The Diploficer, the Ultimate Diplomancer

[SowZ]

Hey, all. For a while now I've worked on the highest diplomacy build. (Barring Jumplomancer or loops.) Here's what I've come up with.

So far my build has, effectively, 284 diplomacy. 279 if you don't think that Visage of the Greater Deity gives the racial stat bonus of a Half-Celestial. 291 if I am willing to use DCFS and 3e feats. (Explained below. Also, the Diploficer always take ten and does't take a -10 penalty for rushed on diplomacy checks.)

Build: Warlock 1/Binder 1/Marshal 1/Cleric 1 (Charm and Joy Domain)/Artificer 16

Race: Old Magic Blooded Unseelie Fey Half-Elf (24 Charisma. 34 With Tomes and levels.)

Flaws: Murkey Eyed, Non-combatant

Traits: Polite, Illiterate (For a +2 Diplomacy)

Feats: Complementary Insight, (Synergy bonus goes up to +3,) Celestion Scion - Cranden, Nymph's Kiss, Negotiator, Vow of Peace, Sacred Vow, Item Familiar, Leadership, Obtain Familiar (Pig,) Skill Focus Diplomacy*, All the crafting feats plus Extra Rings/Attune Magic Weapon/the Artisan Feats* (I still have one feat left, too!) *Means I got it as a bonus feat

Magic Items: (Many of these items can be 1/day because they last so long. Regardless, well within a level 20 Characters WBL. Enough so we could buy extra items to consume to fuel the XP costs. But we shouldn't need to with the craft reserve.)
Charisma Boosters
Nixie's Grace, +8 Cha.
Devil's Ego, (Magic Item, Command Word, keep casting until +5)
Snowsong, +4 Cha.
Righteous Aura, +4 Cha.
Visage of the Greater Deity, +4 Cha
Diplomacy Boosters
+30 Diplomacy Item
Voice of the Dragon, +10
CL 15 Divine Insight, +20
CL 16 Improvisation, +8
Item of Friendly Face
Pendant of Joy +5 (Greater Heroism is smarter for a morale bonus in an opposed diplomacy situation.)

Binder lets me ignore the penalty for rushed diplomacy and lets me take ten on Diplomacy checks. Warlock gives me Beguiling Influence. Marshal let's me double the Charisma bonus on skill checks.

I wear Glamerweave for +2.

Total Charisma of 66, with +4 from Charm Cleric and my FoP cohort.

Final Tally: 23 Skill Ranks, +54 Charisma, +30 Competence, +23 Item Familiar, +20 Insight, +10 Enhancement (Voice of the Dragon,) +10 Circumstance (Artificer Infusion,) +9 Synergy, +8 Luck, +6 Warlock, +5 Morale, +4 Exalted, +3 Skill Focus, +3 Pig, +3 Untyped, +2 Negotiator, +2 Perfect, +2 Circumstance, +2 Racial, +2 Traits, +2 Glamerweave, +10 d20 roll, +10 when taking -10 for quick diplomacy

Now, here is where we go crazy. I took Leadership. My Cohort? I am going to try and attract a Half-Elf. The rules don't say I can attract templates or anything, though. So I won't do it. But I am going to encourage him to be a diplomancer. I will train him in the art of diplomancy. And I will let him use all my items, even making him his own +30 diplomacy ring cause I am so nice.

I can attract class. I'm attracting a Charisma Prodigy/Binder/Warlock/Fiend of Possession, Half-Elf Kaorti. While assuming the Evil subtype, he doesn't actually have to be evil. Assuming he has 13 Charisma, I am going to age him to Venerable. He might get pissed about it. Oh, well, I can calm him down cause he is a fanatic follower. So 24 Charisma. +4 from levels, +5 from Tome. 31. I can bring it up to 60 with all my gear and his dip coming up. He can give me +3 Cha, too!

Assuming he has max diplomacy ranks, skill focus, vow of peace, celestial scion, and complementary insight, he will have a high bonus. He can take a level of Marshal, freeing up a feat slot. I am going to make him take a Sacred Vow and make out with my Nymph friend after he dips in Charm/Joy Domain Cleric, (he will serve my god, now. Remember, this is TO. If his Cohort was this good, this is the highest theoretical Diplomacy if we do it right. Barring Jumplomancy and loops.) He will also take three levels in half-elf.

Also, he should dip a level in Psion. Take Psicrystal Affinity. +3. Wizard for a Pig Familiar is an easy +3 boost.

His build is Kaorti 4/Prodigy 2/Binder 1/Warlock 1/Marshal 1/Psion 1/Cleric 1/Half-Elf Paragon 3/Wizard 1/X (Free levels) 2

I teach him to make an item familiar. If he maxes it out, that is plus 18. Final score should be 273 on his Diplomacy, (275 with Glamerweave.) His aid another gives me +27, using the expert assistance rules.

I'm assuming LA Buyoff is a no-go. If it is not, yipee for us. We can be Charisma prodigy Half-Fey. That is an extra +10 Diplomacy! But let's not assume that, it breaks the rules.

ULTRA MUNCHKIN MODE

(click to show/hide)

This uses the Dark Chaos Feat Shuffle. It also throws a bunch of 3e feats into the mix. Anyway, our half-elf Cohort will take one level of Fighter and one of Artificer, giving us four lovely feats to play with. Favored, Primary Contact, Trustworthy, and Negotiator.

As for our part, we want to keep Extra Rings, Extraordinary Artisan, Legendary Artisan from our Artificer bonus feats. As for crafting feats, we will keep Craft Wondrous Item, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, and Forge Ring. We have six extra feats. Taking Favored and Primary Contact will give us plus one skill rank and let us dump an extra point in our Item familiar. Then we take Persuasive, Trustworthy, and Alluring. (Based on your opinion, Trustworthy and Alluring still give 3e bonus but the Trustworthy feat WAS updated and so won't buff my diplomacy. Oh well, it is still an Alluring Pre-req.)

The bonus is now up to 293. And we can use diplomacy against unintelligent undead, which is stupid but kinda nice utility.

Could I go any higher? What is the current record? Did I break any rules? Thanks, min-maxers!

[Demelain]

Forgive me if I missed it, how did you qualify for Psicrystal Affinity? Wild Talent gives you the ability to take Psionic feats, but it does not give you a Manifester Level. Are your Artificer levels Psionic Artificer ACF?

[SowZ]

Forgive me if I missed it, how did you qualify for Psicrystal Affinity? Wild Talent gives you the ability to take Psionic feats, but it does not give you a Manifester Level. Are your Artificer levels Psionic Artificer ACF?

At one point in time, this build was Psionic Artificer. But there is enough debate about whether or not Psionic Artificers can duplicate spells that I got rid of it. I probably ended up confusing myself in the shuffle and didn't/don't fully understand Wild Talent. It doesn't work then. No biggie. It frees up a feat for negotiator so I only lose one diplomacy point. And there's a whole extra feat, besides. I can use that extra feat to take Improved Cohort which increases my Cohorts Diplomacy by 2, (1 rank, 1 Item Familiar,) which bumps up my score by one. This balances it back out. Thanks. (:

[Demelain]

Now you've got Negotiator on there twice. Which means still a feat open, though you're 2 Diplomacy ranks down.
I'm not familiar with Diplomancers in general so I can't gauge the comparative magnitude of the build, but it's still pretty ludicrously high.

[SowZ]

Now you've got Negotiator on there twice. Which means still a feat open, though you're 2 Diplomacy ranks down.
I'm not familiar with Diplomancers in general so I can't gauge the comparative magnitude of the build, but it's still pretty ludicrously high.

Sorry, I originally took out Negotiator to fit in another feat then changed my mind and took out Sacred Vow. When I got the open feat slot, I plugged back in Negotiator but should have put Sacred Vow back in. So I recover those two ranks again. Thanks again.

[Demelain]

Since you're already Exalted, let's dive through that real quick and see what you missed.
Vow of Peace (which - thankfully - restricts your actions, and not your allies) would net +4 Exalted bonus to Diplomacy. Worth considering, since it's higher than the various +2 feats.
Nimbus of Light is a +2 Circumstance bonus, a type that stacks
The Herald/Joy Domains (BoED - same as Community domain) both grant a +4 Sacred bonus (a type you don't have yet) to Diplomacy, as opposed to the +2 Competence of Community (which I'm fairly certain doesn't stack with your +30 Competence bonus, DMG p21 would indicate that Competence is not a stacking bonus type).

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Celestial Scion - Cranden
(fix on feat list)

Now, here is where we go crazy. I took Leadership. My Cohort? I am going to try and attract a Half-Elf.
I can attract class. I'm attracting a Charisma Prodigy/Binder/Warlock/Fiend of Possession, Half-Elf Kaorti.

I've advocated single race and single class for the cohort.
But it's only the start.  The Cohort can do whatever after that.
Including PsyRef-ing and PHB2 Rebuilding.
Assuming the cohort shows up at ecl 6 for the leader, 
it's more a paperwork accounting problem.  Party on.

[SowZ]

Since you're already Exalted, let's dive through that real quick and see what you missed.
Vow of Peace (which - thankfully - restricts your actions, and not your allies) would net +4 Exalted bonus to Diplomacy. Worth considering, since it's higher than the various +2 feats.
Nimbus of Light is a +2 Circumstance bonus, a type that stacks
The Herald/Joy Domains (BoED - same as Community domain) both grant a +4 Sacred bonus (a type you don't have yet) to Diplomacy, as opposed to the +2 Competence of Community (which I'm fairly certain doesn't stack with your +30 Competence bonus, DMG p21 would indicate that Competence is not a stacking bonus type).

Oh, the community bonus is competence? I didn't realize. I do want to keep the Charm domain for the bonus to Charisma, but my second domain can be Joy. Which nets me +2. Isn't Nimbus of Light specific to good creatures? I can't recall. Vow of Peace is something I should take, you're right.

Celestial Scion - Cranden
(fix on feat list)

Now, here is where we go crazy. I took Leadership. My Cohort? I am going to try and attract a Half-Elf.
I can attract class. I'm attracting a Charisma Prodigy/Binder/Warlock/Fiend of Possession, Half-Elf Kaorti.

I've advocated single race and single class for the cohort.
But it's only the start.  The Cohort can do whatever after that.
Including PsyRef-ing and PHB2 Rebuilding.
Assuming the cohort shows up at ecl 6 for the leader, 
it's more a paperwork accounting problem.  Party on.

Ahh, thanks for the feat correction.

So is your argument that I shouldn't template my Cohort? Kaorti is pretty necessary as it is the only creature I know of with the Evil Outsider subtype without being Always Evil, (and having a reasonable LA/HD.) Fiend of Possession gives me quite a few points.

[Demelain]

Yeah, you're right about Nimbus of Light. Not really worth the feat.
Since you're a Diplomancer (and thus probably not planning to deal lethal damage in the first place), Vow of Peace is certainly a nice collection of benefits.

[sirpercival]

So, why aren't you using an insanely pimped Extract Gift?

[awaken_D_M_golem]

I've advocated single race and single class for the cohort.

So is your argument that I shouldn't template my Cohort?

(initial) single class is solid ; single race can easily be argued
to include piles of templates, because it's still a "race" not a "races".
The board hasn't followed me on this one.  Party on.


Thrallherd/Leadership chains could get big Aid Anothers..
Not a loop, not the Nanobots approach (but in the neighborhood).

Are you sure you don't want a Divine Mind with the Communications Aura?
 

[Demelain]

There is a variant cleric feature in Dragon Magazine 347, page 91 called "Domain Focus" which trades your ability to spontaneously cast cure spells and one of your domains. In exchange, you double the bonus granted by your remaining domain (the Joy Domain becomes +8 Exalted bonus to Diplomacy, or the Charm Domain becomes +8 CHA for 1 min/day).
IDK which domain is a greater net gain for you, but one of them probably is.