The Totemist Handbook

[ShadowFighter88]

I'm thinking of putting together a shifter totemist, but I can't decide on a trait.  Anyone know a good one for a totemist?

[snakeman830]

Razorclaw Elite has applications, since you have a lot of Claw attack soulmelds from Totemist.

[johnboy069]

+1 for Razorclaw Elite.

[ShadowFighter88]

Razorclaw it is then.  Any suggestions for feats (aside from Razorclaw Elite & Double Chakra (can't-think-of-a-chakra-at-the-moment))?  I'm planning for him to be a pure totemist.

Also, does anyone get the feeling that the line for Girallon Arms - the one that mentions how the extra arms mimic the character's real arms - think that that would just make them harder to use, from an RP perspective?  They'd be getting in the way a lot while climbing and it'd be tricky to use their claws if you've got something in one of your real hands.

I'm mainly asking because I'm thinking of making this guy a real fan of the soulmeld once he can use it; using it just about 24/7 for just about anything that would be easier with an extra pair of arms... like stocking up at a buffet.

[Jeriah]

Just noticed something myself.

Necklace of Natural Weapons from Savage Species + Soulbound weapon quality from MIC.
Costs a hefty amount of gold, but for the low, low price of 2 invested essentia, a fair number of your natural attacks gain a +3 enhancement bonus, but the chakra binds are iffy at best. Not sure you can bind a necklace to the chakras allowed by the Soulbound quality. If your DM lets you, they're still rather meh, with Arms probably being the best (+2 to critical confirmation on all your natural attacks). Unfortunately, insight bonuses don't stack, so you can't bind it to your hands chakra for +2 initiative for each natural weapon...

[HCL]

I think Darfellan deserves a mention. Same stat mods as skarn but a natural bite attack 1d6+1.5x str

I would say better than skarn if not for the racial monk sub level (and even so...)

[awaken DM golem]

... Soulbound weapon quality from MIC ...

I was unaware there were any Incarnum thingies in the MIC. I don't have access.
What else is there ??

[Bloody Initiate]

... Soulbound weapon quality from MIC ...

I was unaware there were any Incarnum thingies in the MIC. I don't have access.
What else is there ??

For starters, Soulbound Armor and weapons (Essentia invested = + item's bonus, armor in the case of armor and attack and damage in the case of weapons). The chakra binds do exactly what Magic of Incarnum recommends for those slots last I looked.

The are other things deeper in the book amongst all the various unique items, but you'll forgive me if I don't scour every page. As I recall they're worth a look, and especially worth if if you happen to have extra essentia (A rare and absurd possibility I know, but still a possibility). I don't remember any of them outpacing basic soulmelds, which is why I said "if you have extra essentia".

I think I'll adopt Sinfire's sentiment that the Epic essentia-granting feat should have been the non-epic one.

[KellKheraptis]

... Soulbound weapon quality from MIC ...

I was unaware there were any Incarnum thingies in the MIC. I don't have access.
What else is there ??

For starters, Soulbound Armor and weapons (Essentia invested = + item's bonus, armor in the case of armor and attack and damage in the case of weapons). The chakra binds do exactly what Magic of Incarnum recommends for those slots last I looked.

The are other things deeper in the book amongst all the various unique items, but you'll forgive me if I don't scour every page. As I recall they're worth a look, and especially worth if if you happen to have extra essentia (A rare and absurd possibility I know, but still a possibility). I don't remember any of them outpacing basic soulmelds, which is why I said "if you have extra essentia".

I think I'll adopt Sinfire's sentiment that the Epic essentia-granting feat should have been the non-epic one.

Here's an interesting question : Is the bonus type different from Enhancement for those Incarnum weapon and armor enchantments?  IF it is, they just became bad ass for arcane, psionic, and divine tandem soulmelding (Soulcaster/Soul Manifester).

[Bozwevial]

Here's an interesting question : Is the bonus type different from Enhancement for those Incarnum weapon and armor enchantments?  IF it is, they just became bad ass for arcane, psionic, and divine tandem soulmelding (Soulcaster/Soul Manifester).

Sadly, it's still enhancement. At least, for the weapon enchantment.

[Bloody Initiate]

The wording is "increases existing [enhancement bonus for weapons/armor bonus for armor]" so it's not entirely unstackable in its type (The wording is the same as natural armor things, which don't stack per se, but usually say "increase existing").

Sadly it lists the exact maximum values: 2 points of essentia increases the bonus from +1 to +3, so they got us there instead.

[johnboy069]

I was unaware there were any Incarnum thingies in the MIC. I don't have access.
What else is there ??

I think they just reprinted it for ease of play (like a lot of the stuff from the Completes, so it is all in one place). I don't recall them changing any of the effects from MOI.

[Jeriah]

Still, if you have multiple soulmelds giving you natural attacks, the necklace could be worthwhile.

For a 6th level Totmeist that has, say, 6 natural attacks (assuming 3 from Girallon Arms) and a +1 Soulbound necklace that affects 3 natural weapons. He can put 2 essentia in the necklace for a +3 to three natural attacks and 2 in the Girallon Arms for a +2 there, sure he uses up all his essentia, but he can squeeze just a bit more out of it.

The thing about the necklace though is that it can be enchanted just like a magic weapon, and those enchantments then apply to the natural attacks the necklace is affecting, such as keen, wounding, vampiric (+1d6 damage to living, heal that amount), etc.

[Brainpiercing]

Ok, so let me get this straight: You want to put Soulbound weapon on the Necklace of Natural Weapons, and for the price of a +2 bonus per natural weapon want to gain a +3 bonus. The trouble I see is this: Will you have to invest essentia PER weapon or just once and it applies to all of them?

[Jeriah]

All of them.

You pay (600[necklace price] + X[enhancement price]) * Y[number of natural weapons the necklace will affect]
In the case of a +1 soulbound necklace affecting 3 natural weapons, (600 + 8000) * 3 = 25800.
Not cheap, but the one necklace affects 3 natural weapons, putting 2 essentia in it grants a +3 enhancement bonus to 3 different natural weapons.


I think vampiric(+2) from the MIC is my new favorite enhancement for the necklace though, since you'll deal an extra 1d6 damage with every affected natural weapon that hits and heal for that much damage. With an artificer in the group using some nasty cost reducing options, I managed to get a +1 souldbound vampiric necklace for 3 weapons at just over 27000gp.

[Bloody Initiate]

If you can find a way to get the prerequisite feats and you focus on one  type of natural weapon, like claws or tentacles, I think the shear number of natural weapons would make the Weapon Mastery feats worth the investment. It becomes more worth it the more you duplicate the same natural weapon, like with a manticore belt (Because then the prerequisites start counting as well) or the same damage type (A bunch of claws that do slashing are at +2 +2, a bunch of tentacles do +2 +2)

[Sinfire Titan]

Ok, so let me get this straight: You want to put Soulbound weapon on the Necklace of Natural Weapons, and for the price of a +2 bonus per natural weapon want to gain a +3 bonus. The trouble I see is this: Will you have to invest essentia PER weapon or just once and it applies to all of them?

Soulbound Amulet would be per weapon. Soulbound itself is fairly weak though, as your Totem Chakra Binds can get a capacity of 8. It works for the Manticore Belt though, which is really the only reason you would want it.

[Ivory Knight]

Wouldn't a Amulet of Mighty Fists affect all your Natural Weapons?
I also remember something about adding Weapon Properties being cheaper than the Necklace if you had more than 3 Natural Weapons.

[pfooti]

I'm AFB right now, but I'm pretty sure that most natural attacks you gain via totem binds (e.g., girallon arms) gain enhancement bonuses to attack/damage from their own invested essentia. E.g., NoNA/AoMF/other magic items wouldn't actually improve your attack/damage (since the necklace also gives an enhancement bonus).

That said, it is absolutely a good idea to get Transmuting on your natural weapons sometime quickly. I find that any monsters with DR are a real pain. It's well and good to have 4 or 5 attacks, but they don't hit particularly hard individually - enough that you need to worry about DR. You can get some support from party spells, but Transmuting is a great ability that covers just about anything you could need (particularly alignment and material-based DR).

[snakeman830]

The amulet is still worth it.  If nothing else, throwing Transmuting on (like you suggested) and Vampiric make you a true force to be reckoned with.  Throw in Collision for good measure.