A rare form of substance that comes from the ethereal plane exists in the world. This substance gives you the power of telekinesis. You feel the strands of Aether that connect all things—both living and inanimate—and they beg you to pull and yank. As you await in your hiding spot, you can feel a strand of Aether tingle: someone is approaching. You know the strand’s location and are not afraid of being seen. Another strand tingles: this time, it’s from an area that isn’t ideal for you. Given the distance you calculate, that person is minutes away.
As the guard approaches, you twist the strands of Aether around you, bending the light and making you invisible. You watch as two guards on patrol walk right past you. One guard turns his back on the other to unlock the door. You seize your moment, use your telekinetic powers on the guard watching, and force him to attack the other guard. Discord arises as the two are at each other’s throats. You slip in the door to complete your mission.
Aether and Telekinesis
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I am going to introduce you to the most versatile element in the kineticist arsenal. Of all the elements, Aether has the most utility, starting with your Basic Telekinesis. At first, this ability operates just as Mage Hand would, but when you get Extended and Extreme Range, this ability changes.
With Extended Range, you can grab objects at medium range with objects possessing a range of 30 feet per round. Extreme Range changes the range from medium to long, and objects move at 60 feet now. This ability can carry liquid without a container and interact with openable objects and doors like you had the Open/Close cantrip. This seems simple enough, but even with these basic levels of telekinesis, you can become a game changer. Your only limit is your creativity!
Blasts
https://://gty.im/112481584
You get access to only one blast with this element. With the Telekinetic blast, you are able to pick things up with your powers and throw them at people. This is the only element that technically requires ammo, and a particularly nuanced GM may throw you into an area with nothing. So, for this fact alone, it’s a good idea to take a second element as early as you can. The objects you can throw must be under 5 lbs, and you can’t take weapons that are being wielded. This blast can require finagling, so be sure you read the description carefully!
This is where the bad news comes in. Your composite blasts will lack in damage compared to others. Aetheric Boost allows you to add an extra point of damage per dice you roll with that blast. The good news is that it can be combined with any element. While the extra damage is nice, it’s not nearly as satisfying as rolling more dice. In addition to this, you’re accepting two burn to cast a simple blast with a little extra damage.
Force Blast is just as bad. Your reward for investing in Aether a second time is that you finally get an energy blast that deals force damage. The downside is that it’s a simple blast. So once again, you’re paying two burn to use a simple blast. The only upside is that force damage is very rarely resisted.
These may seem like a massive turn-off for this element, but Aether is built around utility, not combat effectiveness.
Wild Talents
https://://gty.im/165012588
This is where this class shines! This element is a well-crafted multitool. That means this element has tools for a lot of situations, but it won’t be able to do them as well as other classes. Aether has abilities that can heal, raise the dead, turn invisible, channel, use telekinesis, fly, use divination, and even make barriers out of force that can trap foes or make improvised bridges.
Healing
You might be surprised to learn that kineticists can heal! While yes, it’s true, there is a catch. The kineticist can heal with their blast, but it only heals half of what you roll unless the blast uses positive energy. The other catch is that one of you must accept burn. Since it doesn’t technically add to your blast’s associated burn cost, this cannot be mitigated through Gather Power. Aether also has access to kinetic revivification, which acts as the Breath of Life spell. Again, when you use this, either you or your target must accept burn.
As I had mentioned, you can also channel with everyone in 30 feet healing for whatever you roll for your blast. Once again, someone will need to accept burn. Aether can heal, but not nearly as well as a cleric.
Invisibility and Telekinesis
https://://gty.im/97543688
Your telekinesis can give you a wide array of abilities, but they could never replace a class that specializes in something. Invisibility is a nice tool for you to have, although you get half the bonus on your sneak as invisibility grants you. The positive side of this is that the way the Aether surrounds you makes you invisible to whatever has blind sense. Aether also gives you the ability to fly. It functions just like a flame jet, so if you haven’t read my piece on the pyrokineticist, you can check it out here. In addition, you can build objects out of force and build a globe of force energy to trap people.
Infusions
If the Aetheric Blast didn’t give you any confidence, the good news is: the infusions you get are pretty cool! The bad news: these are so amazing that you’ll have to be really careful with your burn mitigation. While a fair bit of the infusions involve throwing people, you’ll also find gems like Disintegrating Infusion and Telekinetic Boomerang.
Of the nine infusions tied to Aether, three throw an enemy. Foe Throw has a Fort Save associated with it; if your target makes the save, the blast is negated. You make a blast attempt on a Large or smaller creature as you attempt to pick up that enemy and throw it at another enemy. If the blast is successful, both the thrown enemy and the enemy hit take the full amount of your blast’s damage.
Throw Many is another cool infusion that allows you to pick up multiple objects and throw them all at once. You can make any number of attacks per kineticist level to anyone within 120 feet of you. Two targets cannot be more than 30 feet from each other.
Let’s take a moment and talk about Disintegrating Infusion. While your blast and composite blast may be underwhelming, this 6th-level infusion should change your mind. Right off the bat, this infusion deals double damage to whatever you hit. While it has a Fort Save, a successful save only negates the double damage dealt. If your target’s health is dropped to zero, whatever you hit gets obliterated. You could combine this with Aetheric Boost for massive damage that has the potential to turn whatever it hits into dust! While telekinesis isn’t the best offensive weapon when compared to fire, it still has access to cool offensive powers.
Defense
It’s time to discuss Aether’s defensive capabilities. With your telekinesis, you can push foes away or pull yourself from danger. You can also become invisible—sometimes, the best way to navigate an encounter is never to let it start. If or when it starts, you’ll also have your elemental defense ability: Force Ward. With this ability, you use your telekinesis to surround yourself with a barrier that takes hits for you. When you suffer damage, temporary health is taken first. The hit is considered a miss if the damage doesn’t exceed your temporary health pool. They regenerate at one health point per minute.
Some infusions and wild talents can help you out, too. Force Globe can summon a globe or force that you can put an enemy or yourself into. Pushing and Foe Throw infusions are good for creating space. Suffocate is good against casters as it takes away any verbal component. Then we have the Bowling infusion, which can cause your target to fall prone. With your telekinesis, you have numerous options for creating space for your kineticist.
Wrapping Up
Aether was the first element I began to explore when it came to kineticists. I started this series because this class has a lot to offer, and I don’t believe many people really know about it. I discovered this class with a Starfinder Campaign for Pathfinder, so I wanted to make a Jedi. I combined Soulknife with the Telekineticist as that seemed the best way to get where I wanted to be. Doing this piece on telekinesis made me realize just how much this class embodies the living Force.
I learned a lot of lessons about the kineticist from that campaign, and I continued to refine what I learned with the fire and air elements as well. I would greatly appreciate it if you continued this journey with me as we explored what else this mysterious class has to offer!
Also don’t forget to check out my other article going over the kineticist class itself!
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