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Message: <blockquote data-quote="IanB" data-source="post: 2727505" data-attributes="member: 1473">Perhaps a minor point, but I think +4 to spell penetration rolls that is on all the time is far preferable to a +8 that I can only use once per fight without spending time trying to get my focus back and that also presents me with an opportunity cost in losing other actions I could take by spending that focus (or passive abilities that only function while focused.)I know my first impression upon seeing the power penetration feats in the XPH was 'blech.' I haven't seen anything in play yet that has caused me to change my mind about it. (Yes, we have multiple games with psions.)Sure, the psion might get +8 on one spell roll one round. If he wants to do it again the next round, he has to have spent a feat on psionic meditation, at a total cost of 3 feats, or 2 feats on psicrystal affinity and psicrystal containment, at a total cost of 4 feats. On top of that using the focus on power penetration precludes using it for DC enhancement or a metapsionic power, again, unless more feats are spent.Meanwhile, the wizard can cast 2 regular spells and 2 quickened spells in the same time, all of which get +4, and while he's also spent 3 feats to get there, spending a spell slot on quicken spell is much more attractive an option to me than spending a spell slot to shore up a weakness. He also doesn't have the requirement to make a concentration roll to gain his focus back, thereby taking extra attacks of opportunity and being subject to other modifiers to skill checks, etc.I don't see an advantage here, I see a disadvantage, and a pretty strong one at that, except in narrow cases where the SR of a foe is significantly out of whack for the group's level. Feat slots are, in my opinion, the most precious resource a character has. It is the same problem that Psionic Endowment/Greater Psionic Endowment have when stacked next to Spell Focus (although really that one is much worse, since at least with Power Penetration the psion gets double value. Psionic Endowment only has the advantage of not being school-dependent, which is not that much of an advantage.) Passive bonuses are generally stronger in the long run than active ones, unless the active ones are really aggressively designed.</blockquote>

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