Confused About Incarnum [Archive] - Wizards Community

Confused About Incarnum [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
WayneTheGame
02-08-06, 12:35 PM (Note: Posting this on Magic and Spells since it's Magic of Incarnum. If Incarnum threads should go somewhere else, accept my apologies)

So I purchased MoI today, and I've started reading through it. I love the ideas and concepts of the soulmelds, but I'm getting a little bit confused (maybe that should be overwhelmed?) with how exactly it works.

Let me give an example so I can see if I have it right:

Let's say I have a 2nd level Azurin Totemist. So I can have 3 Soulmelds; each day I can pick ANY three from the Totemist list. For example, Sphinx' Claws, Displacer Shirt and Basilisk Mask. I have 3 Essentia points (2 for 2nd level Totemist, +1 for Azurin) which I can swap around every round? But at 2nd level I can only keep 1 Essentia point in each souldmeld (not counting the Totem bind)

I can also (2nd Level Totemist) bind a meld to my Totem, and gain its bonus in addition to the normal bonus the soulmeld grants me? e.g. binding Sphinx Claws to my totem gives me a claw attack (or is it two claw attacks?) AND +1 to Strength checks/Strength-based skill checks? And I can shift up to two points (1 normally, 1 extra for it being a Totem chakra) to my Totem chakra, for example to increase my attack and damage with the claws in combat. When I later reach 5th level (and subsequent ones) I can bind soulmelds to whatever is listed on the chart (e.g. crown, feet or hands) OR my totem chakra (since Chakra Binds is 1). When Chakra Binds increases to 2, I can have any combination of two binds (e.g. crown/feet, hands/totem, totem/crown, etc.) and can change them each day?

Am I correct in all this? As I said, Incarnum is somewhat confusing to me but I haven't sat down and read the entire book yet.
Todd
02-08-06, 01:16 PM Everything you posted looks spot on to me. The Totemist is actually the most confusing class in regards to binds since they have the totem chakra ... which doesn't correspond to any of the other physical locations.

The one thing that I would add is that you can only shape one soulmeld per chakra. So you couldn’t shape both the Sphinx Claws and the Blood Talons at the same time, regardless of binds, without taking the Dual Chakra feat.

I like to think of meldshaping as a three step process.
1. Decide what melds to shape & what locations they will occupy.
2. Decide which of these melds, if any, will be bound.
3. Allocate essentia, which can be changed round by round.

I’ll also note that you don’t have to reshape your soulmelds each day. Once you shape them on day 1 they stay that way until they are unshaped by a spell or you decide that you want to swap them out for something else on day 5, 6, or whatever. Only if you know that you need to change something out will you need the 8 hours of rest and the 1 hour of concentration to get everything set back up.

Regarding claws & other natural attacks ... you get two claws and can attack with both on a full attack action even at 2nd level. You don’t usually actually get a natural attack from a Totemist soulmeld in most cases unless you actually bind it to the totem chakra.
jpat93
02-08-06, 06:05 PM (Note: Posting this on Magic and Spells since it's Magic of Incarnum. If Incarnum threads should go somewhere else, accept my apologies)

Just as an aside, I think it's pretty much been decided that this is the place for your specific type of question, with class-related questions going in the Classes forum, etc.
Nightwhisper
02-09-06, 03:28 AM There's also the fact that a soulmeld bount to the Totem chakra must also occupy another chackra slot since Totem isn't a valid choice for occupancy. You still only get the bind ability of the Totem slot until you gain Double Bind at 11th level.
Munchmausen
02-09-06, 11:52 AM To further clarify Nightwhisper's comment: You can have Sphinx Claws bound to your Totem Chakra, but it must be shaped to your Hands. When you reach 11th level, you gain the ability to Bind it to both your Totem and your Hands. This requires the use of two Chakra Binds.
WayneTheGame
02-09-06, 01:24 PM Let me just make sure I understand... if I take Sphinx Claws, and bind it to my Totem, then its bound to my totem (i.e. I get the physical claws) but it takes up my hands chakra space, so I can't meld another thing that takes up the hands space, right? Then when I'm high enough level I can have it bound to both my Totem *and* Hands chakras (costing 2 chakra binds). Other than that, I can leave my soulmelds where they are forever or change them by resting and meditating... and then every round on my turn I can choose to allocate essentia from my essentia pool to my melds to make them stronger?
Todd
02-09-06, 03:21 PM if I take Sphinx Claws, and bind it to my Totem, then its bound to my totem (i.e. I get the physical claws) but it takes up my hands chakra space, so I can't meld another thing that takes up the hands space, right?
Yes ... the claws are Shaped on your hands but bound to your Totem chakra. There is a feat that you could take at 9th level or better to let you shape/bind more than one thing to a chakra ... but by default you are correct.

Then when I'm high enough level I can have it bound to both my Totem *and* Hands chakras (costing 2 chakra binds).Yep.

Other than that, I can leave my soulmelds where they are forever or change them by resting and meditating... and then every round on my turn I can choose to allocate essentia from my essentia pool to my melds to make them stronger?Yep.
The 8th Samurai
02-09-06, 07:05 PM Let me just make sure I understand... if I take Sphinx Claws, and bind it to my Totem, then its bound to my totem (i.e. I get the physical claws) but it takes up my hands chakra space, so I can't meld another thing that takes up the hands space, right? Then when I'm high enough level I can have it bound to both my Totem *and* Hands chakras (costing 2 chakra binds).
The Totem chakra is a strange chakra. It does not obey the normal rules for chakra location. As stated in MoI on page 51 under CHAKRA BINDS “totem chakra is unusual in several respects. It does not correspond to any body slot, so soulmelds cannot occupy the totem chakra. For this reason, the totem chakra appears in parentheses at the end of this entry for totemist melds. When a totemist wishes to bind a soulmeld to her totem chakra, she must choose a different chakra for that soulmeld to occupy. Regardless of the chakra occupied by the soulmeld, however, the totemist can bind it to her totem chakra. This is the exception to the normal rule that a soulmeld can only be bound to the chakra it occupies.”

This means that, unlike other soulmelds, the Totem chakra can occupy ANY chakra you choose no matter what soulmeld is bound to the Totem chakra. It doesn’t matter what the soulmeld description states as to what chakra locations it can occupy (i.e., Ankheg Breastplate chakra locations are Throat and Totem, Basilisk Mask chakra locations are Brow and Totem, etc.). The chakra you wish the Totem chakra to “occupy” is up to you. However, if you wish the use of the Throat abilities of the Ankheg Breastplate or the Brow abilities of the Basilisk Mask, you MUST bind the soulmeld to those particular named chakras, no choice allowed. So, the Totem chakra can occupy any chakra location, but the other chakras must occupy their named chakras.

So, from your example with the Sphinx Claws, you can bind the Sphinx Claws to your Totem chakra. You then decide which chakra you would like the Totem chakra to occupy (Arms, Hands, Throat, Brow, Soul, Heart, etc). If you bind the Sphinx Claws to your Hands, then the Sphinx Claws must occupy the Hands chakra. If you do the double bind of the Sphinx Claws allowed at 11th level, the same rules apply as stated above: Bind the Sphinx Claws to your Totem chakra. You then decide which chakra you would like the Totem chakra to occupy (Arms, Throat, Brow, Soul, Heart, etc, but no Hands chakra). You also bind the Sphinx Claws to your Hands. You then gain all the abilities (basic, totem, and hands) of the Sphinx Claws. This will then count as 2 binds towards your normal limit of binds you are allowed.

Hope this helps. Just remember that only the Totem chakra has this ability to occupy any chakra.

Other than that, I can leave my soulmelds where they are forever or change them by resting and meditating... and then every round on my turn I can choose to allocate essentia from my essentia pool to my melds to make them stronger?
Yes, once a soulmeld is shaped and/or bound, it never changes until you unshape it or it is involuntarily unshaped (by a spell for example). Basically, a soulmeld can stay on your character, once shaped, forever.

You can move your essentia around each round as a swift action. Just remember the maximum amount of essentia allowed in any one soulmeld as per Table 2-1: Essentia Capacity on page 19. The feat Expanded Soulmeld Capacity ups the maximum essentia capacity for one soulmeld by +1.

Happy gaming

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
WayneTheGame 02-08-06, 12:35 PM	(Note: Posting this on Magic and Spells since it's Magic of Incarnum. If Incarnum threads should go somewhere else, accept my apologies) So I purchased MoI today, and I've started reading through it. I love the ideas and concepts of the soulmelds, but I'm getting a little bit confused (maybe that should be overwhelmed?) with how exactly it works. Let me give an example so I can see if I have it right: Let's say I have a 2nd level Azurin Totemist. So I can have 3 Soulmelds; each day I can pick ANY three from the Totemist list. For example, Sphinx' Claws, Displacer Shirt and Basilisk Mask. I have 3 Essentia points (2 for 2nd level Totemist, +1 for Azurin) which I can swap around every round? But at 2nd level I can only keep 1 Essentia point in each souldmeld (not counting the Totem bind) I can also (2nd Level Totemist) bind a meld to my Totem, and gain its bonus in addition to the normal bonus the soulmeld grants me? e.g. binding Sphinx Claws to my totem gives me a claw attack (or is it two claw attacks?) AND +1 to Strength checks/Strength-based skill checks? And I can shift up to two points (1 normally, 1 extra for it being a Totem chakra) to my Totem chakra, for example to increase my attack and damage with the claws in combat. When I later reach 5th level (and subsequent ones) I can bind soulmelds to whatever is listed on the chart (e.g. crown, feet or hands) OR my totem chakra (since Chakra Binds is 1). When Chakra Binds increases to 2, I can have any combination of two binds (e.g. crown/feet, hands/totem, totem/crown, etc.) and can change them each day? Am I correct in all this? As I said, Incarnum is somewhat confusing to me but I haven't sat down and read the entire book yet.
Todd 02-08-06, 01:16 PM	Everything you posted looks spot on to me. The Totemist is actually the most confusing class in regards to binds since they have the totem chakra ... which doesn't correspond to any of the other physical locations. The one thing that I would add is that you can only shape one soulmeld per chakra. So you couldn’t shape both the Sphinx Claws and the Blood Talons at the same time, regardless of binds, without taking the Dual Chakra feat. I like to think of meldshaping as a three step process. 1. Decide what melds to shape & what locations they will occupy. 2. Decide which of these melds, if any, will be bound. 3. Allocate essentia, which can be changed round by round. I’ll also note that you don’t have to reshape your soulmelds each day. Once you shape them on day 1 they stay that way until they are unshaped by a spell or you decide that you want to swap them out for something else on day 5, 6, or whatever. Only if you know that you need to change something out will you need the 8 hours of rest and the 1 hour of concentration to get everything set back up. Regarding claws & other natural attacks ... you get two claws and can attack with both on a full attack action even at 2nd level. You don’t usually actually get a natural attack from a Totemist soulmeld in most cases unless you actually bind it to the totem chakra.
jpat93 02-08-06, 06:05 PM	(Note: Posting this on Magic and Spells since it's Magic of Incarnum. If Incarnum threads should go somewhere else, accept my apologies) Just as an aside, I think it's pretty much been decided that this is the place for your specific type of question, with class-related questions going in the Classes forum, etc.
Nightwhisper 02-09-06, 03:28 AM	There's also the fact that a soulmeld bount to the Totem chakra must also occupy another chackra slot since Totem isn't a valid choice for occupancy. You still only get the bind ability of the Totem slot until you gain Double Bind at 11th level.
Munchmausen 02-09-06, 11:52 AM	To further clarify Nightwhisper's comment: You can have Sphinx Claws bound to your Totem Chakra, but it must be shaped to your Hands. When you reach 11th level, you gain the ability to Bind it to both your Totem and your Hands. This requires the use of two Chakra Binds.
WayneTheGame 02-09-06, 01:24 PM	Let me just make sure I understand... if I take Sphinx Claws, and bind it to my Totem, then its bound to my totem (i.e. I get the physical claws) but it takes up my hands chakra space, so I can't meld another thing that takes up the hands space, right? Then when I'm high enough level I can have it bound to both my Totem and Hands chakras (costing 2 chakra binds). Other than that, I can leave my soulmelds where they are forever or change them by resting and meditating... and then every round on my turn I can choose to allocate essentia from my essentia pool to my melds to make them stronger?
Todd 02-09-06, 03:21 PM	if I take Sphinx Claws, and bind it to my Totem, then its bound to my totem (i.e. I get the physical claws) but it takes up my hands chakra space, so I can't meld another thing that takes up the hands space, right? Yes ... the claws are Shaped on your hands but bound to your Totem chakra. There is a feat that you could take at 9th level or better to let you shape/bind more than one thing to a chakra ... but by default you are correct. Then when I'm high enough level I can have it bound to both my Totem and Hands chakras (costing 2 chakra binds).Yep. Other than that, I can leave my soulmelds where they are forever or change them by resting and meditating... and then every round on my turn I can choose to allocate essentia from my essentia pool to my melds to make them stronger?Yep.
The 8th Samurai 02-09-06, 07:05 PM	Let me just make sure I understand... if I take Sphinx Claws, and bind it to my Totem, then its bound to my totem (i.e. I get the physical claws) but it takes up my hands chakra space, so I can't meld another thing that takes up the hands space, right? Then when I'm high enough level I can have it bound to both my Totem and Hands chakras (costing 2 chakra binds). The Totem chakra is a strange chakra. It does not obey the normal rules for chakra location. As stated in MoI on page 51 under CHAKRA BINDS “totem chakra is unusual in several respects. It does not correspond to any body slot, so soulmelds cannot occupy the totem chakra. For this reason, the totem chakra appears in parentheses at the end of this entry for totemist melds. When a totemist wishes to bind a soulmeld to her totem chakra, she must choose a different chakra for that soulmeld to occupy. Regardless of the chakra occupied by the soulmeld, however, the totemist can bind it to her totem chakra. This is the exception to the normal rule that a soulmeld can only be bound to the chakra it occupies.” This means that, unlike other soulmelds, the Totem chakra can occupy ANY chakra you choose no matter what soulmeld is bound to the Totem chakra. It doesn’t matter what the soulmeld description states as to what chakra locations it can occupy (i.e., Ankheg Breastplate chakra locations are Throat and Totem, Basilisk Mask chakra locations are Brow and Totem, etc.). The chakra you wish the Totem chakra to “occupy” is up to you. However, if you wish the use of the Throat abilities of the Ankheg Breastplate or the Brow abilities of the Basilisk Mask, you MUST bind the soulmeld to those particular named chakras, no choice allowed. So, the Totem chakra can occupy any chakra location, but the other chakras must occupy their named chakras. So, from your example with the Sphinx Claws, you can bind the Sphinx Claws to your Totem chakra. You then decide which chakra you would like the Totem chakra to occupy (Arms, Hands, Throat, Brow, Soul, Heart, etc). If you bind the Sphinx Claws to your Hands, then the Sphinx Claws must occupy the Hands chakra. If you do the double bind of the Sphinx Claws allowed at 11th level, the same rules apply as stated above: Bind the Sphinx Claws to your Totem chakra. You then decide which chakra you would like the Totem chakra to occupy (Arms, Throat, Brow, Soul, Heart, etc, but no Hands chakra). You also bind the Sphinx Claws to your Hands. You then gain all the abilities (basic, totem, and hands) of the Sphinx Claws. This will then count as 2 binds towards your normal limit of binds you are allowed. Hope this helps. Just remember that only the Totem chakra has this ability to occupy any chakra. Other than that, I can leave my soulmelds where they are forever or change them by resting and meditating... and then every round on my turn I can choose to allocate essentia from my essentia pool to my melds to make them stronger? Yes, once a soulmeld is shaped and/or bound, it never changes until you unshape it or it is involuntarily unshaped (by a spell for example). Basically, a soulmeld can stay on your character, once shaped, forever. You can move your essentia around each round as a swift action. Just remember the maximum amount of essentia allowed in any one soulmeld as per Table 2-1: Essentia Capacity on page 19. The feat Expanded Soulmeld Capacity ups the maximum essentia capacity for one soulmeld by +1. Happy gaming