Why is preventing psioninc DC augmenting bad?

[irdeggman]

My original plan was to re-instate the Heighten Power feat from 3.0.

Don't do that.

Exp Psionics redid the mechanics for psionics totally.

Exp Psionics introduced the Psionic Focus as a means of balancing the metapsionic feats (and various other psionic feats as well).

Heighten Power is a metapsinic feat and thus would expend your psionic focus whenever used. It normally requires a full round action to regain your focus, with the Psionic Meditation feat it requires a move action. Prerequisites for psionic meditation feat would require a manifestor to be at least least 4th level (minimium 7 ranks in Concentration) to be eligible.

Unlike sorcerers, who can place as many metamagic feats on a spell at one time (still full round action and spell slots total up) but a psion can only do one metapsionic feat at a time since each one requires spending the psionic focus, which is lost the when the first metapsionic feat is used.


Basically the psionic rules are so different for the expanded psionic system that attempting to mix and match the "old" rules with the "new" ones will really mess things up.

 

[Storyteller01]

Wha tdo you recommend for the over-channeling rules?

 

[irdeggman]

Wha tdo you recommend for the over-channeling rules?

Believe it or not they should actually work pretty much as written.

Burn a feat for the Overchannel feat, which in exchange for the ability to increase manifester level does physical damge to a chracter that has low hit poitns (psions ony have d4).


To follow the feat chain (again requires spending feat slots):

Talented - allows spending your psionic focus to not take the physical damage from 3rd or lower level powers when overchanneling.. {Now we have already covered the "cost" of expending your focus, to mitigage the full round action to regain your focus requires another feat - Psionic Meditation (again restrictins on this feat have been covered already)


So a psion requires:

Overchannel feat (available at first level)

Talented (also available at first level)

But there are your total first level feats: Character level and bonus psion feat

Then the psion must wait untill 5th level to take psionic meditiation, buring his bonus psion feat to take it.

So that is 3 feats to gain the benefit.

Now overchannel could be house-ruled to make it less effective though. Several people think it leads to overpowering of a psion at higher levels. I haven't run into that problem yet, but we haven't been able to get a high enough level psion (either as a player or GM) to deal with it yet.

The only high level psion I've run,(and I just started him - at 6th level) required feat burning to take a Prestige Class - so didn't have the feats to use for this chain.

 

[irdeggman]

Keep track of the status of the characer's psionic focus - that is the key.

 

[Storyteller01]

My concern would be it's use in a gestalt campaign. The balance is shot since the player is looking at mixing it with a combat based class.

 

[kigmatzomat]

For 5d8 (~23hp) you get to spend 3 more PP, which can increase the save DC by +1 or +2, extends ranges and/or durations and affects up to 3 more targets.

The only issue I'd see with overchannel is someone tag-teaming it with Vigor, using the temporary hit points to buffer the use. Not sure how broke that is since you are spending 1-5 pp for the ability to spend 3 more. It's kind of like blowing a 1st-3rd level spell to provide a one-use caster level buff. Not particularly threatening in those terms.

Just be sure not to allow more than a +3 level modifier from the feat and be sure to use the +1DC/2pp progression from Complete Psionics for the Energy(x) powers.

 

[kigmatzomat]

ahh, Gestalt. Well, that eliminates some of the need for Vigor but I'm still not sure where Overchannel would cause a concern.

What's the player's preferred abuse, err, application of Overchannel that has you concerned?

 

[blargney the second]

I'm playing in a gestalt game right now. It does some very hairy stuff with balance all across the board.

 

[Storyteller01]

ahh, Gestalt. Well, that eliminates some of the need for Vigor but I'm still not sure where Overchannel would cause a concern.

What's the player's preferred abuse, err, application of Overchannel that has you concerned?

None yet. I'm working at being pro-active in this regard, trying to think up abuses ahead of time. The biggest so far has been save boosts.

 

[Storyteller01]

I'm playing in a gestalt game right now. It does some very hairy stuff with balance all across the board.

We've done well so far, since it's a dragon star game (heavy fire balls are balance with blaster rifles). It's that the player concerned has a tendancy of keeping me on my toes rules wise. Creative interpretation, remembering scewed tid bits about powers or abilities, etc. It's forced me to be more knowledgable about the rules. Thing is, I have limited access to the psionic rules, so it's harder for me to stay up to date.