| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| shadow mage01-19-05, 10:37 PM | I decided to finally break down and actually make a full caster/manifester type. Been a while, since they usually break off into some PrC or another (or go gishy-like). Let me know what you think, fellow COers, and how can I make a heck of a first impression with this new tenth level psion? Race: Human Target Build: Psion20 (straight up, no frills) 32-Point Buy: 10, 14, 15, 16, 10, 12 (can't stand negative scores) The Psion Level Class Special 1 Psion Point Blank Shot, Psionic Body, Psionic Shot, discipline (kineticist) 2 Psion 3 Psion Empower Power 4 Psion 5 Psion Psionic Meditation 6 Psion Expanded Knowledge (hustle) 7 Psion 8 Psion 9 Psion Quicken Power 10 Psion Greater Psionic Shot Power List 1 1crystal shard, inertial armor, offensive precognition 2 1(add) detect psionics, energy ray 3 1(add) detect psionics; 2(add) sustenance 4 2(add) energy missile, psionic knock 5 2(add) psionic lock; 3(add) touchsight 6 2(add) hustle (Expanded Knowledge); 3(add) energy wall, mental barrier 7 3(add) eradicate invisibility; 4(add) psionic dimension door 8 3(add) dispel psionics; 4(add) wall of ectoplasm 9 4(add) telekinetic maneuver; 5(add) adapt body 10 5(add) power resistance, psychic crush The whole concept of this build is that it has two primary combat strategies. The first is liberal use of hustle + Psionic Meditation to quickly gain psionic focus. This will allow that augmented crystal shard and/or energy ray to do a bit more damage with Psionic Shots, and powers like offensive precognition/prescience will help in the attack/damage area too. The second combative strategy is the ring-shaped energy wall within half-sphere wall of ectoplasm. Love that combo and it definitely works in singling out slightly stronger foes (typically warrior types). The first combat strategy is going to primarily be crystal shard in action combined with Psionic Shot and hustle to get that free psionic focus back. It's probably what this character's trademark strategy is going to be, but in case the opportunity presents itself psychic crush is guarenteed to see action (too good to ignore, in my experience). I think my feat setup's pretty good, Empower Power is cheap and wonderfully effective (scaling upward as more powerful powers become adjusted with it). Psionic Body and the Constitution of 15 will leave me with some pretty nice HP for a primary "caster" type (4 + 9d4 + 20 (Con) + 14 (Psionic Body)). 9d4 + 38 ain't too shabby and leaves this guy with plenty of life and then some (level one he's got 10 hp which is the equivalent of a wizard/sorcerer with Con 24) So...what's adjustable? I want a primarily combat-focused build, as someone else is taking care of utility with a very well designed sorcerer (I gotta give him credit, the guy's creative...). |
| RadicalTaoist01-19-05, 11:35 PM | First off, your discipline? I see you're a Kineticist - smart choice but consider all options. Telepaths are okay blasters but all their blasting is mind-affecting ('cept for Mental Rage) and not as efficient as a Kineticist. Telepaths using lots of Kineticist Expanded Knowledge Powers are good though, and vice versa. If you're going to stay a kineticist, Expanded Knowledge: Schism is a much better use of a feat than Quicken Power. And if you do be a telepath, Twin Power may be a better idea than Quicken. Save QP for later levels, you'll want to save your swift action for Hustle (you can't use a quickened power and Hustle in the same round). Psychic Crush...-4 to the save? Doesn't kill them fully? I feel like asking the designer of this power 'Are you kidding me?'. It's a Baleful Polymorph into a fish while on land. You can find a better power than this. Like Fiery Discorporation, Energy Current, or Control Body. A sneaky trick with Crystal Shard: manifest two shards, and GPS both once you have Psicrystal Affinity and Psicrystal Focus. You are going to pick both these powers up, aren't you? You took Point Blank Shot only for Psionic Shot and didn't enjoy Precise Shot, which your party members would appreciate. Personally I would have gone with Psicrystal Affinity, Psicrystal Containment, Overchannel and Talented rather than PB shot, Psionic Body, and the PsiShot feats. But that's me. You may do equally well just switching the PsiShot feats for Precist Shot and Split Psionic Ray instead (SPR is great for a psion using both Crystal Shard and Energy Ray). |
| posat01-20-05, 09:22 AM | Hi. I don't have my books with me but just a couple of thougths from a psy I played. 1st - you can consider astral construct. Saved my psion some times, having a very strong melee guy and an excelet meet shield is always nice. 2nd - Empathic transfer, hostile - It can heal up to 90 hp or half if he makes the save, it's just wonderfull in the mid levels ... I use it a lot more than I expected, anytime your psion is 1 on 1 with a more melee guy or instead of firing into melee ... I know you don't want to be there ... but some times you may have to. just some thoughts |
| AviLazar01-20-05, 09:48 AM | Hi. I don't have my books with me but just a couple of thougths from a psy I played. 1st - you can consider astral construct. Saved my psion some times, having a very strong melee guy and an excelet meet shield is always nice. This is a MUST. WIth power points, and schism? I used to summon two astral constructs a round. Before long I would have an army of these. Fairly powerful (even the ones that came from schism). Would annoy the DM as I had consistant soldiers coming in. Another must have power is the one (forget the name) that gives you temporary hitpoints. It is so cheap and those extra HPs makes your psion like a warrior (as far as HPS go). |
| posat01-20-05, 09:53 AM | HI again, The power that gives you 5 temporary hp per pp is vigor. I usually either take vigor or Empathic transfer hostile but I usually don't take both because psions have a limited selection of powers. |
| shadow mage01-20-05, 05:10 PM | On Feats Right now the feat choice is very flexible. The only idea I think I'll be sticking with is keeping Psionic Body and grabbing as many useful (and synergetic if possible) psionic feats as I can, Psionic Meditation included to make getting psionic focus easier. 7 of the character's 8 feats are psionic right now, which gives him +14 to HP and with his (without items) +2 Con modifier this guy's got some great hit points for a psion. I mostly chose the psionic shot idea because I figured it'd be a great way to open combat and do so with a "bang", so to speak. That extra 2d6 (and by 10th level 4d6) can be pretty damn useful, especially at first level. A first level crystal shard with Psionic Shot is a free 3d6 damage, and this can effectively be done twice per day. Not bad since with the current feat list he could just sit there with a crossbow and every other round shoot for 1d8+2d6 afterwards. While individual solid choice feats are nice, can anyone recommend a certain string of feats that work really well together? Empower Power is simply too valuable as of now to give up, and only becomes more useful with the gaining of each level (makes augmenting useless, sometimes, but that 8d6-augmented crystal shard is gonna hurt when Empower Power is slapped on). On Powers I've never been much of a fan of astral construct, honestly. While it's nice and all, I'd either have to give up a good number of powerful offensive powers I'm not willing to give up on (energy missile, fiery discorporation, null psionics field, and tornado blast). Cystral shard is mostly to keep me alive and with solid offensive punch, if need be, until those later levels. Metacreativity has very little I'm honestly interested in, with the exception of genesis, but that's just a personal favorite as opposed to a benefitial power of a psion delving into the party role of blaster. Also, I'm not sure I understand why psychic crush is seen as weak. A Will save for PARTIAL isn't bad at all. A 10th-level Psion with no items and Intelligence 18 (which is where both level points will go) can bring out a DC 19 power easily. If I'm worried that the lurking fighter-type or rogue-type is going to make the save, or he's made it before, I can augment it with a couple power points and have it empowered, that way it's at least painful. It's also a good test of how mentally fortified enemy fighter- or rogue-types are and would allow me to change strategies quickly rather than be stuck with an O.S. moment and an enemy rapidly closing. Hostile empathic transfer is not a good spell for this guy. He's supposed to be at a range, and if he does somehow get caught up in melee the guy will very quickly dimension door away, and (after editing this mistake I found) mental barrier is very effective at keeping enemies who get in this guy's face at bay. I'm not worried at all about melee aside from that power (the teleporting power being universally useful anyway), so I'll put faith in comrades in this case. |
| RadicalTaoist01-20-05, 06:53 PM | Overchannel and Talented, Psicrystal Affinity and Psicrystal Focus. Four feats very popular with blaster psions. At your level, Overchannel is less efficient than GPS. 15d6 Ochanneled Empowered crystal shards where you take damage (unless you have a second focus for Talented) as opposed to 12d6 + 4d6 damage Empowered with Greater Psionic Shot (but you must have the second focus to do this). Your choice. At the higher levels, Overchannel + metapsionics blows GPS out of the water. Psicrystal Affinity/Containment, however, are incredibly useful to you now with all those focusing feats. Another useful feat when you get into higher levels will be Burrowing Power. Psi-blasters can be nigh-invincible combining this with wall of ectoplasm and smart tactics. |
| shadow mage01-20-05, 08:46 PM | Okay, I'm going to focus this particular section of the discussion to the feats we come up with. Powers I'll adjust later, but it'll be the feats that make/break this guy. Hopefully more people will post so I have a better idea as to what would make and help out a bit. Alternate Feat Selection #1 Psion Level Feats 1 Overchannel, Psionic Body, Talented 2 3 Empower Power 4 5 Psionic Meditation 6 Psicristayl Affinity 7 8 9 Psicrystal Containment 10 Maximize Power This feat group effectively allows fre overchanneling of this character build's primary offensive powers: crystal shard, energy missile, and energy ray as a backup. Busting out an extra +2 caster level means he can now manifest and augment +9 to that wonderful first-level power crystal shard, plus 6 more PP for Maximize and Empower Power makes this a power that deals 60 x 1.5 = 90 damage as a ranged touch attack at 10th level. Furthermore, no damage from overchannel! Hurray for no damage and at the same time +16 hp from Psionic Body. Not a bad group at all... Alternate Feat Selection #2 Psion Level Feats 1 Empower Power, Psionic Body, Overchannel 2 3 Talented 4 5 Expanded Knowledge (astral construct) 6 Improved Toughness 7 8 9 Maximize Power 10 Twin Power Similar in the offensive combat as the above feat group, with two additions. Expanded Knowledge grants access to a spell that many enjoy, it seems, and that may be useful at lower levels to combine with Overchannel + Talented. Seems like a good way to begin combat that you know is going to be long; instead of going straight for the big guns you summon the big servants. This combined with hustle if the appropriate feat is taken (trading in likely Twin Power in this case) can make for an astral construct each round (as someone mentioned earlier), but also combined with the Overchannel and thus +2 Caster level. Maximize and Twin Power I've seen used together before to some awesome effects, like in those battles you know will be the last of the day (or when you know you have the items/party support to carry you through) where you just wanna pump all that PP into one h-bomb style nuke attack. That energy bust I had some pretty damn cool effects from its 11th-ish level manifester (overchannel + maximize + twin + 6 pp augment = radiation for years to come). Any other bright combo ideas? |
| thorian01-20-05, 11:20 PM | plus 6 more PP for Maximize and Empower Power makes this a power that deals 60 x 1.5 = 90 damage as a ranged touch attack at 10th level. An Empowered and Maximized power that has a base damage of 10d6 is not 90; it is as follows: 60 + 0.5*(10d6). The average being 77.5. |
| shadow mage01-21-05, 06:14 PM | True enough, my math was a bit off since I didn't read the Maximize Power feat entirely. Still for a 1st-level power that hits for 77.5 average damage with listed conditions that allows no save and strikes as a ranged touch attack (with piercing damage, no less, so it's not subject to elemental immunities) is nothing to scoff at. Similar attack powers nearly always require saves, which is why I required this build to have that particular power. Are there any other suggestions for feats? |
| Todd01-21-05, 08:34 PM | There is a good thead somewhere here dealing with Empower, Maximize, and Twin Power and psionics. The bottom line for you is that at 10th level only Empower is worth using. Maximize, because it costs 4 PP and you can't spend more than 10 per power, is actually *less* effective than using the base power itself with max PP until manifester level 12 ... and then only barely. Twin Power power is even worse when aiming both at the same target. Using it isn't better than the base power with max PP until ML 13. Ironically using *both* Maximize and Empower at the same time is slighly better than just the base power starting at ML 10 ... and is much more so by ML 12 which you can get to with Overchannel. Anyway ... I wouldn't worry about Twin power too much at this stage. Save it for your 12th level feat or even 15th unless you really want to split rays. I also like your early build with Hustle. I don't think that you would hurt yourself at all by putting that back in the build and adding Psionic Meditation. I also don't see the need for Psionic Body and Improved Toughness. Pick one if you must. Vigor will give you all the HP you will ever need. I would rather blow a first level power than a feat to gain HP. I might do something more like this: Psion Level Feats 1 Overchannel, Psicristayl Affinity, Talented 2 3 Psionic Meditation 4 5 Expanded Knowledge (astral construct) 6 Expanded Knowledge (hustle) 7 8 9 Psicrystal Containment 10 Empower Power |