To Psi or Not to Psi?

[nameless]

I used psionics a fair amount in my 3.0 game, and I can safely say that psions/psywars did not dominate any of it unfairly. A fully buffed Psychic Warrior is a thing to behold, but it's really quite impractical. For one, they will spend 1/2 to 3/4 of the combat moving around casting buff spells on themselves. Two, they are vulnerable to dispels and other things that mess with casters and not tanks, and three, then can only do it once per day (usually) and exhaust all of their spellcasting. When not buffed, they are quite mediocre.

The only thing that ever caused any problems whatsoever was the Telepath. In noncombat encounters, his social skills dominated the situations (and sometimes Dominated them). In combat, he had some nice tricks that made him more offensive than the clerics and less than the wizards. Of course, this game was fairly monty haul and we all had incredible stats (which lends itself remarkably to 3.0 psionics).

I imagine the soulknife will be slightly more versatile in combat than the rogue, at the cost of noncombat versatility. And that also comes with making sure to not run out of power point steam. Not having seen it, I can't say for sure, but that's my instinct.

I'm looking forward to the 3.5 Expanded Psi Handbook. I've always liked mysterious mystical powers more than guys in robes who do geometry. Not knowing what makes magic tick goes a long way to making it seem more fantastic and dangerous.

 

[Nifft]

I luuuuv using PsiWar badguys, especially in a Psi-Are-Different campaign. The unfamiliar powers and feats usually have the desired effect on my players.

-- N

 

[DonaldRumsfeldsTofu]

Instead of familiars, Psions have talking rocks.

I think that in itself makes them a valued class.

 

[reiella]

I imagine the soulknife will be slightly more versatile in combat than the rogue, at the cost of noncombat versatility. And that also comes with making sure to not run out of power point steam. Not having seen it, I can't say for sure, but that's my instinct.

Hmm, actually I suspect the opposite, with the Soulknife having the advantage of certain Power Buffs (possible combat boon), while being limited to effectively one weapon.

But again, I do see the Soulknife most likly only getting 4 skill points/lvl (maybe 6).

 

[nameless]

Hmm, actually I suspect the opposite, with the Soulknife having the advantage of certain Power Buffs (possible combat boon), while being limited to effectively one weapon.

But again, I do see the Soulknife most likly only getting 4 skill points/lvl (maybe 6).

If I had to guess as to what the soulknife looked like, it's going to be medium BAB, with medium sneak attack progression, maybe capping out at 7d6 or 8d6. It'll get the mindblade from the old PrC, and it's own power list, with assassinish skills. It'll prefer to use that mindblade, but it will have Bard-level, or slightly lower spellcasting, and the mindblade tends to be better than the weapons a single-classed rogue can find and use. In terms of focus, the Soulknife will probably be spread a little more thin than the rogue, but they will be able to melee a little bit, do some combat utility powers, and possibly have cool tricks like embedding a Ecto Cocoon or Brain Lock in their mindblade. So they can do more than just flank and try to hit and run in combat; more viable combat roles is what I mean by greater versatility.

But in any case, they won't be as skill-focused as rogues, and will undoubtedly be weaker than rogues when completely out of power points.

 

[avendeen]

I play a Telepath in a psionics-is-different campaign.

Psionics in our Campaign primarily exists in the South (our version of the Orient) and in the Underdark. Most NPCs are unfamiliar with my abilities and opponents have to adjust when typical anti-spellcasting tactics fail. When Silence, Grappling, or Anti-Magic Field makes a caster useless I'm still kicking. I don't consider our campaign to be high magic but magic is everywhere nontheless. Having psionics as something relatively rare and unknown allows my character to fill a unique roll.

If you don't use psionics I suggest you do, but don't treat it like another form of magic.

 

[Tonguez]

Psi-Warriors rock. The Psi-Warrior is the better Monk (and monks with access to Psi feats are too sweet) - me I like using Psi-Warrior Ghouls.

I'd say Psionics is way too similar to magic to be anything special and the whole Combat modes thing was crap that I never even bothered with.

But overall things seem to balance with standard stuff

The best thing about Psionics is the feats and I'd let non-psi PCs access them (feeding off HP instead of Power points.)

 

[Spatula]

Hmm. Now this is not what I wanted to hear. :\ It would be cool to hear about some scenarios where the psychic warrior excels, but just to hear that at full power a psywar can outperform every other warrior at their peak certainly makes it sound over-the-top

Not really. For a psywar to be fully buffed would require about 5-10 rounds and use up 80%-90% of the character's power points (leaving very little for Psionic Weapon, Deep Impact, or feats that require reserve points). It's not often a character gets that kind of prep and can safely blow all its power in one shot. Without power points, the psywar is just about a spell-less cleric (3/4 BAB, d8 HD), albeit one with some extra combat feats.

Whereas the fighter's abilities are always 'on'.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

A fully powered-up psywar will outshine any equal-level fighter-type.

Yep... found that out when the party Psi-War used Graft Weapon on his magical weapon (which can be done days in advance because the weapons stays grafted until ungrafted), Disolving Touch, and the feat Deep Impact. Nasty stuff indeed. In that case you only have to pay for the Disolving Touch power and have the reserve points for Deep Impact. Given all the bonus feats that Psi-Wars get there is no reason for a Psi-War not to take the feat that grants extra power points (the name of the feat escapes me at this time).

The balance is in the endurance. Fighter feats and Sneak Attack don't run out of power points. After all, Wizards outshine Fighters and Rogues in the round they get off their Empowered Fireball, and then they're spent. Same for Psi-guys.

It would be cool to hear about some scenarios where the psychic warrior excels, but just to hear that at full power a psywar can outperform every other warrior at their peak certainly makes it sound over-the-top.

Below is my answer to both.
Psy-Wars get an amazing number of bonus feats too (as many as Fighters if I remember correctly). The balance is that Psi-Wars get d8 for hit points and follow the Cleric base attack bonus track.

My view is that Psi-War is a great class if you want to create a Jedi-like warrior in a fantasy setting. They don't have the hit points of any of the other warrior classes (except Monks and 3.5E Rangers). They don't get the innate abilities of the Monk nor the insane number of class skills or attack progression as a Ranger. A Psi-War that goes up against a Barbarian is probably going to die in a straight up fight due simply to the Hit Point difference. Use them like you would a Monk... nice to have if you already have a Tank but not if they are the sole warrior of the party.

 

[Driddle]

Instead of familiars, Psions have talking rocks.

I think that in itself makes them a valued class.

One of my favorite scenes was when an overweight psion named Cyric (or, "Heavy Cy" to his friends) ran out of ammunition and flung his Pet Rock ... er, psi crystal ... at the bad guys, exclaiming, "Look! He's developed mobility!"