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Inspire courage and bless are both morale bonuses - so they don't stack - they overlap.
Oh drat yeah, I forgot about that. Hmm, maybe scrap the Cleric, then. It's a shame there aren't more cheap low-level buffs.
Maybe I should be considering Rogues. Getting the AB up might be tougher (+0 BAB, no Weapon Focus, etc - I guess Reckless Offense again) but flanking they could get a lot more damage out of Sneak Attack even if Dex-based (+1-2 Str +1d6 with a higher AC vs +4 Str, say). EDIT: No Weapon Finesse so no Dex-based. Damage would be good, though. 
I've been working on a dwarf rogue/psion, and it's pretty fun so far. Being able to use a Trap ally for half the fights will be interesting. I have a question about Dwarves and a question about the dwarven Crafting bonus.
Dwarves get a +2 on craft checks related to stone or metal. I'm working on a dwarf rogue and was thinking of taking craft(trapmaking). Does this +2 on craft checks apply to swinging blade traps? The trap is basically a kukri that swings out of the ground then retracts (wing-blade) for an automatic reset. Could a Pit Trap count (since the pit itself is stone)? What about a spiked pit trap (with a spear at the bottom, part of which is wood) or a covered pit trap (the covering is usually wood or grass)? Overall, Tuvok's plan is to use an Dorje of Enlarged Energy Ray ML 2 (completely cribbed off of Beezel) and try to get off a Psionic Shot Sneak Attack, then follow up with Energy Rays. The trap will hopefully soften up some of his opponents and save him some Dorje charges. I'm unsure as to how a Rogue will play out in CoCo but taking levels in Psion should help add some versatility since his Charisma is too low to really make use of Use Magic Device.
Those uses should all be fine - including even making the spear since it matters for the "business" end of the weapon. Furthermore, it is allowed to make all-metal hafted weapons as well (no additional cost unless you are using special materials).
Am I right in thinking that, by the expendables rules, you would need to be a L3 Cleric (or Wizard or whatever) to cast Animate Dead from a scroll, or a L3 PsyWar to use a Power Stone of Graft Weapon (and so forth)?
I don't suppose, if I am a Grimlock, I can cast Remove Blindness on myself? 
The problem is that it doesn't restore eyes, and Grimlocks don't have eyes. Now, synethete looks vague, since it has two contrasting lines.
"If you are feeling light by absorbing ambient light onto your skin, you have your normal visual abilities (except for darkvision), even if your eyes are closed or you are blinded." It says Your normal vision, which is none. "You can also use this power to see sound if you are deafened, or hear light if you are blinded, thus removing all penalties associated with either condition (though you gain no bonuses for using the power in this way if you are not deafened or blinded)." This method says you remove all penalties of being blinded. Not sure how this is to be interpreted.
I'm pretty much in agreement with Uknits. Synesthete is a questionmark, but I don't think Remove blindness would help. I'm inclined to say neither helps - but that's more a courtroom question.
For the expendables: If you are ECL5 and at least a CL3 cleric - yes - you may have a divine scroll of animate dead (CL5) If you are ECL7 and at least a CL5 wizard - yes - you may have an arcane scroll of animate dead (CL7). However, if you are ECL3 and CL3 cleric - it will cost credits. Likewise, if you are ECL5, but less than a CL3 cleric - it will also cost credits. For the wizard, if he's less than ECL7 or less than CL5 - then he'd have to pay credits.
No, I wouldn't have thought Remove Blindness could work (though by RAW, it seems it should). Synesthete however I feel might be able to. By RAW, it says "your normal abilities", yes, but if you are feeling light through the skin of your face (which Grims have) you should be OK. The only question common-sense-wise would be whether Grims actually have the hardware to handle the idea of images. There is that second line, too.
I wanted to try another Graft Weapon PsyWar, but I thought Wilder surged Kusari-gama-reach Dissipating Touches would be a cool twist. Guess it would have to be PsyWar 3/Wilder 1-3, though, which is more awkward (or L8 Wilder with Expanded Knowledge at L9, I suppose).
Hypothetical (for a potential build of course...):
A base creature has a bite natural attack (primary) and 2 claw attacks (secondary). A template "adds" 2 claw attacks (primary) and bite attack (secondary) It only mentions using the base creature's damage if it is superior; it says nothing about what to do about "conflicting" primary/secondary designations. This could be a big deal. Take a creature that has a bite attack at 1d6+x and 2 claws at 1d4+x/2 If I should designate the claws as primary (1d4+x) and bite as secondary (1d6+x/2) - it boosts the damage of the claw attacks significantly. In the case I'm looking at - they go from +3 damage to +7. The higher the creature's strength - the more difference this makes. Thoughts?
Huh.... I figure you could go with either in that case. The claw is obviously better for full attacks, though the bite is better for charges and the like.
Yeah - the difference isn't likely to be huge (1d4 vs 1d6 is nothing to write home about) and +3 vs +7 is not huge. I figure I might be able to get it as much as a +10 vs +20 difference - but that's pretty close to ECL20.
So I said to myself
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Me: So what should I make, anyway? Anyway, yeah. Fake two-weapon fighting via flurry of blows seems neat. The to-hits seem lower than they are, since high gound is awesome, reckless offense adds some if i really need it, and shillelagh should be up every fight till she can enchant a quartstaff at some point. I...think she has enough hp to not completely kill herself too often with reckless offense, but I could be wrong. Me: Something simple. Fewer early mistakes that way. Me: Sounds reasonable. A fighter maybe? Me: Why not? What kind though. You can only power attack so often before you get bored... Me: What about a two weapon fighter? Me: Don't those need psionics or something to work though? Not like you can always full attack or anything. :p Me. Eh. Just throw a horse at it. Me: But still...it's so expensive...it's hard enough powering up one weapon let alone 2... Me: Oh. True... Me:... Me:... Me:...can a monk use either end of a quarterstaff in a flurry of blows? Me: >_> Thoughts? Errors? Something pretty obvious but I completly missed? Tell me, wouldn't be the first time. :p
The character looks good except for one slight problem: wearing armour prevents the use of flurry of blows. However, remeber you can get a reliable +4 AC by riding for cover unless your foe specifically readies to attack while you attack, so that helps your AC as long as you have a way of keeping your horse alive long enough for defense. On that note, having some backup steeds wouldn't hurt. As for armour, a potion of mage armour is a cheap +4 to AC.
Aside from that, looks good. Deflect arrows helps you force melee, as does the mount. Flurries of attacks for 2d6+4 once shillelaghed can be nasty, and your saves and AC are decent enough, especialy when you consider your good HP. You also have a mount and decent archery if you need to take on somebody better than you in melee, so playing keep away while shooting with deflect arrows becomes a nice option. Also, grappling as a side option not only gives you a fighting chance against opposing grapplers, but gives you nice options for foes whose AC's are too high.
Uknits basically covered everything I'd have to say about the character. Deflect arrows is a great feat, but remember you need a free hand for it to work.
Looks like she'll have good damage output, mobility, and plenty of options. One nice thing about Mage Armor potions is that they last for 1 hour per CL, so you can stick with cheap 50gp CL1 potions.
I have a staff-flurrier lying around here somewhere; after a certain point I figured taking the AB hit is worth it to get an extra chance to hit. Putting him on a horse is an interesting idea, though.
I think the ranger makes sense. There are a couple of minor errors you have from switching over, such as item costs, but it look spretty good now. As he plays, you can tweak him. My one bit of advice is that weapon focus may be better than reckless offense. Reckless offense is +2 for -4, while Focus +1 for no penalty. However, like I said, you have time to tweak as any changes made during ECL 3 are free to make as long as you post them in the blackmarket, so you get a chance to see what parts work and what parts don't.
Plan to go
Fighter 1 - Weapon Focus Fighter 2 - Improved Trip Lvl 6 - Knockdown currently, since I value having both focus and reckless offense. Perhaps too much, but eh. I like hitting stuff. >_> NEway, I think she's as correct as I can make her. Please add and thank you. 
Alright; I'll add her to the roster when I update power ratings tomorrow.
Looks solid. Unless I'm mistaken, 2 potions of Mage Armor should be 100 gp, not 75-- this doesn't put you over the expendables cap though.
Krug has two more levels before he begins taking levels in Psionic Fist and I'm trying to work out how/where to spend them. Originally, the plan was to take two more levels in Barbarian.
Barb 1 / Barb 1: +2 BAB, +13 HP, +6 Skill Points, +1 Fort +1 Refl +1 Will, Uncanny Dodge, Trap Sense +1. Although I like Uncanny Dodge, the Trap sense is kinda weak. This wouldn't cost any credits. Now I'm wondering if a level in Orc Paragon and/or a 4th Level in Monk would be good. Barb 1 / Orc Paragon 1: +2 BAB, +12 HP, +4 Skill Points, +3 Fort +0 Refl +0 Will, Uncanny Dodge, Improved Darkvision, No Light Sensitivity. I kinda like this one. Still enough skill points to enter Psionic Fist, but the No Light Sensitivity is an additional +1 to hit which could make all the difference sometimes. Between that and Improved Darkvision Krug becomes better at dealing with all kinds of lighting effects, and it keeps Uncanny Dodge. This will cost credits for Orc Paragon. Monk 1 / Barb 1: +2 BAB, +11 HP, +8 Skill Points, +2 Fort, +1 Refl, +1 Will, Uncanny Dodge, Ki Strike (Magic), Slow Fall 20, and +1 die size for Unarmed Damage. I really like this because of the Ki Strike. Krug could try to replicate that by enchanting his Guisarme, but you can't use a Guisarme wne you're grappling, and you definitely can't flurry with it. Bonus die size for unarmed damage is nice too. This will cost credits to go back to being Lawful to take the Monk level, and I have to take the levels in this order. Monk 1 / Orc Paragon 1: +2 BAB, +10 HP, +6 Skill Points, +3 Fort, +1 Refl, +1 Will, Improved Darkvision, No Light Sensitivity, Ki Strike (Magic), Slow Fall 20, and +1 die size for Unarmed Damage. I'm a bit more leery about doing this because Uncanny Dodge is pretty valuable, and now we're talking about giving up 3 HP which feels like a lot, even if it isn't. This kind of combines the good parts of both variants, but leaves us without Uncanny Dodge. And I like Uncanny Dodge. Like the other ones, this costs credits for alignment change AND for Orc Paragon, and I'd have to take the levels in this order. Not too bad though, I can afford it. I guess I sort of wrote this down to brainstorm as much as to ask for advice. Seeing it written out like this I have a better idea of what I want and what I can get for Krug.
Ki strike isn't actually that usefull as either a potion of magic fang or an amulet of mighty fists will give you magic unarmed strike as well as the enhancement bonus. Each monk level also acrifices 2 HP. The nice thing is the increased damage on unarmed strike, and once you start taking levels of psionic fist, you'll still advance those. It is also a jump start on the other monk bonuses, AC and speed.
Light sensitivity isn't too bad since the only times it comes into effect are bright light (a 5% chance) or daylight, which is not a common spell to encounter. The enhanced darkvision is cute, but again, it is really most helpfull in rare lighting and when engaging in range, and your speed will generally compensate. Also, Orc Paragon sacrifices will and reflex saves which you would get with either a monk level or 2 barbarian levels. All things said, Barbarian is better HP and Barb/Monk is a slight jump start on monk abilities for Psionic Fist. Paragon is sacrificing saving throws for very situational abilities. Just my 2 cents.
Oh, I totally forgot about Magic Fang. That really makes Ki Strike kind of useless. I don't know why I didn't use that against the Pseudodragons. If that's the case, and given that light effects are pretty rare, I may just take 2 Levels of Barbarian. Especially since Psionic Fist is a d6 class, every bit of HP will help.
Don't forget that when you become a psionic fist, you will have access to metaphysical claw powerstones, which, despite the name, applies to a monk's fist. That halves the price of the potion.
Being able to use Powerstones for things like Inertial Armor will make a big difference in terms of expendable consumption. I'm particularly looking forward to a couple of the Psywar powers that seem built for a guy like Krug-- Grip of Iron, Dissipating Touch, etc. If Krug is holding the charge for Dissipating Touch, does he deal 1d6 damage if he successfully grapples someone, or will he need to use a grapple check after the grapple has started to deliver teh damage?
It would be deliverd on the initial grapple. Grip of iron is fun, but realize how short it is. At level 7, you'l only have 1 round of it per PP. It will be much more usful when you get higher level. Also realize that you can't uses it effectivley as a powerstone because it is an immediate maifesting time power.
That said, hammer is a good power for those purposes. It is swift to cast, so you can manifest it during a grapple without giving up any grapple attempts and it affects all grapple made that round, so it stacks well with flurry.
Hm, that's true. For Krug's power known Hammer seems like the most pp-effecient way to add damage, since Grip of Iron won't be useful until much later. Most of the other buffs can be done via psistone or potion. Expansion looks like one of those powers that would be much stronger on a straight psywar than on a psionic fist, just because you'd need to augment it for it to last any decent amount of time.
In any case, those are all thoughts for much later, when Krug is ECL 7. The more I think about it the more I feel like I'm going to stick with 2 levels in Barbarian for now. Krug really needs the extra HPs, and the saves are good.
So Jerod has some money to spend, and I'm trying to figure what to purchase. I have a few options.
1. Boots of Speed: For all 12,000 gp, I can get 10 rounds of haste. That's better touch AC during haste rounds, slightly better attack, but mostly, 10 rounds of an extra attack each round. Given his general defensive flurries, this could be really lethal. Also, with his 60' fire blast, he doesn't really need the winged boots, so the foot slot is open for them. 2. Crystal Mask of Mindarmour: For almost 11,000, I can cover my one big weakness; my will saves. +5 to +9 is a nice boost, but it seems quite costly for what it is. Most bad will saves can be helped by protection from evil, but that only goes so far. 3. Getting a parrying shield. This cost 10,000, 2,000 to make it a magical weapon, then 8,000 for actual parrying. This gives +1 touch AC, +1 to all saves (including will), but it feels too expensive. Mind you, it is cheaper than upgrading both my ring of deflection and my cloak of resistance, but my save aren't an issue aside from will. 4. AC boosts. I could upgrade both my Breastplate and Ring of Protection for 11,000. 35 AC would be fun.
I would say it's probably better just to upgrade the ring rather than get the whole shield, if you're saying you don't really need the saves.
The Mask is expensive, but then it stacks with the cloak. Of course, with your credits you could easily get a cheaper such item (e.g. a +3 bonus or something), but that's probably a waste if you can afford the mask.
Will is only going to become more of a problem the higher level he becomes. I'd try to shore it up somehow.
That said, I think the boots of speed are really, really good if you don't want to get winged boots. Speed is just so versatile and powerful whenever it's used on a melee-ish character. Of those options, I'd say the only question is boots of speed vs. mindarmor. 
Quick question on lycanthropes: am I right in thinking that when changing to hybrid or animal form, you lose all magical armor, cloaks, rings, etc., or can any of those magic items survive the transformation and still work?
It's not clear from the entry whether that's possible or not. The Alternate Form ability says:
The big change is armour, shield, and weapons. Most animals can wear rings, amulets, cloaks, etc. In theory, if the creature has hands, (a dire ape, for example) you could use weapons and shields.
Also, Hybrids are humanoid enough to use any equiment sized properly for them. Many Coco gladiators never leave hybrid form if lycanthropic, anyway.
Does armour not have to be "nonhumanoid", i.e. double price, for hybrids? Though I guess if you only put it on once in hybrid form, then you'd be fine even if it didn't fit your normal form.
I don't think it has anything to do with "nonhumanoid", because both the hybrid and animal forms of lycanthropes are listed as "humanoid".
The type doesn't have anything to do with humaniod as far as armour is coincerned. Armour has to be specialy made for any character that isn't shaped like a human. Thus, several outsiders and monstrous humaniods are "humanoid" for the purposes of armour prices, while some humaniods, most notably lizard folk because of their pesky tails, are considered exotic for armour prices.
For Lycanthropes, both the natural form and the hybrid form can wear the same, normal priced armour. If you wanted to buy armour for your animal form, it would cost the double price for an exotic shape. Also, you would have to put the armour on while in animal orm, so you would basically have to start your fight in animal form if you wanted to wear armour in your animal form, unless you were a human shaped animal, such as an Ape.
Also, although already implicitly stated here, do keep in mind prices for the relevant size. If you're a Human Were-Rat (medium base race, smaller animal race), your size is medium in both shapes.
However, if you're a Halfling Were-Boar (Small base race, larger animal shape), you're medium in hybrid form but small in base form, so you can still buy your armor for less because of your small size, if you don't plan to use it in animal form.
The real question is "is this an exotic-shaped creature". Something with wings or a large tail is exotic-shaped-- basically anything where your Plate Armor would have to have holes in it for extra limbs to poke through. A half-Dragon Ogre, for example, has exotic shape due to its wings.
The CoCo definition on non-humanoid shaped is dependant on:
a) have two arm-like limbs b) have two leg-like limbs (being a quadruped doesn't work because the front legs have different "motions" to them) c) one head d) no other appendages (wings, tail, etc) So - of the humanoids - lizardfolk and troglodyte qualify as Non-humanoid shaped for armor. Most hybrids are based off of the base race - so unless the lycan was lizardfolk or trog to begin with - they should be fine.
I was just building a werescorpion outside of Core so I had were-tails (admittedly with stingers) a little on the brain, to be fair.
So Urdwed has just finished his 3FC and has just over 4k to spend - the obvious choice is to buy him a Periapt of Wisdom. Do you think it's worth waiting until next level, taking CWI, and crafting it? Since he always have 20 Wis it won't give him another spell slot but my feeling is that the AC bonus in particular is worth it, plus 1 point to his spell DCs (admittedly mostly Entangle).
The only other thing might be to buy an Amulet of NA (not as good but cheaper) and/or Cloak of Resistance (saves are already OK though) - again, both could be crafted next level, though.
I like the Periapt as a better idea than the Amulet or cloak. I think Urdwed is pretty solid on saves-- and with SR and a high touch AC he won't have to use them as much anyways. I think something that really makes him a great character is the 25 touch AC, and the higher your AC is, the more valuable each point of it is. If you hit 26 touch AC, you'll be even more untouchable to ray archers and guys like Krug. The +1 to Entangle DCs is also nice, and you will get a bonus spell from it once you hit Druid 3.
If you're planning on taking CWI anyways, you should probably craft it, but I don't know how worth it or not worth it it would be to use that feat elsewhere. It's pretty good on divine casters who have a lot of spells known.
I will probably want the periapt, cloak AND amulet at some point (possibly an amulet of health, but I like the idea of just pumping his AC), so waiting for CWI seems prudent in that respect. With super-high saves and AC as well as SR, he should be pretty hard to hurt. It's just about whether he can afford not to have that benefit now, or if there's something else he might want to spend his cash on.
If he's going for a multi-amulet, then he'll probably want to craft it to defray the gold costs associated with it.
 I forgot the periapt was an amulet... No, I'm not sure you can even do that, since you'd have to pay credits for it.
Ring of Protection is generally better than the amulet since it affects touch AC and is a ring instead of the coveted amulet slot. Also, since you can't craft the ring of deflection, you may as well buy it now and wait on the others for when you can craft.
I already have one. Gogo Touch AC.
I think I will actually just roll with it as it is and try to save up for a +4 periapt. Scrolls of Owl's Wis and Cat's Dex will actually be far more effective (if more expensive) in the meantime, and it means I can buff as appropriate for each fight.
Been thinking about where I want to go with Kinslayer. I want him to remain sturdy but probably get access to outmaneuver to take advantage of his lizardfolk racial bonuses. Unfortunately the only class I can think of with a good will save and climb on the list of class skills is Monk, so I suspect he's going to be a bit vulnerable for will saves. So I've been considering two classes for when he hits level 4.
Barbarian will give him enough skill points to begin outmaneuvering right away, and has lots of hit points, good weapon profeciencies, and fast movement. He'll be able to use a longbow instead of carrying javelins around, too. I like this because it'll help him get into melee better and let him ditch the morningstar for something with better crit potential like a longsword or perhaps a waraxe. It goes well with his light-armour wearing style. Rogue will give him enough skill points to outmaneuver but also give him some extra for sensory skills or bumping up the outmaneuver number a bit. He's probably gonna stick with the morningstar in this case, but with Sneak Attack he could potentially begin hiring mercenaries and doing flanks once he hits ECL 5 with his numerous natural weapons. This leaves him with very few hit points, though, and no movement bonus from Barbarian. Right now I'm wondering if taking one level in Barbarian next, then taking levels in rogue is the best solution-- but I'd have to keep the levels close together since Lizardfolk's favored class is druid. And of course none of this solves the will save problem. In any case, I'm mostly writing this down to think about it better, but if anyone has any advice, I'd like to hear it. Kinslayer will be levelling up this 3FC whether he wins or loses so it's been on my mind.
If you're really worried on saves, Soulknife has good will and reflex, 10 HP per level, and the climb skill with 4 skill points per level. They also have tumble, which 5 ranks give you a +2 bonus to jump and balance in addition to better fightin defensivley if needed. They also work well with shields since they infinite ammo on a one handed thrown weapon. That said, Soulknife doesn't fit your particular build too well, especially since soulknives suffer from LA alot and are not a strong class in most situations (as mnuch as I love them), but just throwing it out there.
Personally, I feel barbarian is the best bet. 1/day rage helps for when you don;t need as much AC, speed always helps, and the HP helps your survivability. Rogue with you already hindered BAB my have trouble with damage output, and low HP can counter good AC, especially against magic.
Soulknife actually makes a nice dip. The Mind Blade itself does not work so well with other classes, since it can't be improved, but acts a bit like a Monk's Unarmed Strike for purposes of ensuring you always have a weapon to hand. d10, good skills, and unusual saves are decent too, though the loss of BAB hurts. Barbarian is always good, meanwhile (but don't you need Balance?). Wilder is also always a good dip, if you have some Cha.
Hm, unfortunately kinslayer dumped cha. He's got 12 int and 12 wis. As a Lizardfolk he already always has a weapon in hand, though the mind blade does slightly more damage and has a better crit profile. Luckily for him Balance, Swim, and Jump are all class skills for lizardfolk racial HD and he gets bonuses on those thanks to his tail-- all he needs is Climb. Thinking about it, I think he'll be going with a level in Barbarian, at least to start. Ultimately I think he'll have to take levels elsewhere, maybe in cleric or something that will let him cast some serious spells or scrolls, but right now BaB, Fast Movement and HP are what he needs more than anything else.
So, thinking I want to build a lancer... Somthing a bit diffrent from Gart'ak.
so would fighter 1/psi war 2 make sense to start? With the feats H1:mounted combat,F1:Power attack,1:Skill focus: (concentrate),P2:Psionic weapon,P3:Ride by attack,3:Reckless offensive. The idea would be to avoid actualy using mounted combat till 4 due to that being the level of warhorses... so thougts?
As a thought, instead of skill focus: concentrate, you could hop all your mounted combat feats forward and have Spirited Charge at ECL 3, which is excellent, especially for a lance-user. The extra d8+str of damage from Spirited Charge will make up for whatever Psionic Weapons you have to forgo due to missed concentration checks, and will be more reliable for now.
Also, you might want to consider going Fighter 2 -> Psychic Warrior 2 unless that hinders your build plans or desire for greater psionic power. Having the 2nd level of PsyWar at level 4 lets you pick up Psionic Meditation at the earliest point.
but Light horse is the limit, so actulay using lances at level 3 is betting you will be able to kite every round... which you can't. Or that you can one shot anything you attack... which you might, but its a nasty gamble. I think... Or am I wrong in my wild guesses?
The idea was to take another fighter level at 4, and snag spirieted charge there. edit: so more fighter? or just assume that vigor+buffs will cover for the psi wars HD/BAB? edit. @Protasis: hmm... see I just saw the extra power at third... but you make a good case. But that is another point in wis for a really MAD build (Str for damage, Con for HP, Wis at 12 at the least for bonus pp, int for an extra skills.
Well, lets look at it.
Assuming +2 BAB, Spirited Charge, Reckelss Offense, Psionic Weapon, a masterwork lance, and 16 Str at level 3 you'd have +2 BAB, +3 Str, +2 Charge, +2 Reckless Offense, +1 High Ground, +1 Enhancement = +11 to hit your charge (1d8+4)x3 + 2d6{Psionic Weapon} = 17 minimum damage, 48 maximum damage, and 28 average damage. *Note that I'm assuming you add str to the tripled charge, but I'm not entirely sure on that. If you don't triple your Str mod to damage, those calculations go down alot. So, youll have an above average chance to hit, and a really good chance of one-hitting most level 3 people. Now, do you want to take that chance? Maybe. It's not like you have a bad chance of hitting normally. Also, when mounted, you can usually kite most things at lower level(assuming a light load with a light horse) just because you can double move at 120 ft in such a way that is not a straight line. If you have any sort of ranged attack at all, they'll be in a pretty bad way if they are melee, and a pretty bad way if they are intent on staying away when you can just run and charge alot. Even if you can't charge, you'd be able to at least run and charge your psionic focus all the time. As far as mad goes, from what I'm seeing you're only talking 10 points Str for 16 6 Points Con for 14 5-6 points Wis for 13-14 which would still leave 14 points for Int for skills and Dex for ranged. You can pretty much dump Cha unless you are going for handle animal allies(and even then, it would probably still work). Also, deep crystal weapons don't work all that well on PsyWars usually unless you're going the Psionic Talent stack route. You just don't have enough power points to fuel it and your powers. On powers, you mostly only use the minimum manifester levels anyway, unless its Vigor on a hard fight. No matter what you do with a PsyWar, you don't have many pp to work with. In any case, it seems viable. But yeah, also risky.
Wow... thanks for the math. add +1 insight to hit... yeah, a gamble but lancing is a gamble... Just a bit more fragile then I am used to.
Is it possible to purchase Psionic Tattoos of powers without explicit targets, like Detect Psionics or Control Light? Potions state that the imber is both the target and the caster, in effect, but tattoos only say they manifest powers "on the wearer", and for either one could argue that those spells/powers simply don't have targets, so they work just fine in potions/tattoos... I just don't see Potions of Detect Magic etc being a thing, so I'm not sure if tattoos would be either.
Nope. You have to be the target for it to work, and you can't be the target of detect magic or control light because they cannot target.
random thought... use levitate to get to a high/unreachable point, then onhanded thrown weapon(javalin, dagger, dart, shuriken, anything)+quick draw+snatch arrow. thoughts?
If the enemy can't attack you, he might just go behind cover to force you to come down, and then it's the pitlord's decision what happens (I'd probably force him to engage but dispel levitate).
If you're going caster anyway, a wand of MM probably makes more sense than thrown weapons, though a levitating drow might want one-handed weapons. A more viable idea might be to use fly instead of levitate (it's only 2 levels later, and means you can follow him), plus deflect arrows and a wand of MM.
Could be a interesting idea, but you may want to consider Spider Climb instead of Levitate. It wont work on every map but has a 10 min/level instead of 1 min/level duration, and won't affect your to-hit. I guess you could mix and match scrolls and spellslots so you're ready regardless of map.
A Human Wizard 3 with 15 dex could get all three feats by ECL 3 (without quick draw or without snatch), but you'll be flinging daggers basically until you get another class level. There's probably a better way of doing this, maybe a level or two in monk or something.
true, but mm wands cost 15gp a use... each dealing 1d4+1 damage, so about 3.5 damage a round. admittedly other wizards will be a couple charges(stupid d4 HD), but somthing like a D8 will have about 17+con modx3 HP. thats 5-6 charges(75-90gp) on average. Somthing of an outlier like Gart'ak with a D12 HD and 14con will be 31 HP... so like 9 charges.
It's not cheap, but then if they don't have Shield it's blocked only by loss of LoS. The problem is a lot of people could just shoot you back, so you'd need Deflect Arrows or Protection from Arrows, and possibly Shield yourself.
random thing I noticed while looking through the "vital statistics" section of the SRD...
Humans have a base weight of 240lb? The hell? I am noticably over weight and 6ft tall, and I am just over 200lb. why is the assumed minimum 240? Is this the actual minimum weight? at 5ft tall, 240lb is either really built, or really obese... and I was building a jockyish charicter, who would be as light as possible to fit on a horse. read the description before the table.
I was going to activate Hanahadashii this week, finally, but I figured I'd ask for critique first. I've made some changes - mainly, Flyby is worth more, I think, than the money saved via Craft MA&A (though Blind Fight is also tempting, given his at-will Darkness), and I decided that cool as the Luckstone is, the moeny (20k!) would be better spent elsewhere. I'm also still taking UMD, but focusing on it less for now. I think a Rogue level would work really well for this guy, though the original intent had always been to go Wilder.
The_Fred, I don't know if you plan to continue adding Dexterity to him... if not, making the Mithril Chain Shirt into a Mithril Breastplate would get you another point of armor for a cost of 3000 gp and a point of ACP.
You might also want to put Protection from Energy and/or Resist Energy into a wand. Slightly easier UMD, significantly cheaper protection of your glowing weak points (acid and fire)
A Breastplate is a pos, but it's a Large breastplate and I believe that that doubles the cost of the mithral, too (which makes sense, I suppose) so it would actually be +6k. A Ring of Deflection mightn't be a bad idea, actually, though he has potions.
Wands would be better than the scrolls I think, but the original plan was to take Wilder - in which case Power Stones of Energy Adaption are probably best, since they don't rely on UMD.
Sure - but then I can't get a Dorje yet, since he only has UMD, not UPD.
 I have a feeling he will need to get a class level of one form or another to come into his own, either way.
Ok, so I am building a tripper with a smidge of wizard(it had to have int 13+ for the feats anyways... so might as well have the cheapest arcane item creation available.), and I was wondering if I missed a good feat.
So far he has EWP spiked chain, combat expertise, combat reflexes, improved trip, improved disarm, and scribe scroll. improved disarm is just their as I think it might be good... 
So I've been pondering a couple of character builds and I would love some feedback. What you have to know about me is that I pretty much can play an arcane spellcaster on my worst day, but I have a very hard time playing a character that relies on melee or ranged damage. Even my archers end up having a large amount of caster for the purposes of buffs. I keep looking at the history books of Gladius and see some characters who have made it up the ranks of being mostly fighters, but not without difficulty. My only 'fighter' focused character had a +4 LA and downed a 20hp vigor stone every fight till he hit about 5 hit dice.
So there are really 2 things I'm trying to do here. 1) create an archer that doesn't suffer in the upper levels. 2) Create something that is fun to play but also has a semi logical back story to go with training. (I can min max but I like having my reasons). Currently I'm musing over how to rebuild an old character of mine Loddick (Elan/Rng1/Psion6/Slayer X, retired w/ Ego Whip Ban) with a focus more on the archery rather than the casting. I'm not sure I'm willing to go full noncasting. This is more for trying to gain experience in playing different types of characters. I also know I'll get frustrated with this character. So what I'm working with right now is something along the lines of: Xeph Pal2/PW2/XXX1/WarmindX (Cleric or Bard, maybe divine might, bard for skill ranks to get into WM) Elf Pal2/PW2/Rng2/arcane something/Arcane ArcherX (this is more vague, Focus on Psi shot feats) Xeph Pal2/Rng2/PW2/WarmindX Phrenic Xeph PaladinX/maybe a couple of fighter levels for feats PWX Archer spec I know mid/high levels archery falls off pretty quick. But I'm just musing here. 
Loddick was great; I see no reason you couldn't rebuild something similar to him.
Another great archer was Mssr Hood, who you could probably search for - just to get a sense of some of the more potent feats. My takes on archer(s) (with some extra abilities) were Mohmat (influenced by Hood) and Ghost (more sneak attack focused) I know you like Paladins - I see all your builds incorporate Paladin 2. I'm not sure that adds as much to archer bulids as just straight Fighter would. I think Psionics, b/c of psionic shot and potentially fell shot, are just too good to pass up, so would think you'd need a psionic component. Cleric/Bard have great ways to help. Honestly a simple/savage (whichever gets pet) bard, or ranger with pet, to allow access to a direbat or some early flying pet, could help make even a nonmagical archer much more potent.
I think a Paladin Archer can work, but you look like your build already has problems distributing points. Having to have Charisma may not help. Also, Warmind does much more for melee builds than Archers, and I think you may be better off with either straight PW or Slayer if you switch your paladin levels with rangers (more skills for skill packages, maybe scout to help your buffing problem, and Slayer would be better with manifesting). For that matter, dropping PW for Psion loses you some HP and 1 feat, but a Psion2/Ranger2/Fighter1 Slayer Archer could be pretty beast. You also only lose 1 BAB that way, have good manifesting powers (especially if you go with egoist), or you could switch out PW for Psion and get things like dissolving weapon and Prevnom Weapon.
Just my rambling on the topic. I just feel Warmind is not very Archer focused.
Stuck is where I was feeling, somehow I got my Paladin & Warmind wires crossed from another build and never got them uncrossed. I remember Mssr Hood but really not feeling that direction.
I thought about dissolving weapon but it doesn't work as nicely with archery till much later on when you know you won't miss. On the other hand 2 levels of PW does net me a feat, of which I think I'm going to need. The other character I'm looking at for inspriation is Valen Sky but with a more of a Shot on the Run Focus and getting the Scout/Outmanuever packages. Rng2/(psionic something) 2 makes great sense from a ground level entry. I think I just have to decide where I want to go from there and if I care about late entry into Slayer.
So I am looking at Jack of Thorns... and thinking about what to do with later levels. I was thinking monk2/barb2/cleric 2-4, and stop planning further cause that is like a solid year of leveling.
Monk for an additional attack(flurried unarmed strike), 2 solid bonus feats(stunning fists and deflect arrow), and evasion. Barb gives a rage, improved speed, and uncanny dodge. Cleric is cleric, and those levels give some nice spells along with full BAB. end result would be a fighter 2/cleric 4/monk 2/babarian 2. Any of that make sense? or am I crazy?
Bob: This is coming from 'caster' me. I don't see what could be gained from Monk2 and Barb2 in the long run. The monk feats are nice, but if you are going to be fighter, take more levels of fighter and pick up one of the feats there. (unless you are looking at Stunning Fist)
Barb could work, and the Rage is nice, but you might look at some of the higher level cleric spells (specifically Divine Power at Clr4 and Righteous Might at Clr 5) and find that those spells would fit with your tripper much better than the barb levels would give you over the short haul. You could honestly go Ftr2/ClericX ... maybe pick up a couple extra fighter levels if you wanted HP or Weapon Spec. I feel like going monk OR barb would be good, but both will dilute too much (also you will need to pay 5c for a alignment change to get into monk, or out of barbarian (lose rage if you go lawful with Barbarian)) On the other hand you will need to put some points into Wisdom if you want to cast higher level cleric spells.
The problem is spells are long term. 4 means cleric 7, or cleric 5 as an expendable. I notice that gladiators start thining out at 6+... and in between, cleric buffs are not quite as sweet as frontloaded martial classes.
Is that true? it just seems like past the low ECLs the gladiators are all buy ins or anchient monsters. The thing with monk is it gives three really sweet feats(Stunning fist, deflect arrows, and IUS), unarmed strike with hands full, and flurry. Fighter has started giving diminishing returns... two levels for a feat. wait, alinment changes are credits? damn. Is the rule for rewriting third level charicters if the thing you change hasn't come up still around?
A lot of gladiators start off at ECL 3, which means that it takes a while for them to reach higher levels. It's not surprising that there are fewer up the higher up you go, because less of them have been around for as long. Buying in at a higher ECL is also rarer than just starting at ECL 3 anyway since it (usually) costs credits. Also, they get played a bit less since tactics take longer to write, and since high-level fights are two weeks. Even mid-level ones, they're more likely to be held over since they tend to take longer to run (Bilgly notwithstanding).
Alignment changes do cost credits, but can have occured in your past for free (so you could start as an Ex-Monk 1/Barb 2 at ECL 3, say).
Bob: I follow your logic. With regards to Jack, I would go with your gut and grab the levels of monk and Barb then. I think you could 'ask nicely' for an alignment change and then you would need to adjust him out of lawful when you pick up Barb. On the other hand if you go after monk first and he doesn't work out, you can always nix the levels of barb and save the credits.
What happens at level 5 and 6 is that spell casters start to ramp up into characters that don't need much in the way of spare items. Most can (if they want to) start going high DC save or dies, and most non-casters have a hard time keeping up. Normally level 5 and 6 is also where people know if their build is working or not, and go back to the drawing board (because of build flaw) or stick it out (have a late target PrC like Elocator, Duelist, or Dwarven Defender). Normally if a character pushes into ECL 7 they have survived this very noticeable land mark. Picking up 4th level spells (or being able to deal with 4th level spells) is normally a strong indicator of how things are going to go in the long run. Others remain loyal to their character and know that their character is a late bloomer. Not all casters are successful either, one of Telin's benchmark characters Kraegin has a below 50% win rate but is still really scarry. But Kraegin founded a religion and caused 2 campaigns and a full event in the guilds to happen before the board switchover. I have had a number of failed clerics (something just doesn't click with me on them in a arena environment.) I've gotten around some things by having my characters quest to gain levels and avoid the arena (where I know they will not do well) until they level up some and become more dangerous (See Lady Ephraim ECL 12 vs Dark Ephraim ECL 4) I look at Uknits Ashton and while I didn't see him progress I know that at 27W/34L that it is a labor of love that brought him to that point. (also that would be just over a year to ECL 15 if played every week)
Yeah... now I am thinking fighter 2/cleric 1/monk 2/ cleric x.
It is the thing that makes me weirded out by Gart'ak's continuting win streak... He is in the realm of mid level casters yet he keeps wining. Beezel will probably cut him down, but so far he has been rocking out as a pure mundane fighter.
Ashtin had a perfect win streak until ECL 6. His downfall was that it is just so hard to counter everything that starts happening at ECL 6+. Niche abilities and spellcasting are difficult to plan for since there are so many things they can do, and one of the biggest is invisibility. With only a single 8,000 gp item for a once a day see invisibility, countering invisibility is difficult. Save or dies are dangerous, but one of the worst is trying to keep your Touch AC current. By high ECL, it is hard to have your Touch AC sufficient to not be destroyed by spells like enervation or a wild surged 10d10+10 damage energy ray. At High ECL's, playing a one trick character becomes problematic and versatility becomes a nescessity.
So, at low level you've got your high STR Barbarians and Monks, who can tank damage until they grapple or hit once. At high level, you've got your Wilder rolling the dice on surging and keeping their touch AC high. Yeah?
Yes and no... Their are some scary low ECL casters, and probably some nasty high ECL fighters. Low level casters have a much greater chance of dieing horribly as they need a lot of buff rounds and have tiny HP without vigor. Also, as most expendables are first level CL1 spells, when casters start picking up 3rd and 4th level buff spells... the world starts changing. Casters start having enough juce to do some serious spell casting, and melee is still linear.
A near-complete lack of buffs makes it tough at higher levels. Even the lowly Entropic Shield probably does more for your defence vs rays than anything a fighter-type can bring to the table. Potions and NPC services are helpful, I guess, even if they are a bit more expensive.
Poggle is a grig (an adorable one, at that), wizard (evoker). She now has her improved familiar (eagle) to ride, and will be raining some death from above.
I had planned on adding 2 PW levels for psionic shot, psionic med, and combining psionic arrow buffs (psionic shot, dissolving weapon) to magic arrow buffs (flame arrow, others if I can find some good ones) to fly around and fire supercharged arrows. The build was going to be Grig3/Wiz3/PW2/Eldritch KnightX Question --Grig lists no favored class. Are there rules for this, or are there just no favored classes --if Wiz3/PW2, will Poggle not suffer XP penalty? If you have any other thoughts, feel free to chime in. Like, will there be objections to Flame arrow + Dissolving weapon, that sort of thing. THANKS! PS: Prepare to have adorable death raining down from adorable above.
You are missing a requirement for EK ... 3rd level spells. Granted that will make the XP Penalty more prevelant.
Other than that it looks clean.
Intersting: It will mean that while you are Wiz3/PW1 you will take Multiclass penalties, but then again if you are going to get into EK you will probably take some more penalties.
I don't know why I always imagine EK requires 2nd level spells. That's a chronic mistake I make, and just have a mental wall.
Yeah, will prob end up w/ Wiz3/PW1 (penalty), PW2 (no penalty), Wiz to 5 (penalties!) then EK. Oh wells. And thanks for that re: monsters/favored classes. I suppose I'll just deal w/ the 20% xp penalty (Ghost currently has 20% xp penalty for one level, until he can take a second fighter level) I sort of wonder if mounted combat/mounted archery (with fighter levels) wouldn't be better than psionic shot...
This thread needs some new life!
So, Anjin just hit ECL 5 (L4) and I was about to level him up when it occured to me whether that Monk dip I'd contemplated mightn't be such a bad idea in all seriousness after all. PsyWar 4 gives him +1 BAB, +3 PP (with his Wis - he can't afford a +Wis item and he'd want +Str anyway) and a new shiny L2 power (Dissolving Weapon?). However, Monk 1 gives him IUS and Imp Grapple (well, or Stunning Fist), saves boosts (not so needed since he has Empty Mind, but still, +8/+4/+5 is better than +7/+2/+3) and, if he trades his armour for Inertial Armour, +2 AC (via Wis). He could just as easily get +1 armour, but that applies to touch AC too which he's lacking, and will one day go up with a Periapt of Wisdom. He could even use higher-ML Intertial Armour (maybe take it with EK or a higher-level power, even) for more AC. It seems that armour and armour spikes are more up his street than Wis-to-AC and IAS (especially since he can use Large cold iron spikes), just felt I may as well pick people's brains. I'm not sure if he should be shooting for War Mind, also. It fits, and it's full BAB, but sets my power progression back.
Monk's can't use shields, though. You would not get wis to AC with the shield bash, and so that is a bit of a set back. The feat is nice, but Anjin doesn't seem to have a problem grappling, so I wouldn't worry about it. I feel as though large armour spikes (2d6 when enlarged) are more useful to Anjin.
Oh yeah, the shield! Bleurgh.... yeah I guess that clinches it. The saves and feats would be handy but probably not worth it, even just for the loss of BAB. I guess I need to think about what power to nab, then.
OK so turns out Jaob never got a feat when he reached L6. Man, he feels like he's going mad. Still, it's easily fixed. Question is, what does he want? My thoughts had been:
- Heighten Spell (or something like that). Clerics only have so many save-or-dies and Jaob's DCs are high. Still, not sure it's worth it, since the L1 ones aren't largely gamebreakers. Maybe a L3 Cause Fear for DC 21 or something? - Speed of Thought. Make use of his Psionic by being faster. Could work well with Burst. - Psionic Meditation. Only use for focus is Defensive Casting/grappled, though, and then you provoke for trying to recharge it, so probably not worth it. - Energy/Subdual Substitiution. Change those Fire domain spells into Acid or something? - Craft MA&A. He already spent 2k on his armour and shield so it'd be annoying to pick it up now, but could save him much more in the future. - Other Metamagic. Most of the metamagics seem lame in Core, but a super-long-range Enlarged Blindness might be cool. Maybe Extend. Though, he could just get a rod (only 3k; the 5lbs is a bigger deal). Any advice/suggestions/thoughts?
Craft arms and armor is great; qwuibbik has really benefitted, and in the scheme of things the 2k spend is minor.
Meta magic + craft rod is not bad combo Heighten I am underwhelmed by for clerics Energy sub is also good (I think you need another meta magic tho?)
Yuck, yeah you do need a metamagic for Energy subs. Maybe one now and that at L9? Just seems a tad underwhelming. CA&A is cool but it's pretty much just going to mean slightly cheaper armour AC enhancement. Still, with shield too I guess it makes quite a difference, it's two for one.
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