pawsplay
Hero
Psionics Unleashed, by Dreamscarred Press, updates the core material from the 3.5 psionics rules to the Pathfinder system. Dreamscarred Press not only acccomplishes this adroitly, but improves on the original. The original system is essentially the same, along with the races, feats, and items from Wizards of the Coast's Expanded Psionics Handbook. The most notable changes are in the soulknife class, which received a complete overhaul.
For the uninitiated, psionics are a branch of magical power, distinct from arcane or divine casting, that harnesses the power of the mind to accomplish miraculous results. Rather than using spell slots, psionics rely on a pool of power points, which can be spent to manifest or augment any powers known. Additionally, a psionic character has access to the ability psionic focus, which powers or augments many of the psionic feats in this book. Thanks to the feat Expanded Knowledge, any psionic manifester can, if they wish, gain the ability to manifest some abilities normally associated with other classes. Psionic characters are extremely customizable, perhaps even moreso than a fighter or sorcerer.
The psion is a psionic powerhouse, similar in characteristics to a wizard or sorcerer, and like them, has a general list of powers with additional abilities drawn from a chosen discipline. Generalist psionics also exist, who are able to use their powers even more flexibly, while having less access to signature powers. The psion, through the power of concentration, can read minds, move objects, and generate powerful jolts of energy. The psion could be thought of as an alternate wizard, able to devastate foes while also possessing a formidable number of utility powers. The psion is an Int-based manifester.
The psychic warrior is a hybrid manifester-combatant, who blends powerful manifestation with a fighter's prowess for combat. While no match for a psion or a true fighter in their own area of speciality, the psychic warrior's powers synergize with their skills. Depending on their focus, a psychic warrior might run up the walls like a video game ninja, fight with the prescience and focus of a Jedi, or transmute their hands into life-leeching vampire claws. The psychic warrior seems likely to struggle as a tank/defender, although my experience with the class is limited. Rather, the psychic warrior is probably closer in style to a monk or rogue, high mobility and high damage, with some ability to fight toe to toe. Depending on power selection, they might also double as secondary caster or a utility character. The psychic warrior is a Wis-based manifester, who also gains bonus combat or psionic feats.
The wilder harnesses the raw power of emotion. Similar in abilities to the psion, the wilder is less elegant and less versatile, but also more resilient and forceful. Wilders can temporarily exceed their normal limits, risking psychic enervation, but also gaining the ability to ride a euphoric surge. Depending on focus, a wilder is likely to somewhat resemble a psion or psychic warrior, having a psion's superior depth of power but a psychic warrior's moderate combat ability. However, they lack the versatility of a psion's power knowledge or a psychic warrior's feats. An untrained wilder might look a little like the main character from Carrie or Firestarter: unrestrained, destructive, and volatile. A more martial wilder mixes powerful blasts with more subtle powers and bonuses in combat. The wilder is a Cha-based manifester. The wilder, in their basic form, is strictly a damage dealer and debuffe, although they can add some secondary abilities as a utility caster or a backup warrior, depending on their choices.
The soulknife is not a true manifester, but a skilled fencer who concentrates on a specific psionic skill: creating a powerful weapon from the power of their mind. The soulknife is a sudden striker: accurate, with enhancement bonuses that accrue with experience, and capable of dealing a powerful psychic strike with his or her attack,. The soulknife's blade skills allow a wide mix of types, from a two-weapon wielding slasher to a deadly blade-thrower. Unlike the 3.5 version of the soulknife, who created a specific type of blade and required a feat to manifest an unusual weapon type, and labored under a medium Base Attack Bonus, this version of the soulknife is a full BAB class, and the soulknife can be shaped into light, one-handed, or two-handed forms, dealing damage based on its size. Further, its damage type can be altered from slashing to piercing to crushing, allowing the soulknife to use their main weapon even against opponents who might resist certain attack types. Those two simple changes alone help bring the soulknife up to the bar, while the new blade skills allow a range of archetypes, including replacements for old Prestige Classes. The soulknife basically splits the difference between a fighter's frontline ability and a rogue's sudden, damaging strikes, but particularly excels at overwhelming unusual defenses.
The new races are all psionically themed. This book has charted a humble course, and provides little in the way of an assumed setting. Each race is presented with general notes as to its nature and culture. Blues are a psionic goblinoid race, who use their powers to dominate and breed with normal goblins. Dromites are insectoid humanoids who live their lives according to well-established castes, but who value self-determination and initiative. Duergar are mutated "gray dwarves," living deep below the earth in endless toil, obsessed with pacifying some dread entity that threatens to awaken and destroy all. Elans are transformed beings, who look fairly human, but are actually pseudo-immortal creatures created purposefully by a hidden council. Half-giants are powerful creatures, probably created through magic, with a natural reserve of psionic strength. Though obviously inspired by the race from the Dark Sun AD&D setting, half-giants, like the other races, are not tied to tropes and assumptions of particular game worlds. Maenads are logical, restrained beings, whose inner beings roil with fierce emotion that can be unleashed as a literal destructive scream. Ophiduans are lithe reptilians with an uneven rapport with other humanoids and the ability to deliver a powerful bite. Xephs are charming and unprepossessing creatures, but capable of uncanny speed. For what are probably reasons of balance, simplicity, and astute in-game considerations, the races are all humanoids, with subtypes added where appropriate. This is an improvement over the XPH for 3.5, which struggled with the baggage of Elans as aberrations and dromites as monstrous humanoids.
The bestiary updates psionic creatures to the Pathfinder rules-set, including the inimical Brain Mole, the unnatural Caller in Darkness, and the remorseless Intellect Devourer. The Phrenic Scourge, a new creature introduced in a third party OGL product during Third Edition's life cycle, is a tentacled aberration capable of mentally devastating foes and using them as food for their parasitic larvae. It serves with distinction in the place of a different tentacled mind blaster, which is not available under the OGL.
Psionic items work similarly to magical items, but take different forms such as crystals, dorges, crystalline weapons, psicrowns, and ectoplasmic psychoactive skins. I am curious as to why Dreamscarred Press remained so faithful as to not include energy damage as a psionic weapon option. Psions particularly are adept at energy attacks, and soulknives can manifest flaming or shocking weapons. Why not a "+1 pyrokinetic longsword?" But I quibble. The two things you really need to know about psionic items are that they tend to be weird, and they tend to be useful. In other words, they will probably make your game cooler, if introduced at the right times in the right way.
Psionic powers bring some science-fictional associations to the game, which may not be welcome in every campaign. If you would like to run a high-psionics campaign, perhaps with prominent psion lords and wastelands teeming with strange, mind-bending predators, this is definitely your book. On the other hand, if you would like to include psionics in a more restrained way, you can still use and enjoy this book immensely. Because the classes are carefully balanced, and psionics do not, for the most part, eclipse other items or abilites, you could include a single psion PC, or a handful of psionic opponents, without breaking the mood of a mostly fantastic, romantic setting. In fact, I think this book would still serve well even if you really do not want the science-fictional flavor at all. After all, many of the works that inspired D&D, such as Moorcock's Corum stories, Andre Norton's Witch World, and others, include what could be considered psionic powers. I can't think of any reason in the world why you couldn't include a psion as a village mystic in a game set in Arthur's Britain, or base a remote region's martial arts on a blend of monk fighting abilities and the skills of the psychic warrior. A malevolent "witch" might actually be a vicious, self-taught wilder using his or her powers for personal gain. To achieve the effect of non-psionic psionics, you would simply avoid using the pseudoscientific power names and overtly science-fictional elements in-game, and keep the appearance of powers and weird items to a minimum. On the other hand, if you wanted to amp up the science-fantasy weirdness, you could mix in chainsaws, mechanical golems, and firearms along with a heavy dose of high-action brain blasting.
I really can not recommend this product enough. The options presented are simply a great asset for almost any sort of campaign. While this material is certainly not for everyone, I think it is probably a wealth of options even for people who do not think of themselves as liking psionics in their fantasy gaming. Nonetheless, as with any substantial rules and setting expansion, the power of the GM must be exercised assertively. The "kitchen sink" approach to psionics is appropriate for some milieus but not others. Psionics Unleashed is a surpassingly valuable hoard to be looted for its treasures. I admire Dreamscarred Press not only for the sweat of their brow and for bringing psionics to Pathfinder, but for their great facility with the Pathfinder rules and issues of balance, clarity, and fun.
For the uninitiated, psionics are a branch of magical power, distinct from arcane or divine casting, that harnesses the power of the mind to accomplish miraculous results. Rather than using spell slots, psionics rely on a pool of power points, which can be spent to manifest or augment any powers known. Additionally, a psionic character has access to the ability psionic focus, which powers or augments many of the psionic feats in this book. Thanks to the feat Expanded Knowledge, any psionic manifester can, if they wish, gain the ability to manifest some abilities normally associated with other classes. Psionic characters are extremely customizable, perhaps even moreso than a fighter or sorcerer.
The psion is a psionic powerhouse, similar in characteristics to a wizard or sorcerer, and like them, has a general list of powers with additional abilities drawn from a chosen discipline. Generalist psionics also exist, who are able to use their powers even more flexibly, while having less access to signature powers. The psion, through the power of concentration, can read minds, move objects, and generate powerful jolts of energy. The psion could be thought of as an alternate wizard, able to devastate foes while also possessing a formidable number of utility powers. The psion is an Int-based manifester.
The psychic warrior is a hybrid manifester-combatant, who blends powerful manifestation with a fighter's prowess for combat. While no match for a psion or a true fighter in their own area of speciality, the psychic warrior's powers synergize with their skills. Depending on their focus, a psychic warrior might run up the walls like a video game ninja, fight with the prescience and focus of a Jedi, or transmute their hands into life-leeching vampire claws. The psychic warrior seems likely to struggle as a tank/defender, although my experience with the class is limited. Rather, the psychic warrior is probably closer in style to a monk or rogue, high mobility and high damage, with some ability to fight toe to toe. Depending on power selection, they might also double as secondary caster or a utility character. The psychic warrior is a Wis-based manifester, who also gains bonus combat or psionic feats.
The wilder harnesses the raw power of emotion. Similar in abilities to the psion, the wilder is less elegant and less versatile, but also more resilient and forceful. Wilders can temporarily exceed their normal limits, risking psychic enervation, but also gaining the ability to ride a euphoric surge. Depending on focus, a wilder is likely to somewhat resemble a psion or psychic warrior, having a psion's superior depth of power but a psychic warrior's moderate combat ability. However, they lack the versatility of a psion's power knowledge or a psychic warrior's feats. An untrained wilder might look a little like the main character from Carrie or Firestarter: unrestrained, destructive, and volatile. A more martial wilder mixes powerful blasts with more subtle powers and bonuses in combat. The wilder is a Cha-based manifester. The wilder, in their basic form, is strictly a damage dealer and debuffe, although they can add some secondary abilities as a utility caster or a backup warrior, depending on their choices.
The soulknife is not a true manifester, but a skilled fencer who concentrates on a specific psionic skill: creating a powerful weapon from the power of their mind. The soulknife is a sudden striker: accurate, with enhancement bonuses that accrue with experience, and capable of dealing a powerful psychic strike with his or her attack,. The soulknife's blade skills allow a wide mix of types, from a two-weapon wielding slasher to a deadly blade-thrower. Unlike the 3.5 version of the soulknife, who created a specific type of blade and required a feat to manifest an unusual weapon type, and labored under a medium Base Attack Bonus, this version of the soulknife is a full BAB class, and the soulknife can be shaped into light, one-handed, or two-handed forms, dealing damage based on its size. Further, its damage type can be altered from slashing to piercing to crushing, allowing the soulknife to use their main weapon even against opponents who might resist certain attack types. Those two simple changes alone help bring the soulknife up to the bar, while the new blade skills allow a range of archetypes, including replacements for old Prestige Classes. The soulknife basically splits the difference between a fighter's frontline ability and a rogue's sudden, damaging strikes, but particularly excels at overwhelming unusual defenses.
The new races are all psionically themed. This book has charted a humble course, and provides little in the way of an assumed setting. Each race is presented with general notes as to its nature and culture. Blues are a psionic goblinoid race, who use their powers to dominate and breed with normal goblins. Dromites are insectoid humanoids who live their lives according to well-established castes, but who value self-determination and initiative. Duergar are mutated "gray dwarves," living deep below the earth in endless toil, obsessed with pacifying some dread entity that threatens to awaken and destroy all. Elans are transformed beings, who look fairly human, but are actually pseudo-immortal creatures created purposefully by a hidden council. Half-giants are powerful creatures, probably created through magic, with a natural reserve of psionic strength. Though obviously inspired by the race from the Dark Sun AD&D setting, half-giants, like the other races, are not tied to tropes and assumptions of particular game worlds. Maenads are logical, restrained beings, whose inner beings roil with fierce emotion that can be unleashed as a literal destructive scream. Ophiduans are lithe reptilians with an uneven rapport with other humanoids and the ability to deliver a powerful bite. Xephs are charming and unprepossessing creatures, but capable of uncanny speed. For what are probably reasons of balance, simplicity, and astute in-game considerations, the races are all humanoids, with subtypes added where appropriate. This is an improvement over the XPH for 3.5, which struggled with the baggage of Elans as aberrations and dromites as monstrous humanoids.
The bestiary updates psionic creatures to the Pathfinder rules-set, including the inimical Brain Mole, the unnatural Caller in Darkness, and the remorseless Intellect Devourer. The Phrenic Scourge, a new creature introduced in a third party OGL product during Third Edition's life cycle, is a tentacled aberration capable of mentally devastating foes and using them as food for their parasitic larvae. It serves with distinction in the place of a different tentacled mind blaster, which is not available under the OGL.
Psionic items work similarly to magical items, but take different forms such as crystals, dorges, crystalline weapons, psicrowns, and ectoplasmic psychoactive skins. I am curious as to why Dreamscarred Press remained so faithful as to not include energy damage as a psionic weapon option. Psions particularly are adept at energy attacks, and soulknives can manifest flaming or shocking weapons. Why not a "+1 pyrokinetic longsword?" But I quibble. The two things you really need to know about psionic items are that they tend to be weird, and they tend to be useful. In other words, they will probably make your game cooler, if introduced at the right times in the right way.
Psionic powers bring some science-fictional associations to the game, which may not be welcome in every campaign. If you would like to run a high-psionics campaign, perhaps with prominent psion lords and wastelands teeming with strange, mind-bending predators, this is definitely your book. On the other hand, if you would like to include psionics in a more restrained way, you can still use and enjoy this book immensely. Because the classes are carefully balanced, and psionics do not, for the most part, eclipse other items or abilites, you could include a single psion PC, or a handful of psionic opponents, without breaking the mood of a mostly fantastic, romantic setting. In fact, I think this book would still serve well even if you really do not want the science-fictional flavor at all. After all, many of the works that inspired D&D, such as Moorcock's Corum stories, Andre Norton's Witch World, and others, include what could be considered psionic powers. I can't think of any reason in the world why you couldn't include a psion as a village mystic in a game set in Arthur's Britain, or base a remote region's martial arts on a blend of monk fighting abilities and the skills of the psychic warrior. A malevolent "witch" might actually be a vicious, self-taught wilder using his or her powers for personal gain. To achieve the effect of non-psionic psionics, you would simply avoid using the pseudoscientific power names and overtly science-fictional elements in-game, and keep the appearance of powers and weird items to a minimum. On the other hand, if you wanted to amp up the science-fantasy weirdness, you could mix in chainsaws, mechanical golems, and firearms along with a heavy dose of high-action brain blasting.
I really can not recommend this product enough. The options presented are simply a great asset for almost any sort of campaign. While this material is certainly not for everyone, I think it is probably a wealth of options even for people who do not think of themselves as liking psionics in their fantasy gaming. Nonetheless, as with any substantial rules and setting expansion, the power of the GM must be exercised assertively. The "kitchen sink" approach to psionics is appropriate for some milieus but not others. Psionics Unleashed is a surpassingly valuable hoard to be looted for its treasures. I admire Dreamscarred Press not only for the sweat of their brow and for bringing psionics to Pathfinder, but for their great facility with the Pathfinder rules and issues of balance, clarity, and fun.
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