How to Solve the Fighter/Psion...suggestions welcome!

[Mishima]

I've been running a couple of D&D games set in the Judges Guild WIlderlands setting. Things have been fine...but just lately, one of my players has hit upon a character that seems to bust open the EL system for judging encounter diffciulty whilst at the same time causing resentment amongst my other players who see the player as being a munchkin.
The character in question is an Elan Fighter Psion (level 1 figher, level 8 psion). Endowed with a high armour class (currently around 25), shield proficiency, the psion power 'Vigor' (grants extra temporary hitpoints), the ability to absorb hitpoint damage by burning powerpoints and mass damage inflicting powers (like energy ball), my barbarian/rogue player and my ranger/rogue are feeling suitably hard done by. The combination seems unbelleivably unbalanced...possibly the worst I've seen in 3.5 rules. And I was just too shortsighted to head this player off at the beginning. I've got a true monster on my hands.
I need help. Hopefully someone can alert me to some balancing rule that I'm missing, or some means to solve the situation amicably. To be honest encounters which threaten the other PC's are usually of no danger to the armoured psion with seemingly infinite hitpoints. My game is soon going to resemble a bad joke.
Anyway, thanks for your time if you read this.

 

[Vurt]

Well, here's some ideas for ways to challenge the fighter/psion, not so much nerf him. If there's anything that needs nerfing about that build, it's the elan's ability to trade power points for hp as an immediate action.

1) More encounters per day. If the psion has burned through his PP allotment, all he is is a mediocre fighter.

2) Target his weaknesses. If he has a low touch AC, have something like a psionic shadow drawn to his mental abilities try to sap his strength, etc. Grapple him. Sure, he can still manifest, but then bring in a handful of rogues for some sneak-attack loving.

3) Bad guys with area effect spells. Chances are his reflex save blows, so let him soak up some fireballs. Sure, he'll be able to do it by casting vigor time and time again, but those are rounds in which he's not throwing energy balls himself.

4) The spell touch of idiocy in the PHB is your friend. Get to know spells you may have overlooked in the past.

Hope this helps a little,
Vurt

 

[wmasters]

1) More encounters per day. If the psion has burned through is PP allotment, all he is is a mediocre fighter.

This is always the key balancing fctor I found hardest to judge. D&D is balanced with around 3-5 encounters per day (or no encounters per day, of course in which case it doesn't need to be balanced).

A problem I often have, and possibly the one you're seeing, is that if you run too few encounters (I typically have 1-2) in a 24 hour block, people with those x times per day abilities, like the psion, never run out. If you get to a forth of fifth encounter in a day though, I'll bet your barbarian/rogue and ranger/rogue start to shine.

 

[Mishima]

Thankyou!

Thanks to both of you....I'm feeling pretty dumb right about now: I guess the majority of my problems come from the fact that I tend to run only one or two encounters per session....although this is mainly during wilderness travel (which takes up A LOT of my game time). I suppose the spotlight will fall logically given enough time.
Oh, but I LOVE the idea of the psion attracting psionic shadows to himself....and given that the character is an Elan (and thus an aberration) I can rule that his very existance breaks the natural order of things, thus attracting the shadows! Oh my, the weekend is looking flush!

So to sum up, thanks wmasters and Vurt (whose suggestions were both practical and intetresting). You may have saved my game.

Mishima.

 

[Malum]

It’s not your fault nor is it the fault of the player who made the fighter/psion it’s the other player’s faults, imo, and I will elaborate. Barbarian/rogue a skill & combat based class no spell casting. Ranger/Rogue same but limited spell casting, very limited. While either of these classes would be a great survivalist in almost any environment neither is the fullplate up front melee tank type although with the feint feat the barb/rogue could be a menace!
At the 8th and 9th level right where your campaign is incidentally, there is a changing of the guards. The Fighter, Rangers, paladins, Rogues, Monks hand over the “campaign reins” to the spell casters of the group, that is the spell casters with this acquisition of higher level spells have now or will soon surpass the capabilities of the others in many situations, not all situations but certainly the majority. Non casters will find themselves useful no doubt but the force wall, teleport, fireball and heal spells will inspire awe more than a well struck blow or a good info gathering roll. Now that being said I can further say that the Psion class if made correctly can and would be a very strong candidate for the parties head butt kicker capable of laying out many foes at once or almost guaranteeing the death of one opponent. Many players in our campaigns like the point for power system offered by the psi book also the Elocater class has become the most popular prc ever in several of our campaigns, they just get a kick out of playing it?

Malum

 

[KarinsDad]

I ran an Elan Psion for 9 levels and she fell unconscious once in that entire time.

Elan Psions are truly unbalanced.

One option you can use (but not often) is to introduce game elements that might force the psion to use up PP. For example, if the PCs are outside a warehouse and are expecting a fight, you could have there be no fight at all. It is likely that the Psion will use up PP for Shield and Vigor and those would be totally wasted.

Another very good option is Dispel Magic. Psions really rely on whichever power is currently up and if you knock them down, the Psion will have to choose between using up rounds putting them back up and continuing a battle without putting them back up. Either way, he is either sucking up extra PP, or he is more on par (probably even weaker) than the other PCs. Combining this with multiple combats can help.

Another option is to target the psion before he gets a Vigor up (note: this cannot be done while the Psion is flatfooted in a surprise round or early in round one since immediate actions cannot be done while flatfooted). Most players of Elan Psions will use up PP to prevent the damage. Since this occurs before a Vigor goes up, this will use up 1 PP for every 2 points of damage as opposed to Vigor's 1 PP for every 5 points of damage. Course, this can only be done if the first action of the Psion is not a Vigor.

Note: Even not powered up, the Elan abilities still make him a fairly potent PC.

 

[Question]

I believe someone once told me that elans had this little trick as a psion where you could expend PPs to reduce damage done to you or something. I dont quite remember what the "trick" was, but i remember the effect was that the PC would be pretty much unkillable.

I think the problem is the race itself. Not the class combination.

 

[Arabesu]

suggestions

1) Golems. The energy ball won't work against them, and thus the fighter/psion is a fighter with a base attack 4 points lower than a level 9 fighter.

2) Multiple opponents with evasion. Since the BAB is only 5, only one melee attack a round, and the opponents evade damage often from the ball.

3) Only one immediate action per round. Thus if the elan uses the 1pp/2hp trick, they can't use it again that round. Have an opponent power attack for full as the second attack in the round and they will be hurting.

4) Mobility. Since their probably playing a kineticist they likely can't fly; set up encounters where the speed of the barbarian and terrain advantages of the ranger kick in.

5) Poisoned traps. The other two are rogue and probably do well against traps. Poisons can be worse that hit point loss.

Vurt suggested reflex save spells (the rogues get evasion!) and the multiple encounters per day, both of which seem like excellent suggestions as well.

 

[KarinsDad]

I believe someone once told me that elans had this little trick as a psion where you could expend PPs to reduce damage done to you or something. I dont quite remember what the "trick" was, but i remember the effect was that the PC would be pretty much unkillable.

I think the problem is the race itself. Not the class combination.

It's both. A well designed psion can be real strong. Making him an Elan just boosts up the variability.

 

[KarinsDad]

3) Only one immediate action per round. Thus if the elan uses the 1pp/2hp trick, they can't use it again that round. Have an opponent power attack for full as the second attack in the round and they will be hurting.

Also, they cannot use the boost to their saves with Resistance if they have already used Resilience to lower damage.

So, using Power Attack against them with one opponent followed up by spell casters from latter opponents hitting them with spells that require a Reflex Save will also work well.

Course, these only work if the Psion does not yet have Vigor up and is not flatfooted.


Note: Hitting a flatfooted Elan Psion works best. He cannot use Resistance or Resilience if flatfooted.