Kuchen, the Gingerbread Man's page

Thanks Seb. I totally understand, and I had fun building Kuchen at any rate.

Cheers to all!

Does anyone have a cohort who plans to cast Haste? I have a Wand of Haste with 50 charges and I'm happy to have it used on as many of us as it can be, as often as is possible. If you have a wand-wielding cohort who wants to hold it, they should feel free.

If noone plans to cast it at the start of encounters, I can cast it periodically from my wand. It'll only last 5 rounds / casting...but we've got 50 charges.

Also, I have a Wand of Echolocation. It's a Personal range so I can't cast it on others, but if you have UMD you're welcome to cast it before entering.

Finally, I'll have added each of you to my Collective. That means we can all communicate telepathically, and it lets me cancel (and/or absorb) some of each HP damage that you take, and/or defend you from a distance in other ways.

Init: +33 (+11 base, +8 in Cold terrain, +14 stance);
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Senses: Perception +47 (+8 in Cold terrain, +6 vs surprise), true seeing, blindsight 40’, "You do not need to make Perception checks to notice creatures; you can detect and pinpoint all creatures within 60 feet"
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Active effects
Inimical Gaze (DC 34) All within 60' are within this gaze attack. If they fail DC 34 Will, I know their weaknesses, as if I'd made a successful Knowledge check to determine them. This also grants me +6 AC vs them, and +6 to hit them.
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Current stance: Unavoidable Gaze of the Sleeping Goddess (Su) +14 to Init Stance – You do not need to make Perception checks to notice creatures; you can detect and pinpoint all creatures within 60 feet. You also ignore miss chances granted by concealment, darkness, and invisibility, although you still must have line of effect to a creature or an object to discern it. In addition, you can expend your psionic focus as a move action to pierce creatures’ minds as easily as your senses pierce darkness. For a number of rounds equal to your initiation modifier after activating this ability, you can read the surface thoughts of all creatures within 60 feet as if you had manifested the read thoughts power. A creature can make a Will save (DC 16 + your initiation modifier) to keep you from reading their thoughts. A creature that successfully saves against this effect is immune to having its surface thoughts read by this stance for 24 hours. You do not need to concentrate on this ability to maintain it. This use of this stance is considered a mind-affecting effect.
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Freedom of movement (Su)
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True Seeing (Ex)
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Lurker (effects both Kuchen + Dasher) (Ex) Creatures using unusual forms of sensory perception such as blindsight, greensight, or tremorsense cannot automatically foil your use of Stealth; such creatures must make a Perception check as normal to detect you when you make use of the Stealth skill.
Lurker foils divination spells and Divination sphere sense abilities in the manner described above, but has no effect on spell, sphere, spell-like, or supernatural abilities specifically used to uncover information about you rather than enhancing the user’s perception, such as when scrying or using the Divination sphere‘s divine abilities
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I'll approach riding my permanently invisible miniature reindeer, Dasher.

I think designing for L20 gestalt characters with access to all 3p content is crazy tricky.

Looking at this first round,
1) I wonder if I'm over-optimized relative to the group, and need to tone anything down.

2) I suspect that a Boss will be more engaging if it's made a bit differently. In particular, having 1000 HD means it will never fail a save and we'll never pass a save vs any HD-related effect. I tend to find things more interesting if both success and failure are possible (e.g. Saves and DCs such that there's a low chance of success, instead of zero chance of success)

Perhaps have us fight more mooks (even having more filter in each round, if you'd like)? To get a sense of our limits first?

Or choose some of these high-CR PF monsters to add in? Then adjust up or down, based on how it goes, to get to an interesting challenge?

I think it's worth taking a step back here.

Assume for the moment that the Boss has a CL 48 Intelligent Item that can cast Dimension Door at will. (I have one--admittedly at a far lower CL--that can cast either D.Door or Heal every round).

If he had that--and you could certainly hand-waive him doing so--he can appear on top of the tables North of Kuchen, and from there--with his 60' reach--hit every PC.

Alternately, he can use this round to turn to mist and come in 20'. He can spend next round getting into a good position, and can turn back to regular size on round 3. That lets him start full attacking by round 4, at the latest.

It looks like he gets 300 attacks. Without power attack or other feats, his ave dam is 54/hit. That's an average of 16,200 damage / round. Let's say only 1/2 of those strikes hit, and he divides the remaining 8,100 damage between our 7 heros (including entourage). That's over 1000 damage each.

I--and likely all of us--have some defenses that can help us overcome a bit of that...but likely not enough of it.

Seb, is that your intent, or is he oversized for this encounter? It looks like our options are to flee or die, though in character I'm not sure we'd realize that. (I think the only clue before he starts killing might be that our Knowledge rolls to identify him come up blank.)

#1 DC 31 Fort vs Stunning Crit: 1d20 + 27 ⇒ (5) + 27 = 32

Forgot Stunning Crit. #1 passed save so is Staggered (rather than stunned) for 1d4 ⇒ 4 rounds.
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EDIT: HA! Hadn't noticed your post. Sadly I *do* think he can fit in the building, within reach of Kuchen. (Just moved him somewhere where he doesn't occupy anyone else's space. I'm not sure about the rest. Gimme a minute and I'll edit again.
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EDIT2:
1) there IS free space (North of me, on top of tables) where he could fit. (I checked). BUT...
2) as Snowflake mentioned, teleport moves self + 1 creature / 3 CASTER levels...and a Colossal creature counts as 16 creatures, so would need a level 48 Wizard. (CR is Challenge Rating, which is not the same thing.)
3) Teleport has a range of Touch, so that L48 Wizard would also need to touch the Boss to cast it.
4) The boss is a vampire, so it could get in in mist form, but switching forms will be a Standard, and his Move in that form is only 20'.

Tinsel hears in his mind, ::I'm over here, floating over the dead ogre-mage. I'd be nervous about sending Meteor out. That Etten outside looks ESPECIALLY nasty::

Since I've attacked more recently than I've moved, I think my Stealth is broken...though one would be forgiven for missing a 6” fella under a blur effect

”Come here, dearies,” the diminutive gingerbread man coos, ”The Void is hungry…”

With that he jumps onto Dasher’s invisible back, vanishing from sight...and then moments later he appears again--under the feet of the Hill Giant Cleric--and appears to be driving his tiny, sharpened candy cane into every foe at once.

Kuchen completely misses the Frost Giant that Tinsel attacked, and finds his magical candy cane bounces right off the uber-Ettin outside, but manages to spear the rest. Of those speared, all but the Ogre Mage are now immobilized where they stand.

In addition, he manages to steal time from the Hill Giant, taking it for himself.

With the time he stole, he attacks the Frost Giant he's standing under a second time, and in addition to stabbing him in the crotch, he manages to take control of his mind for a short period.

Finally, his intelligent candy cane dimension door's him and Dasher to under the feet of the giant that Tinsel is facing. With the extra time his stance allows, he makes one more attack. This time it appears that he refracts multiple times, and candy canes pierce the ogre-mage from every angle, leaving it dead in a bloody heap.

Hmmm, I'm working on a post too. Oy!

Tinsel, thanks for putting out numbers. With your indulgence, I just changed them to match the # order of the profiles DM listed.

Also, Seb, you gave stats for 3 non-boss ettins, but only put 2 on the map. I added a third. If that's wrong, please remove.

Sorry to delay the start of combat there!

For future, I'm always happy to have you make rolls on my behalf, if you know they're needed (e.g. Initiative, Perception, Saves). If I see something you've missed, I'll let you know, but I find that helps games move faster, if it works for you.

I'm working on a stat bar to make that easier now.

...And Happy New Year, everyone!

Init: 1d20 + 19 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 19 + 14 = 36

Active effects
Inimical Gaze (DC 34) All within 60' are within this gaze attack. If they fail DC 34 Will, I know their weaknesses, as if I'd made a successful Knowledge check to determine them. This also grants me +6 AC vs them, and +6 to hit them.
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Current stance: Unavoidable Gaze of the Sleeping Goddess (Su) +14 to Init Stance – You do not need to make Perception checks to notice creatures; you can detect and pinpoint all creatures within 60 feet. You also ignore miss chances granted by concealment, darkness, and invisibility, although you still must have line of effect to a creature or an object to discern it. In addition, you can expend your psionic focus as a move action to pierce creatures’ minds as easily as your senses pierce darkness. For a number of rounds equal to your initiation modifier after activating this ability, you can read the surface thoughts of all creatures within 60 feet as if you had manifested the read thoughts power. A creature can make a Will save (DC 16 + your initiation modifier) to keep you from reading their thoughts. A creature that successfully saves against this effect is immune to having its surface thoughts read by this stance for 24 hours. You do not need to concentrate on this ability to maintain it. This use of this stance is considered a mind-affecting effect.
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Freedom of movement (Su)
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True Seeing (Ex)

Ok, great. I thought we might have to go looking for trouble.

;-)

To help move things forward, I think I need some more story help.

Do we know that we're extraordinarily powerful?

Or are we not yet powerful, but about to have a Sailor Moon transformation sequence?

"Those SAVAGES!" the tiny gingerbread man exclaims.

Do I recognize the location? If so, how close is it?

...and I've fixed Kuchen's profile up pretty good now, I think. Qs and comments welcome.

Merry Krampusnacht to all!

Timmy, I didn't realize Mind Blank negates True Seeing... though in my case I think I'm good because MB calls out divination magic, and my True Seeing is an Extraordinary (non-magical) ability
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DM, The Craft Confection roll was just for fun. I added it to give a sense to anyone reading it that it's pretty tasty and fancy.

Kuchen reaches into a frosted pocket and pulls out a tiny phone with a candy cane screen.

"Ha, Timmy! You can't hit me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

With a blink of his frosted eye he looks over at the invisible nanny. "Well, Miriam? You want to tell little Timmy about Krampus, or shall I?" True Seeing

...and I *finally* have a profile up. Please give it a gander and let me know if you have Qs or see mistakes.

TODO list for me: clean it up & organize it more, doublecheck skills (I've overspent skill points somewhat), make sure I've applied all modifiers everywhere...but it should at least all be there.

"I'm hungry, I didn't get any slices of the pizza before Casper stole it all."

Holding up two frosted mittens defensively, a gingerbread man the size of a sparrow says, "Hey, don't even think about eating me, buddy.

"If you like though, I can make you a cake."

With a wave of his arm, a small chocolate ganache cake appears. With another, there's a dulce de leche cake with a caramel buttercream frosting, and a strawberry shortcake beside it. All three are things of exquisite--almost unimaginable--beauty.

"Here, these are up for grabs. Eat up. Then...I think we should save those snowballs for whatever's howling out there, Timmy. I'm sorry to say, I think that's Krampus aprowl."

Craft Confection: 1d20 + 63 ⇒ (15) + 63 = 78

Ooooh, one potentially big Q: Jiingas are constructs...but the way the race is written up doesn't make clear which (if any) construct traits I should have. Does a Jiinja have a construct's immunities? Does it not have a Constitution? Does it heal from Make Whole and *not* from healing magic?

(Might be simplest just to ignore the good and bad construct traits...but I can make either work.)

I'll be done with crunch today!

One Q: it seems like, at this level, it makes sense for all of us to use crafting costs, if any of us are doing it.

I can squeeze crafting for myself into my build if you prefer...but alternately, are you cool with me paying crafting costs and saying I got it for being extraordinarily charming? (I do, after all, have a 38 Charisma, Diplomacy +48, and a racial ability (Irresistible) that says "npcs always start with a friendly attitude to Jiinjas unless circumstances dictate otherwise".)

Just lemme know as I copy / paste, proofread, and debug my final build.

Kuchen's licorice lips curl into a slight smile at Timmy's pun.

Then the six-inch-tall gingerbread man turns to face Olaf. "I think I saw Hans taken as well when the Good Baker Hilda was captured. I don't know that we can rescue them, but we have to try.

"As far as your nose...look into my eyes."

As the snowman does, their minds become linked.

< Your nose may truly be gone. There is a Hungry Void churning out there. I have seen it, and I'm very sorry to say...the Void Thinks We're Delicious. >

I'll second being 90% of the way there!

I think I've made every decision I need to for Kuchen, the Gingerbread Void Prophet...but just getting it into a profile will take another hour that I don't have tonight.

He'll be a lot of fun!

EDIT: YES, Friday would be great...though I think I'll have him posted tomorrow.