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    Titan in the Playground
     
    Heliomance's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    Female

    Default Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    When I first ported the Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge over to the Playground from Brilliant Gameologists, almost 10 years ago, I had no idea that it would take off so hard and become such a fixture of this subforum. I had no idea that it would continue long after I stepped down the first time, after five contests. I had no idea that it would cycle through another five chairs before I stepped into the seat again, and that I'd take it through another 40 contests and five years. There are so many ridiculous and terrible prestige classes in this game, there's ingredients to keep going for a long time to come. This contest has followed me through some enormous life events - I've come out, graduated, found a job, changed jobs, moved across the country, had surgery, and I imagine that all of you have changed similarly over the last ten years.

    Some fun stats, powered by the incredibly useful spreadsheet started by OMG PONIES and now maintained by Wolfem:

    The Viscount has the most gold medals, with 10! Well done! Closely following are Piggy Knowles and OMG PONIES who have 8 each. Zaq has 6, and WhamBamSam, Macabaret, Darrin, Amphetreyon and Akal Saris all have 4 apiece.

    In terms of overall podium places, the top three are the same, though in a different order! Piggy Knowles has 27(!) total medals, The Viscount has 21, and OMG PONIES has 17.

    The most popular rounds were XXXIV: Dragon Disciple, XLV: Talon of Tiamat, and LII: Anointed Knight, which all had a whopping 23 entries! The smallest rounds were LXXII: Silver Key, LXXVII: Great Rift Skyguard, LXXXIV: Waverider, and XCV: Gnomish Artificer, which each had 4 entries.

    The highest ever scoring build was Darrin's Maladrax SeDuplicus, in XCV: Gnomish Artificer, which scored perfect 5s across the board!

    The most judges a single contest has had is 5; this has happened 10 times, the most recent being LXXII: Silver Key. The most prolific judge is OMG PONIES with 22 contests judged, followed by Kesnit with 11, and Darrin with 8.

    It's been a privilege to be chair for almost half of the last hundred threads. Thank you for continuing to be enthusiastic about making wonderful builds out of awful prestige classes! I hope that someone else takes up the chair and leads the contest on into the future - and who knows, if it's still running in a few more years I might just sit in this seat again. Here's to another hundred threads! But for now, for the last time as your chairwoman:




    A dimly-lit library. Rows of bookshelves line the walls, and as the camera slowly pans over them, we see that they are filled with gaming books. From the original brown-cover D&D manuals to the newest fifth edition supplements, we are given a brief but breathtaking history of over four decades of gaming in visual form.

    A pair of feet, clad in Converse, appear. The camera pans back to reveal the Chairwoman as she strides out into Optimization Stadium. Slowly, she looks around at the battleground. Rapidly, we are shown shots of the gaming materials here assembled: books, miniatures, maps, dice. The Chairwoman reaches down and picks up a twenty-sided die. She rolls it, then turns to the camera... and smiles.

    The camera pulls back from the smile to reveal... the Iron Gamers. Row upon row they stand, clad in the uniform of their trade: t-shirts with fantasy images, buttons with obscure quotes from novels and movies, dice bags at the ready. The shot dissolves into flames and the logo:


    Iron Gamer

    A montage of the contestants plays, with summaries of their optimisation triumphs and achievements. Interspersed are brief interviews. Finally, though, the introductions are over. The contestants stand arrayed before the Chairwoman.

    Chairwoman: We unveil the ingredient!

    Tense music plays as the pedestal containing the mystery ingredient rises from below. Stacked neatly on the pedestal are copies of the Wizards of the Coast online archives.

    Chairwoman: This month's theme is... Swiftblade! ALLEZ OPTIMISER!




    Welcome, contestants, judges, and guests to Iron Chef C. Here in Optimisation Colosseum, contestants will endeavour to create an optimised and flavourful character using a specified D&D3.5 prestige class as a "Secret Ingredient".

    Contestants: You will need to present a full 20-level build for your entry. Also required is a rundown of how your build works at lower levels, to demonstrate that it is a functional character that could be played from 1-20 in a real game. Traditionally contestants give "snapshots" of tactics and abilities at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20, as well as a "sweet spot" of their choosing that represents what they believe to be the high point of the build. The purpose of these snapshots is not just to showcase your use of the SI, it is to demonstrate that your character is playable at every level. For this reason, it's still worth giving a snapshot before you have entered the SI.

    Menu: The "special ingredient" can be drawn from any legal source. Originally, the plan was to mostly use Core and Completes, but that was a long time ago, and we've started running out of interesting classes to use if we restrict ourselves to those.
    32 point-buy is the presumed creation method, but we have generally allowed other levels of point-buy.
    If you do use a different point-buy, please make your case for its necessity in your entry. Keep in mind that for using exceptionally large or small point-buys may warrant deductions in elegance and/or power.

    Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see Elegance below. Web-exclusive 3.0 or 3.5 materials by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere, as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion. Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Also, item familiars are forbidden because I hate 'em. Please refrain from using Taint unless it's necessary for the Secret Ingredient.
    NB: Official Errata and 3.5 updates to 3.0 content are considered valid regardless of whether their sources would otherwise be legal. This includes the 3.5 update of Oriental Adventures given in Dragon Magazine, and the 3.5 updates of Dragonlance Campaign Setting content given in later third party Dragonlance books.

    Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, November 19th, 2019 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairwoman, Heliomance. Please put the name of your build in the subject line of your PM. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until 07:59 GMT on December 3rd, 2019 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.

    Judging: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Secret Ingredient.
    Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
    Elegance could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is considered in poor taste, and judges are asked to take a dim view of this option, taking it into account while grading. Other things that will cause penalties here are excessive multi-classing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points.Please note the following change: a legal source's relative obscurity should not be considered as penalizing Elegance, excepting the aforementioned issues with Unearthed Arcana. Using too many sources may result in a penalty to Elegance at the judges' discretion, but a book's relative obscurity may not. In that same vein, drawing solely from the Core 3 (and the d20 SRD) should not be punished for lacking Originality.
    Presentation: Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when reviewing the entries!
    Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their entry.
    Spoiler
    Show
    NAME OF ENTRY
    Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
    1st New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    2nd New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    3rd New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    4th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    5th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    6th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    7th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    8th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    9th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    10th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    11th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    12th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    13th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    14th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    15th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    16th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    17th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    18th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    19th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities
    20th New Class Level +x +x +x +x Skills Feats New Class Abilities

    Code immediately below (spoiler).
    Spoiler
    Show
    [table="class: head alt1 alt2"]
    [tr]
    [th][B]Level[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Class[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Base Attack Bonus[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Fort Save[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Ref Save[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Will Save[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Skills[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Feats[/B][/th]
    [th][B]Class Features[/B][/th]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]1st[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]2nd[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]3rd[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]4th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]5th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]6th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]7th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]8th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]9th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]10th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]11th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]12th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]13th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]14th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]15th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]16th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]17th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]18th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]19th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]20th[/td]
    [td]New Class Level[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]+x[/td]
    [td]Skills[/td]
    [td]Feats[/td]
    [td]New Class Abilities[/td]
    [/tr]
    [/table]

    For entries with spellcasting, use the following table for Spells per day and Spells Known. (Spells Known only if necessary, i.e. Sorcerer or Bard, but not Wizard or Warmage)
    Spoiler
    Show
    Spells per Day/Spells Known
    Spells per Day/Spells Known
    Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
    1st - - - - - - - - - -
    2nd - - - - - - - - - -
    3rd - - - - - - - - - -
    4th - - - - - - - - - -
    5th - - - - - - - - - -
    6th - - - - - - - - - -
    7th - - - - - - - - - -
    8th - - - - - - - - - -
    9th - - - - - - - - - -
    10th - - - - - - - - - -
    11th - - - - - - - - - -
    12th - - - - - - - - - -
    13th - - - - - - - - - -
    14th - - - - - - - - - -
    15th - - - - - - - - - -
    16th - - - - - - - - - -
    17th - - - - - - - - - -
    18th - - - - - - - - - -
    19th - - - - - - - - - -
    20th - - - - - - - - - -
    Code immediately below (spoiler)
    Spoiler
    Show
    [B]Spells per Day/Spells Known[/B]
    [B]Spells per Day/Spells Known[/B]
    [table="class:head alt1 alt2"]
    [tr]
    [th][B]Level[/B][/th]
    [th][B]0lvl[/B][/th]
    [th][B]1st[/B][/th]
    [th][B]2nd[/B][/th]
    [th][B]3rd[/B][/th]
    [th][B]4th[/B][/th]
    [th][B]5th[/B][/th]
    [th][B]6th[/B][/th]
    [th][B]7th[/B][/th]
    [th][B]8th[/B][/th]
    [th][B]9th[/B][/th]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]1st[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]2nd[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]3rd[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]4th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]5th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]6th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]7th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]8th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]9th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]10th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]11th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]12th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]13th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]14th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]15th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]16th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]17th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]18th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]19th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [tr]
    [td]20th[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [td]-[/td]
    [/tr]
    [/table]

    For other systems (Psionics, ToB, Incarnum, etc.) keep track of PP/maneuvers/essentia separately, preferably in a nice neat list.
    Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.

    Leadership is banned; we're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners. If your entry includes a prestige class or ACF that grants Leadership or a Leadership-like ability as a bonus feat, the feat should be ignored and is not eligible to be traded away for another feat or ACF through any means.

    So! Who wants to sign up as a contestant, and who wants to sign up as a judge? Looking for as many contestants and judges as feel like playing!

    We will award 1st through 3rd places, as well as a shout-out for honourable mention. The honourable mention prize is given to the most daring or unexpected build. Judges, contestants and guests alike are invited to vote for honourable mention via PM. If there are no votes, Honourable Mention will go to the chairwoman's favourite build.

    The Builds

    Past Competitions

    Courtesy of some wonderful volunteers, there is a handy-dandy spreadsheet guide to all previous builds here.

    Spoiler: The First Fifty
    Show
    Iron Chef I: Entropomancer
    Iron Chef II: Psibond Agent
    Iron Chef III: Cancer Mage
    Iron Chef IV: Stonelord
    Iron Chef V: War Chanter
    Iron Chef VI: Master of Masks
    Iron Chef VII: Green Star Adept
    Iron Chef VIII: Pyrokineticist
    Iron Chef IX: Animal Lord
    Iron Chef X: Mythic Exemplar
    Iron Chef XI: Blade Bravo
    Iron Chef XII: War Mind
    Iron Chef XIII: Vigilante
    Iron Chef XIV: Seeker of the Song
    Iron Chef XV: Drunken Master
    Iron Chef XVI: Assassin
    Iron Chef XVII: Ardent Dilettante
    Iron Chef XVIII: Unseelie Dark Hunter
    Iron Chef XIX: Dread Pirate
    Iron Chef XX: Incandescent Champion
    Iron Chef XXI: Ghostwalker
    Iron Chef XXII: Dervish
    Iron Chef XXIII: Divine Crusader
    Iron Chef XXIV: Tactical Soldier
    Iron Chef XXV: Scion of Tem-Et-Nu
    Iron Chef XXVI: Shadowdancer
    Iron Chef XXVII: Mindbender
    Iron Chef XXVIII: Cryokineticist
    Iron Chef XXIX: Consecrated Harrier
    Iron Chef XXX: Initiate of Pistis Sophia
    Iron Chef XXXI: Shadow Sentinel
    Iron Chef XXXII: Temple Raider of Olidammara
    Iron Chef XXXIII: Drow Judicator
    Iron Chef XXXIV: Dragon Disciple
    Iron Chef XXXV: Death Delver
    Iron Chef XXXVI: Acolyte of the Skin
    Iron Chef XXXVII: Justiciar
    Iron Chef XXXVIII: Hand of the Winged Master
    Iron Chef XXXIX: Renegade Mastermaker
    Iron Chef XL: Nightsong Infiltrator
    Iron Chef XLI: Geomancer
    Iron Chef XLII: Shadowblade
    Iron Chef XLIII: Bladesinger
    Iron Chef XLIV: Urban Soul
    Iron Chef XLV: Talon of Tiamat
    Iron Chef XLVI: Cipher Adept
    Iron Chef XLVII: Cold Iron Warrior
    Iron Chef XLVIII: Shadow Sun Ninja
    Iron Chef XLIX: Thrall to Orcus
    Iron Chef L: Corrupt Avenger

    Iron Chef LI: Black Flame Zealot
    Iron Chef LII: Anointed Knight
    Iron Chef LIII: Zerth Cenobite
    Iron Chef LIV: Osteomancer
    Iron Chef LV: Mountebank
    Iron Chef LVI: Dwarven Defender
    Iron Chef LVII: Darkrunner
    Iron Chef LVIII: Spellsword
    Iron Chef LIX: Fleet Runner of Ehlonna
    Iron Chef LX: Lasher
    Iron Chef LX(II): Acolyte of the Ego
    Iron Chef LXII: Dungeon Lord
    Iron Chef LXIII: Witchborn Binder
    Iron Chef LXIV: Slime Lord
    Iron Chef LXV: Thunder Guide
    Iron Chef LXVI: Dwarven Chanter
    Irogn Chef LXVII: Gnome Giant Slayer
    Iron Chef LXVIII: Fang of Lolth
    Iron Chef LXIX: Shiba Protector
    Iron Chef LXX: Order of the Bow Initiate
    Iron Chef LXXI: Silver Key
    Iron Chef LXXII: Spellfire Channeler
    Iron Chef LXXIII: Flux Adept
    Iron Chef LXXIV: Crinti Shadow Marauder
    Iron Chef LXXV: Thief of Life
    Iron Chef LXXVI: Legacy Champion
    Iron Chef LXXVII: Great Rift Skyguard
    Iron Chef LXVIII: Risen Martyr
    Iron Chef LXXIX: Black Blood Hunter
    Iron Chef LXXX: Master of Many Forms
    Iron Chef LXXXI: Serene Guardian
    Iron Chef LXXXII: Elocator
    Iron Chef LXXXIII: Winterhaunt of Iboorighu
    Iron Chef LXXXIV: Waverider
    Iron Chef LXXXV: Astral Dancer
    Iron Chef LXXXVI: Twisted Lord
    Iron Chef LXXXVII: Shadowsmith
    Iron Chef LXXXVIII: Arboreal Guardian
    Iron Chef LXXXIX: Thrall of Demogorgon
    Iron Chef XC: Bloodstorm Blade
    Iron Chef XCI: Fatemaker
    Iron Chef XCII: Eye of the Xanathar
    Iron Chef XCIII: Hoardstealer
    Iron Chef XCIV: Doomlord
    Iron Chef XCV: Gnomish Artificer
    Iron Chef XCVI: Oozemaster
    Iron Chef XCVII: Aerial Avenger
    Iron Chef XCVIII: Visionary Seeker
    Iron Chef XCIX: Life Eater
    Last edited by Heliomance; 2019-10-25 at 05:20 AM.
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    The only person in the past two pages who has known what (s)he has been talking about is Heliomance.
    Quote Originally Posted by golentan View Post
    I just don't want to have long romantic conversations or any sort of drama with my computer, okay? It knows what kind of porn I watch. I don't want to mess that up by allowing it to judge any of my choices in romance.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    FAQ:
    Q: What's this even about?
    A: I'm glad you asked, actually...

    Q: Is Dragon Compendium Allowed?
    A: Yes (as well as its Errata), but individual issues of Dragon Magazine are not.

    Q: What about 3.0 materials?
    A: 3.0 materials, whether online or in printed form, are allowed unless they've been officially updated to a 3.5 edition.

    Q: Are Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, or Kingdoms of Kalamar allowable sources?
    A: The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is allowed, but the subsequent books for Dragonlance are considered 3rd party, and are therefore not eligible, despite the "WotC approved" status of those books. The same holds for Oriental Adventures (1st party) and the subsequent Rokugan books (3rd party). Materials from Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, and Kingdoms of Kalamar are considered 3rd party for purposes of this contest, and are therefore not allowed.

    Q: What about online sources in general?
    A: If the online source is a) published by WotC, and b) not replaced by an updated version at a later time, it is eligible. Use it, link it.

    Q: Where's the line drawn with "acceptable/unacceptable" for Unearthed Arcana? This will likely vary a bit from Chairman to Chairman. Item Familiars and Gestalt have always been verboten, since before IC migrated to GitP; don't expect that to change. Flaws have similarly always been noted as warranting a deduction; while I am Chairman, I'm extending that to Traits, though they warrant 1/2 the penalty in Elegance that a Flaw would because they're roughly 1/2 as useful. Alternate spell systems, alternate skill systems and alternate crafting rules all create an uneven playing field, and as such, will be disallowed for as long as I am Chairman. In a similar vein, LA buyoff and fractional BAB are also disallowed. Bloodlines and the Retraining options presented in the PHB2 are ripe for abuse, and will be strongly discouraged as long as I am Chairman. Note that judges are allowed to look askance at any use of Unearthed Arcana not specifically mentioned above, at their discretion, and otherwise penalize Elegance according to their preference.

    Q: What, exactly, does the ban on Leadership mean?
    A: As folks have started to try to work around the edges of this one, I'm forced to spell it out more plainly. No Leadership, Draconic Cohort, or Feats that grant a similar ability are allowed EXCEPT Wild Cohort while Heliomance is chairman. Any PrC you choose with Leadership or a Leadership-analog has that ability entirely ignored for this contest, as it may neither be used nor traded away via any means whatsoever.

    Q: What's the minimum score in a category?
    A: Assuming an entry is legal, the minimum score in any category is 1. If a judge is convinced that an entry is mechanically illegal by the RAW, the judge may give the build a score of 0 in Elegance, and proceed to judge the entry as if the offending material was not included. Failing to meet a special requirement for a prestige class does not merit a 0, but may qualify for a penalty, at the judge's discretion. Because this contest focuses on Player Characters, an entry that is not technically allowed for a PC, but is viable as an NPC, counts as a legal entry, but may receive a minimum score at the judges' discretion.

    Q: Creatures and templates with no listed LA are playable, right?
    A: No. No listed LA is equivalent to LA: -. It is not suitable for PCs. If you use it, expect judges to look extremely disfavourably on it.

    Q: So what's the deal with equipment, anyway?
    A: There is no official policy on how much equipment you should list. Historically, judges have frowned upon "item dependent" builds, but unfortunately the definition of that has been applied to mean anything from builds that don't function if you remove one very specific item, to builds that so much as mention a particular weapon. Builds that don't list gear should be assumed to buy useful generics - items to boost their primary stats, cloaks of resistance, appropriate magical weapons and armour, and so forth. If a build would find particular items useful, they should be listed, but experience suggests that the more generic you keep them, the more favourably judges are likely to look upon them, as a build being shut down because the Thundering Bagpipes of Urist McTrumpetbritches were unavailable is considered a weakness. Similarly, requiring items in order to be able to qualify for things tends to be frowned upon.

    Q: Do you have any other rules and guidelines on how to judge?
    A: We do, actually, designed to try and avoid unpleasantness we've encountered in past contests. The things we've come up with to avoid repeating this are given below.

    Spoiler
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    One Mistake, One Penalty
    Spoiler: What does this mean?
    Show

    Judges are only allowed to penalise once for a given mistake. If someone messes up their skills and doesn't qualify for a PrC, ding them as hard as you like. Once. In one category. You don't then get to declare that because they didn't qualify for that PrC, they don't get those levels, and thus don't qualify for anything else. If Ranger is a common ingredient, ding them for Originality. Once. Don't also take off points for Two-Weapon-Fighting being a common ingredient.

    Non-exhaustive list of examples:

    Skills
    Allowed:
    • Giving a penalty for miscalculating the number of skill points gained
    • Giving a penalty for not having enough ranks to meet a prerequisite
    • Increasing the harshness of a skill miscalculation penalty if it affects critical skills including prereqs


    Not allowed:
    • Giving separate penalties for miscalculating skill points and for non-qualification where the non-qualification is solely caused by the miscalculation

    Prereqs
    Allowed:
    • Giving a penalty for not meeting prereqs
    • Scaling the penalty depending on how important the item that the build failed to qualify for is
    • Giving minimum score in UotSI for not qualifying for the SI
    • Not giving credit for (note: not the same as penalising for) tactics using feats or classes other than the SI that were not qualified for (but see below)


    Not Allowed:
    • "Cascading" failures to qualify - declaring that because a build doesn't qualify for a feat, for example, it also doesn't qualify for anything using that feat as a prereq
    • Treating a build as having fewer levels than it does because of FtQ for classes


    Other general things that are no longer allowed:
    • Penalising because someone has chosen to build a tribute to an existing creative work
    • Deciding that a backstory has not met a fluff prerequisite well enough, or because its method of meeting it is "unrealistic". You may penalise if a fluff prereq is not addressed at all, but not for how well it is addressed.


    Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.


    Q: Do you have any contest house rules or clarifications to ambiguous rules?
    A: Some that have come up in previous contests and needed answers to:
    • All creatures are proficient with any natural weapons they may have or acquire.
    • Bonus feats that are granted even if you do not meet the prerequisites do not require you to meet the prerequisites in order to use.
    • Able Learner's benefit applies to the level you take it.


    Q: Can I submit more than one entry?
    A: You may submit up to two entries into a given competition.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kalirren View Post
    The only person in the past two pages who has known what (s)he has been talking about is Heliomance.
    Quote Originally Posted by golentan View Post
    I just don't want to have long romantic conversations or any sort of drama with my computer, okay? It knows what kind of porn I watch. I don't want to mess that up by allowing it to judge any of my choices in romance.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    This is... surprisingly non-terrible for what it tries to do. I've got some vague build ideas in mind already.

    Edit: I've got a question. The prerequisite states "Must have spent the entire previous level using all 3rd level spell slots to exclusively cast haste." Would using 0 of your 0 3rd level spell slots to cast haste count as filling this prerequisite?
    Last edited by DeTess; 2019-10-25 at 05:12 AM.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Quote Originally Posted by DeTess View Post
    This is... surprisingly non-terrible for what it tries to do. I've got some vague build ideas in mind already.

    Edit: I've got a question. The prerequisite states "Must have spent the entire previous level using all 3rd level spell slots to exclusively cast haste." Would using 0 of your 0 3rd level spell slots to cast haste count as filling this prerequisite?
    No, I'm inclined to say not. You require both the ability to cast Haste, and 3rd level spell slots. It is acceptable to gain Haste at a different spell level, so long as you can still cast it out of a 3rd level slot.

    My mind isn't set in stone on that, though, so if people feel strongly about it I might be persuaded to change that ruling.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kalirren View Post
    The only person in the past two pages who has known what (s)he has been talking about is Heliomance.
    Quote Originally Posted by golentan View Post
    I just don't want to have long romantic conversations or any sort of drama with my computer, okay? It knows what kind of porn I watch. I don't want to mess that up by allowing it to judge any of my choices in romance.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Quote Originally Posted by Heliomance View Post
    No, I'm inclined to say not. You require both the ability to cast Haste, and 3rd level spell slots. It is acceptable to gain Haste at a different spell level, so long as you can still cast it out of a 3rd level slot.

    My mind isn't set in stone on that, though, so if people feel strongly about it I might be persuaded to change that ruling.
    The only sources of different-level haste are [SCOURED]. I don't want to discuss much, considering some of these are very fitting theme-wise, but only those two classes suffer from the restriction, with other domains available for lower-level hastes.
    Last edited by MisterKaws; 2019-10-28 at 06:53 PM.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    A pretty good class! I am going to try to cook. Do Not know if I will have time because work ramping up hard, but I want to get in. Have a few ideas.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Have a few ideas, but away from books so I can’t recall if they’re possible

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Consider yourself wrapped in the biggest internet-hug you’re comfortable with, Helio. This really has become a big part of my life as well, and your opener made me a tiny bit emotional. But in a good way. I love this dang community so much.

    And man, my life has changed a hell of a lot since I started, too. Some eerie parallels! I too have changed jobs several times, come out, experienced major surgery—which I sincerely hope was different from yours—entered grad school...

    Anyway, I’m going to do my very utmost to enter this round no matter what. My schedule is already groaning under the weight of the aforementioned grad school (with a day job, mind you), but nothing’s gonna keep me away from round 1-0-0 if I get any say in the matter.

    Now to find out if I get any say in the matter...
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    My compiled Iron Chef stuff!

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Darn Helio, I didn't know you were the one to originally port the contest to GitP! Many congrats for your perseverance as a chair for all these years, all the fun and the laughs and the awesomeness you've brought here. I have quite a hard time imagining the subforum without an Iron Chef thread popping up on the first or second page. Hat's off

    Quote Originally Posted by Heliomance View Post
    No, I'm inclined to say not. You require both the ability to cast Haste, and 3rd level spell slots. It is acceptable to gain Haste at a different spell level, so long as you can still cast it out of a 3rd level slot.

    My mind isn't set in stone on that, though, so if people feel strongly about it I might be persuaded to change that ruling.
    For what it's worth, there was a CustServ answer somewhere I think where the very question of how do Trapsmiths qualify was raised. I remember the WotC guys answering that a reasonable take on the subject would be to replace the sentence about qualification with "Must have spent all his previous level filling his spells slots of the level the character has Haste as a known spell by Haste spells".

    EDIT: ah, there it is. This quote comes from Minmaxforum actually. So the designer of the class said:
    Quote Originally Posted by Swiftblade designer
    Speaking from an intent perspective (which I know counts for very little in the optimized forums) the idea is for the swiftblade candidate to use all spell slots (of the level in which haste is gained) to cast haste. The Dungeonscape book did not exist when Brian and I originally created the swiftblade, leaving us completely unaware of the trapsmith prestige class when it was finally released. If we had been aware, the special prerequisite would have read...

    Special: Must have spent the entire previous level using all spell slots of the level in which haste is gained to exclusively cast haste.
    As an aside, this class is so interesting and promising, we'll be sure to get a colorful round! I remember reading you've set your mind on the theme for IC C quite a long time ago, Helio. Is that why?
    Last edited by remetagross; 2019-10-25 at 09:19 AM.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    A very interesting ingredient for our historic round. I'll throw my hat to judge this round.

    I hadn't stopped to think how long it's really been that I've been participating in Iron Chef, but it really is something that I always look forward to.

    I'd love to be able to give back, and if you'd have me, I'd like to offer my services as the next chair.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    What a treat for round 100. Down to cook. Thanks, helio.

    Quote Originally Posted by The Viscount View Post
    A very interesting ingredient for our historic round. I'll throw my hat to judge this round.

    I hadn't stopped to think how long it's really been that I've been participating in Iron Chef, but it really is something that I always look forward to.

    I'd love to be able to give back, and if you'd have me, I'd like to offer my services as the next chair.
    I think you'd be a fine chair.
    I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Are we sticking with the web article prereqs or the customer service answer? I imagine the former but would like an official answer.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Quote Originally Posted by remetagross View Post
    Darn Helio, I didn't know you were the one to originally port the contest to GitP! Many congrats for your perseverance as a chair for all these years, all the fun and the laughs and the awesomeness you've brought here. I have quite a hard time imagining the subforum without an Iron Chef thread popping up on the first or second page. Hat's off



    For what it's worth, there was a CustServ answer somewhere I think where the very question of how do Trapsmiths qualify was raised. I remember the WotC guys answering that a reasonable take on the subject would be to replace the sentence about qualification with "Must have spent all his previous level filling his spells slots of the level the character has Haste as a known spell by Haste spells".

    EDIT: ah, there it is. This quote comes from Minmaxforum actually. So the designer of the class said:


    As an aside, this class is so interesting and promising, we'll be sure to get a colorful round! I remember reading you've set your mind on the theme for IC C quite a long time ago, Helio. Is that why?
    Thanks!

    Ah, in that case I'll go with the designer's intent - the special requirement is reworded accordingly.

    Yes, I've wanted this for a while now. I wanted to continue the tradition of having a decent class every 10 contests, and Swiftblade is popular, has really interesting, flavourful, and unique abilities, and is a good level of decently powerful without being boringly OP. Also, it has that trade-off of whether you go for all 10 levels or 9th level spells!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kalirren View Post
    The only person in the past two pages who has known what (s)he has been talking about is Heliomance.
    Quote Originally Posted by golentan View Post
    I just don't want to have long romantic conversations or any sort of drama with my computer, okay? It knows what kind of porn I watch. I don't want to mess that up by allowing it to judge any of my choices in romance.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    MisterKaws, can you remove your speculation, please? I want to be surprised by peoples' dishes.
    I've got a new fantasy TTRPG about running your own fencing school in a 3 musketeers pastiche setting. Book coming soon.

    Check out my NEW sci-fi TTRPG about first contact. Cool alien races, murderous AIs, and more. New expansion featuring rules for ships! New book here NOW!

    Quote Originally Posted by weckar View Post
    Venger, can you be my full-time memory aid please?
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Viscount will make an excellent chair.

    But first, we've got to send Helio out in style. Nothing's quite clicking the way I want it to yet, but I'm hopeful.

    EDIT: Swiftblade is post-3.5 transition, but Sudden Casting is essentially referencing 3.0 rules for Quicken Spell. Is it a free action that's limited to 1/round or does it eat your swift action?
    Last edited by WhamBamSam; 2019-10-25 at 12:36 PM.

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    Sir Driscoll Conia - Silver - IC L

    Nick Snarespan - Gold - IC LIII

    Lucy "Legs" Silvertail - Bronze - IC LXVIII

    Bolfarg of Knoss - Gold - IC LXXVII

    Ivarr Deathborn - Bronze - IC LXXVII

    Ahmtel - Silver - IC LXXVIII

    Tocke of Nessus - Gold - IC LXXIX

    The Blessed Third - Silver - IC LXXXI

    Galahad Galapagos - Gold - IC LXXXIV

    Sai-don, Knight of the Tide - Bronze - IC LXXXIV

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Heliomance - thank you so much for running this competition so faithfully and for so long. Reading through old ICOC threads is what got me interested in this forum, and in many ways interested in DND. Thank you for that.

    I'm absolutely going to put something together for this round!

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    i may have an idea. if i can't get it together in time, I'll also judge this round.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Definitely have some ideas, but time is the issue.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    It's been a long time since I prepared a dish, but for the centennial I find myself inspired.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    I have to say, I really like the special requirement for Swiftblade.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Very thematic for a class that's all about one spell. Reaping maximum power requires focus. While you were partying they were studying the blade haste.
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    Quote Originally Posted by willpell View Post
    Only playing Tier 1s is like only eating in five-star restaurants [...] sometimes I just want a cheeseburger and some frogurt. Why limit yourself?
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Quote Originally Posted by Venger View Post
    MisterKaws, can you remove your speculation, please? I want to be surprised by peoples' dishes.
    Oh, sure, doing it now.
    Quote Originally Posted by noob View Post
    Honestly the fastest way to make a paladin fall is to cast the grease spell or to trip the paladin.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Quote Originally Posted by MisterKaws View Post
    Oh, sure, doing it now.
    Thank you.

    My first two ideas aren't as viable as I thought. Back to the drawing board! losing that 4th cl hurts.
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    Venger, can you be my full-time memory aid please?
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    The hardest choices require the strongest wills.
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    Quote Originally Posted by willpell View Post
    Only playing Tier 1s is like only eating in five-star restaurants [...] sometimes I just want a cheeseburger and some frogurt. Why limit yourself?
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Still kinda struggling. I keep ending up in it’s very nice, but what does it DO? hell whenever I try to stray from the mold too much.

    Also, I really wanted to [REDACTED], but it turns out that haste doesn’t [REDACTED], which is not even close to helpful.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Oooohhhhh Swiftblade!! Yummy. This has long been the class I have wanted to play, but have never had the opportunity. I have been thinking about build ideas for this for a while. Maybe I'll try to make time to put an entry together.

    I'm a huge fan of the full 10 levels, since the capstone is even better than the 9th level spell you would often want to cast (a time stop, but one whose duration is predictable, not random). this, IMHO, more than makes ups for not getting 10th level spells. Plus it can come online earlier, at 16th level.

    It strikes me from discussions and disagreements we have had at our table, that there exists some ambiguity and house-ruling around how Time Stop is supposed to work, that might be worth ruling on for the purposes of this contest, so that we are all on the same page about how powerful this ability is.

    This becomes even more ambiguous because the Innervated Speed (Ex) ability isn't literally a time stop, but an Ex ability that functions similarly "as time stop".

    e.g. you are not supposed to be able to cast spells that affect others:
    Quote Originally Posted by Time Stop
    While the time stop is in effect, other creatures are invulnerable to your attacks and spells; you cannot target such creatures with any attack or spell
    Some groups play this as spells that break this rule just fail (you cannot target others) and have no effect. Some groups play this as causing the time stop to end immediately, a penalty for trying to do something improper (if you target others, this violates the Time stop's limitations and it ends). The latter always seemed an incorrect interpretation to me, but perhaps its worth clarifying?

    Quote Originally Posted by Time Stop
    You cannot move or harm items held, carried, or worn by a creature stuck in normal time, but you can affect any item that is not in another creature’s possession.
    Some groups rule that casting silence on a small pebble and slipping it into the pocket of the enemy mage is a legal move. But some would argue that you are affecting an item that is (i.e. becomes) in another creature's possession.

    Quote Originally Posted by Time Stop
    You cannot enter an area protected by an antimagic field while under the effect of time stop.
    A swift blade's Innervated Speed (Ex) is an EX effect of Haste, cast in a higher-level slot, not a spell or supernatural ability. And thanks to Fortified Hustle, your own haste spell cannot be dispelled by any means. So anti-magic fields (which do not affect Ex abilities) have no effect on this ability. So you can still have Innervated Speed active, giving you an effective time stop, and then move into and take your extra rounds inside an AMF, right?

    But can you cast the haste spell in the AMF? Sudden Casting (Ex) says you can caste haste as a free action. Is the whole act of casting Haste now an Ex ability? Or is the ability to cast it still casting a spell, but the ability to do it as a free action is an Ex ability?
    Quote Originally Posted by danielxcutter View Post
    This. This sooooo much. I wasn't expecting *two* thread wins from you.
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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    This is a weird question, but I don't think it reveals much of anything and I think it needs to also be answered. Once you are a Swiftblade, are you forevermore banned from casting non-Haste third level spells (in 3rd level slots), or else you lose qualification for Swiftblade after you level?

    Special: Must have spent the entire previous level using all 3rd level spell slots to exclusively cast haste.
    "Previous level" isnt well defined here.

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Quote Originally Posted by DeAnno View Post
    This is a weird question, but I don't think it reveals much of anything and I think it needs to also be answered. Once you are a Swiftblade, are you forevermore banned from casting non-Haste third level spells (in 3rd level slots), or else you lose qualification for Swiftblade after you level?



    "Previous level" isnt well defined here.
    I assume this refers to the level before you entered swiftblade, but there might indeed be some ambiguity here if you sue the complete warrior (?) ruling that you always need to meet the prerequisites.
    Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Quote Originally Posted by DeAnno View Post
    This is a weird question, but I don't think it reveals much of anything and I think it needs to also be answered. Once you are a Swiftblade, are you forevermore banned from casting non-Haste third level spells (in 3rd level slots), or else you lose qualification for Swiftblade after you level?



    "Previous level" isnt well defined here.
    I think the usual IC ruling for these cases is: the class can never remove the qualifications for itself. Same as Dragon Disciple.
    Quote Originally Posted by noob View Post
    Honestly the fastest way to make a paladin fall is to cast the grease spell or to trip the paladin.

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    RedWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C

    Oh this one has my name written all over it. Gish are my trademark almost on MMF, and the Swiftblade is the top of the food chain for gish :D
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