# Forum > Gaming > Roleplaying Games > D&D 3e/3.5e/d20 >  Villainous Competition XLVIX: Controller!

## Venger

Surprise, everyone! Im here as a guest chair this round. 

_Cold-hearted crooks lurk in shadowy streets. Evil masterminds plot the demise of civilizations. Terrible abominations rise to slaughter and devour the innocent, and grim tyrants plan their next move. Welcome to the Villainous Competition!_

Each round of the villainous competition, our conniving contestants need to build a villain showcasing a different theme, and following a different set of associated limitations. This round's villain is the charming and persuasive 

*Controller!*


*Limitations:*


*I Knew Youd See it My Way:* The Controller must be able to mechanically impose their will on targets*Im Glad Youre on Our Side:* Commanding the will of others is not restricted to one side or the other of the alignment pool, so neither are you: *Any alignment is permitted.**You Cant Talk Your Way Out of This:*Remember, since were making NPCs, diplomacy cannot be used to influence the attitudes of PCs. This cannot be your only means of imposing your will. You must somehow be able to directly control the actions of the PCs.*Must This All End in Violence?:* The Controller tries to get others to get their fighting for them. While it is not forbidden to have other more direct means of defending yourself in combat, getting someone else to do your dirty work should be your primary approach. 

_Let the carnage begin!_



*Rules of the Competition:*

*Contestants:* 
It is highly recommended for a new contestants to look over a few entries from past rounds to understand what's the expected presentation. We're a little bit different than most optimization competitions. We use CR, not ECL. Each entry presents a villain going up to CR 20, with ability scores based on the elite array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8). 
The contestant is to give a stub of the build (EG "Drow weretiger ranger 4/ Cleric 10"), flesh out the full build progression using the table(s) found in the submission and deadlines section, give notes on what the villain does and how it is to be used throughout its CR range, and fully source every aspect of the build that can't be found in the SRD. But what are the allowed sources?

*Secret Laboratory:*
Competitors will be free to use any official 1st party (WotC) 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon Compendium is allowed, but *individual copies of Dragon magazine are disallowed*. Unupdated 3.0 materials, as well as web exclusives by WotC are expressly allowed, but take care to verify that an updated version did not appear in print elsewhere. Unearthed Arcana is allowed but limited: The variant character options (such as Wildshape Ranger and Thug Fighter) should not be penalized. Flaws carry a 1 point elegance penalty, and traits carry half of that. Item familiars, gestalt, alternate skill systems, alternate magic systems, alternate crafting rules, generic base classes, LA buyoff, fractional saves/BAB, and bloodlines are banned. Anything not mentioned here is up to individual judges.
Builds that are fully monstrous are allowed at no penalty. All class levels are to be added on as associated class levels  meaning, each class level adds 1 CR, with the exception of NPC classes. See clarifications for more details. 
*Leadership and similar abilities are completely banned*. Undead Leadership and Dragon Cohort are likewise banned. Wild Cohort and Obtain Familiar are allowed. If you are not sure if a specific feat violates the 'no leadership' rule, err on the side of caution, or ask me.

*Epic Rules:*
We do not use epic progression for BaB and saves in this competition. Remember that four iteratives are still the maximum amount granted by BaB, even if it gets to 21 or more.
A villain is eligible to Epic feats from HD 21 and above, as normal, but Epic Spellcasting and all other Epic feats that affect spells, psionic powers, or item creation are *not permitted*. For Incarnum characters, Epic Open Chakra feats are allowed; other Epic Incarnum feats are not. The Essentia Capacity increases for Epic capacity as described on p. 212. 

*Submission and deadlines:* 
Contestants will have until *October 9th, 10:00 GMT* to create their builds and PM them to the Chair (Venger). 
Put the name of your build and "Villainous Competition round n" as your PM subject. You may ask for an extension if required. The villains will then be posted anonymously  make sure that your PM does not include any identifying details. While waiting for the builds to be posted, please avoid speculation (see speculation rules below). A contestant may submit up to 2 entries. 
*Spoiler: Build Table*
Show

*CR*
*Class*
*Base Attack Bonus*
*Fort Save*
*Ref Save*
*Will Save*
*Skills*
*Feats*
*Class Features*

1
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

2
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

3
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

4
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

5
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

6
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

7
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

8
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

9
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

10
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

11
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

12
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

13
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

14
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

15
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

16
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

17
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

18
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

19
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities

20
New Class Level
+x
+x
+x
+x
Skills
Feats
New Class Abilities


Code immediately below (spoiler).*Spoiler*
Show

[table="class: head alt1 alt2"]
[tr]
[th][B]CR[/B][/th]
[th][B]Class[/B][/th]
[th][B]Base Attack Bonus[/B][/th]
[th][B]Fort Save[/B][/th]
[th][B]Ref Save[/B][/th]
[th][B]Will Save[/B][/th]
[th][B]Skills[/B][/th]
[th][B]Feats[/B][/th]
[th][B]Class Features[/B][/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]1[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]2[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]3[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]4[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]5[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]6[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]7[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]8[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]9[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]10[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]11[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]12[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]13[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]14[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]15[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]16[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]17[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]18[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]19[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]20[/td]
[td]New Class Level[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]+x[/td]
[td]Skills[/td]
[td]Feats[/td]
[td]New Class Abilities[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]


*Spoiler: spell table*
Show


*Spells per Day/Spells Known*
*Spells per Day/Spells Known*
*Level*
*0lvl*
*1st*
*2nd*
*3rd*
*4th*
*5th*
*6th*
*7th*
*8th*
*9th*

1st
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

2nd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

3rd
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

4th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

5th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

6th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

7th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

8th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

9th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

10th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

11th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

12th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

13th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

14th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

15th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

16th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

17th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

18th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

19th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

20th
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-


Code Immediately Below, *Spoiler*
Show

 
[B]Spells per Day/Spells Known[/B]
 [B]Spells per Day/Spells Known[/B]
 [table="class:head alt1 alt2"]
 [tr]
 [th][B]Level[/B][/th]
 [th][B]0lvl[/B][/th]
 [th][B]1st[/B][/th]
 [th][B]2nd[/B][/th]
 [th][B]3rd[/B][/th]
 [th][B]4th[/B][/th]
 [th][B]5th[/B][/th]
 [th][B]6th[/B][/th]
 [th][B]7th[/B][/th]
 [th][B]8th[/B][/th]
 [th][B]9th[/B][/th]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]1st[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]2nd[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]3rd[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]4th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]5th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]6th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]7th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]8th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]9th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]10th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]11th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]12th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]13th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]14th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]15th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]16th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]17th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]18th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]19th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [tr]
 [td]20th[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [td]-[/td]
 [/tr]
 [/table]

More useful tables can be found here, made by the immaculate Mattie_p.
Once the villains are posted, judges should strive to finish their judgement by *October 21st*. 

*Judging:* 
It is highly recommended that prospective judges read through some past judgements. Judges are to give scores between 1-5 in the following four criteria: Originality, Power, Elegance and Memorable Villainy. Judges are not to use alternative criteria or score ranges. A 0 in elegance is permitted for strictly illegal or incomplete builds, but a score lower than 1 in other categories is generally not allowed.
Originality: Is the build creative? Was it surprising in the context of this round? On the other hand, does it use expected or well-known methods?
Power: Is it a powerful and threatening villain? On the other hand, does it have any glaring weaknesses? 
Elegance: Is it mechanically pretty? Is it clever? On the other hand, does it have rules or presentation issues? Does it rely on shaky interpretations of text? If you find that you have trouble with this category, remember: "no issues" doesn't have to be a 5! Like all others, this category has positive criteria to follow, not just negative criteria to be avoided. 
Memorable Villainy: Is this a villain with style and presence? Is it interesting to face against? Does it live up to the established theme and the spirit of the round? On the other hand, does it feel more like an encounter-of-the-week than a true BBEG? 
*Please try to follow the following judging guidelines:*
*Spoiler: Legal Sources: Always Allowed, Never Mandatory*
Show

This rule means that every source that has been declared legal for this competition is fair game. Using obscure sources, or a large amount of sources, is _not by itself_ subject to a penalty in elegance; Similarly, using only a small amount of sources, or sources that are very well known, is _not by itself_ subject to a penalty in originality.

*Spoiler: One Mistake, One Penalty*
Show

*One Mistake, One Penalty*
Judges are only allowed to penalize once for a given mistake. If someone messes up their skills and doesn't qualify for a PrC, ding them as hard as you like. Once. In one category. You don't then get to declare that because they didn't qualify for that PrC, they don't get those levels, and thus don't qualify for anything else. If Ranger is a common ingredient, ding them for Originality. Once. Don't also take off points for Two-Weapon-Fighting being a common ingredient.

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

*Skills*Allowed:
Giving a penalty for miscalculating the number of skill points gainedGiving a penalty for not having enough ranks to meet a prerequisiteIncreasing the harshness of a skill miscalculation penalty if it affects critical skills including prereqs 

Not allowed:
Giving separate penalties for miscalculating skill points and for non-qualification where the non-qualification is solely caused by the miscalculation 
*Prereqs*Allowed:
Giving a penalty for not meeting prereqsScaling the penalty depending on how important the item that the build failed to qualify for isGiving minimum score in UotSI for not qualifying for the SINot giving credit for (note: not the same as penalising for) tactics using feats or classes other than the SI that were not qualified for (but see below) 

Not Allowed:
"Cascading" failures to qualify - declaring that because a build doesn't qualify for a feat, for example, it also doesn't qualify for anything using that feat as a prereqTreating a build as having fewer levels than it does because of FtQ for classes 
Note that these are protections, not licenses. Deliberately taking a feat that you know you don't qualify for hoping to just suck up the judging penalty for a feat that you couldn't normally take is not okay, and may lead to your build being disqualified.

*Spoiler: More Power To You*
Show

*An important note on power, cheese, and CR appropriateness:*
Being "too strong for your CR" is not by itself something a judge should penalize here. Using poorly supported cheese or cheese that isn't doing anything interesting in the build *can and should get an elegance penalty*. Using well-known or otherwise obvious and boring tricks *can and should be penalized in originality*  but power level by itself is *not to be addressed anywhere other than the power category*. Same goes for being too weak  that should not affect memorable villainy or anything outside of power by itself. If it helps, you can imagine low-powered villains used against low-op groups, high-powered villains against high-op groups, and TO nonsense villains pitted against TO nonsense PCs.


*Speculation:* 
Please dont post or speculate on possible builds until the reveal, in order to avoid spoiling the surprise if a particular competitor is producing a build along those lines. 
Once builds are revealed, please do not comment on errors or rules issues on entries unless you are a judge. If you have such a comment, wait until the final reveal to post it.

*Spoiler: Previous Rounds*
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Round One: Leader of Armies
Round Two: Nature's Avenger
Round Three: Double Agent
Round Four: Grave Keeper
Round Five: Crime Lord
Round Six: Ultimate Predator
Round Seven: Wicked Witch
Round Eight: Master of the Tundra
Round Nine: The Power of Villainous Thinking
Round Ten: Henchman Are Villains Too
Round Eleven: The Higher They Rise The Harder They Fall
Round Twelve: Power Comes at a Price
Round Thirteen: The Gadgeteer - You Are Not Batman
Round Fourteen: The Thing That Should Not Be
Round Fifteen: The Horsemen Are Drawing Nearer
Round Sixteen: Burn Baby Burn
Round Seventeen: It's Alive!
Round Eighteen: This is Heresy
Round Nineteen: He Slimed Me!
Round Twenty: Elder Evil
Round Twenty-One: Yarr!
Round Twenty-Two: I Am The Night!
Round Twenty-Three: Two Heads Are Better Than One!
Round Twenty-Four: Wrong For The Right Reasons!
 Round Twenty-Five: Keeper of the Gate
 Round Twenty-Six: Get In MY BELLY (Swallow Whole)
Round Twenty-Seven: Multiple Personality Disorder
Round Twenty-Eight: Tiny Only!
Round Twenty-Nine: Halloween Special
Round Thirty: One Feat to Rule Them ALL
Round Thirty-One: In Cold Blood 
Round Thirty-Two: oh HELL NO!
Round Thirty-Three: The Do Over
Round Thirty-Four: Sword and Board
Round Thirty-Five: I Shall Call Him Mini Me!
Round Thirty-Six: The Broken Man
Round Thirty-Seven: Yin and Yang
Round Thirty Eight: Spooks and Spectres
Round Thirty Nine: Sorta Psuedo
Round Forty: Negative Nancy
Round Forty One: Gojira!
Round Forty Two: Caine?!
Round Forty Three: The Big Dumb Brute
Forty Four: The Sheriff
Forty Five: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Forty Six: Nemesis!
Forty Seven: Fairy Queen!
Forty Eight: Zealot!

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## Venger

*Clarifications*

*Monster Advancement and Challenge Rating:*Unless granted by a template or other unusual means, advancement through racial HD is only allowed for monsters with an advancement clause allowing it, and must comply with the rulings and limitations thereof. For example, an Aboleth can only advance up to 24 HD through normal advancement, an Aranea cannot be advanced that way at all, and an Assassin Vine has no limit for such advancement.Class levels always come after racial HD, unless using non-standard means of gaining HD (Acquired templates granting HD, monsters with special advancement rules or fluff, etc.) If you're not sure, comply with this rule or PM the chair for guidance.CR increase from HD advancement happens at the first HD of each CR bracket. For example: fey add 1 CR for each 4 HD, so adding 1 HD to an unadvanced fey creature would increase its CR by one, while the following 3 HD would not. Adding a fifth HD would increase CR by another step, and so on.While all PC classes increase CR on a 1 to 1 ratio, NPC classes follow the rules set out in the DMG. NPC class levels increase CR by n-1 (at least 1) when n is the total number of NPC class levels. That is, adding a single adept level to an entry would increase its CR by 1; Adding a warrior level, or another adept level, would not increase its CR; and adding further levels in any NPC class would increase its CR on a 1 to 1 ratio.

*3.0 content updates:*
Official Errata and 3.5 updates to 3.0 content are considered valid regardless of whether their sources would otherwise be legal. This includes the 3.5 update of Oriental Adventures given in Dragon Magazine.

*Deriving Ability score modifiers:*
For monsters or races that don't have explicit racial ability scores, remember that the system assumes monsters start with three 11s and three 10s. Simply decrease 10 from even ability scores and 11 from odd ability scores, and you'll have your modifiers! Watch out for monsters that explicitly already use the Elite Array, though  those are handled differently, of course. 

*Miscellaneous House Rules and clarifications*
We'll be using the following Iron Chef house rules:
All creatures are proficient with any natural weapons they may have or acquire.Bonus feats that are _granted_ even if you do not meet the prerequisites do not require you to meet the prerequisites in order to _use_.Feats that affect class skills or the buying of skill ranks apply to the level you take them.Weapons from soulmelds are considered to be magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming DR.Unarmed Swordsage grants Improved Unarmed Strike at level 1.One dispute per entry (per judgement). Submit disputes by PM to the Chair.Ghostwalk ghost is bannedGold, silver, and bronze are awarded regardless of ties (e.g., 2 silvers does not preclude bronze)Spelltouched feats are legal and can be taken just like any other feat when you meet the prerequisites and have the feat slot available.

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## loky1109

It was sudden!

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## H_H_F_F

Excited! Might even join in on the fun, in one capacity or another.

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## ciopo

interesting theme, but I must say I'm having some trouble wrapping my head around it.

Like... that there will be minions is kind of expected, right?

and probably also expected that we don't make a 50 pages essay about the minions

but from the players perspective, most of the adventure will be about fightning minions and big bads that turn out to not have been the big bad after all, or at least that's where my trope'o'vision brings me


So I'm having a bit of a headscratch about this? because "at 5th level" the party will fight "the minions appropriate for 5th level"... no?

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## Venger

Reasonable questions. In order, without getting into chair speculation: 

Sure, it's reasonable to assume that by using the powers you have chosen for your entry, they will be able to somehow bring other monsters to bear to accomplish their goals for them, be it in combat or otherwise. 

That said, you are *not* expected to provide stats or details about the specific kinds of monsters or characters your character can command, following the same logic as the ban on leadership. I want to see one character who is on the theme, not a bunch of characters. 

Same as other rounds, if it helps you to build, at 5th level, assume that they would be fighting your dish by itself, in addition to whatever controlled entities it can bring to bear since that's baked in to the CR system. Focus on showcasing what your character can do and don't worry too much about exactly what kind or how many minions will be involved since that will vary based on how you choose to execute the theme. 

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

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## zlefin

Oooh, an idea i've been vaguely thinking of recently that is perfect for this; though the design I prefer may just be too weak.  and now that I think about it, it's really not original at all.

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## 3SecondCultist

As is becoming the norm, I will likely make a build for this. We'll see if I end up submitting it in time.  :Small Big Grin:

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## Thurbane

Interesting round, I think I'll try to get something in...

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## H_H_F_F

How's everyone doing?

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## ciopo

I got an entry in the work, and a terrible idea for a second, but I'm probably only going to do the one

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## Inevitability

> How's everyone doing?


Almost done with my own entry, just gotta do skills and polish it a bit.

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## 3SecondCultist

The mechanics of my entry are done, and I am hoping to sit down and do the write up at some point before the deadline.

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## loky1109

Only idea for now. Didn't start working yet.

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## RaiKirah

After a fairly long hiatus from the boards I've got an idea for this I quite like! Never submitted to this particular competition, so hopefully I don't mess up the format, but should have a build in time!

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## loky1109

Oh! Three days only! Need to hurry up!

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## Venger

How are everyone's builds coming?

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## loky1109

> How are everyone's builds coming?


One build - 3/4, one - 1/2, no fluff and have three days off.

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## ciopo

I've run out of steam / been feeling the burnout, so I will post what 28k words of mostly tables I've done after the reveal, but I'm bowing out to the usual whims of time, seasonal me :)

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## Venger

That's too bad. Do you think a brief extension would help? In the interest of seeing more entries, I don't think that would be a problem. As it stands, I've just got one to post. The more the merrier and all.

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## 3SecondCultist

I would personally love an extension. My crunch is done, but I haven't had the time or energy to sit down and fluff it all out. However, I'm going away on vacation as of this weekend so I can't even promise that I'll get it done with an extra few days.

Depends on what other people want, I think. As usual, I'm happy with my entry *for me*, even if I don't end up submitting it.

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## loky1109

Yeah. Extension sounds good.

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## Venger

Ask and ye shall receive: 

*Extension granted*: let's say 3 more days and I'll check in then. OP updated.

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## loky1109

Send the first!

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## loky1109

Link for previous round in starting post is broken.

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## Venger

I've checked it, pasted in the link from the zealot round itself, and run into the same issue. My browser pastes "%22" before the https and deletes the colon afterwards for reasons I can't understand. I have no idea what the issue is. If anyone can figure it out, I would appreciate the input and will mend it accordingly.

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## loky1109

Can you copy-past this: Forty Eight: Zealot!?

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## Venger

That seems to have done it on my end. Is it visible to you? All the other rounds seem to work with quote marks so I'm not sure what it is about that one.

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## loky1109

Yes, it works. Don't know, too.

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## H_H_F_F

Looking forward to seeing everyone's work! I might judge, if I find the time.

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## Venger

That would be very helpful. Is anyone still working on an entry?

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## RaiKirah

Yup - Should make the deadline (I hope)

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## evedgebah

Never entered one of these before. Was inspired.

*Spoiler*
Show

test

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## loky1109

It's two hours till deadline, isn't it? Or fourteen?

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## Venger

It was 2, but it's 3am here and I really should go to bed and will be asleep in 2 hours. So consider it 14. Deadline in the OP amended accordingly.

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## Venger

Time for the reveal! Please refrain from posting until I give the all clear.

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## Venger

"Do not let him speak; he will put a spell on us." 


> Steel, the Conscript Lord
> 
> 
> 
> _Let it be known: in the final days of the world, there will appear an armor-clad crusader, as tall as five men, who fights knowing rest nor comfort. He shall wield a sword of fire, and, in the voice of his lord, call the faithful to war unending. Many shall bear his mark, and he shall lead them in battle against great evil._
> -Unnamed Divine Oracle
> *Spoiler: Build Stub and Ability Scores*
> Show
> 
> ...

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## Venger

Stop me if you've heard this one before...



> *Spoiler: campaign synopsis*
> Show
> 
> *Spoiler: For the players*
> Show
> 
> Think of this world as Isekai-land, you're all special snowflakes, in that your "OMG FAST" leveling speed is in-universe justified as being the whatever special boon you get from not being in kansas anymore. It shall be mostly a sandbox for you to play around in, with plenty of tropes played straight, like adventurer guild and whatnot. The isekai effect is well known in universe, so  people *know* that "you adventurers" have that special extra
> 
> *Spoiler: GM notes*
> ...

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## Venger

You've never seen a snake charmer like this. 



> *CE Half-Fey Balenar Naga Naga Overlord 10*
> *Spoiler: Stats*
> Show
> 
> 	Abilities
> 	Initial
> 	Banelae
> 	Half-fey
> 	8th, 12th, 16th
> ...

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## Venger

"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." 


> *Acerath, Hand of Orcus*
> 
> Chaotic --> Lawful Evil Doppelganger Jester 1/Warlock 4/Blood Magus 4/Chameleon 2/Blood Magus +6
> 
> 
> *Spoiler: Build Tables*
> Show
> 
> 
> ...

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## Venger

"Nothing looks down upon you from the heavens--just an endless, frozen void that cares nothing about the fate of a collection of insignificant bipedal microbes at the hands of vastly more powerful beings whose motives their puny minds cannot even comprehend!"


> _The Great Old One, Who Lies at the Bottom, he will save you! Listen to me, people! Come to the Great Old One and kneel before him! In his greatest mercy he will release you from your morbid and worthless freedom! Come and obtain the blessing of enslavement! You'll acquire the happiness of service and the explicit purpose of your empty lifes! Don't listen to servants of gods, they are lying to you, all that they can propose - happiness after death. Don't listen to governors, all that they want - happiness for themselves! The Great Old One gives happiness to you and right now in life!_
> 
> *LE Psionic Aboleth Telepath 8/Savant Aboleth 5*
> 
> *Spoiler: Stats*
> Show
> 
> 	Abilities
> 	Initial
> ...

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## Venger

And those are our entries! Best of luck, everyone.

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## loky1109

And the table!

*	 	Name	*
*	Alignment / Race	*
*	Class Levels	*
*	Chef	*
*	Total	*
*	Place	*

 	Steel, the Conscript Lord	
	LE Advanced Prodigy Gulthir
	Monk 1/Fiend of Possession 2/Paladin of Tyranny 2/Tattooed Monk 3/Totemist 2




 	Angus McQuestGyver	
	NE Doppelganger
	Chameleon 10/Expert 2/Marshal 1/Zhentarim spy 5




 	Ddernyn Siotta	
	CE Advanced Half-Fey Balenar Naga
	Naga Overlord 10




 	Acerath, Hand of Orcus	
	LE Doppelganger
	Jester 1/Warlock 4/Blood Magus 10/Chameleon 2




 	IllIIlIl	
	LE Psionic Aboleth
	Telepath 8/Psionic Savant Aboleth 5

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## Thurbane

Congrats to the entrants!

My stub, which I had no time to work on, was Pleasure Devil Outsider 12/Fiend of Corruption 4/Uncanny Trickster 3/Swordsage 2. Swordsage felt a bit tacked on for the last two levels, but wasn't sure what else to put in there.

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## Venger

Thanks, loky1109. Looks great.

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## loky1109

I like this round. All five entries are definitely monsters, not PC in wolf's clothing. I think it's good!

Good luck to all participants!

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## Inevitability

> I like this round. All five entries are definitely monsters, not PC in wolf's clothing. I think it's good!
> 
> Good luck to all participants!


"Average VC entry is just a PC" is wrong. Average VC entry is not playable as a PC. McQuestGiver Georg, who impersonates 5000 PCs each day, is an outlier and should not have been counted.

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## zlefin

I hope y'all find a judge at some point, I like reading the judge readups.

I never could figure out a way to get any of my builds to work.  My first thought was a troll that was literally about trolling the PCs; while an amusing gag, the CR spent on troll simply didn't do anything to actually make the build better, and the stats made it hard to go into beguiler or another suitable caster.  While the ideas for trolling a party were fun; they're not enough to make it a proper build.

My other idea was to have something that appears as an innocuous animal, that seeks revenge on the party for some reason and thus spends time sending minions after them from a distance.  But I couldn't find a good way to get their stats up enough to cast well.  Adding int/cha to an animal isn't easy; and many of the methods add a fair bit of CR.  More problematic is that none of the Wis casters had what I wanted, and getting int/cha high enough to be able to cast spells on level was also proving difficult.  I couldn't get any of the psionic classes to work out without spending far too much CR on getting Int high enough.

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## ciopo

I had a terrible idea of making a 8-headed lillend, to abuse the discrepancy between CR per head and HD per head, basically adding 14HD for only 4 CR, all for the purpose of getting to music of the gods at about CR17

but it was kind of ugly and clunky, so I ended up dropping that

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## Inevitability

> I had a terrible idea of making a 8-headed lillend, to abuse the discrepancy between CR per head and HD per head, basically adding 14HD for only 4 CR, all for the purpose of getting to music of the gods at about CR17
> 
> but it was kind of ugly and clunky, so I ended up dropping that


It'd be +5 CR, right? Improved Grab counts as a head-based special attack that scales with head number.

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## loky1109

> It'd be +5 CR, right? Improved Grab counts as a head-based special attack that scales with head number.


It's wrong.



> Improved Grab (Ex)
> To use this ability, a lillend must hit with its tail slap attack


.

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## Inevitability

> It's wrong.
> .


That makes... a lot more sense. For the record, I originally read 'illithid' there.

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## ciopo

*casts summon judge*

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## loky1109

> *casts summon judge*


*aid in casting*

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## loky1109

Santa, why didn't you gift us judge for the New Year?

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## Inevitability

Is there still no judge? I think we'd all really like to move on to the next competition...

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