Help building a psion blaster

[enzymezero]

Greetings! I know a wizard or sorc maybe able to do it better but I'm dead set on playing a psion. This is primarily because I never dabbled in psionics before.

All books are allowed. I do not have access to the Psionics Expanded book unfortunately. I heard there was some really great traits in there. I am waiting until the Ultimate Psionics book comes out to see what is in it. Character is level 2 with 1000gp to spend. I am not gonna list skills, just the outline of the build.

Build:
Zanmorn
Class: Kineticist Psion

Stats: 25 point buy
STR: 8
DEX: 10
Con: 16
Int: 19 (17 +2 human)
WIS: 14
CHA: 9

Traits: I could use some good ideas for this. Maybe reactionary for the +2 to initiative?

Feat progression:
Human Bonus: Talented
1st level: Overchannel
Psion Bonus: Improved Initiative, Toughness, or psicrystal affinity?
3rd: Not sure what to take beyond here. I do not have any experience with psionics.

Discipline Talent from 1st level: Energy Ray and Force Screen

Powers Known (5 of them and all first level): Mind Thrust, Vigor, Telepathic Lash, Deja Vu, Prescience - Offensive. What do you think of these?

I was thinking of spending the gold on a Dorje or some sort. Not sure yet.

Any help would be appreciated. Let me know if I left anything out. Thanks for your time!

[Dilvias]

With a strength of 8 and a dexterity of 10, you are not going to be able to effectively wield a weapon, so offensive prescience is not so great, since you only get to use it with your mind thrust or energy ray. Telepathic lash is nearly always better than deja vu in combat (force opponents to do the same thing as opposed to not being able to do anything at all).

I'd probably replace energy ray for far hand, and move energy ray into an actual power. Also, take a look at control object and matter agitation for interesting powers for a kineticist.

If at all possible, see if you can get your intelligence to 20, most likely by dropping your con to 14. The extra power points and, more importantly, extra +1 to DC will make more of a difference than the 2 hit points. Your mind thrust and telepathic lash only works when your enemies fail their save after all. If you are going to be using rays a lot, you may want a higher dex as well.

If you really want extra hit points, then take psionic body, which gets you +6 hp and keeps adding 2 hit points for every psionic feat you take. Feat wise, Overchannel can be nice but you're only gonna have 10 to 11 power points, and you have to burn your focus with talented, so you can only do it so often. Vigor does help, but now you're spending even more power points. Take a look at psionic endowment and greater psionic endowment (+1 to +2 DC when you burn your focus). You are going to want psionic meditation as soon as possible, which sadly isn't until 5th level.

For gear, since you can manifest in armor, pick up some masterwork studded. If you really want offensive prescience, pick it up as a dorje instead.

[blackbloodtroll]

Wrong forum.

[enzymezero]

Sorry about posting this in the wrong forum. Thanks for the suggestions Dilvias!

Would I need a feat to wear the armor?

[Cavian]

Psicrystals are fantastic, you should really look into the bonuses you can gain with them and then look at the Psycrystal staff as well as Setting Stones. The Psicrystal staff is on the same page but I can't create a link for some reason.

While you can wear the armor you would suffer a penalty on all attack rolls as well as Dex and Str based checks.

Relevant Text:

Nonproficient with Armor Worn: A character who wears armor and/or uses a shield with which he is not proficient takes the armor's (and/or shield's) armor check penalty on attack rolls as well as on all Dex- and Str-based ability and skill checks. The penalty for non-proficiency with armor stacks with the penalty for shields.

[Chengar Qordath]

enzymezero wrote:

Sorry about posting this in the wrong forum. Thanks for the suggestions Dilvias!

Would I need a feat to wear the armor?

Nope, you'll just take the non-proficiency penalties to your attack roles, but unless you focus on touch attack spells that won't be a huge issue.

[DravenEvil]

It Will be nice when they FINALLY put out a psionics book, been looking for it for quite some time.

[MaverickWolf]

Even if Paizo does, it will be nothing like 3.5 Psionics, and they have said so. If that's what you're waiting for, it's 3PP or nothing. Namely, Dreamscarred Press.

[Bigger Club]

Well let's take a look I will be going in the order they are in the first post.

Kineticist is a no brainer choice.

Stats, just go 18 before racials for the INT, con would seem like the one to drop, since you need wisdom to meet prequisites for some nice stuff.

Traits: The one that gives +2 Initiative is always nice on casters, would also somewhat offset the low dex. +2 concentration is not bad one either because of the check to use powers without manifestion is really nice when it could be helpful. There are probably better choices but at least those are not bad.

Feats: Overchannel and Talented are gold for a blaster altough not sure if you need both at this point. Psicrystal affinity is a must have because you will want to get psicrystal containment to be able to use as many psionic focus as possible. Psionic Meditation is also something you will want for the same reason allowing use of three meta power feats in one turn. Improved initiative is good if you can squuze it in somehow. Of coarse you want the actual meta feats too. Empower is a solid first choice for a blaster. Expanded knowledge is golden for cherry picking other discipline's powers. Quicken first later twin for some nova action when you need it at later levels. (Some of this stuff is things you do not meet the preqs was commenting on future stuff)

EDIT: Forgot to mention if you pick psicrystal affinity you can take Nimble personality for +2 init to offset the need for improved initiative somewhat and if you do pick it later they stack. Resolved is not a bad choice either for +2 on Will saves but not sure if it's needed with good will save progression 14 Wis and Empty mind that I will mention later in powers.

Discipline talent's: Energy ray you definatly want to have as an actual power. Force screen is so and so. I would personally choose far hand and my light(humans don't have dark vision).

Powers Known: Mind thrust is all or nothing, I would personally replace it with energy ray alltough your low dex might make that little iffy also it will be replaced by energy missile at next level. Vigor is a contender for the best 1st level power you will be using it for a long while. Telepathic lash is not bad but then again there are many powers that you will want and you are not going to get them all. Deja Vu is not that good when compared to other possibilities. Precognition, Offensive I would not take it for this char because of the low dex so you will probably steer away from the powers that will need attack roll.

With commenting on the choices here are few suggestions on other powers. Empty mind, manifestion time 1 immediate action, that is what makes so great with this in your arsenal you are very unlikely going to become a tool for the enemy. Call to Mind, not combat power, but in other situations you are not going to be failing any knowledge check unless the dice hate you.(assuming you are investing in the knowledge skills) Ectoplasmic Sheen, grease but with augmentation what is there not to like.

1000 gold is not that much, I would just pick up mundane stuff getting all the things you want and save up the rest for some nice things. Master work buckler and light armor are nice to have, conceals your identity as "caster" at no penalties while at the same time giving you some protection in the form of AC. Later you will naturally want Mithral stuff.

[Jeremy Smith]

DravenEvil wrote:

It Will be nice when they FINALLY put out a psionics book, been looking for it for quite some time.

As Maverick said, Paizo's psionic book will likely be something more akin of "mind magic" or "psychic magic" rather than "psionics."

At least, per what James Jacobs has said, and it will use the spell slot system, rather than a power point system.

If you want the Expanded Psionics Handbook rules updated to Pathfinder, then Psionics Unleashed does that - it was the whole reason we made the book, but we are admittedly a third party and not Paizo.

Now, as for the blaster - I agree with Dilvias. Energy ray as your talent is a bad choice, since that means at 2nd level, you're still only doing d3.

Mind Thrust and Telepathic Lash have the downside that they don't work on a lot of creature types - undead, constructs, etc. If your GM / campaign tends to favor those monsters, you're going to find yourself at a loss of something offensive to do aside from pew-pew with the said d3 of talent energy ray, and with a poor Dex, you're really not going to be doing much.

I would probably move some of your WIS over to DEX to give you at least a nominal boost for rays.

Also, don't overlook Control Object - you can essentially create a minion, and that minion benefits from your high INT on attacks and damage rolls... just sayin ;) Sure, it requires concentration, but you get 1d6+Int damage for 1 round / level as long as you maintain it. That's better than Energy Ray damage, although it's a melee attack (BAB+INT instead of BAB+DEX though) instead of a touch attack.

I assume the 14 WIS is for Psionic Meditation. If so, you can't get it til 4th level anyway, so dropping the WIS to 12, upping the DEX to 12 (I assume that's even Point Buy, but haven't used Point Buy in a while) and then bumping WIS to 13 at 4th level lets that work.

[Maxximilius]

Since Paizo themselves published this article in their store blog, it is pretty safe to say that they endorse Dreamscarred Press as an awesome option for psionics and are in no hurry (to say the least) about writting their own.

And even then, as said previously, Paizo's rules if they ever are done someday will not be what you'd expect out of old-timey psionics.