Best Levels for Unarmed Swordsage/Psychic Warrior

[Enyo]

I've been having a problem on combining the two provided it isn't cringe-worthy.

The character concept is basically a human unarmed fighter who does a lot of darting around and smacking people with psychic claws that also heal and using other offensive maneuvers either in between activating them unless you can't use dancing/raging mongoose, unless I'm completely mistaken by that last part.

What would be the best levels for both classes where one isn't severely gimping the other? If it can't be helped, are there any alternatives to fit the mold?

[ExLibrisMortis]

You can do something like swordsage 1/psychic warrior 2/swordsage +1/psychic warrior +2 and so on. That way, every swordsage level you take coincides with a new level of maneuvers being available. Straight psychic warrior is already quite powerful; swordsage 1 probably adds good options, but after a few levels, the loss in manifesting becomes too big.

Consider Tashalatora (a feat from Eberron, Secrets of Sarlona) to get flurry and damage as a monk with a level equal to your psychic warrior level.

[Enyo]

You can do something like swordsage 1/psychic warrior 2/swordsage +1/psychic warrior +2 and so on. That way, every swordsage level you take coincides with a new level of maneuvers being available. Straight psychic warrior is already quite powerful; swordsage 1 probably adds good options, but after a few levels, the loss in manifesting becomes too big.

Consider Tashalatora (a feat from Eberron, Secrets of Sarlona) to get flurry and damage as a monk with a level equal to your psychic warrior level.

So you're saying to take two levels of psychic warrior for every swordsage level?

I know that going straight psywar's good since I get more power points each day, but I'm only interested in those claw moves move than anything else.

And doesn't unarmed swordsage get the same damage progression with fighting without weapons as a monk?

[Pluto!]

I would definitely homebrew a dual-progression class for this. Lots of things going on here that don't combine to be overwhelmingly powerful.

But if you treat homebrew as a four-letter word, Swordsage -> Warmind gets faster power progression, full BA, a rage variant and Sweeping Strike for automatic Steel Wind on every attack.

[Enyo]

Does manifester level work the same way as initiator level where the non-psionic classes are worth half of a point for determining the max number of spells I can learn on each level?

[Pluto!]

Does manifester level work the same way as initiator level where the non-psionic classes are worth half of a point for determining the max number of spells I can learn on each level?

Not as written. Houseruling it for ML purposes would be interesting, though.

[Enyo]

Darn, I thought it was like that.

Does needing to have instruction by another war mind an in-game thing or is it a thing I have to take in order to go from swordsage to psychic warrior to war mind?

[Troacctid]

Talk to your DM about fulfilling the "Instruction by another War Mind" prerequisite. (Note that, per EPH, it can also be met by having access to Talariic texts.)

Since War Mind has its own manifesting progression, you don't really need to take any levels in Psychic Warrior first, since they won't stack anyway. Instead, you can just play a psionic race--Xeph, Synad, Elan, and Kalashtar are all pretty solid--and use some other method of gaining Knowledge (Psionics) as a class skill, such as the Knowledge Devotion feat.

Also take note of the Practiced Manifester feat, which will shore up the manifester levels you lost as a Swordsage.

[Enyo]

I can only skip psychic warrior if I choose to become a different race?

[Troacctid]

War Mind requires a power point reserve, but not the ability to actually manifest powers. If you play a psionic race that gets power points naturally, you don't need to take any levels in psionic classes to qualify--you could go straight into Swordsage 5/War Mind 10. You could also spend a feat on Wild Talent, but wasting a feat kind of defeats the purpose of being a human. (Although if you're set on being human, you could always be from one of Complete Psionic's six hidden houses.)

[Nyaa]

Ca I post PF things in threads without PF tag? Meditant (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/psychic-warrior/archetypes/dreamscarred-press/meditant) Pathwalker (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/psychic-warrior/archetypes/dreamscarred-press/pathwalker-psychic-warrior-archetype) PF Psywar (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/psychic-warrior) does exactly what you want without headache of calculating "right" levels to take swordsage.

[Enyo]

War Mind requires a power point reserve, but not the ability to actually manifest powers. If you play a psionic race that gets power points naturally, you don't need to take any levels in psionic classes to qualify--you could go straight into Swordsage 5/War Mind 10.You could also spend a feat on Wild Talent, but wasting a feat kind of defeats the purpose of being a human. (Although if you're set on being human, you could always be from one of Complete Psionic's six hidden houses.)

If I'm not reading that wrong, I guess I'll just take the Wild Talent feat and grind for my requirements until right after human Swordsage 4 to go Warmind 6.

[Urpriest]

Unless you have access to Beast Strike, you probably want to use either Claws or Unarmed Strikes, not both, considering that Claws of the Beast can't be used with other attacks.

[Troacctid]

If I'm not reading that wrong, I guess I'll just take the Wild Talent feat and grind for my requirements until right after human Swordsage 4 to go Warmind 6.

Okay, but make sure you take one of the variants from Complete Psionic so you get a bonus psi-like ability. And you can't get in with just Swordsage 4, since you need to be 5th level to have 8 ranks in Knowledge (Psionics).

[torrasque666]

Okay, but make sure you take one of the variants from Complete Psionic so you get a bonus psi-like ability. And you can't get in with just Swordsage 4, since you need to be 5th level to have 8 ranks in Knowledge (Psionics).
The Talaire don't get a "bonus" feat in addition to their base human bonus feat, its just that their human Bonus Feat is chosen for them. Its Wild Talent (Whatever). Check the house descriptions, all of them say "Instead of a free bonus feat, Talaire of House X have the Wild Talent (X) feat."

[Troacctid]

Yes, so if you're already spending a feat on Wild Talent, you may as well get the superior version of it.

[Enyo]

Okay, but make sure you take one of the variants from Complete Psionic so you get a bonus psi-like ability. And you can't get in with just Swordsage 4, since you need to be 5th level to have 8 ranks in Knowledge (Psionics).

You mean join up one of the Hidden Houses, be a certain racial class, or take another feat?

[torrasque666]

You mean join up one of the Hidden Houses, be a certain racial class, or take another feat?
Sidenote: The Hidden Houses would more akin to a Human Variant. Its not something you join, its something you're born into.

[Rubik]

Sidenote: The Hidden Houses would more akin to a Human Variant. Its not something you join, its something you're born into.Is one of the houses a barn? Because if people ever ask if you were born in one...

https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/1/31/229376__safe_applejack_pun_apple+family+reunion_ba rn_cereal_artist-colon-tim-dash-kangaroo_raise+this+barn_raisins.png

[Sagetim]

I've been having a problem on combining the two provided it isn't cringe-worthy.

The character concept is basically a human unarmed fighter who does a lot of darting around and smacking people with psychic claws that also heal and using other offensive maneuvers either in between activating them unless you can't use dancing/raging mongoose, unless I'm completely mistaken by that last part.

What would be the best levels for both classes where one isn't severely gimping the other? If it can't be helped, are there any alternatives to fit the mold?

My suggestion for maneuvers and what not would have been 'take sword sage as your last starting level' and or 'delay sword sage as long as possible'. But if you're going to go the war mind route, which is a good route to take, then that advice is rather pointless. Instead, you'll probably be wanting to sprinkle of some levels of swordsage throughout your war mind levels, assuming you have to actually use this build in a game and level up with it.

If you're starting at level 15 or 16 though, then you would go sword sage 5/warmind 10/more sword sage and get to have the benefit of those prc levels as counting for half on your maneuver picks for sword sage 6 to 10. The point of sprinkling extra sword sage levels while you're still getting the prc up to 10 would be to pick up a few higher level maneuvers or stances to use/abuse.

And don't forget mountain hammer. Mmmmm, mountain hammer. Delicious delicious Dr ignoring mountain hammer.

Edit: And if you're going tiger claw (because it sounds like you are) then remember to pick up stuff to boost your land speed, like a friendly wizard to cast haste on you, or boots of springing and striding, or items to boost your jump checks directly (remember that every +10 of move speed adds, what was it, +4 to jump checks? Nice.)

And if you've got tumble ranks, don't forget to pick up the desert wind stance for fire resistance. It may not be your best stance, but if your wizard friend needs to drop some fireballs, it lets you walk through them.