Author Topic: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?  (Read 5860 times)

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Sinfire Titan

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #20 on: April 05, 2011, 09:55:08 PM »
Sinfire - Any particular Incarnate soulmelds to definitely check out for self-buffing?  I know Totemist can be a beast, especially once they hit level 2 and can bind to their chakra. Mmm...  Girallon Arms.

Unfortunately, everything from UA (except for gestalt rules) is banned, as is Dungeonscape and anything Faerunian.  So all of those variants are out, Lycan.  The source list is actually pretty broad, I think you just got lucky in picking a few that are banned.  Any other good variants you'd recommend?  Those Divine ones from Comp Champ worthy anything?

And, Crimson, I might actually consider ranged.  I've been doing a lot of melee lately, so changing it up a bit might be interesting.  I know there is Sighting Gloves that help out.  Any other melds you might recommend?

Thanks, all.

Let's see...

Crystal Helm
Airstep Sandals/Impulse Boots
Lifebond Vestments
Keeneye Lenses/Mage's Spectacles
Apparition Ribbon
Mantle of Flame
Spellward Shirt
Vitality Belt
Fellmist Robe
Incarnate Avatar


Those are not sorted by slot, so there will be overlap. You'll need the party's help for the Mage's Spectacles (since you are going to spend a ton of cash on your weapon/armor), but you really can't go wrong using UMD.


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Lycanthromancer

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #21 on: April 05, 2011, 10:07:30 PM »
Well, you'll get a lot more out of the aligned incarnate soulmelds if you take Shape Soulmeld as a totemist.

Go Chaotic Good or Chaotic Evil for a nice mix of melee and ranged.
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CrimsonDeath

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #22 on: April 05, 2011, 10:14:39 PM »
Incarnate Avatar, if you're going Chaotic.  Fellmist Robe or Wind Cloak offers protection against ranged enemies (the latter especially if you bind it).

Keep in mind for Rapid Meldshaping: Apparition Ribbon (vs. incorporeals)

And as a Fighter, you might consider just getting Point Blank Shot rather than binding the Sighting Gloves-- it'll free up a bind and an item slot.

And of course, for general advice, there's an Incarnate Handbook somewhere around here.

Leviathan

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #23 on: April 05, 2011, 11:48:59 PM »
I think my brain has finally been convinced to drop this idea :)

Now on to the Draconic-Creature Dragonwrought Jungle Kobold Totemist/Swordsage!!

Lycanthromancer

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #24 on: April 05, 2011, 11:53:32 PM »
You can still take Shape Soulmeld for alignment-based melds on your Totemist. Just don't go Neutral and you're set.
[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.
______________________________________
[/spoiler]I'm a writer. These are my stories. Some are even SFW! (Warning: Mostly Gay.)
My awesome poster collection. (Warning, some are NSFW.)
Agita's awesome poster collection.
[spoiler]
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Which book is Lycanthromancer in?
Lyca ... is in the book. Yes he is.
 :D
shit.. concerning psionics optimization, lycan IS the book
[/spoiler]

Ithamar

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #25 on: April 06, 2011, 01:55:07 PM »
Thanks for all of the tips.

Sadly, the DM forgot to include MoI on his list of banned books.  And ToM, Dragon Magic, Psionics, etc.  *sigh*  We went from a huge source list to relatively limited resources rather quickly.

I did not know there was an incarnate handbook though.  I'll have to hunt around for it and see what I can find.
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Sinfire Titan

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #26 on: April 06, 2011, 04:17:57 PM »
Thanks for all of the tips.

Sadly, the DM forgot to include MoI on his list of banned books.  And ToM, Dragon Magic, Psionics, etc.  *sigh*  We went from a huge source list to relatively limited resources rather quickly.

I did not know there was an incarnate handbook though.  I'll have to hunt around for it and see what I can find.

Here's the general one, and here's the Incarnate-specific one. This one is for the Totemist.


Did he give a reason for banning all of those balanced and useful books?


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Ithamar

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #27 on: April 06, 2011, 04:48:28 PM »
Thanks for the links.  No reason was given, though most likely it is due to lack of significant knowledge regarding how those systems work.
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Sinfire Titan

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #28 on: April 06, 2011, 04:54:34 PM »
Thanks for the links.  No reason was given, though most likely it is due to lack of significant knowledge regarding how those systems work.

Incarnum can be complex, but Dragon Magic? Psionics? If he has CArc, then Dragon Magic should be allowed nearly by default (just ignore the parts he doesn't understand). ToM, the Bo9S, and MoI are all somewhat complex (especially the MoI; its the second most complicated book in DnD, and the hardest subsystem)


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CrimsonDeath

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #29 on: April 06, 2011, 06:37:54 PM »
I always saw MoI as being similar to Go:  Simple to learn, challenging to master.  It's pretty simple to play an inept Incarnate, but difficult to run a competent one.

I'm honestly not surprised he banned psionics, and I can probably assemble an argument pretty close to one he might present.  Doesn't mean I agree with it-- I've just heard it a lot.  *sigh*

Dragon Magic mostly a compilation of dragon-themed tricks for other classes.  The most original thing in there is the Dragon Pacts.  (The Dragonfire Adept is just a Warlock reskin.)

Sinfire Titan

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #30 on: April 06, 2011, 07:00:58 PM »
I always saw MoI as being similar to Go:  Simple to learn, challenging to master.

Learning the basic mechanic was like learning WoD: More difficult than it needed to be, and requires you to cross-reference different pages. Had they fixed that latter problem the MoI would have seen better sales.

Anyone familiar with Exlated's basic mechanics will understand the MoI fairly quickly though.


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Lycanthromancer

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #31 on: April 06, 2011, 07:06:24 PM »
[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.
______________________________________
[/spoiler]I'm a writer. These are my stories. Some are even SFW! (Warning: Mostly Gay.)
My awesome poster collection. (Warning, some are NSFW.)
Agita's awesome poster collection.
[spoiler]
+1 Lycanthromancer
Which book is Lycanthromancer in?
Lyca ... is in the book. Yes he is.
 :D
shit.. concerning psionics optimization, lycan IS the book
[/spoiler]

Ithamar

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #32 on: April 06, 2011, 07:11:38 PM »
Well I found out Dragon Magic and Races of the Dragon have been banned because in the homebrew world there is no place for dragons (or at least dragons interacting with the lesser races).  As for the others, still not sure why they're banned.

But I did find out we get 1 free LA.  Yay.
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Surreal

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #33 on: April 06, 2011, 11:45:15 PM »
Dragonborn warforged are about the only race really worth it beyond stat bonuses. The vast majority of other races lose everything else.

Although dragonborn does have some amusing interaction/negation with Hellbred.
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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #34 on: April 07, 2011, 08:21:13 PM »
If :
Totem 11 / stuff // stuff / Necrocarnate 13
... with "stuff" intended for as much as needed from the 504 feats thread.
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19866566/The_True_Dilettante_-_New_Feat_Record_-_504_feats

Get the all the feats that are specific to Incarnum.
Have a double Heart and double Soul.
All essential pools filled, etc ...

Benly

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #35 on: April 07, 2011, 08:32:57 PM »
I've always found Magic of Incarnum pretty easy to explain once you get past two hurdles. First, explaining the difference between "shaped" and "bound", and second, getting through the idea that the system is based on allocation rather than expenditure. Once they get used to the idea that you're moving your essentia around from one superpower to another rather than expending it to do things, I've never had further trouble explaining the general systems to people.

CrimsonDeath

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #36 on: April 08, 2011, 02:30:49 AM »
Well I found out Dragon Magic and Races of the Dragon have been banned because in the homebrew world there is no place for dragons (or at least dragons interacting with the lesser races).  As for the others, still not sure why they're banned.
So...  you're playing "Dungeons"?

This is why I prefer inclusive book lists.  If you say "everything except X" and then someone comes in with "Y" that you've never heard of, you have to learn it quickly, accept not knowing what your players might bring to the table, or just ban it too.  On the other hand, if you say "X, Y, and Z, nothing else", you know more or less what you're getting into and your players don't have to keep running to you for approval.

But I did find out we get 1 free LA.  Yay.
Catfolk (RotW) with Catfolk Pounce and Neraph Charge (Planar Handbook)?

Ithamar

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Re: Gestalt Totemist/Incarnate - Can it be done (well)?
« Reply #37 on: April 08, 2011, 01:58:50 PM »
Yeah, I actually asked the DM for a set booklist instead of an expanding banned list, but he has yet to comply.  For the free LA I got him to accept Moradin(Lolth)-Touched with some refluff.  I had thought about Catfolk, but they just didn't seem to mesh well with the setting.  Besides, having a 24 CON as a level 1 character is always nice. ;)
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