[3.5] Crowd Control Incarnate

[Gralamin]

So, In a 3.5 campaign I'm in, I'm playing an Incarnate as a sort of spiked chain user. Due to the campaign house rules, classes such as the fighter, are not allowed. No Flaws either.

DM has ruled that Bound Air-step sandals are still hit with the falling clause.

Currently, my main Worry is a) Feats, and b) Items. I Only get 7 feats, and I'm unsure what sort of items / weapon enhancements are good for Spiked Chain fighters.

Current Build plan
Incarnate [Law] 20 (Currently level 7)

Current list of Feats:
(1) Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain)
(3) Flyby Attack - For use with Airstep Sandals
(6) Combat Expertise

Feats I plan on Grabbing:
(9) Improved Trip
(12) Combat Reflexes
(15) Cobalt Expertise
(18) Double Chakra (Soul)

Current Usual Soulmelds:
Unbound Vitality Belt with 0 essentia (Used to keep going when HP would normally be very low)
Incarnate Avatar with 2 Essentia
Crystal Helm with 2 Essentia and bound (Have faced incorporeal foes before, and reason to believe we will fight more)
Airstep Sandals with 2 Essentia and bound
Strongheart Vest with 1 Essentia (Have faced a number of Ability damaging foes)

Current Items (of Note):
Gloves of +2 Str and Dex
Amulet of Health +2
Cloak of Resistance +1
Healing Belt
Mithral Fullplate
+1 Spiked Chain
1171.07 GP

Current Attributes:
Str 18 (With a +2 item), Dex 15 (With a +2 item), Con 18 (With a +2 item), Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 8 (These are pretty much set).


Anything I could be doing better?

[Sinfire Titan]

Why Double Chakra (Soul)? I assume Spellward Shirt+Fellmist Robe, but that may not be needed considering you won't be needing to bind either of them (Spiked Chains have a reach, so you just keep moving around and have something that prevents them from getting adjacent to you, and the Spellward Shirt's Soul Bind can be replaced by a ring in Complete Mage).

[Gralamin]

Why Double Chakra (Soul)? I assume Spellward Shirt+Fellmist Robe, but that may not be needed considering you won't be needing to bind either of them (Spiked Chains have a reach, so you just keep moving around and have something that prevents them from getting adjacent to you, and the Spellward Shirt's Soul Bind can be replaced by a ring in Complete Mage).

I was actually more thinking Incarnate Avatar & Fellmist Robe (The main point is to have them both up at once, since they both take the soul slot, so I have a nice attack bonus & have the miss chance defense).

Unless of course, I made a mix up on one of Incarnum's rules. Which is entirely possible.

Edit: Oh right, forgot to mention. Law Incarnate

[Sinfire Titan]

I was actually more thinking Incarnate Avatar & Fellmist Robe (The main point is to have them both up at once, since they both take the soul slot, so I have a nice attack bonus & have the miss chance defense).

Unless of course, I made a mix up on one of Incarnum's rules. Which is entirely possible.

Edit: Oh right, forgot to mention. Law Incarnate

You are slightly mistaken on the binding rules. Shaped soulemelds do not take up the Chakra slot. Bound soulmelds take up the Chakra slot that they are bound to. You can shape both without trouble, but binding one means you can't have the other without the feat.

[Draz74]

You are slightly mistaken on the binding rules. Shaped soulemelds do not take up the Chakra slot. Bound soulmelds take up the Chakra slot that they are bound to. You can shape both without trouble, but binding one means you can't have the other without the feat.

Huh? I don't own the book and I know you're pretty much the expert on this, but I'm quite sure I remember reading that you couldn't shape two Soulmelds that were occupying the same slot at the same time, even if neither of them are Bound to the chakra corresponding with that slot.

Now, if either of the soulmelds can be bound to anything other than Soul, of course there's no problem. And unless you're binding them to Soul, you can still use a magic item that takes the slot corresponding to Soul. But ... yeah, I thought unbound soulmelds still had this one slot restriction on the space they occupy.

[Gralamin]

The only RAW I could find was on page 50:

Also, two soulmelds can't occupy the same chakra (with some exceptions)

So what requirements are required to occupy a chakra?

Chakras

Every soulmeld occupies a chakra, even if it is not bound to it

Looks like Sinfire Titan is wrong - unless there is contradictory RAW somewhere.

[Sinfire Titan]

The only RAW I could find was on page 50:

So what requirements are required to occupy a chakra?


Looks like Sinfire Titan is wrong - unless there is contradictory RAW somewhere.

Ah, I'm mixing up my rules. Magic Items can be worn on body slots with unbound soulmelds, but binding either of them prevents the other from interacting with that body slot.


OK, so Double Chakra is somewhat useful (losing a +8 hurts, and the power of the Fellmist Robe is considerable). The alternative is shunting the miss chance to your Shoulders via a Cloak of Displacement (DMG).

Now, if either of the soulmelds can be bound to anything other than Soul, of course there's no problem. And unless you're binding them to Soul, you can still use a magic item that takes the slot corresponding to Soul. But ... yeah, I thought unbound soulmelds still had this one slot restriction on the space they occupy.

Incarnate Avatar has no other chakra slots, and I believe the Fellmist Robe is the same. Sadly, the only other soulmelds that produce a Miss Chance have the following problems:

• Ranged attacks only, and limited use (Wind Cloak).
• Totemist Only (Shadowmantle, Displacer Mantle).