Author Topic: [Psionics] Ability Burn.  (Read 2859 times)

Offline Soundwave

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[Psionics] Ability Burn.
« on: June 20, 2018, 04:24:03 AM »
I have something of a sub optimal character I am working on, the concept involves making use of ability burn, and the associated feat body fuel etc To regain PP, to anyone's memory is there anything else out there to combo with Body Fuel?

I am aware that it is a sub optimal means to get replacement pp, I am just looking to see how far it can be taken, if anywhere at all.

Edit: Struggling to find anything however, beginning to wonder if anything exists outside of the XPH feats like Mind over Body, I am also looking for other feats similar to Rapid metabolism if anyone knows of any.

Faster Healing CW, and Hibernate in the Dragon Compendium might be candidates, though it wont help ability burn.
« Last Edit: June 20, 2018, 02:32:34 PM by Soundwave »

Offline awaken_D_M_golem

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Re: [Psionics] Ability Burn.
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2018, 04:36:10 PM »
hmm , well ...

There were lots of tries at tricking up the Ability Burn part.
But for all the noise, there isn't much you can do with it.

However a deep dumpster dive for very specific improvements
to "Natural Healing" , might yield some something-or-another.
I don't recall off hand anyone doing that = new territory.

Psi of course has other ways of boosting Power Points,
including trying Psion over PsyWar, or any style of recharge.

What type of class or build were you thinking about ??
Your codpiece is a mimic.

Offline Soundwave

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Re: [Psionics] Ability Burn.
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2018, 10:33:52 PM »
I'm going for something of a fluff build, kineticist who "burns" (takes ability burn/dmg) to power abilities, the characters are going to be in a dungeon for a very long time so I'm going for more of a marathon type character than just nova and done.

Most of my choices so far are thematic decisions, I'm aware of how shitty ability burn is, trying to do my best to take it further if at all possible. The general idea I have right now is buffing natural healing as far as I can to reduce reliance on party spells, and acquiring fast healing so that in between vigor I can stay alive... somehow.

Edit: Nothing about the character is optimal, getting more mileage out of ability burn grew as an interest mostly because I can find so little to do with it.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2018, 10:36:10 PM by Soundwave »

Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: [Psionics] Ability Burn.
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2018, 10:50:05 PM »
Just use Fission.

If the duplicate dies you don't rejoin, allowing it to burn it's Ability Scores as much as you like. Just pick up Death Ward or something.

Offline Soundwave

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Re: [Psionics] Ability Burn.
« Reply #4 on: June 23, 2018, 08:17:45 AM »
If I was interested in taking an easier route I'd just run an infinite PP recharge trick. Looking to see how far something sub optimal like ability burn, can be pushed. Hence the post regarding it.

Offline awaken_D_M_golem

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Re: [Psionics] Ability Burn.
« Reply #5 on: June 23, 2018, 03:36:25 PM »
OK so lets say you have 15s in Str Dex + Con.
And you Burn them down to 1s each.
14*2=28 ppoints = 4 festings of level 4 powers.
That's not too bad, painful but at least effective.

Call that your : "If I can just get through today" mode.
But you're basically helpless at the end of that.
If you go Warforged and use Control Object 1
you'd get Int as your melee stat for a total emergency.
Vigor 1 to rebump your hit points up vs ultra low Con.

And you can always ping Mind Thrust with Overchannel.
That gives you 4 modes for 4 combats :
b) ... iffy Psion but functional
a) ... Psion with a slight Nova
c) ... ping your last normal ppoints
d) ... Burning down your house

Call it tier 1-ish for A depending on load out,
tier 3 for B , tier 5 for C , and staring your doom in it's face.
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Offline SorO_Lost

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Re: [Psionics] Ability Burn.
« Reply #6 on: June 24, 2018, 01:48:00 PM »
If I was interested in taking an easier route I'd just run an infinite PP recharge trick. Looking to see how far something sub optimal like ability burn, can be pushed. Hence the post regarding it.
I guess you didn't understand me.

Let's try again.
Just use Fission.

If the duplicate dies you don't rejoin, allowing it to burn it's Ability Scores as much as you like. Just pick up Death Ward or something.
I offered a suggestion that can push the uses of Body Fuel and Ability Burn as you mentioned in your first post.  :eh

Also it's not really infinite unless you are completely out of pp and storing points in items. For example, say the original as 20s in Str/Dex/Con, and 50pp. He expends 13pp to Manifest Fission leaving him with 37 which is then split evenly between the two bodies (18 each). The clone can then only use Body Fuel nineteen times, generating +38pp. Since no rejoining occurs the pool is never merged. The original went from 50pp to 18pp, a net loss of -32pp, to produce a clone that has to expend up to 56pp within a few rounds before killing it's self which isn't terrible but it's certainly not infinite. And if you started at a higher pp amount you'd lose even more due to the resource split (@300 you'd drop to 143, a -157pp loss).

But if you store 13pp in a Cognizance Crystal and expend all your pp (or maybe keep 1 depending on how DM rules rounding) then use the Crystal to manifest Fission. The source split is 0, the duplicate uses Body Fuel to produce 38pp, recharges the Crystal, and has 25pp left over which is kind of nice even if the main body runs around without pp and needs a couple rounds to get things going. And yes, in that usage it is kind of infinite. All well.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2018, 02:05:28 PM by SorO_Lost »

Offline Soundwave

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Re: [Psionics] Ability Burn.
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2018, 04:23:03 AM »
OK so lets say you have 15s in Str Dex + Con.
And you Burn them down to 1s each.
14*2=28 ppoints = 4 festings of level 4 powers.
That's not too bad, painful but at least effective.

Call that your : "If I can just get through today" mode.
But you're basically helpless at the end of that.
If you go Warforged and use Control Object 1
you'd get Int as your melee stat for a total emergency.
Vigor 1 to rebump your hit points up vs ultra low Con.

And you can always ping Mind Thrust with Overchannel.
That gives you 4 modes for 4 combats :
b) ... iffy Psion but functional
a) ... Psion with a slight Nova
c) ... ping your last normal ppoints
d) ... Burning down your house

Call it tier 1-ish for A depending on load out,
tier 3 for B , tier 5 for C , and staring your doom in it's face.

A great start, cheers'