Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ck2001wendt 08-05-07, 12:51 PM	From the SRD: The split ray affects any two targets that are both within the power’s range and within 30 feet of each other. If the ray deals damage, each target takes as much damage as a single target would take. That means: 1. You can hit two fey in the same square, grappling a Halfing with Reduce Person cast on her; BUT 2. You cannot hit a Gargantuan Dragon with two rays. Ponder that, Grasshopper. Ponder that.
AlterFrom 08-05-07, 02:54 PM	Edit: NVM, posted before thinking...hehehe
AntiDjinn 08-05-07, 05:46 PM	Actually, you can hit the same dragon twice, it just doesn't take any more damage. The damage is still dealt per target and the big beastie remains one target. It takes the same damage as itself, which it would do if the ray were not forked, or if the second bolt misses its target. Yeah, just the way the feat is worded. The split still happens (you pay the points and expend focus) whether it provides a benefit or not.
Kapitanturtle 08-05-07, 08:08 PM	I always thought that it worked like Split Ray in Complete Arcane, i.e. can hit the same guy with both rays. Or am I reading something totally off here?
InkBlot 08-05-07, 08:15 PM	Split Psionic Ray works exactly like it says it does. In other words, no it does not work just like Split Ray from Complete Arcane. Trivia Alert: The Expanded Psionics Handbook predates Complete Arcane by several months.
ck2001wendt 08-05-07, 10:45 PM	Split Psionic Ray works exactly like it says it does. In other words, no it does not work just like Split Ray from Complete Arcane. Trivia Alert: The Expanded Psionics Handbook predates Complete Arcane by several months. Indeed...I took the Split Psionic Ray effect verbatim. I just think the physics of it are funny. Oh, and stupid. Very, very stupid. I understand the rationale for it...you don't want people using it like a poor man's Twin Power (at 5th level, your damage output increases using Split Ray over a fully-augmented Ray). On the other hand, Twin Power works on a lot more powers than Split Ray (Split Ray is basically Disintegrate, Cyrstal Shard, and Energy Ray. Energy Push if you like that sort of thing), in addition to working on everything Split Ray works on. I think in the future I'm houseruling it to say you must target two different 5 ft. squares, which only makes it extra beneficial against Large or Larger creatures, and less beneficial against very small creatures that share squares.
Jhaelen 08-06-07, 08:18 AM	Split Psionic Ray works exactly like it says it does. In other words, no it does not work just like Split Ray from Complete Arcane.Now there's one question left: Why doesn't it? I really don't think it would be a problem to allow it doing double damage against a single target. And if it is a problem, why is it no problem with the arcane version?
InkBlot 08-06-07, 11:38 AM	Why doesn't it? ck2001wendt gives a good reason above. And who said it's not a problem in the arcane version? Or perhaps the arcane version has a downside which make up the difference?
Magius_Rerecros 08-06-07, 08:48 PM	I think they might have made them different because of balancing between Arcane/Psionics. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Psionics. I think it's one of the more balanced systems that WotC ever came out with, but Psions do seem to be a bit more powerful then arcanists at the low levels. For example, a 1st level Elan Psion, assuming 18 INT, has 6 power points, with only 1st level powers. That's about the equivalent of 6 1st level spells. A 1st level human Wizard with the same intelligence has 3 0-level spells and 2 1st-level spells. So the Psion can, in theory, use more powerful abilities more times per day then the Wizard. Granted, you can then throw Sorcerer into the mix, and assuming 18 CHA, he has 5 0-level spells and 4 1st-level spells. Now, these balance out at mid to high levels, but psionicists seem to have an edge at the low levels. So I think that WotC made a few psionic feats worse then their arcane "equivalents" to make up for this slight early-on edge. But that's just me.
Tedronai 08-07-07, 10:47 PM	Assuming that Elan Psion uses none of his racial abilities (which basically means he's not attacked at all), then that evaluation holds...as a comparison of damage output at 1st level, but breaks appart at 2nd. If you assume that the psion wants to actually get something out of his -2 Cha, then you'll need to drop a few of those power points. And if the wizard/sorceror you're comparing to uses any cantrips, then the calculations are skewed. A 1st level sorceror using Versatile Spellcasting to upgrade as many cantrips as possible into magic missiles (or or lesser orbs, or shocking grasp...) will still have strictly more spells available than the Elan Psion has powers, no additional drains on those resources (the Elan's racial abilities) and will likely be doing more reliable damage (D4+1 that always hits, for example, or frequently gaining a bonus on the touch attack) But by the time you can use the feat in question, these distinctions have completely reversed, and are far more disparate. By 5th level, when a Psion would benefit from splitting that Energy Ray, the sorceror is paying the equivalent of 1 pp to deal 3D8 damage (from a lesser orb, the most comparable spell), and empowering that for the equivalent of the 5pp needed for the psion to benefit from his feat. So the psion is dealing (at most) 6D6+6 while the sorceror is dealing 3D8 * 1.5. That works out to a disparity of average damage in the psion's favour of approximately 7. However, the Sorceror can do that 4 times in a day without touching his/her 2nd level spells slots, let alone 0 and 1st. The Psion can do this 7 times in a day with 2 power points remaining and is spending 2 feats to do so (assuming the use of Psionic Meditation to actually take an action every round) This is just another case of denying an ability to psionics that is clearly available to arcanists.
CrimsonDeath 08-08-07, 04:04 AM	To throw another wrench into your comparison, the Sorceror only knows one level 1 spell at level 1, but the Psion knows three level 1 powers. (Of course, some of those powers aren't any more powerful than the Sorceror's three cantrips...) Anyway, that one spell probably isn't going to be Magic Missile. It might be one of the Lesser Orbs, but I'd probably go with Sleep or Color Spray (and swap it out later). Also, a Sorceror probably won't be Empowering very many things at 5th level, since he doesn't have any 3rd level spell slots. There's no reason for an Empowered Acid Splash when he could be throwing a Scorching Ray. Finally, I believe the general consensus is that the Psion is more comparable to the generalist Wizard, since they're pretty much even on daily resources at level 20.