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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 3272104" data-attributes="member: 172">No, they really aren't.You hasten to cite the advantages of psionic, but fail to cite the advantages of magic. Many of these points have been brought up in this thread already, but you have failed to acknowledge their presence.<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Better access to "combo builders" - things like scry, teleport, invisibility, fly are all abilities that make wizards into problematic enemies. Even a specialist wizard only loses access to a fraction of these, whereas psions only has access to a small fraction of them.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Compared to wizards, much smaller power/spell availability. The tactical flexibility of wizards just can't be touched. With the 15 minute rule (or alacritous cogitation), the preparation rule is not the impediment it seems.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Psionic focus is a limited resource, NOT a benefit. Wizards have plenty of access to their own feats psions can't touch. But psionic focus was conceived as a resource pool to mitigate the negative effects of lacking free scaling. Feats tapping this resource pool are pretty nifty, but anything that expends your psionic focus prohibits you from using any other feature that taps the focus until you can regain it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Lack of access to spells/powers that circumvent traditional defenses. At higher levels, wizards begin getting spells that do not allow saves or spell resistance. Psions have no equivalent.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Inability to augment the party. Psions lack many powers that enhance or protect others. For example, buff spells only equivalent is animal affinity, which is on a discipline list and is a personal effect.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Psions DON'T get heighten for free. Scaling DC is a partial compensation for lack of free damage scaling and typically only applies to damaging powers (and then, only some). The actual level of power does not change. This leaves psions vulnerable to effects that depend on the level of the power, like globe of invulnerability.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">That dorjes aren't limited in level cap is of little consequence if you consider that unless you use the (very optional) Erudite, a psion has little to gain from taking the feat because a psion already has the benefit of continual access to all the powers they know. Craft wand is of greater use to prepared casters like sorcerers or wizards because it lets them overcome the preparation limitation. (And then, I had considered the Erudite weak. If I start to see it in context of the item creation feats, all of a sudden it seems balanced.)</li> </ol>I could go on, but I tire too, having been through the wringer over on the rules forum here many times. Anyone who thinks psions are overpowered should see these threads:<a href="http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=331253" target="_blank">http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=331253</a><a href="http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=416446" target="_blank">http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=416446</a>Note here that I do acknowledge that the psionics board over at wizards is biased and have a tendency to defend almost any psionic element as balanced... which would be unusual, because not all magic elements are balanced. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> I happen to believe many things that the wizards' psionics boards at large do not, such as the (Illithid) Slayer IS too good and most arcane PrCs published under 3.5 are balanced (anyone who thinks that having greater spell focus (abjuration) as a prerequisite is not a hit has another thing coming...) Suffice it to say that on both sides of the DM screen, actual experience reveals that to anyone who knows how to play either competently and understand their weaknesses and strengths, psionics and arcane magic are both viable choices for characters.</blockquote>

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