Totemist Soulmelds Magical?

[Charberus]

I bought the Magic of Incarnum book and plan to be a 2nd lvl Totemist. There are some questions I have that the book never explains. I was wondering if anyone had rulings about it. I will try to explain to those not familiar with the system.

1) Magical Attacks: Are Totemist Soulmelds Claws/Bite attacks (those bound to Totem Chakra) classified as Magical in overcoming Damage Reduction? I say they do, but there is no real 'ruling' on it.
- Totemist can use Soulmelds to create natural weapons (claw and/or bite attacks). The descriptions talk about actual shaping of incarnum to create images over the appendages, like wearing a special weapon. On page 52, Soulmelds are classified as magical in respect to being dispelled and not working in magical deadzones.

2) Improved Natural Attack Feat: I was wondering if this feat would work with the soulmelds?
- This feat says you have to have a natural attack and BA +4. This is weird since the soulmelds give you natural attacks, and can versify which kind of attacks to get. My friend says it has to be 'innately' natural attack in order to get the feat.

3) Bypassing Damage Reduction: Is there a way for a totemist to bypass damage reduction?
Should I just carry a weapon for when I have to fight monsters with damage reduction?
- The major flaw for a totemist is that none of its soulmelds have a way to overcome damage reduction. There are no ways to infuse: cold iron, adamantine, silver, and/or alignment (magical is seen on my first question) into the soulmelds.

 

[saucercrab]

1. If it don't say it, you don't get it. There is nothing in the descriptions about penetrating any DR (including magic), so totemists have to be crafty. (I feel for ya'; I'll be starting up a totemist in another week myself & have been thinking about this as well.)

Most of the soulmelds that offer natural attacks can have essentia invested in them to give an enhancement bonus to hit & damage; that would take care of DR magic/x. Alignment can be taken care of by a druid casting a variant of align weapon (I'm pretty sure there is a druid spell that functions like the cleric's align weapon spell, but not sure of the source); that takes care of alignment. With material, there are also some spells/magic items for them. IIRC, BoED has a ring of adamantine & a druid spell for silvering natural attacks.

And there are also the amulet of mighty fists (DMG), necklace of natural attacks (Savage Species) & bracers of striking (Magic of Faerun), which bestow enhancement bonuses &/or special abilities on natural/unarmed attacks.


2. A kind DM will allow a totemist to pick the feat, but you'd still have to select the specific natural weapon when the feat is chosen (claw or bite or gore, etc.). But by the RAW, it may not be legal.


3. As above, & also some of the soulmelds can have essentia invested that adds energy damage to the natural attacks (Heart of Fire, Kruthik Claws, etc.), which ignore DR. But as well, yes, you could carry weapons made of special materials.

 

[FireLance]

2) Improved Natural Attack Feat: I was wondering if this feat would work with the soulmelds?
- This feat says you have to have a natural attack and BA +4. This is weird since the soulmelds give you natural attacks, and can versify which kind of attacks to get. My friend says it has to be 'innately' natural attack in order to get the feat.

Your friend may dislike it for flavor reasons, or because it jars with his sense of internal logic, but by the rules, there is nothing to stop a totemist from taking Improved Natural Attack. Binding certain soulmelds to his totem chakra gives a totemist one or more natural attacks, and if he also meets the BAB requirement, he qualifies for the feat. There isn't even the "it isn't always on" argument which might make some people uncomfortable about allowing druids to qualify with wild shape or psychic warriors to qualify with bite of the wolf or claws of the beast.

As saucercrab noted, you would have to select one type of natural weapon, but I'd say that Improved Natural Attack (claw) would enhance all claw attacks, even if they are produced by different soulmelds.

 

[cmanos]

and if your DM isn't allowing Improved Natural Attack to work with the soulmelds...then logically they would be an unarmed attack. Druids can take Improved natural attack for their animal forms, and they aren't always on, why couldn't a totemist take it for his chakra binds?

 

[RichGreen]

oops

 

[Charberus]

Well, today I was looking carefully at the sample characters that were totemist. I found that some had Weapon Focus (Claw) and Improved Crit (Claw). I guess those sample characters DO help sometime.