Expanded Psionics Handbook

[Stalker0]

I do think a Gray-like race in a Fantasy melieu would be pretty sweet...there is a comfortable place for little green men with greataxes and full plate in my heart....



Why wouldn't it work for physical ability scores? I mean, the game does it in other places (a lot of monster abilities DC's are based on their Con score, for instance, and there are a scattering of Str and Dex based ones too), why wouldn't it work for psions?

The MM is preety good on where you can use alternate stats. Cha is always used for spell-like abilities, con is often used for poison saves and the like. But I don't see the str and dex based ones your talking about?

 

[Kobold Avenger]

D20 Modern isn't too good on representing monsters as PC, so I'm wondering if anyone determined what the LA of the Alternity races in that book would be. The Fraal seem to be around LA +0 or +1 last time I checked, but has anyone bothered to actually 'acid test' them to see what they're really at?

 

[I'm A Banana]

Well, as an instance of the Str-based DC, the stunning ability of a Deva is that...they're in the minority, but they're occasionally here or there. They exist.

And the increase to DC's isn't that significant if you control carefully what gets assigned to what ability score. I'm not thinking Con for Disintegration, I'm thinking Con for Cure Wounds, Dex for Dimension Door, Strength for Magic Fang sort of thing....

In other words, I very much like the concept of drawing Psionic power from the body and the mind, not just yer book smarts. Requiring a Dex of 12 to get Dimension Door was a good way to reflect that. The only problem with the original psion was that if you were focused, you would suck, because the advantage of the psion was versatility. If there is a list of 'generalist' powers that use some other mechanic than ability scores to determine DC (maybe spend PP to boost it? Have it be 1/4 psion level?), then you can still not suck, but still be able to use both your body and your mind to tap your psychic energy. It's one of the reasons, I think, that more brutish and physical creatures lacking in book smarts, awareness, or personality, can still make kick-butt psychics.

I think that nasty, brutish, savage psychics is a pretty nifty element of the psionics system, and I think it would really suck to loose that. A quick way to do that is to loose the correlation between physical ability scores and psionic powers, especially if you focus on Intelligence.

Of course, it's still possible to maintain this to an extent....I mean, we haven't seen the new psychic feats, and there's all sorts of potential there (supernatural abilities based off of physical ability scores may be easier to stomach as feats instead of powers).

It's just that the moment the village idiot becomes a useless psion is to loose some of the appeal of pionics to me. I don't need another spellcaster who uses Int, Wis, or Cha and almost nothing else. Having the physical ability scores be useful (without forcing MAD) is a key enjoyment of psions in my book.

The way the original psion failed in this was that versatility was their main asset, but this meant that to take advantage of that asset, they needed MAD. The revised psion could be much more easily focused in a lot of ways, but I don't think focusing them like Every Other Spellcaster In The World is a particularly interesting focus, if that's the route they take.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

In Alternity, Dark Matter called them Grays and Star*Drive had Fraal, which were similar but not small (if I remember correctly, they were slightly taller than humans, maybe around 7'). The d20 Modern Menance Manual and the Dark Matter conversion from Dungeon 108 combined them into one race (short) called Greys by humans but calling themselves Fraal.

No, Fraal were smaller than Humans-- I wouldn't say they were originally size Small, but they were around D&D Elf-sized, or maybe halfway between Elf and Gnome-sized.

I used them in my Star*Drive d20 Modern game as LA +0, but noone wanted to play one. (I also changed Detect Psionics from 3/day to At Will, since it didn't make sense that Half-Fraal would get more use out of it.)

edit: I could easily see less technologically-advanced Fraal taking a strong role in a D&D campaign, though they'd probably have some niche over-coverage with Elves.

 

[Dave Turner]

Personally I'm kind of annoyed that the half giant is.. well... so...

small.

I mean they used to be 12 foot tall powerhouses. Now they get +2 to strength and are medium size... What on earth happened?

Wow, if this is how half-giants actually are in the book, then that's a staggering failure on the writer's part.

 

[Mercule]

I do think a Gray-like race in a Fantasy melieu would be pretty sweet...there is a comfortable place for little green men with greataxes and full plate in my heart....

IMO, the Gith are the Grays in D&D.

Overall, I don't think there is room for space-faring in the fantasy genre (we have plane-hopping instead).

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Overall, I don't think there is room for space-faring in the fantasy genre (we have plane-hopping instead).

I agree, but I was talking about a Grey-like race that is native to the campaign setting, not an actual space-faring race.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

In other words, I very much like the concept of drawing Psionic power from the body and the mind, not just yer book smarts. Requiring a Dex of 12 to get Dimension Door was a good way to reflect that.

No it wasn't - we can disagree on mental powers based on physical ability scores, but requiring multiple high ability scores was very unfair. (You needed Dex 14 to get dimension door, BTW, and not every psion is nimble like a wizard.) This would force MAD, which is something to avoid.

The 2e psionicist had access to multiple disciplines, limited by level rather than ability scores. If enforced specialization is actually needed, that is a much more effective system.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

I think the new way of forcing specialization works fine with the General and Discipline Specific power lists. I'm not sure how I feel about intelligence being the primary score for all psions, but I know I like it better than physical scores.

I think my house rule will work something like this:

Intelligence - Metacreation & Psychoportation
Intelligence is useful when the psion uses powers that require him to understand matter, mass, trajectory, and other such staples of physics.

Wisdom - Psychokinesis & Clairsentiance
Wisdom is needed for better awareness of your surroundings and to provide the force of will required to move something simply because you want it to move.

Charisma - Telepathy & Psychometabolism
Charisma represents an understanding of yourself and others that can allow you to make changes to either. These disciplines represent the ability to force your sense of self on another and alter their minds, or the ability to change your outer self by supreme control over your inner self.

 

[Spatula]

The 2e psionicist had access to multiple disciplines, limited by level rather than ability scores. If enforced specialization is actually needed, that is a much more effective system.

But the effectiveness of the 2E psionicist's powers (and the number of power points) was determined by multiple ability scores. Only 3 (wisdom, intelligence, and constitution) instead of all 6, but it's still there.

I think wisdom would have been a much better choice for a one-size-fits-all stat for psions. Being wise fits better with the concept than being brainy, and it's also less punishing on the "savage" creatures that Kamikaze Midget's talking about, since very few creatures have a wisdom penalty.