But if you manifest it and augment it once with Restoration they're "Qualified" to roll 2 dice (One HD on Chirurgery and 1d8 on Restoration). If they don't have HD left, they can still roll the 1d8 Restoration. The power still creates healing and is affected by the Restoration basic augment. The target is just unable to take full advantage of it.
That is... fairly potent. As long as the Psi dice last that can potentially be at will healing. But that also seems to contradict the clause stating "If your target has no hit dice available, in either case, this power has no effect" near the end of the power description before the Augments.
Anyway, now that I've had a chance to look more into the book, some more questions and feedback.
What knowledge would Psionics and mindscapes be considered under? Arcana? Seems a little odd that Espers don't seem to get that as a class skill.
Psychic Focus requiring concentration seems unnecessary, since it means that you'd have to lose your Psychic Focus anytime you manifest a non-instantaneous power and therefore lose whatever benefits you were having (Discipline specific focus ability), assuming manifesting follows similar rules to spellcasting.
Should the Psionic Stride Noetic require Kinesthetic or Telekinetic focus to keep up with theme?
For the Energy Manipulation power is it possible to just hit a creature similar to a Thymokinetic Mind Blast? Or do you have to play with the Augments to get a single target damage effect beforehand? Since aside from Empower there isn't specific clause for damaging a target while it does say you can generate or manipulate effects, aside from Ignite (which specifies an unattended object) there is no explicit clause for Generating a fire, cold, or lightning effect. Things that are implicit over explicit leads to nerds arguing, one fellow nerd here put it.
For Psychoportation, the "On a success they remain where they are, and are unharmed." for an unwilling target seems unnecessary if a failed save doesn't actually move the target, nor are there augments to selectively teleport a specific body part away, like an arm holding a sword. Simply saying on a failed save they take X damage for Y reason, and nothing on success seems like it'd be fine.
I find the Noetics in general, to be blunt, lackluster. Some seem a little redundant in the abilities they give in context of existing powers or they should have been an Augment of an existing power or flat out part of a new power themselves. Like for Empathic Interference Power, Thymokineticist's Emotional Control, and Aura Vision Noetic all give a way to perfectly know a target's emotional state. Granted they each do something besides that, but it feels like at least 2 of those could have been combined. Also on the note of Emotional Control, I've never been a fan of abilities that are one time use ever, especially if it might mean more bookkeeping to keep track of who's still venerable to it. I think that it should either be an automatic failure if it's a one time ever ability, or just allow it to be used multiple times on a creature but conditionally. Since you already have to concentrate for a full minute to gain the benefit, either give it a time limit (like once in the next 10 minutes after gaining insight on the target, then they're immune to the effect for 24 hours) or key it off of expending Psychic Focus.
Part me expects that given how few Powers and Noetics an Esper gets over the course of their career they should have a bit more oomph or synergy with each other. Like having some Noetics have certain Powers as prerequisites, or allow for better action economy reduced augment cost between Powers to "combine" them, ultilize them with other . Such using Astral Projection in conjunction with Psychoportation to teleport to to someone you know well as a singular action, or use of Psychometry or Dreamwalker through an Astral Projection. Or like a Noetic that helps reduce the cost of a specific augment of a specific power by 1 (to a min of 1 die) to represent becoming more specialized in that power.
Alternatively, they could have just have more Noetics that draw inspiration from other classes that keep thematically in line the new Psionic theme, (I'll admit part of this is due to be corrupted by the Warlock which I consider a near pinnacle of good class design, and unfortunately for me I keep seeing vestiges of it in the Esper). For example having a spattering of Ranger-like abilities themed for navigating or survival in the Astral Plane, Mindscapes, or Dreamscapes (like Expert Forager except you are taking food out of dreamland or adding the functionality of the Read the Room Knack to Read Minds), or an Int-based version of the Herald's Prophetic Protection, or Premonition from Cleric's Signs of Faith. Which now that I think about it, Precognition is a very psychic power the generally seems to be missing from the general powers. Might be good for a future supplement maybe?
