Too powerful? What am I missing... (please help)

[Enforcer]

I do believe energy ray got fixed in Complete Psionic. If I recall correctly, the power now augments 1d6/2pp spent, not per 1pp. That means your wilder is doing 3d6 on a wild surge, tops (and I don't think that's overpowered in the least). Someone please correct me if I'm wrong--I don't have my copy of Complete Psionic at work.

Watch what powers your wilder takes. Pretty soon you'll have situations that can't be blasted through, and he'll be worse than useless. Alternatively, he'll be forced to sacrifice his offensive abilities for utility powers. I've played with wilders, game-breaking they are not.

For the record, I disagree strongly with Nail's statement, "Psions are different enough from other classes that a DM must significantly change his style to appropriately challenge them."

All a DM has to do is
1) Read over his PCs powers once or twice so that he understands what they do
2) Learn the most important rule in psionics--one cannot spend more power points on a power than he has Manifester Levels (e.g. a 5th level psion can spend a maximum of 5pp on a power; a 5th level psion/15th level fighter can spend a maximum of 5pp on a power). Certain rules let you get by this, but there's always a downside (Overchannel causes damage, Wild Surge also has risks).

 

[Slaved]

a psion is likely to have at least one force effect

I doubt it. Concussion blast is bad!

If I recall correctly, the power now augments 1d6/2pp spent, not per 1pp.

I hope not. That would make it very, very bad. Although I suppose it might be another push for people to not play psionics since arcane and divine do almost everything better anyway.

 

[irdeggman]

Just checked and they didn't modify energy ray in Complete Psionic.

It is a close range power and subject to PR (and SR if using the default that magic and psionics are the same)

 

[Enforcer]

Just checked and they didn't modify energy ray in Complete Psionic.

It is a close range power and subject to PR (and SR if using the default that magic and psionics are the same)

Really? Huh, could've sworn...oh well, it's still not overpowered in any case. A 5pp energy ray is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell...which would you prefer, single-target 5d6+5 fire damage from energy ray or 5d6 group damage fireball?

 

[KarinsDad]

An Evoker will do 14 14 14 9 9 9 9, and 3rd-level is almost certainly the weakest level for Sorcerer out of any possible level (in fact, a level 3 Sorcerer NPC is quite possibly the wimpiest CR 3 challenge in existence) because she lacks level 2 spells. Also, remember that those three rounds of Surging for 2 each have a 10% chance of Enervation, for an expected value of 30% of an enervation per set. If you ignore the one round delay and merely factor in the PP loss multiplied by the chance of enervation, this is enough to prevent the third manifesting (heck, having less than 16 Cha or spending 1 PP somewhere else is enough to prevent the third round of manifesting).

Most 3rd level PC "caster types" have a 16 or higher in their primary ability scores.

How many PC Evokers exist in the entire gaming community (now that WotC nerfed specialist casters)?
And how many PC Evokers have 3 Scorching Rays and 4 Lesser Orbs prepared?
And what if it were a Red Dragon instead of a Green Dragon?

And I also screwed up the damage in my chart. I forgot that Psionic Energy attacks are typically D6+1.

The odds of the Wilder being successful are:

72.9% first works, second works, third works = 3 rounds, 67.5 damage (they may or may not hit, but they fire off)
8.1% first works, second works, third fails = 3 rounds, 58.5 damage
9.0% first works, second fails, third is not surged due to lack of PP = 4 rounds, 45 damage
9.0% first fails, second works, third is not surged due to lack of PP = 4 rounds, 45 damage
1.0% first fails, second fails = 4 rounds, 0 damage

Average = 62.1 points in 3.19 rounds

It still takes the Wizard 6 rounds to accomplish the same, the Warlock 9 rounds, and the Sorcerer 7 rounds.

Don't get me wrong. The Wilder is a one trick pony. But, he is a one trick pony that can devastate the BBEG very quickly.

This is practically the same discussion as the Orbs, but the difference is that the Orbs avoid SR and the Surges do more damage (if they succeed which typically they do). At lower levels, that makes the Surges more potent than the Orbs.

 

[KarinsDad]

130 feet? The wilder is level 42?

Yes, you're right. I was thinking Energy Missile. My bad.

 

[Henry]

When I played a psion, my trick was that when I told the group I was out of power for the day, I always had about 10% of my power points still left. I always expected to fight at least ONE fight or face a challenge before we had the chance to rest.

Other posters have noted it, but Complete Psionics is a good book to get hold of. Much as I hate this fact, WotC included errata to existing powers that wasn't included anywhere else (for energy missile, Astral Construct, Crystal Shard, and a host of other powers).

 

[Nail]

For the record, I disagree strongly with Nail's statement, "Psions are different enough from other classes that a DM must significantly change his style to appropriately challenge them."

All a DM has to do is
1) Read over his PCs powers once or twice so that he understands what they do
2) Learn the most important rule in psionics--one cannot spend more power points on a power than he has Manifester Levels (e.g. a 5th level psion can spend a maximum of 5pp on a power; a 5th level psion/15th level fighter can spend a maximum of 5pp on a power). Certain rules let you get by this, but there's always a downside (Overchannel causes damage, Wild Surge also has risks).

That's all, eh?

I think we can reasonably add to your abbreviated list:
3) Realize a Psion can do more damage per round to a single target than other spell casters,

4) Learn that Astral Construct can do far more than a similarly-themed Conjurer.

5) Understand how Psions can do more than one Standard Action per round far earlier than other spell casters.

6) Realize that "losing psionic focus" isn't as much of a limiting factor as it's made out to be.

7) Figure out that psions are not hampered by grappling, silence, or being without material components ('cause they don't have any).

8) Realize that a psion can choose energy types on the fly, unlike most all other spell-casters.

9) Psions can go "nova", since their PPs are flexible. No other magic user can do this.

10) Overchannel (etc) can boost all sorts of things.

11) Etc.

Yep. Yer right. Most DMs have nothing to change over core PC games.

 

[Nail]

Other posters have noted it, but Complete Psionics is a good book to get hold of. Much as I hate this fact, WotC included errata to existing powers that wasn't included anywhere else (for energy missile, Astral Construct, Crystal Shard, and a host of other powers).

Really?

After reading thru XPH and using it, I decided not to allow psionics in my current game. So I haven't picked up a copy to check for Errata. Besides, real errat should be issued publicly, not contained in Y.A.S. (yet another supplement).

I thought I'd been told that the Astral Construct nerf was.....a bit silly. Something like "only one construct active at a time....do I have that right?

 

[Enforcer]

That's all, eh?

I think we can reasonably add to your abbreviated list:
3) Realize a Psion can do more damage per round to a single target than other spell casters,

4) Learn that Astral Construct can do far more than a similarly-themed Conjurer.

5) Understand how Psions can do more than one Standard Action per round far earlier than other spell casters.

6) Realize that "losing psionic focus" isn't as much of a limiting factor as it's made out to be.

7) Figure out that psions are not hampered by grappling, silence, or being without material components ('cause they don't have any).

8) Realize that a psion can choose energy types on the fly, unlike most all other spell-casters.

9) Psions can go "nova", since their PPs are flexible. No other magic user can do this.

10) Overchannel (etc) can boost all sorts of things.

11) Etc.

Yep. Yer right. Most DMs have nothing to change over core PC games.

#4, 5, 7, and 8 are included in my #1. Reading power descriptions... I would suggest that reading is indeed fundamental.

#3 isn't necessarily true. I submit scorching ray for your perusal.

#6: Yes, it is. It's more of a burden even: regular casters have to use higher slots for metamagic, psions have to use more pp (the equivalent of higher slots) and psionic focus for their metapsionics. It takes a full-AoO provoking-round to get psionic focus back, without a feat. With the feat, it still provokes AoO and still costs a move action.

#9: Addendum: the DM should also know that a nova psion is excess baggage starting round one of encounter 2. This is apparent after the first session.

#10: Mentioned in my #2, along with the only other way to exceed the Max. pp=Manifester Level rule.