Villainous Competition XXX: One Feat to Rule Them ALL

[jdizzlean]

5. I always thought of elementals as sexless..

-=Jaas Kraal=-

Male Lawful Evil Large Elemental (Air, Cold, Water)
Immoth Sorcerer 1/Paladin of Tyranny 2/Eldritch Knight 8
HD: 10d8+1d4+2d10+8d6+126 (216 hp)
Racial traits: fly 30 ft (perfect), swim 30 ft; +6 natural armor bonus; 2 claws 1d4+1d6 cold, tail slap 1d6+1d6 cold

Spoiler: Ability Scores

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Ability	Array	Racial	12 HD	16 HD	20 HD	Final
Str	8	+8	-	-	+1	17
Dex	10	+6	-	-	-	16
Con	14	+8	-	-	-	22
Int	12	+4	-	-	-	16
Wis	13	+2	-	+1	-	16
Cha	15	+10	+1	-	-	26

Spoiler: Build table

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CR	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skill Ranks	Feats	Class Features
9	Elemental 10	+7	+7	+7	+3	Balance 5, Concentration 7, Hide 13, Listen 5, Spot 15, Tumble 5	1. Extra Spell (Boreal Wind); 3. Extra Spell (Cone of Cold); 6. Extra Spell (Gelid Blood); 9. Extra Spell (Ice Shape)	Cold subtype, DR 5/magic, elemental traits, ice runes, icewalking, immunities, poison, spells, SR 23
10	Sorcerer 1	+7	+7	+7	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 7, Hide 13, Listen 5, Spot 15, Tumble 5	-	Summon familiar (penguin)
11	Paladin of Tyranny 1	+8	+9	+7	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 12, Hide 13, Listen 5, Spot 15, Tumble 5	Extra Spell (Mass Fire Shield)	Aura of evil, detect good, smite good 1/day
12	Paladin of Tyranny 2	+9	+10	+7	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 16, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 1, Spot 15, Tumble 5	-	Divine grace, deadly touch
13	Eldritch Knight 1	+10	+12	+7	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 17, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 5, Spot 15, Tumble 5	-	Bonus feat (Improved Initiative)
14	Eldritch Knight 2	+11	+13	+7	+5	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 18, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 10, Spot 15, Tumble 5	Extra Spell (Freezing Glance)	-
15	Eldritch Knight 3	+12	+13	+8	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 19, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 15, Spot 15, Tumble 5	-	-
16	Eldritch Knight 4	+13	+14	+8	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 20, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 20, Spot 15, Tumble 5	-	-
17	Eldritch Knight 5	+14	+14	+8	+6	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 21, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 21, Spellcraft 3, Spot 15, Tumble 5	Extra Spell (Ice Castle)	-
18	Eldritch Knight 6	+15	+15	+9	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 22, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 22, Spellcraft 6, Spot 15, Tumble 5	-	-
19	Eldritch Knight 7	+16	+15	+9	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 23, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 23, Spellcraft 9, Spot 15, Tumble 5	-	-
20	Eldritch Knight 8	+17	+16	+9	+7	Balance 5, Bluff 5, Concentration 24, Hide 13, Listen 5, Sense Motive 24, Spellcraft 12, Spot 15, Tumble 5	Extra Spell (Fimbulwinter)	-

Spoiler: Spells

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Spell Per Day (including bonus spells from Charisma):

CR	CL	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
9	12th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	5 (+1)	3 (+1)	-	-	-
10	13th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	4 (+1)	-	-	-
11	13th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	4 (+1)	-	-	-
12	13th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	4 (+1)	-	-	-
13	13th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	4 (+1)	-	-	-
14	14th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	5 (+1)	3 (+1)	-	-
15	15th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	4 (+1)	-	-
16	16th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	3 (+1)	5 (+1)	-
17	17th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	4 (+1)	-
18	18th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	5 (+1)	3
19	19th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	4
20	20th	6	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+2)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	6 (+1)	6

Spells Known:
0 - Arcane Mark, Caltrops, Detect Magic, Mage Hand, Message, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Touch of Fatigue
1st - Blockade, Magic Missile, Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor, Shield
2nd - Alter Self, Augment Familiar, Eagle's Splendor, Whispercast, Wings of Cover
3rd - Energy Aegis, Halt, Haste, Slow
4th - Assay Spell Resistance, Celerity, Ice Storm, Orb of Cold
5th - Arcane Fusion, Necrotic Skull Bomb, Swift Etherealness, Teleport; Boreal Wind^B, Cone of Cold^B, Gelid Blood^B, Ice Shape^B, Mass Fire Shield (cold version only)^B
6th - Dispel Magic (Greater), Greater Energy Surge, True Seeing; Freezing Glance^B
7th - Forcecage, Limited Wish, Spell Turning; Ice Castle^B
8th - Mind Blank, Polymorph Any Object, Shadow Evocation; Fimbulwinter^B
9th - Gate, Shades, Shapechange

Spoiler: Play Tips, CR Write Ups, Backstory

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Short version: Jaas Kraal is a full caster (Sorcerer 20), Cha to saves (PoT), hitting +16 BAB by CR 20, with all of the racial goodies that an Immoth gets.

Word of Waring for DMs: The Ice Rune ability is an example of 3.0 dysfunction at it's finest. As written, it only works for prepared spells, and so is useless for a creature with innate Sorcerer casting (unless they take a feat like Arcane Preparation). The intention seems to have been for it work with spontaneous spells. If allowed to work, this gives the creature the ability to cast up to 14 spells as a free action! For the sake of sanity, I would recommend changing this to allow it to work as a swift action instead. Even then, it's an extremely powerful ability.

As to the rest, I ran out of time - mea culpa. Have this instead:

Spoiler: Sources

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CAr - Extra Spell
CM - Arcane Fusion
CoR - Necrotic Skull Bomb
CS - Blockade
Fr - Penguin familiar; spells (Boreal Wind, Fimbulwinter, Freezing Glance, Gelid Blood, Ice Castle, Ice Shape)
LoM - Whispercast
MM2 - Immoth
PHB2 - Celerity, Energy Aegis, Greater Energy Surge, Halt, Swift Etherealness
RotD - Wings of Cover
SC - Assay Spell Resistance, Augment Familiar, Caltrops, Mass Fire Shield, Orb of Cold
UA - Paladin of Tyranny

[jdizzlean]

6. My, what big undead you have there

Zara Faertith

Spoiler: Build

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Drider Cleric 13

Drider gives Cleric casting, as well as the Evil and Trickery domains, as a "gift" from Lolth to her failures. Cleric levels advance that casting via Kiaransalee, who provides me with the Deathbound and Pride domains (the former with some slight handwaving on the DM's part).

Attributes (lvl 1): 17/12/18/18/21/16. All HD increases go into Wisdom.

While this contest tends not to take magic gear into account, I'll be operating on the assumption that the character possesses a set of Large Mithril Full Plate, a Large masterwork heavy steel shield, a Large masterwork Morningstar, and a Large masterwork Composite Shortbow (mighty 3), although only the shortbow is possessed prior to gaining cleric levels.. I'll also make some magic item recommendations here and there, but mostly they're not super-necessary for making the build work.

Spoiler: Tables

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CR	Class	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skill Ranks	Feats	Class Features
1	-
2	-
3	-
4	-
5	-
6	-
7	Drider	+4	+2	+2	+5	Climb +9 Concentration +9 K: Arcana +1 K: Dungeoneering +1 K: Local +1 K: Nature +1 K: Religion +4 K: The Planes +1 Listen +9 Spot +9	Corpsecrafter Corpsecrafter Corpsecrafter
8	Drider Cleric 1	+4	+4	+2	+7	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1		Aura (Chaotic Evil) Domains Spontaneous Inflict Casting Rebuke Undead (6/day)
9	Drider Cleric 2	+5	+5	+2	+8	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1
10	Drider Cleric 3	+6	+5	+3	+8	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1	Corpsecrafter
11	Drider Cleric 4	+7	+6	+3	+9	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1
12	Drider Cleric 5	+7	+6	+3	+9	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1
13	Drider Cleric 6	+8	+7	+4	+10	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1	Corpsecrafter
14	Drider Cleric 7	+9	+7	+4	+10	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1
15	Drider Cleric 8	+10	+8	+4	+11	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1
16	Drider Cleric 9	+10	+8	+5	+11	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1	Corpsecrafter
17	Drider Cleric 10	+11	+9	+5	+12	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1
18	Drider Cleric 11	+12	+9	+5	+12	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1
19	Drider Cleric 12	+13	+10	+6	+13	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1	Corpsecrafter
20	Drider Cleric 13	+13	+10	+6	+13	Concentration +1 K: Religion +1 Listen +1 Spot +1

Cleric Spells per Day

Level	0th	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	5	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-	-	-
8th	6	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-	-
9th	6	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-	-
10th	6	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-	-
11th	6	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-	-
12th	6	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-	-
13th	6	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-	-
14th	6	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-	-
15th	6	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-	-
16th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1	-
17th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1	-
18th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	2+1	1+1
19th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1	2+1
20th	6	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	5+1	4+1	4+1	3+1	3+1

Spoiler: The basic trick

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Each undead you raise or create with any necromancy spell gains a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and +2 hit points per Hit Die.

An enhancement bonus represents an increase in the sturdiness and/or effectiveness of armor or natural armor, or the effectiveness of a weapon, or a general bonus to an ability score. Multiple enhancement bonuses on the same object (in the case of armor and weapons), creature (in the case of natural armor), or ability score do not stack. Only the highest enhancement bonus applies. Since enhancement bonuses to armor or natural armor effectively increase the armor or natural armor's bonus to AC, they don't apply against touch attacks.

For the purposes of this round, all references of a feat not stacking or not applying to the same thing more than once are irrelevant.

...well then. Let's see what can be done with that.

Because it makes things nice and simple for me, I'll be making a snapshot and statblock outline for each level where you gain a new iteration of Corpsecrafter; this also quite neatly begins with CR 7. For each spell level, while the cleric list is vast and useful, I'll mostly stick to mentioning a few standouts that are either particularly useful or combo well with Zara's build and approach to combat.

Spoiler: CR 7: Getting Started

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"Legends in the Underdark tell of a dark elf spurned by Lolth, cursed with a twisted body and mind. They say she turned to darker powers, and unlocked secrets of necromancy never seen before or since. The corpses of her enemies became monstrous undead with the strength and vitality of ten men combined! Countless bodies littered the alter she erected to the drow goddess of undeath, and the stones ran with the blood of her fallen foes. Her fell powers overturned the common assumptions of undead warfare and shook the bones of the earth. Zara Faertith is a name that's gone down in history, and the mere possibility that the powers she wielded may resurface is the fuel of nightmares for many old enough to remember."

"You want proof? Then go! Go far from the cities where the dwarves and gnomes and drow hid from her wrath! Go, where the veins of onyx run so thick that the darkness of the Underdark grows yet deeper! Go, where the veins twist and turn as if mined by madmen who walked on the ceilings! Go, where the stone is still stained scarlet even hundreds years after her defeat! Go, where a pillar of bones remain fused in place, immovable even after all these years! Go, if you dare...and be ready for any minions that might still be lurking about..."

Spoiler: Statblock

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Zara Faertith
Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 6d8+24 (51 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft, climb 10 ft
Armor Class: 16 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 10, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+11
Attack: Morningstar +7 (2d6+3, x2) or Bite +7 (1d4+1 plus poison) or Shortbow +5 (1d8+3, x3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/10 ft
Special Attacks: Spells, Spell-Like Abilities, Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, spell resistance 17
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +10
Abiities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 21, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +15, Concentration +13, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (Local) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Knowledge (Religion) +8, Knowledge (The Planes) +5, Listen +14, Spot +14
Feats: Corpsecrafter x 3
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: By class level
Level Adjustment: +4

At this point in her career, Zara is just a Drider with cleric casting, the elite array, and three iterations of the Corpsecrafter feat. Fortunately, she is already capable of pulling off this build's trick, since Animate Dead is a 3rd lvl spell for the cleric list. But first, we need a lair, a place to set up an alter-shrine to Kiaransalee where we have plentiful access to both onyx gems and dead bodies. My preference, as is made clear in the Background section, is to have a cave system in the Underdark that is relatively close to the surface but not really near any settlements above or below ground (but near some common trade routes perhaps). Once the place of worship has been sufficiently established, Zara can set aside two 2nd lvl slots a day for keeping Desecrate up 24/7, and can begin hunting for creatures to murder and animate; once she's got at least one Small or Medium humanoid-ish minion, she can have it ride her around and can deploy it to make her fights easier (since +12 Str and +8 HP/HD is going to let even super-weak 1 HD skeletons or 2 HD zombies punch way above their normal weight class), and she can collect more minions in this manner. 1st and 2nd lvl slots while hunting should focus around debuffs and healing if necessary, with 3rd lvl slots reserved for animation, but your superior stats should be enough to physically overwhelm a 1 HD wanderer and from there you've got a pretty solid melee beatstick to flank with.

Once she's got a solid fighting force under her control, she can start recruiting the fodder - slaughtering anybody she comes across and making them into particularly strong low-HD skeletons and zombies, and setting them loose out onto the world. This primary army is the dependable defenders and caretakers of the church (wherever she's set up her lair), and mining for onyx when she's resting and preparing spells, so that she's well-supplied for any animation she gets up to that day. Beyond that is going to be the animated masses - those she animates for her personal defense but can't directly control via the animation process, so she keeps them out of the important places by using tricky cave design so that she can travel by walls and ceilings but the super-undead can't get in at her. From there. On to the spell support:

Spoiler: 1st-3rd lvl spells

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Animate Dead: At this point in Zara's career, everything else is icing on the cake.

Blindsight: A solid self-buff that will make it much harder to sneak up on you or mess with your targeting.

Boneblade: This spell doesn't specify the size of the weapon created; if you end up making a Large or Huge minion that can wield weapons, like a Giant Skeleton, give this appropriately-sized weapon to them and watch them wreck face.

Corona Of Cold: This damage/debuff aura won't affect your skeletal minions, so feel free to wade into melee with them at your side.

Crown Of The Grave: Good when facing enemy necromancers or clerics trying to make your life difficult.

Dispel Magic: Just generally useful.

Favorable Sacrifice: This spell is a good way to buff up your primary force, or potentially a One Big Zombie if you go that route and have the prep time.

Footsteps Of The Divine: Before and especially after you don your armor, you're gonna be pretty slow and wanting to get into melee; casting and immediately ending this spell is a great way to get a nice boost for charging in.

Hand Of The Faithful: This is a good spell to protect your alter with, just make sure your undead minions are supplied with holy symbols (well, unholy symbols).

Hide From Undead: This is a good way to sneak past the uncontrolled masses when wall-crawling isn't feasible or preferable.

Magic Circle Against Good: A solid way to protect your allies from tricky enemy mages.

Magic Vestment: Good for turning your future armor and shield into more formidable defenses.

Meld Into Stone: A good way to get the drop on enemies not expecting you to be in the floor.

Nauseating Breath: An AoE debuff that won't affect your minions, solid fight start.

Portal Beacon: This spell isn't particularly useful, but because it doesn't target the people who get the information (and thus doesn't allow a Save or SR), it's a fun way to draw player attention to a particular portal as a way for Zara to tweak their noses on something or other. I'm sure you can think of fascinating ways to work this in if you put your mind to it.

Prayer: A buff spell that isn't a morale bonus, so it can boost your undead minions. Even better, it's an AoE, and penalizes enemies.

Sticks And Stones: A broken spell from Shining South, say it ain't so! This spell creates a skeleton for Corpsecrafter stacking, and it also gives out negative levels like a wight does. Now, it doesn't auto-wight them if they die from those negative levels (that's a separate wight ability), but "becoming a wight" is still what happens to things that die from negative levels, it just happens more slowly if those negative levels weren't caused by a wight - and the wight from those negative levels, unlike the spell's skeleton, is going to be permanent (although not super-strong, sad).

Stone Shape: Use this to remake your cave lair however you please, be it to make it more difficult for your uncontrolled minions to get to you, or to make it difficult for the PCs to get around.

Summon Undead III: I'm mentioning this spell line because while they're on-brand for Zara, they're not particularly effective for her (that is to say, no more effective than normal), because it's a Conjuration spell unaffected by Corpsecrafter. If you're the kind of DM who'd be willing to let that technicality slide and consider Summon Undead to be the kind of spell Corpsecrafter was supposed to apply to, this becomes much more powerful, but that's not the default state of the game so it's a bad assumption. This spell line is best used for gaining access to types of undead you can't create via the more standard animation spells - which, for this CR, is just Ghouls with SU3.

Unliving Weapon: Turn a small animal into a zombie. Turn that zombie into a living weapon. Order it to go pester somebody you don't like that you know is coming. Laugh at the thought of them getting blown up for picking fights with rotting pigeons and rats. Particularly at higher CRs when you're using Create (Greater) Undead more than Animate Dead, this is a wonderful way to screw over the PCs without Zara even having to be anywhere particularly close.

Venomfire: Use it on yourself to make your bite competitive.

Wave Of Grief: A solid AoE debuff that can't affect your minions.

Spoiler: CR 10: Sweet Spot

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"Day seventeen. At long last, my companions and I have located what we believe to have been the final resting place - indeed, the primary lair - of the powerful necromancer who enhanced undead beyond what was ever possible. I can only hope that I can fine some evidence of her notes still remaining, though given that she was rumored to be a mad drider priestess, the best I can hope for is the ramblings of a zealot written out as gospel, possibly some instructions buried in layers of rhetoric and metaphor. If nothing else, there may well be treasure remaining hidden somewhere in this complex, and the site is flush with onyx veins so we could mine it as long as we don't inform any historical societies..."

"Day nineteen. I'm starting to get a feel for the layout of this place, despite the initial confusion: if it helps, imagine it like a spider-web got wrapped around an hourglass, with rooms wherever the strands meet. Damn three-dimensional dungeon complexes...anyway, now that we're getting better at navigating, we're closing in one what I believe to be her personal chambers, her throne room, her alter, or possibly any two or all three in combination. It's quite secluded and difficult to reach, which has everybody excited for what we'll find. I count us fortunate that we haven't had to encounter any undead as of yet - while I'm sure we can handle whatever comes our way, I'd rather not risk the injury, or the additional pay for significant threats faced...

"Day twenty. It seems in the span of just a few minutes the priest we brought along saved my life thrice over. We found the throne room today, complete with the pillar of fused bones right in the center, with red stains in the bedrock, just like the old elf said. Everybody was rather unnerved - seasoned spelunkers and delvers all of them, but there's something about this place that just sets you on edge by default. Lots of dark magick has been done here, that's for sure...but that's when it found us. It was just a rat, like a million others we've seen exploring on our way here. But this one lunged at me from the shadows as soon as I approached the alter, and its tiny teeth tore right through my armor, enchantments and all! Everyone was so shocked, it started tearing into me for another few seconds; at some in that, I blacked out. I later learned the others managed to kill it, with the dwarf holy man striking the final blow, at which point it exploded on my chest and nearly killed me. The old dwarf spent the next few hours using magic and medicine to keep me from following the rat into death."

"There are no furnishings in here, or indeed much of anything besides the alter and several faded banners. This is the center of the entire complex, the very foundation of her power, and yet still we find nothing of her personal affects - no notes, no magic items, no onyx hoard, nothing but bones and dried blood and a godforsaken zombie rat. There must be more, there must be..."

Spoiler: Statblock

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Zara Faertith
Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 9d8+36 (76 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft, climb 10 ft
Armor Class: 26 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural, +8 armor, +2 shield), touch 10, flat-footed 25
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+13
Attack: Morningstar +9 (2d6+3, x2) or Bite +9 (1d4+1 plus poison) or Shortbow +7 (1d8+3, x3)
Full Attack: Morningstar +9/+4 (2d6+3, x2) or Shortbow +7/+2 (1d8+3, x3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/10 ft
Special Attacks: Spells, Spell-Like Abilities, Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, spell resistance 17
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +13
Abiities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 21, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +15, Concentration +16, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (Local) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Knowledge (Religion) +11, Knowledge (The Planes) +5, Listen +17, Spot +17
Feats: Corpsecrafter x 4
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: By class level
Level Adjustment: +4

This is the sweet spot because those cleric levels just add so much: better weapon and armor proficiencies, a new iterative attack, a much better Fort and Will save, Rebuke undead, two new domains (particularly Pride, letting me reroll nat 1s on saves), and of course 4th and 5th level cleric spells.

Spoiler: 4th-5th lvl spells

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Animate Legion: A good way to turn a nearby stack of bodies into a serious threat to the PCs, albeit temporarily. Good for making a quick escape deeper into the Underdark while they're busy fighting off undead and protecting innocents.

Divine Agility: A solid buff for any single big skeleton minion.

Divine Power: This makes Zara into more of a melee powerhouse, although her primary focus in that department should be her minions.

Fire In The Blood: Punish your enemies for hurting you, up to a potential 10d6 acid damage each (one could take 15d6, but then the spell ends).

Freedom Of Movement: A solid buff to have on-hand if Zara's not in her alter room.

Greater Magic Weapon: Hit 'em where it hurts.

Legion's Curse Of Petty Failing: No-save penalty to attack and saves for the whole party.

Mass Inflict {X} Wounds: I'm only mentioning these spells once, but it applies from here on out. This is a good way to heal your minions and hurt your enemies with a single action. The "Light" version isn't exactly the greatest thing in the world, but later when you get "Critical", you'll be affecting 16 targets for 4d8+16 damage/healing each, which is a much bigger deal.

Necrotic Skull Bomb: An AoE that gives your allies temp HP and your enemies negative levels. Fantastic, but don't use it in melee range.

Negative Energy Aura: A solid AoE damage/heal effect. Not the greatest thing in the world, but worth considering.

Plane Shift: Combine with Portal Beacon for nose-tweaking...or just use it to travel around the multiverse finding fun corpses.

Righteous Might: The other half of the typical Cleric Beatstick Combo.

Seed Of Undeath: On days when you have spare 4th lvl slots, find somebody weak and plot-relevant and use this spell on them in their sleep (so they don't know, and count as willing), then send an undead bird bomb to bother them when the PCs are talking with them about plot stuff.

Spell Resistance: Good for keeping enemy mages from screwing Zara or her One Big Minion over.

Summon Undead V: Use this to get a Shadow or Wight for a few rounds. Use that undead to make somebody else into a permanent spawn. Lose the temporary, control the permanent, and now you're ready to kick off a proper undead apocalypse. Shame they won't be super-strong though.

True Seeing: Most of your money should go to animation, but this isn't a bad investment.

Unhallow: Lots of fun options for making your alter room even better for allies or worse for enemies. Freedom Of Movement, Dispel Magic, Resist Energy, and Silence all seem pretty fun.

Wrack: Used against PCs, this spell can be effective but unfun. Use only if your players really deserve the chance to be helpless for the whole fight.

Yochlol Blessing: This is another buff for turning Zara into a melee threat, and it's also on-brand (in the drow sense, this time) and terrifying.

Spoiler: CR 13: Increasing Options

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"Day twenty-two. Last night, we had given up exploring the room for possible hidden compartments or secret doors - accepting that if this place had secrets remaining after all these years, that they were beyond our ability to find. But this morning, I woke up with the most peculiar feeling, as if I had missed something and my subconscious mind knew it but couldn't articulate it. The others were convinced there's nothing but solid stone surrounding the chamber save for the tunnel leading in, but I wasn't so sure. I found myself drawn to a section of ceiling just above the alter, and after significant study found a barely-visible seam in the stonework. This was enough to convince the old priest to work his mojo and convince the stone to move out of our way. Behind it was a portal buried just deep enough beneath the rock to avoid magical detection, a portal that either to some extradimensional location or possibly even another plane entirely!"

"Inside is exactly the kind of things we've spent weeks searching for: an enormous lavish bed fitting for a powerful mage, several chests sealed by magic that no doubt contain treasures beyond our wildest dreams, a small library full of tomes written in her hand...and if there were any doubt, right in the center of the room, there's a stone statue of a drider labeled with her name and death date. We have found the final resting place of Zara Faertith, infamous necromancer, and with any luck I can decipher her notes and take my place among the greats."

Spoiler: Statblock

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Zara Faertith
Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 (102 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft, climb 10 ft
Armor Class: 26 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural, +8 armor, +2 shield), touch 10, flat-footed 25
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+15
Attack: Morningstar +11 (2d6+3, x2) or Bite +11 (1d4+1 plus poison) or Shortbow +9 (1d8+3, x3)
Full Attack: Morningstar +11/+6 (2d6+3, x2) or Shortbow +9/+4 (1d8+3, x3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/10 ft
Special Attacks: Spells, Spell-Like Abilities, Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, spell resistance 17
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +5, Will +16
Abiities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 22, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +15, Concentration +19, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (Local) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Knowledge (Religion) +14, Knowledge (The Planes) +5, Listen +21, Spot +21
Feats: Corpsecrafter x 5
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 13
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: By class level
Level Adjustment: +4

6th and 7th spells are now an option, and your Wis mod has improved.

Spoiler: 6th-7th lvl spells

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Awaken Undead: Use this to make your mindless undead smarter (to be more tactical and not as screwed over by lots of anti-undead tactics) and more effective (by giving them Ex stuff back, and giving them feats). Probably one of the better uses here is giving hydra undead their Fast Healing back, which makes them even more of a damage sponge than they already were.

Blasphemy: Use this to seriously debuff the party starting out; it probably won't kill anybody important, but it'll give you a solid start in any head-to-head fight.

Create Undead: This is the other important spell you get at this CR, giving you the option of super-strong Ghouls/Ghasts (now) or Mummies/Mohrgs (later).

Desecrate Battlefield: useful for setting up a Desecrate that lasts much longer and is much bigger, giving you more room when fighting in your lair.

Evil Glare: Unless you're pretty focused on Zara's personal melee capabilities, this is a good way for her to help prolong fights: using her standard actions to force a save vs 1d8 rounds of Paralyzed. Of course, this is an unfun spell for PCs, so only use it if they deserve it, or if they should know what they're doing and should be prepared to face stuff like this and just weren't.

Greater Consumptive Field: This boosts your CL, your Str score, and your temp HP, and it combos fantastically with Animate Legion, the above Desecrate Battlefield, the below Greater Seed Of Undeath, and (later) Plague Of Undead.

Greater Dispel Magic: Always worth keeping in your back pocket.

Greater Seed Of Undeath: Fantastic way to turn a battlefield of corpses into permanent super-strong undead. Bonus points if they died from GCF and fueled Zara's strength too.

Leech Undeath: This is a good way for your ghouls and ghasts and Awakened Undead to help you not die prematurely in a fight. Besides, at this point they've got tons of extra HP from your Corpsecrafter stacking, they'll be fine probably.

Mass Spell Resistance: Yeah, you're gonna need this for protecting your honor guard for ******* wizards and clerics.

Pulse Of Hate: A friendly AoE damage-per-turn effect. It has a will save but it's not MA, so it's good that it's friendly. Damage isn't fantastic but you can put up with that.

Ravenous Darkness: An AoE that heals your minions, while blinding and damaging your enemies. Sweet.

Undeath After Death: This spell is optimal, a classic villain move, and the first thing anybody will think of when they see the corpsecrafter stacking: "there's gotta be some way for Zara to get those sweet bonuses". And yes, while most methods of becoming intelligent undead don't involve just a simple spell, this is one. The "Crypt Spawn" template is lackluster but serves our purposes, and if Zara thinks she's gonna die, this is a good way for her to turn her death into becoming More Powerful Than You Can Possibly Imagine because This Isn't Even My Final Form (you don't have to use either of those references in combination with this spell...but I'm just saying, you could). Important note, this template increases your CR and will give Zara a massive buff so it's either going to alter her CR at later showings or require her to get rezzed later to set things back to normal

Vigorous Circle: Another solid way of healing your allies during a fight.

Word Of Recall: Great for when you need to get away.

Spoiler: CR 16: Exponential Growth

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"Just as you requested, so have I done. The foolish boy was so eager to plunder Zara's tomb for his own gain, he didn't question my knowledge, and his companions were too incompetent to notice my stalking. After some prodding, they located her chambers and have begun the process of freeing the chains, just as you have foreseen. In a few days time, the blood moon will rise and the chains will loosen...and this time, there will be a sacrifice on hand to make her return permanent."

"Enclosed is all the information I have collected over three decades on the 'heroes' who trapped her in the first place, a copy of which is hidden within the supplies our sacrificial lamb purchased from me, that She may know of their trangressions as well. May her revenge bear the chill of the grave."

Spoiler: Statblock

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Zara Faertith
Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 15d8+60 (127 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft, climb 10 ft
Armor Class: 26 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural, +8 armor, +2 shield), touch 10, flat-footed 25
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+17
Attack: Morningstar +13 (2d6+3, x2) or Bite +13 (1d4+1 plus poison) or Shortbow +11 (1d8+3, x3)
Full Attack: Morningstar +13/+8 (2d6+3, x2) or Shortbow +11/+6 (1d8+3, x3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/10 ft
Special Attacks: Spells, Spell-Like Abilities, Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, spell resistance 17
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +6, Will +17
Abiities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 23, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +15, Concentration +22, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (Local) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Knowledge (Religion) +17, Knowledge (The Planes) +5, Listen +24, Spot +24
Feats: Corpsecrafter x 6
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 16
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: By class level
Level Adjustment: +4

Oh boy, 8th level spells! Now we're getting into some really fun options.

Spoiler: 8th lvl spells

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Bodak's Glare: An expensive SoD, so stack up the save penalties before using it, or use it on some helpless commoner. The end result will be a 9d12+84 HP, Str 37, self-propagating undead. Let him loose on the world to have fun.

General Of Undeath: Ways of increasing your total HD controlled is always welcome.

Unholy Aura: A solid buff to you and your minions.

Spoiler: CR 19: Plague Of Undead

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"I-I-I have b-brought you these f-f-fod-der as...as a sacrifice! A sacrifice to your greatness. Please, I beseech you, spare this humble servant, that I may assist you in your rise!"

"Humble servant..."

"Yes! Of course! Your wish is my command, O lady of darkness!"

"Priestess."

"Yes! Yes, O priestess of...of..."

"Kiaransalee."

"..."

"Nothing more to say? Then you understand. That's good, very good...you're one step closer to being a proper servant. But don't worry, I know just how to fix that..."

Spoiler: Statblock

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Zara Faertith
Large Aberration
Hit Dice: 18d8+72 (153 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft, climb 10 ft
Armor Class: 26 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +6 natural, +8 armor, +2 shield), touch 10, flat-footed 25
Base Attack/Grapple: +13/+20
Attack: Morningstar +16 (2d6+3, x2) or Bite +16 (1d4+1 plus poison) or Shortbow +14 (1d8+3, x3)
Full Attack: Morningstar +16/+11/+6 (2d6+3, x2) or Shortbow +14/+9/+4 (1d8+3, x3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft/10 ft
Special Attacks: Spells, Spell-Like Abilities, Poison
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft, spell resistance 17
Saves: Fort +14, Ref +7, Will +20
Abiities: Str 17, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 24, Cha 16
Skills: Climb +15, Concentration +25, Knowledge (Arcana) +5, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (Local) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +5, Knowledge (Religion) +20, Knowledge (The Planes) +5, Listen +28, Spot +28
Feats: Corpsecrafter x 7
Environment: Underground
Organization: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 19
Treasure: Double Standard
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Advancement: By class level
Level Adjustment: +4

Wisdom has upgraded again, but more importantly, we have 9th level spells now.

Spoiler: 9th lvl spells

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Gate: ...yeah.

Miracle: ...yeah.

Plague Of Undead: This CR is named after this spell because this spell is fantastic for you. With that being said, this spell is basically identical to Animate Dead, with two major exceptions: one, it can affect corpses out to Close Range, which makes animating a permanent army easier, and two, it has a flat 100 gp material component cost regardless of the HD being animated. Greater Seed Of Undeath has similar advantages, but the range is a flat 40 ft, and the material cost is 5000 gp. This is much better and combos just as easily as that did with several other spells.

Spoiler: On Animation Subjects

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Very generally speaking, you wanna always be making skeletons unless you have a particular reason to want fleshy minions (such as wings for a flying mount). This is because skeleton has a higher pre-template HD limit, so it's gonna have access to better beatsticks with higher base stats...and also because where zombie gets more Str and HP which isn't a concern for you, skeleton gets more actions, better Dex, and higher Init, which is fantastic. Now, lets move past the general rules and onto what you're capable of animating and when!

Second general rule: you have an HD limit, not a CR limit, and CR and HD aren't quite so tightly tied. Higher CR means more HD (usually) and higher stats/better abilities, so the best animation targets are creatures that get very few HD per CR increase. Additionally, Skeletal Dragons and Zombie Dragons (both in the Draconomicon) are phenomenally better than the regular Skeleton/Zombie templates. So here's an approximate chain of command: dragons>outsiders>magical beasts>monstrous humanoids>animals>giants>everything else. However, because the stuff you create via Create Undead and its Greater version are stock creatures rather than templates, the above only really matters for Animate Dead, and when us CU or GCU, you should use whatever's plentiful (probably humanoids and animals).

In regards to outsiders, the zombie template stacks natural armor on top of existing NA, which can make for some surprisingly difficult to hit zombies. Unfortunately outsiders also tend to have lots of weird abilities that won't transfer over, so be wary about picking targets that aren't inherently beatsticks themselves. Beyond that, just work on minimizing what your targets lose - usually by finding targets with solid stats that are already basically beatsticks anyway, like most animals, magical beasts, or monstrous humanoids, or some dragons and outsiders.

Barghests and Hydras make good zombies (especially the latter when awakened), while most animals and dinosaurs make fantastic skeletons.

Spoiler: On the subject of dragons

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I've bolded some things about these templates that are rather different from the base templates, but here's something I can't bold because it's the absence of something from both of them: unlike the Skeleton and Zombie templates, Skeletal Dragon and Zombie Dragon have no HD limit for application. That alone would make these templates amazing for making a One Big Minion that goes right up to your animation/control limit, except it's even better:

Size and Type: The creature's type changes to undead. Do not recalculate the creature's base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

...

Hit Dice: The base dragon's Hit Dice remain the same, but it loses any Constitution bonus to its hit points (see Abilities, below). However, a skeletal dragon gains bonus hit points equal to its HD.

...

Special Attacks: A skeletal dragon loses all supernatural and spell-like special attacks possessed by the base dragon. It retains any exceptional special attacks (such as frightful presence or improved grab).

...

Special Qualities: A skeletal dragon loses all supernatural and spell-like special qualities possessed by the base dragon. It retains any exceptional special qualities (such as immunities or blindsense). It loses any subtypes it had, though if the base dragon had any immunities based on its subtype (such as immunity to fire for the fire subtype), it keeps those immunities despite losing the subtype. It also gains additional special qualities as noted below.

Size and Type: The creature's type changes to undead, and it loses any subtypes it had in life. Do not recalculate the creature's base attack bonus, saves, or skill points. Size is unchanged.

...

Hit Dice: The base dragon's Hit Dice remain the same, but it loses any Constitution bonus to its hit points (see Abilities, below). However, a zombie dragon gains bonus hit points equal to twice its HD.

...

Special Attacks: A zombie dragon retains any exceptional special attacks of the base dragon (such as improved grab), except for special attacks with a save DC based on the base dragon's Charisma (such as frightful presence). It loses all supernatural and spell-like special attacks possessed by the base dragon, except for any breath weapon attack, which is altered as noted below.

...

Special Qualities: A zombie dragon loses all supernatural and spell-like special qualities possessed by the base dragon. It retains any exceptional special qualities (such as immunities or blindsense). It loses any subtypes it had, though if the base dragon had any immunities based on its subtype (such as immunity to fire for the fire subtype), it keeps those immunities despite losing the subtype. It also gains additional special qualities as noted below.

[jdizzlean]

7. This build is an improvement in progress...


Tephel - The Godclaw (Half Farspawn/Three Headed Leskylor Warshaper/Crusader)

Spoiler: Image

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Spoiler: Attributes

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Elite Array: Str 15, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 13
(CR10)+Leskylor: Str 27, Dex 12, Con 24, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 17
(CR12)+Half Farspawn: Str 29, Dex 14, Con 30, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 19
(CR14)+Morphic Body, +1 from HD: Str 34, Dex 14, Con 34, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 19
(CR16)+1 from HD: Str 34, Dex 14, Con 34, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 20

Spoiler: Story

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Tephel served the heavens in a similar capacity to most Leskylors, a long range scout and defender of the spaces between the heavens and the far realm.

Unlike his brethren though, Tephel ventured too far, too curious about the protean darkness at the edge of his vision. The young Leskylor disappeared from his post, and wasn't seen there again for many a long century.

When he did return, it was as a champion of the Lords of Madness. Something in the Far-Realm had touched him, and forever changed him. Where once his three heads harmonised their praise of the creator, now they spout contradictory madness and curse in tongues that never were. Corrupted by the farspawn, Tephel was renamed the Godclaw, and still believes himself a holy warrior battling on the side of the heavens.

Spoiler: Table

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CR	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
10	3-Headed Leskylor (10HD)	+9	+7	+7	+3	N/A	Improved Natural Attack (Bite 3d6), Improved Natural Attack (Bite 4d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 2d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 3d6)	+12 Natural Armour, Frost Breath, Improved Grab, Pounce, Rake, Spell Like Abilities, Darkvision 90ft, Immunity to Cold, Multiple Heads
12	Half-Farspawn	+0 (+9)	+0(+7)	+0(+7)	+0(+3)	Hide +10, Listen +10, Move Silently +10, Search +10, Spot +10, Swim +10, Concentration +6, Intimidate +6, Knowledge Religion +4		+3 Natural Armour, 2 tentacles (1d6, 10ft), True Strike, Spell Like Abilities, Blindsight 60ft, Immunity to Poison, Resist Acid+Electricity 10, DR 5/magic, SR 20, Change Shape, Magic Weapons
13	Warshaper 1 (11HD)	+0 (+9)	+2 (+9)	+0 (+7)	+0 (+3)	Concentration +3 (+9 total)		Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons, DR increases to 10/magic (Half-farspawn template)
14	Warshaper 2 (12HD)	+1 (+10)	+1 (+10)	+1 (+8)	+1 (+4)	Concentration +3 (+10 total)	Improved Natural Attack (Tentacles 1d8)	Morphic Body
15	Crusader 1 (13HD)	+1 (+11)	+2 (+12)	+0 (+8)	+0 (+4)	Concentration +1 (+11 total), Intimidate +4 (+10 total)		Maneuvers, Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5,
16	Crusader 2 (14HD)	+1 (+12)	+1 (+13)	+0 (+8)	+0 (+4)	Concentration +1 (+12), Intimidate +2 (+12), Knowledge Religion +2 (+6)	Improved Natural Attack (Tentacles 2d6)	Indomitable Soul,
17	Crusader 3 (15HD)	+1 (+13)	+0 (+13)	+1 (+9)	+1 (+5)	Concentration +1 (+13), Intimidate +1 (+13), Knowledge Religion +3 (+9)		Zealous Surge
18	Crusader 4 (16HD)	+1 (+14)	+1 (+14)	+0 (+9)	+0 (+5)	Concentration +1 (+14), Intimidate +1 (+14), Knowledge Religion +3 (+12)		Steely Resolve 10
19	Crusader 5 (17HD)	+1 (+15)	+0 (+14)	+0 (+9)	+0 (+5)	Concentration +1 (+15), Intimidate +1 (+15), Knowledge Religion +3 (+15)	Improved Natural Attack (Tentacles 3d6)
20	Crusader 6 (18HD)	+1 (+16)	+1 (15)	+1 (+10)	+1 (+6)	Concentration +1 (+16), Intimidate +1 (+16), Knowledge Religion +1 (+16), Sense Motive +2		Smite 1/day

Spoiler: CR15

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CR15: Half-Farspawn, Three-headed, Leskylor Warshaper 2/Crusader 1
Large CE Outsider
HD: 11d10+2d8+154
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40ft, Fly 80ft (average)
Armor Class: 26(-1size+2Dex+15natural)
BAB/Grapple: +12/+22
Attack: Claw +23 (4d6+18)
Full Attack: 2 Claws + 23 (4d6+18), 3 Bites +18 (4d6+12), 2 Tentacles +18 (1d6+12)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft (20ft with tentacles)
Special Attacks: Frost Breath (3d6 damage DC26), Improved Grab, Pounce, Rake, Spell Like Abilities (1/day Blessed Sight, Cause Fear (DC13), Cure Moderate Wounds (dc14), Eyes of the Avoral, Hold Person (dc14), Obscuring Mist, Vision of Heaven, Touch of Idiocy (DC16), Stinking Cloud (DC17), Greater Invisibility, Telekinesis. 3/day blur, blink, Ethereal Jaunt), True Strike.
Special Qualities: Darkvision 90ft, Blindsight 60ft, Cold Immunity, Resistance Acid+Electricity 10, Multiple Heads, Poison Immunity, SR20, DR5/magic, Magic Weapons, Change Shape, Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons, Morphic Body, Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5, Maneuvers Known 5 (Stone Bones, Crusader’s Strike, Charging Minotaur, Vanguard Strike), Readied 5, Stances 1 Martial Spirit
Fort +24 Ref +10 Wil +7
Str 34, Dex 14, Con 34, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 19
Skills: Hide +12, Listen +13, Move Silently +12, Search +11, Spot +13, Swim +22, Concentration +23, Intimidate +14 Knowledge Religion +5
Feats: Improved Natural Attack (Bite 3d6), Improved Natural Attack (Bite 4d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 2d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 3d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 4d6)

Spoiler: CR20

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CR20: Half-Farspawn, Three-headed, Leskylor Warshaper 2/Crusader 6
Large CE Outsider
HD: 16d10+2d8+214
Initiative: +2
Speed: 40ft, Fly 80ft (average)
Armor Class: 26(-1size+2Dex+15natural)
BAB/Grapple: +17/+27
Attack: Claw +28 (8d6+18)
Full Attack: 2 Claws + 28 (8d6+18), 3 Bites +23 (4d6+12), 2 Tentacles +23 (1d6+12)
Space/Reach: 10ft/10ft (20ft with tentacles)
Special Attacks: Frost Breath (3d6 damage DC26), Improved Grab, Pounce, Rake, Spell Like Abilities (1/day Blessed Sight, Cause Fear (DC13), Cure Moderate Wounds (dc14), Eyes of the Avoral, Hold Person (dc14), Obscuring Mist, Vision of Heaven, Touch of Idiocy (DC17), Stinking Cloud (DC18), Greater Invisibility, Telekinesis, Scintillating Pattern (DC 23), Summon Monster IX. 3/day blur, blink, Ethereal Jaunt), True Strike.
Special Qualities: Darkvision 90ft, Blindsight 60ft, Cold Immunity, Resistance Acid+Electricity 10, Multiple Heads, Poison Immunity, SR20, DR5/magic, Magic Weapons, Change Shape, Morphic Immunities, Morphic Weapons, Morphic Body, Furious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5, Maneuvers Known 7 ((Lose Crusader’s Strike, Charging Minotaur) Stone Bones, Vanguard Strike, Bonecrusher, Defensive Rebuke, Overwhelming Mountain Strike, Divine Surge), Readied 5 Stances 2 Martial Spirit, Crushing Weight of the Mountain
Fort +24 Ref +10 Wil +7
Str 34, Dex 14, Con 34, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 20
Skills: Hide +12, Listen +13, Move Silently +12, Search +11, Spot +13, Swim +22, Concentration +23, Intimidate +14 Knowledge Religion +5
Feats: Improved Natural Attack (Bite 3d6), Improved Natural Attack (Bite 4d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 2d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 3d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws (4d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 6d6), Improved Natural Attack (Claws 8d6)

Spoiler: Tactics/Campaign Use

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The Godclaw's tactics remain fairly static between CR15 and 20, preferring to open up any combat by targeting the biggest threat and pounce/raking them to death with 12d6 damage dealing claws. Natural flight and large number of natural attacks (some with reach), make the Godclaw extremely dangerous to engage up close, and its various SLAs and manoeuvres give it some flexibility if that doesn't work.
There's a few alternate builds of this that would still fit the fluff, and be possibly more effective. Splitting the Improved Natural Attack feats between the different weapons might give a bit better all round coverage. Also trading out some Crusader levels for additional Warshaper (for more natural attack goodies) or Paladin of Slaughter (for a second smite and Cha to saves) could work.

Spoiler: Sources

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Tome of Battle: Crusader
Complete Warrior: Warshaper
Book of Exalted Deeds: Three-Headed Leskylor
Lords of Madness: Half-Farspawn Template

[jdizzlean]

8. this guy's gonna need a lot of breaks..

Igor the Fleshy

Lawful Evil Winged Incarnate Greater Stone Golem Crusader 1, Swordsage 1, Warblade 9.

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-st...t-quality=auto

Spoiler: The One Feat and its Results

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Martial Study (a total of 17 times over the course of 53 HD)
Level 1 Feat instead +1 BAB, due to nonexistant Initiator level.

All Maneuvers taken via Martial Study (all but 3 which go to the Warblades Progression are hence once per turn):

Distracting Ember, Mind over Body, Burning Brand, Crusaders Strike, Steel Wind, Flashing Sun Strike, Emerald Razor, Disrupting Blow, Moment of Alacrity, Charging Minotaur, Bonecrusher Strike, Fan the FLames, Searing Charge, Diamond Nightmare Blade,


Crusader: Revitalizing Strike, Entangling BLade, Castigating Strike, Strike of Righteous Vitality, Doom Charge.

Swordsage: Shadow Jaunt, Shadow JStride, Shadow Blink, One with Shadow, Five Shadow Creeping Ice Enervation Strike, Cloak of Deception

Warblade: Wall of Blades, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Actiopn before Thought., Greater Insightful Strike, Iron heart Surge, Time Stands Still,Avalanche of BLades, Adamantine Hurricane Strike.


Stances: Child of Shadow, Aura of perfect Order, Thicket of BLades, Stre4ngth of Stone.

All in all more than enough Options for any battle.

Spoiler: Table

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Igor, the Fleshy

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special
CR 9: Winged Incarnated Greater Iron Golem,	+38/+33/+28/+23	+26	+14	+15	14 times Martial Study (See Maneuvers List), one +1 BAB (a t 1st HD)
Crusader 1	+39/+34/+29/+24	+28	+14	+15	Crusader Maneuvers, Fursious Counterstrike, Steely Resolve 5, 5 Manveurs, 1 Stance
Swordsage 1	+39/+34/+29/+24	+28	+16	+17	Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (WF), 6 Maneuvers, one Stance
Warblade 1	+40/+35/+30/+25	+30	+16	+17	Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves) Weapon Aptitude, 3 Maneuvers, one Stance, Martial Study
Warblade 2	+41/+36/+31/+26	+31	+16	+17	Uncanny Dodge, +1 M known
Warblade 3	+42/+37/+32/+27	+31	+17	+18	Battle Ardor (Crit Confirmation), +1 M known
Warblade 4	+43/+38/+33+28	+32	+17	+18	+1 M readied, +1 Stance, Martial Study
Warblade 5	+44/+39/+34/+29	+31	+17	+18	+1 M. known
Warblade 6	+45/+40/+35/+30	+32	+18	+19	Improved Uncanny Dodge
Warblade 7	+46/+41/+36/+31	+32	+18	+19	+1 M. Known, Martial Study
Warblade 8	+47/+42/+37/+32	+33	+18	+19
Warblade 9	+48/+43/+38/+33	+33	+19	+20	+1 M. Known,

Bonuses include Attributes.


Stats at Level 20: Strength 42, Dex 14, Con 14, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 16, Charisma 8.

HP: 366

AC (assuming regular +4 Plate):: 10+2 Dex -2 Size +9 natural +12 Armor equals minimum of 31, usually around 5 to 7 more given items, ergo 31-38.

Huge, Movement Speed 20 (40 ft good fly).

With a huge Pole Weapon he has 20ft reach and deals at least 4d6+4+22 damage per attack.

Spoiler: Tactics and Sweet Spot

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The Sweet Spot is CR 12, where he has 45 HD, massive amounts of Maneuvers, soem of the m recoverable, and insane amounts of HP and attack Bonuses given the opposition. At this jucntion, nothing but VERY well prepared Groups can beat him without being vastly overlevelled.

While he stays a valid threat until CR 20, this is where he truly shines.

Tactics: His maneuvers, Ability to fly, and insane amounts of resilience and Attack Bonuses make him close to the ideal "Bruiser".
Its hard to impossible to immobilize, Control or otherwise "Non HP Defeat" him, and he has lots and lots of HP.

Should he need to escape, he can teleport and hide as well.

In short: Aside from lacking Social Skills and not being a Caster, he ahs no weaknesses.

Try to terrify your group with him, its easy!

Spoiler: Backstory

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Once the Greater Stone Golem who should become Ior had a simple existance.

Obey. Guard. Exist.


Then one day, a rival of his Master and Creator SOMEHOW managed to circumvent the Golems Magic Immunity to Incarnate him. And in the Process also gave him Wings!

Igor was both elated about his new Freedom, and disgusted by his fleshy softness. Sadly, his master upon return did not recognize Igor and tried to kill him.

Igor, somehow now in possession of quite a few of the Secrets of the Nine Swords, managed to crush his unprepared Master, and escape before said masters contingency leveleled the Tower he used to work in.

Now without anything to guard, and truly disgusted with the fickleness of Wizards, Igor decided to wander the area in search of greater Power.

Being huge, musclebound, and strangely familiar with many techniques of the Sublime way already, he found 3 Martial masters willing to further educate him.

Sadly he did not find any more patience after his first had started his training, and in a fit of anger, crushed them.

Only when encountering the Epic Warblade Trubal Subharshar, also known as the Eternal Scourge, he found a Master worth following. Learning from him both better self Control and the true depths of law and Evil, he now serves him as the tallest Warblade on the Continent.

Woe to any thinking him a simple brute!

Sources: SRD, Tome of Battle, Savage Species.

[jdizzlean]

that's a good turnout, any judge out there willing to take a stab at this?

[Thurbane]

Nice work to everyone who got a build in.

Some very interesting stuff in here. Some people have used the contest specific rules in ways I would not have foreseen.

Now, as always...what is often the biggest hurdle. Awaiting a judge...

[GrayDeath]

Wow, only one other Entry was something I thought about doing. Kudos for quite some creativity there!!

Great Variety too, even if more humorous in all than most Comps. ^^

[Unavenger]

So I was going to make a constructor with Boost Construct, but I couldn't justify why doing so was actually interesting beyond just spamming Astral Constructs until you're blue in the face - it just seemed not worth doing to make the entire build, when I knew it was "Shaper/Constructor with Boost Construct" and that was about all it did.

Similar hax with Greenbound Summoning struck me, but again I couldn't justify it as being anything particularly interesting beyond the one feat that I'd chosen.

[Hackulator]

So 2 things. One, any judges please be aware of the special rules for this challenge, not just the single feat that stacks even if rules say it doesn't but the bonuses you can get for skipping feats, which someone could reasonably forget about and might make a difference.

Second, given the fact that finding judges often seems to be difficult, have we ever considered having the entrants be the judges? They would simply not judge their own entry and would send judgement to the person running the competition who would then post all the judgements at the same time. If someone does not do their judgements by some defined time, no judgement of their character would be posted.

As to any response of "someone could do X to try to sway the competition in their favor" (ie judging everyone else real low because they're not judging their own) I would say that if someone needs to cheat to try to win an online monster building competition with no rewards, they clearly have some stuff going on in their life and maybe we should just let them have it.

[AvatarVecna]

So 2 things. One, any judges please be aware of the special rules for this challenge, not just the single feat that stacks even if rules say it doesn't but the bonuses you can get for skipping feats, which someone could reasonably forget about and might make a difference.

Second, given the fact that finding judges often seems to be difficult, have we ever considered having the entrants be the judges? They would simply not judge their own entry and would send judgement to the person running the competition who would then post all the judgements at the same time. If someone does not do their judgements by some defined time, no judgement of their character would be posted.

As to any response of "someone could do X to try to sway the competition in their favor" (ie judging everyone else real low because they're not judging their own) I would say that if someone needs to cheat to try to win an online monster building competition with no rewards, they clearly have some stuff going on in their life and maybe we should just let them have it.

I can't say I'm excited at the prospect of judging. Beyond the possibility of being unfair and voting builds lower than they probably deserve (intentionally or unconsciously), I'm kinda lazy.

[Hackulator]

I can't say I'm excited at the prospect of judging. Beyond the possibility of being unfair and voting builds lower than they probably deserve (intentionally or unconsciously), I'm kinda lazy.

Well as I said, you wouldn't judge your own entry, and then any shenanigans beyond that I discussed. As for laziness, well that's kind of why we have issues finding judges, except for someone who isn't in the contest it is far more reasonable for them to be "lazy" and not to want to go through the effort of judging for our enjoyment.

[Mike Miller]

A different competition used the method of all entrants are judges, no? Personally, I feel that method of judging should have been decided before starting the competition. I wouldn't have even considered making an entry as I know I don't have time for judging.

[AvatarVecna]

Well as I said, you wouldn't judge your own entry, and then any shenanigans beyond that I discussed. As for laziness, well that's kind of why we have issues finding judges, except for someone who isn't in the contest it is far more reasonable for them to be "lazy" and not to want to go through the effort of judging for our enjoyment.

Requiring me to judge everybody else's builds and re-judge based on things other judges point out (and contestants responding to judgements) if I wanna be allowed to not have wasted all that time building...does not inspire me to put a good deal of effort into my judgements. And I'm not talking about people intentionally sabotaging, just unintentionally giving others less credit than they deserve. Case in point, I saw something in one of the builds that legitimately annoys me rules-wise, but how much it matters for the purposes of this contest could be argued - and having a stake in the contest makes me untrusting of my own opinion on how much it matters. Am I objectively annoyed at an objectively important problem that makes that build run afoul of the premise of the general contest, or am I annoyed at a relatively small technical error that barely matters and I need to get over it?

Those things combined aren't exactly inspiring A+ judging in me. And that leads to debates on which judges should be counted and who's going to judge the judgements as fair or unfair and blah blah blah this gets easier if the judging is just double-blind like it is by default.

Additionally (and I realize there's problems with this change to the proposal), I'd actually be interested in seeing how people judged their own builds as well. It might give a better contrast for seeing how biased they ended up being if the scores they give themselves differ that much from other peoples, and it also would mean each contestant could have a chance to rant and whine about the things in their build that they're maybe not satisfied with, or that didn't quite work out the way they'd hoped going in.

A different competition used the method of all entrants are judges, no? Personally, I feel that method of judging should have been decided before starting the competition. I wouldn't have even considered making an entry as I know I don't have time for judging.

Seconded.

[ben-zayb]

Interesting feat choices up there.

In my case, I had a case of choice paralysis, as there are plenty of fun concepts that wouldn't be possible in normal rounds. First idea was utilizing Extraordinary Trapsmith to 100% reduce cost/time to create craptons of otherwise-weak mechanical traps out of nowhere in no time--except upon further reading of trapmaking, it would still have minimum cost (and thus minimum creation time).

Second idea was Involuntary Rage using Monk or Barbarian to gain Toughness^B, which at a certain point will let you gain hundreds more HP for every 50 damage you take. Problems were 1. consistently making the save for or being immune to massive damage, and 2. getting out-of-the-box usage of high STR/CON. Solution for the first leads to either being undead/construct with alternate form to gain CON score, getting Moment of Perfect Mind, or getting the Pride domain, while solution for the second leads to options such as Aeshkrau Illumian caster, LVL10 Dwarf Sorcerer substitution, or having access to the Sadism spell or extraordinary ability of the same.

Third idea was "Project Kronos", a neo-noir psiberpunk^TM-flavored Changeling Egoist synergizing 12x Psicrystal Affinity feats and the Everchanging Psicrystal (Ex) from the LVL3 Changeling Egoist substitution. It's basically a versatile skill-gish that can switch specialization primarily via Everchanging Psicrystal (+36 skill bonus) and Metamorphosis, and plenty more tricks on its sleeve. Psychic Reformation to give each psicrystal its own x6 Psicrystal Affinity, use Feat Leech or Fusion to get your psicrystals' own psicrystals, Share Power to nest Vigor+Share Pain on your psicrystals, etc. Naturally, the psicrystals themselves are named after Saturn's moons.

Fourth idea was a Changeling Rogue 1 / Wizard 19 with Morphic Familiar and 6x Obtain Familiar. Less skill bonus than the 3rd idea, but more Share Spells option. Plus, gaining up to 6 familiars as you progress is a Pokemon reference just begging to be made.

[Thurbane]

Yeah, I'm also not a fan of having entrants judge other entries; although, at the end of the day, I would endorse it as an absolutely last option if no one came forward to judge after a few weeks...

[jdizzlean]

on one hand, having entrants judge each other is good as you're obviously familiar w/ the ingredient. on the other, everyone is pretty much predisposed to lean towards their own build subconsciously. plus, it's a ton of work just putting together a build most of the time, now multiply that by upwards of 10 entries depending on the round and it can get out of control.

i've said it before, but i'd much prefer in every comp, that people simply take turns judging rather than beg for one for weeks on end. it's much easier to just volunteer at the end of any given round for the next round sight unseen, then to have to resort to judging if you either don't like the ingredient, nor can do anything with it. plus, the chef's would know ahead of time what the judging criteria is and be able to cook appropriately.

we'll see what the next week or two brings.

[remetagross]

Alright guys I'll judge :)

This time, in order not to reiterate the mistakes of the past, I'll fully judge one entry before advancing to the next one.

[Hackulator]

Alright guys I'll judge :)

This time, in order not to reiterate the mistakes of the past, I'll fully judge one entry before advancing to the next one.

Cool, thanks for your time!

[Mike Miller]

Alright guys I'll judge :)

This time, in order not to reiterate the mistakes of the past, I'll fully judge one entry before advancing to the next one.

Thanks are in order!

[GrayDeath]

Thanks.

And yes, please do. You overworking yourself for weeks without the judging ovewrall improving is very much not what we want (its hard enough to find the time doing it the "normal" way anyway ^^).

[Thurbane]

Alright guys I'll judge :)

[GrayDeath]

Yess, 2 Judges!

[Thurbane]

Yess, 2 Judges!

Remetagross, and who was the other? I may have missed it?

[remetagross]

Judging update: I'm halfway done

[NontheistCleric]

Remetagross, and who was the other? I may have missed it?

Actually, I think he mistook you for a judge.

[weckar]

Oh boy, sad I missed this. Oh well, can still hand out popcorn.

[daremetoidareyo]

Oh boy, sad I missed this. Oh well, can still hand out popcorn.

Careful popcorn kills birds

[Hackulator]

Careful popcorn kills birds

So do these villains. Well, some of them.

[3SecondCultist]

Awww, now I am genuinely sad that I didn't try my hand at the Font of Inspiration Factotum build I was working on! I believe that the stub was Spell-Warped Changeling Rogue 1 / Factotum X, all the way to CR 20. It sounds boring, but when you consider all of the fun shenanigans you can effectively pull off with the sheer amount of Inspiration at your fingertips, it would have been a good time. There were also lots of cool story hooks in there, since the villain would have grown into a nearly imperceptible master manipulator. RAI for judge interpretation, but since Font of Inspiration already stacks with itself in a unique way, I wonder how the interaction would have worked for the contest...

My other ideas were simply playing a natural pounce monster (maybe an Awakened Fleshraker) Warshaper and stacking a whole bunch of Improved Natural Weapon onto its dozens of claws for absolutely tons of damage, and playing a Changeling Egoist and taking Metamorphic Transfer each time. Neither of those were as interesting to me, though.

[AvatarVecna]

Oh man, had so many dumb ideas for this. Factotum 20/FoI was an obvious if simple one that I rejected cuz any way of taking advantage of the self-stacking contest rules ended up with more inspiration than I could ever reasonably spend. Here's a few other builds I ended up rejecting...

Spoiler: Chuck Norris

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Human Monk 1 (Overwhelming Attack)/Humanoid HD 76. The feat: Roundabout Kick.

If you score a critical hit on an unarmed attack, you can immediately make an additional unarmed attack against the same opponent, using the same attack bonus that you used for the critical hit roll. For example, Ember the 15th-level monk can make three unarmed attacks in a round, at base attack bonuses of+11, +6, and +1. If she scores a critical hit on her second attack, she can make an additional attack using her +6 base attack bonus. She then makes her third attack (at +l) as normal.

This was a silly idea that was more or less turning the "flurry of misses" complaint about monks into an actual strategy. The build gets both pre-req feats as Bonus feats from Monk 1 and can start with Str 15/Con 14, which means every HD feat and the human feat can be Roundabout Kick (and all your stat increases can be Str cuz why not). Just make sure to get a Necklace Of Natural Weapons with Impact and Speed as quickly as you can (so, CR 8 and 15 respectively, but more likely at CR 10/17) and maybe a Monk's Belt, or friendly allies who can buff your fists for lots of stuff.

The basic idea here is that every round, you flail your little heart out making as many attacks as you possibly can. Most of them will probably miss, but that doesn't matter because - since we can only benefit from Unarmed Strike or Power Attack for prereq purposes - we're only dealing 1d6+Str nonlethal per attack anyway. No, the goal here is to spam so much that we roll crits often, and every crit explodes into more attacks, which can explode into more attacks as your level increases. Have a chart that assumes no items or buff spells:

Spoiler: Chart

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CR	HP	Atk	Dmg (NL)	RKs
1	6	+0/+0	1d6+2	1
2	32	+4/+4	1d6+3	2
3	58	+7/+7/+2	1d6+3	4
4	84	+11/+11/+6	1d6+4	5
5	110	+14/+14/+9/+4	1d6+4	6
6	136	+19/+19/+14/+9	1d6+5	8
7	162	+21/+21/+16/+11	1d6+5	9
8	188	+24/+24/+19/+14	1d6+6	10
9	214	+26/+26/+21/+16	1d6+6	12
10	240	+29/+29/+24/+19	1d6+7	13
11	266	+31/+31/+26/+21	1d6+7	14
12	292	+34/+34/+29/+24	1d6+8	16
13	318	+36/+36/+31/+26	1d6+8	17
14	344	+39/+39/+34/+29	1d6+9	18
15	370	+41/+41/+36/+31	1d6+9	20
16	396	+44/+44/+39/+34	1d6+10	21
17	422	+46/+46/+41/+36	1d6+10	22
18	448	+49/+49/+44/+39	1d6+11	24
19	474	+51/+51/+46/+41	1d6+11	25
20	500	+54/+54/+49/+44	1d6+12	26

The end result is a pile of hit points who could really use some buffs (allies, spells, items) so that he's actually good at anything. I mean, even with some solid spell support, he's not gonna be great at unarmed combat. He's got a great attack routine, but his damage is always going to be mediocre...unless this particular round of flailing happens to include a crit, in which case his DPR skyrockets and he either has a really good chance of knocking the PCs out quickly (at low levels), or is basically guaranteed to knock any PC in melee range unconscious (at higher levels). But if you can pick up immunity to nonlethal damage, or immunity to crits and decent DR, he just straight-up won't be able to take you out with nonlethal damage, and that's the only thing he's got going for him.

I ended up ditching this build because it turned into a giant balancing act trying to find a way to make him a consistent melee threat from the low levels without utterly gimping him against the kind of tactics that show up in the end-game, and most of that involved around getting more class levels - becoming a Monk/Cleric/Sacred Fist in order to give him spell support at the cost of having far fewer iterations of Roundabout Kick...and what's more, making what was already a simplistic "Chuck Norris meme" build into kung-fu super-Jesus was getting a bit too much, even for me.

Spoiler: Faust

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Aasimar Cleric X. The feat: Infernal Bargainer.

Whenever you cast commune, contact other plane, legend lore, or vision, you gain +2 caster level because you are known to the entities answering your entreaties. Whenever you cast any planar binding or planar ally spell, you can call an evil creature 2 HD higher than normally allowed. Any evil creature caught in a planar binding trap you create has a -2 penalty on all attempts to escape.

...yeah. That's up to 12 HD for Lesser Planar Ally at CR 7, up to 20/22 HD for Planar Ally at CR 11/12, and up to 30/32 HD with Greater Planar Ally at CR 15/18. I could summon an Arcanaloth when I'm CR 7, summon a Balor or a Pit Fiend or Zargon The Returner when I'm CR 12. I could summon an abomination, another elder evil, any Demon Lord, or an aspect of basically any Archdevil at CR 15 (and I can summon the remaining aspect, Asmodeus, at CR 18).

"What if you forget to summon it into a trap, it won't do the villain's bidding then!" Ignoring for a moment that Planar Ally is your deity sending you a friend to help out...yeah, it's a possible way to interpret the narrative, even in a "summoning help from a higher power" - a high priest offering up their own life for a great servant of the deity to kick these scrub's asses is also fun. And in a story where the dumb/fanatic summoner reaches to make a deal with an evil planar being beyond their ability to control, what generally happens next is the evil planar being destroys the summoner and starts fulfilling their own plans without the fragile mortal holding them back anymore, which is oftentimes far far worse for the heroes than if they'd merely had to fight a full caster with a couple levels on them. And of course, the more powerful the original caster was, the more proportionally powerful the summon is going to be. Case in point: the plot of Hordes Of The Underdark, where a high-level drow caster binds Mephistopheles, and it almost up-ends the entire planar cosmology, multiple times, kind of by accident and then mostly on purpose.

...so why didn't I do this? The answer is kinda obvious if you think about it: this is supposed to be about the villain I make. It wouldn't matter if I wrote a 200 page backstory for my villain explaining how they've wormed their way into the planar cosmology, because the second the called forth an elder evil, or an abomination, or a demon lord, or an archdevil aspect, they are no longer the real villain here. And my entry essentially playing second fiddle to their own summon not just in combat but in the scope of their plans overall is...not ideal.

Spoiler: Blood Sacrifice

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Human Cleric 5/Divine Oracle 10/Cleric +5. The feat: Skill Focus (Knowledge: Religion).

...so, this one is pretty simple in why it's a versatile and powerful build:

1) It's a core full caster 1-20 build, which has spell/domain support in basically every splat ever.

2) It gets to really break the sacrifice rules from BoVD.

The ability to attempt multiple sacrifices per day to get the best possible sacrifice reward once per day, we can probably assume "taking 20". This lets us summon a Planar Ally for 1 hour per HD of the sacrifice at CR 1 without any other modifiers on the check (and thus, greater rewards easily within reach). By CR 6, we're regularly getting a Limited Wish every day without much effort, and can bust out a Greater Planar Ally if we need to. By CR 12, the gods will grant us a Wish for a fairly mundane sacrifice.

If any of my builds were going to take one of the alternative feat options offered by the contest rules, this would be it just so I could delay the above effects by a half-dozen levels or something - probably take the CL increase for stronger casting in general, with super-sacrifice in my back pocket if I need it.

This one was ditched mostly because leaning on the broken sacrifice rules felt kinda cheap, and more to the point Skill Focus felt like a boring feat to highlight with these contest rules.