Need advice for Totemist! (Galathir, KEEP OUT)

[goken04]

I swear, Kagan, if you read this your wizard is DEAD!

Spoiler

Show

DMing a 3.x game. My players are playing a Shaman (OA), Ranger, Wizard and... a Totemist. I've never seen a Totemist played or anything, but I have a basic understanding of the character...

My big problem is that I'm making a point to involve what amounts to Weapons (Tools? Implements?) of Legacy for each of the characters. The other characters are easy, thanks to my [shameless plug]implement system[/shame], which I'm implementing. The Ranger gets a longbow, the Shaman gets a Holy Symbol (an amulet, in his case), and the Wizard gets a Wand (he's a Conjurer). But what kind of iconic magical item can I give to a TOTEMIST?!

As I understand it, the mechanic is a little sub-par (compared to casters) in the first place, so I feel like adding an implement-like system to the class would be nerfing it, not to mention the fact that the whole point of the class seems to be that they're nearly independent of magical weapons! What in the world kind of item could I give him that would give him that "This is my EXCALIBUR" feel and be useful to him? If it helps, I hear he wants to be the melee front-liner. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated!

[Eldariel]

Say it after me: Necklace of Natural Attacks. That or Amulet of Mighty Fists. Since Totemists fight with natural weapons mainly, anything that enhances them (usually an Amulet of some kind) is going to kick major butt.

[Dixieboy]

How about a totem? [/captain obvious]

Could be used a club or something if you strictly WANT it to be useful to him.

[Starbuck_II]

Essentia Helm (MIC) but better (since it is a Legacy thing)?

Really, essentia is very important to any Incarnum user.

[AmberVael]

As I understand it, the mechanic is a little sub-par (compared to casters) in the first place...

It is worse than a caster, but it certainly isn't any worse than the Ranger which is in your party (in fact, my guess would be that the Totemist would be a little better, especially since a bow implies the ranger isn't getting the wildshape variant).

The amulet is probably the right idea, if he's going for melee (and they can do GREAT at that), but it doesn't have... quite the same flavor, IMO. A necklace just isn't epic...

This depends on him using the default flavor, but- my suggestion would be to give him a mask. Not just any mask, but a strange, deeply symbolic and cultural mask that sort of fits in with the totemist feel (perhaps inspired by some African designs). Have it enhance various totemist powers (natural attacks, number of soul melds, number of essentia- get ideas from Amulet of Natural attack, natural attack type feats, and Incarnum magic items), and have some long history much like any other legendary item would.

[Sinfire Titan]

I swear, Kagan, if you read this your wizard is DEAD!

Spoiler

Show

DMing a 3.x game. My players are playing a Shaman (OA), Ranger, Wizard and... a Totemist. I've never seen a Totemist played or anything, but I have a basic understanding of the character...

My big problem is that I'm making a point to involve what amounts to Weapons (Tools? Implements?) of Legacy for each of the characters. The other characters are easy, thanks to my [shameless plug]implement system[/shame], which I'm implementing. The Ranger gets a longbow, the Shaman gets a Holy Symbol (an amulet, in his case), and the Wizard gets a Wand (he's a Conjurer). But what kind of iconic magical item can I give to a TOTEMIST?!

As I understand it, the mechanic is a little sub-par (compared to casters) in the first place, so I feel like adding an implement-like system to the class would be nerfing it, not to mention the fact that the whole point of the class seems to be that they're nearly independent of magical weapons! What in the world kind of item could I give him that would give him that "This is my EXCALIBUR" feel and be useful to him? If it helps, I hear he wants to be the melee front-liner. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated!

Nothing. He is his Excalibur. Apply the Monster of Legend and Legacy Creature templates (MM2 and WoL).

Or just a ton of Incarnum Foci. MiC reduced their price tags from the obscene value in the MoI to a mere 15k/slot.

Totemists may be weaker than casters, but they are about on-par with something like a PsiWar or a Wildshape Ranger. The best part? A proper Totemist won't need more than half of their WBL.

[Zaq]

Whatever it is, it should be a ring.

Why? Because rings are the only major magic item that have no corresponding Chakra slot. If you give him, for example, a Necklace of Natural Attacks, you're basically closing off his Throat bind. Now, that's a perfectly valid choice to make... but the player should be the one making it. A ring circumvents the issue nicely.

[Sinfire Titan]

Whatever it is, it should be a ring.

Why? Because rings are the only major magic item that have no corresponding Chakra slot. If you give him, for example, a Necklace of Natural Attacks, you're basically closing off his Throat bind. Now, that's a perfectly valid choice to make... but the player should be the one making it. A ring circumvents the issue nicely.

FYI, only a few of the Throat binds are worth much. The Breath Weapons are only good if you use the 1d4 recharge ones (not the BS ones that take a full minute), as those allow you to utilize the Metabreath Feats and become a psuedo-DFA.

IMO, the slots to avoid are: Arms, Hands, Waist, Shoulders, Heart. Most of the rest don't mean much if you are careful with your combinations.

[awa]

since totemists don't get the soul bind i believe magic armor works or alternatively since you are crafting it specifically for the character in question it could have a split chakra ability.