|
Hey all, debating between picking up the aether element at level 7, or sticking with fire. The character will be level 12.
Pros of taking aether-
defense talent- Having a regenerating shield of temp HP is great, and a good defensive talent to throw burn into at the start of the day. (I plan to start with 5 burn, just to get the best bonuses from elemental overflow, and easier book keeping) So, I get a nice 36 temp hp to help mitigate the 60 nonlethal I will be starting with.
Utility- Being able to pick up kinetic healer, telekinetic haul, and (soon) at will invisibility are nice little boons.
Physical blast- I get a physical blast I can use when I encounter fire immune enemies.
Cons of taking aether-
I put off blue flame composite blast, however this is less of an issue, since starting at 12 I will be able to just slap maximize on my normal blasts with a move action.
I lose a free wild talent or infusion
without aether's defense talent, I will be deadly to most natural attacking enemies with 24 fire damage returned per natural attack/unarmed strike hit.
I lose an effective 36 regenerating hp.
A few questions about your kineticist that don't revolve around their ability to throw fire or physical blasts...
What ELSE are they planning to be able to do in combat? How are they equipped? What are you going to fall back on when throwing those blasts is not the idle means of attack? When you get grappled?
These things are fairly important at the level in which you will be entering into play. Also, give some thought as to what you are going to be picking up with your 3rd elemental choice. If you go fire/aether ... what elemental are you going to blend with them to give you the greatest benefit? I can see Aetheric Boost helping with BlueFlame blast to up the damage by +1 per damage die, but your composite blast with just the basic fire blast isn't going to be that great.
|
|
Most anything that grapples me will be letting go rather quickly since they would take 32 fire damage each round at minimum, before fire resist.
The character is based around the background of a varisian flame dancer. So, other than aether, I plan on sticking pure flame.
Here is the infusion/wild talents I have selected atm and a basic run down of the stat block- Note, this is the block accounting for full elemental overflow bonus.
HP: 183 (123 workable, 36 temp hp shield) 60 nonlethal damage from burn
Flame blast- +21 to hit, damage 6d6+16 (52 damage a round if used with maximize)
Telekinetic- +21 to hit, damage, 6d6+22
AC: 23 (darkleaf leather and mithril buckler)
Saves:
+20
+19
+10
wild talents-
2- Fires fury
4- Undecided
6- Flame jet
7(feat)- Expanded defense
8- fire sight (to be used in conjuncture with eversmoking bottle)
9(feat)- telekinetic haul
10- Greater flame jet
12- Purging Flame
plan for level 13-
13(feat)- Ride by the blast
Infusions-
1- Kinetic Blade
3- Extend Range
5- Kinetic whip
7- Eruption
9- Penetrating Infusion. (not quite decided, I may pick up something else and just use telekentic blasts vs fire res, though that takes away touch ac and my feats are not designed around nullifying shooting into melee combat)
11- Undecided, debating between blade whirlwind, snake, torrent, extreme range or spindle
Feats-
1- weapon finesse, toughness
3- Undecided, leaning combat reflexes
5- Spell penetration
7- Extra wild talent
9- Extra wild Talent
11- Extra wild talent.
what will I fall back on if I can't use the blasts as attacks? What do martials do when hitting with their weapon isn't the ideal means of attack?
what will I fall back on if I can't use the blasts as attacks? What do martials do when hitting with their weapon isn't the ideal means of attack?
Yes, that was my question. It is also a question I ask about martial characters that want to focus on one type of attack or another. Kineticists typically have an adequate means of using their damaging abilities with a few feat investments. Every other feat they get access to can be used to hyperfocus on an attack style or branch out.
You have supplied some information that helped answer my question. You have kinetic blade, and some of the associated infusions that make it good. But that armor class is going to get you killed. 23 AC for a character within spitting distance of melee at level 12 ... Everything is going to hit you and that recharging 36hp is going to spare you MAYBE one good hit in a single encounter. That will save? You are going to want to spend feats AND buy items to boost it.
That Searing Flesh is not going to be as effective as you think against attacks. Grappling, yes, especially if you take burn while grappled (though you have a limit of burn you can take each day). Only natural attacks or unarmed attacks will result in the creature taking the damage, and regular weapons will take HALF the damage and then that's after hardness is applied to the total. Creatures with weapons are not going to take that damage unless you try to hug them.
Now, I don't want to seem overly critical of your build. I want to be constructive in helping you refine it. That's if you want help.
|
|
The idea isn't to be in melee, being in melee is a rather "well, this is happening" outcome.
The ideal scenario for her at the moment is-
be 60ft up in the air, in a cloud of smoke from the eversmoking bottle. Effectively invisible to most creatures. (even works against true sight) Raining fire (or marbles) on my enemies.
I know searing flesh only applies to natural/unarmed. Its mostly in regards to being grappled. And, to be fair, a large portion of creatures at higher CRs use natural attacks, in some form. Especially of the undead variety.
If I put 6 burn into searing flesh would equate to 30 fire damage, or 15 fire damage to weapons. Most non-magical one handed swords have a hardness of 10 and HP of 2-5. Which would put both the above at 0 hp (destroyed I think? Broken is half hp right?)
magical weapons however, would be unaffected for several rounds if at all.
The will save has little to be done about it. Iron will is the only thing that can apply further, I already have a +4 cloak of resistance, and a 14 wis. Purging Flame is my one real answer to will saves. Other than being untargetable in a smoke cloud.
As far as will saves go, you can squeeze an additional +1 with a 'Cape of free will" and another +2 from getting a Hedgehog familiar through the Elemental Whispers talent. There are a few other ways to boost your will save, such as a +1 from a trait, a stone of good luck (combine with fate's favored trait for a +2 luck bonus), the "Guardian" weapon enhancement (placed on a melee weapon: spiked gauntlet for example) for an untyped bonus to your saving throws, etc.
Be careful with how much Burn you use at the start of the day. You only get 3+Con Mod a day (willingly). Unless your Con is 22 or higher, you've blown through 2/3 of your burn for the day. The odds that you will be attacked with non-magical weapons at level 12 is very, very slim.
As for your plan to hover above the field in an ever smoking bottle cloud... That is a good plan for any creature that doesn't have blindsense, blindsight, or a way of seeing through mist/fog/smoke easily (there are 'cheap-ish' magic items that get through it as well as hexes, revelations, and other abilities)... or any creature intelligent enough to bring to bear strong winds. I'm not trying to pick apart your strategy, just making sure that you have a contingency in case something like this happens, even if it is not an ideal one.
One suggestion I have, is if you don't plan on being in melee except as a last resort, ditch "Ride the Blast" immediately. That puts you directly into range every time. I don't think it would be worth a slot if you don't intend to use it often. It is better to spend some gold on quick use item that grants you haste for a round as an free/swift action so that you can get into place.
|
|
One suggestion I have, is if you don't plan on being in melee except as a last resort, ditch "Ride the Blast" immediately. That puts you directly into range every time. I don't think it would be worth a slot if you don't intend to use it often. It is better to spend some gold on quick use item that grants you haste for a round as an free/swift action so that you can get into place.
Alternatively, if used alongside extreme range it can "teleport" you nearly 500ft away from a big ugly. (target ground)
Blindsight/sense usually has a maximum range. Very often 120ft is out of it(though certainly not always). Blindsense still gives me total cover. Which AFAIK means no line of effect for spells, and at worst a 50% miss chance, at best I can't be targeted. AoE spells could still hit me though.
Blindsight is, and always will be, the one bane of sneaky boys/concealment effects. And thats okay.
ATM my burn is 5/11 max.
Unraveling infusion is another one to consider IMO. It may not often be useful against undead but if there's spellcasters animating those, evil clerics and wizards rely on defensive buffs a lot.
Extra wild talent in your plan gets you one wild talent from each of levels 1, 2 & 3. The first two are maybe not that useful at levels 7+ though it may get you some fun telekinetic tricks if you go with fire/aether I suppose.
As to aether or fire - I think you'll be bored of blasting things with fire after six levels of doing so and doing something else will be a welcome change.
Alternatively, if used alongside extreme range it can "teleport" you nearly 500ft away from a big ugly. (target ground)
Yes, it could neatly get you away from something. So long as you avoid the AoO coming your way. Personally, I think it is much too dangerous and your turn is better used to kick on a temporary haste effect and withdraw (or similar). There is always a 5% chance of rolling a 1 and missing that 5ft square.
Blindsight/sense usually has a maximum range. Very often 120ft is out of it(though certainly not always). Blindsense still gives me total cover. Which AFAIK means no line of effect for spells, and at worst a 50% miss chance, at best I can't be targeted. AoE spells could still hit me though.
Blindsight is, and always will be, the one bane of sneaky boys/concealment effects. And thats okay.
Blindsight/sense are only a few of the methods I mentioned, but if you are sure that you have contingencies in hand, then we can move on from it. Perhaps Air might be better because you can get Evasion through that element, or pick up a ring for the ability. Then AoE's have less impact on you.
ATM my burn is 5/11 max.
That's better than 9 (max), for sure.
yeah I am not so sure a roll of 1 nullifies the ride the way part. I'm pretty sure even if you miss the target you would still appear next to or near them.
Regardless on how your GM rules the effect of missing the square or where you appear, the issue of dealing with the AoO coming your way for launching a ranged attack in melee combat is still a concern. Your AC almost guarantees you are going to get hit. I just want you to be aware of the danger. I don't want to push the issue if you feel it is handled.
My overall suggestion for your build is to DEFINITELY branch out from Fire at level 7. You can always get blue-flame blast later. The only time I would suggest sticking with Fire is if you were building a drastically different kind of Kineticist, perhaps using Energize Weapon infusion and wielding a Conductive Weapon, to deal massive burst damage.