This build utilizes a 28-point buy, fractional saves, and the "No XP penalty" houserule for multi-classing. The fractions aren't necessary, but they do boost your Reflex & Will saves by a point each.
Books used: PHB2 (one feat), Eberron Campaign Setting (one feat), Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Battle
Kris the Sadomasochist
C'mon, baby; make it hurt. So. GOOD!
Race: Azurin (Humanoid (Human, Incarnum))
Abilities: 13/14/14/12/10/13 (if I were using my usual 32-point buy, I'd put 1 into Str & 3 in Cha) (+1 to Cha at 8th level, +1 Dex every other level)
Alignment: LN (I'll explain this in a bit)
Build Stub: Fighter 2/Incarnate 4/Crusader 14
Level 1 - Fighter 1 (Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Kusari-gama), Two- Weapon Fighting*, Combat Reflexes*)
Level 2 - Incarnate 1 (Meldshaping, Aligned Soulmelds, Aura, Detect Opposition)
Show
At this level you get 2 soulmelds, 2 points of Essentia (one is from your race), and no Chakra binds. You can shape any soulmeld off the Incarnate list, and they last all day. My personal preferences at this point would be Bluesteel Bracers (Initiative Bonus) and Impulse Boots (Uncanny Dodge, plus an enhancement bonus to Ref saves based on invested Essentia). An interesting option is Mage's spectacles, which lets you make untrained UMD checks (among others) with a +4 bonus.
But wasn't there some discussion about whether Theraputic Mantle works on manoeuvres? It says it triggers when a "spell or effect" heals you, but the amount it heals is based on spell level. I would think that would take some DM adjudication.
You could also use the Lifebond Vestments to transfer your own health to others. This would be ideal for outside of combat, since it's touch and since you can temporarily plumb all your essentia into it to heal large amounts if necessary, but they you have to be OK starting encounters injured (I guess you can jump right to the healing manoeuvres).
Would this slightly convuluted method work?
You use the Lifebond Vestments to heal someone, using your damage pool to delay the health loss for a moment. Then, you attack the floor with Stone Power, gaining temporary HP. When the damage comes out of your pool, it's soaked up by the temp HP. Free healing, admittedly limited by not only the Vestments, but also Stone Power and Steely Resolve. It's still 20hp per person per hour, though, at Crusader 4 (and actually you could do it with Shape Soulmeld).
Nice idea with the Lifebond Vestments + Stone Power, Fred (I was actually musing on something similar using Vigor to make a soul manifester healer). I think that would need to be its own build though; you'd need action shenanigans to make the timing work as using the Vestments is a standard action. As for the Therapeutic Mantle, while the initial effect references spell level and requires GM adjudication to work with maneuvers, adding essentia to increase the healing effect does NOT reference spell levels at all. (You want to see something nasty with psionics-magic transparency? Add the Therapeutic Mantle on to Claws of the Vampire/Vampiric Weapon psionic powers.)
You might also want to look into damage splitting effects - you don't have room for casting, but there's plenty of space for items, and I seem to recall there are rings of Shield Other.
Likewise, I think Lifebond + Stone Power would work thanks to your delayed damage pool (I was trying to find a way to use Stone Power first, then Lifebond, all before the end of your turn, to no avail - well, aside from things which are too expensive to be worth it, like the Belt of Battle). You use Lifebond first, it goes into your pool, and it doesn't come out until the end of your next turn, after which you've used Stone Power.
Some kind of Share Pain/Shield Other magic could work, too (have the party Psion put Share Pain on you?). With Stone Power you can be a pretty neat health battery anyway.
I don't see how you can combine the therapeudic mantle with a martial maneuver. The logic that lets that work would let things like Globe of Invulnerability resist strike attacks - and, under that same logic, I have no clue whatsoever what would happen if I used a boost and attacked someone with Spell Turning. (It's clear that Spell Turning would reflect strikes, but not normal attacks; boosts make my brain hurt.) Therapeudic Mantle Crusaders don't work as well as advertised. (It DOES work with Claws of the Vampire, as near as I can tell.)
I'm not sure that follows. The Therapeutic Mantle states:
Whenever you are the target of a spell or effect that heals hit point damage, the spell heals additional damage equal to its spell level.
Emphasis mine. It does not say "spell effect", like globe of invulnerability does.
An immobile, faintly shimmering magical sphere surrounds you and excludes all spell effects of 3rd level or lower. The area or effect of any such spells does not include the area of the lesser globe of invulnerability. Such spells fail to affect any target located within the globe. Excluded effects include spell-like abilities and spells or spell-like effects from items.
Spell turning is even more restrictive:
Spells and spell-like effects targeted on you are turned back upon the original caster. The abjuration turns only spells that have you as a target. Effect and area spells are not affected. Spell turning also fails to stop touch range spells.
"Effects" as a category is broader than "spell effects" or "spell-like effects"; "effects that heal hit point damage" is broad enough that it can have room for Martial Spirit (which certainly qualifies). Martial Spirit does not qualify as a spell effect (or a spell-like effect from a spell-like ability or item) however.
You might also want to look into damage splitting effects - you don't have room for casting, but there's plenty of space for items, and I seem to recall there are rings of Shield Other.
Oh hell yes this. Damage splitting effects are pretty natty with Crusaders.
Likewise, I think Lifebond + Stone Power would work thanks to your delayed damage pool (I was trying to find a way to use Stone Power first, then Lifebond, all before the end of your turn, to no avail - well, aside from things which are too expensive to be worth it, like the Belt of Battle). You use Lifebond first, it goes into your pool, and it doesn't come out until the end of your next turn, after which you've used Stone Power.
You're slightly mistaken; the delayed damage pool empties at the end of your current turn.
I don't see how you can combine the therapeudic mantle with a martial maneuver. The logic that lets that work would let things like Globe of Invulnerability resist strike attacks - and, under that same logic, I have no clue whatsoever what would happen if I used a boost and attacked someone with Spell Turning. (It's clear that Spell Turning would reflect strikes, but not normal attacks; boosts make my brain hurt.) Therapeudic Mantle Crusaders don't work as well as advertised. (It DOES work with Claws of the Vampire, as near as I can tell.)
I'm not sure that follows. The Therapeutic Mantle states:Whenever you are the target of a spell or effect that heals hit point damage, the spell heals additional damage equal to its spell level.
Emphasis mine. It does not say "spell effect", like globe of invulnerability does.
I'm with RT on this. The way I read it, it works kind of like an Amulet of Natural Armor on a human. The ANA gives an enhancement bonus to NA, but a human has an NA of +0, right? The base Therapuetic Mantle grants extra healing based on the spell level (in this case, +0), but investing essentia "increases the additional healing". So, in this case, since it is a spell or effect that increases healing, it would heal 0 hp + X hp, where X is based on invested essentia.
Delayed damage pool is next turn (right there bottom of p10). It's designed for when someone else hits you, so there would normally be no current turn (because it would have passed).
Delayed damage pool is next turn (right there bottom of p10). It's designed for when someone else hits you, so there would normally be no current turn (because it would have passed).
Yes, because most people hit you when it's not your turn. I conclude that it's a per-turn reset that happens at the end of your turn, because if it reset at the beginning of your turn, you'd never gain any benefit from Steely Resolve.
Think of it this way: if you are a crusader sorceror gish with a dd pool of 15, and you take 10 points of damage from an enemy attack during their turn, and then cast Blade of Blood on yourself during your turn (which deals 5 damage to yourself), where does the damage go at the end of your turn when you're done whooping the fool who attacked you? Do they both go into a delayed damage pool that totals to 15 damage and empties when your turn is over? Or does the 5 from Blade of Blood somehow go into a separate delayed damage pool that will empty on the next turn?
).I would be tempted to say a separate pool. I see what you mean - the pool essentially empties itself each turn - but the book actually says "next turn", so by RAW I would think it would work. Possibly a bit of a grey area, though.
In think, in this case, that RAW is a bit wonky. RAI would be a better way to go. In this particular case, reading it like a Magic card works well. Instead of "at the end of your next turn", read it as "at your next end of turn". I wanted to agree with you, Fred; I really did. But after another look at Steely Resolve, the way you want to interpret it just doesn't work all that well.
Vigour + Lifebond could be a fairly efficient way of keeping the party topped up, though, and I may have a go at something using Share Pain or Shield Other.
Cleric 4/Crusader 1/Ruby Knight Vindicator
It's simple, you get almost full Cleric casting and some Crusader powers. You cast Shield Other on everyone at the start of the day and suck up all their damage. Shape Soulmeld: Thereputic Mantle should be enough (as an Azurin) to get more bang for your buck from healing, but Cleric 3/Incarnate 1 may be better (at least, if you're using fractional BAB).
Downsides: No more Steely Resolve, and you must follow Wee Jas.
Wilder 4/Crusader 1+
Wild Surge Vigour for health (using either Lifebond Vestments or Steely Resolve to eat up the temp HP) and manifest Share Pain on everyone - Wild Surge gives +2 hours to it even at L3, and with Practiced Manifester that makes it last 10 hours (almost all day). Main advantage is that with Shape Soulmeld: Lifebond Vestments, it could do its job at L1. Also still a potent combatant since Wilder only drops one BAB (and gets Surging Euphoria).
Downside: You're taking 4 Wilder levels just to eat up other people's hurt.
Wizard 4/Crusader 1/Wyrm Wizard 2/Jade Phoenix Mage
...or some similarly contrived build. Could be Wiz 2/Crusader 3 for better melee, or Wiz 2-3/Incarnate 1-2/Crusader 1-2.
Use Wyrm Wizard to pick up Shield Other, Arcane stance adds +1 to CL for free, weirdly you get a Crusader with Desert Wind manoeuvres but the swift action +damage ones or Burning Brand would work well with multiple attacks (and the Martial Spirit stance). (Battle) Sorcerer with Arcane Preparation might be another option. Main benefit is you get to cast cooler spells.
Downside: It's kinda stupid.
With a cheaper way of getting Shield Other (and maybe CLW) it could be fun. Also scope to take Soulcaster at some point.
That said, there is a separate argument that would prevent this from functioning: Neither Martial Spirit nor most DS strikes actually target the guy they're healing. (Whether Martial Spirit's effect or its healing is what targets you is a separate argument.) The Mantle only works when you're the target of the healing effect.
..."window.parent.tinyMCE.get('post_content').onLoad.dispatch();" contenteditable="true" />
hitting a rock with Stone Power (and possibly a manoeuvre) seems exploiting. Also, if manoeuvres recharge by encounter, couldn't you just use the self-healing ones on rocks in between "real" encounters? Seems wonky.
Hmm. You could still use Lifebond Vestments with self-healing strikes; maybe you could attack a rock?
These go together, so I'll respond to them together.
While you can use maneuvers outside of battle (they recharge once a minute when initiative isn't ticking, but nothing hypothetically stops you from just using your maneuver recovery method - ironically, since rounds aren't ticking, the crusader's method is the only one which won't function out of combat!), all the DS healing strikes say you have to attack a clear and present threat that also must differ from your alignment in at least one dimension, or else they have no effect, so they're worthless outside of combat. Martial Spirit lacks this limitation, though that does feel kind of wonky.
That said, there is a separate argument that would prevent this from functioning: Neither Martial Spirit nor most DS strikes actually target the guy they're healing. (Whether Martial Spirit's effect or its healing is what targets you is a separate argument.) The Mantle only works when you're the target of the healing effect.
Yeah it only works on you. Of course, your other party members could have their own mantles, in theory.
Your posts have the most interesting HTML errors...That said, there is a separate argument that would prevent this from functioning: Neither Martial Spirit nor most DS strikes actually target the guy they're healing. (Whether Martial Spirit's effect or its healing is what targets you is a separate argument.) The Mantle only works when you're the target of the healing effect.
Yeah it only works on you. Of course, your other party members could have their own mantles, in theory.
That's not quite what I meant: Martial Spirit targets you when you use it, but Martial Spirit itself does not restore HP. Instead, it causes a separate trigger: Someone near you recovers HP when you hit. That healing isn't targeted (even if you restore your own HP). Thus, I don't think it works with the Mantle, if you're being a stickler for wording.
With a cheaper way of getting Shield Other (and maybe CLW) it could be fun. Also scope to take Soulcaster at some point.
Arcane Disciple: Protection Domain for Shield Other (requires Wis 12, but it's still much cheaper than 2 levels of Wyrm Wizard).
Healing Domain could get you CLW.
Hmm, Shield Other Wizard (or similar... something spontaneous with more slots might work better) -> JPM could certainly be interesting, if only for fun. CLW would not be necessary, but with Thereputic Mantle, it's a pretty damn cost-effective way of healing yourself.
That said, that way you could go with something like Wiz 3/Crusader 2/JPM (Wiz 4 is probably better for breakpoints, though, and you could take the Fighter feat variant from UA). I think RNV would be plain better, though.
dndtools.eu/feats/miniatures-handbook--7...
Main problem with Arcane Disciple is it's at most one/day. Casting from a wand would work, but it'd be 3 hours by default, so it wouldn't be cheaply maintainable long-term. If you could persuade your DM to let you buy Eternal Wands of Shield Other, you'd be set, but if not you'd need Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous and Arcane Disciple to make your own.
That said, that way you could go with something like Wiz 3/Crusader 2/JPM (Wiz 4 is probably better for breakpoints, though, and you could take the Fighter feat variant from UA). I think RNV would be plain better, though.
Well, you shouldn't need to cast it more than once per day, with its hours/level duration. And linking with more than one person is dangerous when you could all be subject to a damaging area effect.
I was kind of going for damning the danger and just eating it all up but maybe that's not so wise.
You could also use Pearls of Power, though a L2 one is 4k.