Is the Psion class balanced?

Scion said:
Only if it is a mostly magical world. If it is a mostly psionic world then magic becomes horribly powerful (this point is mainly from SR/PR point of view).

The different version simply makes things a bit more complicated along with questionable balance.. but since it is an optional rule one should expect that sort of thing ;)

I actually figured the point was mainly from a dispelling point of view. If Dispel Magic/Psionics cannot affect the opposite category, then putting up a spell or power in the minority sphere is much more powerful. By comparison, SR and PR are fairly rare.
 

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Dinkeldog said:
I actually figured the point was mainly from a dispelling point of view. If Dispel Magic/Psionics cannot affect the opposite category, then putting up a spell or power in the minority sphere is much more powerful. By comparison, SR and PR are fairly rare.

It depends on the game of course ;) But that is why I mentioned SR/PR specifically because there are other issues as well.

Although one could play with diminshed effects rather than full opacity.

but yes, with transparency each becomes stronger with respect to the other.. and weaker at the same time. I think that keeping them transparent makes this worry go away however.
 

Scion said:
Evards black tentacles is already incredibly powerful anyway either way.. Talk about overpowered spells yet people dont seem to mind.

They don't seem to mind because by the time you get to the level where opponents get the spell, you tend to have a variety of ways out of it.

I just used one about 5 weeks ago and the only character who needed help getting out of it in the entire party of 5 was an already unconscious PC.

In fact, the caster of it ended up casting it a second time and the PCs were able to get out of the second one as well. Granted, it might take a few rounds depending on the PC, but this is not "incredibly powerful" unless you combine it with other spells like Solid Fog or Acid Fog.

It's obvious that your gaming experiences and mine do not match. What you consider powerful, I consider ok. What I consider powerful (a PC who goes unconscious once in 9 levels), you consider ok. :D
 

Scion said:
but yes, with transparency each becomes stronger with respect to the other.. and weaker at the same time. I think that keeping them transparent makes this worry go away however.

I far prefer transparency.
 


Because I don't want psionics more or less powerful than divine and arcane magic based on whether it's a minority or majority power source. In addition, divine and arcane magic affect one another freely. It seems to be more internally consistent to have transparency among all three.

And with transparency, I haven't experienced competent psions being weaker or stronger overall than competent arcane or divine spellcasters.
 

The part of the XPH that most often gets ignored IME are the anti-psionic feats & spells. Anyone ever take one (as a PC) or give a monster one (as a DM)?

-- N
 

Dinkeldog said:
Because I don't want psionics more or less powerful than divine and arcane magic based on whether it's a minority or majority power source. In addition, divine and arcane magic affect one another freely. It seems to be more internally consistent to have transparency among all three.

And with transparency, I haven't experienced competent psions being weaker or stronger overall than competent arcane or divine spellcasters.

Also, Transparency's biggest advantage is seamlessness. A DM who is either neutral or slightly averse to Psionics will be more likely to allow its use in his game if its rules are consistent with magic's. The fewer times a DM has to make a bunch of new rulings, or become familiar with an entirely different mechanic, then the more likely he is to allow that player to use the info. If a Psion is "like a warlock" or "like a wizard" and Dispels work, detects work, etc. then there's little adaptation needed; if however he has to take every instance of opacity into account, then the psion is the "odd man out" are less likely to be included.

I've had to fight VERY hard to get Psionics recognized by other players in my group, and now that I have, and at least two other players have played a Psi-active PC since the Expanded book came out, Psionics is getting "street cred" in my group as a fun choice that's no more broken or complicated than the rest of the D&D rules, and part of this acceptance is due to treating its effects just like any other magic system.
 

KarinsDad said:
They don't seem to mind because by the time you get to the level where opponents get the spell, you tend to have a variety of ways out of it.

Generally true, but it is one of those spells that must be dealt with immediately or it will hamper everyone.

with a grapple check of caster level +8 and a number of ways to boost caster level it can become a pretty large problem. Similar in some ways to the various 'caster level or less do big bad things' spells.


KarinsDad said:
Granted, it might take a few rounds depending on the PC, but this is not "incredibly powerful" unless you combine it with other spells like Solid Fog or Acid Fog.

Ottos irresistable dance is an 8th level power with touch range that can remove a combatant for a few rounds, and it is only single target and is compulsion and mind effecting and only on living targets.

In at least a few ways the tentacles are actually stronger.

so yes, being able to tie up most/all of the party for 'just a few rounds' would make for a very powerful spell.
 

Nifft said:
The part of the XPH that most often gets ignored IME are the anti-psionic feats & spells. Anyone ever take one (as a PC) or give a monster one (as a DM)?

Not once.

Course, except of PCs, Psions tend to be rare in our campaign. Usually, if you find a Psionic NPC, it is an ally or enemy of the PCs.

With 2000+ feats to choose from for NPCs, anti-psionic ones are low on the list. ;)
 

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