Voyager build advice

[Tregorth]

Hello everyone.
I'm trying to build a Sylph Voyager as a back-up character for the campaign i'm playing in but i'm kinda lost on how to go about building it. Does anyone have any advice?
We're level 6 with 15 PB and we're using the Elephant in the Room feat tax rules.
Psionics is the only third-party content allowed.

Thanks in advance to everyone that can help me.

[Powerdork]

Any thoughts on the character's background or specialization yet? If you look over the power list, is there anything you can point to and say "yes, I want to do that"? Particularly, “I want to do this with a cool sword/bow and arrows/gun”?

[Tregorth]

Dunno what to do with the background yet besides the character currently being a bounty hunter. But in combat i think i just want to dash into melee, hit a guy, and then blink out again. Out of combat just non-face skillmonkey stuff.
Inevitable Strike would be good for the combat plan and Minor Metamorphosis seems like fun. Dimension swap also looks interesting.

[Powerdork]

That raises an interesting question that could lead to some useful answers. What drives someone with weird space- and time-bending presence to become a bounty hunter, or drives a bounty hunter to develop a weird space- and time-bending presence? Because I do think there's something valuable there, even if it's "I touched a space rock in the course of my vocation and now I see double".

There's also another question I like to ask people who've got a "hybrid" race picked out: What does it mean for your character to be a sylph (or a half-orc, or a half-elf, or anything else that doesn't have a straightforward implication of parentage)? In terms of birth circumstance, raising, and social relationships, and mechanical functions such as "does not count as a humanoid, can see in the dark like a tiefling or a half-orc, is lightning-resistant in some small way, and can cushion a fall every once in a while that might otherwise end someone". Perhaps half of those things affect how your parents and other authority figures see you, as you're growing up, and the kind of experiences you can have, which are very formative things. What opinions might such a character have as a result of their upbringing, and how might those differ from a human or an aasimar in the same position? What sort of philosophy leads to the choice of weapon and fighting style they've got, where they're eager to get in, deliver an easy hit, and get out?

Would this character be reflective enough to consider these things? Would it matter in the game you're playing?

(None of these have to be a big deal, but if taken to their logical endpoints, they can reveal things that you might not have ever considered otherwise.)

[Elricaltovilla]

That raises an interesting question that could lead to some useful answers. What drives someone with weird space- and time-bending presence to become a bounty hunter, or drives a bounty hunter to develop a weird space- and time-bending presence? Because I do think there's something valuable there, even if it's "I touched a space rock in the course of my vocation and now I see double".

There's also another question I like to ask people who've got a "hybrid" race picked out: What does it mean for your character to be a sylph (or a half-orc, or a half-elf, or anything else that doesn't have a straightforward implication of parentage)? In terms of birth circumstance, raising, and social relationships, and mechanical functions such as "does not count as a humanoid, can see in the dark like a tiefling or a half-orc, is lightning-resistant in some small way, and can cushion a fall every once in a while that might otherwise end someone". Perhaps half of those things affect how your parents and other authority figures see you, as you're growing up, and the kind of experiences you can have, which are very formative things. What opinions might such a character have as a result of their upbringing, and how might those differ from a human or an aasimar in the same position? What sort of philosophy leads to the choice of weapon and fighting style they've got, where they're eager to get in, deliver an easy hit, and get out?

Would this character be reflective enough to consider these things? Would it matter in the game you're playing?

(None of these have to be a big deal, but if taken to their logical endpoints, they can reveal things that you might not have ever considered otherwise.)

Wouldn't your question about hybrid race characters be entirely dependent on the individual character and/or player? And possibly better off in its own thread?

[Powerdork]

Wouldn't your question about hybrid race characters be entirely dependent on the individual character and/or player? And possibly better off in its own thread?

Mu, because I'm trying to give a particular someone (the OP) a clearer image in their head of who the character they're preparing to play is ("what does it mean for your character to be a hybrid"); no, because these questions are about the character this thread is about.


As far as solid mechanical build advice? Either fully commit to psionic focus mechanics (you get a few by default, such as accelerate, trap foresight, and later speeding strike, and feats that give you effects while you're psionically focused are pretty handy, such as Psionic Weapon and especially Up the Walls) and take the Second Psionic Focus Feat of your choice (Psionic Body/Deep Focus and Focused Swiftness are both pretty solid, but Focused Swiftness was engineered specifically for voyager, and got put in the same playbook; if you take any feats or other options that work while you maintain psionic focus, having that second one will be great when the time comes to expend your first for a neat trick) or leave the single normal psionic focus alone to power your passive speed bonus. Decide early on which of those it will be.

[Kris Moonhand]

I've got a level 4 Elan Voyager in a superhero game and I personally grabbed inertial armor, destiny dissonance, deceleration, temporary blindness (via Expanded Knowledge at level 4), and elongate extremities (via Elan FCB).

Traded my first 2nd level power for Dodge, gonna go down Spring Attack and get into Elocater. We're also using EitR, so I can skip out on Mobility, which makes it a bit easier. Kinda wish the Voyager book had a special entry method for Elocater, honestly.

Feats are:
1. Deadly Agility (PoW feat, not available to you, sorry)
1. Psionic Talent (Racial)
1. Speed of Thought (Class)
3. Focused Swiftness (great feat)
4. Expanded Knowledge (Via Voyager Knowledge)
4. Dodge (Via Voyager Knowledge)

Parallel Actions are:
1. Helping Hand
1. Foreshadow (Great for getting past guys with reach or onto the other side for a flank
1. Assisted Escape (I like the ability to get outta tight spots)
3. Rewind (Excellent for that Tracer-esque blink-back ability)
3. Pause (Good for knocking guys out of the fight temporarily to catch your breath or focus)

Out of combat, I'm the rogue-like of the group. Max ranks in Acrobatics, Autohypnosis, Bluff, DD, Arcana, Planes, Perception SoH, Spellcraft, and Stealth.

Remember that Power Channel is a standard and a single attack. It works a lot like Spell Combat, at least at first, so try not to let that get into your head. And don't be afraid to spend Momentum. Both moving up to your enemy and blinking back with Rewind generate Momentum, so you should have plenty to go around.

I usually hit myself with inertial armor at the start of the day and keep it up when it runs out. I like to hit baddies with destiny dissonance first off, then smack 'em with a temporary blindness, since the sickened condition also affects saves. If I'm fighting dudes with reach, I hit myself with elongate extremities. And deceleration is there in case I'm facing other highly mobile fighters. Slows 'em down so the rest of the party can smack 'em around a bit.