Optimizing a Daelkyr Half-Blood Soul Manifester

[Aerris]

I've had this character idea in the back of my head for a long while, but it seems i just can't make it work, especially since it would be my first time playing with Incarnum. Basically, I was thinking of making a Daelkyr half-blood classic psion, but read that Incarnum and psionics mesh rather well together so I wanted to give it a try.

I only have the basic idea, no build or anything else. All official books allowed, dragon mag too. I was thinking with going with egoist for the psionic side and totemist for the meldshaping (because symbionts = natural attacks, right?) but that's about it, don't have an idea where should I take the character next, and cant think of any synergies between the three factors (daelkyr, psion, totemist) worth mentioning.

Open for all suggestions. :smallsmile:

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I was originally going to make a Totemist/Psion/Soul Manifester in the game I'm currently playing, but went with a Beguiler instead for multiple game-specific reasons.

I was going to use Dragonborn Warforged and use the natural slam attack plus the Jaws of Death and Dragon Tail feats for three natural weapons. Shaper is generally the best discipline to use for a Warforged, for Psionic Repair Damage plus using Psionic Minor Creation to cover yourself in Black Lotus Extract poison.

Be sure to get Midnight Augmentation and Bestow Power to refill your power points after buffing and between encounters.

[Red Fel]

I've had this character idea in the back of my head for a long while, but it seems i just can't make it work, especially since it would be my first time playing with Incarnum. Basically, I was thinking of making a Daelkyr half-blood classic psion, but read that Incarnum and psionics mesh rather well together so I wanted to give it a try.

I only have the basic idea, no build or anything else. All official books allowed, dragon mag too. I was thinking with going with egoist for the psionic side and totemist for the meldshaping (because symbionts = natural attacks, right?) but that's about it, don't have an idea where should I take the character next, and cant think of any synergies between the three factors (daelkyr, psion, totemist) worth mentioning.

Open for all suggestions. :smallsmile:

Incarnum, you say? Why hello!

Okay. Before we do anything else, let's look at the synergy goal - Soul Manifester (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a). Plus side, this class gives full manifesting and full meldshaping progression. Minus side, it's a caster chassis. (The 5/10 BAB and good Will save are a bit of a giveaway.) Also, remember, it only grants chakra binds for the crown, feet, hands, arms, brow, and shoulders.

So, the question becomes what do you want for this build?

Now, Psion/Incarnate/Soul Manifester is a great combo. I've done it on a Tibbit. There are plenty of soulmelds that augment plenty of different styles of Psion. Mobility, mind control, blasting, there are plenty. Building for a Totemist is... Trickier.

Now, let's be clear where the biggest two areas of tricky are - first, Psion and Soul Manifester are caster-oriented classes, with low BAB, while Totemist is a melee chassis with good BAB. Second, action economy - many of your combat actions as a Psion are likely to conflict with a full attack action, which is Totemist's bread and butter. Put differently, unless you go with an Egoist and buff, you're probably not going to be able to use many of your powers and full attack in the same round. Contrast that with the Incarnate, for whom most soulmelds provide a passive benefit rather than an active one.

So those will be your two big areas. But as mentioned, we can overcome that. Let's say you plan to go with Egoist, for the psychometabolism powers. (As an aside, look here (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070314a). There are two Egoist ACFs, both have the potential to be of use to you.) Now, Soul Manifester requires 2nd-level powers and the ability to shape three soulmelds and bind one. That means you're looking at Psion 3, Totemist 2 for entry. You enter SM at level 5; you finish at level 15. So let's look at where it leaves you.

At level 15, going Psion 3/ Totemist 2/ SM 10, you have 7 BAB, 7/7/10 saves, 147 PP, 25 powers known, max 7th level, 6 soulmelds shaped, 9 essentia, 3 chakras bound at once, and you may bind soulmelds to the totem, crown, feet, hands, arms, brow, and shoulders. Got all that?

Now, with access to 7th-level powers, you can do a decent job of buffing yourself. The question is, what can you do with your soulmelds? Remember that many Totemist natural weapon soulmelds consist of either "When shaped, you gain a pair of claws," or "When bound to your totem chakra, you gain a cool weapon like a tail or a bite or a spray or something." So you're dealing with some exclusivity.

As an aside, this is why Dragonborn Totemists are so popular. With the Dragonblood subtype, you can use Draconic Soulmelds, several of which provide natural weapons without having to bind them. But let's see what we can do with what we have, hmm?

Okay. So assuming you're not Draconic in some way, here's something we can do. First, shape Girallon Arms to the Arms chakra, bind it to the Totem chakra. That's one of your three binds, and basically mandatory in a build-of-many-natural-weapons. Next, shape Sphinx Claws on the Hands chakra, bind them there. That's bind #2. While the Claws don't give you a claw attack unless you bind them to the Totem chakra (which you can't, because Girallon Arms is there) you can always use Metamorphosis to become something with a native claw attack. (Sadly, Psions don't automatically gain access to the Claws of the Beast power, which would be slightly perfect here.) Your third and final bind will be the Totem Avatar to the Shoulders chakra. This causes all natural weapons to deal damage as if they were one size category larger. You want this thing. For your remaining three shaped soulmelds, you can go with Dread Carapace (for natural weapons damage), and then pretty much whatever.

All said and done, your combat plan will likely be to Metamorphosis into something with natural weapons, then throw on top of that your four claw attacks from Girallon Arms, your pounce from Sphinx Claws, your bonus damage from Totem Avatar and Dread Carapace. Be warned that, at level 15, 7 BAB is a bit embarassing, but with enough attacks every round, you're likely to hit at some point.

[Aerris]

I was originally going to make a Totemist/Psion/Soul Manifester in the game I'm currently playing, but went with a Beguiler instead for multiple game-specific reasons.

I was going to use Dragonborn Warforged and use the natural slam attack plus the Jaws of Death and Dragon Tail feats for three natural weapons. Shaper is generally the best discipline to use for a Warforged, for Psionic Repair Damage plus using Psionic Minor Creation to cover yourself in Black Lotus Extract poison.

Be sure to get Midnight Augmentation and Bestow Power to refill your power points after buffing and between encounters.

Nice, think i saw that build (or a similar one) somewhere, and it really does rock, nothing screams awesome more than a warforged infused with dragon blood smashing everything with his bare hands. :smallbiggrin: Shame you didn't get to play him, but oh well, Beguilers rock too. And yeah, Midnight augmenting is a must-get. :) Sadly, I'm really not in the mood for warforged atm (or should i say psiforged?). Thx for the tips though :smallsmile:


Incarnum, you say? Why hello!

Hello to you too, and thanks for tons of awesome advice :smallbiggrin:
The only reason I'm going totemist is cause i thought there would be some nice (both fluffy and crunchy) synergy between daelkyr symbionts and the class, but more I read, more I want to take Incarnate instead. :smallbiggrin: Actually, the only reason I'd stick with totemist is cause I'd hate to see all your good advice go to waste. The passive benefits of Incarnate would benefit the original character idea more, as I was thinking of playing a "regular" psion with bunch of utility provided by meldshaping. On a side note, any prc suggestions for the five levels after i finish with the Soul Manifester? I was thinking of taking Legacy Champion so I'd finish with 17 manifesting/16 meldshaping, but any full or 4/5 manifesting class would do. :smallbiggrin:

[Vaz]

Ardent is a decent base for Soul Manifester. It is very multiclass friendly, and if you really want to improve its power, include the Substitute Powers ACF and ask for Spell to Power Erudites within the setting. It is so you can get Spells as Powers. You can cheese that as much as you want (bargain bin divine spells, wyrm wizard to arcane, etc) to get some specific spells.

It is really good. Its one limitation is its powers known (21 all told, from 1-20, obviously less if you multiclass).

The one thing it can do is grapple. Girallon Arms, Metamoprhosis, Grip of Iron and Expansion gets you colossal size, and a further +20 for the check. Divine Power picked up by the above method nets you full BAB as well to make you the grappler sublime making melee something to do if you want to.

Telepath Psion is another thing. You can net one of the few ways to get the telepathy ability without blocking off your Crown Chakra so you can Mindsight. There are some Psionic only soulmelds which benefit such in the archives.

[Red Fel]

Hello to you too, and thanks for tons of awesome advice :smallbiggrin:
The only reason I'm going totemist is cause i thought there would be some nice (both fluffy and crunchy) synergy between daelkyr symbionts and the class, but more I read, more I want to take Incarnate instead. :smallbiggrin: Actually, the only reason I'd stick with totemist is cause I'd hate to see all your good advice go to waste. The passive benefits of Incarnate would benefit the original character idea more, as I was thinking of playing a "regular" psion with bunch of utility provided by meldshaping. On a side note, any prc suggestions for the five levels after i finish with the Soul Manifester? I was thinking of taking Legacy Champion so I'd finish with 17 manifesting/16 meldshaping, but any full or 4/5 manifesting class would do. :smallbiggrin:

Well, if you're going with Incarnate, then you have a lot of options opening up. You might consider going with a more "master of puppets" approach, with your symbionts being your adorable pets/minions.

Basically, same opening, Psion 3/ Incarnate 2. But before you go for that leap into Soul Manifester, consider two things.

First, if you take a Psion (Telepath) to level 5, you can get the Telepathy ACF in place of your fifth-level feat. That can already make you creepy - talking into somebody's head. It also qualifies you for the Mindsight feat, which makes you even creepier. (Four words: "I can see you...") The downside is that it delays everything else.

Second, one word that opens up a world of magical possibilities: Thrallherd. You only need one level, and you can take it after Psion 5 (or after Psion 3/ ... / Soul Manifester 2). Quick dip. It gives you a cohort that's better than any you might get from Leadership: one at your level -1, as opposed to -2. Yes, you lose 1 ML, but you gain a cohort, and best of all, if it dies, you get another. Creepy puppetmaster, go! You can also use the Charming Veil soulmeld to augment your psionic compulsion abilities.

You might also consider shaping the Soulspark Familiar soulmeld, and treating it as yet another form of symbiont.

What are some other soulmelds that are good for a Psion, particularly one with a Daelkyr bent? Let's go down by slot. Remember that as an Incarnate 2/ SM 10, you'll have access to crown, feet, hands, arms, brow, and shoulder binds. Crown: Enigma Helm is very flavorful - fluff it that your alien mind (and the chattering voices of your symbionts) prevent divinations from working quite right. If bound, immunity to enchantment. Or, if you want to go with an Egoist, consider the Crystal Helm- deflection bonus to AC, and melee attacks become force attacks if you bind. In other words, you can touch ghosts. Feet: Cerulean Sandals, you can fly. Done. Good for everyone, fun for the whole family. Hands: Lucky Dice. As shaped, they're really useful; if bound, your party will thank you. Arms: Bluesteel Bracers are useful for initiative. Great for the party if bound. But since your Psion, even if he's an Egoist, may not be using actual weapons, don't bother investing essentia in them. Alternatively, Astral Vambraces are a great choice for a combat-oriented Egoist. Honestly, this slot doesn't give Psions a lot of options. Brow: Charming Veil is good for a mind-control style. Psion's Eyes are okay if you decide not to take the Telepathy ACF. And Silvertongue Mask is good if you're the party face. Shoulders: These are mostly defensive. Adamant Pauldrons and Lammasu Mantle are useful for a melee-oriented build (again, Egoist); Wind Cloak is good if you expect to deal with archers. Other than that, this doesn't offer you much. Throat: From here on out, you won't be able to bind these without feats. But let's have a look. Psychic Focus is useful if you go with a blaster-Psion. Dissolving Spittle is great for the exact opposite - if you want to save your powers for control and utility, Dissolving Spittle gives you an easy ranged touch attack for when you don't want to waste PP in combat. Planar Ward, again for mind control issues. Waist: Strongheart Vest protects against all ability damage, but Vitality Belt can give you a massive pool of bonus HP. Heart: Strongheart Vest again, and Spellward Shirt is worthy of notice if you know what's coming. Soul: Fellmist Robe is great, since you probably don't want to be in melee range - concealment is perpetually useful. Incarnate Avatar may be useful, depending on whether your alignment matches your role (the Good bonus to AC is great for anyone, the Chaos bonus is only useful for blasters, and Law and Evil obviously favor melee).
As for what to do with that last batch of levels, it depends on what you want out of your class features. Generally speaking, CL (or in this case, manifester level) is paramount in importance; you could do worse than taking another five levels of Psion.