Raising levels

[m149307]

What are some tricks that I can use on my Ardent to raise his manifester level? I was hoping to abuse meta psionics at level 6.

[Kesnit]

Take the Overchannel feat from XPH. You can raise your manifester level by 1, 2, or 3, depending on your class level.

[Urpriest]

Take the Overchannel feat from XPH. You can raise your manifester level by 1, 2, or 3, depending on your class level.

That, and Anarchic Initiate to give you Wild Surge, are basically the only options unless you've got a particularly permissive interpretation of psionics-magic transparency. If you do, then various items that boost caster level will work.

[Troacctid]

A Torc of Power Preservation reduces the power point cost of all your powers by 1, which is a lot like increasing your manifester level. Similarly, the Metapower feat reduces the power point cost to use a metapsionic feat for a single power by 2 points (i.e. the psionic version of Arcane Thesis).

[m149307]

Ok so take Metapower, Anarchic Initiate, Overchannel, and buy a Torc of Power. How much is the Torc? And is it worth dipping into another psionic class for bonus feats? I am level 6 btw

[Troacctid]

Torc of Power Preservation is 36,000 gp. SRD link (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#torcofPowerPreservation)

[m149307]

Darn, dont have enough. Should I dip into Psion for bonus feats?

[Kesnit]

Darn, dont have enough. Should I dip into Psion for bonus feats?

Manifester levels don't stack, so dipping will put you farther behind.

[Rubik]

If you take the magic mantle (enforcing better-than-normal transparency), you can take the Supernatural Transformation (Psionics) feat, from Savage Species, to push your ML to equal your HD. It has all sorts of other benefits, but it's like Practiced Manifester on steroids, in that it's not capped at +4.

Reserves of Strength (along with the magic mantle, of course), will boost it by 3.

The Primitive Caster feat (see: magic mantle again) will boost it by up to 3, if you add in verbal/somatic/material components.

Three levels of illithid savant will allow you to eat the brain of a much higher manifester, giving you all the benefits that apply.

A metamagic (psionic) rod bound to your hands chakra as per MoI will boost your manifester level with any power you use with it.

A pair of psionic arcanist's gloves (made using psionic prereqs rather than arcane ones) will boost your ML when manifesting a level 1 power (which, happily, can be augmented without limit while still qualifying as a level 1 power).

(Greater) Consumptive Field can be learned from a properly optimized StP erudite, giving you a rather major boost, all on its own.

An orange ioun stone will boost all of your classes' manifester levels (and caster levels, too, if any).

There are all sorts of ways to boost your caster level (such as cleric domains), so combining all the ones you can get with the magic mantle will give you a rather large boost.