Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lathi 12-06-07, 03:05 AM	Is the Read Thoughts power a "psionic X" ability (just called something else to distinguish that it's a power) or meant to be only a rough equivalent to the Detect Thoughts spell? That is, do you get all of the information you'd gain from three rounds of Detect Thoughts (presence/absence of thoughts in the AoE, their number and int score, and the surface thoughts of those who fail the Will save) in one round of Read Thoughts? Or do you only get the effect of round three (the surface thoughts of those who fail the save)? A strict reading of the write-up would suggest the latter (as the other effects aren't explicitly listed), but it also seems possible that the manifester would be able to extrapolate the other info. The text does mention pinpointing minds within line of sight (which, for the spell at least, requires the info gained in round two). Though I suppose, going with the first interpretation, it might mean that you're limited to pinpointing only minds that failed the save (while for the spell, you're aware of all active minds in the AoE, even if you can't actually read them). How have other people handled this power in their games?
hovnarr 12-06-07, 05:05 AM	You know the surface thoughts of the mind of any creature in the area that fails a Will save. A target that succeeds on its save is not affected by this manifestation of the power, even if it leaves the area and then reenters the area before the duration expires. Creatures of animal intelligence have simple, instinctual thoughts that you can pick up. If you read the thoughts of a creature with an Intelligence of 26 or higher (and at least 10 points higher than your own Intelligence score), you are stunned for 1 round and the power ends. This power does not let you pinpoint the location of an affected mind if you don’t have line of sight to the subject. Each round, you can turn to use this power in a new area. The power can penetrate barriers, but 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt blocks it. Nothing in the description suggests that you'd gain the info gradually, over the course of several rounds. Nor does anything implicate that it would be a psionic X power. The bolded sentence, in particular, implies that you indeed get all knowledge in one round. Then you can either continue to read that target's thoughts or move on to another area.