# Forum > Gaming > Roleplaying Games > D&D 3e/3.5e/d20 >  Monster Mash VI: Mysterious Monster Magic

## Beni-Kujaku

*Monster Mash #6*

This competition is for monstrous adventurers, in part to experiment with the possibilities they offer and in part to make use of the revised level adjustments which Inevitability and Debatra have spent five years assigning.
Adventurers designed for this contest must be of a monstrous race. For the purpose of this contest, monstrous race excludes all races designed for PC use, unless their level adjustment has been increased by one or more templates. Monstrous race is a somewhat vague category, by necessity. No simple set of rules can exclude every single PC race without also excluding some genuine monsters. Entries which flout this rule with borderline-monstrous races risk a penalty to their Monstrosity score.


For the purpose of this competition, all races use the modified level adjustments listed in the LA Assignment Archive. Races with a -0 level adjustment are treated as if they had a +0 level adjustment. Monsters not rated at the time an entry is submitted and who haven't had an official level adjustment may not be used. You are *allowed* to play monsters not rated in the LA assignment thread only if they got an official level adjustment. 
Some races' level adjustments include asterisks. These monsters have traits which render them unsuitable for PC use, such as a wights spawn creation, a dryads tree dependency, or a genies wishes; check the linked posts in the archive. For the purpose of this contest, those races do not possess those traits. In cases where it's unclear which traits are removed, please contact the chair for clarification.

*Round Theme: Mysterious Monster Magic*

Because if you're going to have the most unique race at the table, why not have the most unique class too? And what better class than the ones representing the alternative magic systems of D&D.

* The monster character must have at least one level in one of the four following classes: Psion, Warlock, Incarnate, Binder
*

To note: Alternative ways to gain abilities similar to that of the class do not qualify. Bind Vestige, Shape Soulmeld and racial manifesting must be supplemented by an actual class level.

*Contestants*
You will need to present a full build for your entry, from its first level to level 20. Also required is a rundown of how your build works at lower levels, to demonstrate that it is a functional character that could be played in a real game.
Traditionally participants in similar competitions give "snapshots" of tactics and abilities at levels 5, 10, 15, and 20. Depending on the monstrous race chosen, your character may be unavailable at lower levels; in that case, instead give snapshots at various levels where it is playable. These snapshots should be roughly evenly distributed among what levels it is available at.

*Spoiler: Sources and General Rules*
Show


32 point-buy is the presumed creation method.
If you do use a different point-buy, please make your case for its necessity in your entry. Keep in mind that for using exceptionally large or small point-buys may warrant deductions in elegance and/or power.
*If the monster you're cooking with has no intelligence, or an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, consider the intelligence as 3 (-8 racial modifier). It still retains any immunity to mind-affecting abilities it may have.*

Competitors will be free to use any official 1st party (WotC) 3.5 rulebook in constructing their builds. Dragon Compendium is allowed, but Dragon magazine is disallowed. Unearthed Arcana is allowed. 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, as this may cause an Elegance deduction at the judges' discretion.
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, and the 3.5 updates of Dragonlance Campaign Setting content given in later third party Dragonlance books.
Alternate rule systems from UA such as gestalt or Generic Classes are not allowed, as they create a different playing field. Item Familiars and Taint are also banned from the competition.

Specific bans:

Any material that grants you leadership without you specifically taking it should be ignored and may not be traded away for another feat or ACF. Any variant of Leadership, such as 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.
However, Leadership may be taken to qualify for another feat or class (such as the Great Captain feat or Legendary Leader prestige class), though a character still doesn't get its usual benefit in those cases. This is to allow characters to access unproblematic material that'd otherwise be made unavailable because of the Leadership ban.

Because this contest involves creating a build up to level 20, no race with a base ECL higher than 20 is allowed.
The Dragonlance Campaign Setting is allowed, but the subsequent books for Dragonlance are considered 3rd party, and are therefore not eligible, despite the "WotC approved" status of those books. The same holds for Oriental Adventures (1st party) and the subsequent Rokugan books (3rd party).
The Illithid Savant and Beholder Mage prestige classes are specifically banned due to their extreme potential for abuse.



*Judging*
Judging will be based on the following criteria, with each build rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (exemplary) in each area: _Originality_, _Power_, _Elegance_, and _Monstrosity_.
Scores of zero may be applied in cases of exceptional misconduct (plagiarism earns a 0 in Originality, failure to meet prerequisites earns a 0 in Elegance, non-monstrous races earn a 0 in Monstrosity, etc); otherwise, all entries should receive at least one full point in each category.
Originality: Is it unexpected or novel?Power: Can it do what the concept asks of it? Is this a powerfully-built character?Elegance: Is it mechanically straighforward or pretty?Monstrosity: Is the monstrous characters race used?

*Spoiler: Precisions on Elegance and Monstrosity*
Show

Elegance and Monstrosity demand further elaboration.
Elegance measures how skillfully you put your build together, and whether you sacrificed flavor for power. Use of flaws is considered in poor taste, and judges are asked to take a dim view of this option, taking it into account while grading. Other things that will cause penalties here are excessive multi-classing, and classes that don't fit the concept.
A legal source's relative obscurity should not be considered as penalizing Elegance, excepting the aforementioned issues with Unearthed Arcana. Using conflicting setting material may result in a penalty to Elegance at the judges' discretion, but a book's relative obscurity may not. In that same vein, drawing solely from the Core 3 (and the d20 SRD) should not be punished for lacking Originality.
Monstrosity measures how necessary the entrys monster race was to the submission. We want to build monstrous adventurers here, not standard Iron Chef builds with a few racial hit dice at the start. Builds which could not function without the monstrous features of their race earn high Monstrosity scores, while builds which could work on any PC race with no changes will take Monstrosity penalties. Builds using non-monstrous races will also take penalties to Monstrosity. For rounds with specific restrictions on the monster race, this category will also include making good use of the mandatory component.


*Presentation*
Due to concerns about standardizing entry format, I'd like everyone to try to use the following table for their entry.

*Spoiler*
Show

*NAME OF ENTRY*
*Level*
*Class*
*Base Attack Bonus*
*Fort Save*
*Ref Save*
*Will Save*
*Skills*
*Feats*
*Class Features*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Code immediately below (spoiler).*Spoiler*
Show

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



For entries with spellcasting, use the following table for Spells per day and Spells Known. (Spells Known only if necessary, i.e. Sorcerer or Bard, but not Wizard or Warmage)

*Spoiler*
Show

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Code immediately below (spoiler)*Spoiler*
Show

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


Alternatively, you may use this spreadsheet created by mattie_p.
For other systems (Psionics, ToB, Incarnum, etc.) keep track of PP/maneuvers/essentia separately, preferably in a nice neat list or table.

*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.

*Deadlines*

Contestants will have until *23:59 GMT Sunday 18th of December* to create their builds and PM them to the chair. Builds will then be posted simultaneously, to avoid copying. Judges will have until *23:59 GMT Sunday 1st of January 2023* to judge the builds and submit their scores. If no judges have scored by that point, only the scores of the first judge to submit will be counted. *Deadlines are subject to extension as/if required.*

*Submission*
To standardize Entries, please use this format when sending it in:
PM: Beni-Kujaku
Subject: Monster Mash #, Name of your Entry
For Revisions and disputes, do the same thing. It makes it easier for me finding the entries in my mailbox.

More questions? Either ask in the thread or PM me with Monster Mash Questions in the header. Please use PMs for any questions relating to a specific build to avoid violating rules against speculation.

*Houserules/Clarifications*
D&D 3.5 is far from a perfect system, and inflated level adjustments are far from the only example of this. Many rules are ambiguous, absent, or just badly-written. I make no claim to _fixing_ the system, but feel some house rules are in order:
*Spoiler*
Show


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.All creatures are proficient with any natural weapons they may have or acquire.Monsters with racial hit dice may gain an additional hit die instead of taking a character level. This functions as advancing a monster this way would under other circumstances. You cannot advance any monster beyond the maximum number of racial hit dice noted in its Advancement entry. You can advance that way before, after, or in-between taking actual class levels.The DC of a monster's supernatural ability is 10+1/2 number of Hit Dice+mod. This includes class levels.Able Learner's benefit applies to the level you take it.Weapons from soulmelds are considered to be magic weapons.Unarmed Swordsage grants Improved Unarmed Strike at level 1.Spelltouched feats are legal and can be taken just like any other feat when you meet the prerequisites and have the feat slot available.Possessing innate spellcasting from your race is treated as a spellcasting class for the purposes of prestige classes which provide new spells per day, an increase in caster level, and spells known (if applicable) as if you had gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level.



If you have trouble finding a monster with particular abilities, you might want to check the Searchable Monster Abilities Spreadsheet.

*Previous Competitions:*
MM1: Back to Basics
MM2: Scary Monsters
MM3: Keep your monsters close, and your enemies closer
MM4: Monsters in the darkness
MM5: Crawling Monsters


_And now, time to get mashing!_

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## Beni-Kujaku

*Q&A for this round:*

-

*Spoiler: List of monsters with similar abilities*
Show


*Bonus power points:*

*1:* Blue, Dromite, Elan, Maenad, Xeph
*2:* Psionic Duergar, Psionic Githyanki, Psionic Githzerai, Phrenic Creature
*3:* Psionic Thri-Kreen

*Psion manifesting:*

*7:* Unbodied
*11:* Psionic Mind Flayer
*12:* Average Cranium Rat Swarm*

*Varies*: Ectoplasmic Dragon (starting Young), Obsidian Dragon (starting Young)

*Incarnum*
*6:* Chrysalis Spinner (Nikolas)*

Didn't find any monster for warlock and binder (since we haven't done Tome of Magic yet)

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## Tohron

I'm looking at Cranium Rat Swarms on Realmshelps (listed source is Fiend Folio) and they seem to cast as Sorcerers, not Psions.

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## Beni-Kujaku

> I'm looking at Cranium Rat Swarms on Realmshelps (listed source is Fiend Folio) and they seem to cast as Sorcerers, not Psions.


Fiend Folio has a sidebar titled "Cranium Rats and the _Psionic Handbook_":
"If youre using the _Psionics Handbook_, an average or greater cranium rat pack should manifest powers as a psion rather than cast spells as a wizard. Since Intelligence is their best ability, they typically choose Metacreativity as their primary discipline. They gain the Combat Manifestation feat instead of Combat Casting, Power Penetration and Greater Power Penetration instead of the Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration feats, and Psionic Focus (Metacreativity) and Greater Psionic Focus (Metacreativity) instead of the Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus feats."

This sidebar makes little sense considering the rats don't cast as a wizard in the first place, and Psions manifest using intelligence even if they're not shapers, but the sidebar should still be relevant and the cranium rats should cast as psions if you play with psionics.

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## Thurbane

There's only two monsters with innate Warlock-type abilities that I'm aware of, and neither have been rated in the LA threads:

Aspect of Chernobog (EtCR) has 5d6 eldritch blast, plus beshadowed blast, frightful blast, hideous blow and eldritch chain.Ethereal Defiler (MM5) has an eldritch blast-like ability of 6d6, and it's favored class is warlock. It can also use an ability which is basically identical to hideous blow.

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## Tzardok

> and Psions manifest using intelligence even if they're not shapers,


That is because it is a 3.0 book. In 3.0 psionics, psions use different abilities depending on what discipline they specialize in:
Psychokinesis: StrengthPsychoportation: DexterityPsychometabolism: ConstitutionMetacreativity: IntelligenceClairvoyance: WisdomTelepathy: Charisma

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## loky1109

> Didn't find any monster for warlock and binder (since we haven't done Tome of Magic yet)[/SPOILER]


Tome of Magic will not help anyway. There are one monster in D&D 3.5 who has ability called Soul Binding - Corpse Gatherer from Monster Manual 2 and this of course is very different Soul Binding.

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## Paragon

> There's only two monsters with innate Warlock-type abilities that I'm aware of, and neither have been rated in the LA threads:
> 
> Aspect of Chernobog (EtCR) has 5d6 eldritch blast, plus beshadowed blast, frightful blast, hideous blow and eldritch chain.Ethereal Defiler (MM5) has an eldritch blast-like ability of 6d6, and it's favored class is warlock. It can also use an ability which is basically identical to hideous blow.


Sadly none of them have a listed LA 😔

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## Metastachydium

> Sadly none of them have a listed LA 😔


Ethereal defiler comes with a listed LA of +4 (it's not in the statblock, but rather in the "Ethgereal Defilers with Class Levels" section of the text  an innovation of the later books I'm not particularly fond of).

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## loky1109

Okay, I have one silly idea.

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## Frostmoon

Ah, looking in Magic of Incarnum, there are actually two more creatures with innate soulbinding capabilities: the *totem giant* and the *incarnum dragon*, both of which were actually given LA by WotC. Totem giants get an LA of +4 and 13HD, while the dragon's LA depends on age: wyrmlings get +2, Very Young gets +3, Young +4, and Juvenile +5.

While there are a few things that give essentia pools within MoI, they either lack LA (necrocarnum zombies, soulfused golems, soulsparks) or are regular player races (azurin, dusklings).

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## Beni-Kujaku

> Ah, looking in Magic of Incarnum, there are actually two more creatures with innate soulbinding capabilities: the *totem giant* and the *incarnum dragon*, both of which were actually given LA by WotC. Totem giants get an LA of +4 and 13HD, while the dragon's LA depends on age: wyrmlings get +2, Very Young gets +3, Young +4, and Juvenile +5.


Yeah I didn't include non-reassigned creatures. Otherwise I suspect there would be many more manifesting monster. Still good find!

(Although you didn't quite use the right wording. Soulbinding is the ability to bind vestiges to yourself. The ability to use incarnum and soulmelds is called Meldshaping)

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## Thurbane

*Question for the chair:* and I'm sorry if this is in the OP somewhere and I missed it.

Does this comp allow PrCs to advance innate casting, or does the character need at least one level in the base class for the PrC to advance it? I've seen it argued both ways, so I'd be interested on the ruling.

For a random example, can a Rakshasa with no Sorcerer class levels take a PrC and have it advance their 7th level Sorcerer casting, or would they need at least 1 actual Sorcerer class level before a PrC could advance anything?

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## Frostmoon

> (Although you didn't quite use the right wording. Soulbinding is the ability to bind vestiges to yourself. The ability to use incarnum and soulmelds is called Meldshaping)


Whoops. Yeah, Incarnum kind of goes over my head. XD That's actually why I was looking through MoI in the first place.

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## Beni-Kujaku

> *Question for the chair:* and I'm sorry if this is in the OP somewhere and I missed it.
> 
> Does this comp allow PrCs to advance innate casting, or does the character need at least one level in the base class for the PrC to advance it? I've seen it argued both ways, so I'd be interested on the ruling.
> 
> For a random example, can a Rakshasa with no Sorcerer class levels take a PrC and have it advance their 7th level Sorcerer casting, or would they need at least 1 actual Sorcerer class level before a PrC could advance anything?


It was in the OP, and yes you can.

In the Houserules/Clarification spoiler: "Possessing innate spellcasting from your race is treated as a spellcasting class for the purposes of prestige classes which provide new spells per day, an increase in caster level, and spells known (if applicable) as if you had gained a level in a spellcasting class to which you belonged before adding the prestige class level."

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## loky1109

Okay! I'm done. Entry sent.
I dream we will have entries for all four suggested classes.

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## Beni-Kujaku

The deadline is slowly approaching how is everyone doing?

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## loky1109

> The deadline is slowly approaching how is everyone doing?


You know about mine, but maybe I'll have some updates.

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## Thurbane

Got the bare bones of an idea, we'll see how it plays out time-wise.

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## Frostmoon

I have the full build done (though I'll want to go and give it a nice look-over to make sure everything's right), but I still need to actually input the tables and write the fluff and explanations. Should be doable. :3

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## Inevitability

Didn't have inspiration for this one, I might judge ig.

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## loky1109

Maybe we have somebody to judge our other competitions? VC and JW are awaiting for a long time.

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## Inevitability

> Maybe we have somebody to judge our other competitions? VC and JW are awaiting for a long time.


I'm in both and I already gave up a competition to judge it, otherwise I'd volunteer.

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## Thurbane

Yeah, really hard to find judges here at the moment. 

Which I understand, it's a significant investment of time and effort...

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## Frostmoon

I don't necessarily trust myself as a judge yet, nor do I think I have the time available right now, sorry.

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## Beni-Kujaku

Three days to the deadline, I still haven't got either of your entries, Frostmoon and Thurbane. Do you need an extension?

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## Thurbane

Crazy time of year for me...won't be getting an entry in.

Might post a stub after the reveal.

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## Tusen

I'm having issue finding time as well, along with my general lack of knowledge regarding the secret ingredient beyond stereotypical warlock stuff. 
However, I have a question regarding the rules: Are we allowed to advance our monster HD (obviously with it counting towards our levels, like normal HD though) and if we get to a point where a size transition occurs in the monster manual (such as wolves with more HD being large), does that happen to the PC? Or is it more like druid animal companion where they don't get the size increase?

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## Beni-Kujaku

> I'm having issue finding time as well, along with my general lack of knowledge regarding the secret ingredient beyond stereotypical warlock stuff. 
> However, I have a question regarding the rules: Are we allowed to advance our monster HD (obviously with it counting towards our levels, like normal HD though) and if we get to a point where a size transition occurs in the monster manual (such as wolves with more HD being large), does that happen to the PC? Or is it more like druid animal companion where they don't get the size increase?


As mentioned in the OP you can advance by RHD at any moment as long as such an advancement is mentioned in the monster's entry. You can gain a size category this way and do gain the usual benefits (+8 Str -2 Dex +4 Con +2 natural armor if the monster goes from Medium to Large).

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## Frostmoon

And the thing I built is in. Perhaps next time I'll actually get in my entry _before_ the day its due. XD

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## Beni-Kujaku

> And the thing I built is in. Perhaps next time I'll actually get in my entry _before_ the day its due. XD


Congrats on making it! And now, the reveal (one hour early, but it's late in my timezone and I want to do it before going to bed)! Don't post until I have finished.

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## Beni-Kujaku

Sometimes, you just need more synonyms to accurately describe something. Speck, Mite, Mote, Jot, Bit, Minim... But you could search through the whole english language and still not find anything even remotely similar to a Ghost Ecto Fragment with tentacles.




> *Qarzvhvkz*, the
> *Ghost Half-Illithid Minim Warlock 3 / Psychic Rogue 2 / Urban Savant 7 / Paragnostic Apostle 3 (+5 LA)*
> Ever wanted to see an Exalted, spectral, tentacled blob of ectoplasm prowling around cities in search of people to zap? No? *Too bad*.
> 
> *Spoiler: Murrom Hammerale's Tale to his Friend, Oliver of Neverwinter*
> Show
> 
> DUDE
> DUUUUDE
> ...

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## Beni-Kujaku

Sometimes, being a pure incarnation of Evil and Law doesn't mean you can't be a champion of Good.



> _I... am... I... am... ... Who?... Can... not... remember... Such... slow... mind... I... remember... the... Vow!.. I... was... knight?.. No!... Paladin!... Human... I... am... not... human... now... What... I... am?... Hands... look... distorted... What... Stop!... I... know... Lemur... least... devil... I... am... damned...
> 
> No!... I... remember... my... Vow!... Fight!... Against!... Evil!!! I... Will... Fight!..._
> 
> *NG Past Life Lemur Incarnate 16*
> 
> *Spoiler: Tables*
> Show
> 
> ...

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## Beni-Kujaku

Considering the original thread gave different ratings based on the reading of the psicrystal advancement and still never gave an LA above +0, I see no reason that competitors should not be allowed the most permissive reading: A sentient psicrystal is its own master and advances with its own level in psionic classes.

Part 1/2




> *Spoiler*
> Show
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It was a promising experiment. To make psionic power for unlimited presence into psicrystal. "Looking" through it, delicate manipulation through it, using all known powers through it. Well... The experiment was successful... Partially. Unlimited presence - check, yeah, without any other options, because the original body was destroyed. Using powers... Well, check, but almost all powers and other skills were forgotten or lost while transferring. Only the nucleus of the personality remains.
> It's a good psicrystal have no endocrine glands and a living brain. I can at least think about all this happening without panic and hysteria. In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option, I'm gonna have to psionics the **** out of this.
> 
> ...

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## Beni-Kujaku

Seriously, how can a rock have more personality(ies) than me?

Part 2/2




> *Spoiler: Psi*
> Show
> 
> *Spoiler: Powers by Level*
> Show
> 
> *	Level	*
> *	Class	*
> *	New Powers (Level)	*
> ...

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## Beni-Kujaku

Itsy Blasty Spider fired an eldritch blast
Given by eldritch beasts right from a scary past
But her opponent lived, though was in intense pain
And itsy blasty spider started blasting again




> "Itsy Blasty Spidey
> 
> 
> 
> *CN Aranea Sorcerer 1/Warlock 1/Binder 1/Anima Mage 9/Hellfire Warlock 3*
> 
> *Spoiler:  Overview*
> Show
> 
> ...

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## Beni-Kujaku

And here they all are! Only four entries again, but all made with all the love and dedication they deserve. Enjoy!

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## Thurbane

Congrats to all the entrants.

My idea was innate casting plus Binder 1 + Improved Binder then Anima Mage 10. 9th level spells, 11th level Binding.

Vaguely similar to Itsy Blasty Spidey, although I feel that mine would have been quite basic basic and underdeveloped in comparison.

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## Frostmoon

Congrats to everyone as well! I'm really pleased to see that all four classes made it in. :D Everyone's builds are so fun and creative, too. :3 Oh, and Benji-Kujaku, I love your little comments above each build. I love how they're witty, personalized responses to each of the characters! :D

Good luck to everyone!! :D

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## loky1109

Table.

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

 	Qarzvhvkz	
	CG Ghost Half-Illithid Minim
	Warlock 3/Psychic Rogue 2/Urban Savant 7/Paragnostic Apostle 3




 	One Who Awakening	
	NG Past Life Lemur
	Incarnate 16




 	Rainbow, part 2
	TN Crysmal Crystal Psicrystal
	Personal Construct Shaper 11/Constructor 9




 	Itsy Blasty Spidey	
	CN Aranea
	Sorcerer 1/Warlock 1/Binder 1/Anima Mage 9/Hellfire Warlock 3

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## Inevitability

Will judge, expect criteria in the coming days (or today if I feel like it).

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## Inevitability

Judging criteria!

*Originality:*
Ignoring the four possible ingredients, how creative and unexpected is your class choice? Up to *2 points* to be gained here.
What about your feats, spells, skills, and other build elements? Up to *1 point* here.
Finally, what's your overall build doing? Tried and true strats like ubercharging or stealthy sneak attacks get you zero points, something known but unconventional like diplomancy or grappling gets half a point, and a truly novel approach gets the full *1 point*.

I'm not giving any points for race, that's monstrosity's job.

*Power:*
Your build will be compared to an approximate benchmark of someone who took the same kind of classes you did.
Assuming optimal conditions, how good are you in combat? Can you contribute meaningfully against a single big high-HP high-fortitude enemy? What about a mobile caster? What about a mob of small guys? For each of those I can answer 'yes' to, you get half a point, for a total *1.5 points*.
How do you stack up defensively? Do you have to fear getting full attacked, either type of save-or-die, or battlefield control? *1 point* initially, reduced by 0.5 for each 'yes'.
Up to *1 point* if you cover one of the five big out-of-combat roles (face, healer, trapfinder, scout, utility caster). If you can contribute to multiple of these, or have enough random bops and bits I can't sort in one category (crafting, knowledge skills, lore), that's another *0.5 points*.

NOTE: for full points, 'face' requires multiple modes of social interaction or one mode of social interaction plus some kind of lie detection, 'healer' requires the ability to heal most out of ability damage/drain, damage, curses, death, or enchantments, 'trapfinder' requires the ability to both detect and disable traps, and 'scout' requires both keen senses and some ability to not be detected.

*Elegance:*
A lack of multiclass XP penalties earns you *1 point*.
Will the rules allow your build? Are you using blatantly RAW-illegal tricks, do you fail to meet a prerequisite? Do you overspend skill ranks, or take two skill tricks at the same level? *1 point* for a fully legal build.
Will the DM allow your build? Do you interpret some questionable rules in a way not everyone agrees with? Do you use notorious cheese that most tables just ban? This is where 1d43 scorpion whips, fueling divine metamagic with Rebuke Vermin, and sacrifice rules go. *1 point* for a build that doesn't result in thrown books.
Will the game allow your build? Can you safely assume you'll be able to join those three organizations whose membership you have to juggle? Will you reliably be able to get bitten by a were-shark at level 7 exactly? Are you a LG character, with no ranks in bluff, who has to join the Zhentarim? Do you need to spend a trickle of wealth on consumables essential to your strategy? Alignment shifts, age advancements, and other mechanically straightforward but narratively questionable tools will also show up here. *1 point* for a build we can actually play.

*Monstrosity:*
To what extent is your round-to-round presence in the party monstrous-feeling? Do you use a special ability that a normal humanoid would be hard-pressed to get? Are you really big? Really small? Can I, using a humanoid and those levels you spent on RHD/LA, basically replicate your build? Up to *2 points* here.
Up to *1 point* for the interaction between your monster race and your class (especially the four ingredients). Are you a binder who's separately also a succubus, or do you bind naberius to combine good diplomacy with Charm SLAs?
Do you use the monster for anything else than its raw statblock? Do you qualify for Brand of the Nine Hells using a devil, or sneak your way into Rapidstrike with a weird typing? Up to *1 point* here.

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## Beni-Kujaku

Thank you very much Inevitability!

In the mean time, do you all have ideas for the next theme? I may have one or two of my own, but I'd like to see what you can come up with.

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## Inevitability

Judgements!

*Spoiler: Qarzvhvkz (11.25)*
Show

*Originality (2.75):* Paragnostic Apostle sees reasonably common use, and makes some sense as one of those arcane PrCs that are warlock-friendly. Psychic rogue is rarely seen even as a dip, and I don't think I've ever seen a build with urban savant. *+1.5*

Your feats aren't exactly unconventional for an exalted sneak attacker in a monstrous competition, though I guess I never saw Lliira's Blessing and am surprised to note Psionic Shot. Your points still aren't as high as they could have been, because those feats do relatively little for you. *+0.25*

I'm not seeing a lot that sets you apart from the typical warlock tactics-wise.

*Power (3.75):*
Your offensive modes are a weird little mix of low-DC stuns, SLAs, horrific appearance, telekinesis and a respectable Eldritch Chain or Beshadowed Blast (plus good BFC that's way too late to the party), though none synergize particularly well. You're better at turning knowledge checks into damage than most, thanks to Urban Savant, but your modifier doesn't seem high enough to reliably pick up the +2d6 damage bonus. Given that you're giving up items, I'm still somewhat skeptical about how this compares to another rogue or warlock, who deals more damage to brutes and casters (though it has a harder time getting to the latter). Then again, your multi-target damage potential is probably better than theirs. *+0.75*

Between VoP and incorporeal undeath, you're pretty hard to hurt. No complaint on the defensive side of things, though I do question putting Lliara's Blessing on an _incorporeal creature_. *+1*

Out of combat, you're a scout without Darkstalker or perceptive skills (but with pseudo-mindsight), a loremaster, a face restricted to certain creature types, and a trapfinder without search or the ability to actually manipulate found traps. It's a weird mishmash of things, and it feels to me like you'll commonly struggle to do a complete job at the role you're serving, but it's enough for *+1*.

*Elegance (1.5):*
Unfortunately, you take a multiclass XP penalty during your 4th level, where your level breakdown is warlock 3/psirogue 1.

Psionic Shot requires Point-Blank Shot, which you seem to lack. Craven explicitly doesn't work with the undead immunity to fear, which is a major issue that significantly affects your build.

The alternate entry requirement for the Urban Savant is explicitly at the DM's discretion, so a minor penalty here. There's also the issue where a minim has no manipulators to speak of, but _warlock invocations have a somatic component_. How are you produicng that? *+0.25*

While ghosts can be Good, that doesn't automatically mean they can be _Exalted_ Good, and there's quite some text that suggests the two are at odds. A more glaring problem is the conflict between Vow of Poverty and the Paragnostic Assembly's membership fees, which should realistically bar you from the final few levels of your build. *+0.25*

*Monstrosity (3.25):*
I can't help but feel you leave a lot of your monstrous components untouched, taking Fine size from here, telepathy from there, incorporeality from elsewhere yet... This build could definitely have been very similar as a half-illithid ghost, or a ghostly minim, which is a bad sign when evaluating how much you use your monstrous abilities! Your combat strategies, too, mostly seem to be 'float through a wall and snipe someone', which isn't mundane, but... i don't know, I just can't give max points for something that's still just mostly a warlock with bonuses. *+1.5*

I can't deny that this build gets more out of being a warlock than most else... but at the same time, if you deliberately play something without limbs or mouthparts, I'm not super impressed by the observation that warlock is doing more for you than wizard or fighter would. There's no real part where your monster skillset _directly_ improves your blasting, apart maybe from incorporeal sniping. The attack bonus is nice, but you're making touch attacks, so its utility is limited. *+0.75*

No real out-of-the-box uses of your base creature.



*Spoiler: One Who Awakening (10)*
Show

Quick note: a _lemur_ is a Madagascaran primate, the singular of 'lemures' is 'lemure'. 

*Originality (2):*
I feel really bad about the zero for class originality, but when you are presented with a handful of classes to build around, investing fully into one of them is simply not original.

Vow of Poverty into Lliara's blessing, again. The incarnum feats aren't that surprising given the round, but Sapphire Smite came out of the left field and Ordered Chaos wasn't expected either. *+0.5*

Exploiting incarnate wording by counting as multiple alignments isn't a completely new trick, but it's nice to see. Your actual combat strategy is simple moving+hitting. *+0.5*

*Power (2):*
I'm not sure why we're topping off 16 levels of incarnate with another outsider RHD: wouldn't we rather get extra Rapid Meldshaping or more essentia? Anyway, the past life + sapphire smite trick gives a nice source of bonus damage that normal incarnates will lack, and you get a lot of passive bonuses from the incarnum radiances. That said, how are you dealing that damage? You allude to ranged weapons, but VoP means most are out, and your melee options seem to be two claws that you can't reliably full attack with. There's a really rough situation here where you secured a bunch of passive boosts and then traded away your ability to actually make use of it. *+0.5*

Defensively, you're a VoPer that has big bonuses to AC, good saves, evasion, energy resistances, poison immunity... Your mobility is lacking, though, so BFC still screws you over. *+0.5*

What are you doing out of combat? You have some scattered ranks in knowledge skills, but not enough to matter, you have a few bops of sense motive, the theoretical ability to shape something with out-of-combat use? Yeah, I'm not seeing it.

*Elegance (3.5):*
No multiclass XP penalties. *+1*

Ranged Smite Evil specifically requires the smite evil _class ability_, which is not where you get your smites from. *+0.5*

The argument that you can suppress mind-affecting immunity when desired is highly suspect, especially when we're talking about soulmeld bonuses and not spells. It seems contrary to RAI, at least. *+0.5*

Similarly to the prior entry, you're trying to combine Exalted goodness with being a kind of creature that is explicitly Evil to 'allow to exist'. As I stated before, I'm not going to come after people for Good devils or ghosts, but Exalted really does imply an ideological commitment beyond 'does more good than evil on the net'. Similarly, if you go through a bunch of hoops to count as Evil and then take Touch of Golden Ice... what do you think happens? *+0.5*

*Monstrosity (2.5):*
How do you distinguish yourself from a human incarnate in round-to-round combat? The answer: not really. You bind some soulmelds, you run up to something, you whack it, you fit in full attacks where you can... Being a lemure gives you a little DR and a few immunities, but that's it: you aren't actually _using_ these unless they happen to be useful.

You do, however, exploit the alignment subtypes to greatly boost the power of incarnate, while gaining immunity to some attack modes you otherwise lack. *+1*

Using lemure as the cheapest possible way to get two alignment subtypes is a use I can appreciate, though your use is almost understated compared to the other things you can do with being an [Evil]. *+0.5*


*Spoiler: Rainbow (14)*
Show

This doesn't really impact the rating, but when assigning +0 to the psicrystal I wasn't doing so with the assumption that a psicrystal would be able to get the intelligence adjustments. Ah well, that's on past me for not being clearer.

*Originality (2.5):*
Constructor is one of the better psion PrCs, so I'm not _that_ surprised to see it in a round where psions are one of the four allowed paths (and the most supported one to boot). *+0.5*

Your powers are pretty standard fare for a construct-focused psion, but the feats include some novelty. *+0.5*

Spamming astral constructs is not particularly novel as far as psion strategies go, but the psicrystal shenanigans prevent me from assigning zero points. *+0.5*

*Power (4.5):*
So obviously, you're a nearly-full manifester with a souped-up construct pal (or two!) and some psicrystal-based shenanigans. That'll probably be enough to outperform the default level 20 psion anywhere it matters. *+1.5*

Construct type, hardness 38, vigor+share pain? I guess a Disintegrate might mess you up, not a lot else that screws you over. *+1*

Utility-wise, you offer taxicab services with Plane Shift and Greater Teleport, a ton of random skills, major creation, . It's not _that_ much more impressive than a full manifester would normally be, but enough for a full point. *+1*

*Elegance (3):*
No multiclass XP penalties. *+1*

Yeah, I'm not buying the bit where being treated as your own master for basic functionality purposes lets you get double use out of psicrystal feats. You already acknowledge that would be 'cheesy' for things like psicrystal containment: if you extend that logic you should understand why I'm not looking up it much more favorably when you're using it in slightly less broken contexts. *+0.5*

Using crysmal crystal is a cute find, but many DMs will (rightfully) push back against the implication that PCs can have bodies made out of exotic material. The GMW trick is similarly questionable and relies on the assumption that a creature can be ammunition.

You can't really use gear, and your ability to manipulate objects tends to be limited to creating an entire astral construct for the job (which is hard on power points at low levels, and hard for interfering with your other running constructs later on). *+0.5*

*Monstrosity (4)*
You're a psicrystal, and this is obvious in much of what you do, but at some point your psionics begins to overshadow everything else. When you're manifesting Genesis and Reality Revision, it takes effort to still feel monstrous, and that effort is lacking here. *+1*

Why would a psion want to be a psicrystal specifically? Well, casters love small sizes, defensive bonuses, flight... The tricks you pull really help as well. *+1*

Do you use a psicrystal for more than the base stats? Uh, yes. *+1*


*Spoiler: Itsy Blasty Spider (12.5)*
Show

*Originality (3.5):* 
Rating the classes is weird. On the one hand, I said I wouldn't count warlock or binder, but their _combination_ definitely wasn't something I expected. Similarly, while Anima Mage makes sense for binder/sorcerers, and Hellfire Warlock is probably the best warlock PrC, I don't see the two on the same build a lot. Ultimately, I can't really go lower than *+1.5* here.

A moderately standard set of warlock feats, with Extend Spell, Improved Familiar, and Improved Binding shaking things up just enough for half points here. *+0.5*

Hellfire Warlocks that dip for Naberius aren't exactly uncommon, but you commit to the binder theme more fully with Anima Mage and get some utility from sorcerer spells. *+0.5*

*Power (3.25):*
You make use of tons of little binder/warlock synergies in what really does feel like a tight and well-thought out progression. Your damage output is considerable with the SLA feats and hellfire warlock, and when that doesn't work you have summoned goons or the vestige-granted save-or-suck of choice. My only criticism is how much of this comes online late, so I won't grant a truly perfect score. *+1*

...on the defensive side, I'm a bit more sceptical: your HP is low even with eventual out-of-combat healing (note that because you have even HP, your maximum HP drops significantly when you fire off a hellfire blast), and your reflex save is on the bad side of mediocre. Even if you put up a summoned beastie or chilling tentacle wall between you and the bruisers, your energy resistance might not be enough to absorb a dragon breath.  *+0.5*

Out of combat, you have a solid intimidate stat, but really exploiting it requires you to bind a typically suboptimal vestige. You can craft, but you're pretty reliant on external sources of spells (summoned monsters help a little, but not all that much). You suggest you can serve as a scout, but Flee the Scene really doesn't help much with that: ideally a scout _doesn't_ put the monsters on high alert. *+0.75*

*Elegance (3.25):*
No multiclass penalties. *+1*

I'm impressed by the boldness it takes to argue that you can trade a least invocation for a greater invocation and then quote a piece of text that says "he can also replace an invocation he already knows with another invocation *of the same or a lower grade*". That's not how it works.

Taking Infernal as a bonus language is kind of important for the build, but can you actually do it as an aranea? I'm inclined to say 'no', and would have preferred to see you take two ranks in Speak Language. A minor penalty. *+0.75*

I think there's an awkward spot around level 7-9 where everyone else is getting mid-level spells while you have to jump around between 2d6 eldritch blast, 2nd-level vestiges, webs, and Alter Self. It's notably a low point in the build, to the point where I'd argue it interferes with your playability. 2d6 damage per round (with the occasional 4d6) just isn't enough to pretend you're meaningfully contributing to the party's damage output. *+0.5*

*Monstrosity (2.5):*
The core of your character is pretty clearly the binder/warlock dual progression combo. Aranea isn't _useless_ for that, but I'm skeptical it does more for you than five sorcerer levels would. Maybe if you'd worked Iron Will into some prereq, I'd see it differently. At least at low levels your webs and shapechanging will still be a big part of what you're doing. *+0.5*

A big charisma boost for warlock and binder abilities, some okay abilities for the awkward early levels, and a climb speed so you can attack from the walls. It's meager, but at least your aranea chassis is doing _something_ with your classses. *+0.5*

You use the magical beast typing to get more out of Alter Self, but I'm not seeing much other than that. *+0.5*

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## Beni-Kujaku

Thank you for your quick judgement, Inevitability. Everyone, you can send me your disputes if you have some! 


I'm not sure if it's supposed to be my role, but regarding One Who Awakening's judgement, it is stated in the opening post that mindless creatures are considered to have -8 Int and still keep their immunity to mind-affecting effects (in Sources and General Rules). If the ding was mostly about lowering said mind-affecting immunity, then ignore what I just said.

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## Inevitability

> Thank you for your quick judgement, Inevitability. Everyone, you can send me your disputes if you have some! 
> 
> 
> I'm not sure if it's supposed to be my role, but regarding One Who Awakening's judgement, it is stated in the opening post that mindless creatures are considered to have -8 Int and still keep their immunity to mind-affecting effects (in Sources and General Rules). If the ding was mostly about lowering said mind-affecting immunity, then ignore what I just said.


Ah, good catch, edited and updated verdict.

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## Frostmoon

Thank you for judging, Inevitability!! :3

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## Beni-Kujaku

Here is a dispute for you, Inevitability:

*Spoiler: Qarzvhvkz*
Show

Thank you, Inevitability, for judging this comp! :D I really appreciate how quick and thorough you were. That said, I _do_ have a few objections to make.

First, I don't think the Paragnostic Assembly and Vow of Poverty actually conflict.



> A more glaring problem is the conflict between Vow of Poverty and the Paragnostic Assembly's membership fees, which should realistically bar you from the final few levels of your build.


 Let us look at the text for VoP. 



> The majority of her share of party treasure (or the profits from the sale thereof) should be donated to the needy, either directly (equipping rescued captives with gear taken from their fallen captors) or indirectly (making a large donation to a temple noted for its work among the poor).


This means that money _does_ flow through my possession, with the requirement that I get rid of it and donate it (either directly or indirectly) to those in need. The Paragnostic Assembly holds classes, it has open archives, it's hardly a secretive organization, and it uses its gathered funds to build and maintain libraries and archives; would this not count as an indirect donation to the needy?

Second, I have some issues with my monstrosity score.



> So on the one hand, you're incorporeal and really small, and you're in a fine position to make use of movement through walls. Those aren't things any random character can do. On the other hand... for a build with three monstrous components, they appear only sparsely! Ecto fragments do little more than contributing size and pseudomindsight, half-illithid gives some SLAs and telepathy, and ghost gives you undeath and incorporeality. Apart from ghost, I feel like most of this could be replaced with a more traditional PC, which is not a good sign! *+1* for the sheer commitment to making a minim work, and the round-to-round relevance of being a ghost, but only barely.


Ignoring the pileup of immunities and SLAs and the whole Ghost-incoporeal thing, the monstrous abilities Qarzhvkz relies on are:
-60ft perfect flight
-permanent Telepathy
-pseudo-Mindsight
-fine size
If you were to build a Sparrow Hengeyokai Warlock/Mindbender with the Mindsight feat, you'd have grabbed 3 out of 4 of those characteristics -- but you'd still be missing *60ft perfect flight*. 60ft perfect flight is better than the Sparrow's (50ft Average), it's better than the Warlock's (flight=land, good maneuverability), and it's better than the spell, _Fly_ (60ft good). 60ft perfect flight is always useful as a warlock and as a scout(ish thing), and because it's perfect, I can avoid being knocked prone (and thus falling a huge distance) or similar. MOREOVER, this build is completely ignoring the side benefits, like the massive immunity and SLA pileup, _and_ it cuts into getting Paragnostic Apostle and Urban Savant abilities (Mindbender takes a bit to come access).

Third is, well, another issue with monstrosity.



> There's no real part where your monster skillset directly improves your blasting, apart maybe from incorporeal sniping. +0.5


My being a minim actually does help here! Minim are very, very smol (fine-sized!!), which contributes a heck ton to my accuracy! Fine size adds a straight +8 to my total attack bonus, which on a low-BAB character (Warlock and Psychic Rogue are 3/4 BAB, Urban Savant and Paragnostic Apostle are 1/2 BAB) is _huge_. The size basically makes up for the BAB I've lost with my prestige classes~

Thank you again for judging! Everything else here is pretty firmly correct (some of those Elegance penalties...I am a _fool_). :3

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## Paragon

> Thank you very much Inevitability!
> 
> In the mean time, do you all have ideas for the next theme? I may have one or two of my own, but I'd like to see what you can come up with.


What about Monster with no defined form ?  Oozes, Ghosts, Plants can all qualify and that would be exotic if a bit challenging

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## Thurbane

'Look Ma, no hands!"

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## Paragon

> 'Look Ma, no hands!"


Pretty sure we've done that 2 competitions ago

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## Thurbane

> Pretty sure we've done that 2 competitions ago


Well, that's what I get for not paying attention.  :Small Red Face:

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## Frostmoon

> Well, that's what I get for not paying attention.


I mean, we could go full-on "look Ma, no limbs!!", as Monster Mash 5 required 4+ legs. :3

Hmmm...we could also try a comp focused down on even a single type (like oozes), subtype (like undead), or even vague creature category (HOW TO MAKE GOBLINOIDS WORK IN 3X). Limiting down the general options would allow for a better idea of the base power level everyone's working with, a la Iron Chef.

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## loky1109

Swim? Fly? Planar?

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## Inevitability

For the next competition, I mostly felt like this one was a little unfocused by allowing four very distinct classes. I'd still be interested in a template round (half-dragon especially), and I'm still interested in competitions focusing on a material ('rock monsters' covers constructs, elementals, monstrous humanoids, magical beasts, and more) or elemental subtypes.





> Here is a dispute for you, Inevitability:
> 
> *Spoiler: Qarzvhvkz*
> Show
> 
> Thank you, Inevitability, for judging this comp! :D I really appreciate how quick and thorough you were. That said, I _do_ have a few objections to make.
> 
> First, I don't think the Paragnostic Assembly and Vow of Poverty actually conflict.
>  Let us look at the text for VoP. 
> ...


1. I think the given examples in VoP make clear that not every charitable organization qualifies. Realistically, if you're a poor metropolitan commoner who can barely read, funding to the public library is only going to help you so much. The paragnostic assembly is notably not a Good organization, they're just kinda neutral. Charitable neutral, perhaps, but certainly not going to start a soup kitchen any time soon. Still, I'll cut the penalty you got for this (0.5) in half, so you get *+0.25*.

2. Fair points: I'm upping the rating here by *+0.5*. I still think that even if the monstrous component isn't _pointless_, it's still _redundant_: you could definitely have dropped either minim or half-illithid and ended up with a very similar character. Besides, your round-to-round actions mostly come down to class abilities.

3. I know that +8 to hit isn't nothing, but you're making _touch attacks_: the warlock has many problems but accuracy isn't one of those. At low levels I guess it matters, but at low levels you're a ghost: not a lot of monsters that can deal with that! You deny people their armor bonuses, dexterity bonuses, perhaps more... still, I guess +8 matters, so have *+0.25*.

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## loky1109

It looks like I have no disputes.

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## Beni-Kujaku

Thank you everyone for your input. You suggested themes about body shape, elemental-themed monsters and template based restriction, and I had in mind some sort of Christmas-themed round. Hence, I suggest the following restrictions:

- *Ghosts of Monsters Past*: The monster character must be incorporeal, or have the ability to turn incorporeal

- *Monsters through the snow*: The monster character must have the Cold subtype, or have the Water subtype and be able to deal cold damage. 

- *For unto us a monster is born*: The monster character must be an Unholy Scion, with the mother being an identical version of the same monster with no class levels and without the Unholy Scion template. If you really want another template, so be it, but I feel like this is the best occasion for a very unique and layered template like Unholy Scion.

Tell me which one you prefer, and I'll probably start the new round on Christmas, since there doesn't seem to be any more dispute.

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## Frostmoon

Oooh, interesting. :D I think I like the Cold subtype one best here (it's the most...winter-y, I guess? XD), though I'd love to see the Unholy Scion round later (working with a single monster/template helps unify the competition). :3

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## Inevitability

> Thank you everyone for your input. You suggested themes about body shape, elemental-themed monsters and template based restriction, and I had in mind some sort of Christmas-themed round. Hence, I suggest the following restrictions:
> 
> - *Ghosts of Monsters Past*: The monster character must be incorporeal, or have the ability to turn incorporeal
> 
> - *Monsters through the snow*: The monster character must have the Cold subtype, or have the Water subtype and be able to deal cold damage. 
> 
> - *For unto us a monster is born*: The monster character must be an Unholy Scion, with the mother being an identical version of the same monster with no class levels and without the Unholy Scion template. If you really want another template, so be it, but I feel like this is the best occasion for a very unique and layered template like Unholy Scion.
> 
> Tell me which one you prefer, and I'll probably start the new round on Christmas, since there doesn't seem to be any more dispute.


I'd prefer *Monsters through the snow*, mostly because I think the type restriction on unholy scion leaves most mother-child pairings relatively uninteresting.

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## loky1109

*Monsters through the snow* is good theme for Frostburn that isn't covered by LA thread. Sadness. (

*Ghosts of Monsters Past*... I don't know, it isn't my favorite subtype.

Vote for *For unto us a monster is born*.

Upd: And updated table.

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

 	Qarzvhvkz	
	CG Ghost Half-Illithid Minim
	Warlock 3/Psychic Rogue 2/Urban Savant 7/Paragnostic Apostle 3

	11.25
	11.25
	3rd

 	One Who Awakening	
	NG Past Life Lemur
	Incarnate 16

	10.00
	10.00
	4th

 	Rainbow, part 2
	TN Crysmal Crystal Psicrystal
	Personal Construct Shaper 11/Constructor 9

	14.00
	14.00
	1st

 	Itsy Blasty Spidey	
	CN Aranea
	Sorcerer 1/Warlock 1/Binder 1/Anima Mage 9/Hellfire Warlock 3

	12.50
	12.50
	2nd

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## Beni-Kujaku

And here's the reveal! 

*	 	Name	*
*	Alignment / Race	*
*	Class Levels	*
*	Chef	*
*	Inevitability 	*
*	Judge 2	*
*	Judge 3	*
*	Total	*
*	Place	*

  Qarzvhvkz	 
 CG Ghost Half-Illithid Minim	
 Warlock 3/Psychic Rogue 2/Urban Savant 7/Paragnostic Apostle 3	
 Frostmoon	
 11.25	


 11.25	
 *3rd* 

 	One Who Awakening	
	NG Past Life Lemur
	Incarnate 16
	loky1109
	10,00


	10,00
 *4th*

  Rainbow	, part 2
 TN Crysmal Crystal Psicrystal	
 Personal Construct Shaper 11/Constructor 9	
 loky1109	
 14	


 14	
 *1st* 

  Itsy Blasty Spidey	 
 CN Aranea	
 Sorcerer 1/Warlock 1/Binder 1/Anima Mage 9/Hellfire Warlock 3	
 Paragon	
 12.5	


 12.5	
 *2nd* 






Congratulations to our judge, and to all entrants, especially loky1109! 

With two votes against one, our next theme will be Monsters through the Snow, that will be expanded to include any monster built to be able and centered around dealing cold damage, to adress loky's reasonable concern about the low number of options. The next thread will be posted later today, and to all a very merry Christmas!!

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## loky1109

I made entries for three rounds and now I have three Golds. Cool! )

My congratulations to all entrants and my gratitude to Inevitability!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

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## Frostmoon

And I'm somehow going two-for-two. XD I'll happily take Bronze!! And congrats to loky1109 and Paragon for their medals, too! I really enjoyed loky's creativity especially (I had been genuinely contemplating a Psion psicrystal, too. XD).

Anyways, mannnnn, I made a lot of silly mistakes this time. On the one hand, this build was definitely easier than any Sorcerer one. (Sorcerer builds mean a nightmarish amount of spell picking, which just takes foreevvvvvveeerrrr. Doesn't stop them from being my favourite class, though. ;3) But gods, had I just thought a few things through a bit more...that silly XP penalty particularly annoys me, 'cause I could've just fixed it by alternating my levels! Nyaghhh. Whatevs. XD

*Spoiler: Musings on the Minim*
Show

OH MAN
So first: Warlocks invocations have somatic components. _What._ I never knew that. O_O So, by RAW, Ecto Fragments can't be a Warlock, and of course this affects other creatures, too.

See, what I noticed immediately with this round was how the classes (allegedly) worked with monsters as a whole. Binder kind of works the way most classes work with monsters, so I kind of just ignored it because of that. But then there's Incarnate (and Incarnum in general), which is decidedly monster-unfriendly: many monsters have reduced or minimal body slots, and Incarnum works off it. And then, on the opposite of the equation, there's Psion and Warlock. Prior to this massive wakeup call, I thought that both systems basically allowed for creatures without vocals and body parts to be able to 'cast'. As such, my idea was to work on the opposite end from where we usually begin: instead of going with a strong, interesting creature and figuring out what synergizes well with it, I wanted to build on an objectively weak, wonky creature and make it _work._

Of course, I was wrong about how Warlock invocations work, and as such, my build actually fails by RAW. Welp.

Sooooo, if Warlock fails, then what actually works?
1. Marshal. I...don't do this. There's no synergy here.
2. Psionics. As I said in my writeup, Wilder is hardly a bad choice for this critter.
3. Precision damage. Yes, I said that most straight rogue type wouldn't be great, but that's because I was working off of the assumption that the minim would need some outside way of gaining reliable damage (a la the Warlock's eldritch blast). But I was also wrong about that.

See, all Ecto Fragments actually _do_ have a reliable base attack, one I had actually written off as completely useless: they all get at-will Psi-likes. For the smallest among us, those are silly 3.0 at-will cantrips. But you know Finger of Fire, the one a Minim gets? It's a _ranged attack roll_.

As such, I think I'll rebuild Qarzvhvkz on a full *psychic rogue* base. Psychic rogues get sneak attack, which will work off of FoF, and they get a lot of different utility abilities and powers that help with Quarz's general "I-have-Mindsight-so-lemme-scout" role. Plus, while most arcane PrCs with telepathy access either come online too late or conflict with Vow of Poverty, I remember there being some Psionic or Rogueish PrCs that have the ability.

Maybe I'll eventually submit in the revised Minim, some time waaay off in the future. 'til then, I'll just work on 'em in the background, alongside my way-too-numerous NPC class builds.


Also, fun little note: Quarzhvkz's name was built from a random letter generator. XD

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