Questions on the Wood Kineticist (Ultimate Wilderness)

[Rerednaw]

I enjoy playing kineticists and for our current campaign after our TPK (wererat rogues throwing dusts of sneezing and choking at our party from surprise) someone suggested I look at the wood element for something different.

I did and have a couple of questions right off the bat.

Several of the infusions that are available are from other, older, sources which don't tell you which blasts may be used. For example Deadly Earth is normally used with earth, magma, metal, and mud...which wood blasts work with it? Same goes for say Entangling infusion. We can assume it works with wood (physical)...but what about positive blast? And which composite blasts?

It appears if you take wood again as your expanded element (at 7th), the class doesn't have a composite blast? Is that correct?

Thanks in advance!

[avr]

Wood is famously underpowered even as kineticist elements go. No wood/wood blast exists, you're right. take a look at verdant blast for wood/wood tho'. You couldn't unbalance it by making the infusions available to the element apply to as many of the blasts as you can imagine possible.

[Belafon]

Rerednaw wrote:

Several of the infusions that are available are from other, older, sources which don't tell you which blasts may be used. For example Deadly Earth is normally used with earth, magma, metal, and mud...which wood blasts work with it? Same goes for say Entangling infusion. We can assume it works with wood (physical)...but what about positive blast? And which composite blasts?

The answer is right on page 58 of Ultimate Wilderness (along with probably most of the answers to other questions you might have about the wood element)

Quote:

Simple Blast: A phytokineticist gains her choice of wood blast or positive blast as a simple blast wild talent, though most phytokineticists start with wood blast. She can use deadly earth, entangling infusion, impale, and pushing infusion with wood blast and its composites.

So you can use them with wood blast but not positive blast.

Quote:

It appears if you take wood again as your expanded element (at 7th), the class doesn't have a composite blast? Is that correct?

Verdant Blast is the composite blast for wood/wood.

Phytokineticists are an interesting theme, but there's really only two situations in which they have a mechanical niche better than another kineticist. 1: You're in an undead-heavy campaign where positive blast and its composites are an advantage. 2: You're playing a "dedicated healer" kineticist in which case you have a (small) numerical edge with your healing bursts.

[Ryan Freire]

Belafon wrote:

Rerednaw wrote:

Several of the infusions that are available are from other, older, sources which don't tell you which blasts may be used. For example Deadly Earth is normally used with earth, magma, metal, and mud...which wood blasts work with it? Same goes for say Entangling infusion. We can assume it works with wood (physical)...but what about positive blast? And which composite blasts?

The answer is right on page 58 of Ultimate Wilderness (along with probably most of the answers to other questions you might have about the wood element)

Quote:

Simple Blast: A phytokineticist gains her choice of wood blast or positive blast as a simple blast wild talent, though most phytokineticists start with wood blast. She can use deadly earth, entangling infusion, impale, and pushing infusion with wood blast and its composites.

So you can use them with wood blast but not positive blast.

Quote:

It appears if you take wood again as your expanded element (at 7th), the class doesn't have a composite blast? Is that correct?

Verdant Blast is the composite blast for wood/wood.

Phytokineticists are an interesting theme, but there's really only two situations in which they have a mechanical niche better than another kineticist. 1: You're in an undead-heavy campaign where positive blast and its composites are an advantage. 2: You're playing a "dedicated healer" kineticist in which case you have a (small) numerical edge with your healing bursts.

Three: Party synergy. At will plant growth without occupying a spell slot makes the druid/shaman/hunter's thorny/thirsty entanglement punch significantly out of their weight class.