Author Topic: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)  (Read 6497 times)

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rparavicini

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ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« on: January 09, 2009, 08:30:43 AM »
As there are plenty of ways to increase your Caster Level (even above and beyond your Character Level), any1 got ideas how to do it with Manifester Levels?

I'd prefer not to resort to a Consumptive Field, argued that with the Spell to Power ability of the Erudite it should increase Manifester Levels, but all ideas would be appreciated. No matter which supplement they are in (would prefer WotC/Paizo material, but can be others like Swords & Sorcery, Monte Cook, etc).

On the side: is there anything in RAW disallowing me to take the first level of the Racial Class "Half-Giant" from Complete Psionics and then 19 Levels of the class I choose to advance with the Racial Class?

PlzBreakMyCampaign

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2009, 12:43:39 PM »
Put this in the "ask a simple answer" thread and I'd love to answer it. Man I love that thread
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awaken DM golem

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #2 on: January 09, 2009, 06:41:18 PM »
Answering upside down ...

Half-Giant 1 = No , but Wish can certainly power a racial level conversion via complicated blah blah blah
Long answer is No, too.
But, if your DM thinks HG1 is weaker than 2 9th level powers (and he should) then it won't break your game to go ahead and do it.
The idea being HG 1 / Psion 19 is not as good as Psion 20.
The very long argument that you can is based on Wish + Savage Species + PHB2 Rebuilding + CPsi racial levels + tricky wording,
and none of the boards recognized bug names participated, nor signed on to it ... so YMMV.
If you use La buy-off, this point is moot. You'll end up sometime around 12th level, without the La anymore, or the exp loss.
The math is complicated.


Erudite Spell to Power converts spells into psionic powers. There's no caster level any more. Sorry.


Consumptive Field does work with this last bit.

Dragon #349 has some feats for Psionics.
Psiotheurgist feat connects one School with one Discipline. Pre-req is Spell Focus (x) feat.
This connects psionic ML increases to psly4mne's increasing Caster level thread.
The basis is Wizard 3 / Psion 3 / Cerebremancer 10, but there are better combo's ... especially early entry stuff.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#disciplineSubdiscipline
has each Discipline school equivalent.
It allows CL + ML = new CL, and ML + CL = new ML , but only in the one school/discipline link.

Wiz 1 early / Psion 3 or Ardent 2 / Mind Mage 10 in carnivore's guide / Cereb 7 or 6 , with psiotheurgist works.
Cleric 1 early / Ardent 2 / Psychic Theurge 10 / Monastic Servant of Auppenser 7 (google), with psiotheurgist also.
 
Otherwise there's the Wilder, and the short list of psi/magic transparent items in the XPH ... not much.
« Last Edit: January 09, 2009, 06:51:25 PM by awaken DM golem »

EjoThims

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2009, 08:30:10 PM »
One way of getting ML high is to have an arcane character pump his CL up, then cast Mental Pinnacle to gain a ML = CL and some spells. You then have a psionic character use Metaconcert (Fusion might work too?) to allow the arcane character access to his list of powers, using his own pumped ML.

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #4 on: January 10, 2009, 05:17:57 PM »
EjoThims - has the best answer. Least out-of-core stuff. Fairly straightforward.
Mostly just out of combat buffing, but good stuff.
That one was found very early ... I wasn't even lurking at the time.

Then ... Erudite Spell to Power can learn/use Mental Pinnacle, and that's just stupid, but it works. Heh.

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #5 on: January 10, 2009, 05:20:40 PM »
*writes down more notes on why he definitely needs to try a psionic character as soon as he gets the chance*

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Lycanthromancer

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #6 on: January 10, 2009, 05:31:13 PM »
Orange ioun stones should work to bump up your manifester level just like it would with caster level.

Overchannel and wild surge increase your manifester level for one manifestation (but they don't stack).

You can use metaconcert with other manifesters to increase your effective manifester level for as long as metaconcert lasts. Combined with the larval flayers power from CPsi, and you don't have to rely on stealing other creatures' actions (and they're always willing).

Practiced Manifester won't increase your ML past your Hit Die total, but it can shore up losses from PrCs and multiclassing.
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anomalousman

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2009, 01:19:57 AM »
It doesn't technically change your ML, but the original Torc of Power Preservation from XPH allows you to augment powers one PP higher than your normal ML.  It even gives you that extra PP 'for free'.

Lycanthromancer

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2009, 01:25:39 AM »
Except that unless otherwise specified, you can only manifest a power augmented to your manifester level in power points, so it's a good bet that it only pays for one of the power points you're using anyway, not above your manifester level.

However, there are certain abilities (check the thrallherd and the Metapower feat) that decrease the cost of certain manifestations, meaning you can spend the same number of power points for much greater effect.
[spoiler]Masculine men like masculine things. Masculine men are masculine. Therefore, liking masculine men is masculine.

I dare anyone to find a hole in that logic.
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My awesome poster collection. (Warning, some are NSFW.)
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Which book is Lycanthromancer in?
Lyca ... is in the book. Yes he is.
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shit.. concerning psionics optimization, lycan IS the book
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anomalousman

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2009, 03:46:27 AM »
This is the wording:

Quote from: SRD (two places)
you can spend only a total number of points on a power equal to your manifester level.

This is the Torc of Power Preservation (XPH):

"The wearer of a torc of power preservation manifests all powers by paying power points equal to the standard cost minus 1 (minimum of 1)."


So if you have a ML of 12 then you can only spend 12 power points on a power.  But the torc means that you can get 13 power points worth of effect by spending 12 power points on a power, just like you could get 5 power points worth of effect by spending 4. 

rparavicini

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Re: ways to gain Manifester Levels (and Half Giant sidenote)
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2009, 06:48:21 AM »
thx for the quick answers

will post things I find myself here if someone (apart from me) needs 'em