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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jessica" data-source="post: 6702445" data-attributes="member: 6796107">Powers of the Mind: Power Source and RoleYou’re a controller, and your power source is psionic. There’s a general opinion among players (almost a consensus, even) that psionics are boring, complicated and have no role in D&D. For a more detailed discussion on those points and why I think they're not necessarily true, I’ll refer you to the <a href="http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/29175513/The_Minds_Eye:_a_Psion_Handbook&post_num=13#520767173" target="_blank">Playing a Psion</a> section of this handbook.If you compare the Psion to other controllers, the class is somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to power level. Wizards just are the best controllers in D&D. But what would you expect, with access to over 400 different powers (the Psion has 159), Arcane support and more builds than you can wrap your head around. The Invoker comes next, with Divine (thus radiant) support and encounter and daily powers that just blow everything away.After that, the Druid and Psion are on about equal footing. Where the Druid switches between single-target control in melee and multi-target control at range, the Psion does what the Wizard and Invoker do, but just a little worse.That said, thanks to the psionic augmentation feature there’s nothing you can’t do if you choose your powers right. For example, some controllers can excel at one thing like single target lockdown, but at the cost of sacrificing effectiveness at debuffing or positioning. That won’t happen to you: you can pick one power that debuffs, one that rearranges the battlefield and one that shuts down a single target. Or debilitates everything in a larger area. Or plants a zone. Or puts extra allies on the battlefield. Just be aware that you won’t be as good at most of them as the Wizard or Invoker (except for AoE attack debuffing, no-one beats you at that).<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/" target="_blank">Secondary Role Effectiveness</a>[sblock]Striker: don’t bother. Although you can become a bad blaster as a Tiefling Firestarter or a bad Elementalist by optimizing ranged basic powers like Mind Thrust, the psionic power source is not well enough supported to really get those plans off the ground. The only exception is the radiant blaster build, which works by combining the Brilliant Thought power with the Morninglord paragon path.Defender: yes. With your cloth armor and simple weapon proficiency, you should definitely try holding off the enemy in one-on-one combat. Some Psion powers like Memory Hole and Kinetic Buffer are interesting for defenders though, but those are best left to hybrid builds.Leader: you can get great leader powers if you want (Mind Thrust, Forced Opportunity, Psychic Brand), and your repositioning capabilities are pretty good, especially if you're a Telekineticist with Forceful Push. By investing in things like skill powers and a leader multiclass (Shaman FTW), you can even make a passable secondary healer. You can go this route if you have another good controller in your party and lack a defense-debuffing, attack-granting leader.[/sblock] What Makes Your Brain Go: Class FeaturesClass TraitsHit points and healing surges: you’re a controller and you know it. With a piddly amount of HP and no reason to invest in Con, you’d better stay out of melee. Fortunately, that’s fine by you.Defense bonus: +2 to Will is very nice for a class that should only get attacked at range and whose primary stat is already tied to their Reflex. With either Wis or Cha as your secondary stat, enemies should not hit you that easily. And it fits the flavor for a telepath to boot.Weapon and armor proficiencies: you can wear normal clothes and use a knife to slice your bread, that’s about it. Although having access to the Staff as a melee weapon as well as an implement helps you out a little.Implement proficiencies: just the Orb and the Staff isn’t a lot, but fortunately they’re well supported.Build OptionsThere are three different Psion builds available: the Telepath, the Telekineticist, and the Shaper. There’s no make-or-break choice among them, but Telekinetic and Shaper Focus offer some really good utility.<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/" target="_blank">Discipline Focus</a>[sblock]Telepathy Focus: Distract generates automatic combat advantage as a minor action once per encounter, and Send Thoughts lets you send a limited telepathic message once per encounter. Both powers are pretty meh. They can be boosted with feats, but it’s not really worth the trouble.Telekinesis Focus: this is more interesting. Forceful Push gives you free action forced movement once per encounter, and Far Hand is an encounter power Mage Hand. Both powers can be significantly improved by taking their respective feats. Forceful Push then also slows, which is great for a free action range 10 forced movement power. Far Hand can then be sustained as a free action, which is useful if you have your hands full for some reason but still want easy access to a certain item.Shaper Focus: now we're talking. Minor Creation lets you conjure up a nonmagical item each encounter, which is awesome for roleplaying purposes ("here’s the note from your captain that says you should let us in"), although officially it can only create a weapon or an item listed under Adventuring Gear.The standout power though is Shaped Consciousness, which grants you access to the Dream Form from the Dreamwalker paragon path 10 levels earlier. Sure, it’s a minor action encounter power instead of a free at-will, but it blocks enemy movement and lets you look and cast in melee while you’re hiding behind a pillar or door. It even absorbs one hit per encounter, and a paragon feat boosts your defenses a little while you’re near it. That is an awful lot of utility for a single class feature.[/sblock]Ritual Casting: all builds gain access to this. Although not very interesting at low levels, at higher levels there are some really interesting rituals that you can cast for cheap that will get you out of or around otherwise nasty circumstances. You can even cast a Sending or Tenser’s Floating Disk for free once per day, which offer utility that you should not underestimate.A Beautiful Mind: Ability ScoresIntelligence is your primary stat. The Psion’s power selection is good enough that you’ll be functional with this at 18 pre-racial, but a lot of powers become silly-good if you have a good Wisdom or Charisma. So be aware of that when you pick your stats.<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/" target="_blank">Ability Scores</a>[sblock]Strength: your designated dumpstat. There’s simply nothing for you here. Don’t think about going into melee, don’t bother getting Hide armor. If you absolutely, positively have to have a melee basic attack, multiclass Swordmage and get Intelligent Blademaster.Recommended starting score: 8, pre-racial bonuses.Constitution: it never hurts to have a good Constitution, especially for some semblance of Fortitude since Strength is your dumpstat. Also important for your summons' HP if you take those powers, although they're not very good. Other than that, don’t bother putting in points that could otherwise have gone into your Wisdom or Charisma.Recommended starting score: 10-13, pre-racial bonuses.Dexterity: although your Reflex is taken care of by your Intelligence, and you don’t need Dexterity for any feats or class skills, it’s still nice to have some Dexterity when you roll initiative. Especially since you’re a controller, because the outcome of your turns will pretty much dictate the flow of combat. Tieflings and Wis-Psions can tie their initiative to their Charisma and Wisdom, respectively, so for them it's another dump stat. Gnome, Wood Elf and Shade Psions who specialize in Stealth should make this their tertiary stat instead of Wisdom or Constitution.Recommended starting score: 8 for Tieflings and Wis-Psions, 12-14 for Gnomes, Wood Elves and Shades, 10-12 for everyone else, pre-racial bonuses.Intelligence: although it’s tempting to crank this one up all the way to 18, doing so limits your power selection to powers that don’t have important Wisdom or Charisma riders. And I’ll tell you right now: there are plenty of those that you don’t want to miss out on. So unless you value accuracy over everything else, just put this at 16. Conveniently, this also gives you a great Arcana, which is nice for your rituals and possibly Sage of Ages. Recommended starting score: 16-18, pre-racial bonuses.Wisdom: powers with a Wisdom rider are linked to telekinetically-flavored powers. The more interesting of those powers don’t show up until late heroic and paragon, so if your game doesn’t go there, you can safely dump this. Be aware though that three of your class skills key off it, among them one of the most important skills in the game, and that you need 13 Wis for a Druid multiclass. See the <a href="http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/29175513/The_Minds_Eye:_a_Psion_Handbook&post_num=10#520767073" target="_blank">multiclass section</a> for why you'd want to do that. Also remember that you need 15 Wisdom for Psion Implement Expertise at epic. Recommended starting score: 12-16, pre-racial bonuses.Charisma: the Charisma powers are flavorwise linked to telepathy. Unlike the Wisdom powers, the Charisma powers are some of the best in the Psion’s arsenal, and you have access to them right away. Two powers at level 1 that massively debuff attacks and defenses, and the Psion’s equivalent of Shield at level 2 (although why this doesn't have a Wisdom, thus telekinetic rider I can only guess). Simply put, if you want to use the best powers the Psion has to offer, boost this and be happy with it. Charisma is also tied to three of your class skills, which are all social skills. Lastly, be aware that you need 15 Charisma for Psion Implement Expertise at epic. Recommended starting score: 12-16, pre-racial bonuses.[/sblock] Using Your Brain: SkillsYou’re trained in 4 skills. Although your skill selection is somewhat limited, they’re all among the best skills in the game.<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/" target="_blank">Class Skills</a>[sblock]Arcana (Int): this will automatically be high due to the fact that it keys off your main stat. It’s also does a lot of work in skill challenges, lets you cast rituals and grants you access to skill powers like Warp in the Weave and Insightful Warning. Also good for the Sage of Ages epic destiny. Simply put, you want to be trained in this.Perception (Wis): avoiding surprises and noticing clues are two very, very important things to ensure the continued lifespan of an adventurer. The utility powers are nothing to write home about though. Even more important for Wood Elves to boost their initiative through the roof.Insight (Wis): good for getting to the bottom of a social situation, but the real value lies in the skill powers. Insightful Riposte at 16 is considered to be one of the best utility powers for a reason.Dungeoneering (Wis): train this if you're planning on taking Stay Back as your level 2 utility power. If not, then it's only useful if you’re going to be underground a lot or will face off against aberrant hordes.Diplomacy (Cha): just generally useful for nonhostile situations. Lets you be the party’s face if you lack a Bard. Indomitable Ally is a good but risky power for keeping your leader on his feet.Bluff (Cha): very useful for when you need to lie your way out of a difficult spot. Also has hilarious uses with Send Thoughts if you want to be a ventriloquist or convince an enemy he’s hearing voices. Not much for combat though.Intimidate (Cha): Everybody Move gives you an out if you somehow got yourself stuck in melee, and Snap Out Of It lets you minor in leader. Beyond that, you need to do some of your best roleplaying when a scrawny guy or girl like you tries to threaten that nasty hobgoblin. Like Bluff, this skill is best used in conjunction with Send Thoughts.History (Int): this will automatically be high due to the fact that it keys off your main stat. But since Strategist’s Epiphany was nerfed to only affect you, there’s no real reason to train this skill.[/sblock]<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/" target="_blank">Non-Class Skills Of Note</a>[sblock]Religion (Int): this will automatically be high due to the fact that it keys off your main stat. There's just nothing like outsmarting a Cleric in a religious argument. Heal (Wis): being a trained healer gives you some leader potential if you're into that, mostly in the form of skill powers.Stealth (Dex): this rating is for Gnomes, Wood Elves and Shades only (although Shades are naturally trained in it). Starting a combat hidden if you have any cover or concealment is insanely good for a controller, so you could do worse by investing in Stealth. Even more important if you're a Gnome and want to use Unseen Dread consistently.Acrobatics (Dex): being trained in either Acrobatics or Athletics is never bad, since you're going to face a physical challenge at some point. On top of that, Acrobatics offers some sweet utility powers like Timely Dodge.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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