Magic of Incarnum. What's going on?

[killianh]

I've read through the classes and powers but can't decide if they are good or bad. I was wondering from your experience what the pros and cons of the Magic of Incarnum are?

[navar100]

Cool concept. Interesting mechanics. The Lost is perfect for Zombie Apocalypse. Use rage for "28 Days Later".

Downside: You do not get enough Essentia. Works well for gestalt.

[Dumbledore lives]

Great book, good fluff and mechanics, but possibly the worst organization out of all of 3.5. To actually understand which soulmelds are good and useful you need a supplementary spreadsheet, which people have provided though I don't have an offhand link.

[Particle_Man]

Generally thought that Soulborn is weak sauce, but the other two base classes are good enough for most games.

It is also very dip friendly or "take a feat" friendly.

Sapphire Hierarch is pretty awesome if you go heavy on the cleric.

[danzibr]

Totemist is way cool. Unique class, get donkey loads of natural attacks. Can't say about the other two.

[Darth Stabber]

Easily one of the best supplements of 3.5. Original, with two compelling classes. I would tell you what I think of soulborn, but this is a family site (short cean version: avoid like bubonic plague).

Also I disagree with navar100 about essentia, assuming you are a totemist (with only a dip or two), and take bonus essentia at lvl6 (or 9), you are just fine on essentia. You can move it every turn as a swift action, and your essentia cap isn't that high, you have enough to keep what you are using at the moment, and 1-2 defenses full or close. This is even more true of incarnates. Now if you are only dipping incarnate or totemist you will feel a little short, but less so than dipping a spellcaster and not having spells. It plays very friendly, and like ToB it's a late 3.5 release meaning they have taken how players actually play into more consideration (namely being dip friendly, both for being dipped, and accepting other class dips).

[Flickerdart]

Totemist: Solid T3 class. Basically a build your own monster, with the ton of natural attacks and other creature-themed abilities. Great fit for savage characters more in touch with magic than axes.

Incarnate: If you want to represent an alignment, these guys do it well. It can be tricky to get it to work well, but Incarnates can be competent archers, and decent minion commanders with Necrocarnum.

Soulborn: If you gestalt it with Soulknife, it's ok. They do get some exclusive stuff though, but it's not worth being a Soulborn for. They're also useful for smite builds since Smite Opposition is nice and flexible.

[Salanmander]

To actually understand which soulmelds are good and useful you need a supplementary spreadsheet, which people have provided though I don't have an offhand link.

I put together such a spreadsheet a while ago. If you PM me I'd be happy to send it to you.

[Piggy Knowles]

Incarnate is one of my favorite classes, just for its sheer flexibility and the unique nature of soulmelds. Totemist is up there as well.

I also agree that both Incarnate and Totemist absolutely have enough essentia. I mean, yes, you will always find yourself wanting more, because wouldn't it be great to leave every soulmeld maxed out at all times? But you do have to make choices when you allocate your essentia. Luckily you can change out how you've allocated things as a swift action, so when you'd rather switch from a melee monster to a faux mage, you can move your essentia out of your Incarnate Weapon and into your Mage's Spectacles.

Incarnates also can be serious defensive powerhouses. To give you an example of what it can do, I designed a lawful Incarnate for high level a one-off. Just straight Incarnate, no multi-classing necessary. Here was my default list of soulmelds (I was able to shape 9 soulmelds, and bind 5 of them to chakras):

Defensive Soulmeld Set-up

CROWN: Crystal Helm
FEET: Airstep Sandals (BOUND)
HANDS: Lucky Dice
BROW: Mage’s Spectacles
ARMS: Bluesteel Bracers
SHOULDERS: Adamant Pauldrons (BOUND)
THROAT: Silvertongue Mask (BOUND)
HEART: Strongheart Vest (BOUND)
SOUL: Incarnate Avatar (BOUND)


So, what did all of this get me? I flew around with perfect maneuverability. I had excellent armor class, most of it coming in as a Deflection bonus from Crystal Helm, meaning it applied to my touch AC. I had 50% fortification. I was immune to most negative statuses, including death effects, ability drain, stunning, dazing, paralysis and petrification.

I could use suggestion as an at-will SLA and act as the party face, with excellent social skills. I could also max out my UMD/Spellcraft/etc. via Mage's Spectacles, and my primary form of offense during combat was a wand of Fell Drain magic missile.

Of course, the nice thing about the Incarnate is that you can change up your soulmelds and completely change how you play the character. The next day I could have, for instance, gone faux-Warlock with Dissolving Spittle. Or I could have turned into the party trapfinder and scout, popping on an Enigma Helm, Theft Gloves and Psion's Eyes (mindlink at will is a lot of fun for a scout). Or maybe I would go melee, give myself a maxed out Incarnate Weapon, etc. This particular build hadn't taken Necrocarnate Acolyte as a feat, but if I had, I could have even played the necromancer using the Necrocarnum Circlet.