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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 00:53:22
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I just saw all of the X-men and it got me interested in psionics... So I read about it, but I realized that it is very similar to magic.
I wanted to create a Dr. Xavier-ish guy for my party, but I have never dabled in the psion, so I was wondering if any of you out there have any ideas. Im talking feats, skills and generel cool stuff. He has to be powerful, but cool is his most important job. (since they are not going to fight him)
THX
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Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 05 Feb 2012 : 01:11:23
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Well, when selecting a Psion, you have to choose a discipline to focus into. It is different then a specialized wizard, you do not gain any penalty in other schools, you just gain access to unique powers, and Telepath is one of those path. For RP situations, it is great, and definitely the more Xavier-like of the 6 (very mind-control oriented). Combat-wise, it is reliable against low-Will characters, as most of his powers are Will-negate.
If you want raw power, I think Egoist is probably to most powerful (specialized in psychometabolism, the link between the body and the mind). He gains the ability to duplicate itself, doubling the casting ability at the cost of being more vulnerable. He can also fusion with another being, which is pretty much fusion from DBZ.
I think the Shaper is pretty cool, being able to really customize one or several astral constructs. You'll need a supplement from WotC if you choose this path.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/pse/20020727c
Problem is; it has nothing to do with Xavier. BUT, you still have the same power list than the others, it is only about 12 spells that you gain that other disciplines might not have access to.
The other ones are; Nomad (for teleportation/time-acceleration powers), Kinetist (for blasting stuff up) and Seer (everything divination-related)
Hope that helps
EDIT: If you do a Shaper, and you use the feats in the link above, it is extremely powerful. In a 1v1 tournament, I killed the party's wizard in 2 rounds. I don't know how powerful it is against a group though. Special mention to the feat Enhanced Construction [Psionic], which is probably overpowered. |
Edited by - Kilvan on 05 Feb 2012 01:15:22 |
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Darsson Spellmaker
Seeker
56 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2012 : 05:51:45
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If you do go Telepath, be sure to take the Telepathic Communication alternate class feature (found here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070411a). Then take the Mindsight feat from Lords of Madness.
You'll be able to automatically detect and pinpoint any thinking being that comes within range of your telepathy, making you very hard to surprise, backstab, or spy on. Cool, no? |
"Know, O mages, that there is learning, and there is wisdom, and they are very far from being the same thing."--Azuth the High One, Utterances from the Altar: Collected Verbal Manifestations of the Divine and Most Holy Lord of Spells (holy chapbook, assembled by anonymous priests of Azuth circa 1358 DR)
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Artemas Entreri
Great Reader
USA
3131 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2012 : 14:19:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Nicolai Withander
I just saw all of the X-men and it got me interested in psionics... So I read about it, but I realized that it is very similar to magic.
I wanted to create a Dr. Xavier-ish guy for my party, but I have never dabled in the psion, so I was wondering if any of you out there have any ideas. Im talking feats, skills and generel cool stuff. He has to be powerful, but cool is his most important job. (since they are not going to fight him)
THX
One of my favorite AD&D characters was a psion; playing under the 2E rules and guidelines.
He was a telepath primarily and was extremely fun to roleplay. If you have watched the TV show Heroes then you could sort of compare him to the character Matt Parkman. Meaning that initially he could do certain things, but the realized there were MANY other implications of his power when he began experimenting.
Psions can be very powerful and can throw off the balance of your game if you are not careful though.  I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of the Complete Psionics Handbook and giving it a read. |
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Kilvan
Senior Scribe
Canada
894 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2012 : 15:30:03
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I heard that 2nd edition Psionics was overpowered, it was ruled-out in the campaign I joined in so many years ago. We introduced it back with the 3.5 EPH, and later the complete psionic.
I had the chance to have a LN illithid character (psion of course) in a high-level campaign, and it produced some of the best RP I've ever done. |
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Seravin
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1288 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2012 : 16:05:13
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2nd Edition Psions could be immensely powerful against common enemies because the monsters don't have much defense against mental attacks (since when they were designed they didn't have psionics in the game).
In a round or two a psion(icist) could establish contact with a Storm Giant's mind and dominate it, which = game over for the fight. A lot of their abilities mimmic priest and wizard spells so weren't out of control, but once contact was established the psionic could play with the most fierce enemies like puppets without saving throws or magic resistance to counter it.
So if you have powerful psionic PCs, you needed to have them face NPCs and monsters with some psionic defenses. Unfortunately, the mental combat tables were kind of tedious to reference.
I'd make a Drow Psion for your NPC like Kimmuriel Oblodra. He's so cool. |
Edited by - Seravin on 07 Feb 2012 16:07:01 |
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Telepath
