Fighter taking a few levels in Wilder... Worth it?

[Zadam]

I'm playing a Fighter in a campaign, STR 18 and CHA 14. He will mostly be levelling Fighter, but I have been tossing around the idea of throwing in a few levels (probably 4 at most) of the Psionic class "Wilder".

Just wondering if anyone has tried this before, and were they able to get it working effectively? I'm worried that the low powered Wilder abilities will become next to useless at higher levels, and a lot of them aren't useful to a Fighter anyway.

Anyone got any suggestions? (including the suggestion to just keep the character as a pure Fighter?) Any advice would be appreciated...

 

[Squire James]

Let's just say that Fighter is the best (primary) class to do this with. While low-level Wilder abilities may not seem like much at high levels, neither will a couple of bonus feats at that point! All you're really giving up is +1 BAB for 4 levels of Wilder, and some HP, but IMO that's an acceptable loss. Just be sure the powers you pick are decent and scalable.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

I've found all my levels in it to be worthwhile.

 

[Zadam]

Can anyone suggest a list of Wilder powers they think might be useful to a Fighter at levels over 10 (What I mean is a character who is Fighter 10/Wilder 4, and will not level up Wilder any further)? I was thinking perhaps the defensive ones (Force Screen, Biofeedback, etc) might be more handy than any of the offensive ones, since a Fighter can dish out decent damage already.

I especially like Force Screen at the moment, since it lets my Fighter fight 2-handed without having to mourn the lack of a shield

 

[moritheil]

Definitely biofeedback; that was the first thing that came to mind. Good choices. What I'm curious about, however, is what made you decide against Psychic warrior.

Can anyone suggest a list of Wilder powers they think might be useful to a Fighter at levels over 10 (What I mean is a character who is Fighter 10/Wilder 4, and will not level up Wilder any further)? I was thinking perhaps the defensive ones (Force Screen, Biofeedback, etc) might be more handy than any of the offensive ones, since a Fighter can dish out decent damage already.

I especially like Force Screen at the moment, since it lets my Fighter fight 2-handed without having to mourn the lack of a shield

 

[Jack Simth]

Can anyone suggest a list of Wilder powers they think might be useful to a Fighter at levels over 10 (What I mean is a character who is Fighter 10/Wilder 4, and will not level up Wilder any further)? I was thinking perhaps the defensive ones (Force Screen, Biofeedback, etc) might be more handy than any of the offensive ones, since a Fighter can dish out decent damage already.

I especially like Force Screen at the moment, since it lets my Fighter fight 2-handed without having to mourn the lack of a shield

For a meelee character?

Let's see... at 4th Wilder, you are going to have 2 level 1 powers and 1 level 2 power:
Level 1:
Precognition, Defensive: + AC and Saving Throws! Stacks with a Shield!
http://srd.pbemnexus.com/psionicPowersGtoP.html#precognition-offensiveVigor: Gain Temporary HP! (almost as good as healing!)
http://srd.pbemnexus.com/psionicPowersDtoF.html#force-screenLevel 2:
Either
Biofeedback: Damage Reduction
Or
Energy Adaptation, Specified:


Of course, what is best for your character depends on party makeup - if there is a low level ability that's lacking (fat chance, at 14th, in a "balanced" party), then you can probably grab that fairly easily.

 

[Zadam]

Definitely biofeedback; that was the first thing that came to mind. Good choices. What I'm curious about, however, is what made you decide against Psychic warrior.

Well its a character I have already made and have been playing. I didn't originally plan to multiclass him as any kind of Psionic, and so his stats are much more suited to Wilder than Psychic Warrior (8 Wisdom, 14 Charisma).

 

[Jack Simth]

Definitely biofeedback; that was the first thing that came to mind. Good choices. What I'm curious about, however, is what made you decide against Psychic warrior.

Just to hazard a guess, I'd say it was the Wild Surge (+2 to manifester level at 3rd, 10% chance of the drawback, free augmenting) and the difference in power points. Possibly also the Elude Touch.

However, a Psychic Warrior will have more powers known (one per level), but the same basic spread (three first, one second) with four levels. Additionally, many of the more useful abilities (for a fighter) are accessable at lower levels - BioFeedback, for example, costs 6 PP (or 3 and a Wild Surge) for a Wilder to get DR 3/-. For a Psychic Warrior, that's a flat 4 PP. Probably a better choice to go with Psychic Warrior with a Fighter/10, depending on your needs.

Edit: Ah, nevermind - he answered the specific question while I was guessing. Too slow me!

 

[Zadam]

After careful contemplation, I'm considering going with (keep in mind my Fighter fights 2-handed and thus doesn't use shields):

Vigor (Extra HP)
Force Screen (+4 AC makes up for lack of shield)
Energy Adaptation, Specified

However, some other powers that I am considering are:
Biofeedback (Less effective but more flexible damage reduction than Energy Adaptation)
Ego Whip (very useful against creatures with low Charisma, or that depend on charisma)
Concealing Amorpha (20% miss chance... Not bad, might even be better than Force Screen but is a higher level than Force Screen)
Precognition, Defensive (good all-round but weak defensive boost)
Attraction
DejaVu

Gah!! Too many choices!!!!

 

[moritheil]

Jack, that's exactly what I was thinking, and I was curious as to whether or not Wild Surge and the pp made up for not having the more useful Psychic Warrior powers. Thanks. Your assessment, incidentally, matches mine - concealing amorpha, vigor, biofeedback, and that neat trick that helps vs. will saves (I forget what it's called) are all nice things for a fighter to have.

Zadam, try looking at those powers, but also Conceal Thoughts, Detect Hostile Intent, and maybe Thought Shield. Fighters are classically weak against a few things, and this will help a bit.

Just to hazard a guess, I'd say it was the Wild Surge (+2 to manifester level at 3rd, 10% chance of the drawback, free augmenting) and the difference in power points. Possibly also the Elude Touch.

However, a Psychic Warrior will have more powers known (one per level), but the same basic spread (three first, one second) with four levels. Additionally, many of the more useful abilities (for a fighter) are accessable at lower levels - BioFeedback, for example, costs 6 PP (or 3 and a Wild Surge) for a Wilder to get DR 3/-. For a Psychic Warrior, that's a flat 4 PP. Probably a better choice to go with Psychic Warrior with a Fighter/10, depending on your needs.

Edit: Ah, nevermind - he answered the specific question while I was guessing. Too slow me!