Introducing Psionics (To both the players and me)

[SnowleopardVK]

In the current campaign I'm running the majority of my group is new to pathfinder (one completely new to RP, one with a little 2e experience, one with RP experience, but not with d20, and one who does know the system). Since most of them are new, or new-ish, as am I to being a GM, I like to give them situations that will make use of rules they've never used before. For example I made a giant slug monster try to crawl on top of and eat the cleric so that they'd get to try out grapple rules, and they got attacked by a bat swarm so they could see a bit of how swarm-traits work.

I've been giving them lots of varying situations like that so they can try out many different aspects of the rules, and I plan to give them many more of such situations in future sessions. One thing in particular, is Psionics.

Now... I don't intend to actually bring anything majorly psionic into play for several sessions, since I'm new to it as well, and that whole set of rules seems relatively daunting for me as a GM to learn. Eventually though I intend for them to fight a Blue who commanded some goblins that they fought earlier.

I also wouldn't mind if I could test it out a bit before the arrival of the Blue by using some minor psionic monsters. I've been considering having the necromancer that the party is currently hunting fall under the control of a puppeteer for example partially because a puppeteer seemed like perhaps the simplest psionic thing I could possibly introduce (and partially because a puppeteer wouldn't seem entirely out of place/thrown in in the dungeon where the necromancer has made his lair). Heck I might even be able to do a neat subplot with Phrenic Scourges once the party gets higher in level.

Less about the future plot planning though. For now I just wanted to ask what the major basics that I should make sure I know about psionics are?

 

[Varthol]

re

First of all, in 3.5, there was a variant rule to treat psionic powers as spells for the purpose of many effects (dispel, antimagic field, SR, etc...). You should play this rule for game balance.

Second, all psionic classes have a base reserve of power points (PP) according to their level. For multiclass characters with more than one psionic class, add those points together. Characters gain bonus power points per level with high mental ability scores (INT for psions, WIS for psychic warriors, etc...). Maximum powers level and powers known are determined by class and level.

Then you have your manifester level. Typically, psionic powers usually use your full manifester level for most variables except one, usually the damage dice of damaging spells. To increase the damage dealt by mind thrust, a 1st level psionic power, you must spend additional pp. Mind thrust deals an additional damage die for every power point you spend and for every 2 extra damage dice the save DC increases by 1 (this is called augmentation of a power, not all powers have augmentations though).Your manifester level is the limit of power points that can be spent on a single power.

Psionic powers can have XP components, but (almost) never have expensive material components.

All psionic powers have a minimum pp cost (you must spend that many pp before even augmenting the power):
0 - I haven't checked PF adaptations but in 3.0-3.5, unlike spells, there were no 0 level psionic powers
1st - 1pp
2nd - 3pp
3rd - 5pp
4th - 7pp
5th - 9pp
6th - 11pp
7th - 13pp
8th - 15pp
9th - 17pp
The equivalent of metamagic feats -metapsionic- increase the pp that must be spent on that power and you must expend your psionic focus.

Last, to become psionic focused you must succeed at DC 20 Concentration check (standard action, provokes AoO). There are many feats and class features that say "as long as you are psionicly focused" or "by expending your psionic focus".

Psionics do not suffer from arcane spell failure and you do not need a free hand to use them (cast while grappled + hurray full-plate ).

The final part, psionics characters have access to an extra skill, Autohypnosis, which can allow you to ignore many effects if you roll high enough (relatively easy at lvl 8 and later).

Can't really fit the entire XPH in one post but hope I helped you .

 

[Dingo333]

My suggestion:

Do you want your players to play psionics?

Do you want to use psionics?

If you answered no to either of these, you may wanna rethink previewing them for your players in your game.

The game gets complicated, especially when you throw things outta left field at your players. Psionics is one of those things laying in left field waiting to be thrown.

If you and your players like them great, but I recommend finishing 1 game first so they have a basic understanding of pathfinder in general. Then, make up a few characters that are all psionic and do a mini dungeon (3 levels or so) where it is all about psionics.

Then from there, decide if you like psionics enough to have it main stream in a full game

 

[paradox42]

Unlike the previous two posters, I'll assume that your references to psionic critter names mean that you've read the Pathfinder psionics rules- whether that means on d20pfsrd.com, or you have the actual book they came from (Dreamscarred Press's "Psionics Unleashed.")

That said, I had lots of experience running psionic characters and NPCs in my 3.5 game (which eventually went high-to-ridiculous Epic), and have a psionic PC in the PF game I'm playing in now- so I've been able to see the differences.

Probably the biggest difference between psionic characters and nonpsionic ones, is that the psionic characters have a tendency to "nova." They burn up their power points quickly on a few really powerful effects- though more such effects than an equal-level spellcaster could pull off. For example, a 7th-level Evoker Wizard with a 20 INT could potentially cast 7 Fireballs before running out for the day (and this is assuming he filled all of his 3rd and 4th-level slots with Fireball), but a 7th-level Kineticist Psion (Psion specialized in Psychokinesis, which is the "blasting" psionic discipline much like Evocation is the "blasting" magical school) with 20 INT can use the Energy Ball power *9* times before running out of juice. The difference is, the Wizard still has his 2nd-level and lower slots left available after burning through those high-level slots, but the Psion used up everything he's got- 63 power points, Energy Ball costs 7 to use, so 9 uses.

The above example further assumes the Psion doesn't Overchannel to raise his manifester level, but most canny players of a Psion will have that feat and use it to the hilt. The guy playing the Psion in the PF game I'm involved in certainly does. If you follow through on that plan to bring in the Blue, consider giving your little blue villain Overchannel to make him a bigger threat to the PCs. This depends somewhat on what sorts of powers he uses, of course- if he doesn't have many powers that can be augmented, then Overchannel usually isn't worth the feat slot. Also, if he has lot hit points, whether from low CON or something else, then the damage taken from using Overchannel will add up real quick- but of course, if he's only expected to be in one combat with the PCs, then maybe it'll make him a more credible threat.

Given that this Blue is in control of a Goblin tribe, you might also give him Psicrystal Affinity (which gives him a psicrystal, the psionic equivalent of a familiar). The most likely psicrystal for this situation would be Bully, I'd suggest, since he'd want the +3 Intimidate to help keep the lesser gobbos in line- but any of them could be useful, and you know the situation he's in better than I do so I can't offer any more specific suggestions than that.

The rule about psionics and spells being treated the same for the purposes of dispelling and such is "Psionic-Magic Transparency," and it's definitely a good one to follow for most campaigns.

Can you ask more specific questions, to give us some more to go on on what you're trying to do?

EDIT: a more realistic example may be helpful here. The PC in the game I'm in now is a 10th-level Elan with something like a 28 INT, with the Overchannel feat (and he uses it constantly to raise his effective ML to 12th). One recent session, he spent something like 10 manifestations of Mind Control on one surviving gnoll we encountered ("surviving" meaning, he was one we left alive and captured out of a band of about 12 that we'd just fought) to pump it for information about its army, its headquarters, and so on- the gnoll kept breaking the control because it didn't want to answer the questions being put to it, but the Psion was always ready with another when it did. No Wizard of about 10th level could do something similar with Dominate spells- he'd run out too quickly.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

Yes, I've been on d20pfsrd.com (Me? Afford books? That's just silly) and I've read into it as best as I could, although I sometimes find the organization of that place a bit tough to follow. I hadn't yet read through all of the psionic feats yet either, so your mention of some of them to consider was helpful.

In answer to your questions Dingo, yes I want to use psionics first of all, and for this particular campaign I won't say no if one of the players wants to get into psionics after seeing them, it might make the story pretty cool after all. I've talked with my players before the first session though, and all of them have general ideas of what they want their characters to become. Unless one of the three newer ones (I assume the fourth knows at the very least what psionics are) is really wowed by them I doubt any of my players themselves are going to want to change the character they already have in mind that much to accommodate psionics.

Now based on their location (the goblins are out on the ocean on watchtowers that rise from the water, and when not on the towers they're likely in submarines) I think making the Blue a shaper might be interesting, or possibly an Egoist. He'll probably be somewhere around 9th level so that he's a challenge by the time they get to him, but not too much so. Since he'll have several feats by that point I think I will indeed give him psicrystal, maybe overchannel (I'll have to look at what kinds of powers he's getting first, since I don't yet know the details of what can be augmented and what can't among all the powers). He might possibly get return shot too.

What I'm trying to do is essentially a three step process of:
1. Introduce a minor psionic monster.
2. Introduce a more dangerous psionic monster.
3. Introduce a minor villain with a psionic race and class, in this case the Blue.

The result I'm going for by doing this is first of all to give me a better understanding of psionics and some experience handling them, and second to introduce psionics to players who may not have known what they were. I'm not intending to alter the whole campaign and make it psionic-heavy nor do I expect any of the players to want a psionic class after this. The whole thing basically amounts to some new types of monsters for the PCs to fight, and then having a minor villain with a little something unique about him. It's a learning experience.

 

[paradox42]

Given that this Blue is controlling a tribe of gobbos, is there a specific reason you're not considering Telepath for his specialty? Just curious- it is the most obvious way to go, so perhaps you're trying to avoid cliches. Admittedly, both Shaper and Egoist (given their special Discipline abilities and power selection) would tend to make him more durable, so he has a better chance of getting away and becoming a recurring villain in the future.

Another important feat to keep in mind (given he's that high) is Expanded Knowledge. Use this to pick up feats from other class lists or Discipline lists, and it becomes one of the best feats any Psion can take. Also, the 4th-level power Psychic Reformation is practically a must-have, as it lets you re-pick feats, skill points, and even powers known just so long as you have the time to manifest it and the wherewithal to eat the negative levels for a day if you redo more than one level. Added bonus if you combine the two: make his 9th-level feat Expanded Knowledge, and you can use Reformation to re-pick it without even taking negative level (since it's essentially free if you just do the most recent one). And yes, the power description doesn't say they're negative levels, but the penalties are essentially identical- I'm pretty sure they did that so that Undead Psions (for example), or other creatures immune to negative levels, wouldn't be able to just spam the power at will for no penalty- and note that if you Augment it, you can avoid taking penalties altogether (though not until you can get your ML up to 13).

Egoist's Vigor used as a Discipline Talent isn't hugely good, but don't underestimate the value of taking it as an actual power- effects that grant temporary hit points become almost abusive when you can spam them over and over again. The guy playing the Psion in the game I'm in now does this every combat; he relies on Vigor to give himself scads of hit points and just reestablishes it when the reservoir gets low. He rarely takes actual real damage, as a result.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

Given that this Blue is controlling a tribe of gobbos, is there a specific reason you're not considering Telepath for his specialty? Just curious- it is the most obvious way to go, so perhaps you're trying to avoid cliches. Admittedly, both Shaper and Egoist (given their special Discipline abilities and power selection) would tend to make him more durable, so he has a better chance of getting away and becoming a recurring villain in the future.

I chose not to go with Telepath partly because of the stereotype yes, and partly because I wanted the actual control to come more from a fear of his power than from his power itself.

 

[Glade Riven]

Well, more power to you.

I suppose the thing that gets me about psionics (including Dreamscarred Press psionics) is that it is practically it's own campaign setting and feels awkward when paired with the standard core stuff. Don't get me wrong - Psionics Unleashed is a decent book (well, the art isn't that good, but the rules & typography are solid) - it just doesn't quite feel like it fits with the rest of Pathfinder.

 

[3catcircus]

I've got to recommend getting your hands on a copy of the Spycraft 1.0 campaign setting Shadowforce Archer, even though it is 3.0-based and will need a few tweaks to make it fit more smoothly.

Psionics are handled very creatively, such that psionicists don't overpower non-psionicists.

Essentially, in that system, psionicists use feats to gain access to psionic abilities and then use skill ranks to determine how well they do with those abilities.