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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1751497" data-attributes="member: 3146">There are very major differences that you're ignoring here. The concentration check is the same for sor/wiz/clr and psion characters casting spells or manifesting powers in a grapple. However, a pinned psion is at no disadvantage in terms of manifesting powers. A pinned sor/wiz/clr cannot cast spells with ANY components.When "merely" in a grapple, a sor/wiz/clr cannot cast spells with somatic components or material components not in hand. (Which is, in most cases, 90% of said Sor/Wiz/Clr's spells). The psion is not hindered beyond the concentration check.And speaking of the "hefty" concentration check. . . well, it isn't that hefty. It's very difficult at low levels. By mid levels, it's doable roughly 40-50% of the time. By level 14 or so, it will often be trivial. Like a creature with SLAs, a psion in a grapple can simply manifest his powers. A sor/wiz/clr needs to get out of the grapple pronto in order to contribute to the combat. (I once ran a combat of an advanced death slaad and two blue slaad against a 12th level party. In the second round, they were all caught in an Evard's black tentacles. . . and kept on blasting the party with fingers of death and chaos hammers and lightning bolts anyway since they were better off taking their chances on the concentration checks than trying to break out of the grapple (and possibly failing). For psions, it would be the same. For sor/wiz/clr--heck no! They either get out of the grapple or they're dead meat).The reason that the spells a mage is most likely to attempt while in a grapple are verbal only is because THOSE ARE PRACTICALLY THE ONLY SPELLS HE CAN CAST. And, of course, if he's pinned, he can't do anything at all so he has to either get out of the grapple or die. A grappled sor/wiz/clr is out of the fight and has to take their actions to get out of the grapple and back into the fight. (Not coincidentally, those verbal only spells you mention as the most likely to be cast while in a grapple are dimension door and teleport).Sorcerors are actually a lot better off in a grapple than wizards. If it comes down to it, a sorceror with still spell can apply to any spell he darn well feels like on the fly. Grappled by Evard's Black Tentacles? Well, if he can't get out, at least he can make a DC 24 concentration check and blast away with stilled fireballs. Pinned? Well, he can try to cast a silent dimension door. Wizards can prep a dimension door or a stilled spell but if they need more than one or if it won't work for some reason (hit with a dimensional anchor spell, etc), they're out of options.Grappling is probably the biggest weakness of ordinary spellcasters. (That's why a lot of higher level wizards prep a dimension door, a stilled blink, or some other such effect to prevent the enemy from taking them out of combat entirely with a simple and easily available manuever). For Psions, it's not nearly that kind of an Achilles heel.</blockquote>

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