Psychic Rogue

[BigBry]

I am wanting to do a psychic rogue build (which I guess is the same as a psionic rogue build). I cant seem to find a breakdown of all their specifics; assuming one exists. Is there a breakdown somewhere for 3.5?

Thanks

[Troacctid]

The class can be found here (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723b). Psionic powers are listed on the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/indexes/psionicPowers.htm), except for several new ones that were introduced with the Psychic Rogue, which can be found here (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040723c).

[Psyren]

Also, some handsome devil wrote a handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?234327-3-5-Thinking-on-your-Feet-The-Psychic-Rogue-Handbook) or something.

[Troacctid]

Also, some handsome devil wrote a handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?234327-3-5-Thinking-on-your-Feet-The-Psychic-Rogue-Handbook) or something.
BTW, I notice Daelkyr Half-Blood is missing from the races section. It is quite good.

[Psyren]

BTW, I notice Daelkyr Half-Blood is missing from the races section. It is quite good.

They weren't a big part of my Eberron games so I couldn't really evaluate them, care to elaborate?

[Troacctid]

They weren't a big part of my Eberron games so I couldn't really evaluate them, care to elaborate?
Here's what I wrote for my Warlock handbook:

Daelkyr Half-Bloods are aberrations with no ability score adjustments. Their signature racial ability allows them to gain a free symbiont at level 1. There are a few choices, but realistically, the breed leech is clearly the best one to start with. It gives you bonus hit points (which, combined with the additional hit points from your Symbiont Mastery racial bonus feat, adds up to the equivalent of a nice Constitution bonus), but more importantly, it has blindsight out to 60 feet. Since it can communicate telepathically with you, this is basically as good as or better than having blindsense yourself. Defeat figments, pinpoint invisible creatures, avoid being surprised, etc.

At higher levels you gain new options for symbionts, some of which are worthwhile choices too.

Symbionts Breed Leech (level 1): The best of the level 1 options. Blindsight and extra survivability. Solid. Becomes obsolete when you hit level 10.
Crawling Gauntlet (level 1): Gives you a claw attack. Not what you’re looking for on a Warlock.
Throwing Scarab (level 1): Gives you a thrown weapon attack. You have eldritch blast, so this is a nope.
Stormstalk (level 5): Gives you a ranged touch attack that deals electricity damage and applies a Dexterity penalty. That’s not a useful ability for a Warlock. However, if you keep the stormstalk detached, it can use the ray attack itself every other round, which is actually quite nice, offering some cheap extra damage and debuffs. A good choice.
Winter Cyst (level 5): Basically the same as the Stormstalk, except cold damage and a Strength penalty. See Stormstalk.
Spellwurm (level 10): Casts as a 5th level Sorcerer when it’s not attached! If you can pick the spells it knows, this is simply fantastic. Even if you can’t, the default known spells are still decent.
Tentacle Whip (level 10): Blindsight like a breed leech, free attacks like a stormstalk, except it can attack while attached? Best of both worlds! Actually, its attacks are worse than a stormstalk’s, with lower accuracy, damage, and range, but it does have the advantage of threatening squares out to 15 feet, so you can make opportunity attacks with it, and it gives you the equivalent of Improved Disarm for free, which is neat.
Tongueworm (level 15): Like the tentacle whip except worse. It’s not necessarily bad, but why wouldn’t you just take the tentacle whip, right?
For Psychic Rogues, getting the touch attack ability for yourself is more useful, since you can sneak attack with it, but otherwise the same analysis should hold.

[Psyren]

Thanks! I'll see what I can do after work.

[Dagroth]

Also, some handsome devil wrote a handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?234327-3-5-Thinking-on-your-Feet-The-Psychic-Rogue-Handbook) or something.

I noticed you listed Half-Giant as a bad choice. What about a Primordial Half-Giant?

[Troacctid]

I noticed you listed Half-Giant as a bad choice. What about a Primordial Half-Giant?
Ooh, yeah, that template is pretty broken.

Other races of potential interest might include Aelfborn (Dragon #307, bonus feats and good stats, but big Wis penalties), Glimmerfolk (Dragon #321, good stats, SLAs, outsider type), Gruwaar (Dragon #317, good stats, two claw attacks, and disguise self as an SLA), and Hengeyokai (OA + Dragon #318, basically Tibbit with flight). Some non-magazine ones that are missing include Water Halfling, Forest Gnome, Raptoran, and Dragonborn. Several Savage Progression races (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040213a) (like Drow) are great if you don't take the racial levels. And notable LA races/templates that may be worth the LA include Athasian Human (Dragon #319), Dark (TM), Feral (SS), Lolth-Touched (MM4), Mulhorandi Divine Minion (Web (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a)), Half-Fey (FF), Gravetouched Ghoul (LM), Phrenic (XPH), and Shadow (LoM).

There are additional skill tricks in Dragon #357 too, of which Ecstatic Fervor (reduce Concentration check DCs for taking damage during casting, requires 8 Concentration) and Rhetorical Flourish (reduce the penalty on rushed Diplomacy checks to -5 instead of -10, requires 8 Diplomacy) are notable.

Nymph's Kiss, Scion of the Twelve (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/frcc/20070620), Leadership, and Wild Cohort (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031118a) are good feats that aren't listed.

[Psyren]

I tend not to bother with Dragon content in my handbooks (aside from Dragon Compendium.) Both because I don't own any issues and because they tend to get disallowed anyway so it would be a lot of effort on my part for no reason. Generally if there's something particularly good from a source like that it will come up in a forum thread anyway.

[animewatcha]

One big question. Does psychic rogue count as regular rogue when it comes to things like multiclass feats?

[WhamBamSam]

I tend not to bother with Dragon content in my handbooks (aside from Dragon Compendium.) Both because I don't own any issues and because they tend to get disallowed anyway so it would be a lot of effort on my part for no reason. Generally if there's something particularly good from a source like that it will come up in a forum thread anyway.The Primordial Template is in Secrets of Xen'drik, not Dragon Magazine.

As good as Primordial is, I'd still say taking the Half-Giant LA isn't worth it on a PsyRogue. You don't need Int or Cha badly enough to take -2 to Str, Dex, and Con, and most of the other nice things about the template don't help all that much. Invisibility at will is certainly tempting though.

[Dagroth]

One big question. Does psychic rogue count as regular rogue when it comes to things like multiclass feats?

By RAW, no. Your Mileage may vary, depending on your DM.

Personally, I would say yes... but I'm the guy who says Tashalatora shouldn't require Monastic Study.

[Psyren]

The Primordial Template is in Secrets of Xen'drik, not Dragon Magazine.

a) I wasn't directing that statement at Primordial, I was directing that at all the other stuff in Tro's post like Aelfborn and Glimmerfolk.

b) I generally don't assume templates are freely available to PCs either. Too much table variation there.

[ATHATH]

Speaking of Dragon #319, I've been meaning to ask this: Are the races presented in it "separate" from "normal" races? Like, is the Athasian Aarakocra overwritten by the Aarakocra race in RoF?

[Soranar]

I've played a few psychic rogues, here's what I remember from it:

-craft dorje+dual dorje+dorje mastery makes you pretty damn good at manifesting powers despite your low PP reserve and a dorje doesn't have a manifester limit like a wand and doesn't provoke when you use it in combat

-if you're allowed the ancestral relic feat, you can create yourself really powerful objects like a psicrown or a dorje and recharge it whenever you need to with useless magic items you find, essentially making you an artificer lite with 1 feat

-the best non custom psicrown is probably the astral legion (contains 900 PP and grants you astral construct) although the dominator psicrown is really powerful too

-the hengeyokai (sparrow) is just insanely good for you as a race (25 DEX flight form)

-similarly a tibbit (cat form with 3 natural attacks) isn't too shabby

-the best powers for expanded knowledge (and or hidden talent if it's allowed) are astral construct, crystal shard or energy ray

[Troacctid]

Speaking of Dragon #319, I've been meaning to ask this: Are the races presented in it "separate" from "normal" races? Like, is the Athasian Aarakocra overwritten by the Aarakocra race in RoF?
They're Athasian variants of the races for use in Dark Sun campaigns.