Warlock Hivemind trick clarification

[RoboEmperor]

As I understand it
1. Invoke Summon Swarm Invocation, creating 5000 bats for concentration + 2 rounds.
2. Use Dark Speech's Dark Unity while concentrating?
3. 5000 bats have a charisma score of 106, which equates to a level 89 sorcerer
4. The warlock concentrates for 89 days so the hive mind can rest and level up once per day.

Is this correct?

Also, how do you do #2? Is there a rule saying you can use a feat while concentrating?

Also, some people claim you can be a part of the hive mind but...


If at least 50 vermin or animals of the same species are arranged so that no one individual is more than 10 feet from another individual, the hivemind may come into effect.

A PC is not a vermin or animal so I don't see how you can be a part of it.

[noob]

There is a prc allowing to be part of a hivemind and allowing to control it.

[Darrin]

There is a prc allowing to be part of a hivemind and allowing to control it.

Vermin Lord in Book of Vile Darkness. However, the Verminfriend feat was republished later in Drow of the Underdark with a different racial requirement, and it's not clear if they intended to restrict the Vermin Lord PrC to Drow-only.


As I understand it
Also, how do you do #2? Is there a rule saying you can use a feat while concentrating?


There are a couple methods. Easiest way is to take 4-5 levels of Bard and cast sonorous hum (Spell Compendium), which maintains concentration for you for 1 minute per level (you need 5 minutes/50 rounds to build up the hivemind in 100-bat chunks). So Bard 5/Warlock 1 can do this around ECL 6ish.

There's also a Psion/Wilder 3 power called solicit psicrystal that allows your psicrystal to take over maintaining concentration, but the duration is only 1 round/ML, so it's a bit harder to manage 50 rounds of that at lower levels.



Also, some people claim you can be a part of the hive mind but...

A PC is not a vermin or animal so I don't see how you can be a part of it.

Polymorph or metamorphosis can change your type to animal/vermin. Casting aspect of the wolf (Spell Compendium) also changes your type to animal. Actually the tricky part is not the creature type but the 1 HD requirement. But there are a few ways to do this.

My Black Sparrow (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21197986&postcount=91) build uses Split (Ex) to create a couple duplicates of herself, which solves the concentration problem as one of her duplicates can create the hivemind while the original maintains concentration. From there she has the hivemind cast magic jar on a duplicate, then uses fusion/astral seed to combine with the hivemind into a chronotyrin/cryohydra form.

If Black Sparrow wanted to create a hivemind out of her own duplicates, she can do this if she rearranges her mantles to pick up the mindwipe power from the Corruption and Madness mantle. Create 10,000 duplicates, have them all metamorph into an animal to pick up the animal type, then change into her fine-sized sparrow form. Have the duplicates mindwipe each other down to 1 HD, then create a hivemind.

But there's actually an easier way without using mindwipe. Once you've got your swarm of fine-sized sparrows, have one duplicate shift into a Phiuhl (Fiend Folio), which has a Desiccate (Ex) ability that bestows two negative levels. Knock the swarm down to 1 HD, and create your hivemind that way.

[Gruftzwerg]

As I understand it
1. Invoke Summon Swarm Invocation, creating 5000 bats for concentration + 2 rounds.



Summon Swarm

Least Invocation; 2nd
You can use summon swarm as the spell with this invocation. Unlike the spell, this invocation has a duration of concentration instead of concentration + 2 rounds.

Source: Complete Arcane


Just wanted to point out that the invocation has a different duration than the spell and thus you can only have a single swarm as warlock with summon swarm (unless you affect its duration somehow).