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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FoxWander" data-source="post: 3273002" data-attributes="member: 1356">I guess I should have emphasized a few things in my post first, and maybe added an addendum or two. <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 was gonna go through and re-emphasize how all of my points overcome or completely bypass some of the limitations and annoyances inherent to magician casters. But if that isn't obvious by my original post to some of the dissenters here, then nothing I could add or re-emphasize will make it so. But a few things, in no particular order... - If you want your "wizard" to have a "familiar" then the psions "familiar" beats the pants off any other familiar, hands down!! How can anybody actually argue that psicrystals are not vastly superior to familiars!?!!? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f615.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":confused:" title="Confused    :confused:"  data-smilie="5"data-shortname=":confused:" /> The laundry list of immunities from the construct type doesn't make them better than, say, a rat!?!?! Hardness 8 AND all those immunities, isn't better than the just the hit points a familiar has!?! If having a "familiar" isn't your thing, then this is a moot point BUT a psions "familiar" is completely optional- the feat could be used for anything else if you don't want one. But it's a class feature for the wiz/sorc. True they don't have to go thru the ritual to get one (which BTW cost 100 gold compared to the psion's nothing to get a psicrystal) but then they also can't just take a feat if they don't want a familiar at all. But to try and say a psicrystal is BETTER than a familiar... please!!! What are you smoking?  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> - Psionic focus IS a benefit because its a "limited resource" that magicians don't have u]AT ALL[/u]!! Magicians don't even have access to such a resource, limited or not. Simply having the option of psionic focus makes it a benefit (and a pretty big one at that).- The ability to manifest while grappled may not come up very often, but the simple fact that psions aren't completely screwed while grappled is huge! Everyone knows that if you want to shut down the wizard, you grapple him. Unless he has an 'escape clause' spell like d-door ready, he's done. Casting options to stay effective while grappled are so few as to be non-existent. Whereas a psion can manifest ANY power they like. Just because they have to make a concentration check to do so (like any caster while grappled) in no way lessens that they have their entire repertoire of powers open to them. A psion can keep right on blasting while grappled, while a wizard without his "escape clause" is effectively out of the fight.Again, I have to emphasize- I don't think psions are too powerful or unbalanced. I like psionics. In fact, I prefer it over magic because, as I also said, psions are the "wizard" done right. If you were to make a laundry list of all the things that are annoying, or stupid, or just NOT how a "fantasy wizard" should be done- then you'll find that psions neatly side-step almost all of those annoyances in all the ways I listed.Nothing I listed (aside from the first few which were repeats from Spatula's post and the main things people point to when comparing psionics and magic. And remember I said those aren't problems of psionics but of play styles- overall psionics are "balanced".) makes a psion overpowering or unbalanced. They're just little tweaks here and there that patch the holes in magical casting or bypass the annoyances of magicians. It's the cumulative effect of ALL those tweaks that push the edge toward psionics as a better way of doing magic than magic is. That's what I have a problem with... and it's not really problem even, I think psionics are fine. But the fact that they do magic better than a magician is just irksome.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> I'll end by quoting myself to re-emphasize the main gist of my post.</blockquote>

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