Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground LXXXVII

[The Blade Wolf]

Thats probably a tad to specific theorizing, Blade Wolf

Oh sorry, I forget that speculation should be get to a minimum until the builds are done.

[WhamBamSam]

Just noticed the per day limit on Shadow Craft. That's vexing...

[Zaq]

Oh sorry, I forget that speculation should be get to a minimum until the builds are done.

If I may be so bold, it may be a good idea to edit your original post to remove the contentious material.

[The Blade Wolf]

That's a done.

[arclance]

... note to self, stay alert. They don't post a link to the next thread!

Will check the PrC when no longer on phone.

It used to happen but the practice fell out of favor for some reason......
Never really found out why.

[The Viscount]

The SI notes that you can use 5 ranks in Craft (blacksmithing) to qualify. Has anyone seen any examples of what that skill does? I can certainly guess, but I'm mostly curious as to why it specifies a skill that I haven't seen any items for.

[Jormengand]

The SI notes that you can use 5 ranks in Craft (blacksmithing) to qualify. Has anyone seen any examples of what that skill does?

It makes Shield Guardians.

[danielxcutter]

It makes Shield Guardians.

I thiiiiink Warforged can fix themselves with that too... but isn't this speculation?

[Jormengand]

I thiiiiink Warforged can fix themselves with that too... but isn't this speculation?

If any builds can find a way to incorporate building a shield golem into their grand plan, props to them.

[Macabaret]

Cooking Time: Contestants will have until 07:59 GMT on Tuesday, July 10th, 2017 to create their builds and PM them to the Chairwoman, Heliomance.

According to my calendar, there seems to be a problem here. Do we have until Monday July 10th or Tuesday July 11th?

[The Viscount]

The last few have been due on Tuesday, so I'm working under the assumption that the same holds for this one, and it's the 11th.
I hope

[Heliomance]

It used to happen but the practice fell out of favor for some reason......
Never really found out why.

It's a good idea. I'll post a link to the next one at the end of this thread.

According to my calendar, there seems to be a problem here. Do we have until Monday July 10th or Tuesday July 11th?

Until Tuesday 11th, plus however much time it takes the lazy excuse for a chairwoman to get around to posting the builds.

Sorry for the delay all! I'm on holiday at the moment and I completely forgot about this! Will try to post the builds in the morning, it's 1am here and I'm going to bed now .

[Heliomance]

Late tonight is like this morning, right?

Incoming builds.

[Heliomance]

Build number 1:

I think I got all this right, first time :)

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Spellthief 1	+0	+0	+0	+2	Concentration 2, Craft- Blacksmithing 4, Disable Device 1, Hide 2, Knowledge- Arcana 3, Knowledge-Planes 1, Move Silently 4, Perform – Dancing 1, Search 2, Spot 4, Tumble 1, UMD 1	Improved Initiative	Sneak Attack 1d6, Trapfinding, Steal Spell (0,1st)
2nd	Spellthief 2	+1	+0	+0	+3	Craft 5, Hide 3, Knowledge-Planes 2, Move Silently 5, Perform 2	-	Detect Magic CHA/day, Spellgrace +1, Steal Spell Effect
3rd	Spellthief 3	+2	+1	+1	+3	Craft 6, Hide 4, Knowledge-Planes 3, Move Silently 6, Perform –Dance 3	Weapon Finesse	Steal Energy Resistance 10
4th	Spellthief 4	+3	+1	+1	+4	Disable Device 2, Hide 5, Move Silently 7, Open Lock 1, Perform 4	-	Steal Spell (2nd lvl)
5th	Spellthief 5	+3	+1	+1	+4	Concentration 3, Craft 7, Hide 6, Move Silently 8, Perform 5, Search 4	-	Sneak Attack 2d6, Steal SLA
6th	Spellthief 6	+4	+2	+2	+5	Concentration 5, Craft 8, Hide 8, Open Lock 2, Search 5	Dodge	Steal Spell (3rd lvl)
7th	Spellthief 7	+5	+2	+2	+5	Concentration 6, Craft 9, Disable Device 4, Hide 9, Open Lock 3, Search 6, Spot 5	-	Absorb Spell
8th	Shadowsmith 1	+6	+2	+4	+5	Concentration 7, Craft 10, Hide 10, Move Silently 9, Open Lock 5, Search 7, Spot 6	-	Touch of Shadow, Mysteries Known 1 (Sight Obscured), Martial Weapon Proficiency, Shield Proficiency
9th	Shadowsmith 2	+7	+2	+5	+5	Concentration 9, Craft 11, Disable Device 5, Move Silently 10, Open Lock 7, Search 8	Mobility	Shroud of Shadow
10th	Shadowsmith 3	+8	+3	+5	+6	Concentration 10, Craft 11, Disable Device 7, Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Open Lock 9	-	Shadowcraft (basic)
11th	Shadowsmith 4	+9	+3	+6	+6	Craft 12, Disable Device 10, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Open Lock 10, Search 9, Spot 7	-	Armor of Shadow +2
12th	Shadowsmith 5	+10	+3	+6	+6	Craft 15, Disable Device 12, Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Open Lock 11	Combat Reflexes	Widen Shroud, Mysteries Known 2 (Umbral Hand)
13th	Shadowsmith 6	+11	+4	+7	+7	Concentration 12, Disable Device 13, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Open Lock 12	-	Shadowcraft(enhanced)
14th	Shadowdancer 1	+11	+4	+9	+7	Disable Device 14, Search 10, Spot 8, Sleight of Hand 5	-	Hide in Plain Sight
15th	Shadowdancer 2	+12	+4	+10	+7	Disable Device 15, Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Open Lock 13, Search 11, Sleight of Hand 8	Great Fortitude	Evasion, Darkvision, Uncanny Dodge
16th	Shadowdancer 3	+13	+5	+10	+8	Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Open Lock 14, Search 12, Spot 10, Sleight of Hand 10	-	Shadow Illusion, Summon Shadow
17th	Shadowdancer 4	+14	+5	+11	+8	Concentration 15, Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Sleight of Hand 13	-	Shadow Jump 20ft
18th	Shadowdancer 5	+14	+5	+11	+8	Disable Device 17, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Sleight of Hand 15	Iron Will	Defensive Roll, Improved Uncanny Dodge
19th	Shadowdancer 6	+15	+6	+11	+9	Spot 13, Sleight of Hand 20	-	Shadow Jump 40ft, Summon Shadow
20th	Shadowdancer 7	+16	+6	+11	+9	Disable Device 19, Open Lock 15, Search 15, Spot 15	-	Slippery Mind

Iron Chef: Shadowsmith Name: Dax Shadowstrider
Mechanics

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Race: Afflicted Kender (Dragonlance Campaign Setting p32) Class: Spellthief 7 (Complete Adventurer p13)/Shadowsmith 6 (Tome of Magic p132)/Shadow Dancer 7 (DMG p194)
Size: Small Speed 20 HP: d6x7+ d8x13/2+20=97
Racial abilities: +2 Dex, -2 STR/WIS, +2 climb,hide,jump,move silent,spot,open locks,sleight o hand
+1 to all saves, Languages: Kenderspeak, Common, (Bonus) Dwarven, Elven, Ergol, Goblin, Solamec
32 Point Buy STR 12, DEX 15, CON 12, INT 12, WIS 12, CHA 15
Racial STR 10, DEX 17, CON 12, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 15
Final STR 10, DEX 20, CON 12, INT 14, WIS 10, CHA 15
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Skill pts at lvl 1: 6 + INT x4 =28 F0,R0,W2
Ability increases, 4 INT, 8 INT, 12 DEX, 16 DEX, 20 DEX
1st lvl: Sneak Attack +1d6, Trapfinding, Spell Steal (0,1st) **Improved Initiative**
2nd lvl: Detect Magic CHA/day, Spellgrace +1 (+1 on saves vs spells), Steal Spell Effect
3rd lvl: Weapon Finesse, Steal Energy Resistance 10 **Weapon Finesse**
4th lvl: Steal Spell (2nd lvl), bonus 1st lvl spell
5th lvl: Sneak Attack 2d6, Steal SLA
6th lvl: Steal Spell (3rd lvl) **Dodge**
7th lvl: Absorb Spell
8th lvl: Shadowsmith entrance: Touch of Shadow, Mysteries Known 1 (Sight Obscured)
9th lvl: Shroud of Shadow **Mobility**
10th lvl: Shadowcraft (Basic)
11th lvl: Armor of Shadow +2
12th lvl: Widen Shroud, Mysteries Known 2 (Umbral Hand) **Combat Reflexes**
13th lvl: Shadowcraft (enhanced +1)
14th lvl: Shadowdancer entrance: Hide in Plain Sight
15th lvl: Evasion, Darkvision, Uncanny Dodge **Great Fortitude**
16th lvl: Shadow Illusion, Summon Shadow
17th lvl: Shadow Jump 20ft
18th lvl: Defensive Roll, Improved Uncanny Dodge **Iron Will **
19th lvl: Shadow Jump 40ft, Summon Shadow upgrade
20th lvl: Slippery Mind

Background/Story

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While Afflicted Kender aren’t natural pick pockets or finders of all objects, nothing stops Dax Shadestrider from taking advantage of this stereotype to take anything he so wishes. Just because Dax isn’t like those listless and lackadaisical cousins of his that flap about from place to place, constantly flickering between every pretty little thing to grab their fancy, doesn’t mean he doesn’t “find” an item now and then. Because that’s mine, and that’s mine too, oh, and that should probably be mine.
When that stupid dragon destroyed his homeland and forced him out into the world, he vowed never to have anything taken from him willingly again. As a Spellthief, Dax extended his ability to collect items of a mundane nature, to those of the mystical and beyond. Playing off on the flaws of his less notable cousins enables him to move through world as he sees fit, and not as the world would have him be. Sometimes what Dax wants requires taking a spell or spell effect from someone else.
Advancing through life taught him that occasionally, he had to make what he needed as the nitwits around him didn’t have the forethought to have whatever just laying about. A life of constantly living in the shadows of society led him to seek out a mentor in the ways of the Shadowsmith. His abilities to craft the items he needed, or the items he needed to get the items he needed started to grow. Dax was now able to craft those items in moments, pulled from any shadow that happened to be nearby. Keys, hammers, and anything else he needed at a moment’s notice was now possible. His power grew, and he could add magical properties to fit the situation. Any fool could swing a sword, until you took that sword away from them.
After a few years of slipping in and around the shadows as a glorified blacksmith, the next natural step was to use those shadows even more for his own personal gain. No longer content to be a petty cat burglar, using the dark for personal gain, now it was time to take the fight to those unwilling to “share” with him.
Dax began to wrap himself in those loving shadows, taking them into and onto himself wherever he went. And so his story begins.

Build

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Kender are natural finders of objects. Depending on the lore you read, and what you believe, a Kender has a 50% chance of having whatever item you ask about, when you ask about it, simply due to the fact that anything at all in the whole world can catch their fancy, and end up in their pockets. True Kender do this unconsciously, every waking moment of their lives. They abhor thieves, and take offense to being called one the world over.
Afflicted Kender are something altogether different. When they steal, they do so willingly, and knowingly. They don’t find joy in the baubles and trinkets of the world, at least not in the traditional sense.
Entering into the build as a Spellthief grants some rogue-like abilities for general thievery, but it also allows for the theft of the magical, and the bending of that to your own will. Spells, SLA’s, resistances, along with and right next to sneak attack damage, increased resistances to spells, and in the end the ability to simply ignore a spell and then absorb it into yourself. A few minor spells can be used as tricks to help or hinder as you see fit. (Spells chosen: Feather Fall – PHB p229, Spontaneous Search – Spell Compendium p204, Nerveskitter – Spell Compendium p146.) The first several levels are used to fill the skill and feat taxes for the build. Only 28 skill points at level 1, and 7 per level until level 8, where from there on its 8 per level. With two separate cross class skills needed for taxes, the early skill ranks progression is slow.
The entrance into the Secret Ingredient comes at level 8. While not as early as a Fighter who could enter at 6, there is more flavor and finesse going this route. Shadowsmith is a weak prestige class, but it has utility if you think about it differently. A few mysteries are unlockable, but they are really just 1/day SLA’s that should be used to augment your build. Taking Shadowsmith to 6 allows for situational utility in the form of the signature ability of the class: Shadowcrafting. The ability can be used to assist a thief in his actions by making keys, creating a hammer or crowbar to break a door down, a spike to prop a door or window open, or any other of a vast myriad of ways. All of these can have any +1 enhancement thrown on them as well. It’s like having a Swiss army knife in reach at any time. And the evidence disappears without a trace moments later. Several other class features are a gateway into the final class, Shadowdancer.
Entering Shadowdancer at 14 starts off with a bang, Hide in Plain Sight. With a Hide skill base of 15 at this level, and assuming you have any kind of shadow in range, you can disappear at will. Sneak attack, disappear, wash, rinse, repeat. “Find” an item, disappear. Take an item, disappear. Get confronted about something, fight or disappear. Going back to some more roguish abilities with Evasion, Uncanny Dodge (later Improved, where you are unflankable), and increasing your sleight of hand and lock or device disabling.
Finishing off at level 20, you have an adjusted +22 to attack ranged or melee; Saves come out to 10/17/10, decent but neither spectacular nor abysmal. As well as a vast plethora of abilities to assist in the taking and escaping. The final class ability in the build, Slippery Mind, brings you full circle back to the Spellthief. Either you can absorb the spell, steal it, or in this case be granted 2 saves for the same effect.
The secret ingredient wasn’t taken to a full level 10 progression as the only tangible benefit would be to be able to shadowcraft at a +5 enhancement. As stated in the background, any fool can swing a sword, until you take that sword away from them. WBL would provide for whatever pointy object you so desire, and the rest you can come up with yourself.
No gear is associated with the build, however figure on the standard +x armor and pointy thing, and instead of boosting DEX, consider +CON/WIS items to bolster your lower saves. A single skill point was invested in Tumble, and UMD, two skills that it never hurts to have some ability in. The final 2 feats were used to build up the weak saves.

SNAPSHOTS:

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Level 5: Improved Initiative and Weapon Finesse, because going first is always nice, and a low STR means no help in melee. 2d6 sneak attack damage helps bolster your spell thievery, and your limited spell casting ability has come online, and will stay stagnant for the rest of the build.
Level 10: Your Spellthief progression is complete, you can steal or absorb any effect, cast a small number of supporting spells, and are 3 levels into the SI and can now shadowcraft items to assist in your thievery. The Sight Obscured Mystery grants a +5 bonus to any action/movement/presence checks, bolstering your already impressive Hide and Move Silently abilities, as well as others. You’ve completed your skill taxes for the next step, and have 1 feat tax left to go. Skills are varied but still at respectable levels.
Level 15: Finished with the Secret Ingredient, we’ve moved on to the last class, Shadowdancer. Level 14 is the Sweet Spot where all the class abilities have come together, and you are the Alpha-Kender. Almost nothing can stop you from taking what you want and then getting away with it afterwards. You’re now fully at home in the shadows, and your ability to harness them in multiple ways should be a warning to those who would cross you.
Level 20: This build was never designed to be a front line combatant. This is a solo class or at the very best, a support role (with apathy). You’ve still come out with a decent attack pattern, OK saves, and a large number of practically topped out skills. A laundry list of class abilities, some SLA’s and a few minor spells to augment. Don’t forget the ability to steal, absorb, or outright ignore spells being thrown at you. Your biggest asset is the ability to simply disappear and get away to fight another day.

SOURCES

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Dragonlance Campaign Setting pg 32
Complete Adventurer pg 13
Tome of Magic pg 132, 150, 152
DMG pg 194
PHB pgs 92,93,98,229
Spell Compendium pgs 146, 204

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	-	1/2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	-	1/2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6th	-	2/3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7th	-	2/3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
11th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
12th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
13th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
14th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
15th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
16th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
17th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
18th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
19th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
20th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

[Heliomance]

Build number 2:

Spoiler: Sources Used

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Bibliography
UA = Unearthed Arcana
FC1 = Fiendish Codex 1
HoH = Heroes of Horror
CM = Complete Mage
Du = Dungeonscape
CC = Complete Champion
BOVD= Book of Vile Darkness
EE= Elder Evils
ToM =Tome of Magic
CoR= Champions of Ruin
Und = Underdark
PlHB = planar Handbook
SpC = Spell Compendium
DrM = Dragon Magic
SK = Serpent Kingdoms
RoD = Races of Destiny
RoS = Races of Stone
MM1 = Monster Manual 1
PHB2 = Player’s Handbook 2

Nurgle Helmstone,
Chaotic Evil Chameleon (Und p.83) Deep Dwarf (MM1 p.92):
Crafty Hunter Bear Totem Barbarian 3/Armored Mage Fighter 1/Wildshape spirit connected Fox Totem Ranger 1/Shadowsmith 3/Armored Mage Fighter 1/Shadowmith 3/Warrior of Darkness 2/Focused Specialist Transmuter 1/Shadowsmith 4/Focused Specialist Transmuter 1

Spoiler: Statblocks

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Racial features
Humanoid Type, reptilian subtype, dwarf subtype, scaled one (SK p.5)
Medium size, 20’ movement, but speed is not reduced if wearing Medium or Heavy Armor, or if carrying a Medium or Heavy Load, 10’ Climb speed.
Weapon Familiarity – Dwarven Waraxes & Dwarven Urgroshes are considered Martial Weapons.
+1 Racial bonus on attack rolls vs. Orcs & Goblinoids
+4 Dodge bonus to AC vs. Giants
+ 2 Racial bonus on Appraise checks for metal & stone, +2 Racial bonus on Craft checks for metal & stone, +10 racial bonus on Hide checks and a +4 racial bonus on Move Silently checks. Because it has a climb speed, a chameleon creature receives a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks even if rushed or threatened. Stonecunning:+2 Racial bonus to notice unusual stonework, Automatic Search check if a Dwarf passes within 10’ of unusual stonework, Can search for stone-based traps as a Rogue,
Stability - +4 bonus on checks to avoid being Bull Rushed or Tripped while standing on the ground.
LA +1

Int 15, str 14, con 20, dex 10, wis 8, cha 6,
220 lbs

Bonus Attribute points
Level 4: +1 Str
Level 8: +1 Int
Levels 12, 16, 20: +1 Con

Join the Wintervein Dwarves Affiliation (PHB2 p.182), with only doing missions once per 5 levels, you should be able to snag some free weapon focus feats for dwarf weapons. Doing more missions than that could snag improved critical feats.

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1	Crafty Hunter (UA p.58) Bear Totem (UA p.48) Barbarian 1	1	2	0	0	24: climb 4, ride 4, knowledge planes 3, knowledge arcana 2cc, craft (glassblowing) 1, literate 2, craft weaponsmithing 2, spellcraft 4	bonus: Toughness, Willing Deformity (HoH p.125), 1: Keeper of forbidden Lore (FC1 p.86)	Favored Enemy Variant: Favored Terrain: Underground, Illiterate, Toughness bonus feat, Worshipper of Elder Evil (EE p.10)
2	Crafty Hunter (UA p.58) Bear Totem (UA p.48) Barbarian 2	2	3	0	0	ride 5, climb 5, knowledge arcana 2.5, craft weapon smithing 4, spellcraft 5	Bonus: Rapid Shot, improved grapple	improved grapple bear totem bonus feat, rapid shot crafty hunter bonus feat
3	Crafty Hunter (UA p.58) Bear Totem (UA p.48) Barbarian 3	3	3	1	1	ride 6, climb 6, arcana 3, craft weapon smithing 6, spellcraft 6	Bonus: great fortitude, 3: Poison Healer (FC1 p.87)	Great fortitude bear totem bonus feat
4	Armored Mage (CM p.32) Fighter 1	4	5	1	1	ride 7, climb 7, spellcraft 7, craft weaponsmithing 5	Bonus: Hammer and Piton (Du p.45)	Fighter bonus feat, can cast 1st or 2nd level spells in light armor with no penalty
5	Spiritual Connection (CC p.50), Favored Environment UA p.65 Shapechanging (UA p.58) Fox Totem (UA p.48) Ranger 1	5	7	3	1	ride 8, climb 8, spellcraft 8, move silently 1, hide 1, craft (alchemy) 1, craft weaponsmithing 6, survival 1	Bonus: Track, Willing Deformity; Obese (BOVD p.48)	Track, Favored Environment (Hills), Wild empathy Spiritual Connection SLA: Speak with animals or plants 3/day, Fast Movement Fox totem (+4 move silently and hide)
6	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 1	6	7	5	1	8: craft alchemy 2 craft writing 1, hide 3, move silently 3, climb 9, spellcraft 9	6: Node Spellcasting (CoR p.125) Earth nodes (Und p.49)	Touch of Shadow, Steel Shadows Mystery (ToM p.150)
7	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 2	7	7	6	7	8: Hide 5, move silently 5, craft writing 2, craft alchemy 3, ride 9		shroud of shadow
8	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 3	8	8	6	2	9: hide 7, move silently 7, craft alchemy 7, climb 10		shadowcraft basic
9	Armored Mage (CM p.32) Fighter 2	9	9	6	2	5: ride 12, climb 11, spellcraft 10	Bonus: Quickdraw, 9:Natural Heavyweight (PlHB p.40)	bonus feat
10	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 4	10	9	7	2	9: climb 13, craft alchemy 13, knowledge (planes) 4		Armor of Shadow +2
11	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 5	11	9	7	2	9: knowledge (planes) 8, craft alchemy 14, hide 9, move silently 9		Widen Shroud, Sight Eclipsed Mystery (ToM p.150)
12	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 6	12	10	8	3	9: craft writing 5, craft glassblowing 5, spellcraft 11, speak abyssal	Otyough Hole Bonus: Iron Will, 12: Planar Touchstone (PlHB p.41): The Life Molds of Neumannus (PlHB p.179)	Shadowcraft enhanced
13	Warrior of Darkness (BOVD p.75) 1	13	12	8	5	7: Ride 16, climb 14, craft alchemy 16	Bonus: Blindfighting	Black Magic Oil
14	Warrior of Darkness (BOVD p.75) 2	14	13	8	6	7: Ride 17, craft alchemy 17, climb 15, Hide 11, Move silently 11		Darkling Weapon
15	Focused Specialist (CM p.34) Transmuter 1	14	13	8	8	5: spellcraft 13, craft alchemy 18, craft writing 7	Bonus: Scribe Scroll, willing deformity (tongue) (HoH p.121). 15: Node Store (CoR p.26)	Rat Familiar (+2 fort saves), scribe scroll. Ban evocation, necromancy, and enchantment. 0 level spells: amanuensis (SpC p.9), detect magic, Launch item (SpC p.120) 1st level spells: Enlarge Person, Reduce person, Hoard Gullet (DrM p.68), Master's Touch (SpC p.139), Shieldbearer (SpC p.188) Weaponshift (SPC p.237)
16	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 7	15	13	8	8	9: climb 16, craft alchemy 19, craft writing 13, craft glassblowing 6		armor of shadow +4
17	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 8	16	13	9	8	9: craft alchemy 20, craft leatherworking 5, craft writing 16		shadowcraft armor
18	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 9	17	14	9	9	9:Hide 15, move silently 15, craft leather working 6	18: Body Pouch (SK p.144)	shadowcraft (quickened), Sharp Shadows mystery (ToM p.150)
19	Shadowsmith (ToM p.132) 10	18	14	10	9	9: craft writing 20, climb 18, Move silently 18		shadowcraft shadowstriking, armor of shadow quickened
20?	Focused Specialist (CM p.34) Transmuter 2	19	14	10	10	5: craft writing 23, craft alchemy 22	Bonus: Deformity (eyes)	1st level spells: Extract Drug (BOVD p.94), Scholar's Touch (RoD p.167)

Spoiler: Level 0-5: Backstory

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Nurgle is the firstborn son of a wealthy copper baron from a clan of deep dwarves that have, through generations of exceedingly brutal conflicts with kobolds, had some genetic fallout due to war crimes. This has lead to this frontier clan of dwarves with reptilian features, who are often derided by more “pureblood” dwarves with less inclusive beliefs. The wise political chamelion deep dwarves figure that without them on the frontlines, all of their tragedy would be experienced by the other clans. The chamelion dwarves take it as a duty to handle the kobold menace, which they parley in clan summits to win protection moneys, gear, and full dwarf standing despite their kobold genes. Pampered by his wealthy parents from a clan of warriors, Nurgle struggled to integrate with his peers and after an accident during a fight that left his younger brother without an eye, he struggled to integrate back with his family clan. On top of that, Nurgle doesn’t even value the honor of his clan, and thus makes a poor representative of the more typical chamelion deep dwarf. He’s fat. He’s selfish. And he exudes a sense of unearned entitlement. Nurgle taught himself to read and spent most of his time in daydreams, much to the consternation of his father, who, by the time Nurgle is willing deformity obese, (level 5) has excommunicated his selfish and seemingly idle son from his clan. Nurgle is pompous, entitled, corpulent, and steadfastly loyal to those he trusts. And these traits give him the clout necessary to live on the outskirts of the chamelion deep dwarf territory near the wintervein dwarf superclan outpost. In his depression, Nurgle has turned to serve an elder evil that he has routine dreams about. This entity he only knows as “the hungry dark.”

As a servant to an Elder Evil, Nurgle receives bonus vile feats at 1 HD and every number of HD divisible by 5 as per Elder Evils page 10.

The first 5 levels are a grabbag that are setting up a number of future feat and class ability combinations. The chamelion template offers racial bonuses to the three primary skills that shadowsmith advances, granting a climbspeed and its +8 to climb checks as well as a +4 and +8 to move silently and hide also. Deep dwarf offers increased poison resistance without granting outright immunity.

Extensive class feature chaining takes place in these levels, some of which are more inelegant than others. The martial classes boost fortitude saves, which is important for the poison healing feat to work. Bear totem barbarian offers the great fortitude feat, a necessary prerequisite for poison healing. Keeper of forbidden lore grants spellcraft and knowledge planes skills as permanent class skills, allowing for activation of the later node magic feats and the shadowsmith pre-requisites. Crafty hunter trades away rage for ranger combat styles and favored enemy class features. Favored enemy is traded for a variant called favored terrain, which grants bonuses to hide and move silently. The Armored Mage ACF for fighter will allow Nurgle to use spells without worry about armor check penalties, so long as he is in light armor, this will help with the mystery casting and ranger combat styles. Hammer and Piton builds the fundamental attack modality of Nurgle. The Ranger is the cheesiest addition to the bunch trading away every feature except track. The wildshape ACF grants fast movement as a barbarian with is then traded away for fox totem’s bonus +4 to hide and move silently. Feel free to simply accept the +10 movement instead if you want to remain more elegant. Wild empathy is traded away because the charisma score here is tanked, and speaking to the plants and animals one is about to kill and eat gives Nurgle a weird sense of power. Willing deformity Obese triples Nurgle’s weight from 220 to 660 lbs. This weight will be instrumental in Nurgle’s characteristic fighting technique: climbing onto his opponents and weighing them down and pretending that they are his “horsey.” Later feats and abilities like the planar touchstone, natural heavyweight, body pouch, the enlarge person spell, all serve to further amplify Nurgle’s weight.

Here’s a link to the SRD http://www.d20srd.org/srd/carryingCapacity.htm#weight”]carrying capacity[/url], Nurgle needs it and so does any DM that has to deal with this monstrosity. At 15 strength at level 4, Nurgle can carry an additional 200 lbs without it affecting his movement, just carry your wealth in copper pieces if necessary, when using the hammer and piton combat techniques discussed below. In an honest assessment, the first five levels of this character are a slog, I don’t suggest springing any Nurgle clones into gameplay unless you start at level 6 or higher.

Spoiler: level 6-10: The Hammer and Python

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The lion’s share of combinations reach maturity by level 10. The first three levels of shadowsmith grant bonuses to climb, hide, and move silently as well as allowing Nurgle to reach into a shadow and create anything that can be described as inflexible that he has the craft skill for. The additional level of fighter grants a bonus feat. With natural heavyweight, Nurgle can carry 400 lbs with change in speed due to dwarf traits, while the check penalties should be entirely obscured by racial bonuses to climb, hide, and move silently. Node spellcasting allows Nurgle to store items, and cast specific spells when in an earth node. This helps augment some of the utility of the mysteries, which are cast as arcane spells by offering a few more options as well as serving as a prerequisite for node store, which will allow us a few more uses of mysteries per day. The third vile feat from worshipping an elder evil is deformity (parasites) which ameliorate the issue of failing a poison fort save on a roll of a natural 1.

Let’s talk about shadowcraft. The description of the skill seems to leave the option of using craft alchemy or craft poisonmaking as a shadow craft. With the ability to make two items at once, all you need is craft (glassblowing) to pull out a vial full of evil for poison attacks. What an amazing benefit! You don’t need to pay the costs associated with production of alchemical substances. A list of both can be found http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?235754-E6-Comprehensive-Magic-Item-Lists&p=12873997#post12873997”] here [/url]. According to the BOVD p.44 “Characters with the Alchemy skill can substitute it for Craft (poisonmaking), but doing so imposes a –4 circumstance penalty on checks related to poisonmaking.” Which frees up some skill points, and allows Nurgle to poison himself into getting his constitution modifier in HP when ever he poisons himself. Which can be every time he uses shadowcraft! Remember, shadowcraft is measured in doublepounds per shadowsmith level, and few poisons weigh more than a pound or two, meaning that you can create a big batch earlier in the day and decant them into other empty vials. Obviously, with poison healer, targetting himself with an inhaled poison would allow him to heal while damaging whomever he was sharing a square with.
Further, some craft skills are entirely artistic in nature, which means that you can reach into a shadow and pull out an entire manuscript!(Races of stone p.131) This is why Nurgle has craft (writing). But who is writing these epics as a standard action? The shadow itself? The Hungry Darkness? Nurgle can then copy these epics, monologues, or reference books as he needs.


Mining ideas extensively from here Nurgle has a unique attack method. Ride them and Weep. Hammer and piton allows Nurgle to use a spike and a light bludgeoning weapon to make a climb check equal to his target’s armor class to basically ride them. Thereafter Nurgle shares a space with his target and moves when his pitoned target moves. Remember, there are a number of http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20396080&postcount=2”] alchemical spikes[/url] that you may be able to use here by shadowcrafting them. You can also craft up some adamantine pitons +1 which can be further enchanted as weapons once you get warrior of darkness levels. The real dream for Nurgle is to obtain a rod of lordly might, which has button #4, shooting a "spike that can anchor in granite" This spike can give you 5 to 50' of reach. Flyers won’t be safe if they get within 50 of you...

If this is followed up with an unproficient garrotte or locking garrotte attack, Nurgle has “reins.” From his perch aboard his opponent, Nurgle can then drop shadowcrafted inhaled poisons in the target’s space and hope that his heft weighs his opponent down in place. As you can see in the hammer and piton optimization thread, there is some disagreement over whether or not you can be considered riding an unwilling funky shaped mount. The ride skill has two -5 penalties that seem to nip that disagreement: riding an Ill-suited mount and riding without a saddle. Add to that the http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050201a”] rules for an aggressive unruly mount in battle[/url] and the http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050222a”] intelligent mounts[/url]. By level 10 with no strength boosting items, Nurgle weighs 660 lbs and can carry 400. Which should be enough weight to give many opponents a heavy encumbrance, giving them -6 to attack rolls, and more than halves their speed. If you make enough of your ride checks, you can use your standard action to bomb them with poison. With Nurgles paltry ranks in ride, some ride optimization through items and allies spells is necessary.

Spoiler: Levels 11-15: magic weapons

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These levels are the crest of the build, adding 2 more levels of shadowsmith, the sight eclipsed mystery, two levels of warrior of darkness, and a transmuter level. Here is where some elegance had to get docked: Nurgle needs to get thrown into an otyough hole to get the iron will feat as a prerequisite to warrior of darkness. According to Wealth by level, he is more than able to afford the 3000gp ability pricetag. Warrior of darkness synergizes with the ability to craft magic weapons with enhancement bonuses, by granting the ability to add ANY weapon enchantment of +1 value. Look at all of those options Use it on your spikes for hammer and piton, use it on shadowcraft weapons that you use weapon shift on, use it liberally.

The planar touchstone grants a higher order ability to multiply your weight by a factor of 5, where the transmuter level allows you to use enlarge self multiply your weight by 8. These factors allow you to really squash your opponents with hammer and piton. (660x8x5=26,400 lbs) Node store allows you to store one of your sight eclipsed mysteries (you cast it as an arcane spell and you get a spell slot when you are in your node) and you can fill the other slot with one of your transmuter spells. You probably aren’t ever going to convince a DM to allow you to shadowcraft your scrolls, but now you can use your scrolls the legitimate way to get extra uses of your mysteries and spells. Weaponshift and master’s touch allow you pull any two weapons of restricted use in the game from the shadows, weapon shift them, darkling weaponize it (use the aptitude enhancement on one of your numerous martial weapon proficiencies if you want to save a spell slot for master’s touch to avoid exotic weapon proficiency issues). With the Wintervein dwarves affilitation, Nurgle gets bonus weapon focus and possibly expanded critical feats that aptitude weapons are perfect for. It’s unsaid if shadowcrafted weapons can be made from alternative metals (or riverine!!!), but kaorti resin kukris are a possible cheesey option. And use them, Pull out bo staff, weapon shift it to a scourge, apply venom enhancement, and whack yourself to heal...Or pull out a few spellstoring harpoons +1 and enlarge your enemies to squash them under your mass. Amanuensis allows you copy the dark mary sue fantasy stories penned by the shadow itself onto paper and sell it for 15-50 gp a pop. The rat familiar can use aid another on ride and climb, and crafting checks because it has all of your skill ranks and it grants you a +2 to fortitude saves. Willing deformity tongue gives you 30’ blindsense. All of the possibilities at this point are on the table the only caveat is that this wealth of enhancement weapons +1 has to be used by Nurgle himself. At this point, Nurgle takes all the credit for his shadow authorship and seeks to have his writings in every library in the world.

Spoiler: Levels 16-20? A denouement of power

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4 more levels of shadowsmith, and if you are allowed LA buy off, 1 more level of transmuter. The shadowsmith levels add +4 more to hide, move silently, and climb checks. These also allow quickened mundane shadowcrafting (sooo...Even More poisons and alchemical substances). What a terrible capstone this prestige class has! At 9th level of shadowsmith, Nurgle obtains his third mystery, a wierd little power that does 1d6 damage + shadowsmith level to melee strikers. More importantly, this opens up the ability to cast 3rd level mysteries, which you cast as third level spells, which means that with node spellcasting, Nurgle has access to the node door spell in any earth node. There is no planar prohibition on the spell and it offers the ability to both teleport and planeshift, which helps a bit with the recharge conditions on the planar touchstone, depending on how far the life mould foundry is from the closest level 3 earth node. Body pouch allows you to stuff heavy things inside yourself to better weigh down your pitoned foes. If LA buyoff is an option, the transmuter level delivers the spell scholar’s touch, which Nurgle can use to make new and integrative reference books. That’s not nothing... The final elder evil vile feat of Nurgle is deformity eyes - because that’s an ok vile feat. Body pouch allows you to store your rat familiar safely, but if Nurgle is less risk-averse, filling that body cavity with a giant bucket of lead can add 200-300 lbs of weight for hammer and piton shenanigans.

This entree highlights every tiny thing that the shadowsmith class offers: Extra mysteries can be stored as scrolls, and they can be used for node magic. Climb is optimized out the wazoo. High hide and move silently scores allow Nurgle to sneak up and get ambushing with poisons. Mundane shadowcrafting was stretched to it’s limits and then shattered by warrior of darkness + weapon shift + enchanted shadow weapon.

If Nurgle had a dreamteam, he would have someone with scrying abilities, and someone who can grant big con, dex, or str buffs. Scrying is important because many of Nurgles abilities are limited uses per day, and for long stretches, his shadowcrafted items only last for 3-6 hours. Pre-making them before an encounter is better than going in blind and wasting standard actions. Boosters to physical ability scores are definitely a huge help on this character due to skill checks and poison healing. Strength boosters not only help with weapon to hit and damage, but with carrying capacity. Nurlge can weapon shift basically anything into a 100lb cabre to weigh down or throw from the back of his unfortunate pony, especially if he slathers a contact poison all over the weapon with his bare hands (to heal 5 or more damage)...


Equipment Wishlist:
Necessary: Otyough Hole, Boosters to Ride skill that aren’t saddle based
Nice to have: Rod of lordly might, str, dex, or con boosters, (str. For damage, dex for AC and ride checks, Con for more poison healing), riding boots (MIC).

[Heliomance]

Build number 3:

Aya Shadowlight

Once, I was poor. It was meant to be that way, I think. I preferred it that way. It made me better. But it was also hard. Lacking in the tools of my trade, I had to make do with whatever I could find. I never wanted to keep things for long, though.

When I first felt the pull of the shadows, that helped me. I could make the things that I needed. Things that made me powerful. They drew me to new places, from the realms of shadow to the open sea. Wherever I went, I was ready for it.

Spoiler: Stub

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Chaotic Exalted SA Thug 7/Shadowsmith 10/Scarlet Corsair 3
STR 10 DEX 16 CON 14 INT 12 WIS 14 CHA 12
DEX is increased by 1 every 4 levels. Vow of Poverty grants DEX, then CON, then WIS, then INT
Her ability scores at level 20 are:
STR 10 DEX 29 CON 20 INT 14 WIS 16 CHA 12

Spoiler: Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features	Vow of Poverty
1st	SA Thug 1	+1	+4	+3	+2	Bluff, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Climb, Intimidate 4, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 2 (Local) 1	Sacred Vow, Vow of Poverty, Nymph's Kiss	Sneak Attack (1d6)	AC +4
2nd	SA Thug 2	+2	+5	+3	+2	Bluff, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Climb, Intimidate 5, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes, Local) 2	Sacred Strike	-
3rd	SA Thug 3	+3	+5	+3	+2	Bluff, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Climb, Intimidate 6, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes, Local) 3	Bind Vestige	Sneak Attack (2d6)	AC +5, Endure Elements
4th	SA Thug 4	+4	+6	+4	+3	Bluff, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Climb, Intimidate 7, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 6	Sanctify Martial Strike (Liquid Embers)*	-	Exalted Strike +1
5th	SA Thug 5	+5	+6	+4	+3	Bluff, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Climb, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	Group Fake-out (Skill Trick)	Sneak Attack (3d6)	Sustenance
6th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 1	+6	+6	+6	+3	Hide 7, Bluff, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Climb, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	Improved Bind Vestige, Sanctify Martial Strike (Acid Flask)*, Timely Misdirection (Skill Trick)	Touch of Shadow, [Sneak Attack (5d6)]	AC +6, Deflect +1
7th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 2	+7	+7	+9	+4	Hide 10, Bluff, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Climb, Intimidate 8, Move Silently 6, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	-	Shroud of Shadow	Resistance +1, DEX +2
8th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 3	+8	+8	+9	+5	Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Move Silently 11, Bluff, Climb, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	Sanctify Martial Strike (Holy Water)*	Shadow Craft (Basic)	NA +1, Mind Shielding
9th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 4	+9	+8	+10	+5	Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Move Silently 12, Bluff 8 Intimidate 10, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	Craven	Armour of Shadow (+2)	AC +7
10th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 5	+10	+8	+10	+5	Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 13, Bluff 10, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	Gift of Discernment	Widen Shroud	Exalted Strike +2, Good Strike, DR 5/magic
11th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 6	+11	+10	+12	+6	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 14, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	-	Shadow Craft (Enchanted)	DEX +4, CON +2
12th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 7	+12	+10	+12	+6	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 15, Craft (Alchemy) 3, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	Martial Study (Shadow Jaunt), Gift of Faith	Armour of Shadow +4	AC +8, Deflect +2, Greater Sustenance
13th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 8	+13	+11	+14	+7	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 16, Craft (Alchemy) 6, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7	-	Shadow Craft (Armour)	Resistance +2, Resist Energy 5
14th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 9	+14	+12	+14	+8	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 17, Craft (Alchemy) 8, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7, Profession (Sailor) 1	Favoured of the Companions	Shadow Craft (Quickened)	Exalted Strike +3, Freedom of Movement
15th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 10	+15	+13	+16	+9	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 18, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7, Profession (Sailor) 4	Martial Stance (Assassin's Stance)	Shadow Craft (Shadow Striking), Armour of Shadow (Quickened), [Sneak Attack (7d6)]	AC +9, DEX +6, CON +4, WIS +2, DR 5/evil
16th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 10/Scarlet Corsair 1	+16	+13	+18	+9	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 18, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7, Profession (Sailor) 4, Tumble 7	Improved Feint, Intuitive Attack	-	NA +2
17th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 10/Scarlet Corsair 2	+17	+14	+20	+10	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 18, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7, Profession (Sailor) 4, Tumble 12	Acrobatic Backstab (Skill Trick)	Sneak Attack (4d6) [8d6]	Exalted Strike +4, Resistance +3, Regeneration
18th	SA Thug 5/Shadowsmith 10/Scarlet Corsair 3	+18	+15	+20	+11	Bluff, Climb, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 18, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7, Profession (Sailor) 4, Tumble 19	Staggering Strike, Quell the Profane*	Corsair's Feint	AC +10, Deflect +3, True Seeing
19th	SA Thug 6/Shadowsmith 10/Scarlet Corsair 3	+19	+17	+22	+13	Bluff, Tumble 22, Climb 20, Craft (Weaponsmithing), Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 18, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7, Profession (Sailor) 4	-	-	DEX +8, CON +6, WIS +4, INT +2, DR 10/Evil
20th	SA Thug 7/Shadowsmith 10/Scarlet Corsair 3	+20	+17	+22	+13	Bluff, Climb, Tumble 23, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 21, Hide, Intimidate, Move Silently 18, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Knowledge (Arcana, The Planes) 3 (Local) 7, Profession (Sailor) 4	Vow of Purity	Sneak Attack (5d6) [9d6]	Exalted Strike +5, Resist Energy 15

*The ascetic doesn't, but doesn't need to, meet the prerequisites for this bonus feat.
[This sneak attack is granted by binding Andromalius and later by being in the Assassin's Stance all the time. The normal sneak attack class feature is listed outside of this]

There is some dispute about whether, if one takes Nymph's Kiss at first level, the extra skill point is quadrupled. I see no reason that it should be apart from common sense, something sorely lacking in the RAW. If it is, then you can probably work out roughly where the extra skill points would go.

Let's have a few reminders:
- Vow of Poverty allows me to have no material possessions (no word on immaterial possessions; yes we abuse this horribly) except for any number of nonmagical nonmasterwork simple weapons, a set of nonmagical clothes, one day's rations in a simple bag, and a spell component pouch. In return I get eleven bonus exalted feats, some exalted bonuses to AC, some other bonuses to AC, resistance to saves, DR, energy resistance, and inherent ability bonuses as well as any weapon I wield becoming effectively magical, which we will also use to our advantage.
- Andromalius and the assassin's stance are effectively always on and give +2d6 sneak attack each. Andromalius gives other neat stuff like locate object and see invisibility practically at will. The shadow jaunt is a 50 ft teleport 1/encounter.
- Craven is + 1/level to sneak attack and some penalties against fear. This is very nice.

Spoiler: Mysteries

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The mysteries known depend on how you read the restrictions. If you read it as "All must be from the same path", then she takes Steel Shadows/Sight Eclipsed/Sharp Shadows. If you read it as "Do everything like a shadowcaster", then she takes Steel Shadows/Dusk and Dawn/Sight Eclipsed." If you just read it as "You can do what you like so long as you don't skip paths" she takes Steel Shadows/Sight Eclipsed/Dusk and Dawn.

Spoiler: Build level 5

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So, level 5, before the secret ingredient. Here, we make use of a couple of things:

1: There is no limit to the number of daggers that VoP allows you to have about your person, and we can have a morningstar too. We can even bring a spare! And a crossbow! And other delightful things!
2: For a rogueish character, we have hella AC. Normally a rogue wants to avoid wearing armour with an ACP so will get a +2 armour bonus, we get a +5 exalted bonus instead. Nice!
3: Full bab sneak attacks are nice.

Either in combat by flanking with the morningstar, or at range by throwing daggers from hiding (not that we're amazing at hiding, but we can have a go on dex alone), we can fight things with the help of a party.

Spoiler: Build level 8

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Hello there good fellow I would like to purchase the most powerful class feature this class has yes that will do nicely have a nice day thank you for your co-operation.

Okay, in case you didn't notice a few weird things about the Shadow Craft ability:

- The items are made of shadowstuff, which is pretty much definitively not a material possession.
- The items cannot be flexible, but nothing stops you making them fluid.
- You don't need any sort of craft check to make nonmagical items unless you want to mimic the appearance of a unique item.
- There are practically no other restrictions on the kind of items you can make, apart from a strong implication that they can't be magical.

For example, there's nothing stopping me making Liquid Embers (Planar Handbook) which is just a better version of alchemist's fire, nor is there any reason I shouldn't be able to make a chaos flask and turn it into a diminutive creature. I'm also able to make shapesand which I can turn into all the flexible items which I couldn't make directly. And finally, the objects I'm creating aren't material possessions, so I can finally have a godforsaken martial weapon.

Now there's nothing massively special about being able to create shapesand, of course. Any class can use shapesand. The fact that you can make chaos flasks without spending 100 GP each time (or 33 GP and a while spent tinkering) is appreciated, but there's something else silly. In 3.5, there's nothing stopping you using a splash weapon to deliver sneak attacks. (In Pathfinder, they fixed this by adding a line to the throw splash weapon description, probably because they realised how good "Flask rogues" are, but that's Pathfinder for you.)

The main problem I have with Flask Rogue is that you're throwing a lot of money at things to try to kill them. If you make one single full attack of flasks, one-handed, in every encounter, then you're throwing 4680 GP at your enemies in the number of encounters it should take to reach 20th level if you just stick to acid; this may not sound like much but 130gp of that is at first level. If you make more attacks than that then you have a bad time.

Aya, however, can stock up on more expensive items like Liquid Embers with impunity (a rogue who tries using liquid embers for every attack will run up a 280,800 gp bill). She can create two lots of liquid embers with a single use of her ability, or a single container with 6lb of the stuff in (or two containers with 3lb of the stuff in). While this might not make it any more effective, she can alternatively make some shapesand and then craft that into empty flasks and just pour the liquid embers into them, effectively making 6 flasks full of them (choosing "Enough shapesand to make the flask part of this item" as one of the things she makes and "Some liquid embers" as the other part. She may only be able to make 5 due to difficulties with containing the liquid embers in the first place, but can work around that.

Then, she throws her liquid embers from hiding. A lot of things happen here:

1: She makes an attack roll. This is a ranged touch attack against flat-footed AC, and she gets +14 to it. She'll be okay.
2: She makes her damage roll. It's a magical attack due to exalted strike, which also adds 1 to the damage. She also gets the effects of sanctify martial strike if the target is evil (+1 damage) or an evil outsider (+1d4 damage). She also gets sneak attack, which is 5d6 against neutral (or good, which seems unlikely) creatures and 5d8 against evil creatures, and the damage itself is 3d6 against the target and 1d6 against everything else that gets in her way.
3: The target, if alive, takes 3d6 more fire damage the next round.

Oh, and if she both gets a surprise round and wins initiative, she can do that again another twice before anyone gets to respond. Yeah.

Another thing she can do is create drugs, poisons and whatever else. But she's exalted good and ravages aren't very effective. Still, using drow poison isn't evil (the irony of this is noted in the part of the BoED which says it's true) so she can try that. There's also a few alchemical items which heal hit point damage but that's probably not worth.

Spoiler: Build level 10

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More flasks. At this level it's 10 lbs for each of two uses of the ability. Craven is a nice feat. Sneak attack 5d6+10 is neat. Sneak attack 5d8+10 vs evil creatures is neat. Vow of Poverty gives me more things.

10 isn't a special level for this build. She keeps on doing everything that she used to only more of it.

Spoiler: Build level 15

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Having finished the SI, we now have 5 uses of 20 lbs of stuff. We also have 7d6 sneak attack. Teleportation. We can make things fast. Our AC has actually scaled meaningfully. Still full base attack bonus. Why is it that these competitions always ask you to showcase one level before you get your shiny extra attack?

Anyway, a full attack made against a flat-footed enemy deals 222 damage to neutral creatures, 246 to evil creatures and 250.5 to evil outsiders, on average, as well as 201 damage to any neutral creature caught in the blast, 225 to any evil creature in the blast and 229.5 to any evil outsider in the blast. Hilariously you can probably take the penalty for TWF and still hit reliably, but I wouldn't try it.

Spoiler: Build level 20

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Yarr. I be a pirate.

What's new? You have more sneak attack. Okay, but what's new and isn't just more numbers? You get a free feint (with a cooldown so long you probably won't use it twice). Which is on every opponent. That's cool. You also make anyone flat-footed by moving past them. Neat. And you can feint as a move action even when your free feint has been used. Which is also neat.

Resist energy 15 is a nice boost from VoP I guess. So is DR 10/evil

Spoiler: Sources

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Core, Tome of Magic, Tome of Battle, Champions of Ruin, Book of Exalted Deeds, Complete Adventurer, Complete Scoundrel, Stormwrack. Sandstorm and Planar Handbook are used for the important items but not actually as the build.

[Heliomance]

Build number 4:

Natasha: the overshadowed

Spoiler: backstory

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Spoiler: Obscurity

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Natasha set up in the office. She’d shown up early for her interview. Everyone knew it made a good impression. Pretend your time was so plentiful it didn’t matter if you frittered away a few minutes getting to places before you were needed.

She smoothed her skirt over her knee for the hundredth time and switched her purse from one hand to the other, ever so careful with the contents inside.

“Mr. d’Cannith will see you now, miss,” the receptionist chimed with a nod of his warforged head. Natasha could hear him tick from where she was sitting. She considered offering a tune-up, but wasn’t sure if that was racist, so kept it to herself. Instead, she settled for saying thank you and showed herself in.

She went through the normal motions for being one of Cannith’s engineers: what got her interested in building things, where she saw herself a few years from now, and so on. Natasha just wanted to get it over with. She knew what was coming.

“Thanks for your time, we’ll definitely let you know if we have anything suitable for you. But while I have you here, I was wondering if I could ask you to help me with something,” he said.

Her interviewer reached into his desk and set a small walnut box on the table. Natasha opened it and pretended to be surprised when she saw a pocketwatch inside.

She pretended to be surprised when she saw it, like this was just a question he was asking her, one person to another. Natasha unpacked the watch and unclipped the fob. She lifted the crushed velvet lid from beneath it, tools for repair conveniently underneath.

“I’m afraid these little things get away from me sometimes, you understand,” he said, as if she had watches she could just leave lying around in boxes unused. The one she’d been practicing on lay ticking what she hoped was quietly enough not to be heard in her purse. Even if she got the job, she’d need to deposit it back in the pawn shop soon to keep her finances in order.

She unscrewed the casing when the tiny screwdriver in her hand let out a distressingly unexpected crack.

Her interviewer let something like genuine concern cross his brow. Did he use his own watch for this little game? Maybe the two of them weren’t so different.

“Blunted thing. Don’t worry about it, I’ll just,” Natasha flipped on his desk lamp and put the screwdriver under the bulb. She reached into its shadow with her hand and massaged the tip into the right shape. Soon enough the screws were back in place, and the timepiece was in proper working order again.

Her interviewer, with what was probably too much zeal, snatched it back and held it up to his ear.

“You’re a Karrn, eh? I’m supposed to be skiing there next weekend. Hear it’s lovely this time of year,” he said.

Natasha bit her tongue. She thought she’d been hiding her accent well enough, but some things were harder to hide. “Yes. I trust that won’t be a problem.”

“Oh, no, no, nothing like that. Just making conversation.” He stood to shake her hand. “What’s that you have in your hand?” He indicated the shadow of the screwdriver.

“Just a trick from school,” Natasha said with a wave of her hand. “I’ve got some designs for the damn I hear Cannith is building next year…” she began, but didn’t get to finish.

“I’d love to see it,” he said.

“Prepare to be disappointed.” Natasha handed it over, and after he’d looked it over for a second or two, it vanished.

“Ha! That’s delightful. And that’s something you can just do?” he asked.

“Well, yes, but—“

He waved her out the door. “I’m afraid that’s all the time we have right now, just wait to hear from us, and I assure you, you will hear from us. Good day, miss.”

Natasha stood outside in the shadow of Cannith’s offices. A storm cloud boomed overhead. She reached into the shade and pulled out an umbrella.

Spoiler: Chirascuro

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Natasha fiddled with compact and spun her finger around its edge, experimenting with the shade of eyeliner her reflection wore. The startup cost was high, but in the long run, she was much happier with an illusory makeup kit. For one thing, it didn’t run. A figure approached her from behind. She muscled down her compulsory military training and remained seated.

Her date greeted her with a polite peck on the cheek. His shaman had consulted Natasha’s oracle and they’d found the two of their star charts aligned acceptably enough for dinner in the city. It was what she needed to get her mind off work, or the lack of it.

She listened to him talk about his own job, something glamorous, an acrobat for Phiarlan. She could scarcely believe it.

Their waiter dropped off their respective bowls of noodles without a word, picking up on their conversation as it moved from mild to moderate. They weren’t at the stage where they ate together off one plate yet.

Her date poked at his with a fork. Natasha’s place setting was bare, and a large party getting out from a production of “Silk and Steel” just arrived, so their waiter was nowhere to be found.

“Yeah, I figure in a few more months, they’ll move me to the evening show instead of just matinee. Gotta pay your dues though, right,” her date said. He reached a hand across the table to hold hers.

Natasha held his hand in hers and reached into his shadow for a pair of chopsticks with her other. She began to eat her dinner.

“That must be interesting, working in the theater. Do you get to travel a lot doing that kind of work?” she asked once her mouth was no longer full of noodles.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so. Sorry, but how did you do that?”

Natasha sighed, handed over the sticks, and surreptitiously prepared another pair before her food got cold

Spoiler: Penumbra

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Natasha opened a letter from Cannith with a shadowed letter opener. She could never find her real one when she needed it.

Inside, the seal was from the man who’d interviewed her. He said he’d run the idea of shadowed tools up the flagpole at Cannith, but there just wasn’t enough demand in the current market. He hoped she understood, and that it wouldn’t affect her relationship with the company in her future endeavors. Not one word about the engineering position.

It was a form letter.

She tossed it in the furnace.

Later that evening, she took in a matinee of “Silk and Steel” to get her mind off things. The feats on display were dazzling. The fire eaters blew flames high enough in the air, even the seats on the second story could feel their heat.

Her date from the night before climbed the boards next and began his high wire act. She hardly recognized him with his makeup on. He gleamed like he was carved from alabaster in the limelight of the stage.

Every time he made the jump from one cord to the next or grabbed onto the trapeze with his hand, his teeth, or even his ankle, Natasha couldn’t help but feel concern. Old habits.

When one of his ropes gave way, she felt something else.

The emcee’s voice boomed telepathically in the audience.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is not part of the show. If any of you have any way to offer assistance, please do so now. Otherwise, please remain calm. Help is on the way.”

Natasha looked around the auditorium. No one stood up.

She got out of her seat and got onto the stage, shielding her eyes from the lights.

“Close the curtain,” she said in a normal voice. It didn’t carry much.

Silence.

“Close the damned curtain!”

The hands above on the catwalk obliged, casting her in shadow.

She reached into it and propped a ladder against the wall. Once it was in position, the acrobat slid down it easily enough. The curtain parted and the crowd even gave her a round of applause.

The emcee patted her gamely on the back before suggesting she take her seat for the rest of the show.

“Tell me, miss, have you ever considered running away and joining the circus? We’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Natasha couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll get back to you.”

Spoiler: stub

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human warblade 5/shadowsmith 5/exemplar 5/shadowsmith 10

Spoiler: abilities

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str 12
dex 16
con 14
int 16 (increases here)
wis 10
cha 8

Spoiler: table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Warblade 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	balance 4, craft (armorsmithing) 4, craft (weaponsmithing) 4, diplo 4, intimidate 4, k (arcana) 4 (2), k (planes) 4 (2), tumble 4	criminal background, darkstalker	Battle clarity (reflex saves), weapon aptitude
2nd	Warblade 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	balance 1 (5), craft (armorsmithing) 1 (5), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (5), diplo 1 (5), intimidate 1 (5), k (arcana) 1 (2.5), k (planes) 1 (2.5), tumble 1 (5)		uncanny dodge
3rd	Warblade 3	+3	+3	+1	+1	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (6), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (6), diplo 1 (6), intimidate 1 (6), k (arcana) 1 (3), k (planes) 1 (3), sleight of hand 1, tumble 1 (3)	skill focus (craft: weaponsmithing)	Battle ardor (critical confirmation)
4th	Warblade 4	+4	+4	+1	+1	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (7), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (7), diplo 1 (7), intimidate 1 (7), sleight of hand 3 (4), tumble 1 (7)
5th	Warblade 5	+5	+4	+1	+1	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (8), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (8), intimidate 1 (8), sleight of hand 4 (8), tumble 1 (8)		Bonus feat (Iron Will)
6th	Shadowsmith 1	+6/+1	+4	+3	+1	bluff 5, craft (armorsmithing) 1 (9), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (9), sleight of hand 1 (1) 9, never outnumbered	master pickpocket	Touch of shadow
7th	Shadowsmith 2	+7/+2	+4	+4	+1	bluff 5 (10), craft (armorsmithing) 1 (10), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (10), sleight of hand 1 (10), social recovery		Shroud of shadow
8th	Shadowsmith 3	+8/+3	+5	+4	+2	bluff 1 (11), craft (armorsmithing) 1 (11), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (11), hide 7, sleight of hand 1 (11),		Shadow craft (basic)
9th	Shadowsmith 4	+9/+4	+5	+5	+2	bluff 1 (12), craft (armorsmithing) 1 (12), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (12), hide 5 (12), ms 2, sleight 1 (12)	shape soulmeld (shadow mantle)	Armor of shadow +2
10th	Shadowsmith 5	+10/+5	+5	+5	+2	bluff 1 (13), craft (armorsmithing) 1 (13), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (13), hide 1 (13), ms 6 (8), sleight of hand 1 (13)		Widen shroud
11th	Exemplar 1	+10/+5	+5	+5	+4	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (14), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (14), sleight of hand 1 (14), umd 10		Skill artistry (craft: weaponsmithing), skill mastery(hide, ms, sleight of hand, umd)
12th	Exemplar 2	+11/+6/+1	+5	+5	+5	autohypnosis 5, craft (armorsmithing) 1 (15), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (15), forgery 1, sleight of hand 1 (15), umd 4 (15)	open lesser chakra (shoulder)	Lend talent (one-half penalty), skill mastery (bluff)
13th	Exemplar 3	+12/+7/+2	+6	+6	+5	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (16), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (16), iaijutsu focus 9, sleight of hand 1 (16), umd 1 (16)		Bonus feat (improved initiative), skill mastery (tumble)
14th	Exemplar 4	+13/+8/+3	+6	+6	+6	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (17), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (17), iaijutsu focus 8 (17), sleight of hand 1 (17), umd 1 (17), tumble 1 (9)		Skill artistry (sleight of hand), sustaining presence, skill mastery (climb)
15th	Exemplar 5	+13/+8/+3	+6	+6	+6	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (18), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (18), hide 5 (18) iaijutsu focus 1 (18), sleight of hand 1 (18), umd 1 (18), mosquito’s bite	combat reflexes	Persuasive performance, skill mastery (iaijutsu focus)
16th	Shadowsmith 6	+14/+9/+4	+7	+7	+7	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (19), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (19), hide 1 (19), ms 6 (14), sleight of hand 1 (19) nimble stand		Shadow craft (enchanted)
17th	Shadowsmith 7	+15/+10/+5	+7	+7	+7	craft (armorsmithing) 1 (20), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (20), hide 1 (20), ms 6 (20), sleight of hand 1 (20) acrobatic backstab		Armor of shadow +4
18th	Shadowsmith 8	+16/+11/+6/+1	+7	+8	+7	climb 5, craft (armorsmithing) 1 (21), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (21), hide 1 (21), ms 1 (21), sleight of hand 1 (21), twisted charge	shape soulmeld (phase cloak)	Shadow craft (armor)
19th	Shadowsmith 9	+17/+12/+7/+2	+8	+8	+8	climb 5 (10), craft (armorsmithing) 1 (22), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (22), hide 1 (22), ms 1(22), sleight of hand 1 (22) corner perch		Shadow craft (quickened)
20th	Shadowsmith 10	+18/+13/+8/+3	+8	+9	+8	climb 7 (17), craft (armorsmithing) 1 (23), craft (weaponsmithing) 1 (23), hide 1 (23), ms 1(23), sleight of hand 1 (23)		Shadow craft (shadow striking), armor of shadow (quickened)

Spoiler: maneuvers

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1: leading the attack (raven) , douse the flames (raven), wolf fang strike (tiger)
2: steely strike (iron)
3: wall of blades (iron)
4: nothing (replace steely strike with mountain hammer)
5: iron heart surge (iron)

stances:
hunter’s stance, leading the charge

Spoiler: playtips

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Spoiler: lvl 5

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You function like a normal warblade here, so beat up the bad guys and enjoy your enhanced mobility and defensive punch from your maneuvers. Invest your skill points wisely, and you’ll be making your own goodies in shadowsmith in no time

Spoiler: lvl 10

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As far as mysteries go, if you can pick all three from an apprentice path, then fill out ebon whispers. While its first two are pretty disappointing, the defensive punch of flicker cannot be overstated: an abrupt jaunt for the rest of us schmucks. If you need two 1s and one 2, then grab bend perspective for scouting, quicker than the eye to beef up your sleight of hand, and piercing sight to see invisible foes more easily.

As for the rest of the class, it greatly boosts your affinity for stealth. Enjoy entertaining crowds by making your creations disappear and by astounding them by the mere act of pulling something from nothing. As time progresses, their reactions will only become more extreme.

You’re making shadow weapons by now. Your go-to is probably the duom, since it allows you to make attacks both adjacent and within 10 feet, handy for aoos later on, especially once you flip on your aura of darkness and can catch enemies flat-footed by tumbling through their squares thanks to all your skill tricks.

Spoiler: lvl 15

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Exemplar’s online now, and persuasive performance is doing its thing. Now people are utterly enraptured watching you craft things from shadow. Enjoy it, and while they’re watching your left hand, feel free to take a tip or two with your right. Your sleight of hand modifier is fairly huge by now, and you can act with more or less total impunity. The shadow mantle is handy when you need to blot out others’ line of sight and make a quick getaway, and also allows you to see in your own darkness.

Exemplar grants all skills, including umd and iaijutsu focus. Since shadowsmith allows you to craft any weapon, this includes standbys such as the gnomish quickrazor if you should so choose. A cheap wand of scholar’s touch obviates the need for EWP if you choose to go down this route, granting proficiency with whatever you can imagine as long as it fits the parameters of the class

Master pickpocket allows you to strip enemies bare in no time at all, and with your bonus, you ought to be able to take anything that isn’t nailed down.

Spoiler: lvl 20

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You can make much nicer shadow stuff now, and share your goodies with your friends. Your skill bonuses are all high enough to do anything you put your mind to, so cover weaknesses with the magic item abilities of your crafted weapons and armor as the situation calls for. The phase cloak boosts climb further and allows you to turn ethereal when you move for more stealth and mobility related fun.

Spoiler: sources

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criminal background, master pickpocket: city of stormreach
open chakra (lesser), shape soulmeld: magic of incarnum
warblade: tome of battle
exemplar: complete adventurer
shadowsmith: tome of magic
darkstalker: lords of madness
combat reflexes, skill focus: srd

[Heliomance]

Build number 5:

Darkshot Shadowmover
Halfling (Halfling/Planar) Rogue 7/Shadowsmith 3/Rogue +3/Shadowsmith +7
Chaotic Good

Spoiler: Stats

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Str 14 -2 12
Con 10 -- 10
Dex 16 +2 18
Int 16 -- 16
Wis 10 -- 10
Cha 10 -- 10

All increases to INT

Spoiler: Build Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Halfling Rogue	+0	+0	+2	+0	4 Climb 4 4 C:armorsmithing 4 4 Disable Device 4 4 Hide 4 2 K:arcana 2 4 Listen 4 4 Move Silently 4 4 Open Lock 4 4 Search 4 4 Spot 4 4 Use Magic Device 4	1st: Darkstalker	Ranged Sneak Attack (+2d6/+1d6/+0d6); Trapfinding
2nd	Rogue 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	1 Balance 1 1 Climb 5 1 C:armorsmithing 5 1 Disable Device 5 1 Hide 5 - K:arcana 2 1 Listen 5 1 Move Silently 5 1 Open Lock 5 1 Search 5 1 Spot 5 1 Use Magical Device 5	--	Evasion
3rd	(Halfling) Rogue 3	+2	+1	+3	+1	- Balance 1 1 Climb 6 - C:armorsmithing 5 1 Disable Device 6 1 Hide 6 2 K:arcana 3 1 Listen 6 1 Move Silently 6 1 Open Lock 6 1 Search 6 1 Spot 6 1 Use Magical Device 6	3rd: Point Blank Shot	Ranged Sneak Attack (+3d6/+2d6/+1d6); Thief's Luck
4th	Rogue 4	+3	+1	+4	+1	2 Balance 3 1 Climb 7 - C:armorsmithing 5 1 Disable Device 7 1 Hide 7 - K:arcana 3 1 Listen 7 1 Move Silently 7 1 Open Lock 7 1 Search 7 1 Spot 7 1 Use Magical Device 7	--	Uncanny Dodge
5th	Rogue 5	+3	+1	+4	+1	2 Balance 5 1 Climb 8 - C:armorsmithing 5 1 Disable Device 8 1 Hide 8 - K:arcana 3 1 Listen 8 1 Move Silently 8 1 Open Lock 8 1 Search 8 1 Spot 8 1 Use Magical Device 8	--	Sneak Attack (+4d6/+3d6/+2d6)
6th	(Planar) Rogue 6	+4	+2	+5	+2	- Balance 5 - Climb 8 - C:armorsmithing 5 1 Disable Device 9 - Hide 8 - K:arcana 3 8 K:theplanes 8 - Listen 8 - Move Silently 8 - Open Lock 8 1 Search 9 - Spot 8 1 Use Magical Device 9	6th: Ancestral Relic	Breach Sense
7th	Rogue 7	+5	+2	+5	+2	- Balance 5 - Climb 8 - C:armorsmithing 5 - Disable Device 9 2 Hide 10 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 2 Listen 10 2 Move Silently 10 2 Open Lock 10 - Search 9 2 Spot 10 1 Use Magical Device 10	--	Sneak Attack (+5d6/+4d6/+3d6)
8th	Shadowsmith 1	+6/1	+2	+7	+2	- Balance 5 - Climb 8 1 C:alchemy 1 - C:armorsmithing 5 5 C:weaponsmithing 5 - Disable Device 9 1 Hide 11 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 10 1 Move Silently 11 - Open Lock 10 - Search 9 - Spot 10 - Use Magical Device 10 2 Skill Trick: Corner Perch	--	Touch of Shadow; Mystery Known (Steel Shadows)
9th	Shadowsmith 2	+7/2	+2	+8	+2	- Balance 5 - Climb 8 4 C:alchemy 5 - C:armorsmithing 5 4 C:weaponsmithing 9 - Disable Device 9 1 Hide 12 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 10 1 Move Silently 12 - Open Lock 10 - Search 9 - Spot 10 - Use Magical Device 10 - Skill Trick: Corner Perch	9th: Woodland Archer	Shroud of Shadow
10th	Shadowsmith 3	+8/3	+3	+8	+3	- Balance 5 2 Climb 10 1 C:alchemy 6 3 C:armorsmithing 8 - C:weaponsmithing 9 - Disable Device 9 1 Hide 13 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 10 1 Move Silently 13 - Open Lock 10 - Search 9 - Spot 10 - Use Magical Device 10 - Skill Trick: Corner Perch 2 Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Shadow Craft (Basic)
11th	Rogue 8	+9/4	+3	+9	+3	- Balance 5 - Climb 10 - C:alchemy 6 - C:armorsmithing 8 - C:weaponsmithing 9 4 Disable Device 13 1 Hide 14 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 1 Listen 11 1 Move Silently 14 - Open Lock 10 1 Search 10 - Spot 10 4 Use Magical Device 14 - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Improved Uncanny Dodge
12th	Rogue 9	+9/4	+4	+9	+4	- Balance 5 - Climb 10 - C:alchemy 6 - C:armorsmithing 8 - C:weaponsmithing 9 2 Disable Device 15 1 Hide 15 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 2 Listen 13 1 Move Silently 15 - Open Lock 10 - Search 10 5 Spot 15 1 Use Magical Device 15 - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	12th: Planar Touchstone	Sneak Attack (+6d6/+5d6/+4d6); Thief's Luck 2/day
13th	(Halfling) Rogue 10	+10/5	+4	+10	+4	- Balance 5 - Climb 10 - C:alchemy 6 1 C:armorsmithing 9 - C:weaponsmithing 9 1 Disable Device 16 1 Hide 16 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 3 Listen 16 1 Move Silently 16 2 Open Lock 12 1 Search 11 1 Spot 16 1 Use Magical Device 16 - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Sniping Mastery
14th	Shadowsmith 4	+11/6/1	+4	+11	+4	- Balance 5 - Climb 10 1 C:alchemy 7 5 C:armorsmithing 14 - C:weaponsmithing 9 - Disable Device 16 1 Hide 17 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 16 1 Move Silently 17 - Open Lock 12 - Search 11 - Spot 16 - Use Magical Device 16 2 Skill Trick: Clarity of Vision - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Armor of Shadow +2
15th	Shadowsmith 5	+12/7/2	+4	+11	+4	- Balance 5 3 Climb 13 1 C:alchemy 8 4 C:armorsmithing 18 - C:weaponsmithing 9 - Disable Device 16 1 Hide 18 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 16 1 Move Silently 18 - Open Lock 12 - Search 11 - Spot 16 - Use Magical Device 16 - Skill Trick: Clarity of Vision - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	15th: Craft Wondrous Item	Widen Shroud; Mystery Known (Sight Eclipsed)
16th	Shadowsmith 6	+13/8/3	+5	+12	+5	- Balance 5 5 Climb 18 2 C:alchemy 10 1 C:armorsmithing 19 1 C:weaponsmithing 10 - Disable Device 16 1 Hide 19 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 16 1 Move Silently 19 - Open Lock 12 - Search 11 - Spot 16 - Use Magical Device 16 - Skill Trick: Clarity of Vision - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Shadowcraft (Enchanted)
17th	Shadowsmith 7	+14/9/4	+5	+12	+5	- Balance 5 2 Climb 20 2 C:alchemy 12 1 C:armorsmithing 20 4 C:weaponsmithing 14 - Disable Device 16 1 Hide 20 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 16 1 Move Silently 20 - Open Lock 12 - Search 11 - Spot 16 - Use Magical Device 16 - Skill Trick: Clarity of Vision - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Armor of Shadow +4
18th	Shadowsmith 8	+15/10/5	+5	+13	+5	- Balance 5 1 Climb 21 2 C:alchemy 14 1 C:armorsmithing 21 5 C:weaponsmithing 19 - Disable Device 16 1 Hide 21 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 16 1 Move Silently 21 - Open Lock 12 - Search 11 - Spot 16 - Use Magical Device 16 - Skill Trick: Clarity of Vision - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	18th: Craven	Shadow Craft (Armor)
19th	Shadowsmith 9	+16/11/6/1	+6	+13	+6	- Balance 5 1 Climb 22 5 C:alchemy 19 1 C:armorsmithing 22 2 C:weaponsmithing 21 - Disable Device 16 1 Hide 22 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 16 1 Move Silently 22 - Open Lock 12 - Search 11 - Spot 16 - Use Magical Device 16 - Skill Trick: Clarity of Vision - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Shadow Craft (Quickened); Mystery Known (Bend Perspective)
20th	Shadowsmith 10	+17/12/7/2	+6	+14	+6	- Balance 5 1 Climb 23 4 C:alchemy 23 1 C:armorsmithing 23 1 C:mapmaking 1 2 C:weaponsmithing 23 - Disable Device 16 1 Hide 23 - K:arcana 3 - K:theplanes 8 - Listen 16 1 Move Silently 23 - Open Lock 12 - Search 11 - Spot 16 - Use Magical Device 16 - Skill Trick: Clarity of Vision - Skill Trick: Corner Perch - Skill Trick: Speedy Ascent	--	Shadow Craft (Shadow Striking); Armor of Shadow (Quickened)

Spoiler: Ancestral Relic

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Level	Abilities	Price
6th	+1	2,000 gp
7th	+1 Returning	8,000 gp
8th	+1 Returning	8,000 gp
9th	+1 Returning, Precise	18,000 gp
10th	+1 Returning, Sizing, Precise	23,000 gp
11th	+1 Returning, Sizing, Precise	23,000 gp
12th	+1 Returning, Sizing, Precise	23,000 gp
13th	+1 Returning, Sizing, Precise; Telekinetic Boomerang 5/day	35,000 gp
14th	+1 Sizing, Precise; Telekinetic Boomerang 5/day	35,000 gp
15th	+1 Speed, Sizing, Precise; Telekinetic Boomerang 5/day	82,000 gp
16th	+1 Transmuting, Speed, Sizing, Precise; Telekinetic Boomerang 5/day	130,000 gp
17th	+1 Seeking, Transmuting, Speed, Sizing, Precise; Telekinetic Boomerang 5/day	160,000 gp
18th	+1 Seeking, Transmuting, Speed, Sizing, Precise; Telekinetic Boomerang 5/day	160,000 gp
19th	+1 Seeking, Transmuting, Speed, Sizing, Precise; Continuous Telekinetic Boomerang	253,000 gp
20th	+1 Exit Wound, Seeking, Transmuting, Speed, Sizing, Precise; Continuous Telekinetic Boomerang	325,000 gp

Spoiler: Resources

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Dungeon Master's Guide - Returning; Speed; Seeking
Magic Item Compendium - Sizing; Precise; Transmuting
Races of the Wild - Telekinetic Boomerang power
Complete Warrior - Exit Wound

Spoiler: Level 1-7

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Through these levels, you're a rogue. And you're good at it. Don't try to be something else.
Darkstalker + small size + racial bonus + full ranks in Hide and Move Silently = sneak
Sneak + full ranks in Listen and Spot = scout
Continued advancement of Disable Device, Open Lock, Search makes you the skill monkey.

So, be what you are. Don't engage in melee. Scout around, return to the party with information, then use guerilla tactics in combat to launch a surprise round attack from range and stay in range while the BSF advances into melee.

Of note, at 6th level, the Planar Rogue substitution level offers Breach Sense in exchange for a point of trapsense. But trapsense was already replaced by Thief's Luck. A great many DMs will just allow Breach Sense in place of one use of Thief's Luck. Others won't. At a table where that isn't allowed, do note that the Planar Rogue substitution level is still useable, you just won't get Breach Sense. But getting Knowledge: the planes as a class skill that's the real benefit here, anyway.

Spoiler: Levels 8-10

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Same tactics apply. Now with a Shroud of Shadow to help out with the sneaking.

Woodland Archer and Corner Perch with Speedy Ascent add an interesting bit of fun together: make a snipe attack, then move to climb the walls in the corner of a room. If shadows are sufficient there, you can still hide. Then, snipe from above in the following round. Touch of Shadow can help out with this.

But the real fun (and the headache), of course, comes from Shadow Craft. What, exactly, can be done with Shadow Craft? Well, flexible items are out. As are heavy items. So....

Spoiler: Shadow Craft questions

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Q: Can Shadow Craft be used to make magical items or only mundanes?
A: Unspecified. By a purely RAW reading, you can create a Wand of Cure Light Wounds (or any other wandable spell for that matter). Or an Amulet of Flying Manuals or a Ring of Greater Gamebreaking.
Which is why most DMs will rule that it only allows mundanes until the specified levels of being able to create magical weapons and armor, and even then, only those magical qualities specified.
Still, if you're at a table where the DM is ruling things by strict RAW, those ranks in UMD will come in handy.

Q: Can Shadow Craft be used to make alchemical items?
A: I see no reason why it shouldn't be able to, within its limits. So, thunderstones are certainly in. But what about a vial of whatever? Does the liquid in an acid flask count as something with "moving or flexible parts"? Is alchemist's fire a liquid before it ignites? These things aren't explicitly stated and it will be up to each individual DM to make a ruling for his/her table. Though, being able to create splash weapons, antitoxin, smokesticks, etc would certainly increase the usefullness of the ability.
One thing that is certainly allowed, and somewhat interesting, is using Shadow Craft to make a sunrod -- thus creating light from shadows. Weird.

Q: Can Shadow Craft be used to create items made of multiple parts?
A: Again, there isn't sufficient explination to give an exact answer here. The various kits available as equipment (Healer's, Climber's, Disguise,...) and many of the tool sets (Artisan's, Thieves', etc) are typically made of multiple parts. As such, they are movable, so seem to be on the forbidden list, but each DM will see this differently. Ask before you play.

Q: Can Shadow Craft be used to make food?
A: Baked goods are certainly craftable. They don't weigh much. A good, crusty loaf of artisinal bread isn't flexible. I say go for it. Sustain your whole party!

Q: Can you shadow craft a map of the dungeon you're in, complete with a listing of secret passages and traps, if you don't know the layout?
A: By RAW, yes, so long as the map isn't on anything flexible. However, if you've ever seen a map of the dungeon before, you will need to make a craft (mapmaking) check at DC 20. If you've never seen such a map before, you won't need to make any kind of check at all. Silly WoTC.
Expect a DM to not allow this.

Q: Can Shadow Craft be used to make weapons of various substances (cold iron, adamantium, silver, etc.)?
A: There's nothing that says that you can't. So long as it's a weapon you could otherwise make and the specific material doesn't increase the weight beyond your limits. There is, however, also nothing saying that you can, specifically. From my view, a silver dagger is an item, it's fairly light, and it isn't flexible. So it fits the criteria. But Rule 0 is a thing, so ask before you assume.

So what do you use Shadow Craft for here?
Ancestral Relic. The feat requires that you sacrifice money/items and meditate for awhile. So, pull a two suits of Moon-Ivy armor (Arms and Equipment Guide p.15) (sized for a small character) out of the shadows and sacrifice them to your Relic. Then sit and meditate for a few days. Nothing like some free upgrades in your downtime.

Spoiler: Levels 11-13

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At 12th level comes the Planar Touchstone feat which requires an item from a planar site to be expended. A quick flip to page 78 of the Planar Handbook shows the item Touchstone Blade (which is specifically called out as being able to qualifiy as the item used in the Planar Touchstone feat). Shadow Craft should be able to produce a touchstone blade free of charge.
Oxyrhynchus (p.172) is the planar site of choice.

At 13th level, the halfling rogue substitution level grants Sniping Mastery, which lowers the penalty to Hide checks after a sniping attack and allows for multiple attacks to be made. Add that to Oxyrhynchus, Telekinetic Boomerang on the Ancestral Relic, Woodland Archer, and +6d6 ranged sneak attack and there's damage to be done from the shadows.

Spoiler: Sweet Spot 15th level

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At 15th level come two things that make this build shine.
The Craft Wondrous Item feat.
And the Sight Eclipsed mystery.
You see, I'm sure, how the two can be combined. Call it whatever you want to. Shoes of Obscurity. Ten-gallon Hat of Shadowy Form. Beltbuckle of Darkened Disappearance.
It'll cost WBL, but you've saved enough from your Ancestral Relic.

And oh, what you can do now.
Sight Eclipsed lets you hide anywhere, even while being observed. Which lets you snipe (with Sniping Mastery) for eight attacks (three from BAB, one from a speed weapon -- all doubled by Oxyrhynchys) which will all use +6d6 sneak attack. At the end of the attacks, Woodland Archer allows a move before a hide check (which can be anywhere, thanks to Sight Eclipsed) is made at -10 (thank you Sniping Mastery), which is made all the easier by Shroud of Shadow.
With Darkstalker, you can hide and attack most anything, anywhere, anytime.

Spoiler: Levels 16-20

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At each of these levels, Shadow Crafting just gets better and better. It lasts longer, can make heavier items, and, of course, weapons and armor can be crafted with magical enchantment (which just feeds your Ancestral Relic all the better!) Each level also brings an increase in skill ranks to Hide and Move Silently.
At 18th level, armor can be crafted with the improved shadow property, which will completely negate the sniping penalty to hide checks. Craven makes the attack array that much more deadly.

Spoiler: Resources

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Races of the Wild - Halfling Rogue substitution levels; Woodland Archer feat
Lords of Madness - Darkstalker feat
Planar Handbook - Planar Rogue substitution levels; Planar Touchstone feat
Book of Exalted Deeds - Ancestral Relic feat
Complete Scoundrel - Skill Tricks
Champions of Ruin - Craven feat

[Heliomance]

Build number 6:

Brokk, the Anvil Soul

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N Fireblood Dwarf Totemist 5/Ironsoul Forgemaster 3/Shadowsmith 10/Ironsoul Forgemaster 5

Stats (with racial adjustments)

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Str 16 (increase here)
Dex 12
Con 16 (18)
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 8 (6)

Build

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Totemist 1	+0	+2	+2	+0	Craft (armorsmithing) 4, Craft (weaponsmithing) 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (the Planes) 3, Listen 4, Spot 4, Tumble 2	Dragon Tail	Wild Empathy, Illiteracy, Skilled City Dweller (Ride to Tumble)
2nd	Totemist 2	+1	+3	+3	+0	Craft (armorsmithing) 5, Craft (weaponsmithing) 5, Listen 5, Spot 5, Tumble 4		Totem Chakra Bind (+1 essentia capacity)
3rd	Totemist 3	+2	+3	+3	+1	Craft (armorsmithing) 6, Craft (weaponsmithing) 6, Listen 6, Spot 6, Tumble 6	Darkstalker	Totem’s Protection
4th	Totemist 4	+3	+4	+4	+1	Craft (armorsmithing) 7, Craft (weaponsmithing) 7, Listen 7, Spot 7, Survival 1, Tumble 7
5th	Totemist 5	+3	+4	+4	+1	Craft (armorsmithing) 8, Craft (weaponsmithing) 8, Listen 8, Spot 8, Survival 2, Tumble 8		Chakra Binds (Crown, Feet, Hands)
6th	Ironsoul Forgemaster 1	+3	+6	+4	+3	Craft (armorsmithing) 9, Craft (weaponsmithing) 9, Sense Motive 2	Aberration Blood (Bulging Eyes)	Shield Bond
7th	Ironsoul Forgemaster 2	+4	+7	+4	+4	Craft (armorsmithing) 10, Craft (weaponsmithing) 10, Sense Motive 4	(B) Craft Magic Arms and Armor	Secrets of the Forge
8th	Ironsoul Forgemaster 3	+5	+7	+5	+4	Craft (armorsmithing) 11, Craft (weaponsmithing) 11, Sense Motive 6		Forge Lore
9th	Shadowsmith 1	+6/+1	+7	+7	+4	Craft (armorsmithing) 12, Craft (weaponsmithing) 12, Hide 3, Move Silently 3	Double Chakra (Totem)	Touch of Shadow, First Mystery
10th	Shadowsmith 2	+7/+2	+7	+8	+4	Craft (armorsmithing) 13, Craft (weaponsmithing) 13, Hide 6, Move Silently 6		Shroud of Shadow
11th	Shadowsmith 3	+8/+3	+8	+8	+5	Craft (armorsmithing) 14, Craft (weaponsmithing) 14, Hide 9, Move Silently 9		Shadow Craft (Basic)
12th	Shadowsmith 4	+9/+4	+8	+9	+5	Craft (armorsmithing) 15, Craft (weaponsmithing) 15, Hide 12, Move Silently 12	Inhuman Reach	Armor of Shadow +2
13th	Shadowsmith 5	+10/+5	+8	+9	+5	Craft (armorsmithing) 16, Craft (weaponsmithing) 16, Hide 15, Move Silently 15		Widen Shroud, Second Mystery
14th	Shadowsmith 6	+11/+6/+1	+9	+10	+6	Climb 2, Craft (armorsmithing) 17, Craft (weaponsmithing) 17, Hide 17, Move Silently 17		Shadow Craft (enchanted)
15th	Shadowsmith 7	+12/+7/+2	+9	+10	+6	Climb 6, Craft (armorsmithing) 18, Craft (weaponsmithing) 18, Hide 18, Move Silently 18	Deepspawn	Armor of Shadow +4
16th	Shadowsmith 8	+13/+8/+3	+9	+11	+6	Climb 10, Craft (armorsmithing) 19, Craft (weaponsmithing) 19, Hide 19, Move Silently 19		Shadow Craft (armor)
17th	Shadowsmith 9	+14/+9/+4	+10	+11	+7	Climb 14, Craft (armorsmithing) 20, Craft (weaponsmithing) 20, Hide 20, Hide 20		Shadow Craft (Quickened), Third Mystery
18th	Shadowsmith 10	+15/+10/+5	+10	+12	+8	Climb 18, Craft (armorsmithing) 21, Craft (weaponsmithing) 21, Hide 21, Move Silently 21	Open Lesser Chakra (Shoulders)	Shadow Craft (Shadow Striking), Armor of Shadow (Quickened)
19th	Ironsoul Forgemaster 4	+16/+11/+6/+1	+11	+12	+9	Craft (armorsmithing) 22, Craft (weaponsmithing) 22, Sense Motive 8		Chakra Bind (Arms)
20th	Ironsoul Forgemaster 5	+16/+11/+6/+1	+11	+12	+9	Craft (armosmithing) 23, Craft (weaponsmithing) 23, Sense Motive 10		Armor Bond

Backstory

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In the first of the Great Dead Wars, when Fafnir the mighty Dracolich had risen again to rend the living, a great warrior from the steppes ventured into the dark caves below the crooked mountain in search of the master smith. He found the dwarf, hunchbacked and limping around his forge, his hammer blows echoing out through the darkness.
The master smith was as twisted and gruff as the tales had promised, but his eyes brightened at the promise of gold, and for a fair price agreed to craft a sword to slay the dracolich and make its wearer a legend for generations. The warrior returned in two days with the payment and took away a beautiful gleaming sword, perfect in balance and with a form to support its purpose.

A decade or so later a young duke and his entourage approached the caverns, following the echoing ringing of hammer into anvil to find Brokk the master smith, who patiently waited through the duke’s story of how the warrior from the steppes had succeeded in his fight, and used the sword and his reputation from further victories to win marriage to the princess. He now stood next in line to become king, but the warrior clearly lacked the patience or the mind to rule a kingdom. He would have to be challenged for the position, but nobody could match him with the sword. As soon as the duke stopped talking, Brokk flatly informed him that a shield of sufficient quality would provide the necessary edge to defeat the sword, which after all was for dragonslaying, not dueling. The duke was all to willing to pay the cost, and in a few days Brokk presented him with a polished shield emblazoned with a grinning lion’s face, as hard as could be but lighter than wicker. Brokk handed it over with the explanation that it was enough to defeat the sword, but it would still require skill by the user to defeat the man. The duke all too eagerly assured him that skill was of no concern, already fastening his cloak and stepping out of the cave’s mouth.

It was some years later when a king and his army arrived, the king proudly sporting both the sword that slew the dragon and the shield that bested the sword. He followed the ringing of Brokk’s endless labor to the master smith himself. The king offered Brokk a place in the castle’s armory, where he would work to arm the king and his guards with powerful weapons to keep the peace. Brokk barely looked up from his work to inform the king that he made tools of war for a purpose, not for a man, and that he was very content in his cave forge, connected to the wilderness. The king, taken aback, informed Brokk that he would not allow the smith to work for his enemies to topple the rule he had established. He would not tolerate treason or sedition, even from the respected dwarf. He demanded Brokk craft for him a crown magnificent enough to make his coronation an event of legend. Brokk paused his work and chuckled in a smoky, coughing way. He informed the king that he did not make crowns, and that even if he did, even his skill could not enchant it enough to make a man such as he worthy of the throne.
The king was choking purple with rage as he ordered his guards to slay the dwarf and destroy the forge. Brokk struck down the two who came to subdue him with swift hammer strokes and lashing tail, but he was forced to retreat as more men poured in. They filled his beautiful forge in with sand before breaking it down with sledgehammers. They carted off his ore and even hauled off his anvil on a wagon where they would toss it into the sea.

Brokk was forced into the depths of his cavern he had never explored, past where any sane men would pursue him. In the wretched darkness he fought the residents born into generations of dark for survival and he drew on their souls for strength. He also had time to reflect on where this had gone wrong. He had trusted men too much, he had allowed his name to become too familiar and his works too numerous in a small area. The level of power was too great for the hearts of short-lived men, and it would lead to nothing but chaos. The fault was his own, caring more about the craft and the money than about the consequences, and he would have to solve this on his own, reclaiming his creations. He planned and he plotted, marshalled his will.

The king had not slept well since his destruction of the dwarf’s forge. His coronation had been successful even with a crown of human make. No nobles were moving to challenge him. He kept the sword and shield by his side at all times, and they rested against his bed at night, but he could never escape the feeling that people were scheming against him. He feared the coming of a great warrior like the one who had wielded the sword, or a cunning noble like the one who had first used the mighty shield. At night he swore he could hear the endless ringing, ringing, ringing of hammer on anvil, always pounding, and getting louder every night. He woke from his fitful torpor, aware of a silence that was somehow far more frightening than the ominous ringing. He lit a candle and waved it at the darkness as if to banish a monster from his nightmares, the flame flickering with his frantic motion. Suddenly out of the deepest shadows stepped a phantom that could not have been real. A stout dwarf, blackened with soot, long tail lashing about impatiently, twisted tentacles grasping forward, a monstrous mask pulled over his face, producing the most inhuman growling. But among all these details he could not tear his eyes away from the armor covering the dwarf’s body and the hammer in his hand. Both were black as the deepest night, even inches away from the candle’s glow.

If you take the right path through the crooked mountains you will find a cave entrance with no markings. You will know that you have found the right place when you hear the sounds of the master smith’s work echoing through the cave. You will see him working as always, unsmiling, but satisfied in his own way. Mounted on the wall are three items, serving as a reminder both to Brokk and to all visitors of the forge of a time before. There is no writing beneath them, but their story has made the rules clear. State your purpose, pay the price, and take your leave. Don’t get greedy. The items are not framed or under any banner naming them, but even in the flickering light of the forge they are easy to identify: A gleaming sword, a grinning shield, and a golden crown split neatly in two.

Level 5

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Totemist will provide us with the solid foundation to build on. Fireblood Dwarf importantly gives the dragonblood subtype, which means access to draconic soulmelds. Claws of the Wyrm and the Dragon Tail soulmeld notably give natural attacks with the shaped effect, so work especially well at level 1. The dragon tail from the feat is a nice always-on natural attack to protect yourself at all times and always threaten. Melds will take care of your sneaking needs for now, namely Kruthik Claws, Worg Pelt, and Displacer Mantle. Once you’re sneaking, darkstalker will help you stay hidden from all the means of detection. You have enough ranks in tumble to make a decent go of it, and enough ranks in spot and listen to help out the party, especially melds that can boost those.

Totem bind means natural weapons of all kinds, depending on your mood you can pick whatever you want. I’m somewhat fond of the image of attacking someone with the dragon tail (feat), the dragon tail(meld), claws of the wyrm, and the displacer mantle’s tentacles, but do whatever feels appropriate for the situation.

Foot bind offers a few options, but far more important are crown and hand. Crown can give telepathy or a nice ranged ray of cold. Binding the sphinx claws to your hands gives you pounce with your natural weapons, so you could use the above mentioned combo for 5 attacks at the end of your charge.

Level 10

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We’re going to take a detour into ironsoul forgemaster before entering the SI to get our BAB up the last few points. It gives its gifts early in a bonus on craft checks, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, and the very helpful shield bond. Since this is iron chef we can focus on shield bond. You can invest essentia into any shield you craft, getting resistance 5 per point in all five energy types, which covers a broad base. You can pop it on a buckler and carry on with business as usual, or devote an arm to a heavy steel shield for higher defense. I’m more partial to the former.

Now it’s SI time. We’ve now got some ranks in Hide and MS to keep relevant along with the boost from melds, and touch of shadow’s climb bonus similarly works with melds to make climbing easy. Shroud of Shadow is usable a fair number of times, so you will be able to turn it on before every encounter and, as you gain more levels, have some left over for exploring.

Aberration Blood is setup for later, for now enjoy the bonus to spot. Double Chakra means that you can bind 2 melds to the totem, so you can add on the Lamia Belt or Girallon Arms for 2 more claw attacks, a total of 7 attacks in full attack, or you can keep the sphinx claws bound for 5 attacks and pounce. If you’re not charging, you might consider using a weapon for two attacks before your natural weapons, your choice.

Level 15

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Now we’re in business, and the purpose of this setup becomes clear. Armor of Shadow’s deflection bonus combined with a meld to boost natural armor and some good crafted armor can keep your AC respectable. Widen Shadow is helpful since few people invest in climb, but the real big benefit is that it simply denies tracking, and this way you can protect the whole party.

Now let’s talk about why we’re really here. Shadowcraft allows you to make things like weapons and shields when you succeed on a craft check, which means you’ve crafted a shield, so now you can reap that energy resistance without investing a cent!. A buckler is light, so you can make that and the one handed weapon of your choice. Dwarven waraxe is a very nice choice, and you get proficiency with it by virtue of dwarf status and the SI granting martial weapons. Enhancements are best invested fully into your weapon so you can make full use, your three attacks make it worth using alongside your 6 other attacks (not 7 because one of your claws hands is occupied).

Shadowcraft can of course be used for other things, and from this point onward you will always hit the DC 25 for any weapon or shield you make with it, so let your creativity run. It doesn’t mention whether it can mimic materials, so have a discussion with your DM, but that could prove very useful to make adamantine for hardness or overcoming DR. There are also certain materials that reduce weight, and if mimicking them is possible that could help produce more bang for your buck.

Inhuman reach gives you 10 foot natural reach, so you can control the battlefield more easily without moving as much, though certainly still bind sphinx claws if you like. It’s a little unclear what happens to displacer mantle’s tentacles, it seems like they go up to 15 feet of reach, so that’s nice. Deepspawn adds 2 permanent tentacles to your list of natural attacks, so you have 3 with no melds, and as many as 10 with full focus. Claws of the wyrm and dragon tail shaped, lamia belt and displacer mantle bound to totem chakra adds 7, if you’re wielding a weapon you’ll drop one of those claws of the wyrm, and if you’re going to instead bind sphinx claws you can drop lamia belt and go with 8 natural attacks on every pounce.

Level 20

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Finishing Shadowsmith gives you heavier creations, faster crafting, and some neat enhancements. Shadow striking on any weapon overcomes DR, so that plus free +5 makes for a very good reason to make a nice dwarven waraxe, or even a greatsword.

The ability to now make armor presents a different avenue. Any armor you make having improved shadow boosts your hide by 10, meaning you can free up essentia for other purposes. You can make a buckler and leather armor in one use, and since you’re crafting it make it spiked armor. This provides you with a means to make your iterative attacks without having to spend any money, though of course you could make a permanent weapon with your crafting ability if you like. You can talk to your DM about whether you can use the enhancement bonus on your armor spikes when shadow crafting, it’s not super clear. It is a weapon, so it seems logical.

Finishing Ironsoul Forgemaster gives us two final gifts, the first being the arm bind. Arm binds can improve grappling with Kraken Mantle/Totem Avatar, give rend with Girallon Arms, or double natural weapon threat ranges with Dread Carapace. The second gift is armor bond, where you can invest essentia in armor you made to give you DR/-, to help blunt the blows from fighting, and it explicitly stacks if your armor is adamantine. Again, like with your weapon, you can consider simply making some decent magic armor yourself, or just enjoy the SI making it for free each day.

Open Lesser Chakra helps with another bind as long as we use it on the shoulder chakra, giving us effects like constant concealment(which you can use to hide), ethereal movement, flight, and a size increase for all your natural weapons, because everyone likes more damage.

I'll talk about mysteries here. The class doesn't mention, so I guess we can assume caster level equals class level. Under the assumption that you can choose all 3 in one apprentice path, I'd go with Life Fades, Flesh Fails, and Umbral Touch. Life Fades is decent damage, nonlethal if you want to take someone quietly, and the save only negates the fatigue effect. Flesh Fails is very good, 4 Str, 4 Dex, or 2 Con damage with no save. Your 10 ft long reach and beefy health mitigates the danger of it being a touch spell, so it's all good. Umbral Touch gives you 10 touches, each dealing 5d6 and potentially hitting them with slow (unspecified duration, maybe as the spell). It's a nice weapon to have if you're not doing something else with your hand. If we have to learn like shadowcaster, with two 1sts before our 2nd, then trade umbral touch for bend perspective, get some nice scrying in as an effect you can't otherwise replicate.

Sources

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Totemist, Ironsoul Forgemaster, Double Chakra, Open Lesser Chakra: Magic of Incarnum
Shadowsmith, Mysteries: Tome of Magic
Fireblood Dwarf, Draconic Soulmelds: Dragon Magic
Dragon Tail: Races of the Dragon
Aberration Blood, Inhuman Reach, Deepspawn, Darkstalker: Lords of Madness
Skilled City Dweller: Cityscape Web Enchancement

[Heliomance]

Build Number 7:

Keyrock, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer



Race: Neanderthal
Build Stub: Human Paragon 2/Forsaker 4/Shadowsmith 8/Forsaker +6
Multiclass Penalty: No.
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Giant, Orc, Legalese
Alignment: LN
Ability Scores:

Ability	Score	Racial	Points
Strength	14	+2	4
Dexterity	10	-2	4
Constitution	14	+2	4
Intelligence	16	-2	16
Wisdom	8		0
Charisma	12		4

Ability Increases:
Level 3: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 13 (Forsaker)
Level 4: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 13 (4HD, Forsaker)
Level 5: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 13 (Forsaker)
Level 6: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 18, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 13 (Forsaker)
Level 8: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 19, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 13 (8HD)
Level 12: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 13 (12HD)
Level 15: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 16, Wis 8, Cha 14 (Forsaker)
Level 16: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 14 (16HD, Forsaker)
Level 17: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 15 (Forsaker)
Level 18: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 16 (Forsaker)
Level 19: Str 14, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 17 (Forsaker)
Level 20: Str 15, Dex 10, Con 20, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 18 (20HD,Forsaker)

Spoiler: Backstory

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"Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, I'm just a caveman. Your world confuses and frightens me. And I can tell you, if I found a magic ring, I would try to destroy it. But that's just me. In the world I come from, I believe invisible demons can get inside common everyday objects and they will then destroy my soul. But you know what? You are not cavemen, and that is not the world you live in. You have the benefit of several million years of evolution, and you all know how to safely live in a world with magical devices that can levitate heavy objects, prepare food, or even clean your... what do you call it, clothing?"

"This case involves a magic ring that was stolen from my client. We even had Elrond, son of Earendil and Elwing, who was an eye-witness at the battle on the slopes of Mount Doom where Isildur, son of Elendil, cut the magic ring from my client's finger. They do not deny that the ring was stolen from him. We even had Mr. Bilbo Baggins testify that he found the ring, Gandalf identified it and informed him of who it belonged to, and we have Mr. Baggins own testimony that he didn't even try to return it. Didn't even try! Just... threw it into a volcano."

"Now I ask you... is that fair? You find a golden ring, you know it's not yours but you don't even bother to find out who it belongs to... and then someone tells you who the owner is, but you don't even try to return it? Or even ask if they want it back? You just throw it into a volcano? Is that fair?"

"Of course not. We know it's not fair. It's also against the law. Not my law! These are your laws, set down by High King Elendil Voronda when he founded Arnor and Gondor at the end of the Second Age. If you steal something, you should give it back. If you steal something and destroy it, then the owner should be compensated for his loss. That's all my client is asking for, just fair compensation for his loss."

"Is that too much to ask? A magic ring, a ring of invisibility... not even a major magic item, just 7,500 gold pieces. And that's all my client is asking for, just the cost of one magic ring. You are all fair, decent people. I know that, because I'm a caveman. I know that you're not cavemen. You have the benefit of several million years of evolution. You have founded empires, established laws, and created a fair and civilized society... a society that terrifies me, but still, a very civilized society. You know, in your heart of hearts, that my client deserves to be compensated for his loss. That's all we're asking, just 7,500 gold pieces."

"Oh, and also, 38.6 million gold pieces for unrecoverable research and development expenses, mutilation and loss of a finger, and 3019 years of pain and suffering."

Spoiler: Build Progression

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Human Paragon 1	+0	+0	+0	-1	Bluff 4, Craft:Weaponsmith 4, Diplomacy 4, Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 2, Know:Planes 2, Profession:Lawyer 2, Sense Motive 4, Literacy 2	Able Learner, Great Fortitude (Flaw:Shaky), Lightning Reflexes (Flaw:Weak Will)	Adaptive Learning (Profession:Lawyer)
2nd	Human Paragon 2	+1	+0	+0	+0	Bluff 5(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 5(+1), Diplomacy 5(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3(+1), Know:Planes 3(+1), Profession:Lawyer 3(+1), Sense Motive 5(+1)	Iron Will	Bonus Feat
3rd	Forsaker 1	+2	+2	+0	+2	Bluff 6(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 6(+1), Diplomacy 6(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 4(+1), Sense Motive 6(+1)	Toughness	Ability Bonus +1 (Cha 13), Fast Healing 1 (10 rounds), Forsake Magic, SR 11
4th	Forsaker 2	+3	+3	+0	+3	Bluff 7(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 7(+1), Diplomacy 7(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 5(+1), Sense Motive 7(+1)		Ability Bonus +1 (Con 16), DR 3/+1, Magic Destruction, SR 12
5th	Forsaker 3	+4	+3	+1	+3	Bluff 8(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 8(+1), Diplomacy 8(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 6(+1), Sense Motive 8(+1)		Ability Bonus +1 (Con 17), Fast Healing 1 (20 rounds), Natural Weapons, SR 13, Tough Defense (Natural Armor +3)
6th	Forsaker 4	+5	+4	+1	+4	Bluff 9(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 9(+1), Diplomacy 9(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 7(+1), Sense Motive 9(+1)	Master Manipulator	Ability Bonus +1 (Con 18), DR 5/+2, SR 14
7th	Shadowsmith 1	+6	+4	+3	+4	Bluff 10(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 2(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 10(+1), Diplomacy 10(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 10(+3), Sense Motive 10(+1)		Touch of Shadow, Mystery: Mesmerizing Shade 1/day
8th	Shadowsmith 2	+7	+4	+4	+4	Bluff 11(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 6(+4), Craft:Weaponsmith 11(+1), Diplomacy 11(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 11(+1), Sense Motive 11(+1)		Shroud of Shadow
9th	Shadowsmith 3	+8	+5	+4	+5	Bluff 12(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 10(+4), Craft:Weaponsmith 12(+1), Diplomacy 12(+1), Gather Information 2, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 12(+1), Sense Motive 12(+1)	Thick-Skinned	Shadowcraft (Basic), DR 7/+2
10th	Shadowsmith 4	+9	+5	+5	+5	Bluff 13(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 13(+3), Craft:Weaponsmith 13(+1), Diplomacy 13(+1), Gather Information 3(+1), Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 13(+1), Sense Motive 13(+1)		Armor of Shadow +2
11th	Shadowsmith 5	+10	+5	+5	+5	Bluff 14(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 14(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 14(+1), Diplomacy 14(+1), Gather Information 6(+3), Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 14(+1), Sense Motive 14(+1)		Widen Shroud, Mystery: Voice of Shadow 1/day
12th	Shadowsmith 6	+11	+6	+6	+6	Bluff 15(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 15(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 15(+1), Diplomacy 15(+1), Gather Information 9(+3), Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 15(+1), Sense Motive 15(+1)	Roll With It	Shadowcraft (Enchanted), DR 7/+2 and DR 4/-
13th	Shadowsmith 7	+12	+6	+6	+6	Bluff 16(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 16(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 16(+1), Diplomacy 16(+1), Gather Information 12(+3), Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 16(+1), Sense Motive 16(+1)		Armor of Shadow +4
14th	Shadowsmith 8	+13	+6	+7	+6	Bluff 17(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 17(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 17(+1), Diplomacy 17(+1), Gather Information 15(+3), Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 17(+1), Sense Motive 17(+1)		Shadow Craft (Armor)
15th	Forsaker 5	+14	+6	+7	+6	Bluff 18(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 18(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 18(+1), Diplomacy 18(+1), Gather Information 15, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 17, Sense Motive 18(+1)	Thick-Skinned (x2)	Ability Bonus +1 (Con 20), Fast Healing 2 (30 rounds), DR 9/+2 and DR 6/-, SR 15
16th	Forsaker 6	+15	+7	+8	+7	Bluff 19(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 19(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 19(+1), Diplomacy 19(+1), Gather Information 15, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 18(+1), Sense Motive 19(+1)		Ability Bonus +1 (Int 18), DR 11/+3 and DR 6/-, Slippery Mind, SR 16
17th	Forsaker 7	+16	+7	+8	+7	Bluff 20(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 20(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 20(+1), Diplomacy 20(+1), Gather Information 15, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 19(+1), Sense Motive 20(+1)		Ability Bonus +1 (Cha 15), Fast Healing 2 (40 rounds), SR 17
18th	Forsaker 8	+17	+8	+8	+8	Bluff 21(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 21(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 21(+1), Diplomacy 21(+1), Gather Information 15, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 20(+1), Sense Motive 21(+1)	Thick-Skinned (x3)	Ability Bonus +1 (Cha 16), DR 15/+4 and DR 8/-, SR 18
19th	Forsaker 9	+18	+8	+9	+8	Bluff 22(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 22(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 22(+1), Diplomacy 22(+1), Gather Information 15, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 21(+1), Sense Motive 22(+1)		Ability Bonus +1 (Cha 17), Fast Healing 3 (50 rounds), SR 19
20th	Forsaker 10	+19	+9	+9	+9	Bluff 23(+1), Craft:Armorsmith 23(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 23(+1), Diplomacy 23(+1), Gather Information 15, Intimidate 2, Know:Arcana 3, Know:Planes 3, Profession:Lawyer 22(+1), Sense Motive 23(+1)		Ability Bonus +1 (Cha 18), DR 17/+5 and DR 8/-, SR 20

Spoiler: Levels 1-6

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The first few levels are a bit rough for Keyrock, what with being frozen in ice for several million years, and then getting defrosted only to find that the world around him is overrun with the more evolutionarily successful races of elves, dwarves, humans, and halflings. Even worse, they have this strange new technology that terrifies the mammoth-loving crap out of him: magic! Some pointy-eared treehugger wiggles his fingers or waves around a stick and actual flaming FIRE OF THE GAWDTHINGS shoots out!

So Keyrock did what any reasonable unfrozen caveman would do: he finished his law degree and then set out to destroy all the demon-cursed devices that terrify him. Taking Human Paragon levels here allows him to get his skill points arranged to pursue his professional career as a lawyer. This does not exactly lend itself to any established party role, but he can act as the party face who occasionally hits things with a club, if your party is the sort that thinks it's a good idea to have their primary negotiator as someone who occasionally smashes up their loot because magic items frighten him. Keyrock goes into Forsaker not so much to help his legal career but because it allows him to act more like a caveman. He also takes up Craft: Weaponsmith because we know that's one skill cavemen valued highly, and it's a good idea to have a back-up trade just in case Keyrock finds himself in an area that does not have a lot of business for someone in a legal profession.

If you would prefer a less lawyer-ish or caveman-ish Forsaker, it is possible to get into Forsaker at level 1 with a Human and one flaw: Forsaker 10/Shadowsmith 10 makes for an interesting build with no base classes. Keyrock takes two flaws: Shaky (his tribe hadn't quite worked out how projectile weapons work) and Weak Will (he frightens easily). Forsaker allows him to work without relying on too much magic: Fast Healing to avoid cure spells, Spell Resistance to shrug off adverse spell effects, and Damage Reduction to mitigate having to rely on mostly mundane armor. Keyrock uses the Ability Bonus mostly to buff his Con score, which he can add to his AC as a Natural Armor bonus.

At 6th level, Keyrock takes the Master Manipulator feat, which gives him two additional Diplomacy options: "Captivating Speech" for softening up the Jury for Bluff checks, and "Trap of Words" to dupe witnesses into revealing incriminating information on cross-examination.

Spoiler: Levels 7-11

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At 7th level, Keyrock heads into Shadowsmith not necessarily because he likes dealing with shadows (he doesn't) but because he's discovered a loophole! Forsakers must give up using spellcasting, SLAs, and magic items, but the rules don't say anything about Supernatural abilities! And most of Shadowsmith's class abilities are (Su). Touch of Shadow (Su) and Shroud of Shadow (Su) aren't all that useful (Keyrock uses them mostly to prevent disgruntled clients from tracking him back to his cave) but he can use them without losing his Forsaker abilities! At 9th level, Keyrock gets Shadow Craft (Su) for basic items, and he uses this mostly to create primitive weapons. This allows him to smash things that frighten him even when inside a courtroom, since most courtrooms have that annoying "no weapons" rule. And since masterwork weapons made out of special materials are non-magical, he can create those: adamantine greatsword, dragonfang spears (Draconomicon p. 117), Kakita katana (Oriental Adventures p. 127), rimefire ice harpoons (Frostburn p. 80), elvencraft shortbow made out of serren (BoED p. 38), and so forth. For general-purpose skull-smashing, Keyrock favors a masterwork greatclub made out of rimefire ice. That Kakita katana is very tempting as a two-handed martial melee weapon... but Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Samurai might be stretching things just one sketch too far.

At 10th level, he gets Armor of Shadow (Su), a +2 deflection bonus that stacks with his Natural Armor bonus. At 11th level, he gets Widen Shroud (Su), which allows his companions to benefit from his Touch of Shadows ability... which is a good thing, since he's not much of a climber, they can do all that climbing stuff instead (within 10' of him, I guess).

Keyrock also gains the ability to cast a limited number of shadow mysteries... but since that counts as spellcasting, he can't use them intentionally without losing all his Forsaker abilities for at least a year. For such a minor spell effect 1/day... not really a big loss.

Spoiler: Levels 12-14

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### SWEET SPOT ### At 12th level, Keyrock can now use Shadow Craft (Su) to create magic weapons. This means he can start every day by making a +1 weapon, smash it, and enjoy the full benefits his Damage Reduction for the rest of the day. Due to ability score increases, his Con is now high enough to get Roll With It, which gives him another source of Damage Reduction (2/-). He took Think-Skinned back at 9th level, and here he takes advantage of another loophole, as the wording of Thick-Skinned does not differentiate between different sources of damage reduction: it increases all sources of DR by +2, as he successfully determined in Keyrock vs. Baker, 13 F.C.G. 399, 427 (588 CY).

Speaking of DR... Keyrock has left the 3.0 notation intact, as "DR 7/+2" looks slightly more impressive than "DR 7/magic". In 3.5, the enhancement bonus of a magic weapon has no effect on whether it bypasses DR: it either counts as magic or it doesn't. The 3.5 Update Booklet recommends replacing the higher-plus DR categories with a special material, such as adamantine, but does not specifically address the Forsaker's DR abilities. By RAW, the DR offered by Forsaker would be considered "DR X/magic", unless you can convince a sympathetic DM to switch it to something more likely to offer more meaningful protection at higher levels. Roll With It addresses this, as "DR X/-" continues to work even against magic weapons, and also allows Thick-Skinned to work even if the DR from Forsaker isn't functioning.

Keyrock continues to be a capable party face, a competent lawyer (Sharn City of Towers p. 132 has rules for legal debates), and no longer needs to rely on the party treasury to sacrifice magic items. In combat... he can hit things! With a stick or a rock! (If he's not frightened, that is.)

At 13th level, Armor of Shadow (Su) improves to +4, and at 14th level, Keyrock can use Shadow Craft (Su) to create light armor. As a Forsaker, this would have to be non-magical, but the wording of the ability says he "can give an enhancement bonus to", so presumably he can choose not to add an enhancement bonus. The text also says, "The armor you craft automatically has the improved shadow special ability", but I am assuming this only applies to magical armor with an enhancement bonus, as per the DMG you cannot add an armor property to armor that doesn't already have at least a +1 enhancement bonus. That being said, Keyrock can create any non-magical light armor... including armor made out of special materials. This means he can create shadow-silk hide (ToM p. 155), chameleon leather (Serpent Kingdoms p. 148), dragoncraft serpentscale mail (Draconomicon p. 117/Serpent Kingdoms p. 148), dreamhide (Secrets of Xen'drik p. 136), sharkskin (Stormwrack p. 106), spidersilk (FR Underdark p. 66), or a breastplate made out of darkleaf/firebrass/glassteel/mithral/sentira. When he's not looking for armor with a specific effect, such as a Hide bonus or energy resistance, Keyrock creates dragoncraft serpentscale mail for himself. The armor bonus (+5) stacks with Armor of Shadow (+4) and Tough Defense (+5) for a non-magical AC of 24.

Sadly, Keyrock chooses not to complete his last two levels of Shadowsmith, as they don't add anything meaningful to the build other than speeding up Shadow Craft (Su) to a swift action. Keyrock bills by the hour, so if it takes a little longer to create something, so much the better.

Spoiler: Levels 15-20

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Keyrock's signature "gimmick" comes online at level 12, and unfortunately there aren't a lot of interesting things for him to do after that. He spends the rest of his career finishing off Forsaker, but pretty much everything after 12th level improves his existing abilities rather than adds anything new. Oh... he gets one new thing: Slippery Mind, which allows him to reroll a failed save against an enchantment effect. I couldn't figure out anything interesting to do with a caveman lawyer after taking Master Manipulator, so I took Thick-Skinned two more times. This increases his Forsaker DR up to 17/magic and Roll With It up to DR 8/-. If you would prefer to maybe do something with Diplomacy, consider swapping in Skill Focus and going into Exemplar for Jumplomancer-shenanigans. If you would prefer more of an investigative caveman lawyer, then consider swapping in Track or Investigate and finish off with Watch Detective (Masters of the Wild) or Master Inquisitive (Eberron Campaign Setting).

Spoiler: Sources

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Frostburn: Neanderthal
Masters of the Wild: Forsaker
Player's Handbook II: Master Manipulator
Races of Destiny: Able Learner
Savage Species: Thick-Skinned, Roll With It
Unearthed Arcana: Human Paragon, Shaky, Weak Will

[Heliomance]

That's all, folks! Get judging!

[danielxcutter]

Interesting...

[daremetoidareyo]

This ingredient was awesome!

Those builds are so different despite a few of them noticing similar exploits.

[Zaq]

I'm both happy and sad that no one lunged straight for the "technically, it doesn't say I can't shadowcraft a Ring of Three Wishes" interpretation, which is about the first place my mind went. There was part of me that wanted to be That Guy and just lay that on the table straight up, but I couldn't come up with a convincing reason why my Rings of Three Wishes would be better than your Rings of Three Wishes, and so I couldn't come up with a mechanical benefit to being That Guy (since the argument would go that if I could do it, you could do it too, and so you see where I'm going with that).

I also wanted to cobble together a build using Soulknife, Shadow Sentinel, and Shadowsmith, to just see how many obnoxious "has a weapon" classes I could shove into something that I could turn into something functional, but the answer is that I couldn't turn them into something functional. Especially when Shadow Sentinel race-locks you into being an illumian, so it was difficult to get more than two hands (and any explanation I came up with for using more weapons than hands just felt stupid, and not the entertaining kind of stupid).

I really love some of these entries. I've got a major exam coming up on Monday, which means that I am not even going to do my usual wishy-washy "I'd really like to judge but I can't commit to anything" line that never goes anywhere (I do genuinely mean it every time, but I'm also honest enough to recognize that I basically never follow through, so I'm not really fooling anyone but myself at this point), but I really do like a lot of what I'm seeing here. Excellent job, chefs!

[WhamBamSam]

Ah crud. I was hoping to finish my write-up tonight and sneak my builds in. Ah well. The tables are done, so I guess I'll just post what I had. Looking forward to reading what others came up with.

Agent Orange/Black Ice
And
Agent Blue/White Snow

Spoiler: Black Ice

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CN Major Titan Bloodline Jungle Halfling Warblade 7/Shadowsmith 10

15 Str, 14 Dex, 14 Con, 15 Int, 8 Wis, 8 Cha
Increase Str at all opportunities. The bloodline increases Str at 3 HD, Con at 9 HD, and Int at 15 HD.

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Warblade 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Craft (Poisonmaking) 4, Craft (Alchemy) 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 4, Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 2cc, Knowledge (The Planes) 2cc	Poison Expert (Contact)	Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon Aptitude
2nd	Bloodline 1	+1	+2	+0	+0	Craft (Poisonmaking) 4, Craft (Alchemy) 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 4, Concentration 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Knowledge (The Planes) 2	-	+2 Jump
3rd	Warblade 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Craft (Poisonmaking) 5, Craft (Alchemy) 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 4, Concentration 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 3cc, Knowledge (The Planes) 3cc	Power Attack (Bloodline)	Uncanny Dodge
4th	Bloodline 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Craft (Poisonmaking) 5, Craft (Alchemy) 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 4, Concentration 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3	-	-
5th	Warblade 3	+3	+3	+1	+1	Craft (Poisonmaking) 8, Craft (Alchemy) 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5, Concentration 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3	Poison Master (Contact)	Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)
6th	Warblade 4	+4	+4	+1	+1	Craft (Poisonmaking) 9, Craft (Alchemy) 6, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5, Concentration 9, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Balance 1	-	Levitate 1/day
7th	Warblade 5	+5	+4	+1	+1	Craft (Poisonmaking) 10, Craft (Alchemy) 6, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Balance 5	Quick Draw (Warblade)	Titan Affinity +2
8th	Shadowsmith 1	+6	+4	+3	+1	Craft (Poisonmaking) 11, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5, Concentration 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Balance 5, Hide 1	Hurling Charge	Touch of Shadow, +1 Natural Armor
9th	Shadowsmith 2	+7	+4	+4	+1	Craft (Poisonmaking) 12, Craft (Alchemy) 12, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5, Concentration 12, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Balance 5, Hide 2, Move Silently 2, Nimble Charge	-	Shroud of Shadow, +2 Concentration
10th	Shadowsmith 3	+8	+5	+4	+2	Craft (Poisonmaking) 13, Craft (Alchemy) 13, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Concentration 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Balance 5, Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Nimble Charge	Improved Sunder (Bloodline)	Shadow Craft (Basic)
11th	Bloodline 3	+8	+5	+4	+2	Craft (Poisonmaking) 14, Craft (Alchemy) 14, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 7, Concentration 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Balance 5, Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Nimble Charge	-	-
12th	Shadowsmith 4	+9	+5	+5	+2	Craft (Poisonmaking) 15, Craft (Alchemy) 15, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 15, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Balance 5, Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Nimble Charge	Darkstalker	Armor of Shadow +2
13th	Shadowsmith 5	+10	+5	+5	+2	Craft (Poisonmaking) 16, Craft (Alchemy) 16, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 1, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Nimble Charge	-	Widen Shroud, SR 2+HD
14th	Shadowsmith 6	+11	+6	+6	+3	Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Craft (Alchemy) 17, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 17, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 2, Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Nimble Charge	-	Shadow Craft (Enchanted), Titan Affinity +4
15th	Shadowsmith 7	+12	+6	+6	+3	Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Craft (Alchemy) 17, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 3, Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Nimble Charge	Shaped Splash	Armor of Shadow +4, Use Oversized Weapon
16th	Shadowsmith 8	+13	+6	+7	+3	Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Craft (Alchemy) 17, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 19, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 6, Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Nimble Charge	-	Shadow Craft (Armor), +2 Knowledge (Arcana)
17th	Shadowsmith 9	+14	+7	+7	+4	Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Craft (Alchemy) 17, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 20, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 7, Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Nimble Charge	-	Shadow Craft (Quickened), Deeper Darkness 1/day*
18th	Shadowsmith 10	+15	+7	+8	+4	Craft (Poisonmaking) 20, Craft (Alchemy) 20, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 21, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 7, Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Nimble Charge	Combat Brute	Shadow Craft (Shadow Striking), Armor of Shadow (Quickened)
19th	Warblade 6	+16	+8	+9	+5	Craft (Poisonmaking) 21, Craft (Alchemy) 21, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 22, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 7, Hide 22cc, Move Silently 22cc, Nimble Charge	-	Improved Uncanny Dodge, Bestow Curse 1/day*
20th	Warblade 7	+17	+8	+9	+5	Craft (Poisonmaking) 22, Craft (Alchemy) 22, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Concentration 23, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 7, Hide 23cc, Move Silently 23cc, Nimble Charge	-	Titan Affinity +6

*Technically being Neutral means there’s a 50% chance of getting Daylight and Remove Curse instead, but Deeper Darkness and Bestow Curse are more thematically fitting and useful for the character. If need be, the character can be made Evil with no mechanical issues.

White Snow learns the Mysteries from the Dark Terrain path; Carpet of Shadow, Black Fire, and Clinging Darkness.

ECL	Maneuvers Readied	Maneuvers Known	Stances Known
1	3	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Douse the Flames	Leading the Charge
3	3	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Douse the Flames Emerald Razor	Leading the Charge
5	3	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Douse the Flames Emerald Razor, White Raven Tactics	Leading the Charge
6	4	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Douse the Flames, Emerald Razor, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades	Leading the Charge, Tactics of the Wolf
7	4	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Emerald Razor, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Ruby Nightmare Blade	Leading the Charge, Tactics of the Wolf
19	4	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sapphire Nightmare Blade, Emerald Razor, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Ruby Nightmare Blade, War Leader’s Charge	Leading the Charge, Tactics of the Wolf
20	4	Moment of the Perfect Mind, Emerald Razor, White Raven Tactics, Wall of Blades, Ruby Nightmare Blade, War Leader’s Charge, Diamond Nightmare Blade	Leading the Charge, Tactics of the Wolf

Spoiler: White Snow

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LN Human Ninja 9/Shadowsmith 10/Archivist 1

10 Str, 17 Dex, 14 Con, 14 Int, 13 Wis, 8 Cha
Either put all stat increases into Dex or 4 of the points in Dex and 1 into Wis.

Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Ninja 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	Hide 4, Move Silently 4, Craft (Poisonmaking) 4, Craft (Alchemy) 4, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 4, Jump 4, Tumble 4, Balance 4, Knowledge (Arcana) 2cc	Darkstalker, Point Blank Shot (Human)	AC Bonus, Ki Power, Sudden Strike 1d6, Trapfinding
2nd	Ninja 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	Hide 5, Move Silently 5, Craft (Poisonmaking) 5, Craft (Alchemy) 5, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 5, Jump 5, Tumble 5, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Balance 5, Concentration 1	-	Ghost Step (Invisible)
3rd	Ninja 3	+2	+1	+3	+1	Hide 6, Move Silently 6, Craft (Poisonmaking) 6, Craft (Alchemy) 6, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 6, Jump 5, Tumble 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Balance 5, Concentration 4	Rapid Shot	Sudden Strike 2d6, Poison Use
4th	Ninja 4	+3	+1	+4	+1	Hide 7, Move Silently 7, Craft (Poisonmaking) 7, Craft (Alchemy) 7, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 7, Jump 5, Tumble 7, Knowledge (Arcana) 2, Balance 5, Concentration 7	-	Great Leap
5th	Ninja 5	+3	+1	+4	+1	Hide 8, Move Silently 8, Craft (Poisonmaking) 8, Craft (Alchemy) 8, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 8, Jump 5, Tumble 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 3cc, Balance 5, Concentration 8	-	Sudden Strike 3d6
6th	Ninja 6	+4	+2	+5	+2	Hide 9, Move Silently 9, Craft (Poisonmaking) 9, Craft (Alchemy) 9, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 9, Jump 5, Tumble 9, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Balance 5, Concentration 9, Knowledge (The Planes) 1cc	Poison Expert (Contact)	Acrobatics +2, Ki Dodge
7th	Ninja 7	+5	+2	+5	+2	Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Craft (Poisonmaking) 10, Craft (Alchemy) 10, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 9, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Balance 5, Concentration 9, Knowledge (The Planes) 3cc	-	Sudden Strike 4d6, Speed Climb
8th	Shadowsmith 1	+6	+2	+7	+2	Hide 11, Move Silently 11, Craft (Poisonmaking) 11, Craft (Alchemy) 11, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 11, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 2	-	Touch of Shadow
9th	Shadowsmith 2	+7	+2	+8	+2	Hide 12, Move Silently 12, Craft (Poisonmaking) 12, Craft (Alchemy) 12, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 12, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 6	Poison Mastery (Contact)	Shroud of Shadow
10th	Shadowsmith 3	+8	+3	+8	+3	Hide 13, Move Silently 13, Craft (Poisonmaking) 13, Craft (Alchemy) 13, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 13, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 10	-	Shadow Craft (Basic)
11th	Shadowsmith 4	+9	+3	+9	+3	Hide 14, Move Silently 14, Craft (Poisonmaking) 14, Craft (Alchemy) 14, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 14, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 3, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 3, Craft (Armorsmithing) 14	-	Armor of Shadow +2
12th	Shadowsmith 5	+10	+3	+9	+3	Hide 15, Move Silently 15, Craft (Poisonmaking) 15, Craft (Alchemy) 15, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 15, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 4, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Craft (Armorsmithing) 15	Manyshot	Widen Shroud
13th	Shadowsmith 6	+11	+4	+10	+4	Hide 16, Move Silently 16, Craft (Poisonmaking) 16, Craft (Alchemy) 16, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 16, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 5, Craft (Armorsmithing) 16, Collector of Stories	-	Shadow Craft (Enchanted)
14th	Shadowsmith 7	+12	+4	+10	+4	Hide 17, Move Silently 17, Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Craft (Alchemy) 17, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 17, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 6, Craft (Armorsmithing) 17, Knowledge (Religion) 1cc, Collector of Stories	-	Armor of Shadow +4
15th	Shadowsmith 8	+13	+4	+11	+4	Hide 18, Move Silently 18, Craft (Poisonmaking) 17, Craft (Alchemy) 17, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 17, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 7, Craft (Armorsmithing) 17, Knowledge (Religion) 1, Knowledge (Nature) 1cc, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1cc, Knowledge (Geography) 1cc, Collector of Stories	Poison Expert (Injury)	Shadow Craft (Armor)
16th	Shadowsmith 9	+14	+5	+11	+5	Hide 19, Move Silently 19, Craft (Poisonmaking) 19, Craft (Alchemy) 19, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 19, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 8, Craft (Armorsmithing) 17, Knowledge (Religion) 1, Knowledge (Nature) 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1, Knowledge (Geography) 1, Collector of Stories	-	Shadow Craft (Quickened)
17th	Shadowsmith 10	+15	+5	+12	+5	Hide 20, Move Silently 20, Craft (Poisonmaking) 20, Craft (Alchemy) 20, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 20, Jump 5, Tumble 10, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 9, Craft (Armorsmithing) 20, Knowledge (Religion) 1, Knowledge (Nature) 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1, Knowledge (Geography) 1, Collector of Stories	-	Shadow Craft (Shadow Striking), Armor of Shadow (Quickened)
18th	Ninja 8	+16	+5	+13	+5	Hide 21, Move Silently 21, Craft (Poisonmaking) 21, Craft (Alchemy) 21, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 21, Jump 5, Tumble 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 10, Knowledge (The Planes) 9, Craft (Armorsmithing) 21, Knowledge (Religion) 1, Knowledge (Nature) 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1, Knowledge (Geography) 1, Collector of Stories	Poison Master (Injury)	Ghost Strike
19th	Ninja 9	+16	+6	+13	+6	Hide 22, Move Silently 22, Craft (Poisonmaking) 22, Craft (Alchemy) 22, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 22, Jump 5, Tumble 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 13, Knowledge (The Planes) 9, Craft (Armorsmithing) 22, Knowledge (Religion) 1, Knowledge (Nature) 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1, Knowledge (Geography) 1, Collector of Stories	-	Sudden Strike 5d6, Improved Poison Use
20th	Archivist 1	+16	+8	+13	+8	Hide 23cc, Move Silently 23cc, Craft (Poisonmaking) 23, Craft (Alchemy) 23, Craft (Weaponsmithing) 23, Jump 5, Tumble 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 5, Balance 5, Concentration 13, Knowledge (The Planes) 9, Craft (Armorsmithing) 22, Knowledge (Religion) 1, Knowledge (Nature) 1, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) 1, Knowledge (Geography) 1, Collector of Stories	Scribe Scroll (Archivist)	Dark Knowledge (Tactics) 3/day

If your DM rules that arrows are made through some other craft skill besides weaponsmithing (bowmaking for instance), then prioritize that over weaponsmithing and armorsmithing once you have the requisite 5 ranks in one (likely armorsmithing rather than weaponsmithing) to qualify for Shadowsmith.

White Snow learns the Mysteries from the Dark Terrain path; Carpet of Shadow, Black Fire, and Clinging Darkness. At 20th level, he gains Archivist spells, 3 Orisons and 2 1st level spells, plus any bonus 1st level spells for a high Wis score.

Since there was a lot of overlap in their central tricks, I was going to submit them together as foils to one another with fluff drawing heavily from the Key & Peele sketch that the image comes from.

The big ideas here were 1) That alchemical items produced by Epic characters with the Augmented Alchemy feat are still non-magical and hence within the scope of what a Shadowsmith can pull out of their ass with a DC 20 Craft check, so long as they've seen such things somewhere and 2) Shadow Craft can produce poisons and since they aren't being exuded from a creature's body, they all work with the Poison Master feat, meaning a few points of flat ability damage which can then be multiplied.

Black Ice accomplishes the multiplication through the Nightmare Blade maeneuvers. By getting Poison Use as a racial ability he scrapes a high enough IL to get Diamond Nightmare Blade at ECL 20. His other big trick is the use of Bloodline levels to crank his effective Shadowsmith level up so that he can get up to a +8 Shadow Crafted weapon. That's still not as good as the sort of weapon that a primary melee character might be generally expected to have unless you need to penetrate DR/Epic or something, but a Poisoned +8 Shadow Striking Augmented Ocanthus Knife (despite being alchemical, it's a dagger and therefore counts as a weapon and can be enhanced by Shadow Craft) thrown as part of a Hurling Charge is not bad at all. Other Augmented Alchemical items, such as Liquid Salt and Liquid Embers can be used on Hurling Charge as well, especially when there's another enemy adjacent to the charge target to hit with Shaped Splash.

White Snow trudges all the way to Ninja 9 to get Improved Poison Use and makes sure to get Poison Master in both Contact and Injury Poisons. This means that he can pull boosted contact poisons like Black Lotus Extract and Dragon Bile as well as injury poisons like Collossal Centipede Poison, Bonespear Poison Fusion, and Megapede Poison as a swift action, apply it to his arrows as a move action, then Manyshot as a standard action. At 20th level he also gets access to Hunter's Mercy from Archivist casting, and consequently, his Shadow Craft weapon of choice is an arrow made out of Kaorti Resin.

The Black Ice name was originally inspired by the Ocanthus Knife shenanigans (they are made from shards of black ice from Acheron), but in keeping with the theme, both can use alchemical items like Liquid Ice to create difficult terrain which stacks with the Carpet of Shadow mystery to create squares requiring 20ft of movement to pass through. White Snow uses this and other Dark Terrain mysteries to keep enemy melee out of his grill, while Black Ice can charge over difficult terrain with the Nimble Charge skill trick.

[Sian]

Guess it doesn't matter that I never got around actually finishing my build since it was quite similar to both Aya Shadowlight, and to a lesser degree

Dark Silverbrow Human Psychic Rogue 7 / Totemist 2 / Shadowsmith 9 / Exemplar 1 with Vow of Property, with the shtick being stupidly high Hide (my initial calculations threw it up in the high 60s, BEFORE considering the exact Dex bonus) so I could attack with 6 natural attacks (4 claws, tail, unarmed strike) each with sneak attack (and Touch of Golden Ice, the DC might be pitiful at high levels but between the sheer number of times enemies would have to roll against it, laws of averages suggest that they would fail often enough for it to matter), while eating the -20 from attacking while hiding so the opponents wouldn't be able to discover me (Darkstalker + HiPs + Control Light)

[Thurbane]

The build I (very briefly) contemplated was a VoP Human Warblade 5/Shadowsmith 10/Warblade +5. Not much to write home about: uses his Shadowsmith levels to create temporary weapons and armor that (maybe?) don't violate VoP.

Really good quality entries, and the picture for Keyrock made me LOL for real.

[Darrin]

Wow. Lots of great ideas!

My first idea was to just abuse WBL with Ancestral Relic and OA Samurai's Ancestral Daisho to enchant three different weapons. My take on Shadow Craft was that it could only create solid mundane objects, so I did a bit of book-diving to find the most expensive single solid object in print. Best I could find was a gold and ruby ring (DMG p. 55) for 7000 GP, although the table on that page goes up to 2d6 x 1000, so the most expensive thing you could find by the table would be a 12000 GP art object. I figured a ring with a few diamonds in it might work if you went strictly by the book. But after enchanting three different ancestral weapons with an essentially unlimited number of diamond rings, I wasn't sure what to do after that. I futzed around with a Chameleon build that made a new Ancestral Relic every day with his floating bonus feat, but I figured that had some rules issues. Maybe Dark Chaos Shuffle on all his allies so they get an Ancestral Relic too? Or maybe Void Disciple's Moment of Clarity... yeah, didn't think it would fly with most DMs, as it's not clear what happens to the Ancestral Relic if the feat goes away. But I still find the idea of a Chameleon with an entire golf bag full of several dozen "ancestral relics" to be amusing.

[Karl Aegis]

Now I wish I had enough time to submit my build. It was a Scout/Fighter multiclass with Melee Weapon Mastery and Shadow Blade that used their shadow craft ability to make tools for general thievery and moving around The Beastlands's third layer, the land of eternal night, said to be connected to the Plane of Shadow.

The other idea was a Dungeoncrasher Fighter that used the Urban Magic Web Enhancement's Night's Long Finger's ability to make Bull Rushes from a hundred of feet away. Shock Trooper shenanigans ensue.

[WhamBamSam]

The other idea was a Dungeoncrasher Fighter that used the Urban Magic Web Enhancement's Night's Long Finger's ability to make Bull Rushes from a hundred of feet away. Shock Trooper shenanigans ensue.

I briefly considered this as well, using Primordial Half-Giant and either Factotum or Marshal to jack up the check. Ultimately, the lack of fundamentals (so no Umbral Hand to perform ranged Sleight of Hand with), the single use per day of Umbral Fist, and not really having a good way for the build to use Shadow Craft led me to scrap the idea