Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge in the Playground XC

[Venger]

shouldn't be a problem.

[WhamBamSam]

An extension? Awesome. I just emerged from judging the last round, but I've got a rough idea that I'll hopefully be able to hammer out by Tuesday.

[Venger]

An extension? Awesome. I just emerged from judging the last round, but I've got a rough idea that I'll hopefully be able to hammer out by Tuesday.

excited to see your dish. good luck.

[WhamBamSam]

Well, managed to get my build in before the late reveal. I had a second idea, but I don't really have the time or wherewithal to write it up. Might post a stub after the reveal.

[The Viscount]

So we've got three(?) entries for our round, should be an interesting one.

[Heliomance]

Extension got extended by my lack of organisation, apologies all! Builds follow, stand by.

[Heliomance]

Entry number 1

Backwards Bo the Bowman

N Human Human Paragon 1/Fighter 2/Human Paragon 2/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Peerless Archer 8/Bloodstorm Blade 8

Stats

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Str 16 (other increases here)
Dex 14 (Increase at 4)
Con 14
Int 14
Wis 10
Cha 10

Build

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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	+2	Balance 4, Bluff 4, Craft (Bowmaking) 4, Intimidate 4, Jump 4, Tumble 4, Use Magic Device 4	Favored (Gladiatorial Stables, +2 to Tumble), Point Blank Shot	Adaptive Learning (Use Magic Device)
2nd	Hit and Run Fighter 1	+1	+2	+0	+2	Balance 5, Intimidate 5, Jump 5, Tumble 5, Use Magic Device 5	(B)Martial Study (Steely Strike)	Bonus Feat, +2 Initiative, Dex to damage against flatfooted, Skilled City Dweller (Ride to Tumble)
3rd	Fighter 2	+2	+3	+0	+2	Balance 6, Intimidate 6, Jump 6, Tumble 6, Use Magic Device 6	Precise Shot, (B)Martial Stance (Punishing Stance)	Bonus Feat
4th	Human Paragon 2	+3	+3	+0	+3	Balance 8*, Bluff 5, Craft (Bowmaking) 5, Intimidate 7, Jump 7, Tumble 7, Use Magic Device 7	(B)Primary Contact*	Bonus Feat
5th	Bloodstorm Blade 1	+4	+5	+0	+3	Craft (Bowmaking) 8, Intimidate 8, Spot 1, Tumble 8, Use Magic Device 8	(B)Throw Anything	Returning Attacks, Throw Anything, Weapon Aptitude
6th	Bloodstorm Blade 2	+5	+6	+0	+3	Craft (Bowmaking) 9, Intimidate 9, Spot 4, Tumble 9, Use Magic Device 9	Far Shot	Martial Throw, Thunderous Throw
7th	Bloodstorm Blade 3	+6/+1	+6	+1	+4	Craft (Bowmaking) 10, Intimidate 10, Spot 7, Tumble 10, Use Magic Device 10	(B)Quick Draw	Bonus Fighter Feat
8th	Bloodstorm Blade 4	+7/+2	+7	+1	+4	Intimidate 11, Spot 11, Tumble 11, Use Magic Device 11		Lightning Ricochet
9th	Peerless Archer 1	+8/+3	+9	+1	+4	Hide 3, Spot 12, Use Magic Device 12	Power Attack	Expert Bowyer, Ranged Sneak Attack +1d6
10th	Peerless Archer 2	+9/+4	+10	+1	+4	Hide 6, Spot 13, Use Magic Device 13		Sharp Shooting 1, Fletching +1
11th	Peerless Archer 3	+10/+5	+10	+2	+5	Hide 9, Spot 14, Use Magic Device 14		Power Shot
12th	Peerless Archer 4	+11/+6/+1	+11	+2	+5	Hide 12, Spot 15, Use Magic Device 15	Combat Reflexes	Ranged Sneak Attack +2d6, Fletching +2
13th	Peerless Archer 5	+12/+7/+2	+11	+2	+5	Hide 15, Spot 16, Use Magic Device 16		Sharp Shooting 2
14th	Peerless Archer 6	+13/+8/+3	+12	+3	+6	Hide 16, Spellcraft 1(2) Spot 17, Use Magic Device 17		Fletching +3
15th	Peerless Archer 7	+14/+9/+4	+12	+3	+6	Hide 17, Spellcraft 2(2) Spot 18, Use Magic Device 18	Stand Still	Ranged Sneak Attack +3d6
16th	Peerless Archer 8	+15/+10/+5	+13	+3	+6	Hide 19, Jump 8, Spot 19, Use Magic Device 19		Threaten, Fletching +4
17th	Bloodstorm Blade 5	+16/+11/+6/+1	+13	+3	+6	Acrobatic Backstab, Intimidate 13, Spot 20, Tumble 12, Use Magic Device 20		Blood Wind Ricochet
18th	Bloodstorm Blade 6	+17/+12/+7/+2	+14	+4	+7	Intimidate 18, Spot 21, Use Magic Device 21	(B)Martial Study (Wall of Blades), Mage Slayer	Bonus Fighter Feat
19th	Bloodstorm Blade 7	+18/+13/+8/+3	+14	+4	+7	Hide 19.5 (1), Intimidate 22, Spot 22, Use Magic Device 22		Eye of the Storm
20th	Bloodstorm Blade 8	+19/+14/+9/+4	+15	+4	+7	Hide 21.5 (4), Intimidate 23, Spot 23, Use Magic Device 23		Blood Rain

Backstory

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Bo jumped in place as he shook the tension out of his shoulders. The distant sound of the crowd grew to a proper roar that let him know somebody had just won in the arena.
“Opening match over already? Who was out there?”

“The new guy was facing off against Doug. I’ll have a talk with him when the healers are done. The crowd’s gotta feel like they got their money’s worth. That means you’re up, Bo. You want a bloodspike to get you pumped?”

“No thanks, I quit. Thrill of the fight’s all I need.” Bo walked toward the entrance and took his position as the announcer’s voice boomed among the crowds.

“And now put your hands together for our main event. He’s the one man crazy enough to bring an arrow to a fistfight, Backwards Bo the BOOOOOOWMAAAAAAN!”

Bo burst into the arena with a series of backflips before landing dead center. He grabbed his bow at lightning speed and fired three arrows high into the air, their specially made shafts screeching in flight to announce his arrival.

“Tonight he faces off against the promising young contender from way out in the sticks, back for the second time it’s crowd favorite Sammy Shields!”
The crowd’s cheers turned to quiet muttering when nobody appeared at the opposite entrance. A collective gasp rang out as Sammy flew out limply to land unconscious in the dust, his face slick with blood. A moment later a disheveled and outrageously grimy figure stepped out from the arena’s entrance. The smell coming off of him was indescribably bad, and the very air around seemed to waver under the sheer weight of his fetid aroma. Those in the stands nearest him could be seen gagging as the announcer piped in again.

“Ladies and gentlemen this is a shock! Sammy Shields is down for the count, and it looks like someone’s got a bone to pick with Bo. The nose doesn’t lie, and mine tells me that Fecar the Unclean just stepped into the ring!”

Bo froze at the sight, and more importantly, the smell of his new opponent.

“Fecar, you slimy son of a snake! You took out poor Sam just so you could get at me? Well I’m ready for you. I haven’t forgotten when you put my partner in the infirmary when I wasn’t there. Well now it’s just you and me, and I’m ready for some payback!”

Fecar’s laughter gurgled obnoxiously in his throat. “I heard he still isn’t walking right. If you thought that was bad, just wait until you see what I do to you. Come and get me, you backwards buffoon!”

Almost before he was finished speaking Bo nocked and fired an arrow headed straight for Fecar’s heart. It buzzed through the air with deadly intent before suddenly deflecting to the side and landing harmlessly in the sand. Bo shook his head in disbelief before firing another shot to no effect.

“I’m wise to your ways, Bo the blunderer! You may be a famed archer, but arrows are useless against my wind wall! Give up now before I get really nasty.”

“Ladies and gentlemen things look grim for Bo. Without his arrows, he’ll have to get close to dish out the hurt on Fecar. But I don’t think even he can withstand the stink at point blank range!”

Bo grimaced as he realized the same fact. His eyes were watering even from the careful distance he was maintaining. If he tried to get into melee, he would get knocked out before he could throw a punch. It was time for him to pull out all the stops.

“I’ll never give up, you dirty rat! You may be able to stop my arrows, but they don’t call me the bowman for nothing. Try this on for size!”

With a heavy grunt, he send his bow spinning through the air to strike Fecar’s head with a resounding crack. Fecar grabbed for the bow a hair too late as it perfectly reversed its trajectory to return to Bo’s open hand. Fecar roared in anger as he charged towards his opponent, trying to bring him within range of his infamous stench. But before he could get there he was struck again with enough force to stop him in his tracks. Blood ran heavily from his face as he tried to get his bearings. Bo kept his distance with leaps and flips as he sent his bow out again and again to strike his enemy. Fecar couldn’t keep up and was visibly winded, sweat bringing a greater sheen to his already oily face. One last blow to his forehead sent him crashing to the ground. Bo shouted in triumph as the crowd stood to cheer him.
***
Bo toweled off from the match back under the arena in the fighter’s quarters, pleased with his success. His back was to the door and he was unaware as Fecar walked up behind him, reaching out.

“Bo!” he shouted, clapping him on the back with a huge, calloused hand. “Great job in the ring today. I loved that trick with the throwing you pulled in there. That really got the crowd going. Sorry I didn’t tell you that we’d be fighting. Boss man wanted it to be a surprise so it would seem more real when they saw your face. You brought some good heat though. We had a real good back and forth going on.” He smiled broadly, and it lit up his whole face. He looked completely different once he had cleaned off all the muck.

“Fecar, great to see you. No worries, man. We’re all just working for that coin. I didn’t get to ask about Sammy, is that kid gonna be all right?”

“Oh he’ll be just fine. I know he looked pretty bad in the ring, but that was just a sleeping potion and some pig’s blood. He got half wages anyway. Not bad money for just showing up.”

“Always a pleasure, Fecar. Hey, you want to keep our little grudge match going? How about next week?”

Fecar rubbed the sore spot on his forehead gingerly. “How about next month?”

Level 5

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In the early levels we are going to be spending feats to prepare for later classes. Human Paragon has more skills so it goes first, and adaptive learning brings UMD in as a skill for the whole build.

Fighter brings full BA and feats, which blessedly can be used for martial study and martial stance. Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot mean that you can be competent at ranged combat as well as melee, and hit and run tactics gives your Dex another application. Punishing stance applies to all melee, and steely strike can be used with throws once you enter Bloodstorm Blade.

As you might have noticed, we entered Bloodstorm Blade a little earlier than one might expect, by virtue of Favored and Primary Contact. Favored in Gladiatorial stables offer a boost to an associated skill (I chose tumble to hit the DCs earlier but you could choose a different skill) and they will heal your wounds. There’s no dues for them, instead you periodically fight in the arena (which means more XP to level up) and actually generates gold. Primary Contact’s important effect is the bonus skill point in one of the associated skills, which happens to include Balance. This can exceed caps, but it’s not clear whether this permanently elevates the cap with the bonus rank, or whether it just jogs you ahead one at that level. I’m playing it safe and so for that reason take it at 4, where regardless of interpretation it gives us 8 ranks in Balance, which is the last thing we need to enter the SI.
The first level grants you returning attacks (so pack more than one weapon) and throw anything, which your Dex should make you competent at. We spent the ability point at 4 to use it since you still have to qualify for it.

Level 10

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We’re going to spend some time in Bloodstorm Blade to get the two most important features of Lightning Ricochet and Thunderous Throw. Far Shot extends the range increment out to a more functional 20 feet as well as filling prerequisites. Thunderous Throw allows you to bring Strength to bear and use one-handed weapons when you throw, and unless you have a strong reason, you should be using this as your predominant means of attack. With prerequisites out of the way we can take power attack and get that sweet 1:2 ratio of return for damage when using thunderous throw. Bloodstorm Blade makes no mention of changing the throwing rule that throwing a two-handed weapon is a full round action, so you’re best off using one-handed weapons. You can still throw them with two hands for maximum strength bonus. Lightning Ricochet means that you can now make full attacks with your thrown weapons, and you don’t have to worry about your enemies picking up what you throw. Bloodstorm Blade provides tumble and by this point you can make the DCs. Bonus feat is spent on Quick Draw, the last thing needed to enter Peerless Archer.

Peerless Archer is a funny old class, and it starts off with Ranged Sneak Attack, which pairs nicely with hit and run tactics. Due to the vagueness of its wording it’s possible you can use it in conjunction with thunderous throw, but if not, that’s also fine. Fletching can be used to make magical arrows, which can come in use since they’re cheaper than magic bows. Sharpshooting is designed with the old cover/concealment rules, so talk with your DM about how to implement it here, perhaps as a deduction in the normal miss chance percentage. Combat Reflexes allows you to take more of the AoOs enemies provoke.

At this point I’ll discuss the central theme of the build, which is generating multiple options with bows. Shooting arrows with bows is fine and has support, but if you want to get the most out of ranged combat, throwing is where it’s at, especially with the SI. How to resolve this? You throw your bow. Silly, perhaps, but it’s effective as well as more cost efficient. We can accomplish this with an elvencraft shortbow. If you cannot buy one, you have ranks necessary to craft one yourself. It functions as a club, which is one-handed (which provides an advantage over a longbow) and deals as much damage as the arrows it fires. This means that it threatens out to 5 feet, which helps with the attacks of opportunity. Your class features contribute to make throwing normally and thunderous throwing both competitive options. You can also shoot arrows if you feel like it. You unfortunately can’t throw the arrows because they’re always improvised.

Level 15

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Better sharpshooting and more ranged sneak attack improve your abilities. The big things to talk about are Power Shot and Stand Still. Power Shot is essentially Power Attack for ranged attacks, and along with ranged sneak attack makes for a good reason to use ranged attacks as well as thunderous throw. Stand Still allows you to prevent an enemy from moving when they provoke the AoO.


At this point you should be pretty reliably hitting UMD rolls for wands, we’ll keep investing so you can use scrolls and activate blindly.

Level 20

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We start with the last important feature from Peerless Archer, the ability to threaten with bow out to 10 feet. Note that they specify bow, so it will still work just fine when you’re chucking it. It functions as a reach weapon, but 5 feet is covered by the club function. These will be ranged attacks when you make them so you can make power shot, and they’re normal AoOs so you can make use of combat reflexes and standstill. Power shot and standstill pair quite nicely to boost the DC of the effect. I hope the image of bopping someone on the head with a thrown stick to stop them in their tracks is as funny to you as it is to me. Mage Slayer’s also contributing well here, and made extra fun by the fact that enemies will know they are threatened, but not why since you’ll just be standing 10 feet away holding a bow/club.

Acrobatic Backstab provides a reliable way of rendering a foe flatfooted to use ranged sneak attack on.
Having gotten what we need from Peerless Archer, it’s time to return to the SI. Blood Wind Ricochet allows you to cheat range increments attacking multiple enemies.
Blood Rain is one of the few sources of bleed damage, and pairs nicely with blood wind ricochet to whittle down four opponents at once. It’s also a good stance to be in when your turn ends so that your AoOs start your opponents bleeding, and due to the wording you should be able to activate it when using stand still to keep an opponent both rooted and losing health. Plus somebody bleeding out because you bopped them with a stick is just funny.

Eye of the Storm gives you something more interesting to do with your stance. Bonuses to AC and Ref saves are appreciated, but the second portion enables you to do a neat trick. You make a ranged attack and provoke the AoO from your enemy. Then you use Wall of Blades which you picked up with that bonus feat to negate that attack. Then you use Eye of the Storm to make an attack against them with your elvencraft bow, so you have generated an attack for free.

Sources

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Peerless Archer: Silver Marches
Favored, Primary Contact: Cityscape
Martial Study, Martial Stance: Tome of Battle
Hit and Run Tactics: Drow of the Underdark
Mage Slayer: Complete Arcane
Skilled City Dweller: Cityscape Web Enhancement
Fighter, Human Paragon, Stand Still, Power Attak, Point Blank Shot, Far Shot, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Combat Reflexes: srd

[Heliomance]

Entry number 2

The Ill Wind: A Tale for Dead Men

Spoiler: backstory

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“Hurry up with that rope, will ya?” Kipper hissed up toward the edge of the cliff. “I feel like a dumpling hanging here.” He twisted slowly in a circle, hanging at the end of his rope, the harness biting into his groin.

“What kinda dumpling hangs?” Polly popped her head over the ledge, blasting him in the eye with her ghostlight. Kipper shielded himself too late.

“Careful with that!” he said a little too loud, because something at the bottom growled. “You know, the ones we had that time on our Xen’drik cruise. We had them at your mother’s for baker’s night once, wrapped the banana leaves and they have the twine around them.”

Polly gave him more slack and he made his way down. “Oh those. I mean I think of them more as a steamed bun than a dumpling proper.”

Kipper rolled his eye. His feet touched the bottom of the pit. Too far away for her to hear now the normal way. He turned his head up to the ceiling so Polly could see and reached for his eyepatch. The glass behind it focused the pearl of liquid sunlight that rolled in his dead socket and let him set out the code like they’d planned. Polly turned on the telepathy they’d saved their pennies for.

“—know why you couldn’t have said that then,” Polly finished thinking.

“Well, I’m supposed to say what, hanging here like a bun? It would’ve just taken us longer to get here, then.” Kipper swept debris away from his feet with an oar wrapped in cotton wool, a trick he’d learned in the military to hide footprints from the Seren tribe. Host help you if they caught you, his commander’d always said. Kipper didn’t have much better hopes for the the thing down here guarding his prize. Assuming it existed, that was. Far more economical to guard something with a legend. They don’t have to be paid a wage like a man, or fed like a beast.

“Light when you’ve found something,” Polly thought to him. Kipper covered his socket and crept forward.

“If you don’t hear anything and don’t see a light, run. Don’t come back for me til you know it’s safe. I don’t care if it means sharing the treasure.” Kipper drew his knife and held it in his teeth. He got onto his belly and crawled forward when the cavern got too low to stand in.

“Says the man who thinks the guardian isn’t real,” Polly thought. “Mum’s had a good day at the races, I meant to tell you. Something happens to you, we might be able to raise you right proper. Get the eye back and all.”

Kipper touched his tongue to the spine of his knife to stop from laughing. It’d been so long, that’d take some getting used to.

“Well, I hate to disappoint, but I think you’re going to be stuck with me the way I am.” Dead end. Just a few rotten boards though, not something that naturally formed in caves. He was able to knock it down soon enough. Hang the noise, he couldn’t do anything if he suffocated down here.

The air wasn’t so foul on the other side of the wood. There was enough room to stand as well. Kipper got to his feet and cracked his back. “I don’t think ancient and terrible beasts would want to be seen by the likes of me guarding some ruddy, broken down old ship like the Gutshot Hog anyway. I think he’d die of embarrassment before I had a chance to stick him.”

He was inside the ship now, so no light from the surface could reach him. He held his breath, drew up the edge of his patch, and shone his light around.

“What the hell—“ was all that came to mind.

“Kip? I need context, luv. What is it? Something too big for the gunnysack? Can you cut it up? We’ll do it in shifts?” Polly thought, practical as ever.

It was some kind of statue, like a training dummy he’d heard they used in Karrnath, but it didn’t look like it was made for a man to use. Instead of arms and legs, it had tentacles like an octopus placed all over it. It didn’t look like it was made of wood, either, but carved from some unknowable antediluvian stone that absorbed all the light Kipper dared shine on it. Casting a shadow at all was beneath this thing before him.

His eyepatch fluttered, but not from his unsteady hand. From wind. Down here?

Something moved on his good side. Kipper spat out his knife just in time for it to be caught by some pronged weapon. It ripped the blade from his hand and impaled it in the rotten wood of the ship. It’d been thrown from clear across the ship, yet at once, something was on him.

“I was wrong.” Tentacles around his skull.

“First time I’ve heard that in what, ten years?” Polly teased.

“I love you.” A beak an inch from his good eye.

“Kipper?”

“…”

“Kip?”

Spoiler: stub

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NE human druid 5/ bloodstorm blade 10/ master of many forms 3/ war hulk 2

Spoiler: abilities

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

Spoiler: build table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Druid 1	+0	+2	+0	+2	balance 4, concentration 4, intimidate 4 (2), jump 4 (2), tumble 4, swim 4	martial study (steel wind), martial stance (punishing stance)	Animal companion, nature sense, wild empathy
2nd	Druid 2	+1	+3	+0	+3	balance 1 (5), concentration 1 (5), intimidate 1 (2.5), jump 1 (2.5), tumble 1 (5), swim 1 (5)		Woodland stride
3rd	Druid 3	+2	+3	+1	+3	balance 1 (6), concentration 1 (6), intimidate 1 (3), jump 1 (3), tumble 1 (6), swim 1 (6)	alertness	Trackless step
4th	Druid 4	+3	+4	+1	+4	balance 1 (7), concentration 1 (7), intimidate 1 (3.5), jump 1 (3.5), tumble 1 (7), swim 1 (7)		Resist nature’s lure
5th	Druid 5	+3	+4	+1	+4	balance 1 (8), concentration 1 (8), intimidate 1 (4), jump 1 (4), tumble 1 (8), swim 1 (8)		Wild shape (1/day)
6th	Bloodstorm Blade 1	+4	+6	+1	+4	concentration 1 (9), intimidate 4 (9), tumble 1 (9)	endurance	Returning attacks, Throw anything, weapon aptitude
7th	Bloodstorm Blade 2	+5	+7	+1	+4	concentration 1 (10), intimidate 1 (10), jump 1 (5), tumble 1 (10), never outnumbered 2		Martial throw, thunderous throw
8th	Bloodstorm Blade 3	+6/+1	+7	+2	+5	concentration 1 (11), intimidate 1 (11), jump 3 (8), tumble 1 (11)		Bonus fighter feat (power attack)
9th	Bloodstorm Blade 4	+7/+2	+8	+2	+5	balance 1 (9), concentration 1 (12), intimidate 1 (12), jump 3 (11), tumble 1 (12)	aberration blood (flexible limbs)	Lightning ricochet
10th	Bloodstorm Blade 5	+8/+3	+9	+2	+5	balance 1 (9), concentration 1 (13), intimidate 1 (13), jump 2 (13), tumble 1 (13)		Blood wind ricochet
11th	Bloodstorm Blade 6	+9/+4	+10	+3	+6	balance 2 (11), concentration 1 (14), intimidate 1 (14), jump 1 (14), tumble 1 (14)		Bonus fighter feat (exotic weapon proficiency talenta boomerang)
12th	Bloodstorm Blade 7	+10/+5	+10	+3	+6	balance 2 (13), concentration 1 (15), intimidate 1 (15), jump 1 (15), tumble 1 (15)	aberration wild shape	Eye of the storm
13th	Bloodstorm Blade 8	+11/+6/+1	+11	+3	+6	balance 2 (15), concentration 1 (16), intimidate 1 (16), jump 1 (16), tumble 1 (16)		Blood rain
14th	Bloodstorm Blade 9	+12/+7/+2	+11	+4	+7	concentration 1 (17), intimidate 1 (17), jump 1 (17), tumble 1 (17) nimble stand		Bonus fighter feat (boomerang daze)
15th	Bloodstorm Blade 10	+13/+8/+3	+12	+4	+7	concentration 1 (18), intimidate 1 (18), jump 1 (18), tumble 1 (18) back on your feet	exotic weapon proficiency pincer staff	Blade storm
16th	Master of Many Forms 1	+13/+8/+3	+14	+6	+7	climb 4, concentration 1 (19), jump 1 (19)		Shifter's speech, improved wild shape (humanoid)
17th	Master of Many Forms 2	+14/+9/+4	+15	+7	+7	climb 4 (8), concentration 1 (20), jump 1 (20)		Improved wild shape (giant; Large)
18th	Master of Many Forms 3	+15/+10/+5	+15	+8	+7	climb 4 (12), concentration 1 (21), jump 1 (21)	cleave	Fast wild shape, improved wild shape (monstrous humanoid)
19th	War Hulk 1	+15/+10/+5	+17	+8	+7	intimidate 4 (22)		No time to think, ability boost (Str +2)
20th	War Hulk 2	+15/+10/+5	+18	+8	+7	climb 1 (13), intimidate 1 (23), jump 2 (23)		Great swing,ability boost (Str +2)

Spoiler: spell table

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Spells per Day

Level	0lvl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
1st	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2nd	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
3rd	4	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4th	5	3	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5th	5	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-

Spoiler: playtips

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Spoiler: lvl 5

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You function as a pretty normal druid here, albeit with unconventional lifestyle choices vis a vis your skills due to your later career path in war hulk. Skulk around in wild shape, turn into big cats to pounce, and enjoy your great spell list. You’re laying groundwork for bloodstorm blade and will be able to enter next level

Spoiler: lvl 10

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Congratulations, you’re in the secret ingredient. You’ve got your aberration blood working for you now providing a bonus to grapple for later on. You’re making your attacks count by leaning in with power attack. Wild shape into big strong things and use the strength to your advantage to hit all the enemies you could ever need.

Spoiler: lvl 15

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Bloodstorm blade never stops giving. You can hurl boomerangs with the best of them now. Bloodstorm blade’s aptitude lets you roll your boomerang-related goodies onto any other weapon, such as pincer staff, which among other goodies allows you to grapple enemies, so have fun grappling the heck out of enemies via your bloodstorm blade powers.

Spoiler: lvl 20

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Master of many forms enhances your sweet wild shape, and thanks to aberration wild shape, you have access to a lot of cool stuff. One that stands out in particular is the classic mind flayer. You can use your dazing pincer staff to daze enemies as a kind of faux mind blast.

Since grappling involves stepping into the opponent’s square, once you hit them, you teleport over into position. This leaves you all set up to grapple (boosted thanks to aberrant blood, and war hulk’s strength increases stick regardless of what your body looks like)

Speaking of war hulk, let’s talk about that. Since bloodstorm blade lets you use your melee goodies at range, war hulk’s great swing beating the tar out of many enemies at once, and the increase to strength hardly hurts the rest of the time.

Spoiler: sources

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srd: druid, alertness, endurance, cleave
tome of battle: martial study, martial stance, bloodstorm blade
complete adventurer: master of many forms
miniatures handbook: war hulk
lords of madness: aberration blood, aberration wild shape
races of eberron: boomerang daze
underdark: pincer staff
skilled city dweller: cityscape web enhancement

[Heliomance]

Entry number 3

Earl N. Meyer
Chaotic Good Strongheart Water Halfling
Rogue 3/Fighter 1/Warblade 1/Bloodstorm Blade 2/Scarlet Corsair 3/Bloodstorm Blade +8/Warblade +1/Rogue +1

Spoiler: Stats

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

Increase:
4,8,12,16 = Str
20 = Cha

Spoiler: Build Table

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Martial Rogue 1	+0	+0	+2	+0	4 Balance 4 4 Bluff 4 1 Disable Device 1 4 Hide 4 3 Intimidate 3 2 K(arcana) 1 4 K(local) 4 2 K(nature) 1 4 Move Silently 4 1 Open Lock 1 3 Pe(dance) 3 4 Pr(sailor) 4 4 Spot 4	1st: Point Blank Shot; H: Far Shot; BF: Combat Reflexes	Trapfinding
2nd	Martial Rogue 2	+1	+0	+3	+0	1 Balance 5 1 Bluff 5 - Disable Device 1 1 Hide 5 - Intimidate 3 - K(arcana) 1 1 K(local) 5 - K(nature) 1 2 K(religion) 1 1 Move Silently 5 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 3 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 5 2 ST: Collector of Stories	BF: Power Attack	Evasion
3rd	Lightbringer Martial Rogue 3	+2	+1	+3	+1	- Balance 5 1 Bluff 6 - Disable Device 1 1 Hide 6 - Intimidate 3 - K(arcana) 1 2 K(dungeoneering) 1 1 K(local) 6 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 3 K(the planes) 3 1 Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 3 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 6 - ST: Collector of Stories	3rd: Knowledge Devotion (the planes)	Penetrating Strike
4th	Stealthy Thug Fighter 1	+3	+3	+3	+1	- Balance 5 1 Bluff 7 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 4 Intimidate 7 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 1 K(local) 7 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 - K(the planes) 3 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 3 - Pr(sailor) 4 - Spot 6 - ST: Collector of Stories	-	Sneak Attack +1d6
5th	Warblade 1	+4	+5	+3	+1	3 Balance 8 - Bluff 7 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 1 Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 1 K(local) 8 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 4 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 3 - Pr(sailor) 4 - Spot 6 - ST: Collector of Stories	-	Battle Clarity (reflex saves); Weapon Aptitude; MK: Steel Wind, Steely Strike, Disarming Strike; S: Punishing Stance
6th	Bloodstorm Blade 1	+5	+7	+3	+1	- Balance 8 - Bluff 7 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(local) 8 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 5 K(the planes) 9 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 3 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 7 - ST: Collector of Stories	6th: Shape Splash; B: Throw Anything	Returning Attacks; Weapon Aptitude
7th	Bloodstorm Blade 2	+6/1	+8	+3	+1	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 8 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(local) 8 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 10 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 3 - Pr(sailor) 4 3 Spot 10 - ST: Collector of Stories	-	Martial Throw; Thunderous Throw
8th	Scarlet Corsair 1	+7/2	+8	+5	+1	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 10 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 2 K(local) 10 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 - K(the planes) 10 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 2 Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 - Spot 10 - ST: Collector of Stories	B: Improved Feint	-
9th	Scarlet Corsair 2	+8/3	+8	+6	+1	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 12 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 2 K(local) 12 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 2 K(the planes) 12 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 - Spot 10 - ST: Collector of Stories	9th: Staggering Strike	Sneak Attack +2d6
10th	Scarlet Corsair 3	+9/4	+9	+6	+2	- Balance 8 1 Bluff 13 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 1 K(geography) 1 1 K(local) 13 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 13 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 - Spot 10 - ST: Collector of Stories 2 ST: Group Fake-Out	-	Corsair's Feint (1per2d4 rounds)
11th	Bloodstorm Blade 3	+10/5	+9	+7	+3	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 14 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 - K(local) 13 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 - K(the planes) 13 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 2 Spot 12 - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out 2 ST: Shrouded Dance	BF: Surprising Reposte	-
12th	Bloodstorm Blade 4	+11/6/1	+10	+7	+3	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 15 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 - K(local) 13 - K(nature) 1 - K(religion) 1 - K(the planes) 13 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 2 Spot 15 2 ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	12th: Ancestral Relic	Lightning Ricochet
13th	Bloodstorm Blade 5	+12/7/2	+10	+7	+3	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 16 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 - K(local) 13 - K(nature) 1 2 K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 14 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 16 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	-	Blood Wind Ricochet
14th	Bloodstorm Blade 6	+13/8/3	+11	+8	+4	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 17 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 - K(local) 13 - K(nature) 1 - K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 3 K(the planes) 17 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 17 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	BF: Brutal Throw	-
15th	Bloodstorm Blade 7	+14/9/4	+11	+8	+4	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 18 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 2 K(local) 14 - K(nature) 1 - K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 18 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 18 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	15th: Craven	Eye of the Storm
16th	Bloodstorm Blade 8	+15/10/5	+12	+8	+4	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 19 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 2 K(local) 15 - K(nature) 1 - K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 19 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 19 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	-	Blood Rain
17th	Bloodstorm Blade 9	+16/11/6/1	+12	+9	+5	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 20 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 2 K(local) 16 - K(nature) 1 - K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 20 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 20 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	BF: Power Throw	-
18th	Bloodstorm Blade 10	+17/12/7/2	+12	+9	+5	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 21 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 2 K(local) 17 - K(nature) 1 - K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 21 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 1 Spot 21 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	18th: Neraph Throw	Blade Storm
19th	Warblade 2	+18/13/8/3	+13	+9	+5	- Balance 8 2 Bluff 22 - Disable Device 1 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 3 K(local) 20 - K(nature) 1 - K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 22 - Move Silently 6 - Open Lock 1 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 - Spot 21 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	-	Uncanny Dodge; MK: Iron Heart Surge
20th	Martial Rogue 4	+19/14/9/4	+13	+10	+5	- Balance 8 1 Bluff 23 2 Disable Device 3 - Hide 6 - Intimidate 8 - K(arcana) 1 - K(dungeoneering) 1 - K(geography) 1 3 K(local) 23 - K(nature) 1 - K(psionics) 1 - K(religion) 1 1 K(the planes) 23 - Move Silently 6 1 Open Lock 2 - Pe(dance) 5 - Pr(sailor) 4 2 Spot 23 - ST: Clarity of Vision - ST: Collector of Stories - ST: Group Fake-Out - ST: Shrouded Dance	BF: Grenadier	Improved Uncanny Dodge

Spoiler: Ancestral Weapon

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Level	New Abilities	Total Price
12	Continuous Effect Rebuild Item (Tome of Magic p.249) +1 weapon Morphing (MIC p.39)	35,000 gp
13	Distance (DMG p.224)	51,000 gp
14	Revealing (MIC p.42)	65,000 gp
15	Precise (MIC p.39)	83,000 gp
16	Bloodseeking (CW p.134)	105,000 gp
17	Seeking (DMG p.225)	131,000 gp
18	+15 competence to Bluff	153,500 gp
19	Implacable (MIC p.37)	255,500 gp
20	--	--

Spoiler: Levels 1-5

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At these levels, Earl is, well, Earl is confused. (But he has a 10 Wisdom, so that actually makes sense.) He's very much a rogue who thinks he's a fighter who thinks he's sneaky.

Power Attack and Combat Reflexes makes him think he's a front-liner, but really, his hit points are too low for that.

Point Blank Shot and Far Shot makes everyone wonder what, exactly, he's aiming at.

Collector of Stories and several knowledge skills (albiet with low ranks) makes him something of the party know-it-some.

A rank each in Disable Device and Open Lock gives him the ability to do either of those things, but you're going to have to give him plenty of time to make it happen.

Ulitmately, Earl is a guy that can do several things, but none of them perfectly well. He can use a short sword. Or a bow. Or a dart. He can pick a lock and spring a trap and ramble on and on about the obvious differences between gnomes and dwarves.

In short (haha! Short. Halfling. Get it?) he's got options.

Spoiler: Levels 6-10

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Thunderous Throw opens up doors. It is now possible to flank at range! And that sets off sneak attack, which will eventually set off Staggering Strike (which also requires a melee attack, so, thank you Thunderous Throw!)
I suggest using a trident, to keep in theme with the Water Halfling/Scourge of the Seas motif. But every now and then, Earl will whip out some Alchemist Fire or an Acid Flask. It's probably not cost effective enough to use a splash weapon consistantly, but when it does get used, look out! Thunderous Throw allows for the use of Power Attack with a splash weapon and I see no reason that PA damage shouldn't apply to the splash damage, too.

But, for those times when flanking just doesn't work, along comes Corsair's Feint at the same level that Group-Fake Out shows up. Free action feint, swift action Thunderous Throw, and a full attack has sneak attacks happening all over the battlefield. Which is fine, until...

Spoiler: Levels 11-15

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...Surprising Reposte comes along. Then Earl has the option to just pound away at one enemy with Power Attack/touch attack/dex denying/sneak attack splash weapons that trigger staggering strike and splash damage that doesn't hit allies.

But wait, doesn't that get kinda pricey?
Well, yes. Yes, it does. Until level 12. Then the Ancestral Relic comes into play. A +1 morphing splash weapon. With a continuous form of Rebuild Item. And it enters Earl's life at the same time that he gets Lightning Ricochet. Just one weapon is all he'll ever need again.

Getting bored with an Acid flask? Morph it into Alchemist's Fire. Or Alchemist's Spark. Or Alchemist's Frost. Or Holy Water. Or, or, or.... My suggestion: Liquid Salt (Sandstorm p.102)

Free feint (against multiple foes), swift Thunderous Throw, full-round Blood Wind Ricochet to attack to distances and from angles that couldn't otherwise be done (or Lightning Ricochet to pound away at one target with Surprising Reposte) and touch attack dex-denied enemies with Power Attack to sneak attack two foes via Shaped Splash which sets off Craven and Staggering Strike. Don't forget the bonuses from small size, halfling racial boost to attack with thrown weapons, Point Blank Shot, Knowledge Devotion, Punishing Stance. And splash damage, flying every-which-way except at allies.

And just when you thought we couldn't have any more fun doing all this math each round...

Spoiler: Levels 16-20

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...we add Power Throw to the mix.
Power Attack and Power Throw?!? It can be done, if you know how to throw a weapon just right. And Earl does.
And, as if a 4th attack from BAB wasn't enough, Earl gets Neraph Throw at the same time he picks up Blade Storm.

One flask of Liquid Salt flying everywhere across the battlefield slamming touch attacks against foes who just can't believe their eyes, unable to dive out of the way as the shattered remnents of the previous attack coalesce midflight, reforming just in time to shatter again against another foe over and over and over....

Spoiler: Resources

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• Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting - Strongheart Halfling (p.18)
• SRD - Water Halfling; Martial Rogue; Stealthy Fighter; Thug Fighter
• Complete Scoundrel - Skill Tricks (p.83)
• Expedition to Castle Ravenloft - Lightbringer Rogue (p.208)
• Complete Champion - Knowledge Devotion feat (p.60)
• Tome of Battle - Warblade (p.20)
• Races of Eberron - Shaped Splash feat (p.111)
• Stormwrack - Scarlet Corsair (p.65)
• Complete Adventurer - Staggering Strike feat (p.112); Brutal Throw feat (p.106); Power Throw feat (p.111)
• Drow of the Underdark - Surprising Reposte feat (p.52)
• Book of Exalted Deeds - Ancestral Relic (p.39)
• Champions of Ruin - Craven feat (p.17)
• Planar Handbook - Neraph Throw feat (p.40)
• Player's Handbook 2 - Grenadier feat (p.79)

[Heliomance]

Entry number 4

Knuckles Klankplate



Race: Warforged
Build Stub: Battle Dancer 1/Barbarian 1/Fighter 2/Warblade 1/Bloodstorm Blade 4/Exotic Weapon Master 3/Bloodstorm Blade +6
Multiclass Penalty: Nope!
Languages: Common, Formian
Alignment: NG
Ability Scores:

Ability	Score	Racial	(Points)	Increases
Strength	16		(10)
Dexterity	16		(10)	4th/8th/16th/20th
Constitution	16	+2	(6)
Intelligence	12		(4)	12th
Wisdom	8	-2	(2)
Charisma	6	-2	(0)

Spoiler: Build Progression

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Level	Class	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Skills	Feats	Class Features
1st	Battle Dancer 1	+1	+0	+2	+0	Balance 4, Concentration 2(4cc), Craft:Weaponsmith 2(4cc), Jump 4, Tumble 4	Power Attack, Improved Unarmed Strike	AC Bonus, Unarmed Strike 1d6
2nd	Barbarian 1	+2	+2	+2	+0	Balance 4, Concentration 2, Craft:Weaponsmith 5(+3), Jump 5(+1), Tumble 5(+1)		Spirit Lion Totem, Whirling Frenzy ACF, Skilled City-Dweller ACF
3rd	Fighter 1	+3	+4	+2	+0	Balance 4, Concentration 2, Craft:Weaponsmith 6(+1), Jump 6(+1), Tumble 6(+1)	Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus:Unarmed Strike	Skilled City-Dweller ACF
4th	Fighter 2	+4	+5	+2	+0	Balance 4, Concentration 2, Craft:Weaponsmith 7(+1), Jump 7(+1), Tumble 7(+1)	Point Blank Shot
5th	Warblade 1	+5	+7	+2	+0	Balance 8(+4), Concentration 3(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 7, Jump 7, Tumble 7		Battle Clarity (Ref Saves), Weapon Aptitude
6th	Bloodstorm Blade 1	+6	+9	+2	+0	Balance 8, Concentration 3, Craft:Weaponsmith 9(+2), Jump 8(+1), Tumble 9(+2)	Improved Two-Weapon Fighting	Returning Attacks, Throw Anything, Weapon Aptitude
7th	Bloodstorm Blade 2	+7	+10	+2	+0	Balance 8, Concentration 4(+1), Craft:Weaponsmith 10(+1), Jump 10(+2), Tumble 10(+1)		Martial Throw, Thunderous Throw
8th	Bloodstorm Blade 3	+8	+10	+3	+1	Balance 8, Concentration 6(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 11(+1), Jump 11(+1), Tumble 11(+1)	Superior Unarmed Strike	Bonus Fighter Feat
9th	Bloodstorm Blade 4	+9	+11	+3	+1	Balance 8, Concentration 8(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 12(+1), Jump 12(+1), Tumble 12(+1)	Exotic Weapon Proficiency	Lightning Ricochet
10th	Exotic Weapon Master 1	+10	+13	+3	+1	Balance 8, Concentration 8, Craft:Weaponsmith 13(+1), Jump 12, Tumble 12, Skill Trick: Twisted Charge(+2)		Exotic Weapon Stunt: Throw Exotic Weapon
11th	Bloodstorm Blade 5	+11	+13	+3	+1	Balance 8, Concentration 8, Craft:Weaponsmith 14(+1), Jump 14(+2), Tumble 14(+2), Twisted Charge		Blood Wind Ricochet
12th	Bloodstorm Blade 6	+12	+14	+4	+2	Balance 8, Concentration 10(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 15(+1), Jump 15(+1), Tumble 15(+1), Twisted Charge	Combat Expertise, Improved Combat Expertise	Bonus Fighter Feat
13th	Exotic Weapon Master 2	+13	+15	+4	+2	Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 16(+1), Jump 15, Tumble 15, Skill Trick: Nimble Charge(+2), Twisted Charge		Exotic Weapon Stunt: Close-Quaters Ranged Combat
14th	Exotic Weapon Master 3	+14	+15	+5	+3	Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 17(+1), Jump 15, Tumble 15, Skill Trick: Back On Your Feet(+2), Nimble Charge, Twisted Charge		Exotic Weapon Stunt: Uncanny Blow
15th	Fighter 3	+15	+15	+6	+4	Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 18(+1), Jump 16(+1), Tumble 16(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge	Stone Power
16th	Fighter 4	+16	+16	+6	+4	Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 19(+1), Jump 17(+1), Tumble 17(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge	Rapid Shot
17th	Bloodstorm Blade 7	+17	+16	+6	+4	Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 20(+1), Jump 19(+2), Tumble 19(+2), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge		Eye of the Storm
18th	Bloodstorm Blade 8	+18	+17	+6	+4	Balance 8, Concentration 10, Craft:Weaponsmith 21(+1), Jump 21(+2), Tumble 21(+2), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge	Leap Attack	Blood Rain
19th	Bloodstorm Blade 9	+19	+17	+7	+5	Balance 8, Concenration 12(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 22(+1), Jump 22(+1), Tumble 22(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge	Greater Two-Weapon Fighting	Bonus Fighter Feat
20th	Bloodstorm Blade 10	+20	+18	+7	+5	Balance 8, Concenration 14(+2), Craft:Weaponsmith 23(+1), Jump 23(+1), Tumble 23(+1), Back On Your Feet, Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge		Blade Storm

Spoiler: Warblade Manuvers

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Warblade 1: Moment of Perfect Mind, Steel Wind Strike, Mountain Hammer, Punishing Stance

Spoiler: Background

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Knuckles held up his hand and shouted "STOP!"

Sensing a subtle shift in the tide of battle, all of the combatants around him froze.

Knuckles spoke: "Put down your weapons! There will be no more fighting! Can you not see, when you fight and kill and murder, all it does is bring more fighting, killing, and murder?" He pointed an accusing finger at the enemy commander. "This man, Lord Ayvilbahd. He killed my adopted family. Then he killed my girlfriend, even though we couldn't... uh, nevermind, that's not important right now. This man has spread across this land like a plague, killing and taking what he wants. He took from me everything I loved. Has he not done the same to you? What do you have that he has not taken for himself? What have you loved that he has not killed? Some day, he will get fat and sloppy, and one of you will kill him and take his place, and then you will kill everyone who threatens you and take whatever you want. And for what? So someone else can kill you and take everything you love? No! Today, this ends! Because today, Lord Ayvilbahd, your reign of terror ends. It ends, because I am going to punch you in the face until it ends. And then you will be a better man. You will be a dead man, but that is better than what you are now. And we will all go home, drink tea, and build a new tomorrow with no more fighting or killing."

Knuckles strode forward, and the combatants parted to allow him to approach Lord Ayvilbad. He settled into a fighting stance and raised his gauntleted fists. "Now, which side of your face do you want me to obliterate first?"

Spoiler: Levels 1-5

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Knuckles has a simple philosophy for dealing with the world. If you have a problem, follow these steps:

Step 1) Punch it in the face.
Step 2) Still a problem? Return to Step 1.

He was originally trained as part of an experimental unit that focused on unarmed combat. Frustrated with the lack of combat effectiveness from their Warforged monks, House Cannith began looking at different martial arts styles. Knuckles' unit focused on the fluid movements and strikes inspired by animals and fey revered by the free-spirited Greensinger druids from the Eldeen Reaches. The combat unit met with limited success: combat effectiveness increased, but unit discipline declined. When the unit disbanded, Knuckles worked as an apprentice weaponsmith and occasional mercenary to make ends meet. That's when he discovered his passion: gauntlets are weapons that involve *punching*! So those were two things he was good at, and he enjoyed doing them. Why not combine them? And so he spends most of his early career punching things in the face with gauntlets.

Knuckles' feat choices reflect his personal philosophy. Power Attack makes punching in the face hurt more. TWF and Whirling Frenzy are equivalents for Flurry of Blows, and allow more punches to the face. Pounce allows him to punch more often the people who weren't nice enough to stand next to him. Weapon Focus makes the punches hit more often. After 4th level, he branches out a little, picking up Point Blank Shot so he can throw things (which is similar to punching, but at a distance). Warblade adds some punch-related things, such as Punishing Stance (hurts more) and Steel Wind strike (punch two faces at the same time), but also branches out a little bit with Moment of Perfect Mind (failing a Will save usually means less punching) and Mountain Hammer (punching objects instead of faces).

Spoiler: Levels 6-12

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Knuckles has a problem. People who don't stand next to him are much harder to punch in the face. While Charging + Pounce usually solves that problem, some people are standing too far away, or they stand behind things that are hard to charge through, or it's just too much work to run all the way over there. Throwing things is another solution, but it has a big downside: thrown weapons don't come back (unless you get a really lucky ricochet). Bloodstorm Blade fixes this problem with Throw Anything and Returning Attacks. Even better, he can now throw his gauntlets at people's faces, and they come back! On the downside, Throw Anything/Returning probably doesn't work with his slam attack. While natural weapons do technically count as melee weapons by RAW, most DMs are probably not going to allow a "slam" to be thrown. To make up for this, Knuckles picks up Improved TWF for an additional attack. Another level of Bloodstorm Blade gives him Thunderous Throw, which allows him to treat his thrown weapon attacks as if they were melee attacks, so he can enjoy the benefits of Power Attack out to 50'. At 8th level, he picks up Superior Unarmed Strike to upgrade his unarmed damage to 1d8, and at 9th level he gains the coveted Lightning Ricochet, allowing him to make multiple attacks with his gauntlets in the same round. The gauntlets also get an upgrade, as he uses his weaponsmithing skills to craft extra-heavy platinum gauntlets (using the "Heavy Weapon" rules from Magic of Faerun p. 179). Since these heavy gauntlets count as exotic weapons now, he uses his Fighter Bonus feat from Bloodstorm Blade 3 to get Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Heavy Gauntlets. These gauntlets also get a damage bump: his unarmed strike damage is now 1d8, but heavy gauntlets do more damage as per the table on page 179 in Magic of Faerun, so heavy gauntlets should do 2d6 damage instead of 1d8.

These heavier gauntlets require additional training, so Knuckles takes a level of Exotic Weapon Master and picks up the "Throw Exotic Weapon" stunt. Here's the text, with the key phrase bolded:

The character can throw an exotic weapon with no penalty on the attack roll, even if it isn't designed to be thrown (such as an orc double axe or a spiked chain).

So... if it wasn't all that obvious up to now, this entire build depends on interpretting that "penalty" to mean *all* penalties to your attack roll. Hopefully your DM is a stickler for RAW (even absurdist RAW), or has a good sense of humor (and no heavy objects within easy reach). If your DM rules against you, then replace the Exotic Weapon Master levels with additional levels of Warblade or Fighter: you won't be hitting as often, but at least the core concept of punching people in the face is still there.

If the DM rules in your favor, then this means all range penalties, TWF penalties, Rapid Shot penalties, Power Attack penalties, Combat Expertise penalties, and iterative penalties are all ignored, and all your thrown weapon attacks are made at full BAB. At 10th level, Knuckles can make five attacks (two iteratives, two offhand, one whirling frenzy) at +10 BAB with a maximum range of 50' and crank his Power Attack damage up to maximum. At 11th level, he adds a third iterative attack and Blood Wind Ricochet allows him to "chain" his gauntlet attacks out to targets beyond his 50' thrown weapon range.

*** SWEET SPOT ***

At 12th level, Knuckles gets two bonus feats, so he picks up both Combat Expertise and Improved Combat Expertise. This allows him to convert his entire BAB into an AC bonus when throwing his gauntlets. He can now make six attacks (three iteratives, two offhand, one whirling frenzy) at +12 BAB, +12 damage from Power Attack, and +12 AC from Improved Combat Expertise. Everything else after this point is mostly gravy. If you don't feel like finishing off Bloodstorm Blade or Exotic Weapon Master, you can take more levels of Fighter for more bonus feats (such as the Weapon Specialization/Melee Weapon Mastery trees) or more Warblade levels for a few choice maneuvers (Dancing/Raging Mongoose, for example).

Spoiler: Levels 13-20

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From 13th-level on, Knuckles focuses mostly on fine-tuning his "punch it in the face" philosophy. Two more additional levels of Exotic Weapon Master allows him to add the "Close-Quarters Ranged Combat" stunt and the "Uncanny Blow" stunt. The first stunt allows him to avoid any unpleasant attacks of opportunity when he charges into melee range and then unloads all his thrown weapon attacks. The second stunt could be a bit of a head-scratcher, as the wording on "Uncanny Blow" isn't entirely clear. Here's the text:

When wielding a one-handed exotic melee weapon in two hands, the character can focus the power of his attack so that he deals extra damage equal to his Strength bonus ×2 instead of his Strength bonus ×1-1/2. If he has the Power Attack feat, he treats the weapon as two-handed for purposes of determining his bonus on damage rolls.

There are two sentences here. The first one deals with wielding a one-handed exotic melee weapon in two hands, which doesn't apply to gauntlets. The second sentence is either redundant "reminder text", as the Power Attack feat *already* treats a two-handed grip on a one-handed weapon as two-handed for the purposes of determining bonus damage, or it's another effect entirely. If it is another effect that isn't related to the first sentence, then what it's saying here is that one-handed exotic weapons gripped in one hand can be considered two-handed for the purposes of Power Attack. It's not clear if a gauntlet is considered a light or one-handed weapon, but the point is moot: even if it's a light weapon, it still counts as an unarmed strike, and Power Attack works with unarmed strikes because it explicitly says it does. Before you take this stunt, make sure you and the DM are clear on how it works. If the DM rules against you, then replace this level with another level of Warblade.

After that, Knuckles picks up two more Fighter levels to pick up Stone Power and Rapid Shot. On top of his other defences, he can use Stone Power to gain 10 temporary HP per round while ignoring the -5 attack penalty. At 16 level, he picks up Rapid Shot to increase his number of attacks to eight (four iterative, two offhand, one rapid shot, one whirling frenzy) at +16 BAB, +32 damage, +16 AC, and 10 temporary HPs. His unarmed strike damage also changes: Superior Unarmed Strike does 2d6 damage, and thus his heavy gauntlets now do 2d8. Knuckles then heads back into Bloodstorm Blade to finish off his career. Eye of the Storm doesn't add much (Improved Combat Expertise takes care of AC and Close-Quarters Ranged Combat negates AoOs for making ranged attacks), but Blood Rain allows him to trade the +1d6 damage from Punishing Stance into 3 bleed damage (particularly useful if he's attacking multiple foes with Blood Wind Ricochet instead of focusing on one opponent with Lightning Ricochet). At 18th level, he picks up Leap Attack, so when he charges and uses Power Attack, he can crank up his bonus damage to +72 (+18 x 2 from Uncanny Blow, +100% as per the Complete Adventurer errata). At 19th level, he completes his final attack routine with Greater TWF: nine attacks (four iteratives, three offhand, one rapid shot, one whirling frenzy) at +19 BAB, +76 Power Attack damage, +19 AC, and 10 temp HP. At 20th level, he unlocks his capstone: Blade Storm. Instead of nine attacks, he gets one attack against every enemy within 50', +20 BAB, +40 Power Attack damage (sadly, no Leap Attack multiplier), +20 AC, and 10 temp HP.

Spoiler: Variations

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If your DM allows flaws, then consider picking up Mithral Body and maybe Improved Natural Attack to upgrade your unarmed strike damage an additional step. I also originally had Snap Kick in this build, but I took it out when I realized it probably couldn't be used to make a ranged "gauntlet" attack as an unarmed strike.

Something else I didn't explore all that much, because it seemed just a wee bit too extreme even for my standards, would be to swap in Ironheart Aura and Stormguard Warrior for some fun with "Combat Rhythm": first round are all ranged touch attacks at full BAB, second round could be up to +45 damage on top of +80 Power Attack damage. That sounds like loads of fun, but very few creatures in print would still be alive after the first few hits.

I used gauntlets as my weapon of choice in this build mostly because I got "Rocket Punch!" stuck in my head and it wouldn't shake loose, but there are plenty of other exotic weapons out there that might be more effective. Due to Weapon Aptitude, Knuckles can actually switch his EWP/WF feats to use any other exotic weapon. For example:

• Out-Katana-Chuck the Katana Chucker.
• Orc shotputs, the ultimate "ball of numbers" weapon: 2d6 damage, crit 19-20/x3 (A&EG).
• Warmaces are one-handed weapons with 1d12 damage and who cares about the AC penalty? (Complete Warrior)
• Boomerangs + Boomerang Daze + Boomerange Ricochet (Races of Eberron).
• Heavy morningstars + Improved Bull Rush + Three Mountains Style for save vs. nausea (Complete Warrior).
• Cutting wheels + Wind and Fire Style + Blood Rain for buckets of bleeding damage (Secrets of Sarlona).
• Eagle's Claw + Eagle's Fury (Sandstorm) for an additional attack.

Spoiler: Sources

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Cityscape: Skilled City-Dweller ACF
Complete Champion: Spirit Lion Totem
Complete Warrior: Exotic Weapon Master, Improved Combat Expertise
Complete Scoundrel: Twisted Charge, Nimble Charge
Dragon Compendium: Battle Dancer
Magic of Faerun: Heavy weapons
Monster Manual III: Warforged
Tome of Battle: Superior Unarmed Strike, Stone Power
Unearthed Arcana: Whirling Frenzy ACF

[Heliomance]

Entry number 5

Zerzer the Sanguine
CE Venerable Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Warblade 8/Bloodstorm Blade 10/Sorcerer 1/Thrall of Demogorgon 1

The Calm

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Zerzer sat in the shadow of a great tree, legs folded and eyes closed. He had led a long, but unremarkable life as a foot soldier for his tribe. There was little to complain about, but he had always felt dissatisfied by his lot. When he had been born, the elders had crowed about the blessing of a Dragonwrought being born to the tribe and the great deeds that he would go on to do, but there hadn’t been any great deeds for him to do. The secluded corner of the world where the tribe dwelt had scarcely faced more than a skirmish for more than a century, though he had hardly distinguished himself in the battles he had fought, being better at surviving than killing. The Dragon Within slumbered on, so soundly that he came to doubt whether it was really there at all, and as the decades wore on he had sunk into a depression as the sense of inadequacy grew heavier and heavier. He became desperate, and focused more and more of his energy inward, becoming obsessed with the ritual Search for the Dragon. He began skipping food for days at a time in his contemplation, and indeed it had been nearly a tenday since his last meal as he sat beneath the boughs of the old tree, the thrumming and whistling of the jungle fading away into silence. He felt as though he were floating in a thick dark nothing, totally alone.

Then, suddenly, the feeling of being alone was replaced by a presence. The thick darkness became thicker, more familiar. It was blood. His blood. The blood of the dragon. He tasted an immense presence as if by his sixth dragon sense, and tasted the same blood upon that presence. Yet despite its size, much greater than his own, he sensed that it was contained inside himself. Then, finally, the silence broke. A roar erupted in his heart, and reverberated through his body and his mind.

“This is… You’re the Dragon Within?”

There was a pulse in the affirmative.

“You’re… you’re really…” In his ecstasy, Zerzer could scarcely think straight.

Rumbling through his body came the words, “I understand. I’m you, after all.”

“After all this time…” Zerzer said, choking back sobs of joy.

“Yes,” replied the Dragon Within. “I have slumbered long within you, but it was time to wake up. So too shall it be for all.”

“All? What do you mean?” Zerzer asked in awed bewilderment.

“This world has its own Dragon Within of sorts. Just as I woke from within you, so too can the world’s dragon be awakened.”

“How?” Zerzer asked. He would do it. He must do it. Feeling his Dragon Within at last, he knew that the world could not be truly whole while its dragon slept.

“As I awoke from your blood, so too shall the world’s dragon from the blood of all. There must be a storm. A rain of blood such that the world is awash in it. Only from blood can the dragon awake.”

“I shall be the storm,” Zerzer declared. His eyes opened with a manic gleam and he stood up to see a shimmering tail extending out from his own, coiling and thrashing with the power of the Dragon Within.

The Storm

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Ability Scores

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Point Buy: 14 Str, 18 Dex, 12 Con, 12 Int, 9 Wis, 9 Cha
After Racial Adjustments: 10 Str, 20 Dex, 12 Con, 10 Int, 9 Wis, 9 Cha
After Adjustments for Venerable on a Dragonwrought Kobold 10 Str, 20 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 4: 10 Str, 21 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 8: 10 Str, 22 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 12: 10 Str, 23 Dex, 12 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 15: 10 Str, 25 Dex, 10 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 16: 11 Str, 25 Dex, 10 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha
Level 20: 12 Str, 25 Dex, 10 Con, 13 Int, 12 Wis, 12 Cha

Build 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, Tumble 4, Jump 4, Concentration 4*	Dragonwrought, Thrall to DemonV	Weapon Aptitude, Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Ghostly Tail 1/Day (Draconic Rite of Passage)
2nd	Warblade 2	+2	+3	+0	+0	Balance 5, Tumble 5, Jump 5, Concentration 5, Knowledge (History) 1	-	Uncanny Dodge
3rd	Warblade 3	+3	+3	+1	+1	Balance 5, Tumble 6, Jump 6, Concentration 6, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1cc	Point Blank Shot	Battle Ardor (Critical Confirmation)
4th	Warblade 4	+4	+4	+1	+1	Balance 7, Tumble 7, Jump 7, Concentration 7, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1	-	-
5th	Warblade 5	+5	+4	+1	+1	Balance 8, Tumble 8, Jump 7, Concentration 8,[/b] Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5cc	Combat ReflexesB, Willing DeformityV	-
6th	Bloodstorm Blade 1	+6	+6	+1	+1	Balance 8, Tumble 8, Jump 7, Concentration 8, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5, Spot 5	Mortalbane, Throw Anything (Bonus)	Returning Attacks, Weapon Aptitude
7th	Bloodstorm Blade 2	+7	+7	+1	+1	Balance 8, Tumble 8, Jump 7, Concentration 8, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5, Spot 10	-	Martial Throw, Thunderous Throw
8th	Bloodstorm Blade 3	+8	+7	+2	+2	Balance 8, Tumble 9, Jump 8, Concentration 10, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 1.5, Spot 11	Martial Study (Crusader’s Strike)B	-
9th	Sorcerer 1	+8	+7	+2	+4	Balance 8, Tumble 9, Jump 8, Concentration 10, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2cc, Spot 11, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Draconic Resevoir	Summon Familiar (Raven)
10th	Thrall of Demogorgon 1	+9	+9	+2	+4	Balance 8, Tumble 9, Jump 8, Concentration 13, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 13, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Maximize Spell-Like Ability (Ghostly Tail)B, Evil BrandV	Scaly Flesh +1, Hypnotism
11th	Bloodstorm Blade 4	+10	+10	+2	+4	Balance 8, Tumble 10, Jump 10, Concentration 14, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 14, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Lightning Ricochet	-
12th	Bloodstorm Blade 5	+11	+10	+2	+4	Balance 8, Tumble 12, Jump 11, Concentration 15, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 15, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Empower Spell-Like Ability (Ghostly Tail)	Blood Wind Ricochet
13th	Bloodstorm Blade 6	+12	+11	+3	+5	Balance 8, Tumble 13, Jump 13, Concentration 16, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 16, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Martial Study (Defensive Rebuke)B	-
14th	Bloodstorm Blade 7	+13	+11	+3	+5	Balance 8, Tumble 10, Jump 16, Concentration 17, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 17, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	-	Eye of the Storm
15th	Bloodstorm Blade 8	+14	+12	+3	+5	Balance 8, Tumble 11, Jump 18, Concentration 18, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 18, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Improved Combat Reflexes, Deformity (Gaunt)V	Blood Rain
16th	Bloodstorm Blade 9	+15	+12	+4	+6	Balance 8, Tumble 13, Jump 19, Concentration 19, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 19, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Far ShotB	-
17th	Bloodstorm Blade 10	+16	+13	+4	+6	Balance 8, Tumble 15, Jump 20, Concentration 20, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 20, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	-	Blade Storm
18th	Warblade 6	+17	+14	+5	+7	Balance 8, Tumble 16, Jump 21, Concentration 21, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 21cc, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Distant Shot	Improved Uncanny Dodge
19th	Warblade 7	+18	+14	+5	+7	Balance 8, Tumble 17, Jump 22, Concentration 22, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 22cc, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	-	Battle Cunning (Damage)
20th	Warblade 8	+19	+15	+5	+7	Balance 8, Tumble 18, Jump 23, Concentration 23, Knowledge (History) 2, Knowledge (Religion) 2, Spot 23cc, Knowledge (Arcana) 2	Abyss-Bound Soul (Demogorgon)V	-

B denotes a bonus feat from class levels.
V denotes a bonus feat from dedication to the Leviathan.
*This assumes that it is ruled that Zerzer takes his first level of Warblade in his youth and therefore only has 10 Int at first level. At all levels thereafter, he is assumed to be at least Old, and therefore have an Int mod of +1.

Maneuvers and Casting

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Level	Maneuvers Readied	Maneuvers Known	Stances
1	3	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike	Leading the Charge
2	3	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap	Leading the Charge
3	3	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Mountain Hammer	Leading the Charge
4	4	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Wolf Fang Strike, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike	Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance
5	4	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics	Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance
8	4	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Crusader’s Strike	Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance
11	4	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke	Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance
18	4	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Crusader’s Strike, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike	Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance
19	4	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Finishing Move	Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance
20	4	Steely Strike, Moment of the Perfect Mind, Sudden Leap, Disarming Strike, White Raven Tactics, Defensive Rebuke, Covering Strike, Finishing Move, Dazing Strike	Leading the Charge, Punishing Stance

Spells per Day/Spells Known
Spells per Day/Spells Known

Level	0lvl	1st
9th	5/4	3/2
9th (Greater Draconic Rite of Passage)	6/5	4/2

*Does not include bonus spells for a high Cha score

Sorcerer spells known:
0th level: No Light, Detect Magic, Message, Prestidigitation, Stick
1st level: Fist of Stone, Benign Transposition

The Devastation

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Level 5

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Zerzer starts out as a bit of an odd duck dragon of a Warblade. He’s not fragile by any means, but nor is he the destructive force on the front lines that others in the class would be. Rather than wade into the fray, he’ll focus more on ranged attacks (thrown or from a light crossbow) and position himself between the party squishies and the enemy, clutching a Kusuri-gama in his free hand. Not being proficient isn’t an issue thanks to the wonders of Ghostly Tail, picked up as a 1/day SLA through the Draconic Rite of Passage. When an enemy provokes an AoO by passing through Zerzer’s threatened area to get into melee or target an ally, he makes a touch attack with the tail for 2d6+level Force damage. We don’t have other feats souping it up just yet, as we need Point Blank Shot to enter the SI, but it should still help in keeping Zerzer up with the curve. Its duration is hours/level, so even 1/day and early on, it should last through the adventuring day most of the time.

Level 10

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Into the SI, with a brief detour as Thrall of Demogorgon rears its ugly heads again. I’m not any happier about it than you are, but the build was short a general feat and needs a Deformity feat later to qualify for everything without items. Nothing is too different just yet in terms of tactics, but Bloodstorm Blade helps out a bit with ranged attacks, and Ghostly Tail is scarier. Mortalbane adds 2d6 damage when not fighting Outsiders, Undead, or Constructs, and Maximize brings its total damage up to 24+level. In case of dispelling or suddenly fighting more (or fewer) non-mortals than expected, Draconic Resevoir brings the number of uses up to 3/day as well as qualifying Zerzer for the Greater Draconic Rite of Passage (though Sorcerer 2 being pretty dead, he doesn't get much out of it).

Level 15

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Now we’re getting somewhere. Zerzer is rocking a Maximized Empowered Mortalbane Ghostly Tail for a grand total of 2d6+24+level damage, and now has Defensive Rebuke via Martial Study, meaning that enemies he’s struck, even with ranged attacks, now provoke AoOs when they attack his friends. Ghostly Tail explicitly works “even if you are not holding a melee weapon that would normally threaten your foe,” so you can make ranged attacks (Lightning Ricochet and Blood Wind Ricochet are handy) then sit back as enemies who choose to stay in combat with your allies are punished by the tail.

Per page 66 of Draconomicon, any Old or older dragon (not necessarily a True Dragon) can take Epic feats, allowing Zerzer to take Improved Combat Reflexes. Given his Dex, he’s not at much risk of bumping up against Combat Reflexes’ limit on AoOs just yet, but it will become important in a few levels’ time.

Level 20 (Sweet Spot)

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With the help of Deformity (Gaunt) bringing his Dex up to the requisite 25, Zerzer takes another Epic feat, this time Distant Shot. No more penalties or indeed limits on ranged attacks, including thrown weapons. Zerzer can now throw his weapon at anything within line of sight at no penalty, and in fact can throw it at everything within line of sight thanks to the wonders of Blade Storm. Throw on Defensive Rebuke, and now an entire enemy army can be at risk of getting smacked by his Ghostly Tail (and thanks to Improved Combat Reflexes, there’s also no limit on how many of them the tail can hit). Alternatively, use Covering Strike and take the enemy’s AoOs away. Thanks to Raining Blood, all those enemies also bleed for 3 HP/turn, which would ordinarily be largely inconsequential, but is much more impressive when done on a mass scale. For situations that call for more focused fire, he picks up Finishing Move and Dazing Strike. His final Elder Evil feat gets him a summoned demon for 1 hour/day, which, along with his familiar, can serve as a go between when he hangs back in the distance away from his allies.

The Aftermath

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Book of Vile Darkness: Mortalbane, No Light, Thrall of Demogorgon
Complete Arcane: Empower Spell-Like Ability, Maximize Spell-Like Ability
Draconomicon: Old Dragon Rules
Dungeon Master’s Guide: Kusuri-gama
Epic Level Handbook: Distant Shot, Improved Combat Reflexes
Elder Evils: Dedication to an Elder Evil, The Leviathan
Fiendish Codex I: Thrall to Demon, Evil Brand, Abyss-Bound Soul
Heroes of Horror: Willing Deformity, Deformity (Gaunt)
Races of the Dragon: Draconic Rite of Passage, Dragonwrought, Ghostly Tail
Tome of Battle: Martial Study, Maneuvers, Warblade
Spell Compendium: Spells
Everything else should be in the SRD

[Heliomance]

And that's everything! Five tasty dishes to judge over Christmas!

[Darrin]

Feh. There goes my idea of using the delay to get another entry in... I was going to see if I could get more levels of Bloodstorm Blade into my King of Pong build... but looking at it now, I'd have to lose all the Warmind levels, so no more Sweeping Strike. However, I was thinking about putting in a couple levels of Initiate of the Sevenfold Veils: throw up a warding, an every time your "projectile" crosses it, they take damage. But trying to fit in 4th-level spellcasting would eat up all the other levels.

My first idea was a pair of Dvati wildshape rangers who wildshape into dire apes and then throw each other at their enemies.

WS Ranger 5/MoMF 2/Warblade 1/Scaled Horror 1/Hulking Hurler 1/Bloodstorm Blade 10

Not enough room for Warshaper, though. Assuming an average dire ape weighs 1000 lbs, Natural Heavyweight (Planar Handbook) puts that within a heavy load, and that's enough to do 8d6 damage as an improvised weapon. Expansion might kick that up to 8000 lbs and 43d6 damage, but I'm not sure I can fit that in, and the Str bonus doesn't scale up enough to handle the increased weight. However... at large size, 8d6 + Power Attack is probably enough.

[jdizzlean]

Feh. There goes my idea of using the delay to get another entry in... I was going to see if I could get more levels of Bloodstorm Blade into my King of Pong build... but looking at it now, I'd have to lose all the Warmind levels, so no more Sweeping Strike. However, I was thinking about putting in a couple levels of Initiate of the Sevenfold Veils: throw up a warding, an every time your "projectile" crosses it, they take damage. But trying to fit in 4th-level spellcasting would eat up all the other levels.

My first idea was a pair of Dvati wildshape rangers who wildshape into dire apes and then throw each other at their enemies.

WS Ranger 5/MoMF 2/Warblade 1/Scaled Horror 1/Hulking Hurler 1/Bloodstorm Blade 10

Not enough room for Warshaper, though. Assuming an average dire ape weighs 1000 lbs, Natural Heavyweight (Planar Handbook) puts that within a heavy load, and that's enough to do 8d6 damage as an improvised weapon. Expansion might kick that up to 8000 lbs and 43d6 damage, but I'm not sure I can fit that in, and the Str bonus doesn't scale up enough to handle the increased weight. However... at large size, 8d6 + Power Attack is probably enough.

that sounds both hilarious, and scary. build it anyways :)

[WhamBamSam]

My second, unsubmitted idea was an attempt to optimize Eye of the Storm.

Azurin Warblade 6/Bloodstorm Blade 10/Master of Nine 4
1. Warblade 1 - Power Attack, Point Blank Shot
2. Warblade 2
3. Warblade 3 - Martial Study (Baffling Defense)
4. Warblade 4
5. Warblade 5 - Combat Reflexes
6. Bloodstorm Blade 1 - Throw Anything, Adaptive Style
7. Bloodstorm Blade 2
8. Bloodstorm Blade 3 - Cleave
9. Bloodstorm Blade 4 - Midnight Dodge
10. Bloodstorm Blade 5
11. Bloodstorm Blade 6 - Blind Fight
12. Bloodstorm Blade 7 - Robillar's Gambit
13. Bloodstorm Blade 8
14. Bloodstorm Blade 9 - Improved Initiative
15. Bloodstorm Blade 10 - Improved Unarmed Strike
16. Master of Nine 1
17. Master of Nine 2
18. Warblade 6 - Great Cleave
19. Master of Nine 3
20. Master of Nine 4

The big idea was that I would stand in melee in both Eye of the Storm and Stance of Alacrity thanks to Mo9's Dual Stance, and make whatever ranged attacks seemed appropriate. This would trigger an AoO from the threatening enemy, which I would counter without needing an action via Stance of Alacrity (picked up at 20th level, which is why the build has only 4 levels of Mo9), and possibly switch Stance of Alacrity out while doing so with Counter Stance. I would then still have my swift action with which to make the Eye of the Storm attack, a Robillar AoO, and Cleave attacks from anything that had died as a result of the thrown attacks.

It was a fun little build, and given the competition this round (very much including my entry), it would have probably stood out in Elegance, and could have been fairly competitive.

[Zaq]

I couldn’t come up with anything unique that was unambiguously legal (and non-headache-inducing).

I played around with the idea of insta-returning harpoons either instantly doing their removal damage or doing Scorpion-style “GET OVER HERE” shenanigans (the removal damage is SLIGHTLY better supported by RAW, but not by much; they’re both kinda weak arguments), but I couldn’t come up with a convincing argument that this worked in the absence of a charitable GM ruling.

I spent a little bit of time trying to throw arrows, but it was pretty stupid and never actually did anything better than shooting arrows or throwing things that aren’t arrows.

I did have an idea for a build component that was used in at least one dish, but I didn’t do anything unique with it, and I don’t want to comment on an actual entry.

I played around with the idea of using some kind of spell channeling (Duskblade or Spellsword or something), including a little bit of trying to heal people by throwing Cure-channeling beanbags (saps) at them, but it took way too many levels to do anything, and the fact that I could still only channel one spell per attack (no, Duskblade 13 was not on the table) made Lightning Ricochet significantly less shiny.

So yeah. Between not really having any strong ideas and not having a heck of a lot of free time this month, I obviously didn’t get anything in. Definitely some interesting stuff here, though. I’ll be interested to see how the judges treat a few of these in particular. Congrats to everyone who got something in!

Who’s still committed to judging?

[Venger]

I couldn’t come up with anything unique that was unambiguously legal (and non-headache-inducing).

I played around with the idea of insta-returning harpoons either instantly doing their removal damage or doing Scorpion-style “GET OVER HERE” shenanigans (the removal damage is SLIGHTLY better supported by RAW, but not by much; they’re both kinda weak arguments), but I couldn’t come up with a convincing argument that this worked in the absence of a charitable GM ruling.

I spent a little bit of time trying to throw arrows, but it was pretty stupid and never actually did anything better than shooting arrows or throwing things that aren’t arrows.

I did have an idea for a build component that was used in at least one dish, but I didn’t do anything unique with it, and I don’t want to comment on an actual entry.

I played around with the idea of using some kind of spell channeling (Duskblade or Spellsword or something), including a little bit of trying to heal people by throwing Cure-channeling beanbags (saps) at them, but it took way too many levels to do anything, and the fact that I could still only channel one spell per attack (no, Duskblade 13 was not on the table) made Lightning Ricochet significantly less shiny.

So yeah. Between not really having any strong ideas and not having a heck of a lot of free time this month, I obviously didn’t get anything in. Definitely some interesting stuff here, though. I’ll be interested to see how the judges treat a few of these in particular. Congrats to everyone who got something in!

Who’s still committed to judging?

I also tried to think up something involving scorpion's grasp and planned to use scorpion from mortal kombat as my portrait, but it rapidly became too feat intensive for the benefit it was providing.

[Sian]

The idea that I was tossing around was a Incarnate (SS) Maug (FF) Warblade 1 / Fighter 2 / Bloodstorm Blade 2 / Hulking Hurler 1 / Bloodstorm Blade +3 / War Hulk 3 / Bloodstorm Blade +5, but some issues with making it feel sufficiently unique, aside from making aside glances at a 'proper' TO Hulking War Hulk, in spite of trying to claim that my 30'ish d6's would be enough for practical play

[Thurbane]

I was considering a build focused on getting rider effects on the weapon (Three Mountains etc.), along with Ancestral Relic & Legacy Champion, but I never really got anywhere with it.

I find it a little frustrating that the PrC gives Weapon Aptitude, the only other source of which is Warblade - which just happens to be the most common entry for the PrC itself. I hate redundancy.

[WhamBamSam]

I was considering a build focused on getting rider effects on the weapon (Three Mountains etc.), along with Ancestral Relic & Legacy Champion, but I never really got anywhere with it.

I find it a little frustrating that the PrC gives Weapon Aptitude, the only other source of which is Warblade - which just happens to be the most common entry for the PrC itself. I hate redundancy.

They do stack for qualifying for feats that require a minimum number of Fighter levels, but Weapon Supremacy is the only one that's worth anything, and for that you'd have to time up one of Bloodstorm Blade's Bonus Feat levels with your 20th level, meaning not finishing Bloodstorm Blade, and missing out on an 8th or 9th level maneuver you'd otherwise get at that level.

[Wolfem]

Updated ICO Spreadsheet with the Dishes presented for this Cook. Please let me know if something needs to be fixed for the template/race area as I still have a hard time distinguishing which is which when I look at these.

[Venger]

Updated ICO Spreadsheet with the Dishes presented for this Cook. Please let me know if something needs to be fixed for the template/race area as I still have a hard time distinguishing which is which when I look at these.

Thank you for updating the spreadsheet. It looks great. I don't see any errors. it looks like you're getting race and template down.

[Jormengand]

Ah, I only just noticed this. Meh.

I had a few ideas, mainly using the duskblade's channelled strike (at BSB 10, I can drop a single spell on every target about) and messing with the wording of splash weapons (again, it looks like I can hit everyone with a single splash weapon attack at BSB 10, and the duskblade channelling hits all the targets well maybe). Then I realised it was already over. Oh well.

[WhamBamSam]

Ah, I only just noticed this. Meh.

I had a few ideas, mainly using the duskblade's channelled strike (at BSB 10, I can drop a single spell on every target about) and messing with the wording of splash weapons (again, it looks like I can hit everyone with a single splash weapon attack at BSB 10, and the duskblade channelling hits all the targets well maybe). Then I realised it was already over. Oh well.

Doesn't work anyway, even for the 23rd level character required for Full Attack Channeling and Blade Storm. Duskblade channeling either uses a standard action or works as part of a full attack action, and Blade Storm is a distinct full-round action. I guess If you get a full attack plus a full round action in the same turn, you can full attack channel and the spell would continue channeling through your Blade Storm, but that seems like a lot of work just to get a few more castings of Vampiric Touch.

[Jormengand]

Doesn't work anyway, even for the 23rd level character required for Full Attack Channeling and Blade Storm. Duskblade channeling either uses a standard action or works as part of a full attack action, and Blade Storm is a distinct full-round action. I guess If you get a full attack plus a full round action in the same turn, you can full attack channel and the spell would continue channeling through your Blade Storm, but that seems like a lot of work just to get a few more castings of Vampiric Touch.

True. I guess I could have tried the silly fling ally/deliver touch spells thing instead, but that also seems silly and ineffective.

[Darrin]

So... do we have any possible judges emerging from the Holiday Deep Freeze yet?

[WhamBamSam]

So... do we have any possible judges emerging from the Holiday Deep Freeze yet?

And in the meantime, anyone want to speculate on possible SIs for next round? Maybe something a bit castery, like Doomlord, Oozemaster, Visionary Seeker, Rage Mage, DotU Arachnomancer, or Demonologist?

Of course, I'm also still looking forward to Beast Heart Adept, Bayushi Deciever, Mortal Hunter, Vassal of Bahamut, Life Eater, Watch Detective, Defiant, Eye of Gruumsh, Dragon Samurai, and probably others that I'm currently forgetting.

[Sian]

I'm personally hoping for a 'self-contained' caster

[The Viscount]

Rage Mage brings me physical pain, so that's definitely high on the list. We need something truly bad to offset this good ingredient, like Cloud Anchorite.

i'm a big fan of Bayushi Deceiver, but I think it might be too good for an SI.

What is it about Planar Handbook that the bulk of its PrCs are worthy of being SIs? Doomlord and Visionary Seeker are intensely bad.

I'd like to see how I'd fare against most of those ingredients, as well as Beserk and Thrall of Eltab.

[WhamBamSam]

I'm personally hoping for a 'self-contained' caster

Demonologist, Mortal Hunter, and Vassal of Bahamut have their own casting from the ones I listed, but BoVD and BoED might not be the most likely so soon after Thrall of Demogorgon. Any particular others you'd care to name?