Just picked up the Expanded Psionics Handbook

[Spatula]

Well, I picked the book up and have just gotten through the feats... I don't care for psions manifesting off of Int but that's old news and easy enough to change. One thing that leaped out at me is that psionic focus is a HUGE limiting factor on the psionic characters. It's a full round action to acquire the focus (DC 20 Concentration check) and most psionic feats require you to expend your focus in order to gain their benefit, so you generally only get to use one psionic feat once per fight. Also old news.

What I didn't realize is that all the Metapsionic feats require you to expend your focus!!! (AND still pay extra power points!) Power Penetration requires the expenditure of your focus! Psionic Endowment (the new name for the psi version of Spell Focus) requires the psionic focus to go bye-bye in order to get the save DC boost! What a huge and rather crippling change.

With the metapsionic feats, it looks like it might be in response to psions, as spontaneous "casters", not needing extra time to meta-up their powers. On the flip side, most of the metapsionic feats have a reduced power point cost increase (by 2 pts). I don't see much rationale yet for limiting Power Penetration and Psionic Endowment, though.

There is a feat that reduces the time to get your psionic focus back to a move action, which looks like it'll be more or less mandatory for psions.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Look at page 91. See the entry for Deja Vu?
Now look on page 92. See the entry for Deja Vu?

Isn't Mr. Cordell the prankster.

 

[Spatula]

Oh yeah, and Stand Still is no longer a psionic feat - anyone with a Str 13+ can take it and use it. Although it no longer does any damage. It's a very bizarre feat now, and I'm not sure how you'd describe it's use in game. "You attempt to run past the fighter, but he swings at you with his sword... hit! Make a DC 21 Reflex save. No, you don't take any damage. You failed your save, okay, you can't move any more this round. No, you're still standing. Because he hit you with his sword, duh!" Mind Over Body and Rapid Metabolism are also now general feats.

What's odd is the bunch of non-psionic, non-psionic related feats included the book for no discernable reason. Like Cloak Dance. General feat. Prereqs are Hide 10 ranks, Perform (dance) 2 ranks. Allows you to give yourself partial or total concealment for a round. WTF? As a psionic feat that requires you to expend your focus, I could understand, but not as a general feat.

The other non-psionic general feats are Deadly Precision (reroll 1's on sneak attack dice), Greater Manyshot (shoot manyshot arrows at different targets with different attack rolls), Openminded (gain 5 skill pts), Reckless Offense (-4 AC, +2 atk), and Sidestep Charge (+4 AC vs charge atk).

There's also a bunch of general anti-psionics feats that you can take only if you're not a psionic character yourself. Antipsionic Magic (your spells get a bonus vs PR, psi characters have a harder time dispelling your spells), Chaotic Mind (insight bonuses granted by psionics can't be used against you), Closed Mind (+2 on saves vs psi powers), Force of Will (can use your Will save to resist a psi power that normally calls for a Fort or Refl save), Hostile Mind (psions take damage when they use telepathy powers on you), Mental Resistance (take less damage/ability drain from non-energy psi powers), and Psionic Hole (psi opponent loses focus if he hits you, has to spend extra PP to use powers against you). Unfortunately, there's no anti-magic equivalents for psionic characters.

 

[Nightfall]

Spat,

There is one in Relics and Rituals 2. Power wise anyway...

 

[jester47]

TOC?

Monster list? Is there a provision for using the EPH Monsters in a game where you just use magic to represent everything supernatural?

Powers List? Are there any rules for converting spells to powers and vice versa?

I dislike the point based psionics system and I find many of the regular spells work great as psionic abilities. If the monsters and powers port well, I might get this book...

Mind Blast needs to be an ability...

Aaron.

 

[Spatula]

Monster list?

Aboleth
Astral Construct
Blue
Brain Mole
Caller in Darkness
Cerebrilith
Couatl
Crysmal
Dromite
Duergar
Elan
Folugub
Githyanki
Githzerai
Gray Glutton
Half-Giant
Intellect Devourer
Maenad
Mind-Flayer
Neothelid
Phrenic Creature
Pthisic
Psicrystal
Psion-Killer
Puppeteer
Puppeterr, Flesh Harrower
Temporal Filcher
Thought Eater
Thought Slayer
Thri-Kreen
Udoroot
Xeph
Yuan-Ti

Mostly revisions of 3.0 PsiHB monsters or regular monsters.

Is there a provision for using the EPH Monsters in a game where you just use magic to represent everything supernatural?

The default assumption is still that psionics and magic are transparent. I.e., psionics is magic.

Powers List? Are there any rules for converting spells to powers and vice versa?

The powers are designed with the power point system in mind this time around, so it's not a trivial task.

 

[Spatula]

Spat,

There is one in Relics and Rituals 2. Power wise anyway...

One what?

 

[Nightfall]

A power that disrupts magical spellcasting. Page 220, Psychic disruption. It causes the caster to make a Concentration check (15+ the manifestier Cha+the spell or power's level)

 

[Spatula]

Mind blast is now Psionic Blast, Psion/Wilder 3. Stuns targets in cone for 1 round, spend 2 PP to increase stun duration by 1 round.

 

[Spatula]

Can anyone post the Fist of Zuoken fluff text? I'm not much interested in the crunchy bits, as a Greyhawk-phile I'm interested in the level of faithfulness that was kept towards Zuoken.

For those in the know and can discern it, could you post other examples of usage of Greyhawkiana in the book?

There's not really any fluff in the PrC text, just that they're psionic monks. There is a Zuoken writeup in the back of the book, though. Neutral demigod, portfolio is monks & mental powers, domains are knowledge, mind, strength, and war. "Once a human martial artist, Zuoken attained such mental and physical perfection that he ascended into godhood several centuries ago."

There's also a writeup of Ilsensine, the mind flayer diety. And a note about the slightly revamped diety writeups, which will apparently also be seen in Complete Divine. The descriptions now include Herald (what the diety usually sends to the prime when it needs to intervene in mortal affairs), and Allies (the types of creatures the diety sends when its clerics cast a planar ally spell). Zuoken's herald is a thought slayer (basically a big thought eater), and his allies are rasts, couatls, and huge elementals. Ilsensine also uses thought slayers as heralds, and uses succubi, cerebriliths, and mariliths as allies.

There's also the mind domain and some new spells.