Anyone else annoyed by psionics?

[Psion]

So, you're saying psions in your game haven't tried battlefield control?

PCs: No they haven't. NPCs: er, I've had nomads make the dimension-door happy high level PCs pitch a fit, if that counts. But that's more the "countermagic" department.

 

[Nail]

Your DM is letting you off easy.

Hah!

My players would love to hear that.

As I look around at my own experience, and then the experience relayed through the various storyhours, I see that the average number of encounters per day is close to 3.

You imply you have more. I would urge you to reconcider that assumption. At the next several games, count how many encounters there are per day - encounters in which magic is used. If the average is very much above 3, I shall be surprised - and stand corrected.

BTW: the game designers also used "about 3 encounters per day" as a design parameter. The EL chart and the surrounding text says as much.

 

[Nail]

PCs: No they haven't. NPCs: er, I've had nomads make the dimension-door happy high level PCs pitch a fit, if that counts.

Personally I'd throw that into the "mobility" box, rather than "control the battlefield", but YMMV.

I have to admit my bad guys often can't control the battlefield as well as the PCs; in part because their caster levels tend to be lower. Sigh.

Back to the question: So psions are individualists, then? The preponderance of their powers seem to imply they don't work well in groups. Few synergies with other PCs......

 

[Apok]

Hah!

My players would love to hear that.

As I look around at my own experience, and then the experience relayed through the various storyhours, I see that the average number of encounters per day is close to 3.

You imply you have more. I would urge you to reconcider that assumption. At the next several games, count how many encounters there are per day - encounters in which magic is used. If the average is very much above 3, I shall be surprised - and stand corrected.

BTW: the game designers also used "about 3 encounters per day" as a design parameter. The EL chart and the surrounding text says as much.

I shall indeed.

However, neither of the games I'm currently playing in are D&D... will my findings still be valid?

 

[Psion]

Back to the question: So psions are individualists, then? The preponderance of their powers seem to imply they don't work well in groups. Few synergies with other PCs......

I think they can be, but they get exhauseted quicker if they do.

I mean a psion can CHOOSE TO max out the damage dice on early/lower CR combats and be the star of the show. But in such combats, it's less hazardous to leave a threat on the field when a fighter type can take out such threats in short order. But when the psion spends those points early on, they expose themselves to the risk that those points would have been needed later, when it's more important to help set up the fighter types to do more damage (or damage prospective targets within 1-round-kill range) to get those bigger, more threatening creatures off the field quicker.

 

[Nail]

Of course, the game assumes that many encounters per day.

I disagree. And I'm fairly confident the RAW backs me up.

 

[Psion]

RAW?

 

[Nail]

But when the psion spends those points early on, they expose themselves to the risk that those points would have been needed later, when it's more important to help set up the fighter types to do more damage (or damage prospective targets within 1-round-kill range) to get those bigger, more threatening creatures off the field quicker.

How do psions help out the fighter?

IME, the psions are either blasting away or taking on the BBEG toe-to-toe using all that psionic "beef me up" stuff that you'll find in smack-down threads. I haven't seen one help out anyone, really, other than "taking out the bad guys" or "run away!"

 

[Nail]

RAW?

Rules As Written.

In the DMG, under designing encounters, it often talks about how many challenges in a row the PCs can face. It says that by the 4th encounter, things are liable to go poorly for the PCs.

I don't have the DMG here. Page number, anyone?

 

[Psion]

How do psions help out the fighter?

In the situation I was postulating, the psion helps the fighters by contributing damage to the enemy.

The psion could spend losta points and do lotsa damage, and leave little for the fighters, and be the "star of the show", and the cost of having less to contribute later.

Or he can hold back, just doing enough damage to put the fighters in striking distance of taking the enemies out in a short time, while still minimizing damage and taking advantage of the fact that fighter attacks don't cost PP, and save more points for the bigger fights later.