Ardent Admiration
The ardent is a leader by birth. Warlords study tactics and strategy, clerics are trained in seminaries, bards must constantly hone and refine their art. Ardents simply believe -- in a cause, in their allies, or in themselves -- and that belief warps reality around them. Their psionics are fuelled by the emotions of those around them, but their power fundamentally arises from certainty. An ardent knows his victory is pre-ordained, and allies, foes, and the world itself change to make this true.
Mechanically, the ardent is a melee leader with a versatile selection of powers. Its at-wills are augmentable, which essentially means that all the ardent's encounter powers are rechargeable. Combined with the versatile power selection (the class has at-will powers that can enable movement and attacks by your allies, reposition enemies, buff, debuff, and heal), this means the ardent always has the right tools for the encounter. When non-psionic classes choose encounter powers, they need to balance the need to cover different scenarios against the possible need to provide the same effect more than once, running the risk of having unused encounter powers at the end of the fight. The ardent, conversely, can safely try to cover as many bases as possible, with augmentation covering any need for repeats.
This handbook and hybrids: This handbook is written assuming you are not using a hybrid ardent. While I hope that players with hybrids will find this guide useful, it's very difficult to give any meaningful guidance for only half a character: ardent|bards are a very different beast from ardent|battleminds. People wanting to pursue hybrids should consult the Miscibility Table maintained by Mommy was an Orc.
The following colour-coding is used in this handbook:
Red: A very bad choice.
Purple: Situationally useful, but usually a bad option.
Black: A reasonable choice, useful without being the best.
Blue: A good choice.
Sky Blue: Head and shoulders above the alternatives.
Gold: No other choice possible, usually reserved for feat taxes and the like.
An Analysis of Ardent Abilities
Why play an Ardent?
The ardent is a leader by birth. Warlords study tactics and strategy, clerics are trained in seminaries, bards must constantly hone and refine their art. Ardents simply believe -- in a cause, in their allies, or in themselves -- and that belief warps reality around them. Their psionics are fuelled by the emotions of those around them, but their power fundamentally arises from certainty. An ardent knows his victory is pre-ordained, and allies, foes, and the world itself change to make this true.
Mechanically, the ardent is a melee leader with a versatile selection of powers. Its at-wills are augmentable, which essentially means that all the ardent's encounter powers are rechargeable. Combined with the versatile power selection (the class has at-will powers that can enable movement and attacks by your allies, reposition enemies, buff, debuff, and heal), this means the ardent always has the right tools for the encounter. When non-psionic classes choose encounter powers, they need to balance the need to cover different scenarios against the possible need to provide the same effect more than once, running the risk of having unused encounter powers at the end of the fight. The ardent, conversely, can safely try to cover as many bases as possible, with augmentation covering any need for repeats.
This handbook and hybrids: This handbook is written assuming you are not using a hybrid ardent. While I hope that players with hybrids will find this guide useful, it's very difficult to give any meaningful guidance for only half a character: ardent|bards are a very different beast from ardent|battleminds. People wanting to pursue hybrids should consult the Miscibility Table maintained by Mommy was an Orc.
The following colour-coding is used in this handbook:
Red: A very bad choice.
Purple: Situationally useful, but usually a bad option.
Black: A reasonable choice, useful without being the best.
Blue: A good choice.
Sky Blue: Head and shoulders above the alternatives.
Gold: No other choice possible, usually reserved for feat taxes and the like.
Abbreviations
AC: Armor Class
DSCS: Dark Sun Campaign Setting
EPG: Eberron'Player Guide
FRPG: Forgotten Realms Player Guide
HoFK: Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms
HoFL: Heroes of the Fallen Lands
HoFW: Heroes of the Feywild
HoS: Heroes of Shadow
MBA: melee basic attack
NAD: Non-Armor Class Defense
RAW: rules as written
PHB: Player's Handbook
PHB2: Player's Handbook 2
PHB3: Player's Handbook 3
PsP: Psionic Power
THP: temporary hit points
AC: Armor Class
DSCS: Dark Sun Campaign Setting
EPG: Eberron'Player Guide
FRPG: Forgotten Realms Player Guide
HoFK: Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms
HoFL: Heroes of the Fallen Lands
HoFW: Heroes of the Feywild
HoS: Heroes of Shadow
MBA: melee basic attack
NAD: Non-Armor Class Defense
RAW: rules as written
PHB: Player's Handbook
PHB2: Player's Handbook 2
PHB3: Player's Handbook 3
PsP: Psionic Power
THP: temporary hit points