Ardent handbook

[CantripN]

Also, Abjurant Champion only sets ML=BAB for a single chosen class.

Still, it's one way to get a high CL on some builds that would otherwise have a very poor one.
Also, you can get Full BAB without on anyone using Investiture of the Pit Fiend (FC2), at high levels. Could get even higher BAB that normally possible in EPIC.

Dragons are especially scary with that PrC.

[Sinfire Titan]

Please explain this a little better as I don't get incarnum at all.  I will add this if I get a jist of what it entails.

To explain the entire system is a tad long-winded and complicated. I'm just going to explain the basics of Incarnum, the rest you just need to read yourself.

Each Soulmeld acts like a "larval" form of a magic item. The character's meldshaper level is the caster level of the Soulmeld for all purposes and intents (such as suppressing them via Dispel Magic), and Soulmelds react to spells the same way magic items do (the exception is Sundering or damaging them, Soulmelds have no HP and no Hardness, and are effectively impossible to break through Sundering or similar abilities).

Essenita is like the enhancement bonus you normally put on armor and weapons. Only every soulmeld grants something different for investing essentia into it. The meldshaper has an essentia pool (which is the total amount of essentia he has, including what's been invested in the soulmelds/items) and can use a swift action to "move" essentia between his pool and any number of his soulmelds or class features (he can't do this with feats, save for the Cobalt Rage feat, but that requires a prestige class to do). He has a limit to how much essentia he can invest in a single soulmeld. Typically, it's his Character level divided by 4, but some effects can improve this value (a feat, a magic item, and two class features).

The maximum essentia capacity a standard 20th level Incarnate or Totemist character can have is 8 (Totemists can exceed this value, but only temporarily). The meldshaper doesn't need to meet the maximum capacity in order to invest in a soulmeld (he can have as little in each soulmeld as he chooses, so long as he doesn't exceed the capacity).


Chakra binds are where the system gets a little tricky. Normally, shaping a soulmeld makes it hover above the corresponding magic item slot (the Bluesteel Bracers, for example, occupy the same slot that bracers of Armor do). While a soulmeld is not bound to a Chakra, the body slot is considered open. As long as it is open, you can gain the benefits of every soulmeld or magic item that occupies that slot without penalty (but you don't get the benefits for binding the soulmelds to that chakra).

Upon binding a soulmeld to a chakra, the meldshaper effectively closes that body slot for the next 24 hours. No other soulmeld or magic item may occupy that body slot unless the item says ignores the Chakra bind restriction or the meldshaper has the Split Chakra/Double Chakra feat. This is akin to donning a magic item (you can't gain the benefit of a Monk's Belt and a Belt of Giant Strength without a special item or feat being involved).

There's a limit to Chakra binds, however: No individual soulmeld may be bound to more than one chakra at a time. One class feature allows you to bypass this restriction, but even that is restricted in use.

There are 11 chakra slots. Crown, feet, hands, arms, brow, shoulders, throat, waist, heart, totem, and soul. Meldshapers gain access to new chakra slots as they gain levels. The most powerful slots (arguably) are the Heart, Soul, and Totem slots.

Each chakra slot corresponds to a magic item body slot (except the Totem):
Crown: Head or Helm
Feet: Boots
Hands: Gloves, or gauntlets
Arms: Bracers
Brow: Eye
Shoulders: Cloaks, capes
Throat: Necklaces, amulets
Waist: Belts, greaves
Heart: Vests
Soul: Armor

The totem is an exception: it has no corresponding magic item slot. It can be anywhere you want it to be, but the soulmeld bound to it must be shaped on another chakra slot (binding a soulmeld to your Totem chakra does not cut off access to any other body slot).

As for Totemist 2 dips: 4 extra attacks each round which have a built-in enhancement bonus system that scales with your HD (not class level).

If you have even a single ability that grants extra damage on melee attacks (Sneak Attack, Sudden Strike, etc), Totemist 2 can get you more attacks/round for less than it takes to go the Robilar's Gambit/Karmic Strike route.

[Prime32]

Incarnum:

You get points called "essentia", which are the power source for incarnum abilities. Soulmelds are receptacles which you shape at the start of the day that grant various abilities, their strength based on the amount of essentia invested in them. As a swift action you can reallocate essentia between your soulmelds - think of it as "divert power from engines to the shields".

You have "chakras", which correspond to the body slots for magic items. You can bind a soulmeld to a chakra to gain an additional effect depending on the chakra and meld (a tarrasque-themed meld might grant you thick skin if bound to the body slot, or claws if bound to your hands), but this causes it to physically take up space as a magic item. You can also bind a magic item to its chakra to gain a generic bonus.

How many soulmelds you can have shaped at a time, which chakras you can bind to, and how many chakra binds you can make at a time are determined by your class and increase as you gain levels. The maximum amount of essentia you can place in a receptacle is based on character level, but certain abilities can increase it.

[KellKheraptis]

Also, Abjurant Champion only sets ML=BAB for a single chosen class.

Still, it's one way to get a high CL on some builds that would otherwise have a very poor one.
Also, you can get Full BAB without on anyone using Investiture of the Pit Fiend (FC2), at high levels. Could get even higher BAB that normally possible in EPIC.

Dragons are especially scary with that PrC.

How big a boost is IotPF?  Also, Warblade 5/Ardent 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Warblade +9 = CL 19/BAB 19/IL 17, for Time Stands Still   Combine with recharge, leadership (to get an erudite), Psicrystal Feat Battery, and Linked or Tattoo Psy Ref for omni-flexible manifesting.  Alternately, get the prereq's for Mo9, take 5 levels of that, and have a metric fuckton more maneuvers from all 9 schools, losing all of 2 BAB/CL (which from the sounds of it is made up by that spell, or Divine Power as a power), to gain potentially access to any maneuver at a moment's notice.  You'll also be a LOT more durable than either a Warblade or a Psion.

[Prime32]

Here's a thought: what happens if an ardent/abjurant champion meets this guy?

[CantripN]

Also, Abjurant Champion only sets ML=BAB for a single chosen class.

Still, it's one way to get a high CL on some builds that would otherwise have a very poor one.
Also, you can get Full BAB without on anyone using Investiture of the Pit Fiend (FC2), at high levels. Could get even higher BAB that normally possible in EPIC.

Dragons are especially scary with that PrC.

How big a boost is IotPF?  Also, Warblade 5/Ardent 1/Abjurant Champion 5/Warblade +9 = CL 19/BAB 19/IL 17, for Time Stands Still   Combine with recharge, leadership (to get an erudite), Psicrystal Feat Battery, and Linked or Tattoo Psy Ref for omni-flexible manifesting.  Alternately, get the prereq's for Mo9, take 5 levels of that, and have a metric fuckton more maneuvers from all 9 schools, losing all of 2 BAB/CL (which from the sounds of it is made up by that spell, or Divine Power as a power), to gain potentially access to any maneuver at a moment's notice.  You'll also be a LOT more durable than either a Warblade or a Psion.

It sets your BAB to equal your Hit Dice. A bit better than full BAB, in EPIC.

[stranglebat]

Has anyone ever considered an Ardent with Force mantle Master of the unseen hand? I havent made it yet but i might play around with one for my next project

[awaken DM golem]

Well ... arcane Telekinesis is better than the Psi version.
Psi splits it into 3 different powers, with differing availability.
Especially for an Ardent.

otoh - it's not that hard to use PsyRef and some Dragon #349 stuff
to get what you want, and tick off your DM (maybe).
You can do it, just later and not as well buttressed with the rest of the build.

[KellKheraptis]

Current Ardent project : Find a way to get 10 levels for Dominant Ideal, 3 paid for bloodline levels with an Item Familiar, 5 levels of Abjurant Champion, and a mix of martial initiator levels to get a total of 17th or higher IL, allowing for retainment of ML 20 (most likely higher, too), 9th level maneuvers and access to all 9 disciplines, 9th level powers and spells as powers (trick for this all over, nuff said), and in-built recharge for both mechanics (effectively a single feat to get the maneuvers in the loop there).  Ironically, it might even by default have BAB 16+ right out of the gate.  Ardent 10/Abjurant Champion 5/Warblade 1/Mo9 4 would be 16

Now do bloodlines add to each class effectively, or each mechanic?  If I could find Phaedrus' binder/ardent, it'd be easier to track.

EDIT : Might not even need AC.  Ardent 11/Warblade 4/Mo9 5 gets ML of 18 w/ Practiced Manifester, IL of 7 (14 effective Ardent levels) + 12 (4+5+3 IL classes and bloodlines) = 19, BAB 8+4+3=15 (doh!  can be shifted around, I'm sure, such as dropping a Mo9 level for a Warblade level, which would be 16), and would get the same as above.  Also, major bloodline = 10 feats!  Not to mention two pools to leech feats from (psicrystal and item familiar, a graft so it can't be disjoined or sundered preferably).

[awaken DM golem]

He still has it and other versions, in his build compendium (and google counted like 150+).

Ardent 10 +  Bloodline 3 + practiced manifester feat = ML 17 = 9th level power.
You probably don't need anymore levels of Ardent.
Magic Mantle and a CL generating race or feat is all you need.

Not sure what bloodline does to the AbChamp adaptation.
PLZ's version of bloodline counts anything that's a calculation.
The older version counts anything whatever who knows, but good.
Not sure how to count Initiator Levels with the whole bloodline thing.
It might count once (as in +3) for the non I.L. classes, and
once per each class that changes or improves I.L.