Open Chakra, Psionic on a PsiWar

[gallagher]

So i am playing a Psychic Warrior that mostly focuses on natural attacks (though i have digressed a little in my power selection, for good reasons though) and i have come across open chakra, psionic, which i may plan on taking when i get to my 4th level powers.

i am not sure i know how that one works, because i do not know much about incarnum. if i read this correctly, were i to pick, say, girallon arms, and put them on my arms for 13PP, i could deal double damage on my claw attacks if i hit with two? do i automatically gain two claw attacks from this soulmeld?

also, what are some good soulmelds, what do they do and where should i bind them? i am primarily a melee guy (though i have a harpoon too, in case) and my character is obsessed with augmenting his body (reflected in my power selection).

for those interested, the character is in my sig, named Raahm

[gallagher]

bump darn that 10 letter minimum

[Coidzor]

Unless you have 2 levels of Totemist, you can't really get the Totem Chakra IIRC, which is key in a lot of their flashier weapon-granting melds.

Offhand, Lamia Belt is one of the better sources for maximizing number of natural attacks, as it doesn't overlap any claws on your arms that are already there, though it's less useful if you manage to get hoof attacks or something like that with your legs.

Totemist Handbook (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=2943.0) should have a nifty listing for you to peruse.

Dread Carapace apparently gives you a fairly nifty version of power attack for all your natural weapons.

[Tvtyrant]

I believe he is asking how rend interacts with claw damage.

[gallagher]

I believe he is asking how rend interacts with claw damage.

sorry, i sometimes muddle up my words. in respect to the claws, i was asking if the girallon arms give claws that i can use for its power?

also, sphinx claws look really good for my guy

[Tvtyrant]

In that case, yes it does add the extra claws. However they don't stack with Claws of the Beast for size improvements (as I understand it), so you would need to cast Claws of the Beast onto the extra hands as well as your normal ones to get the King-of-smack effect.

[Manateee]

You can only open the chakras specified by the Power and its Augment abilities. The Totem Chakra is not one of them.

If you're looking through the book, this means you can access all the abilities in soulmeld sections labeled Chakra Bind (Hands), Chakra Bind (Feet) or Chakra Bind (Crown) with the unaugmented power.

So you can't use the power to get claws from Girallon Arms, because Claws are granted from the Chakra Bind (Totem) ability - only available to characters with 2+ levels in the Totemist class (or if you used Metamorphic Transfer for the Totem Giant, but let's disregard that for now).

As far as Girallon Arms, what Open Chakra can do is grant the Rend ability, if you bind the Girallon arms to your Arms Chakra (which requires the 6 PP augment). This doesn't grant claws, but it works on any claws you have from other means, such as race, metamorphosis or Claws of the Beast.

You have to be able to shape Girallon Arms though, which requires a feat spent on Shape Soulmeld or a Totemist dip. But for a Grappler or someone who somehow has feats to spare, those could still be worthwhile.

[gallagher]

You can only open the chakras specified by the Power and its Augment abilities. The Totem Chakra is not one of them.

If you're looking through the book, this means you can access all the abilities in soulmeld sections labeled Chakra Bind (Hands), Chakra Bind (Feet) or Chakra Bind (Crown) with the unaugmented power.

So you can't use the power to get claws from Girallon Arms, because Claws are granted from the Chakra Bind (Totem) ability - only available to characters with 2+ levels in the Totemist class (or if you used Metamorphic Transfer for the Totem Giant, but let's disregard that for now).

As far as Girallon Arms, what Open Chakra can do is grant the Rend ability, if you bind the Girallon arms to your Arms Chakra (which requires the 6 PP augment). This doesn't grant claws, but it works on any claws you have from other means, such as race, metamorphosis or Claws of the Beast.

You have to be able to shape Girallon Arms though, which requires a feat spent on Shape Soulmeld or a Totemist dip. But for a Grappler or someone who somehow has feats to spare, those could still be worthwhile.i did not take claws of the beast (bite of the wolf is too good, i need expansion, and i took the soulbound weapon ACF)

so without a dip in totemist, most of these will be next-to-useless?

[Flickerdart]

You get so many bonus feats that an Expanded Knowledge (Claws of the Beast) is not that outrageous.

[gallagher]

You get so many bonus feats that an Expanded Knowledge (Claws of the Beast) is not that outrageous.

true, but that will have to come later. my next two feats are already spoken for

[Manateee]

Generally, you're not going to get anything better out of the power + a Shape Soulmeld feat + item slot than you're going to get out of just choosing a power or item to replicate the soulmeld's function.

The one use of the power is its long duration. You can manifest it the day before you go adventuring and get whatever abilities you can get out of a bind without spending any PP on the day of use.

The only soulmelds I'd consider it for in your situation would be Pegasus Cloak or Manticore Belt for all-day flight, Phase Cloak for Etherealness while moving and Shadow Mantle for an area of Darkness+Blindsight. Some of those would rely on also having Psycarnum Infusion to be effective, though.

And this is totally movng into houserule territory, but it would be really cool to let the Soulbound Weapon and Incarnate Weapon stack.

But overall, it's not a power that's super-useful unless you have a build specifically tailored to use it.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Sphinx Claws is effectively pounce, but ONLY with natural attacks. Using a 4th level power for a more limited version of a 2nd level power seems... weaksauce

Most of the claws require a totem bind. However, a two-level dip in Totemist is, by far, not the worst thing that could happen to your PsiWar...

[Chronos]

Also note that binding a soulmeld to a chakra uses up that item slot. So for instance, if you've got a nifty pair of magic boots, you probably don't want to bind anything to your feet chakra. You can still shape a soulmeld on that slot, though, as long as you don't bind it.

[Psyren]

Also note that binding a soulmeld to a chakra uses up that item slot. So for instance, if you've got a nifty pair of magic boots, you probably don't want to bind anything to your feet chakra. You can still shape a soulmeld on that slot, though, as long as you don't bind it.

The Split Chakra feat solves that problem, though the OP seems to be running light on feats for the next few levels.

[gallagher]

The Split Chakra feat solves that problem, though the OP seems to be running light on feats for the next few levels.

lol, im running light on a lot more than just feats for the next several levels; gold-wise, i am saving up for a graft; i have few skill points; supplies can run low, im not sure i planned for this adventure the best; and im not sure i can fit in two levels of any other class, but i will look into it.

[Rubik]

I love Psionic Open Chakra. It's the fastest way to bind high-level soulmelds in the whole game (even above the spell version) due to boosted manifester levels and augmentation.

Totemist 2/psywar 18 (add in Tashalatora and monk to taste), or maybe some psionic jade phoenix mage (which is an easy conversion) is an amazing combatant. It's got tons of versatility, too, and the soulmelds help make up for the psywar's low power points.

[Draz74]

lol, im running light on a lot more than just feats for the next several levels; gold-wise, i am saving up for a graft; i have few skill points; supplies can run low, im not sure i planned for this adventure the best; and im not sure i can fit in two levels of any other class, but i will look into it.
Sounds like you may be trying to do too much in general. But hey, if you're having fun doing it ...

Anyway, the short answer to your question is that Open Psionic Chakra can be awesome for a PsyWar (with or without the Totemist dip), but only if it's accompanied by a pretty heavy feat investment (or a lighter feat investment and a dip). Which it sounds like your build may not be able to pull off until high levels.


Sphinx Claws is effectively pounce, but ONLY with natural attacks. Using a 4th level power for a more limited version of a 2nd level power seems... weaksauce

Um. Psionic Lion's Charge only works once for each time you manifest it. So that's 3 PP per use, vs. 7 PP for all-day Pounce with Sphinx Claws. Assuming you're going to Pounce more than 3 times per day, you have the spare feats to set up Sphinx Claws, and you are using natural weapons anyway ... the 4th-level power is WAY better than the 2nd-level power.

[Godskook]

If you want to meddle in soulmelds, Psychic Warrior 8/Totemist 2/Soulmanifester 10 is probably the way to go.

[Manateee]

Um. Psionic Lion's Charge only works once for each time you manifest it. So that's 3 PP per use, vs. 7 PP for all-day Pounce with Sphinx Claws. Assuming you're going to Pounce more than 3 times per day, you have the spare feats to set up Sphinx Claws, and you are using natural weapons anyway ... the 4th-level power is WAY better than the 2nd-level power.
It's a power known and a feat spent for a more limited return (the soulbound weapon doesn't work there).

If you only expect to charge 1 to 3 times a fight, the Psionic Meditation feat and Psionic Lion's Charge power leave the Psychic Warrior with the same general ability, but with more flexibility in both weapon choices and tactical power use.

(leaving the poor wording of PLC aside for a second)

[Rubik]

I REALLY enjoy using those ML-boosters to bind the phase cloak to the shoulders chakra early (see: level 10 or thereabouts). So much utility and defensive power there it's not even funny. Remember: being ethereal means you're automatically undetectable (aside from magic) when you move, which means virtual immunity to AoOs, and you gain perfect maneuverability flight at half-speed on each move action.

Boost your speed or get a mount (see: Wild Cohort for a dire fruit bat, warbeast training, and feat retraining) with Share Soulmeld (Phase Cloak), bind it to it, and you'll have a nice 70' fly speed to work with even when you're not ethereal. Make one of its known tricks "go ethereal/material on command" and you can ride it right into the ethereal plane.

[gallagher]

I REALLY enjoy using those ML-boosters to bind the phase cloak to the shoulders chakra early (see: level 10 or thereabouts). So much utility and defensive power there it's not even funny. Remember: being ethereal means you're automatically undetectable (aside from magic) when you move, which means virtual immunity to AoOs, and you gain perfect maneuverability flight at half-speed on each move action.

Boost your speed or get a mount (see: Wild Cohort for a dire fruit bat, warbeast training, and feat retraining) with Share Soulmeld (Phase Cloak), bind it to it, and you'll have a nice 70' fly speed to work with even when you're not ethereal. Make one of its known tricks "go ethereal/material on command" and you can ride it right into the ethereal plane.

...playa whaaaaa... thats kind of nuts.

This is the character in question. (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=360226) and in the suggested build (PW8/Tot2/PrC10) i need at least one more level of psychic warrior. i know my power selection and feat selection are a little sporadic, but that can sometimes happen when you change directions in a build.

my next feat is multiattack, and my level 9 feat is going to be earth power. what do i need to make that PrC work?

[Manateee]

If you actually take Totemist levels, this whole thing becomes way easier.

Here (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a)'s the PrC in question, by the way.

There are only a handful of materials that link Psionics and Incarnum, but they do it really nicely. There are 3 feats that bridge the systems that you probably want, regardless of your build goals.

The first is Azure Talent. It's a pretty clearcut feat expense because it's a prerequisite for Soul Manifester. On its own, the feat's pretty dry (a couple bonus PP a day), but with Psycarnum Infusion, it gets interesting fast.

The second feat that you're pretty definitely going to want is Psycarnum Infusion. It allows you to blow your psionic focus to fill an incarnum receptacle for a round. With Azure Talent, that means a handful of temporary power points any time you want them. It doesn't add a whole lot of brute force unless you're getting silly with Bestow Power, but it generally helps quite a bit in terms of endurance.

The third is Midnight Augmentation, which makes it cheaper to Augment a power. Say you want to get a Shoulder bind out of Open Chakra at Manifester level 8, this can reduce the price until that's feasible.

[Godskook]

Actually, with your current level, you should go:

PsyWar 7/Totemist 2/Soul Manifester 10/PsyWar +1

Taking Azure Talent at level 9 just barely for qualifies you in time.

I would've suggested that except you don't have the Know(psionics) ranks to pull it off and 8 ranks at CC rate is too painful. If you can get your DM to allow you to spend skill points out of your Totemist levels up to what you could've done as a PsyWar, then its doable(You have enough ranks in Concentration that you won't reap any unusual benefit of this request).