Is Psion worth lvl dipping for an Archivist?

[nows7]

Hey boys and girls, lets play "help me decide if i want to dip psion"!!!

I'm currently playing an archivist in a very Divine heavy group; rogue/ Favored soul, Druid, Paladin/Cleric, wizard. I can currently progres to lvl 6 as an archivist or go 3 Archivist, 3 psion, so i can take the psionic theuge PrC.

6 archivist gives me better divine spell casting, saves, and hit dice (d6 not d4), and better Dark Knowlege... Down side is that the divine casting is already realy abundant - healing magic even more so.

3 / 3 will give me good psionic powers, let me retain my casting in armor, give me unique spell casting in my group. Downside is that i've got to give up Strait spell casting.

My group does have alot of combat encounters, so the extra number of spells realy isn't a bad thing, but still...

What are your thoughts?

[Jack Mann]

It ain't worth it. Never lose caster levels if you can possibly help it. Especially not for an archivist. You're a primary spell caster. Concentrate on casting spells. You're the only one in the party who has access to higher level divine spells, and they'll need that a lot more than they need some lower-level powers getting tossed about.

Dual-casting classes are almost never worth taking, unless you're starting in the epic levels. It's a trap. Psychic Theurge is just as bad as Mystic Theurge.

[martyboy74]

I. Thou shalt not give up caster levels.

II. Wieldest thou thy two-handed weapon with alacrity; but two weapons shalt thou not wield, excepting that thou hast a source of bonus damage such as Sneak Attack.

III. Doubt not the power of the Druid, for he is mighty.

IV. Avoid ye the temptation of Gauntlets of True Strike, for they shall lead thee astray down the Path of Non-Rule Cheese.

V. Thou shalt not give up caster levels. Verily, this Commandment is like unto the first; but of such magnitude that it bore mentioning twice.

VI. Makest thou no build with an odd number of fighter levels, for such things are not pleasing to the Spirits of Optimization.

VII. The Rules of 3.5 are paramount; invoke not the rules of 3.0 if a newer version be available.

VIII. When beseeching the Bretheren of Optimization, come thou not empty handed, lest they smite thee; rather, bringest thou thine own build, that they may offer suggestions and guidance.

IX. Invoke not "common sense," for it is not common.

X. Thou shalt call no build "The Ultimate X" unless his name be Pun-Pun, or thou shalt see thine "Ultimate" build topped by the Bretheren within five minutes of posting.

Character limit

[CASTLEMIKE]

Psion dip probably not worth the effort. Taking a Hidden Talent feat might be if you can receive PP for leveling to fuel the single psionic ability of your choice since psionics scale. Astral Construct or Psionic Charm or Vigor might be nice with the bonus power points for your HD. The +2 LA Phrenic Template might be an option with LA buydown at 3 and 9.

Just a thought. If you are leveling up and are not going to have a really high level campaign say past 14+ at level 14 you would have spell casting as a level 11 Archivist and a level 10 Spellcaster. Bunches of Spells but no level 7 spells. It depends on your game. Taking a level of the divine Spellcaster variant despite the wisdom requirement for spellcasting with access to all spells like the Archivist could be nice plus you get a lot of extra spells for that level and meta bennies and things like Fast Healing 1 for emergency party healing. It would really mesh nice with the Ultimate Magus build if your DM allowed it as an Ultimate Mystic build also mechanically for a few choice known spells with armored casting, and generally using the spellcaster side to fuel meta spells on the archivist side at lower levels you could be doing things no other caster except an Ultimate Magus is capable of.

[Bassetking]

It's.

A.

Trap.

Pure and simple. Thou shalt not give up caster levels.

Further than that, Many DM's feel... Not "restricted" but, possibly... "Hesitant" about throwing Psionic monsters against the PC's without a Psion in the party to counteract the beast's potency. You, bringing a Psion into the mix opens the floodgates for Callers in Darkness, and Brain Spiders.

[Truffles]

Go for it.
people say that stuff is a trap but it pays off in the last 2 levels.

[Jack Mann]

18 levels of sucking is not worth 2 levels of being almost as good as the guy who took a decent prestige class.

Dual-progression caster classes typically start to pay off only in epic levels, unless you have some manner of accelerated casting progression, as with Ur-Priest.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Psion is not worth dipping. Psion is, much like any other caster class, best when not dilluted. Same thing with Archivist.

Psionic Theurge is a trap, pure and simple. You give up 9th level spells and powers. Not worth it. Period.