New to Psionics [Archive] - Wizards Community

New to Psionics [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Dielzen
04-20-07, 10:48 PM I'm looking to play a psionic-based character in an upcoming campaign. I've DMd them once and found the psion to be overbalanced in my games as I didn't run 5 encounters/day, so the "nova" style made things tough to challenge the players (tho not impossible).

Given that I ahve little XP with psionics I'm looking to go with a martial psion (divine mind, psywarrior, etc.) instead of a pure mentalist/psion approach.

Which of the base psionic class options currently in WotC sources would you recommend as being the most effective (not necessarily powerful) in their chosen role?

I'm leaning towards Divine Mind currently, as I find the "aura" thing interesting as well as a good RP mechanic, but looking for opinions.
Tempest Stormwind
04-20-07, 10:57 PM You don't need 5 encounters per day. You need the threat of four. So long as the answer of "how many more times are we going to fight today" is "at least once more", you're doing fine. (I have a hard time lasting beyond three unless I'm being clever.)

The divine mind is a waste of paper. It's a nerfed paladin with a nerfed marshal with weak psionics and cleric flavor.

Psions are probably the most forgiving, buildwise. You have plenty of powers known and versatility to build the character you want from their rules. They have the fewest stipulations in general.Psychic warriors are in a similar boat, but have too few PP for most people's tastes.

Still, those two are probably the best for beginners. Ardents and wilders come next, in truth -- wilders due to limited power selection and self-destruction, ardents due to the need for a bit of mechanical wrangling to handle their primary/secondary mantles properly.

I'd say the ardent would be a good choice in general if you're building your character plan a few levels in advance -- in fact, if you're an experienced player, it probably exceeds the psion in terms of general usefulness, as it has a wide assortment of powers (not as big, though) and a strong base skeleton. If you want to play a gish-type, ardents are the class to do it (unless you're experienced enough to handle a good psychic warrior).
Dielzen
04-20-07, 11:32 PM I should add that I'm looking to get a player's perspective on the psionics system in general, mainly so I can work at providing adequate challenges to my psionc players in games I run (I rarely get to play).

I also don't want to play a "pure caster" style as I want to break into the system slowly with a "hybrid" style approach as I'm learning ways to do things with psionics.

I'm primarily a wizard player, so I know how to break things as one, and consequently, how to reign in "break the DM" players, allowing me to run games that are balanced level of fun for all players, not just the wizard.

I'm looking to this experince to gain that type of insight to the psionic universe, but I'm feeling overwhelmed in playing a psion or wilder.
Tempest Stormwind
04-20-07, 11:39 PM I should add that I'm looking to get a player's perspective on the psionics system in general, mainly so I can work at providing adequate challenges to my psionc players in games I run (I rarely get to play).

I also don't want to play a "pure caster" style as I want to break into the system slowly with a "hybrid" style approach as I'm learning ways to do things with psionics.

I'm primarily a wizard player, so I know how to break things as one, and consequently, how to reign in "break the DM" players, allowing me to run games that are balanced level of fun for all players, not just the wizard.

I'm looking to this experince to gain that type of insight to the psionic universe, but I'm feeling overwhelmed in playing a psion or wilder.

1) See the New 3.5 Psionics FAQ and the New DM/Player's Guide (Linked in the FAQ).

2) The ardent is a pretty damn good hybrid class, and would be my vote (Take the Conflict mantle as a primary, along with any other of your choice, such as, say, Physical Power). Second choice is psychic warrior -- more martial, less psionic. The rest are too close to full-casters.

3) You can't break things as a psion as easily or as totally as you can with a wizard. This should be patently obvious, since the wizard *is* the break-the-game class.
Thomar_of_Uointer
04-21-07, 12:21 AM Because you're looking for a fighter-type, I'd recommend Psychic Warrior. They get a very good power selection, and lots of bonus feats for flexibility.
ChinchillaofDoom
04-21-07, 04:28 AM Don't do it!!! For the love of the gods, don't be a Divine Mind. Be a Psiwarrior, or an Ardent, but don't be a half baked paladin.
OmegaLord
04-21-07, 12:27 PM One last hybrid class from Cpsi that no one has mentioned is the lurk.

It seems lackluster at first (at least it did to me) but when you sit down and look at it it is a wicked fun class (well in theory since I dont get to play much :pbbbtt:).

Basically the lurk is psi-rouge-lite focusing on sneak attack as well as a few powers to boot.

Again this is only from a casual reading of the class so other people might cite enormous flaws that I havent thought of but at a glance it seems like a nifty class.
carnivore
04-21-07, 12:50 PM Given that I have little XP with psionics I'm looking to go with a martial psion (divine mind, psywarrior, etc.) instead of a pure mentalist/psion approach.

Which of the base psionic class options currently in WotC sources would you recommend as being the most effective (not necessarily powerful) in their chosen role?
as Tempest Stormwind said ......Psion is generally the most effective for most all situations....but Ardent has now become the newest useful tool on the block to challenge them

I should add that I'm looking to get a player's perspective on the psionics system in general,
then you need to plan for 3-4 encounters per day.......PP economy is very important(most good DMs prepare 2-8 encounters....you(players) never really know what you will face(random encounters account for this)......unless you are playing in an Arena with only 1-2 combats.....Psionic Novas should be RARE.....a DM that allows it to occur all the time is a Poor DM

I also don't want to play a "pure caster" style as I want to break into the system slowly with a "hybrid" style approach as I'm learning ways to do things with psionics.
(snip).....
I'm looking to this experince to gain that type of insight to the psionic universe, but I'm feeling overwhelmed in playing a psion or wilder.

try this:

Psionic Gish type:

Ranger 2/ Psion 8/ Slayer 10

unarmed Psi-Gish:

Ranger 2/ Monk 2/ Psion 6/ Slayer 10

both are easy to play and very effective in many Roles...and can be played with only Core+XPH

Ranger 2/ Monk 2/ Ardent 6/ Slayer 10 ....more advanced , requires planing and prep to determine Mantles correctly....but can be stronger

for the advanced game:
Rogue 2/ Ranger 2/ Fighter 2/ Ardent 4/ Elocator 6/ Quori Mind hunter 4
lots of Skills, Feats, and great Stealth and Movement abilities......also 7th lvl powers

:D
Rageheart
04-23-07, 10:32 AM how about Ranger 2/Psion(Seer) 4/Sighted Seeker* 4/ Slayer 10

*Untapped Potential

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dielzen 04-20-07, 10:48 PM	I'm looking to play a psionic-based character in an upcoming campaign. I've DMd them once and found the psion to be overbalanced in my games as I didn't run 5 encounters/day, so the "nova" style made things tough to challenge the players (tho not impossible). Given that I ahve little XP with psionics I'm looking to go with a martial psion (divine mind, psywarrior, etc.) instead of a pure mentalist/psion approach. Which of the base psionic class options currently in WotC sources would you recommend as being the most effective (not necessarily powerful) in their chosen role? I'm leaning towards Divine Mind currently, as I find the "aura" thing interesting as well as a good RP mechanic, but looking for opinions.
Tempest Stormwind 04-20-07, 10:57 PM	You don't need 5 encounters per day. You need the threat of four. So long as the answer of "how many more times are we going to fight today" is "at least once more", you're doing fine. (I have a hard time lasting beyond three unless I'm being clever.) The divine mind is a waste of paper. It's a nerfed paladin with a nerfed marshal with weak psionics and cleric flavor. Psions are probably the most forgiving, buildwise. You have plenty of powers known and versatility to build the character you want from their rules. They have the fewest stipulations in general.Psychic warriors are in a similar boat, but have too few PP for most people's tastes. Still, those two are probably the best for beginners. Ardents and wilders come next, in truth -- wilders due to limited power selection and self-destruction, ardents due to the need for a bit of mechanical wrangling to handle their primary/secondary mantles properly. I'd say the ardent would be a good choice in general if you're building your character plan a few levels in advance -- in fact, if you're an experienced player, it probably exceeds the psion in terms of general usefulness, as it has a wide assortment of powers (not as big, though) and a strong base skeleton. If you want to play a gish-type, ardents are the class to do it (unless you're experienced enough to handle a good psychic warrior).
Dielzen 04-20-07, 11:32 PM	I should add that I'm looking to get a player's perspective on the psionics system in general, mainly so I can work at providing adequate challenges to my psionc players in games I run (I rarely get to play). I also don't want to play a "pure caster" style as I want to break into the system slowly with a "hybrid" style approach as I'm learning ways to do things with psionics. I'm primarily a wizard player, so I know how to break things as one, and consequently, how to reign in "break the DM" players, allowing me to run games that are balanced level of fun for all players, not just the wizard. I'm looking to this experince to gain that type of insight to the psionic universe, but I'm feeling overwhelmed in playing a psion or wilder.
Tempest Stormwind 04-20-07, 11:39 PM	I should add that I'm looking to get a player's perspective on the psionics system in general, mainly so I can work at providing adequate challenges to my psionc players in games I run (I rarely get to play). I also don't want to play a "pure caster" style as I want to break into the system slowly with a "hybrid" style approach as I'm learning ways to do things with psionics. I'm primarily a wizard player, so I know how to break things as one, and consequently, how to reign in "break the DM" players, allowing me to run games that are balanced level of fun for all players, not just the wizard. I'm looking to this experince to gain that type of insight to the psionic universe, but I'm feeling overwhelmed in playing a psion or wilder. 1) See the New 3.5 Psionics FAQ and the New DM/Player's Guide (Linked in the FAQ). 2) The ardent is a pretty damn good hybrid class, and would be my vote (Take the Conflict mantle as a primary, along with any other of your choice, such as, say, Physical Power). Second choice is psychic warrior -- more martial, less psionic. The rest are too close to full-casters. 3) You can't break things as a psion as easily or as totally as you can with a wizard. This should be patently obvious, since the wizard is the break-the-game class.
Thomar_of_Uointer 04-21-07, 12:21 AM	Because you're looking for a fighter-type, I'd recommend Psychic Warrior. They get a very good power selection, and lots of bonus feats for flexibility.
ChinchillaofDoom 04-21-07, 04:28 AM	Don't do it!!! For the love of the gods, don't be a Divine Mind. Be a Psiwarrior, or an Ardent, but don't be a half baked paladin.
OmegaLord 04-21-07, 12:27 PM	One last hybrid class from Cpsi that no one has mentioned is the lurk. It seems lackluster at first (at least it did to me) but when you sit down and look at it it is a wicked fun class (well in theory since I dont get to play much :pbbbtt:). Basically the lurk is psi-rouge-lite focusing on sneak attack as well as a few powers to boot. Again this is only from a casual reading of the class so other people might cite enormous flaws that I havent thought of but at a glance it seems like a nifty class.
carnivore 04-21-07, 12:50 PM	Given that I have little XP with psionics I'm looking to go with a martial psion (divine mind, psywarrior, etc.) instead of a pure mentalist/psion approach. Which of the base psionic class options currently in WotC sources would you recommend as being the most effective (not necessarily powerful) in their chosen role? as Tempest Stormwind said ......Psion is generally the most effective for most all situations....but Ardent has now become the newest useful tool on the block to challenge them I should add that I'm looking to get a player's perspective on the psionics system in general, then you need to plan for 3-4 encounters per day.......PP economy is very important(most good DMs prepare 2-8 encounters....you(players) never really know what you will face(random encounters account for this)......unless you are playing in an Arena with only 1-2 combats.....Psionic Novas should be RARE.....a DM that allows it to occur all the time is a Poor DM I also don't want to play a "pure caster" style as I want to break into the system slowly with a "hybrid" style approach as I'm learning ways to do things with psionics. (snip)..... I'm looking to this experince to gain that type of insight to the psionic universe, but I'm feeling overwhelmed in playing a psion or wilder. try this: Psionic Gish type: Ranger 2/ Psion 8/ Slayer 10 unarmed Psi-Gish: Ranger 2/ Monk 2/ Psion 6/ Slayer 10 both are easy to play and very effective in many Roles...and can be played with only Core+XPH Ranger 2/ Monk 2/ Ardent 6/ Slayer 10 ....more advanced , requires planing and prep to determine Mantles correctly....but can be stronger for the advanced game: Rogue 2/ Ranger 2/ Fighter 2/ Ardent 4/ Elocator 6/ Quori Mind hunter 4 lots of Skills, Feats, and great Stealth and Movement abilities......also 7th lvl powers :D
Rageheart 04-23-07, 10:32 AM	how about Ranger 2/Psion(Seer) 4/Sighted Seeker* 4/ Slayer 10 *Untapped Potential