Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 soadfreak213 Jun 02, 2010 21:30:21	Hey everyone, This is going to be my first time ever playing a Psychic Warrior, so I don't really know a lot about optimizing them at all. I played a monk once, but that went really badly. However, I've been looking at Diamond Warrior from Minds Eye and the class seems fairly appealing, and Tashalatora is a handy little feat that will make sure I don't lose any monk progression with unarmed strike. I have a pretty strong general idea of the layout of my 20 lvl build as being Monk2/Psywar8/DW10 or Monk1/Psywar9/DW10, but I'm a little lost on how to pick my powers. I think I can handle feats just fine seeing as I have so many required to make the build viable and to meet prereqs, but I'd still love suggestions. I'll be starting at level 3, so I imagine the build won't be incredibly effective immediately. Also, if someone could explain to me how the speed of thought class feature for DW works (like if you actually get the feat five times), that would be great.  Thanks!
#2 The_Thing_in_the_Night Jun 04, 2010 0:31:30	Given the reference to Taltashora, I'm assuming that you're playing 3.5, which makes things a tad interesting. The Diamond Warrior was, as far as I can see, never converted to 3.5, which complicates several of its features and entry requirements.  For instance, the Intertial Armour feat that the class requires is now a power. Speed of Thought was stackable in 3.0, but is not so in 3.5, which makes receiving the feat 5 times significantly less useful than it was previously. You should probably talk to your DM about how some of the above are going to be handled, like substituting the requirement of the Intertial Armour feat with knowledge of the Intertial Armour power, and allowing the class to progress Flurry of Blows and Unarmed Speed, as that's what the class's Speed of Thought and Unarmed Attack Bonus features seem designed to do.  With that out of the way, on to the build. You only really need two feats to enter the PRC (as monk give you IUS and Inertial Armour is a power): Speed of Thought and Psionic Charge, both of which can be taken at 1st level if you're human. If you go Monk1/Psychic Warrior 9/DW 10, you'll end up with 12 feats by 20, with two spent to enter the PRC, Psionic Training, and Tashalatora, giving you 8 to play with. A few I'd recommend are: Expanded Knowledge: Schism, Expanded Knowledge: Metamorphosis, Metamorphic Transfer, Unavoidable strike (requires Psionic Fist, also works with natural attacks), Linked Power (for faster buffing and to shorten long manifesting times), Practiced Mainfester, and Psionic Meditation.  Obtaining a Psycrystal may be viable for the Control Body/Solicit Psycrystal combo, but will cost 3 feats (Psycrytal Affinity, EK: Control Body, EK: Solicit Psycrystal).  For early powers I'd recommend some of the following: 1st: Expansion, Grip of Iron (if you want to play a grappler), Precogniton (Offence and Defence), Vigor 2nd: Animal Affinity, Dimension Swap, Psionic Lion's Charge, Strength of my Enemy, Feat Leech, Hustle 3rd: Dimension Slide, Hostile Empathic Transfer As for the build itself, I mentioned Monk1/PsyWar9 above, as DW gets evasion on its own and extra manifester levels are always preferable. If you have access to Hyperconscious (a Malhavoc Press publication by Monte Cook), 4 levels of Lucid Cenobite will allow even more monk/psionic stacking. I'd say Monk 1/Psywar5/Lucid Cenobite4/DW 10 if possible, though I ca'n't be certain of the Cenobite's requirements off hand--it may require Still Mind.