Psionics: Empower Power?

[DizzyKungFu]

I am a DM, and for those of you who are experts in the Psionic Handbook rules, I have a question for you all:

Metapsionic feats seem to coincide with their magical counterparts (i.e. there is a Quicken, Maximize, Extend, etc.). But an Empower Power feat is conspicuously absent.

Now one of my players is asking if we can create a Empower feat for psionics in my campaign (this player plays a psion in a mixed group of normal Player's Handbook class PCs). If I allow it, I would make it at +4 power point cost. But I'm wondering if Empower was left out of the Psionic Handook on purpose? Perhaps for game balance reasons (after all, metapsionic powers don't have to be prepared ahead of time, unlike a wizard, and they don't take any more time to use, unlike a sorcerer)?

Does anyone have any insight that might be helpful here? Should I allow an Empower feat? Siting relevant rules or errata would be particularly helpful. Thanks in advance!

 

[Thanee]

I'm pretty sure there is a feat like that, it adds 25% to the spell's random effect at a cost of +2 PP. Basically a half-Empower (better scalable this way).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Veldrane]

Right, Thanee

IIRC it's Fortify Power, from Dragon #287 (but should be available in the Wizard's website, in the Mind's Eye section.

Basically, it's +1/4 to dice rolls @ +2 PP cost, stackable obviously.. ..even more scalable than Empower Spells

 

[spunky_mutters]

The big problem with that is you can pretty much blow all of your PP on Empowered Empowered Empowered (ad infinitum) spells. Fighting the big baddie? Why bother messing around, just take your most effective power and double it's effectiveness for 8 points, stack until close to empty, and boom.

Unless you limit the stacking somehow (which spell slots limit on mages), you're going to have balance problems.

 

[DizzyKungFu]

The Psi Handbook already limits metamagic feats. It says you can never put more pp than your psion level - 1 into them. That's why you can't just jack a power through the roof for the "big baddie".

 

[Zhure]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/psi/psi20020426b

^^^ Fortify Power.

 

[DizzyKungFu]

Thanks, that was useful.

Anybody had any balance issues they might want to warn me about ahead of time?

 

[Dr_Rictus]

Having run the numbers, I could find very few scenarios where a Fortified power was more effective than an unmodified power of sufficient level to have the same PP cost. However, it was generally fairly competetive, and I think having an actual higher-level power should be more effective.

With that in mind, I'd actually recommend allowing Fortify Power as part of a strategy to allow limited power "scaling" to psions in a way which remains balanced, and which requires minimal rule changes.

And since I've broached the topic, the Sequester Power and Creature Capacitor feats (from Bruce Cordell's "If Thoughts Could Kill") are good for boosting psions' daily PP capacity in a fairly controlled way. (Mind you, as I recall they require the Talented/Inner Strength entry path, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing).

 

[Veldrane]

And since I've broached the topic, the Sequester Power and Creature Capacitor feats (from Bruce Cordell's "If Thoughts Could Kill") are good for boosting psions' daily PP capacity in a fairly controlled way. (Mind you, as I recall they require the Talented/Inner Strength entry path, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing).

I agree, some material from ITCK is balanced.. ..instead, if we talk about Continual Power, or the Wiz/Sorc spells given to Psions..

The rewritten PrCs (found on MC's website) are good, though..

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The big problem with that is you can pretty much blow all of your PP on Empowered Empowered Empowered (ad infinitum) spells. Fighting the big baddie? Why bother messing around, just take your most effective power and double it's effectiveness for 8 points, stack until close to empty, and boom.


Page 39. A rule that no one ever notices. Trust me, psionics is not overpowering when it comes to damage dealing.

I agree, some material from ITCK is balanced.. ..instead, if we talk about Continual Power, or the Wiz/Sorc spells given to Psions..

What's wrong with Continual Power???

You're definitely right about the spell conversions... the most universally disliked part of the book.