Why use Psionic Combat?

[Terramotus]

Hello there. First post from a lurker, so be gentle.

I'm helping someone else put together a game where psionics take the place of magic, which has been interesting, not having really explored the rules myself before. But I've hit on a problem, one I can't seem to find a solution for in the book.

Why would I ever want to engage in psionic combat with the attack and defense modes? I haven't been able to find a rule that states that you can't use normal psionic powers on another psionic character until he's out of PsPs or unconscious, and even if that is the case, there are plenty external attacks that wouldn't logically be affected by whether an opponent's mental defenses are down. It's not shorter either - it's specifically stated that one can make only one psionic attack per round.

So what's the point? If I'm facing another psion, I know his hit points are comparatively low, and that he's got poor fortitude saves, so wouldn't I rather use one of the damaging powers? It doesn't even keep him busy, as he can manifest a defense mode as a free action, and the stunning effects of some of the attack modes are only for non-psionics.

Am I just missing something, or is psionic combat, as printed in the rulebook, simply a form of ritualized combat of no real use unless both combatants agree to use only it? If this is the case, can anyone point me to a solution for this? One thought that I had is that raising a defense mode is only a free action if the character takes no other actions save psionic combat - if he elects to take any other actions, he is treated as if flat-footed.

Thanks.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I just ditched psionic combat completely. It is more of a liability for psions than a benefit, and it adds a pointless level of confusion with the various table lookups it requires.

If you do that, it is worth making Mind Blast a 5th level telepathy power, and just give it the normal save for a 5th level power to avoid the stunning. (placed on this level since it is a 9pp power)

Cheers

 

[Thanee]

Well, I think Psionic Combat might be a good start of a combat, when the opponent is still flat-footed... decreasing an important caster attribute could give you an edge in the resulting combat.

But other than that, Psionic Combat is only useful for doing Mind Blasts on non-psionics, I'm afraid.

Bye
Thanee

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Psionic combat is useless against non-psions (except Mind Blast).

Of course, it can be useful against psionic creatures with high power resistance and a low stat (other than Con). If you ran into, say, a psionic dire tiger, with Int 2, and PR 25, any psionic powers you manifest on the dire tiger will probably fail. Or you could just Mind Thrust it twice.

Even so, psions are usually better off finding another strategy against psionic creatures, and the opposite also applies (there are only a few psionic monsters that are psionic combat specialists).