Damp Power, how to counter it...

[balam_br]

One of my players, a 11lvl cerebremancer took this power... we usually play in a permissive environment with "everything WoTC is fine" only banning some well know disruptive rules like FB and divine metamagic....

Ok.. i´m stuck with this guy that is simply ignoring all the blasters that i send to him and his group.

There is something that i have missed in this power? some kind of limits? i can negate a blaster with my immediate actions and still have my standard action to play around... spending just 7 power points.

other GMs have found this power to be a pain or is just me?

 

[Sejs]

Psionics - Damp Power, how to counter it...

A power sponge.

 

[moritheil]

Send warmages.

 

[superkurt13]

If I were a DM I would pit him against a mage with the Maximize Spell feat. That effectively makes the power useless because the damage is no longer variable, it's now fixed, so Damp has no effect on it.

 

[Kmart Kommando]

Hit 'em with everything while they're flat-footed.

My PsyWar had that power, and it worked like twice, in 5-6 sessions

 

[Drowbane]

Warmage with Empower spell

 

[Patlin]

Several smaller blasters instead of one big one... which blast do you want to dampen?

 

[superkurt13]

Hit 'em with everything while they're flat-footed.

My PsyWar had that power, and it worked like twice, in 5-6 sessions

What does being flatfooted have to do with it? If the character was psionically focussed (which you should be if you're at the beginning of the encounter) then being flat footed shouldn't matter. The power is an immediate action, it can be used whenever. Can anyone else confirm if this is right or am I just misunderstanding something here.

 

[superkurt13]

Nevermind, I just found this in another thread:

Immediate Action: Much like a swift action, an immediate action consumes a very small amount of time, but represents a larger expenditure of effort and energy than a free action. However, unlike a swift action, an immediate action can be performed at any time - even if it’s not your turn. Using an immediate action on your turn is the same as using a swift action, and counts as your swift action for that turn. You cannot use another immediate action or a swift action until after your next turn if you have used an immediate action when it is not currently your turn (effectively, using an immediate action before your turn is equivalent to using your swift action for the coming turn). You also cannot use an immediate action if you are currently flat-footed.

Even with this, I think it's still really useful. The only time you could not use it is at the beginning of the encounter and you do not have initiative.

 

[KarinsDad]

Even with this, I think it's still really useful. The only time you could not use it is at the beginning of the encounter and you do not have initiative.

Well it is still real useful, but that is not the only time you cannot use it.

As indicated earlier in this thread, you cannot use it if flatfooted, if you've already done a swift, immediate, or quickened action already this round, or if the spell/power does not do variable damage. You also cannot use it if you are mentally incapacitated in some manner.

The real downside to this power is that unlike Intellect Fortress which you can put up for multiple rounds, this power is instantaneous. Course, it is more defensive than Intellect Fortress.

Since several psionic activities require an immediate or swift action (e.g. Elan Resistance, Elan Resiliance, >10% of powers), this means that if you use this, you cannot use some other ability/power that is swift/immediate, or vice versa. And for Psions and especially Psychic Warriors, that could be a significant percentage of abilities that get temporarily disallowed considering that immediate actions are some of the best defensive powers and swift actions are some of the best "get an extra action in" powers.


Granted, this is a potent defensive power. But, it does have some limitations and weaknesses.