Tips on Psychic Assassin build?

[Yorae]

I'm looking to build a character for a friend of mine to represent an older freeform RP character she had. She was a member of a highly empathic race, normally somewhat xenophobic, highly ordered, and highly averse to physical conflict (when you have a tendency to psychically feel those wounds you are inflicting, combat kind of loses its appeal). She, however, is not, and is a bit of an aberration to her kind (not the creature type), perhaps as far as to say heretical -- she's a killer-for-hire with a fixation on pain and suffering (knowing exactly how what she's doing feels). She also explicitly dual-wields.

So far I'm going for a Neutral Evil Psychic Assassin, probably using Kalashtar, as it seems to fit the fluff fairly well. Probably with an entry of Ardent 5, since it multiclasses with practiced manifester, picking up Pain and Suffering and Conflict as primary mantles and Freedom and Deception as secondaries.

Her Sneak Attack will be a pretty pitiful 4d6, but I suppose if Death Attack works, then its a bit of a moot point. I considered PsyRogue 4/Ardent 1 entry for better sneak attack without losing so many powers known, but it kills highest level power known so badly that I shelved that idea.

Anyone have any ideas I may not have thought of? After Psychic Assassin 10, should I drop the last 5 levels into Slayer for the increased BAB? Reccomendations for feats/powers to substitute? Any way to make this death-attacking, poison-using, mind-affecting character not totally suck against, say, undead/oozes/constructs (as a contract killer, she's pretty metropolitan, but hey, a girl's gotta go what she's gotta do, even if it might involve an ooze)?

[kestrel404]

First, the best BAB you can get from Ardent 5/Psi Assassin 10/X 5 is a +15, which isn't worth losing another manifester level to get. I'd either go back to Ardent or take Anarchic Initiate (one of the few psi prestige classes that doesn't lose a manifester level and is easy to get into). However, since your GM seems to be willing to let you use the web enhancement, use the ones for the ardent class (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070629a) (which means you can fill in new powers to the mantle lists that are theme appropriate, and at Ardent 10 you can take a dominant mantle, which is very nice), then I would recomment suggest:

Ardent 5/Psi Assassin 1/Ardent +5/Psi Assassin +9.

As your 6th level feat, take Craven (http://dnd.savannahsoft.eu/feat-484-craven.html), and as your 12th level feat take Practiced Manifester.

Fill in other feats with TWF, as it's a feat intensive combat strategy. A dip into Tome of Battle for the Shadow Jaunt maneuver or into Magic of Incarnum for the blink shirt soulmeld is a good idea as well if you've got spare feats (an assassin with at-will teleport is a very nasty package).

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Death Attack is irredeemably pitiful, just ignore that it exists. Sneak attack damage is also enormously overrated, don't worry about how little of it you get. The greatest ability that Psychic Assassin gets is Mind Cripple, which deals 2 Int damage on every sneak attack. If you get five attacks per round, that's 10 Int damage per round, so nearly anything you fight will be outright disabled in only two rounds regardless of how little HP damage you deal.

Ardent 5/ Psychic Assassin 5/ Slayer 10, assuming Ardent can somehow meet the skill requirements, gets +16 BAB, 9th level powers, and Mind Cripple.

[Draz74]

Wow, this is extremely flavorful. Too bad it's so MAD.


First, the best BAB you can get from Ardent 5/Psi Assassin 10/X 5 is a +15, which isn't worth losing another manifester level to get.
Depends whether Fractional BAB is being used. Although Dominant Ideal (very flavorful on this character) is a better deal than a fourth iterative attack, anyway.


A dip into Tome of Battle for the Shadow Jaunt maneuver or into Magic of Incarnum for the blink shirt soulmeld is a good idea as well if you've got spare feats (an assassin with at-will teleport is a very nasty package).
Meh, on an Ardent, spending a feat on Hidden Talent (dimension hop) is probably more efficient. For one thing, it's an awesome power to use with Linked Power.


If you get five attacks per round, that's 10 Int damage per round, so nearly anything you fight will be outright disabled in only two rounds regardless of how little HP damage you deal.

Except INT-based casters, who will be ... effectively disabled instead of outright disabled. :smallamused:

... And things immune to ability damage. :smallfrown:

[hex0]

I'd probably go Psychic Rogue 5/Psychic Assassin 5/Slayer 3/Elocater 3/Psychic Assassin 4

Too bad there isn't a variant Factotum that uses Psionics instead of magic for this build...

[Yorae]

Wow, this is extremely flavorful. Too bad it's so MAD.


Depends whether Fractional BAB is being used. Although Dominant Ideal (very flavorful on this character) is a better deal than a fourth iterative attack, anyway.


Meh, on an Ardent, spending a feat on Hidden Talent (dimension hop) is probably more efficient. For one thing, it's an awesome power to use with Linked Power.
If you take the freedom mantle (And really, why wouldn't you?), you don't need to waste the feat. =)




Except INT-based casters, who will be ... effectively disabled instead of outright disabled. :smallamused:

... And things immune to ability damage. :smallfrown:

Yeaaah... The biggest threat she faces here are things that are immune to both sneak attack and mind affecting abilities. Problem is, those two things overlap an awful lot.

The DC for Death Attack seems like it would be pretty reasonable, honestly, if you take all of Psychic Assassin.
Cripple Mind seems really good, but the problem I have is that this character is, 99% of the time, not going to have anyone to flank with, since she takes jobs alone (and really, would you want to hang out with her?). There doesn't really seem to be a psionic equivalent to greater invisibility... how can I ensure that she keeps denying foes their dex to AC?

[Essence_of_War]

Would a small swordsage dip be appropriate? There are lots of near maneuvers that would seem to suit an assassin.

If she's a dual wielder, it's hard to beat shadow blade as a feat to get dex to damage.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Very few creatures are immune to Int damage outright, many creatures are immune to damage to their physical ability scores, but mental ability damage still works. Mindless creatures would give you some trouble, but otherwise as long as you can get sneak attack through, you're extremely likely to take something down with every full attack.

As for getting sneak attack through, UMD can easily solve that. Get wands of Grave Strike, Vine Strike, and Golem Strike, and you can sneak attack undead, plants, and constructs for one round per charge of the appropriate wand, though you may want to skip golem strike. Get a wand chamber in each of your weapons for the two wands and you don't have to worry about drawing them, or dropping them to attack. Since the spells are a swift action to cast, as per Rules Compendium, a wand of those spells is also a swift action to activate. Fortification may be an obstacle, but Dispel Psionics gets a +20 dispel check at manifester level 10.

So that covers fortification, non-mindless undead, and plants, you're still not so great against elementals and anything that's mindless (oozes, vermin, some undead, most constructs), but you can pick up some offensive psionic powers that can be useful against those and you'll still be able to contribute. Since you'll have UMD anyway, get a Wand of Command Undead and after you meet just one powerful mindless undead, you'll never encounter any of them ever again.

[hex0]

Since you mentioned dual-wielding, maybe play a version of Ranger wit Psionics instead of Spells? Wouldnt be too hard to put together and seems to fit the character (puss

I didnt think Ardents have hide and mover silently as class skills? how would you make it work at Ardent 5? :smallconfused:

[Yorae]

I didnt think Ardents have hide and mover silently as class skills? how would you make it work at Ardent 5? :smallconfused:
Maybe there's my excuse for a swordsage dip. =p

[Flickerdart]

Constructs are the only monster type natively immune to ability damage (Undead being the monster type that's immune only to physical ability damage) but most of the time they have no Intelligence anyway. However - mindless creatures are a joke, simply because they can't handle illusions, so carry around a Silent Image wand in your wand bundle and be immune to all mindless creatures ever forever.

[Yorae]

Constructs are the only monster type natively immune to ability damage.

The problem is that creatures that are immune to sneak attack are also immune to Mind Cripple, due to its wording.

[hex0]

Maybe there's my excuse for a swordsage dip. =p

Which is what gave me the psionic ranger idea. Plus you'll need a nice BAB and Fort save...

Also, just noticed the the Psychic Assassin can get Improved Evasion without having Evasion....VERY nice

[Yorae]

How about a two-level dip into Monk, trading out evasion for Invisible Fist? (EoE, pg. 21.) Sound viable?

Edit:
Hmm...
Martial Monk (Dragon 310) would net me two fighter bonus feats and, since I don't need flurry of blows, I can trade it for Raging Monk (same source) to gain Rage (as Barbarian), then trade Rage for Whirling Frenzy.

So, for those two levels, I'd gain the class skills PsyAssassin at 6th,
Invisible Fist (giving a full sneak attack once every three rounds), two fighter feats, whirling frenzy, and wisdom to AC when unarmored.

Alternatively, I could use Swordsage 2 instead (taking the 2nd level at 4th to pick up 2nd level maneuvers) and pick up Cloak of Deception to get the same effect as Invisible Fist, grab Adaptive Style and then try something like:

1st Round: Sneak attack a target using Cloak of Deception
2nd Round: Standard action to manifest a power, Move action to hide in plain sight
3rd Round: Use Adaptive Style while hidden (Full round)
4th Round: Sneak attack with Cloak of Deception again

Oh, wait... that's three rounds anyway.



I suppose she could also take psicrystal affinity and have the psycrystal take Martial Study: Island of Blades, keep the psicrystal on her at all times, and always count as flanking, but that seems kind of cheesy.

[Draz74]

I suppose she could also take psicrystal affinity and have the psycrystal take Martial Study: Island of Blades, keep the psicrystal on her at all times, and always count as flanking, but that seems kind of cheesy.

Ha! I love it. Whole new brand of cheese.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Actually, assuming you can trade any Barbarian fast movement for pounce via the lion spirit totem ACF in CC, go Wild Shape Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#ranger) 1/ Ardent 4/ Psychic Assassin 5 (6)/ Slayer 10 (9). Pounce is priceless in a TWF build, and that gets you all the necessary skills, saves you a feat prerequisite later on, lets you take Weapon Finesse at level 1, lets you use wands of ranger spells, etc.

Otherwise I'd probably go Swordsage 1/ Ardent 3/ Swordsage 1/ Psychic Assassin 5 (6)/ Slayer 10 (9). Get Weapon Finesse and Shadow Blade, so you add your Dex bonus to damage with both weapons.

If you use Grave Strike or Vine Strike to deal sneak attack to something that's normally immune, Mind Cripple still works.

Edit: A Psicrystal has a 0 ft. reach, so you would have do drop it into their square so it could threaten them to benefit from flanking with it.

[Flickerdart]

Is +8 Favored Enemy and Blast Feedback really worth another Ardent mantle?


The problem is that creatures that are immune to sneak attack are also immune to Mind Cripple, due to its wording.
That's what the rest of the wands in your bundle are for!


Edit: A Psicrystal has a 0 ft. reach, so you would have do drop it into their square so it could threaten them to benefit from flanking with it.
Give it Willing Deformity and Deformity: Tall. So now you have a scratched-up crystal stick that you flank with.

[Draz74]

Edit: A Psicrystal has a 0 ft. reach, so you would have do drop it into their square so it could threaten them to benefit from flanking with it.

No, that's what I thought right away, too -- but that's the weird and beautiful thing. Island of Blades doesn't say anything about threatening ... you and your Psicrystal just have to both be adjacent to a foe.

[Devmaar]

Give it Willing Deformity and Deformity: Tall. So now you have a scratched-up crystal stick that you flank with.

Deformity: Tall is medium creatures only

[Flickerdart]

Deformity: Tall is medium creatures only
Huh, so it is. It doesn't qualify for Extended Reach either, too small...damn.