Any Dread guides?

[JusticeZero]

I don't see any guides to the Dread around, and i'm trying to a: help someone build one and b: see what I should watch for. Has anyone got any tips? It's a P6 leaning up game.

[Lightlawbliss]

when you say "the dread", you may want to give more info. Do you mean a dread necromancer (http://community.wizards.com/bleak_academy/wiki/Dread_Necromancer's_Handbook)? do you mean the concept of dread in hero's of horror? do you mean something else?

[Gavinfoxx]

Maybe it's some Pathfinder-specific thing??

*checks*

Ah, a semi-3rd-party Psionics class for Pathfinder:

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/dread

[JusticeZero]

Yeah, we are using psi anything heavily. That's the one.

[Psyren]

My tip is to think long and hard about why you want to be one because the Dread is pretty blah. If you want to be a martial character with some psionics then the Psywar, Marksman and even Gifted Blade Soulknife do it better; if you want to be a creepy manifester that messes with people's heads the Psion, Cryptic, Vitalist and even a carefully-built Wilder do that better. The Dread's signature schtick has issues with a wide variety of enemies and the aura that helps them get around this is both limited in scope and difficult to use effectively.

The fact that this is P6 compounds matters - the Dread's main draw, the Shadow Twin, comes in around 11 and so will be out of reach.

(Note: by "you" above I meant whoever you're helping to build a Dread.)

[JusticeZero]

Hence the looking for ways to optimize. I try harder to help optimize lower tier characters. I think part of the draw is the face aspect as well, and I don't know that we have a single party member who hits t3 anyways. The rest of the party is a Mender Vitalist, a Soulknife, a Barbarian and a Gunslinger. None of those classes are famed for amazing gamebreaking power.
I'd commented that we were short on face and control, so I think that may have influenced the class choice.

[stack]

There is the archetype that turns you into a summoner-lite. Might tread too heavily on the barbarian and soulknife's toes, though. But if you aren't hi-op anyway, just pick what sounds good and run with it.

[Psyren]

Hence the looking for ways to optimize. I try harder to help optimize lower tier characters. I think part of the draw is the face aspect as well, and I don't know that we have a single party member who hits t3 anyways. The rest of the party is a Mender Vitalist, a Soulknife, a Barbarian and a Gunslinger. None of those classes are famed for amazing gamebreaking power.
I'd commented that we were short on face and control, so I think that may have influenced the class choice.

I'm still not enthused about it. Dreads are really only good at Intimidate, which the Barbarian has covered.

If you're determined to be a Dread, I'd either go with Nightmare Constructor (the summoner-ish one) as suggested, or gish it up with Fear in the Flesh, which will help cover for some of the physical mediocrity of the class.

[JusticeZero]

The Barbarian has an uninspiring Charisma, and Charisma is a Dread casting stat.As noted, not my character. I'm just trying to crank up the character being built.

[stack]

The lingering touch power is interesting, if going for melee. As long as there aren't too many mind-affecting immune enemies the dread should be fine.

[JusticeZero]

Alas, there are a lot of plants around, so if there's any suggestions on ways to start hitting those would help.

[stack]

Can't beat immunity mind affecting until level 10 w/ penetrating fear (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/feats/penetrating-fear-psionic). Focus on devastating touch, or go with one of the archetypes mentioned above.

[JusticeZero]

The fluff on a lot of the plants is such that I can certainly justify adding something to crack them, I just dont know if there is anything to model it after. There are as many plant enemies around as a rule as I might expect to see undead in a divine magic focused game, and there are plenty of tricks for dealing with undead.

[stack]

There is a metamagic feat to allow mind affecting stuff to hit undead, threnodic spell. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metamagic-feats/threnodic-spell-metamagic) Could use that as a starting point, though the +4 PP required to manifest it would limit you to 1st level powers in an E6 setting.