I really like the Aether Puppet Utility Wild Talent. I recognize it's really not meant for combat beyond providing flanking or obstacles, but the out-of-combat uses really tickle my fancy. The problem is, I can't really figure out how to stat them. The SRD lists example objects for each size category, but beyond those specific cases, I'm at a loss. Is there a place I can stat up an animated object quickly and reliably?
Thanks, I was clicking on the specific object entry (straight jacket, manacles, etc). Hmm it doesn't seem much more helpful in combat than an Animated Object at any given Kineticist level. The constant Greater Invisibility is pretty awesome, but so many enemies have ways to See Invisibility by now that it's much less helpful than it should be. I just see a lot more utilitarian usage from Animated Objects than Elementals. All the useful things the elemental can do in or out of combat, I can already do. Thanks for the help and suggestion, though!
P.S. Indeed, I've been hauling for days!
I don't understand what makes the Animated Objects so good. Could you explain it to me?Thanks, I was clicking on the specific object entry (straight jacket, manacles, etc). Hmm it doesn't seem much more helpful in combat than an Animated Object at any given Kineticist level. The constant Greater Invisibility is pretty awesome, but so many enemies have ways to See Invisibility by now that it's much less helpful than it should be. I just see a lot more utilitarian usage from Animated Objects than Elementals. All the useful things the elemental can do in or out of combat, I can already do. Thanks for the help and suggestion, though!
P.S. Indeed, I've been hauling for days!
For the record, I think both options are un-optimized in terms of combat. To answer your question, I'll compare both at Kineticist level 10.
Level 10_____Aether Elemental_____Animated Object
To-hit roll_______+6___________________+5_________________Average CR 10 monster AC is 24; I'd consider either succeeding on an attack roll a pleasant surprise.
Damage________1d6+3________________1d6+3______________DR at level 10 and on make these numbers basically irrelevant.
HP____________34___________________36_________________Light-hitting CR 10 monsters deal 33 damage on average. I'd consider it a pleasant surprise if they stay up after a hit.
AC____________17___________________14_________________Considering 1 hit is about all it takes, and the average CR 10 monster's high attack roll is +18, this is also irrelevant.
So they're both comparably garbage in combat. The Aether Elemental has that throw ability, but it's a DC 16, and a CR 10 monster with Fort save as its low save (which is rare enough) is still +9 on average, meaning they'll make their save about 65% of the time. So in combat, their only role really is to provide flanking and block movement. If they connect with an attack, or an enemy fails its Fort save, it's more or less above and beyond expectations.
So how about out of combat? Well, the Elemental has constant greater invisibility, which is pretty cool, and makes for good scouting. That does improve it's to-hit and "AC" numbers a bit now that I think of it, but again, the number of enemies who can negate invisibility will only increase from here. The big thing for me Animated Objects have over Elementals here (in my opinion) is that they can be Small- and Tiny-sized, and eventually, up to Colossal! The elementals a Kineticist can summon range from Medium to Huge. There's a lot of cool things you can do with a tiny-sized, sentient helper, like slip between cracks in the floor and walls to scout, or hide in your backpack and hand you things or act as an alarm if someone tries to pilfer through your stuff. When you get to Colossal-sized, you could literally animate a small castle and transport entire armies to their next battle. Without expending any more resources than Move actions. Plus, you can apparently animate the armor that an enemy is wearing, but I feel an FAQ is needed before I'd allow something like that.
So again, I don't value either as good in combat, but I can see vast amounts of utility potential for the Animated Objects. Elementals all have their uses out of combat, and some uses are very handy, but they don't come close, in my opinion.
P.S. I was getting all the average monster stats from HERE