Homebrew Chef chat thread: I love you, brew.

[Jormengand]

Just a quick question from a first time iron chef entrant: How do disputes work? What are we disputing?

Like, is it "This feat/feature/combination of abilities doesn't work the way you think it does?" or is it a general claim, or something else entirely?

You can dispute any aspect of the judging that you feel has been mishandled or any misapprehensions you believe the judge to be under. In the current Villainous Competition, some posters - myself included - have posted in-thread about actual RAW issues not necessarily related to our own builds, though otherwise disputes can be levied, by PM, about anything.

[Beelzebub1111]

Okay then, I don't expect anything on my end, but it's good to know.

Also, suggestion for next contest: superheroes.

[Temotei]

Sorry for the delay, peeps. I sent the judgings to sengmeng as he requested via PM. Had a bad migraine develop a few days ago and was throwing up and all that jazz so posting was delayed, and then of course I hit the X button too fast when trying to post because I'm a derp who gets excited over video games, so further delays, ahoy!

Anyway, hope I did alright. When/if disputes come in, I'll be sure to respond as quickly as possible.

[sengmeng]

Here are our judges' scores:

Spoiler: Temotei

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Spoiler: Lurk

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Originality: 3.5
This concept is ridiculous and hilarious. I dig it. Stone rat priest of decadence is the weirdest name for a class, but the little bit of fluff it has fits with what you've got. Tall tale feels a bit weird here, though. Maybe it's the really small amount of story here, or a lack of explanation beyond being even more awesome at climbing and stabbing. I dunno. Not a huge deal, since the class is so malleable and the mechanics fit. Just feels a tad weird.

Power: 4.5
Lurk climbs things really well with a +52 modifier (23 ranks, +5 Strength modifier, +8 from climb speed, +13 from stone rat climb) without items at level 20. That basically means he never fails unless he's trying to climb a "perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface" or something even more difficult (with items and spells the DC 70 for that becomes trivial as well). Pretty cool on its own, considering he can do that with one limb while holding daggers with the rest. Along with his stealthy skills, tons of damage boosts, the ability to remove damage reduction, and hiding from divinations, this makes Lurk a really strong assassin that almost no one can see coming. Darkstalker would have made him even better at this, I think, probably in place of Two-Weapon Harmony (since Lurk doesn't qualify at 1st level--see below)...especially considering he seems to like caves so much. Plenty of dangerous critters in caverns have some sort of special sense that Darkstalker would really help with. That said, it's not necessary, and Lurk does his job well enough without it.

He's also really hard to kill and escape, with probably pretty high AC, Harrying Pursuit, reach, and all that jazz.

Elegance: 3.5
Lurk doesn't qualify for Two-Weapon Harmony at 1st-level, as far as I can tell, since it requires both Two-Weapon Fighting and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting and stone rat style only gives Two-Weapon Fighting--not to mention the BAB +9 requirement.

Other than that, everything seems in order, and the levels are simple and well-placed (in my opinion). It's an easy build to keep track of other than the tons of homebrew (but that's kind of the point of the contest so).

Concept: 2.5
The story is a bit sparse and I'm not sure I really feel who Lurk is other than a guy who happens to climb and stab things really well. Also he likes caves? That said, Lurk's abilities fit easily in a dungeon setting and he would definitely be an asset to almost any dungeon-delving party.

Total Score: 14

Spoiler: Daak

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Originality: 3
A kobold trapmaster who gains sorcerous abilities and turns into a dragon. Not too creative by itself, but the integration of the story helps here--it doesn't just feel like Daak is any old kobold following his ancestry; it feels like he is his own character.

Power: 3
Daak's got kind of a weird build going on, but it seems to work out pretty well. But the problems I see aren't in the build itself, but in the progression of the build. At a few levels, the build either feels like it doesn't fit the character well because Daak can't do what he wants to do (levels 1-2 are kind of awkward because he wants to avoid melee, but gets class features mainly focusing on damage in melee and AC...and he probably won't be succeeding on Craft (trapmaking) checks consistently. Even if he does manage it, he can barely afford the traps.) or it feels like Daak isn't gaining much from his levels (levels 14-16 stand out).

Taking Inventive at 1st level is probably unnecessary. You gain very few invention points at those levels (since the feat caps based on your IL) and the inventions themselves aren't allowing Daak to do what he wants to do in the first place. I think if Skill Focus (Craft [trapmaking]) and Inventive were swapped Daak would lose very little at those first couple of levels while gaining more consistent trapmaking, at least (for which he hopefully has the necessary wealth).

As for levels 14-16, Daak gains very little from his class features. Most of them are just not enough at these levels to make an impact.

Past that, Daak at least gains some very limited sorcerer casting (and the hoard bonuses start to matter a little more), but the dragonsoul acolyte levels just seem...I dunno, weaker than advancing either spellshaper or inventor more, I guess. At level 20, when Daak gains a couple of 2nd-level sorcerer spells per day...that's nice, but it just doesn't seem like enough at this point.

That said, before those last levels (and after the first two or so), Daak seems pretty good to me. He could adventure and be...fine at it, but gods help you if you invade his trap-laden home when he's prepared to meet you and continually harass you.

Elegance: 3
Small note, the rules ask for write-ups on level 5, 10, 15, 20, and a sweet spot. There's also a typo in the Base Attack Bonus column ("+10/+54").

Also, cite all of your sources outside of core (PHB, DMG, MM I)--not just the homebrew. The rules are unclear, so no penalty for that. Next time, though, make sure to do that. Thankfully, very few things needed citation (and I knew where they were anyway), so it really was not a big deal at all.

For ability scores, make sure to always note where the character is getting ability score increases from levels.

Also, make sure to use the most recent version of homebrew. Inventions and the dragonsoul acolyte both have new threads (though I don't believe the changes present in those threads affect the character very much, if at all).

Finally, the build is rather streamlined, with a fairly straightforward progression of 5/8/7, which is nice. No jumping around class levels or dipping and whatnot. Straight to the point of the story and character.

Concept: 4.5
Everything in the build emphasizes Daak's dungeon-keeping abilities, his dungeon, and being in a dungeon. The story is nice, too.

Total Score: 13.5

Spoiler: Zaydos

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Spoiler: Daak

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Originality: 2. Kobold dragon-emulator, kobold trap-smith and the combination of the two are not particularly original but that said I'd not have thought of including spellshaper in such a combination, and it's not something I've often seen mechanically explored.

Power: 1.5. Mechanistically they are reliant upon having a prepared location and lots of resources for traps to work. A 20th level member of any one of the three classes would be stronger in raw power, and could use the same trapmaking and locational knowledge. Same is true at most levels of any equal leveled member of Inventor, and later Spellshaper, or Dragonsoul Acolyte.

Elegance: 4. It's simple but everything comes together to create an interesting whole that works both with D&D and M:tG fluff. It may not be the most powerful but it's all pointed towards making a whole and a character.

Concept: 4. It's the dungeon master, the boss monster as opposed to the player, but it is a character which screams dungeons. May not be the most powerful boss encounter, especially at higher levels, but could be quite satisfying at the proper level of play.

Total: 11.5

Spoiler: Lurk

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Originality: 3.5. They got some good stuff by going to a multitude of sources, but the master climber idea has been done a fair bit (if less than

Power: 3. This one actually is packing some juice. Of course it loses points in that 90% of the juice comes from a single Races of War feat which just points out how RoW feats are not really intended for normal play, but that'll hit more for elegance still it hits here in that 90% of your power coming from one highly broken ability is not really a good thing. The big one here is that they don't actually qualify for 2 Weapon Harmony (prereq Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, BAB +9) until 13th level which impacts their low level AoO based play heavily (also failing to realize that moving adjacent to a creature charging you does nothing to stop its charge doesn't help), and they linked a word for word reprint of Combat Reflexes and talked about how it was better than the standard one Which... belongs in elegance. Still short of Combat School being able to grant massive numbers of daze attempts per round they don't actually have much going for them (lots of attacks per round for low damage and low accuracy).

Elegance: 1.5. A lot of this was gotten into above. Not fulfilling prerequisites for feats, leaping through hoops to eke out power and relying on one cheesy feat for 90% of their power just doesn't say elegant to me.

Concept: 1.5. While climbing is something you do in dungeons, the character ended up a climber and not well anything that had to do with dungeons in particular. Even the fluff they give emphasizes the quest and... oddly outdoor adventuring (mountains, waterfalls). I mean yeah they're maneuverable in a dungeon, but they aren't really a dungeon character.

Total: 9.5

Spoiler: Totals

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23.5 for Lurk
25 for Daak

So far, I've just added the judges' scores to determine the winner... if anyone has a better notion for scoring, feel free to recommend it. The discussion is now open for disputes.

[Beelzebub1111]

I don't really have any disputes to make, the criticism is fair. Were I to make the character again, I would have gone back into inventor for higher levels.

I will try to be better about artful drafting and typographical errors next time. I must have misread the part about needing all five.

I think it's funny how I made a dragon for the dungeon competition and the next one turned out to be dtagons. Does that mean I'll be using dungeon classes for the dragon theme? Who knows?

[Jormengand]

You're not really meant to reveal your build until after the competition. Although, I for one am just laughing at the fact that both competitors started off by jumping headlong into one of my base classes and staying there for, on average, nine levels.

[Temotei]

Maybe we should grant judges a few extra days when judging, if only because it's a homebrew contest, so there will almost always be extra reading involved. It's different in a contest with only published material where you likely know how stuff works.

[Beelzebub1111]

What's going on with the contest? Is it dead?

[Temotei]

What's going on with the contest? Is it dead?

We're getting hit by a bit of rain in Minnesota. Could be that sengmeng got flooded or something if he's got a basement that doesn't specifically protect against it.

Or it could be the real life. Real life is mean like that. No consideration for forum contest fun.

[sengmeng]

Or it could be the real life. Real life is mean like that. No consideration for forum contest fun.

This. I've had two 60+ hour work weeks back to back... and I just realized the disputes were never forwarded to the judges. Will do that tonight, and possibly send the next entrants.

Hang in there.

[Temotei]

I'll just post this here so everyone can see to what I am replying.

So for Temotei:

Yeah, SRPoD (which I now want to call sauropod) is a weird class, probably because the name appears to have been randomly generated by the same thing that made the, I kid you not, temporal demi-artificer of might. Don't even ask.

The world is full of weird-ass things.

The reason I took Tall Tale was because I had the idea that Lurk didn't just want to be some guy who climbed on things: he wanted to be a climbing LEGEND. Also the fact that it means that I get climbing bonuses from it doesn't hurt. I should point out - not that it'll change my score - that "That basically means he never fails unless he's trying to climb a "perfectly smooth, flat, vertical surface" or something even more difficult" isn't quite true at level 20: he treats it as having adequate handholds and footholds from his 13th-level sauropod ability.

I think tall tale would have felt better if the entry were fleshed out more. If I really felt who Lurk was as a person, it might have made more sense. No change in score. (+0)

Ah, yeah, you're right on that last bit. No change in score, though, as predicted. (+0)

For some reason I didn't read TWH. D'oh. Does that really lose me 1.5 points?

It's not so much that you lost 1.5 points as you gained 0.5 points because your build is pretty streamlined and easy to follow mechanically. You probably lost like 0.5 from that little mishap. I'll set up more concrete judging criteria next time I judge (unless I'm judging HC II, in which case you'll have to wait until III). No change in score. (+0)

The idea was that because dungeon rooms tend to be small, and sauropods can hang from the ceiling, they can hang above someone and start stabbing them.

I don't really know to what this refers.

Total Change in Score: +0

[Beelzebub1111]

Will the entrants to the second contest be posted to the thread? Or are we waiting until after the judging this time.

Any ideas for the next contest?

Also, I haven't seen zaydos in a while. I hope he's okay.

[Temotei]

Also, I haven't seen zaydos in a while. I hope he's okay.

We are nearing the end of the semester. Could be that he's busy with schoolwork/tired out.

Semi-related (to sengmeng), for judging, I believe the custom is per-contest judging volunteers so that no judge feels obligated to do every contest.

[sengmeng]

We are nearing the end of the semester. Could be that he's busy with schoolwork/tired out.

Semi-related (to sengmeng), for judging, I believe the custom is per-contest judging volunteers so that no judge feels obligated to do every contest.

Ahh. Ok. Well, entries will be posted to the thread soon, and I suppose then I'll be seeking judges. Are you still ok dong it?

[Temotei]

Ahh. Ok. Well, entries will be posted to the thread soon, and I suppose then I'll be seeking judges. Are you still ok dong it?

Sure, I'll do this one.

[Temotei]

Oh, sorry, peeps. I totally forgot about this in the midst of life. I'll be done by the end of the week I think.

[Beelzebub1111]

It happens, we all forget things. In fact I forgot that I had my Juicer entry in the base class contest to finish. Better get to work on that.

[sengmeng]

Oh, sorry, peeps. I totally forgot about this in the midst of life. I'll be done by the end of the week I think.

I guess you are our sole judge at the moment. Unless our entrants would like me add my two cents in? I would by necessity be aware of the entrants' identities, unfortunately.

Third round will be up soon.

[Jormengand]

You could always post the builds. That would be an idea.

[sengmeng]

You could always post the builds. That would be an idea.

Ah yes. I resolve to do it first thing after my nap and shower.

Are we going to see a voting thread for the Villainous Brew?

[Jormengand]

Ah yes. I resolve to do it first thing after my nap and shower.

Are we going to see a voting thread for the Villainous Brew?

Oh yeah. Gratuitously stealing from the base class competition, please hold...

[Beelzebub1111]

By the way. I'm willing to judge the next round if Temotei wants to enter.

[Jormengand]

Is this still a thing?

[sengmeng]

Is this still a thing?

I would prefer YES.

Posting Builds momentarily.

If you see me on other threads on the forum, please don't think I'm ignoring this contest or others. I post mostly from my phone, but posting anything with real substance requires my computer, and I don't have access as often.

[sengmeng]

Dovahkiin

"Skyrim legend tells of a hero known as the Dragonborn, a warrior with the body of a mortal and soul of a dragon, whose destiny it is to destroy the evil dragon Alduin."

Dovahkiin, the Dragonborn, is the hero of Skyrim and hunter of dragons. Despite being sentenced to death Dovahkiin was, ironically enough, saved by the timely intervention of the dragon Alduin, who later became the dragonborn's target.

Spoiler: Build Stub

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Dragonborn of Bahamut (Heart) Illumian (Uurnaen)^RoD Adventurer^Jor 20

Illumian is a good choice for Dovahkiin, as they specifically call out that they keep their sigils even when they change forms, overruling Dragonborn of Bahamut's stipulation that they're removed.

Assuming 32 PB, we're maxing int. No, no arguing, we're maxing int. You'll see why when you realise what we're spending all our talents on. However, we're a warrior-type at heart, so let's put, like, a 14 or something in strength. I seem to remember actually getting the heavy armour perk that added your gauntlet armour bonus to your damage and just going around punching dragons, but we're gonna assume you're a two-hand fighter because that's easiest feat-wise and we need a hell of a lot of feats.

So let's go 14/12/12/18/10/8, which goes to 14/10/14/18/10/8, and then you dump everything in int when you level up. Snazzy.

The ritual of rebirth costs 100 GP, but whatever. Arguably, the Adventurer can just pull the required materials out of the bag of useful items, but that's probably a bit silly. I dunno.

Dragonborn is also cool, because it allows Dovahkiin to use two of the more iconic shouts, Fire/Inferno/Sun (Fire breath) and Frost/Cold/Freeze (Frost Breath). It even has a cooldown time, which is pretty thematic.

Spoiler: Table

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Look, I'm going to save your time here: Jormengand or the Tome of Magic made all of the truespeak stuff. Fus ro dah, bitches.

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Adventurer 1	+0	+2	+2	+0	Bluff 4, Craft 4, Disable Device 4, Hide 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Move Silently 4, Open Lock 4, Sleight of Hand 4, Swim 4, Truespeak 4	Codex Skill Focus (Truespeak)Lez, Least Extra Utterance (Universal Aptitude, Minor Word of Nurturing)	Bag of Useful Items, Bonus Feat
2nd	Adventurer 2	+1	+3	+3	+0	Bluff 5, Craft 5, Disable Device 5, Hide 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Move Silently 5, Open Lock 5, Sleight of Hand 5, Swim 5, Truespeak 5	Least Extra Utterance (Inertia Surge)	Lucky Escape 1/day, Bonus Feat
3rd	Adventurer 3	+2	+3	+3	+1	Bluff 6, Craft 6, Disable Device 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 6, Move Silently 6, Open Lock 6, Sleight of Hand 6, Swim 6, Truespeak 6	Minor Extra Utterance (Temporal Twist)	Improvised Item Proficiency, Bag of Additional Items
4th	Adventurer 4	+3	+4	+4	+1	Bluff 7, Craft 7, Disable Device 7, Hide 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 7, Move Silently 7, Open Lock 7, Sleight of Hand 7, Swim 7, Truespeak 7	Minor Extra Utterance (Hidden Truth)	Use Anything, Bonus Feat
5th	Adventurer 5	+5	+4	+4	+1	Bluff 8, Craft 8, Disable Device 8, Hide 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Move Silently 8, Open Lock 8, Sleight of Hand 8, Swim 8, Truespeak 8	Lesser Extra Utterance (Greater Speed of the Zephyr)	Bonus Feat, Skilled Combatant
6th	Adventurer 6	+6	+5	+5	+2	Bluff 9, Craft 9, Disable Device 9, Hide 9, Knowledge (Arcana) 9, Move Silently 9, Open Lock 9, Sleight of Hand 9, Swim 9, Truespeak 9	Lesser Extra Utterance (Energy Negation)	Contact 1/day, Armoured Adventurer
7th	Adventurer 7	+7	+5	+5	+2	Bluff 10, Craft 10, Disable Device 10, Hide 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 10, Move Silently 10, Open Lock 10, Sleight of Hand 10, Swim 10, Truespeak 10	Moderate Extra Utterance (Relocate)	Fast Learner, Bonus Feat, Feats of Glory
8th	Adventurer 8	+8	+6	+6	+2	Bluff 11, Craft 11, Disable Device 11, Hide 11, Jump 1 Knowledge (Arcana) 11, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 11, Sleight of Hand 11, Swim 11, Truespeak 11	Moderate Extra Utterance (Morale Boost)	Lucky Escape 1/hour, Bonus Feat
9th	Adventurer 9	+9	+6	+6	+3	Bluff 12, Craft 12, Disable Device 12, Hide 12, Jump 2 Knowledge (Arcana) 12, Move Silently 12, Open Lock 12, Sleight of Hand 12, Swim 12, Truespeak 12	Greater Extra Utterance (Agitate Metal), Quicken Utterance	I know you!, Bonus Feat
10th	Adventurer 10	+10	+7	+7	+3	Bluff 13, Craft 13, Disable Device 13, Hide 13, Jump 3 Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Move Silently 13, Open Lock 13, Sleight of Hand 13, Swim 13, Truespeak 13	Greater Extra Utterance (Greater Seek the Sky), Empower Utterance, Skill Focus (Truespeak)	Master of Fun, Diplomatic Immunity, Jack of All Raids, Bonus Feat, Bonus Feat, Bonus Feat
11th	Adventurer 11	+11	+7	+7	+3	Bluff 14, Craft 14, Disable Device 14, Hide 14, Jump 4 Knowledge (Arcana) 14, Move Silently 14, Open Lock 14, Sleight of Hand 14, Swim 14, Truespeak 14	Major Extra Utterance (Ether Reforged)	Bonus Feat, Friends in High Places
12th	Adventurer 12	+12	+8	+8	+4	Bluff 15, Craft 15, Disable Device 15, Hide 15, Jump 5 Knowledge (Arcana) 15, Move Silently 15, Open Lock 15, Sleight of Hand 15, Swim 15, Truespeak 15	Major Extra Utterance (Singular Mind)	Contact 2/day, Hunch
13th	Adventurer 13	+13	+8	+8	+4	Bluff 16, Craft 16, Disable Device 16, Hide 16, Jump 6 Knowledge (Arcana) 16, Move Silently 16, Open Lock 16, Sleight of Hand 16, Swim 16, Truespeak 16	Super Extra Utterance (Word of Unrelenting Force)	Bag of Additional Items, Bag of Superfluous Items, Bonus Feat
14th	Adventurer 14	+14	+9	+9	+4	Bluff 17, Craft 17, Disable Device 17, Hide 17, Jump 7 Knowledge (Arcana) 17, Move Silently 17, Open Lock 17, Sleight of Hand 17, Swim 17, Truespeak 17	Super Extra Utterance (Master the Four Winds)	Lucky Escape 1/minute, Bonus Feat
15th	Adventurer 15	+15	+9	+9	+5	Bluff 18, Craft 18, Disable Device 18, Hide 18, Jump 8 Knowledge (Arcana) 18, Move Silently 18, Open Lock 18, Sleight of Hand 18, Swim 18, Truespeak 18	Superior Extra Utterance (Sieze Item)	Trap Sense
16th	Adventurer 16	+16	+10	+10	+5	Bluff 19, Craft 19, Disable Device 19, Hide 19, Jump 10 Knowledge (Arcana) 19, Move Silently 19, Open Lock 19, Sleight of Hand 19, Swim 19, Truespeak 19	Superior Extra Utterance (Superior Knight's Puissance)	Sixth Sense, Bonus Feat
17th	Adventurer 17	+17	+10	+10	+5	Bluff 20, Craft 20, Disable Device 20, Hide 20, Jump 12 Knowledge (Arcana) 20, Move Silently 20, Open Lock 20, Sleight of Hand 20, Swim 20, Truespeak 20	Superlative Extra Utterance (Conjunctive Gate)	Intuition, Bonus Feat
18th	Adventurer 18	+18	+11	+11	+6	Bluff 21, Craft 21, Disable Device 21, Hide 21, Jump 14 Knowledge (Arcana) 21, Move Silently 21, Open Lock 21, Sleight of Hand 21, Swim 21, Truespeak 21	Superlative Extra Utterance (Gate of Worlds), Superlative Extra Utterance (Superlative Essence of Lifespark)	Contact 3/day, Bonus Feat
19th	Adventurer 19	+19	+11	+11	+6	Bluff 22, Craft 22, Disable Device 22, Hide 22, Jump 16 Knowledge (Arcana) 22, Move Silently 22, Open Lock 22, Sleight of Hand 22, Swim 22, Truespeak 22	Superlative Extra Utterance (Anger the Sleeping Earth)	Legend Keeper, Specific Knowledge, Bonus Feat
20th	Adventurer 20	+20	+12	+12	+6	Bluff 23, Craft 23, Disable Device 23, Hide 23, Jump 18 Knowledge (Arcana) 23, Move Silently 23, Open Lock 23, Sleight of Hand 23, Swim 23, Truespeak 23	Superlative Extra Utterance (Superlative Word of Nurturing)	Lucky Escape 1/round, Bonus Feat

Spoiler: Thu'um

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These are how I've tried to emulate all the dragonborn shouts:

Animal/Allegiance/Pack (Raan Mir Tah, Animal Allegiance): Reversed Singular Mind allows you to Dominate Monster.
Life/Seek/Hunt (Laas Yah Nir, Aura Whisper): You have some divination abilities from adventurer that are helpful here.
Loyal/Valor/Inspire (Mid Vur Shan, Battle Fury): Greater Speed of the Zephyr.
Fade/Spirit/Bind (Feim Zii Gron, Become Ethereal): Ether Reforged does this perfectly.
Earth/Mind/Dragon (Gol Hah Dov, Bend Will): Reversed Singular mind again.
Snow/Hunter/Wing (Od Ah Viing, Call Dragon): Conjunctive Gate can gate in a dragon or Singular Mind can force one to advance.
Hero/Champion/Legend (Hun Kaal Zoor, Call of Valor): Conjunctive Gate again, or use Contacts.
Sky/Spring/Summer (Lok Vah Koor, Clear Skies): Master the Four Winds, probably the reversed version.
Wind/Unleash/Strike (Ven Gar Nos, Cyclone): Another Mt4W.
Weapon/Hand/Defeat (Zun Haal Viik, Disarm): Seize Item: the reversed version will send it flying back.
Fear/Run/Terror (Faas/Ru/Maar, Dismay): Reversed Morale Boost
Strength/Armour/Wyrm (Mul Qah Diiv, Dragon Aspect): You, all the time.
Mortal/Finite/Temporary (Joor Zah Frul, Dragonrend): Reversed Greater Seek the Sky
Stamina/Magic/Health (Gaan Lah Haas, Drain Vitality): Superlative Essence of Lifespark isn't perfect, but the reversed version on your enemy followed by the normal version on yourself has a similar effect if you're level drained.
Air/Battle/Grace (Su Grah Dun, Elemental Fury): Greater Speed of the Zephyr.
Fire/Inferno/Sun (Yol Toor Shul, Fire Breath): Breath weapon attack.
Frost/Cold/Freeze (Fo Krah Diin, Frost Breath): Breath weapon attack.
Ice/Flesh/Statue (Iiz Slen Nus, Ice Form): Reversed Agitate Metal.
Kyne/Peace/Trust (Kaan Drem Ov, Kyne's Peace): Reversed Singular Mind again, or throw a Ward of Peace on yourself.
Kill/Leech/Suffer (Krii Lun Aus, Marked for Death): Reversed Superlative Essence of Lifespark helps for this.
Essence/Tear/Zombie (Rii Vaaz Zol, Soul Tear): Another one where Reversed Superlative Essence of Lifespark is good: the fact it turns enemies to wights if it kills them is nice and fluffy.
Time/Sand/Eternity (Tiid Klo Ul, Slow Time): Reversed Greater Speed of the Zephyr.
Storm/Wrath/Lightning (Strun Bah Qo, Storm Call): Mt4W.
Curse/Never/Dying (Dur Neh Viir, Summon Durnehviir): Gate that suckah in.
Voice/Fool/Far (Zul Mey Gut, Throw Voice): You may need to invest in a wand of ghost sound. By which I mean pull one out of your Bag of Useful Items. Sorry! You can Singular Mind people to go and look at the noise, though.
Force/Balance/Push (Fus Ro Dah, Unrelenting Force): Word of Unrelenting Force is this in a can.
Whirlwind/Fury/Tempest (Wuld Nah Kest, Whirlwind Sprint): Reversed Word of Unrelenting Force is a tribute to this. Relocate is also potentially this.

Also, a few other abilities are based on the game: Armoured Adventurer for the fact that the Dovahkiin can apparently jump around with no problem in full plate, I Know You! for no other reason than that's what a guard says to you when you have a tiny bounty and talk to them, Friends in High Places because you're the Jarl's best mate, Diplomatic Immunity because you get that in Whiterun after you get the axe thing, etcetera. Similarly the skills are just things that Dovahkiin goes around doing, like suddenly being able to pick locks because reasons.

I was very, very close to making the dragonborn a catfolk, then decided against it.

Spoiler: What do you do?

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The important level here is 9th, where you can throw some Thu'um goodness at someone and also drop a full attack on them at the same time, so as you get more utterances you can swing a greatsword a few times and then Fus Ro Dah them in the face, or gate in a hero or Durnehviir/Odahviing before full round moving away from the fight. Even at ninth level, though, you can freeze someone to death, or even just charge someone and use your swift action to Relocate onto a nearby hill ("Location visible", after all).

7 is similarly a neat level because that's when you get Relocate in the first instance, so if you have a bow and arrow you can teleport onto a nearby tower and start shooting people. You can also bring an enemy to you, meaning you can bring them just off the edge of the tower (careful; they're entitled to a climb check to grab back on). 7 is also pretty swell because you can use any one utterance once per day, and can also choose an additional utterance each day. I'm honestly not sure which level to make my milestone. But whatever, it's either 7 or 9, depending on whether you want to go archer or get up close and personal. This build can honestly do either well.

Okay, let's go. 5th level. We've just refilled our BAB with a cheeky moderate talent, and can also haste ourself. So next level we'll be making a nice three attacks per round, which is enough to tear apart anything we can hit. +5 or +15 to all skills depending on which skill it is; also neat. Oh, and we have health regeneration, just like Dovahkiin.

10th level: We can bring in dragons down to land and then mess them up in close combat. Or at range, if we prefer. We can walk around cities breaking all sorts of laws and no-one cares, which is also funny. Better than being told not to shout because it's making people nervous, eh? EH?

15th level: This is the point where you're spamming swift-action tornadoes or whatever, and by the way did I mention that FUS RO DAH, BITCHES? What, I did? Okay, because that's a thing you can do. And dominate people. Yeah. Also, you can reroll anything or force a reroll of anything every minute, which is pretty swell. Maybe keep that for save/dies spells.

20th level: Can you beat Alduin? Well, you have to use Greater Reversed Seek the Sky on him. That's just something you have to do. Like, you're contractually obliged or whatever. After that, though, you can run in and start hitting him five times a round with a greatsword or whatever, and continue to shout at him every round. I'd say you're doing pretty good here. Don't forget to summon his ex-buddies Durnehviir and Odahviing just to make the fight even more hilariously easy. Have fun.

Spoiler: Sources

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^Jor is Jormengand, ^Lez is Lezaid, ^RoD is Races of Destiny. Refreshingly few sources, yay!

[sengmeng]

Takeo the Dragonscourge
Our tale begins with a young woman named Midori. Exiled from her village and with child, she fled to a Yamabito monastery hidden away in the deep wilderness. The warrior monks took her in unquestioningly and cared for her as she earned her keep for them. Before long, she was ready to give birth and the reason for her exile had become apparent. The child had emerald green scales, horns, a crest and tail. The child was half-dragon. To great misfortune, Midori did not survive the birth, leaving the monks to raise the child themselves.

The monks named the boy Takeo, a name meaning "Valiant Man" they began to train him in their ways, but there was an anger in the young man. A desire for vengeance for the death of his mother, a hatred for dragon-kind, and a plot to kill his father in cold blood. When confronted, he openley admited his desires and would not revoke them, thus he was not allowed to continue his training.

In the night Takeo fled into the night, scrounging to survive. In passing, he heard legends of an evil spirit of death that may grant power to those it deems worthy. Takeo sought out this creature, The Dullahan, and begged it for the power to visit revenge. The inscrutable headless horseman saw the hatred in Takeo's heart, and saw that he would use the gift well. It made him into a Knight of Dullahan, and Takeo set out on his quest to slay his father, and then all dragons.


Half Green Dragon Yamabito Knight of DUllahan
Flaw: Murky-Eyed

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	LA +1	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
2nd	LA +2	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
3rd	LA +3	--	--	--	--	--	--	--
4th	Knight of Dullahan 1	+1	+2	+0	+2	Balance 4, Ride 4, Intimidate 4	Multiattack, Toughness (Flaw)	Aurophobia, Deathwatch, Master of Whips
5th	Knight of Dullahan 2	+2	+3	+0	+3	Balance 5, Ride 5, Intimidate 5		Mettle
6th	Knight of Dullahan 3	+3	+3	+1	+3	Balance 6, Ride 6, Intimidate 6/td] [td][url=http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?403337]Weapon Focus(Hand and a Half Sword)
7th	Knight of Dullahan 4	+4	+4	+1	+4	Balance 7, Ride 7, Intimidate 7		Dying Body (Negative Healing, Sleep)
8th	Knight of Dullahan 5	+5	+4	+1	+4	Balance 8, Ride 8, Intimidate 8		Spinal Blade (+1, Dragon Bane)
9th	Knight of Dullahan 6	+6/+1	+5	+2	+5	Balance 9, Ride 9, Intimidate 9	Dragonfoe (Draconomicon)	Skeletal Steed
10th	Knight of Dullahan 7	+7/+2	+5	+2	+5	Balance 10, Ride 10, Intimidate 10		Spinal Blade (Vicious), Eyes of Flame
11th	Knight of Dullahan 8	+8/+3	+6	+2	+6	Balance 11, Ride 11, Intimidate 11		Dying Body (25% fortification), Spinal Blade (+2)
12th	Knight of Dullahan 9	+9/+4	+6	+3	+6	Balance 12, Ride 12, Intimidate 12	Improved Parry	Headless
13th	Knight of Dullahan 10	+10/+5	+7	+3	+7	Balance 13, Ride 13, Intimidate 13		Fiendish Blast
14th	Knight of Dullahan 11	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+7	Balance 14, Ride 14, Intimidate 14		Spinal Blade (+3), Dying Body (Poison and Disease)
15th	Knight of Dullahan 12	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+8	Balance 15, Ride 15, Intimidate 15	Feindish Breath	Bind Skeletal Warrior
16th	Knight of Dullahan 13	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+8	Balance 16, Ride 16, Intimidate 16		Dying Body (50% Fortification), Spinal Blade (Gerater Dispelling)
17th	Knight of Dullahan 14	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+9	Balance 17, Ride 17, Intimidate 17		Spinal Blade (+4)
18th	Knight of Dullahan 15	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+9	Balance 18, Ride 18, Intimidate 18	Soul Cutting Edge	Mark for Death, Dying Body (Death effects and Energy Drain)
19th	Knight of Dullahan 16	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+10	Balance 19, Ride 19, Intimidate 19		Words of the Damned(Blasphemy)
20th	Knight of Dullahan 16/Warblade 1	+17/+12/+7/+2	+12	+5	+10	Balance 20, Ride 19, Intimidate 20, Concentration 3		Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude

Starting Stats with Racial Bonuses
Str 24 Dex 14 Con 18 Int 12 Wis 8 Cha 15

Level 7 +1 Int
Level 11 +1 Cha
Level 15 +1 Str
Level 19 +1 Str

Level 5: This level is a bit underwhelming thanks to the level adjustment, but Tametoi's toughness fix helps mitigate that. Besides that we also have three attacks, a +7 strength bonus, and an amazing AC thanks to our race/class combo. Being able to be lethal with whips is another benefit to keep enemies at bay from our low hit points. Using stone bones as our racial maneuver gives us another layer to our survivablity.

Level 10 (And Sweet Spot): NOW we start to look like a Dragon Slayer. Our spinal blade is a +1 Vicious Dragon Bane Bastard Sword or Whip as we need it and the dragonfoe feat, we deal 1d10+4d6+12 to dragons with that weapon, barring any strength boosting items. Tametoi's Toughness still comming in handy to take the extra vicious damage. Soulbound Armor lets us take full advantage of our dex bonus to AC and Zaydos's weapon focus ups our AC again. Bonecrusher is probably the best racial maneuver for this level, extra damage is extra damage.

Level 15: At this level we get some interesting class features and immunities. Fiendish Breath gives our breath weapon and our fiendish blast some additional utility, able to deal acid damage with the latter and having half the damage be irriducible from the former. Light fortification and immunity to poisons are nice little bonuses, while Zaydos's improved parry gives even more AC and a big boost once per encounter in a pinch. Wings of Flying are a pretty important magic item to have around this level if we are going to continue our dragonslaying. And Armor enchantment is easy for this class, so giving our soul-bound armor a property like Bane Blind to Dragons is feasable. Our racial maneuver this level is Overwhelming Mountain Strike, since it's pretty much our only option for that level. Still, it will keep a dragon on the ground for a round. For what it's worth, we also get a pretty cool cohort at this level, even if it is outsid the scope of this contest.

Level 20: This level was a pickle. It came down to either taking another KoD level, getting the +5 weapon enhancement and total crit immunity or go warblade and get seventh level maneuvers. I think I made the right choice I waffled a bit on whether to take Vampiric or Greater Dispelling for the spinal blade and while the Extra Healing is better to offset the vicious property, Greater Dispelling is much more useful at such high levels. Blasphemy is useful for stopping smaller good foes, but otherwise limited for use in dragonslaying. Soul Cutting Edge adds a bit more to damage per hit that is unhealable AND applies to our natural weapons. We get total immunity to death effects, and energy drain. As for chosen maneuvers, I'm a little unsure of how prerequisites work when you gain them all at the same time, so I'm going with 1 with no prerequesites, 1 with one, 1 with two and so on. With 4 manuevers, thanks to our race, we'll go with Irresistable Mountain strike for our racial (Denying actions is always good). For the warblade maneuverse we'll take Rapid COunter(lets us get a second Attack of Oppurtunity against foes who try to flee after Mountain Strike), Pearl of Black Doubt (Good against foes with many attacks, like dragons, and synergizes well wtih improved parry), Emerald Razor (Dragons have very low touch ACs), and Quicksilver Motion (To help us get our full 6 attacks in combat more reliably)

[Beelzebub1111]

Wow, two part dragon dragonslayers. Do you think that will cost us on originality?

[Temotei]

Wow, two part dragon dragonslayers. Do you think that will cost us on originality?

Nah. I don't like the idea of penalizing participants for doing similar concepts because they have no idea of knowing what the others are doing. Originality depends on the concept and build itself for me.

[Beelzebub1111]

I figured, I was attempting to make a joke.

Weird how it worked out, though.

[Temotei]

I figured, I was attempting to make a joke.

Weird how it worked out, though.

Oh. I cut out the dragon part and only read dragonslayers. I think I thought it was a typo.