Post/Author/DateTime	Post
hovnarr 02-14-06, 09:43 AM	The other day I wondered if it would be possible to create an extremely versatile and powerful psion by carefully selecting feats and powers, that would be able to: *Fight better than a Fighter *Blast, summon and control the battlefield better than any other caster *Heal more effectively than a Cleric *Beat the Rogue at his own game *Obtain all of the above functions by level 10 The build below is as far as I could take the concept. It’s yours to PEACH, improve or scratch your head at. I’ve omitted items for simplicity. It turned out to be a Human Egoist8/Slayer2 with a very “empathic” nature (you’ll see), so I decided to call it: THE ALTRUIST Feats: Track, Overchannel, Psionic Body, EK: Astral Construct, Metamorphic Transfer, Boost Construct, EK: Hostile Empathic Transfer. HP from HD: 4+7x2.5+2x4.5=31 hp Psionic Body: 12 hp Constitution: 10xCon modifier Manifester Level: 9-11 (Overchannel) Ability Scores (25 point buy): Str 8, Dex 8, Con 8, Int 20 (level 4 and 8), Wis 14, Cha 11 PP: 97 PP BAB: +6 Common Metamorphosis Forms: *Annis (7HD) : Str 25, Dex 12, Con 14; Improved grab, rake 1d6+7, rend 2d6+10; Natural armor +10. (No transferable abilities) [I]*Green Hag (9HD) : Str 19, Dex 12, Con 12; Mimicry; Natural Armor +11. (Weakness is transferable, 2d4 Str, FORT neg DC 14) [I]* 11 Headed Pyrohydra or Cryohydra (11HD): Str 23, Dex 12, Con 20; Combat Reflexes; Natural Armor +12. (Jet is transferable, 33d6 fire or cold, REF half DC 20) *Pixie (1HD): Str 7, Dex 18, Con 11; Special Arrows; Natural Armor +1. (Greater Invisibility is transferable) Powers: 1st level: Call to Mind, Crystal Shard, Entangling Ectoplasm, Psionic Grease, Vigor 2nd level: Empathic Transfer, Energy Stun, Specified Energy Adaptation, Tongues 3rd level: Dispel Psionics, Mental Barrier, Telekinetic Force, Time Hop 4th level: Dimension Door, Metamorphosis, Intellect Fortress, Wall of Ectoplasm 5th level: Psionic Revivify, True Seeing COMBAT Compared to the Fighter, the Altruist has inferior BAB, HP and combat feats. The above forms compensate for this however, granting up to 11 attacks per round as a standard action, up to a +5 base Con modifier, or various (Ex) abilities. The natural armor of the humanoid forms stacks with your regular armor, granting you neigh unbeatable AC for your level, especially with Mental Barrier available. For most simple battles, the only buff you will need is to metamorph into a Hag. Even if limited to only physical attacks, the Altruist will do more and take less damage than the typical Fighter if he so desires. BLASTING The Altruist uses overchanneled Energy Stun, Crystal Shard and Hostile Empathic Transfer (HET), as well as the transferable Jet (Su) ability from Pyro/Cryohydra to deal massive amounts of damage. The damage from overchannel is actually a benefit since it “charges” HET. A typical combat that needs to be ended quickly could look this: Round 1: Manifest overchanneled Metamorphosis (7PP, take 3d8= about 14 dmg) to change into an 11 headed Pyrohydra [HP 79/93]. If possible, move so that you just threaten as many enemies as possible. You will probably take some damage from enemies in this round. Some enemies might draw AoO, which you can deliver with all 11 heads (see the Hydra entry). Round 2: Jet (Su) 33d6 fire, REF half DC 20. Take some additional damage from remaining enemies, and possibly dish out more AoO damage. Round 3: Manifest overchanneled augmented HET (11PP, taking about 14 more dmg). Heal all your wounds (provided at least one enemy fails his save) dealing about 50 dmg to all in a 20’ radius (WILL half DC 18). Round 4+: Attack normally if any enemy is still standing. I think it’s safe to say that no level 10 SRD-only wizard comes anywhere near dishing out these amounts of blasting punishment. You get all this for only 18 PP, the equivalent of two 5th level spells. The best the wizard can hope for is empowered fireballs for 15d6 each. SUMMONING The Altruist can drop up to 6th level boosted constructs (as an invisible hovering pixie if he needs to keep a distance), which trumps anything on the Summon Monster/Nature’s Ally level 5 list even with Augmented Summoning. BATTLEFIELD CONTROL Apart from manifesting constructs, there are many ways for you to control the battlefield. This is often necessary since you tend to create quite a fiery carnage around yourself and the other fighters of the party are wise to keep a distance. Dividing the enemy with a Wall of Ectoplasm allows you to focus on your share of the prey. You can move freely between the blocks using Dimension Door. Time Hop can also be used offensively, much like a lower level Maze spell, to let you deal with certain enemies later and focus the party’s efforts. Use Psionic Grease to disarm or slow down the enemy, or even to help a friend escape a grapple! You also have Entangling Ectoplasm at your disposal (a [no, no] effect), which will also help you procure targets unscathed. I’d still rate the wizard a bit stronger in this department, with spells such as Black Tentacles and Solid Fog, but the Altruist can almost keep up. HEALING In combat you can “charge” your HET by transferring your allies’ wounds to yourself through Empathic Transfer. If this is inconvenient for you (undead as far as the eye can see), you can buff yourself with Vigor first, which is also the method of choice for healing outside combat. In case you’re wounded after a battle, you can also use HET to transfer your wounds to an ally and then use Vigor+ET to do away with the damage (ask your friend to fail the save, naturally). If executed wisely, these methods can be even more efficient than clerical healing. Since there is no psionic method to cure disease or neutralize poison, you need to rely on your healing skill (a class skill for Egoists) for this purpose. This is actually an area where the cleric trumps the Altruist, but you can make do with the skill. On the other hand, you have the best resurrection effect in the game. Psionic Revivify is like a True Resurrection, only it costs 200 XP instead of 25k gp. The only problem with it is the time restriction, which can be easily circumvented with Time Hop. Just send your fallen comrade forward in time to when the fight is over and you can revive him when it is more convenient. Dimension Door makes sure you can tend to your friends within a round. The final contribution to your healing repertoire is Intellect Fortress. It’s improved evasion for everyone, only better. Best of all, it stacks with all other means of reducing damage (making your Specified Energy Adaptation more useful). For 7 pp, this could be the most efficient “healing” available, even though it’s situational. ROGUE ABILITIES The Rogue excels in several areas, but the Altruist can keep up in almost all of them. It’s hard to beat the stealth and mobility of an invisible pixie, or the inconspicuousness of a simple rat or cat. With Tongues and Metamorphosis you can also disguise yourself as virtually any creature. Time Hop can be used to bypass locks and traps without leaving a sign of your passage, or you might prefer to use an Astral Construct as a trap finding guinea pig. Take at least one rank in virtually all Knowledge skills, specializing in the important ones, and you can obtain hard to find information with Call to Mind. You can use Telekinetic Force for sleight of hand purposes and more. Finally, the Slayer class provides you with many useful skills in itself, so you won’t have to skimp in important skills such as Spot or Listen (True Seeing is useful here too of course).
RadicalTaoist 02-14-06, 10:46 AM	LOL. Technically this is a CO Boards thread.
hovnarr 02-14-06, 11:31 AM	I've tried posting psionic builds at the CO boards before but the reply rate and quality is always loads better here. Of course, I could move it there if it bothers anyone :embarrass
RadicalTaoist 02-14-06, 12:59 PM	Ask the WizOs to move it. I'd be glad to reply. It's a well done build.
hovnarr 02-14-06, 04:13 PM	Thanks. Well, I asked them. Hopefully it'll get moved shortly. :cool:
Elephant Jack 02-15-06, 04:06 AM	Hi hovnarr! The build below is as far as I could take the concept. It’s yours to PEACH, improve or scratch your head at. I’ve omitted items for simplicity. It turned out to be a Human Egoist8/Slayer2 with a very “empathic” nature (you’ll see), so I decided to call it: You know what I really, really like about your build? The fact that every DM I know including me will allow this. The whole Altruist is happy with SRD-classes and 25 pt. buy and 10 levels. THIS is what I call min-maxing... It's quite easy to go off with a min-max combo if you can choose any magic item from any book, buy abilities with 32 pts., start at level 20 and use books that no sane DM will allow (Savage Species, Unearthed Arcana...). COMBAT [...] Thanks to (broken?) metamorphosis, the combat-part is easily achieved; nice: pixie! BLASTING [...] This is awesome! 33d6 should be enough damage for most encounters in an ECL 10 adventure... HEALING [...] Interesting, this is something I really didn't know (though I must admit that I really wasn't interested in HET or ET before this thread). And: ah, the wonders of vigor (definitively the best 1st level power - ok, astral construct is quite good, too). ROGUE ABILITIES [...] One thing hurts: No trapfinding... In our recent RttToEE-group we had no Rogue but a Psion (seer) with over the top Search/Spot/Listen checks (~+20-+25), but by RAW he can't find most traps... All-in-all this build is really cool, has flavor and is playable from level 1 to 10 (and possibly beyond). Sincerly yours EJ PS: Do you mind if I link this build in my sig?
Tempest Stormwind 02-15-06, 04:58 AM	One complaint. Vigor? "The preferred method of healing outside of combat"? It's temporary hit points, not healing. One addition. There's an easy way to pull off trapfinding, though it does take us beyond the core-only beauty of the original. 1) Drop Boost Construct, take Shape Soulmeld (Theft Gloves). 2) Drop one fourth-level or fifth-level power of your choice, take Psionic Open Chakra. You can now shape the Theft Gloves soulmeld (bonuses on the full compliment of thief-rogue skills, and lets you use them untrained) and bind it to your Hands chakra (which grants you trapfinding). This lasts until you don't want it to anymore, as near as I can gather, since you'll reshape/bind it at the start of every day. (I just bought the book today; I'm still working with it.) One comment: Very, very versatile. However, I think that his stamina leaves a fair bit to be desired when it comes to a quadruple-threat character. And this is perfectly fine. After all, that's the psion in a nutshell, isn't it? Versatility and power, but at the cost of stamina.
hovnarr 02-15-06, 09:08 AM	The whole Altruist is happy with SRD-classes and 25 pt. buy and 10 levels. 90% of the builds I make are SRD only. I feel that if you start considering splat books you have to consider all of them. It's a vast, complex and broken material to grasp and your build risks being outdated in three months when the next tome hits the shelves. This is why I prefer SRD. One thing hurts: No trapfinding... In our recent RttToEE-group we had no Rogue but a Psion (seer) with over the top Search/Spot/Listen checks (~+20-+25), but by RAW he can't find most traps... 1) Drop Boost Construct, take Shape Soulmeld (Theft Gloves). 2) Drop one fourth-level or fifth-level power of your choice, take Psionic Open Chakra. An alternative solution is to commission a continous Find Traps item for: 2x3x2x2000=24k gold. It's costly but affordable at level 10 and subject to your DM's approval (then again - what isn't?) but it's SRD. All-in-all this build is really cool, has flavor and is playable from level 1 to 10 (and possibly beyond). Consider Psychic Reformation. An Egoist/Slayer is by default a multi-purpose character, and at higher levels you can change any power or feat to your liking if it becomes obsolete. See my 3.5 Psion Power Selection Guide for functions any 20th level psion should master (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=586173). I might do level 1, 5 and 20 builds for this guy too, just to map the progression out (the concept will be the same, but for example, True Metabolism will replace the function of HET in the high levels). PS: Do you mind if I link this build in my sig? Nothing would please me more! :D Vigor? "The preferred method of healing outside of combat"? It's temporary hit points, not healing. Sorry, I was unclear. What I meant was that the preferred method of healing allies outside combat is to buff yourself with Vigor and then use Empathic Transfer, whereas in combat (if there are non-immune foes) you can simply Empathic Transfer immediately and pay it forward to the enemy with HET. Very, very versatile. However, I think that his stamina leaves a fair bit to be desired when it comes to a quadruple-threat character. I both concur and disagree. While 43 base HP is nothing to be proud of, with a Con of 8 bringing that to a depressing 33, the Hydra form gives a boost of 50 HP thanks to the 20 Con of that creature for a possible grand total of 93 HP, which is nothing to snear at for a 10th level tank. A key concept of the build is to combine these extra HP (which will go away as Metamorphosis ends and leave the damage behind, possibly killing you) with HET. It works like this: *Take on a shape that grants you more HP for a while, much like Barbarian rage *Take damage *Do away with that damage using HET before your "rage" ends and the damage destroys you Your extremely vulnerable to a Dispel just before you deliver your HET - you've stocked up on damage that might do you in if you loose your form. If you fear this, kill casters first, HET early when you have taken less than 30 dmg or choose a different strategy (Constructs, for instance). Remember you can also HET the party tank, Vigor and ET if your Metamorphosis is about to end and all enemies are dead due to bad planning (even if this kills the tank, you can revive him for 200XP at no penalty). For this reason, Con-boosting items (preferably belts which work on most forms) are good since they increase both your defensive AND offensive potential (as it increases your "HET storage capacity"). With a Con booster, Int booster and Find Traps item, this build is good to go. :cool:
PonTelon 02-15-06, 12:38 PM	The build below is as far as I could take the concept. It’s yours to PEACH, improve or scratch your head at. I’ve omitted items for simplicity. I really like your build, but what exactaly does PEACH mean?
hogarth 02-15-06, 12:54 PM	I really like your build, but what exactaly does PEACH mean? It's a small, peach-coloured fruit, but that's not important right now. The issue at hand is that he's asking us to please evaluate and comment helpfully on his build.
GDarius 02-15-06, 01:38 PM	RE: lack of stamina; shouldn't you be able to pull some Psycrystal/Vigor/Share Pain goodness by level 10? I think this would be a superior trick to Psionic Body, and it uses the same number of feat slots. Granted, if you're strapped for powers known, you may not want to go this direction, but it could increase your durability quite a bit. EDIT: Almost forgot, if you take up a Psycristal buddy, you can share your metamorphosis with it. 22 heads are better than 11, after all :D
Elephant Jack 02-15-06, 01:43 PM	90% of the builds I make are SRD only. You've got some links? I really like SRD only min-maxing. An alternative solution is to commission a continous Find Traps item for: 2x3x2x2000=24k gold. It's costly but affordable at level 10 and subject to your DM's approval (then again - what isn't?) but it's SRD. This IS a good option, actually. The mentioned Psion in our RttToEE group will be glad to here this option. Nothing would please me more! Already done ;-) Very, very versatile. However, I think that his stamina leaves a fair bit to be desired when it comes to a quadruple-threat character. What about the Shared Pain/Vigor combo?? This will give a decent boost to your effective hp. Sincerly yours EJ
hovnarr 02-15-06, 03:19 PM	You've got some links? I really like SRD only min-maxing. I think I've done a PsyWar, Druid and Wilder in the past at least. I don't have the links at hand but I can PM them to you shortly. The Wilder isn't posted but I have it as a word file. RE: lack of stamina; shouldn't you be able to pull some Psycrystal/Vigor/Share Pain goodness by level 10? I think this would be a superior trick to Psionic Body, and it uses the same number of feat slots. What about the Shared Pain/Vigor combo?? This will give a decent boost to your effective hp. I considered this in my first draft of the build, but I decided against it (though the trade was against Boost Construct for me - I feel Psionic Body is more vital for the concept at this level). The thing is, Vigor does not work well with ETH. You want to take damage for ETH to work, and Vigor stops that. For this concept, Vigor is mostly useful when not in combat when healing with ET. Granted, Share Pain would improve the PP economy slightly when healing all party members massively like this, but I thought that was a too high a price to pay for unboosted constructs and one 2nd level power less. There is also the time factor. See my combat example above - you will have killed the opposition come round 4 with a little luck. If you're doing Vigor and Share Pain you haven't even started dealing damage until round 3. On the other hand, if you suffer a fireball in the surprise round, you can just metamorph into a Hydra on the first round and dim door to your agressor as a move (taking more glorious damage!). Then on the second round you can give him a piece of your mind and a taste of his own medicine with a touch HET! It's all about speed, baby. Now, the higher level build *will* include Share Pain and a psicrystal. By then you'll be wanting a second focus anyway for that Extended, Overchanneled, Split Energy Conversion, plus you'll have Temporal Acceleration for boosting at your own leisure AND Share Pain will start being really important for PP economy reasons alone. I'll get back with a level 20 (and possibly level 15) build for this guy (though the low levels will be detailed first!). Finally, I'm ashamed to admit, there is a forth reason for excluding Share Pain at this point in the build and that's Skip Williams, according to whome HP buffs are divided when you share. Here's the quote (RotG, familiars part 2): Some spells have benefits that can be fully shared and other benefits that must be allocated to the familiar or to the master. For example, an aid spell grants temporary hit points and bestows a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and saves against fear effects. If the master and the familiar share an aid spell, only one of them gets the temporary hit points, but both receive the morale bonus. Not wanting to be Skip's gimp or anything, but the above just adds insult upon non-injury when it comes to the Vigor power.
RadicalTaoist 02-15-06, 03:28 PM	I both concur and disagree. While 43 base HP is nothing to be proud of, with a Con of 8 bringing that to a depressing 33, the Hydra form gives a boost of 50 HP thanks to the 20 Con of that creature for a possible grand total of 93 HP, which is nothing to snear at for a 10th level tank. A key concept of the build is to combine these extra HP (which will go away as Metamorphosis ends and leave the damage behind, possibly killing you) with HET. It works like this: *Take on a shape that grants you more HP for a while, much like Barbarian rage *Take damage *Do away with that damage using HET before your "rage" ends and the damage destroys you Your extremely vulnerable to a Dispel just before you deliver your HET - you've stocked up on damage that might do you in if you loose your form. If you fear this, kill casters first, HET early when you have taken less than 30 dmg or choose a different strategy (Constructs, for instance). Remember you can also HET the party tank, Vigor and ET if your Metamorphosis is about to end and all enemies are dead due to bad planning (even if this kills the tank, you can revive him for 200XP at no penalty). For this reason, Con-boosting items (preferably belts which work on most forms) are good since they increase both your defensive AND offensive potential (as it increases your "HET storage capacity"). With a Con booster, Int booster and Find Traps item, this build is good to go. :cool: Tempest's referring to PP stamina. You'll run out if you try to be a one-man party all the time.
hovnarr 02-15-06, 04:29 PM	Peccavi. I just realized I should drop the Specified Energy Adaptation (since I have Intellect Fortress) and take Animal Affinity instead to help with any ability shortages. Tempest's referring to PP stamina. You'll run out if you try to be a one-man party all the time. Ah. Well, the Altruist paradox is that he can fill all the functions in a party, yet desperately needs a party to shine. With no party his healing (and many tactical) skills are useless, and he has nobody to HET in a pinch. He can take any position in a party, but he's no solo. This means he won't _have_ to waste PP on every problem. There are also Headbands of Intellect. Might I also suggest a +1 deep crystal greatsword of powerstoring (priced as a +2 item in total) for a HET (much cheaper than a Cog. Crystal, and more effective). Also, consider that the 33d6 blasts and the Improved Invisibility cost no PP at all - you can simply do it three times a day (usually one for each encounter should suffice). Most combats will only take a 7 PP Hag Metamorphosis to handle effortlessly, with some patching up of your buddies afterwards (many other party members will have healing powers too - you should optimize this). Look at this rough estimate: 3 tough battles for 15 PP each = 45 PP Healing = 30 PP Utility uses = 20 PP TOTAL = 95 PP Which is roughly what you have without any items. I'd have to play test to be sure, but I think he can manage, mainly because of HET bang-for-buck and no-PP Transfers.
RadicalTaoist 02-15-06, 05:32 PM	A few notes - Your DC on the save for the Pyrohydra breath is wrong - it's DC 15. Look at the Metamorphic Transfer feat. How are you splitting up 'Healing' expenditure pp between Vigor and HET? I think your claim of "better healer" may not be up to snuff. Come to think of it, I do believe I could outdo each of those areas with optimized specialists. Level 6 Astral Constructs are dirty - until compared to Druid summons with some of the Druid buffs added on (and I haven't gotten to animal companions, Summon Monster + Polymorph combos are pretty potent too). That's more the way of a challenge though.
hovnarr 02-16-06, 04:55 AM	Your DC on the save for the Pyrohydra breath is wrong - it's DC 15. Look at the Metamorphic Transfer feat. Thanks for bringing my attention to that. Yeah, I used the con mod + 1/2#heads as a normal hydra. In the light of this, do you think Int/Wis/Cha of 17/14/14 is better than 18/14/11 for a 25 point environment? Or maybe I should just change the optimal environment to 28 point buy instead. How are you splitting up 'Healing' expenditure pp between Vigor and HET? I think your claim of "better healer" may not be up to snuff. I've seen calculations that seem pretty solid, suggesting that Vigor+Empathic Transfer is a more efficient means of healing levels 5-15 than corresponding Clerical healing for that level (when converting PP to match the Cure spells). Using Metamorphosis+ET+HET is my own concept (though others may have beat me to it). Let's consider a party member down 30 HP which you desire to heal (at 10th level). You need a 6d10 ET (6*5.5=33) to pull this off, costing you 3+2=5 PP. You take about 15 damage. Then you Transfer this damage (and any other that you've suffered) to an opponent with HET, costing you 5 additional PP. Since HET is both defensive and offensive here, I think it's fair to attribute 2 of the 5 PP to the healing and 3 of them to dealing damage. This means a total of 7 PP have gone towards healing, which corresponds to a cure spell of 4d8+10 (curing 28 HP on average, which means the psion is slightly stronger). The Cleric will be stronger in those cases where several party members have minor wounds, as you loose out on the wonderful benefits of scale that come with augmented ET. So, as I pointed out in the build, the Altruist isn't always better at healing but he does have the potential. Come to think of it, I do believe I could outdo each of those areas with optimized specialists. I'd be surprised if you couldn't, Radical Taoist. ;) Though I think it will be challenging in this environment (25 point buy, SRD only, level 10). My goal with this build was to fight better than the average fighter and heal better than the average cleric etc. - not to beat any specialist at his chosen field. Not the jack of all trades, nor the king of all trades, but a queen of all trades, if you will. Coming up: Snapshots of the Altruist at level 1 and 5.
hovnarr 02-16-06, 07:50 AM	Use Psychic Reformation at level 7 and beyond to adapt to the 10th level build above. Here are 1st and 5th level builds for the Altruist. LEVEL 1: Feats: Psionic Body, Psicrystal Affinity (Single-minded), Speed of Thought Powers: Call to Mind, Grease, Matter Agitation Skills: You have (2+4+1=)7*4 SP at level 1. Be sure to max Healing, Concentration and Autohypnosis. Put at least one point in Psicraft and most of the Knowledge skills. Take ranks in Balance if you like and put cc-ranks in Search (as you'll never get that as a class skill). Avoid Spot and Listen just now - you'll get them as class skills in due time and you can make do with your good Wis and Alertness feat (from the Psi-crystal). PP: 4, HP: 9, AC: Take any armor you can afford and carry as you won't be making attack rolls at this stage anyway. Strategy: You have high HP, acceptable AC and superb mobility. Your main attack (Matter Agitation) costs 1PP and can do lots of damage over time. Keep your distance while you concentrate. Alternatively, support the attackers with Grease. Use your psicrystal as a scout or communication device (at the higher levels). In combat, it can take the aid another action to grant you yet another +2 bonus to Concentration. LEVEL 5: Feats: Psionic Body, Psicrystal Affinity (Single-minded), Speed of Thought, EK: Astral Construct, Boost Construct Powers: 1st: Call to Mind, Grease, Matter Agitation, Mind Thrust, Vigor 2nd: Energy Stun, Empathic Transfer, Share Pain, Tongues 3rd: Dispel Psionics, Time Hop Most of the powers here have been described previously in the thread. Note that shared (with psi-crystal) Vigor + Share Pain is a viable combo here, since you haven't gotten HET yet. Psychic Reformation guidelines: *You can reform in the ranged attack powers (Crystal Shard and ecto goo) at 7th when the 18 Dex Pixie form is available. Also bring in Metamorphic Transfer here. *Make sure you have the Track feat before you attain 9th level *When you do hit 9th and take EK: HET, reform in Overchannel as taking damage is now suddenly good for you. Depending on possible restrictions your DM might impose on Reformation, you may not have the luxury of taking powers and feats in this order. However, you can probably compromise to fit both your needs and any campaign restrictions appropriately. Be sure to exploit the armor and weapon proficiencies of Slayer when you reach 9th. Start with pooring 4+5+1=10 SP per level (!) into Listen and Spot, while keeping Concentration maxed out. When you're done, make the most of your Track feat by maxing out Survival. The rest goes to Bluff, Psicraft and Sense Motive as you prefer. If you DO get the continous Find Traps item recommended for this build, be sure to max out Search as much as you can with cc ranks too. Coming up: Level 15 and 20 builds with guidelines for playing the Altruist at higher levels. P.S. An addition to the Common Metamorphosis Forms block above: Choker (3HD): Str 16, Dex 14, Con 13; Improved grab, constrict 1d3+3, Improved Initiative; Natural Armor +4 (Quickness is transferable). Useful when you need to lay the smack down quickly with multiple Energy Stuns per round, for instance. Climb to safety first. ;)
hovnarr 02-17-06, 03:47 PM	Level 15 Build: Psion 10/Slayer5 Feats (6+1+3=10): Track, Overchannel, Psionic Body, EK: Astral Construct, Metamorphic Transfer, Extend Power, EK: Hostile Empathic Transfer, Split Psionic Ray, EK: Psionic Dominate, EK: Dispelling Buffer HP from HD: 4+9x2.5+5x4.5=49 hp Psionic Body: 18 hp Constitution: 15xCon modifier Manifester Level: 14-17 (Overchannel) PP: 226 PP (with Headband of Intellect +6) BAB: +10 Powers: 1st level: Call to Mind, Crystal Shard, Defensive Precognition, Inertial Armor, Vigor 2nd level: Animal Affinity, Empathic Transfer, Energy Stun, Tongues 3rd level: Dispel Psionics, Energy Wall, Telekinetic Force, Time Hop 4th level: Dimension Door, Metamorphosis, Intellect Fortress, Wall of Ectoplasm 5th level: Psionic Revivify, Psionic True Seeing, Power Resistance, Restore Extremity 6th level: Psionic Contingency, Psionic Divination, Psionic Restoration, Temporal Acceleration 7th level: Decerebrate, Energy Conversion, Fission, Personal Mind Blank Useful Equipement: Animated shield +5 (49k), Ring of Protection +5 (50k), Eyes of Trap Finding (custom: continous Find Traps, 24k), Headband of Intellect +6 (36k) = 159k All Day Buffs: Personal Mind Blank (13 PP), Extended Inertial Armor (17 PP), Extended Dispelling Buffer (13PP). These are manifested at ML17, dealing 3x5d8=68 dmg. This requires a 14 PP Vigor to avoid. Contingency (I prefer a 1 round Time Hop if targeted with a lethal spell) is also active, needing to be refreshed every 17th day (insignificant daily PP cost). Total: 57 PP Level 15 offers so many more defensive and offensive options than level 10, and I will try to follow the above outline to point these out. The high levels are all about PP conservation – you need to assess the threat and respond accordingly. COMBAT The first decision you must take is whether you wish to actually participate in the battle or stand more in the back rows manifesting powers. For a truly simple threat, use Metamorphosis [Stone Giant] (7PP) and Hostile Empathic Transfer as needed to heal your wounds. *AC: 45 (–1 size, +2 Dex, +11 natural, +11 Inertial Armor, +7 Animated Shield, +5 Ring) *Physical Attributes: Str 27, Dex 15, Con 19. The 45 AC will severely impair physical attacks at this level. If this doesn’t cut it however, you’re usually better off using Dominate, Decerebrate, Energy Conversion etc. to eliminate your foes. In extreme situations, you can show the true meaning of buffing by doing all this in the same round: Round 1: Metamorphosis [Choker] (7PP). You gain an extra action. As an immediate action, manifest Extended Temporal Acceleration [2 rounds] (15PP). Take 1d8 damage. *TA round 1: Vigor (14 PP – to soak upcoming Overchannel dmg), Defensive Precognition (16PP) (5d8 dmg) *TA round 2: Power Resistance (11 PP) (5d8 dmg), Vigor (17PP) (5d8 dmg) Round 1: Metamorphosis [Stone Giant] (7PP) (5d8 dmg) (choker extra action). Dim door to your enemy as a move action (11 PP). All you buffs are at ML 17, which makes then almost impossible to dispel since Dispelling Buffer is also active. You have a Power Resistance of 29 and save bonuses of +11 (Ring + Def. Precog), plus you are immune to mind affecting effects. You have an AC of 51, meaning only creatures with +32 attack or more will hit you on a roll of 19. Should anything get through, you still have about 60 HP left on your Vigor, and 127 normal HP at that (-1d8 damage). The price for this is 98 PP however, so it’s only something you do under extreme circumstances. BLASTING The benchmark for comparison here is a Maximized Cone of Cold (90 dmg area effect with save) and an Empowered, Maximized Scorching Ray (66+5,5*3,5=85 dmg ray with no save). You still have the pyro/cryohydra available, now doing fully 36d6 (about 126 dmg, area) fire or cold for no more than the Metamorphosis cost (7PP). You also have Energy Conversion. Interpreted as restrictively as possible, Energy Conversion discharges all stocked up damage (for one element) at once, not allowing you to stock up on, say, 2000 points of sonic damage and then plink away at leisure for no cost. Even so, it’s terribly efficient. Use Energy Wall to charge sonic, electricity and cold, and a simple torch for fire. Use Vigor (5PP) so you can Overchannel: Vigor (5PP), Split Energy Conversion (ML17, 15PP), 3xEnergy Wall (3x5PP) = 35 PP. Precharging like this grants you 4 elemental rays doing 3*2*17=102 dmg for <9 PP a pop (and no save!). That is PP economy. The Conversion lasts almost 3 hours so you should always prepare this arsenal ahead if you expect trouble (in a dungeon for instance). If you really must lay the smack down, you also have a Split Crystal Shard available for up to 30d6 (=105) damage, no save, no PR, no Anti Magic Field etc. It will cost you 17PP though, so don’t be too trigger happy with it. All in all, this is a hands down blasting victory for the Altruist compared to a core 15th level sorceror/wizard. SUMMONING Yes, Boost Construct had to go at this point, but it doesn’t matter. With Extended Augmented Temporal Acceleration (17PP), you can dish out 4 level 9 constructs in an immediate action. All in all, this will cost you 85 PP + Vigor to soak up the overchannel, so it’s nothing you do just to show off. Normally, manifesting as an invisible pixie will suffice, as will delivering one 8th level construct per round until the situation is under control. BATTLEFIELD CONTROL Finally, you have access to Psionic Dominate – the most immediate way of controlling your enemies. It truly is a formidable power, and at 17 PP it can do so much more than the arcane Dominate Monster. For slaying casters and other high WILL targets you have Decerebrate at your disposal. It’s also a good way to take prisoners since you can patch them up with Restore Extremity – no harm no foul (it doesn’t say so explicitly – but you can regrow entire heads, so a portion of the brain stem should present no problem). A useful addition to Wall of Ectoplasm, Energy Wall (sonic) can form a wall that missile fire cannot pass through (sonic ignores hardness). You can also use it to charge Energy Conversion in combat – your enemies will take damage from your rays if they don’t attack and from your Wall if they do. The most important of all, Temporal Acceleration now allows you to speed yourself up rather than slowing the enemy down (the advantage of this has been illustrated above). All in all, the arcane caster is still slightly stronger in this department, but the Altruist is gaining ground. HEALING Alas, the Heal spell is now available to Clerics and Druids, and it’s hard for the Altruist to keep up since Empathic Transfer is capped at 10d10. With Restoration and Restore Extremity, you do keep up with the other high level Clerical tricks, however. The solution to this problem is simple: If the healing/action is inferior to that of the Cleric, you must find a way to increase the number of actions you can spend on healing as compared to the Cleric. Enter Fission. Mid combat when your allies are starting to look a bit down, manifest Fission. Not only can your stunt double heal your allies as needed every turn, you only take half his damage when combat ends. Since he only took half of their damage in the first place, ET actually only transfers 25% of the damage this way, making this a prefered method of healing! If the unthinkable should occur and one of you would die, you can simply manifest Restoration (TA first if you worry about the 3 round manifesting time). In summary, the Altruist can keep up the healing effort by compensating for his lack of power with more actions. He will be more economical than the Cleric for wounds of about 55 HP, but above that the free scaling of Heal wins out. ROGUE ABILITIES The biggest difference here compared to 10th level lies in the skills you have gained through the Slayer PrC. With the Find Traps item suggested above, you now master virtually all of the typically “roguish” fields. Stay tuned for the final level 20 build…
hovnarr 02-18-06, 05:18 AM	ARGH! Botched on the power progression - a 14th level psion would only have 3 level 6&7 slots, not 4. 5th level: Psionic Revivify, Psionic True Seeing, Power Resistance, Restore Extremity 6th level: Psionic Contingency, Psionic Divination, Psionic Restoration, Temporal Acceleration 7th level: Decerebrate, Energy Conversion, Fission, Personal Mind Blank To stay efficient at this level, drop Restore Extremity, Psionic Contingency and Decerebrate. Move Psionic Divination to a 5th level slot and take Psionic Disintegrate. That should do it. I'll get back with a better level 20 selection once I figure out the complete build.