Experiments in psionics: psywar charging build

[TuggyNE]

So, I've been trying to work on my mastery of the psionics rules, as well as charging (semi-)optimization.

My basic idea is a charging psychic warrior with touch attacks instead of shock trooper*.

In combat, he should be quite effective; out of combat, he's not very helpful, and requires teammates for many tasks. In other words, a solid T4-style.

(Version 2.2)Ranges (low-high) indicate variation based on what buffs he has running currently; all but expansion are positive, of course, in their numeric effects on AC and saves.

LG Half-Giant Passive Way Monk 2/Psychic Warrior 8 (LA bought off)
Normal (32pb): Str 24 (16 +2 racial +4 enh), Dex 10 (12 -2 racial), Con 16 (14 +2 racial), Int 10, Wis 20 (16 +4 enh), Cha 8
AC 26-40 / 26-36 ff / 22-26 touch
Expanded: Str 28 (+4 size), Dex 6 (-4 size), Con 16, Int 10, Wis 20, Cha 8
AC 22-36 / 22-32 ff / 18-22 touch
BAB +8/+3; Fort +10-14, Ref +5-9/+3-7, Will +10-14 (all fractional)
Psicrystal: Str 1 (9 -10 racial, min 1), Dex 15 (11 +4 racial), Con Ø (8, racial --), Int 6 (10 -4 racial), Wis 13, Cha 14 (12 +2 level-up) (non-elite array)
AC 24-38 / 22-32 ff / 16-20 touch

54pp | Powers known:
1: expansionA, defensive precognitionA, offensive prescienceA, force screenA, thicken skinA, inertial armorA
2: concealing amorpha, psionic lion's chargeA, share painEK
3: (none at present)

Gear (49kpp, 5.5kpp left):
periapt of wisdom +4, belt of giant strength +4
ring of protection +1, steadfast boots
+1 large valorous guisarme

Levels/Feats/Skills:
{table=head]Level | Class | Feat | Bonus | Skills
1 | Monk 1 | Power Attack | Combat Expertise | Conc 4, Jump 4, Auto 2cc, K:Psi 2 cc
2 | PsyWar 1 | | Psionic Weapon | Auto 1, Jump 1
3 | PsyWar 2 | Psicrystal Affinity | Deep Impact | Auto 1, Jump 1
4 | PsyWar 3 | | | Auto 1, Jump 1
5 | PsyWar 4 | | | Auto 1, Jump 1
6 | PsyWar 5 | Ascetic Warrior | Psicrystal Containment | Conc 2
7 | Monk 2 | | Improved Trip | Conc 4
8 | PsyWar 6 | | | Auto 1, Conc 1
9 | PsyWar 7 | Leap Attack | | Auto 1, Conc 1
10 | PsyWar 8 | | Expanded Knowledge: Share Pain | Auto 1, Conc 1[/table]

Autohypnosis 9 (2cc); 9 ranks +2 synergy +3 con = +14
Concentration 13; 13 ranks +3 con = +16 (80% focus chance)
Jump 8 by 9th; 8 ranks +9 str +12 speed = +29 (can jump 15' from standing start)
Knowledge (Psionics) 2cc

Psicrystal Feats**:
1: Hidden Talent / Reflective Talent
3: ?? / Reflective Meditation
6: Psionic Body / Reflective Manifestation: Vigor
9: Psionic Meditation

Strategy:
Keep inertial armor up with one fully augmented manifestation in the morning; manifest thicken skin at suitable times for a moderate-duration boost, and reserve force screen, defensive precognition, concealing amorpha, and psicrystal's vigor/own share pain for dangerous encounters with time to pre-buff.
Maintain two focuses at all times; psicrystal may ready actions to add focus before attack.
Keep expansion up, augmented to Huge size and long duration, remanifesting as needed.
Use psionic lion's charge augmented suitably for extra damage, and deep impact for touch attacks, power attacking full. If the situation calls for it, offensive prescience may also be used for even more damage. Tripping is generally used.

Results:

melee touch +10/+5 (8d6+70, augmentable to 8d6+94, x3) at reach [20'-30']
unarmed strike +9/+4 (4d8+9) [5'-15']
AC anywhere in the poor to good range (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13168530), depending on need and pp to spare; 20% concealment miss chance as desired
Trip modifier of +12 size +4 improved trip +9 strength = +25 vs. Medium; an additional +4 vs counter-trip attempts


1(Version 1.1; some numbers seem to be a bit off, and haven't been corrected)NG Half-Giant Psychic Warrior 9 (LA bought off)
Normal (32pb): Str 22 (16 +2 racial +2 enh), Dex 10 (12 -2 racial), Con 16 (14 +2 racial), Int 10, Wis 18 (16 +2 enh), Cha 8
AC 21/24/28
Expanded: Str 26 (+4 size), Dex 6 (-4 size), Con 16, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 8
AC 17/20/24

39pp | Powers known:
1: expansion, vigor, offensive prescience, force screen, thicken skin, inertial armor
2: concealing amorpha, psionic lion's charge, hustle

Gear:
periapt of wisdom +2, gauntlets of ogre's strength +2
ring of protection +1, amulet of natural armor +1, monk's belt
+1 greatsword

Feats:
L1: Power attack
B1: Psicrystal affinity
B2: Psionic weapon
L3: Psicrystal Containment
B5: Psionic meditation
L6: Leap attack
B8: Deep impact
L9: Psionic talent (?)

Strategy:
Keep inertial armor up with one fully augmented manifestation in the morning; manifest thicken skin at suitable times for moderate-duration boost, along with vigor (shared with psicrystal), and reserve force screen and concealing amorpha for important encounters with time to pre-buff.
Maintain two focuses at all times.
Keep expansion up, augmented to Huge size and long duration, remanifesting as needed.
Use psionic lion's charge augmented suitably for extra damage, and deep impact for touch attacks, power attacking full. If the situation calls for it, offensive prescience may also be used for even more damage.

Result:
melee touch +11/+6 (6d6+39, augmentable to 6d6+50, 19-20)

Critiques of my methods are much appreciated, and suggestions on other things to try are not unwelcome. :smallwink:

Currently known problem areas: fairly low total AC, especially when expanded; heavy pp consumption with low reserves; inability to effectively gain surprise round on any plausible enemies; lack of adequate universal multipliers for damage. And, of course, reliance on charging :smalltongue:

*Note on build choices: Shock Trooper is basically out, as I'm trying to gain both a decent offense and a decent defense (in as many ways as possible). PsyWar levels are not set in stone, but are preferred for the most part. Race is also not set in stone, obviously, but is probably good enough. Battle Jump would be amusing, but I can't quite convince myself it works with Leap Attack, and I don't even know where Taer is.

**Note on psicrystal feats: Some DMs for various reasons dislike letting psicrystals take psionic feats, especially those that could lead to infinite fractal psicrystals. So I homebrewed some more restricted ones (http://http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13197103). Either way should work, however, although I haven't fleshed out the stock route.

[eggs]

The action economy is not going to treat this build well.

Expansion eats a standard action, and with a charge-focused build, you won't want to spend the Expansion-manifestation round rushing into a battlefield control position. That means that against enemies with any sort of casting ability, by the time you have both Expansion up and a free round to charge, your target's going to be invisible/flying/on the other side of a wall/laughing as you deal with a Web or Slow. You could fix thie either by going with the long version of the power manifested ahead of time, or by using Linked Power to manifest it with a free action (not compatible with Deep Impact)

Deep Impact only works on one attack at a time, which is very constrainingr - you can basically get one Deep-Impacted power attack per round, and even getting that eats either the round's swift or move action. Either way, re-focusing interferes with Psionic Lion's Charge.

Shock Trooper is a cliche, but it uses the same feat resources as Deep Impact, works better with psionic lion's charge, and leaves Psionic Focus free for things like Linked Power.

[TuggyNE]

The action economy is not going to treat this build well.

Expansion eats a standard action, and with a charge-focused build, you won't want to spend the Expansion-manifestation round rushing into a battlefield control position. That means that against enemies with any sort of casting ability, by the time you have both Expansion up and a free round to charge, your target's going to be invisible/flying/on the other side of a wall/laughing as you deal with a Web or Slow. You could fix thie either by going with the long version of the power manifested ahead of time, or by using Linked Power to manifest it with a free action (not compatible with Deep Impact)

A very good point, and a useful adjustment to make. Thanks!


Deep Impact only works on one attack at a time, which is very constrainingr - you can basically get one Deep-Impacted power attack per round, and even getting that eats either the round's swift or move action. Either way, re-focusing interferes with Psionic Lion's Charge.

Psicrystal containment gives me two focuses, and I conveniently have two attacks at this level. So it actually kind of works. (Admittedly, refocusing both requires a full round, which is pretty terrible. Still working on ways to speed that up.)


Shock Trooper is a cliche, but it uses the same feat resources as Deep Impact, works better with psionic lion's charge, and leaves Psionic Focus free for things like Linked Power.

Fair enough; I'm trying to avoid that if possible, to see how far I can get. (Should edit that into the main post.)

[Thiramon]

Psicrystal containment gives me two focuses, and I conveniently have two attacks at this level. So it actually kind of works. (Admittedly, refocusing both requires a full round, which is pretty terrible. Still working on ways to speed that up.)

Remember that your psicrystal gains feats and ability score increases, cause it gains hitdice. Have it increase its wisdom score to 13 and let it pick Hidden Talent and Psionic Meditation. Et voilà: Your Psicrystal can meditate two psionic focuses per round, one for you and one for itself.

Regards,

Thiramon

[TuggyNE]

Remember that your psicrystal gains feats and ability score increases, cause it gains hitdice. Have it increase its wisdom score to 13 and let it pick Hidden Talent and Psionic Meditation. Et voilà: Your Psicrystal can meditate two psionic focuses per round, one for you and one for itself.

Regards,

Thiramon

Ha, I'd completely forgotten about that for some reason. I will indeed go back and stat it out more thoroughly. :smallsmile:

[Rubik]

Remember that your psicrystal gains feats and ability score increases, cause it gains hitdice. Have it increase its wisdom score to 13 and let it pick Hidden Talent and Psionic Meditation. Et voilà: Your Psicrystal can meditate two psionic focuses per round, one for you and one for itself.

Regards,

ThiramonExcept that this is the psicrystal's focus, not your second focus that you store in the psicrystal.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Except that this is the psicrystal's focus, not your second focus that you store in the psicrystal.

Hmmmm...I can't seem to find the rules on feat stacking, and I suspect said rules would nix this, but there's always feat leech (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/featLeech.htm)...

[TuggyNE]

I've updated the build in the OP to be more efficient with gear, although it ate another level :smallsigh:. Its damage is up a bit more, and AC is rather better; the psicrystal-refocusing is more sensible as well (I think).

It's still not perfect, but it's a lot closer to its intended niche of pounce-killing an enemy per round. (Or possibly two if they're adjacent and weak enough.)

[Cor1]

Half-Giant is a Template. What is the base race?

I'd take a Thri-Kreen and the Leap Attack tree (or Tiger Claw maneuvers) if I was doing that. You'd still get two attacks, each with a two-handed weapon, and sweet bonuses.

(But then I'd also take Improved Rapidstrike and duplicate it by Feat Leech LoopTM, because Lord Of Smack.)

[LansXero]

Half Giant is a psionic race, actually.

What about a deep crystal weapon?

[TuggyNE]

I'd take a Thri-Kreen and the Leap Attack tree (or Tiger Claw maneuvers) if I was doing that. You'd still get two attacks, each with a two-handed weapon, and sweet bonuses.

Hmm, this might work out OK, but would require a good lot of rejiggering. Also, it doesn't scale all that well, despite the need for additional feat/race investment. (Focuses, even with psicrystal aid, can only really go up to 3/rd, and with an additional trip attack that peaks at 4/rd. TW-THF is better at low level because it doesn't need PLC manifested, but an extra non-touch attack at high levels is useless.)


What about a deep crystal weapon?

2d6, once, for 2pp? Ehhh, could be worse I suppose. The build would probably not use it very often though (since even augmented PLC isn't all that essential, and that works on a 2-for-1 flat damage ratio, improving with more attacks). But I'll throw it in anyway.


I've managed to switch from Tashalatora to Ascetic Warrior, saving a feat in the process, and improving pp as well. I also edited the feat/skill list to be hopefully a bit more clear.

Something else I'm considering is sticking mineralize warrior in the backstory (what backstory? hahaha) so he can buy off the LA there too. The Dex and especially Wis hits hurt, but natural armor and DR are useful, and Str/Con is handy too. (Strictly speaking, using point buy to get identical stats post-mineralization would grant me a Str two points higher and no other changes.)

[Rubik]

2d6, once, for 2pp? Ehhh, could be worse I suppose. The build would probably not use it very often though (since even augmented PLC isn't all that essential, and that works on a 2-for-1 flat damage ratio, improving with more attacks). But I'll throw it in anyway.Ah, but charging multiplies damage. Charging with a lance turns that 2d6 into 6d6. You can boost it even higher from there. I know there's a feat somewhere that adds an additional x2 onto that so you're hitting 8d6. And all for 2 pp and a bit of optimization.

[TuggyNE]

Ah, but charging multiplies damage. Charging with a lance turns that 2d6 into 6d6. You can boost it even higher from there. I know there's a feat somewhere that adds an additional x2 onto that so you're hitting 8d6. And all for 2 pp and a bit of optimization.

Pretty sure I'd have to be mounted for the lance to help me.

Also don't most charge-multipliers only work on flat damage bonuses, not extra dice?


Finally, shoved in valorous. :smallwink: (I probably need to reduce gear expenses, because <1k to spare at ECL 10 is stupid.)

Next phase I may switch to spiked chain (inclusive reach tripping with charge damage? do want), but need to shove EWP in there somewhere....

[Rubik]

Pretty sure I'd have to be mounted for the lance to help me.

Also don't most charge-multipliers only work on flat damage bonuses, not extra dice?That's just for critical hits. Lances just multiply your damage period. Everything's game (unless the particular damage addition specifies otherwise).


Next phase I may switch to spiked chain (inclusive reach tripping with charge damage? do want), but need to shove EWP in there somewhere....Just use a guisarme and a gauntlet when you're not charging. Save that feat for something better.

[TuggyNE]

Whoo, finally got back around to this. Switched to guisarme for reach + unarmed strike for adjacent, and adjusted gear a little bit. For some reason damage is down a good bit, but there's still more than enough for most purposes.

Any further comments or corrections to my tedious maths? :smallyuk: