Psion
Adventurer
Hyperconscious
Hyperconscious is a psionics adventure and expansion for d20 fantasy/D&D 3.5 and the Expanded Psionics Handbook. The book is written by Bruce Cordell (who also authored the Expanded Psionics Handbook) and published by Malhavoc press under White Wolf's Sword and Sorcery banner.
This review is primarily written regarding the print version, which integrates much material from earlier Malhavoc psionics products. PDF versions are also available, some of which do not include the updated material, only new material. PDF versions are available in a DRM protected version from DriveThruRPG and a much more convenient and capable standard PDF version on the White Wolf online catalog.
This product updates and revises some material from If Thoughts Could Kill and Mindcapes. In places I refer to these earlier reviews rather than repeat everything here. The links to my Mindscapes review follows. Alas, it seems I never did review If Thoughts Could Kill.
Mindscapes Volume I: A Psion's guide
Mindscapes Volume II: Beasts of the Id
A First Look
The print version of Hyperconscious is a 160 page perfect bound softcover book available for $23.99. This is competitive for a d20 product considering many are trending towards $25 for 128 pages.
PDF versions of Hyperconscious are $7 for a 64 page version with only the adventure and all new material, and $11 for a $160 page version including updated material. Overall, this provides many options for fans, depending on what they already might own or how convenient they feel it is to have revised material included.
The cover has a bright orange background with a meditating or concentrating robed woman surrounded by fire. The illustration is by Malhavoc mainstay Kieran Yanner.
The interior is black-and-white. Interior artists include Toren "MacBin" Atkinson, Kev Crossley, Alan Pollack, and Kieran Yanner. Much of the art is drawn from previous works updated here (but is of notably high quality; Yanner's Lucid Cenobite illustration remains one of my favorites), but Crossley's new art is a nice addition to the previously existing work.
A Deeper Look
Hyperconscious is organized into eight chapters. The first two chapters are devoted to the adventure. The third is an update of the Mindscapes psionic combat system. The remainder are new character options. I will be limiting my commentary on material from Mindscapes and If Thoughts Could Kill; for more in-depth information, see my Mindscapes review.
(Spoilers regarding the adventure follow.)
The adventure itself is interesting and moody. The adventure involves the threatening entity known as The Dark Plea, first introduced in the event book When the Sky Falls. Those who found the Dark Plea intriguing will want to pick up Hyperconscious for further details on this enigmatic villain.
The adventure happens in the wake of the destruction of the so-called Oraculus, a site and organization that was the source of great prophecies. One of the seven sages of the former Oraculus hired the party to travel to the former site of the Oraculus, where they discover the crater is a gateway to the so-called Shallows, a series of minor dream realms that the Oraculus used to draw its prophecy. Successful players will discover that the seven seers of the Oraculus have been deceived, and are pawns in a plan by the Dark Plea reaching across time to ensure it is created.
(End Spoilers)
The mindscapes system only has minor tweaks from the system in Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide. Since the Expanded Psionics Handbook includes many of the changes introduced in Mindscapes such as removal of combat modes as a distinct ability of psionic characters and addition of feats to the psion, many of the changes that Mindscapes implemented are rendered moot.
For those not familiar with Mindscapes, the basic concept is that whenever two psionic creatures get near each other, a random "mindscape" which only psionic creatures can perceive springs up. Psionics can face off in combat in this imaginary landscape to gain real world advantages, such as bonuses to saving throws, damage resistance, damage bonuses, and so forth.
These contents are elegantly handled by having each combatant make a d20 combat mode check, using a new modifier that the Mindscapes system introduces, which is on the same scale (but not necessarily the same as) saving throws. All in all, it makes a quick to resolve "psionic combat" system that is directly pertinent to other psionic power uses, even for more physical classes like psychic warriors.
There are a few tweaks from the Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide version of the rules. For example, in those rules, the terrain and combat mode types referred to an ability score, but the characters' ability scores were never referred to in any way. This reference was removed, preventing confusion that arose with the original version of the rules.
The third chapter details feats. A majority of these feats are updates of feats from Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide and If Thoughts Could Kill. The only feats you will find missing from the update are Inertial Armor Redux (which is no longer appropriate since in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, Inertial Armor became a power instead of a feat) and Psychic Specialization (owing to removal of the weapon specialization feat from the psychic warrior's repertoire).
Examples of feats from previous volumes for those not familiar with them are as follows:
-Sequester Power(If Thoughts Could Kill): This feat allows a psionic character to temporarily forego the use of a power to gain a temporary boost in power points. Essentially unaltered (other than to accommodate the renaming of the required feat Inner Power to Psionic Talent in the XPH), as the XPH psion is not underpowered as the original, this feat is both less essential and less potent than it once was, but remains an attractive choice.
-Transcend Limits(If Thoughts Could Kill)[/I]: I was surprised to see this feat reappear, as its role was relegated to overchannel in the XPH. In Hyperconscious, this feat has been transformed into an extended version of Overchannel, allowing you to access higher effective manifester levels albeit at an even greater cost in terms of damage. This makes the feat seem very costly to me and not very appealing, especially since it also requires overchannel. Such a feat seems to me only likely to be sought out by players seeking obscure power combinations, which is just the sort of mechanic I prefer to omit from my games.
-Elemental Spike(Mindscapes): This feat adds elemental damage to a non-elemental power, with no cost (similar to some eldritch feats from Book of Eldritch Might). The feat has become more narrow in this incarnation, requiring the user to select a specific power to which is applies.
-Primordial Surge(Mindcapes): This power inflicts a morale penalty on enemies struck with a critical hit as a result of a flash of the creature's death in its mind when struck. This feat is essentially unchanged since the original version, but now that weapon specialization is no longer part of the psychic warrior, it could become an example of the sort of ability that helps differentiate the psychic warrior from the fighter. (It still, however, lacks any mention that this is a mind affecting effect, which it probably should for purposes of creatures likely to be affected by the feat as described.)
New feats come in four varieties. A number of dream related feats support the adventure dream theme. Latent psi feats grant simple psi-like abilities to the characters. Finally, there are a few new feats related to dorje (such as dorje blade, which allows the user to wield a dorje as a club-like weapon, with the possibility to discharge on a critical hit). Finally, a few metapsionic feats that never made it to the XPH are brought up-to-date here (such as persistent power.)
The fifth chapter regards psionic items. Again, most of the entries are updates or supporting the adventure. Dreamstained items are cheap psionic items with a price that play a pivotal role in the adventure.
Psicrystal staves and synaptic masks make a return from Mindscapes. Psicrystal staves feel a bit odd now, given that psionic crowns fill the niche of staves in the XPH. That said, I was glad to see them included for the basic concept of the psicrystal staff is more than just a psionic version of a magical staff. They can be used to store a psionic character's psicrystal. They can then be upgraded and customized by the addition of a number of companion stones.
The sixth chapter follows a similar pattern. All creatures in Mindscapes: Beasts of the Id and If Thoughts Could Kill are updated here, as is one creature from When the Sky Falls, the Hungry Dreamer. New creatures are, again, primarily in support of the adventure, such as the Bayard (solidified astral construct made used by the astral dragoon prestige class, and example of which appears in the adventure) and the reflexion (template that created a nightmare version of a real creature). There is one new creature that does not appear in the adventure, the mind grub collective.
The new powers again follow this pattern, and considering that the nature of powers were most radically changed of any part of the psionics system in XPH, demanded the most significant upgrades. I was concerned that many of these powers would simply not receive an augment option, but actually Cordell did a pretty thorough job here. As an example, where appropriate, similar powers of different levels were combined. For example, adimantify, mineralize, mithrilize, and metallize, all of which harden the psion's skin, granting DR, were combined into the alloyed hide power. Some other powers that had no previous scaling like avaunt (which provides intimidate bonuses) now provide increased benefits with the expenditure of additional power points.
Cordell even uses Hyperconscious as a route for some quickened errata or variants for existing powers. The unofficial errata of the XPH dominate power appears here.
One thing from the older books you won't see here is a repeat of the If Thoughts Could Kill spell-to-power conversion. Arguably, this isn't needed anymore given how much attention psion powers have received since then, but it does present a bit of a problem if you wish to run the excellent If Thoughts Could Kill adventure, which relies on some of these conversions if the players don't play their cards right.
Prestige classes also follow the book formula of updating previous material and supporting the adventure. All of the prestige classes from Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide and If Thoughts Could Kill are updated here, and all of the remaining prestige classes appear in the adventure in some capacity. Most of the new prestige classes such as the Awakened Dreamer, Dream Keeper, and Dreamwright follow the adventure's dream theme. Other classes merely make cameos in the adventure. For example, the Astral Dragoon is a specialized rider that calls their mount from the stuff of the astral (sort of like the PHB's paladin's mount, but it makes sense…). The , Quietus is sort of a psionic assassin specialized in using telepathic attacks, most particularly mind thrust. The mechanics are a little odd on this one, as it seems as if as written, as at high levels, the quietus is quite likely to inflict more damage with a mind thrust if the victim makes the requisite saving throw than if they fail it.
The prestige classes chapter also has a few Expanded Psionics Handbook variants. Some tweaks are suggested for the pyrokineticist, and a new prestige class, the blade manifester, provides a soulknife character with some psionic powers. The former tweak seems fine while the latter to me misses the point. I do feel that the soulknife class from the XPH is a flawed idea, but the problem as I see it is that the class is inherently a specialized concept. The class itself should be a prestige class; making a more psionic prestige class does nothing to mend the conceptual issues of having the soulknife as a core class.
The most significant and needed tweak offered here is the much maligned metamind. The metamind variant presented here gets better cognizance crystal abilities sooner, and received more manifester level advancements. In the stead of the harsh manifester level advancement, the metamind is required to sequester powers, similar to the feat described aboving, meaning that the metamind is very focused, but has access to more potent powers and receives a much better benefit in terms of psionic power.
Conclusions
As a stand alone adventure, Hyperconsious is a competent adventure, and expands nicely on Cordell's Dark Plea idea. If the Dark Plea from When the Sky Falls appealed to you, the adventure is a compelling buy.
Considering the significant nature of the upgrades to the psionics system in the XPH, an upgrade of the Malhavoc material was compulsory if you want to use it. Those who already own this material will not find much new, but may feel compelled to pick up the updates, though Malhavoc has made this more manageable if you aren't afraid to go the PDF route, allowing you to pick up just the new material if you already have the upgrades of the old books.
The mindscapes system is the only system for a psionic combat system now that the XPH has ditched the core psionic combat system. Such a system helps keep the role of psionics distinct in the game and provides some flavorful options. That said, the mindscapes system required little upgrading to use with the XPH.
Overall, if you are comfortable with the XPH material but don't have the Malhavoc psionics material yet, Hyperconscious provides some interesting additions that are better balanced than anything currently written for psionics. If you are already using Malhavoc's psionics materials, there is a good chance you know if you want these, because you have been waiting impatiently for the upgrade.
Overall Grade: B+
-Alan D. Kohler
Hyperconscious is a psionics adventure and expansion for d20 fantasy/D&D 3.5 and the Expanded Psionics Handbook. The book is written by Bruce Cordell (who also authored the Expanded Psionics Handbook) and published by Malhavoc press under White Wolf's Sword and Sorcery banner.
This review is primarily written regarding the print version, which integrates much material from earlier Malhavoc psionics products. PDF versions are also available, some of which do not include the updated material, only new material. PDF versions are available in a DRM protected version from DriveThruRPG and a much more convenient and capable standard PDF version on the White Wolf online catalog.
This product updates and revises some material from If Thoughts Could Kill and Mindcapes. In places I refer to these earlier reviews rather than repeat everything here. The links to my Mindscapes review follows. Alas, it seems I never did review If Thoughts Could Kill.
Mindscapes Volume I: A Psion's guide
Mindscapes Volume II: Beasts of the Id
A First Look
The print version of Hyperconscious is a 160 page perfect bound softcover book available for $23.99. This is competitive for a d20 product considering many are trending towards $25 for 128 pages.
PDF versions of Hyperconscious are $7 for a 64 page version with only the adventure and all new material, and $11 for a $160 page version including updated material. Overall, this provides many options for fans, depending on what they already might own or how convenient they feel it is to have revised material included.
The cover has a bright orange background with a meditating or concentrating robed woman surrounded by fire. The illustration is by Malhavoc mainstay Kieran Yanner.
The interior is black-and-white. Interior artists include Toren "MacBin" Atkinson, Kev Crossley, Alan Pollack, and Kieran Yanner. Much of the art is drawn from previous works updated here (but is of notably high quality; Yanner's Lucid Cenobite illustration remains one of my favorites), but Crossley's new art is a nice addition to the previously existing work.
A Deeper Look
Hyperconscious is organized into eight chapters. The first two chapters are devoted to the adventure. The third is an update of the Mindscapes psionic combat system. The remainder are new character options. I will be limiting my commentary on material from Mindscapes and If Thoughts Could Kill; for more in-depth information, see my Mindscapes review.
(Spoilers regarding the adventure follow.)
The adventure itself is interesting and moody. The adventure involves the threatening entity known as The Dark Plea, first introduced in the event book When the Sky Falls. Those who found the Dark Plea intriguing will want to pick up Hyperconscious for further details on this enigmatic villain.
The adventure happens in the wake of the destruction of the so-called Oraculus, a site and organization that was the source of great prophecies. One of the seven sages of the former Oraculus hired the party to travel to the former site of the Oraculus, where they discover the crater is a gateway to the so-called Shallows, a series of minor dream realms that the Oraculus used to draw its prophecy. Successful players will discover that the seven seers of the Oraculus have been deceived, and are pawns in a plan by the Dark Plea reaching across time to ensure it is created.
(End Spoilers)
The mindscapes system only has minor tweaks from the system in Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide. Since the Expanded Psionics Handbook includes many of the changes introduced in Mindscapes such as removal of combat modes as a distinct ability of psionic characters and addition of feats to the psion, many of the changes that Mindscapes implemented are rendered moot.
For those not familiar with Mindscapes, the basic concept is that whenever two psionic creatures get near each other, a random "mindscape" which only psionic creatures can perceive springs up. Psionics can face off in combat in this imaginary landscape to gain real world advantages, such as bonuses to saving throws, damage resistance, damage bonuses, and so forth.
These contents are elegantly handled by having each combatant make a d20 combat mode check, using a new modifier that the Mindscapes system introduces, which is on the same scale (but not necessarily the same as) saving throws. All in all, it makes a quick to resolve "psionic combat" system that is directly pertinent to other psionic power uses, even for more physical classes like psychic warriors.
There are a few tweaks from the Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide version of the rules. For example, in those rules, the terrain and combat mode types referred to an ability score, but the characters' ability scores were never referred to in any way. This reference was removed, preventing confusion that arose with the original version of the rules.
The third chapter details feats. A majority of these feats are updates of feats from Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide and If Thoughts Could Kill. The only feats you will find missing from the update are Inertial Armor Redux (which is no longer appropriate since in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, Inertial Armor became a power instead of a feat) and Psychic Specialization (owing to removal of the weapon specialization feat from the psychic warrior's repertoire).
Examples of feats from previous volumes for those not familiar with them are as follows:
-Sequester Power(If Thoughts Could Kill): This feat allows a psionic character to temporarily forego the use of a power to gain a temporary boost in power points. Essentially unaltered (other than to accommodate the renaming of the required feat Inner Power to Psionic Talent in the XPH), as the XPH psion is not underpowered as the original, this feat is both less essential and less potent than it once was, but remains an attractive choice.
-Transcend Limits(If Thoughts Could Kill)[/I]: I was surprised to see this feat reappear, as its role was relegated to overchannel in the XPH. In Hyperconscious, this feat has been transformed into an extended version of Overchannel, allowing you to access higher effective manifester levels albeit at an even greater cost in terms of damage. This makes the feat seem very costly to me and not very appealing, especially since it also requires overchannel. Such a feat seems to me only likely to be sought out by players seeking obscure power combinations, which is just the sort of mechanic I prefer to omit from my games.
-Elemental Spike(Mindscapes): This feat adds elemental damage to a non-elemental power, with no cost (similar to some eldritch feats from Book of Eldritch Might). The feat has become more narrow in this incarnation, requiring the user to select a specific power to which is applies.
-Primordial Surge(Mindcapes): This power inflicts a morale penalty on enemies struck with a critical hit as a result of a flash of the creature's death in its mind when struck. This feat is essentially unchanged since the original version, but now that weapon specialization is no longer part of the psychic warrior, it could become an example of the sort of ability that helps differentiate the psychic warrior from the fighter. (It still, however, lacks any mention that this is a mind affecting effect, which it probably should for purposes of creatures likely to be affected by the feat as described.)
New feats come in four varieties. A number of dream related feats support the adventure dream theme. Latent psi feats grant simple psi-like abilities to the characters. Finally, there are a few new feats related to dorje (such as dorje blade, which allows the user to wield a dorje as a club-like weapon, with the possibility to discharge on a critical hit). Finally, a few metapsionic feats that never made it to the XPH are brought up-to-date here (such as persistent power.)
The fifth chapter regards psionic items. Again, most of the entries are updates or supporting the adventure. Dreamstained items are cheap psionic items with a price that play a pivotal role in the adventure.
Psicrystal staves and synaptic masks make a return from Mindscapes. Psicrystal staves feel a bit odd now, given that psionic crowns fill the niche of staves in the XPH. That said, I was glad to see them included for the basic concept of the psicrystal staff is more than just a psionic version of a magical staff. They can be used to store a psionic character's psicrystal. They can then be upgraded and customized by the addition of a number of companion stones.
The sixth chapter follows a similar pattern. All creatures in Mindscapes: Beasts of the Id and If Thoughts Could Kill are updated here, as is one creature from When the Sky Falls, the Hungry Dreamer. New creatures are, again, primarily in support of the adventure, such as the Bayard (solidified astral construct made used by the astral dragoon prestige class, and example of which appears in the adventure) and the reflexion (template that created a nightmare version of a real creature). There is one new creature that does not appear in the adventure, the mind grub collective.
The new powers again follow this pattern, and considering that the nature of powers were most radically changed of any part of the psionics system in XPH, demanded the most significant upgrades. I was concerned that many of these powers would simply not receive an augment option, but actually Cordell did a pretty thorough job here. As an example, where appropriate, similar powers of different levels were combined. For example, adimantify, mineralize, mithrilize, and metallize, all of which harden the psion's skin, granting DR, were combined into the alloyed hide power. Some other powers that had no previous scaling like avaunt (which provides intimidate bonuses) now provide increased benefits with the expenditure of additional power points.
Cordell even uses Hyperconscious as a route for some quickened errata or variants for existing powers. The unofficial errata of the XPH dominate power appears here.
One thing from the older books you won't see here is a repeat of the If Thoughts Could Kill spell-to-power conversion. Arguably, this isn't needed anymore given how much attention psion powers have received since then, but it does present a bit of a problem if you wish to run the excellent If Thoughts Could Kill adventure, which relies on some of these conversions if the players don't play their cards right.
Prestige classes also follow the book formula of updating previous material and supporting the adventure. All of the prestige classes from Mindscapes: A Psion's Guide and If Thoughts Could Kill are updated here, and all of the remaining prestige classes appear in the adventure in some capacity. Most of the new prestige classes such as the Awakened Dreamer, Dream Keeper, and Dreamwright follow the adventure's dream theme. Other classes merely make cameos in the adventure. For example, the Astral Dragoon is a specialized rider that calls their mount from the stuff of the astral (sort of like the PHB's paladin's mount, but it makes sense…). The , Quietus is sort of a psionic assassin specialized in using telepathic attacks, most particularly mind thrust. The mechanics are a little odd on this one, as it seems as if as written, as at high levels, the quietus is quite likely to inflict more damage with a mind thrust if the victim makes the requisite saving throw than if they fail it.
The prestige classes chapter also has a few Expanded Psionics Handbook variants. Some tweaks are suggested for the pyrokineticist, and a new prestige class, the blade manifester, provides a soulknife character with some psionic powers. The former tweak seems fine while the latter to me misses the point. I do feel that the soulknife class from the XPH is a flawed idea, but the problem as I see it is that the class is inherently a specialized concept. The class itself should be a prestige class; making a more psionic prestige class does nothing to mend the conceptual issues of having the soulknife as a core class.
The most significant and needed tweak offered here is the much maligned metamind. The metamind variant presented here gets better cognizance crystal abilities sooner, and received more manifester level advancements. In the stead of the harsh manifester level advancement, the metamind is required to sequester powers, similar to the feat described aboving, meaning that the metamind is very focused, but has access to more potent powers and receives a much better benefit in terms of psionic power.
Conclusions
As a stand alone adventure, Hyperconsious is a competent adventure, and expands nicely on Cordell's Dark Plea idea. If the Dark Plea from When the Sky Falls appealed to you, the adventure is a compelling buy.
Considering the significant nature of the upgrades to the psionics system in the XPH, an upgrade of the Malhavoc material was compulsory if you want to use it. Those who already own this material will not find much new, but may feel compelled to pick up the updates, though Malhavoc has made this more manageable if you aren't afraid to go the PDF route, allowing you to pick up just the new material if you already have the upgrades of the old books.
The mindscapes system is the only system for a psionic combat system now that the XPH has ditched the core psionic combat system. Such a system helps keep the role of psionics distinct in the game and provides some flavorful options. That said, the mindscapes system required little upgrading to use with the XPH.
Overall, if you are comfortable with the XPH material but don't have the Malhavoc psionics material yet, Hyperconscious provides some interesting additions that are better balanced than anything currently written for psionics. If you are already using Malhavoc's psionics materials, there is a good chance you know if you want these, because you have been waiting impatiently for the upgrade.
Overall Grade: B+
-Alan D. Kohler
