Cloud Mind... Is this a useless power?

[RigaMortus]

From the SRD

Cloud Mind
Telepathy [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Psion/wilder 2
Display: None
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. +5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 min./level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Power Resistance: Yes
Power Points: 3
You make yourself completely undetectable to the subject by erasing all awareness of your presence from its mind. This power has the following effects.
First, you are invisible and inaudible to the creature. It cannot even detect your presence by means of blindsense, blindsight, scent, or tremorsense. It cannot pinpoint your location by any means.
Second, the subject remains unaware of your actions, provided you do not make any attacks or cause any obvious or directly threatening changes in the subject’s environment. If you attack the subject creature, the effect ends.
If you take an action that creates a sustained and obvious change in the subject’s environment—for example, attacking a creature aside from the subject or moving a large or attended object the subject can see—the subject immediately gains a new saving throw against the power. An ally of the subject creature that is able to see or perceive you can use a move action to warn the subject and thereby grant it a new saving throw.

Ok, so how would one go about using this power effectively? First off, you have to Target the enemy you want to become invisible to. Secondly, they have to be in close range (25ft +5/2 levels). Third, they get a saving throw, if they fail, wouldn't they know something is up anyway?

My main concern is this. If you want to use this ability on an enemy, you have to get relatively close w/o getting seen in the first place. Secondly, you need line of sight. Which means, if you have line of sight to them, they have line of sight to you. I don't know many Psions who pump up Hide and Move Silently, just to move into range to cast a resistable invisibilty spell on a single enemy. How would you ever target an enemy with this spell w/o them seeing you to begin with?

Am I playing this spell wrong?

 

[MatthewJHanson]

If its not useless (I guess it can keep you from being targeted durring combat), its deffinatly underpowered compaired other second level powers, or the invisibility spell.

 

[UltimaGabe]

How would you ever target an enemy with this spell w/o them seeing you to begin with?

Why do you need to target them without them seeing you first? I mean, I can see the advantages, but so what if they realize that you're there before you cast it? Once it's up, there's nothing they can do to target you. NOTHING (as far as I know). Blindsense? Nope. Spot Check? Nuh-uh. Swinging around blindly? Sure, why not? It's great for a Psion/Assassin or Psion/Rogue. I mean, sure, it's great to completely get the drop on an opponent by targetting them with the spell without them noticing you, but that doesn't mean it's completely worthless. At the absolute least, if you're fighting one big bad guy (such as a dragon or whatever), you're free to buff as much as you want without any fear of retribution.

 

[Nifft]

There's no Display -- they would NOT know something was up! It's one of the few powers you can manifest without making anyone aware that you're a Psion. You can manifest it without drawing attention to yourself (in a crowd, for example) and then do something that would draw attention to yourself (like walk through a "guarded" doorway).

But, yeah, it's not as good as invisibility, and it's not supposed to be.

-- N

 

[CM]

Use it against the tank fighter and then go after the wizard.

At least that's what my BBEPsion did.

 

[Alzrius]

There's no Display -- they would NOT know something was up!

Well, they'd know there was something.

Succeeding on a Saving Throw: A creature that successfully saves against a power that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack.

 

[Nifft]

Well, they'd know there was something.

Sure, but not from whom that something originated -- unless you were the only person in the room.

-- N

 

[RigaMortus]

I guess this power was meant to be used in combat, and not to be used to avoid combat or sneak past enemies...

 

[Nifft]

I guess this power was meant to be used in combat, and not to be used to avoid combat or sneak past enemies...

Er... reading the description, I'd say rather the opposite.

-- N

 

[UltimaGabe]

But, yeah, it's not as good as invisibility, and it's not supposed to be.

Well, in some cases it's not as good (since it only works against one person, and they get to make a save, and you have to be within range), but in others, it's MUCH better. As far as I know, nothing else in the game, with the exception of a 9th-level spell released in Complete Arcane, can foil Blindsight- and even that spell has its drawbacks (for example, it creates an area of silence around you, so you can't cast spells with verbal components- but I think that's more of an issue of that spell being crappy than anything else). With this Power on, assuming they fail their save, there's NOTHING they can do to see you. NOTHING. Even if it's only one person, it's still pretty darn powerful for a 2nd-level spell.