ShneekeyTheLost
2011-09-17, 06:17 PM
Well, if you're reading this, odds are you're interested about Magic of Incarnum. Either you've heard rumors about 'an amazing two level dip', or just wanted to check out this really different way of doing things. I'm here to explain some things, dispel a few myths, and either confirm or deny some rumors.
What is Incarnum?
This comes from the book Magic of Incarnum. The mechanic is as follows:
An incarnum-using class has a given number of soulmelds he can use, which provide various benefits. He can also 'shape' some of them to item slots, which provides additional benefits, at the cost of eating up either a magic item slot or a feat (feat can be used to remove the magic item limitation). The number he can use and shape is dependent on his class level. It's in the relevant class chart.
An incarnum using class has access to ALL soulmelds his class has access to. There's no funny business about 'soulmelds known' or none of that nonsense.
You may only shape soulmelds after 8 hours of rest, much like preparing spells for the day. You may have heard rumors about Incarnum being 'Schrodinger's characters because they can change their class abilities on the fly'. This probably got started somewhere by someone NOT reading this limitation on meldshaping. Or probably got started when someone mentioned how flexible an Incarnum character can be because they can shift around their essentia to change their focus very rapidly.
Mind you, Incarnum characters are still very flexible, but they may NOT change out their soulmelds on the fly.
Only one Soulmeld may be used per chakra slot, however some soulmelds have multiple chakra slots. The exception to this is the funky Totem chakra that the Totemist get. You cannot shape a soulmeld to the Totem chakra, you must shape it elsewhere, then bind it to the Totem chakra.
For example, if I take Girallon Arms as a 2nd level Totemist and bind it to my Totem, I would first have to shape it to my Arm slot, as that is the only one you can shape it to, then bind it to my Totem chakra. That means I could not then shape Riding Bracers, because the arm slot is already taken up by my Girallon Arms soulmeld.
As another example, if I take Girallon Arms and shape it to my Arm slot and bind it to my Totem slot, I can still shape my Totem Avatar, which has several options. However, I cannot bind my Totem Avatar to my Arms to gain Improved Grapple, because it's not shaped there, even though it theoretically can be bound there, due to the Girallon Arms taking up that slot. But I could shape it to my Shoulders and bind it there for an increase in the damage of my natural attacks. Which actually synergizes pretty well with all the natural attacks I just picked up from the Girallon Arms in my totem slot shaped to my arms.
The feat Double Chakra allows you to have two soulmelds in the same slot, and even bound to the same slot. But must be purchased *PER SLOT*.
Meldshaping Class Levels DO NOT STACK. If I have Totemist2/Incarnate6, then I have Meldshaper level 2 for Totemist binds, and Meldshaper level 6 for Incarnate binds. You don't get to add them together.
You are limited to a number of shapes equal to Con-10. Yea, this is hidden away on page 20, Abilities and Meldshapers. That means unless you have a stellar Con score, you won't shaping many melds. Fortunately, Con is the only score a Meldshaper really needs to worry about, so it's probably not going to be a big problem. But it can be an issue in hybrid or dip builds.
Essentia Essentials
An important part about soulmelds is Essentia. All Incarnum classes gain essentia according to their class charts. You can also gain essentia with certain feats found in the book. Certain PrC's also have unique methods of increasing your Essentia pool.
Essentia can be invetsed into Soulmelds so that they can provide an increased benefit. Certain feats, class abilities, items, or racial features may also have essentia invested in them to enhance them. You may invest Essentia as a Swift action. This allows you to shift the focus of your character rapidly, however essentia invested in feats are stuck there until the next time you rest for 8 hours.
You have a cap on the maximum amount of Essentia you may invest in anything, based on your character level. This is where a lot of the legends about Incarnum classes are great multiclassers... because even though you may only have two levels of Totemist, your entire character's set of levels count for purposes of determining how many essentia can go into any given effect. You do *NOT*, however, gain any additional essentia by multiclassing. Therefore, a Totemist2/Barbarian1/Fighter2/Ranger7 might be able to invest up to 3 essentia in any given meldshape, by virtue of being 12th character level, and even be able to invest 4 essentia into his Totem chakra, by virtue of his Totemist2 class ability, he still only has 2 essentia to play with, unless he picked up more via feats.
There is a cute little quirk about essentia, however, in regards to multiclassing and essentia capacity. Some classes grant an essentia capacity bonus, such as Incarnum. However, they only apply to that class's binds. Therefore, an Incarnate6/Totemist2 would have increased soulmeld capacity for anything bound as an Incarnate, or for the Totem chakra when binding as a totemist, but other totemist binds would not be affected by this.
Chakras, Shaping, and how it works
Meldshaping classes also have a column on their chart labeled 'chakra binds'. They also have class abilities which read something like 'Chakra Binds (x and y)'. There's a lot of confusion how they work together. Let's clear up that confusion, and figure out how it works.
First off, the number on the chart tells you how many meldshapes you can *bind*. The first number on the chart 'soulmelds' is how many you can *shape*. You need to shape it to bind it, and you may only bind it where you shape it.
EXCEPTION: If you are a Totemist, you cannot shape anything to your Totem chakra, it has to be shaped elsewhere, then bound to your Totem chakra.
Notice how small that number of binds is? Yea.. that's because binding it can give you some *REALLY* cool nifty tricks. For example, the Crystal Helm. If you just shape it, you get a bonus to resist charms and compulsions. if you invest essentia into it... you get a Deflection bonus to AC. Now that's a pretty dang handy class ability... means not needing a Ring of Protection or finding a Cleric to cast something on you for a Deflection bonus to AC. But wait... bind it to your Crown chakra (one of the first an Incarnate unlocks), and your melee attacks gain the Force descriptor, meaning you never miss incorporeal targets. So it's basically a free +1 equivelant enhancement (ghost touch), in addition to your deflection bonus to AC from your essentia and a bonus on save vs being your enemy's bi... er... pet.
However, such power does come with a price. If you bind a soulmeld to a chakra, you cannot wear a magic item in that slot. So if you have bound your Crystal Helm to your Crown chakra, you cannot then put on and gain use out of a Headband of Intellect.
Mind you, ONLY binding blocks magic item slots. Merely shaping it has no effect. So I could shape my Totem Avatar to my feet, and I could still wear Boots of Speed if I wanted to. As long as I don't bind it there, I'd be good.
The Totem chakra, again, works funky, because the totem chakra doesn't relate to an item equip slot. So if you had Girallon Arms shaped to your arms, and bound to your totem, you could still wear Bracers of Dexterity since it's not bound to Arms, it's bound to Totem.
There's a feat that allows you to bypass this restriction, however it must be purchased *PER SLOT*. So keep this in mind when planning your character's gear and soulmeld selection.
Incarnum Classes
There are two... well, technically there are three, but there are only two worth bothering with... incarnum base classes. Incarnate, and Totemist (Soulborn is the failed attempt at making a paladin-esque meldshaper class, and ended up not only NOT doing a good job, but actually ending up WEAKER than a Paladin).
Incarnate - More melds than you can shake a stick at
Incarnates have a strict alignment requirement... one side MUST be neutral, and the other side must NOT be neutral. Thus your only alignment choices are NG/NE/CN/LN. That's it. Your alignment choice actually has a mechanical impact on how your class behaves, which melds you can shape, and what kind of bonuses you can give your allies. This makes it a lot harder for GM's to handwave as being irrelevant, since it directly affects your character's mechanical advantages.
Incarnates have the best Meldshaping progression out of the base classes. They get the most binds, the soonest (excpeting the Totem chakra which is exclusively for the Totemist), and the most essentia. However, they've also got a 1/2 BAB progression. Fortunately, that can be somewhat mitigated, but it's still something to keep in mind... if you want to build a melee incarnate (which IS possible), you're really going to have to build for it. And probably get a Totemist dip for some natural attacks because your iteratives... suck.
They also get the widest selection of soulmelds to shape, with a LOT of fun options. This isn't an Incarnate guide, so I'll simply end by saying: look up every soulmeld they can get, then looking up what their various binds CAN do, and see how you can synergize them.
Totemist - "What's the scariest thing you ever ran into? Yea, I can do that too"
I've heard them called 'Blue Mage done right'. I've also heard them called 'Incarnum's version of barbarians'. I've also heard them referred to as 'the best 2 level dip your character ever had'. The truth is... somewhere in the middle.
Whenever you hear about Totemist, you always hear about the 2nd level. That's because that is when they get their Totem chakra. It's pretty sweet, although it kind of screws up the shaping/binding rules by being funky like that. However, it does have some of the most interesting and useful abilities in the book. And it can make an excellent two-level dip for many builds. However, that's not to say that every build should have a two-level dip in Totemist.
Now, Totemist is also a 3/4 BAB class, a d8 HD, and solid Ref and Fort saves, which means he can be a reliable front-liner. When you crank in his meldshaping, things can get nasty pretty quick. However, do keep in mind that he has, effectively, the same BAB and HD of a Monk, so he's not exactly wanting to take a hit, even if he *DOES* have additional ways of gaining more hit points.
Totemists are very good at damage output, if that is what you build them for. If you are wanting ranged damage, pick up the Manticore Belt. Multiple ranged natural attacks. Which can be increased in damage with other soulmelds (totem avatar to shoulder and dread carapace shaped to name a couple). They also make superior melee damage output devices with Girallon Arms for a whole pile of natural attacks, Uskin Greaves for additional damage on a charge, and Sphinx Claws for Pounce.
They can also have a lot of utility. Binding Blink Shirt to Totem, for example, gives you unlimited use of a move-action Dimension Door. Very handy for shadowpouncing (and possibly broken with an Idiot Crusader WRT build).
However, please keep in mind that you may only have *ONE* Totem bind at a time. The 11th level ability does *NOT* allow you to bind two things to your totem, it allows you to bind your Totem-bound meld to it's own chakra. Thus, if you had Girallon Arms bound to Chakra, it could also then be bound to Arms for the Rend ability.
The Double Chakra feat does allow you to bind two soulmelds to your Totem chakra, and I highly suggest it for any Totemist build who has a serious investment in Totemist, however it does have Meldshaper 9 prerequisite.
Soulborn - The Trap
Don't. Just... don't. Why? Oh.. very well. Just to explain why this class is a huge honkin' TRAP and why you should never bother with it, I will go into all the gory details:
First off, it's got an Alignment restriction, you can't be Neutral. You've got to be some flavor of extreme. So basically, like the four paladin types. You've got Smite Opposition... so also like paladin variants.
Then you get Incarnum Defense. Okay, the LG one is just like your bog-standard 'stick up the pigu' paladin's... immunity to fear. CG is immune to Paralysis. Rare, but when it comes up, not bad to be immune to. LE get immunity to exhaustion, only not really because anything that makes you exhausted just makes you fatigued instead. Fail. CE makes you immune to penalty, damage or drain to Strength. Yes, ONLY strength. So it makes you immune to Shadows, but other than that... meh.
At 3rd level, you get a bonus feat! Well, here's the catch: it has to be an Incarnum feat. Mind you, the class STILL isn't even considered a meldshaping class yet, and you have NO essentia yet. But hey, there ya go.
- Actually, the bonus feats may, in fact, be the class's saving grace, since you can buy additional chakra openings and melds with them. Depending on the interpretations of the Open X Chakra feat line (see below under Debates), this could help make this an actual 'gish' class. Mind you, only two of the three bonus feats can be used for Open X Chakra feats, due to the levels they are obtained at, and the Bonus Essentia feat might screw you over before you have any meldshaping, because the GM might rule it's not retroactive.
At 4th level, you theoretically get Meldshaping. You can shape ONE soulmeld, off of a pretty pathetic list. NO essentia, NO binds.
er... thanks?
And it goes downhill from there. You don't get your first essentia until level 6. You don't get your first Bind until level 8.
At level 20, you have 5 soulmelds, 10 essentia, and 3 binds. Total.
To put this in perspective, a 10th level Totemist has 6 soulmelds, 7 essentia, and 3 chakra binds. And actually has useful binds.
To further put this in perspective, a 20th level Totemist has 9 soulmelds, 20 essentia, and 5 binds.
You don't want me to compare it to an Incarnate's meldshaping... it would only make the Soulborn cry. There's a limit to kicking puppies, even for hardened criminals.
Let me put it another way...
There's this feat. It's called Shape Soulmeld. The ONLY prerequisite is a Con of 13. There's another feat chain called Open x Chakra. The character level requirement on them is WAY sooner than what a Soulborn gets.
Therefore, a FIGHTER, who chooses to spend his bonus feats on Shape Soulmeld and Open X Chakra feats can literally be a better meldshaper than a Soulborn can! AND STILL HAVE FEATS LEFT OVER.
No, Incarnum feats aren't Fighter feats. However, you can pick up Open X Chakra with your level 6, 9, 12, and 15 feats and have MORE binds than a Soulborn does, while relying on your bonus fighter feats to give you something else you can do. You spend your 1st level and 3rd level on melds, and perhaps use other of your feats on more melds rather than more binds.
Gets better...
Incarnum2/Fighter18 has one bind (crown), 2 essentia, and 3 melds. Before spending feats. So blow 1st and 3rd feats on either Bonus Essentia or Shape Soulmeld and you've beaten the Soulborn at everything, with the sacrifice of a single point of BAB.
If he actually developed some meldshaping worth bothering with, it would've been a very nice class. Unfortunately, that never happened. DO NOT take this class. No, not even then.
PrC's
Incandescent Champion - Trap
I... well... okay, you know how I told you the Soulborn was the worst base class in the book? Yea... this is pretty much the PrC version of that. Well, not really, that award goes elsewhere, but it's definitely in the top of the bottom of the list. However, there's a few things you CAN salvage from it.
Incandescent Strike. It's unfortunate that it is the victim of poor editing and writing. As it stands, because it's a (Su) ability, the default is a standard action. Which means you get ONE attack when using this. From the verbage 'for each such augmented attack', it's probably intended to give you a full round worth of attacks, but because it never states how long it takes to use, it's defaulted to a standard action.
Fast Healing. Would've been more useful had it not been so limited.
Unbearable Countenance. Cool name, crappy ability. There's a lot more things that have a LOT better fear effects. Remember that chart that tells you the maximum amount of essentia you can invest in something? That takes this out behind the woodshed, since the DC is 10 + Essentia Invested (maximum FOUR, unless you blow feats to increase this to FIVE) + CHA mod.
Incarnum Overload. Okay, now we get into a useful ability, finally. Too bad it's so severely limited by uses per day.
Incandescent Ray. Remember that list that showed you the maximum amount of essentia you can have invested in something? 4d8 is... even worse than what a base Warlock with zero optimization is doing. Sure, combo it with Incarnum Overload for one okay shot per day, but that's once a day.
Incandescent Aura. You've waded through a lot of crap to get here, and now here you are. It's good action economy, because you don't have to do anything to use it, which makes it free damage. It's not MUCH damage, and you must be adjacent to a critter to use it, but there you go. Much like cleave, it seems a lot of fun for new players, but veterans will remark on how few times you have multiple opponents adjacent to you.
Incandescent Transcendence. Bog-standard capstone of turning you into a native outsider, with the added advantage of 1/day making you unable to do anything. You go Incorporeal, but unlike most incorporeality (like, say, the Phase Cloak), it also prohibits you from making any attacks, casting any spells, or activating any special abilities (like soulmelds). Basically, you have your Incandescent Aura and that's it.
Uses? With all the decent abilities strictly limited to a couple times a day... I got nothing.
Incarnum Blade - Highly situational
It plays extremely unfairly with soulmelding, but to be fair, it's supposed to be used by characters without any soulmelding to give them something cool looking.
Blademelds are pretty much the worst of both worlds. It eats your soulmeld slots in exchange for minor bonuses. Like the Totem chakra, you shape it to your sword, then bind it to another slot, effectively blocking that slot from being able to be bound with a regular soulmeld which would probably be more effective.
Just shaping it makes the weapon bypass DR/magic. That's nice if you don't already have a magic weapon. I guess. Mind you, with a BAB +5 prerequsite, either your GM is deliberately punishing your party with no magic items, or you've got some other restriction which probably also gave you this ability already. Okay, if you are kidnapped, thrown in a dungeon, stripped of all your gear, and you have to fight your way out with the rusty spoon you swiped from the meal tray, and have to fight through a bunch of random encounters with DR/magic, then I suppose it can be handy. I guess.
The good thing about Blademeld Binds is that it doesn't block magic item slots. The bad thing is that only the (ONE) blademeld may be shaped to any of them. Which means most of them are going begging, since you only have one meld and a bunch of bind locations.
Crown chakra... well, to be fair, it's supposed to be sub-par since it is the first one you get. But... why? You remove the bonus on attacks from being flanked, but not the sneak attack dice which is the important thing? How often do you get disarmed anyways? The bonus against being feinted is, at least, possibly worthwhile, but... yea.
Feet chakra. Bonus to initiative is never a bad thing, and probably the only worthwhile thing in this class. Too bad you can't invest essentia in it to boost the effects, or I'd call it an actually worthwhile dip.
Arms chakra. I have never had a problem with not confirming crits, so this stands somewhere between worthless and idiotic.
Brow chakra. Free Blind Fight feat. Big deal.
Shoulder chakra. Light Fortification that only works on crits, not sneak attacks.
Throat Chakra. Can be useful, or not, depending on the GM's interpretation. Since it does use the word 'demoralizes', it might function with Imperious Command. If so, this makes an effective lockdown build, even if it eats up your standard action to do so.
Waist chakra. Uncanny Dodge + a huge bonus to a pointless attribute.
Heart Chakra. You get bonus hit points, that go away immediately rather than like temporary hit points. So you can kill yourself by switching out while hurt. Fail.
Soul chakra. Lesser version of Holy/Unholy/Axiomatic/Anarchistic enhancement. Pass.
Rebind Blademeld. Well, at least you can shift around which one you are using more frequently.
Dual Chakra Binding. Wow, you get TWO crappy abilities instead of ONE!
Uses: It does have *some* use, I suppose. It's a five level PrC, so at least it doesn't eat too many levels. If you have an Imperious Command build, the Throat chakra might make this worthwhile to go into, perhaps go all the way to double-bind so you can get your improved initiative along with it. Just... don't use this in conjunction with a Meldshaper. They don't play nice.
Ironsoul Forgemaster
Actually, not a trap, although very situational. Still beats Dwarven Defender by a mile and a half, although that's not exactly saying very much.
First off, it advances Meldshaping 9/10. In other words, ignore what they were saying about 'soulborn' and enter through Incarnate. However, the binds it opens are rather limited in nature, so you may have to blow a feat or two on Open Chakra if there's a slot you want for a combo.
It's only a 3/4 BAB class for one that is touted to be a melee class, but that's still better than the Incarnate gets. In fact, you can get into this class via Incarnate 5 (although you probably want Incarnate 6 simply because you gain so much that level) no problems. A dip into Crusader wouldn't hurt, though, to get some maneuvers to work with your shield.
Shield Bond - Actually gives you a reason to use a shield! And really, this is why I highly suggest this class, at least a dip, to any shield-centric Crusader or Captain America type builds. If your GM loves throwing lots of blastomancy your way, shrug it off with style!
Secrets of the Forge - Have you ever heard 'ride the xp wave'? If you haven't then you don't realize how very useful this can be. It means that even if you have no MagicMarts in your world, you still get access to magic weapons/armor.
Forge Lore - Okay, so this one is mostly for flavor
Chakra Binds - Most of these you probably already have, but you DO get to unlock the Heart chakra quicker
Armor Bond - DR /- is fun. DR/- that stacks with the base armor is fun too. Adamantine Full Plate can get quite a bit of DR this way. Granted, it's not all THAT great if you're running into high-damage monsters, but it's great for wading through mooks.
Please note that you don't get Heavy Armor proficency as an Incarnate, so if you are wanting Armor Bond on Adamantine Full Plate to max out your DR/- then please take the suggested Crusader dip, which also lets you do other things with your shield.
Weapon Bond - More Damage is More Better. Double effectiveness so you've actually got relevant bonuses too, unless you're Ubercharging. Granted, you're probably not going to get the daze to stick on anything, with that pathetic DC, but hey... things can roll natural 1's. And when they do, Dazed is surprisingly difficult to be immune to, and pretty dang inconvenient to lose your next turn.
Uses: If you want to be a party tank who can have some interesting abilities, there's worse places to go to be able to say 'no'. I'd probably want to back it up with something that gives Mettle, but it's some ways to get some solid defenses to some commonly used attacks.
Necrocarnate - Massive essentia potential, but beware the pitfalls
Incarnate is just about the only way to get into it in any reasonable amount of time.
A Necrocarnate is pretty much always going to be Incarnate7/Necrocarnate 13. There's almost no way to cheese the entry, get used to it.
Harvest Corpse - See all those things you and your party just killed? Free essentia for the day! This can get stupid broken with the right setups, if you're facing a lot of mooks.
Necrocarnum Soulshield - The victim of a very serious editing problem. While the bonus is clearly defined, the number of times per day is clearly defined... the duration of the ability is not. Does it work for one attack? For class level rounds? For an encounter? Bonus to all saves is VERY nice to have. I just wish I knew how long it lasted.
Open Chakra/Extra Chakra Binds - You end up with a couple fewer binds total, but you end up with the full compliment of locations.
Extra Soulmelds - Again, you end up with a few less than an Incarnate does, but you've still got Soulborn beat, and even giving Totemist a run for his money.
Essentia Trap - Gives you something to do with your swift action. If it is the first encounter of the day and you haven't gotten a chance to Harvest Corpse up your essentia, this is a good way to get some 'snap essentia' temporarily to cover your bases until you can finish the encounter and get around to harvesting the bodies.
Necrocarnum Zombie Master - Take a look at the Necrocarnum Zombies at the back of the book. They're a good deal nastier than your bog-standard zombie. They've got full movement, and they can invest essentia into AC/Saves or Speed/Initiative. With the bonus essentia you give your pets, they can do both at once. Sure, they're still disposable minions. But they're annoying disposable minions you can replace at no real cost to yourself.
Expand Necrocarnum Soulmeld Capacity - Remember that problem that meldshapers have about limited soulmeld capacity? This goes a good way to solving that. It's a +1 on top of the +1 you get from your Incarnate. Pick up the feat, and you're cooking with some propane. And it's not like you don't have a whole PILE of essentia from Harvest Corpse and Essentia Trap.
Uses: You're evil. And you don't do too bad a job of it. You almost ignore the limited essentia through a couple of exceedingly useful abilities, and even expand your capacity even further. This makes for a very suitable Boss Battle
Sapphire Hierarch - Divine/Meldshaper hybrid class + Stick Up Pigu
Okay, so it's got a real pickle up it's arse, being Lawful and all, requiring the Law domain, and having mostly uninteresting abilities.
Entry is bog-standard Cleric3/Incarnum3 without early entry shenanigans. However, it's really easy to go Incarnum2 (with Bonus Essentia feat)/Cleric1 (typical early entry shenanigans to be considered as having a 2nd level divine spell) since the skill requirements are only 4 ranks.
You do need Incarnum2 for the bonus meld, unless you're a Human or Azurian and you want to blow a feat on Shape Soulmeld.
On the upside, it's a 10/10 advancing class, so you can either be a Cleric with some significant melds, or you can be a meldshaper with a decent amount of Divine spells.
WARNING: This PrC does *NOT* open any Chakra slots. That means your either going to need to be blowing feats on Open X Chakra or your will be crippled (like Soulborn-level crippled) on Chakra slots to bind. While advancing meldshaper levels improves your Essentia, your number of soulmelds, and number of binds, you will almost certainly have fewer chakra slots opened than you have binds available without moderate cheese.
Divine Soultouch would be a wise feat investment for you, since it does not advance Turn Undead either, you need something to spend your TU attempts on.
The class abilities are... meh.
Consultation. That's three per *LEVEL*, my friends. And you still need to pay the xp cost. Once per month once you hit the capstone.
Smite Chaos. You not only get to compete with the Paladin for who has the biggest stick up their pigu, but you also get to show him up at his shtick.
Favored of the Eliodon. Bonus vs Chaos spells (are there even any Chaos spells that allow a save?) and Transmutation. Okay, it's good to protect yourself from Disintegrate, Polymorph nerfs, and similar threats. Other than that... meh.
Damage Reduction. Probably not enough to be worthwhile, but it's there.
Sapphire Body. Free Light Fortification which upgrades to Fortification. Saves you some cash, anyways.
Timeless Body. Right, because your game is going to last long enough for this to be relevant.
Uses: If the alignment matches (must be LN for this to work), and you're a Cleric who wants some extra abilities (not being satisfied with being a T1 class already), it can be a way to get some meldshaping without too much of a loss. It really doesn't work too well going the other way, because you lose too many Open Chakra to really consider yourself a Meldshaper with some Cleric backup.
Soulcaster - Meldshaper/Arcane hybrid class. Better than MT, but not by much.
Well... it has one advantage over the SH previously seen because it actually has Open Chakra Binds. However... don't kid yourself into thinking you get to do everything at once. You get Least and Lesser chakra openings. Anything else, and you'll have to start spending precious feats.
It's best for arcane casters who want to augment their arcane abilities with a little meldshaping on the side. Otherwise the lack of more powerful chakra binds gets to be crippling.
Now then, because of the requirements, you need to be at least character level 5. You can probably get away with this with Incarnum2/Wiz3 if you really want to. Because it requires being able to bind a soulmeld to a chakra, and you can't pick up Open Least Chakra until character level 6, the Incarnum2 is pretty much set in stone. You might be able to get away with this for Wiz1 with Early Entry Tricks, but you've already got a feat investment, so it's going to be quite feat-intensive for you to do so. However, it is not to your advantage to do so, because you still need 8 ranks in Knowledge (Arcana), which means it would be Incarnum4/Wiz1, and that's going to prevent you from ever getting 9th level spells pre-epic. So just stick to Incarnum2/Wiz3.
It's also a 10/10 advancement class, which makes this a worthwhile PrC is you're wanting some meldshaping to go along with your casting without too big a punch to the spellcaster level.
The other class abilities are... your chakra binds. You get to open up Least and Lesser chakra points. That's Crown (which you already had), Hands, Feet, Arms, Brow, Shoulders. Not too shabby, actually, considering the 2 level cost.
Other than that... Arcane Investment sucks. Put essentia into it. You can spend one of those essentia to give a +1 DC (and CL) to a spell. Once. Definately not worth it for Sorcerers, and probably not worth it for wizards either. Still, that's not why you got into the class, so consider it a freebie, the cheap plastic toy in your box of Crackerjacks.
Magical Distillation is also forgettable. Basically, you blow a spell slot for essentia that only lasts one round. Making use of said essentia is a swift action. Then your standard action is probably going to be taken up by using said invested essentia before it goes away. I can think of better things to do with my swift action and a spell slot. Quicken Spell comes to mind.
Uses: Give your arcane caster some useful Soulmeld abilities without hurting his spellcasting progression *too* much.
Spinemeld Warrior - Useful, but probably not for the reason you think.
For the most part, this class is a 2 level dip, if you happen to be a Skarn.
BAB + 5 means you're in a full BAB class of some sort. Probably either Crusader or Warblade. Which means you really want a good weapon. Which your spines aren't. Even TWFing with them is... well... not a good idea. However, you CAN pick up useful stuff with this class.
Twin Spine Fighting. You've probably already got access to d6 Light weapons.
TWF. At least it lets you pick up a bonus feats if you already have it. Being a race with a Dex *penalty*, however, makes it confusing why one would try to TWF in the first place.
Spine Enhancement. It's an essentia sink, nothing more. Basically, if you keep this capped, you won't have any essentia left for anything else. And remember the lesson we learned from Arcane Archer: Never spend class abilities on something a 3rd level spell will do for you.
Noble Familiarity. Now *THIS* is why you get into the class. A Gather Information check (DC 15 + Caster Level) is painful, but you can start off by picking up an item that gives you a bonus to Gather Information. Even if the campaign doesn't have magic marts, you still have access to them.
It *IS* a full BAB class. So at least you're not completely crippling your ability to contribute in a fight.
Meldshaping. Well, you get access to the Soulborn list, and there's a couple of goodies from there that might be worthwhile for you.
Chakra bind (Arms). It's the only one you get. Fortunately, Bluesteel Bracers happens to be one of the better Arm binds, and it's Soulborn only. +2 to initiative for you and your party, and bonus equal to essentia on damage. Slap it on, and never take them off.
The rest of the abilities... suck.
Spine Rend. Two-Weapon Rend sucks. Doing it with crappy weapons sucks more.
Adamantine Spines. You've already GOT an adamantine weapon by now.
Uses: If your GM doesn't let you normally have access to Magic-Marts, this lets you do it anyways. Also works well with ToB classes, by virtue of how IL is calculated. Probably not worth it to go 7 levels for the Bluesteel Bracers, though.
Totem Rager - You know how I said Incandescent Champion wasn't quite the worst PrC in the book? Guess what, we're here.
Don't let the whole pile of bonus essentia fool you, this class is a Grade A trap.
Y'see, the problem is that it likes to pretend that it's a meldshaper class... but you only get Least and Lesser chakra binds. You also lose 2 meldshaper levels, when the Totemist already has trouble getting enough binds and shapes to be competitive.
On top of that... it tries to do two things, and ends up doing neither. Those two things are: pretend it's a Barbarian, and pretend that it's a Totemist.
Totem RAAAAAAGE. Wow, look at all the bonus essentia you get! Oh, wait... if I'd just gone straight Totemist, I'd probably have ended up with more than that anyways.
Extra Rage/Extended Rage. Are combats that frequent and that prolonged that you *need* these? Maybe, I suppose, if you're trying to collect prerequisites, it might be a way to do so, but really... this tin is labeled 'fail'.
DR/- that STACKS with your Barbarian class feature! Only you don't GET DR from Barbarian until Barb7. I don't know of too many builds that gets that far into it.
Totem Capacity (+2). I'll admit, this one is nice. But it's the capstone on the long road to nerf-bat. This is the pretty little carrot that it dangles in front of you to walk right into the *SNAP!*
Uses: Don't. WhirlingPounceBarian1/Totemist x is in every way superior to this piece of garbage. And that's only because you want the haste and pounce so you don't have to bind Sphinx Claws.
Umbral Disciple - Useful dip if you're wanting Hide in Plain Sight, but don't want the enormous feat tax Shadowdancer demands. But beware the traps, young padawan.
Some pretty steep skill requirements. That Concentration requirement in particular really hurts Rogues wanting HiPS, being cross class and all. Still, that's what your 8+Int Mod skill pool is there for. You can still meet all qualifications by level 5, entry at CL 6 if you want.
It's an odd PrC, because while it gains essentia, and requires it actually, it doesn't have any meldshaping. Rather, it has class abilities you can invest essentia into.
Sept Knowledge. Pointless, unless cheesed. If two characters take this PrC, they qualify each other for the +2, both being members of the same sept. Handy if you're doing the Knowledge Devotion thing, but otherwise... not so much.
Step of the Bodiless. Are you really having THAT many troubles with these skills? Pass.
Sneak Attack. You only get 3d6 over 10 levels, which does kind of hurt. Ditching out at 3rd level is less painful, only losing an effective 1d6.
Embrace of shadow. This is why you take the class. Concealment plus Hide in Plain Sight. I'll take that for a three-level dip with pathetically easy prerequisites. Stop here. Go no further.
Sight of the Eyeless. After a few dead levels, you get to this. Blindsight really isn't as cool as you think it is. And that's four levels during which you only get a single d6 of sneak attack to get here. That's a long trek through a barren wasteland, if you ask me.
Soulchilling Strike. The holy grail of fail. It only applies the strength damage on your FIRST attack. No, it doesn't let you apply it on every attack. And let's not forget the PATHETICALLY EASY Fort save (equal to 10 + *ESSENTIA INVESTED* + Con mod). If it had 'class level' or even '1/2 character level', it might, possibly have been worth it. As it is... double fail.
Kiss of the Shadows. Your first reaction to this is probably the same mine was... 'What a SWEET capstone ability!'. But the devil is in the details. Basically, it lets you make melee attacks a little bit further out, and that's it. While that can be nice, you have to go through so much fail to get here that it's just bait dangled in front of a massive, camouflaged trap.
Uses: 3 level dip for concealment and HiPS with relatively low prerequisites. But for the love of Pun-Pun... stop there. Please.
Witchborn Binder - Another failed attempt at a wonderful archetype
So, as it says on the tin, either go Totemist, or go Ranger/Totemist. Bunch of ranks in a bunch of different skills, feat tax with Alertness, and Track. Oh, and you can't cast arcane spells. That means if you *EVER* pick up ANY arcane casting... any and all abilities you gain from this class instantly vanish.
Meldshaping 6/10. Remember how 1/2 caster level PrC's suck? Yea, it's true here too. A complete LACK of any additional chakra binds opened seals the deal. Unlike the arcane gish class which might sacrifice some casting for a bunch of Haste related effects, this gives you nothing worth the cost.
Meldshield. Okay, this *MIGHT* be worth the one-level dip, if you are absolutely swimming in Essentia. It's an Insight bonus to saves, so it stacks with Resistance bonus items like a Cloak/Vest of Resistance.
Detect magic. Nifty enough ability.
Dispelling Orb. Remember, please, that Dispel Magic is capped at +10. So it's not that useful by the time you get access to it (around level 8), and caps out very quickly. Besides, a Totemist has better things to do with his actions than throw Dispel Magic around.
Royal Purse. 500gp/level once a level. Then once a game year after that. How long do your campaigns run? Yea... almost never really worth it in the long run.
Bonus Essentia. Considering you lose 4 meldshaper levels, this is a pittance at best.
Mage Shackles. It requires that you get into melee with a caster, at a minimum of level 10. Good luck with that. Why not... oh... pounce + gorillion Arms + Urksan Greaves and KILL them instead?
Word of Abrogation. So you can blow your action to... counterspell? Why not kill them before they get a chance to cast?
Spirit Flay. Too little, too late. Granted, forcing a wizard, with low Con and low Fort save, into an actually viable Fort save or Nauseated is fun. But by now, you've lost 4 meldshaper levels, have the same number of chakra binds as a Totemist half your level, if you are lucky, and in general have proceeded to cripple your character's ability to do anything else relevant.
Grim Integument. I guess the makers forgot that Dimension door and the rest of the Teleport series don't have somatic components? I mean... you prevent anyone from being able to target a wizard in exchange for him not being able to walk around... if I was the wizard, I'd voluntarily FAIL my save, teleport out, and laugh as you stopped your own allies from being able to hurt me.
Uses: one-level dip for a Totemist if you want Detect Magic and invest essentia into your saving throws. Other than that... big massive trap that fails at what it is suppose to do.
Soul Manifester (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a) - Psi-incarnum 'gish'.
If you want your PsyWar or Psion to pick up some Meldshaping, this is how you do it. You're going to probably use either Totemist2 or Incarnate2 to pull this off. PsyWar/Totemist synergizes amazingly well with various 'claws of x' and the Totemist's ability to dog-pile the natural attacks.
Basically, the class features you will be using are a) 10/10 progression, and b) Open Least and Lesser chakra. Psionic Investment and Psionic Distillation suffers from the same problem that the Soulborn version has: you have better things to do with your turn.
Good for making a different sort of King of Smack, I suppose. Not bad for imping some Meldshaping into your psionic build, anyways.
The Debates
As with any rule book published by WoTC, there's a few... ambiguous interpretations, let's say... inherent in the rules. I'm not going to stand out and state which side I'm on, but attempt to portray each side equally so you and your GM can come to an agreement.
Open x Chakra
Side 1 - the most restrictive interpretation: Basically, it opens the chakra, but unless you already HAVE binds, it's completely worthless. This means you actually need levels in a Meldshaper class in order to bind anything, despite the open chakra. All it does is grant you access to a chakra slot, not the ability to bind there.
Side 2 - a more liberal interpretation: It lets you bind to the chakra in question as well. Thus, if you picked up Open least Chakra (Crown), you could bind something to the Crown chakra separately from your other binds. Thus a level 6 Totemist would purchase this feat for the Hand chakra, and can then bind Sphinx Claws there, in addition to his Totem Bind and one other bind of choice.
Side 3 - the most liberal interpretation: You get a free bind with your open slot, but it doesn't need to be in that slot. Yea... I try to be impartial, but I just don't get this one. I don't see how opening up your hand chakra can let you bind something in your shoulder slot.
The Binds
Okay, so what CAN you do with it? Well, here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11818341&postcount=7) is a good start.
Totemist Totem binds by slot they are shaped in can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11823659&postcount=30)
Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217064) is a post containing soulmelds categorized by class and slot.
What is Incarnum?
This comes from the book Magic of Incarnum. The mechanic is as follows:
An incarnum-using class has a given number of soulmelds he can use, which provide various benefits. He can also 'shape' some of them to item slots, which provides additional benefits, at the cost of eating up either a magic item slot or a feat (feat can be used to remove the magic item limitation). The number he can use and shape is dependent on his class level. It's in the relevant class chart.
An incarnum using class has access to ALL soulmelds his class has access to. There's no funny business about 'soulmelds known' or none of that nonsense.
You may only shape soulmelds after 8 hours of rest, much like preparing spells for the day. You may have heard rumors about Incarnum being 'Schrodinger's characters because they can change their class abilities on the fly'. This probably got started somewhere by someone NOT reading this limitation on meldshaping. Or probably got started when someone mentioned how flexible an Incarnum character can be because they can shift around their essentia to change their focus very rapidly.
Mind you, Incarnum characters are still very flexible, but they may NOT change out their soulmelds on the fly.
Only one Soulmeld may be used per chakra slot, however some soulmelds have multiple chakra slots. The exception to this is the funky Totem chakra that the Totemist get. You cannot shape a soulmeld to the Totem chakra, you must shape it elsewhere, then bind it to the Totem chakra.
For example, if I take Girallon Arms as a 2nd level Totemist and bind it to my Totem, I would first have to shape it to my Arm slot, as that is the only one you can shape it to, then bind it to my Totem chakra. That means I could not then shape Riding Bracers, because the arm slot is already taken up by my Girallon Arms soulmeld.
As another example, if I take Girallon Arms and shape it to my Arm slot and bind it to my Totem slot, I can still shape my Totem Avatar, which has several options. However, I cannot bind my Totem Avatar to my Arms to gain Improved Grapple, because it's not shaped there, even though it theoretically can be bound there, due to the Girallon Arms taking up that slot. But I could shape it to my Shoulders and bind it there for an increase in the damage of my natural attacks. Which actually synergizes pretty well with all the natural attacks I just picked up from the Girallon Arms in my totem slot shaped to my arms.
The feat Double Chakra allows you to have two soulmelds in the same slot, and even bound to the same slot. But must be purchased *PER SLOT*.
Meldshaping Class Levels DO NOT STACK. If I have Totemist2/Incarnate6, then I have Meldshaper level 2 for Totemist binds, and Meldshaper level 6 for Incarnate binds. You don't get to add them together.
You are limited to a number of shapes equal to Con-10. Yea, this is hidden away on page 20, Abilities and Meldshapers. That means unless you have a stellar Con score, you won't shaping many melds. Fortunately, Con is the only score a Meldshaper really needs to worry about, so it's probably not going to be a big problem. But it can be an issue in hybrid or dip builds.
Essentia Essentials
An important part about soulmelds is Essentia. All Incarnum classes gain essentia according to their class charts. You can also gain essentia with certain feats found in the book. Certain PrC's also have unique methods of increasing your Essentia pool.
Essentia can be invetsed into Soulmelds so that they can provide an increased benefit. Certain feats, class abilities, items, or racial features may also have essentia invested in them to enhance them. You may invest Essentia as a Swift action. This allows you to shift the focus of your character rapidly, however essentia invested in feats are stuck there until the next time you rest for 8 hours.
You have a cap on the maximum amount of Essentia you may invest in anything, based on your character level. This is where a lot of the legends about Incarnum classes are great multiclassers... because even though you may only have two levels of Totemist, your entire character's set of levels count for purposes of determining how many essentia can go into any given effect. You do *NOT*, however, gain any additional essentia by multiclassing. Therefore, a Totemist2/Barbarian1/Fighter2/Ranger7 might be able to invest up to 3 essentia in any given meldshape, by virtue of being 12th character level, and even be able to invest 4 essentia into his Totem chakra, by virtue of his Totemist2 class ability, he still only has 2 essentia to play with, unless he picked up more via feats.
There is a cute little quirk about essentia, however, in regards to multiclassing and essentia capacity. Some classes grant an essentia capacity bonus, such as Incarnum. However, they only apply to that class's binds. Therefore, an Incarnate6/Totemist2 would have increased soulmeld capacity for anything bound as an Incarnate, or for the Totem chakra when binding as a totemist, but other totemist binds would not be affected by this.
Chakras, Shaping, and how it works
Meldshaping classes also have a column on their chart labeled 'chakra binds'. They also have class abilities which read something like 'Chakra Binds (x and y)'. There's a lot of confusion how they work together. Let's clear up that confusion, and figure out how it works.
First off, the number on the chart tells you how many meldshapes you can *bind*. The first number on the chart 'soulmelds' is how many you can *shape*. You need to shape it to bind it, and you may only bind it where you shape it.
EXCEPTION: If you are a Totemist, you cannot shape anything to your Totem chakra, it has to be shaped elsewhere, then bound to your Totem chakra.
Notice how small that number of binds is? Yea.. that's because binding it can give you some *REALLY* cool nifty tricks. For example, the Crystal Helm. If you just shape it, you get a bonus to resist charms and compulsions. if you invest essentia into it... you get a Deflection bonus to AC. Now that's a pretty dang handy class ability... means not needing a Ring of Protection or finding a Cleric to cast something on you for a Deflection bonus to AC. But wait... bind it to your Crown chakra (one of the first an Incarnate unlocks), and your melee attacks gain the Force descriptor, meaning you never miss incorporeal targets. So it's basically a free +1 equivelant enhancement (ghost touch), in addition to your deflection bonus to AC from your essentia and a bonus on save vs being your enemy's bi... er... pet.
However, such power does come with a price. If you bind a soulmeld to a chakra, you cannot wear a magic item in that slot. So if you have bound your Crystal Helm to your Crown chakra, you cannot then put on and gain use out of a Headband of Intellect.
Mind you, ONLY binding blocks magic item slots. Merely shaping it has no effect. So I could shape my Totem Avatar to my feet, and I could still wear Boots of Speed if I wanted to. As long as I don't bind it there, I'd be good.
The Totem chakra, again, works funky, because the totem chakra doesn't relate to an item equip slot. So if you had Girallon Arms shaped to your arms, and bound to your totem, you could still wear Bracers of Dexterity since it's not bound to Arms, it's bound to Totem.
There's a feat that allows you to bypass this restriction, however it must be purchased *PER SLOT*. So keep this in mind when planning your character's gear and soulmeld selection.
Incarnum Classes
There are two... well, technically there are three, but there are only two worth bothering with... incarnum base classes. Incarnate, and Totemist (Soulborn is the failed attempt at making a paladin-esque meldshaper class, and ended up not only NOT doing a good job, but actually ending up WEAKER than a Paladin).
Incarnate - More melds than you can shake a stick at
Incarnates have a strict alignment requirement... one side MUST be neutral, and the other side must NOT be neutral. Thus your only alignment choices are NG/NE/CN/LN. That's it. Your alignment choice actually has a mechanical impact on how your class behaves, which melds you can shape, and what kind of bonuses you can give your allies. This makes it a lot harder for GM's to handwave as being irrelevant, since it directly affects your character's mechanical advantages.
Incarnates have the best Meldshaping progression out of the base classes. They get the most binds, the soonest (excpeting the Totem chakra which is exclusively for the Totemist), and the most essentia. However, they've also got a 1/2 BAB progression. Fortunately, that can be somewhat mitigated, but it's still something to keep in mind... if you want to build a melee incarnate (which IS possible), you're really going to have to build for it. And probably get a Totemist dip for some natural attacks because your iteratives... suck.
They also get the widest selection of soulmelds to shape, with a LOT of fun options. This isn't an Incarnate guide, so I'll simply end by saying: look up every soulmeld they can get, then looking up what their various binds CAN do, and see how you can synergize them.
Totemist - "What's the scariest thing you ever ran into? Yea, I can do that too"
I've heard them called 'Blue Mage done right'. I've also heard them called 'Incarnum's version of barbarians'. I've also heard them referred to as 'the best 2 level dip your character ever had'. The truth is... somewhere in the middle.
Whenever you hear about Totemist, you always hear about the 2nd level. That's because that is when they get their Totem chakra. It's pretty sweet, although it kind of screws up the shaping/binding rules by being funky like that. However, it does have some of the most interesting and useful abilities in the book. And it can make an excellent two-level dip for many builds. However, that's not to say that every build should have a two-level dip in Totemist.
Now, Totemist is also a 3/4 BAB class, a d8 HD, and solid Ref and Fort saves, which means he can be a reliable front-liner. When you crank in his meldshaping, things can get nasty pretty quick. However, do keep in mind that he has, effectively, the same BAB and HD of a Monk, so he's not exactly wanting to take a hit, even if he *DOES* have additional ways of gaining more hit points.
Totemists are very good at damage output, if that is what you build them for. If you are wanting ranged damage, pick up the Manticore Belt. Multiple ranged natural attacks. Which can be increased in damage with other soulmelds (totem avatar to shoulder and dread carapace shaped to name a couple). They also make superior melee damage output devices with Girallon Arms for a whole pile of natural attacks, Uskin Greaves for additional damage on a charge, and Sphinx Claws for Pounce.
They can also have a lot of utility. Binding Blink Shirt to Totem, for example, gives you unlimited use of a move-action Dimension Door. Very handy for shadowpouncing (and possibly broken with an Idiot Crusader WRT build).
However, please keep in mind that you may only have *ONE* Totem bind at a time. The 11th level ability does *NOT* allow you to bind two things to your totem, it allows you to bind your Totem-bound meld to it's own chakra. Thus, if you had Girallon Arms bound to Chakra, it could also then be bound to Arms for the Rend ability.
The Double Chakra feat does allow you to bind two soulmelds to your Totem chakra, and I highly suggest it for any Totemist build who has a serious investment in Totemist, however it does have Meldshaper 9 prerequisite.
Soulborn - The Trap
Don't. Just... don't. Why? Oh.. very well. Just to explain why this class is a huge honkin' TRAP and why you should never bother with it, I will go into all the gory details:
First off, it's got an Alignment restriction, you can't be Neutral. You've got to be some flavor of extreme. So basically, like the four paladin types. You've got Smite Opposition... so also like paladin variants.
Then you get Incarnum Defense. Okay, the LG one is just like your bog-standard 'stick up the pigu' paladin's... immunity to fear. CG is immune to Paralysis. Rare, but when it comes up, not bad to be immune to. LE get immunity to exhaustion, only not really because anything that makes you exhausted just makes you fatigued instead. Fail. CE makes you immune to penalty, damage or drain to Strength. Yes, ONLY strength. So it makes you immune to Shadows, but other than that... meh.
At 3rd level, you get a bonus feat! Well, here's the catch: it has to be an Incarnum feat. Mind you, the class STILL isn't even considered a meldshaping class yet, and you have NO essentia yet. But hey, there ya go.
- Actually, the bonus feats may, in fact, be the class's saving grace, since you can buy additional chakra openings and melds with them. Depending on the interpretations of the Open X Chakra feat line (see below under Debates), this could help make this an actual 'gish' class. Mind you, only two of the three bonus feats can be used for Open X Chakra feats, due to the levels they are obtained at, and the Bonus Essentia feat might screw you over before you have any meldshaping, because the GM might rule it's not retroactive.
At 4th level, you theoretically get Meldshaping. You can shape ONE soulmeld, off of a pretty pathetic list. NO essentia, NO binds.
er... thanks?
And it goes downhill from there. You don't get your first essentia until level 6. You don't get your first Bind until level 8.
At level 20, you have 5 soulmelds, 10 essentia, and 3 binds. Total.
To put this in perspective, a 10th level Totemist has 6 soulmelds, 7 essentia, and 3 chakra binds. And actually has useful binds.
To further put this in perspective, a 20th level Totemist has 9 soulmelds, 20 essentia, and 5 binds.
You don't want me to compare it to an Incarnate's meldshaping... it would only make the Soulborn cry. There's a limit to kicking puppies, even for hardened criminals.
Let me put it another way...
There's this feat. It's called Shape Soulmeld. The ONLY prerequisite is a Con of 13. There's another feat chain called Open x Chakra. The character level requirement on them is WAY sooner than what a Soulborn gets.
Therefore, a FIGHTER, who chooses to spend his bonus feats on Shape Soulmeld and Open X Chakra feats can literally be a better meldshaper than a Soulborn can! AND STILL HAVE FEATS LEFT OVER.
No, Incarnum feats aren't Fighter feats. However, you can pick up Open X Chakra with your level 6, 9, 12, and 15 feats and have MORE binds than a Soulborn does, while relying on your bonus fighter feats to give you something else you can do. You spend your 1st level and 3rd level on melds, and perhaps use other of your feats on more melds rather than more binds.
Gets better...
Incarnum2/Fighter18 has one bind (crown), 2 essentia, and 3 melds. Before spending feats. So blow 1st and 3rd feats on either Bonus Essentia or Shape Soulmeld and you've beaten the Soulborn at everything, with the sacrifice of a single point of BAB.
If he actually developed some meldshaping worth bothering with, it would've been a very nice class. Unfortunately, that never happened. DO NOT take this class. No, not even then.
PrC's
Incandescent Champion - Trap
I... well... okay, you know how I told you the Soulborn was the worst base class in the book? Yea... this is pretty much the PrC version of that. Well, not really, that award goes elsewhere, but it's definitely in the top of the bottom of the list. However, there's a few things you CAN salvage from it.
Incandescent Strike. It's unfortunate that it is the victim of poor editing and writing. As it stands, because it's a (Su) ability, the default is a standard action. Which means you get ONE attack when using this. From the verbage 'for each such augmented attack', it's probably intended to give you a full round worth of attacks, but because it never states how long it takes to use, it's defaulted to a standard action.
Fast Healing. Would've been more useful had it not been so limited.
Unbearable Countenance. Cool name, crappy ability. There's a lot more things that have a LOT better fear effects. Remember that chart that tells you the maximum amount of essentia you can invest in something? That takes this out behind the woodshed, since the DC is 10 + Essentia Invested (maximum FOUR, unless you blow feats to increase this to FIVE) + CHA mod.
Incarnum Overload. Okay, now we get into a useful ability, finally. Too bad it's so severely limited by uses per day.
Incandescent Ray. Remember that list that showed you the maximum amount of essentia you can have invested in something? 4d8 is... even worse than what a base Warlock with zero optimization is doing. Sure, combo it with Incarnum Overload for one okay shot per day, but that's once a day.
Incandescent Aura. You've waded through a lot of crap to get here, and now here you are. It's good action economy, because you don't have to do anything to use it, which makes it free damage. It's not MUCH damage, and you must be adjacent to a critter to use it, but there you go. Much like cleave, it seems a lot of fun for new players, but veterans will remark on how few times you have multiple opponents adjacent to you.
Incandescent Transcendence. Bog-standard capstone of turning you into a native outsider, with the added advantage of 1/day making you unable to do anything. You go Incorporeal, but unlike most incorporeality (like, say, the Phase Cloak), it also prohibits you from making any attacks, casting any spells, or activating any special abilities (like soulmelds). Basically, you have your Incandescent Aura and that's it.
Uses? With all the decent abilities strictly limited to a couple times a day... I got nothing.
Incarnum Blade - Highly situational
It plays extremely unfairly with soulmelding, but to be fair, it's supposed to be used by characters without any soulmelding to give them something cool looking.
Blademelds are pretty much the worst of both worlds. It eats your soulmeld slots in exchange for minor bonuses. Like the Totem chakra, you shape it to your sword, then bind it to another slot, effectively blocking that slot from being able to be bound with a regular soulmeld which would probably be more effective.
Just shaping it makes the weapon bypass DR/magic. That's nice if you don't already have a magic weapon. I guess. Mind you, with a BAB +5 prerequsite, either your GM is deliberately punishing your party with no magic items, or you've got some other restriction which probably also gave you this ability already. Okay, if you are kidnapped, thrown in a dungeon, stripped of all your gear, and you have to fight your way out with the rusty spoon you swiped from the meal tray, and have to fight through a bunch of random encounters with DR/magic, then I suppose it can be handy. I guess.
The good thing about Blademeld Binds is that it doesn't block magic item slots. The bad thing is that only the (ONE) blademeld may be shaped to any of them. Which means most of them are going begging, since you only have one meld and a bunch of bind locations.
Crown chakra... well, to be fair, it's supposed to be sub-par since it is the first one you get. But... why? You remove the bonus on attacks from being flanked, but not the sneak attack dice which is the important thing? How often do you get disarmed anyways? The bonus against being feinted is, at least, possibly worthwhile, but... yea.
Feet chakra. Bonus to initiative is never a bad thing, and probably the only worthwhile thing in this class. Too bad you can't invest essentia in it to boost the effects, or I'd call it an actually worthwhile dip.
Arms chakra. I have never had a problem with not confirming crits, so this stands somewhere between worthless and idiotic.
Brow chakra. Free Blind Fight feat. Big deal.
Shoulder chakra. Light Fortification that only works on crits, not sneak attacks.
Throat Chakra. Can be useful, or not, depending on the GM's interpretation. Since it does use the word 'demoralizes', it might function with Imperious Command. If so, this makes an effective lockdown build, even if it eats up your standard action to do so.
Waist chakra. Uncanny Dodge + a huge bonus to a pointless attribute.
Heart Chakra. You get bonus hit points, that go away immediately rather than like temporary hit points. So you can kill yourself by switching out while hurt. Fail.
Soul chakra. Lesser version of Holy/Unholy/Axiomatic/Anarchistic enhancement. Pass.
Rebind Blademeld. Well, at least you can shift around which one you are using more frequently.
Dual Chakra Binding. Wow, you get TWO crappy abilities instead of ONE!
Uses: It does have *some* use, I suppose. It's a five level PrC, so at least it doesn't eat too many levels. If you have an Imperious Command build, the Throat chakra might make this worthwhile to go into, perhaps go all the way to double-bind so you can get your improved initiative along with it. Just... don't use this in conjunction with a Meldshaper. They don't play nice.
Ironsoul Forgemaster
Actually, not a trap, although very situational. Still beats Dwarven Defender by a mile and a half, although that's not exactly saying very much.
First off, it advances Meldshaping 9/10. In other words, ignore what they were saying about 'soulborn' and enter through Incarnate. However, the binds it opens are rather limited in nature, so you may have to blow a feat or two on Open Chakra if there's a slot you want for a combo.
It's only a 3/4 BAB class for one that is touted to be a melee class, but that's still better than the Incarnate gets. In fact, you can get into this class via Incarnate 5 (although you probably want Incarnate 6 simply because you gain so much that level) no problems. A dip into Crusader wouldn't hurt, though, to get some maneuvers to work with your shield.
Shield Bond - Actually gives you a reason to use a shield! And really, this is why I highly suggest this class, at least a dip, to any shield-centric Crusader or Captain America type builds. If your GM loves throwing lots of blastomancy your way, shrug it off with style!
Secrets of the Forge - Have you ever heard 'ride the xp wave'? If you haven't then you don't realize how very useful this can be. It means that even if you have no MagicMarts in your world, you still get access to magic weapons/armor.
Forge Lore - Okay, so this one is mostly for flavor
Chakra Binds - Most of these you probably already have, but you DO get to unlock the Heart chakra quicker
Armor Bond - DR /- is fun. DR/- that stacks with the base armor is fun too. Adamantine Full Plate can get quite a bit of DR this way. Granted, it's not all THAT great if you're running into high-damage monsters, but it's great for wading through mooks.
Please note that you don't get Heavy Armor proficency as an Incarnate, so if you are wanting Armor Bond on Adamantine Full Plate to max out your DR/- then please take the suggested Crusader dip, which also lets you do other things with your shield.
Weapon Bond - More Damage is More Better. Double effectiveness so you've actually got relevant bonuses too, unless you're Ubercharging. Granted, you're probably not going to get the daze to stick on anything, with that pathetic DC, but hey... things can roll natural 1's. And when they do, Dazed is surprisingly difficult to be immune to, and pretty dang inconvenient to lose your next turn.
Uses: If you want to be a party tank who can have some interesting abilities, there's worse places to go to be able to say 'no'. I'd probably want to back it up with something that gives Mettle, but it's some ways to get some solid defenses to some commonly used attacks.
Necrocarnate - Massive essentia potential, but beware the pitfalls
Incarnate is just about the only way to get into it in any reasonable amount of time.
A Necrocarnate is pretty much always going to be Incarnate7/Necrocarnate 13. There's almost no way to cheese the entry, get used to it.
Harvest Corpse - See all those things you and your party just killed? Free essentia for the day! This can get stupid broken with the right setups, if you're facing a lot of mooks.
Necrocarnum Soulshield - The victim of a very serious editing problem. While the bonus is clearly defined, the number of times per day is clearly defined... the duration of the ability is not. Does it work for one attack? For class level rounds? For an encounter? Bonus to all saves is VERY nice to have. I just wish I knew how long it lasted.
Open Chakra/Extra Chakra Binds - You end up with a couple fewer binds total, but you end up with the full compliment of locations.
Extra Soulmelds - Again, you end up with a few less than an Incarnate does, but you've still got Soulborn beat, and even giving Totemist a run for his money.
Essentia Trap - Gives you something to do with your swift action. If it is the first encounter of the day and you haven't gotten a chance to Harvest Corpse up your essentia, this is a good way to get some 'snap essentia' temporarily to cover your bases until you can finish the encounter and get around to harvesting the bodies.
Necrocarnum Zombie Master - Take a look at the Necrocarnum Zombies at the back of the book. They're a good deal nastier than your bog-standard zombie. They've got full movement, and they can invest essentia into AC/Saves or Speed/Initiative. With the bonus essentia you give your pets, they can do both at once. Sure, they're still disposable minions. But they're annoying disposable minions you can replace at no real cost to yourself.
Expand Necrocarnum Soulmeld Capacity - Remember that problem that meldshapers have about limited soulmeld capacity? This goes a good way to solving that. It's a +1 on top of the +1 you get from your Incarnate. Pick up the feat, and you're cooking with some propane. And it's not like you don't have a whole PILE of essentia from Harvest Corpse and Essentia Trap.
Uses: You're evil. And you don't do too bad a job of it. You almost ignore the limited essentia through a couple of exceedingly useful abilities, and even expand your capacity even further. This makes for a very suitable Boss Battle
Sapphire Hierarch - Divine/Meldshaper hybrid class + Stick Up Pigu
Okay, so it's got a real pickle up it's arse, being Lawful and all, requiring the Law domain, and having mostly uninteresting abilities.
Entry is bog-standard Cleric3/Incarnum3 without early entry shenanigans. However, it's really easy to go Incarnum2 (with Bonus Essentia feat)/Cleric1 (typical early entry shenanigans to be considered as having a 2nd level divine spell) since the skill requirements are only 4 ranks.
You do need Incarnum2 for the bonus meld, unless you're a Human or Azurian and you want to blow a feat on Shape Soulmeld.
On the upside, it's a 10/10 advancing class, so you can either be a Cleric with some significant melds, or you can be a meldshaper with a decent amount of Divine spells.
WARNING: This PrC does *NOT* open any Chakra slots. That means your either going to need to be blowing feats on Open X Chakra or your will be crippled (like Soulborn-level crippled) on Chakra slots to bind. While advancing meldshaper levels improves your Essentia, your number of soulmelds, and number of binds, you will almost certainly have fewer chakra slots opened than you have binds available without moderate cheese.
Divine Soultouch would be a wise feat investment for you, since it does not advance Turn Undead either, you need something to spend your TU attempts on.
The class abilities are... meh.
Consultation. That's three per *LEVEL*, my friends. And you still need to pay the xp cost. Once per month once you hit the capstone.
Smite Chaos. You not only get to compete with the Paladin for who has the biggest stick up their pigu, but you also get to show him up at his shtick.
Favored of the Eliodon. Bonus vs Chaos spells (are there even any Chaos spells that allow a save?) and Transmutation. Okay, it's good to protect yourself from Disintegrate, Polymorph nerfs, and similar threats. Other than that... meh.
Damage Reduction. Probably not enough to be worthwhile, but it's there.
Sapphire Body. Free Light Fortification which upgrades to Fortification. Saves you some cash, anyways.
Timeless Body. Right, because your game is going to last long enough for this to be relevant.
Uses: If the alignment matches (must be LN for this to work), and you're a Cleric who wants some extra abilities (not being satisfied with being a T1 class already), it can be a way to get some meldshaping without too much of a loss. It really doesn't work too well going the other way, because you lose too many Open Chakra to really consider yourself a Meldshaper with some Cleric backup.
Soulcaster - Meldshaper/Arcane hybrid class. Better than MT, but not by much.
Well... it has one advantage over the SH previously seen because it actually has Open Chakra Binds. However... don't kid yourself into thinking you get to do everything at once. You get Least and Lesser chakra openings. Anything else, and you'll have to start spending precious feats.
It's best for arcane casters who want to augment their arcane abilities with a little meldshaping on the side. Otherwise the lack of more powerful chakra binds gets to be crippling.
Now then, because of the requirements, you need to be at least character level 5. You can probably get away with this with Incarnum2/Wiz3 if you really want to. Because it requires being able to bind a soulmeld to a chakra, and you can't pick up Open Least Chakra until character level 6, the Incarnum2 is pretty much set in stone. You might be able to get away with this for Wiz1 with Early Entry Tricks, but you've already got a feat investment, so it's going to be quite feat-intensive for you to do so. However, it is not to your advantage to do so, because you still need 8 ranks in Knowledge (Arcana), which means it would be Incarnum4/Wiz1, and that's going to prevent you from ever getting 9th level spells pre-epic. So just stick to Incarnum2/Wiz3.
It's also a 10/10 advancement class, which makes this a worthwhile PrC is you're wanting some meldshaping to go along with your casting without too big a punch to the spellcaster level.
The other class abilities are... your chakra binds. You get to open up Least and Lesser chakra points. That's Crown (which you already had), Hands, Feet, Arms, Brow, Shoulders. Not too shabby, actually, considering the 2 level cost.
Other than that... Arcane Investment sucks. Put essentia into it. You can spend one of those essentia to give a +1 DC (and CL) to a spell. Once. Definately not worth it for Sorcerers, and probably not worth it for wizards either. Still, that's not why you got into the class, so consider it a freebie, the cheap plastic toy in your box of Crackerjacks.
Magical Distillation is also forgettable. Basically, you blow a spell slot for essentia that only lasts one round. Making use of said essentia is a swift action. Then your standard action is probably going to be taken up by using said invested essentia before it goes away. I can think of better things to do with my swift action and a spell slot. Quicken Spell comes to mind.
Uses: Give your arcane caster some useful Soulmeld abilities without hurting his spellcasting progression *too* much.
Spinemeld Warrior - Useful, but probably not for the reason you think.
For the most part, this class is a 2 level dip, if you happen to be a Skarn.
BAB + 5 means you're in a full BAB class of some sort. Probably either Crusader or Warblade. Which means you really want a good weapon. Which your spines aren't. Even TWFing with them is... well... not a good idea. However, you CAN pick up useful stuff with this class.
Twin Spine Fighting. You've probably already got access to d6 Light weapons.
TWF. At least it lets you pick up a bonus feats if you already have it. Being a race with a Dex *penalty*, however, makes it confusing why one would try to TWF in the first place.
Spine Enhancement. It's an essentia sink, nothing more. Basically, if you keep this capped, you won't have any essentia left for anything else. And remember the lesson we learned from Arcane Archer: Never spend class abilities on something a 3rd level spell will do for you.
Noble Familiarity. Now *THIS* is why you get into the class. A Gather Information check (DC 15 + Caster Level) is painful, but you can start off by picking up an item that gives you a bonus to Gather Information. Even if the campaign doesn't have magic marts, you still have access to them.
It *IS* a full BAB class. So at least you're not completely crippling your ability to contribute in a fight.
Meldshaping. Well, you get access to the Soulborn list, and there's a couple of goodies from there that might be worthwhile for you.
Chakra bind (Arms). It's the only one you get. Fortunately, Bluesteel Bracers happens to be one of the better Arm binds, and it's Soulborn only. +2 to initiative for you and your party, and bonus equal to essentia on damage. Slap it on, and never take them off.
The rest of the abilities... suck.
Spine Rend. Two-Weapon Rend sucks. Doing it with crappy weapons sucks more.
Adamantine Spines. You've already GOT an adamantine weapon by now.
Uses: If your GM doesn't let you normally have access to Magic-Marts, this lets you do it anyways. Also works well with ToB classes, by virtue of how IL is calculated. Probably not worth it to go 7 levels for the Bluesteel Bracers, though.
Totem Rager - You know how I said Incandescent Champion wasn't quite the worst PrC in the book? Guess what, we're here.
Don't let the whole pile of bonus essentia fool you, this class is a Grade A trap.
Y'see, the problem is that it likes to pretend that it's a meldshaper class... but you only get Least and Lesser chakra binds. You also lose 2 meldshaper levels, when the Totemist already has trouble getting enough binds and shapes to be competitive.
On top of that... it tries to do two things, and ends up doing neither. Those two things are: pretend it's a Barbarian, and pretend that it's a Totemist.
Totem RAAAAAAGE. Wow, look at all the bonus essentia you get! Oh, wait... if I'd just gone straight Totemist, I'd probably have ended up with more than that anyways.
Extra Rage/Extended Rage. Are combats that frequent and that prolonged that you *need* these? Maybe, I suppose, if you're trying to collect prerequisites, it might be a way to do so, but really... this tin is labeled 'fail'.
DR/- that STACKS with your Barbarian class feature! Only you don't GET DR from Barbarian until Barb7. I don't know of too many builds that gets that far into it.
Totem Capacity (+2). I'll admit, this one is nice. But it's the capstone on the long road to nerf-bat. This is the pretty little carrot that it dangles in front of you to walk right into the *SNAP!*
Uses: Don't. WhirlingPounceBarian1/Totemist x is in every way superior to this piece of garbage. And that's only because you want the haste and pounce so you don't have to bind Sphinx Claws.
Umbral Disciple - Useful dip if you're wanting Hide in Plain Sight, but don't want the enormous feat tax Shadowdancer demands. But beware the traps, young padawan.
Some pretty steep skill requirements. That Concentration requirement in particular really hurts Rogues wanting HiPS, being cross class and all. Still, that's what your 8+Int Mod skill pool is there for. You can still meet all qualifications by level 5, entry at CL 6 if you want.
It's an odd PrC, because while it gains essentia, and requires it actually, it doesn't have any meldshaping. Rather, it has class abilities you can invest essentia into.
Sept Knowledge. Pointless, unless cheesed. If two characters take this PrC, they qualify each other for the +2, both being members of the same sept. Handy if you're doing the Knowledge Devotion thing, but otherwise... not so much.
Step of the Bodiless. Are you really having THAT many troubles with these skills? Pass.
Sneak Attack. You only get 3d6 over 10 levels, which does kind of hurt. Ditching out at 3rd level is less painful, only losing an effective 1d6.
Embrace of shadow. This is why you take the class. Concealment plus Hide in Plain Sight. I'll take that for a three-level dip with pathetically easy prerequisites. Stop here. Go no further.
Sight of the Eyeless. After a few dead levels, you get to this. Blindsight really isn't as cool as you think it is. And that's four levels during which you only get a single d6 of sneak attack to get here. That's a long trek through a barren wasteland, if you ask me.
Soulchilling Strike. The holy grail of fail. It only applies the strength damage on your FIRST attack. No, it doesn't let you apply it on every attack. And let's not forget the PATHETICALLY EASY Fort save (equal to 10 + *ESSENTIA INVESTED* + Con mod). If it had 'class level' or even '1/2 character level', it might, possibly have been worth it. As it is... double fail.
Kiss of the Shadows. Your first reaction to this is probably the same mine was... 'What a SWEET capstone ability!'. But the devil is in the details. Basically, it lets you make melee attacks a little bit further out, and that's it. While that can be nice, you have to go through so much fail to get here that it's just bait dangled in front of a massive, camouflaged trap.
Uses: 3 level dip for concealment and HiPS with relatively low prerequisites. But for the love of Pun-Pun... stop there. Please.
Witchborn Binder - Another failed attempt at a wonderful archetype
So, as it says on the tin, either go Totemist, or go Ranger/Totemist. Bunch of ranks in a bunch of different skills, feat tax with Alertness, and Track. Oh, and you can't cast arcane spells. That means if you *EVER* pick up ANY arcane casting... any and all abilities you gain from this class instantly vanish.
Meldshaping 6/10. Remember how 1/2 caster level PrC's suck? Yea, it's true here too. A complete LACK of any additional chakra binds opened seals the deal. Unlike the arcane gish class which might sacrifice some casting for a bunch of Haste related effects, this gives you nothing worth the cost.
Meldshield. Okay, this *MIGHT* be worth the one-level dip, if you are absolutely swimming in Essentia. It's an Insight bonus to saves, so it stacks with Resistance bonus items like a Cloak/Vest of Resistance.
Detect magic. Nifty enough ability.
Dispelling Orb. Remember, please, that Dispel Magic is capped at +10. So it's not that useful by the time you get access to it (around level 8), and caps out very quickly. Besides, a Totemist has better things to do with his actions than throw Dispel Magic around.
Royal Purse. 500gp/level once a level. Then once a game year after that. How long do your campaigns run? Yea... almost never really worth it in the long run.
Bonus Essentia. Considering you lose 4 meldshaper levels, this is a pittance at best.
Mage Shackles. It requires that you get into melee with a caster, at a minimum of level 10. Good luck with that. Why not... oh... pounce + gorillion Arms + Urksan Greaves and KILL them instead?
Word of Abrogation. So you can blow your action to... counterspell? Why not kill them before they get a chance to cast?
Spirit Flay. Too little, too late. Granted, forcing a wizard, with low Con and low Fort save, into an actually viable Fort save or Nauseated is fun. But by now, you've lost 4 meldshaper levels, have the same number of chakra binds as a Totemist half your level, if you are lucky, and in general have proceeded to cripple your character's ability to do anything else relevant.
Grim Integument. I guess the makers forgot that Dimension door and the rest of the Teleport series don't have somatic components? I mean... you prevent anyone from being able to target a wizard in exchange for him not being able to walk around... if I was the wizard, I'd voluntarily FAIL my save, teleport out, and laugh as you stopped your own allies from being able to hurt me.
Uses: one-level dip for a Totemist if you want Detect Magic and invest essentia into your saving throws. Other than that... big massive trap that fails at what it is suppose to do.
Soul Manifester (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a) - Psi-incarnum 'gish'.
If you want your PsyWar or Psion to pick up some Meldshaping, this is how you do it. You're going to probably use either Totemist2 or Incarnate2 to pull this off. PsyWar/Totemist synergizes amazingly well with various 'claws of x' and the Totemist's ability to dog-pile the natural attacks.
Basically, the class features you will be using are a) 10/10 progression, and b) Open Least and Lesser chakra. Psionic Investment and Psionic Distillation suffers from the same problem that the Soulborn version has: you have better things to do with your turn.
Good for making a different sort of King of Smack, I suppose. Not bad for imping some Meldshaping into your psionic build, anyways.
The Debates
As with any rule book published by WoTC, there's a few... ambiguous interpretations, let's say... inherent in the rules. I'm not going to stand out and state which side I'm on, but attempt to portray each side equally so you and your GM can come to an agreement.
Open x Chakra
Side 1 - the most restrictive interpretation: Basically, it opens the chakra, but unless you already HAVE binds, it's completely worthless. This means you actually need levels in a Meldshaper class in order to bind anything, despite the open chakra. All it does is grant you access to a chakra slot, not the ability to bind there.
Side 2 - a more liberal interpretation: It lets you bind to the chakra in question as well. Thus, if you picked up Open least Chakra (Crown), you could bind something to the Crown chakra separately from your other binds. Thus a level 6 Totemist would purchase this feat for the Hand chakra, and can then bind Sphinx Claws there, in addition to his Totem Bind and one other bind of choice.
Side 3 - the most liberal interpretation: You get a free bind with your open slot, but it doesn't need to be in that slot. Yea... I try to be impartial, but I just don't get this one. I don't see how opening up your hand chakra can let you bind something in your shoulder slot.
The Binds
Okay, so what CAN you do with it? Well, here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11818341&postcount=7) is a good start.
Totemist Totem binds by slot they are shaped in can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=11823659&postcount=30)
Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=217064) is a post containing soulmelds categorized by class and slot.