it out. If I do get to pick race, and I do go Kitsune, maybe the racial feats for here +....

[johnbragg]

OP says "IRL." So any class with the ability to cast spells (or use psionic powers, or invocations or incarnum), or that grants supernatural abilities is seriously hampered. So options are Expert, Rogue, Fighter, maybe Bard, Ranger, Barbarian, Scout, I guess Commoner. Oh, Factotum may still be in play.

Probably Factotum 20. Or maybe a few levels of Aristocrat if I can get away with it.

[Jack_Simth]

OP says "IRL." So any class with the ability to cast spells (or use psionic powers, or invocations or incarnum), or that grants supernatural abilities is seriously hampered. So options are Expert, Rogue, Fighter, maybe Bard, Ranger, Barbarian, Scout, I guess Commoner. Oh, Factotum may still be in play.

Probably Factotum 20. Or maybe a few levels of Aristocrat if I can get away with it.

These questions usually assume that magic works unless it's specified that it doesn't.

[Bobby Baratheon]

Warlock-sorceror-eldritch theurge! Ultimate magical power with unlimited eldritch blast!

EDIT: If we're saying no magic IRL, I'd probably be an expert. Or a paladin of freedom! Or both!

[Graypairofsocks]

The downside is having to worship some hippie deity, but I can live with that.

You don't actually have too.
Druids can just worship nature or something.

[Blackhawk748]

EDIT: If we're saying no magic IRL, I'd probably be an expert. Or a paladin of freedom! Or both!

I seriously doubt that is whats being said, otherwise we would all be Factotums.