The Telthor Minihandbook (it's a link. clicky.)So I've been playing around with a low-level incorporeal build. Specifically, using the Telthor template from
Unapproachable East (page 75).
Basically, it's +2 LA, changes your type to fey, makes you incorporeal, and not much else. The downside is that if you're bound to a specific location. If you're more than a mile away from it, you take 1 damage per minute. This could be pretty easily ignored by someone with an unlimited healing fountain (Dread Necromancer) except that you wouldn't be able to sleep.
So clearly, damage reduction is the way to go, unless you want to suppress your supernatural abilities by staying in an anti-magic field 24/7.
The easiest/lowest level ways I've found of ignoring this 1 damage per minute are as follows:
Cleric 1, Metallic Dragon domain.
Dread Necromancer 2, Lich body class feature, nongood
Fey Skin, feat, requires Fey Heritage, nonlawfulDR doesn't stop damage from (Su) abilities. Bound to the Land is (Su).Alternatively, you can get rid of all your abilities (including the "take damage outside of home region" one) by applying the Dustform Creature and Incarnate Construct templates. As far as I can tell, you keep your subtypes through the type changes from Fey -> Construct -> Humanoid.
Here's the basic build I was thinking of:
Magic-blooded Telthor Lesser Aasimar Dread Necromancer 2 (ECL 4)
Type: Fey (Extraplanar, Incorporeal)
Feats: Tomb-tainted Soul, (flaw)
Eschew Materials Ghostly Grasp (Libris Mortis p27)Eschew materials to get around not being able to hold components. For Animate Dead, later on, I'd assume you could tell one of your friends to place the gigantic onyx gems required in a corpse's eye sockets. Or get ghost touch gloves or something (I'm pretty certain they exist).With a negative energy damaging incorporeal touch attack, it's almost like being a real ghost.
Questions / Problems / Miscellany
1.
The creature's type changes to "fey," and it gains the incorporeal subtype.
(Fey Type)
Fey eat, sleep, and breathe.
...
(Incorporeal Subtype)
It has no Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to both its melee attacks and its ranged attacks.
...
(Nonabilities)
"Fey eat, sleep, and breathe."
- I don't see anything that makes incorporeal creatures exempt from needing to eat. So, by RAW, do all Telthor die of thirst/starvation shortly after they're formed?
"Fey eat, sleep, and breathe."
- There aren't any major problems with this.
"Fey eat, sleep, and breathe."
- Having to breathe limits how well you can stay inside objects, but you could hold your breath before you go wall/floor-diving, so it's not that bad.Thanks, Libris Mortis.2.
As an incorporeal creature, a Telthor can't hold spell components. For most, this can be bypassed by Eschew Materials, but not for spells requiring expensive components or foci. Telthor Clerics run into a similar problem, in that they are physically unable to hold their holy symbol.
3.
A Telthor cannot take advantage of most magic items, barring some way to get ghost touch everything, or massive amounts of money spent on ectoplasmic ichor (Libris Mortis). Vow of Poverty here we come? There is ectoplasmic equipment in Ghostwalk but I have no idea how it works, so I'm flipping through that book right now.Ghostly Grasp pretty much solves these.4.
Does it gain the augmented subtype?5.Is Telthor Telepathy close enough to Telepathy to qualify for Mindsight? I'd assume this is greatly DM-dependent.
6.My tentative "Ask the DM these things" list:
"Does this character really have to eat and breathe?"- "Does this character really need to sleep?" (hey, not sleeping would be a nice advantage, and it kinda makes sense)
- "Does this character qualify for Mindsight?"
Any suggestions for improvements or workarounds for a Telthor's weaknesses would be appreciated; I'd like to figure out how to use one effectively as a player character.
Additions in maroon. Stuff that's been dealt with or otherwise removed in gray strikeout.