Totemist Help

[Pricewashere]

Honestly, I frackin' love totemists, they are probably my favorite class i've played in a long time, but I want it to be able to kill everything in my wake, and still have fun, so What are some general guidelines? My main problem is feats, and tactics (Which include binds for damage and attacks). What i'm thinking of making is a Warforged, and i'm probably going to go 8 totemist/2 barbarian/10 totem rager. So if anybody wants to help, or just elaborate all help is appreciated :smallbiggrin:

[marcielle]

As a totemist you can achieve a smacktaculous amounts of natural atacks(Girallon arms for example gives you 4 claws off the bat). So ALWAYS take Whirling frenzy Lion Spirit Totem Barbarian to capitalise on your strengths.
I think you can use volley attacks with a manticore belt. I have no idea what that is but I hear it makes you better at ranged than a ranger with the bow line so you might wanna look it up.
Warforged are nice for avoiding fatigue on rage but they have a lot of other immunities as well so don't forget to exploit them. Poison, energy drain and suffocation immunities are pretty sweet.
An alternate to Warforged are Dragonborn Mongrelfolk for HOLY GYGAX, SO MUCH CON! Natural flight/ breath weapon is a bonus too. There was a planetouched in the Dragon Magazine which was even better for totemists but most DMs don't like the mag cos it's hard to find(and hence, double check).
Also, Necklace of natural attacks from Savage Species lets you augment natural attacks.
You can skillmonkey! Don't be a one trick pony(unless there are no other meelees). Invest in some smarts and skill bonus melds. Remember, you can get an ungodly amount of NAs but they have an escalating attack penalty.
Speaking of attack penalty, Multiattack feat seems in order.
ps. Note that you MAIN natural attack don't suffer attack penalty. Always attack with the main attack that gives more attacks.
I'd just link you to the Incarnum handbook but brilliant gameologist is down.

[TroubleBrewing]

As a totemist you can achieve a smacktaculous amounts of natural atacks(Girallon arms for example gives you 4 claws off the bat). So ALWAYS take Whirling frenzy Lion Spirit Totem Barbarian to capitalise on your strengths.

Or you could just bind Sphinx Claws to your hand chakra. That way, you don't lose progression with your class abilities.

[Big Fau]

BG's been giving me trouble, so I can't link to the more complete Totemist Handbook, but the original Incarnum Handbook (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19862398/The_Incarnum_Handbook) still exists.

[marcielle]

Doesn't he need rage if he wants to become a totem rager? Or are you suggesting Totem Rager is sub optimal? You might be right, I've never really played Incarnum before. Also, read the handbook. Always worth reading the handbook.

Also, if you have the feats to spare(if you go human) Willing deformity>Tall might work wonders. Not to be taken over multiattack though.

Remember, as a warforged, you also have a natural slam attack.

[Lateral]

Or you could just bind Sphinx Claws to your hand chakra. That way, you don't lose progression with your class abilities.
He's already planning to go Totem Rager with Barbarian, though, so there's no point in not taking Spirit Lion Totem. Plus, Sphinx Claws requires you to bind it to your totem chakra, and you only get one of those.

BG's been giving me trouble, so I can't link to the more complete Totemist Handbook, but the original Incarnum Handbook (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19862398/The_Incarnum_Handbook) still exists.

It isn't just you.

[Godskook]

Or you could just bind Sphinx Claws to your hand chakra. That way, you don't lose progression with your class abilities.

Totemists don't really get good class abilities outside meldshaping, and there, you can afford a 1-level hit just fine.

And if you're planning on using Totem Rager, the only thing you're really going to miss is Totem double bind at level 11, but you're already missing that.

Also, you can get pounce as early as level 1 via Barbarian, but not till level 5 via Sphinx Claws. That's a notable difference, especially if you're starting as a race with racial weapons, such as Warforged.

Finally, the bind only allows for natural weapons, which is a hindrance, albeit not a huge one considering some DMs probably won't allow unarmed strike to be comboed with that many natural attacks.


He's already planning to go Totem Rager with Barbarian, though, so there's no point in not taking Spirit Lion Totem. Plus, Sphinx Claws requires you to bind it to your totem chakra, and you only get one of those.

The Totem bind for Sphinx Claws is 2 claw attacks. What Grey is referencing is the Hand bind, which gives pounce.

---------------------------------

My build of choice goes something like:

Warforged

Barbarian 1/Totemist 1/Ardent 1/Totemist +1/Ardent +2/Soul Manifester 10/Totem Rager 4

Feats:
Jaws of Death
Second Slam
Double Chakra(Totem)
Cobalt Rage
Azure Talent
Practiced Manifester(Ardent)(At 3rd level!, reason for delaying totem binds)

This gives:
BAB 12
9th level powers from Ardent Manifesting(ML 17)
15th level meldshaping

Judicious use of ACFs, expanded knowledge and other optimizing tricks gives you quite a few tricks, while still retaining your overall totemist Schtick. If you're not using flaws, feats are going to be really tight, but w/e.

And it levels up quite well, too. At level 1, you're a Barbarian who makes 3-4 attacks per round, and can pounce it as well. Most opponents won't even survive your greatsword, let alone the follow up slam/slam/bite. Clustered foes are just going to die like lemmings to you that early on. At level 2, pick 2 of Rage Claws, Wormtail Belt and Blink Shirt and enjoy. Level 3 brings 2nd level powers to the table, and at level 4, Totem binds, doubling your attacks per round. Level 5 gives you 3rd level powers, and by either level 6 or 7(Depending on flaws), you're dual-progressing meldshaping and manifesting. With an ACF or expanded Knowledge, you can get Expansion, which will drastically increase your damage, due to the number of attacks you're making.

[marcielle]

It seems that Totem Rager is actually pretty weak, at least not as good as going Totemist 19/Barb 1. Might want to actually compare it to what you get as a straight Totemist. Especially Totemist 11. That said, play how you like.

[Arcane_Snowman]

That depends quite a lot on what you're doing, you could easily grab a single level in Bear Warrior and two in Warshaper, which makes the extra rage and totemist advancement a pretty evil setup.

Never really checked how well it compared to a straight up Totemist or Totemist 19/Barb 1, but I always had a thing for Barbarian 2/Totemist 4/Totem Rager 5/Horizon Walker 1/Bear Warrior 1/Warshaper 2/Frenzied Berserker 5. There is just something satisfying about turning into a Bear with Meldshaping, Frenzy and the extra damage from Power Attack is just a plus.

[Big Fau]

It seems that Totem Rager is actually pretty weak, at least not as good as going Totemist 19/Barb 1. Might want to actually compare it to what you get as a straight Totemist. Especially Totemist 11. That said, play how you like.

Why would you just dip Barbarian 1 if you are all ready at Totemist 19? One more level of Totemist and you get to double your essentia for long enough to deal with multiple encounters.


Besides, Totem Rager is for the Pouncing-styled death machine. You take it to significantly up your damage output, not to improve your meldshaping.

[Person_Man]

My 2 cp:

For your build, I suggest Lion Totem Barbarian 1/Totemist 2/Something Else 3/Totem Rager 10. This gives you Pounce early, avoids duplication of class features (both Totemist 5 and Totem Rager 4 open up your Crown/Feet/Hands chakra - getting it twice adds nothing), and gives you more variety of class features (I'm a fan of Crusader or Warblade for the Something Else 3 - or you can get something with a Familiar if you want to use Share Soulmelds feat, which allows your Familiar to gain the benefits of all of your soulmelds).

If you're actually playing to ECL 17+, then I suggest strait Totemist 20 instead. This opens up your Heart chakra (which gives you Spell Resistance from the Dread Carapace soulmeld, or the very potent Swarm template if you're using the Broodkeeper's Heart soulmeld from Dragon Magazine 350) and the Totem Embodiment capstone ability, which are more powerful then the benefits of Totem Rager.

In terms of tactics and Feats, you should basically just maul people to death with your very numerous natural weapons. Max out your Cobalt Rage when you Rage. Take Improved Unarmed Strike or buy a Fanged Ring (which grants it) so that you don't have to carry a weapon and get your full compliment of attacks. Pick up Extra Rage, Improved Grapple, and Scorpion's Grasp (Sandstorm, gives you a free Grapple check with every attack). Combat Reflexes is also very handy, especially if you have good reach (from an ally who casts Enlarge Person on you, from the Dragonic Tail soulmeld, from a reach weapon you carry and then drop as needed, or from Feats). Charge, full attack, Grapple, murder.

At higher levels, you'll have enough chakra binds to pick up a good alternate attack, like any of the breath weapon soulmelds, Basalisk Mask (Flesh to Stone), or Frost Helm (burst Stun). At this point you can either further improve your melee by taking Warforged feats, or if you're using a Familiar you can take Improved Familiar and the Mounted Combat tree to get some ridiculous Ride By Attacks, or you can take some metabreath feats, or you can improve your maneuvers/stances, etc.

[candycorn]

I'm a fan of using sphinx claws at level 5 to get pounce, and taking spirit bear totem barbarian (for improved grab).

Totemist 10 / Spirit Bear Totem Barbarian 1 / Black Blood Cultist 8 / Warshaper 1

Gets you:
Rage
Improved Grab
Multiple Binds
Ability to do damage as if you hit with every natural weapon every time you win a grapple check (Improved grab also lets the attack that started the grapple count a second time)
Several natural weapons

Granted, you need caster support to dispel any FoM's, and to enlarge you, but this is a novel idea for a shifter.

[Lateral]

I'm a fan of using sphinx claws at level 5 to get pounce, and taking spirit bear totem barbarian (for improved grab).

Totemist 10 / Spirit Bear Totem Barbarian 1 / Black Blood Cultist 8 / Warshaper 1

Gets you:
Rage
Improved Grab
Multiple Binds
Ability to do damage as if you hit with every natural weapon every time you win a grapple check (Improved grab also lets the attack that started the grapple count a second time)
Several natural weapons

Granted, you need caster support to dispel any FoM's, and to enlarge you, but this is a novel idea for a shifter.
The sucky thing about Spirit Bear Totem, though, is that it has the same restrictions as normal Improved Grab- it only works on creatures smaller than you. Even at Large, it only works on Medium or smaller enemies.

[Godskook]

It seems that Totem Rager is actually pretty weak, at least not as good as going Totemist 19/Barb 1. Might want to actually compare it to what you get as a straight Totemist. Especially Totemist 11. That said, play how you like.

Outside Totemist 11, there's very little that you can get out of Totemist 3-19 that's worth noting compared to Totem Rager.

And yes, I'm aware the Totem Rager misses Throat, Waist and Heart, but on a blender-style melee character, that's the binds we donate to goodwill. Well, except for maybe the random Dragon Magazine soulmeld.


If you're actually playing to ECL 17+, then I suggest strait Totemist 20 instead. This opens up your Heart chakra (which gives you Spell Resistance from the Dread Carapace soulmeld, or the very potent Swarm template if you're using the Broodkeeper's Heart soulmeld from Dragon Magazine 350) and the Totem Embodiment capstone ability, which are more powerful then the benefits of Totem Rager.

1.Totem Embodiment is great, but 1/day. I'm not a big fan of using or promoting them, but ymmv.

2.Dread Carapace's SR isn't that useful by the time you get it, and in order to make it relevant, it requires one of your two Totem chakra slots, as well as 2 of your very limited number of binds. And all that for only 33 SR. Admittedly, if this is your Totem Embodiment combo, that's going to work fantastically unless your opponent is using one of the many SR:no combos available by this level, but outside of that area, not so useful. And if you're suggesting to just bind it to your Heart chakra without any other effort, 21 SR by level 18 is going to do more to get you killed than it is to save your life.

3.Dragon Mag is Dragon Mag, and isn't really 'standard' comparison fodder.

[Tvtyrant]

I think the doubled essentia is better than the barbarian if your focusing on being a Totemist with just some rage. If your focusing on being a Barbarian with natural attacks then Totem Rager is amazing. Just get SUS and bind as many attacks as you can, then charging pounce people.

[Big Fau]

1.Totem Embodiment is great, but 1/day. I'm not a big fan of using or promoting them, but ymmv.

And it lasts 1 minute per point of Con modifier. You can combine that with the Manticore Belt soulmeld's chakra binds to clear half a dungeon in that 6 minutes (likely more, easily up to 10 minutes).

[Pricewashere]

Thanks guys for all your help, I officially love Giantitp. Hopefully I will get enough experience under my belt for totemists to be able to make some crazy ass article of doom or something. Thanks all of y'all. I wish upon all of you a nat. 20 :smallbiggrin:

[Godskook]

Thanks guys for all your help, I officially love Giantitp. Hopefully I will get enough experience under my belt for totemists to be able to make some crazy ass article of doom or something. Thanks all of y'all. I wish upon all of you a nat. 20 :smallbiggrin:

Speaking for the PCs I DM for, they all hate you now.

Cause really, a nat 20 for me means pain and death for them. TY!

[Darrin]

The sucky thing about Spirit Bear Totem, though, is that it has the same restrictions as normal Improved Grab- it only works on creatures smaller than you. Even at Large, it only works on Medium or smaller enemies.

You can fix that by taking the Amphibious template (Stormwrack, -2 Dex, no LA) and dipping into Scaled Horror (Savage Species), which gets Improved Grab up to your current size. Also gets ranger spells, which can be a nice perk. Medium BAB though.

[Amphetryon]

The sucky thing about Spirit Bear Totem, though, is that it has the same restrictions as normal Improved Grab- it only works on creatures smaller than you. Even at Large, it only works on Medium or smaller enemies.

In addition to Darrin's suggestion, you could use Leviathan Hunter 3, also from Stormwrack.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Here's the thing with Totem Rager...

You'd need something to dump all that essentia into.

You don't get the Lesser binds until Totem Rager 9. That's... like... effective character level WHAT, again? That's Arms, Brow, Shoulder.

In other words, for most of your career, you can only bind to Totem, Crown, Feet, and Hands. That's it. In fact, you reach a point where you have more Chakra Binds than you have slots to bind them TO!

That's... not cool, man.

Now let's get to the other part of the same problem: Essentia dumping.

Essentia is... well... essential. However, a *LOT* of the totemist soulmelds... SUCK at giving bonuses. They're generall "+1/essentia to a few skills you don't care about" or "+1/essentia to some check you'll never use". In my sig is a post with a COMPLETE listing of all Totemist binds, what they do, what they do when you bind them, and what their totem bind does. Go down the list. Not many effective binds actually give you bonuses on what you want to be doing with them.

For these reasons, I consider Totemist Rager to be a huge, honkin' TRAP! I'd much rather just go WhirlPounceBarian 1 and totemist 19. You'll get everything faster, easier, with less hassle.

[Tvtyrant]

Aren't you supposed to put all your essentia into the cobalt rage/charge?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Aren't you supposed to put all your essentia into the cobalt rage/charge?

There's still a hard-cap limit of how much essentia you can invest into anything, and a problem with feat management, if you are wanting Shock Trooper to go with it...

[Godskook]

You'd need something to dump all that essentia into.

The general assumption is that a lot of it is going into Cobalt rage, to help your will saves and damage output


You don't get the Lesser binds until Totem Rager 9. That's... like... effective character level WHAT, again? That's Arms, Brow, Shoulder.

ECL 15, 5 levels later than if you simply dipped Barbarian and 6 off a pure Totemist.


In other words, for most of your career, you can only bind to Totem, Crown, Feet, and Hands. That's it.

Valid point.


In fact, you reach a point where you have more Chakra Binds than you have slots to bind them TO!

And....patently false. You need to hit effective Totemist level 18 to get 5 binds, so I give you 4 useful binds that can be bound to either your Totem or least chakras:

Primary Totem: Girallaon Arms(Arms)
Secondary Totem(via double chakra): Blink Shirt(Heart), Totem Avatar(Heart), or Unicorn Horn(Brow).
Feet: Urskan Greaves
Crown: Shedu Crown

Shaped:
Waist: Wormtail Belt
Hands: Rage Claws


Now let's get to the other part of the same problem: Essentia dumping.

Essentia is... well... essential. However, a *LOT* of the totemist soulmelds... SUCK at giving bonuses. They're generall "+1/essentia to a few skills you don't care about" or "+1/essentia to some check you'll never use". In my sig is a post with a COMPLETE listing of all Totemist binds, what they do, what they do when you bind them, and what their totem bind does. Go down the list. Not many effective binds actually give you bonuses on what you want to be doing with them.

At ECL 14(one before hitting lesser binds), you're probably effective Totemist 12 and you've got 8 Totem Rager levels. With Cobalt Rage, that's 14 essentia. Your essentia capacity is 3, 4 for Totems and Cobalt Rage. Using the meld load-out that I gave above, you can invest:

Girallon Arms - A good 'dump' for your essentia, but you'd want to utilize it better if possible.
Urskan Greaves - 3 essentia here is easy.
Cobalt Rage - 4 essentia here is easy.
Wormtail Belt - 3 essentia here is easy
Rage Claws - A useful way to use your points late in the fight.

That's 10 essentia you're pretty much defaulting, with enough room for 17 Essentia, and that's without discussing the secondary Totem option I kinda left open.


For these reasons, I consider Totemist Rager to be a huge, honkin' TRAP! I'd much rather just go WhirlPounceBarian 1 and totemist 19. You'll get everything faster, easier, with less hassle.

Where exactly are you getting the DR 2/- and extra rage?

[Lateral]

Where exactly are you getting the DR 2/- and extra rage?

I don't think he cares about the DR 2/-. Cause, y'know, it stops two damage. Also, you can get the same number of extra uses of Rage that you get from Totem Rager for just one feat; not having to spend feats to get any Greater Chakras kind of compensates for that. (Not saying that I agree with either of you guys, mind you. Just that that isn't really a great point.)

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Primary Totem: Girallaon Arms(Arms)
Secondary Totem(via double chakra): Blink Shirt(Heart), Totem Avatar(Heart), or Unicorn Horn(Brow).
Feet: Urskan Greaves
Crown: Shedu Crown

Shaped:
Waist: Wormtail Belt
Hands: Rage Claws

Being able to blink around isn't as useful as it seems, when you only get one attack at the end. Considering you've got a PILE of natural attacks you've built up, and blinking doesn't work with pouncing (unless you Shadowpounce, which is a different critter entirely), I'd go with Lamia Belt for two more claw attacks.

You don't have a Brow chakra, you can't shape your Unicorn Horn. Even if you did, it only gives you Competence bonus on Wild Empathy and Move Silently, unless you Shape it, then it gives Detect Evil. Shaping it to Totem gives you a Gore, but you already have your Totem slot double-filled.

Shedu Crown in the Crown chakra is silly unless you are going for Mindsight. I'd rather shape it Threefold Mask of the Chimera (NOT bind it, just shape it) for immunity to flanking.

You don't have a Heart chakra, you can't shape Blink Shirt, nor can you either shape or bind Totem Avatar there. And having Blink Shirt shaped there prevents you from shaping, much less binding, Totem Avatar anyways.

Rage Claws are an abysmal TRAP that will KILL your character. Why would you *EVER* want to shape them?

Why bother with Wormtail belt? It's AC... which will be dumped in favor of damage anyways. It's called Shock Trooper... three or four points of natural armor is not going to overcome a -16 penalty.

About the ONLY ones you mentioned that are worth bothering with are the Gorrilian Arms and Urksan Greaves. The others are either traps, inefficient, or illegally shaped.


At ECL 14(one before hitting lesser binds), you're probably effective Totemist 12 and you've got 8 Totem Rager levels. With Cobalt Rage, that's 14 essentia. Your essentia capacity is 3, 4 for Totems and Cobalt Rage. Using the meld load-out that I gave above, you can invest:

Girallon Arms - A good 'dump' for your essentia, but you'd want to utilize it better if possible.
Urskan Greaves - 3 essentia here is easy.
Cobalt Rage - 4 essentia here is easy.
Wormtail Belt - 3 essentia here is easy
Rage Claws - A useful way to use your points late in the fight.

That's 10 essentia you're pretty much defaulting, with enough room for 17 Essentia, and that's without discussing the secondary Totem option I kinda left open.How are you getting Expanded Essentia Capacity for your Cobalt Rage?

Girallon Arms, Urksan Greaves, and Cobalt Rage are good dumps. That's... 10 essentia. Wormtail Belt is trying to fill the Grand Canyon with a single truckload of gravel. Rage Claws will get you KILLED.

Girallon Arms, do keep in mind, are an Enhancement Bonus. So Greater Magic Fang? Won't stack. Amulet of Natural Attacks? Won't stack.

[Godskook]

I don't think he cares about the DR 2/-. Cause, y'know, it stops two damage. Also, you can get the same number of extra uses of Rage that you get from Totem Rager for just one feat; not having to spend feats to get any Greater Chakras kind of compensates for that. (Not saying that I agree with either of you guys, mind you. Just that that isn't really a great point.)

Thing is, 2/- is better than the entirety of the greater chakra binds on the Totemist list.

Not to mention you don't typically have the binds to spare to bind something to one of them cause of how good the other chakras are.


Being able to blink around isn't as useful as it seems, when you only get one attack at the end. Considering you've got a PILE of natural attacks you've built up, and blinking doesn't work with pouncing (unless you Shadowpounce, which is a different critter entirely), I'd go with Lamia Belt for two more claw attacks.

While a good point, rather tangential to our contention.


You don't have a Brow chakra, you can't shape your Unicorn Horn. Even if you did, it only gives you Competence bonus on Wild Empathy and Move Silently, unless you Shape it, then it gives Detect Evil. Shaping it to Totem gives you a Gore, but you already have your Totem slot double-filled.

1.You don't need to unlock a chakra to be able to shape a soulmeld, only to bind one.

2.I was lsiting Unicorn Horn as a possible 2nd Totem bind for the gore attack, since I blatantly forgot about Lamia Belt's double-claws.


Shedu Crown in the Crown chakra is silly unless you are going for Mindsight. I'd rather shape it Threefold Mask of the Chimera (NOT bind it, just shape it) for immunity to flanking.

Immunity to flanking isn't that useful and is probably redundant at level 14. 100' mindsight isn't that easy to pick up, and gives you a non-combat contribution to the team.


You don't have a Heart chakra, you can't shape Blink Shirt, nor can you either shape or bind Totem Avatar there. And having Blink Shirt shaped there prevents you from shaping, much less binding, Totem Avatar anyways.

It kinda appalls me that you still don't know how meldshaping works, even after trying to write a guide on the subject.

1.You always 'have' chakras, they're just 'locked'. Mostly a fluff point, but w/e

2.You can shape a soulmeld without having the chakra unlocked.

3.I listed chakra locations not cause I was binding them to that chakra, but rather cause I was binding them to the Totem, and merely listing the other chakra in case of conflicts.

4.The *OR* indicates that you choose one, not use all 3.

Rage Claws are an abysmal TRAP that will KILL your character. Why would you *EVER* want to shape them?


Why bother with Wormtail belt? It's AC... which will be dumped in favor of damage anyways. It's called Shock Trooper... three or four points of natural armor is not going to overcome a -16 penalty.

1.While Shock Trooper is a good feat combo for Totemists, you'll note it wasn't listed in my example. You can get it, but its hard to get without dipping Fighter for the bonus feats.

2.Sure, AC is dumped in any round you charge, but having a convenient source of strong NA for those rounds that you don't want to charge is useful, especially since Wormtail actually scales very well compared to NA items.


About the ONLY ones you mentioned that are worth bothering with are the Gorrilian Arms and Urksan Greaves. The others are either traps, inefficient, or illegally shaped.

I had no illegally shaped melds. Try again.


How are you getting Expanded Essentia Capacity for your Cobalt Rage?

Class feature.


Girallon Arms, Urksan Greaves, and Cobalt Rage are good dumps. That's... 10 essentia. Wormtail Belt is trying to fill the Grand Canyon with a single truckload of gravel. Rage Claws will get you KILLED.

Rage Claws combo really well with Blink Shirt in this regard, allowing you to escape situations where the party would normally just leave you behind.


Girallon Arms, do keep in mind, are an Enhancement Bonus. So Greater Magic Fang? Won't stack. Amulet of Natural Attacks? Won't stack.

Yes, which is why I said:

Girallon Arms - A good 'dump' for your essentia, but you'd want to utilize it better if possible.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Or you could just bind Girallon Arms to arms and totem, bind Lamia Belt to totem, bind urksan greaves to feet, shape Dread Carapace to Heart for essentia dump, bind Totem Avatar to Shoulders, and proceed to King of Smack everything down.

WhirlPounceBarian1/Totemist19 with Shock Trooper, double shape (totem), and Improved Natural Attack (Claw). Each individual attack deals more damage than your entire full attack. Have a nice day.

I don't know what you think Rageclaws do... but they will kill your character. They let you temporarily dip below -10, but if you shift essentia out of it, or are forced to shift essentia out of it, you auto-die, which BYPASSES all the various means of not dying when your hit points gets below -10. So yes, it's a trap.

[Big Fau]

Thing is, 2/- is better than the entirety of the greater chakra binds on the Totemist list.

DR 2/- is somehow better than being able to turn Ethereal at-will, all the while generating random encounters for your party so you can power level by RAW?


And while I can see how the Rage Claws are an essentia trap, the ability itself is a lifesaver.

[Amphetryon]

Could you please list all the ways an enemy could "force" you to shift essentia away from Rage Claws, for my edification? Thanks.

[Big Fau]

Could you please list all the ways an enemy could "force" you to shift essentia away from Rage Claws, for my edification? Thanks.

Essentia Damage is the primary, and not only is it rare as hell, it's limited. Essentia Damage affects the essentia in your pool before it starts hitting things in your soulmelds, and IIRC you have some control over what soulmeld loses essentia.

Even Con damage/drain cannot make you lose Essentia, although it can unshape Soulmelds (and you have bigger problems when that happens). I'd say calling the Rage Claws a trap is a very misinformed statement.

[Godskook]

DR 2/- is somehow better than being able to turn Ethereal at-will, all the while generating random encounters for your party so you can power level by RAW?

1.Phase Cloak is a lesser bind, not a greater bind.

2.Where's the 2nd one?


Or you could just bind Girallon Arms to arms and totem, bind Lamia Belt to totem, bind urksan greaves to feet, shape Dread Carapace to Heart for essentia dump, bind Totem Avatar to Shoulders, and proceed to King of Smack everything down.

WhirlPounceBarian1/Totemist19 with Shock Trooper, double shape (totem), and Improved Natural Attack (Claw). Each individual attack deals more damage than your entire full attack. Have a nice day.[/quote]

Taking Shock Trooper is easier to do as a Totem Rager, cause you can afford to dip for it, but its also incredibly tangential to the point of contention, since its has almost nothing to do with virtues of one side or the other.


I don't know what you think Rageclaws do... but they will kill your character. They let you temporarily dip below -10, but if you shift essentia out of it, or are forced to shift essentia out of it, you auto-die, which BYPASSES all the various means of not dying when your hit points gets below -10. So yes, it's a trap.

They keep you alive when you otherwise should've died. You should *NEVER* stay there, but if you take 80 damage with 65 HP, Rageclaws just saved your life. Then, on your turn, you either heal to safety or GTFO, depending on the situation.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Could you please list all the ways an enemy could "force" you to shift essentia away from Rage Claws, for my edification? Thanks.

Targeted dispels are the easiest way

[Tvtyrant]

And while I can see how the Rage Claws are an essentia trap, the ability itself is a lifesaver.

And in this case he was arguing that you have too much essentia to use it all anyways.

[Big Fau]

2.Where's the 2nd one?


Read the Phase Cloak itself. Going Ethereal with it can generate a random encounter on the Ethereal Plane. If the party is equipped to deal with that encounter, it just starts generating XP, potentially treasure too.

[Godskook]

Read the Phase Cloak itself. Going Ethereal with it can generate a random encounter on the Ethereal Plane. If the party is equipped to deal with that encounter, it just starts generating XP, potentially treasure too.

Still a lesser bind, so still something the Totem Rager has access to.