Part 3 of 3
In the original Perfect Synergy article and it's sequel, we examined a series of feats that allowed a character to gain extra abilities for multiclassing between two specific classes and showed off some sample character ideas that used these feats.
But, when it's all said and done, it's not enough. I was made aware of three other feats, while not quite the same as the synergy feats featured earlier, still provided similar abilities. So, in this article, we'll be examining those three feats, some new class combinations and the Illumian race for a fresh look at synergy.
Update! (11/12/09): So it turns out that I missed *another* feat: Divine Inspiration. It's been added below.
Update! (11/19/09): I've added two more feats (Ascetic Psion and Tashalatora) to the list.
| Feat | First Class | Second Class | Source | Page |
| Ascetic Psion | Psion | Monk | Secrets of Sarlona | 115 |
| Divine Inspiration | Bard | Cleric | Dragon #333 | 85 |
| Knight Training | Paladin | Any | Eberron CS | 56 |
| Monastic Training | Monk | Any | Eberron CS | 57 |
| Psithief | Spellthief | Any Psionic | Complete Scoundrel | 80 |
| Tashalatora | Monk | Any Psionic | Secrets of Sarlona | 119 |
Ascetic Psion
Upsides:
- Ability to become psionically focused more easily
- Reliance on Intelligence rather than Wisdom
- Higher AC
- High Will saves
- Reliance on Intelligence rather than Wisdom
- Low base attack bonus
This is a good alternative to Monastic Training if you want to multiclass between monk and psion. With this feat, you'll definately have a higher armor class, as you will be combining your levels of monk and psion to determine your AC bonus AND you'll be able to use your Intelligence modifier to determine your AC instead of your Wisdom modifier.
On the other hand, this means that you'll most likely be focusing on your psionic powers rather than the skills you learn as a monk, since you'll be less reliant on Wisdom, which many of the monk's ability derive from. Powers and psionic feats that improve the character's unarmed strikes will be helpful here: the Psionic Fist tree of feats or powers like hammer are good examples.
Divine Inspiration
Upsides:
- Access to higher-level bardic music abilities
- Ability to learn higher-level cleric spells
- High Will saves
- Reasonably high Fort and Ref saves
- Bard spells are unlikely to increase significantly
This is an excellent feat for players who want to multiclass bards and clerics, equal to the Sacred Performer feat introduced in the first installment of Perfect Synergy. Where Sacred Performer improves turning and bardic music frequency, Divine Inspiration improves bardic music abilities and frequency.
A character with this feat will probably want to take only one level of bard, and then take levels exclusively in cleric. Cleric spells are more powerful than those given by bard, and in the turn undead ability will be more powerful that way. What's left? The bardic music abilities that will be on par with a full bard. There's little to hate here.
Knight Training
Upsides:
- Higher saves
- Access to divine magic
- Ability to multiclass with paladin
- Must remain lawful-good
A character who has chosen Knight Training can freely multiclass between paladin and any other class. You must however remain lawful-good, so some class combinations like paladin/bard, paladin/barbarian and paladin/warlock will not be available. The ability to use the paladin's abilities in conjunction with another class's is very tempting though.
You'll want to avoid using this feat to combine levels of paladin with monk, ranger or rogue, as there are other feats (see Synergy Feats part 1) that can do the job better. Classes that take advantage of a higher charisma or wisdom are best; consider using this to multiclass with samurai or swashbuckler from Complete Warrior, ninja or spellthief from Complete Adventurer, favored soul from Complete Divine or divine mind from Complete Psionic.
Monastic Training
Upsides:
- Higher saves
- Ability to multiclass with monk
- Must remain lawful
If you decide to select Monastic Training for your character, you'll be able to multiclass freely between monk and one other class of your choice. Try to avoid using this feat to multiclass with ninja, paladin, ranger, rogue or sorcerer, as there are other feats (see Synergy Feats part 1) associated with these class combinations.
You will want to multiclass with other classes that work with the monk's style of unarmed and unarmored fighting. Soulknife or psychic warrior (Expanded Psionics Handbook), hexblade (Complete Warrior), factotum (Dungeonscape) and dragonfire adept (Dragon Magic) are all excellent choices.
Psithief
Upsides:
- More power-points
- Ability to use psionic powers and arcane magic
- Low base attack bonus
While the Psithief spell doesn't provide you with any multiclassing benefits, it does allow you to use the spellthief's steal spell ability to steal power points from psionic enemies. This allows the character to use their psionic abilities more often than normal, at the expense of somebody else. Unfortunately, no psionic classes have a high base attack bonus, so the character will have a mid to low base attack bonus, but will likely have a high Will or Reflex save.
This feat is only effective when combining spellthief and a psionic class that can use powers. Consider multiclassing as a psion, psychic warrior or wilder from the Expanded Psionics Handbook or as an ardent, divine mind, lurk or erudite from Complete Psionic.
Tashalatora
Upsides:
- Several monk levels increase with psionic class progression
- Must be able to manifest powers
- Must previously select Monastic Training
This feat is a great way to get more use from the Monastic Training feat and a psionic class. The downside is: your character must be able to manifest 1st level psionic powers, which means that if you want to use this feat to assist with multiclassing between monk and soulknife, you're going to need to take a level of another psionic class.
Instead, try the psychic warrior or lurk classes with this feat, as both can benefit from the multiclassing improvements it provides. You can either use them to splash in some psionic features without losing too much, or you can go the other way and only take a level or two of monk, and benefit from the improved abilities your psionic class gains.
The Dark Knight (Ninja, Paladin)
Knight Training
With the application of knight training, a character can go from a stealthy assassin or holy warrior to a shadowy troubleshooter who strikes at evil from the darkness. This combination requires some skilled playing in order to thrive, but it is a memorable character.
- Ability to use ki powers
- Access to minor divine magic
- Access to healing abilities
- Sudden strike damage
- Moderately high hit points
- Higher than average base attack bonus
- Low Will saves
- Poison use may constitute a violation of the paladin code
- Inability to effectively use armor
Armor restricts your use of most ninja abilities, so ditch it. High wisdom is important for your spellcasting, ki powers and armor class, so aim to make that your highest skill. As a paladin, you likely won't be able to use poison without violating your code of conduct (this is up to the Dungeon Master though). Strike from the shadows, and have no mercy. Combining sudden strike with smite evil is a great way to devastate an enemy before melting back into the darkness. Consider taking ki feats (see Dragon Magazine issues #342 and #351) to give you more options from the ninja side, or feats like Extra Smiting (Complete Warrior). Consider taking levels in Shadow Sun Ninja (Tome of Battle) to both enhance the character's abilities and to enhance the theme of light versus dark.
The Crouching Dragon (Monk, Dragonfire Adept)
Monastic Training
The Crouching Dragon is a dangerous opponent at both short and long distances. Able to breathe fire, fly, ward off blows and throw powerful punches, this character can easily hold their own against a large group of enemies.
- High Fortitude save
- High Will save
- Access to spell-like abilities
- Access to a breath weapon
- Ability to use unarmed combat
- Higher amount of unarmored protection than a monk or dragonfire adept on their own
- Low Base Attack bonus
There are few downsides to this character besides their low Base Attack bonus. A high Wisdom will improve the character's unarmored Armor Class. Consider taking Superior Unarmed Strike (Tome of Battle) to improve the character's unarmed fighting abilities. Metabreath feats (Draconomicon) might also help provide some extra functionality to the character's breath weapons, but aren't necessary.
The Soul Thief (Spellthief, Lurk)
Psithief
With the ability to steal spells, power points and everything in between, the soul thief takes much of what makes her enemies powerful and makes it part of herself, if even for just a short while.
- High Will save
- Access to arcane spells
- Access to psionic powers
- Powerful sneak attack
- Ability to refuel psionic power points
- High number of skill points
- Low Base Attack bonus
- Low Fortitude save
Using the character's ability to steal power points, the Soul Thief can use her pilfered psionic power to enhance her sneak attacks, lurk augments, and manifest more powers than normal. This character is only truly effective in settings where psionics are more prevalent. Consider taking Extra Lurk Augment (Complete Psionic) to provide the character with more abilities. The more sneak attack damage the character can deal, the more they can forgo in order to steal more from their opponents.
The Illumian is a human off-shoot introduced in Races of Destiny. Perhaps no other race is as suited to multiclassing as they are. The Illumian starts with a power sigil that provides them with a small bonus, and they gain another when they take two levels in any one class. The two sigils combine into a word that can provide some extremely useful abilities, especially to characters who are using synergy feats.
Aeshkrau: Devoted Performer is the feat of choice to combine with this word. The character benefits twice: bonus spells for both the bard and paladin. This character can cast a wider variety of spells while still hitting hard.
Aeshoon: Consider using Ascetic Knight to hit harder with unarmed strikes. Devoted Tracker is also an excellent choice, especially if the character uses Two-Weapon Fighting and wields twin weapons, like short swords.
Aeshuur: Martial Stalker is the feat of choice for this ability. Sudden strike damage can take the place of sneak attack, and it allows the character to offset their low armor class.
Hoonkrau: Devoted Performer and Sacred Performer both work well with this ability as the character has more access to healing spells, by virtue of the bard class.
Hoonvaul: Devoted Performer is the best feat for this word. The character can expend their spell slots from the bard class to power both the paladin's smite evil and turn undead class abilities.
Naenaesh: A character with the Ascetic Mage class can benefit from this word by being able to cast a spell, even when in a grapple. Also consider Master Spellthief, which doesn't work as well, but is still useful.
Naenhoon: Sacred Outlaw is a good feat feat to combine with this word. Lengthening the duration of a spell that improves the character's armor class, or grants them invisibility can allow the character to work longer without needing to cast magic, helpful when they need to work silently.
Naenkrau: Like Naenash, both Ascetic Mage and Master Spellthief are both good choices. Because a character with Master Spellthief has access to more spells and consequently more spell slots, they can make better use of this word.
Uurhoon: Ascetic Hunter, Ascetic Rogue, Devoted Tracker, Sacred Outlaw and Swift Avenger can all make use of this word. The best choice however is Elemental Stalker, allowing the character to benefit greatly for expending some of their many spell slots.
Uurkrau: Swift Avenger and Elemental Stalker are the best choices for this word, and both work equally well with it.
Uurnaen: Any combination with access to unarmed strike or sneak attacks and magic work well. Ascetic Knight, Ascetic Mage, Devoted Inquisitor, Elemental Stalker, Master Spellthief and Sacred Outlaw all work equally well.
Vaulaesh: Like Aeshoon this works well with a few different feats. Ascetic Mage is probably the best choice, as it provides flexibility and allows the character to expend higher spell slots than some other choices.
Vaulkrau: Master Spellthief, Sacred Outlaw and Sacred Performer can all make use of this word to help offset the lower saving throws that tend to occur with those combinations.
Vaulnaen: Master Spellthief is the best choice for this word. The character could steal spell-slots and use them to cast arcane spells from another class (such as sorcerer or warmage). This kind of character could potentially cast lower-level spells almost non-stop.
Vauluur: Any combination that can make good use of Uurnaen can make good use of this word as well. Elemental Stalker works well, as it allows the character to make better use of the ability for it's two uses per day.
