all psionics, all the time

[darkbard]

i'm about two-thirds of the way through the XPH and--quite to my surprise--i'm absolutely loving it! however, i'm left with a lingering question that my limited experience with the rules-set is insufficient to answer.

is it possible to play a purely psionics campaign [or, at least one where psionics are the only form of magic, i.e. no arcane or divine casters]? specifically, is there enough healing through psionic powers that a typical party of four can survive a dungeon crawl or similarly combat-intensive episode? additionally, with no rogue class is there enough capability within the core psionic classes [or prestige classes] to overcome traps, etc?

i'd love some responses from those with more experience with the psionic rules in play--both this new version and previous manifestations--than i have. thanks.

 

[Thanee]

In 3.0 that would work easily, psions could heal more (not as fast, tho - no heal ) than clerics there with a combination of powers.

In 3.5 I don't think there are many possibilities to heal others, really. Unless that power, which allows to use personal powers on others is still there... somewhere...

But I don't see why this wouldn't work still. One would simply be forced to use magic items that heal more than normal (and those can surely be done by psions via the self-healing powers).

Bye
Thanee

 

[gtJormungand]

About rogues, what says that they couldn't be included? They don't have any abilities (other than the skill Use Magic Device) that actually involve magic.

 

[Thanee]

Wondering about that rogue comment, too.

If you actually mean the Use Magic Device skill... change it to Use Psionic Device (pretty obvious, really, in such a campaign). Voilà, there's your rogue class!

Bye
Thanee

 

[darkbard]

actually, there's no reason to exclude the rogue, but i was thinking in terms of using the psionics rules as a complete set replacing the standard 3.5 classes and races.

can anyone dispel the notion both thanee and i seem to have that healing through class/race powers is much more limited than the PH classes?

 

[dren]

Just as rangers and paladins gain divine magic spells as they gain levels in a standard "magic" world, there's no reason why they couldn't just as easily gain psionic levels at the same pace in a psionic flavoured based campaign in replace of those divine spells. (hmmm...tastes like kiwi.)

Also, you could have a heavily psionic flavoured campaign by mandating that all players take at least 1/4 of their earned classes in one of the psionic classes. Thus a real focus on psionic feats, skills and items which would go a long way towards meeting that purely psionic campaign.

 

[Thanee]

I think the main problem with reducing class choices to only the ones from the XPH is, that it would be boring like hell!

Everyone would be so similar.

Bye
Thanee

 

[James McMurray]

I'm currently running an all psionics campaign. The players are all races and classes from the XPH. There is magic in the world, but it hasn't been a factor in the party's lives as of yet. So far they've discovered a single magical potion.

I'm deciding how to handle it (if I want to go whole hog and drop magic almost completely or let it trickle in slowly as the players explore more of the world). I'm pretty sure I'll let it trickle in slowly, but mainly because I am working off of old modules (Keep on the Borderlands currently). I don't have the time to do the amount of conversion that would be required if I went to straight psionics.

Thanee: the characters are far from the same (or even similar). Only two characters have the same offensive power currently (Energy Ray). We've got two Psions (Egoist and Kineticist), a Wilder (will be focusing on melee with Claws of the Beast when he levels), a Psychic Warrior (Half-Giant melee brute), and a Soul Knife (throws his soul blades and focuses on the agile portion of the class as opposed ot the melee portion).

The only characters that are similar right now are the two Psions because they both use Energy Ray as their offense. They will start to diverge more as they gain levels, with the kineticist continuing to grow as a blaster and the egoist shifting nto buffs, heals, and whatever else he decides to go for.

Darkbard: Healing is the primary concern of the party, and it always will be, at least until they get enough money to get some Dorjes of Body Adjustment for the Egoist. It slows the adventures down, but doesn't stop them. The party had a random encounter on the way to their objective and ended up having to rest for a couple of day (the random encounter turned into a two-day thing as the bandits they had fought came back again). After they completed their objective they returned to town to lick their wounds.

They don't have the staying power of a standard party, but they have quite a lot more firepower (Energy Ray is quite possibly the best first level single target damage spell out there).

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of a rogue. Unless you're going through a trap-filled area the lack of a rogue isn't normally felt. Just don't put a lot of save or die traps around and they should be ok.

A Soulknife, Egoist, or Psychic Warrior could fill the scout's shoes if needbe.

For more information on how the game is going, follow the Little Psionic Keep on the Borderlands link in my sig. Its a very short blurb right now, but I'll be updating it tonight or tomorrow to get up to date with the last (and first) session.

 

[Thanee]

Thanee: the characters are far from the same (or even similar).

Erm, don't forget, that this is about a world where nothing else exists (if I understand it right)!

Yes, you can build diverse characters with the XPH, but you'll very quickly get to the limits (especially at higher levels, when power lists start to align at least somewhat), as there simply are not that many races, classes and powers. Not even close to what is in the PHB alone.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Kitsune]

Empathic Transfer is pretty sufficient for healing either between battles (preferably) or in a real tight spot. You can get someone on their feet just as fast as a Cleric, albiet at the hefty price of doing harm to yourself. Naturally, anyone with that power should also have a decent constitution to have enough HP to be able to pay the price. As long as they have 30-40ish HP and aren't being munched on by a monster, they could pretty safely heal 4d10 in a round, which is nothing to scoff at.