Help Making Incarnate in a Game of Casters and Martial Adepts

[wayfare]

Hey All:

I have a friend who wants to play an Incarnate in a game that features a Swordsage, a Favored Soul, and a Dragon-Fire adept. He wants to skill monkey while still being combat useful and is very married to Incarnate as a class (no totemist or soulborn for him).

How exactly do you build a melee incarnate? What allows it to keep up with primary combat classes?

Character is level 2, human.

[Fouredged Sword]

Ok, Incarnates are very good skill monkeys and melee combatants at level 2.

Ok, there are a couple of soulmelds that stand out at that level.

Thief's gloves are great skill monkey gloves. He can't bind them yes, but they make nice bonuses to skill monkey skills.

Astral Vambrances are the best defensive meld at that level. They can get him up to DR6/magic, which will make him very tanky at level 2 on top of an already con focused character.

Then, an incarnum weapon meld will get him bonuses to attack and damage that are good.

If he is going skill monkey, I would tell him to consider factotum 1 or rogue 1 / Incarnate 19 with able learner as a human. It practically grants all skills as class skills forever and removes the need to bind thieves gloves all the time due to traps.

[Feint's End]

Hey All:

I have a friend who wants to play an Incarnate in a game that features a Swordsage, a Favored Soul, and a Dragon-Fire adept. He wants to skill monkey while still being combat useful and is very married to Incarnate as a class (no totemist or soulborn for him).

How exactly do you build a melee incarnate? What allows it to keep up with primary combat classes?

Character is level 2, human.

General question. Have you or your friend looked into the Incarnate Handbook and or the Incarnum Handbook?
If not here is the link to the Incarnate (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?PHPSESSID=g0a1hoos6507t6qeddogsq2lf5&topic=6920.0) one and the Incarnum (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19862398/The_Incarnum_Handbook?pg=2) one (more general with all 3 classes)

Second point. Is the Human given by the Dm or because of players choice. Because if it's players choice definitely take an Azurin, which are basically Meldshaping humans, instead.

After clearing that. Good news for you friend! Incarnate actually make pretty good skillmonkeys and melee is the second role they can cover pretty well with the right soulmelds. If you are looking for a high damage output you probably won't find it though as the damage is in general more supportive on an Incarnate. In low-mid OP it still should be sufficient if built right.

You can be a decent skillmonkey using UMD and the right melds to compensate for your lack of skills or go Factotum for a few levels (level 1preferred) and take able learner. Best ist you just read through the handbook yourself since I am by far not the most experienced Incarnum-player.

edit: ninja'd partially :smallamused:

[Chronos]

If he is going skill monkey, I would tell him to consider factotum 1 or rogue 1 / Incarnate 19 with able learner as a human. It practically grants all skills as class skills forever and removes the need to bind thieves gloves all the time due to traps.Or flip that around: One or two levels of Incarnate, the rest in factotum or other skillful classes. Remember, soulmeld capacity depends on total character level, not just levels in incarnum classes.

Also, does he specifically want to be useful in melee, or just useful in combat? One common choice of combat tactic for Incarnates is Dissolving Spittle, a ranged touch attack.

[Bonzai]

Yeah, that is important. Does he actually want to wade in, or is he fine firing at range?

Dissolving Spittle is good for range. Lightning gauntlets are good for melee, as both are touch attacks. Latter on with the lightning gauntlets you will want to get a skillful weapon, which you can then channel through it.

Level 2 Azurian (if he takes it), will want expanded Soulmeld capacity, and maybe an incarnum feat for extra essentia. He can then deal 3d6 electrical or acid, and have a 2d6 fire damage shield up for mantle of flame. At level three, that can go up to 4d6 and 3d6 respectively, plus he can have a 3 hd zombie.

Skill monkey wise your best bets are;

Acrobat boots: for the gymnast stuff.
Theft Gloves: for half the roguey stuff.
Riding Bracers: for handling animals.
Sailors Bracers: for ship and water related stuff.
Mages Spectacles: For UMD and related skills.
Truth Seeker Goggles: for other half of the Roguey stuff.

You can also be party healer with Lifebond vestments.

[Fouredged Sword]

You can also grab hide/move sci with a totemist meld by grabbing it with a feat.

I once had a party that everyone took melds as feats and we all stealthed around all the time, it was fun.

[Chronos]

You can also grab hide/move sci with a totemist meld by grabbing it with a feat.
Not really. If you're planning on stealthing anyway, you almost certainly already have some cheap items that boost those checks: Boots and Cloak of Elvenkind, or armor with Shadow and Silent Moves. Which means that Kruthak Claws does absolutely nothing for you. This is a problem with Totemist skill boosts in general: They're all competence bonuses, the most common kind of skill bonus, which means they almost never stack. The Incarnate's insight bonuses are much more useful.

[Piggy Knowles]

Not really. If you're planning on stealthing anyway, you almost certainly already have some cheap items that boost those checks: Boots and Cloak of Elvenkind, or armor with Shadow and Silent Moves. Which means that Kruthak Claws does absolutely nothing for you. This is a problem with Totemist skill boosts in general: They're all competence bonuses, the most common kind of skill bonus, which means they almost never stack. The Incarnate's insight bonuses are much more useful.

Kruthik Claws easily outstrip Shadow and Silent Moves armor until very late in the game, when you can afford the greater versions.

Of course, I still probably wouldn't spend a feat on it when the aforementioned items are at least pretty good, unless feat retraining was on the table.

[Fouredged Sword]

It's worth grabbing because you can pump your Use Psionic Device with the psionic web enhancement melds and use a powerstone of Psionic Reformation to reset the feat once you get items to do it for you.