9th level Sapphire Hierarch in need of a feat

[Zombimode]

My Azurin -> Gnome -> Half-Orc (Reincarnation is fun!) Sapphire Hierarch just hit character level 9. Cleric 3 / Incarnate 2 / Sapphire Hierarch 4 to be precise.

I have spent quite some time thinking about my feat choice but I just can't come to a decision.

Right now these three are on my short-list:

Power Attack: Ice Axe + Power Attack is very nice indeed. But without Ice Axe, Power Attack is nearly unusable for my character since my Bab is... well, lets not talk about my Bab :smallfrown:
Divine Power + Ice Axe would be ideal, but this would be two rounds worth of buffing. I don't know if there is time for that.
I'm also worried that Ice Axe will not that great against the enemies we are likely to face in the future. Currently we are (probably) in some layer of the Abyss and demonic foes are quite common. Undead in general are a big focus in this campaign. Frost damage might not be reliable.
Is Power Attack worth it for Ice Axe alone?

Open Least Chakra: I'm a Meldshaper so getting more meldshaping online would be thematic. Also considering the second chakra bind I get at this level. My two Incarnate levels only allow me to bind my Crown chakra.
The problem is, Hand and Feet chakras are the only other options for Open Least Chakra and those don't really provide something interesting to my character. Feet chakra is problematic anyway since I don't want to part with my Anklets of Translocation.
Also Feet and Hand chakras are available at the cost of a 4th level spell if I really need it.

Soulsight: It's incarnum related and adds a new ability to my character. With my usual selection of soulmelds I have essentia to spare so allocating two essentia to this feat would pose no problem.
The question is: is a move action for 10 ft. blindsense actually worth the feat and action cost?


But maybe there is something else I'm not thinking of.

All books are open, no Dragon Mag.


Additional information:

This campaign will last till level 11 according to the GM, MAYBE level 12, though I doubt it. So for at the matters this will be my last feat choice.

My current feats are: Law Devotion (amazing!), Expanded Soulmeld Capacity, Incarnum Spellshaping (I had to take an Incarnum feat to meet the prerequisites for Sapphire Hierarch at level 6 since I lost my racial Essentia point during the Reincarnation), and Practiced Spellcaster.

Any help is appreciated :smallsmile:

[Name1]

I'd say Open Least Chakra seems to be the most interesting choice because it does provide some options... It's just that 10-feet blindsense aren't that impressive, especially if it costs an action.

Power Attack can be gained using a constant item of "Heroics", basically giving you Power Attack for free, which you can get for the price of 8400gp if you really want it, but if the campaign really is as Udead-focused as you say it is, it might not be worth it.

[Zaq]

You're still with that character? That's awesome! I remember you starting a thread debating whether the concept was still viable after you got Reincarnated into a gnome. As I recall, I think I urged you to stick it out (since being a gnome isn't that bad) but also ended up being the one who pointed out that you needed to bootstrap up your essentia somehow. It's actually really cool that you're with the same character. Makes me feel a real sense of community to be helping with a character I remember helping a ways back, you know? Maybe I'm overthinking it.

(That thread did happen, right? I'm not talking about something totally different and looking like a fool in the process?)

Anyway, it looks like you've got a pretty solid short list already. If you're worried about Ice Axe's cold damage being a liability later on, you might look into Energy Substitution, though of course, demons tend to have a whole lot of resistances at once, and that does come at the cost of a precious feat. Open Least Chakra is never a bad idea if your GM interprets it in the way I do, which it sounds like they do. Shape Soulmeld is also useful for poaching melds off of other lists. Bonus Essentia is useful simply because there is no such thing as enough essentia, right? I wouldn't go with Soulsight unless you've got some kind of trick up your sleeve making it better than it normally is.

I like incarnum in general, so I tend to lean towards feats like Bonus Essentia or Open X Chakra on characters who can make use of them. I'd probably go with one of those. Power Attack probably will see some good use, but like you said, it's dependent on Ice Axe to really shine. Having extra essentia, on the other hand, is useful pretty much 100% of the time, you know? I don't think you'd regret taking either, but that's my opinion.

Of course, you could always just go sideways and take a wacky flavor feat like Spirit Sense (Heroes of Horror) or something. This character's certainly died enough, and with connections to divine magic and to soulstuff, it's pretty flavorful (assuming that your GM doesn't play it with 100% strict RAW, since strict RAW basically makes it a pointless feat). Or going in another direction, there's my favorite feat ever: Fell Conspiracy, from Exemplars of Evil. (The feat isn't evil at all.) It has nothing to do with your current set of feats, but I'm pretty sure that you'd qualify for it, and the feat is phenomenal for basically everyone, since everyone can benefit from party-wide telepathy and from a gigantic typeless bonus to Spot and Listen that applies to the whole group. (It costs a trivial amount of gp per day, but I promise you that it's worth it—and since everyone benefits, you can share the costs.)

Anyway, you're lucky to still have a stable game after so long, and you probably will have fun with most of the options you listed.

[Troacctid]

Open Least Chakra is never a bad idea if your GM interprets it in the way I do, which it sounds like they do.
Sapphire Hierarchs are actually about the only time where it's useful even if you don't take the permissive interpretation of it giving you an extra chakra bind, because they're one of the only classes that advance your chakra binds without unlocking new chakras.

On the other hand, since you can unlock all your least chakras with 4th level spell slots anyway, it's probably not worth a feat slot. I think Bonus Essentia is probably better.

[Zombimode]

@ Name1

Yeah, I tend to agree with you on Soulsight.
An item of constant Heroics is not an existing magic item so that is not an option.


@ Zaq

Yeah, that's me :smallsmile:
And yes, I made a thread back then. I really like this character from 1st level till now in all his incarnations. Being a Gnome was awesome. I still catch myself occasionally thinking of him as a Gnome, although he is a Half-Orc for quite a while now. So thank you for reassuring me to stick with this character :smallsmile:

Regarding Open Chakra: Lets see what the actual benefits would be. Crown is already open to me. Feet would be a bad option since I value my Anklets of Translocation very highly. They are lifesavers! That leaves Hands. For Hand chakra there are:

Lightning Gauntlets: Requires me to make non-touch attacks with a melee weapon. Not exactly my strength. I'm more of a Dissolving Spittle guy anyway.

Lucky Dice: A party-wide buff at a negligible action cost is good. This is probably worth a feat. Still, I have some reservations: first, I do not normally "prepare" Lucky Dice. I would have to sacrifice one of my other to-go Soulmelds for this (probably Bluesteel Bracers). Second, the bonus type overlaps with the Recitation spell which I get as a 3rd level domain spell. Only relevant once per day, but still disappointing. Third, I don't like the flavor of Lucky Dice for this particular character. He is a paragon of Law and Purification, not a gambler.

Sighting Gloves: While I actually do make quite a few ranged touch attacks (Dissolving Spittle, spells like the Light of XY line), the lack of Precise Shot has rarely been an issue. Also I'm not sure if the Soulmeld itself would much of a benefit to my character. How does Sighting Gloves interact with Dissolving Spittle and ranged touch attack spells?

Theft Gloves: Yeah, no.

And thats about it.


Regarding Extra Essentia: I'm not sure if I could make use of it, honestly. Maybe there is something wrong with my usual selection of Soulmelds.


I've looked into your other suggestions. Spirit Sense looks nice, but the time limit in minutes makes it a hard sell. While it is true that most locations we travel to will have something horrible happen to them at some point, we usually do not arrive "at the nick of time" such that Spirit Sense would be usable.
Fell Conspiracy: an actually good ceremony feat? I'm amazed! I'm a bit on the edge flavorwise, but it's usefulness stands without question.


Another (lazy) option would be to take Extra Slot for an additional level 3 spell slot. Level 3 cleric spells are pretty good and seeing as this campaign will not reach level 12 the extra slot will likely retain its usefulness for the rest of the campaign.


@ Troacctid

You mean that the feat itself does not provide a chakra bind, only opens up which chakras you can bind soulmelds to? I honestly haven't even thought about that. But as you've noticed it doesn't matter in my case since I do have a chakra bind to spare.

[Fizban]

Might I suggest a Reserve feat? Demonic broad spectrum energy resistance is a pain, but sonic damage from Clap of Thunder does not care. Depending on DM ruling you may even be able to add the damage from Ice Axe when using it, but you don't need any special rulings to Clap while holding a touch spell since those deliver weather you like it or not.

Necrocarnum Acolyte or a particularly weasily reading of Shape Soulmeld could get you the Necrocarnum Circlet, one of the best soulmelds there is. Extra Slot is boring but functional, agreed.