Help for an old Elan

[Trekkin]

I've come up with an interesting character concept for an upcoming DnD games that implies an Elan of Venerable age. This, sadly, gives him STR, DEX, and CON of 2, as I'm using 32 point buy and leaving them at 8. My question is thus twofold:

1. Is this character even remotely playable, starting at fifth level?
2. Are there any ways to make him more so?

I forgot to mention he's a psion.

[Soonerdj]

An empty backpack and clothes would put you at a medium load and any sort of weapon would drop you to heavy. That being said you -could- do it but I would be wary of any spell that dropped your stats.

[The Dark Fiddler]

1. Is this character even remotely playable, starting at fifth level?
2. Are there any ways to make him more so?

Not unless you have some way of staying out of anywhere someone might look at you funny or sneeze in your general direction.

Edit: And forget ever trying to land attacks.

[Yorrin]

Get an alternate form. For example, figure out some way to qualify for Sentinel of Bharrai (BoED) and stay in bear form all the time. Depending on your DM you might even be allowed to cast spells/use psionics in bear form. And putting magic items on AFTER you transform gets around the "items worn meld into your new shape" thing.

[Starbuck_II]

Get an alternate form. For example, figure out some way to qualify for Sentinel of Bharrai (BoED) and stay in bear form all the time. Depending on your DM you might even be allowed to cast spells/use psionics in bear form. And putting magic items on AFTER you transform gets around the "items worn meld into your new shape" thing.

Psionics doesn't require somatic components so yeah he can bear manifest.

[Jack_Simth]

I've come up with an interesting character concept for an upcoming DnD games that implies an Elan of Venerable age. This, sadly, gives him STR, DEX, and CON of 2, as I'm using 32 point buy and leaving them at 8. My question is thus twofold:

1. Is this character even remotely playable, starting at fifth level?
2. Are there any ways to make him more so?

I forgot to mention he's a psion.

Yes, he can be playable, although it's hard.

The first thing you want is anything that makes you go sooner - Improved Initiative, the Aggressive Trait (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#aggressive), a Nimble Psicrystal, and so on. You also want "Elan Resilience, Enhanced" (Complete Psionic), Psionic Body, and then any Psionic feat you can get your hands on (plus Improved Toughness, when you eventually qualify). With a high enough initiative check, and Enhanced Elan Resilience, you use your Immediate actions to nullify anything that attacks your HP. Psionic Body and lots of Psionic feats enhance your limited HP.

There's also, of course, "don't get hit". Astral Seed will eventually be a really good power for you.

[Soonerdj]

You use your Con for Wildshape I think, so you would be the World's flimsiest Bear. I'd recommend finding a tiny form with a high AC and sticking to that, preferably one with a flight speed.

[Mongoose87]

Psionics doesn't require somatic components so yeah he can bear manifest.

Just bearly, though.

[Yora]

You'd probably have to hire a henchmen to push your wheelchair.

Actually that sounds like a really cool concept. Looks like King Theoden on his throne, but he blasts people and stuff to pieces with his mind.
Strength and Dexterity can be very low if the character doesn't have to walk by himself or carry his stuff, but you really should make precautions against getting killed by a stray arrow or catching a cold. Powers and items that raise Constitution and protect against disease and poison would be very high on the list.

You know Mariko from Elfen Lied? She's a little girl with not even enough strength to stand on her legs and just able to sit upright without help, and you could break her in two pieces with your bare hands. But her telekinetic powers are just devestating.

[deuxhero]

There is a Nomad variant (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070314a) that gives you extra dimensional space, which would help a good deal (Mind's Eye).

Find some way to get a mental stats to initiative or you will go last. May want to do the same with HP.

[Yorrin]

May want to do the same with HP.

Fey Soul, to pull up BoED again. At every-other level it gives you Cha instead of Con to hp.

[Trekkin]

Actually there is a feat, Initiate of the Faerie Mysteries or something, that lets you swap Int for Con for bonus hp. I am now primarily worried about Concentration checks and my dismally low fort/ref saves.

[Sinfire Titan]

You're gonna need that Con score to be at least a 10. On 32PB, you go 16 Con, 16 Int, and the rest goes into Cha/Wis.


One possible way to improve your HP score is to use Azure Toughness, but that requires a Con of 13.



Does it have to be venerable? Old gives a +2 to each with only a -3 to the rest, so you aren't going to be completely shafted.

[Soonerdj]

X to Y bonus (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125732), I think this thread may be of some use to you. Especially the mental stat areas.

[elonin]

When I read the OP I first thought of the brain in a jar.

[Vizzerdrix]

Thought the rule didn't allow starting characters to have any stat lower than a 3?

[Trekkin]

Just for INT, as I recall. Int must be at least three.

Incidentally is there any way to be a CON-less race with no XP loss?

[deuxhero]

Necropolitan thingy in backstory?

[herrhauptmann]

Aren't Elans created from humans? And when they're created, they're reborn into the body of a 20 something?
Plus they don't age, so it's not like you can have an infirm human character aged 60 who suddenly decides he's going to leave the farm on a quest for vengeance. An elan at age 30 is functionally the same 500 years later if he doesn't gain any levels.

[alisbin]

just checked and sorry hauptmann, while they do have age catagories, they do have a maximum age so after 1000 years they cease to age at all
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicRaces.htm#ageHeightAndWeight

[Eldariel]

Shared Vigor + Share Pain with your Psicrystal. This gives you a very impressive HP pool even without something like Faerie Mysteries Initiate giving you Int to HP. And yeah, Metamorphosis would make life a lot easier. Replacing your physicals with even just straight 10s from Metamorphing into Elan would be a vast improvement.

Initiative...well, you want your Int there somehow. Carrying capacity, I think you can carry Heward's Handy Haversack which should be enough. And yeah, just focus on powers without attack rolls of any kind and you should be fine.

[Jack_Simth]

Actually there is a feat, Initiate of the Faerie Mysteries or something, that lets you swap Int for Con for bonus hp. I am now primarily worried about Concentration checks and my dismally low fort/ref saves.
Ah, yes Faerie Mysteries Initiate (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Faerie_Mysteries_Initiate,all). One of the options is Int to HP instead of Con to HP. It's a regional feat, though I imagine an Elan could be from anywhere humans can be from.

[Trekkin]

Thanks so much for the vigor/share pain idea; I like that far better than my attempt at shoring up HP via Initiate of the Faerie Mysteries.

[tyckspoon]

Thanks so much for the vigor/share pain idea; I like that far better than my attempt at shoring up HP via Initiate of the Faerie Mysteries.

You probably want to go Faerie Mysteries anyway; Vigor/Share Pain does provide an impressive effective HP pool, but it's not a 24/7 one. Share Pain is hour/level, so you can have that up all the time, but Vigor is only minute/level. You're going to need an action (preferably Quickened or Link Power'd into a different buff) to put it up when you get into a fight. Faerie Mysteries will be there all the time, and will give your Psicrystal a much deeper pool of HP to Share Pain with before you get Vigor up.

[KillianHawkeye]

Strength and Dexterity can be very low if the character doesn't have to walk by himself or carry his stuff, but you really should make precautions against getting killed by a stray arrow or catching a cold. Powers and items that raise Constitution and protect against disease and poison would be very high on the list.

At this point, he should just get himself a Popemobile.

[Bibliomancer]

An empty backpack and clothes would put you at a medium load and any sort of weapon would drop you to heavy. That being said you -could- do it but I would be wary of any spell that dropped your stats.

The first set of clothing that you wear does not count against your weight limit, so he could manage a Heward's Handy Haversack and one other item of one pound or less while still being at a light load.

[Trekkin]

Thanks, everyone. At this point, my only real problem is Fortitude saves. Shared Vigor and Share Pain combine with Initiate of the Faerie Mysteries to fix HP, and either Insightful Reflexes or the Wedded to History (survivor) fix Reflex saves. The latter feat can also help Fortitude saves, but I'd rather eliminate it to save my Will saves from a -1 penalty every time I use it.

Is there any way, preferably that doesnt reduce my ML, to get good Fort saves?

[imperialspectre]

Take Martial Study in the Diamond Mind maneuver (edit: Mind Over Body ToB p.64), that lets you substitute a Concentration check for a Fortitude save 1/encounter. Get the Headband of Conscious Effort (MiC) to let you do the same thing 1/day. You should be good to go.

[Yukitsu]

My vote is a fairy mysteries initiate one, with a spiked chain and all of the abilities that are X stat to damage as a sword sage. In a wheel chair.

[Mando Knight]

At this point, he should just get himself a Popemobile.

All hail the PsiPope! :smalltongue:

[Darth Stabber]

Bonus points if you are bald and talk like Patrick Stewert