Voatha Shin'dou (formerly known as Unit 80643-2)
Psiforged Psion (Change Shape & True Healer Egoist) 5
STR 15, DEX 17, CON 20, INT 19, WIS 14, CHA 14
45 hp (we always take max hp due to small number of players)
Fort: +6, Reflex: +4, Will: +6
BAB: +2
Feats: Psiforged Body, Overchannel, Expanded Knowledge (Psionic Repair Damage)
Powers: Touch of Health, Inertial Armor, Vigor, Energy Ray, Mind Thrust, Biofeedback, Psionic Knock, Animal Affinity, From the Brink, Psionic Repair Damage, Eradicate Invisibility, Telekinetic Thrust
Purchased Items: 5 (1 pp) cognizance crystals, Bedroll, Backback, 100 ft of silk rope, 20 torches, Dorje of Energy Ray
Acquired Items: +1 Defending Dagger, +2 spellstoring scythe, 2 masterwork scimitars, 8 smoke pellets, 8 flash pellets, 9 thunderstones
Current Wealth: 939 gp & 70 sp
So, bring on the PEACH! (please
)stuff
If your psicrystal has half your hp, equal your temp hp, and takes half your damage and dies, you would have died yourself without share pain even quicker than your crystal died. A=your hp, B=vigor hp, C = damage to kill you alone, D= damage to you that kills PC:
D=(A/2+B)*2
C=A+B
Notice that your psicrystal has a threshold B higher than you do alone.
A: To make this work most efficiently, I'd already be spending 12 power points out of my maximum of 57 (cognizance crystals included) on buffs alone. Then I'd be using another 5 or 6 on Inertial Armor, and THEN spending even more on attacks. I'd be spending 18 pp on buffs alone in the first combat, and then 12 more in each consecutive combat. More often then not, we end up having to fight more then five battles a day. Thus, I'd have to spend at least 66 pp (12 * 4 = 48 + 18 = 66) a day on average on buffs alone. I don't have that large of a reserve.
B: To properly buff, I'd have to spend 3 rounds. By that time, the gist of combat is more then likely going to be over.
C: By the time that I'm done buffing, I'm not really even going to be able to use the pp on Psionic Repair Damage and Empathic Transfer, else I'll be of no offensive use in combat, which is bad considering I typically deal the most damage out of everyone with my Energy Ray.
So if we could do something to remedy this, that'd be great :D
I'll end up switching Overchannel with Psicrystal Affinity, because I've never used it.
So that leaves my power list with: Inertial Armor, Vigor, Share Pain, Empathic Transfer, Biofeedback, Eradicate Invisibility, Psionic Knock, Psionic Repair Damage, Energy Ray, Mind Thrust, Animal Affinity, and Telekinetic Thrust. Any other suggestions on power replacements and additions for when I hit 6th level?
I'd also like suggestions for any item switches too, if that's at all possible.
Biofeedback: not worth actions, drop
Knock: don't you have a wizard? drop
Mind thrust: too much mind affecting and will negates. Drop.
AA: don't you have a wizard? drop.
The rest seem decent.
Biofeedback: Agreed
Knock: Magister doesn't really prepare this spell. EVER.
Mind Thrust: Agreed.
AA: Magister doesn't prepare spells with this function; only prepares damage spells or summoning spells for the most part.
Inertial Armor: Don't have regular armor (nor any armor proficiencies anyways)
Biofeedback: Agreed
Knock: Magister doesn't really prepare this spell. EVER.
Mind Thrust: Agreed.
AA: Magister doesn't prepare spells with this function; only prepares damage spells or summoning spells for the most part.
Inertial armor, meet Mithral Shirt.
Knock: Buy a dorje then. 4500 is cheap.
AA: is personal, min/level, and can't be augmented beyond what a 16k item can give constantly. So, you get +1 to dcs. Big deal.
Powers I'd use instead:
Intertial armor => entangling ectoplasm
Biofeedback => egowhip
knock => hustle
mind thrust => crystal shard (to deal with spellcasters/SR:yes).
AA => detect hostile intent
I mean, I suppose I could use Psionic Repair Damage to heal it, but then I'm eating up my power points like no tomorrow.
You get to heal it for free when you heal yourself with Psionic Repair Damage by simply sharing the power with it.
I play a Warforged Psion and have Psicrystal Affinity, Share Pain, Vigor, and Psionic Repair Damage, but I rarely use this combo. We often face 4+ encounters per day, too, and I find that I'd rather spend my power points on something else. I can avoid most of the stuff we fight with a simple Levitate.
I think it did save my ass once, though, when I would have otherwise died.
More often, I stick Share Pain on the tank, and take half of his damage to myself, and I stay the hell back and heal myself when necessary.
You get to heal it for free when you heal yourself with Psionic Repair Damage by simply sharing the power with it.
I play a Warforged Psion and have Psicrystal Affinity, Share Pain, Vigor, and Psionic Repair Damage, but I rarely use this combo. We often face 4+ encounters per day, too, and I find that I'd rather spend my power points on something else. I can avoid most of the stuff we fight with a simple Levitate.
I think it did save my ass once, though, when I would have otherwise died.
More often, I stick Share Pain on the tank, and take half of his damage to myself, and I stay the hell back and heal myself when necessary.
That sounds good. It doesn't heal the tank, but it's safer than using empathatic transfer.
That sounds good. It doesn't heal the tank, but it's safer than using empathatic transfer.
Because of the Touch range? Another nice thing about Psicrystals is that they can deliver touch powers. I never use this offensively, as they draw an AoO for attacking, but it is great for delivering friendly powers to allies. Most enemies ignore the psicrystal as long as it isn't attacking them. I can drop the Psicrystal down from my Levitating vantage point and let it deliver the touch power, while I remain safely aloft. :D Of course, this only works once before I have to come up with some way to retrieve it, but often that is enough.
The main "tank" in our party is also a warforged (juggernaut), which makes healing him fairly efficient via Repair Damage. 3d8 + ML for 3 power points is nice.
Tactics.
That's great. More efficient than share pain+vigor+empathatic transfer or touch of healing if I'm doing the math right.
Edit: Yeah, should be. Touch of Healing just has a range of touch and a 2:1 return. Nothing special. I only originally chose it for non-construct healing. Also, since I'm getting rid of Touch of Healing and From the Brink, I'd might as well remove the True Healer class feature, giving me another feat to work with. Thoughts? I'm thinking Metamorphic Transfer, to get a head start for when I pick up Metamorphosis at level 7...
I took Adamatine Body with my 'forged Shaper, but I started playing him at level 2 when it was a pretty big advantage. If I'd started at 5 or 6, I might have gone for Psiforged Body instead. Here is a link to the thread on my character, if you're interested: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=921444
I'd choose either Energy Ray or Crystal Shard, not both. I took Crystal Shard because it ignores SR and I don't have to worry about picking an energy type the creature is weak/not resistant too. I didn't put any ranks into the proper Knowledge skills for that anyway, so I'd have to metagame to do it. It will also be useful against enemies that have energy protection via buffs. If the DM says DR applies to it, I'd be very tempted to go with Energy Ray. I hardly use Crystal Shard though, so it wouldn't matter much.
Edit: I know I have the Change Shape ability of Changelings, but is Metamorphic Transfer really worth it at this level, or should I pick up EK (Psionic Minor Creation) and get Metamorphic Transfer next level? Or should I just change my discipline to Shaper all together so that I don't spend feats on EK (Astral Construct) and EK (Psionic Minor Creation), and just pick up EK (Metamorphosis) once I can?
But what about the question posed in my edit about discipline switching?
I've been playing D&D for several years with the same DM (albeit, across different campaigns), and yet I have never ONCE been faced with Web, or any battlefield control-type spell. Aside from darkness that cannot be penetrated. But Carnivore (I think) was saying something in another one of my threads about being able to deal massive damage with Control Flames (140d6 with 1 pp, as I recall), so that's why I included it in the questioned list.
But what about the question posed in my edit about discipline switching?
Metamorphic transfer can wait a bit. Minor creation is a great power. Control flames is meh, but better than any of the other options.
So should I switch to Shaper or stay with Egoist?
What powers from each discipline do you want again? They are pretty spread out over the thread.
Egoist - Empathic Transfer
Shaper - Astral Construct, Psionic Minor Creation, Psionic Repair Damage (hadn't noticed this was discipline-only...)
Powers later on:
Egoist - Metamorphosis, Psionic Revivify
Shaper - Psionic Fabricate, Greater Psionic Fabricate, Psionic True Creation, Astral Seed, Genesis, Crystallize, & maybe others
If so, what could I use it for?
If you do go Shaper, it opens up the possibility of taking Use Psionic Device ranks and giving your psicrystal a dorje. :P
However, the current race kind of has to remain the same because of in-game reasons; I've got some kinda cognizance crystal crown growing out of my head or something like that. It has something to do with the flavor of my character; he has 'slots' in his mechanical body that allow him to put cognizance crystals in and infuse them with his system, hence allowing the actual function of said crystals to work. (He's also got a hidden compartment in his right wrist for a dagger and a hidden compartment in his left forearm that expands to be a light crossbow :P)
Because of said flavor, the psicrystal will also be 'infused' with his system, although I'll probably won't have it lock in so that the psicrystal can function like it's supposed to later on.
So at this point, this is what I'm thinking:
Voatha Shin'Dou
Psiforged Shaper 5 (Favored Construct variant)
STR 15, DEX 17, CON 20, INT 19, WIS 14, CHA 14
45 hp (we always take max hp due to small number of players)
Fort: +6, Reflex: +4, Will: +6
BAB: +2
Feats: Psiforged Body, Psionic Meditation, Expanded Knowledge (Empathic Transfer), Psicrystal Affinity (flaw: Noncombatant), Boost Construct (flaw: Vulnerable)
Powers: Astral Construct, Share Pain, Psionic Minor Creation, Crystal Shard, Ego Whip, Psionic Repair Damage, Empathic Transfer, Control Flame, Entangling Ectoplasm, Telekinetic Thrust, Vigor, Detect Hostile Intent
Purchased Items: Mithril Shirt, Dorje of Knock
Acquired Items: +1 Defending Dagger, +2 spellstoring scythe, 2 masterwork scimitars, 8 smoke pellets, 8 flash pellets, 9 thunderstones
Current Wealth: 3500 gp
Favored Construct: Level 3 Astral Construct (Fly, Power Attack, Improved Slam Attack, Trip)
So, suggestions on improving this? I do, after all, have 3.5k left to spend... (And yes, I know that I shouldn't be able to take Expanded Knowledge (Empathic Transfer) yet, but the DM allowed me, so it's all good)
Also, because of the magic system in AE (where you can convert spell slots from one level to another), the party Magister seems to last longer in terms of supernatural effects, so the power point reserve is multiplied by 1.3 in an attempt to balance this (bringing my pp total to 47, with my body acting as a 3 pp cognizance crystal). And yes, this does include baddies.
I've got 3.5k left, so I probably have the money. If I do, and depending on what it does, I may be able to push through a flavor thing that would let me modify it to be a compartment in my back. Such thoughts just amuse me, is all.
(I mean come on. The robot with tons of crystals running through his body all the sudden pulls out a quarterstaff or whatever from his back. Just sounds amusing to me :P)
Haversack is from where and does what?
I've got 3.5k left, so I probably have the money. If I do, and depending on what it does, I may be able to push through a flavor thing that would let me modify it to be a compartment in my back. Such thoughts just amuse me, is all.
(I mean come on. The robot with tons of crystals running through his body all the sudden pulls out a quarterstaff or whatever from his back. Just sounds amusing to me :P)
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#handyHaversack
Anything else I should get with my remaining 1.5k?
So then yeah, I'll pick that up (with back-integration [yay theft protection! :P])
Anything else I should get with my remaining 1.5k?
Rope. Lots and lots of rope. An artificer's monacle (MIC) could also be handy.
Additionally, what page of MIC? I've never been good at navigating it...
Edit: Nevermind, found monocles...
And what, pray tell, would the rope be for?
It's like having a towel if you're a galactic traveler. Or an American Express card (if you believe their commercials...).
Additionally, what page of MIC? I've never been good at navigating it.
Me either. This item is mentioned near the end of the Bunko's Bargain thread, though. That might have the page number (I don't remember).
And also, you realize that the Artificer's Monocle (MIC p. 72) would use up my remaining cash, thus removing any rope, right? (Still haven't figured out the use of massive amounts of rope...)
Go with the rope then. Adventurers need towels.
Sassone Leaf Residue is presumably in CS?
SRD/DMG. That's the only source I've bothered using for poisons. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#poison
Sassone leaf residue Contact DC 16 2d12 hp 1d6 Con 300 gp
Well... I do use the craft (poison) DCs from CAdv. Sassone leaf residue is DC 20, I think. Black Lotus is DC 35. I think Terinav Root is DC 25. The descriptions of all these are in the table in the link I provided above.
Why make Sassone Leaf Residue over Black Lotus Extract? Both are contact poison, Minor Creation doesn't judge by price. Really the only difference would be in Craft DC's, but there should be ways to get up there by now...
DC 35? 8 ranks +4 int +2 masterwork tool only gives you +14. Not gunna get taht DC 35 by taking ten at level 5.
I know, but there's gotta be something else that I can do to get it up higher...
What do you think you are, a cleric?
DC 35? 8 ranks +4 int +2 masterwork tool only gives you +14. Not gunna get taht DC 35 by taking ten at level 5.
+3 for the Artiste psicrystal (I have one of those). But yeah, I don't make Black Lotus Extract because I can't hit the DC with a take 10 yet.
I use Sassone Leaf Residue because it does hit point damage, which I like better for a "general use" poison. We're going to fight a dragon soon, so you can bet I'll load up on Dex poison before that. But in general, I don't know what we'll be fighting, and it takes 1 minute to make the stuff, so it is a pre-combat buff.
I plan making it twice per day now, with Extend Power. So I'll have to 24/7. (I just got 6th level).