Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground LXXXIX

[Heliomance]

So would people like me to get the next contest started up? I can do it today quite easily, I have plenty of free time today.

[Vaz]

I'd be keen to get back in to a little bit of IC'ing now that Xanathar's has released in 5e leaving me a little bit disappointed. Although as I've not participated for an age, I'm not sure I'd consider it a worthwhile vote.

[FunkyGoose]

So would people like me to get the next contest started up? I can do it today quite easily, I have plenty of free time today.

That'd be pretty nice, yeah.

[Darrin]

So would people like me to get the next contest started up? I can do it today quite easily, I have plenty of free time today.

(That's actually a vote for "Yes, post new ingredient", if you couldn't tell...)

[Heliomance]

New thread is up!

[Zaq]

I'm still eager to see the results of this round, but not so much so that I'm going to raise a stink about there being a new round. I hope the judging task comes easily to you, WhamBamSam!

[WhamBamSam]

So, judging update...

I'm currently at a 4600 word text document, counting forum formatting, which translates to all entries having been scored across the first two categories. Whenever I next judge, I think I'm going to change my Power rubric to hopefully make it easier to score and get a wider point spread. The good news is that Elegance and UoSI are the easiest categories to score under my rubric so I should finish just after the reveal for the next round.

[Venger]

Makes sense given the size of the round. Good to hear. Thanks for the update.

[Thurbane]

I'm eagerly looking forward to the judging too...thanks again WhamBamSam.

[Zaq]

Marvelous news. I can’t wait to see what you come up with, WhamBamSam. Your efforts are greatly appreciated—I know what hard work it can be!

[WhamBamSam]

Well, this has been something of an ordeal, but I'm finally done. This'll take two posts.

Nausho, the Thrallmaker – 15

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Originality – 3.5

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Shugenja is unexpected as a caster entry, but once you’re there, it’s well known as a full caster entry into Hexer. Feral is a common melee template suggestion. Apart from maybe Mother Cyst, the feats are pretty boilerplate. I think there’s enough here to put you a little ahead though. (+0.25)

I like where you’re going with Mother Cyst/Dual Actions stuff, but I don’t see enough that’s mechanically unique to give a bonus. (0)

You provide some fluff, but I feel it’s short of the standard set by others this round. (0)

Power – 3.5

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A full caster sinking caster levels into Thrall of Demogorgon raises my skepticism, but at least you also have some emphasis on melee, the Thrall SLAs fill some gaps in Shugenja casting, and cyst spells are perhaps a bit less backloaded than usual, which keeps things from being too grim here. (0)

You fall a bit short of some of the standard Gish benchmarks at 15 BAB and 7th level spells, but you seem to have a solid variety of options. Your spell list is solid, and Feral probably (see Elegance) gives you most of the goodies you need to at least pass muster when you wade into melee. Your late feat choices could have been better, but apart from losing caster levels, you check most of the optimization boxes that you’re supposed to. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4.25

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You qualify for everything. (0)

It is a point of some contention and debate whether all HD or only RHD constitute “monster HD” for the scaling effects of the Feral template. It’s an ill-defined term, so RAW, you’re probably in the right, but RAI and in the eyes of some DMs it might be a problem. (-0.25)

Other than that, I can’t see a DM taking issue with your overall build progression. (+0.5)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

UoSI – 3.75

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You take the spellcasting prereq all the way to 7th level spells, and Knowledge (Arcana) overlaps with the prerequisites for Hexer. (+0.25)

You enter ToD too late for Touch of Fear to be effective against level-appropriate encounters. (0)

Feral gives you some natural armor which stacks with Scaly Flesh. (+0.25)

You don’t get anything from Twin personas. (0)

You burn a lot of caster levels, but you do get up to 7th level spells with the spell progression that you do get from ToD. (+0.5)

You have a solid Cha, but you’re too late to getting Hypnotism and don’t have anything to bolster it, like Charm or Diplomacy. (0)

Reaching Touch is nice for everyone, but you don’t appear to get anything out of it that others don’t. (0)

As a caster, and in particular a user of Cyst spells, you have a lot of good options for your Dual Actions and some solid one-two punches. (+0.75)

You miss Summon Major Demon, get Summon Minor Demon late, and don’t really have any special synergy with summons. (0)

As a caster, you target Fort saves more than most, and so get more out of Rotting Touch. (+0.5)

You have a good enough Cha that even with the lower DC from not finishing the SI, your Death Touch is formidable. (+0.5)

You duck out of ToD before getting Demogorgon’s Will. (0)

Marcus Armstrong – 15.5

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Originality – 3.5

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I expected an initiator with reach feats qualifying through a sneak attack dip, as I intended to submit one, but my idea was rooted in the thought that late dips in initiator classes for high level maneuvers would be a good use for Twin Personas, and I had largely dismissed the use of the bonus feats to wrangle entry into Master of Nine and that’s enough to put you a little bit into the positive column. (+0.25)

Reach-op is a pretty well-worn field of melee optimization and I don’t really see Marcus doing much to stand out from it. None of it feels stale enough to punish you though. (0)

I really enjoyed reading your fluff. In the future, I may add an extra quarter point for “best in show” to this subcategory of my scoring rubric for the express purpose of rewarding work like this. (+0.25)

Power – 3.75

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The requisite dip for Sneak Attack and 10 levels of SI cost you initiator levels. The net gain in feats is nice for getting into Master of Nine, but no more so than a 1 level Monk dip would have been. That said, you are a charismatic, high reach martial build and I suppose Dual Actions and Limited Wish are better than the 9th level maneuvers you’re giving up, so you still benefit from ToD, but not as much as some of the competition. (+0.25)

I really think that you should have dedicated yourself to an Elder Evil. Given the debauchery of Marcus’ friend group it’d have fit right in, and would have freed up 3 feats in a build which is strapped for them. It would almost certainly have been a net benefit to your build’s score. Still, maneuvers help to fill the gaps left by staple melee feats that you don’t have room for and you seem to get a decent return on investment from Master of Nine. I’d call this fairly well executed optimization. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4.5

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You qualify for everything and avoid questionable rules interpretations. (0)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

I can’t see a DM taking issue with your progression. (+0.5)

UoSI – 3.75

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You use Willing Deformity to qualify for Deformity (Tall) and Deformity (Madness). (+0.25)

You’re right on the cusp of getting Touch of Fear in time to still be fighting things with 5 or fewer HD, but in absence of any further synergy, I’m only awarding the quarter point to those that enter at the earliest possible point. (0)

You don’t have any synergy with Scaly Flesh. (0)

You don’t get anything out of Twin Personas. (0)

You need feats, but many of the feats you need can be attained through popular dips. However, as Willing Deformity qualifies you for a number of your other feats, you come out closer to a net gain of three feats than two, and you do need a lot of feats to get into Master of Nine, so the bonus feats are putting in work for you. (+0.5)

You get Hypnotism early enough to have it potentially affect real enemies in combat, but don’t really have anything to set it up to be truly effective, like Charm or Diplomacy. (0)

Reaching Touch stacks with Deformity (Tall) and Inhuman Reach. Thicket of Blades ensures that enemies passing through your threatened area provoke, and while I would have liked to see Combat Reflexes and a few other things, you do nab Rapid Counter. (+0.5)

Maneuvers give you some variety with your actions and hence more things to do during Dual Actions and Moment of Alacrity works in conjunction to help you get a leg up in the action economy, but you lack a real one-two combo that makes you really stand out from what everyone else can do with the ability. (+0.25)

Relatively early entry means your Summoned Demons stack up better against level-appropriate encounters, and you have a few White Raven maneuvers that could potentially aid them further. (+0.5)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, but you don’t appear to do anything with it that others can’t. (0)

You have an okay Cha mod, which helps out the save DC of your Death Touch. (+0.25)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.5)

Reed Armstrong – 16

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Originality – 3.5

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Hexblade 4 entry was expected, as were reach-op tricks, Elder Evil dedication, and late dips in initiator classes. None of your feat choices really threw me for a loop either. Wood Elf is distinct from the pack, but doesn’t really seem to have a purpose. Justiciar of Taiia and Binder stand out a bit, though in the case of the former it feels out of place here. It’s at-odds with Hexblade entry, as it delays the SI, and if you were going to dip it anyway for EWP, it seems like other full BAB classes would have served as a better base as sneak attack removes the need for Hexblade casting to enter Thrall of Demogorgon and it seems to me that you could have done more with Fighter feats or a few more initiator levels or something. That makes it feel like a less inventive element in your progression than it otherwise might have been, so I don’t really feel like there’s enough here for a bonus. (0)

I do have a soft spot for the Defensive Rebuke+Dance of Death combo and exploitation of it is an effective and uncommon use of reach-op shenanigans. There’s a lot of standard fare in your mechanics as well, but I feel like you should be rewarded overall. (+0.5)

Fluff is just a few sentences of dialogue. Justifying the Ragnorra/Taiia/Demogorgon thing is necessary, but I’d have liked to see more. (0)

Power – 4.0

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As a high Cha, high reach melee build, Thrall of Demogorgon just makes sense. (+0.5)

As said in Originality, I think it would have been a better choice to either enter ToD straight from Hexblade or use different full BAB classes into the Justiciar of Taiia dip (just as an example, Barbarian 2/Fighter 2 would have gotten you Pounce, Improved Trip, and freed up the two feats you spend on Power Attack and Combat Reflexes). Still, this looks like a solid reach-op build, and you have some added versatility from ToD abilities, Imperious Command+Never Outnumbered, and some solid utility maneuvers. Dance of Death feels like a reasonable alternative to Pounce with Covering Strike and Devensive Rebuke to enhance it. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4.5

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You qualify for everything and avoid questionable rules interpretations. (0)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

You’re a little dippy, but it’s mostly as a result of the SI’s outright encouragement. I think you’ll escape scrutiny from most DMs. (+0.5)

UoSI – 4

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Knowledge Devotion makes use of the skill prereqs, Willing Deformity qualifies you for Deformity (Tall) and Abominable Form, and even Thrall to Demon is used to qualify for Abyss-Bound Soul. (+0.25)

You enter ToD too late for Touch of Fear to be effective against level-appropriate encounters. (0)

You don’t have any particular synergy with Scaly Flesh. (0)

Twin Personas prevents you from incurring multiclass penalties. (+0.25)

With Elder Evil dedication covering the prereqs, you have a net gain of 4 feats and use them well. (+0.5)

You have a decent Cha and enter ToD early enough for enemies in real combat situations to still be susceptible to Hypnotism, but lack anything to help set it up, like Diplomacy or Charm. (0)

Reaching Touch stacks with Deformity (Tall), Inhuman Reach, and on your turn Dancing Blade Form. The Spiked Chain is gravy on top. You also ensure more AoOs in your large threatened area through Combat Reflexes, Rapid Counter, and Defensive Rebuke+Dance of Death, and eventually nab Stand Still to eke out a bit more battlefield control. You’re missing Thicket of Blades, but I think you stand out as having the best reach-op abilities. (+0.75)

Dual Actions is nice for everyone, but I don’t see you doing anything with it that others can’t. (0)

You enter early enough that your Minor Demons stack up well against level appropriate foes at the time you get them, but delay Summon Major Demon. However, you have a few White Raven maneuvers which are potentially synergistic, so you at least get partial credit. (+0.25)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, but you don’t appear to do anything with it that others can’t. (0)

You have a solid Cha, making Death Touch a legitimate threat especially with your Dark Companion reducing enemy saves. (+0.5)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.5)

Altaes Dilmare – 13.75

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Originality – 2.75

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Going full caster on a SI that only offers 4/10 casting progression and has a BAB requirement is unexpected, to be sure. Sorcerer isn’t the most shocking of casting classes though, as there’s Cha synergy with Thrall of Demogorgon’s SLAs. The other PrCs aren’t too off the wall for a Sorcerer build either (Fiend-Blooded is a bit less common a suggestion, but still far from unheard of) and the feat selection is largely conventional as well. (-0.25)

Not only does it look like a standard Sorcerer build, it walks and talks like one as well. Spell selection and tactics are what one would expect from a Sorcerer, even if you do have one Save or Die spell at a lower level than you ordinarily would. There’s enough evil flavor to keep you out of a hole here, but nothing to warrant a bonus. (0)

Your fluff seems to largely just be justification for build choices. That’s all fine and good if you’re bringing this to the table, but by the standards of Iron Chef, comes up a bit short. (0)

Power – 3

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I can’t see what you, as a non-Gish full caster would want with Thrall of Demogorgon. It requires that you burn two feats for the privilege of losing a lot of caster levels. Dual actions is a thing, but other than that, you aren’t getting much out of the SI’s abilities that casting wasn’t already getting you. Seems like a poor fit to me. (-0.5)

Apart from the lost caster levels and a few dead feats, you’ve put together a solid Sorcerer build. Outside of the SI you don’t lose caster levels, PrC out like a good caster should, and have solid spell selection. Not world-shattering, or at least no more so than any other full caster, but solid, competent optimization of a powerful class. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4.5

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Skill Knowledge is part of UA’s alternate skill system, but as you’re only using it for a knowledge skill, you could have gotten it from Apprentice, so no harm no foul. (0)

Other than that, you qualify for everything. (0)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

Your progression is nice and straightforward. I can’t see a DM taking issue with it. (+0.5)

UoSI 3.5

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You optimize casting as best you can, I suppose and your other PrCs have overlapping Knowledge Skill prereqs. (+0.25)

You enter ToD too late for Touch of Fear to be effective against level appropriate encounters. (0)

You don’t have any synergy with Scaly Flesh. (0)

You don’t get anything out of Twin Personas. (0)

While you lose a lot of caster levels from ToD, you do make it to 8th level spells with the casting progression. (+0.5)

You’re a little late to the Hypnotism party, but you have excellent Cha and Charm Person as a spell known to set it up to render people fanatical. (+0.25)

Reaching Touch keeps you out of the fray a little bit, but at only 5 extra feet, it’s not really enough. Enemies can just 5-ft step up and attack you after all. (0)

Being a caster, I suppose you do have better things to do with Dual Actions than most. (+0.5)

The Summon Demon abilities really only save you Spells Known that could theoretically have gone into summoning, and the demons don’t stack up as well against level-appropriate encounters at the time you get them. (0)

As a spellcaster, you have more ways of targeting Fort saves than most, so you get a bit more out of Rotting Touch. (+0.5)

You have a high Cha, so Death Touch is a potent weapon for you even with a few lost levels reducing your save DC a bit. (+0.5)

You exit Thrall of Demogorgon early, before picking up Demogorgon’s Will. This is the right optimization decision for your build, as you can pick up Limited Wish as a spell known, but I’m not convinced that it’s a better use of the SI. (0)

Fra’alstrog the Bold – 15.25 *Honorable Mention*

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Originality – 4.75

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I didn’t expect Totemist what with Thrall of Demogorgon’s BAB prereq, and I really didn’t expect Incarnate, as the CE alignment prereq seemed to rule it out. I say seemed, because Ordered Chaos gave you a way around that issue, so nicely done. While Neraph is a pretty well-known race and you weren’t the only one, it’s doing enough for you for me to let it slide. I saw the Sneak Attack Fighter dip coming a mile away, but that was it. (+0.75)

Some of your tricks were known to me, like Mortalbane on an ability damage SLA, Mauling Gauntlets+Harpoon, and double dipping on Incarnate melds by counting as more than one non-Neutral alignment component, but they’re far from overused, and I’m impressed by how many you manage to squeeze in. I particularly like your Basilisk Mask shenanigans. (+0.75)

I enjoyed the interruptions from the Chaotic personality as a writing technique and appreciate how you were able to tie Incarnum and Ordered Chaos in with Thrall of Demogorgon’s Twin Personas. (+0.25)

Power – 3.75

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While I commended you for it under Originality, you do have to do significant hoop jumping to get into Thrall of Demogorgon (and in so doing run into a significant issue, see Elegance and UoSI), which also somewhat reduces and pushes back your net feat gain from the SI (you might have gone for Ordered Chaos as an Incarnate anyway, but still). That said, SI class features become your weapons of choice as your career progresses, so it’s hard to say your build would have been better without ToD in it. (+0.25)

Your tricks are largely effective, and they render you fairly versatile. Pounce would have been nice to see, as you do enjoy charging, but it’s not as important for you as for some builds, and your most lethal tricks come from other power sources. As I said, turning enemies into statues then smashing them is particularly nice for . Fond as I am of Harpoon+Mauling Gauntlets, I was initially a little skeptical of its inclusion here, as it didn’t seem to have any immediate synergy besides being an Incarnum build with some extra feats, to potentially throw into getting the combo, but I suppose I don’t immediately see what else you’d be doing with those feats, and you could use something that works against undead, which is a weak spot for many of your other tactics. Looks solid. (+0.5)

Elegance – 3.75

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Thrall to Demon was reprinted in a few 3.5 sourcebooks, and the updated version requires a Chaotic Evil alignment. You do not count as CE until you take Ordered Chaos, which you can’t move up due to the Base Will Save prerequisite. We did give a pass to people who made the mistake of using the BoVD version back in the Thrall of Orcus round, but it’s been a while since then, and you acknowledge the existence of later versions in your write-up. This is going to be something of a problem for you. (-0.5)

Other than that, you qualify for everything. (0)

You incur multiclass penalties from ECL 5 until you get Two Personas. (-0.25)

A few dips, but nothing that’s going to make me or your average reasonable DM clutch at pearls. (+0.5)

UoSI - 3

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Because you don’t qualify for the updated version of Thrall to Demon at the time you take it, and would have significant difficulty rearranging your build to make it legal, you don’t qualify for Thrall of Demogorgon. Each subcategory receives a quarter point penalty, to a minimum of zero.

You would have gotten your quarter point for prereqs as you use Willing Deformity to qualify for Deformity (Tongue) and improve upon Sneak Attack with Craven. (0)

You enter ToD too late for Touch of Fear to be effective against level appropriate encounters, but using it as a measuring stick for whether you can make something into a Necrocarnum Zombie is sort of nifty and would have been good enough for a quarter point. (0)

You have a racial natural armor to synergize with Scaly Flesh. Would have been good for a quarter point. (0)

Twin Personas stops you from incurring multiclass penalties. Would have been good for a quarter point. (0)

You enjoy a net gain of two feats which you couldn’t have easily gotten from classic dips. Would have been good enough for partial credit. (0)

You’re a little late in getting Hypnotism and don’t really have any other abilities to synergize with it. (0)

Reaching Touch is nice for everyone, but you don’t seem to get anything special out of it. (0)

Basilisk Mask+Mountain Hammer is a snazzy trick on top of the usual options that Dual Actions offers you. (+0.5)

Summoned Demons give you flanking buddies for Sneak Attack+Craven and can inflict serious damage to enemies petrified by your Basilisk Mask. (+0.5)

Mortalbane supercharges Rotting Touch and you target Fort saves with your Basilisk Mask tricks. (+0.5)

You have decent Cha, and Mortalbane makes Death Touch more threatening even on a failed save. (+0.25)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.25)

Speeloxhuu – 16.5

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Originality – 4.5

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Muckdwellers have some small notoriety as a LA+0 tiny race, and having CE Soulborn 2 show up on tiny characters to resolve racial Str penalties, dedication to an Elder Evil is to be expected on an SI with Vile feat prereqs, and there are dips and feat chains that are standard optimization fare. But I can’t deny that stub got a raised eyebrow from me when I first looked or pretend that I saw Truenamer coming. And with so many feats jammed in, there are naturally a few that pique my curiosity or were straight up unknown to me along with the staples. Alright, I’ll bite, let’s see where you’re going with this. (+0.5)

Ubercharging and BoVD sacrifices are known cheeses, and Underfoot Combatant is pretty well known as well, but your blending of the cheeses is pretty novel, and you’ve spiced things up in interesting ways and made them work on a largely martial build, which is non-trivial. Well done. (+0.75)

Solid presentation, and Gezoondhyt’s spiel at the end amused me. Have a quarter point for fluff. (+0.25)

Power – 4.25

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You have a lot of good (well, evil) reasons to be going into ToD. It helps you access demonic assistance for your sacrifices, which conventional sacrifice Truenamers would have difficulty there. You run a very feat-heavy operation, which includes feat chains that aren’t always terribly useful at their front end (and hence benefit from having several feats come in at once). You even care about BAB as a melee focused build. You don’t want the bad touch SLAs as much as some of the competition, but I can’t justify giving you less than full marks here. (+0.75)

Muckdweller seems to be contributing more style than substance. Circumventing the limitations of tiny size and low strength are cool and all, but you don’t really seem to need anything from it badly enough to burn two levels rather than just playing a race that didn’t have such a large Str penalty. Improved Familiar also seems to fall into this camp (also see Elegance), as I’m not sure what a Muckdweller familiar really does for you that a Raven couldn’t, and with your SLA caster level you don’t actually need Practiced Spellcaster to qualify for anything else. Still, you do overcome your self-imposed racial limitations by and large, and come out a competent ubercharger, with extra power and versatility from sacrifices, crafting, etc, and I’m especially impressed by how the seemingly disparate elements gel together and feed into one another. There are some flourishes here that don’t really strike me as optimal, but overall my assessment is solidly positive. (+0.5)

Elegance – 3.25

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Serpent Kingdoms’ Improved Familiar references the DMG version, which leads me to believe that ‘Level’ refers to the language of ‘Arcane Spellcaster Level’ used in the original version. ‘Arcane Spellcaster Level’ is not the same as ‘Caster Level’ and it seems to me that you at least need 5 levels of actual casting progression. So you don’t qualify for Improved Familiar. Fortunately, it’s only costing you here, as a Raven should be able to do all the things that you have Gezhoontyt doing. (-0.5)

Chosen of Evil requires Con 13, so you don’t qualify. (-0.5)

You otherwise qualify for everything and avoid questionable rules interpretations. (0)

Muckdwellers don’t seem to have a listed favored class, but Truenamer seems like a stretch. You incur multiclass penalties from level 7 until you get Two Personas. (-0.25)

You are a little dippy, but I just can’t bring myself to get on your case for it. (+0.5)

UoSI – 4.5

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You optimize Knowledge (Religion) for sacrifice checks, get a useful familiar and Shock Trooper out of your Wizard dip for the casting prereq, use Willing Deformity to qualify for Deformity (Madness), and even get a bit more out of Thrall to Demon than most, as you make one especially important check each day. (+0.25)

You enter ToD too late for Touch of Fear to be effective against level appropriate encounters. (0)

You have a racial natural armor to synergize with Scaly Flesh. Even if you are frequently tanking your AC to fuel Shock Trooper, you get credit there. (+0.25)

Twin Personas stops you from incurring multiclass penalties. (+0.25)

With Elder Evil dedication covering the prereqs, you have a net gain of 4 feats, and timing up the bonus feats with your regular level feats allows you to complete feat chains that don’t really pay off until the end all at once. Well done. (+0.75)

You have mediocre Cha, and Hypnotism has started to lose its luster against level-appropriate encounters by the time you get it, but you do have access to Charm Person as a Generalist Wizard, so you scrape partial credit. (+0.25)

Reaching Touch allows you to attack opponents without entering their squares. Underfoot Combat already allows you to enter the squares of Medium and larger creatures without provoking, but I suppose Halflings make good sacrifices too. (+0.25)

You can ubercharge twice a round with Dual Actions. Your damage output doesn’t stand out from the pack enough for a big bonus here, but Shock Trooper nets you partial credit, especially as taking out the enemies faster means you aren’t left as vulnerable by the AC penalty. (+0.25)

Summoned Demons assure that you can perform your sacrifices in the presence of a demon, which would ordinarily be tricky for a Truenamer. (+0.5)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, but you don’t appear to do anything with it that others can’t. As an aside, had you not bothered with Practiced Spellcaster, you could have used the CL to qualify for your Item Creation feats. (0)

You don’t have a Cha bonus, or any synergistic abilities to make Death Touch more threatening. (0)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will and can mitigate exp costs by using Extract Demonic Essence. (+0.75)

Hurk – 11.75

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Originality – 2.75

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I got excited when I saw Shifter Warshaper in your stub, as I like Shifters, but they’re usually considered a little sub-par, especially for Warshaper entry for a number of reasons (see Power), but I had some thoughts as to where you might be going with it on a Thrall of Demogorgon build that got me excited. Then I looked at your build table and just saw standard fare melee and grappling optimization. I confess I’m a little disappointed. (-0.5)

It looks like a standard grappler because that’s what it is. You do attempt a few somewhat interesting wrinkles with the incorporation of SI abilities though which keep things from getting too bad. I actually quite like Dual Actions to charge/grapple then deal damage again in the grapple, as it serves as a sort of counter to Freedom of Movement if they don’t already have it up, by delivering the pain before they have their chance to auto-escape. (+0.25)

Fluff is the standard couple of sentences for a CE BSF. (0)

Power – 2.25

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Your entry is so late that ToD feels like an afterthought (especially as it, along with low Cha, neuters several of the class features). Given the nature of your build, the net +2 feats you gain through ToD could have been achieved with a Fighter dip. You do have a clear, and due to problems inherent in grappling at high levels, valuable use of Dual Actions, but I feel like you could have been better served doing something else with 10 levels (11 counting a Rogue dip you might not have taken otherwise). (-0.5)

Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit. In absence of any Shifter feats, you can only shift once per day, and you only get your Warshaper class features when shifted. Apart from that issue, you tick many of the usual boxes for competent melee/grappling optimization and those are the usual boxes for a reason. You have pounce, big numbers (especially when shifted) and Pounce and Scorpion’s Grasp with which to leverage them, along with Dual Actions. You do delay several important feats to pay the feat taxes to enter ToD though, which makes you less formidable in melee early in your career. It’s a minor complaint, but I’m also not sure why you took Extra Rage twice. The first gets you to Rage 4/day, enough to get you through the day’s encounters. Things could be worse, but I think there are enough niggling problems to put you below the optimization standard I expect of this competition. (-0.25)

Elegance – 4.25

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You qualify for everything. (0)

I don’t know of anything in the rules that suggests that you can just replace a natural attack in a grapple with a touch SLA, but I think that’s more of a UoSI issue. (0)

Shifters have a favored class of Ranger, so you incur multiclass penalties from level 7 until you get Twin Personas. (-0.25)

Your progression is fine overall. I can’t see a reasonable DM objecting. (+0.5)

UoSI – 2.5

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You don’t really do anything with the prereqs. (0)

Your late entry means that you won’t be encountering anything susceptible to Touch of Fear at the time you get it. (0)

You don’t have any particular synergy with Scaly Flesh. (0)

Twin Personas stops you from incurring multiclass penalties. (+0.25)

You come out with a net gain of two feats, but given the nature of your choice of feats, could have accomplished this with a Fighter dip. (0)

You don’t do anything with Hypnotism. (0)

Even if you only get to use Warshaper abilities on your 1/day racial shifting (or I guess if you Polymorph yourself via Limited Wish), since Reaching Touch is fairly limited as well, Morphic Reach synergizes as well as anything. Good enough for partial credit. (+0.25)

Being able to start a grapple then bring the pain in the same round is a nice trick and can help you sort of work around the bane of grapplers that is Freedom of Movement. (+0.5)

Your late entry into the SI means Summoned Demons are less effective against level-appropriate encounters, and you don’t really have any other synergy with them. (0)

I don’t know of any rule that says you can replace a natural attack with Rotting Touch in a grapple. Even if there were such a rule, using an SLA while grappling requires a Concentration check, and you have no ranks. (0)

You don’t have a Cha bonus, or any synergistic abilities to make Death Touch more threatening. (0)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.5)

Hitomi Marik – 15.75

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Originality – 4

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I must be the only one who’s sick of seeing Cards Over Swords crop up in optimization discussion, but I suppose objectively speaking it’s fairly obscure. You also break out some obscure or underused ACFs and feats. Swashbuckler is unexpected despite its full BAB, even if Binder 1 is a bit standard for face characters, and the Rogue dip was popular for qualification this round. Totemist cropped up several times this round, but I didn’t expect it, so you’re good there. Noble was also not something I saw coming, but it doesn’t really contribute enough for me to award points for it. Can’t really help but roll my eyes at Unseelie Fey, but I suppose it is the most natural way to get Unseelie Court Noble Kelir. Overall, things are looking good here. (+0.5)

I like that you make an effort to expand uses for your various face skills by using things like Silver Tongue, Wanderer’s Diplomacy, and Cards Over Swords to allow for greater variety of tricks, and Undead Empathy and Wild Empathy so that they apply to a wider variety of creatures instead of just the usual diplomancer numbers-pumping. Like many people, I find diplomancers a bit tiresome, and as I said I’ve seen enough Cards Over Swords optimization crop up in forum discussion, but I feel like you do offer enough of a unique spin on the face role to be interesting. (+0.5)

Fluff feels a little sparse, mostly just there to justify build choices. (0)

Power – 3.75

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High Cha makes Thrall of Demogorgon appealing, as does ultimately coming out with a net feat gain. The abilities you employ also take less time than standard diplomacy to influence attitudes, which makes Dual Actions more appealing than it would be for a conventional face. The SI does however seem to be forcing you into the Rogue dip, at least to some degree and I’m not convinced that ToD’s abilities are helping your schtick to quite the same degree they are for some of the competition. (+0.25)

You’re a pretty good face and make an effort to avoid thumb twiddling when facing encounters that aren’t typically resolvable through talking by nabbing Undead Empathy and Wild Empathy, as well as various ToD abilities that you can use effectively due to your Cha focus or those abilities just being generally good. Your action economy tricks are also potent and as mentioned above, actually useful to you where they wouldn’t necessarily be for a standard diplomancer. However, some staples of standard Diplomancy (Marshal, for instance), are staples for a reason, and I think you would have been served better by such classes over the ones you chose to finish out your build given that Noble is mostly there for fluff, and your inability to shape Totemist soulmelds without Con boosting items. (+0.25)

Elegance – 4.25

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You qualify for everything. (0)

It’s not altogether clear to me that Dual Actions and the Higher Order Ability of Breaching Obelisk have a duration that you can extend. Dual Actions seems like it probably does work and any reasonable parsing of the sloppy writing would lead to the conclusion that it’s an effect with a 1 round duration. Breaching Obelisk looks more like Time Stop apparent time to me, and I’m skeptical that it’s a true ‘duration’ that can be extended. Fortunately, you can just use both uses per day of Extend Supernatural Ability on Dual Actions if you are so inclined, but I still feel like you should get dinged a little bit here (you were rewarded for the idea elsewhere). (-0.25)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

You’re a little dippy, but I’ve been pretty charitable in that regard. I think your overall progression is fine. (+0.5)

Some DMs aren’t going to be happy with diplomancers and especially with Cards Over Swords, but I don’t think it quite warrants a penalty. (0)

UoSI – 3.75

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You don’t really do anything with the prerequisites. They’re all basically taxes to enter ToD. (0)

You enter ToD too late for Touch of Fear to work against level-appropriate enemies. (0)

You don’t have any synergy for Scaly Flesh. (0)

You would incur multiclass penalties at level 20 if not for Twin Personas. (+0.25)

You come out two feats ahead after the bonus feats with the prerequisites only serving as feat taxes. This is about the baseline I expect here, but I’ll say it’s good enough for partial credit. (+0.25)

You have excellent face skills to set up Hypnotism to make people fanatical. You’re a little late into the SI for it to apply against level-appropriate enemies, but I appreciate the effort to optimize it a bit further via Pervasive Gaze. I’d say it’s enough to bump you up to full credit. (+0.5)

Reaching Touch helps a bit to keep you off the front lines, but I don’t see it really being all that beneficial for you. Enemies can just 5-ft step up and attack after all. (0)

You improve on Dual Actions with the addition of Extend Supernatural Ability, and have some good one-two punch suggestions (like spraying a Potion of Fox’s Cunning followed by a challenge with Cards Over Swords) with which to make use of the extra actions. (+0.75)

Your entry into the SI is a touch late, which means Summoned Demons don’t stack up as well against level appropriate opponents at the level you get them, and you don’t seem to have any tactics for them that are unique to your build. (0)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, but you don’t appear to do anything with it that others can’t. I suppose your dearth of other damaging options makes it a bit more attractive, but I don’t feel right giving points. (0)

You have a high Cha and a shortage of other ways of causing real physical harm, so Death Touch is a nice thing to have. (+0.5)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.5)

Kayzo Grondi – 13

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Originality – 2.75

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Neraph is a fairly well-known Outsider race, and was used in another entry this round, but you get your mileage out of it, so I’ll let it slide. Factotum caught me off guard, despite being a notoriously feat-starved class and the most common source for extra action shenanigans, though the Sneak Attack Fighter was expected and popular. Assassin cropping up in a roguish build doesn’t really inspire much reaction one way or the other. Elder Evil dedication for more feats was expected as well, and even with all those extra feats, your selections are all standard optimization fare. Add it all up, and I think the balance works out against you. (-0.25)

Now let’s get to the elephants in the room. The Dark Chaos Shuffle and PaO-style shenanigans are very much known cheese. You did at least break out a few powerful (Su) abilities of which I was unaware in order to achieve the latter with just Limited Wish, which keeps things from being as bad as they might have been. That’s about your only saving grace, however, as the end result of all your chicanery boils down to a Factotum doing standard Factotum things, just more of them. (-0.5)

I appreciate the use of planar cosmology and the outlined campaign from Elder Evils to tie your Neraph in with Demogorgon and the Leviathan, but your backstory still doesn’t seem to go beyond a quick justification for your build choices, which puts it a little behind the standard established by some of your competition. (0)

Power – 3.5

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Thrall of Demogorgon keeps most of the skills you care about as class skills, helps out in a feat heavy build (especially with Elder Evil feats facilitating entry), and you lean heavily on Limited Wish, which due to its XP cost would ordinarily not be available to a Factotum (even if many of the spells you use it to replicate would be). I’d say your build is enhanced overall by the SI. (+0.5)

Embrace the Dark Chaos and Shun the Dark Chaos are 8th level spells, beyond the scope of Limited Wish. That means that I either have to penalize you for wealth reliance (in order to afford the Chaos Shuffling), or disregard a bunch of your feats, both of which are bad for you. However, all the cheese does mix together for a powerful result, and you can pull out your high power tricks again for more options in a pinch. I think we’ll say things even out overall. (0)

Elegance – 2.75

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Your Cha is too low to manifest the power you get from Hidden Talent although you do qualify for the feat. However, you lack the 4 ranks in Psicraft to qualify for Practiced Manifester. Even if you hadn’t made that mistake, Practiced Manifester’s wording refers to choosing a manifesting class, and you aren’t a member of one, meaning you don’t have the requisite ML 5 for Metamorphic Transfer. You could resolve this by instead using a Host feat (thematically appropriate) or by entering ToD from Factotum 6/PsiRogue 1. (-1)

You make an effort to list alternative routes to your cheese in the event of a DM ruling against you, which I feel is good enough to say you avoid questionable rules interpretations. (0)

You incur multiclass penalties from level 5 until you get Twin Personas. (-0.25)

All the Chaos Shuffling and a PAO-esque permanent race change would get some DMs on your case even if you could do the Chaos Shuffling natively. Your progression is otherwise clean, but I think I do have to take your bonus away. (0)

UoSI - 4

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You expand on the Sneak Attack prerequisite by taking Craven and Maiming Strike. (+0.25)

You enter ToD only a level late, but every level matters with the 5 HD cap on enemies that Touch of Fear can affect. (0)

You have a bit of racial natural armor to synergize with Scaly Flesh. Your natural armor after your transformation into an Ethergaunt would likely count as coming from a magical source and not stack however. (+0.25)

Twin Personas stops you from incurring multiclass penalties. (+0.25)

One thing’s for sure about this build, it wants feats. With Elder Evil dedication covering the prereqs, you have a net gain of 4 of them. (+0.5)

You have mediocre Cha, but enter the SI at a time when even real enemies are potentially susceptible to Hypnotism, and have access to Charm Person as an Arcane Dilettante SLA to set targets up to be rendered fanatical. (+0.25)

Reaching Touch helps a bit to keep you off the front lines, but I don’t see it really being all that beneficial for you. Enemies can just 5-ft step up and attack after all. (0)

You expand on Dual Actions with more action economy abuse further with Cunning Surge, but your use of extra actions doesn’t go beyond the nice things that any character can do with them. (+0.25)

Summoned Demons stack up well against level appropriate opponents at the time you get them due to early entry, and Craven and Maiming Strike give you good reasons to want flanking buddies. (+0.5)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, but you don’t appear to do anything with it that others can’t. (0)

You don’t have a Cha bonus, or any synergistic abilities to make Death Touch more threatening. (0)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will and can mitigate exp costs by polymorphing into a Protean Scourge and duplicating yourself. (+0.75)

Drake Carmine – 14.5

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Originality 3.25

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Tentacle Whip Daellkyr Half-Blood is hardly unheard of when going for more reach, but it shows up less often than you’d think, so you’re good there. Hexblade is an expected entry. The Rapidstrike line on aberration characters is a hallmark of some famous CharOp builds. As I’ve maintained since back in the day when we were clamoring for it as a SI, Slime Lord is better than it’s given credit for and could use more love. I’ll say that things roughly even out for you. (0)

A few of your hypnotism tricks are mildly interesting, but you don’t go far afield from the usual debuffing and beatstick schticks one would expect from a Hexblade or offer a particularly new spin on them. (0)

I was mildly amused by your backstory. It still smacks of just being there to justify build choices, but at least it has a bit of a voice to it and gave me a window into the meeting of the sacrifice prereq. (+0.25)

Power – 3.25

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Thrall of Demogorgon doesn’t seem like a bad fit for this build, but taking the 5th level of Hexblade before entering and focusing mostly on casting progression (which ToD isn’t really the best choice for) makes me feel as though it’s not as good a fit as some other entries had. (+0.25)

Rapidstrike plus regular iterative attacks makes for a nice long full attack routine, but you don’t have any way of moving and full attacking besides Dual Actions. You eventually get a SoL effect on your attacks from Paralytic Slime, but that’s pretty late in the build, meaning the save DC is going to be a little low even with decent Cha, and before that you’re a bit too vanilla, without the wider array of options that melee combat needs. Your social abilities and Thrall of Demogorgon SLAs give you something to fall back on though, and none of your choices seem outright bad, so we’ll say it’s a wash. (0)

Elegance – 4

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The wording on Deformity (Clawed Hands) suggests that it works more like a Monk’s Unarmed Strike rather than granting two claw attacks as one might intuitively expect. If that’s the case, then you lack the pair of natural weapons necessary to qualify for Rapidstrike at the level you take it. (-0.5)

Other than that, there’s nothing illegal or questionable. (0)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

Your build progression is simple and straightforward. Some DMs may object to Slime Lord alongside Thrall of Demogorgon, as Faerun Juiblex is, as I understand it, an aspect of Ghaunadar, and Juiblex, like most demon lords doesn’t get along great with Demogorgon, but you made an effort to justify it, so I’ll let it slide. (+0.5)

UoSI – 4

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You use Willing Deformity to qualify for several other Deformity feats. (+0.25)

You enter ToD only a level late, but every level matters with the 5 HD cap on enemies that Touch of Fear can affect. You’re right on the borderline here, but I think synergy with Adoration of the Frightful allows you to scrape the quarter point. (+0.25)

You don’t really have anything to synergize with Scaly Flesh. (0)

Twin Personas doesn’t do anything for you. (0)

Casting progression is slowed by the SI, and you only end up with 2nd level spells and only one feat. (0)

You have solid Cha, enter the SI at a time when even real enemies are potentially susceptible to Hypnotism, and have Charm Person, Adoration of the Frightful, and a small amount of Diplomacy to set targets up to be rendered fanatical. (+0.5)

Reaching Touch synergizes with your Tentacle Whip, though I’m a little disappointed not to see Tall among your Deformity feats. (+0.25)

Dual Actions is good for everyone, but I don’t see you doing anything exceptional with it. (0)

Summoned Demons stack up well against level appropriate opponents at the time you get them due to early entry, but you don’t really do anything to synergize with them beyond that. (+0.25)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, and reducing enemy Fort saves to set up Paralytic Slime is something you can do that others can’t. (+0.5)

You have a high Cha which makes your Death Touch save DC a legitimate threat, especially with your Dark Companion further weakening enemy saves. (+0.5)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.5)

[WhamBamSam]

Vemunix the Accursed – 15.75

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Originality – 2.75

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I expected someone to drop almost this exact build. Hexblade 4 for earliest possible entry, reach boosting with Deformity (Tall) and Inhuman Reach (meaning that the other Deformity and Aberrant feats aren’t much of a shock either), and finishing out with initiator classes for high level maneuvers with Twin Personas taking care of multiclass penalties. Vanara is the only unexpected variable, and it’s not really contributing anything mechanically. (-0.5)

The build works like I expected it to, but I’ve been letting the reach optimization shenanigans largely slide, and I’ll do the same for you. (0)

I’ll admit it. I laughed. “Jilted monkey husband murdering his wife in a fit of rage upon catching her with another ape” as “sacrificing an intelligent being in the presence of a Bar-Igua” is a humorous spin, and though there’s not much fluff here, your references to the character add personality. I guess Vanara is paying off for you after all. (+0.25)

Power – 4

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Your build was expected for a reason. It fits Thrall of Demogorgon very well. (+0.5)

Your melee capability is solid between large reach with Combat Reflexes and Thicket of Blades and a bit of an extra damage boost from Leap Attack and eventually Pouncing Charge and other charge maneuvers. Solid Cha, a debuff from your Dark Companion, and early entry also make your Thrall of Demogorgon abilities more potent when you have to fall back on them. Charm Person+Hypnotism and later Iron Heart Surge expand your versatility a bit as well. Everything seems generally solid, though I’d personally have rather seen Extend Reach than Starspawn, especially as you already qualify by virtue of having taken Deepspawn. I realize that Iron Chef traditionally rewards low item reliance, but even so, that’s the way I’d have gone given the ubiquity of flight granting items. You also could have certainly used the feats that being dedicated to an Elder Evil would have freed up for you, and I suspect it would have worked out to a net positive to your overall score. Still, those are minor quibbles. (+0.5)

Elegance – 4.5

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You qualify for everything and avoid questionable rules interpretations. (0)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

You dip the tiniest bit at the tail end (no pun intended) of your career with the express encouragement of the SI. It’s hard to imagine a sane DM getting upset about your progression. (+0.5)

UoSI – 4.5

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You use Willing Deformity to qualify for Deformity (Tall) and Deformity (Madness). (+0.25)

You enter ToD at the earliest possible point, meaning you’re still fighting enemies susceptible to Touch of Fear at the time you get it. (+0.25)

You don’t really have anything to synergize with Scaly Flesh. (0)

Twin Personas prevents you from incurring multiclass penalties. (+0.25)

Bonus feats allow you to pick up some nice feats with somewhat harsh prerequisites, and as Willing Deformity is among those prereqs, the net gain looks more like 3 feats than 2. (+0.5)

You have high Cha, enter the SI at a time when even real enemies are liable to be susceptible to Hypnotism, and have Diplomacy kept up and Charm Person as a Hexblade spell to set targets up to be rendered fanatical. (+0.5)

Reaching Touch synergizes with Deformity (Tall) and Inhuman Reach and you have Combat Reflexes and Thicket of Blades to get more AoOs out of your large threatened area. (+0.5)

Dual Actions is good for everyone, but I don’t see you doing anything exceptional with it. (0)

Summoned Demons stack up well against level appropriate opponents at the time you get them due to early entry, but you don’t really do anything to synergize with them beyond that. (+0.25)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, but you don’t appear to do anything with it that others can’t. (0)

You have a high Cha which makes your Death Touch save DC a legitimate threat, especially with your Dark Companion further weakening enemy saves. (+0.5)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.5)

Endo – 12.25

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Originality – 3.25

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Cloistered Cleric dips, Marshal, and various flavors of Paladin aren’t terribly unusual on high Cha martial builds, and in fact I expected more Cloistered Cleric qualification and Paladin of Slaughter 2 for Divine Grace, but you were the only one to use any of them. I assume your race is some flavor of either Half-Elf or Half-Orc to qualify for Outcast Champion, which is a little unusual. You have a few feats and Martial Auras known that aren’t standard choices as well. I think you come out a little ahead. (+0.25)

Unfortunately, those non-standard choices seem to be non-standard because they don’t do very much. I don’t see anything here to really differentiate you from other “Captain Charisma” martial builds in an interesting way, though I suppose that isn’t the stalest archetype you could have chosen. (0)

No fluff. (0)

Power – 3

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As a full BAB class with some solid SLAs, Thrall of Demogorgon fits reasonably well on a Cha-based character, though you don’t seem to really want the feat/casting progression as badly as some of the other builds do, as you’re content to get up to 2nd level Cleric spells and your feat choices don’t speak to a great deal of urgency. (+0.25)

You do make some effort to boost your damage output between feats and some of your maneuver choices even if you can’t move and full attack without using Dual Actions (trying to fit in Travel Devotion might not have been a bad idea), but Avenging Strike (also, see Elegance) and your various Desert Wind maneuvers are all a bit too situational to be reliable in that regard. I assume your Cha is high (post your point buy and such in the future), so you probably have decent save DCs when you need to fall back on your Thrall of Demogorgon SLAs, which is good, and you have access to a few other tricks through your limited Cleric casting. But many of your feats seem like poor choices. Divine Shield will force you into a less than ideal fighting style unless you get your hands on an Animated shield, and furthermore the feat eats a standard action unless you have a buff-round out of combat. Vital Recovery doesn’t seem to do enough to matter, and doesn’t even appear to be something you can trigger reliably, as Crusaders take longer than most encounters to refresh maneuvers, and the Swordsage recovery mechanic is notoriously terrible. Things could certainly be worse, but there are mistakes that I’d say put you below Iron Chef’s standard for optimization. (-0.25)

Elegance – 3.5

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I’m going to be charitable and assume you qualify for Power Attack. Mark your stats. Also, you have it listed in your table twice. (0)

You need the 8 ranks in Intimidate or Diplomacy before you enter Outcast Champion. (-0.5)

Avenging Strike requires Good alignment, which as a Thrall of Demogorgon, you very much do not have. (-0.5)

You avoid multiclass penalties. (0)

Progression is a tad dippy, but seems fine to me. (+0.5)

UoSI – 2.5

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You make use of prereq skills through Knowledge Devotion and get some use out of the Cloistered Cleric dip besides minor spellcasting, but otherwise don’t get much out of the prereqs. (0)

You enter ToD late, meaning most enemies aren’t susceptible to Touch of Fear by the time you get it. (0)

Divine Shield builds off of the AC bonus from Scaly Flesh at least to some extent. (+0.25)

Twin Personas prevents you from incurring multiclass penalties. (+0.25)

The feat and casting progression don’t seem to be doing all that much for you. (0)

You presumably have high Cha, but between late entry and a lack of Diplomacy or Charm abilities, I don’t see Hypnotism doing much for you. (0)

Any melee character will like Reaching Touch, but you don’t really seem to do much with it. (0)

Dual Actions is good for everyone, but I don’t see you doing anything exceptional with it. (0)

Summoned Demons stack up less well against level appropriate opponents at the time you get them due to late entry, and you don’t really do anything to synergize with them. (0)

Rotting Touch is nice for anyone, but you don’t appear to do anything with it that others can’t. (0)

You presumably have a high Cha, even if late entry and dipping out into Swordsage delay your access to Death Touch until you’re fighting enemies with higher saves. It should remain useful to you throughout your career. (+0.5)

You stick it out in the SI the whole way to get Demogorgon’s Will. (+0.5)

This build was judged as presented at the time of the reveal, without reading the more finished version that was posted later.

[Venger]

outstanding. thanks for judging, whambamsam

[bean illus]

Endo was mine.
My second IC, and the first one judged (my first one was late and ignored).
Of course i knew it was lame (and that my 'fix' would not get judged).

I think if i had internet and a computer (i did most of it on my phone) i would have done a little better.

Thanks to all, for your companionship. And to WBS for judging.

Spoiler: Endo - Shock troop Commander (charge and buff) Full Build with amendments

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I realize fully that this is late and will not be judged in it's present form, but i would rather it be posted as an addendum than to look like i couldn't finish the build.
It's obvious that i am not as fluent as most of our cooks, and in fact have never worked in BoVD, or ToB before, but it was fun.

Spoiler: Stub

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Desert Half Orc 14-10-14, 10-12-16 bonuses to Cha
Cloistered Cleric1/ Paladin-Slaughter2/ Marshal1/ Barbarian1/ OutcastChampion2/ ThrallofDemogorgon8/ Marshal2(3)/ Swordsage1/ ThrallofDemogorgon2(10)

HP = 6 +((3x6 +11x8 +4x10 +1x12)/2)= 85+40 =125+ 40temphp and small healing.

Spoiler: Story

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"I hate you" thought Endo. "I hate you. I hate everybody. I hate myself".

The oddly intense and charismatic young man had been offered an education as a way to keep him off the streets and out of trouble, but he knew he was misplaced. Though curious, he struggled with his lessons, and longed for adventure. He sat staring out the window wondering which order he wanted to kill everybody in.

It wasn't that he really wanted to kill everybody, just that he couldn't figure out what else to do with them. Their lives were so boring they deserved to die.

"There's someone interesting ...". The paladin entering the courtyard was an impressive figure. His armor was covered in grime, probably blood, and his sacks bulged with what Endo assumed were the spoils of war.

With a sigh he turned back to his religous studies. Staring blankly at the table he soon found his eyes scanning the bookshelf. A previously unnoticed book on the top shelf drew his eye. It was old yet new, and looked as if it was rarely used. Standing on a chair to retrieve it he examined the binding.

"Demons and Devils" he read softly, and sat again at the desk, opening the tome atop his lessons.

Spoiler: Build Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Cloistered Cleric	+0	+2	+0	+2	Intim2, Jump1, Know Arc4 , Know Loc4, Know Nat4, Know Nob1, Know Rel4, Know Pla4	Divine Vigor	Turn undead, Chaos Devotion, Evil Devotion, Knowledge Domain*1
2nd	Paladin/Slaughter	+1	+4	+0	+2	Intim(1)3, Know Rel(1)5	Knowledge Devotion*1	Aura of evil, detect good, righteous fury 1/day
3rd	Paladin/Slaughter2	+2	+4	+0	+2	Intim(1)4/+3, Jump(1)2	Thrall to Demon	Deadly touch, Divine Grace
4th	Marshal	+2	+6	+0	+4	Intim(2)6, Jump(1)3, Know Pla(1)5	-	Skill Focus (Diplomacy), minor aura (Master of Tactics)
5th	Barbarian	+3	+8	+0	+4	Intim(2)8+3, Jump(2)5, Kn Arc4, Kn Loc4, Kn Nat4, Kn Nob1, Kn Rel5, Kn Pla5	-	Pounce, rage
6th	Outcast Champion	+4	+9	+0	+4	Jump(2)7, Kn Loc(2)6	Willing Deformity	Aura of confidence
7th	Outcast Champion2	+5	+10	+0	+4	Jump(1)8, Kn Loc(3)9	-	Avenging strike
8th	Thrall of Demogorgon	+6	+12	+0	+4	Kn Nat(1)5, Kn Rel(2)7, Kn Pla(1)6	Power Attack*	Scaly flesh +1, hypnosis, bonus feat*
9th	Thrall of Demogorgon2	+7	+13	+0	+4	Kn Arc(2)6, Kn Rel(2)9	Divine Might	Touch of fear
10th	Thrall of Demogorgon3	+8	+13	+1	+5	Intim8+3, Jump8, Kn Arc6, Kn Loc9, Kn Nat5, Kn Nob(1)2, Kn Pla(1)7, Kn Rel(2)11	-	Reaching touch
11th	Thrall of Demogorgon4	+9	+14	+1	+5	Kn Arc(1)7, Kn Nat(1)6 Kn Rel(2)13	Leap attack*	Dual actions, scaly flesh 2, bonus feat*
12th	Thrall of Demogorgon5	+10	+14	+1	+5	Kn Arc(1)8, Know Rel(2)15, Kn Pla(1)8	Deformity (clawed hands)	Summon minor demon
13th	Thrall of Demogorgon6	+11	+15	+2	+6	Kn Arc(1)9, Kn Nat(1)7, Kn Nob(2)4	-	Rotting touch
14th	Thrall of Demogorgon7	+12	+15	+2	+6	Kn Arc(1)10, Kn Nat(1)8, Kn Rel(2)17	Extra Turning*	Scaly flesh +3, bonus feat*
15th	Thrall of Demogorgon8	+13	+15	+3	+7	Intim8+3, Jump8, Kn Arc10, Kn Loc(1)10, Kn Nat(1)9, Kn Nob4, Kn Pla(1)9, Kn Rel(1)18	Improved critical (falchion	Two personas, death touch
16th	Marshal2	+14	+16	+3	+8	Kn Arc(1)11, Kn Loc(1)11, Kn Rel(1)19, Kn Pla(1)10	-	Major aura +1 (Motivate Urgency)
17th	Marshal3	+15	+16	+4	+8	Kn Arc(1)12, Kn Loc(1)12, Kn Rel(1)20, Kn Pla(1)11	-	Major aura +1 (Determined Caster)
18th	Swordsage	+15	+16	+6	+10	Kn Nat(2)11, Kn Nob(2)6, Kn Pla(1)12, Martial Lore(1)	Improved unarmed strike	Quick to act +1, Discipline focus (Weapon Focus falchion)
19th	Thrall of Demogorgon9	+16	+16	+7	+11	Kn Arc(1)13, Kn Loc(1)13, Kn Nat(1)12, Kn Pl(1)13	-	Summon major demon
20th	Thrall of Demogorgon	+17	+17	+7	+11	Intim8+3, Jump8, Kn Arc(1)14, Know Loc(1)14, Kn Nat(1)13, Kn Nob6, Kn Pla(1)14, Kn Rel20	Extra Turning*	Demogorgon’s will, scaly flesh +4, bonus feat*

*1 Trade for Knowledge Devotion at 2nd

Spoiler: Powers and notes (short version)

Show

1 Divine Vigor: +10' speed and 2 temp hp/ChL, minutes=cha, 1TU
1 Turn Undead (Su): 3+Cha/day
1 ChaosD: 1/day 1d6 scaling (10=d8, 15=d10) profane att/ac 1min 3TU
1 EvilD: 1/day Allies 30' DR 1+1/ChL/good 1min 1TU
2 KnowledgeD: 1-5 insight on att and dam (15,25,30,35,36
2 Fury: 1/day, Cha+1 rds, +2 morale melee weapon dam
3 ThralltD: 1/day +1 luck any
3 Divine Grace: Cha to saves
3 Deadly touch: 2+Cha dam daily, will 1/2
4 Master/Tactics: Cha to dam for flanking allies 60'
5 Pounce: Full attack on charge.
5 Rage (Ex): 1/day free, +4 Str Con +2 morale/will, –2 AC.
=3+(new)Cha rds. Fatigued (–2 Str Dex) for current encounter.

+3 BAB is buffered by Knowledge, Evil, and Chaos, Divine Grace is one of the best abilities in the game, Cha to damage for all flanking allies/60' keeps me popular, Divine Fury for the big boys, and some healing and other little tricks. Luck bonus is saved for reflex saves (lol).
Ray of Resurgence LEoF33 allows fatigue recovery as a standard, just in case an "encounter" doesn't end.

6 Willing Deformity: +3 Intimidate
6 Aura of Confidence: Allies 30' +2 morale to Will
7 Avenging Strike: Cha to att +2d6, Cha/day
8 Scaly +1
8 Hypnosis: 30' Will Dc 10+lChL+Cha
8 Power Attack: trade BAB for dam
9 Divine Might: Cha/Dam 1rd 1TU
9 Touch of fear: 3/day Will Dc 10+ChL+Cha
10 Reach: 3/day 5' 1rd

Top speed +10' is nice, and the 30' will save aura keeps allies close. Charging into battle while dragging other melee allies behind is becoming a thing:
BAB: +8 +2str +1.5KD +1.5CD +4Cha = +15 att before rage or charge. Assume +2 weapon, +2 gloves, and charge.
Dam: +4str +KD1.5 +CD1.5 +Cha4 +8PA +2 weapon +2 gloves =23+weapon.
When i get a flank i have some touch attacks. Divine Vigor is up to 20 temporary hp, and i get it more than 1/day.

11 Dual Actions
11 Scaly +2
11 Leap attack: Jump 10', 3x PA
12 Deformity Claws: 1d6 dam
12 Summon Demon 5hd
13 Rotting touch: 3/day 1d6 Con
14 Scaly +3
14 Extra Turning: 4 more TU
15 Improved crit: Falchion 15-20
15 Death Touch: 1/day FortDC 10+ChL+Cha.

Here. Charge, Leap, Pounce, Power attack, and Imp crit are all together now, for 3xPA and full attack. Deformity Claws ups the damage when using rotting touch/deadly touch, and negates AoO triggers. Summon Demon triggers Master of Tactics. And extra turning allows more use of Chaos/Evil Devotions.
I believe Determined Caster works on Death Touch (Sp)? Death Touch is about 25 prebuff, which will get most folks not immune.

16 Motivate Urgency: +5' speed/allies/60'
17 Determined Caster: Cha to SR for allies 60'
18 Improved unarmed strike
18 +1 intitiative
18 Focus Falchion +1 att
==========
IoB stance/ all allies flank
Em Raz/ turn melee to touch
Bound/ 2x move and att
Rapid counter/ AoO that isn't AoO
Brand/ 5' reach and fire dam
Fan Flames/ ranged touch 6d6 fire
Searing charge/ fly and 5d6 fire
==========
19 1/day 10 HD demon.
20 Limited Wish: 1/day. 3 rds, no xp
20 Scaly flesh +4
20 Extra Turning

Island of Blades, which makes allies adjacent to the same monster get flank, which triggers Master of Tactics. Every ally adjacent to any opponent i'm adjacent to gets my Cha bonus to damage. And of course Bounding Assault is a charge without straight line.
IUS is for PA, iterative attacks, and magical weapon spells. My demons are stronger when near me, as are all allies. Limited Wish with no xp is nice (even if it takes 3rds).

Spoiler: Powers and notes (long version) with sources

Show

SOURCES & NOTES ON FEATURES

LEVEL 1
CLOISTERED CLERIC - UA50
FEAT 1 Divine Vigor: 1/day then 1TU
Benefit: Standard, for 1TU base speed +10 ft, gain +2 hp/level
= minutes equal to your Cha mod.

CHAOS DEVOTION [DOMAIN] -CC56. 1/day swift.
Roll 1d6. Odd; + profane to att next action. If even + to AC.
At the beginning of each action thereafter, roll again.
= 1 minute. At 10th d8. At 15th level d10.
Special: Additional use 3 TU.

EVIL DEVOTION [DOMAIN] - CC58. 1/day immediate.
Grants you and all allies within 30' DR/good.
1 + 1/five ChL (max 5), natural and weapon att are evil vs DR.
= 1 minute.
Special: Additional use 1 TU.

KNOWLEDGE DEVOTION [DOMAIN] - ua60. Prereq: Knowledge (any) 5 ranks.
Knowledge Domain: (Trade for Knowlede Devotion at 2nd level)

LEVEL2
PALADIN OF SLAUGHTER - UA54. Prereq: Chaotic Evil
Aura of Evil (Ex): Equal PoS level.
Detect Good (Sp): At will, as the spell.
Smite Good (Su): 1/day, one normal melee attack. Cha att and +1 dam/ClL.

LEVEL 3
FEAT 3 THRALL TO DEMON [VILE] - BoVD50. Formally supplicate to a demon prince.
1/day, evil act, +1 luck any roll. Only one demon.

Divine Grace (Su): Cha mod on all saving throws.
Deadly Touch (Su): Touch attack. Each day deal dam PoS level × Cha mod.
Will save 1/2 (DC 10 + 1/2 PoS + Cha mod).

LEVEL 4
Marshal - MH11
Skill Focus (Diplomacy) +3.
Auras (Ex): Swift, circumstance bonus. All allies, 60' (include self).
Master of Tactics: Cha bonus on damage rolls when flanking.
Must hear and speak language.

LEVEL 5
BARBARIAN, lion totem - CCh46
Pounce (Ex): Full attack on charge.
Rage (Ex): 1/day free, +4 Str, +4 Con +2 morale/will, –2 AC.
=3+(new)Con rds, may end rage. Becomes fatigued (–2 Str, –2 Dex, can’t charge or run) for current encounter.

LEVEL 6
OUTCAST CHAMPION - RoD126
Race: Half-elf, half-orc, or half-ogre. Skills: Diplo8 or Intim8.

Aura of Confidence (Ex): Allies 30' who can see you (include self). Add your class level as morale bonus on Will.
FEAT 6 WILLING DEFORMITY [VILE] - HoH125. Prereq: Evil. +3 on Intim.

LEVEL 7
Avenging Strike (Ex): Melee enemy who dealt dam to ally within 1 hour.
Add Cha mod to att, + 1d6 damage/OC level, Cha mod/day.
Accidental strike = ability is still expended.

LEVEL 8
THRALL OF DEMOGORGON - BoVD67 (with errata).
CE, BAB +4, Kn(arc)2, Kn(rel)2, Kn(any)4, Willing Deformity, Thrall to Demon.
Special: 1st-level spells, or sneak attacks.
Special: Initiated in rite sacrificing intelligent being dedicated to Demogorgon on unhallowed ground at night, in the presence of a demon.

Bonus Feat or Spells: 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th
BONUS FEAT 1 POWER ATTACK: Str 13 Trade BAB for dam until your next turn.
2-handed weapon, or 1handed weapon in 2hands, 2x number subtracted from BAB.
Scaly Flesh (Ex): +1 natural armor bonus at (4th, 7th, and 10th). Does not stack from magical sources (amulet of natural armor).
Hypnosis (Sp): 1/day hypnotism spell, gaze att 30', WillDC 10+ClL+Cha.

LEVEL 9-10 - ToD 2-3
FEAT 9 Divine Might: Str 13, TU, Power Attack
Benefit: Spend 1 TU add Cha bonus to weapon dam.= 1 round
Touch of Fear (Sp): 3/day frightened. WillDC 10+ClL+Cha, shaken 1 rd.

Reaching Touch (Su): 3/day 5' reach 1 round.

LEVEL 11-12 - ToD 4-5
Dual Actions (Su): 2/day full rounds’ worth of actions in the same round.
Scaly Flesh +2
BONUS FEAT 4 LEAP ATTACK - Jump 8 ranks, Power Attack.
Benefit: Cover 10', end jump must threaten target, 2x PA.
IF 2H weapon, 3x PA. Follow rules for Jump and charge, ignore rough terrain.

FEAT 12 DEFORMITY (CLAWED HANDS) [VILE]: Prereq:Willing Deformity.
Benefit: Deal 1d6 dam unarmed claw att. Considered
armed even when unarmed. Does not draw AoO, threatens.
Summon Demon (Sp): 5 HD 1/day. Summon monster 15th CL.

LEVEL 13-14 ToD 6-7
Rotting Touch (Sp): 3/day 1d6 points of Con dam touch attack.

Scaly flesh +3
BONUS FEAT 7 Extra Turning

LEVEL 15 ToD 8
FEAT* 15 IMPROVED CRITICAL (Falchion): Proficient with weapon, BAB +8.
Two Personas (Ex): Overcome multiclass penalties.
Death Touch (Sp): At 8th level, slay living spell 1/day. FortDC 10+ClL+Cha.

LEVEL 16-17 Marshal 3-4
Motivate Urgency[/B]: Allies’ base land speed is increased by 5' × bonus(1).

Determined Caster: All allies 60' Cha to overcome spell resistance.

LEVEL 18 SWORDSAGE - ToB15
Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, Stone Dragon, and Tiger Claw.
FEAT 18 IMPROVED UNARMED STRIKE [GENERAL]
Considered armed. Do not provoke AoO, do get AoO. Deal lethal or non. **(Qualify for PA and iteratives).
Quick to Act (Ex): +1 initiative.
Discipline Focus (Ex): Weapon Focus (Falchion): with chosen discipline (DW). +1 attack w selected weapon.

Maneuvers: 6 - 4 - 1
Stance - Island of Blades: All allies adjacent/all creatures flank.
Emerald Razor (Diam2): Strike—Turn melee strike into touch attack.
Bounding Assault (Diam4): Strike—Double move and attack.
Rapid Counter (Diam5): Counter—Strike opponent who provokes attack from you.
Burning Brand (Desert2): Boost—Gain +5' reach, deal fire damage.
Fan the Flames (Desert3): Strike—Ranged touch attack deals 6d6 fire damage.
Searing Charge (Desert4): Strike—Fly while charging, deal +5d6 fire damage.

LEVEL 19-20 - ToD 9-10
Summon Demon (Sp): 1/day 9th-level ToD summon 10 HD.

Demogorgon’s Will (Sp): Limited wish 1/day, 3rds prayers to Demogorgon before granted. No xp cost or material components.
Scaly flesh +4
BONUS FEAT 10 Extra Turning

[Zaq]

Excellent work, my friend! I winced a few times when you pointed out some of my flaws that I hadn't noticed, but I'm having a very hard time saying that you were anything other than fair. Thank you for judging—the amount of effort that went into that is very noticeable!

[The Viscount]

Very thorough, and very fair. I feel like you really appreciated what I was building towards in my entry and you went through it in detail. Many thanks, Sam!

[Thurbane]

Thanks for the judging WhamBamSam: I can't fault anything you've written about my entry, so no disputes from me.

[Darrin]

I do not have any disputes. I have some explainin' to do, but not really any disputes.

Entry	Alignment/Race	Stub	Judge: Whambamsam	Total
Speeloxhuu (link)	CE Muckdweller	Soulborn 2/Barbarian 1/Fighter 1/Truenamer 3/Wizard 1/Thrall of Demogorgon 10/Battle Trickster 2	16.5	16.5
Reed Armstrong (link)	CE Wood Elf	Hexblade 4/Justicar of Taiia 1/Thrall of Demogorgon 8/Binder 3/Crusader 1/Warblade 1/Thrall of Demogorgon +2	16.0	16.0
Hitomi Marik (link)	CE Unseelie Fey Silverbrow Human	Rogue 1/Binder 1/Seductive Swashbuckler 4/Thrall of Demogorgon 10/Noble 1/Totemist 3	15.75	15.75
Vemunix the Accursed (link)	CE Vanara	Hexblade 4/Thrall of Demogorgon 10/Warblade 2/Crusader 4	15.75	15.75
Marcus Armstrong (link)	CE Human	Rogue 1/Warblade 4/Thrall of Demogorgon 10/Master of Nine 5	15.5	15.5
Fra'alstrog the Bold (link)	NE Neraph	Incarnate 7/Totemist 2/SA-HnR Fighter 1/Thrall of Demogorgon 10	15.25	15.25
Nausho, the Thrallmaker (link)	CE Feral Human	SHugenja 8/Thrall of Demogorgon 8/Hexer 3	15.0	15.0
Drake Carmine (link)	CE Daelkyr Half-Blood	Hexblade 5/Thrall of Demogorgon 10/Slime Lord 5	14.5	14.5
Altaes Dilmare (link)	CE Human	Sorcerer 5/Fiend-Blooded 4/Thrall of Demogorgon7/Fatespinner 4	13.75	13.75
Kayzo Grondi (link)	CE Neraph	Factotum 4/SA Fighter 1/Thrall to Demogorgon 10/Factotum +2/Assassin 1/Factotum +2	13.0	13.0
Endo (link)	CE something	Cloistered Cleric 1/Paladin of Slaughter 2/Marshal 2/Outcast Champion 2/Thrall of Demogorgon 5/Swordsage 1/Thrall of Demogorgon +3/Marshal +2/Thrall of Demogorgon +2/Crusader 1	12.25	12.25
Hurk (Smash) (link)	CE Longtooth Shifter	SLT Barbarian 4/Warshaper 3/Totemist 2/Rogue 1/Thrall of Demogoron 10	11.75	11.75

[Wolfem]

I have updated the ICO Spreadsheet with the judging info. Do we have a list of who the Chefs were for each of these builds?

[Venger]

I have updated the ICO Spreadsheet with the judging info. Do we have a list of who the Chefs were for each of these builds?

Not yet. Is Whambamsam our only judge?

[WhamBamSam]

Not yet. Is Whambamsam our only judge?

Amph said he'd be judging before the reveal, but hasn't said anything since, and we're way past the deadline, so probably.

[Wolfem]

From the OP:

Judges will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, October 17th, 2017 to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted.

Heliomance can of course overrule this.

[Thurbane]

I think we're OK to have a final reveal...we're quite far over the original deadlines already.

[jdizzlean]

i did have a dispute sent in, on the 10th.. it hasn't been posted yet, i think Helio is MIA

[Venger]

she was last active like an hour ago. I'm sure she'll turn up. the current iron chef's waiting on its dishes to be posted as well.

[daremetoidareyo]

she was last active like an hour ago. I'm sure she'll turn up. the current iron chef's waiting on its dishes to be posted as well.

Now that you mention it, the Christmas holidays do have a weird temporal component that seems to repeat year after year. No one has time to judge, and everyone's benignly impatient because they have time to build.

[Venger]

Now that you mention it, the Christmas holidays do have a weird temporal component that seems to repeat year after year. No one has time to judge, and everyone's benignly impatient because they have time to build.

makes sense. when you cook, you're doing one or two dishes, when you judge, you have to read and think about all of them. inevitable consequence of everyone being busy from halloween til new years every year.

[Heliomance]

Apologies for the delay. Disputes follow:

Originality:
I don’t think because I didn’t write a novel for background info that my fluff is any less fulfilling then anyone else’s. While I wasn’t penalized per se, I don’t think a zero score bump is reflective.

Power:
As the author of the only full casters in this comp, I feel as though you have a preconceived notion that a caster has no place in this SI. Being penalized on both builds for making a caster who clearly can’t get full casting in an SI that only has 6/10 casting seems misplaced. Clearly there will be hurdles to overcome, which I attempted to do, and believe that I overcame at least in some regard.

Elegance:
If I’m correct by RAW, then why am I being penalized for RAI? To expand on that, upon taking the Feral Template, my type changes to monstrous humanoid, at which point all HD become “monster HD” for the purpose of scaling effects.

SI use:
I don’t think taking 2 more levels of the SI for the sole purpose of getting Demo’s Will would have been beneficial to the overall build at all. While I haven’t been penalized again, it seems like you give (0’s) out when you don’t agree with something, yet are unwilling to penalize or award. Dropping out of the SI when it’s beneficial to the overall build is more important than taking it to a full 10 lvl progression.

Originality:
Copying my sentiment on casting in this SI from above, further advancing that I don’t believe I deserve a penalty in this case for doing so, especially since the PRC’s are thematically appropriate for this build!

Power:
Again, the inherent dislike for an SI that does have casting progression doesn’t mean that I should be penalized simply for building a caster for this SI. I should be judged on what I’ve done w/ casting as it relates to what the SI has to offer, and how I blend that in w/ the rest of my build. Not penalized because “why does a caster want anything to do w/ ToD?”. If you follow this logic, then the other builds that are all melee builds should be penalized for approaching it the same, and that wouldn’t be logical in the slightest.

Use of SI:
As you state, and as I stated also above, simply exiting the SI early shouldn’t warrant a non penalty in the case of a 0. In this case, spending 3 more levels on the SI for the sole purpose of getting 1 more daily use of a spell I already know, and that frankly on a full caster build isn’t really that exciting, shouldn’t be seen as detrimental to the build.

Thank you for your thorough judging.

originality
I'm glad you enjoyed my backstory. Do you think there's a way I could get that best in show quarter point this round?

power
If I'd dipped monk 1, I would've undoubtedly been penalized in elegance more than I would've gained in power, also I would've been dinged re: alignment since thralls of demogorgon must be CE.

if I had dedicated myself an an elder evil and anyone but you had judged, I would've been absolutely savaged in elegance, so I elected not to do so.

[WhamBamSam]

For reference, I posted my judging criteria earlier in the thread.

Nausho

The quarter point for fluff is basically entirely subjective. I happened to be less taken with your fluff than some of the others. Length wasn't necessarily the issue (Speeloxhuu and Vermunix got the quarter point without going crazy for instance). Score Stands

I do attempt to reward the use you put the SI to as a caster, in UoSI. That subcategory of Power is approaching things from a slightly different angle, assessing whether you are made stronger by the SI's inclusion relative to what would be an expected course for your build. The purpose of its inclusion in my rubric is to avoid overly rewarding Druid 10/SI 10 or what have you, which often can do synergistic things with all of a SI's abilities, but clearly represents poor Druid optimization. As a full caster, you would certainly be made more powerful by advancing casting progression than by what ToD offers you. Score Stands

You're probably correct by my reading, but it's a contested point from what I've seen on forums. I'm on one side of an argument, but a hypothetical DM could be on the other side of it without being an unreasonable person. Thus, this presents a potential problem in bringing the build to a generic gaming table (or at least one where a demon thrall is an acceptable PC) which is what Elegance is supposed to measure. Score Stands

My UoSI rubric rewards you for each SI class feature that you do something notable with. It doesn't penalize at all, but it starts from 1 and works up. You don't get Demogorgon's Will, so you don't do anything notable with Demogorgon's Will. I might be persuaded agree with you that it represents better overall optimization, as finishing the SI would have resulted in coming up short of 7th level spells, but that's for the Power category to assess (though really it's kinda a wash as Summon Major Demon and Limited Wish are probably better than the 7ths you get). To get any credit here, you'd have to convince me that leaving the SI early made for better use of the SI's abilities (ie, that the final ability actively worked against the optimization of the SI or that you needed that level for more important synergy with some other class feature). Score Stands

Altaes

You weren't penalized in Originality for being a Sorcerer (except to the extent that I thought it was among the more likely full caster classes to use for casting entry). You were penalized for being a very conventional Sorcerer. You built competently and were rewarded for it in Power, but you didn't bring anything new to the table in terms of Sorcerer optimization. Score Stands

As in Nausho's dispute, the SI clearly hurts you relative to a more conventional caster progression. As for why the melee builds weren't penalized, some of them were. Hurk, for instance, doesn't get anything from the feat progression that two levels of Fighter wouldn't give him, and other features don't appeal to his needs as much as they do to others, so he also did poorly there. But ultimately, the reason that I was kinder to the melee builds is that ToD generally improved them over the baseline, and that's not true for you. Fighter 10/ToD 10 is clearly better than Fighter 20. Sorcerer 10/ToD 10 is clearly worse than Sorcerer 20. Score Stands

In this case, leaving early certainly represents better optimization, but it doesn't represent better use of the SI. You don't get Demogorgon's Will, so you don't get points for optimizing Demogorgon's Will. Score Stands

Marcus

I posted my rubric prior to the reveal, and don't feel it's fair to the other entries to change it now, even if I'd like to. Score Stands

I was speaking more in terms of a generic Master of Nine build. The net feat gain from the SI doesn't ultimately get you any closer to the goal of Mo9 entry than a Monk 1 dip would. If we're committed to being a CE Mo9 in particular, then I suppose the closer comparison would be to a Fighter 2 dip or a Fighter 1 dip and the 5th level of Warblade, but I feel the point still stands. Score Stands

That's probably true. I feel that when we're already accepting a thrall of a demon prince, Elder Evil worship doesn't force you into evil acts any more cartoonish than you're already committing, and am probably more cheese tolerant than average. Sometimes those are the breaks. I did really like your entry, and would have liked to see it tie for bronze, but I think everything I said holds up. Score Stands

[Venger]

That was fast. Thanks Whambamsam. Time for the reveal?