Coming into this assuming that this doesn't work, but: Can Basic Telekinesis be used with the feat Magic Trick (Mage Hand)?
The reasoning here is that Basic Telekinesis is a spell like ability that has a function similar to Mage Hand.
I'm completely fine if 'similar to' is not enough to meet the prerequisite of "...able to cast as a spell or spell-like ability..." wording of Magic Trick, but I just want an outside view/opinion on how (if at all) this would interact.
... that's surprising that they worded it that way. I guess it probably would work together. Looking at the options I don't see any way to abuse it.
I'm sure someone will say it doesn't work for one reason or the other, but the way the feat got worded, it seemed they wanted to keep it pretty open.
...Looking at the options I don't see any way to abuse it.
Well it does mean that a Elemental Ascetic or Kinetic Knight (with Improved Unarmed) has access to a 1d3 force cantrip effect that can hit at range (where the two archetypes try to restrict the Kineticist from.)
Also the potential boost to amount of weight that can be carried is quite a bit more than usual.
The force cantrip is ok, but for that level of power, you could just use a sling or a crossbow.
The boost to carrying capacity is ok at level 3, but after that it will get overshadowed by telekinetic haul.
The force cantrip is ok, but for that level of power, you could just use a sling or a crossbow.
The boost to carrying capacity is ok at level 3, but after that it will get overshadowed by telekinetic haul.
Force damage is force damage. Personally will take what I can get on a cantrip if multiclass isn't necessary.
And hey, even a little extra boost to carrying capacity of the Mage Hand effect is fairly nice when you need that extra 5lbs/ 3 Spellcraft ranks.
When using basic telekinesis, you can move an object that weighs up to 100 pounds per kineticist level you possess.
I’m not going to say that an extra 5 or 10 pounds won’t come in handy some day, but the odds of you ever needing that when already lifting 400+ pounds is so low.
And spell craft is not usually a skill the kineticist would care to invest in, so that’s a pretty big tax to gaining that ability on top of the cost of using that as your feat.
By RAW I don't think it work. Most things that work like something else say so in their rules, like Dirty Fighting "Special: This feat counts as having Dex 13, Int 13, Combat Expertise, and Improved Unarmed Strike for the purposes of meeting the prerequisites of the various improved combat maneuver feats, as well as feats that require those improved combat maneuver feats as prerequisites." BT does not say it functions as MH.
However, I see no big problems in letting it work, so I would probably allow it.
It's a spell-like ability that works like mage hand, except for when it doesn't. Without referencing mage hand, you wouldn't even know how it works. For instance, without referencing the spell, it would work on attended objects.
The Dirty Fighting text is a very different thing. That's allowing a feat to replace a previous existing feat in a feat chain. Basic Telekinesis isn't replacing mage hand. It's just a spell-like ability that works like mage hand. The only sticking point is that it's assumed spell like abilities have the same name as the spell they are based on, but in this case we had a different naming convention with each element having a free "basic X" power. And there are other spell like abilities not named for their spell, but still assumed to qualify as being that spell, like the Arcanist Occultist's Summon Monster ability being called Conjurer's Focus.
I think this may fall under the walks/quacks like a duck analogy and I’m pretty sure there’s an faq out there that states that the name of an ability is irrelevant as long as it functions as a specific of ability of a different name (don’t quote me cuz I don’t have the time to go hunting for it). I don’t see a problem with allowing it as anything you could do with it can usually be done as well or better by other aether kineticist abilities you could take later on like telekinetic haul. Also the feat investment required for some of the tricks can be better put to use on things like point blank shot or spell penetration. Personally I don’t see a problem with it but stricter GMs might.