Weakest PrCs

[Nifft]

Evangelist from Complete Divine. It's like a Cleric who converts people! But can't cast spells. Huh.

Rainbow Servant -- also Complete Divine. Loses four caster levels (!!!), gains rainbow wings. And four Domains. And ability to cast Cleric spells. But when you're now 4 levels behind, why didn't you just take Mystic Theurge? Then you'd be only three levels behind, and have twice the spells slots! Bleah.

Uncarnate Psion -- (XPH) another primary caster who loses four caster levels. Incorporeality is cool, but not that cool.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Rystil Arden]

Evangelist from Complete Divine. It's like a Cleric who converts people! But can't cast spells. Huh.

Rainbow Servant -- also Complete Divine. Loses four caster levels (!!!), gains rainbow wings. And four Domains. And ability to cast Cleric spells. But when you're now 4 levels behind, why didn't you just take Mystic Theurge? Then you'd be only three levels behind, and have twice the spells slots! Bleah.

Uncarnate Psion -- (XPH) another primary caster who loses four caster levels. Incorporeality is cool, but not that cool.

Cheers, -- N

Rainbow Servant is actually crazy good if you go with the apparent typo and follow the fact that text trumps chart to get full caster progression, though that seems clearly not what was intended.

 

[wayne62682]

I nominate the Swiftblade. The writer even mentioned (while being flamed to Hell and back by the CO boards, and rightly so) that the class "wants to be as powerful as a full-Wizard, but doesn't quite get there, so he's kinda like the underdog". In other words, the class was DESIGNED to suck and be a wannabe.

 

[pawsplay]

If epic levels scaled sensibly, you would be right on the money, PC. Unfortunately, the way epic levels work with casting and manifesting is...regrettable. It makes giving up caster levels vanish if you have the Practised feat.

One place where low-level Metaminds do well is with gestalt--you take Metamind/Something Else on the levels that Metamind gives manifesting and Metamind/Psion on the levels it doesn't.

Even so, the unlimited use psionics only generates points in a linear relationship with your level. A psion is still going to vastly outpace them for a long time. I make no warrants as to how the class plays at level 30+.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Even so, the unlimited use psionics only generates points in a linear relationship with your level. A psion is still going to vastly outpace them for a long time. I make no warrants as to how the class plays at level 30+.

I agree that a Psion vastly outpaces them for a long time. However, starting at level 25 when the Metamind has managed to make it all the way up the chart for PP/day and is only 1 Manifester Level behind (thanks to Practised Manifester), the Metamind will be stronger. Psion Uncarnate is an even better example--since they lose exactly 4 levels, they lose nothing compared to a regular Psion at level 24+ except the feat choice for Practised Manifester and gain all their powers.

 

[pawsplay]

I agree that a Psion vastly outpaces them for a long time. However, starting at level 25 when the Metamind has managed to make it all the way up the chart for PP/day and is only 1 Manifester Level behind (thanks to Practised Manifester), the Metamind will be stronger. Psion Uncarnate is an even better example--since they lose exactly 4 levels, they lose nothing compared to a regular Psion at level 24+ except the feat choice for Practised Manifester and gain all their powers.

Are you sure?

Powers: The epic metamind does not discover any additional powers after 10th level unless he selects the Spell Knowledge feat. The epic metamind's manifester level increases by 1 per level of epic metamind gained above 10th. The epic metamind's number of power points per day does not increase after 10th level.

It looks to me like the epic metamind is still behind the pp curve.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Are you sure?

Powers: The epic metamind does not discover any additional powers after 10th level unless he selects the Spell Knowledge feat. The epic metamind's manifester level increases by 1 per level of epic metamind gained above 10th. The epic metamind's number of power points per day does not increase after 10th level.

It looks to me like the epic metamind is still behind the pp curve.

Oh, you don't take epic levels in metamind until you grab five more in Psion, which does increase it

 

[Nifft]

Rystil, I greatly respect your postcount, but I gotta say: Metamind was born to suck, full time, all the time.

The ability to abuse Font of Power is dependent on allowing some non-Core powers and questionable rulings about infinite actions, IIRC. But the binary suck-or-broke nature makes it a terrible class either way. Bleah.

Cheers, -- N

 

[hong]

Can we at least agree that epic is orthogonal to the concept of balance as we know it, and let it go at that?

 

[Rystil Arden]

Rystil, I greatly respect your postcount, but I gotta say: Metamind was born to suck, full time, all the time.

The ability to abuse Font of Power is dependent on allowing some non-Core powers and questionable rulings about infinite actions, IIRC. But the binary suck-or-broke nature makes it a terrible class either way. Bleah.

Cheers, -- N

I don't disagree--in fact, I will go out and say it as a Psionics-lover: the Metamind is the worst prestige class ever.

However, due to a hitch in the epic level system, Metamind ceases sucking at high epic levels. However, until then, you will suck beyond all belief as a Metamind.