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Basically, a challenge to create an optimised, flavourful character, using a "secret ingredient" of a particular PrC, revealed only once the competition has started. You will need to present your build at at least one of the following points: 5th level, 10th level, 15th, 20th, and a "sweet spot" that you feel is the high point of the build. Feel free to present as many of these as you like, and please give a rundown of the build's abilities and playability at all of the levels you didn't show. The rules are as follows:
1. Menu: For most challenges, the "secret ingredient" will be drawn from Core plus Completes. There will, from time to time, be special challenges that showcase secret ingredients from other books--for example, the XPH.
2. Kitchen: Competitors will be free to use any official 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon magazine is disallowed, and Unearthed Arcana is allowed; but see Elegance below.
3. Cooking Time: Further to discussions in the previous thread, the secret ingredient will be announced from the get-go. Contestants will have until Monday 19th April to create their builds and PM them to the Chairman (most likely me, at least for the first few.) Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying.
4. Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: Originality, Power, Elegance, Use of Secret Ingredient.
Power level is up to you. Cheese is acceptable, but should be kept to a sane level unless you're showcasing a new TO build you've discovered. In the words of one of my predecessors, a little cheddar can be nice, but avoid the mature Gruyere unless you're making a cheese fondue.
Elegance could bear a little elaboration. It basically measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavour for power. We're cooking here - if your dish doesn't taste good, it doesn't matter how well-presented it is. Use of flaws is an automatic point lost in this category. Other things that will cause lost points here are excessive multiclassing, and classes that don't fit the concept - using Cloistered Cleric in a front-line melee fighter, for example, will lose you points.
5. Builds will be posted anonymously, in order to avoid the potential of bias towards a particular competitor. For this reason, please don't put your name in the build, as I'm likely to miss it when anonymising the entries!
6. Please don't post or speculate on possible builds until the "reveal," in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines.
7. Leadership is banned; we're producing a meal, not a seven-course banquet for a hundred diners.
So! Who wants to sign up as a contestant, and who wants to sign up as a judge? Looking for about 5 judges and as many contestants as feel like playing!
This is our first special contest, with the secret ingredient from a non-Complete book. An interesting prestige class which I've only ever seen abusing Festering Anger for NI strength, it's the Book of Vile Darkness's Cancer Mage!
Allez optimiser!
Judges:
9mm
arguskos
Temotei221
the humanity
Iamyourking
the_archduke
(Grynning)
Well, obviously, taking NI Str will get us 0 points for elegance.
I'm probably in.
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Spoiler
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Originally Posted by Optimystik
Your Tainted Scholar builds look fun, but I'm lactose intolerant
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Originally Posted by Optimystik
You're just trying to get more people into your sig, aren't you
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Originally Posted by ShneekeyTheLost
Seeing TO by Magic9Mushroom is like seeing a movie with Joss Wheaton as director... you know that it's worth watching, even if you do want to strangle the bastard by the time you're done with it.
Cancer Mage is an interesting choice. The other Prestige Classes were generally difficult to create competent characters. This time, will be hard to get any point in elegance considering Infinite Strength is damn easy with Festering Rage.
I'm going to at least try to put something together for this one again. Making my final graduate school commitments and figuring out plans for the summer, so I don't know how much time I'll have to put into this, sadly.
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Spoiler
Quote:
Originally Posted by MasamuneSSX
And so it came to pass that the universe ended not with fire or darkness, but in chocolate chip deliciousness and the wailing of the dieticians.
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Originally Posted by DeadManSleeping
Witch doctors might tell you "ooh ee ooh ah ah ting tang wallawalla bing bang", but they give you that for everything, so most of us consider it a ridiculous scam.
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Originally Posted by DeadManSleeping
When you're flopping about uncertainly like a Magikarp that just got sent in against a level 60 Venusaur, just go back to the basics.
Looks like there are already 5 judges signed up, but you can count on me for judging if needed. Last time only 3 out of the 5 judges actually appeared, so extras won't hurt.
Hmm...Cancer Mage...I no longer own a BoVD but I imagine I can dig one up. this'll be interesting.
Well, since you're no longer accepting judges, I shall simply enter as a contestant. I've got an idea, but it'll take me a day or two to see if I can get this to work. Should at least get me a decent Elegance score, if not a particularly high Power score...
Usually I come up with a character concept and then build a class around it. More difficult doing it this way. Elegance is my middle name, but I need a proper story for this interesting build...
Usually I come up with a character concept and then build a class around it. More difficult doing it this way. Elegance is my middle name, but I need a proper story for this interesting build...
Heh, I got a concept and backstory already written. Trying to get it to work mechanically is more of my challenge here...
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Iron Chef Optimisation Challenge III
No, none of us were altering the unimutable laws of physics. That would be wrong.
