Psionic vs Arcane: Build me some characters.

[Thanee]

Then just use empowered Energy Missiles, Greater Power Penetration and Psionatrix of Kineticism.

Halfling - one empowered Energy Missile (cold; (10d6+10)x1.5; 12 PP). DC 27.
Treeant - one empowered Energy Missile (fire; (8d6+8)x1.5; 10 PP). DC 25.
Dread Wraith - five empowered Concussion Blasts ((4d6)x1.5; 11 PP).
Hezrou - four Energy Missiles (fire; 10d6+10-10; 10 PP). DC 27, +20 vs SR/PR.
Fire Elemental - three empowered Energy Missiles (cold; (8d6+8)x1.5; 10 PP). DC 25.

Something like that, without much thinking. Would work up to the Hezrou, but there wouldn't be enough PP for the Fire Elemental then.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Majere]

Elan Psion Telepath 10th level

S8 D12 C14(16) I20(24) W14 C6

HP 61
PP 125

Halfling - Dominated (duration increased to 1 day/lvl; 11 PP). DC 26.
Treant - Blasted away with an empowered Energy Stun (fire; (8d6+8)x1.5; 12 PP). DC 26.
Dread Wraith - Destroyed with multiple (5) empowered Concussion Blasts ((4d6)x1.5; 11 PP). That one's costly!
Hezrou - Dominated (type upgraded and duration increased to 1 hour; 12 PP). DC 26, +14 vs SR/PR.
Fire Elemental - Dominated (type upgraded and duration increased to 1 hour; 12 PP). DC 26.

Bye
Thanee

Rogue saves on a 18 with a reroll for slippery mind.
Average PPs expendature - 15.21

Treant, saves on a 20. Vuln to fire.
Average damage - 96.525
Average PPs Expenditure - 12.6

Hezrou: SR19, +9 will save.
Average PPs expendature - 18.31

Elemental, +9 Will
Average PPs expendature - 14.99

Wraiths, Average damage 27
Average PPs expendature - 44

Total = 105.11 pps

 

[green slime]

5*11= 55, not 44

So the expected expenditure would be 116.11.

 

[Thanee]

Yeah, because average damage is 21.

Bye
Thanee

 

[green slime]

Also, your calculations are flawed: even if the Treant saves on a 20, the follow up would hardly require the same amount of effort. You have calculated that the Treant would save on a 20 (5%) and therefore reason that the Psion would need to re-manifest the same power again 5% of the time. Given that even on a save, the average damage is 52.5, it does not require a further 12 power points 5% of the time to remove the Treant.

8d6+8 *1.5 = average 35 *1.5 = 52.5

Fire Vulnerability 52.5 * 1.5 = 78.75

So average damage on a failed save: 78.75 (95% chance)
Average damage on a made save: 52.5 (5% chance)
= 77.4375

 

[Thanee]

Oh, and if you simply want to see, how the classes would deal the most damage, or if the class can kill all five with damage alone, you named it yourself for the psion. Energy Current is the most cost efficient single-target damage dealing power.

Energy Adaptation (7 PP), then empowered Energy Current (9 PP unaugmented, targeting self with secondary, using Power Penetration to get through the Hezrou's SR) for 9d6+9 each round, using either cold or fire as above (and the costly Concussion Blasts for the Dread Wraith again, I guess).

That would be an expenditure of 121 PP (if you need to renew Energy Adaptation every time, 14 PP less, if it's only needed twice total, which would be a reasonable assumption) and only dealing damage (and a lot of excess damage going into the void).

With +4 PP and Overchannel, you can even manifest Energy Adaptation as an immediate action, thus not wasting any actions on that, but a few more PP.

Bye
Thanee

 

[green slime]

I also see:

12/64% = 18.75 expected PP expentiture vs Hezrou

and

12/80% = 15 vs the Elemental.

Although those differences are more than made up for by the overspending vs the Treant, I guess.

 

[Thanee]

@green slime: Average damage for the Treant is 81 (40.5 if save is made - after that a 5d6+5 non-empowered (7 PP) should suffice). Total average damage is 78.975 there with the initial PP expenditure.

Average PP would be 12.36 (if we go even one step further and add the cost for a second save made at 20 in (which adds a whopping +0.01 ), anything beyond that won't really raise this any further).

Not to mention, that Energy Missile (would replace Metamorphosis then) or Energy Bolt (no feat) would achieve the same for 2 PP less each time, but I made a complete character, who is also useful outside this comparison , not just picking the optimum spells for every situation, tho that would certainly be possible, of course.

Bye
Thanee

 

[green slime]

@green slime: Average damage for the Treant is 81 (40.5 if save is made - after that a 5d6+5 non-empowered (7 PP) should suffice). Total average damage is 78.975 there with the initial PP expenditure.

Explain to me how you manage to conclude that the average damage is 81, in a similar fashion to how I did, rather than just declaring numbers.

(8d6+8)*1.5 Averages 52.5.

Fire vulnerability adds 50% of the damage: 52.5 + 26.25 = 78.75, at least where I come from.

And as the added damage from Vulnerability ignores saves, only the original damage is halved: 52.5/2 +26.25 = ... 52.5

Vulnerability to Energy
Some creatures have vulnerability to a certain kind of energy effect (typically either cold or fire). Such a creature takes half again as much (+50%) damage as normal from the effect, regardless of whether a saving throw is allowed, or if the save is a success or failure.

So it can't possibly be 40.5 on a save, even if you are somehow correct in your suggestion that the average damage should be 81.

 

[Thanee]

Well, where I come from, the average on 8d6+8 is 36 not 35.

About the made save part...

Now I see what you mean, and I think you are very wrong there! I think "as normal from the effect, regardless of the save" just means that you always add 50% of whatever a non-vulnerable creature (that being the normal case) would get in the same situation (save made or not), not that the 50% are added from the total, which you suffer, if the save is not made.

Bye
Thanee