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2019-10-25, 05:04 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2007
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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.SpoilerNAME 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[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)SpoilerSpells per Day/Spells Known
Spells per Day/Spells Known
Code immediately below (spoiler)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 - - - - - - - - - - Spoiler[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 FiftyIron 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 EaterLast edited by Heliomance; 2019-10-25 at 05:20 AM.
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2019-10-25, 05:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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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.
SpoilerOne Mistake, One Penalty
Spoiler: What does this mean?
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.Quotebox
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Wish building characters for D&D 3.5 was simpler? Try HeroForge Anew! An Excel-based, highly automated character builder. v7.4 now out!
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2019-10-25, 05:10 AM (ISO 8601)
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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.
Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays
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2019-10-25, 05:17 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
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.Quotebox
Avatar by Rain Dragon
Wish building characters for D&D 3.5 was simpler? Try HeroForge Anew! An Excel-based, highly automated character builder. v7.4 now out!
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2019-10-25, 05:55 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
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2019-10-25, 06:53 AM (ISO 8601)
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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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2019-10-25, 08:04 AM (ISO 8601)
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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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2019-10-25, 08:49 AM (ISO 8601)
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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...In the Beginning Was the Word, and the Word Was Suck: A Guide to Truenamers
My compiled Iron Chef stuff!
~ Gay all day, queer all year ~
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2019-10-25, 09:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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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
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:
Originally Posted by Swiftblade designerLast edited by remetagross; 2019-10-25 at 09:19 AM.
VC XV, The horsemen are drawing nearer: The Alien and the Omen (part 1 and part 2).
VC XVI, Burn baby burn:Nero
VC XVIII, This is Heresy! Torquemada
VC XX, Elder Evil: Henry Bowyer
And a repository of deliciously absurd sentences produced by maddened optimisers in my extended signature
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2019-10-25, 09:57 AM (ISO 8601)
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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.Kolyarut Avatar by Potatocubed.
Awards
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2019-10-25, 09:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
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!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2019-10-25, 10:03 AM (ISO 8601)
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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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2019-10-25, 10:07 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
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!Quotebox
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Wish building characters for D&D 3.5 was simpler? Try HeroForge Anew! An Excel-based, highly automated character builder. v7.4 now out!
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2019-10-25, 10:18 AM (ISO 8601)
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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!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2019-10-25, 12:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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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.
Iron Chef Medals
SpoilerSir 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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2019-10-25, 01:24 PM (ISO 8601)
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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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2019-10-25, 02:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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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.
Originally Posted by Peelee
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2019-10-25, 03:30 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
Definitely have some ideas, but time is the issue.
My winning competition entries: Kinvig Arrumskor | The Great Pumpkinhead | Wynfrith d'Acker
Torn-City - Massively multiplayer online browser based crime RPG
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2019-10-26, 05:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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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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2019-10-26, 09:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
I have to say, I really like the special requirement for Swiftblade.
Originally Posted by Darths & DroidsOptimization Trophies
Looking for a finished webcomic to read, or want to recommend one to others? Check out my Completed Webcomics You'd Recommend II thread!
Or perhaps you want something Halloweeny for the season? Halloween Webcomics II
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2019-10-27, 09:39 AM (ISO 8601)
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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 bladehaste.Kolyarut Avatar by Potatocubed.
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2019-10-28, 06:50 PM (ISO 8601)
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2019-10-28, 06:55 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
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!
Iron Chef Medals!
Amazing Princess Mononoke avatar by Dispozition
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2019-10-28, 08:12 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
The hardest choices require the strongest wills.
Kolyarut Avatar by Potatocubed.
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2019-10-28, 09:01 PM (ISO 8601)
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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.In the Beginning Was the Word, and the Word Was Suck: A Guide to Truenamers
My compiled Iron Chef stuff!
~ Gay all day, queer all year ~
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2019-10-28, 10:04 PM (ISO 8601)
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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:
Originally Posted by Time Stop
Originally Posted by Time Stop
Originally Posted by Time Stop
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?Spoiler: Avatar & Iron Chef AwardsAwesome Dragonfire Bard Avatar by Oneris. A detailed version is here.
Iron Chef awards:
IC C Swiftblade: Honorable Mention for Pahika Kanikani, the Wardancer
IC CII Blade Dancer: Silver for Hu Tiaowu, the Jungle Guardian
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2019-10-29, 03:58 AM (ISO 8601)
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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.
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2019-10-29, 04:24 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground C
Jasnah avatar by Zea Mays
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2019-10-29, 06:30 AM (ISO 8601)
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2019-10-29, 08:36 AM (ISO 8601)
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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
"I live apart from you
But I know the things you do
No angel can save you, how?
You don't need a god, 'cause I'm here now."