Post/Author/DateTime	Post
wookieman 05-16-07, 04:30 PM	Hey there. Brand new to 3rd edition psionics. Don't even have the psionics handbook book yet. Are there such things as wild talents in third edition. Brand new here so please don't bite my head off about "pg 32 of the rule book says" stuff. Also, I have a character transfering over to third edition that had the psionic energy absorption. It allowed him to absorb all energy damage from a single attack and turn it into light. The character would glow for a number of rounds depending on the damage taken. Is there a powere like that. I'm trying to decide wether it would be worth it to by the book or just turn whatever abilities characters had gained through wild talents into feats. Any suggestions.
Tempest Stormwind 05-16-07, 04:42 PM	Hey there. Brand new to 3rd edition psionics. Don't even have the psionics handbook book yet. Are there such things as wild talents in third edition. Brand new here so please don't bite my head off about "pg 32 of the rule book says" stuff. Also, I have a character transfering over to third edition that had the psionic energy absorption. It allowed him to absorb all energy damage from a single attack and turn it into light. The character would glow for a number of rounds depending on the damage taken. Is there a powere like that. I'm trying to decide wether it would be worth it to by the book or just turn whatever abilities characters had gained through wild talents into feats. Any suggestions. 1) See the FAQ at the top of the forum. 2) Don't buy the Psionics Handbook; it's unsupported and terrible. Use the Expanded Psionics Handbook, which IS supported, is a standalone system (despite the name), and is far, far, FAR better. 3) There are wild talents, but they aren't like 2e wild talents. You take a feat and become psionic, letting you take other feats if you want. In high-psionics games (i.e. Dark Sun), the Wild Talent feat becomes Hidden Talent, which also lets you manifest a weak power. (There's no more "Oh, the dice rolled well, I can teleport at level 1!".) 4) The Energy Absorption power has been split into three powers: Specified Energy Adaptation, Energy Adaptation, and Energy Retort. All do what you want them to do, the difference is scope. Specified Energy Adaptation works against a single energy type; Energy Adaptation works against them all, and Energy Retort lets you return the energy damage back at the target (choosing to radiate light or fire it back as an energy ray). They're different level, though, so pick the one best suited to the level your character was at (most of the time, it's Specified Energy Adaptation). 5) See the FAQ at the top of the forum. You can actually read all the relevant rules online for free beforehand.
InkBlot 05-16-07, 04:46 PM	First of all, read the sticky threads at the top of the psionics boar. Second, there are so many differences between 2nd edition psionics and 3rd edition psionics that it would be nearly impossible to explain them all here. Third, the latest and greatest "psionics handbook" is called The Expanded Psionics Handbook (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/966660000). You need the rules from this book in order to use psionics in your 3rd edition (revised or not) game. Luckily, Wizards Of The Coast has put all the core rules from The Expanded Psionics Handbook into their SRD (http://systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionic.html) - you can read them online for free. It's only lacking the flavor text (which is mostly the same from 2.0) and examples. There are two other 3rd edition psionics books, the outdated The Psionics Handbook and Complete Psionics. Avoid Complete Psionics until you know you're absolutely in love with the 3.5 psionics rules. Avoid The Psionics Handbook like the plague. Edit: Ouch! Sniped by Tempest! Energy Retort lets you return the energy damage back at the target (choosing to radiate light or fire it back as an energy ray). The power Tempest is describing is actualy Energy Conversion. Energy Retort is a lower level power than Energy Conversion. Energy Retort weaves a field of potential energy around your body. A successful attack made against you causes an "ectoburst" to discharge from the field, targetting the source of the attack.
wookieman 05-16-07, 05:42 PM	Thanks guys that was just what I wanted to hear. Psionics handbook -bad. Expanded - good. sweet.
AntiDjinn 05-16-07, 06:17 PM	Jumping straight from 2E to 3.5 you will find: Powers have levels and your manifester level limits what you can learn and manifest. No more Teleport or Detonate at first level. No more Kinetic Control or Disintegrate by 3rd level. Powers do not have prerequisites other than level restrictions and the need to have them on your class list. You don't need to know a given power to learn derivative powers. A psion does not need to know more powers of his primary discipline (or even any at all). Psionic combat has been removed as a separate "feature". Go back and have a look at 3.0 to see why this is a good thing. Because you no longer need "tangents" or a target with an "opened mind" you don't need the system anyway; if you want to read a target's mind you just do it, without needed rounds of psionic combat first. You no longer have a chance to harm yourself every time you activate a power. Upkeep costs and the tedious bookkeeping has been eliminated; you pay the cost when you manifest a power. A few powers only last as long as you concentrate (not many) but most are fire and forget.
Varl 05-16-07, 07:06 PM	What's funny is, I still play 2nd edition, and a few months ago, I decided to rewrite psionics to my own vision of how I want them to be, and how I think they should have always been in the first place, to get away from all the illogical mechanisms 2e psionics possesses. All the changes Antidjinn mentions are precisely the changes I've made to psionics, and this was long before I ever read about d20 psionics. ;)
Slagger the Chuul 05-16-07, 09:52 PM	What's funny is, I still play 2nd edition You still play 2nd Edition? Unclean! Unclean! :P
Varl 05-16-07, 11:37 PM	You still play 2nd Edition? Unclean! Unclean! Like female mud wrestling. Very unclean. :P :D
CrimsonDeath 05-17-07, 02:56 AM	Yeah. I'm not sure I want to play D&D with someone who can't add and subtract negative numbers.