Boosting Telepath DCs

[Zarothar]

I'm helping out a friend with a Human Telepath (planning to go all the way from 1 to 30), and we're trying to figure out ways to boost the DCs on her powers.

Here's what I know of:

• Charming Veil [Online] - Great with charms and compulsions. Unfortunately, this suffers from two problems... Firstly, it's an online source and may not be allowed. Secondly, she only has a Con of 12, so Incarnum feats could be troublesome to get. Don't really want to waste a stat boost that rightly should be going to Int. I suppose one way to get around the second problem would be to save the Soulmeld bit until she can get an inherent boost to Con?
• Psionatrix of Telepathy - This gives +1 once she can get it.
• Psionic Endowment and Greater Psionic Endowment - +2 to DC when focus is expended. Already have this pair o' feats.
• Int Score - 18 + 5 (Levels) + 5 (Inherent) + 6 (Enhancement) = 34 @ Level 20 - Any way to get this number higher? No ageing cheese, please. 
• The Illithid Heritage tree can grab another +1 for compulsion DCs, but that requires a minimum of two feats with fluff that absolutely does not fit the character. Even if I could get Illithid Heritage refluffed, I'm really not sure it's worth the feat investment.
• Once she gets to Epic, Improved Overchannel is just insane when combined with powers that scale with PP invested. Sure, you take a crapload of damage, but this'll give her +10 to +15 on my DCs on Dominate and Charm and help a LOT with overcoming SR. Of course, you need some way to get around Mind Blank and the such... But if something doesn't have such defences (or they can be got around somehow... Epic Dispel? Epic Dropping-Mind-Affecting-Immunity?), that DC boost will be awesome. Plus, awesome duration on Dominate.

That's about all I can find... Anyone know of Items/Feats/Whatever that would help out?

Alternatively, does anyone know of debuff possibilities for a straight-classed Telepath?

I'd like to avoid particularly cheesy combos, as the intent isn't so much to super-optimise as to make sure the Telepath won't suffer from ineffectiveness.

[Lycanthromancer]

You've got most of the ways to do that.

However, depending on level, you do have a few additional options.

Regular Overchannel will increase the DCs on most powers, of course.

Use polymorph any object to become a creature with a high Intelligence score (such as a pit fiend). Nabbing the Otherworldly feat should give you the Outsider (Native) type, which means PAO should be permanent unless dispelled. Borderline cheese, but that's the intended use for that particular spell, so it's not like you're cheating at all. You either have to buy this one or buy a scroll and UMD it. Nab psychic reformation if you want to boost your UMD score to the moon, then use it again to put the character's build back where you want it.

If you can boost her Con, the incarnum feat Midnight Augmentation (preferably coupled with Psycarnum Infusion) will increase her DCs, as well, through additional augmenting.

The thrallherd PrC severely decreases the manifesting cost for psionic charm and psionic dominate once per day, allowing you to pump up their DCs by ludicrous amounts.

Have her use skill checks to convince a target to willingly accept the results of a telepathy power. Convincing someone she's a cleric and that she's going to cast heal is a great way to do this, especially when they're under the effects of, say, suggestion.

An orange ioun stone increases your effective manifester level by 1, which increases the number of power points you can spend in augmentation.

Knock down an enemy's saving throws before casting. Fear effects decrease Will saves (and are stackable), so demoralize is a good pick (and it scales, which is great). Finding ways to toss out multiple dispel psionics is good, because it takes out a foe's bonuses to saving throws and pesky problems like mind blank.

Also, if you pump your UMD score (take Able Learner to offset cross-class costs), you can toss out arcane and divine debuffs as well, such as bestow curse, and so on. That, or you could always try researching spells as psionic powers (but make sure you have both the DM's go-ahead and an augmentable save DC).

Do note that a power that is a must-have for a telepath is astral construct. Having such a multipurpose ability that A.) doesn't require saves and is non-mind-affecting and B.) is immune to the intrusions of other telepaths is a huge boost for a telepath. Otherwise, she's near-useless against creatures that are immune to mind-affecting effects. Tossing out a gigantic construct to grapple a foe while she attempts to dominate it is a great strategy for keeping it distracted and preventing it from killing her.

Sometimes, it's better to throw out multiple lower-level powers (such as two Link Power'd psionic dominates than a single manifestation, especially if the critter's Will save is high enough that it would only fail on a critical failure anyway.

And lastly: Diplomacy, Diplomacy, Diplomacy. Hitting epic-level Diplomacy checks will make anyone (not immune to mind-affecting effects) your friend, no matter how much they hate you. One of the reasons Diplomacy is oft considered broken is for its static DCs (you can even make, say, Ao fall madly in love with you with a relatively low skill check). Boost it high, and have her use it as much as possible. It's like psionic charm except it requires 1 minute to use and it doesn't waste resources. If she gets her skill check high enough, she can take -10 to talk as a full-round action.

[carnivore]

here is  a "General Purpose Build Telepath"
Since this is a general purpose build, the feats and power selection will be such that this character can survive and contribute in a meaningful way to any party he is with.

Human Telepath

8 Str
10 Dex
10 Con
16 Int
13 Wis
14 Cha

Psion 1 [spoiler]
Psion 1......Power points = (2+ 1 bonus)= 3 PP
New Powers Known: Empathy, Entangling Ectoplasm, Telempathic Projection
Feats: Psycrystal Affinity,Illithid Heratige, Illithid Compulsion
Skills:
4 ranks Concentration
4 ranks Knowledge (Psionics)
4 ranks Psicraft
4 ranks Bluff
4 ranks Diplomacy
4 ranks Sense Motive


Equipment= Ave 75 GP
10gp....5x daggers
35gp...light crossbow
2gp.....20 bolts
10gp ...leather armor

misc equipment and supplies

Tactics:At this level....his main tactic is Diplomacy.....followed by running away as fast as he can. He can help his party with Entangling ecto...then use missile fire(crossbow). Not very much to do but try to survive. 
[/spoiler]

Psion 2[spoiler]
Psion 2......Power points = (6 + 3 Bonus)= 9 PP
New Powers Known:Crystal Shard, Vigor
Feats:
Skills:
5 ranks Concentration
5 ranks Knowledge (Psionics)
5 ranks Psicraft
5 ranks Bluff
5 ranks Diplomacy
5 ranks Sense Motive

total Diplomacy = 5 ranks + 2 Cha + 4 Synergy = +11 minimum + 1d20 + Psionic Bonuses


Equipment= Ave 900 GP
as first level...but add the following:
200gp..2x War Ponies(trained)...one to be riden, one for carrying supplies...both are combat ready and can fight
150gp...6x Guard Dogs(trained).....trained for various things
100gp .10x Acid Flasks
200gp..10x Alchemists Fire
100gp...4x Holy Water

Remainder for misc. items and supplies.

Tactics:Now he can use his powers a little more....but his Skills have jumped, due to the Synergy bonuses for Diplomacy. His actions are mostly the same(Diplomacy focus)....but he is able to help a little more for combat(due mainly to his animals). 
[/spoiler]

Psion 3 [spoiler]
Psion 3 ......Power points = ( 11 + 4 Bonus)= 15 PP
New Powers Known:Ego Whip, Share pain
Feats:Illithid Legacy(bonus Powers:Psi Charm,Read Thoughts)
Skills:
6 ranks Concentration
6 ranks Knowledge (Psionics
1 rank Knowledge (Nobility & royalty
6 ranks Psicraft
5 ranks Bluff
6 ranks Diplomacy
6 ranks Sense Motive

Equipment=Ave 2700 GP
As 2nd level....add more mundane Alchemical items

Tactics: Here he gets a big boost to powers Known and he can make even more use of his Skills(Psi Charm....makes a NPC Friendly....much easier to work with using Diplomacy)....also he can be much less afraid of combat(Share pain+Vigor+ Share Powers with Psicrystal). His combat options now are to Throw a lot of Splash weapons(easy to use, very effective). 
[/spoiler]

Psion 4[spoiler]
Psion 4......Power points = ( 17 + 6 Bonus)= 23 PP,
New Powers Known:Concussion Blast,Psi Suggestion
Feats:
Skills:
7 ranks Concentration
7 ranks Knowledge (Psionics
Knowledge (Nobility & royalty)..2 ranks
7 ranks Psicraft
Bluff...........................5 ranks
7 ranks Diplomacy
7 ranks Sense Motive

Equipment=Ave 5400 GP
same as 3rd lvl but add
2000gp.......Handy Haversack....very useful for his entire career

Tactics: Much the same as 3rd lvl.......Psi Suggestion has many uses. Also Concussion Blast can target multiple targets & incorporeal targets...handy power to have. At this level he adds +1 point to Int, so Int = 17. 
[/spoiler]

Psion 5[spoiler]
Psion 5......Power points = (25 + 10 Bonus)= 35 PP
New Powers Known:Hostile Empathic Transfer,Touchsight
Feats: Psi Meditation
Skills:
8 ranks Concentration
8 ranks Knowledge (Psionics
Knowledge (Nob & roy)..3 ranks
8 ranks Psicraft
Bluff........................5 ranks
8 ranks Diplomacy
8 ranks Sense Motive

Equipment=Ave 9000 GP
same as 4th lvl..but add:
4000gp .......+2 Headband of Intellect

Tactics:much the same as 4th.....but has an added detection ability(touchsight) usefull to keep from being suprised. Also has a major Offensive/Defensive power..Hostile Empathic Transfer...heals him and hurt them.Also intelligence ...combined with the headband (total Int 19)...he gets a major jump in PP and the DC of his powers goes up. 
[/spoiler]

Psion 6[spoiler]
Psion 6..Power points = (35 + 12 Bonus)= 47 PP
New Powers Known:Time Hop,Energy Wall
Feats:Linked Power
Skills:
Concentration ..9 ranks
Knowledge (Psionics)...9 ranks
Knowledge (Nob & roy)..4 ranks
Psicraft.......9 ranks
Bluff......5 ranks
Diplomacy.....9 ranks
Sense Motive....9 ranks

Equipment=Ave 13000 GP
same as 5th lvl..but add:
2500gp .........ring of sustenance
2500gp .........Boots of the Winterlands

Tactics:This level he gets 2 versatile powers....these greatly aid his party in both Combat and Non-Combat situations. 
[/spoiler]

Psion 7[spoiler]
Psion 7......Power points = (46 + 14 Bonus)= 60 PP
New Powers Known:Schism,Psi Divination
Feats:
Skills:
Concentration .10 ranks
Knowledge (Psionics)....10 ranks
Knowledge (Nob & roy)..5 ranks
Psicraft....10 ranks
Bluff...5 ranks
Diplomacy...10 ranks
Sense Motive..10 ranks

Equipment= Ave 19000 GP
same as 6th, but add:
4000gp ......+2 Cloak of Charisma

Tactics: With the boost to Diplomacy from additional Synergy and Cha boost, now his Diplomacy Score = 10 ranks + 6 synergy + 3 Cha = +19 + 1d20!!!! Although its not a world record, it is still very nice at this time. Also he can do a lot more in a tight situation, schism will give him more actions(but drain PP quickly). Psi Divination is very useful.....Knowledge=Power...this can give just the edge he and his party needs. 
[/spoiler]

Psion 8[spoiler]
Psion 8......Power points = (58 + 20 Bonus)= 78 PP
New Powers Known:Correspond,Modify Memory
Feats:
Skills:
Concentration ..11 ranks
Knowledge (Psionics)....11 ranks
Knowledge (Nob & roy)..5 ranks
Knowledge (Arcana).....1 rank
Knowledge (Religion)....1 rank
Psicraft.....11 ranks
Bluff...5 ranks
Diplomacy.11 ranks
Sense Motive.11 ranks

Ave 27000 GP,Equipment=
same as 7th lvl

Tactics:Here he gets a useful communication power and a helpful power to use in case of a mistake or to provide some player controled memories in some NPC(make them remember you just saving thier lives or something).  At this level he adds +1 point to Int, so Int = 20(18 +2 headband)
[/spoiler]

Psion 9[spoiler]
Psion 9......Power points = (72 + 22 Bonus)= 94 PP
New Powers Known:Mind Probe,Plane Shift
Feats:Illithid Legacy ,Greater(bonus powers:Dispel Psionics, Psi Dominate)
Skills:
Concentration ..12 ranks
Knowledge (Psionics)...12 ranks
Knowledge (Nob & roy)..5 ranks
Knowledge (Arcana)......1 rank
Knowledge (Religion).....1 rank
Knowledge (Nature)......1 rank
Knowledge (The Planes).1 rank
Psicraft..12 ranks
Bluff..5 ranks
Diplomacy.12 ranks
Sense Motive12 ranks

Ave 36000 GP,Equipment=
same as 8th lvl ...but add

Tactics:Here he gets a Major Boost in Powers known:
Mind Probe:incredible tool for gathering info.
Plane Shift:very useful transport.....even for healing in an emergency(ie.Positive Material Plane)
Dispel Psionic:a power that usually should be taken earlier....but should always be taken.
Psi Dominate:now he can really control his enemies. 
[/spoiler]

Psion 10[spoiler]
Psion 10......Power points = (88 + 30 Bonus)= 118 PP
New Powers Known:Ecto Shambler,True Seeing
Feats:Expanded Knowledge(Metamorphosis)Disintegrate,Retrieve
Feats:
Skills:
Concentration ................14 ranks
Knowledge (Psionics)........14 ranks
Knowledge (Nob & roy)......5 ranks
Knowledge (Arcana)........1 rank
Knowledge (Religion).......1 rank
Knowledge (Nature)........1 rank
Knowledge (The Planes)..1 rank
Knowledge (Arch & eng)..1 rank
Knowledge (Dung)..........1 rank
Knowledge (History).......1 rank
Knowledge (Geography)..1 rank
Psicraft......................14 ranks
Bluff..........................5 ranks
Diplomacy................14 ranks
Sense Motive...........14 ranks

Equipment=Ave 66000 GP
as 10th lvl but add:

Tactics:Here he get a MAJOR boost to offense with the addition of Disintegrate......it is also a versatile non-combat tool. Retrieve also can be very powerful....if you use your imagination as to how to use it.
[/spoiler]

Psion 12[spoiler]
Psion 12......Power points = (126 + 36 Bonus)= 162 PP
New Powers Known:Temporal Acceleration
Feats:Metamorphic transfer
Skills:
Tactics:At this level he adds +1 point to Int, so Int = 19 +4 headband = 23 Int

Ave 88000 GP,Equipment= 
[/spoiler]

Psion 13[spoiler]
Psion 13......Power points = (147 + 39 Bonus)= 186 PP
New Powers Known:Energy Conversion,Mind Blank(Personal)
Feats:
Skills:
Tactics:

Ave 110000 GP,Equipment= 
[/spoiler]

Psion 14[spoiler]
Psion 14......Power points = (170 + 42 Bonus)= 212 PP
New Powers Known:Energy Wave
Feats:
Skills:
Tactics:

Ave 150000 GP,Equipment=  buy nothing, save for +5 Tome of Int
[/spoiler]

Psion 15[spoiler]
Psion 15......Power points = (195 + 45 Bonus)= 240 PP
New Powers Known:Bend Reality,Teleport Greater
Feats: Psicrystal Containment, Twin Power
Skills:
Tactics:

Ave 200000 GP,Equipment=  buy nothing, save for +5 Tome of Int
[/spoiler]

Psion 16[spoiler]
Psion 16......Power points = (221 + 80 Bonus)= 301 PP!!
New Powers Known:True Metabolism
Feats:
Skills:
Tactics:At this level he adds +1 point to Int, so Int = (20+5 Inherent= 25) +6 headband= 31 Int

Ave 260000 GP,Equipment= 
Add +5 Tome of Int
[/spoiler]

Psion 17[spoiler]
Psion 17......Power points = (250 + 85 Bonus)= 335 PP
New Powers Known:Psychic Chirgury,Affinity Field
Feats:
Skills:
Tactics:

Ave 340000 GP,Equipment= 
[/spoiler]

Psion 18[spoiler]
Psion 18......Power points = (280 + 90 Bonus)= 370 PP
New Powers Known:Assimilate
Feats:Extend Power
Skills:
Tactics:

Ave 440000 GP,Equipment= 
[/spoiler]

Psion 19[spoiler]
Psion 19......Power points = (311 + 95 Bonus)= 406 PP
New Powers Known:Reality Revision,Timeless Body
Feats:
Skills:
Tactics:

Ave 580000 GP,Equipment=  [/spoiler]

Psion 20[spoiler]
Psion 20......Power points = (343 + 110 Bonus)= 453 PP
New Powers Known:Microcosm
Feats:Empower Power
Skills:
Tactics:At this level he adds +1 point to Int, so Int = (21+5 Inherent= 26) +6 headband= 32 Int

Ave 760000 GP,Equipment=[/spoiler]

 

[carnivore]

once you get above 20th lvl ..... key: EPIC Psionics

also here is a Useful item at that time:

Ring of Epic Psionics:43 points, a ring of epic psionics VI grants 63 power points, a ring of epic psionics VII grants 87 power points, a ring of epic psionics VIII grants 115 points, and a ring of epic psionics IX grants 147 power points.
Manifester Level: 23rd (epic psionics V), 26th (epic psionics VI), 29th (epic psionics VII), 32nd (epic psionics VIII), 35th (epic psionics IX); Prerequisites: Craft Universal Item, Craft Epic Universal Item, great emulation; Market Price: 250,000 gp (epic psionics V), 360,000 gp (epic psionics VI), 490,000 gp (epic psionics VII), 640,000 gp (epic psionics VIII), 810,000 gp (epic psionics IX).



in addition .... there are several Locations that can give you additional Useful Feats permanently

 

[anomalousman]

I wouldn't recommend it if actually playing from low levels, but if you were trying to maximise save DCs in epic play, then practiced manifester and bonus PP relying on ML rather than levels taken means that you can take 4 levels without advancing manifesting and still have exactly the same manifesting at level 24 and above.

What can you do with four levels?  Take templates or other starting races.  For psion, pixie is not a bad choice.

[Lycanthromancer]

Try Practiced Manifester, one level of wilder, and then go anarchic initiate (boosting your wilder levels). Your wild surges can be used on your psion powers, you get extra powers and power points, you can take epic feats, AND enervations won't bother you much by then (epic immunities, yay!).

Alternately, psion20/wilder1/metamind (focusing on wilder progression) with Practiced Manifester.

[anomalousman]

Actually, I would have said that wild surges gained from wilder couldn't be used on manifesting powers from other classes.  (Yes, I know it says "whenever you manifest a power", but I think that's assuming a wilder power.)  Whatever you think, ask your DM to be safe. 

Either way, Lycan was right to point out Anarchic Initiate.  It's a fabulous PrC for psions.  If my interpretation is right, get it and use it to advance psion manifesting.  If your DM agrees with Lycan and you want wilder advancement (*see below), then take up to four levels of wilder and then take AI all the way, advancing psion manifesting.  That gives you maximum wild surge.  And remember to take wilder powers that you don't want to augment beyond ML=4.

Again, if you're going to play through lower levels, don't split between wilder and psion.  Keep your ML maxed, and use AI to advance psion manifesting. 

*The better long term character DCs are actually given by using your four levels to boost stats.  The wilder has +2 ML whenever wild surging, which gives about +1 DC to any power.  A pixie psion advancing AI (with no wilder levels or advancement) will have +3 DC from having +6 int.  More PP as well.  Also the other pixie stats.

[Lycanthromancer]

Thing is, telepath is not the way to go for epic (not that the epic discussion has much to do with the OP), since everything is pretty well immune to telepathy by that point.

Find a way to burn through immunity and you're golden.

[anomalousman]

Telepath has Schism, which is worth it, although you're right that it's not obviously the best choice.  Most powers are off the main list, anyway.

[Lycanthromancer]

You can get schism easily enough. Psychic chirurgery, research, or Expanded Knowledge will give it to you, and you don't have to worry about immunities (except your own, of course).

One of the best uses for schism is low-level buffs and debuffs (see psionic grease, offensive precognition, and entangling ectoplasm). Psychic warriors almost need it to prevent rounds and rounds of buffing.

[skydragonknight]

Veil of Allure(MIC p145) and a psionics-magic transparency ruling that telepathy powers should also be included since it effects enchantment spells.

[Zarothar]

First off - thanks to everyone for responding!

Regular Overchannel will increase the DCs on most powers, of course.

Right - well, it raises your ML cap, which raises the DCs on some powers if you invest the PP.

By the way, she's playing with retraining rules (and flaws), so we got the following feats at first level:

Psionic Endowment (Noncombatant), Greater Psionic Endowment (Inattentive), Psicrystal Affinity [Friendly] (Psion), Psionic Talent (Human), Psionic Body (1st Level)

Retraining is in effect, so that's why we took Psionic Talent. That amounts to 2 more powers a day at first level, and Overchannel is pretty useless at first level with our power selection. We'll trade Psionic Talent for Overchannel within a level or two.

Good plan? What should we do about Psionic Body? It's extremely useful at 1st level - 5 psionic feats * 2 = 10 extra HP. I mean, she is going to take a lot of Psionic Feats, so it might stay useful... Still, maybe not the best thing later on, eh?

By the way, her stats are:
8 Str
12 Dex
12 Con
18 Int
16 Wis
18 Cha

It's not overly negotiable, unfortunately... The ridiculously high charisma is an important RP trait, as is the Wisdom. This was from an array (18, 18, 16, 12, 12, 8 ), not point buy, so there's no real room to swap points around. Having at least a 13 Wisdom is important for Psionic Meditation, and 12 Charisma is just too low to effectively fit the character.

I should mention that, in all likelihood, she'll be in a party with a Kineticist and a Paladin/Sorcerer gish. Remaining party composition is unknown.

Use polymorph any object to become a creature with a high Intelligence score (such as a pit fiend). Nabbing the Otherworldly feat should give you the Outsider (Native) type, which means PAO should be permanent unless dispelled. Borderline cheese, but that's the intended use for that particular spell, so it's not like you're cheating at all. You either have to buy this one or buy a scroll and UMD it. Nab psychic reformation if you want to boost your UMD score to the moon, then use it again to put the character's build back where you want it.

If you can boost her Con, the incarnum feat Midnight Augmentation (preferably coupled with Psycarnum Infusion) will increase her DCs, as well, through additional augmenting.

Hm... Boosting Con... Wait, if I remember correctly, doesn't the FAQ state that you can qualify for feats with ability score requirements via items? An Amulet of Health +2 would technically give her a Con of 14 until such time as she can get an inherent +1 boost to the score. Is that too risky? What happens if the Amulet is removed? I'm rather loathe to have her use a level score-up on Con, as that means one less point of intelligence in the long run, which means less PPs and a loss in save DC anyway.

The thrallherd PrC severely decreases the manifesting cost for psionic charm and psionic dominate once per day, allowing you to pump up their DCs by ludicrous amounts.

Alrighty, I took a look, and I'm not sure it's that great, Thralls and Leadership cheesiness aside. The relevant abilities to save DCs are at 3rd and 5th levels. 10 Levels of Thrallherd effectively gives +5 DC to Psionic Charm and Psionic Dominate, but that's only 1/day each. In a campaign where I'm not sure if Leadership-esque feats would be acceptable, I don't think that ability alone is worth 2 effective levels of Powers Known and PP/day...

Furthermore, I must admit that I love the Epic Psion progression. The equivalent of a free epic feat (Power Knowledge) every level? Yes, please.

Have her use skill checks to convince a target to willingly accept the results of a telepathy power. Convincing someone she's a cleric and that she's going to cast heal is a great way to do this, especially when they're under the effects of, say, suggestion.

Interesting idea... She'll have pretty high Diplomacy, and the DC on Psionic Charm can be boosted easily.

An orange ioun stone increases your effective manifester level by 1, which increases the number of power points you can spend in augmentation.

Doesn't that increase caster level, not ML?

Knock down an enemy's saving throws before casting. Fear effects decrease Will saves (and are stackable), so demoralize is a good pick (and it scales, which is great). Finding ways to toss out multiple dispel psionics is good, because it takes out a foe's bonuses to saving throws and pesky problems like mind blank.

Excellent idea. Demoralise is a great debuff, especially given the radius... I can't believe I never noticed it before!

Actually, her first level power selection is Charm, Psionic (for face-duties and general fun), Vigor (for survivability), and Mind Thrust (for a tiny bit of first level direct damage without that massive to-hit problem of a Crossbow). Would grabbing Demoralise instead of Mind Thrust right away ultimately be a better idea? She'd certainly retrain out Mind Thrust in a level or two no matter what, as Will (Negates) is just balls when compared to Ego Whipping (or EK: Energy Missile) everyone into submission. But, at first level, with survivability as key, does Demoralise trump Mind Thrust, given that I can trade them later on?

I know Matter Agitation is probably a better direct damage power at first level, but it wouldn't be nice to muscle in on the Kineticist's territory.

Also, if you pump your UMD score (take Able Learner to offset cross-class costs), you can toss out arcane and divine debuffs as well, such as bestow curse, and so on. That, or you could always try researching spells as psionic powers (but make sure you have both the DM's go-ahead and an augmentable save DC).

Do note that a power that is a must-have for a telepath is astral construct. Having such a multipurpose ability that A.) doesn't require saves and is non-mind-affecting and B.) is immune to the intrusions of other telepaths is a huge boost for a telepath. Otherwise, she's near-useless against creatures that are immune to mind-affecting effects. Tossing out a gigantic construct to grapple a foe while she attempts to dominate it is a great strategy for keeping it distracted and preventing it from killing her.

Absolutely. EK: Astral Construct is top priority once I can get it.

Sometimes, it's better to throw out multiple lower-level powers (such as two Link Power'd psionic dominates than a single manifestation, especially if the critter's Will save is high enough that it would only fail on a critical failure anyway.

Hmm... Good point. I'll pass that on.

And lastly: Diplomacy, Diplomacy, Diplomacy. Hitting epic-level Diplomacy checks will make anyone (not immune to mind-affecting effects) your friend, no matter how much they hate you. One of the reasons Diplomacy is oft considered broken is for its static DCs (you can even make, say, Ao fall madly in love with you with a relatively low skill check). Boost it high, and have her use it as much as possible. It's like psionic charm except it requires 1 minute to use and it doesn't waste resources. If she gets her skill check high enough, she can take -10 to talk as a full-round action.

Lycanthromancer, that was a lot of helpful advice.

carnivore - Thanks for the build! It's not quite what we're aiming for, but there's some great advice in there. I actually saw it in your Psion Buildguide and Compendium... Your handbook can be a bit hard to follow at times, but it's still absolutely awesome. Thanks for all the work you put into that!

Yes, Epic Psionics will (hopefully) be insane. Thanks for the item!

anomalousman - Yeah, it works well if you're starting up there, but it'd be pretty hard to play that from level 1. By the way, Practised Manifester doesn't make up for the Pixie's LA - it caps at HD, not ECL, last I checked.

Lycan/anomskydragonknight - Good idea. Not something she can do much about for now, but it's certainly something to keep in mind.



By the way, is Telepathic Communication worth a feat? Harbinger is obviously useless...

[Chemus]

By the way, is Telepathic Communication worth a feat? Harbinger is obviously useless...

Allows you to qualify for the Mindsight feat (LoM (Lords of Madness)), giving you radar for anything with a mind within 30' or was it 60' edit: duh it's telepathy range! Anyway fun radar.

[Lycanthromancer]

Perhaps she should consider putting the 12 in Wisdom and the 16 in Con. 12 is still above-average, and she can roleplay the high stats in a similar way since they're all quite good.

Con is a necessary stat for psionic characters, since they're quite fragile. Arcane and divine characters have spells that prevent them from being hurt; psionic characters are more "I'm gonna absorb the damage and keep on trucking" type. That, and with being a telepath, she'll have plenty of ways to deal with mind-affecting effects (not so much with dealing with poisons and death effects, though).

Definitely retrain Psionic Body when she can get A.) a psicrystal, and B.) both vigor and share pain. It's amazing how an effective +10 temporary hp per level (and doubling the base HP of both her and her psicrystal) can increase her stamina. Doesn't do much for her Fortitude saves, but she'll want plenty of Con for hit points, Fort saves, and Concentration checks (mucho importante).

[skydragonknight]

One more thought...IF Leadership is allowed to be taken, then you can get a really nice indirect boost to DCs by taking a Hexblade under your wing as a personal guard

Right at 6th level(for you) the 4th Hexblade would have his curse ability and a Dark Companion(PHB 2 ACF) to help lower saving throws. As an added bonus, Intimidate is a Hexblade class skill, so there's a possibility to lower their saves by two more there.
This would be the "Scary Bodyguard"....again IF Leadership is approved.

[anomalousman]

You can get schism easily enough. Psychic chirurgery, research, or Expanded Knowledge will give it to you, and you don't have to worry about immunities (except your own, of course).

Huh?  Using those methods to get discipline powers makes it irrelevant which discipline you choose.  A telepath can do the same for whichever power you want off the other discipline lists.  You only ever want a couple off the discipline list anyway, so you take whichever discipline minimises your EK requirements.


@Zarothar:  Anarchic Initiate would have the same epic manifesting progression as psion, as it's a full manifesting PrC.  Your only trade is the two psion bonus feats, and what you get back is pretty cool. 

...and regarding LA, templates and practiced manifester: my bad.  My last psionics character was gestalt, and it corrupted my brain, obviously.

[skydragonknight]

Huh?  Using those methods to get discipline powers makes it irrelevant which discipline you choose.

Given the typical difficulty of actually finding an NPC to use psychic chirugery (feeling lucky on those percentile dice?) I'd say discipline DOES matter until at least 9-13th level when Plane Shift gets you access to planar metropolises. And since the Telepath in question is starting at level 1, discipline is going to matter for quite some time. Typically you'd go with whatever requires the least Expanded Knowledges to get you the powers you need and retrain the Expanded Knowledges once you begin the process of "buying" powers.

[Celsius]

Well, one thing I do if I really want to optimize my DCs for Psions is to summon a bunch of larval flayers (9, usually; the power that does this is in CPsi), then enter a Metaconcert with them. This grants several benefits:

+10 to DCs when using a power or a psi-like ability
+10 to saves vs. powers
A buffer for ability damage taken from psionics (Ego Whip)
and other random benefits

Of course, you will only be able to move at a speed of 10ft., so you may have to start using Dimension Slide to move around...

If you want to be more cheesy, get your party wizard to cast a Ocular Mental Pinnacle on your party members instead while using a lens of ray widening, then enter a Metaconcert with them.