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Cazo
2009-12-12, 06:02 PM
I'm rolling an elan for the next campaign and I have a question about their resilience power. Do you prevent damage before or after you know how much you're about to take? For example, the baddie beats your AC, do you invest 3 pp to reduce the damage by 6, or do you wait until it rolls damage and then prevent?

Basically, I'm trying to decide whether enhanced elan resilience (from Complete Psionic) is worth it, or if I should just take Vigor.

tyckspoon
2009-12-12, 06:09 PM
It is not possible to take damage until after damage has been rolled. The wording of the ability therefore makes it necessary that you know how much damage you are about to take, as it triggers when you take damage, not when you are hit (that is, it goes off when your HP is about to go down, and not when somebody merely beats your AC. This also lets you use the ability against spells, fall damage, and other sources of HP damage that don't rely on attack rolls.)

Optimystik
2009-12-12, 06:12 PM
Resilience is an immediate action - you can activate it at any time unless specified otherwise. That includes before and after you know what damage will be.

The question is - is spending a feat to prevent 4 damage per 1 PP worth it, when Vigor effectively prevents 5 per PP spent?

HCL
2009-12-12, 06:37 PM
Resilience is an immediate action - you can activate it at any time unless specified otherwise. That includes before and after you know what damage will be.

The question is - is spending a feat to prevent 4 damage per 1 PP worth it, when Vigor effectively prevents 5 per PP spent?

Depends on if you can manifest vigor as an immediate action :P

Ganurath
2009-12-12, 06:39 PM
You forgot that Vigor doesn't save you from poisoned weapons or Fell Drain Magic Missile.

erikun
2009-12-12, 07:13 PM
Depending on your DM, Resilience may not either.

But to answer the question, yes. You find out the damage first, then spend the PP to reduce the damage. Note that you can still only use one immediate action a round, so no using Resilience a second time before your turn.

Optimystik
2009-12-12, 07:27 PM
Depends on if you can manifest vigor as an immediate action :P

If you manifest it before you get hit it has the same effect.


You forgot that Vigor doesn't save you from poisoned weapons or Fell Drain Magic Missile.

True, but it doesn't cost a feat either.

mabriss lethe
2009-12-13, 04:30 AM
but both together can make an elan psion into one nasty tank. I've thrown a pair of vigored elan psions with Improved Elan Resilience at my players. I've never seen them more scared for their characters lives. It's a pretty good racial ability, and yeah, I'd say it's worth the feat. It turned something that should have been a breeze for the pcs into a near TPK. (both psions were 2 levels lower than the pcs and vastly outnumbered)

Vigor is great and should always be the first line of defense, but it's much better to have that extra buffer to take care of damage when vigor finally fails. it means you can keep going for a round or two and attempt to revigor at a more convenient time in combat.

Anonymouswizard
2009-12-13, 05:53 AM
:elan: <--He is not a race!!!!!!

kpenguin
2009-12-13, 05:54 AM
:elan: <--He is not a race!!!!!!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but... (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/elan.htm)

The_Snark
2009-12-13, 05:59 AM
Related question: does the usual limit on spending power points (no more than your manifester level) apply to Elan Resilience?

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2009-12-13, 08:17 AM
Related question: does the usual limit on spending power points (no more than your manifester level) apply to Elan Resilience?

It's not a power or a psi-like ability, it's a Supernatural racial ability. There is never manifester/caster level on Supernatural effects, so that limit would not apply.


Get Psicrystal Affinity and use Share Pain on it, and your Vigor will be 10 hp per pp.