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Kineticists and Caster Level

Thanks for the rapid responses and the FAQ link.
Kineticists and Caster Level
2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

Can a Kineticist qualify for a feat (or anything else, for that matter) that has a Caster Level as a prerequisite?

I'm being told 'no, because all they have is spell-like abilities, they do NOT have a Caster Level'.

Case and point: Blighted Critical (Ultimate Magic, 143)

Blighted Critical:
Blighted Critical (Critical)
With a critical hit from a spell or spell-like ability, you give the target a minor spellblight.
Prerequisites: Caster level 5th.
Benefit: Whenever you confirm a critical hit with a touch spell, ranged touch spell, or spell-like ability against an opponent, the victim gains a random minor spellblight (see page 95).
Special: You can apply the effects of only one critical feat to a given critical hit unless you possess Critical Mastery.

My contention is that this would be a valid feat for a Kineticist. Each of the following would appear to indicate that Kineticists have a Caster Level:

  • Kinetic Blast is a spell-like ability (Occult Adventures, 11)
  • Kineticists are subject to Concentration checks (Gather Power; Occult Adventures, 12).
  • The text of Expanded Element states that one of the benefits of staying with the your original element both times (Levels 7 & 15) is a boost to Caster Level (Occult Adventures, 13)
  • The general description of Basic Blasts (Occult Adventures, 15) implies that Energy Blasts are subject to Spell Resistance (it clearly states that physical blasts are NOT subject to SR).

Without a Caster Level, I see Kineticists as severely crippled:

  • Concentration checks are 1d20 + Caster Level + Casting Attribute Modifier. Without Caster Level, a 20th level Kineticist will NEVER be able to successfully make a Concentration check to use their Kinetic Blast defensively, even with Combat Casting, assuming a +5 DEX mod (DC 33 vs. 1d20 + 9)
  • Without a Caster Level, even a high level Kineticist would be virtually unable to affect anything with Spell Resistance (1d20 + 0 at Level 20)
Kineticist Burn & Searing Flesh Defense Talent
Protoman wrote:
Chess Pwn wrote:
Just note that accepting burn wont increase it until you're lv4.
Huh I didn't notice before that the accepting burn part lacks the "(minimum of 1 fire damage)" text the normal progression of searing flesh does. Well I vote for that to have errata or clarified by Mark or something to explain if burn really wouldn't do anything for it for 3 levels.

Ouch! I'd missed that too. At least it would be useful to take the burn to double up for that 1 round at lower levels.

Fortunately the character is currently Lvl 4, so I don't have to worry about that wording.

Azten wrote:
I'd rather it be errated to be useful. Even if all that happened was that it hurt people using melee weapons(as written, you can wrap your hand in kerosene soaked paper, use it as an imprivised melee weapon, and nothing happens to you when you hit a Pyrokineticist...)

So my fairy godmother (another PC who is a faerie dragon and rescued my character when he was an infant) can take less damage swatting me with a kerosene glove than she would sitting on my shoulder (would be effectively grappling). Funny how that works out.

---

Thanks for the input, everybody. I'll forward this thread to my GM.
Kineticist Burn & Searing Flesh Defense Talent
1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

When I first read the Searing Flesh defensive talent for pyrokineticists, I thought about taking burn to front-load my defense. It says I can accept burn, but mechanically, how would I go about accepting burn for an already activated talent?

Searing Flesh:
Defense (Su): Your body becomes painfully hot. Whenever a creature hits you with a natural attack or an unarmed strike, that creature takes 1 point of fire damage per 4 kineticist levels you possess (minimum 1 point of fire damage). A creature in a grapple with you takes double this amount of damage at the end of each of its turns. Weapons that strike you also take this damage, though the damage is unlikely to penetrate the weapon’s hardness. By accepting 1 point of burn, you can increase this damage by 1 point per 4 kineticist levels you possess until the next time your burn is removed. You can increase the damage in this way up to seven times. Whenever you accept burn while using a fire wild talent, the surging flame causes your searing flesh to deal double its current amount of damage for 1 round (a creature in a grapple with you takes a total of four times as much damage as normal). You can dismiss or restore this effect as an immediate action.

Is buffing the damage a Free Action? A Standard Action? Is there any restriction on when this can be done?

Furthermore, if the specified Immediate Action is taken to temporarily dismiss Searing Flesh, when another Immediate is taken to resume the power, does the increased damage remain if Burn hasn't been dismissed by resting?

Here's how my GM ruled when I asked what type of Action to use:
  • Accepting Burn to increase the damage dealt by Searing Flesh is a Free Action that may only be taken in response to being struck in melee, thus preventing front-loading of the defensive talent.
  • Furthermore, if I temporarily suspend the defense, when I reinstate it, I lose all increase that I've purchased, even if I haven't rested to reset Burn to 0, thus overruling the bold text in the talent description.
Combined, these limitations effective nerf the talent.