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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 6090634" data-attributes="member: 13966">While you make the decisions about a power when you start manifesting it, the rules don't say anything about what happens when your manifesting attempt becomes invalid or interrupted in some way other than a failed concentration check.  If you took a few negative levels from a vampire's attack while manifesting your highest-level power, it's unclear if you would still be able to finish manifesting it since your manifester level is now too low, for example.  Or if you suddenly took some Intelligence damage (or got hit with Feeblemind).  Etc.  I'm of the opinion that if something like that would happen to interrupt your manifestation or spellcasting attempt (just like a counterspell or damaging attack might), then it can prevent you from completing the manifestation or spellcasting attempt.  Frex, if a wizard suddenly became too stupid to remember his lines while invoking a Summon Monster IX spell (some jerk hit him with Feeblemind or Touch of Idiocy), he'd obviously be unable to finish casting that spell, right?  It doesn't matter if someone interrupts his casting during his own turn with a readied action or some kind of simultaneous action (or say your psion gets hit with a Personality Parasite power, and the antagonistic splinter-personality uses its action on your turn to manifest Mindwipe or Ectoplasmic Coccoon on you?), or if they do it later during the casting process of a 1-round spell, the result would be the same.But suffering negative levels or ability damage while casting a spell or manifesting a power doesn't force a concentration check, just like some other odd situations like I just described, so the rules don't actually technically say what would happen.  Ergo the need for DM adjudication.  And Catapsi already has a line saying that if you tried spending too many power points on a power as a result of Catapsi's effect, then your power fails and just doesn't expend any power points.  So it's my interpretation that it should be able to interrupt a power when manifested while you are still working on completing a power.  Just like I'd consider an insufficient caster/manifester level or insufficient ability score (from negative levels, ability damage, etc.) to ruin a spellcasting attempt.  Catapsi just says that anyone attempting to manifest a psionic power within the area (besides the person who manifested Catapsi) needs a Will save to avoid suffering its effects on that manifesting attempt.  Since the manifestation was not complete yet, it was still open to interruption, just like a 1-round Summon spell could be interrupted by damage or distractions.  And since you choose the parameters or variables for your power when you start manifesting it, the Catapsi interruption doesn't allow you a chance to change your mind before the manifestation is ruined (trying to stop a train at full speed, or quickly reduce its speed by a significant degree, is a lot harder than just hitting the brakes when it's barely started moving and has hardly any momentum/inertia; and trying to stop a chemical reaction or the like is more difficult once it's fully underway and everything is already reacting to the catalyst; extinguishing a fire is easy when it's small and barely consumed any fuel yet, but tough after it's already spread further and grown hotter; etc.).(quick edit: also, Catapsi doesn't allow people to change their minds about what to manifest or with how much augmentation after failing the Will save; that's why it has a line about what happens when you try to manifest something that suddenly becomes too expensive as a result of Catapsi's effect).Think of it this way: Lily decided what power she wanted to manifest and what specific properties she wanted it to have, then started concentrating on making it happen.  She devoted some psionic energy to the task, and then partway through the process of assembling her Astral Construct on the Astral Plane, a huge burst of static began blaring in her head, and waves of disruptive psionic energy started slamming into the psionic forces she had been sending into the Astral Construct to give it form and function.  The disruptive energy broke her "tether" to the partially-formed astral construct and it began to disperse, but she managed to pull back the energy she had been using to draw in and mold the ectoplasm.  Or something like that.</blockquote>

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