Junkyard Wars XLV: Serenity + Healing - Paladin

[Inevitability]

Welcome to Junkyard Stadium! It is in this hallowed pile of miscellaneous parts that we will hold a competition of Practical Optimization with three components. The catch? Competitors may not use the third item in their builds! I'm your host, Inevitability: now let's all take a deep breath and have a look at our next challenge!

Goal: Create a build that showcases the selected ingredients while steering clear of the Forbidden Ingredient.

This competition has two Necessary Components and one Forbidden Component. This round's components are...

Necessary: Healing!
Necessary: The Serenity feat, from Dragon Compendium!
Forbidden: The Paladin class!

Paladins: those tireless champions of their gods! Those bastions of strength and courage! Those... cripplingly MAD letdowns. How many players have tried to make paladin work, only to find their stats spread too thin to adequately perform? Serenity, in such cases, is an obscure feat that can bring some relief by switching key charisma-dependent features to wisdom instead.

But let's not forget paladins are far from the only beneficiaries of that feat! So this round, you'll be building a serene healer who avoids the obvious path that paladin provides. Where will you get Divine Grace from? How will you work your newfound wisdom reliance into the greater build? And how will you choose to interpret an ingredient as underspecified as 'healing'? Those questions are for me to ask but for you to answer: good luck!

Spoiler: RULES

Show

• Creation: 32 point-buy is the presumed creation method. You may assume that you will have enough exp to reach ECL 20, and that the occasional bit of crafting, use of spells with exp components, or the like won't prevent you from doing so. However, LA buyoff is an alternate rule which is not in play.
• Workshop: 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 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. If you use web material, please link it. Dragon Magazine Compendium is allowed, as are Oriental Adventures (and its 3.5 updates in Dragon Magazine) and the Dragonlance Campaign Setting. Alternate rule systems from UA such as generic classes, spontaneous divine casters, gestalt and fractional saves and BAB are not allowed, as they create a different playing field.
• Leadership is banned: We're creating one thing, not all of the things. 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. If your entry includes a prestige class that requires Leadership, you still need to qualify, but the feat should thereafter be ignored.
• Speculation: Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until after the reveal in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines. Speculation and stub posting is to be avoided until the reveal is completed.
• Disputes: Any scoring disputes should be sent to the Chair via PM. Valid disputes include RAW misreadings, arithmetic errors, things missed that are present in the entry, and inconsistently applied criteria. Invalid disputes include disagreements on matters of opinion, a judge not catching something not explicitly presented in the entry, and the like. Invalid disputes will be responded to via PM by the Chair, but valid disputes will be posted in-thread for the judge to review. When disputing, please indicate the judge the dispute is intended for and provide a quote of the disputed comment or comments. Note: the Chair may edit or paraphrase any disputes in presenting them to the judges.
• Presentation: You will need to present a write-up of your build at at least one of the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build, as well as presenting a fully-fleshed out 20-level build in the table below. Please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability throughout its life. 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. Also for this reason, PLEASE do not include any material that may or may not grossly offend any potential viewers/judges/competitors OR break forum rules. Any builds which violate forum rules WILL be withheld from posting.
• Anonymity: if you are submitting multiple entries, please try not to have entries reference each other, or have other obvious "tells" that they are from the same competitor. If it is essential for your concept that entries are somehow linked, that is fine, but otherwise, please try to limit info that will give away who competitors are.

Spoiler: Handy-dandy Tables You Can Use

Show

Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, please 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

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]
[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.

mattie_p has also kindly made a Google Document that greatly assists with creating and formatting tables: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

Spoiler: Judging (Backup Judging Method Added)

Show

• Scoring: Each judge is required to provide the criteria by which they are judging the builds. By "criteria," we mean a simple explanation of what the judge is looking for in each of the below categories and what kind of scoring we can expect. If a judge deems a build to be illegal, they may provide a 0 in Elegance but may not refuse to judge any build presented by the Chairman.
• The Categories: Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Components.
  
  

  • Originality: Is the build unique? Does it deviate from the obvious? Does it forge its own path, or does it fall back on common, established optimization tricks? Some judges score entries for the quality of their concept & backstory as well, though not all do. Providing at least some backstory or fluff is heavily encouraged, as it helps the judges figure out who the entry is. Note that the purpose of this category is not to penalize entries that independently came up with the same idea as another entry, but rather to reward entries that explore underutilized and non-obvious areas of optimization, so, judges, try not to base your judging in this category too heavily on what other builds are doing. Multiple entries using the same element may certainly be evidence that the element is unoriginal, but you shouldn't impose anything like a "-1 for each other build using the same class" penalty.
  • Power: Power represents your build's, well, power. Builds are not to be penalized for being 'too powerful', though judges are advised to have a standard where things other than tier 1 casters can acquire a perfect power score still.
  • Elegance: This category was formerly titled "Build Stability." Here, we're essentially measuring how skillfully you put your build together and how you balanced flavor with 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 an automatic loss of one point per flaw in this category. Multiclassing that results in an XP penalty is penalized here as well, though 'dips' that fall short of XP penalties should not be. Rule adherence and legality of sources is scored under this category; additionally, reliance on a questionable, controversial, or ambiguous ruling can and should result in a deduction. Neither the number of sources nor their relative obscurity should be penalized--contestants should feel free to use any books they like. Lastly, errors of build presentation are penalized here too.
  • Use of Components: Was the Forbidden Component avoided? Were the Necessary Components showcased, or simply used because they were necessary? Were the Necessary Components used mostly separately, or combined into a harmonious whole?
• Note on scoring: if you are going to penalize an entry for something specific, it is strongly recommend that it only be penalized in one of the four categories for this - the one you feel is the most relevant. It is OK to put different penalties for different instances in their own category, but if, say, someone fails to qualify for a PrC, try not to ping them in Elegance and Power, for instance.
• Disputes: Any scoring disputes will be posted by the Chairman in-thread after reviewing them privately. Valid disputes include
  
  • RAW misreadings,
  • arithmetic errors,
  • things missed that are present in the entry,
  • and inconsistently applied criteria.
  
  Note: only competitors are to raise disputes, and only on their own entry. If you, as a spectator, find an error in judging (or in an entry, for that matter), please hold off on comment until after the final reveal. Thank you.
  
  Invalid disputes will be responded to via PM by the Chair, but valid disputes should be responded to by each individual judge. Judges are obligated to respond to disputes to ensure that everyone gets a fair shake. A judge's scores will only be recognized if they have recognized all disputes. In the absence of any other judges, the entries will be judged by the chairman.
  
  
  In the event that no suitable judge is found in a reasonable time, we will trial the alternate method:
  
  • Each contestant picks their three favourite entries that they did not submit. They will rank the three in order from first to third, and this will be submitted privately to The Chair.
  • Entries that are not rated by a contestant are presumed to rated at 4th place.
  • The score of each entry is averaged, and competition winners will be decided with the lowest number taking first place, second-lowest taking second and so forth.
    

Completion Time:

• Contestants will have until 23:59 GMT Wednesday February 14th, 2024 Tuesday February 13th, 2024 Sunday February 11th, 2024 to create their builds and PM them to the chairman (note: you are free to submit builds up until I start posting entries, even if this deadline has passed).
• Builds will then be posted simultaneously to avoid copying.
• Judges will have until 23:59 GMT Sunday February 25th, 2024 to judge the builds and submit their scores.
• Should there not be a reasonable prospect of a judge for the competition, the backup judging method will take place from 23:59 GMT Sunday March 3rd, 2023 to rank and average prospective builds.
• As the precedent has been set from Episode 2, should all prospective judges have posted their rulings in a neat, timely fashion and all disputes have been settled satisfactorily (to either judges, contestants, or the Chairperson), the judging period may end prematurely to give way to a new episode. No reason to keep working on a finished building and avoid moving onto the next one.
• While I (Inevitability) am chair, judges can expect priority voting on the next round's theme and are encouraged to submit their own suggestions.

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 honorable mention. The honorable mention prize is given to the most daring or unexpected build that doesn't gain a medal.. Everyone can vote in-thread. Ready? Set? Get to the junkyard and start building!

On the subject of messaging the chair (me), a few guidelines:
- I am not here to give critiques on your build or guess how the judges might score it!
- For entries, please keep the entry to no more than 2 messages, if at all possible.
- For entries, don't expect me to search through your entry and edit in or out material. Entries should be sent to me complete - if there is a later revision, re-submit the full build. PLEASE DON'T INCLUDE TEXT IN YOUR SUBMISSION YOU WANT ME TO EDIT OUT FOR THE POST - SUBMIT IT TO ME EXACTLY HOW I WILL POST THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
- Please make sure the name of your entry is clearly present in the message.
- Please make sure the title of your submission clearly connects your message to this contest. This makes it much easier for me to find your build in my inbox.

Spoiler: Previous Competitions

Show

1. Junkyard Wars in the Playground I: Shadowdancer + Sneak Attack - Rogue
2. Junkyard Wars in the Playground II: Healing Spells + Ruby Knight Vindicator - Cleric
3. Junkyard Wars in the Playground III: Dragons + Theurges - Kobolds
4. Junkyard Wars in the Playground IV: BoED + Undead Type - Completes
5. Junkyard Wars in the Playground V: Dread Witch + Reaping Mauler - Fighter
6. Junkyard Wars in the Playground VI: Wonderworker + Profession Skill - Factotum
7. Junkyard Wars in the Playground VII: Metamagic Feats + LA - Metamagic Reducers!
8. Junkyard Wars in the Playground VIII: Pounce+Small Size-Barbarian
9. Junkyard Wars in the Playground IX: Earth Dreamer + Ordained Champion - Cleric
10. Junkyard Wars in the Playground X: Meldshaping + Natural Attacks - Totemist
11. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XI: Magical Darkness + Improved Familiar - Wizard
12. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XII: Dragonmark Heirs + Touchstones - Martial Weapons
13. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XIII: Mulhorandi Divine Minion + Monk - Any Other Wildshaping
14. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XIV: Racial Paragon Classes + Spellcasting - Base Classes
15. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XV: Ruathar + Stoneblessed - Human
16. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XVI: Trapsmith + Combat Trapsmith - Rogue
17. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XVII: Elemental Warrior + Jaunter - Fighter
18. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XVIII: Argent Savant + Holy Scourge - Wizard
19. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XIX: Incarnum Blade + Exotic Weapon Master - Spiked Chain
20. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XX: Xorvintaal Exarch + The Pact-Bound Adept - Sorcerer
21. Junkyard Wars in the Playground XXI: Rebuke Undead + Teamwork Benefits - [Divine] feats
22. Junkyard Wars XXII: Battle Trickster + Magical Trickster - Uncanny Trickster
23. Junkyard Wars XXIII: Spellwarp Sniper + Silver Pyromancer - Energy Substitution
24. Junkyard Wars XXIV: Vow of Peace + Saint - Divine casting
25. Junkyard Wars XXV: Silverwood Arcanist + Share Soulmeld - Soulcaster
26. Junkyard Wars XXVI: RSL + ACF - PrCs
27. Junkyard Wars XXVII: Unholy Scion + Mark - Affiliation
28. Junkyard Wars XXVII: 1MF + CPA&A - T
29. Junkyard Wars XXIX: Social Distancing Edition!
30. Junkyard Wars XXX: Something a Little Spicy
31. Junkyard Wars XXXI: Giddy-Up!
32. Junkyard Wars XXXII: Theurge Without Theurge
33. Junkyard Wars XXXIII: LotD + AF - Necropolitan
34. Junkyard Wars XXXIV: SE + HoS - Soulmelds
35. Junkyard Wars XXXV: Complete Class + Complete PrC - PHB Classes
36. Junkyard Wars XXXVI: Vestige Binding + MWP - Binder
37. Junkyard Wars XXXVII: Bone Collector + Necropotent - ToB
38. Junkyard Wars XXXVIII: NPC Class + Prestige Class - Base Classes
39. Junkyard Wars XXXIX - Stunning Fist + Evasion - Monk
40. Junkyard Wars XL - Ninths + Metamagic - Prepared Spells
41. Junkyard Wars XLI - Spellcasting + Rage - Rage Mage
42. Junkyard Wars XLII - Smite + Mounted Combat - Paladin
43. Junkyard Wars XLIII - Natural Weapons + Spellcasting - Druid
44. Junkyard Wars XLIV - Huge Size + Frostburn Weapons - Expansion

[Inevitability]

Contest Questions and Answers

Q1: How broadly should we take the 'healing' ingredient?
A1: Very broadly! If you can restore HP damage, ability drain, or ability damage, cure ongoing conditions, restore the death to life, or do anything else generally covered by healing subschool spells (even if your healing ability is from a different school, or not a spell at all), expect it to count. Of course, simply being able to pull this off is one thing: making it a key part of your build is another. Your abilities may be self-only, targetable, AoE, whatever: as long as someone is getting healed, it counts.

Q2: What does or does not count as 'Divine Grace' for purposes of Serenity's prerequisites?
A2: Any ability with the sole effect of continuously adding your charisma bonus to all saving throws. This explicitly includes abilities with a different name from Divine Grace, abilities that aren't supernatural, and abilities with slight differences in calculation method and wording (like specifying a minimum bonus of 1, or talking about 'modifier, if positive' instead of 'bonus, if any'). Serenity's effect applies to such abilities as well.

Q3: Are the variant paladins (slaughter, tyranny, freedom) from UA banned? What about the prestige paladin?
A3: All of these are banned.

Q4: What about blackguards?
A4: Blackguards are not paladins, and they are not banned. Similar classes that use the paladin spell list are not automatically banned either.

Q5: What about the Diablo II paladin?
A5: I strongly doubt anyone is ever going to use it, but as a fully standalone base class that exists independently of the PHB paladin, it is not banned.

[loky1109]

Well, I need to look closer, maybe shall make something.

[Paragon]

I think you should explicitly ban Prestige Paladin from UA as well

[Inevitability]

And just in case, since Dragon Compendium is a pretty obscure book and I don't imagine everyone has access to it, here's the text of the feat.

Your wisdom, inner calm, and sagacity fuels your class abilities rather than your force of personality or will.

Prerequisite: Divine Grace

Benefit: Use your Wisdom bonus in place of your Charisma bonus for purposes of divine grace, lay on hands, smite evil, and turn undead.

Normal: The abilities use your Charisma bonus.

[Inevitability]

I think you should explicitly ban Prestige Paladin from UA as well

Good catch! I'll add it to the FAQ.

[Tohron]

I assume Blackguard is banned as well?

[quetzalcoatl5]

Cooking this time!

[H_H_F_F]

Q2: What does or does not count as 'Divine Grace' for purposes of Serenity's prerequisites?
A2: Any ability with the sole effect of adding your charisma bonus to all saving throws. This explicitly includes abilities with a different name from Divine Grace, abilities that aren't supernatural, and abilities with slight differences in calculation method and wording (like specifying a minimum bonus of 1, or talking about 'modifier, if positive' instead of 'bonus, if any').

Emphasis mine. Presumably, for the effect too, not just for the prereq?

Also, is the word "continuous" missing on purpose? It was discussed last round.

[Inevitability]

I assume Blackguard is banned as well?

Blackguards (and similar cases) are not paladins. They are unrelated prestige classes loosely inspired by the paladin class. As a rule of thumb, if something doesn't have 'paladin' in the name and doesn't define itself in terms of a few modifications to the paladin class, it's fine.

By this standard, things like psychic rogue or urban druid are fully independent of their base classes, while something like a divine bard or wilderness rogue is a variant.

Emphasis mine. Presumably, for the effect too, not just for the prereq?

Also, is the word "continuous" missing on purpose? It was discussed last round.

Effect and prereq both. And yeah, I should put 'continuous' back in there, my bad.

[NotInventedHere]

Hmm, that "sole effect" wording excludes the gloura, which is a shame because that could have been a neat little use of an underappreciated monster. Still, I have an idea or two simmering, definitely going to try and cook something.

[loky1109]

I should to ask. Diablo II Paladin? While I don't see how it fits round idea, but is it banned?

[Inevitability]

I should to ask. Diablo II Paladin? While I don't see how it fits round idea, but is it banned?

Diablo II paladin falls in the same category as urban druid or psychic rogue: a fully separate class that happens to share a name with a PHB class. For this contest, it is allowed.

[Inevitability]

We're about halfway through to the deadline: how are people doing?

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I've got no ideas. Think I can commit to judging, though.

[Battlechaser]

I’m working on a build.

[FactualArcher]

I too am working on a build.

[NotInventedHere]

I'm working on a build. Hopefully should have some spare time soon to put it together properly.

[loky1109]

I have only vague ideas for now.

[Korahir]

I am done with my table. Still missing the write up and the backstory. I am confident to have something by the deadline that's presentable.

[Battlechaser]

Build is submitted.

[Tohron]

Just submitted my build. Looking forward to seeing what everyone came up with.

[Korahir]

Dear chair, your box is full. I think that is a good sign.

[Inevitability]

Ah, fixed, tidied up my inbox.

I'll push the deadline back by two days to make sure everyone can still get entries in. Right now, Tohron's and Battlechaser's are the only ones I've actually received.

[FactualArcher]

My entry is in. It didn't end up quite how I wanted it originally, but it was quite fun to make. I'm excited to see what everyone else brings.

[quetzalcoatl5]

Thank you for the extension.

[Inevitability]

I'm working on a build. Hopefully should have some spare time soon to put it together properly.

I have only vague ideas for now.

Just to be clear: NotInventedHere and Loky, are you planning on submitting builds? I can extend the deadline by a bit more if that'd be helpful.

[loky1109]

Just to be clear: NotInventedHere and Loky, are you planning on submitting builds? I can extend the deadline by a bit more if that'd be helpful.

Oh. I think I'm out. I dislike my ideas and I don't have time now.

[Tohron]

Just noticed a few minor improvements I could make, and submitted an updated build.

[NotInventedHere]

Just to be clear: NotInventedHere and Loky, are you planning on submitting builds? I can extend the deadline by a bit more if that'd be helpful.

My muse has deserted me entirely. I have two builds but absolutely no fluff, no cool write ups, I can't even manage to name the damn things. I'll just post them as stubs afterwards.