Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Hyfigh 05-16-07, 02:24 PM	Can someone explain to me how the Bestow Power tricks in the campaign smashers work. 4rd level Wilder with the feats Earth Sense and Earth Power. Augment once. Cost: 3 (base) + 3 (augment) - 1 (earth) - 2 (surge) = 3 Enervation: 10% (probability) * 4 (loss) = 0.4 Benefit: 4 Average net gain per casting: 0.6 Conclusion: A 4th level Wilder can go infinite Bestowing himself. From my reading of the Wild Surge ability it only takes off one power point cost for the augmented power when surging. Am I wrong? Does it reduce the augmentation to only 1 power point? I'm not seeing how the -2 from surge is coming around. Help!
NoldorForce 05-16-07, 02:42 PM	4th-level wilders can surge at +2.
Hyfigh 05-16-07, 03:00 PM	:confused: Wild Surge (Su) A wilder can let her passion and emotion rise to the surface in a wild surge when she manifests a power. During a wild surge, a wilder gains phenomenal psionic strength, but may harm herself by the reckless use of her power (see Psychic Enervation, below). A wilder can choose to invoke a wild surge whenever she manifests a power. When she does so, she gains +1 to her manifester level with that manifestation of the power. The manifester level boost gives her the ability to augment her powers to a higher degree than she otherwise could; however, she pays no extra power point for this wild surge. Instead, the additional 1 power point that would normally be required to augment the power is effectively supplied by the wild surge. Level-dependent power effects are also improved, depending on the power a wilder manifests with her wild surge. This improvement in manifester level does not grant her any other benefits (psicrystal abilities do not advance, she does not gain higher-level class abilities, and so on). She cannot use the Overchannel psionic feat and invoke her wild surge at the same time. At 3rd level, a wilder can choose to boost her manifester level by two instead of one. At 7th level, she can boost her manifester level by up to three; at 11th level, by up to four; at 15th level, by up to five; and at 19th level, by up to six. In all cases, the wild surge effectively pays the extra power point cost that is normally required to augment the power; only the unaugmented power point cost is subtracted from the wilder’s power point reserve. The +2 appears to only apply to the increase in manifestor level as it says "At 3rd level, a wilder can choose to boost her manifester level by two instead of one." This doesn't reflect a decrease in the amount of power points used. Now another problem the final paragraph says: In all cases, the wild surge effectively pays the extra power point cost that is normally required to augment the power; only the unaugmented power point cost is subtracted from the wilder’s power point reserve. That paragraph says to me that you can augment the power as high as you can, including your new manifestor level from the surge, for no additional cost. WTF am I doing wrong here?!
NoldorForce 05-16-07, 03:31 PM	Wild Surge allows you to temporarily increase your ML for a single manifestation of a power in return for certain drawbacks. The normal "PP spent <= ML" rules still apply, but you can get a better effect due to the temporary ML increase. At 1st level, said increase is +1. At 3rd level, you can instead surge for +2. In both cases, the surge pays for the extra PP rather than you taking them from your reserve. That line about the "unaugmented power point cost" refers to the power's cost without surging.
Hyfigh 05-16-07, 04:06 PM	So if the surge pays for the extra power points used to augment the power, wouldn't the surge with earth power look more like: 3 (base) + 3 (augment) - 1 (earth power) - 3 (surge because it eats the augment cost) = 2pp used but 4pp gained (or, in other words, a 2pp profit)? I am just not understanding how to figure out the amount of pp the wild surge reduces the augment cost because the description of Wild Surge doesn't state an amount...
awaken_D_M_golem 05-16-07, 04:39 PM	A Wilder 4 can manifest a 4pp power. And WildSurge it +2. So ... Spending 4pp and getting a 6"pp" power. Earth Power feat discounts 1pp from the original 4pp. Consequently spend 3pp and getting a 6pp power, effectively. Bestow Power at 6pp provides 4pp. Except Wilder only spent 3pp to get 4pp. BUT He might have enervated 10% of the time, costing 4pp at 4th level. So the average value is spent 3.4pp to get 4pp. Tricky ... You'll enervated twice in a row 1% of the time on average. For safety you need to be able to enervate twice and still be able to manifest BP once. Spend 3pp get 4pp lose 4pp = spent 3pp 2nd time = now spent 6pp and need 3pp for a Last Chance type thing. So the safety zone is approximately 9pp at 4th level. You have 17 pp + bonus from ability score. This allows about a doubling of power points with a chance of danger. Switching from Earth Power and Earth Sense to Midnight Augmentation at 5th level {iffy} or 6th level - better, gets you a feat back, and you only have to Wild Surge +1, cutting in half your enervation biff-y-ness. Have fun with your Wilder.
Hyfigh 05-16-07, 04:47 PM	Holy cow I'm retarded. Thank you awaken. So the wild surge eats the difference in cost for the augment then. I don't know why I wasn't getting that from the description.