malcolm_n
Adventurer
I grabbed my copy of Psionic Power from my local store. I am, so far, quite happy with it. The fluff included is actually really good (on par, if not a bit better than Primal Power for its content). The mechanics are good to play a psionic race, class, or regular race/class with psionic features.
Please feel free to ask anything not pertaining to unavailable WotC previews (which at the moment includes the psion and epic destinies).
I don't want to steal their thunder. I'll be back shortly with answers.
...The monk gets some decent grapple attacks that rely on dex/str but aren't tied to a specific build.
- They get 6 new paragon paths that seem pretty cool. Soaring Blade is one that's focused on the new build, while unseen hand lets you use a hand crossbow to deliver your flurry of blows. They have an epic destiny all to themselves, but I can't go into more detail about it yet.
-Monks do get several new feats in each tier that help them focus more on particular styles of fighting, like water splitting stone which lets your unarmed critical hit cause a target to lose resistance. They also get skipping stone flurry which allows you to target a creature at range with FoB and a sling and Iron Parry which gives them a bonus to ac when using an actual weapon.
sorry, no psionic rituals.
Nonpsionic classes can gain access to psionic-themed feats and magic items. They can also choose to become an elan or a foulborn, though that too gives them psionic flavor (depending on how focused on that you want to be).
Empty Vessel (heroic), Hostile Mind and Pure Mind (epic) are the only 3 feats that are entirely without psionic mechanics, but they still protect you from psionics.
Multiclass feats include one for generic access to psionics so you can take feats and items involving them. Also, you get one new for each class except battlemind which gets 2. Also, as mentioned above, you can become an elan or a foulborn through bloodlines.
The monk build is Iron Soul, as previewed today on WotC. It's a build that lets you get a benefit with weapons (mostly simple ones) so it goes well with mc into martial classes. No mba, though, and the grapples are Dex based, but Str riders like extra damage equal to and whatnot.
As to Elan and Foulborn, in previous editions, Elan were their own race and I don't remember ever seeing foulborn (but that could just be no memory. In 4e, you take a feat that makes you one (bloodline feats). Then you get an option of taking a paragon path to accentuate your heritage. Basically, Elans are physical and mental perfection, and their flawless bodies hold strong psionic power. Foulblood are the opposite, loathing their existance with strange things growing out of their body (an eye stock, for example) and trying to hide their deformities.
Each gets a suite of bloodline feats to help flesh them out as well. All in all, really cool things going on with them in the same vein as half-vampires, if you read that article back in dragon.
Reality Shuffle is a gimmicky 23 battlemind attack that you can augment to either increase the reach by 3 or teleport you and the target each 3 squares afterward.
Then, the ardent gets an attack that I don't know if I'd augment against solo creatures. It starts out dealing damage when the target attacks and it's not basic, then becomes either provokes an OA or dazed until eot/damaged.
Finally, another ardent power that I actually really like is ruinous scream. you can push the target 1 square and deafen it for a round, or augment to slide it and deal exra damage to adjacent enemies AND each ally gains temp hp. Now that's a gem.
Of shardmind, in particular, there is only one picture and it's kinda meh. Then again, there seems to be one picture for each race in the book and a spread for each class. Otherwise, it's kinda picture light. By and far the coolest pictures, imho, are the cover art and the elan.
Speaking of which, there are about 21 feats between heroic and epic tier for elan and foulborn. Most also require a psionic class of some sort, and each gives you something else psionic you can do with your character. More specifically, and for example, elan get a monk feat that grants FoB psychic damage and ignores insubstantial. Foulborn, on the other hand, grant a -2 penalty to attacks when they hit with their FoB feat. Oh, and Elan get Psionic Discorporation as an epic feat... Fun times there.
just trying to be considerate.
There's a recurring theme of letting one ally do something when another does the same; for example, Healing bond is a great daily utility that heals an ally when another spends a surge.
Shared Momentum is another with the theme and involves shifting allies.
Cerebral Worm rounds out the heroic tier at level 9 by letting you affect a creature with your cerebral worm (save ends). The creature then chooses every round it attacks to either take damage or roll twice and take the lower roll. Totally a good power.
There's momentum swing that has an effect you can augment 2 after attacking to charge another enemy. Harrier's Dance is also kinda cool, since it lets you teleport if you take damage from enemies other than your target.
Psions get a new summoner build, called the shaper psion. They get an encounter power that lets them conjur a nonmagical item during each encounter at range 5 and most of their summons are things like thought servant and phantasmal killer.
Phantasmal killer is a heroic tier 9 summoned augmentable illusion with phasing. Augmenting the killer lets it last until 2 (instead of 1) enemies fall to 0 hit points.
Please feel free to ask anything not pertaining to unavailable WotC previews (which at the moment includes the psion and epic destinies).
I don't want to steal their thunder. I'll be back shortly with answers....The monk gets some decent grapple attacks that rely on dex/str but aren't tied to a specific build.
- They get 6 new paragon paths that seem pretty cool. Soaring Blade is one that's focused on the new build, while unseen hand lets you use a hand crossbow to deliver your flurry of blows. They have an epic destiny all to themselves, but I can't go into more detail about it yet.
-Monks do get several new feats in each tier that help them focus more on particular styles of fighting, like water splitting stone which lets your unarmed critical hit cause a target to lose resistance. They also get skipping stone flurry which allows you to target a creature at range with FoB and a sling and Iron Parry which gives them a bonus to ac when using an actual weapon.
sorry, no psionic rituals.
Nonpsionic classes can gain access to psionic-themed feats and magic items. They can also choose to become an elan or a foulborn, though that too gives them psionic flavor (depending on how focused on that you want to be).
Empty Vessel (heroic), Hostile Mind and Pure Mind (epic) are the only 3 feats that are entirely without psionic mechanics, but they still protect you from psionics.
Multiclass feats include one for generic access to psionics so you can take feats and items involving them. Also, you get one new for each class except battlemind which gets 2. Also, as mentioned above, you can become an elan or a foulborn through bloodlines.
The monk build is Iron Soul, as previewed today on WotC. It's a build that lets you get a benefit with weapons (mostly simple ones) so it goes well with mc into martial classes. No mba, though, and the grapples are Dex based, but Str riders like extra damage equal to and whatnot.
As to Elan and Foulborn, in previous editions, Elan were their own race and I don't remember ever seeing foulborn (but that could just be no memory. In 4e, you take a feat that makes you one (bloodline feats). Then you get an option of taking a paragon path to accentuate your heritage. Basically, Elans are physical and mental perfection, and their flawless bodies hold strong psionic power. Foulblood are the opposite, loathing their existance with strange things growing out of their body (an eye stock, for example) and trying to hide their deformities.
Each gets a suite of bloodline feats to help flesh them out as well. All in all, really cool things going on with them in the same vein as half-vampires, if you read that article back in dragon.
Reality Shuffle is a gimmicky 23 battlemind attack that you can augment to either increase the reach by 3 or teleport you and the target each 3 squares afterward.
Then, the ardent gets an attack that I don't know if I'd augment against solo creatures. It starts out dealing damage when the target attacks and it's not basic, then becomes either provokes an OA or dazed until eot/damaged.
Finally, another ardent power that I actually really like is ruinous scream. you can push the target 1 square and deafen it for a round, or augment to slide it and deal exra damage to adjacent enemies AND each ally gains temp hp. Now that's a gem.
Of shardmind, in particular, there is only one picture and it's kinda meh. Then again, there seems to be one picture for each race in the book and a spread for each class. Otherwise, it's kinda picture light. By and far the coolest pictures, imho, are the cover art and the elan.
Speaking of which, there are about 21 feats between heroic and epic tier for elan and foulborn. Most also require a psionic class of some sort, and each gives you something else psionic you can do with your character. More specifically, and for example, elan get a monk feat that grants FoB psychic damage and ignores insubstantial. Foulborn, on the other hand, grant a -2 penalty to attacks when they hit with their FoB feat. Oh, and Elan get Psionic Discorporation as an epic feat... Fun times there.
just trying to be considerate.
There's a recurring theme of letting one ally do something when another does the same; for example, Healing bond is a great daily utility that heals an ally when another spends a surge.
Shared Momentum is another with the theme and involves shifting allies.
Cerebral Worm rounds out the heroic tier at level 9 by letting you affect a creature with your cerebral worm (save ends). The creature then chooses every round it attacks to either take damage or roll twice and take the lower roll. Totally a good power.
There's momentum swing that has an effect you can augment 2 after attacking to charge another enemy. Harrier's Dance is also kinda cool, since it lets you teleport if you take damage from enemies other than your target.
Psions get a new summoner build, called the shaper psion. They get an encounter power that lets them conjur a nonmagical item during each encounter at range 5 and most of their summons are things like thought servant and phantasmal killer.
Phantasmal killer is a heroic tier 9 summoned augmentable illusion with phasing. Augmenting the killer lets it last until 2 (instead of 1) enemies fall to 0 hit points.
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