Just picked up the Expanded Psionics Handbook

[Plane Sailing]

OK, so is the base AC from Inertial Armor +4 then? If it starts at +1, then a +1 per 4 level progression kinda stinks, especially if their effective level is only half their character level.

Thanks for the info!

The inertial armour power gives +4 armour bonus to AC, and +1 per 2pp it is augmented by. (Force screen gives +4 shield bonus to AC and +1 per 4pp)

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Domination: Psionic is better. You can dominate nearly anything you run into at 9th-level, the wizard has to wait 8 more levels to do so.

I don't care if the wizard's spell lasts a lot longer, it would be broken in the hands of a class with power point flexibility. You want cohorts? Beg your DM for the Leadership feat instead of using some broken power. Being able to dominate hordes of followers for days (and not pay power points on days 2-5) is just ridiculous.

I would be happier if it had a duration of 1 minute/level, though.

Platypus of Death: it's still there, it's just got some (transparent) flesh on it. Actually, there are two of them, the regular version (thought devourer) and the uber thought slayer.

 

[jasamcarl]

As long as they're balanced, no there isn't.

To clarify, I'm not angry or upset that the 3.5e feats are too uber. Haven't had the opportunity to get the book for myself yet. Rather, from what I'm hearing I'm concerned that they may still reflect their 3.0 status, and worse still, join the ranks of BoED and PGtF in offering one special category of feats that are bigger and better than others, without a significant mitigating factor.

[EDIT] Just from the sound of it, the focus factor sounds lopsided. Characters that can rank anywhere between tissue to titanium depending on whether or not they've had a chance to buff are awkward. It certainly makes it rougher on the DM to know how to gauge an encounter if he has no idea whether or not the PC's will see an encounter coming or stumble headlong into it.

The requirement for focus is not more awkward then a dozen other variations in class utility that comes up in play, i.e. wizard spell preperation and dm's choice of opponents. They are basically quick boost feats that blow hard and then out with a very discernable tactical cost in time; it would be easier to keep track of than the wizard's spell list, the number of barbarian rages, etc.

That said, I share some of your conscern over the the new psion's balance, but for different reasons.

 

[EricNoah]

Psi-philes might be interested to know that I've completed a "beta" version of an XPH spreadsheet. Grab a copy here and please let me know about any mistakes you find: http://webpages.charter.net/ericnoah/noahrpg/xphpowersbeta.zip . I was half asleep for the PsyWarrior sheet so there's probably plenty of room for improvement.

 

[Tratyn Runewind]

Hello again,

Hmm, Staffan has been kind enough to respond to the githyanki question that was asked of me, so I'll move on to other items...

Posted by Staffan:
That's what you should compare Inertial Armor to, not some hypothetical mage armor + permanency combo (which isn't allowed by the rules, BTW).

Anything that improves AC would seem to me to be a legitimate comparison for Inertial Armor. Among Feats, that looks like Dodge (vastly inferior to Inertial Armor), Expertise (somewhat inferior to Inertial Armor), Mobility (vastly inferior to Inertial Armor), Armor Proficiency (somewhat inferior to Inertial Armor, though much easier to get with a level of the right class), and Craft Magic Arms and Armor (perhaps the equal of Inertial Armor, though with much higher costs attached to it). And yes, the Mage Armor - Permanency combo is disallowed without explicit GM permission (and special research). Yet it still well describes the game effect of Inertial Armor. Do you really think that this effect was disallowed because it was too weak or too uninteresting, rather than too powerful?

Posted by Staffan:
I don't have a problem with Domination having a duration of Concentration, per se. It's psionic domination having a concentration duration and arcane domination lasting for days. If there's anything psionics should be better at than arcane magic, it's mind control.

It appears to me that psionic mind control is better than magical in pretty much every respect except duration. And both as a matter of flavor and a matter of balance decisions, I have no problem with psionics in general being more dependent on concentration than magic is. There's also a cool Power (Solicit Psicrystal) that lets you turn over maintenance of a concentration-duration Power to your Psicrystal, if you really have to do something else while maintaining Domination...

Posted by Plane Sailing:
The inertial armour power gives +4 armour bonus to AC, and +1 per 2pp it is augmented by. (Force screen gives +4 shield bonus to AC and +1 per 4pp)

Yes, Inertial Armor is an augmentable psionic analog of Mage Armor, just as Force Screen is the rough equivalent of the Shield Spell. Durations, in particular, are comparable to their magical versions.

Posted by (Psi) SeveredHead:
You want cohorts? Beg your DM for the Leadership feat instead of using some broken power. Being able to dominate hordes of followers for days (and not pay power points on days 2-5) is just ridiculous.

The Thrallherd PC has a Class Feature that functions a lot like an improved Leadership Feat, raking in a bunch of less-than-completely-voluntary flunkies and a few higher-level followers. You don't appear to be able to pick particular individuals for this control, though - susceptible people just start to trickle in under your influence once you have the ability. Doesn't "stack" with Leadership, either.

Hope this helps!

 

[Plane Sailing]

Psi-philes might be interested to know that I've completed a "beta" version of an XPH spreadsheet. Grab a copy here and please let me know about any mistakes you find: http://webpages.charter.net/ericnoah/noahrpg/xphpowersbeta.zip . I was half asleep for the PsyWarrior sheet so there's probably plenty of room for improvement.

It is nice work Eric. Can I suggest a possible improvement?

I don't like the way that the discipline powers end up bunched at the bottom away from the main list of powers. Would it work better to have a separate column to show discipline only / psion list (enabling easy filtering if needed) and then to include colour-coded lines at the bottom of each spell level?

I think that might be easier to use when selecting powers and better for display purposes too.

edit: I've just noticed that you've got some appropriate columns in there - setting the powers table to sort on power level and power name within power level provides what I want with no extra work. Gotta love spreadsheets!

Perhaps it would be worth including something optional about that in the instructions page?

Cheers

 

[Plane Sailing]

Also, I think you've got the data for the Seer power "second chance" wrong. You've got "You can reroll one attack, save, ability or skill check per round." but I think the way it works is that

a) you manifest the power, and it lasts for 1r per level
b) at any point during that duration you can expend it to gain the reroll. That single reroll ends the power.

Otherwise it would be humongously powerful!

 

[Staffan]

OK, so is the base AC from Inertial Armor +4 then? If it starts at +1, then a +1 per 4 level progression kinda stinks, especially if their effective level is only half their character level.

Yeah, "base" inertial armor is +4. It's augmentable, costing 2 PP per extra +1.

Since githzerai get it as a psi-like ability, it is considered augmented to the full manifester level, which in this case is equal to HD/2. So if you have a 6th level githzerai monk, his manifester level is 3. This means he "spends" 3 PP on the power when he uses it, which pumps it up to an armor bonus of +5.

Anything that improves AC would seem to me to be a legitimate comparison for Inertial Armor. Among Feats, that looks like Dodge (vastly inferior to Inertial Armor), Expertise (somewhat inferior to Inertial Armor), Mobility (vastly inferior to Inertial Armor), Armor Proficiency (somewhat inferior to Inertial Armor, though much easier to get with a level of the right class), and Craft Magic Arms and Armor (perhaps the equal of Inertial Armor, though with much higher costs attached to it).

You have to consider the bonus type as well. Armor bonuses are dirt cheap to get - you can get +8 for only 1500 gp if you're willing to take the mobility hit to get it. Other bonuses max out at +5, and generally cost something like 50,000 gp to get that much. You can't get dodge bonuses at all via magic items (at least none I can think of).

Inertial armor gives an Armor bonus, which means you have to compare it to other things that give armor bonuses. The closest equivalent in 3.0 was the masterwork chain shirt or the +1 studded leather, costing 250 gp and 1,175 gp, respectively. Personally, I think a feat is worth a bit more than 1,175 gp.

Also, inertial armor is not as good for the psionic character as mage armor is for the wizard. The main attraction of mage armor is that the wizard can cast spells in it without problems. This is a non-issue for the psion - if he's willing to take the -6 penalty to attacks, he can walk around in a tin can (full plate) and get +8 to AC, and still use his powers without any problems whatsoever.

 

[EricNoah]

Also, I think you've got the data for the Seer power "second chance" wrong. You've got "You can reroll one attack, save, ability or skill check per round." but I think the way it works is that

a) you manifest the power, and it lasts for 1r per level
b) at any point during that duration you can expend it to gain the reroll. That single reroll ends the power.

Otherwise it would be humongously powerful!

I will certainly check again, but I think the way I have it is right. I think there's a lower level power that is sort of a "discharge" power as you describe.

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions and corrections!

 

[Henry]

This doesn't really seem all that bad. If you took Toughness over and over instead of Psionic Body and your other Psi Feats, you'd get 3 HP per Feat, a 50% improvement.

Except that Psi-Body means that each feat does something else AND gives you two points - a double whammy. Even Psi-Body itself gives 2 points just for taking it, rather than merely opening the door. I don't think it's overpowered, but put it in context with Vigor; it doesn't require Points, and when stacked with vigor, means a PsyWar is going to be a very formidable force. Vigor, by itself, costing 1 point per 5 hit points, and capping at caster level, means that it's no unbalanced, Combining it with Psi-Body is a no-brainer; i would be surprised to see which Psychic Warrior DOESN'T pick it, especially by the middle levels.

In a thread over on Monte Cook's site, someont complained that a "front-line fighter" like the psywar only had a d8 hit dice. Vigor and Psi-Body mean that he could have a TEN constitution - and still come out well. In summary, I think that both vigor and this feat are just about right.