Zaq
2014-06-04, 05:26 PM
Once I get myself in a position where I might be able to use them, I basically can't help myself when it comes to making way, way more backup characters than I'll ever actually need. I'm sure many of you are the same way.
So in the game I'm currently playing, the GM has imposed a really strict book limit of two books per character, plus his "extended Core" (which for the purposes of this discussion basically means PHB2 and the XPH). And he's using the Psionics Is Different variant rule, though for the life of me I couldn't tell you why. Oh, and we can pull races from whatever book we like without counting as one of our two books. No idea why that's the case, but we don't practice dentistry on equines bestowed upon us.
Anyway, I've been thinking of preparing a skill-heavy character with some magic up his or her sleeve, just as a backup. (Yeah, I know, Bard and Beguiler are the easy options. I've already got a backup Bard, and I get the feeling that a Beguiler wouldn't do very well in this campaign, so let's leave those aside for now. This is already, like, backup character number four or five, and my present character isn't especially likely to bite the dust, so this is mostly academic anyway.) So I'm thinking a Spellthief with the feat Psithief (CSc), thereby able to work on both casters and manifesters. Now, Psithief requires that you have a manifester level, and unfortunately, Hidden Talent is very explicit about the fact that it doesn't give you a real manifester level. Shame, but the only thing to do is to dip into a real manifesting class. The smart thing to do would be to take Ardent with the Magic mantle, thereby giving the finger to the Psionics Is Different bunkum, but since my two books are used up by taking the Spellthief from CAd and the feat Psithief from CSc, I can't do that. And I can't take Psionic Rogue, because the GM doesn't like online stuff for some reason. (Honestly, if Psionic Rogue were an option, I'd probably just make this character one anyway!) Now's probably a good time to mention that I'd be looking at level 5.
So I'd have four levels of Spellthief and one level of some other class. The smart choice, to me, is Psion, because it's the only one that would give me more than a single power known. My ML is going to be a pitiful 1, because I can't use CPsi to get Practiced Manifester. This leads me into the meat of this topic, which has so far just been me rambling about background info.
First question, what three Psion powers are worth having at ML 1, given that the character is going to be skill-heavy and, well, a Spellthief? When I was plotting about having Practiced Manifester (before I remembered that it's in CPsi and not the XPH), I was thinking Inertial Armor was a no-brainer, but at ML 1, it's hardly worth the effort, as much because of the duration as because of the low bonus. Not sure what to replace it with, though, and I've got three total powers to choose.
Second question, what's a good way to make sure I can get sneak attacks, given that the party composition is rather fluid (so I may or may not have a flanking buddy)? Most of the easy methods involve using too many books (can't use Darkstalker, so stealth is dicey; don't have Spell Compendium, so wands of Wracking Touch are out; my CL is very low, so Grease, psionic or magical, is unreliable; can't spare a book on ToB, so I can't use Island of Blades . . .), and I've never actually made a sneak attacker with so many restrictions, so I'm not sure what I can do to ensure that I can actually steal spells when the time comes.
Third, any interesting ideas for what to do with my race? I was thinking a muckdweller might be fun, but the CHA penalty hurts my chances of using Spellthief spells, and the 0 ft reach basically locks me into ranged combat, which takes more feats than I probably have available (gotta get PBS and Precise Shot, after all, and that means I don't have a feat free for Psithief). Illumian would let me make my CL a little better, though not my ML. Kalashtar would give me plenty of PP to use on my three powers, but the fact that my ML remains a paltry 1 makes me question how useful it'll be to have those powers, no matter how many times per day I can use them. Neraph would make sneak attacking slightly easier, though the GM's the kind of guy who probably isn't 100% okay with a random giant frog joining the party.
This is probably doomed from the start; a character like this needs a few books to flourish, and that's something I just don't have. But dammit, I like a challenge now and again. Help me out, folks; what will turn this character from "you're doing WHAT?" to "huh, okay, I guess that works"? My sleeves are empty, and they're dying to be loaded with a trick or two. Sure, it's a backup character who's unlikely to see the light of day, but sometimes it's almost more fun to build a character than to play it. Any thoughts?
So in the game I'm currently playing, the GM has imposed a really strict book limit of two books per character, plus his "extended Core" (which for the purposes of this discussion basically means PHB2 and the XPH). And he's using the Psionics Is Different variant rule, though for the life of me I couldn't tell you why. Oh, and we can pull races from whatever book we like without counting as one of our two books. No idea why that's the case, but we don't practice dentistry on equines bestowed upon us.
Anyway, I've been thinking of preparing a skill-heavy character with some magic up his or her sleeve, just as a backup. (Yeah, I know, Bard and Beguiler are the easy options. I've already got a backup Bard, and I get the feeling that a Beguiler wouldn't do very well in this campaign, so let's leave those aside for now. This is already, like, backup character number four or five, and my present character isn't especially likely to bite the dust, so this is mostly academic anyway.) So I'm thinking a Spellthief with the feat Psithief (CSc), thereby able to work on both casters and manifesters. Now, Psithief requires that you have a manifester level, and unfortunately, Hidden Talent is very explicit about the fact that it doesn't give you a real manifester level. Shame, but the only thing to do is to dip into a real manifesting class. The smart thing to do would be to take Ardent with the Magic mantle, thereby giving the finger to the Psionics Is Different bunkum, but since my two books are used up by taking the Spellthief from CAd and the feat Psithief from CSc, I can't do that. And I can't take Psionic Rogue, because the GM doesn't like online stuff for some reason. (Honestly, if Psionic Rogue were an option, I'd probably just make this character one anyway!) Now's probably a good time to mention that I'd be looking at level 5.
So I'd have four levels of Spellthief and one level of some other class. The smart choice, to me, is Psion, because it's the only one that would give me more than a single power known. My ML is going to be a pitiful 1, because I can't use CPsi to get Practiced Manifester. This leads me into the meat of this topic, which has so far just been me rambling about background info.
First question, what three Psion powers are worth having at ML 1, given that the character is going to be skill-heavy and, well, a Spellthief? When I was plotting about having Practiced Manifester (before I remembered that it's in CPsi and not the XPH), I was thinking Inertial Armor was a no-brainer, but at ML 1, it's hardly worth the effort, as much because of the duration as because of the low bonus. Not sure what to replace it with, though, and I've got three total powers to choose.
Second question, what's a good way to make sure I can get sneak attacks, given that the party composition is rather fluid (so I may or may not have a flanking buddy)? Most of the easy methods involve using too many books (can't use Darkstalker, so stealth is dicey; don't have Spell Compendium, so wands of Wracking Touch are out; my CL is very low, so Grease, psionic or magical, is unreliable; can't spare a book on ToB, so I can't use Island of Blades . . .), and I've never actually made a sneak attacker with so many restrictions, so I'm not sure what I can do to ensure that I can actually steal spells when the time comes.
Third, any interesting ideas for what to do with my race? I was thinking a muckdweller might be fun, but the CHA penalty hurts my chances of using Spellthief spells, and the 0 ft reach basically locks me into ranged combat, which takes more feats than I probably have available (gotta get PBS and Precise Shot, after all, and that means I don't have a feat free for Psithief). Illumian would let me make my CL a little better, though not my ML. Kalashtar would give me plenty of PP to use on my three powers, but the fact that my ML remains a paltry 1 makes me question how useful it'll be to have those powers, no matter how many times per day I can use them. Neraph would make sneak attacking slightly easier, though the GM's the kind of guy who probably isn't 100% okay with a random giant frog joining the party.
This is probably doomed from the start; a character like this needs a few books to flourish, and that's something I just don't have. But dammit, I like a challenge now and again. Help me out, folks; what will turn this character from "you're doing WHAT?" to "huh, okay, I guess that works"? My sleeves are empty, and they're dying to be loaded with a trick or two. Sure, it's a backup character who's unlikely to see the light of day, but sometimes it's almost more fun to build a character than to play it. Any thoughts?