Incorporeal Character Builds

[Draconium]

I just had a thought cross my mind. Let's say you, as a player, decided to play a creature of some sort that had the Incoporeal subtype, and you managed to offset the LA and/or RHD of said creature, via something like gestalting. What kind of build would benefit the most from said subtype? I have had little to no experience with incorporeal creatures before, so I thought I'd ask.

[Demidos]

Incorporeal creature's have no body (that's their whole schtick after all), and as such should play that to their advantage. What takes advantage of that? Well let's think...pretty much everyone appreciates not being hit, and it is likely a boost to pretty much anyone. But that's too easy. Having no body also means that you are more mobile, and more difficult to pin down.

A chessmaster character with disposable minions jumps to mind, as they could carry out their actions with little fear of reprisal.

An assassin that can bypass common walls and guards is one that could strike fear into many.

[Jack_Simth]

I just had a thought cross my mind. Let's say you, as a player, decided to play a creature of some sort that had the Incoporeal subtype, and you managed to offset the LA and/or RHD of said creature, via something like gestalting. What kind of build would benefit the most from said subtype? I have had little to no experience with incorporeal creatures before, so I thought I'd ask.
If you're doing it via LA, then you probably can't turn it off easily. In that instance, then you need a way to ignore the pesky problem of the difficulties in re-equipping. That usually means "Be a full caster" and "avoid a spellbook dependancy".

Oh yes, and as most incorporeal critters fly, look up Flyby Attack from the Monster Manual. Very sweet combo with Incoproreality and some form of effective ranged attack (like spells). Use the ground for full cover between turns, a ring of x-ray vision (if undead) or a scrying target to navigate and avoid AoO's. Readied and Immediate actions can still get you, but you spend most of your time essentially immune to attack.

[AvatarVecna]

Recently, I stumbled across an interesting template combo that I ended up using in a gestalt game: the Telthor template (http://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/templates/telthor.shtml) essentially makes you a hearth spirit (or something similar). You're incorporeal, all your melee attacks target Touch AC, you use Dex instead of Str for melee attacks (including big weapons), and your AC is higher. The biggest downside is that you take damage if you wander outside your "home ground", whatever that may be.

The Saint Template (http://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/templates/saint.shtml) from BoED is a pretty awesome template for LA +2; Wis to AC, +2 to save DCs, new vision senses, some built-in casting, some attribute bumps, some resistances, some immunities, some DR...and some Fast Healing. Fast Healing means that damage you take from wandering outside your "home ground" now gets means Jack Diddly.

When I used this for a gestalt game recently, my build was Venerable Human Telthor LA 2/Monk 2/Martial Rogue 2/Saint LA 2/Martial Rogue +X//Cloistered Cleric 5/Sacred Fist X, with Vow of Poverty stuff. The dude was a melee monster even before he started buffing: double Wis to AC, Wis to attack (Intuitive Attack), attacks targeting Touch AC, Evasion, high saves across the board, Knowledge Devotion, a stack of knowledge skills, and bunch of extra feats. It was fun while it lasted, and the character was fun to build out to 20, even when I knew we wouldn't reach 9th...

[Rubik]

I'd go savage progression ghost, using LA buyoff on each "level" at a time so there's never more than 1 LA to buy off. Make sure I get malevolence so I can possess others.

And then I'd go psion/thrallherd and possess my thrall so nobody even knows I'm a ghost. My thrall takes all the damage, and if he dies, I can simply escape invisibly and wait until another thrall appears. I would, of course, choose my thralls such that I can use their physical abilities while taking advantage of my mental ones.

Also, make sure you take the Ghostly Grasp feat so you can interact with the world at your whim, and you can add the ghost touch special quality from Savage Species to any and all items that you want to apply to your person, such as your headband of Intellect.

[OldTrees1]

What kind of build would benefit the most from said subtype? I have had little to no experience with incorporeal creatures before, so I thought I'd ask.

A Rogue. Incorporeal makes it easier to break into places. Incorporeal makes it harder to be affected by traps & gives you an advantage in detecting/diffusing/bypassings/avoiding traps. Incorporeal also helps you hide via convienent total cover. Incorporeal also affects skill use by allowing you to be memorable when seen but seen only when wished.

[Inevitability]

A shadow from Savage Species is a surprisingly good character. At low levels, you can either eliminate or avoid most threats, and at higher levels you can have an army of spawns. From there, I'd go with marshall, bard or cleric, focusing on the 'Legion's' spells. When you encounter something immune to strength damage, either attack it with a ghost touch weapon or just cast a few deliberating spells at it.

[HalfQuart]

From there, I'd go with marshall, bard or cleric...
The problem with Bard is all the Inspire class features are mind-affecting, and both you and your spawn are undead, and thus immune to mind-affecting effects. Marshal auras are not mind-affecting, FWIW.

[ExLibrisMortis]

The problem with Bard is all the Inspire class features are mind-affecting, and both you and your spawn are undead, and thus immune to mind-affecting effects. Marshal auras are not mind-affecting, FWIW.
There is a feat in Libris Mortis, Requiem, that allows you to affect undead with bardic music, with half the duration.

You might be able to do some nasty incorporeal stuff with the spectral savant template (incorporeal touch for 1 negative level or power points, use with necrotic focus weapon and lots of attacks, +4 LA), and the unbodied is great because it's incorporeal, but also a monstrous humanoid (template fun), and it gets 4th-level telepath manifesting with its 4 RHD. If you rule that it gets +1 level of manifesting with each additional HD, it's pretty much a full-base-attack psion. Also +4 LA.

Psionics in general are nice for incorporeal creatures, as you never have material components or spellbooks.

I also really like the phantom template (sort of hybrid incorporealty), but it's LA --, which makes it somewhat harder to use.

[ShurikVch]

Disembodied Spirit (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/pg/20030924a) template is LA: +0
Lack of normal attacks and "only a single move action each turn" may look unfavorably, but "no attacks" doesn't mean "no special attacks", and you still have a good old Free Action - thus Quicken Spell/Power/Turning/Breath :smallwink:

[mabriss lethe]

The ghost template from Ghostwalk is my go-to solution. You can even negate the annoying rules by filling up one side of your gestalt with eidolon/eidonloncer levels. (assuming that the DM doesn't just throw those rules out anyway)

[MasterFu]

Psion Uncarnate or Fiend of Possession would be ways to prestige into incorporeality, depending on the game.

If it was me, I'd be all about the possession/magic jar shenanigans. With some way to alter your appearance, it might take other people a long time to catch on. As a bonus, it would give you a Con or Str score for those times you needed one.

[Uncle Pine]

4 words: Fiend of Possession Dvati.

EDIT: Make it 5. Fiend of Possession Dvati cohort.

[HalfQuart]

Make it 5. Fiend of Possession Dvati cohort.
I had to google that one.... for reference, Fiend of Possession is a PrC from Fiend Folio page 204; Dvati is a race from Dragon Compendium, page 14.