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This is a little build of mine that is particularly absurd. The crux of it revolves around the idea that "Life Link" supernatural ability does not heal positive or negative energy, but instead it just heals damage regardless if the linkee is alive or undead.
The basic concept is this: Oracle [Spirit Guide] 17 / Shadowdancer 3 (Oracle 1 - 5, 9 - 20; Shadowdancer 6 - 8).
The game I am building this character is Core Races Only, so we'll use a Gnome. He is not only the ultimate healboy, especially when he gets a ring of regeneration, but he eventually has a full power animal companion with a Shadow that pretty much is never going to die.
Animal Companions are GREAT early on, but they have less impact on the game each level beyond 10 or so due to plenty of factors ranging from AC to the fact that enemies will just be able to kill the animal companion later on.
The Shadow has 1/2 the Oracle's HP (similarly to a familiar) but is far more dangerous because it is only affected by magical weapons or energy attacks (for 1/2 damage with exceptions) and completely immune to physical attacks. That means most of the high CR animals just auto-lose against it. The shadow is outrageously powerful, doubly so when we take into account that it can sink into the ground for total cover and total concealment.
The major drawback of the Shadow is that if it dies, its owner could gain a permanent negative level if he fails a DC 15 fort save (unlikely to happen if for this build). The other major drawback is that this pet cannot heal on its own (due to being undead), and there are only a few classes it would synergize with that could effectively heal it.
This is where Life Link (Su) comes into play. The ability does not claim that it uses positive or negative energy to heal, but instead that it simply transfers the damage, and therefore means that a living life oracle could heal a shadowdancer shadow with it.
This takes this minion from a potential liability if it takes too much damage (you risk the negative level if it dies or you dismiss it) to you being able to let it fight constantly. Hell, there are fights in APs where you could send it in and win due to the enemies having no retort.
What makes this doubly ridiculous is that I am not even taking into account the use of Animate Dead to create a buffer for the Oracle or throw out more undead: this build and theme could be even more overpowered. The Army of Bloody Skeletons acts as the fist, and the Shadow is the heavy hitting assassin that just strength damages enemies to death. When that isn't enough, the Oracles allies actually get off their butts and do something (when they get back from Pizza due to the Oracle taking on everything by himself and winning).
My prototype build:
Attributes (20 point buy)
Str 5 (+4 point buy, -2 race [gnome]
Dex 13 (-3 point buy)
Con 20 (-17 point buy, +2 race [gnome])
Int 10 (0 point buy)
Wis 9 (+1 point buy)
Cha 16 (-5 point buy, +2 race [gnome])
Ability Score Increase:
(4th/8th/12th/16th) +1 Con (20th) +1 doesn't matter.
Feats
(1st) Dodge
(3rd) Mobility
(5th) Combat Reflexes
(7th) Boon Companion [Animal Companion]
(9th/11th/13th/15th/17th/19th) Whatever you want. Leadership would be stupid, doubly so if your follower shadows your build.
Oracle with Spirit Guide Archetype:
Mystery: Lunar [Primarily for Primal Companion: Tiger {a.k.a. "Big Cat"}]
Oracle's Curse: Any work, really, but Haunted is themeatic.
(1st) Primal Companion
You don't have Life Link, yet, so you need to babysit your Tiger.
(2nd) At least you learn "Fumbletongue" for free.
(3rd) Your Spirit Guide decides to show up. Take a Life spirit. Congratulations: you have Life Link now.
Pretty standard oracle until level 5 where you go into Shadowdancer, so you basically have two throw-away levels, but when you hit Shadowdancer 3, you become absolutely terrifying. From that level on, you have a scout that can walk through walls, and worse is that probably has comparable HP to your party's fighter.
At level 9 this Oracle will likely have a +6 belt of constitution, and from that point on, will probably be saving for a Ring of Regeneration.
This character's HP at level 9 would be:
9th lvl Oracle's HP: 139 (+8 [1d8] 36 [8d8] +81 [con mod*9] +9 [toughness/lvl] + 5 [Oracle FCB])
9th lvl oracle's Shadow's HP: 69 (139/2 rnd down)
20th lvl Oracle's HP: 320 (+8 [1d8] 85 [19d8] +190 [con mod*10] +20 [toughness/lvl] + 17 [Oracle FCB])
20th lvl oracle's Shadow's HP: 160 (320/2 rnd down)
This build cannot access 9th level spells. This is one major drawback.
What do you guys think? If we throw in Throat Slicer, with the Big Cat..., well, just see my other post Throw down your weapons or the Wizard Gets It! for how ridiculous that is.
Cheers.