Bob the Thrallherd [Archive] - Wizards Community

Bob the Thrallherd [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Jandor1
11-11-05, 05:23 PM Okay guys, Jandor1 here with another build. This time, I think I got a good one.

Bob the Thrallherd:
Human male Psion (telepath) 10/Thrallherd 10
Stats: (32 point buy)
Str 8, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 12

1. Psion, Psionic Body, Inquisitor (human), Power Penetration
2. Psion
3. Psion, Greater Power Penetration
4. Psion
5. Psion, Expanded Knowledge (Hustle)
6. Thrallherd, Psionic Meditation
7. Thrallherd
8. Thrallherd
9. Thrallherd, Expanded Knowledge (Metamorphosis)
10. Thrallherd
11. Thrallherd
12. Thrallherd, Extraordinary Concentration
13. Thrallherd
14. Thrallherd
15. Thrallherd, Steady Concentration
16. Psion
17. Psion
18. Psion, Psionic Endowment
19. Psion
20. Psion, Greater Psionic Endowment

Here's where it gets fun (and if anyone has already done this, I haven't found it):
Items: tome of intellect +5 (137,500 gp), headband of intellect +6 (36,000 gp), amulet of health +6 (36,000 gp), third eye of concentrate (10,000 gp)

Stats at 20th level:
Str 8, Dex 10, Con 16 (w/headband), Int 34 (w/headband), Wis 14, Cha 12

Concentration check: 36 (23 ranks + 3 constitution + 10 third eye of concentrate)
With steady concentration, he always takes ten, so his concentration check is always 46

So:
Round 1: overchannel to manifester level 21, take 5d8 points of damage, manifest psionic dominate, expend psionic focus to increase DC by 2 or manifester level by 8, whichever is more useful at the time.

Affects 12 targets; effects aberrations, animals, dragons, elementals, fey, giants, humanoids, magic beasts, monstrous humanoids, and outsiders; DC: 38, or 40 with greater psionic endowment (10 base + 12 intelligence + 4 power level + 12 augment (+2 greater psionic endowment)).

Total Power Points spent: 21

Now he has 12 slaves. Normally, maintaining the dominate effect requires concentration; but since he has extraordinary concentration, he can maintain concentration as a swift action with a DC 35 + power level concentration check. Which he will always make.

So he has 12 slaves, and 2 cohorts, and can still schism and manifest 2 powers a turn and move as normal.

bam.

he also has the hustle/psionic meditation exploit, so he regain focus and smack people with his powers as usual; also, he has metamorphasis, so he can change into a firbolg and hit people with his staff really, really hard as well.

I've played a build similar to this; with the correct power selection, he is viable at low levels even with his low physical stats.

I love psionics. :devil:
Jandor1
11-11-05, 05:33 PM i just realized...

This guy can dominate the Tarrasque.

:mymy:

With a DC 38 save, the Tarrasque (will save +20) would need to roll an 18, 19 or 20, giving him an effective 15% chance of success. or 85% chance of failure.

With greater power penetration, assuming magic/psionic transparency, bob would have a 80% chance of beating it's SR, or only a 20% chance of failure (manifester 21 (overchannel), +8 greater power penetration against SR 32).

And with schism, Bob could do it twice in a round. and dominate some cult flunkies too.

sw33t.
Nightspirit
11-11-05, 05:39 PM Affects 12 targets; effects aberrations, animals, dragons, elementals, fey, giants, humanoids, magic beasts, monstrous humanoids, and outsiders; DC: 38, or 40 with greater psionic endowment (10 base + 12 intelligence + 4 power level + 12 augment (+2 greater psionic endowment)).

The augmentation of the power is wrong: 21-7=15/2=7+4=11

so the DC is: 10+12+11+2=35

still pretty impressive

just a few suggestions:

1. use a grey elf instead of the human
2. use a venerable grey elf
3. buy a skin of the protheus

your int score as a venerable grey elf is: 18+5+5+5+6=39

the save DC of your dominate is: 10+14+11+2=37

you don't need that concentration with an augmented dominate. Switch all those useless feats and take psicrystal containment, psicrystal affinity, a third eye penetrate and a psionatrix of telepathy
Jandor1
11-11-05, 05:46 PM hmm, skin of proteus is a nice idea. Thanks Nightspirit.

The Venerable route is definately a good way to get his intelligence up, as well as his wisdom and charisma, which help his skills out of combat. with the skin, that would remove most problems concerning him not really being able to move (Strength 2 doesnt have a very big weight allowence...)

The psicrystal idea is good, and has been exploited six ways from sunday. I was trying to show a different route; the advantage here being that you don't need a psicrystal. I mean, there are all kinds of ways to protect one, but it would not be good if somebody sundered it...

then the army of solars you have dominated would be very, very put out. and you'd be on the same plane.

not good for Bob.

:D

Keep the posts coming guys!
Jandor1
11-11-05, 05:48 PM Oh, my calculation for the augment DC was thus:

7 power + 24 augment - 10 thrallherd level = 21, with 24 power points spent to augment...

not sure if that's legal, but it looks it, so bam.

the augment to affect everything but undead and constructs (who are immune anyway) is free due to thrallherd, so it wasn't added in.
Nightspirit
11-11-05, 05:53 PM you can spend up to 21 PP to manifest an augmented dominate, using overchannel

so: 21-7(normal cost of dominate)=15 PP spent to augment the power
15/2=7,5, rounded down to 7

so 7+4=11

the reason because is good to have psicrystal containment, is that you can spend up to 2 psionic focus at the same time

so you can use psionic endowment(greater) with greater power penetration, for higher DCs and better ML :D
Jandor1
11-11-05, 06:12 PM good call on that.

okay, if we drop say steady concentration and psionic body to pick up psicrystal affinity and psicrystal containment, couldn't we do both?

i mean, if Bob buys some items to buff up his concentration check another few points (some ioun stones come to mind), he can make the check to maintain as a swift action even on a roll of a one.

So his psicrystal expends psionic focus, and he does, and his DC shoots up by 2 and his manifester level by 8 for overcomeing power resistance.

He still needs teh extraordinary concentration, however, to keep his (effectivly) thralls around. Unlike the spell dominate, the psionic power lasts for a duration: Concentration.

this way he can keep them around while doing everything else normally, except of course maintaining concentration powers :rolleyes:

but shooting augmented Mind Thrusts at people is fun, as is smaking them as a firbolg.
Nightspirit
11-11-05, 06:29 PM check the errata: if you augment the power, you can change its duration(up to 1 day/ML)

7 pp
+2 to affect fey, giant...
+4 to affect dragon, outsider...
+4 duration
+4 targets

duration: 21 Days
Jandor1
11-11-05, 06:41 PM oh. I didn't know that had been errata'd.

well.

still, it's hilarious. and this way, he can, say, brain lock someone for a long time in the background, or other concentration effects.

THanks for the tip, Nightspirit
Jandor1
11-11-05, 06:46 PM You know...

Lets say he uses the errata and gets some slaves for 21 days or whatever.

The concentration part is still very usefull.

For example:

say Bob is walking around the Grey Wastes of Hades. I don't know why, but he's level 20. That's what they do.

He comes across some demons and devils fighting. He dominates them. now, he's walking around with his normal 12 slaves, plus 12 more, all for the low, low cost of 21 power points.

Double your pleasure, double your fun.
Jandor1
11-12-05, 10:35 PM :bump:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jandor1 11-11-05, 05:23 PM	Okay guys, Jandor1 here with another build. This time, I think I got a good one. Bob the Thrallherd: Human male Psion (telepath) 10/Thrallherd 10 Stats: (32 point buy) Str 8, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 12 1. Psion, Psionic Body, Inquisitor (human), Power Penetration 2. Psion 3. Psion, Greater Power Penetration 4. Psion 5. Psion, Expanded Knowledge (Hustle) 6. Thrallherd, Psionic Meditation 7. Thrallherd 8. Thrallherd 9. Thrallherd, Expanded Knowledge (Metamorphosis) 10. Thrallherd 11. Thrallherd 12. Thrallherd, Extraordinary Concentration 13. Thrallherd 14. Thrallherd 15. Thrallherd, Steady Concentration 16. Psion 17. Psion 18. Psion, Psionic Endowment 19. Psion 20. Psion, Greater Psionic Endowment Here's where it gets fun (and if anyone has already done this, I haven't found it): Items: tome of intellect +5 (137,500 gp), headband of intellect +6 (36,000 gp), amulet of health +6 (36,000 gp), third eye of concentrate (10,000 gp) Stats at 20th level: Str 8, Dex 10, Con 16 (w/headband), Int 34 (w/headband), Wis 14, Cha 12 Concentration check: 36 (23 ranks + 3 constitution + 10 third eye of concentrate) With steady concentration, he always takes ten, so his concentration check is always 46 So: Round 1: overchannel to manifester level 21, take 5d8 points of damage, manifest psionic dominate, expend psionic focus to increase DC by 2 or manifester level by 8, whichever is more useful at the time. Affects 12 targets; effects aberrations, animals, dragons, elementals, fey, giants, humanoids, magic beasts, monstrous humanoids, and outsiders; DC: 38, or 40 with greater psionic endowment (10 base + 12 intelligence + 4 power level + 12 augment (+2 greater psionic endowment)). Total Power Points spent: 21 Now he has 12 slaves. Normally, maintaining the dominate effect requires concentration; but since he has extraordinary concentration, he can maintain concentration as a swift action with a DC 35 + power level concentration check. Which he will always make. So he has 12 slaves, and 2 cohorts, and can still schism and manifest 2 powers a turn and move as normal. bam. he also has the hustle/psionic meditation exploit, so he regain focus and smack people with his powers as usual; also, he has metamorphasis, so he can change into a firbolg and hit people with his staff really, really hard as well. I've played a build similar to this; with the correct power selection, he is viable at low levels even with his low physical stats. I love psionics. :devil:
Jandor1 11-11-05, 05:33 PM	i just realized... This guy can dominate the Tarrasque. :mymy: With a DC 38 save, the Tarrasque (will save +20) would need to roll an 18, 19 or 20, giving him an effective 15% chance of success. or 85% chance of failure. With greater power penetration, assuming magic/psionic transparency, bob would have a 80% chance of beating it's SR, or only a 20% chance of failure (manifester 21 (overchannel), +8 greater power penetration against SR 32). And with schism, Bob could do it twice in a round. and dominate some cult flunkies too. sw33t.
Nightspirit 11-11-05, 05:39 PM	Affects 12 targets; effects aberrations, animals, dragons, elementals, fey, giants, humanoids, magic beasts, monstrous humanoids, and outsiders; DC: 38, or 40 with greater psionic endowment (10 base + 12 intelligence + 4 power level + 12 augment (+2 greater psionic endowment)). The augmentation of the power is wrong: 21-7=15/2=7+4=11 so the DC is: 10+12+11+2=35 still pretty impressive just a few suggestions: 1. use a grey elf instead of the human 2. use a venerable grey elf 3. buy a skin of the protheus your int score as a venerable grey elf is: 18+5+5+5+6=39 the save DC of your dominate is: 10+14+11+2=37 you don't need that concentration with an augmented dominate. Switch all those useless feats and take psicrystal containment, psicrystal affinity, a third eye penetrate and a psionatrix of telepathy
Jandor1 11-11-05, 05:46 PM	hmm, skin of proteus is a nice idea. Thanks Nightspirit. The Venerable route is definately a good way to get his intelligence up, as well as his wisdom and charisma, which help his skills out of combat. with the skin, that would remove most problems concerning him not really being able to move (Strength 2 doesnt have a very big weight allowence...) The psicrystal idea is good, and has been exploited six ways from sunday. I was trying to show a different route; the advantage here being that you don't need a psicrystal. I mean, there are all kinds of ways to protect one, but it would not be good if somebody sundered it... then the army of solars you have dominated would be very, very put out. and you'd be on the same plane. not good for Bob. :D Keep the posts coming guys!
Jandor1 11-11-05, 05:48 PM	Oh, my calculation for the augment DC was thus: 7 power + 24 augment - 10 thrallherd level = 21, with 24 power points spent to augment... not sure if that's legal, but it looks it, so bam. the augment to affect everything but undead and constructs (who are immune anyway) is free due to thrallherd, so it wasn't added in.
Nightspirit 11-11-05, 05:53 PM	you can spend up to 21 PP to manifest an augmented dominate, using overchannel so: 21-7(normal cost of dominate)=15 PP spent to augment the power 15/2=7,5, rounded down to 7 so 7+4=11 the reason because is good to have psicrystal containment, is that you can spend up to 2 psionic focus at the same time so you can use psionic endowment(greater) with greater power penetration, for higher DCs and better ML :D
Jandor1 11-11-05, 06:12 PM	good call on that. okay, if we drop say steady concentration and psionic body to pick up psicrystal affinity and psicrystal containment, couldn't we do both? i mean, if Bob buys some items to buff up his concentration check another few points (some ioun stones come to mind), he can make the check to maintain as a swift action even on a roll of a one. So his psicrystal expends psionic focus, and he does, and his DC shoots up by 2 and his manifester level by 8 for overcomeing power resistance. He still needs teh extraordinary concentration, however, to keep his (effectivly) thralls around. Unlike the spell dominate, the psionic power lasts for a duration: Concentration. this way he can keep them around while doing everything else normally, except of course maintaining concentration powers :rolleyes: but shooting augmented Mind Thrusts at people is fun, as is smaking them as a firbolg.
Nightspirit 11-11-05, 06:29 PM	check the errata: if you augment the power, you can change its duration(up to 1 day/ML) 7 pp +2 to affect fey, giant... +4 to affect dragon, outsider... +4 duration +4 targets duration: 21 Days
Jandor1 11-11-05, 06:41 PM	oh. I didn't know that had been errata'd. well. still, it's hilarious. and this way, he can, say, brain lock someone for a long time in the background, or other concentration effects. THanks for the tip, Nightspirit
Jandor1 11-11-05, 06:46 PM	You know... Lets say he uses the errata and gets some slaves for 21 days or whatever. The concentration part is still very usefull. For example: say Bob is walking around the Grey Wastes of Hades. I don't know why, but he's level 20. That's what they do. He comes across some demons and devils fighting. He dominates them. now, he's walking around with his normal 12 slaves, plus 12 more, all for the low, low cost of 21 power points. Double your pleasure, double your fun.
Jandor1 11-12-05, 10:35 PM	:bump: