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Which Psionics rules do you use?
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<blockquote data-quote="Spatula" data-source="post: 1325242" data-attributes="member: 2198"><p>I'm only familiar with the original Complete Psi Handbook version, not the later Skills & Powers psionics. That said...</p><p></p><p>In 2E, psionic powers were not as numerous but generally broader in application. Instead of a power that would (frex) create a temporary crossbow bolt, and <strong>only</strong> a temporary crossbow bolt, you would have a power that allowed you to create a small item. And you could probably create bigger items with the same power, by spending more points. The psionic powers were thus generally more flexible and more powerful than spells. The downside is that a psion wouldn't have as many powers as a wizard would have spells.</p><p></p><p>The other thing about 2E psionics was that power activation was not automatic. You had to roll a d20 and score lower than a target number (based off your ability scores) to get one of your powers off. Stronger powers were harder to get off. So to use ESP, you might need to roll lower than your Wisdom - 2, but to Disintigrate something, you'd need to roll lower than your Constitution - 6. If you rolled a 20, bad things happened. And if you rolled a 1, good things happened.</p><p></p><p>The problems with the system were numerous.</p><p>A) There were no level prereqs for the vast majority of powers. Your 1st level psion could have abilities normally reserved for 7th or 9th level spellcasters. Of course, you'd have so few power points at that point that you couldn't use your powers more than once a day, but then the 1st level 2E wizard only got a measly single 1st level spell each day.</p><p>B) Only a handful (if that) of the powers allowed saving throws, and there was no equivalence to spell resistance. Without any way to defend against psionics, the insta-kill powers could take out just about anything as long as the psion made his activation rolls.</p><p>C) A more minor point, but there was no real limit to what the psion could do in any given day. If you run out of power points early in the day and have some downtime, you could meditate and get your points back.</p><p></p><p>The 3E psion/magic transparency likely resulted from B, above. I don't think it's as big as an issue now, since in 3E psionic powers that affect others allow for a saving throw, and there's also Power Resistance. But the transparency is also a convenience. What a pain it would be to have a character with magic & psionic items and buffs get hit with a targetted dispel magic (or negate psionics). Or to have to double up all your defensive abilities - you'd need both a magic and a psionic see invisibility if you're worried about invisible attackers.</p><p></p><p>3E psions are underpowered and I don't care for overly specific power effects and the arbitrary power selection. 2E psions had a better feel to them but were overpowered.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spatula, post: 1325242, member: 2198"] I'm only familiar with the original Complete Psi Handbook version, not the later Skills & Powers psionics. That said... In 2E, psionic powers were not as numerous but generally broader in application. Instead of a power that would (frex) create a temporary crossbow bolt, and [b]only[/b] a temporary crossbow bolt, you would have a power that allowed you to create a small item. And you could probably create bigger items with the same power, by spending more points. The psionic powers were thus generally more flexible and more powerful than spells. The downside is that a psion wouldn't have as many powers as a wizard would have spells. The other thing about 2E psionics was that power activation was not automatic. You had to roll a d20 and score lower than a target number (based off your ability scores) to get one of your powers off. Stronger powers were harder to get off. So to use ESP, you might need to roll lower than your Wisdom - 2, but to Disintigrate something, you'd need to roll lower than your Constitution - 6. If you rolled a 20, bad things happened. And if you rolled a 1, good things happened. The problems with the system were numerous. A) There were no level prereqs for the vast majority of powers. Your 1st level psion could have abilities normally reserved for 7th or 9th level spellcasters. Of course, you'd have so few power points at that point that you couldn't use your powers more than once a day, but then the 1st level 2E wizard only got a measly single 1st level spell each day. B) Only a handful (if that) of the powers allowed saving throws, and there was no equivalence to spell resistance. Without any way to defend against psionics, the insta-kill powers could take out just about anything as long as the psion made his activation rolls. C) A more minor point, but there was no real limit to what the psion could do in any given day. If you run out of power points early in the day and have some downtime, you could meditate and get your points back. The 3E psion/magic transparency likely resulted from B, above. I don't think it's as big as an issue now, since in 3E psionic powers that affect others allow for a saving throw, and there's also Power Resistance. But the transparency is also a convenience. What a pain it would be to have a character with magic & psionic items and buffs get hit with a targetted dispel magic (or negate psionics). Or to have to double up all your defensive abilities - you'd need both a magic and a psionic see invisibility if you're worried about invisible attackers. 3E psions are underpowered and I don't care for overly specific power effects and the arbitrary power selection. 2E psions had a better feel to them but were overpowered. [/QUOTE]
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