RandomSpectator
2014-02-25, 10:40 PM
If there's another thread like this please link it in a comment below. Having seen some demand for this kind of thread, I figured I'd give it a shot (suggestions/recommendations welcome):
Assumptions
anyone using this guide is either playing a martial adept specializing in Diamond Mind maneuvers or a front line spell caster with high expectations of injury induced spell losses to mitigate. Either way, I don't expect class or prestige class dips to be very relevant, so I won't post them unless asked for.
all 3.5 and updated 3.0 official material is allowed including Dragon and Dungeon magazine, modules, setting specific, etc. but 3rd party stuff is discouraged on grounds of excessive derp content. Exceptions permitted for 3rd party stuff in the "Goldilocks zone" of not overpowered, but potent enough to be worth suggesting.
Anything mentioned should either have minimal practical costs of use (items, spells, races, free templates), have tremendous bang for your buck (+3 or higher feats), or otherwise be easy to add to nearly any character. That sound good?
Races of note
Illumian, RoD: +2 untyped bonus with hoon sigil or +3 with a feat, no ability score modifiers
Spellscale, RotD: +HD/2 racial bonus with Lendys Blood Quickening plus the dragonblood subtype, though there is a racial Con penalty. Overall superior choice.
Any psionic race: see entry for Wild Talent below
Feats
Skill Focus (Concentration, SRD): +3 untyped; not great, but not terrible. Best for games with DM's who want to minimize the total number of splats used.
Steady Concentration feat, RoS: lets you always take 10 on any Concentration check. Simple, powerful, and adds predictability and dependability to perhaps your most important skill checks. Simply outstanding.
Wild Talent, SRD: gain a power point reserve from any source, including this feat, allows you to become psionically focused. Expending your psionic focus lets you effectively 'take 15' on a concentration check. Hard to make use of more than once per fight unless you take the Psionic Meditation feat to regain focus as a move action without provoking AoO.
Blade Meditation (Diamond Mind), ToB: +1 untyped to your chosen discipline's key skill, incidental benefits for martial adepts. Not bad.
Shape Soulmeld (Vitality Belt, MoI): gives +4 Morale which is a common type, but can be raised to +6 with one point of bound essentia from an incarnum race or another feat.
Draconic Aura (Resolve DM): if Dragonblood, scaling untyped(?) bonus capped at +5, with extra goodies, hits allies within 30'. Good on an ally or cohort if feat starved.
Leadership (Marshal - Motivate Constitution, SRD+Mini): This would be the cohort to have, since his/her cha can be optimized independently and benefit the whole party to boot. Slightly cheesy, but nothing like...
Item Familiar (skill point investment option effectively doubles skill ranks, SRD): One of the cheesiest options, and of more use optimizing a spellcaster's Spellcraft for Epic spell research/casting, but included for completeness.
Traits
Focused: +1 Concentration, -1 Spot/Listen. A good trade off for a Warblade or caster, not as good for a Swordsage.
Illiterate: +1 to any one skill chosen at CharGen, can't read, can buy literacy with 2 skill points. Good for non-wizards, maybe non-casters generally.
Items
Masterwork Tool, SRD: +2 circumstance for measly 50GP in theory, but in practice I'm not sure what kind of mundane item would help you concentrate while in combat without needing to be held/manipulated/etc. Maybe some super comfortable silk underclothes or something similar? Any ideas?
Githcraft armor and shield, DMGII: +1 untyped bonus each for ~600GP a pop. Of most benefit when wearing many individual armor pieces: Chain Shirt + Dastana + Chahar-Aina + two bucklers (or shield + buckler) = +5 untyped bonus and costs only slightly more than a +5 competence slotted item without taking up a magic item slot. Beautiful.
Mordrei'in, FoE: +2 alchemical bonus for 10 minutes, craft-able by any magic user in the group for cheap with no XP cost or craft feats. 25GP
Tunic of steady spellcasting, MiC: +5 competence bonus, hands free, 2,500GP. Consider trading up for a Third Eye Concentrate later on.
Third Eye Concentrate, MiC: +10 Competence bonus, hands free, 10,000GP. That about sums it up.
Eternal Wand of Heroism, SRD + ECS: +2 morale bonus to skills and other things for minutes/level. Good as a pre-combat buff if not using other Morale bonus sources. 10,900GP, iirc
Potion or Wand of Focusing Chant, SpC: +1 untyped but not stackable with itself, combat duration, probably will take up too many actions at this point unless ambushing the enemy
Luckstone/Stone of Good Luck, SRD: +1 luck bonus and hands free, but expensive at 20,000GP.
Spells/Powers
Heroism, SRD, level 2: +2 Morale bonus plus other stuff, easy to find ally to cast even at low levels.
Greater Heroism, SRD, level 5-6: +4 morale bonus plus goodies, higher level caster ally can oblige
Recitation, SpC, level 3-4: +2 luck bonus to whole party within radius
Templates
Arctic, DR 306: +2 Con, -2 Cha, other stuff. Cancels out stat mods of Spellscale, and neither setting specific nor flavor specific.
Dragonborn of Bahamut, RotD: +2 Con, -2 Dex, other stuff, weird/possibly restrictive fluff text. Costs 100GP, but acquired rather than inherited, and grants dragonblood.
Necropolitan (any undead will do, but this one has LA+0), LM: Lose con score, gain Charisma to concentration and fort saves. Undead immunities, which are pretty damn good, and can still be healed normally and heal from resting. Not bad for losing a level and some gold.
Magic Blooded, DR 306: +2 Cha, -2 Wis, stuff. Good if coupled with Necropolitan or a Martial dip for Motivate Constitution.
Assumptions
anyone using this guide is either playing a martial adept specializing in Diamond Mind maneuvers or a front line spell caster with high expectations of injury induced spell losses to mitigate. Either way, I don't expect class or prestige class dips to be very relevant, so I won't post them unless asked for.
all 3.5 and updated 3.0 official material is allowed including Dragon and Dungeon magazine, modules, setting specific, etc. but 3rd party stuff is discouraged on grounds of excessive derp content. Exceptions permitted for 3rd party stuff in the "Goldilocks zone" of not overpowered, but potent enough to be worth suggesting.
Anything mentioned should either have minimal practical costs of use (items, spells, races, free templates), have tremendous bang for your buck (+3 or higher feats), or otherwise be easy to add to nearly any character. That sound good?
Races of note
Illumian, RoD: +2 untyped bonus with hoon sigil or +3 with a feat, no ability score modifiers
Spellscale, RotD: +HD/2 racial bonus with Lendys Blood Quickening plus the dragonblood subtype, though there is a racial Con penalty. Overall superior choice.
Any psionic race: see entry for Wild Talent below
Feats
Skill Focus (Concentration, SRD): +3 untyped; not great, but not terrible. Best for games with DM's who want to minimize the total number of splats used.
Steady Concentration feat, RoS: lets you always take 10 on any Concentration check. Simple, powerful, and adds predictability and dependability to perhaps your most important skill checks. Simply outstanding.
Wild Talent, SRD: gain a power point reserve from any source, including this feat, allows you to become psionically focused. Expending your psionic focus lets you effectively 'take 15' on a concentration check. Hard to make use of more than once per fight unless you take the Psionic Meditation feat to regain focus as a move action without provoking AoO.
Blade Meditation (Diamond Mind), ToB: +1 untyped to your chosen discipline's key skill, incidental benefits for martial adepts. Not bad.
Shape Soulmeld (Vitality Belt, MoI): gives +4 Morale which is a common type, but can be raised to +6 with one point of bound essentia from an incarnum race or another feat.
Draconic Aura (Resolve DM): if Dragonblood, scaling untyped(?) bonus capped at +5, with extra goodies, hits allies within 30'. Good on an ally or cohort if feat starved.
Leadership (Marshal - Motivate Constitution, SRD+Mini): This would be the cohort to have, since his/her cha can be optimized independently and benefit the whole party to boot. Slightly cheesy, but nothing like...
Item Familiar (skill point investment option effectively doubles skill ranks, SRD): One of the cheesiest options, and of more use optimizing a spellcaster's Spellcraft for Epic spell research/casting, but included for completeness.
Traits
Focused: +1 Concentration, -1 Spot/Listen. A good trade off for a Warblade or caster, not as good for a Swordsage.
Illiterate: +1 to any one skill chosen at CharGen, can't read, can buy literacy with 2 skill points. Good for non-wizards, maybe non-casters generally.
Items
Masterwork Tool, SRD: +2 circumstance for measly 50GP in theory, but in practice I'm not sure what kind of mundane item would help you concentrate while in combat without needing to be held/manipulated/etc. Maybe some super comfortable silk underclothes or something similar? Any ideas?
Githcraft armor and shield, DMGII: +1 untyped bonus each for ~600GP a pop. Of most benefit when wearing many individual armor pieces: Chain Shirt + Dastana + Chahar-Aina + two bucklers (or shield + buckler) = +5 untyped bonus and costs only slightly more than a +5 competence slotted item without taking up a magic item slot. Beautiful.
Mordrei'in, FoE: +2 alchemical bonus for 10 minutes, craft-able by any magic user in the group for cheap with no XP cost or craft feats. 25GP
Tunic of steady spellcasting, MiC: +5 competence bonus, hands free, 2,500GP. Consider trading up for a Third Eye Concentrate later on.
Third Eye Concentrate, MiC: +10 Competence bonus, hands free, 10,000GP. That about sums it up.
Eternal Wand of Heroism, SRD + ECS: +2 morale bonus to skills and other things for minutes/level. Good as a pre-combat buff if not using other Morale bonus sources. 10,900GP, iirc
Potion or Wand of Focusing Chant, SpC: +1 untyped but not stackable with itself, combat duration, probably will take up too many actions at this point unless ambushing the enemy
Luckstone/Stone of Good Luck, SRD: +1 luck bonus and hands free, but expensive at 20,000GP.
Spells/Powers
Heroism, SRD, level 2: +2 Morale bonus plus other stuff, easy to find ally to cast even at low levels.
Greater Heroism, SRD, level 5-6: +4 morale bonus plus goodies, higher level caster ally can oblige
Recitation, SpC, level 3-4: +2 luck bonus to whole party within radius
Templates
Arctic, DR 306: +2 Con, -2 Cha, other stuff. Cancels out stat mods of Spellscale, and neither setting specific nor flavor specific.
Dragonborn of Bahamut, RotD: +2 Con, -2 Dex, other stuff, weird/possibly restrictive fluff text. Costs 100GP, but acquired rather than inherited, and grants dragonblood.
Necropolitan (any undead will do, but this one has LA+0), LM: Lose con score, gain Charisma to concentration and fort saves. Undead immunities, which are pretty damn good, and can still be healed normally and heal from resting. Not bad for losing a level and some gold.
Magic Blooded, DR 306: +2 Cha, -2 Wis, stuff. Good if coupled with Necropolitan or a Martial dip for Motivate Constitution.