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The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
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Just picked up the Expanded Psionics Handbook
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<blockquote data-quote="Tratyn Runewind" data-source="post: 1492346" data-attributes="member: 685"><p>Hello, </p><p></p><p>Some initial impressions from my recent reading...</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Overall</strong>, to me, a serious improvement over the original 3E PsiHB. Multiple ability dependency is gone, Powers are highly scalable and augmentable in a manner similar in many ways to the new <em>Unearthed Arcana</em>'s spell point system, Psionic Feats are much saner than they were before, the Power Displays are much less annoying, and there's just plain more cool <em>stuff</em>.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Low-level characters</strong> can get a good suite of iconic "signature" Powers very early on. A first-level Telepath can start with a mental communication Power (Mindlink), a mental attack Power (Mind Thrust), and either a mind control Power (Psionic Charm) or a quite decent mental defense Power (Empty Mind, apparently the old "Mind Blank" defense mode renamed so as not to cause confusion with the Mind Blank Power that is similar to the Spell of the same name). Telekinetics get level-1 Powers that move objects at a distance (Far Hand, similar to Mage Hand), deflect attacks (Force Screen and Inertial Armor), and shape energy into attack rays (Energy Ray); an actual kinetic-force attack (Concussion Blast) is a level-2 Power, and the Telekinesis Spell itself (level 5 for Wizards and Sorcerers) has been broken up into 3 seperate Powers, two of which are level-3 and one of which is level-4. Seers get lots of precognitive combat and skill tricks early, and the equivalent of 3.0 (i. e., unlimited range) Clairaudience/Clairvoyance as a level-2 Power. Psychometabolism offers scads of cheap Temporary Hit Points as a level-1 Power, with Damage Resistance at level-2, and psionic self-healing at level-3. And Nomads can get their first Teleportation-subtype Power as a level-2 Power now.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>The Psionic Talent Feat</strong> makes it possible for very low-level psionic characters to use their Powers quite often; a first-level human Psion with slightly above-average key ability who spent all three Feats on Psionic Talent has 12 Power Points, and can thus, in theory, manifest the equivalent of twelve level-1 Spells in one day. This is somewhat balanced by the fact that many level-1 Powers are the equivalent of level-0 Spells, and is more harshly balanced by the fact that as the costs of higher-level Powers rise, those extra Power Points start to lose much of their relative value compared to the benefits of the Feats forgone to get them - especially the nice Psionic Feats passed up. Decisions, decisions...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>The Psychokinetic Powers</strong> seem to have much more emphasis on manipulation of non-kinetic energies than is typical in most psi-genre stuff I've read. This, though, was the case in the original PsiHB, too, so it's not really a change. I do find it very interesting that they've given the various energy types the PK'rs can pick from slightly differing game effects beyond simply getting past different forms of energy resistance or immunity. Cold "energies", in particular, are nasty in that they change the half-damage Save to a Fort Save from a Reflex Save, getting around the Evasion/Improved Evasion of Rogues and Monks. I'd love to see similar flavor-tweaks for energy types done for magic, for consistency's sake, if nothing else.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>The Wilder</strong> is an interesting class, its position relative to the Psion roughly analogous to that of the Sorcerer compared to the Wizard. They get FAR fewer Powers Known than a Psion - about a third the number, consistently to level 20, when they know a total of eleven powers of levels 1 through 9 (not counting any they may have learned with Feats). Even Sorcerers are not nearly so limited in their options. And Wilder Power Point progression is the exact same as a Psions. Their main advantage lies in being able to "Wild Surge" at will, getting a boost in effective Manifester Level <em>and</em> "free" Power Points to pay for the boosted Power, at risk of temporary slight debilitation. Wilders who avoid the debilitation can also get minor morale-based combat bonuses for a little while from the "rush" of channeling the extra power, and their seething emotions also drain Telepaths who touch their minds and give them an intuition bonus against touch attacks. It's a way cool concept, but the very limited list of Powers Known, and the slow rate of acquiring them, is an exceedingly harsh balancing factor, especially considering that the Wilder is the only Power-Manifesting Class to get <em>no</em> Bonus Feats (which can be spent to learn new Powers), and the only Class at all, normal or Prestige, which gains <em>no</em> Bonus Feats for Epic Level progression. I'm hoping that the lack of Epic Bonus Feats is a Halfling Outrider BAB/Soulknife BAB-type outright error.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Speaking of <strong>limits on Powers Known</strong>, I was under the impression, from stuff I'd read on these boards, that study and spending XPs would allow characters to gain new Powers in excess of the normal limits. This is mistaken - you can research Powers, existing or all-new, but this will explicitly NOT allow you to exceed the normal limits on Powers Known by Class and Level - only the Expanded Knowledge feat, and certain Epic Feats, will allow that. Not sure whether the scuttlebutt around here was wrong, or if I just misinterpreted it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>The Duodimensional weapon</strong> abilities have been toned down into simply the psionic equivalent of Keen weapons; I'm not sure how it was done in the original 3e PsiHB, but I seem to remember a time when these things ignored all armor bonuses to AC. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">There's a bigger assortment of <strong>psionic "enchanted" items</strong>, of which my favorites right now are probably the Masks and Third Eyes - nice to see more stuff that takes up the eyeglasses/lenses/goggles slot on a character's body. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>All the "essential" psionic beasties</strong> (that is, to me, a non-Dark Sun fan) are covered: mind flayers, githyanki/githzerai, duergar, aboleths, intellect devourers, brain moles, thought eaters, couatls. Even the cerebral parasites are back, after a fashion, as a disease you can catch from the brain moles. Only critters I halfway miss are shedu and psionic molds and oozes. Intellect devourer has this cool thing now where it can actually [spoiler]crawl inside a skull and animate a body - if the owner is alive when this happens, he instantly dies[/spoiler]. There are a bunch of other creatures I'm less enthused about, as well.</li> </ul><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't know that I'd go so far as to call them "poorly implemented", but there are certainly some things I'd have done a little differently. Read Thoughts as a Telepath-only Power is likely one of them, but the one that surprised me the most was Dimension Slide - not only not on the Nomad list, but not on the Psion/Wilder list at all; only Psychic Warriors can take it without blowing a Feat on it.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Not to me; certainly no worse than the massive curing capabilites of a Cleric of similar level. The THP's may help keep you alive in a spot where the healer can't get to you, but the cured points are back forever, where the THP's are gone essentially after one fight, and can only be used for the one party member with the Power.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>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. Since D&D combatants fight at full efficiency until they lose their last Hit Point, that handful of extra HP will come into play only in real emergency situations. The same could be said, though, of many Psi Feat abilities, which often require expenditure of the jealously-hoarded-for-emergency-use Focus, or simply provide options that are unneccessary in the large majority of orc bake/mook thrashing combat situations. So, while it's certainly a nice feat, that will likely make it into many min-maxed psi-warrior builds, it doesn't seem either essential or unbalancing to me.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>As I've mentioned above, this aspect actually seems seriously toned down to me in this book compared to the 3.0 PsiHB. Some truly egregious Feats (like Inertial Armor) have been turned into Powers, many others have been chilled out with Focus and the need to maintain or expend it, non-psis get their own Feats to add a bit more balance, and, at worst, the Wild Talent Feat lets anyone play, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em".</p><p></p><p>Hope this helps! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tratyn Runewind, post: 1492346, member: 685"] Hello, Some initial impressions from my recent reading... [list] [*][b]Overall[/b], to me, a serious improvement over the original 3E PsiHB. Multiple ability dependency is gone, Powers are highly scalable and augmentable in a manner similar in many ways to the new [i]Unearthed Arcana[/i]'s spell point system, Psionic Feats are much saner than they were before, the Power Displays are much less annoying, and there's just plain more cool [i]stuff[/i]. [*][b]Low-level characters[/b] can get a good suite of iconic "signature" Powers very early on. A first-level Telepath can start with a mental communication Power (Mindlink), a mental attack Power (Mind Thrust), and either a mind control Power (Psionic Charm) or a quite decent mental defense Power (Empty Mind, apparently the old "Mind Blank" defense mode renamed so as not to cause confusion with the Mind Blank Power that is similar to the Spell of the same name). Telekinetics get level-1 Powers that move objects at a distance (Far Hand, similar to Mage Hand), deflect attacks (Force Screen and Inertial Armor), and shape energy into attack rays (Energy Ray); an actual kinetic-force attack (Concussion Blast) is a level-2 Power, and the Telekinesis Spell itself (level 5 for Wizards and Sorcerers) has been broken up into 3 seperate Powers, two of which are level-3 and one of which is level-4. Seers get lots of precognitive combat and skill tricks early, and the equivalent of 3.0 (i. e., unlimited range) Clairaudience/Clairvoyance as a level-2 Power. Psychometabolism offers scads of cheap Temporary Hit Points as a level-1 Power, with Damage Resistance at level-2, and psionic self-healing at level-3. And Nomads can get their first Teleportation-subtype Power as a level-2 Power now. [*][b]The Psionic Talent Feat[/b] makes it possible for very low-level psionic characters to use their Powers quite often; a first-level human Psion with slightly above-average key ability who spent all three Feats on Psionic Talent has 12 Power Points, and can thus, in theory, manifest the equivalent of twelve level-1 Spells in one day. This is somewhat balanced by the fact that many level-1 Powers are the equivalent of level-0 Spells, and is more harshly balanced by the fact that as the costs of higher-level Powers rise, those extra Power Points start to lose much of their relative value compared to the benefits of the Feats forgone to get them - especially the nice Psionic Feats passed up. Decisions, decisions... [*][b]The Psychokinetic Powers[/b] seem to have much more emphasis on manipulation of non-kinetic energies than is typical in most psi-genre stuff I've read. This, though, was the case in the original PsiHB, too, so it's not really a change. I do find it very interesting that they've given the various energy types the PK'rs can pick from slightly differing game effects beyond simply getting past different forms of energy resistance or immunity. Cold "energies", in particular, are nasty in that they change the half-damage Save to a Fort Save from a Reflex Save, getting around the Evasion/Improved Evasion of Rogues and Monks. I'd love to see similar flavor-tweaks for energy types done for magic, for consistency's sake, if nothing else. [*][b]The Wilder[/b] is an interesting class, its position relative to the Psion roughly analogous to that of the Sorcerer compared to the Wizard. They get FAR fewer Powers Known than a Psion - about a third the number, consistently to level 20, when they know a total of eleven powers of levels 1 through 9 (not counting any they may have learned with Feats). Even Sorcerers are not nearly so limited in their options. And Wilder Power Point progression is the exact same as a Psions. Their main advantage lies in being able to "Wild Surge" at will, getting a boost in effective Manifester Level [i]and[/i] "free" Power Points to pay for the boosted Power, at risk of temporary slight debilitation. Wilders who avoid the debilitation can also get minor morale-based combat bonuses for a little while from the "rush" of channeling the extra power, and their seething emotions also drain Telepaths who touch their minds and give them an intuition bonus against touch attacks. It's a way cool concept, but the very limited list of Powers Known, and the slow rate of acquiring them, is an exceedingly harsh balancing factor, especially considering that the Wilder is the only Power-Manifesting Class to get [i]no[/i] Bonus Feats (which can be spent to learn new Powers), and the only Class at all, normal or Prestige, which gains [i]no[/i] Bonus Feats for Epic Level progression. I'm hoping that the lack of Epic Bonus Feats is a Halfling Outrider BAB/Soulknife BAB-type outright error. [*]Speaking of [b]limits on Powers Known[/b], I was under the impression, from stuff I'd read on these boards, that study and spending XPs would allow characters to gain new Powers in excess of the normal limits. This is mistaken - you can research Powers, existing or all-new, but this will explicitly NOT allow you to exceed the normal limits on Powers Known by Class and Level - only the Expanded Knowledge feat, and certain Epic Feats, will allow that. Not sure whether the scuttlebutt around here was wrong, or if I just misinterpreted it. [*][b]The Duodimensional weapon[/b] abilities have been toned down into simply the psionic equivalent of Keen weapons; I'm not sure how it was done in the original 3e PsiHB, but I seem to remember a time when these things ignored all armor bonuses to AC. [*]There's a bigger assortment of [b]psionic "enchanted" items[/b], of which my favorites right now are probably the Masks and Third Eyes - nice to see more stuff that takes up the eyeglasses/lenses/goggles slot on a character's body. :) [*][b]All the "essential" psionic beasties[/b] (that is, to me, a non-Dark Sun fan) are covered: mind flayers, githyanki/githzerai, duergar, aboleths, intellect devourers, brain moles, thought eaters, couatls. Even the cerebral parasites are back, after a fashion, as a disease you can catch from the brain moles. Only critters I halfway miss are shedu and psionic molds and oozes. Intellect devourer has this cool thing now where it can actually [spoiler]crawl inside a skull and animate a body - if the owner is alive when this happens, he instantly dies[/spoiler]. There are a bunch of other creatures I'm less enthused about, as well. [/list] I don't know that I'd go so far as to call them "poorly implemented", but there are certainly some things I'd have done a little differently. Read Thoughts as a Telepath-only Power is likely one of them, but the one that surprised me the most was Dimension Slide - not only not on the Nomad list, but not on the Psion/Wilder list at all; only Psychic Warriors can take it without blowing a Feat on it. Not to me; certainly no worse than the massive curing capabilites of a Cleric of similar level. The THP's may help keep you alive in a spot where the healer can't get to you, but the cured points are back forever, where the THP's are gone essentially after one fight, and can only be used for the one party member with the Power. 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. Since D&D combatants fight at full efficiency until they lose their last Hit Point, that handful of extra HP will come into play only in real emergency situations. The same could be said, though, of many Psi Feat abilities, which often require expenditure of the jealously-hoarded-for-emergency-use Focus, or simply provide options that are unneccessary in the large majority of orc bake/mook thrashing combat situations. So, while it's certainly a nice feat, that will likely make it into many min-maxed psi-warrior builds, it doesn't seem either essential or unbalancing to me. As I've mentioned above, this aspect actually seems seriously toned down to me in this book compared to the 3.0 PsiHB. Some truly egregious Feats (like Inertial Armor) have been turned into Powers, many others have been chilled out with Focus and the need to maintain or expend it, non-psis get their own Feats to add a bit more balance, and, at worst, the Wild Talent Feat lets anyone play, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Hope this helps! :) [/QUOTE]
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