Hi Guys,
I'm interested in exploring the concept of a Chameleon as a primary spellcaster. These sorts of builds generally utilise Catalogues of Enlightenment + Extra Spell (Credit goes to DavidWL), or a similar trick to grab 9th level spells for the Chameleon. As a 9th level spellcaster, a Chameleon is utterly fantastic, due to possessing the ability to cast every single Divine and Arcane spell in the game. More, he casts Divine spells as a Cleric, meaning he automatically knows every single Divine spell in existence. When you consider things like Alternative Spell Source or Customize Domain, this essentially means a Chameleon simply knows every single spell in the game.
I'm hoping on creating a handbook dealing with the Chameleon in this capacity, and I'd like any builds people can come up with that focus on this incredible flexibility. Some builds I have quickly come up with are as follows:
The Shadowcraft Chameleon
Cloistered Cleric 5/Chameleon 10/Shadowcraft Mage 5
The Shadowcraft Chameleon builds on the Chameleon's already impressive flexibility by adding the Shadowcraft Mage's ability to cast any Sor/Wiz Conjuration(Creation), Conjuration(Teleportation), or Evocation spell. It also serves as a good party skill-monkey. This build requires the Shadowcraft Mage prestige class to be open to non-Gnomes.
The build relies on Divine Metamagic to buff itself, and heighten spells for Shadowcraft Mage. It can also grab Initiate of Mystra, in order to take advantage of being able to cast in an Antimagic Field. Where a typical Cleric needs the Shadow domain to be able to cast Shadow spells, the Shadowcraft Chameleon can simply use his Chameleon spells. It requires high Wisdom and Intelligence, but this can be reduced to Intelligence alone through use of Academic Priest. The character cannot spontaneously cast Silent Image, however this can be overcome using Customize Domain(Magic or Trickery).
Skill-wise, this Character is quite good, with an average of 4.5+Int skill points per level.
This character can receive a high number of spells per day, thanks to the fact that bonus spells are applied to both the Arcane and Divine streams of the Chameleon separately, allowing the character to 'double up' on spells. A high level Chameleon could have an intelligence of 18(Base) + 5 (Levels) + 5 (Tome) + 6 (Item) + 6 (Ability Boon) = 40. When you apply this to his spells per day, you get:
CLERIC 6/8+1/8+1/7+1/6+1/5+1
CHAMELEON (ARCANE) 4/8/8/8/4/6/4/4/3/3
CHAMELEON (DIVINE) 4/8/8/8/4/6/4/4/3/3
TOTAL 14/24+1/24+1/23+1/14+1/17+1/8/8/6/6
This compares favourably to an equivalent Wizard, who would have an Int of 20(Base) + 5 (Levels) + 5 (Tome) + 6 (Item) = 36, and the following spells per day: 4/8/7/7/7/7/6/6/6/6. The Wizard may have more spells due to specialisation, but the Chameleon still retains the edge through being able to cast every single spell in existence, usually at a lower level than the Wizard is capable of. Moreover, a Chameleon can use Aptitude Focus up to 3 times per day at 10th level, meaning their Chameleon spells per day are essentially tripled. They also have a ton of lower level spell slots that could be used to fuel Arcane Strike for a Gish Chameleon. Indeed, a Chameleon who (stupidly) decided to go nova using Arcane Strike could do an extra 503d4 damage with one Melee strike, averaging about +1257.5 damage on their attack. What's more, they could then simply use Aptitude Focus to refresh their Chameleon spells anyway.
The Dweomer-Chameleon
Cloistered Cleric 5/Chameleon 10/Dweomerkeeper 5
This build simply substitutes Shadowcraft Mage for Dweomerkeeper, sacrificing Shadowcraft Mage goodies for Mantle of Spells 3/day and Supernatural Spell 1/day. Some ideas for this include picking three save-or-die or save-or-suck spells for Mantle of Spells, targetting a different saving throw with each. This will allow your Chameleon to always target a weak save on any enemy he encounters. Alternatively, blaster-minded Chameleons could pick Wings of Flurry in place of, say, a Fortitude save-or-suck spell, allowing them to blast to their heart's content if they so desire. Since most creatures with a weak Fortitude save also have low hitpoints, Wings of Flurry isn't a bad replacement for a save-or-suck spell.
The Mystic Chameleon-Shepherd
Mystic Ranger (Wild Shape variant) 5/Chameleon 1/Planar Shepherd 10/Chameleon 4
This build is a bit more radical than the others. You only end up with 5 levels of Chameleon, so you can't double up on Arcane and Divine focus. Mind you, you can still change your aptitude focus 2 times per day. This will take an hour, so it's not something to be attempted during a combat, but it can at least improve your stamina over the course of an average day. In exchange for this reduced spellcasting capability, you get the excellence that is Planar Shepherd, with all the ridiculous Wild Shaping and Planar Bubble fun this entails. Free wishes or 10:1 time traits are a very nice alternative to Arcane and Divine spellcasting. In this particular situation, you should focus on Divine Chameleon spells, due to their greater flexibility. Pick up Sword of the Arcane Order, and this will further increase your flexibility. One flaw this build has is an inability to buff itself all day, due to lacking Divine Metamagic, or a similar ability.
The Chameleontatrix
Wizard 5/Chameleon 7/Incantatrix 8
This build cuts short the Chameleon's run at level 7, treating double aptitude as the capstone ability for the Chameleon. It then takes 8 levels of Incantatrix, netting the always-awesome metamagic effect ability, and 3 bonus metamagic feats. This is the only build that isn't epic ready, but it's close, requiring only 2 more levels of Incanatrix. 5 levels of Incantatrix could be sacrificed for Shadowcraft Mage. Just be sure to grab Signature Spell (Silent Image) if you're going to go down that road.
The Completely Common Chameleon
Commoner 13/Chameleon 7
Ok, so you never, ever would, but a Commoner could grab 8 ranks of Bluff and Disguise by level 13. This still leaves 7 levels of Chameleon, which means our friendly Commoner will end up with Double Aptitude at 20th level. He's only got 5th level spells, so he'll need to grab Extra Spell 4 times, rather than 3. He can use Shun/Embrace the Dark Chaos for this, if need be. Since he needs ranks in Bluff, Sense Motive and Spellcraft, he also needs an Intelligence score of 14. But really, that's all he needs. An epic level game could conceivably have a Commoner-Chameleon surviving on a point buy of six. He'll have an Intelligence score of 14(Base) + 5 (Levels) + 5 (Tome) + 6 (Item) + 4 (Ability Boon) = 34. This is the same intelligence as a Human Wizard who started with 18 Int. The character would be weak, uncoordinated, fragile, foolish and ugly, but he'd still be a force to be reckoned with, if played intelligently. This build is merely to illustrate that the classes that go around a Chameleon are really simply the gravy to the Chameleon itself - the class itself can let anyone be a force in the multiverse, whatever their background.