Revised Metamind

[KarinsDad]

Oooo! You can't leave such tempting material and expect me to leave it alone, though.

Sure, go put your foot in it again.

This is so marvelously instructive.

See, I didn't say "the rules of Go". I said "the game of Go". Scroll up and look right now. You even quoted that line, so you really have no excuse to get that wrong.

You are still using words inappropriately. I didn't get anything wrong. The rules of GO are a subset of the game of GO. The decisions in GO are the other subset. One is not complicated, the other is. There is nothing left in the game of GO (the rules and playing the game), so I covered both. Just to make sure we were talking apples and apples. I didn't want you to accuse me of saying that the rules of GO were complicated or some such. Course, you are accusing me of being wrong, so I guess you'll continue to use words however you want. shrug.

PS. Complicated still does not mean tedious or unneccessary or intensive.

Regarding all the other earlier stuff, I really think you need to read more charitably. If you understand, don't play dumb. It's not going to improve your point -- and I'm not sure what psychological need it could possibly fill.

Just because I understand does not mean that I am playing dumb. It means that I am clariifying, just on the off chance that I am not understanding.

From now on, when you don't start your first sentence in your first post out with an attack, I'll start to read more charitably. Deal?

I did attack it. But you didn't design that part, unless you are Bruce Cordell.

Of course you attacked it, hence, my less than charitable responses. Not because Bruce designed it, but because I kept it in my design.

There is nothing significantly wrong with FM and you attacked that opinion whereas I defended it.

And of couse, this justification of yours here of attacking Bruce's design instead of mine (lame as it is) still did not give you the right to attack my player and his preferences which I notice that you did apologize for.

Why don't we just call a truce?

 

[Nifft]

Just because I understand does not mean that I am playing dumb. It means that I am clariifying, just on the off chance that I am not understanding.

Some indication of comprehension is typical in confirmatory exchanges.

From now on, when you don't start your first sentence in your first post out with an attack, I'll start to read more charitably. Deal?

No. If you post stuff asking for a critique, you had better have a thick enough skin to handle a critique -- particularly a critique as harsh as "silly".

If you just want praise, this really isn't the board for you.

Ciao, -- N

 

[KarinsDad]

No. If you post stuff asking for a critique, you had better have a thick enough skin to handle a critique -- particularly a critique as harsh as "silly".

Critique? Where exactly did I ask for one? Oh yes.

I didn't. I posted a solution for others to use or not use as they saw fit.


At this point, you are arguing just to argue.

First, you claimed to be wanting to help. Now, you are claiming to be wanting to critique.

Wish you'd make up your mind which word du jour you want to use and how you want to use it.

Later. As in much.

 

[Anyr]

Since the discussion seems to have diverged from the class itself and moved to a debate on semantics, I'd like to weigh in on the original subject if I may. As a disclaimer, all of the following is meant in the spirit of helpful analysis and is not meant to be taken as an attack of any sort.

The original class abilities are already well known and recorded, so I'll just focus on the addition this variant makes. The idea of extending Font of Power backwards through the class to make it a continuously improving ability rather than a fixed capstone is interesting, as well as fitting with the way the class's other features scale by level. Assuming that you meant 'Class Level' rather than 'Manifester Level' when talking about its advancement, it sounds quite balanced.

One problem, though, is that the PP/Day estimates seem to be assuming overly optimal conditions. The Cognizance crystal, for instance, needs to be refilled from the Metamind's own reserves and so may not always be available when continuously adventuring. Also, since Font of Power is (to my knowledge) only usable once per day and can't be subdivided the manifester would have to take great care to actually gain its full advantage, especially in its lesser form. These aren't insurmountable difficulties, but it does somewhat lessen the benefits of the class.

As a sideline, the third party sourcebook Hyperconscious has its own variant which, among other things, allows the Metamind to directly exchange powers known at various levels for PP without losing manifester levels early on. So, for example, when they enter the class they might choose to give up a 4th level and 2nd level power, giving them an extra 10 power points (the combined base cost of the two) but permanently losing access to those powers. This may not be quite what you have in mind, but it's an alternate approach to the concept.

Overall, the variant sounds reasonable, but the difficulties in managing its three separate methods of gaining PP may not make up for the loss of manifester levels.

 

[Piratecat]

Ugh. Do I need to make an official mod-style comment here? No, I don't think so -- you guys have seen them before. Just take it as written, and get the thread back on track. Now, with 100% less arguing!

 

[KarinsDad]

One problem, though, is that the PP/Day estimates seem to be assuming overly optimal conditions. The Cognizance crystal, for instance, needs to be refilled from the Metamind's own reserves and so may not always be available when continuously adventuring.

True. Although this has some slight significance at level 9 (77 PP at less optimal situations, 82 at more optimal), this is not really that much of an issue. Rarely do adventurers use up all of their resources on two consecutive days (at least IME and especially if they have more resources than a normal PC), so the CCs would tend to be refilled most days.

On the other hand, the PP estimates do not have Int modifiers in them either, so the 5 to 11 PP from the CC ability tends to be white noise in the large scheme of things.

Also, since Font of Power is (to my knowledge) only usable once per day and can't be subdivided the manifester would have to take great care to actually gain its full advantage, especially in its lesser form. These aren't insurmountable difficulties, but it does somewhat lessen the benefits of the class.

True again. The Font should typically be used in dire circumstances. However, note that both versions of the Font can be used heavily if the Psion knows he is going into combat to buff through the roof (especifically for an Egoist) without dipping into normal PP at all.

Overall, the variant sounds reasonable, but the difficulties in managing its three separate methods of gaining PP may not make up for the loss of manifester levels.

The management is irrelevant. No different than managing wands.


The main question is whether the loss of 3 powers, 2 feats, and 2 manifesting levels is balanced by not having to husband PP as much as a normal Psion.

Overall, maybe not. Maybe just the loss of manifesting level at level one would be sufficient. The PrC does not get any real new special abilities, so maybe only a single dip would be sufficient. I suspect you may be right that two levels might be too much.