And . . . here's what I've come up with for a playable 4E Santa:
Playable Half-elf "Santa Claus" (calling himself "Joulupukki") built as a D&D 4E Hybrid Druid/Wizard PC
Design Guidelines: Stealth to move unseen and unheard; swiftness to place presents; magical shape-shifting (and teleporting) to get in and out quickly. Escape; affect evergreens; animal empathy; comprehend all languages; resistance to damage; charm; affecting dreams. He only becomes universal well into Epic Tier.
AT 1st LEVEL:
Ability Scores: STR 9, CON 14, DEX 10, INT 16, WIS 16, CHA 14 (racial bonuses added to CHA and WIS)
(as he levels up, he puts his ability boosts into INT and WIS each time)
Background: "Divinely Inspired" (Insight, Religion): gain +2 bonus to Insight.
'Time spent among the halflings showed him their reverence for the deity they call "the Blessed One," or Yondalla. One day, he felt the power of her voice, and beheld a wondrous vision of a world in which abundance came, not from the taking or dividing of pies, but from creating more pies for each person. He now devotes his time to the furtherance of generosity, abundance, and wonder.'
1st Level Basic Skill Check Bonuses: Arcana +8, Diplomacy +4 (race) (not trained), Insight +12 (race, background), Nature +8
Feat L1: Unarmored Agility: +2 feat bonus to AC in cloth armor or none.
Base HP: 25
HP/Surge: 6
Surge/Day: 6
AC: 15 (Cloth armor; +2 from Feat "Unarmored Agility"; with 3 INT mod.)
FORT defense: 12 (with 2 CON bonus)
,REF defense: 13 (with 3 INT bonus)
,WIL defense: 15 (with 3 WIS bonus; plus 1 from each of Hybrid Druid and Wizard)
Speed: 6
Init.: +0
Hair: White and curly
Eyes: Merry and bright.
Height: Average or a little above.
Girth: He needs a belt that is four inches wide.
Further Heroic Tier Feats:
Feat L2: Skill Training, Stealth (not Diplomacy: If it gets to the point where Diplomacy could have an effect, Santa is falling behind his time-schedule. He tries very hard not to be noticed. It took him many years to level up very far.)
Feat L4: Alertness: +2 Perception feat bonus, and can never be surprised
Feat L6: Hybrid Talent: Arcane Implement Mastery: Staff of Defense: +1 bonus to AC. Also, 1/ENC bonus equal to CON mod. against one attack.
Feat L8: Initiate of the Faith [Multiclassing into Cleric]: Religion training, and use Healing Word 1/day.
Feat L10: Resilient Focus: +2 feat bonus to saves.
Paragon Tier Feats (one available due to an automatic ability boost at start of Tier):
Feat L11: Stalking Panther Form [11th level, druid, wild shape power]: while wildshaped, +5 feat bonus to Stealth checks, +4 Initiative feat bonus.
Feat L12: Superior Fortitude [CON 15]: +3 FORT feat bonus, increasing to +4 at Epic Tier. Also, ongoing damage-resistance 6 (9 at Epic).
Feat L14: Arcane Familiar, Arcane Wisp: +2 Stealth bonus, +1 teleport distance bonus)
Feat L16: Implement Expertise: +1 feat bonus tohit (+2 at 15, +3 at 25) with a chosen implement type: Staff. (Santa's staff has the form of a red-and-white-striped, candy-cane-shaped walking stick.)
Feat L18: Superior Will [WIS 15]: +3 WIL feat bonus, increasing to +4 at Epic Tier. Also, if dazed or stunned, can make a saving throw vs. any such effect at start of turn.
Feat L20: Light Step [Elf]: +1 Speed for self & allies on long journeys (his 'reindeer' are his allies; but see details at the 'Elsewhat' heading below)
Epic Tier Feats:
Feat L21: Fey Shift [21st Level, fey origin or Fey Bond feat] You can teleport up to 2 squares as a move action. (Santa counts as an Elf, and therefore fey, for qualifying for this.)
Feat L22: Skill Focus, Stealth.
Feat L24: Fleet-footed: +1 Speed feat bonus
Heroic Tier AEDU Powers (not going into detail about higher-level powers at this time):
1AtW: Swarming Pixies (DRUID, Beast Form): Close blast 3, Each, WISvREF; 1d8, and blast area becomes a zone UEOYNT; Enemies in zone grant CA. (was "Swarming Locusts.") (Santa's favored wild-shape: a Swarm of Pixies—for climbing up & down chimneys, because Pixies "rarely appear to onlookers unless they wish to be seen.")
1AtW: Beguiling Strands (WIZARD, "Charm"); Close blast 5, ENEMIES, INTvWIL; INT psychic damage, and push target up to 3 squares. (L21: 3 + INT psychic) ("Visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.")
1E: Gust of Wind (DRUID): Close blast 3, Each, WISvFORT; 1d8 + WIS damage and knock prone. EFFECT: Push up to 2 sq.
1D: Faerie Fire (DRUID): Burst 1 in 10, Each, WISvWIL; target is slowed and grants CA (save ends both); AFTERWARD: 3d6 + WIS radiant, and target grants CA UEOYNT. MISS: 1d6 + WIS radiant, and target grants CA UEOYNT.
2U: Verdant Bounty (DRUID), 1/ENCOUNTER, Minor action: Burst 2 in 10. EFFECT: Area of the burst becomes a zone filled with plants UEOYNT; the zone is heavily obscured, giving you a +5 bonus to Stealth checks within.
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, incense cedar, nuts and pine cones.
Top it all with wreaths of fir boughs, mistle-toe sprigs, coils of ribbon.
Place the gifts beneath the tree, then turn about and GO!"
3E: Blissful Ignorance (WIZARD): burst 2 in 10, Each, [no attack]; target is slowed and cannot take Opp. or Imm. actions UEOYNT. (Just long enough for Santa to wildshape into a swarm of invisible pixies (Minor action) and get out of Dodge (Move action).)
5D: Visions of Avarice (WIZARD): Burst 5 in 10; EFFECT: Origin square becomes a zone. Primary Attack: ENEMIES, INTvWIL; pull target up to 4 toward zone; if target ends in zone or adjacent to it, target is immobilized (save ends). SUSTAIN MINOR: Zone persists UEOYNT, and you make Secondary Attack: burst 5 centered on zone, ENEMIES, INTvWIL; pull target up to 4 toward the zone. (That illusory treasure? Actually a lump of coal. You knew it would be.)
6U: Emerald Eye (WIZARD), 1/ENCOUNTER: R-10, One; UEOYNT, you gain a +5 power bonus to Insight checks, giving you insight into your foe's true nature.
"He'll find out if you're naughty or nice," and no mistaking.
7E: Grasp of Winter (DRUID), 1/ENCOUNTER: R-10, One, WISvREF; 2d8 + WIS cold. EFFECT: the target is restrained UEOYNT. (If they won't restrain themselves. . . .)
9D: Entangle (DRUID): Burst 2 in 10, One, WISvREF; 1d6 + WIS and immobilized (save ends). EFFECT: Burst becomes zone of Roots & Vines that lasts through encounter. Any enemy starting turn in zone is slowed UEOYNT; while you are in beast form you can "crit" on melee attacks with any d20 roll of 18-20.
(These Roots & Vines seem to consist of nothing but "The Holly and the Ivy.")
10U: Spirited Wind (DRUID), 1/ENCOUNTER, Move action; Close burst 1, You and allies within can fly 6 sq. as free action, with +4 power bonus vs. provoked OAs.
("Placing a finger alongside his nose and giving a wink, up the chimney he rose.") [I'm probably misquoting that.]
Paragon Path: Messenger of Peace [Cleric] – all about not dealing damage, suppressing enemy attack rolls, stunning those who attack, extending effects one turn, and penalizing or outright prohibiting attacks through an encounter. [See that paragon path for details.]
Elsewhat:
Reindeer: You will have noticed a lack of emphasis on animal empathy here. Sure, Santa has access to plenty of ordinary reindeer. His Nature training and high WIS let him handle those through Heroic & Paragon levels. However, once Santa reaches Epic Tier he has a whole new ballgame going on:
Wildshaped 'Reindeer': At Epic Tier, Santa's 'eight reindeer' are all Paragon-Tier Elf Druids wildshaped into hooved animals using the "Form of the Sprinting Elk" Utility Power (HotFw) (2nd level). This gives each of them +4 speed. They also each have 'Zephyr' hoof-boots sized for reindeer, so they can each fly independently of the sleigh.
In addition, these Wildshaped Reindeer have feats to increase speed: Fast Runner and Fleet-Footed. When they run, they have Speed of 7 (Elf) + 2 (Fast Runner) + 1 (Fleet-Footed) +1 (Santa's "Light Step" feat) + 4 ("Sprinting Elk") = 15 squares. The Zephyr Boots give them a fly speed equal to that 15 Speed. (Double-move: fly 30 sq.)
(No ordinary reindeer could do that.)
Rudolph: "Oh, deer." "Rudolph" isn't a living creature—it's the name of Santa's sleigh. It has a carved, wooden figurehead in the form of a reindeer with a glowing red nose. (All the navigational charms that keep "Rudolph" on course are built into the nose.)
Santa's Sleigh: Yes, I just told you that it's named "Rudolph." It is an artifact created by Yondalla because he serves her so well, and it has all of these features*:
(1) flight speed (hover) equal to that of its draft creatures;
(2) invisiblity for itself, plus occupants and draft creatures, while in use;
(3) a bonus to Stealth equal to the highest Charisma modifier of any occupant;
(4) at-will time-backtracking: the sleigh can jump back in time at will, so all homes at the same time-offset from the terminator can be visited effectively at once;
(5) unerring teleport: going to the next destination uses 6 seconds (a round), so Santa doesn't have to FLY there (and perhaps run into his time-jumping self); but sometimes it is faster to fly, especially where houses are adjacent;
(6) perfect navigation--better than GPS;
(7) weather protection;
(8) magical vitality for occupants and draft creatures so they don't tire.**
* (The sleigh has all those features because I couldn't figure out any other way to give Santa all that stuff.)
** (Speaking of getting tired: it's alright, because sleighs don't really like to play reindeer games very much anyway.)
Santa's Staff: As mentioned above under Feat L16, the staff is shaped like a candy cane. It's emblematic. (Leave it at that, or see the 'Gear' heading, below.)
Gear: Yes, he has some. Yondalla can afford the best. He also has some specialty items (including a handbell because it's expected of him).
• Ornament of Alertness (Neck slot): Item bonus to Perception = enhancement bonus. Santa gets this item upgraded from +1 to +5.
• Staff of Spectral Hands (magic implement): When using the Mage Hand cantrip, you can conjure as many hands as the enhancement bonus of this staff, but no more than your Wisdom modifier; and you can sustain all of those hands as one minor action. Santa gets this item upgraded from +1 to +5.
"It was never so fast and easy to place packages under the tree with care."
• Sylvan Armor: Item bonus to Athletics and Stealth = enhancement bonus. Santa gets this item upgraded from +1 to +5.
(This armor gets washed often. The brown now looks reddish and the grey looks washed out—almost white. Meanwhile, the magic within the armor stays unchanged.)
• Contortionist's Cord (Waist slot, Level 7: 2,600 GP): While squeezing, you move at full speed and take no penalties tohit, but you still grant CA.
• Gloves of Storing (Hands slot, Level 9: 4,200 GP): minor action to stow or retrieve one item weighing 10 pounds or less; each glove holds one item.
(These are where Santa keeps his staff and handbell when he's not using them.)
• Ring of Protection (Ring slot 1, Level 17: 65,000 GP): +1 item bonus to saves.
• Ring of Fey Travel (Ring slot 2, Level 22: 325,000 GP): Gain a +1 item bonus to speed while wearing light armor or no armor. (Santa gets this; his 'reindeer' don't.)
• Ioun Stone of Perfect Language (Head slot, Level 22: 325,000 GP): Gain a +5 item bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and Streetwise checks. You also can understand all spoken languages, and when you speak all creatures hear your words in their native language. Power (Daily): Free Action. Use this power during a skill challenge. Treat your next Insight check as though you rolled a natural 20. (This is how Santa becomes universal: he can serve children of all nations because he speaks all languages.)
• Zephyr Boots: (Feet slot, Level 24: 525,000 GP) gain Fly Speed equal to Speed. (This spendy item makes all that flying possible.)
Home: Santa lives above the Arctic Circle at a place called The Fortress of Gratitude. (If Superman can have a Fortress of Soliltude, Santa gets to call his place this.)
