Author Topic: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)  (Read 4465 times)

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Endarire

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Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« on: February 07, 2011, 11:53:12 PM »
Throw ectoform (Hyperconscious 110) is similar to mirror image, though the duration is 1 round/level (boo!) and I can order my "construct" selves to do more than surround me, mirror image-style.

Thankfully, in our game, there is no XP cost (yay!) but there is one by default (boo!).  How does the XP cost change this power's worth?

I already have astral construct for scouting and such.  My constructs last 10 minutes because of the feat Durable Construct (Hyperconscious 40) and I have plenty of HP via vigor, share pain, and a psicrystal.

I'm going for a somewhat melee build via astral construct power armor with the option to stand back and be a disabler.

All 3.5 source material is allowed, pending DM approval.

Throw Ectoform Full Text
[spoiler]Metacreativity
Level: Shaper 2
Display: Visual (see text)
Manifestation Time: One standard action
Range: Personal (see text)
Target: You
Saving Throw: Will(partial; see text
Duration: 1 round/level
Power Points:Note: This power is psychophilosophically incompatible with the arcane spell mirror image; if both are attempted, the one manifest (or cast) first is the effect that occurs; the other effect is nullified.

XP Cost: Each time you manifest throw ectoform, you pay 1 XP (1 XP per manifestation, not 1 XP per ectoform).[/spoiler]
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Speaking of which:
Don't even need TO for this.  Any decent Hood build, especially one with Celerity, one-rounds [Azathoth, the most powerful greater deity from d20 Cthulu].
Does it bug anyone else that we've reached the point where characters who can obliterate a greater deity in one round are considered "decent?"

Phoenix00

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2011, 12:35:46 AM »
It can replicate extremely well the Shadow Clone Technique ( Kage Bunshin no Jutsu )

http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_Clone_Technique

Endarire

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2011, 12:46:38 AM »
It can make for an interesting show, I know.

I'm seeking practical D&D applications, however.
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Speaking of which:
Don't even need TO for this.  Any decent Hood build, especially one with Celerity, one-rounds [Azathoth, the most powerful greater deity from d20 Cthulu].
Does it bug anyone else that we've reached the point where characters who can obliterate a greater deity in one round are considered "decent?"

Garryl

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2011, 01:43:29 AM »
I don't know why they even bothered with the 1 xp cost. Even if you manifest only Throw Ectoform with all your PP every day, you still won't manage to fall behind more than one equal level encounter's worth of xp, assuming 4 encounters/day. Like all small xp costs, it either costs you nothing (since you never fall into the small xp point where your allies level but you don't) or you're behind for one encounter and get net more xp because xp is a river. The only way to make it more than a rounding error is by slowing your game down terribly (to 1 encounter/more than one day) or by spamming it with a recharge loop.

Numbers:
[spoiler]
Psion 3 has about 18 PP (11 base, 6 Int, 1 race or higher than 18 Int or whatever), 6 xp spent/day. Each encounter gives 900/4 xp = 225 xp, so it takes 37 days of spamming this to cost an encounter.

Psion 10 has about 140 PP (88 base, 40 Int, 12 race or higher than 26 Int or whatever), 46 xp spent/day. Each encounter gives 3000/4 xp = 750 xp, so it takes 16.3 days of spamming this to cost an encounter.

Psion 20 has about 500 PP (343 base, 120 Int, 37 from items or rounding or higher than 34 Int or whatever), 183 xp spent/day. Each encounter gives 6000/4 xp = 1500 xp, so it takes 8.2 days of spamming this to cost an encounter.

On a side note, you get about 40-50% of an encounter's xp extra for being down a level, if I remember correctly.
[/spoiler]

Other than that, it's a short-duration Mirror Image. It's great if you can buff up beforehand and walk in with a dozen clones. It's less impressive if you have to use it in combat. On the upside, Extend Power plays really nicely with Throw Ectoform. I'm sure there are other shenanigans you can play, but I'm not the most creative person.
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Catty Nebulart

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #4 on: February 08, 2011, 02:06:52 AM »
Throw Ectoform + temporal reiteration (aka powers last one round longer) + recharge/action loop? 1 xp for a number of copies equal to ML which replace themselves at 1 per round, and if you pop one you can spawn a new one and teleport to that location. :clap

If you go for full on abuse it seems like a nice power, but otherwise :banghead

I forget is there some way to persist psionic powers? It might be worth it then.
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Endarire

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2011, 02:56:17 AM »
I've heard that temporal reiteration (Complete Psionic 104) can make powers permanent by manifesting temporal reiteration (if only Linked) on the last round of the power to keep active.
Hood - My first answer to all your build questions; past, present, and future.

Speaking of which:
Don't even need TO for this.  Any decent Hood build, especially one with Celerity, one-rounds [Azathoth, the most powerful greater deity from d20 Cthulu].
Does it bug anyone else that we've reached the point where characters who can obliterate a greater deity in one round are considered "decent?"

Nanshork

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2011, 03:28:17 AM »
Throw Ectoform + temporal reiteration (aka powers last one round longer) + recharge/action loop? 1 xp for a number of copies equal to ML which replace themselves at 1 per round, and if you pop one you can spawn a new one and teleport to that location. :clap

If you go for full on abuse it seems like a nice power, but otherwise :banghead

I forget is there some way to persist psionic powers? It might be worth it then.

Hyperconcious has a feat for that IIRC.
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Endarire

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2011, 03:36:53 AM »
Hyperconscious 43 has Persistent Power.  So long as you're psionically focused, you can spend +12 PP to persist a power.  Otherwise works as Persistent Spell.
Hood - My first answer to all your build questions; past, present, and future.

Speaking of which:
Don't even need TO for this.  Any decent Hood build, especially one with Celerity, one-rounds [Azathoth, the most powerful greater deity from d20 Cthulu].
Does it bug anyone else that we've reached the point where characters who can obliterate a greater deity in one round are considered "decent?"

Prime32

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2011, 01:02:31 PM »
The XP cost is there so that you can remove it with astral zealot. Which is an interesting PrC...
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Nunkuruji

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2011, 03:09:29 PM »
So...

Astral Zealot Conjoin Ectoform + Persistent Power: Thow Ectoform = DR/number of rounds you bother to persist for

?

Phoenix00

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2011, 03:17:13 PM »
If you are going to persist the throw ectoform make sure you use power link shards to triple your manifester level and thus have 3 times as much shadow clones or three times as much damage reduction.

Nunkuruji

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2011, 03:19:47 PM »
If you are going to persist the throw ectoform make sure you use power link shards to triple your manifester level and thus have 3 times as much shadow clones or three times as much damage reduction.

Ah yea, just found the phrase where it limits the clones to ML

snakeman830

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Re: Sell me on the Shaper power Throw Ectoform (Hyperconscious)
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2011, 08:33:34 PM »
If you are going to persist the throw ectoform make sure you use power link shards to triple your manifester level and thus have 3 times as much shadow clones or three times as much damage reduction.
Manifester level remains the same, you can just spend 3 times as namy PP on it as normal (shard provides some).
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