Help With Creating a Eberron Kalashtar Psion

[eXodus]

i am getting ready to play in a eberron game soon. i have elected to play a kalashtar psion (telepath). our characters are starting at 3rd level and the because of the direction of the game; all of the characters being retainers of a dethroned noble he is giving us all an additional 1,000 gp to purchase some sort of magical goodies. or rather in my case i would go psionic goodies. as well the dm has houseruled that all classes get two more skill points per level leaving my telepath with four per level.

stats are as follows: str 11, dex 15, con 11, int 17, wis 15, chr 15

feats are: psionic body, psycrystal affinity, and extend power

powers are: psionic charm, mind thrustm psionic levetation, force screen, brain lock, read thoughts, psionic suggestion

as far as goods i wanted a staff with a crystal in it that would hold additional power points but i am not sure. he needs a staff as a object of office that he had held in this noble family.

this is my first go around with 3.5 psionics so any help on powers, feats, etc to change out let me know. the game has not started yet, so nothing is set in stone.

 

[Lord Morte]

feats are: psionic body, psycrystal affinity, and extend power

powers are: psionic charm, mind thrustm psionic levetation, force screen, brain lock, read thoughts, psionic suggestion

Feats and powers look good, if very specialized. You'll be next to useless against undead or other mindless creatures, as you have only two powers that are not mind-effecting and neither is offensive. Consider taking one of the energy powers at next level just in case. Also I'd recommend inertial armour instead of force screen. The longer duration is extremely valuable and IIRC the bonus is the same either way.

Featwise, IIRC mind thrust's save DC isn't effected by augmenting the power, so I'd take psionic endowment and greater psionic endowment in order to pump up the DC some. It would help with your charm, suggestion, etc.

Otherwise a very good selection.

as far as goods i wanted a staff with a crystal in it that would hold additional power points but i am not sure. he needs a staff as a object of office that he had held in this noble family.

A crystal capacitor? Not a bad option, extra power points are very useful. Given the apparent focus of your character on social interaction and manipulation, how about a circlet of persuasion and +3 on Charisma-based skill checks? Can't recall the cost though...

 

[Bront]

You using the Racial replacement levels for the Kalashtar? I think it's telepath that they get a replacement level in. I highly recomend them.

 

[Jack Simth]

the dm has houseruled that all classes get two more skill points per level leaving my telepath with four per level.

Umm... wouldn't that be 7 per level? (2 base, +2 House Rule, +3 int)?

As a Noble Telepath, you could also very readily go the Diplomacy route - Max ranks in Diplomacy (6), at least five ranks each in Knoweledge (Nobility and Royalty) (Thematic, even!), Bluff, and Sense Motive for Diplomacy Synergy, and maybe go with the "Friendly" Psicrystal for the extra +3 - if you take max ranks in each, that will still leave you with 18 skillpoints for Psicraft, Knoweledge(Psionics), and something else - perhaps Gather Information. With Cha 15, your diplomacy roll would be at.... +3 (Psicrystal) +6 (Ranks) +6 (three +2 synergies) +2 (Charisma) = +17.

Also, you may want to double-check with your DM; do MetaPsionic feats also apply to Psionic Body?

Text of the SRD's version of Psionic Body:

PSIONIC BODY [PSIONIC]

Your mind reinforces your body.
Benefit: When you take this feat, you gain 2 hit points for each psionic feat you have (including this one). Whenever you take a new psionic feat, you gain 2 more hit points.

(emphasis added)

If not, you may want to swap Extend for, say, Power Penetration, Psionic Endowment, Expanded Knoweledge or some such, for the extra +2 hp.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I think he meant 4 base skill points per level.

 

[Spatula]

Feats and powers look good, if very specialized. You'll be next to useless against undead or other mindless creatures, as you have only two powers that are not mind-effecting and neither is offensive. Consider taking one of the energy powers at next level just in case. Also I'd recommend inertial armour instead of force screen. The longer duration is extremely valuable and IIRC the bonus is the same either way.

Agree. The only reason to use force screen over inertial armor is if you're already wearing armor. Which you can do - a mithril chain shirt wouldn't hinder you in any way and provides the same protection as a 1-pt inertial armor. But that's a bit out of your league right now.

Regarding feats, I would replace Extend Power with Enlarge. The vast majority of telepathic powers are range: Close, and Enlarge doesn't increase the power point cost at all.

Featwise, IIRC mind thrust's save DC isn't effected by augmenting the power

untrue, the DC increases by 1 for every 2 pts of augmentation.

A 1 point crystal capacitor (about all you could afford right now) is somewhat worthless, since it can only be used to manifest un-augmented 1st level powers. Perhaps if you were able to upgrade it later on it would be worthwhile.

 

[Lord Morte]

Agree. The only reason to use force screen over inertial armor is if you're already wearing armor. Which you can do - a mithril chain shirt wouldn't hinder you in any way and provides the same protection as a 1-pt inertial armor. But that's a bit out of your league right now.

Actually... he's getting 1000 extra gold and a mithral shirt is 1100 gp. It might be an option if he has normal starting cash, say 100gp plus change for any other mundane equipment he's after. More of an option than my circlet of persuasion anyway...

A 1 point crystal capacitor (about all you could afford right now) is somewhat worthless, since it can only be used to manifest un-augmented 1st level powers. Perhaps if you were able to upgrade it later on it would be worthwhile.

I have to disagree. The biggest problem I've hit while playing a psion is burning through my power points too quickly, which is very easy to do at low levels. Even a 1 pt capacitor is useful when it is the only power point you have; one extra spell/power, 1st lvl or not, could make the difference when crunch-time comes.

 

[Spatula]

useful at low levels, sure, but 1 power point becomes more and more meaningless as you advance. The kicker is that you can't combine that 1 power point with your own - if you're going to use it to manifest a power you can't spend more than the points stored in your capacitor. There isn't much you can manifest for 1 power point that would be very useful once you're out of the low levels (inertial armor being an exception, but every psionic character that I've seen with that power always wanted to augment it as much as possible).