after my dragonborn water Orc dragoon battlejumped and 1 shotted the BBEG and his lt. in 1 hit (first time cleave has actually been useful) the group decieded that it was just too powerful. So I figured I'd finally get some use from the XPH I've had for years and never used. I would like to try a Kalestar psion
Problem is my group still needs melee support. I know that Egotists can melee with the best of them starting around 7th lvl. But i need something that would work for the 4 lvls till then as well.
rest of the group is:
2 druids(newer players, still haven't really done anything)
1 unarmed Swordsage (only there about half the time)
1 changling transmuter focused spec. -> recaster (first wizard character ever)
I've read the handbooks, but since the change the formatting is all screwed up and it's hard to read. Any ideas CO?
Share Pain + Vigor, a psicrystal, and a race with a decent con modifier should let you survive melee fairly well. I'd suggest a dragonborn warforged. I'd actually go with a Shaper and pick up Expanded Knowledge (Metamorphosis) later, but of course if you want access to it ASAP, you might not want to do that. Linked Power can let you "refresh" your temporary hit points from Vigor every round as a swift action, if you link it to a swift action power, which will make you downright insane to kill via hit point damage (at least until you run out of power points 
).
Look here for a bunch of posts of mine I've compiled on my experience with characters like this: brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.p...
Also: get some crossbow bolts with the Manifester enhancement, if your DM can tolerate a bit of cheese. It can greatly help with not running out of power points.
If you want to be melee based and have psionics, you may think about looking at the psychic warrior or the ardent from Complete Psionic. The PW is a decent balanced class, and the ardent is as well.
Ardent looks pretty interesting. Maybe something like a ranger 2/ ardent 3/ slayer/ ardent/ swordsage
to get some manuvers and assassin stance in there too. Still have a ML of 20 at 20th lvl with PM.
If you're thinking of going Ardent, you might find this useful: brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.p...
You've got...two Druids, which means wildshape for each in a few levels and fairly beefy animal companions until then; a swordsage; and even the arcanist is heavily into transmutation, which allows for lots of physical buffing, including self-buffing if need-be.
I don't care how inexperienced or inept the party is, they don't need a melee fighter, and the LAST thing they need is a fourth transmuting/polymorphing (basically what an egoist is) caster.
My advice: Do a martial rogue (www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/varia...) along with a few levels of Barbarian to be the party skill monkey and jack of all trades (Use Magic Device is a wonderful skill), and still have the ability to stand in up front if they need help. Use your bonus feats for combat, and take whirling frenzy and Lion Totem if you can.
If you want to play a psion, though, pick a focus on something the rest of the party can't already do... Be a shaper and summon your meatshields via Astral Construct. Turns foes to friends as a Telepath, or otherwise disable them from fighting. Do some battlefield control with...hmm...can psions do battlefield control?
Do some battlefield control with...hmm...can psions do battlefield control?
Yeah. Shapers or Nomads, mostly.
And of course, no low-level Psion thread would be complete without the Minor Creation trick.
A human with Skill Focus(Poisonbrewing) and the Psicrystal helping out with the Craft check might (check with the DM, sane ones say no) be able to brew some Black Lotus poison. Hand of the Mage applies it to weapons safely for 900gp.
That should last until Control Body time, right?
I can't think of the build right off hand but, you could play the changeling egoist variant and then go into one of the divine PrC's and you end up being able to do a bunch of fun stuff with damage and healing powers. I'll get back to you if I remember the PrC.