Pros and cons of psionic [Archive] - Wizards Community

Pros and cons of psionic [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Slobad_the_rogue
04-12-07, 05:01 PM Hello, I'm not the most hardcore dd player out there but I have been playing for almost 3 years.

Very recently, one of my players said he would like to be a psion because he saw cool articles about psionics on the boards.

I, being a teenager with little funds, wanted to know the pros and cons of psionics to see if buying XPH and CP was really worth it.

PS : please no comments such as :
1. MAN PSIONIKS IS DA BEST!!! YEAH GO PSIONICS!!!
or
2. Psionics sucks

Please I would enjoy knowing why.
JulesCARV
04-12-07, 05:08 PM On this board, you'll most likely here quite a bit on the "pro" side. ;)

Psionics is OGL content, and part of the SRD. It's no substitute for the XPH, but if you're conflicted about buying the XPH from a financial standpoint, check it out. (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionic.html)
kyeudo
04-12-07, 05:16 PM Pros: Flexibility. Instead of slot based prepared casting, psionic charecters have a repetoire of powers and can shell out their power points paying for what they need when they need it. Psionic classes are also on average more balanced than their arcane or divine equivalents. Psychic Warrior has been repeatedly named as the perfect middle of the road when it comes to the power curve.

Cons: Players can use the system to hide cheating from inexperienced DMs. This can be fixed by a read through the faq at the top of the forum, or you can find it through Tempest's sig. He should be along any minute.
Also psionics doesn't get much support. The latest psionic material is all from the Eberron Campaign Setting and its all we get.

I personaly love psionics, and find the rules easier to use. Instead of memorizing the rules text for 200 spells, I just learn 32 powers, 2 at a time.

PS: Don't purchase Complete Psionic until you have read the Expanded Psionics Handbook and decided you want to expand your psionics collection. CompPsi is almost a waste of paper, as only 2 classes, a few of the prestige classes, and a handful of powers are worth anything. Buy Secrets of Sarlonna first, as the psionic fluff from the book outweighs its lack of major crunch.
glacialcat
04-12-07, 05:22 PM One of the only real cons of psionics is that WotC hardly ever publishes anything for them. You can pick up just about any book and find 50 new Wizard/Cleric/Druid spells, but you'll be lucky to find 2 new powers in there. And what they do make from psionics is crap, such as Complete Psionic. Its.. not a bad book if you only pay attention to the Ardent, Lurk, Ebon Saint, and Erudite really... but other than that it sucks.

Pros however:

1. More intuitive. The PP system works like the MP system in many video games, and just plain makes more sense than a spell slot system. Your wizard of the mind (psion) is able to adjust just how much power he can put into each spell (power), as opposed to how real wizards spells work in some weird quantized fashion.

2. More balanced. In general psionics are more balanced than magic, excepting certain specifics. There are a small number of breakable things in psionics, but the number is so small compared to the breakable things in the Player's Handbook that they might as well not exist.

I also like how much psions of different disciplines can feel different from each other. The differences between a Kineticist and an Egoist are much greater than the differences between an Evoker and a Transmuter, and it makes more sense that way.

The Psychic Warrior also is nice because it manages to do for psionics what.. Hexblade, Duskblade, Eldritch Knight, Abjurant Champion, Spellsword, and Bladesinger all tried to do for arcane... but does it better.
TheAngryFish
04-12-07, 06:19 PM Psions are very flexible. In my experiences with psions they are always combat effective in any situation, and have many useful feats and abilities.

I would deffinately buy the XPH if I didn't already have it; it has a lot of useful material in classes, prestige classes, feats, and it has information for several races and creatures. Psionincs can also be exploited, an it would be wise for the dm to have the XPH to make sure players using material from it aren't cheating.

It's a very useful book that will add a lot to your games.
Tempest Stormwind
04-12-07, 06:49 PM Please see the FAQ at the top of the forum. In particular, pay attention to the New DM/Player's Guide and the SRD linked in there as well as the answers provided in the early section of the FAQ. It's written exactly for threads like this.
InkBlot
04-12-07, 07:25 PM Just remember the one big rule of psionics: You can never spend more powerpoints than your manifester level on a power.

If your manifester level is 5, you can never spend 8 power points for a power. There are some things that can raise your manifester level (notabley the Overchannel feat, which costs HP to use), but there is no way to spend more than your manifester level on a single power.
Slobad_the_rogue
04-12-07, 09:58 PM Ok!
Thanks a lot for the quick responses! I think I'm gonna read the FAQ now:P
calronmoonflower
04-13-07, 01:56 AM I, being a teenager with little funds, wanted to know the pros and cons of psionics to see if buying XPH and CP was really worth it.

If you want to go cheap, the info from the Expanded Psionics Handbook was put into the SRD.

You can download it here. (http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/v35/Psionics.zip)
ElecTech
04-13-07, 02:53 AM The prime advantage is flexibility, you have ultimate flexbility in how you choose to use the powers you know and a lvl 1 power is usuable at lvl 20 so none of the powers gets wasted.

The prime weakness is lack of content, very few official WOTC material on psionics is out there. You will primarily find it in the ebberon, the xph, cp, and The Various Mind's Eye Articles.

I highly reccomend you look at the expanded psionics handbook, the Myth: Why Psionics are not over powered thread, and the minds eye.
BloodSpill
04-13-07, 08:16 AM Pro It's significantly easier to hide being a psionicist from NPCs and also significantly more difficult to restrain one.
No "but your hands are tied" or "but they stole your spellbook" or "you're underwater, you can't speak!" or "sorry I rolled 1% against your 5% arcane failure" or "your god doesn't like you well enough today to give you spells".

Con Support is limited. If you want new powers, you need to beg your DM (i.e. research them).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Slobad_the_rogue 04-12-07, 05:01 PM	Hello, I'm not the most hardcore dd player out there but I have been playing for almost 3 years. Very recently, one of my players said he would like to be a psion because he saw cool articles about psionics on the boards. I, being a teenager with little funds, wanted to know the pros and cons of psionics to see if buying XPH and CP was really worth it. PS : please no comments such as : 1. MAN PSIONIKS IS DA BEST!!! YEAH GO PSIONICS!!! or 2. Psionics sucks Please I would enjoy knowing why.
JulesCARV 04-12-07, 05:08 PM	On this board, you'll most likely here quite a bit on the "pro" side. ;) Psionics is OGL content, and part of the SRD. It's no substitute for the XPH, but if you're conflicted about buying the XPH from a financial standpoint, check it out. (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionic.html)
kyeudo 04-12-07, 05:16 PM	Pros: Flexibility. Instead of slot based prepared casting, psionic charecters have a repetoire of powers and can shell out their power points paying for what they need when they need it. Psionic classes are also on average more balanced than their arcane or divine equivalents. Psychic Warrior has been repeatedly named as the perfect middle of the road when it comes to the power curve. Cons: Players can use the system to hide cheating from inexperienced DMs. This can be fixed by a read through the faq at the top of the forum, or you can find it through Tempest's sig. He should be along any minute. Also psionics doesn't get much support. The latest psionic material is all from the Eberron Campaign Setting and its all we get. I personaly love psionics, and find the rules easier to use. Instead of memorizing the rules text for 200 spells, I just learn 32 powers, 2 at a time. PS: Don't purchase Complete Psionic until you have read the Expanded Psionics Handbook and decided you want to expand your psionics collection. CompPsi is almost a waste of paper, as only 2 classes, a few of the prestige classes, and a handful of powers are worth anything. Buy Secrets of Sarlonna first, as the psionic fluff from the book outweighs its lack of major crunch.
glacialcat 04-12-07, 05:22 PM	One of the only real cons of psionics is that WotC hardly ever publishes anything for them. You can pick up just about any book and find 50 new Wizard/Cleric/Druid spells, but you'll be lucky to find 2 new powers in there. And what they do make from psionics is crap, such as Complete Psionic. Its.. not a bad book if you only pay attention to the Ardent, Lurk, Ebon Saint, and Erudite really... but other than that it sucks. Pros however: 1. More intuitive. The PP system works like the MP system in many video games, and just plain makes more sense than a spell slot system. Your wizard of the mind (psion) is able to adjust just how much power he can put into each spell (power), as opposed to how real wizards spells work in some weird quantized fashion. 2. More balanced. In general psionics are more balanced than magic, excepting certain specifics. There are a small number of breakable things in psionics, but the number is so small compared to the breakable things in the Player's Handbook that they might as well not exist. I also like how much psions of different disciplines can feel different from each other. The differences between a Kineticist and an Egoist are much greater than the differences between an Evoker and a Transmuter, and it makes more sense that way. The Psychic Warrior also is nice because it manages to do for psionics what.. Hexblade, Duskblade, Eldritch Knight, Abjurant Champion, Spellsword, and Bladesinger all tried to do for arcane... but does it better.
TheAngryFish 04-12-07, 06:19 PM	Psions are very flexible. In my experiences with psions they are always combat effective in any situation, and have many useful feats and abilities. I would deffinately buy the XPH if I didn't already have it; it has a lot of useful material in classes, prestige classes, feats, and it has information for several races and creatures. Psionincs can also be exploited, an it would be wise for the dm to have the XPH to make sure players using material from it aren't cheating. It's a very useful book that will add a lot to your games.
Tempest Stormwind 04-12-07, 06:49 PM	Please see the FAQ at the top of the forum. In particular, pay attention to the New DM/Player's Guide and the SRD linked in there as well as the answers provided in the early section of the FAQ. It's written exactly for threads like this.
InkBlot 04-12-07, 07:25 PM	Just remember the one big rule of psionics: You can never spend more powerpoints than your manifester level on a power. If your manifester level is 5, you can never spend 8 power points for a power. There are some things that can raise your manifester level (notabley the Overchannel feat, which costs HP to use), but there is no way to spend more than your manifester level on a single power.
Slobad_the_rogue 04-12-07, 09:58 PM	Ok! Thanks a lot for the quick responses! I think I'm gonna read the FAQ now:P
calronmoonflower 04-13-07, 01:56 AM	I, being a teenager with little funds, wanted to know the pros and cons of psionics to see if buying XPH and CP was really worth it. If you want to go cheap, the info from the Expanded Psionics Handbook was put into the SRD. You can download it here. (http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/v35/Psionics.zip)
ElecTech 04-13-07, 02:53 AM	The prime advantage is flexibility, you have ultimate flexbility in how you choose to use the powers you know and a lvl 1 power is usuable at lvl 20 so none of the powers gets wasted. The prime weakness is lack of content, very few official WOTC material on psionics is out there. You will primarily find it in the ebberon, the xph, cp, and The Various Mind's Eye Articles. I highly reccomend you look at the expanded psionics handbook, the Myth: Why Psionics are not over powered thread, and the minds eye.
BloodSpill 04-13-07, 08:16 AM	Pro It's significantly easier to hide being a psionicist from NPCs and also significantly more difficult to restrain one. No "but your hands are tied" or "but they stole your spellbook" or "you're underwater, you can't speak!" or "sorry I rolled 1% against your 5% arcane failure" or "your god doesn't like you well enough today to give you spells". Con Support is limited. If you want new powers, you need to beg your DM (i.e. research them).